Thursday, April 9, 2020

Leadership and Managers

During his era, Shakespeare had plays that were full of violence and they were very popular. Today’s audiences get disgusted because his plays are full of blood shedding and cruelty. In Shakespeare’s work, violence is portrayed in many ways such as in rape and sexual violation, mutilation, brutal murder and suicide. Specialists in the modern world have criticized violence as it has been used by Shakespeare and others have defended it. The way he uses violence shows the attitudes that people had during those times.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership and Managers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are so many violent episodes in Shakespeare’s work which make many people think that he was so much addicted to it. In Titus Andronicus there are scenes of blood shedding especially in the last scenes. Shakespeare makes Lucius, the new emperor in Rome, to become a superior man in the play. There is a quarrel between the Andronicus family and the Roman Empire that intensifies as the play continues. This results to grudges that are very irritating as well as dreadful acts. In the play, violence dominates and Lucius demonstrates this by integrating Titus and Marcus but frustrates Aaron. At the beginning of the play Alurbus is murdered, according to Roman law it was deemed as appropriate (Scott 264). At the end of the play, Titus becomes horrible especially to his enemies. This can be seen when he brutally murders Chiron and Demetrious in a very tricky way. This kind of brutality that has been exemplified by Titus contributes to one of the moral dynamic of Lucius that is about how well trickery can be used to commit violent acts. On the other hand, Marcus is a character who exists in the background and acts as a go- between. He clarifies revenge and blind violence when he states â€Å"you sad faced men, people and sons of Rome; by uproars severed as a flight of fowl; sc attered by winds and high tempestuous gusts; oh let me teach you how to knit again ; this scattered corn into one mutual sheaf; these broken limbs again into one body† (Bevington 111). He accuses Titus and his enemies for the vengeance acts because of the ruin they caused. In his statement he talks of the’ uproars’ and ‘the flight of fowls’. This simply refers to the murder that mess the play. In addition to that, he associates Titus’s actions with the natural calamities that destroy without discriminating. From his speech, he also talks of the ‘broken limbs’; meaning that Rome has been destroyed by riots and calls Titus a ruthless animal. He is very determined to take care of Rome instead of destroying it. Horatio, Hamlet’s best friend, does not kill anybody in the play and refrains from things that may incite him to revenge. At the end of the play, Horatio states: â€Å"and let me speak to the yet unknowing world; how th ese things came about, so shall you hear?; of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts; of accidental judgments, casual slaughters; of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause; and in this upshot, purposes mistook; falling on the investor’s heads† (Bevington124).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More He makes a promise to these people and stresses on the dangers associated with revenge. In his speech, he talks of the ‘carnal, bloody and unnatural acts’, basically he is referring to the killings that took place when his friend Hamlet tried to retaliate his father as well as the sexual act between the Claudius and the queen. He calls for reasoning to help in avoiding unnecessary blood shedding. Further more, Horatio talks of ‘deaths put on by cunning’ from the speech. He is referring to the accidental deaths that occur and still criticizes the inten tional brutal that occur as a result of personal hit-back. Besides, he talks of ‘purposes mistook, falling on the investor’s head’. By this he talks of the plans that were rooted maliciously and vengeance that did not achieve anything, but instead resulted to the death of spectators like Polonius and Gertrude who were murdered by mistake in the play. Aaron is given the title ‘complete foil’ in the play because he has contrasting characters with Lucius. Aaron does violent acts deliberately without any reason since he enjoys doing wrong while Lucius describes his violent acts in a positive way. The foil relationship between Aaron and Lucius can be clearly seen, for instance, in the case where Mutius is innocently killed by Titus, Lucius refers to this as unjust while Aaron observes the dead body and laughs his heart out (Bevington 135). Lavinia, Titus’s daughter, is assaulted sexually and tortured by a number of men who threaten her not to name them. This portrays the superiority of men in the play because the woman is denied the right to talk. This kind of silence can cause so many disturbances especially to women. Tamora wanted to kill Lavinia but his sons stop him and rape her instead. She gets so shocked because of that violation and wishes to die instead of being raped. She then requests Tamora to intervene with her sons but she does not agree. The mutilated body of Lavinia is shown to the audience indicating beauty that has been transformed to a beast (Lewis 258). Shakespeare wrote a poem called the ‘the rape of Lucrece’ that was mainly criticized in the sexuality and gender areas. Lucrece is raped by Tarquin who did not respond to her cries of mercy during the act. She sends messengers to tell her father and husband what happened to her and they soon arrive with other two men. She narrates to them what happened and they promise to punish Tarquin. Immediately after that, Lucrece commits suicide by stabbi ng herself. Violence can also be seen when Hamlet kills Palonius in the hamlet’s play by Shakespeare because of meddling in his affairs. The entire play is full of bloody acts thus bringing out underlying themes. Palonius’s death results to bad actions, because, later Ophelia gets insane after she gets the news of her father’s death and after a short while she also dies through suicide.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership and Managers specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Laertes gets so angry with Hamlet since he is the one who causes the death of Palonius, his father, and Ophelia, his sister. This leads to hatred between Laertes and Hamlet. Later in the play, Laertes and hamlet are poisoned by Claudius but instead of hamlet dying, Claudius is the one who is killed by the poison that he intended to give Hamlet. Shakespeare associates men more with violence than women in his plays. In the Old Testament, violence has been seen as a punishable act because it makes other people suffer in a serious way (Lewis 11). God is so much against it even in the New Testament because it is a sin. Violence inform of war in Shakespeare’s work is related to the violent wars occurring in the Bible. The Bible gives a very good example of violence between two brothers, that is, Cain and Abel, which led to Cain killing Abel ruthlessly. Shakespeare portrays such scenes where closely related people kill one another as a result of unreasonable violence such as in the case of Hamlet where he kills his father. Stage violence can be seen when Hamlet gets so upset with Gertrude, his mother, yelling at her, and also when he describes Claudius, his mother’s new husband, as a villain. He moves on to tell Claudius that he can not be like his father and were it not for his fault, his father would still be alive. This is a violent act because Hamlet is using words to tell his mother indi rectly that her new husband, Claudius, is a criminal and the mother is an adulterer. Hamlet also does this for vengeance on his father’s death. In Shakespeare’s Othello story stage violence can be seen clearly especially at the end of act V. This act ends with many conflicts as well as events of death. Somebody like Desdemona dies and Roderigo is severely wounded by Cassio. There are scenes of murder and death observed by the audience who tries to get the horror of these actions. These actions present a full extent of violence and the audience understands the play in a better way since it shows exactly what happens. The disadvantages of the stage violence are that the audience might not enjoy seeing the horrifying actions because they are shocking. The audience is also not given room for imagination since they can see all what is happening (Bevington 198). According to some people’s perspective, the use of violence by Shakespeare is gratuitous because they think that his aim was to attract those who watch ‘slasher films’. This can be true because the scenes are enjoyed by those people who like horror movies. In addition to that, Shakespeare used spectacular violence at the beginning of the play for entertainment purposes.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, Shakespeare might have used violence in his works to make the plot more sensible in spite of the negative occurrences. He uses violence to bring out the main themes in his work such as; the price people get after their actions, the differences between the reality and looks, from the themes violence improves their meaning (Bevington 254). Generally, violence of Shakespeare makes an interesting statement about violent impulses in human nature. This is because; the generic research demonstrates a connection between committing unreasonable acts of violence such as murder with specific inherent characteristics that are altered by experience. Violent impulses can be caused biologically, develop in a more complicated way and affect individuals in various ways and to certain extents. From a rational context, human violence in Shakespeare can not be privileged at all. The natural urges in human beings are the ones that accelerate violence due to the influence of both natur e and nurture. Shakespeare links the current problems caused by violence and brings them out in the same way through his plays. At the beginning of the play, he uses violence to entertain the audience but as the play progresses there is more human violence which is unreasonable. In his main calamities, he relates masculinity with power and sidelines the females because men are associated with bravery. In the last plays, Shakespeare associates human violence with today’s violence that occurs in the world. Both types of violence lead to many problems as well as accidents and deaths. Works Cited Bevington, David. Othello, the Moor of Venice. The Necessary Shakespeare. ( 2nd ed). New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. Print. Lewis, Clive. Discarded Image: An Introduction to Medieval and renaissance. Cambridge, Mass: Cambridge University Press, 1995. Print. Scott, David. Shakespeare After Theory. London and New York: Routledge, 1999. Print. This essay on Leadership and Managers was written and submitted by user Leighton Shaw to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monday, March 9, 2020

