Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Portrayal of Women in Dreamgirls 2006 Movie Review

Portrayal of Women in Dreamgirls 2006 - Movie Review Example The plot of the movie is set in the period of 1960s and 1970s. The movie narrates the lives of three young promising and talented African American women who formed a music trio The Dreammates with the dream of becoming famous musical group. The three women Effie White, Deena Jones and Lorrell Robinson were the members of the musical group where Effie acted as the leading singer. The singing talent of the girls was discovered by the record executive Curtis Taylor. He offered the girls to become back-up singers for headliners James Thunder. He worked hard on the grooming of the girls and takes the control of look and sound of the group. He soon started feeling closer to Deena and based upon his romantic interest he insists that Deena should replace Effie as leading singer of the group.They underwent a conflicting situation over the issues of change of group name and substitution of lead singer. The record executive insists that they should change the name of the group to Dreams because this name seems to be more music friendly. Furthermore, he also wants to see Deena as the leading singer of the group. The movie shows the three women having the realization that they have to pay high costs for getting their dreams come true because the fame and fortune come to them in exchange for much higher cost than  their imaginations.  

Monday, October 14, 2019

Economics of Sport Essay Example for Free

Economics of Sport Essay 1. Introduction: This report will overview and discuss how stakeholders in professional sports can get as much as they want out of the sport, without too much involvement from the government. It will also cover some of the purposes of government-intervention and what they should do to keep the competitive balance intact for the leagues. There will be examples and discussions drawn from clubs and leagues in the European Soccer and also differences between how sports leagues on either sides of the Atlantic ocean works in this matter. The importance of keeping stakeholders happy is the key to on-pitch success. Stakeholders in sport are everybody involved with sport; participants (players/athletes), fans, governing bodies, financial investors and communities at large. 1.1 Background: Since the early stages of the discussion and the involvement of the economics side of the field of sports, Naele (1964) identified professional sports leagues as a different animal than any other competitive industry in the world we know today. The main focus for professional sport leagues is to provide and compromise teams to a highly competitive level where they can produce and sell sporting events to the public (Fort Quirk, 1992). Similar individual teams make up a professional sports league, that all relies to gain the maximum of economic benefits as possible while relying on the opportunity to compete against other teams to produce their outputs; the outcome will be games for the fans to enjoy. Without an organised structure of games and tables, the competitive output would not exist for sports leagues or its fans. Naele (1964) also claims that there is one main difference between a typical competitive business industry and the sports industry. He says that a normal industry gains the most economic and capital benefits while it faces the least amount of competition as possible. Simply put, the businesses are seeking to be the only supplier to the market to become the market leader and in that way earn money. This is not a preferred position for any professional sports league or team, while they rely on other teams and leagues to produce a product of outcome to make a sustainable business out of it. 1.2 Why do clubs either focus on winning or maximising profits? Models often used to discuss how sports leagues tend to behave are primarily the trend if club owners either aims for maximise profits (El-Hodiri Quirk, 1971) or wins (Kà ©senne, 2000). It is seen that the North American major sports leagues and the European leagues supports the assumptions that clubs uses a trade-off point of profit and wins (Atkinson, Stanley, Tschirhart, 1988). The most optimal for leagues and clubs should be to aim towards finding a model that balances the weighted sum of profit and wins (Dietl, Grossmann, Lang, 2011). Therefor we sometimes see teams and leagues that work after gaining profit and economic benefits for survival, and on the other side we see the teams and leagues that works towards winning as their main goal and business objective. Some owners of team are even willing to lose or invest money to build a winning team in the long run (Fort Quirk 2005). 1.3 Where does the government fit in to the market of sports? There are two main reasons why governments intervene in sports: efficiency and equity (Andreff, 2001). Efficiency reports to the allocation of production resources. That involves sharing and allocation of who does what, how will it be done and where it will be produced. In other words, government and state supplies the right people and funding so that sport production from all levels are made as efficient as possible. Equity on the other hand are concerned how the distribution of the market will benefit and gain throughout society (McWha, Smith, Clarke, 2000). Meaning that the government and state joins up to gain the participation and enrolment of sport from youth and grassroots levels so that as many as possible can get the chance of getting involved with sports programs. Government tends to use sports funding to gain a bigger and broader social wellbeing and strengthen national identities while gaining and providing the country with more talent and more competitive power on an in ternational scale (McWha, Smith, Clarke, 2000). Government bodies also ensure that rules are followed and that the regulatory framework for how the organisations operate are followed correctly. 