The media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world Essay

The media and the experts determine how we see the rest of the world (Said 1997) How far could public opinion resist the influence of the political and econom - Essay Example Invasion of one country by another is an example of coercive power. Symbolic power works through images (linguistic, pictoral, aural) to create and mobilise support for a cause and it is integral to the operation of the other power forms. Other classifications include position, resource and charismatic (or personality) power, each overlapping with Thompson's categories and each one some how connected with communication processes. A case can be made for recognising technological power, what Karl Marx refereed to as the means of production, as a category in its own right. John of Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in around 1450 was not substantially the result of either economic or political imperatives, but it soon proved to be a winner economically. Politically and culturally it brought about profound changes. By symbolising knowledge as something potentially accessible to all and rendering the act of reading an exercise in individualism and a possible source of subversion, printing transformed the known world by becoming a power in the land. In easily reproducible and permanent form, it spread knowledge and ideas beyond the traditional boundary fence of the privileged to the 'common people'. In doing so, it offered them glimpses of their own potential power. Yet tYet the media have never been either separate from or independent of the forces which create them and which in turn they shape and influence. They work, as Thompson points out, within institutional frameworks. As such they operate as forms of cultural apparatus, part of the machinery of state or of powerful interest groups within the state. Historically the media have more often served as the voice of powerful than of the people. They have been classified by the French philosopher Louis Althusser as one of the prime ISAs, Ideological State Apparatuses, along with religion, family structures, and education: that is, they are crucially important channels for the transmission of 'rules of conduct' in society; the guardians of a culture's dominant norms and values. They play a part in all the power forms, including in a contributory sense - coercive power. Coercion, the exercise of power by force, manifests itself through what Althusser terms RSAs, Repressive State Apparatuses - army, police, prisons. It is ever physically absent but it is in the culturally concealed. Its visible and tangible presence depends on whether the other power forms are considered to be under threat. In war time of course, coercive power moves from the back region to the front region of our lives; and at no other time is symbolic power exercised by the media, so graphically, so blatantly or so persuasively. The media in time of war - with exceptions- become the trumpeters of conflict with the enemy. They do not fire the guns but their clamour for the guns to be fired is an essential part of the process of gathering the people's support for the war effort. ISAs and RSAs conflate, become one and the media speak with a single voice; their task to create consensus and unity at home, to identify and target the enemy; their role that of mobilisers of opinion and,

The Terrorist Group ISIS Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Terrorist Group ISIS - Research Proposal Example The inquiry into the rise of the terrorist group ISIS is of great significance as the kind of politics it connotes is something that is set to evince aspirationalism in a radical context, is bound to be pan-Arab and is based on concrete territorial and power grabbing motives. The kind of radical challenge that ISIS poses to Western democracies is something that was rarely seen in the past, even if one takes into consideration Iran or North Korea for that matter. This paper intends to answer as to whether the promulgation of Western-style liberal democracy and political values in the Middle East is an apt antidote to ISIS or whether ISIS is a direct outcome of the sectarian politics immanent in the region since long?The irony is that the solution to this research question is multifaceted and far from being simple. No doubt, the Western style political democracy, inclusiveness, and diversity can succeed in the region provided that attempts are made by the local political states and pow er structures to bring about some sort of reconciliation in the long-standing sectarian animosities in the region. The Western-style democracy in the region could also succeed in bringing a halt to the onward march of ISIS, provided the Western should also care to resolve the long-standing issues like the Arab-Israel animosity, a challenge that has distinct Western linkages and outcrops. I will use an array of methods to seek a viable and pragmatic answer to this question.