The non-diegetic sound Essays

The non-diegetic sound Essays The non-diegetic sound Paper The non-diegetic sound Paper Focus on how narrative and Genre features create meaning and generate response in a sequence from The Day The Earth Stood Still of no more than 15 minutes. This essay will discuss the history of science-fiction film, to establish common genre-conventions and finally apply genre and narrative conventions to The Day The Earth Stood Still. Genre and narrative come from expectations made by the audience and they offer comfort and reassurance because they help the audience to know what to expect and how to understand the film. Genre conventions take into account many aspects of a film including sound, actors, style, and form but mainly it deals with the films iconography i. e. the props, costumes, and settings. Narrative deals more with how and why the characters move the plot on, for example Propp said there are eight character types in every film, I will show this in more detail later. Fritz Langs Metropolis, made in 1926, can be seen to be one of the earliest science-fiction films that gained respect from audiences worldwide. It featured a mad scientist who created an evil robot in the form of a beautiful saintly girl. The science-fiction films of the 1950s, when The Day The Earth Stood Still was made, were generally low budget and therefore in black and white. Most of the scenes were shot at night because it is a cheap way of creating a spine-chilling effect. They generally had alien aircraft in them. The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers was directed by Don Siegel in 1956 and is a good example for all these common themes-as it was shot at night, under a low budget and in black and white. The Day The Earth Stood Still was made in 1951. The plot tells the story of an alien landing in Washington. The alien causes panic and the police try to capture him. However, the alien actually comes with a very important plea of peace-as he finally tells the nation, If you threaten to extend your violence, this earth of yours will be reduced to a burnt out cinder. Your choice is simple, join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. The film was directed by Robert Wise and was his only science-fiction film. He mainly did musicals and is best known for directing The Sound of Music in 1965. The two stars of the film, Michael Rennie and Patricia Neal, were not very well known when this film was made. However, Michael Rennie had had minor parts in many movies including The Wicked Lady in 1945. This film was made in the heart of the cold war, a time when, in America particularly, anti-communist views were held strongly in the West. The McCarthy witch-hunts of communists in public life and the arts led to the blacklisting of many writers, actors and directors. There was such a fear of communism at this time that this films anti-war message could have been seen by some as being unpatriotic. It was thus a very brave film to make but, thankfully, Robert Wise wasnt black listed and went on to direct many more classic films. The film carries its message on today, when after September 11 it is hard for Americans to argue against a possible war against Iraq. The best art has always carried messages that can be read by all people at all times. The extract I have chosen to study out of The Day The Earth Stood Still is near the end of the film. It starts with Klaatu and Helen on the way to the spaceship where Klaatu is going to make his speech. Klaatu tells Helen that Gort has the power to destroy the earth if he isnt there to stop him, but Klaatu is then shot by the Army and presumed dead. However, thanks to Helen, Gort saves his life in time for Klaatu to make the speech. Like many 1950s science fiction movies this extract is set at night, to try to create a tense atmosphere. The non-diegetic sound is very mechanical, reinforcing the idea that this film is part of the science fiction genre. It also has a trembling effect and some very sharp staccato notes to create the tension felt in this extract. The music is only played when Gort is in shot emphasising his mechanical nature. The spaceship is made out of smooth shapes, and man-made materials, for example plastic and metal. This emphasises how much more advanced the aliens are than the humans as they are using materials we know very well to create something that we couldnt achieve at that time. The effects of the electric doors and the platform dissolving into itself add a futuristic effect to the spaceship. The figure of Gort is the main icon that shows this extract to be a science fiction film. His costume is silver, a colour that is connected to metal and therefore robots, and in place of his eyes is one bright light. Gort can be seen as similar to robots that appear in later films. For instance in West World, made twenty years later, the robots have the power to kill us quicker than we can kill them, and in Terminator the robots are gaining complete control over the world. This parallels the way in which in DESS the other planets have given complete control to Gort and his kind. Fear is an important aspect of any science-fiction film; and in this film Gort provides the main element of fear. Even Klaatu says he fears his power, Im afraid of what he might do if anything should happen to me Theres no limit to what he could do, he could destroy the earth.

