Monday, September 30, 2019

The Indigo Spell Chapter Seventeen

ALTHOUGH OUR MAGICAL PLANS had been derailed, Ms. Terwilliger had asked me to come by her room before classes started in the morning so that we could talk strategy and future assignments. I had just enough time to swing by the cafeteria for breakfast and found Jill, Eddie, and Angeline sitting together. It felt like it had been a long time since we'd all been together in some kind of normal setting, and I welcomed this small moment of bonding. It was a refuge in the storm that had been my life recently. Jill was grinning about something that Eddie didn't seem to find so funny. â€Å"He didn't say anything about it to me,† he said. â€Å"Of course not.† Jill laughed. â€Å"He's too embarrassed.† I sat down with my tray. â€Å"Who's too embarrassed?† I assumed any â€Å"he† they were talking about must be Adrian, though it was hard to imagine Adrian embarrassed about anything. â€Å"Micah,† said Jill. â€Å"I talked him into modeling for our sewing club again. And then he got Juan and Travis to do it too. â€Å" â€Å"How'd you manage that?† I asked. Jill had originally gotten involved with Lia through the school's sewing club. Back when Jill and Micah had dated, she'd convinced him to model some very badly made clothes. He'd done it out of adoration, though I wasn't sure he'd really enjoyed it. Jill leaned forward, an excited sparkle in her eyes. â€Å"Claire guilted him into it! It was hilarious. But I don't know how he talked Juan and Travis into it. Maybe they owed him a favor.† â€Å"Maybe they have ulterior motives,† said Eddie. His tone surprised me until I remembered his lesson about the latest social developments around here. What was it? Claire was Micah's new girlfriend. Juan and Travis were his friends, who liked Jill. Eddie didn't like that they liked her. Got it. Apparently, Eddie hadn't kept his opinions to himself because Jill rolled her eyes. â€Å"Will you stop worrying about that?† she asked. She was still smiling but sounded just a little annoyed. â€Å"They're good guys. And I'm not going to do anything stupid. You don't have to lecture me about humans and Moroi. I get it.† Her jade eyes flicked over to me, and her smile faltered a little. She studied me for several long, troubled moments, and I wondered what she was thinking about. Was she still hoping for some romantic resolution between Adrian and me? Was she wondering why Adrian and I kept getting into intimate situations? I kind of wanted to know that too. She finally dragged her gaze away, letting her happy mood return. â€Å"I'm just looking out for you,† Eddie said obstinately. â€Å"You look out for assassins. I can handle these guys. I'm not a child, and besides, these are the most male models we've ever had. It's great. If we could score a couple more, our club could do a whole project on men's clothing.† Eddie still looked way too serious for this discussion. â€Å"Maybe Eddie would volunteer,† I suggested. â€Å"I bet guardian posture would be great on the catwalk.† He blushed, which even I had to admit was adorable. If Jill had been irritated by his earlier overprotectiveness, it was no longer obvious. From her dreamy expression, you'd think Eddie blushing was the most amazing thing she'd ever witnessed. I think he was too overwhelmed at the thought of strutting down a runway to notice. Angeline had been completely silent so far. I glanced over at her, expecting her to have something funny to say about her boyfriend being encouraged to model. But to my surprise, she wasn't paying attention to the conversation at all. She had a geometry book open and was furiously trying to draw some circles freehand. It killed me to watch, but after Kristin's comment about Angeline stabbing someone with a compass, freehand might be best. â€Å"What do you think, Angeline?† I asked, just to see how engrossed she was. â€Å"Do you think Eddie would make a good model?† â€Å"Hmm?† She didn't look up. â€Å"Oh, yeah. You should let Jill try some clothes on you.† Now Jill blushed. Eddie's deepened. Just when I thought this meal couldn't get any more surreal, Trey stopped by. He nudged Angeline's chair with his toe. â€Å"Hey, McCormick.† He nodded toward her graph paper. â€Å"Time to check out your curves.† Rather than answering with some biting response, she looked up instantly, a big smile on her face. â€Å"I've been working on them all morning,† she said. â€Å"I think they're pretty good.† â€Å"They look good from where I'm standing,† said Trey. They were actually the worst circles I'd ever seen, but I guessed Trey wanted to encourage her. I was amazed at how seriously she was treating this math grade. It seemed to me that she was putting it above everything else, even her personal life. She gathered up all her things so that she and Trey could go to the library. Eddie looked disappointed but couldn't protest, lest it give away the truth about Angeline and him. Trey knew we weren't all actually related, but Eddie and Angeline's relationship was still kept secret. I realized then that it was almost time to meet Ms. Terwilliger. I hurriedly finished a banana and told Eddie and Jill I'd see them later. Whether they would talk about male modeling or Jill's dating life, I couldn't guess. I showed up right on the dot for my meeting but found Ms. Terwilliger's room locked and dark. Even in crisis mode, I supposed she was entitled to run a little late now and then, so I settled down on the hallway floor and read ahead for my English class. I grew so absorbed that I didn't realize how much time had passed until I heard the warning bell ring and realized students were starting to fill the halls. I glanced up just as the same harried substitute teacher from before came scurrying up to the door with a set of keys. I scrambled to my feet. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger's out today?† I asked. â€Å"Is she okay?† â€Å"They don't tell me the reasons,† the sub said brusquely. â€Å"They just ask me to be here. I hope she left an assignment this time.† Knowing Ms. Terwilliger, I had a feeling it was going to be another â€Å"homework† day. I shuffled into the classroom after the sub, feeling a knot of anxiety in my stomach. The next hour was agonizing. I barely heard as the sub told us to work on homework. Instead, I kept sneaking glances at my cell phone, hoping a text would come from Ms. Terwilliger. No such luck. I went from class to class but was too distracted to give anything my full attention. I even shocked myself in English when I nearly mixed up Henry IV with Henry VI while answering an essay question. Thankfully, I caught myself before committing that embarrassing mistake to paper. When I returned to Ms. Terwilliger's classroom for my independent study at the day's end, I was expecting the sub to tell me I could leave early again. Instead, I found Ms. Terwilliger herself, rifling through papers on her desk. â€Å"You're back!† I exclaimed. â€Å"I thought something had happened to you.† â€Å"Not me,† she said. Her face was pale and drawn. â€Å"But someone else wasn't so lucky.† â€Å"No. Not again.† I sank into a chair, and all the fears I'd been carrying around today came crashing down on me. â€Å"I'd hoped we'd protected those girls.† Ms. Terwilliger sat down opposite me. â€Å"It wasn't one of them. Last night, Veronica targeted one of my coven members. Alana.† It took me several moments to truly process that. â€Å"Your coven . . . you mean, like a full-fledged witch?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Someone like you?† Her face gave me the answer before she spoke. â€Å"Yes.† I was reeling. â€Å"But you said she only went after young girls.† â€Å"Normally she does. That way she can capture youth and beauty along with power.† Ms. Terwilliger didn't look like she had to worry about someone stealing her youth anytime soon. Fatigue and stress were taking their toll on her, making her look older than she was. â€Å"Now, some magic users who perform this spell are only concerned about power, not getting younger. That's never been Veronica's style, though. She's vain. She always wanted the superficial benefits – not to mention easier victims. Someone like my coven sister would be more difficult to take, so this is surprising behavior.† â€Å"It means you could be a target,† I said. â€Å"You've been saying all this time that you're safe, but now everything's different.† Ms. Terwilliger shook her head, and a bit of steely resolve flashed in her eyes. â€Å"No. Maybe she did this to throw me off, to make me think it's someone else behind the spells. Or maybe to make me think she's not interested in you. Whatever the reason, she won't target me.† I admired Ms. Terwilliger for thinking so well of her sister, but I couldn't share her confidence that sisterly affection would overcome an evil quest for youth and power. â€Å"No offense, ma'am, but isn't there a slight chance you could be wrong about her coming for you? You said she'd only go after young novices, but obviously, that's not the case. She's already doing things you didn't expect.† Ms. Terwilliger refused to back down. â€Å"Veronica may do any number of terrible things, but she won't face me unless she's absolutely forced to.† She handed over a new spell book and a small drawstring bag. â€Å"Just because she went after an older witch, it doesn't mean you're out of danger. I've marked some pages I want you to go over. There's a spell there I think will prove particularly useful. I've gathered some components for you, and you should be able to cast the rest yourself – just make sure you do it somewhere remote. Meanwhile, I still need to make you that secondary charm. There's just so much to do lately.† A mix of emotions swirled within me. Once again, I was amazed that Ms. Terwilliger would go to such lengths for me. Yet I couldn't shake my fear for her. â€Å"Maybe you should make one for yourself, just in case.† She gave me a wan smile. â€Å"Still pushing that, hmm? Well, once I've secured yours, I'll see about another. It may take a while, however. What I have in mind for you is particularly complex.† That made me feel even worse. She always looked so worn out lately, and all these things she was doing for me were only intensifying the situation. But no matter how many arguments I made, she refused to listen. I left her classroom feeling upset and confused. I needed to vent to someone. Obviously, my choices were limited in this matter. I texted Adrian: V attacked a real witch last night. Ms. T won't protect herself. She's only worried about me. As usual, I received a quick response: Wanna talk about it? Did I? I wasn't the type to sit and analyze my feelings, but I did actually want company. I knew I shouldn't spend more time around Adrian than I had to when my feelings for him were already so mixed. But he was the only person I wanted to talk to. I have to cast some spells for her now. Want to pick me up and come along? My answer was a smiley face. She'd told me to go somewhere remote, so I picked Lone Rock Park again. When Adrian and I arrived, it was smoldering in the late-afternoon heat, and I found it hard to believe Christmas was only a couple weeks away. I'd dressed in layers, just like before, and took off my Amberwood hoodie as Adrian and I trekked across the rocky terrain. He took off a coat as well, and I had to do a double take when I saw what he was wearing underneath. â€Å"Really?† I asked. â€Å"Your AYE shirt?† He shot me a grin. â€Å"Hey, it's a perfectly good shirt. I think I'm going to see if I can start a chapter on Carlton's campus.† Carlton was the college he took art classes at. It was pretty small and didn't even have fraternities or sororities. â€Å"A chapter?† I scoffed. â€Å"Don't you mean the only chapter?† â€Å"Gotta start somewhere, Sage.† We reached the same spot where I'd practiced with Ms. Terwilliger, and I tried to ignore the scorch marks on the ground. Adrian had decided to turn this into a desert picnic and had brought along a basket containing a blanket and a thermos of lemonade. â€Å"I figured we could stop at Pies and Stuff on the way back since I know how much you like that place,† he explained, deadpan, as he poured me a cup. â€Å"Hopefully this'll tide you over after the spell.† â€Å"I wish this was over,† I said, running my hand over the weathered leather of Ms. Terwilliger's latest book. It was an old handwritten one called Summonings and Conjurations. â€Å"I hate living with the uncertainty, worrying that Veronica's lurking behind every corner. My life's already complicated enough without witches coming after me.† Adrian, face serious, stretched out on the blanket and propped his head up with his elbow. â€Å"If she's even coming after you.† I sat down cross-legged, careful to keep a lot more distance than in the Velvet Suite. â€Å"Ms. Terwilliger won't listen to me. She just keeps stressing over me.