2. Key Issues The sports culture between Europe and America varies a lot. All from regulating, formatting and design and managing are way different from each side of the Atlantic. The way that the American sports leagues are formed is that they are built as independent organisations which has an entry barrier through franchise sales. This means that a new entry to the league is only possible if a current team is for sale of if the league are in a need of open up for expansion (Cain, Louis Haddock, 2005). In Europe they use an open model, which is seen as a hierarchical structure where entry relies fully on a promotion/relegation system (Andreff, 1989). 2.1 European Football Football is by far the world’s most popular sport with over 3.5 billion fans worldwide (Dunning, 1999) The English Barclays Premier League had in the season of 2009-2010 revenues worth of  £2.1 billion, which by then was a record for the league (Conn, 2011). Now a few years later, a new broadcast deal has been signed and together with the worlds most expensive regular tickets prices, the revenues will be worth nearly  £5 million (Pantanella, 2012). With an promising and an substantial uplift of the already massive broadcast deals of the 2013/2014 season, the English Premier League will account for more then the half of the top 20 clubs with the highest revenue of Europe (Bosshardt, Bridge, Hanson, Shaffer, Stenson Thorpe, 2013). From the roots, the clubs throughout Europe is voluntary organisations. But with the new age of media, commercialisation and globalisation; the bigger and the dominant clubs are more seen as business entities with capital, a vision of profit and the responsibility of results for the fans (Boyle Haynes, 2004). According to the Deloitte annually edition of the Football Money League, the Spanish giant Real Madrid became the first European club team to surpass the â‚ ¬500 million (AUD 658 million) revenue threshold in one year during the season of 2011/2012. Second on that list is Barcelona FC with AUD 619 million and third is the English sided Manchester United FC on AUD 508 million (Bosshardt, Bridge, Hanson, Shaffer, Stenson Thorpe, 2013) With this amount of money being shoved in and out of the football organisation in Europe it is hard to see why there would be a need of government intervention other than how the regulations of the sharing of the deals will be spent. The bigger, the better and the more popular the club are, the more fans they will attract and the more TV viewers they will get (Fort Quirk, 2005). In Spain there are no regulations or laws of the distribution of the broadcast revenue at all. They are letting every club negotiate individually with the broadcasters available on the market. Since the season of the Spanish La Liga 2004/2005, there has only been one year when a team (Villareal 07/08) other then Real Madrid and Barcelona clinched the first two spots of the table (List of Champions Sport Soccer Statistic Foundation, 2013). Thanks to this system, the league has almost lost its competitive balance for the rest of the teams of the league while the two dominant teams clinch the best commercial-d eals for the league for themselves and the spots of continental competition. The English Premier League has also been dominated by the classic â€Å"top 4† teams, Chelsea FC, Manchester United FC, Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC. Since the English Football League First Division rebranded itself to the Barclays Premier League in 1992, there has only been one season where a team outside of the former mentioned to become Champions (Blackburn Rovers 94/95), and since then there has only been Leeds United that has been able to steal a top three place in the table from the â€Å"top 4† teams (Past Winners – The Football League, 2013). The sharing of the broadcast rights revenue in England is shared in three parts: 50% are shared equally throughout all 20 clubs, 25% in facility fees and 25% depending how they end up in the league (Premier League Season Review, 2011). With this numbers in mind, the money attracted to certain clubs seen as being more economically viable than others, comes from individual contracts, endorsements and overseas business opportunities and sponsorships, not exclusive from broadcast rights. This is where the problem is. A trend of overseas rich oligopolies taking over ownerships of European clubs has formed an international debate whether the ethics and moral of the competitive balance of the sport. With almost immeasurable amounts of money, a civil person can by the majority of shares of a team and transform it to a name-reputational team with gaining high-value player transfers and offers high wages (Vrooman, 1995). The government and the state bodies around Europe have since 2009 together with UEFA agreed on putting a motion of a so-called Financial Fair Play. It was introduced due to the concern of the heavy spending of a number of professional clubs across Europe, it was hoped that the regulations would eventually lead to a more ‘level playing field’ by preventing clubs with very wealthy owners who make substantial cash gifts to their club from gaining an unfair advantage over other clubs who are run on a more sustainable business model, and in so doing encourage lower levels of spending (UEFA, 2012). 2.2 Other leagues Over the Atlantic Ocean there is a whole other perspective of sports. America has uniquely formed a fundamental culture, where schools and colleges are to be the main resource of forming the professional leagues (Bottenburg, 2010). Leagues in America have the world’s most profitable league; the National Football League (NFL) that alone draws in an annual profit of over one billion Australian dollars (Seepersaud 2010) The American Leagues are seen as the most competitive-balanced leagues in the world, with leagues as the NFL, NHL, MLB and the NBA. In America they use a variety of implements of their formatting of the leagues to make it as fair and as competitive as possible. But the how the competitive balance work in practise varies from eye to eye. As mentioned before, America uses a closed league system. Thanks to that it is possible for them to use a so called draft system, where the lowest ranking team from previous season has the opportunity to choose first in the upcoming draft of young talents from all over the world. NFL, NBA and NHL also