Saturday, February 22, 2020

Why bioinformatics and proteomic application essential in the Annotated Bibliography

Why bioinformatics and proteomic application essential in the diagnosis of complex disease such as cancer - Annotated Bibliography Example However, the article’s limitation is that it does not clearly distinguish the number of females and males plus kids in the study. Martin, J., Regad, L., Etchebest, C., & Camproux, A. (2008). Taking advantage of local structure descriptors to analyze interresidue contacts in protein structures and protein complexes. Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics, 73(3), 672-689. 3-Duh, Q. (2004) It is noteworthy that the article first describes cancer as caused by the alteration of not only the proteome, but also a genome. These changes inculcate the ability to evade normal cellular control mechanism on cancer cells hence prompting its uncontrolled growth. The article further demonstrates that prior to the efforts of scientists; cancer is controllable to some extent, or even totally if detected at its early stages. Considerably, among the several individuals who were interviewed on the same, are concluded to be ignorant. It emerged that the respondents sought the medical attention upon developing the symptoms of the disorder. However, the limitation of the article is that it does not illustrate perfectly the reason to why patients usually seek medical help at a later stage of cancer. The importance of bioinformatics in cancer disease is highlighted in this article. Bioinformatics is the study of predictive molecular signatures also called biomarkers. Biomarkers are a form of molecules whose occurrence indicates the pedigree of several diseases. This is a point where the scientists started to explore in their quest to find a limiting factor to this terrible disease. It is imperative that the author of this article did not highlight on the details of the biomarkers, thus, the arguments are limited. The author alludes that the biomarkers have been discovered to limit the severity of the disease in human body. The above article states that, since the growth of cancer portrays a form of multi-scale process, which is dominated by an invariable that exudes

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Investigate and asses the lives and work of the two Caribbean Essay

Investigate and asses the lives and work of the two Caribbean personalities who, in your opinion, made the greatest contribution to the development of thier own - Essay Example In 1975 he won this countrys lone medal Silver in the 100 metres at the Pan American Games in Mexico City, Mexico. The following year history was created when he won Trinidad and Tobagos first Gold Medal in the 100 metres at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, Canada. [Regis, 1999] In 1975, Crawford was added to the team of American coach Bob Parks, who prepared Crawford excellently for the 100 m and 200 m events at the Montreal Olympics, running only a few races during the season. The tactics paid off, as Crawford won the 100 m, narrowly in front of Don Quarrie of Jamaica, winning Trinidad and Tobagos first Olympic gold medal. He had also qualified for the 200 m final, but pulled out due to an injury. Hasely Crawford ´s last success was a bronze medal in the 1978 Commonwealth Games (100 m). He did also participate in the 1980 and 1984 Olympics, the most participations for an Olympian of Trinidad and Tobago but didnt reach to a final again. In the year 2000 he was named the Trinidad & Tobago Athlete of the Millennium.Crawford is a national hero in his home country, Crawford has appeared on postage stamps and has an airplane and a sports stadium named after him. Hasely Crawford’s remarkable achievement are not only restricted to his sports field but also as a person who contributed a lot to his society and people through his social work. His social work as the Head Community Relation at National Gas Company at Trinidad and Tobago is outstanding. He has done a great job in maintaining relationships from different institutions and invested a great deal to enhance the cohesive work environment. [Bow on World Stage Can Put Marvin with His Nations Greats, 2006] Crawford was specially invited to attend the Athens Games by the World Olympians Association, a body of which he is the Trinidad and Tobago president. Crawford’s contribution as an athlete is quite worthy in a sense that Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee appointed him as