† â€Å"Let her,† he suggested. â€Å"I mean, I totally get why you're worried about her. I am too. But we have to accept that she knows what she's talking about. She's been involved with this stuff a lot longer than we have.† I couldn't help but smile at that. â€Å"Since when are you involved with magic?† â€Å"Since I started looking after you and being all manly and brave.† â€Å"Funny, I don't remember it that way.† I worked to keep a straight face. â€Å"If you think about all the rides I gave you, me getting you into college . . . well, it kind of seems like I'm looking after you.† He leaned toward me. â€Å"I guess we look after each other.† We locked eyes and smiled, but there was nothing sensuous about it. There was no trick here, no sly move on Adrian's part to advance on me. And there was no fear on my part. We were just two people who cared about each other. It reminded me of what had initially drawn us together – before all the romantic complications. We connected. Against all reason, we understood each other, and – as he said – we looked out for each other. I'd never had a relationship quite like that with anyone and was surprised at how much I valued it. â€Å"Well, then, I guess I'd better get to work.† I glanced back down at the book. â€Å"I haven't had a chance to look at what she wants me to do. It doesn't sound like a defensive book.† â€Å"Maybe you're graduating from fireballs to lightning bolts,† Adrian suggested. â€Å"I bet it'd be a lot like throwing ninja stars. Except, well, you could incinerate people.† When I found the page Ms. Terwilliger had marked, I read the title aloud: â€Å"Callistana Summoning.† â€Å"What's callistana mean?† asked Adrian. I scrutinized the word, making sure I was deciphering the elaborate script correctly. â€Å"I don't know. It's kind of like the Greek word for ‘beautiful,' but not quite. The spell's subtitle is ‘For protection and advanced warning.'† â€Å"Maybe it's some kind of shield, like the one Jackie had,† suggested Adrian. â€Å"An easier one.† â€Å"Maybe,† I agreed. I wouldn't mind a little bit of invulnerability. I opened up the bag Ms. Terwilliger had given me. Inside, I found dragon's blood resin, a small bottle of gardenia oil, branches of juniper berries, and a glittering smoky quartz crystal, rutilated with lines of gold. Although she'd provided the ingredients, the spell's directions required that I use and measure them in a very specific way, which made sense. As usual, it was the caster's work that powered the magic. Adrian sat up and read over my shoulder. â€Å"It doesn't really say what happens when you cast it,† he pointed out. â€Å"Yeah . . . I'm not really excited about that part.† Presumably, the caster was supposed to just know what she was doing. If this was some kind of protective shield, then maybe the shield would materialize around me, just as it had for Ms. Terwilliger. â€Å"Well, no point in wasting time. We'll find out soon enough.† Adrian chuckled as he watched me walk over to a clear piece of land. â€Å"Am I the only one amazed that you now perform magic blindly?† â€Å"No,† I assured him. â€Å"You're not the only one.† I had to pluck the juniper berries off one by one and make a small ring with them, saying, â€Å"Fire and smoke,† each time I placed one on the ground. When I finished, I anointed each berry with a drop of the oil and recited, â€Å"Breath and life.† Inside the circle, I lit a small pile of the resin and rested the smoky quartz on top of it. Then I stepped back and reread the spell, committing the words and gestures to memory. Once I was satisfied I knew it, I handed it to Adrian and shot him a hopeful look. â€Å"Wish me luck,† I said. â€Å"You make your own luck,† he replied. I tried not to roll my eyes and turned toward the circle. I recited the spell's complex Greek incantation, pointing in the four cardinal directions as I spoke, per the book's instructions. It was startling how quickly the magic welled up within me, filling me with that blissful power. I spoke the last words, pointing at the juniper circle as I did. I felt the magic pour from me and into the quartz. Then I waited for something to happen. Nothing did. I looked back at Adrian, hoping he noticed something I hadn't. He shrugged. â€Å"Maybe you did it wrong.† â€Å"It worked,† I insisted. â€Å"I felt the magic.† â€Å"Maybe you just can't see it. At the expense of getting myself in trouble here, you should know how amazing you look when you do that stuff. All graceful and – † His eyes went wide. â€Å"Um, Sydney? That rock is smoking.† I glanced back at the circle. â€Å"That's just the resin that's – â€Å" I stopped. He was right. Smoke was coming out of the quartz. I watched, fascinated, and then slowly, the quartz began to melt. Rather than dissipate into a puddle, though, the liquid began to re-form into a different shape, one that soon hardened into something new and unexpected: a crystalline dragon. It was small, able to fit in a palm, and glittered just like the dark brown quartz had. The dragon looked more like the serpentine kind usually associated with Chinese culture rather than the winged types of European myth. Every detail was meticulously carved, from the tendrils of its mane to the scales on its hide. It was stunning. Also, it was moving. I screamed and backed up, running into Adrian. He put an arm around me and held me as protectively as he could, though it was clear he was just as freaked out. The dragon opened its crystal eyelids and peered at the two of us with tiny golden eyes. It elicited a small croak and then began walking toward us, its small claws scraping against the rocks. â€Å"What the hell is that?† Adrian demanded. â€Å"Do you really think I know?† â€Å"You made it! Do something.† I started to ask what had happened to him looking out for me, but he had a point. I was the one who'd summoned this thing. No matter where we moved or backed up to, the dragon continued to follow and make a small, high-pitched screeching noise that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I groped for my cell phone and tried to dial Ms. Terwilliger, but there was no reception out here. Darting over to the blanket, I grabbed the spell book and then hurried back to Adrian's side. I flipped to the index, looking up callistana. There I found two entries: Callistana – Summoning and Callistana – Banishing. You would've thought the two would be near each other in the book, but they were pages apart. I flipped to the latter and found the instructions brief and to the point: Once your callistana has been fed and rested, you may summon and banish it at will for a year and a day. A short incantation followed. I looked up at Adrian. â€Å"It says we have to feed it.† â€Å"Will that make it shut up?† he asked. His arm was around me again. â€Å"I honestly don't know.† â€Å"Maybe we can outrun it.† All my instincts about hiding the supernatural world kicked in. â€Å"We can't just leave it for some hiker to find! We have to get it some food.† Not that I had any clue what to feed it. Hopefully humans and vampires weren't on the menu. A look of determination crossed Adrian's features. In a great show of bravery he lunged for the picnic basket and actually managed to scoop the dragon up in it. He slammed down the lid, and the mewling faded but didn't stop. â€Å"Wow,† I said. â€Å"Manly and brave.† Adrian regarded the basket with dismay. â€Å"I just hope that thing doesn't breathe fire. At least it's contained. Now what do we do?† â€Å"Now we feed it.† I made a decision. â€Å"We take it to Pies and Stuff.† I didn't know if dragons ate pie, but that was the closest food source we had. Besides, I was pretty sure I'd be able to get a cell phone signal there. So, Adrian drove us back to the little diner while I gingerly held the noisy basket. He went inside, and I stayed in the car and tried to call Ms. Terwilliger. I was sent to voice mail and didn't even bother with formalities. Was she never near her phone anymore? â€Å"Call me now,† I said through gritted teeth. The dragon's screeching was really starting to get to me. Adrian returned in about ten minutes carrying two bags. I stared in amazement as he got in the car. â€Å"Did you buy out the store?† â€Å"I didn't know what kind it wanted,† he protested. Between the two bags, we had half a dozen slices of different kinds of pies. Each one's container was neatly labeled. â€Å"I really don't know either,† I said. Adrian sifted through the bags and pulled out a slice of coconut cream. â€Å"If I were a dragon, this is what I'd go for.† I didn't argue, mainly because that statement had no logical argument. He took the lid off the pie and then looked at me expectantly. With a gulp, I opened the basket's lid and prayed the dragon wouldn't climb out and claw my face off. Adrian quickly set the pie down in the basket. Nervously, we both leaned forward to watch. At first, the dragon looked as though it really would climb out after us. Then it noticed the pie. The little crystal creature sniffed at the slice, circled it a few times, and then began gnawing at the pie in teeny-tiny bites. Best of all, the screeching stopped. We watched in wonder as the dragon made its way through a third of the coconut cream pie. Then, without warning, it rolled over onto its back and began to snore. Adrian and I sat there, frozen, and then finally dared to look at each other. â€Å"I guess you were right about the flavor,† I said. â€Å"Do you think you can banish it now?† he asked. â€Å"Is it fed and rested enough?† I retrieved the spell book to double-check the incantation. â€Å"Time to find out.† I recited the words. Smoke fluttered from the dragon's body. He began to shimmer, and within moments, we were looking at an inert piece of smoky quartz. In another valiant display, Adrian picked it up but held it as far away as possible as he studied it. The ringing of my phone startled both of us, and he dropped the crystal back into the basket. I looked at the phone's screen and saw Ms. Terwilliger's name. â€Å"You made me summon a dragon!† I exclaimed. â€Å"I most certainly did not,† she responded. â€Å"Callistanas are a type of demon.† I froze. â€Å"A demon.† â€Å"Well,† she amended. â€Å"A very minor and generally benign kind.† I didn't reply for a while. â€Å"Sydney? Are you still there?† â€Å"You had me summon a demon,† I replied, voice stiff. â€Å"You know how I feel about evil and the supernatural. You've spent all this time trying to convince me that the magic we do is all for some greater good in the battle against evil, and yet you made me summon a creature of hell.† â€Å"Creature of hell?† She snorted. â€Å"Hardly. You know nothing about demons. I told you it's benign, didn't I? Callistanas can be very useful. They'll warn you if dark magic is nearby and will even try to defend you if you're attacked – not that they can do much damage.† I wasn't buying it. â€Å"If they're so useful, then why don't you have one?† â€Å"Oh, well, I'm at a level where I can sense dark magic on my own. That, and – if you'll forgive my language – callistanas are a real pain in the ass. They make the most irritating noise when they're hungry. Cats are more than adequate for my needs.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said. â€Å"I kind of noticed the noise part. I fed it some pie and turned it back into a rock.† â€Å"There, you see?† She sounded happier than I'd heard her in days. â€Å"Look at the progress you've made already. No matter what comes of this mess we've found ourselves in, I'm more convinced than ever that I made the right choice in guiding you on the magical path.† I had too much going on to really appreciate the compliment. â€Å"So what do I do now?† â€Å"It'll disappear on its own after a year and a day. Until then, you can call it when you need it. You can try to train it. And of course, you'll have to feed it. Whatever you choose to do, it will be loyal to you. It bonds with the first person it sees and will need to spend time with you . . . Sydney? Are you there?† I'd gone silent again. â€Å"The first person it sees?† I finally managed to ask. â€Å"Not the caster?† â€Å"Well, usually they're one and the same.† I glanced over at Adrian, who was eating a piece of blackberry pie while listening avidly to my side of the conversation. â€Å"What happens if there were two people there when it opened its eyes? Adrian was with me when I summoned it.† Now she paused. â€Å"Oh? Hmm, well, I probably should've said something before you cast the spell.† That had to be the understatement of the century. â€Å"You should've told me a lot of things before I cast it! What does it mean that the dragon – demon, whatever – saw both of us? Did it bond with both of us?† â€Å"Look at it this way,† Ms. Terwilliger said, after several moments of thought. â€Å"The callistana thinks of you two as its parents.†