Importance Of Personal And Professional Skill Education Essay

Importance Of Personal And Professional Skill Education Essay The skill development is not a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly important. The continuing pace of change in business and management means that what we learned in our initial training courses soon becomes dated and irrelevant. It has been estimated that the half-life of skilled knowledge is about seven years. Furthermore, the amount of knowledge and skills continues to increase. Business and management has become knowledge intensive: we have entered the skilled-based economy. In this new world, it is impossible for us to know all that there is to know, yet access to the skilled and knowledge base is increasingly readily available. So what will make us developed skill specialist, rather than poor ones, is that our knowledge is more relevant, and more current, and is applied more efficiently and effectively. The work-place has also changed, with the result that in business and management are expected to have a wider range of skills. We increasingly work in teams on projects and much of what we do is virtual rather than tangible. As one project ends, another begins, and so we move from project to project, from team to team, and from one work-place to another. Indeed, for many, the increasingly itinerant nature of work leads us into several different careers during our working lives. These are strong, compelling reasons for professional development skills for manager, but there are many more. A better informed and more sophisticated public is demanding a higher duty of care and level of service from skilled workers. Linked to this is the increasing risk of claims for negligence from professionals deemed to have failed in their duty or given poor advice. Within organisations, modern quality management systems demand that qualified people are in place to make decisions. If we do not respond to this challenge, we face the prospect of becoming irrelevant. If, as skill professionals, we assume that our old time-served competences will last a lifetime, we will find ourselves becoming candidates for redundancy. The organisations we work for equally run the risk of failing to provide the new products and services that the market requires, resulting in decline. And so we need to learn continually as we work. This requires a skill set all of its own, a skill set we need to learn for ourselves as teachers and mentors, and a skill set we need to instil into our learners for their future benefit. TASK 2 Above we discussed importance of which we might assess our professional and personal development skills. However, what is missing is the route by which we might achieve its objectives. In this case four step approach is used: STEP 1 Profiling Ourselves This is the starting point for our individual professional development plan and should contain the ingredients from the table below: Working Life List strengths and successes Identify expertise that has not been exploited Skills inventory Rate skills and competences on a scale of 1-5 Identify skills needing further development Values, attitudes and beliefs Review the opinion of others Evaluate your own views and opinions Learning skills Identify types of learning preferred STEP 2 Define the Strategy Our development skills need to be correctly focused for maximum impact so that it meets both our individual development needs and those of the organisation for which we work. For Example If our employer has in place an annual staff review and appraisal process, then our individual aspirations and the organisational goals may have been reviewed, and a training and development plan agreed for the foreseeable future. Otherwise, we should discuss our skill development needs with department. STEP 3 Develop an Action Plan Putting the strategy into action can be the biggest challenge. An action plan can help. An effective action plan has four key ingredients: A clear statement of the goal to be achieved The actions required to achieve the goal The target timescale for achieving the goal Criteria to assess when we have reached our goal In order to deliver the action plan, we will have to seek out opportunities for learning and skills development, ideally in partnership with our employer. And since professional development benefits both the employee and the employer, we might find that our employer asks us to make a contribution to our own professional development, by committing some of our own time and perhaps by sharing the costs. Having established our action plan, we next need to decide how we are to go about the learning process. STEP 4 Evaluation and Reflection As we have seen, good development skills rely strongly on self analysis and appraisal to develop our personal profile and to analyse our preferred learning styles. This is not necessarily easy for a number of reasons. First, it can be hard to understand ourselves and see ourselves as others see us. Second, reflecting on skills and competences is not something that we are necessarily trained to do. Third, as the pace of life continues to increase, it is not easy to find time for self analysis and reflection. Mentoring is one way of overcoming these problems. A mentor is someone who can advise and guide you in your career. He or she has a number of roles as an appraiser, a supporter, a communicator and a motivator. The relationship therefore is different from that between a superior and his/her subordinate, and it is unlikely that a manager can carry out these functions. A good manager has coaching skills, is trustworthy, respected and is free from major distractions either within or outside the workplace. OUTCOME 2 TASK 3 Research commissioned by the British Audio Visual Society in 1988 suggests that we remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we see and hear, 80% of what we say and 90% of what we say and do at the same time. For this reason, professional recommends that we integrate learning and working, so that we improve our development skills within the context of our work using real-world problems. Then the time and effort we invest in professional development is rewarded by immediately assisting us to complete the task in hand. Senior skilled professionals believe the immediate usefulness of the learning greatly improves our motivation to learn. Whilst this may be generally true for groups of people, as individuals, we each have our own preferred learning styles. There are many ways to categorize learning styles, but the simplest places learners into one or more of three categories: Visual those who learn best through their eyes and what they see and read. The ideal learning approaches in this case will involve studying magazines and books and learning online. Auditory those who learn best by hearing things, either on tape or in discussion. Dialogue and discussion is important to their learning process. The ideal learning environment is the classroom, but discussions with colleagues and audio tapes can also be useful. Tactile those who learn best by doing, such as taking their own notes or participating in demonstrations and hands-on projects. Ideal structure: magazine and online learning; classroom that encourages participation. OUTCOME 3 TASK 4 The basis for my personal development plan is my ability to look inward into what are my values, who I am, my beliefs, strength and weakness. I