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Concepts of Project Management Theories

Concepts of Project Management Theories Projects within the context of product development are temporary, divine, unique, and transient. Irrespective of the different latitude of goal requirement for any organisation, either to conduct organisational change or to create competitiveness from product innovation, the gravity of the challenges encountered was inevitable and attributable to the consequences of diversity, uncertainty (risk), complexity, urgency and integration of the project. To cope with these, much of the established theory and practices emanates from the conventional methodology of PM which was used as a framework of reference. This method is driven to be linear, analytic, reductionistic, deterministic, goal-oriented or waterfall approach. The presumption of this conventional approach is defined by a set of related reductionism of activities (such as work breakdown structure (WBS), cost breakdown structure (CBS), product breakdown structure (PBS) and et cetera) and sequential procedures in which were claimed to be adequately predicted the success rate of projects. Conversely, in most cases, especially complicated, uncertain and complex projects, the conventional PM method consistently exhibits high levels in failure rate in a project-oriented company such as Li Fung (LF). Against this background, an overview of the LFs projects in the context of product development processes that was underpinned by the conventional PM framework was undertaken. An example of an obscure, uncertain and complex project which demonstrated failure in achieving the project goal was presented. This lead to a universal consensus that another new approach has to be deployed in order to achieve high levels of success rate. Align with this setting, evidence can be seen in the development of a holistic and systemic PM in the context of product development such as complex adaptive system (CAS). CAS is characterised by apparent complex behaviour that come to light as a result of non-linear property, spatio-temporal interaction among a large number of component system at different levels of the organisation. CAS also exhibits dynamic properties that could evolve, adapt to the environment. Together, these attributes and characteristic can be associated and established as a valuable construct in the defining, managing and understanding of the project development practices and can help projects be more successful. Ultimately, a conclusion can be drawn that CAS could be beneficial and it can provide the flexibility in managing complexity and uncertainty in product development more successful. The findings also suggest a limitation on the application of the CAS to the context of product development projects. From the evolution to the revolution of the project management (PM) (Morris, PWG, 2013), projects are considered the ubiquitous driving force of organisations to improve its performance regardless of tangible or intangible value (Geraldi J, et.al., 2011; McCarthy P.et.al.,2006). Nonetheless, projects within the context of product developments (PD) in a product-oriented company are imperative to create differentiation and core competency from its competitors. Such importance stimulates the development of a plethora of frameworks and practices (Anderson, et.al, 2005) in order to improve our understanding of PD projects, processes and the management. To support such notion, there are two well-known frameworks which are claimed to be the best practices Bodies of Knowledge (Project Management Institute (PMI), APM, 2008) as well as the UKs Office of Government Commerce standard (PRINCE2) (Aritua B, et.al., 2008). Collectively, these cascade a universal framework for organisational practic es in term of the method, techniques and tools as remedies for implementing successful projects (Geraldi J, et.al, 2011; Vidal LA, et.al., 2008). Conversely, a paucity of success rate can be observed on projects by adopting the conventional PM method (Atkinson R, 1999) and performance improvement is perceived to be elusive (Geraldi J, et. al, 2011). According to the Bodies of Knowledge (PMI, 2008), a project is defined as a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. Consequently, it represents an effort to explore a new horizon. Due to the characteristics of projects unique, divine, novelty, finite, transient, multi-disciplinary, complex, dynamic and high risk, (PMI, 2008) has delineated a structural dimension with two components of approaches the product life cycles (PLC) and the management process. The PLC consists of five-step processes ranging from inception stage, feasibility, design, execution and completion stage (waterfall approach). At each stage of the project, it is required to follow a management process which comprises planning, control, organise and implement the process (PMBOKÂ ® Guide, 4th Ed 2008, p. 78). Predominantly, these methodologies are analytic, systematic, descriptive, linear, structured, sequential approach (Aritua B, et. al, 2007; McCarthy IP, et. al, 2006). Due t o the linearity property of the frameworks, the conventional PM can be conceived as an ordered, sequential and relative predictable predetermined sets of activities and dependencies (Bonner, et.al, 2002; Levardy V, et.al, 2009). Additionally, the conventional approach also makes an insidious assumption about the goal of a PD project that is known and fixed (Levardy V, et. al., 2009). By contrast, in most cases of the PDs goals and destination are rarely distinguishable, obscure and undetermined. Above and beyond, some complex factors such as elements of flexibility, uncertainty (risk), informality, feedback (interdependency and interrelationship) and autonomy might influence the project have been discounted (McCarthy IP, et. al, 2006, p. 438). These restraints may inhibit the projects ability to reach a goal. And yet, these methods are fairly well-suited to managing an isolated single project (Aritua B, et.al, 2007) and lower level of uncertainty (Kapsali M, 2011). To encapsulate, t he conventional methods of PM in term of PD deliver less value in defining, understanding, and managing complex, multi-disciplinary, ambiguous, uncertain and complicated projects. Against this background, a new holistic approach known as Complexity Adaptive System (CAS) has caught the momentary attention and it has been increasingly used as a lens to understand the complexity of the project development (Levardy V, et.al., 2009) especially in the realm of product development (PD) (McCarthy IP, et.al., 2006). In brief, Complex Adaptive System (CAS) defines to a complex system with an adaptive element that displays complex behaviour. With this introduction, the structure of this article is as follows. First, it provides an overview of the project-oriented organisation Li Fung (LF)s projects setting within the context of the organisational setting in project development. An illustration of a project called Battery-operated maker was outlined. Then, in the literature review, both Linear and CAS framework will be defined and elucidated in detail. Comparison between both will be delineated. Next, the recommendation to be provided. Finally, the article concludes by encapsulating the findings. Different business organisation-specific proposition will influence the multi-variant of project activities. Correspondingly, Li Fung (LF) is a global supply chain organisation that commend one stop supply-chain solutions for product design development, material sourcing, factory evaluation, production, manufacturing and quality control, as well as inbound and outbound global logistic (LF.com.hk, 2017). PM essentially is the lynchpin of the organisation to innovate and to change in accordance with the contemporary business need and the ever-changing market environment. Archetypally, the most salient characteristic of LF project complexity superimposed with Baccarini (1996) definition in term of organisational complexity (related to organisational hierarchical