The schematization of aesthetics was founded in Ancient times

The schematization of aesthetics was founded in Ancient times, which is manifested in Plato and Aristotle’s philosophies. Plato stance on aesthetic is very negative because it can distract the innate nature of soul. But his pessimism on aesthetics specifically of arts in general is best represented in his conjecture that an art â€Å"is thrice removed from reality†. Aristotle, on the other hand, has positive note on aesthetics because he sees art as representation of Forms or of truth. From these two ancient philosophers, the debate and conceptualization of aesthetics has transformed greatly in different periods. Friedrich Nietzsche posits that aesthetics is a means of preservation, meaning, beauty for him is encapsulated in terms of life prolongation. Leo Tolstoy postulated that aesthetics is based on peasant artistry because these workers understand the beauty of life. The complexities of aesthetics have metamorphosized throughout the progression of different civilizations and epochs of philosophy. In line with this, contemporary aestheticians like Jun'ichiro Tanizaki and Susanne K. Langer joined the bandwagon to advance aesthetics epistemic views. And these contemporary philosophers agreed on one point, that aesthetics or the valuation of beauty, as well as, its intricacies, nuances and elements, is greatly influenced by geographic positioning. This assertion was deduced from the fact that in every period novel idea on aesthetics sprouted wherein this period shaped new debates on the topic at hand. In summation, each period in philosophy supplemented new keys on the development of philosophy. In Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows, he juxtaposed Oriental aestheticism to Western aestheticism wherein he highlighted the significance of going back to the remnants of the past because it served as the defining moment of every stance on arts. He argued that one must embrace his own aesthetics even if it is tarnished and old because it is the precursor of one’s culture and tradition, and therefore, any concept of beauty from foreign culture must be disregarded altogether since it can eradicate the innate nature of one’s aesthetics. This is very prominent in the character of Tanizaki because when he was just a budding novelist he appreciated Western aestheticism, which has influenced his writing during those times, until he realized that he must represent Japanese concept of arts and beauty through literature. Tanizaki conjectured that the key note in Japanese concept of beauty is founded on the ideas of shadow. The architectural blueprint of traditional Japanese highly embodies shadows manifested through the quiet and murky interiors, which emanates a nostalgic atmosphere due to the independent existence and presence of shadows.   Tanizaki reinforced his idea of shadow in the articulateness of beauty in the form of polished tableware, temple toilets, kimonos, and Japanese stage, which are highly affected by the intensity of its dark spectrum. In lieu to this, Tanizaki pointed out that if light was applied on Japanese aesthetics all of its essence will diminish because light is the attribute of Western aestheticism, and likewise will happen if darkness was incorporated to Western arts. His basis on the above mentioned arguments is embedded on his credence on the delineation of Western culture and Japanese culture. According to Tanizaki, Western citizens in ancient times give importance to gold because it emanates unspeakable beauty when candlelight reflects it. On the other hand, Japanese people vehemently dislike light because it exposes the imperfection of their own white skin. According to Thomas J. Harper (translator of In Praise of Shadows), Tanizaki distinguish Japanese aestheticism based on shadows because it shows an unfathomable yet beautiful reverence and somberness, which is lacking in the magnificently lit arts of the West. Like Tanizaki, Langer also believed that one’s perception of aesthetics is dependent of his geographic positioning. At the first chapter of her book entitled Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art, she defined philosophy as â€Å"characterized more by the formulation of its problems than by its solutions of them†[1], which implies that each groups or societies see things in different perspectives and in their perception of things, they have their own understanding of what they see and have their own questions about it. Therefore, when it comes to beauty or aesthetics definitive schema, each society has the authority to posit their own stance about it, and mostly their stance is deeply rooted in culture and tradition. Tanizaki’s key of aesthetics is logically plausible in Langer’s philosophy since she espoused a relativistic means of understanding the nature of things and the contingency of the universe, in context with aesthetics. But Langer has her own philosophic inclination on beauty, wherein her key is discourse and representation. For Langer, aesthetics expresses the emotive form of arts through symbols and logic. But it must be noted that she saw that the main problem in expressing aesthetic is the means of expressing it. According to her, music possesses a degree of mood or emotion towards the meaning of life wherein it represents a form of epistemic valuation and truth. This music that embodies a certain feeling of purely perceptible matters can be expressed in innumerable manners, but the musician has to figure out which manner because wrong choice of manner will annihilate the content of its emotion and its purity. In toto, Langer saw philosophy as perpetually progressing, as well as aesthetics, because different epochs have either discovered or created a new key to elucidate the universe. She purported that the fecundity of new keys in the philosophical realm will always exists because human understanding is innately transformational. Unlike most philosophers like Bertrand Russell who argued that novel ideas in philosophy is impossible because what is left to humanity is to recycle old philosophies, Langer believed that the pasts has influenced on our present cogito but it does not necessarily follow that it will shape the present landscape of philosophizing. The point is that man’s rationality is not fixed; therefore present and future generation can discover or create a new motif of intellectual intercourse, which will eventually define the philosophy of their period. Tanizaki and Langer’s philosophies on aesthetics are significant because of its willingness and openness to the possibility of new keys, in terms of new perspectives and theories. It broadens the horizon of philosophical enterprise since new schemes and conceptualizations are doomed to realization. The only danger on their stance on the concept of â€Å"new keys† is that it jeopardized the universality of things, specifically of aesthetics or beauty. Their postulate that aesthetics valuation is based on geographic positioning or dependent of one’s social constructs breathes relativism, meaning, every perspective on aesthetic is sound and valid, or to put it simply â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder†. And worse, the innateness of aesthetics seems impossible to be exposed because of diverse perceptions on it. REFERENCE: Langer, Susanne K. Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art 3rd edition ed: Harvard University Press, 1957. Tanizaki, Junichiro. In Praise of Shadows. Trans. Charles Moore, Edward G. Seidensticker and Thomas J. Harper: Leetes Island Books 1980. [1] Langer, Susanne. Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art.   Harvard University Press, 1957 p.4.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Detailed Proposal Of Project Engineering Essay