implemented salary caps, which give the teams over the league a total amount of money to spend on wages each season so that not one single team is the only one to afford the biggest names. They also have a season concluded with a knockout play-off. This kind of formatting makes the outcome each year impossible to range. Since the commercialisation of the sports imploded America there has only been few back-to-back wins in the professional leagues. There has been some dominance by teams as the Los Angeles Lakers (NBA), New York Yankees (MLB), but other than that the outcome is considerably uncertain from year to year. Not least in the NHL and the NFL. 3. Summary Since most of the European clubs are win-maximised focused teams with the main aim to survive and stay as high up in the league system as possible, the intervention of government and state should be as low as possible. For the participants of the game they really do not need any actions to be taken from the government other than regulating the safety on the pitch with guards and police forces protecting them to unknown elements of danger. They will all get paid, and if they are good enough to seek themselves elsewhere for more lucrative deals, the already government-applied silly-season and the transfer-windows will secure them and the clubs. In America the draft system and college involvement should be enough for the government’s involvement. Since the American sports leagues are working after a cartel linked system to survive and make profits, the salary cap helps younger and inexperienced players to secure wage-deals that suits them in their careers. The fans will always be together and involved with their club unless something drastic will happen. The way that government should intervene to keep fans from all levels satisfy are to maybe try to manage and put pressure on leagues and clubs to keep their gate-tickets as fair and lucrative as possible. With the draft system and the Financial Fair Play, the fans from teams and clubs that have not gained the trophies or cups recently, will be to their advantage in a near future. This will make a higher competitive market for talents and that the spread of players will be wider overall. Community will get help of government involvement of them interact and supply state and government supported facilities by bringing either existing clubs or future franchises to their community. This is a form of politic question that involves tax-money and an overall public demand. As long as the leagues and the teams manage to keep a sustainable competitive balance and a high quality outcome, I do not see why governments should interact and interfere with how the sports leagues are managed today. The Financial Fair Play is too soon to reflect on how it will work out as an outcome for the European football, but we can already see that it has marked its point in countries as Turkey and Spain when UEFA banned Besiktas and Malaga from continental competition due to overspending of their own capacity. The government should work from the community’s perspective; keep a full-on investigation and reporting about drugs and safety of players and athletes. In short, let the leagues and sports manage themselves, because in the end it is all about keeping the most important stakeholders happy and satisfied, the fans.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Features of data and information

Features of data and information Identify the features of data and information Data: Data is defined as the collection of facts about events. This collection of facts is in raw form means that an unorganised and unprocessed form, which cannot be use for meaningful purpose for example Name, Age, Price etc. Information: Information is defined as a well-organised, well-processed and meaningful form of data generated from raw data. The end users utilises this meaningful data for making a decision easily for example Employees Records, Sale Report etc. Accessibility, Relevance, comprehensibility, timeliness and accuracy: In any organisation it is important that accessibility to information must be provided to all departments employees it means that availability of information to the management and other staff. The accessible information must be relevant to the processes, functionality and operations of that department. The information must be comprehensible i.e. clear, well organised and structured, must be timelines i.e. suitable to complete related task and must be accurate to generate the expected result properly. Determine the criteria to be applied when selecting data and information to support decision-making In business environment data is a valuable asset for any organisation. The data must be collected carefully because organisation decision-making processes are based on the generated information from this data. While selecting data and information for decision-making we must apply some criteria to this selection such as accuracy, validity, clarity etc. Data selection criteria: Accuracy, completeness, validity, consistency Accuracy: Data accuracy is vital role in management information because an accurate data can generate highly valuable results. For data accuracy timeliness is important otherwise there will be errors in the result. Completeness: The completeness of the data means the availability of latest data for decision-maker. The incomplete data can lead to poor decision-making management information. Validity: The validity of data mean data must be collected carefully and from an authentic source. The source of data must be known and verified. Consistency: The consistency of data is key role in good management information because it generates reliable, steady, well-organised and well-structured information. Information selection criteria: Data quality, definition clarity, relevance, presentation, timeliness, availability Data quality: To generate highly valuable and standard information data must be according to certain quality standards such as data must be in the appropriate format, well structure, well-organised and standard transferring method must be used. Definition clarity: The generated Information must be clearly and easily