structure, levels, specialization et cetera) and technology complexity (associated with the operation, characteristic of material and knowledge). Herein the elements of complexity invariably induce complexes and complicatedness on the project. Against this setting, LF typified a PM methodology in which underpinned primarily on the conventional PMBOKÂ ® Guide (PMI, 2008) with a set of theories, principles, and practices as a frame of reference. In essence, the methodology encapsulated project cycle, budgeting, risk and manage each phase of the projects. This approach deeply rooted in current management practice. A centralized project organisational structure was established to translate proper instruction and management to the operation of the project. This was thought could efficiently and effectively facilitated projects within the organisation. In the similar vein, LF collaborated with Creative Memories (CM) to develop a project called Battery-Operated Maker (BO). The project goal was to develop a new revolutionary product which could attain the key stakeholders (CM) business and market demand. Project success was associated with achieving the project goals in which linked to the Iron Triangle Cost, Time and Quality (Atkinson R, 1999, p. 337). In another elucidation, the BOs project scouted for product differentiation, performance and functionality from any available product in the market. Due to the uniqueness of the project, it required a significant degree of technological complexity. As cited by Baccarini (2008), technology is a multi-dimensional and can be categorized into three aspects operational (equipping and sequencing of activities), characteristics of materials as well as utilization of knowledge and skills (Baccarini D, 2008). Pertaining to this discernment, evidence can be seen that BO project required ident ification of risk, development of the implementation of risk management, detail product planning, process control over the activities, and a formalized communication process. Naturally, the project depended on the role of the project manager (actors or agent) who entrusted on the goals of the projects. The project manager was requested to develop stable and predictable work processes and then improved those work processes over time through increased quality, reduced costs, and shorter delivery times. Habitually, the project undertook typical multiple process phases from the initial processing phase, Planning Process Phase till Execution Process Phase. In each of the phases, a series of predetermined activities have been determined. Not surprisingly, a major discrepancy and the deficiency were discovered during the execution stage, despite a systematic implementation steps and phases of the product cycle had been undertaken. Technically, the BO Maker could not fulfil the basic product functionality requirement or specification. Evidently, the non-systemic techniques including risk evaluation and management were incapable to encapsulate what need to be managed. Additionally, the conventional PM was solely focused narrowly on individual functions and tasks. In the end, the project ended with customer termination. The failure epitomized the concern and triggered a consensus that the current non-systemic, linear and reductionistic method had stretched to the limit, and another approach and perspective in understanding and managing the complexity of projects has to be instigated. Thus far, there are commonly a handful types of frameworks that were encapsulated with the aim of interpreting and understanding PD Linear, Recursive, Chaotic and CAS (McCarthy IP, et. al., 2006). In this section, due to the scope of the review, the restriction is given to Linear and CAS framework. Linear PD framework originates from the conventional PM methodology that emphases on a series of steps, phases and multifunctional activities which are sequential and discrete (McCarthy I.P, et. al., 2006). Best known linear PD framework is Project Management Book of Knowledge (PMBOK). PMBOKÂ ® Guide (PMI, 2008) outlines a set of theories, principles, efficiency and control practices as a frame of reference which navigate throughout the project cycle and manages by coordinating each phase of the projects. The processes were determined by the communication, cooperation and coordination of the teams that participated in the PD process (PMI, 2008). The critical assumption of the linear PD framework is that through a predetermined set of activities and dependence, the goal of the PD can be achieved effectively (Bonner, et.al, 2002; Levardy V, et.al, 2009). However, as per stated in the definition of a project, it represents an attempt to achieve a projects goal that is still uncertain, complex and ambiguous. In the main, the conventional theories and practices incapable to distinguish all of the disparate risk and uncertainty surrounding projects (Steward R, et.al, 1995). As such, this resonates with negative perspective that why so many projects failed. A survey conducted by KPMG Canada 1997 (calleam.com, Aug 2016) shows a staggering statistic of 61% surveyed organisations have suffered an unsuccessful failure rate. Even though linear framework can reveal any inappropriate process structure can deteriorate or even jeopardise any PD project, however, this reductionist technique inclined to disregard other contributing factors such as elements of interaction between disparate risk (Steward, R, et.al, 1995), flexibility, informality, feedback and autonomy (McCarthy IP, et. al., 2006). On the other side of spectrum, in response to the uncertainty, ambiguous, complexity of a new PD as well as unclear path to a projects designated goal and objective, this has triggered the consensus that the current conventional methodologies of the project development (PD) is insufficient and inappropriate to cope and adapt to the ever-changing environment pace (Vidal AL, et. al, 2008). Profoundly, PD is a non-linear and iterative sequence process (Levardy, et.al., 2009). According to numerous works of literature, a project can be considered as systems (Vidal A.L, et. al, 2008; Baccarini, 1996). A system is a perceived whole whose elements interconnected together because they continually affect each other over time and operate towards common purposes (Senge P, et.al, 2011). Alternatively, Vidal Ludovic (2008) contended that project complexity is the property of a project which makes it difficult to understand, foresee and keep under control its overall behaviour even when given a complete information about the project system. Its drivers are factors related to project size, project variety, project interdependence and project context. (Vidal A.L, et.al, 2008) Whereas, David Baccarini competed that their complexity is defined as consisting of many varied interrelated parts and can be operationalized in terms of differentiation and interdependence through the concept of organisational and technological complexity (Baccarini D, 1996). Not surprisingly, the above interpretation of complexity mirrors systems theory and it shares a lot of commonalities. Systems that exhibit the characteristic of complexity theory is known as a complex adaptive system (CAS) (Aritua et. al, 2009, p. 76). In another elucidation, in accordance to Plsek and Greenhalgh (2001, p.625), a CAS is a collection of individual agents with the freedom to act in ways that are not always totally predictable, and whose action are interconnected so that one agents action changes the context for other agents. In numerous kinds of literature (Aritua et al (2009), Dooley K (1997) and Lansing J.S (2003)), it is distinguishable that the attributes and the characteristic of a CAS can be summarised in Table 3.1. Table 3.1 Attributes and characteristics of CAS Hence, in an organisational context, the major antecedent in a CAS model is the individual agents which are the interaction of all the stakeholders customers, project manager, suppliers, internal team members as well as the external market environment. And yet, adaptation or emergence is