The end of this research is to plan and analysis of 3-phase brushless lasting magnet ( PM ) motor. Brushless PM motors become an involvement as it widely used in robotics, automotive, machine tools, high-performance industry applications and assortment of industrial application. The chief grounds why brushless PM machines are so widely used due to their high efficiency and torsion denseness which are higher to that of initiation, switched reluctance and synchronal reluctance machines. The undertaking will affect two chief stages: the designing of the machine utilizing Finite Element Analysis and the analysis of the simulation consequence. Simulation survey can greatly ease to planing the machine while maintaining the desired hardware facet in head. The intentional machine should be capable to run into public presentation specification such as high-octane denseness, high efficiency and low cogging torsion. Torque denseness and back EMF are two of the most important parametric quantity to be determined in brushless machine design, alterations in weaving agreement, slot and pole figure will potentially impact the back EMF, and torsion derived for the brushless PM motor. To run into the demand, some issue need to be see such as choice of pole figure, weaving agreement, rotor topology, motor form, lasting magnet stuff and machines size.C ( three )Detailed proposal of undertaking:( a ) Problem statement *motivationThe design of brushless PM motors is non a simple undertaking. By and large, cognition of magnetisms, electronics, mechanics, thermodynamics and material scientific discipline is required. Therefore, the electrical and mechanical relationships are of import and should be taken into history in planing the brushless PM motor. Torque denseness and back EMF are two of the most important parametric quantity to be determined in brushless machine design. Changes in weaving agreement, slot and pole figure will potentially impact the cardinal relationships such magn etomotive force ( MMF ) , back EMF, and torsion derived for the brushless PM motor. For these grounds, it is of import to plan a machine with less parasitic torsion, to guarantee it will bring forth smooth mechanical rotary motion.( B ) Objective ( s ) of the UndertakingDesign and analysis of 3-phase brushless lasting magnet motor are the purposes of the research. The machine should be capable to run into public presentation specification such as high-octane denseness, high efficiency, low cogging torsion and flux-weakening capablenesss. To accomplish these purposes, the aims of this research are formulated as follows: To measure a 3-phase brushless PM motor with attendant pole and inset-mounted lasting magnet rotor. To look into the parasitic consequence presence in the machine. To execute the simulation survey for the design utilizing Finite Element Analysis.( degree Celsius ) Project ScopeThis research covers the analysis, design and development of rotational 3-phase brushless lasting magnet ( PM ) motors. Brushless PM motors can be divided into the PM synchronal AC motor ( PMSM ) and PM brushless DC motor ( PM BDCM ) , depending on the back EMF wave form. The stuffs recited in this research undertaking accent on brushless PM synchronal motor with sinusoidal back EMF and are driven by sinusoidal currents. Radial-flux laminated motors are considered since this constitute are the most common form of brushless PM motors. This undertaking is focuses more on electromagnetic and mechanical design alternatively of thermic facets. Rotor topology in this research undertaking was confined to two types, which is inset lasting magnet and attendant pole rotor. 2-D Finite Element Analysis will be used to make a genuinely customized mold of motor construction and to look into the behavior of the designed motor.( vitamin D ) Literature ReviewPresently, the brushless PM motors offer an attractive solution in the assortment of application due to their high efficiency and power denseness. All brushless PM motors are constructed with electrical twists on the stator and lasting magnets on the rotor [ 1 ] . Since merely the stator holding spiral, this motor has solved the job on the motor with brunch. Lack of coppice and commutator in these motor lead to no mechanical contact, therefore, can cut down clash, increases dependability, and decreases the cost of care. Brushless PM motors can be divided into two categories, which is AC or DC, depending on the back EMF wave form. PM synchronal AC motor ( PMSM ) are type of AC motor since it have a sinusoidal back EMF and are driven by sinusoidal currents. PM brushless DC motor ( PM BDCM ) with trapezoidal-induced voltage and driven by rectangular pulsation currents are categorized as DC machine. Stator twists and how the figure of bends and their agreement in the stator laminations greatly influence the cardinal relationships such as magnetomotive force ( mmf ) , back EMF, and torsion for both category of machines [ 1 ] , [ 2 ] . Brushless PM motor is like an initiation motor and all other motor that comprise of two chief portion. The non-moving portion that includes the spirals of wire is called stator and the moving or revolving portion that caries the lasting magnet is called rotor. In between rotor and stator there is an air-gap that separates the two parts. Normally, the rotor is placed inside the stator. This building is safer because the stator outside can move as a shield to the revolving portion. However, it is besides possible for the rotor to execute on the exterior of the stator. This type frequently called as exterior rotor or inside-out rotor. It proves to hold higher efficient than interior rotors [ 2 ] . Brushless PM motor can be constructed in two basic form ; radial-flux or axial-flux type. In radial-flux type, the stator twists and lasting magnets are structured radially. Therefore, the magnetic field is distributed in radial way between the stator and rotor. This type of motor is the most common form of motor and more favorable due to minimisation of electric burden caused by the presence of stator slots. For radial-flux motor, the magnetic field are going in axial way across the air-gap inside the motor. This motor resembles a battercake form. Small size and rugged building characteristics make this type of motor preferred for in many applications. In these motor, the figure of Cu used are limited caused stator twists tend to be air-gap twists. Consequently, sum of lading possibility can be confined [ 8 ] . There are many ways to put lasting magnets on the rotor [ 2 ] . Largely, there are three basic topologies of brushless PM machine. Surface-mounted lasting magnet ( SPM ) rotor has magnets mounted on the rotor surface and confronting the air spread, while interior lasting magnet ( IPM ) rotor has buried magnets inside the rotor. SPM rotors offer higher air-gap flux denseness because the magnet straight faces the air-gap. Magnetization way for this constellation is merely in radial. Disadvantages of SPM rotor constellation are lower hardiness as they are non closely fitted into the rotor laminations to their full thickness. Therefore, SPM rotors are non preferred for high-speed applications. IPM rotor is ideal for high velocity application because of the building is designed to be automatically robust. There is another type of rotor topologies referred as surface-inset rotor which is combine some advantages of both surface mounted and interior lasting magnet motors [ 7 ] . This agreeme nt is more automatically robust compared to SPM rotor as the magnets do non prominent out of the rotor laminations giving it mechanical strength from winging out [ 2 ] . Weaving agreement is one of the of import constituents to be considered in planing a brushless machine. Its agreement will find the motor back EMF whether it is sinusoidal or trapezoidal back EMF. Weaving agreements which are most normally used for 3-phase radial-flux brushless PM motor can be classified as overlapping and non-overlapping [ 3 ] . Distributed and concentrated is type of overlapping twist and frequently utilised for ac operation due to sinusoidal back EMF produced. Concentrated weaving with either all dentitions or jump dentitions wound is a type of non-overlapping twist that aim to obtain trapezoidal back EMF wave form. The right twist for a machine is really much a map of the pole figure and slot figure and whether there is single-layer or double-layer twist [ 3 ] . The type of magnet used will hold a great consequence on the motor public presentation and cost [ 3 ] . There are four categories of modern magnetic stuffs, each based on their material composing. Within each category is a group of classs with their ain magnetic belongingss. These general categories are ; Neodymium Iron Boron, Sm Co, ceramic and Alnico. Amongst the available PM stuffs, Alnico magnets can hold flux densenesss equivalent to soft magnetic chainss but they get easy demagnetized due to lower values of coercive force as compared to ceramic magnets [ 5 ] . Ceramic magnets are economical but their maximal energy denseness merchandise is low due to lower values of memory. Rare Earth and Sm Co metals have comparatively good magnetic belongingss, but they are expensive. Other than polymer bonded rare Earth magnets, for illustration, ferrite and Co based metallic magnets are physically difficult and brickle. Therefore, choice of the peculiar PM stuff is application particular ; nevertheless, Neodymium-Iron-Boron ( Nd-Fe-B ) rare earth magnets are more in demand because they provide the highest energy denseness and higher residuary flux denseness than others.( vitamin E ) MethodologyPhase 1: Literature Reappraisal Researching through books, articles, diaries and cyberspace beginnings to reexamine the design issues and technique for brushless PM motors. Find out what the available engineering in the market, and what the best attack to run into design demand. Phase 2: Design of Undertaking Modelling, and therefore simulation survey can greatly ease to planing the machine while maintaining the desired hardware facet in head. 2-D Finite Element Analysis is used for the designing. Typical design measure for brushless PM motor is: Reappraisal demands Choose the lasting magnet stuff for the rotor. Choose the soft Fe for the stator lamination. Match the mechanical parametric quantities as input to the plan ( size, volume, weight ) . Choose the figure of rotor poles and stator slots Using the package, fit the torsion and velocity demands with the electrical inputs and alter the internal motor geometry as required. Choose the twist constellation and optimize bends, wire size, and stator twist slot fill. Check the package outputs for cogency. Run other solutions changing certain parametric quantities for optimisation such as attention deficit disorder and take a twist bend, change air spread between rotor and stator, alteration magnet thickness and look into the package solutions until meet the demands and choose the best lucifer. This stage is of import to look into whether the motor can work every bit desired before implementing it on hardware. Phase 3: Analysis of the Design The end products of the simulation being observe and analyze. The simulation is to see whether the end product produced is same with coveted end product in term of velocity and torsion. Phase 4: Preparation for presentation and study authorship Preparation for the presentation for Seminar 2 and composing the study ‘s bill of exchange. Passing in of the completed thesis after presentation.( degree Fahrenheit ) MilestonesUndertaking undertakingExpected DateLiterature ReviewMotor design and simulationSimulation provingAnalysis and treatmentReport composing( g ) Mentions[ 1 ] D. C. Hanselman, Brushless Permanent Magnet Motor Design. Lebanon, OH: Magna Physics, 2006. [ 2 ] R. Krishnan, Permanent Magnet Synchronous and Brushless DC Motor Drives. Boca Raton, FL: CRC, 2010. [ 3 ] D. G. Dorrell, M.-F. Hsieh, M. Popescu, L. Evans, D. A. Staton and V. GroutA â€Å" A reappraisal of the design issues and techniques for radial-flux brushless surface and internal rare-earth lasting magnet motors † , A IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron. , A 2011. [ 4 ] M. S. Ahmad, N. A. A. Manap, and D. Ishak, â€Å" Permanent magnet brushless machines with minimal difference in slot figure and pole figure, † in Proc. IEEE Int. PECon, Johor Baharu, Malaysia, Dec. 1-3, 2008, pp. 1064-1069. [ 5 ] F. Magnussen and H. Lendenmann, â€Å" Parasitic effects in PM machines with concentrated twists, † IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. , vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 1223-1232, Sep./Oct. 2007. [ 6 ] A. M. EL-Refaie, â€Å" Fractional-slot concentrated-windings synchronal lasting magnet machines: Opportunities and challenges, † IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron. , vol. 57, no. 1, pp. 107-121, Jan. 2010. [ 7 ] S. Van Haute, G. Terorde, K. Hameyer and R. Belmans. Modelling and execution of a lasting magnet Synchronous motor thrust utilizing a DSP development environment. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium. [ 8 ] K. Sitapati and R. Krishnan, â€Å" Performance comparings of radial and axial field permanent-magnet, brushless machines, † IEEE Trans. Industry Appl, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 1219-1225, Sept./Oct. 2001. [ 9 ] A.M. EL-Refaie and T.M. Jahns, â€Å" Optimal flux weakening in surface PM machines utilizing fractional-slot concentrated twists, † IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. , vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 790-800, May/Jun. 2005. [ 10 ] N. Bianchi, S. Bolognani, and G. Grezzani, â€Å" Design considerations for fractional-slot weaving constellations of synchronal machines, † IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. , vol. 42, no. 4, pp. 997-1006, Jul./Aug. 2006. [ 11 ] D. Ishak, Z. Q. Zhu, and D. Howe, â€Å" Comparison of PM brushless motors, holding either all dentitions or jump dentitions lesion, † IEEE Trans. Energy Convers. , vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 95-103, Mar. 2006. [ 12 ] D. Ishak, Z. Q. Zhu, and D. Howe, â€Å" Permanent magnet brushless machines with unequal tooth breadths and similar slot and pole Numberss, † IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. , vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 584-590, Mar./Apr. 2005. [ 13 ] O Ronghai, M Aydin and T A Lipo. ‘Performance Comparison of Dualrotor Radial-flux and Axial-flux Permanent-magnet BLDC Machines ‘ . Proceedings of IEEE IEMDC'03, 2003, pp 1948-1954. [ 14 ] S Hwang, J Eom, Y Jung, Dee and B Kang. ‘Various Design Techniques to Reduce Cogging Torque by Controlling Energy Variation in Permanent Magnet Motors ‘ . Minutess on Magnetisms, vol 37, no 4, July 2001, pp 2806-2809.CalciferolACCESS TO EQUIPMENT AND MATERIAL / KEMUDAHAN SEDIA ADA UNTUK KEGUNAAN BAGI PROJEK INIEquipmentPeralatanLocationTempatTocopherolBUDGET /BELANJAWANPlease bespeak your estimated budget for this undertakingSila nyatakan anggaran bajet bagi cadangan projek iniBudget inside informationsButiran belanjawanAmount requested by applierJumlah yang dipohon oleh pemohonRemark by panelFYP 1PSM 1 ( RM )FYP 2PSM 2 ( RM )E ( I )Project Materials & A ; SuppliesBekalan dan Bahan ProjekE ( two )Care and Minor Repair ServicesBaik pulih kecil dan ubahsuaiE ( three )Professional ServicessPerkhidmatan IkhtisasE ( six )Accessories andEquipmentAksesori dan PeralatanSum SumJUMLAH BESARFDeclaration by campaigner / Akuan Calon ( Please tick ( a?s ) ) : / ( Sila tanda ( a?s ) ) :I hereby confess that:Saya dengan ini mengaku bahawa:All information stated here are accurate, Supervisor and panel has right to reject or to call off this proposal without anterior notice if there is any inaccurate information given.Semua maklumat yang diisi adalah benar, Penyelia dan panel berhak menolak permohonan atau membatalkan tawaran cadangan ini pada bila-bila Masa sekiranya keterangan yang dikemukakan adalah tidak benar.Application of this Undertaking Proposal is presented for a FYP 1 seminar.Permohonan cadangan projek projek ini dikemukakan untuk Seminar PSM 1.Date: Candidate ‘s Signature:Tarikh: Tandatangan Calon: ___________________________GramRecommended by FYP SupervisorPerakuan Penyelia PSMPlease tick ( a?s )Sila tandakan ( a?s )Recommended:Diperakukan:A. Highly RecommendedSangat DisokongB. RecommendedDisokongC. Not Recommended ( Please stipulate ground )Tidak Disokong ( Sila Nyatakan Sebab )Remarks:Ulasan:â₠¬â€ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — â⠂¬â€ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — â⠂¬â€ — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — â €” — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — â €” — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — à ¢â‚¬â€ — — — —Name: Signature:Nama: Tandatangan:Date:Tarikh:Appendix A: Flow Chart of Project ActivitiesStart Literature Review and stipulate demand Simulation survey and Motor design NO Simulation Testing Yes Analysis and Report WritingEndAppendix B: Undertaking Schedule of Project Activities ( Gantt chart )Undertaking undertakingConcluding Year Undertaking 1Concluding Year Undertaking 2Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr Japanese apricot Jun Literature Review and theory apprehension Motor design and simulation Simulation proving Analysis and treatment Report composingAppendix C: TURNITIN Report must be attached