understandable, this will allow organisation employees to use the right information in the right place. Relevance: Information must be relevant to a task that it can be examined and packaged into an effective format. This is helpful that the management information is having to the point information but the information must not be incomplete. Presentation: The management information must be able to present information in the right format, order, well-structured and attractive design. This will describe a clearer picture of the organisation. Timeliness: The information must not take longer time i.e. must be concise and to the point that the management information can quickly response. Availability: The regular availability of information must be guaranteed to the management information that all tasks can run smoothly and the management information is able to generate up to date results. Evaluate the impact of a management information system to an organisation Increasing productivity and creativity: Management information system provides knowledge to workers accessing information resources. Using this knowledge the productivity of organisation is increased rapidly i.e. manufacture more products in short time. Not only this but also it brings new ideas and inspiration into the organisation. Developing policies: Management information system helps organisations to get maximum benefits from the extensive use of these information resources in developing policies i.e. planning, implementation and evaluation in the organisation. Use of strategic information resources: In the management information system the strategic information resources helps organisation in increasing productivity and brings new innovation. Organisations are able to do better planning, implement new policies efficiently. Strategic information resources improve the use of information resources in business, government and non-profit organisations strategies. Understanding ICT as a tool for accessing information In the management information system the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools are the most commonly used source for accessing information. These tools allow organization to access any type of information such products, researches, new developments, quality standards, communication with employees and customers etc. Managing external, corporate and internal information in organization The management information system systematically and efficiently manages the external information i.e. customer needs and choices, corporate information i.e. organisation values, brand names, advertising and marketing procedure, and internal information i.e. effectiveness of tasks, quick processing, interpretation and response of the organisation staff. Using information to support business processes Information supports the following business process. Market and customer information Using Market information organisation can learn about the competitors in the market allowing them to improve product quality, increase productivity etc. using customer information organisation will have a better understanding of customer needs and choices. Product information Using product information organisation can improve products quality, increase production, price comparison and easily availability. Specialist knowledge Using specialist knowledge organisation can manufacture new innovative products, add new customer to business, reduced cost and expenditure. Business process information Business process information supports the internal information about the performance of the organisation such Finances, Customer, internal process and learning and growth. Management information and plans Management information and plans supports the developing policies, future planes, and improvement of services of the organisation. Human resource information Human resource information is essential for organisations reputation, product support, future planes and innovations. Supplier information The Supplier information allows the organisations to choose from a large number of suppliers offers affordable price, best quality and quick service. LO2: Understanding the importance of information sharing within the organisation Information sharing within the organisation making employees as team allowing them to put forward their ideas, inspiration, new creations, discuss different matter and find solution for critical issue. This improves the overall efficiency of the organisation in terms of employees, products, policies, customers and competitors. Assessment Criteria Determine the legal responsibilities in sourcing, sharing and storing information Confidentiality and privacy: Special care must be taken when sourcing, sharing and storing information such that this must fully compliance with the Data Protection Act. Information about organisation and employee must not be disclosed with out their consent. Copyright and software protection Any type of data, information and software must be used under copyright and software protection Act. This means that using someone work must be authorised by that person or any organisation to which it belongs. Contractual obligations In case of conditional agreement information sourcing, sharing and storing must not breach the conditions i.e. all these operations must be according to the terms and conditions of contract. IS and Crime (criminal not civil law) This includes frauds i.e. dishonestly use of information, infringement i.e. violation of rules and regulation, miss used of information i.e. for the purpose of making organisation or individual unpopular. Discuss when information should be offered and access allowed. Information obtaining, accessing and processing must be according to the Data Protection Act, which gives the right to individuals Person, organisation etc to know what information is held about them, the purpose of information holding as well ensures them that personal information is handled properly. Anyone who is processing someone personal information must comply with the eight principles of Data Protection Act, which are explained below. Fairly and lawful process: According to 1st principle, Personal data must be processed fairly