the major consequence (Holden, 2005). Emergence is referred to as global patterns of organisation behaviour which are established out from the local self-organisation as a consequence due to the interactions of the systems as opposed to predetermined or deterministic (Levardy V, et.al, 2009; Dooley K, et.al, 1997). Through the macro level of the organisation to the micro level, emergence can be observed as the system carries out the process of selection upon the agents that bring about the whole organization functioning (Dooley K, et.al, 1997). Henceforth, this fosters a complex dynamic between individual or micro level (bottom-up) and organisation or macro level (Top-down). The interaction between both systems are different in schemas, but are interdependent (Dooley, K, et.al, 1997). These dynamic and interdependent interactions render the global coherent pattern of organisation. In sum, these dimensions demonstrate how CAS diverges from linear systems. Fundamentally, these constructs provides a backbone of understanding project management in complex, uncertain and complicated environment. By comparing and contrasting between conventional linear PD methodologies such as PMBOK Guide in particular versus the new methodology of CAS there are significant differences between them. The differences can be demonstrated in Table 3.2. Table 3.2 Comparison between Linear versus CAS framework of PD By contrasting between Linear and CAS approach of PD, it is self-evident to elicit that both have distinctive variation and methodologies. Through literature review, it is self-evident that the conventional PD methodology has significant limitations. The critical problem of the conventional PD is viewing the project as isolation with closed-loop boundary. Additionally, this methodology was predisposed by a set of theory that pre-specifying phases or steps of the processes to be undertaken through a series of control and management tools to evaluate the cost-quality-time. This resonates with the assumption of rationality due to cause-effect thinking and linearity about the control and boundaries. Nonetheless, it also disregards other essential elements such as flexibility, informality, feedback and autonomy that may affect the PD. Table 4.1 Restriction of Linear Approach versus Complement CAS framework of PD Â   Â   By contrast, in light of the complexity and uncertainty nature of the project, a CAS framework offers a powerful and useful insight in understanding the PM. By adopting the CAS framework, it is to recognize that project management within the context of PD processes are systems with agents that are interconnected through a nested network. Each subsystem or elements have the ability for autonomous decision making. Align with this notion, in the LF organisational setting, the CAS takes into account of the whole system elements such as CM, Project Management Teams, Market, Environment dimension. Furthermore, the most salient considerations are the interactions between each of the elements are semi-structures (Brown and Eisenhardt, 1997). Apart from above generic properties, it is worth noting that there are some other key insights claimed for CAS structure which are imperative in understanding the CAS framework (Chan, 2001). These are listed as follows. Distributed Control In lieu of highly structured and tightly coupled (Linear) which propagate high level of efficiency, the LF organisational structure between all the stakeholders are deliberated to be relatively unstructured and uncoupled. The resultant behaviour of the systems is due to the interrelationships between the stakeholders in the project. In other word, there is no single centralized structures that manage the overall systems behaviour under the CAS framework. Connectivity As a result of interrelationship, interaction collectively, independence as well as inter-connectivity of the system, subsystem, elements and its environment, these contribute partly to the project complexity as opposed to typical technology and organisational context of complexity. This signifies that a decision or action by one of the elements in the system will affect all other related elements, subsystem and ultimately the overall system. Adaptation and Co-evolution In response to perturbations and change, elements in a system has the capacity (semi-autonomous) to synchronize and desynchronize (also known as self-organisation) in order to adapt within their environment. Through adaptation, the systems will evolve to reveal the desired characteristic that inclined to the success of the project goals or objectives. In the LF organisation context, rather than capitulate to mechanistic prediction and quantitative analysis of conventional PM methodology, the intention is to lay prominence on the qualitative dynamical trajectories on the whole system (Garnsey, E, et.al, 2006). Sensitive Dependence The interaction between elements is in non-linear fashion (Aritua B, et. al, 2007; McCarthy IP, et. al, 2006). In another sense, CAS are sensitive and small changes can have a surprisingly counterintuitive influence/implication to the overall behaviour in the form of butterfly effect or complying with Power Law Distribution rather than following the normal Gaussian Distribution (Garnsey, E, et.al., 2006). Similarly, this phenomenon signal a fruitful understanding the repercussion of the reciprocal interaction between any elements of the stakeholder in LF project setting either in reinforcing or balancing feedback loop. Thus, in real project setting, the emergent behaviour of the project is fundamentally unpredictable in nature. As opposed to Linear approach, long-term prediction and control are not essential to be practicable in CAS framework. Far-from-Equilibrium Attributable to the non-linear nature of the dynamical system, any change in processes happens far-from equilibrium, in contrast with linear system that accepted the concept of a system having equilibrium (Newtonian Paradigm) (Dooley, K, 1997). It is clear that the crux of this argument centers on how opened systems are obligated to discover any opportunities that might create different structures and new patterns of relationship as opposed to isolated systems evolve toward equilibrium, an unchanging state. On the other side of the spectrum, it could be also observed that CAS posits some limitation. Firstly, it does not depict the operational detail. Moreover, it is very challenging to understand or even visualizing by modelling the collective behaviour pattern of the organisation. In addition, the most salient observation is that since the process consequences are random, this lead to misconception that it is therefore unpredictable. Â  Given the rise of the present complexity and uncertainty environment, the application of the CAS framework to the evolutionary changes in PM, as opposed to the Newtonian paradigm that based on linear theory, has caught substantial attention. Based on literature review, the conventional PM (prescribed projects as simple, linear, centralised, reductionistic, deterministic, predictable, decomposability) provides less value to the contemporary nature of projects. This resonates to the assumption that the conventional PM initiative is over-emphasizing on the process efficiency and effectiveness by achieving the basic Iron-Triangle requirement. On the other hand, the literature review proposes and supports that CAS framework takes a more holistic, interdisciplinary approach to the development of complex projects. Having said that, through the inherent properties of non-linearity, self-organising as well as the co-evolution that cascades the emergent order of the system, this leads to believe that the complex system is essentially challenging to predict with enough veracity. These attributes are the essential elements in understanding on how to manage projects. Obviously, it is self-evident that it is to define CAS is broad, complicated and often difficult to grasp. Besides, CAS has often been misunderstood that due to randomness, the system cannot be predicted.