Friday, September 27, 2019

Volswagen in the United States Case study Essay

Volswagen in the United States Case study - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to analyze Volkswagens American operations, examine the effects of globalization on Volkswagen, and to describe the strategies that Volkswagen has developed in order to improve its position in the US. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section provides brief literature review on globalization within the context of the automotive industry wherein VW operates. This will be followed by background information on Volkswagen’s global operations, with a particular emphasis on its operations in America. The second section discusses globalization and the issues affecting Volkswagen with respect to its promotion and distribution strategies. The final section explores the international structure most appropriate for VW based on its current position in the world market. At its most fundamental, globalisation refers to the world as one big market and source of information. It is characterised by a free flow of goods, people and information around the world, an internationalization of economic processes and the emergence of world markets (Lemoine, W. and Dagnaes, L., 2002). Consequently globalization has given rise to new concepts such as global industries, organizations and strategies used to market and sell global products, brands and services. A global industry has been defined as ‘an industry in which the strategic positions of competitors in major geographic or national markets are fundamentally affected by their overall operations’ (Porter, 1980, p.275). The automotive industry has been recognized as a global industry in the sense that business activities or transactions made by a multinational automotive enterprise would not likely follow the business model from its host country. Shimokawa (1999) pointed out that these activities would include: On the one hand, an organization may generally be considered as global when it ‘operates in more than one country and captures R&D, production,

Kant's Categorical Imperative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Kant's Categorical Imperative - Essay Example He also suggests that a person’s action as a result of his goodwill is a moral action. Kant’s moral theory emphasizes more on the duty rather than the consequences of an action. This property makes scholars to term Kantian ethics as deontological (Kant, p.56). Deontological ethics claim that some actions are intrinsically wrong while others are intrinsically right. According to Kant, this concept is an order that requires the obedience of the subordinates to it as if it is a moral duty. The subordinate’s obedience to the duty is a requirement that does not regard individual desires. This enables the creation of an unconditional society with the basis of reason and free will. The function of categorical imperatives is to act as a test for the principles of our actions and check whether they are moral or not. The principle behind these categorical imperatives is the principle of fair play (Kant, p.84). The idea of fair play means that a person cannot make an exception for himself for his own personal gains. According to Kant, humans can act according to the categorical imperative by taking three forms of action. The philosopher argues that humans should act only according to the adages which they can will to be universal laws. This implies that humans should act in ways that are universally acceptable (Kant, p.112). He also suggests that humans should treat humanity as an end to itself and never merely as a means to their ends. This implies that humans should perceive their race as having the ability to accomplish many different issues. They should not treat humans as a means to satisfying their needs but rather as a means through which they can achieve their targets (Kant, p.23). Finally, the philosopher suggests that humans should act as though they are members in the kingdom of ends in which they are subject and sovereign at the same time.

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Strategic Management in Action Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Management in Action - Assignment Example Introduction Technology sector in the US includes more than 140,000 companies with combined annual revenue of about $900 billion. AT&T, IBM, Intel, Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft are the major companies (US Technolgy Sector Analysis, 2010). â€Å"Industry concentration is high in many segments with the largest 50 participants generating more than 60% of the segment revenue† (US Technolgy Sector Analysis, 2010). Scientific discoveries and new product developments form the basis of profitability in this industry. Both large and small companies can compete successfully – the mammoths have access to capital and marketing and the miniatures have domain-specific expertise. In the period Aug-10 to Jan-11, the Application Software industry has been on a bullish trend before being thrust into a bearish mode in the wake of the European sovereign debt crisis. The history of Apple begins in 1976 when Stephen Gary Wozniak and Steven Paul Jobs began working on the Apple I. When the design was finished Wozniak and Job’s tried to sell it to Hewlett Packard but there was no interest in the Apple I. By April 1976 Ron Wayne had joined Jobs and Wozniak and designed the first Apple logo. Wayne sees the financial risk being too high and resigns. In 1977 Apple becomes incorporated and in 1979 the Apple II is introduced. At this time development began on Apple’s first business computer, the Lisa. In 1980 Apple went public and by 1983 Apple had become the fastest growing company in history. Flash forward to 1998 when the iMac is announced and releases, it becomes the fastest selling PC in history. May 19th, 2001 Apple opens its first retail store in Los Angeles and Washington DC, followed by the introduction of the iPod in October (TAM, 2010). Among Apple’s long list of products include the iPad, iPhone, iPod, iTunes, Mac, PowerBoo k, and Power Mac. As of May 2010 Apple had a gain of 1.8% at $222.12 billion (Nosowitz, 2010). While Apple has produced some products that have experienced the same success as the iPod, for example Apple TV, the authors believed that the new projector laptop will be among Apple’s more popular products. SWOT Analysis The primary strength of APPLE is its strong presence in the market. It could be realized from the fact that it is the world’s number one brand in Asia, US and Europe. It has outperformed technology giants like Intel, IBS and Microsoft in many segments. Its strong presence in the market has helped it to aggressively acquire market share compared to many other companies that only have strong presence in their local markets. The company has the largest market share in MB and motherboard segments selling approximately 22 million pieces in FY09. APPLE is one of the rear technology companies that had made operating profits even though global economy was undergoin g a recession (Apple Annual Report, 2010). Another Strength of APPLE is its advanced and excellent Research & Development capability, efficient and effective supply chain, and mass production at a competitive production cost. These competitive strategies of APPLE have helped it to become a market leader in many products. In 2009, the company came up with first of its kind notebook and motherboard that was compatible with USB 3.0 securing a leading position in the segment (Apple Announcements, 2011). This was a shear display of Research initiatives of the company. With the use of technologies like e-commerce, the company had created an efficient supply chain which helps it with seamless flow of information and products among resources. Mass production done by APPLE helps it achieve economies of scale thereby increasing operating profits of the company. The primary weakness of the company is that it is investing a lot of amount in restructure activities involving spin-off of certain s ubsidiaries

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Language Learning Autobiography and Pre-Analysis Essay

Language Learning Autobiography and Pre-Analysis - Essay Example At first, this was a very challenging task as I did not have even the basic necessary level of English to understand or implement in my other studies. However . Later I found that ESL was very important for me as it helped me in my learning process. Though I had studied English in Korea, but that was only about basic vocabulary because my teachers there adopted a Grammar Translation approach to teaching language and hence, the focus was on grammar and no emphasis on speaking and listening. Thus, even though I succeeded in putting few sentences together orally, they had poor pronunciation, grammatical errors and repetitive words due to limited vocabulary. This made me realize that apart from the lack of speaking and listening practice , the traditional Korean approach did not work for me because it focused repetition and parroting rather than providing the opportunity of actually using the language. I also noticed that the teaching system , approach and methods here in Canada are very different from that of Korea as language learning here focuses on all four major skills- reading ,writing ,listening and speaking .Also the teaching is more student focused rather than the teacher providing all the input and the student being a passive learner. Here in Canada, I have become more of an autonomous learner and am able to understand how I best study and learn. In other words, I am more aware of my learning styles and patterns that best work for me. ESL curriculum should therefore, emphasize more on training in language learning strategies and help students be more aware of the learning patterns. As an ESL teacher, I would try to ensure my knowledge and ability in all possible ways in which students learn and also try to develop lessons by considering visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners. On reflection, I realized that at first my strategy was to imitate. Although I did not completely understand the teacher’s instructions, I was able to follow by imitating and taking the lead from the peers. The English teacher would usually teach a new language point and then start with class choral work before moving on to formation of small groups, par work and then individual responses. This allowed me the opportunity to imitate the other students and thus not only improve my language knowledge but to improve my pronunciation as well. My experience therefore coincides with the point of view given by Skinner, (cited in Coelho, 2004, p.142) who states that imitation through repetition is important in early stages of acquiring a first language and learning a second language. I l earnt and acquired English not only by study but also by social interaction with teachers and peers (both local and ESL students) which necessitated me to pull on or extract the language I already knew and manipulate it according to the situation in hand. In other words, this interaction provided me an opportunity to use English for communication rather than only for classroom intent. A new culture and totally different curriculum proved difficult initially as was a little apprehensive to so many changes , but due to the help form ESL teachers and proficient English speaking peers , I not only learnt fluent English but I also faired well in other subjects. Thus, as the school and classroom atmosphere worked in my favor, learning and acquiring my second language was not as tough. Vygotsky (cited in Coelho, 2004, p.146) states that when a child is acquiring their first language they learn best by interacting with peers that are at a higher level in language development than themselves they will learn better. He calls this the child’s proximal development zone, which is defined as the level just beyond where the child is at. I now

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Rhetorical analysis Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rhetorical analysis - Annotated Bibliography Example He asserted that it was the role of the government to take responsibility of keeping children and adults safe and directed the authorities to play their roles effectively. He directed the ownership of assault weapons should be banned so as to reduce the probability of gun violence occurrence (Paulson, retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-s-speech-on-gun-control-and-gun-violence-america-video) . He also said that capping ammunition should be limited to ten rounds and banned armor-piercing ammunition. The president insisted that all schools should have resource officers and more police officers to be on the streets. He authorized that gun trafficking punishment be increased in a bid to reduce its occurrence. Obama advised the attacked school to organize counseling programs for the students so that they would recover from the tremor. The president presented a series of twenty-three actions that would ensure that gun violence is curbed. Obama insisted that the actions would not be implementable without the support of the public and hence called for collaboration between the Americans and the involved administrations. He urged people to contribute their ideas on controlling gun violence and direct the police to areas where â€Å"gun worship† is strong. Obama said that the white house was pushing for laws to limit gun ownership that groups like the National Rifle Association have been pulling back (Paulson, retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/obama-s-speech-on-gun-control-and-gun-violence-america-video). He reiterated that Americans had to propose for a vote on whether to allow some people keep guns and advised that the only correct hands to hold guns were the police. Obama promised that his government was going to follow up all cases of gun violence and ensure that all those who commit gun violen ce are brought to book and punished accordingly. However, Obama

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Olympic and Paralympic Games were held in London in Summer 2012 Dissertation

The Olympic and Paralympic Games were held in London in Summer 2012. One of the major changes to delivery of the Games that has - Dissertation Example The committee not only suggested new plans for improving the environmental issues but also had made sure that they can serve the society positively. The survey which is conducted in GSM, London, throws light on the fact that the youth are interested in sports and extracurricular activities, but due to their busy schedule they forget to take care of their health. Sports are not only refreshing but also, help in eradicating diseases to make life healthier. The youth are aware of the sport-health relationship that indicates to the fact that they can educate the mass with their knowledge and help in creating a safer and healthier world. Olympic and Paralympics Games Summer 2012 The Summer Olympic 2012 had taken place in London from 27th July to 12th August, 2012 and it was followed by Paralympics Games 2012 from 29th August to 9Th September, 2012. 205 nations had participated in the 300 events that took place in Summer Olympic. However, 147 nations joined the events of Paralympics Games 2012. ... It is also described as the mean of achieving reconciliation and peace, which is the fundamental pre-condition for the principles of sustainability that has been applied and shared by the Olympic Movement (Olympic.Org., 2013f). The following are the key stakeholders of Olympic Movement who facilitates their sustainable development: 1) International and National Sports Federations (IFs and NFs) 2) National Olympic Committees (NOCs) 3) Olympic Games and youth Olympic Games Organising Committees (OCOGs and YOCOGs) 4) Corporate sponsors 5) Media 6) Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) 7) Most importantly the public. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in a good position to assist the building of a sustainable future by encouraging the work with major groups, regeneration of the political commitments and also, by creating a worldwide support for actions. Sustainability Plan put forward by the organisers Sustainability can be described as the continuous project that was undertake n by the Olympic Movement (OM) and was also promoted for adoption worldwide. The process of adoption started with the execution of modest green actions. The Sustainability Plan has evolved for over 20 years since the Earth Summit, 1992. In 2012, the Olympic Games were held in London and before the grand event the supervisory committee had made a Sustainability Plan which had given shape to the overall development of the whole event. This section of the report elaborates the sustainability plan that was put forward by the organisers. London 2012 The consumer lifestyles in the developed industrial nations have dramatically surpassed the productivity capacity of the Earth. The world has already undergone ecological overshoot about 40 years ago and currently, the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The Need of Establishing Gambling Statutes Essay Example for Free