was able to reflect and know myself and how I can transform my values into crucial tools that would help my professional development rather than be at the drawback of the clients that would need help in the future. Most counselling and therapy approaches believe that relationship between counsellors and client is very important. Certainly, effective communication between counsellor and clients is an aspect that aids the key elements of a sustainable therapeutic relationship, which includes empathetic understanding, genuineness, unconditional positive regard and trust (Copeland, 2002). It is recommended, that throughout counselling, clients should be free to give feedback and raise concerns about the counselling relationship. I have used the same relationship style in relating with my approach to address conflict and open to change. My research on this study has helped me to readdress my time keeping, studying more and writing more in my personal journal. In accordance with the SMART AND SWOT analysis, I use reflective practice to evaluate and draw my personal and professional plan. Reflection, or rather reflective practice, contributes to professional development by revealing the knowledge and skills used in everyday practice, and exposing areas that require development (Driscoll The-2001). The values that I prioritise in my professional development plan are respecting clients human rights and dignity, and also ensuring the integrity of practitioner-client relationship. Moreover, what is critical in practitioner client relationship is the issue of power discourse. However, what comes to mind is that power is also a potentially destructive weapon that can be used to oppress and exploit people and could lead to abuse in counselling and psychotherapy practice (Thompson, 2003). The principles that I have learnt and hope to adopt in my work with my case study in balancing power relations and dealing with forms of oppression include benefi cence, empowerment and advocacy. Personal SWOT analysis Strengths Im very creative. I often impressing clients with a new perspective on their brands. I communicate well with my clients and team. I have the ability to ask key questions to find just the right marketing angle. Im completely committed to the success of a clients brand. Weaknesses I have a strong, compulsive need to do things quickly and remove them from my to do list, and sometimes the quality of my work suffers as a result. This same need to get things done also causes me stress when I have too many tasks. I get nervous when presenting ideas to clients and this fear of public speaking often takes the passion out of my presentations. Opportunities One of our major competitors has developed a reputation for treating their smaller clients poorly. Im attending a major marketing conference next month. This will allow for strategic networking, and also offer some great training seminars. Our art director will go on maternity leave soon. Covering her duties while shes away would be a great career development opportunity for me. Threats Simon, one of my colleagues, is a much stronger speaker than I am, and hes competing with me for the art director position. Due to recent staff shortages, Im often overworked, and this negatively impacts my creativity. The current economic climate has resulted in slow growth for the marketing industry. Many firms have laid off staff members, and our company is considering further cutbacks. TASK 5 The leadership skills have following functions in relation to Task, Team and individual needs.          i). Defining the task it should define the task  with clear, concrete, time limited, realistic and challenging objective so that his followers can understand properly and complete the task in time. The end of the task should also be defined to make members aware about the success criteria.          ii). Planning of the work Leader should do proper planning on the procedures to be adopted in an open mind before starting the work. The questions based on what, why, when, how, where and who should be answered during making a simple and fool proof plan. Sometimes leader presents ideas and invites question from followers or he suggests tentative plan subject to change afterwards.          iii). Delegation of works Leader gives briefing about role of every individual in task and delegate work accordingly to create the right atmosphere, to promote team relationship and to encourage and motivate all team members.          iv). Controlling   Leader controls their team by directing, regulating, restraining or encouraging individual and team efforts on the task. Leader needs to exhibit self-control over his own sentiments and to have good control systems for effective monitoring financial and task performance for controlling others problem. TASK 6 The concept of personal and professional development is closely related. It could be explained that both concept impacts on one another, depending on the aspect at which we perceive the terms. According to Maslow (1996) Personal development refers to individual self development and the development of others. In addition, personal development may involve programs, tools and methods. As an individual, my personal development includes plans or actions oriented towards one or more of the following aims: goals, developing strengths, improving self-awareness and self-knowledge, building or renewing identity, identifying or improving potential, building employability or human capital, enhancing lifestyle or the quality of life, realising dreams and fulfilling aspirations (Bandura.1997.Jasper.2006). In my personal development, I learn information that will help me become more efficient, successful and happy according to (Peter, 1999). In the UK, personal development took a central place in university policy in 1997 when the Dearing Report declared that universities should go beyond academic teaching to provide students with personal development. In 2001 a Quality Assessment Agency for UK universities produced guidelines for universities to improve personal development as a defined structured and a support process set by an individual to reflect upon their own learning, performance, achievement and to plan for their personal, education and career development (Speck-Knipe.2005). Conclusion Using reflective practice, I have demonstrated in this essay the experience of my personal and professional development. I have differentiated between these two concepts and have also explained how they are intertwined to produce quality and efficient professional relationship in me as a potential counsellor. I have taken on board some core professional values such as trust, confidentiality, developing, professional, relationship and self-assertiveness as principles that underpin my professional development. I hope to apply these valuable experiences to practice as I work with other multi-disciplinary teams to assess service users needs and the law and ethical implications that could arise in the course of my placement. Applying for placement has not been easy hence I am yet to find a place. More importantly, as a student counsellor, the question is how does reflective and reflexive influence who I am? This is an on-going question for me to answer, as I continue with my learning unti l I take off counselling hat, though there is still room for improvement as I consider myself to be a work in progress.