Monday, January 20, 2020

World Literature Essay -- English Literature

World Literature Essay â€Å"The Jane Austen novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is basically concerned with the education of a young heroine† The statement â€Å"The Jane Austen novel ‘Pride and Prejudice’ is basically concerned with the education of a young heroine† raises many questions. The term education in this context means a journey of ones self rather than a formal schooling education. From the beginning pages of the book the idea of Elizabeth being the heroine is established. Since there are other themes of the novel, themes of love, reputation and class, it can be questioned as to whether the novel is centred on the education of Elizabeth. Darcy is also a major character to the plot of the novel and contains the same faults as Elizabeth so the book could be centred on his journey as well as hers. However, Elizabeth’s education in overcoming her obstacles is a very long one compared to that of Darcy’s In the first three pages of the novel the character of Elizabeth is depicted as a very intellectual character by her father. ‘ â€Å"..they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of a quickness than her sisters.† ’[1] It is clear that Austen introduces and forms such an impression of Elizabeth early in the novel in order to promptly get the reader into the plot and communicate the heroine of the novel. No other character commands the same interest as Elizabeth. Even though Elizabeth is depicted as the heroine, she possesses faults which are very set. The character’s biggest issues lie with pride and prejudice, each one in the way of her conquering the other. Whether the novel is basically concerned with the education with Elizabeth can be questioned as there are other major... ...enguin Books, London 1996. * Williams.M, Jane Austen: Six Novels and Their Methods. Macmillan, London 1986 * Lambert. J, A Text Response Guide to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Wizard Books, Ballarat 1993 * Curtis.T, Get Smart Study Guide: Pride and Prejudice. Science Press, Australia 1999 * Handley.G, Brodies Notes on Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, London 1990. --------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp 7 [2]Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp 36 [3] ibid.,pp33 [4] ibid.,pp57 [5] ibid.,pp309 [6] Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp21 [7] Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Books, London 1996. pp 89 [8] ibid.,pp94 [9] ibid., pp 202 [10] ibid., pp 295

Sunday, January 12, 2020

How do people feel about the changes that have taken place on Portobello road over the last few years?