The Need of Establishing Gambling Statutes Essay Gambling is considerably one of the most controversial yet most tolerable forms of activities that man has ever get entwined itself onto. In every race and in every culture, there exists these set of laws which are admitted to be the backbone of keeping the general welfare of its inhabitants as well as with keeping its people â€Å"traditional† and able to follow the beliefs and the laws by which their forefathers have established (Peterson). However, in the recent times, the world has become more open and liberated in the strict sense of gambling—although there are still those who are trying to pretend to be the â€Å"good guys† and hunt those who gamble—that in large cities, gambling is perhaps the backbone of the economy, that without it, the society would drool over getting crippled in the financial basis (Goss and Morse). In the light, the irony of the statutes’ presence in the laws of certain governments is as good as getting swallowed whole by those who benefit over it (Goss and Morse). To be able to thoroughly understand the definite meaning of gambling and the efficiency of the â€Å"statute† that inhibits the said form of activity, one must be able to know how it is taken and accepted in different areas. Consequently, through analyzing the effects of gambling to the society, one shall be able to assess and evaluate the pious importance that its laws bring. The Beneficence of Gambling on American Indians Due to the diverse views of human beings in the streamline of gambling, it would rather be better to focus on a certain race alone, perceivably one of the pioneers in crafting gambling statutes so as to thoroughly focus the analysis and assessment on the chosen culture. The American Indians have been known for its enthusiasm in gambling and the grasp that it holds when it comes to deliberative discussions on the effect of gambling in the society. In the context of literature and of historical schema, Americans are naturally fond of gambling (Nichols). In fact, there were about 100 million Americans who legally gambled $400 billion but lost with $39 billion to the house in 1995. According to reports and studies, Americans consumed more money on lawful amusement games than on movies, books, and recorded music combined (Johansen). The most celebrated places where well known casinos are in include New Jersey and Nevada. However, Native Americans or the American Indians are group of people in America that are so in tune with casinos and other gambling activities. In effect, the acclaimed most commercial casino in the Western Region is said to be Foxwoods High Stakes Bingo Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut is run by Pequot tribe, a group of American Indians (Nichols). Throughout the history, especially in politics and governance, the American government has consistently attempted to reform the status of gambling on American Indians (Nichols). This is for the reason that growing numbers of specified accounts involving poverty, juvenile delinquency, alcohol and drug abuse, poor educational facilities, high crime rates, and other social problems that intricate American Indians are due to the fact that they are so inclined with gambling activities. Though some tribal groups have asked the American government to alleviate those incidents, the debate is raised whether the American government has the authority to intervene with tribal affairs since tribes are long considered to have their own set of rules thus making them sovereign (Deland). Further, the American Congress had passed in 1988, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act which admitted the rights of American Indian tribes across the United States to set up gambling and gaming amenities and services on their own management provided that such facilities would be instituted in states that have some type of legal gambling (Eadington). Two of the most notable cases which appeal to this act are the Seminole Tribe of Florida vs. Butterworth and California vs. Cabazon Band of Mission Indians, both happened in 1980’s. Gambling Statutes among American Indians The economic advantages that are drawn from gambling activities economic can best be appreciated by analyzing its impact on the labor market. Gambling establishments by American Indian have given hundreds and thousand of Indians and non-Indians work. Due to this fact, the unemployment rates in American Indian tribes have largely dropped. Further, according to a study conducted by the â€Å"Midwest Hospitality Advisors report on Indian gaming† in Minnesota, most of the Indian gaming establishments in Minnesota presently make use of more or less 5,700 laborers (Davis). Four among these gaming establishments have been named as the major employer for their bordering city. Another four casinos are hailed along with the top five employers within their districts while the other one is included in the top ten. The study also describes that during the years 1990 up to 1992, there was a decrease of 3. 2 percent on Indian recipients living in nations with Indian gambling establishments. Furthermore, such gambling establishments even benefited other non-casino recipients by 14. 6 percent (Davis). From the time when the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was implemented, gain of profits from Indian gambling establishments has developed exponentially. At the same time, the unemployment rate which was reported before to mark at 30 percent was dropped to almost zero with the establishment of Indian gambling houses (Davis). All over the United States, the total gain of profits from the Indian gambling establishments are estimated to reach $6 billion U. S. dollars. Finally, profits gained from these gambling establishments and operations are used by the tribes for the advancement of the reservation as well as the American Indians themselves. They use their earnings on setting up schools and colleges as well as community centers. As of now, there are over 26 tribal colleges across the entire United States (Davis). Furthermore, the profits are also used to set up education trust funds, to support alcohol and drug rehabilitation programs, establishing water and drain systems on their area, and investing in new industries and ventures—a firm and sturdy argument for this topic. Discussion The idea of gambling may be unacceptable to some tribes and culture. Hence in the larger perspective of the issue, it is evident that the legalization of gambling and the reputation that it has gained worldwide is surprisingly overwhelming that the long regarded poverty and unemployment problem of the society has been cured and been given an echelon of remedy which many consider as both a form of hobby and a profession as well. Perhaps gambling does not need laws or statutes to be enjoyed by the general public. However, if this form of perception shall be intolerable by the government, then the humanistic nature of human beings would float up in the scenario—everyone would want to be the head of the casino, or the leader of all the â€Å"expert gamblers†Ã¢â‚¬â€the noted crime rate would only double. Moreover, if gambling is not legalized, then there would be a battalion of offenders each day, given the fact that the society is already aware of the fortune that they may or might achieve in the schema of gambling, a pinch of hole blurted on the series of gambling—as introduced—shall be hailed by those who were not able to get a profession due to lack of education or inherited poverty line. They would then be coerced to steal, or kidnap the president’s daughter in exchange for money to buy his kids some food—again, crime rate is most likely to shower. The good thing cited on the issue of having gambling statutes are ought to be seen with the contribution that it brings the economy. Tackling about the increase of crime rate, it would lead to a realization that casinos and â€Å"gambling spots† are housed with physically and mentally trained men, harnessed to keep safety, peace and order in the place. Which is rather safer now? To play poker on rural suburbs hence not being coined with gambling, or having statutes where the government gets a fair share for the pursuance of established goals and objectives in developing the vicinity through the aide of gambling statutes? Conclusions and further remarks There is also the contention for the prospect of establishing a regulated gambling market which can be a profitable source of government tax. This idea illustrates the observation that the widespread activities which are in one way or another a form of gambling and its potential to be a market commodity can overcome the legal restrictions ascribed unto it (Goss and Morse). A controlled degree of the regulation of â€Å"underground gambling†Ã¢â‚¬â€if the government is able to hunt them down and impose taxes on them—for example, creates, instead, an increase in government revenues that may outweigh or, at least, come close to the actual government payments on law enforcement against the production, distribution and consumption of illegal drugs or better, to help countries who are in grave need of help. Gambling activities and establishments for some parts of the planet are part of their traditions and cultural heritage thus there should be no way that would hinder them in preserving such tribal practices. Though there are negative effects and repercussions that are drawn from the legalization of gambling which acknowledges the rights of the selected tribes to set up and employ gambling operations, the positive aspects overrides the latter in such a way that gambling activities are directed towards their personal, cultural, political, and economic development (Deland). Thus, gambling operations and establishments like casino should be remained legal and accessible to highly urbanized places hitherto making them economically stable which then raises the question why other countries choose to drive away from the idea of legalizing gambling and help their country gain much while having fun. Works Cited Davis, Sia. Indian Gaming in the United States: Dispelling And Highlighting Advantages. National Conference of State, 2005. Deland, Paul S. The Facilitation of Gambling. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 269 (1950): 21-29. Eadington, William R. Indian Gaming and the Law. University of Nevada, Reno Bureau of Business, 1998. Goss, Ernest P. , and Edward A. Morse. Governing Fortune: Casino Gambling in America. Michigan: University of Michigan Press 2007. Johansen, Bruce Elliott. The Encyclopedia of Native American Legal Tradition. Greenwood Press, 1998. Nichols, Roger L. American Indians in U. S. History. University of Oklahoma Press, 2004. Peterson, Virgil W. Gambling: Should It Be Legalized? Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology (1931-1951) 40. 3 (1949): 259-329.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Importance Of Knowledge Management Management Essay