Long Island Nuclear :: essays papers

Long Island Nuclear The question of whether Long Island should have nuclear power plants is controversial. There are two sides that can be taken; however, both sides have their own share of problems. If we were to chose not to have nuclear plants, then eventually all natural resources will run out. Oil supplies as of right now will run out in two hundred years. But that is if we keep on using the same amount of oil that is consumed today. Our use of oil is certainly not being diminished; in fact each year the amount of oil used goes up. So oil supplies probably won’t even last that long. The natural resources that we use now are still harmful to the earth. The gasoline that we use to run our cars pollutes the air, and considering the amount of cars that are driven each day on the expressway. That is a lot of barrels of oil. However, if Long Island decided to use nuclear energy, then there is a great danger of toxic waste invading our drinking water, and also the chance of a spill similar to Chernobyl or Three Mile Island. As we saw with Chernobyl there is great danger when using nuclear energy. If this were to happen on Long Island the risk of mortality would be even worse. There is no place on Long Island that is a good spot with no inhabitance. On Long Island there would be no escape, the roads simply would not support that amount of traffic. These are the fears of Long Islanders. Which brings us to another question. What did Long Islanders know about the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant? LILCO (long island lighting company) first announced its plan to build a nuclear power plant in 1965. They bought 455-acres in Shoreham, Wading River, and started construction in 1968. (pg 16 Aron) The plant was engineered and built by Stone & Webster Engineering Corp. They have helped ten prior electric companies, to build nuclear plants before 1985. Long Islanders at first were for having cheap energy, and did not disagree with the construction. But as time past and politics changed. The views towards nuclear power in the mid 1980s changed on Long Island. Shoreham power plant, which help to lower taxes and employed many local people. Now LILCO was getting negative press every other day. It was not what was going on at Shoreham but rather the rest of the world.