The changes that have affected Portobello road in the last decade have a had a great impact on the local community along with the future proposals which have been outlined for the area by the council in order to improve the area. For the purpose of the investigation it is useful to understand how the local community view these changes and proposals, and to gain an insight into the conflict that is arousing from the proposed changes and developments. A secondary source presented as an article from the Notting Hill Action Group, which is an organisation campaign involved in fighting local issues. In this article local residents are protesting against the eviction orders that have been served on Elgin books, a bookstore which has been on the road for more than 20 years, one of the reasons for this protest is that the rent has increased so much the bookstore can no longer afford to pay substantial amounts of money on rent. The local residents are also furious about the fact that breaches against planning consent rules i. e. ‘the Fluid juice bar shop front being put up without planning', are allowed to go unchecked by the council, even though actions like these are ‘considered an offence to the streets character'. Although these protests are creating an unhappy atmosphere in and around Portobello road, it is useful to understand why the residents feel what they do, one of the reasons may be down to the fact that residents don't want to ruin Portobello's individual character. However this is very difficult to overcome the conflict between residents and planners because many ‘greedy people in the area are using Notting hill's celebrity as a way of forcing up rents and forcing out businesses, which have been in the area for more than 30 years. An article labelled ‘Planning rage' which is slightly different to the 1st 1 although still sharing the same subject matter of ‘planning orders'. In this article (which is written by NAG) the Unitary development Plan is being criticized by many residents along with the Notting Hill Action Group itself! This is extremely relevant to the investigation because the future proposals stated in question 4 are based on the Unitary Development Plan, therefore it is useful to understand how the residents view these changes. The article starts off with the fact that ‘ owners of small family-run businesses say that they will be squeezed out by the unitary development Plan which is proposing to open the floodgates to huge chain stores. ‘ And it also states that ‘the recent arrival of chain stores such as GAP and Starbucks has fuelled their fears. ‘ It is evident from these 2 lines, that the people of Portobello road ‘don't want the small businesses (which make the area so unique) be swallowed up by chain stores that will make the area look like any where else. Especially a resident in particular called Mr Walton who lives in Arundel Gdns, who says: â€Å"we are concerned that developments should not harm the character of the area. † The council have responded to this argument by saying: â€Å"we're trying to react to what people want, and to do it within the powers we are granted. † It obvious that this is a complicated issue, because there is a balanced argument between both the councillors and the residents, therefore it is difficult to determine who is right in what is being said. Another article displays a variety of articles, one of which is to do with the division between the rich and the poor on Portobello road. This article is stating that there is a ‘widening gap between the rich and the poor in the UK and this is marked in the Notting hill area, which has multi million pound house prices while Goldbourne ward (northern section) is in the fifth poorest ward in inner London. ‘ Therefore many of the residents of the Goldbourne ward have organised a pilgrimage, which is a powerful reminder to everyone to challenge the status quo, and to work energetically for a fairer, more balanced society. Many of the people who are involved in this protest are trying to convince the council to give in to their requirements by organising these sorts of campaigns. However it is not easy for the council to equalise the 2 parts of the road because the census data on page shows that there is a high unemployment and low home ownership rate which means that most of the population live in rented houses, therefore it would take the council a long time to match up to the employment and home ownership rates which are 3 times higher in the Pembridge ward. Although the newspaper article is outlining resident views, it is still a secondary resource and so its reliability could be questioned, we cannot be sure that there is a division between the rich and the poor in the 2 wards, as the article is written by a person who may well be biased. However the primary data in the form of a shopping, environmental and residential house surveys show that the Pembridge ward is far better off than the Goldbourne ward in terms of house prices and quality. Even though most people situated in Portobello road such as the residents in the 1st NAG article are criticising the future proposals that have been made by the council (stated in question 4) there are also others who are in favour of these improvements i. e traders. In the article named ‘Portobello 2000' Anne swift is an antiques dealer who talks about the future of Portobello road, and also mentions the importance of ‘Portobello having the opportunity to establish itself as the worlds leading centre for antiques and a leading market for general commodities. Anne sees the ‘over commercialisation' of Portobello road as a good thing as this would encourage trade from tourism, however the people in the ‘planning rage' article see this as gentrification steam roller, and as a threat to small businesses. Therefore this is causing a growing conflict between traders and residents. Anne swift suggest some of her own proposals which are in line with those stated in question 4, she believes that all traders have to offer high quality goods, by displaying better merchandise. She also states that improving the environment will create a more clean and spacious environment for everyone, especially tourists. Lastly she suggests the need for friendly and efficient service in order to satisfy customers. A questionnaire which was conducted on all parts of Portobello road in order to find out information about the residents and tourists who shop there. The results of the questionnaire were then converted in to a graph, which helped to analyse the relationships between the figures. From question 1 on the graph its evident that the majority of people questioned were residents (58%) and the remaining were either tourists or workers (42%). This proves that Portobello road attracts quite a lot of tourists and therefore has a large sphere of influence, as the figures are nearly similar to that of the residents. Out of the 58% of the residents questioned, 33% of them have lived in the area between 11-20 years, which showed that they knew the area well and were aware of the changes that have taken place over the last decade. Many of the residents questioned felt that the area had changed in terms of housing which is now of a better quality and residents, as new people are being attracted to the area everyday. 2% of the residents felt that the changes had made the area better, while 29% of the people felt that the changes were quite good for the area, however there were only 7% of residents who felt that the area had declined. This shows that Portobello road has made a great improvement since the last decade. The remaining results showed that 40%of the people questioned have visited Portobello road more than 10 times mostly for Antiques and general food shopping. Again, this shows that tourism is an important factor, which affects Portobello road everyday and has maximised its function.