and lawfully. This means that the data subject i.e. person, organisation permitted the processing of their personal information for any legal and legitimate purposes such as employment, justice, health and safety etc. Process for limited purpose: According to 2nd principle, Personal data must be obtained and process for a limited purpose only i.e. one or more particular and lawful purposes. If the further processing of personal information is required for other purposes than the specified then the data subject must be informed and further processing should be according to the data object consent. Adequate, relevant and not excessive: According to 3rd principle, Personal data must be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to the purpose it is obtained and processed. This must ensure the data subject that the processing of personal data is relevant to the specified purpose and is not unnecessary. Accurate and up to date: According to 4th principle, Personal data must be accurate and up to date if necessary. This means that the accuracy of the data must be ensure whatever it is directly obtained from the data subject or it is through third party. It is the responsibility of the data object to inform the about any changes or inaccuracy in the data. Not kept for longer than is necessary: According to 5th principle, Personal data must not be kept longer than is required for the purpose or purposes after it is processed. Process in line with a persons right: According to 6th principle, Personal data shall be processed with the data subject rights under the Data Protection act. This means the data subject has the right to request for the correction, blocking and deleting of their personal data after processing. Secure: According to 7th principle, the security of personal data must be ensures. This means that in case of unauthorised or unlawful processing, accidental loss and destruction to the personal data appropriate technical and organisational measures should be taken to prevent such incidents. Data Transfer According to 8th principle, Personal data must not be transferred outside the European Economic Area i.e. to outside countries. If the outside countries can ensures that personal data will have adequate level of protection and will be processed with the consent of data object and for the specified purpose, then in such situation data can be transferred. Evaluate the formats in which information can be offered. Electronic/manual: In Electronic format information are provided through electronic means computer generated such as E-mail, Ms Word file, Excel sheet, Data Bases etc. while manual information are almost are provided on papers i.e. printed or handwritten such as log books, manual order book, letters, books, reports etc. Lists of Individuals List of individual could be computer generated or manual, which contains details about organization employees, managerial stop and other staff responsible for different task. Usually this contains names, designation, contact etc. Libraries: Libraries are well organized and well-structured data storage system used in computer to holds data files, folders, records, pictures, and videos in a proper order etc. now days there are many electronic libraries holding e-book, e-journal etc. not only electronic libraries are used still most organization using large number of manual libraries contains books, journal, research papers, reports etc. Folders Folder is container used by computer system for organizing folders, programs and files on a disk in graphical user interfaces mostly represented with a graphical image (icon) of file folder on the screen. Manual folders normally used for holding papers i.e. invoices, report, expenses etc. Documents Computer generated document is any self-contained piece of work created with help of any application program is saved with a unique file name. This unique name is used to retrieve that document. While manual documents are hard copies or handwritten records, personal detail, manual etc. List items inside the lists This is heretical or tree structure, similar items are list under single category the inside list are known as sub categories of the main category. This keeps items in an organized structure and it is easy to find and locate a specific item. List items present in the libraries: In the libraries all items are divided in categories, each category contains a list of interrelated items as well sub items, this categorization helps in searching and locating items within the vast amount of the available items. LO3: Use information to inform and support strategic decision-making Assessment Criteria Analyze information to identify patterns and trends With the help of information system organisations can identify and predict the patterns and trends in all aspect of the business such as market, competition, customer demands etc and based on the information analysis they can make good strategic decisions. The market The Information system analyses the data collected from the market and based on the analysis the organisation can decide about the product quality improvement, increase productivity, adjust product price and can decide about the launching of new products and organisation future planes. The competition Based on the Information system analysis of the market data organisation can decide about the product price reduction, improves quality, improve advertising campaign, more facilities to customer and shareholder, easily availability etc as competition with other organisation. The state of economy Based on the Information system analysis organisation can manufacture economical product with low cost and can utilise available resources efficiently i.e. reduction in manufacturing time, proper use of material, required amount of product, reduction in manufacturing defects etc. Legislative development Information system improves the legislative system of the organisation. They are fully compliance with the data protection act, international laws and standards, legal rights. Based on the information analysis the organisations can take legal steps to attract Customers, compete with their competitors, can utilise information resources, shares