Information system Essay

1.Information system are too important to be left to computer specialists. Do you agree? Why or why not? I agree. A. Technology: Emerging mobile digital platform enables computer specialists to communicate with colleagues, coordinate work, and provide assistance to colleagues when they encounter computer problem, which improves efficiency of computer specialists. Computer specialists can keep vital documents on cloud computer platform, and work at anywhere, which guarantees the enterprise information network system runs smoothly. B. Management: Computer specialists adopt online collaboration and social networking software to improve coordination, collaboration, which simplify the process of information collecting and knowledge sharing. Computer specialists tackle computer problems by virtual meetings, which can save time and increase efficiency. C. Organization Teleworking makes computer specialists to work away from the traditional office, which gains momentum in the workplace. Computer specialists use social networking platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, and internal corporate social tools, which can deepen interactions with colleagues and leaders. 2. If you were setting up the web site for Disney World visitors, what management, organization, and technology issues might you encounter? A. Management Issues: a. Devise website development schedule As far as I am concerned, developing a website schedule is the first step for setting up a website. Firstly of all, I should prepare all of the hardware facilities for constructing the network server, which needs huge capital investment. Secondly, it is my duty to consider the framework of the website, a perfect framework construction would lay a solid foundation for the goal of promoting the website. Last but not least, collecting plenty of information is necessary, the website should be able to afford all the information for Disney World visitors whatever they want to learn. b.  Devise website promotion strategies When the website is constructed, I should make plans to promote the website. The purpose of setting up the website is to provide possible convenience and assistance for Disney World visitors. If no one knows the website, the website construction will make no sense. I need the assistance of a excellent team, who will formulate a series of scheme including advertising campaign to promote the website. c. Devise technology strategy Formulating the strategic objectives is necessary for the long-term development of website. We can provide high quality service to tourists through innovation, as a result, Disney will get high return on investment and creation of long-term competitive advantage. B. Organization Issues: a. Complete the website construction by assigning the tasks to each team within the stipulated time It is very important to set up a strict time plan. Building up a large-scale website needs every team to work together. Website construction is divided into a number of steps, every step should be strictly carried out in accordance with the plan. Mutual cooperation between the teams will guarantee the website be completed on time. b. Use social networking platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, to publicize website As social networking platforms is becoming more and more popular, it is necessary for us rely on these platforms to popularize the website. c. Regularly update the website Update the information of the website regularly on these networking platforms will make the website to be widely known, and will finally attract more visitors to Disney.

How to Calculate Beta Essay

How to Calculate Beta Beta refers to the volatility of a particular stock compared against the volatility of the entire stock market or, in practice, a representative index of that market, such as the Standard and Poor’s (S;amp;P) 500. Beta is an indicator of how risky a particular stock is and is used to evaluate its expected rate of return. Beta is one of the fundamentals stock analysts consider when choosing stocks for their portfolios, along with price-to-earnings ratio, shareholder’s equity, debt-to-equity ratio and other factors. Here’s how to calculate beta and use beta to figure an expected rate of return. This is the rate of return an investor could expect on an investment in which his or her money is not at risk, such as U. S. Treasury Bills for investments in U. S. dollars and German Government Bills for investments that trade in euros. This figure is normally expressed as a percentage.Determine the respective rates of return for the stock and for the market or representative index. These figures are also expressed as percentages. Usually, the rates of return are figured over several months. * Either or both of these values may be negative, meaning that investing in the stock or the market (index) as a whole would mean a loss against the investment during the period. Subtract the risk-free rate from the market (or index) rate of return. If the market or index rate of return is 8 percent and the risk-free rate is again 2 percent, the difference would be 6 percent. Divide the difference in the stock’s return rate minus the risk-free rate by the market (or index) rate of return minus the risk-free rate. This is the beta, which is typically expressed as a decimal value. In the example above, the beta would be 5 divided by 6, or 0. 833. * The beta of the market itself, or its representative index, is by definition 1. 0, as the market is being compared against itself and any nonzero number divided by itself equals. A beta less than 1 means that the stock is less volatile than the market as a whole, while a beta greater than 1 means the stock is more volatile than the market as a whole. The beta value can be less than zero, meaning either that the stock is losing money while the market as a whole is gaining (more likely) or that the stock is gaining while the market as a whole is losing money (less likely). * When figuring beta, it is common, though not required, to use an index representative of the market in which the stock trades. For U. S. stocks, the S&P 500 is the index sually used, although an industrial stock may be better served by comparing it against the Dow Jones Industrial Average.