The Importance Of Knowledge Management Management Essay Knowledge is quite distinct from data and information in nature. Data includes facts, observations, or perceptions which may or may not be true. Information, according to is the content that represents analyzed data. Knowledge is defined in an area as justified true beliefs about relationships among concepts relevant to that particular area. The skills required for effective knowledge management are to identify, generate, acquire, diffuse and capture the most valuable benefits of knowledge that sets up a strategic advantage to the organizations. Knowledge life cycle consists of: creation, mobilization, diffusion and commoditization to explain the early emerging knowledge to it maturity. INTRODUCTION The knowledge has been created more and more nowadays. The important of knowledge management is recognized and effectively implement by many organizations. In this brief essay, I will explain the differences between knowledge and information. After that, there will be the discussion of the importance of knowledge management in the organization as well as how effective knowledge management can create competitive advantage for the organization. Also, the essay explains the skills required to effectively implement knowledge management process in the workplace through the explanation of knowledge life cycle. NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE According to Fernandez (2004), to define knowledge, we need to distinguish it from data and information. Although they are sometimes used interchangeably, knowledge is quite distinct from data and information in nature. Firstly, data includes facts, observations, or perceptions which may or may not be true. By itself, data shows the raw numbers or assertions and may therefore be devoid of context, meaning, or intent. However, it can be easily captured, stored, and communicated using electronic or other media (Fernadez, 2004). For example, the schedule of movies will be show in a day, or observation of number of left-handers in a group of people illustrates data. Information, according to Dalkir (2005), is the content that represents analyzed data. Also, Fernandez (2004) defined information as a subset of data, which only includes those data that possess context, relevance, and purpose. It means that information manipulates raw data to obtain a more meaningful indication of trends or patterns in the data. For example, for the cinema director, the numbers indicating the daily sold tickets (in dollars, quality, or percentage of daily sales) of each movie are considered information. So, the director can use such information to make decisions concerning pricing and extra or cancel some movie shows. According to Fernandez (2004), there are two different ways to distinguish knowledge from data and information. The first one considers knowledge to be at highest level in a hierarchy with information at the middle level, and data to be at the lowest level. By this view, knowledge refers to information that enables action and decisions, or information with direction. Although, knowledge is the richest and deepest of the three, and is consequently also the most valuable, it is intrinsically similar to information and data. In the more complete perspective way, according to which knowledge is intrinsically different form information, knowledge is defined in an area as justified true beliefs about relationships among concepts relevant to that particular area (Nonaka, 1994). For example, the daily sold tickets can be used, along with other information such as information on the pop corns and soft drinks sold at the cinema, to compute the total revenue. The relationship between the information is an example of knowledge. Hence, as what I understand, knowledge is how people get information from data, or more valuable information from less valuable information. THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN THE ORGANIZATION Knowledge management was defined by Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995) as the process of applying a systematic approach to the capture, structure, management, and dissemination of knowledge throughout an organization in order to work faster, reuse best practices, and reduce cost of rework from project to project. It means that Knowledge management is the logical process that helps people to use knowledge effectively and efficiently. There are 4 business drivers that make knowledge management become important and increase in application for today according to Dalkir (2005). Firstly, the globalization of business means that the expansion of organization to global with multisite, multilingual, and multicultural in nature. The expansion results in the more complex work environment that all organizations have to face because of the increase in the number of subjective knowledge items. The second driver is the leaner organization. As the required work environment, people need to work faster and smarter as knowledge worker to adopting an increased pace and workload. Another business driver is the corporate amnesia. This driver explains that people as a workforce is no longer expect to spend entire work life with the same organization which will create problems of knowledge continuity for the organization and places continuous learning demands on the knowledge worker. Finally, technological advances make people more con nected. The advances in information technology not only have made connectivity ubiquitous but have radically changed expectations, which workers are expected to be on at all times. Base on the importance of the knowledge management, all organizations need to develop a suitable and effective approach to manage their knowledge. By doing so, they will get many benefits to create competitive advantages. At first, effective knowledge management approach will provide many benefits to each individual employees of the organization. It helps the employees in doing their job and save time through better decision making and problem solving. It builds a sense of community bonds within the organization and helps people to keep up to date. It also provides challenges and opportunities for employees to contribute. The effective approach also brings benefits to organization. It helps drive strategy for organization, solves problems more quickly, and diffuses best practices. Also, it improves knowledge embedded in products and services. It cross-fertilizes ideas and increases opportunities for innovation. In addition, it enables organizations to stay ahead of the competition be tter, and builds organizational memory. Therefore, in my point of view, knowledge management is essential for all type of business nowadays. With an effective knowledge management, the organization can facilitate collaboration and help knowledge worker connected. It also helps organization in making decision base on complete, valid and well interpreted data, information, and knowledge. LEADERSHIP AND THE SKILLS REQUIRED TO EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PROCESSES IN THE WORKPLACE Nowadays, most of organizations realize that the important of managing knowledge effectively. For doing so, they need to be always able to identify, generate, acquire, diffuse and capture the most valuable benefits of knowledge that sets up a strategic advantage to themselves. It also needs to have the ability to differentiate the information, which is digitizable, and true knowledge assets, which can only exist with in the context of an intelligent system (Dalkir, 2005). To be able to clearly understand the requirements for effectively implement knowledge management processes in the workplace, we may discuss the knowledge life cycle and strategies in each stages of the cycle. KNOWLEDGE LIFE CYCLE: Base on the research of Birmingham and Sheehan (2002), knowledge has a life cycle. Their study had showed that new knowledge is born as uncertainty thing, and it form into shape as it is tested, matures through implementation in reality, is diffused to a growing user, and finally becomes broadly understood and recognize as common practice. The knowledge can process through four stages of knowledge life cycle: creation, mobilization, diffusion and commoditization. Creation: At this stage, knowledge first appears in someoneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s head as an idea. In fact, no one can fully understand the idea or emerging knowledge, even if person creating it. In doing business, the suitable strategy in this early stage is to test the idea on its commercial viability. To encourage this activity, organizations need to create an environment which requires adjustments in the following areas: Informal Knowledge System: the organizations can lay out their space in an open plan that has many common areas, give their employees time to experiment, and provide resources for training programs and conferences in order to grow up knowledge effectively. Information Technology Systems: technology should be considered to connect people who have interest at highly specialized internet forums rather than to codify and store emerging knowledge. Human Resources: organizations regularly create knowledge should hire people in using new knowledge for critical feedback. External Relationship: the contact with external customers and suppliers will encourage the experimental of new idea. Mobilization: In this stage, knowledge continues to be improved, and the organization will extract more value from it. To achieve it, organizations need to mobilize knowledge internally and keep it away from outsiders. There are approaches for doing that: Informal Knowledge System: the organization can encourage the internal transferences among employees by building an internal network. Information Technology Systems: the IT should focus on technology that can enable the informal transfer of knowledge, and the system need to make it possible for adding comments on the subject from users. Human Resources: thinkers, doers, mavericks and pragmatists are needed in order to fully transform new ideas into valuable knowledge. External Relationships: it is still important to maintain strong relationship with customers and other partners in this stage. Diffusion: In this diffusion stage, the organizations will accept the leakage of knowledge, and no longer try to keep the knowledge under wraps. They will spread out the knowledge by selling it to outsiders. Again, the managers should consider following approaches in this stage: Informal Knowledge Systems: knowledge in this stage will be disseminated widely and quickly, which requires a system that focuses on training employees and encourage their use. Information Technology Systems: an extensive knowledge database will be useful for the organization during this stage. The competitive advantages will stem from the ease of access to information. Human Resources: customer consultants will be needed in this stage, so that they can work with customers and recognize the value of applying the knowledge to customersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ problems. External Relationship: organizations should focus on building strong customers relationship by their services, and using their brand to create the differences with other competitors. Commoditization: The organizations concentrate on managing knowledge that is already well known. The basic knowledge has been completely diffused. However, there are many opportunities to extract value from current knowledge to generate one in this stage. The approached to extract value as follow: Informal Knowledge Systems: in this stage, the use of formal knowledge systems will be more valuable than the informal one. The systems will help the organization to supply the best practices that can add value to well developed processes, and encourage new ways of commercializing existing knowledge. Information Technology Systems: organizations should develop effective search engines and retrieval systems because of the significant volume of documents that have gathered overtime. Human Resources: it is similar to the requirements of the diffusion stage. However, the demand for the knowledge may decline the demand for the jobs will be reduced. It is better to use the contract employees to solve this problem. CONCLUSION Base on my research, knowledge is much different from data and information. It is how people use data to crate valuable information and from less valuable information to more valuable one. In other words, knowledge in an area can be defined as justified true belief about relationships among concepts relevant to that particular area. Every organization needs to implement effectively its knowledge management processes due to four important drivers. By doing so, it will bring many benefits to the business as well as the individual employees. The organizations need to understand the knowledge life cycle in order to manage the knowledge. The cycle comprises four stages, which are creation, mobilization, diffusion, and commoditization, points out the essential skill needs to effectively implement knowledge management process.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Recruitment And Selection Processes

Recruitment And Selection Processes In todays world, recruitment and selection policy plays an important role in the workplace around the globe where it is the key success factors in any business. Recruitment is the process of seeking and attracting a pool of qualified applicants from which candidates for job vacancies can be selected. However, selection is the process that choosing from a group of applicants the best qualified candidates. (Stone 2005, pp.187) Both the recruitment and selection are different management functions, but they can lead the employers to identify the right person for the right job. Thus, it also can help in increase effectiveness of organization. The relationship between employers and employees can seek a big different if compared to past decades. Existing of industrial relations and labor laws has created a protectionism and healthy environment for both parties in the workplace. However, there are still some issues existing in the society nowadays, especially unfair discrimination issue occur in some industries. In fact, those unlawful, unfair treatments or discrimination to the employees may increase the costs and turnover rate in the organization and thus lower the workforces morale. Without recruitment and selection policy, organization may simply hire workers to fit the vacancy spaces even candidates are lack of knowledge, ability, experience, or skill. Besides, numbers of foreign labors is increased from year to year whereby help company to save costs by employed labors in low salary. But, this caused unemployment rate increased and thus uncertainty is possible at the same time by increased in such activities like crime, strike, fighting, and so on. With no expertise workers, there is no doubt that organization will carry out low performance and unsatisfied services or products to the users. The inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the organization might affect its overall performance and reputation indirectly. In order to change the situation and increase the profit, organization may need to make some improvement like give the employees some jobs training and this will increase the costs indirectly. Therefore, it is needed for every organization to ensure that the jobs are suited to offer to workers with abilities by applying recruitment and selection policy to avoid unnecessary expenses. This research study can help everyone to understand the important of recruitment and selection policy toward the organizations in all industries. The information might able to achieve future goals by clearly define the influential of the policy within the organization. Besides that, organizations can also find this information as for their human resource management improvement. Furthermore, the general objective of doing this research study is to identify the recruitment and selection policy can help good relations by ensuring that workers are engaged for jobs suited to their abilities and workers can get satisfaction in their jobs. Secondly, this research study can lead to understand how the policy help organization performs in more effective ways in order to make a right choice. Employer need to choose the most suitable employee to help increase performance of organization. Thirdly, it is important to understand how policy creates a healthy workplace by providing fair treatment to everyone for gaining win-win situation in both employers and employees. That mean organization performance can get improvement and employees can get fully satisfaction in their jobs. Lastly, it is needed to study whether the recruitment and selection policy can make changes in human lifestyle such as better or worse, high educated, skillful, knowledgeable, and so on. 2.0 Literature Review Recruitment and selection are the two important processes under Human Resource department in an organization. Good recruitment and selection policies will ensure a good industrial relation between employees and employers in an organization and also ensured workers are engaged for jobs suited to their abilities. A study made by Hsu Y.R, et al., 2000, found that it is important to have Human Resource managers on the board participating in the development of corporate strategy and that it is important to integrate Human Resource Management policy fully with corporate strategy. However, there are issues pertaining to recruitment and selection policies in industrial relation between employers and employees. In Anastasi, 1988, p-144; Bible, 1990, Cascio, 1987, p. 132; Hutfcut, 1990; Seymour, 1988; Thornton, in press) studies as cited in Smither J.W., et al (n.d) studies, it says that applicant perceived selection procedures as lacking in validity, or otherwise regarded as offensive or intrusive, are more likely to be viewed as unfair, unethical, or immoral issues resulting in more complaints and court challenges. By perceiving unlawful and unfair treatments by employers, workers motivation level to perform well will be lowered down and in turn will increase the costs and turnover rate in the organization. Besides that, Smither J.W. et al, (n.d), also mention that those workers who does not like an organizations policies, practices, or style is likely to go job shopping somewhere else. Changes in workforce demographics may also increase the difficulty to attract and recruit enough qualified workers. The types of benefits can be influence by the demographic factors as well. For example, medical coverage, life insurance, and retirement benefits will be more likely for older workforce. On the other hand, workers under 30 tend to be more interested in flexibility, technology, and training. Therefore, the policies provide for employees should not a one size fits all approach; organizations can provide employees options for customizing a benefits package to match their individual needs (John C.R., 2009).The research made by Hsu Y.R., et al., (2000) on recruitment and selection policies in Taiwan found that the internal recruitment method are commonly used by the responding firm in Taiwan and may not only motivate workers to perform better and increase their commitment towards the organization, but may also improve their job security through upward or lateral career oppor tunities. In Sparrow, P. et al., (1994) study (as cited in Hsu Y.R., et al., (2000) mentioned that by using internal personnel sources effectively, it may also allow management to observe and assess the abilities of employees accurately given the accrued knowledge gathered over the employment relationship. This may avoid management from recruiting and selecting workers that are lack of knowledge, ability and experience to fit into the vacancy spaces besides helping the management to maintain good industrial relations with workers. There is still having some organization discrimination about the union. In the organizational for Economic Co-operation and Development there is declining in union density (Visser,2006; Peetz, 1998). Some of the companies have specific selection criteria to make sure they get staff that are culturally fit with what the companies culture and wish to avoid employees that have strongly unionized, preferring those from non-union (Rae Cooper, et al.,2009). This show that, in the early stage which is selection, organization already tend to choose those not union and those who are unions no chance to get the job. In addition, some companies recruitment policy have stated that they not to employ union members. At the recruitment meeting, human resource consultants and customer service managers have come out a question that whether the workers worked at company that was heavily unionized company can make a good team fit (Rae Cooper, et al., 2009). Joining the non-union organization, workers a re not protected under union and it will relate to more issues like unsatisfied on their working condition, payment, bonus, and others. Furthermore, this will lead to the unfair/unhappiness or workers. So, it cant maintain a good industrial relation between management and workers. There are suggestion that the varied and multilayered de-unionization tactics were not mutually exclusive, as the soft and informal human resources policies only hidden away the more clear and proper plan by employers to break collective representation at the workplace level ( Rae Cooper, et al., 2009). Multinational enterprise (MNE) has facing the problem that in different countries the Human resource procedures are different. Multinational enterprise facing difficulty to transmit their employee relations practices between contrary units operating in different countries. MNEs are important agents in transmitting industrial relations and other employment relations practices across national and cultural borders argued by Sparrow et al, 1994. The improvement in working conditions introduced by the collective agreement since 1989, lower the labor turnover. Organization should not be underestimated the importance of recruiting suitable individuals into an organization (Tony Royle, 1999). Recruit suitable employees into an organization can help increase the performance of organizations and lower down the turnover in the organizations. However, an organization is able to take benefit of employees who share common traits, kicking out those who may question managerial right, have notions of worker solidarity and an interest in trade union representation (Royle, 1998). 3.0 Content analysis Recruitment and selections policy plays vital important role in ensuring that the organization recruiting the qualified workers for job which are commensurate with their abilities. Recruitment and selection is usually central workforce development issues and challenges for the growing and smaller organization nowadays. The employers or human resources should always define the qualifications and experience that needed for the vacant job clearly by ensuring that the applicants skills or abilities that employed are fit with the job. There are always two primary issues that should be concerned by the recruiter or employer which are discrimination that due to the use of informal methods of recruitment and possibility that selection process being skewed by the initial recruitment phrase. Sometimes, discrimination is happen indirectly and unconsciously throughout the procedure. When discrimination occurs, the employer may miss the opportunity of getting the appropriate applicants that suite d with the job. Thus, fair and equity recruitment and selection procedures need to be emphasized to ensure that all applicants have equal employment opportunity so that the company can employ the most suitable applicants for the job that match with their ability. In additional, there are three steps should be taken by the organization which are develop an up to date job description, develop effective recruitment strategy that concern the recruitment sources and recruiter and evaluate the recruitment strategy. Recruitment process and methods also need to check regularly and evaluate now and then. In order to ensure that the candidate engage to the job that suited with their abilities, the employer may explain term and conditions of employment to applicant before they are engaged for the job. By explaining the employment condition to the applicants, they will know more about the job scope and determine whether they are engage for the right job. At the same time, it helps to decrease the tendency of industry relation problems occur at anytime. Besides, selection techniques also plays crucial role in getting right person for the job. The employers must always make sure that the selection is based on suitability for the job and ensure that the recruitment processes are carried out by the competent recruiters that are experience and knowledgeable in human resources field. Once the applicants are proceeding to selection phrase, the individual or panel interview, test, role play activity or reference check will be carried out. Job knowledge test helps to measure the understanding of applicants regard to the job (Compton, 1996). The organizations are encouraged to follow competencies model in recruiting and selecting the applicants as it seeks to identify abilities needed to perform job well rather than focusing on applicant personal characteristics. Moreover, the employers of organization are most likely applying internal recruitment method which is filling the vacancy by transfer or promotions before recruit from outside. These can be supported by the example of recruitment and selection in Australia. In Australia, recruitment from within method is commonly practice by the organization (Nankervis et al., 2002).Filling the job vacancy through transfer or promotions will helps the organization to save up some additional recruiting, selecting and training cost as current employee knows the organization well. Advertising and recruitment agencies are also widely used by organization in Australian as these recruitment methods help to reach large audience of applicants (Gill, 2000). Furthermore, existences of rec ruitment agencies help the organization to match the applicants abilities with the job vacancy. During the selection phrase, the organization in Australia will emphasize on interview, tests and reference check. Interview is important step in selection (Compton, 1996) and common selection tools for many companies ( Huffcult Arthur, 1994). In China, recruitment methods such as advertisement, job fairs, and corporate co-ordination are being practice by organization while for the selection techniques, Interview, tests and behavioral events are exercised by the organization. For example, increasing use of interactive role play during selection phrase helps to ensure that the applicants are engaged for the job that matched with their abilities. Selection phrase is important as it is process of choosing from group of applicants that individual best suited for particular position (Mondy Noe, 1993). Thus, the effectiveness of recruitment will definitely has impact on the efficiency of selection process. Jakob Bjurgert and Johan Karlsson from University of Gothenburg conducted a case study to get insight of hotel industry in Gothenburg, and examine whether internal recruitment could be a key success factor and if it solely could motivate employees. They investigate whether internal recruitment strategy sufficiency to be an incentive compensation system, and find out any difference of view on incentive system in the hotel industry, between the employees and the managements. They found that there are two different types of employees existing, where the first category employees were young and eager climbing the carrier ladder. For them, internal recruitment solely works as an incentive compensation plus motivation to stay in the company. Regarding to the second group, they were those mainly care about a stabile income and job security. Those employees simply less concern about promotion, but would rather appreciate a higher salary. Results from their evaluation also shown discrepancy between the managements and the employees view of the incentive system. An incentive compensation system existed in hotel did not works as motivational factors which from employees viewpoint, it was rather as a guideline to behave well service-minded manner. Merchant and Van d.S. (2007) described an incentive compensation system in terms of monetary and non-monetary rewards. Non-monetary rewards often consist of promotion, personal independence, rising in rank or position, autonomy, and recognition. Incentive compensation system aims to tie rewards to performance valuations. The system informs and reminds workers about what results are important, and motivates them to achieve these results. Incentive compensation systems are important for a firm in order to drive employees put more effort into their job. It is also personnel-related in terms of attracting the right person for the working place. Internal recruitment is one of the most popular incentive systems and become an old tradition in the hotel industry, as one of the non-monetary rewards. It is important for hotel industry in the service sector to have served minded employees. The industry is strongly dependent on their staff because they who are the frontline serve the customers and were important marketing tools. Motivation is needed as a force to push up performance. Through incentive compensation systems the hotel managers can design individual programs to motivate, retain and help attracting employees. (Karthik N.,Li M.,Zhaob X.,2006). However, increase the rewards can be devastating because the employees will then concerning more about the bonuses than to serve best quality to the customer.(Bjurgert J. Karlsson J.,2010) The work in a hotel is characterized by low status or low salaries, having intensive tasks and few chances to get promoted. Thus, motivation is one important tool to affect the behavior of the employees. To achieve motivated employees in the hotel industry, factors such as good salary a safe workplace, possibilities to get promoted and a good working atmosphere need to be fulfilled.(Simon T.Enz C.,1995). Zeithaml, V.A and Bitner, M.J. (2003) stated that before company recruiting a new employee, it is vital to analyze to see whether the potential employee is motivated to work in a service minded way. The hotel industry has a high labor turnover, due to long business hour, and minimum wages offered. New recruitments and learning processes cost time plus money, and company also loose competence and productivity. Nevertheless high turnover help s companies to lower down cost by offering employee the minimum salary when they first enter the company. Thus it is interesting to examine whether it is possible to stimulate and motivate employees solely through internal recruitment. Employees have to be motivated for the right thing, which is connected to the companys goals and visions. Increase workers salary and increase their responsibility and recognition when worker being internally recruited. The management needs to know how to motivate their employees with rewards. It is also important that the employees know how they are judged and how they should effort to reach these rewards. HRdictionary.com defined internal recruitment as the process of filling vacancies by recruiting staff from inside the company . According to Dessler G. (2010), the advantage of internal recruitment is getting more commitment from current to the company. Morale may also rise if employees see promotions as rewards for loyalty and competence. Moreover, inside candidates require less orientation and training than outsiders. At Gothenburg, internal recruitment in the hotel industry is frequently practiced by large hotel chains, where the supply of workers is large, and most positions are standardized.(Bjurgert J. Karlsson J.,2010). Most of the job advertisements go through via internal and external portal, where both internal and external applicants have a chance to getting the job. Even though they also advertise externally, most positions are filled with internal candidates. This could be explained by the size of the company, and high supply of candidates. 4.0 Conclusion In this study we can conclude that a good recruitment and selection policies will ensure a good industrial relation between employees and employers in an organization and can also help to identify that job can suit with the skills and abilities of employee. A good recruitment and selection process can give employer and employee achieve win-win situation. Recruitment and selection processes are main factor can help organization get successful in their business. In order placing a right people in right job is very important. This is because when worker enjoy satisfaction with their job, while can improve performance of worker. Thus, it also will help to improve overall performance of organization. In the recruitment and selection process, employer needs to pay more attention and aware on the skills, abilities, knowledge, and experience of candidates. Employer should be aware those requirement of candidates, so that can fully apply in the organization and integrate in the organization culture. Besides, those skills can effectively help in improve performance and profitability of organization. In additional, employee can also get fully satisfaction in their job because their skills can fully apply in job. In my opinion in the view point of employer, before start recruitment and selection process, employer must have clear idea about what kind of employee they want to seek and what kind of experience a potential employee to have had. It can help employer to raise success rate in the selection process by decreasing number of visibly under qualified or overqualified job applicants. Thus, employer also need to make sure what organization can offer will fix what job applicants desire such as salary, work hours, working conditions, working environment and so on. It can help in reduce the probability employee which recruited and will leave in the short period. Employer can provide recruitment agency or recruitment consultant to carry out company recruitment and selection process. Employer just needs to simple describe out what kind of employee they desire to get. After that, recruitment agency will help employer to make interview with all job applicants and then help them to find out the most suitable person. Next, in the view point of employee, before interview candidates should be ready to provide feedback of any kind of questions and prepare to answer different kind of questions during that interview. Before the interview, candidates need very clearly know about what kind of job they interested in. Furthermore, candidates can try to identify what kind of question may ask by employer and they need to how answer question to show their skills and abilities to get the job.