informations, utilise hardware and software etc. Customer demands Based on the Information system analyses of the collected data from the market organization can predict the customer demands such as what customer wants, is their need of improvement in products, is there a possibility to launch new product, are products easily available to customer, is there a need of change in the policy and legislation, are customers able to commits complains and advices etc, are they happy with prices etc. Evaluate a range of decision making tools and techniques available to support a strategic decision SWOT SWOT (Strength weaknesses opportunities and Threats) analysis tools provide an organization a structural analysis of its Strengths, Weaknesses, the opportunities and threats they are facing. The SWOT analysis is based on the discussions and people viewpoints and it is not the end but step before any action planning take place. The organization use the analysis result to appreciate its strength (personal, competition, knowledge, production etc) for taking decision to minimize its weaknesses (improve developments, competition, product quality, customer communication etc), utilize most of the opportunities (possibilities, value in next five years, product demands etc) available and treating possible present and future threats (limitations, losing product values, equipment and software fault etc) in a planned and well organized way. Critical success factor (CSF) Critical success factor is an approach takes by the organisation to determine organisational need for information. There are a numbers of key factors required for any organisation to be successful, these factors are known as critical success factors. If organisation is unable to achieve these critical success factors, then this will have a high impact on the organisation and as a result there is possibility of organisation failure. Model Driven DSS Model-driven is a complex Decision Support System (DSS) system helping in analyzing decisions or choosing different options between the available. This type of system is used by the organization / Business managers and staff members, or by other peoples usually interact with the organization. The use of the system is for a number of purposes, which is depending on the setup of the model such as scheduling, decision analyses etc. there are a number of ways for the deployment of Model Driven DSS system such as in stand alone PCs through hardware and software in, through client / server systems, or through the web. Data Driven DSS The organization manager mostly uses the Data Driven Decision Support System (DSS) system as well staff and the product/service suppliers used it. The use of the system is for a specific need by sending query to a database or data warehouse, which then returns the requested specific information. This type of system is mostly deployed through a mainframe system, client/server system and trough the web. Computer-based databases are the example such system, having the capability to response to query and valuable results value from existing databases. Data Mining Data Mining is the data analyzing process from different perspectives and after processing generation of useful information summary. This summary information are utilized by the organizations to increase revenue, cuts costs etc. Data mining software is one of the analytical tools available to analyze data. This tool allows users to do analysis of the data from different angles, categorize data, and finally identification of the relationships in a summarized data. Determine the source available to assist in analyzing data information Information resources such as Data, Information and knowledge In business environment information resources are the most valuable assets for any organisation. The information i.e. data, information or knowledge must be collected carefully and with authenticity because the organisation decision-making processes are based on these information. These sources of these information resources could be organisation employees, customer and other organisations but there must be some criteria for using these resources such as accuracy, validity, clarity etc. Technology resources such as hardware and software For the processing of organisation data and information such as products detail, employees details, manufacturing, stock and accounts information appropriate technology resources such hardware i.e. computer systems, printers etc and software database system, data analysis tools etc must be available to managers and staffs of the organisation. Using such resources reduces production time, cost, improves communication within the organisation and with the customers. People resources such as employee and managers in organizations Organisation employees and managers are the vital part in analysing data because they provides the organisation internal data such as manufactured quantity, cost, stock etc and as well they are operating the available equipments, computer systems and software. In organisation mostly there are people specially trained for operating specialised hardware and software for information processing, analysing, report generation. LO4: Monitor and review management information Assessment Criteria Identify methods of evaluating management information within an organization For high level of management information organisations utilise different information evaluation methods to ensure a reliable, trusted and quality of information management system. Data governance Data governance (DG) is the overall management of the data employed in the enterprise. The Data governance ensures the availability, usability, integrity, and security of the employed data. A governing body or council runs a well-organized data governance program with a well-defined set of procedures and plans for the execution of defined procedures in the right direction. The followings are the three key elements of the successful data governance in an organization. The ability to use timely, reliable, trusted information to drive the business The data governance program must be able to ensure the information availability within the prescribed time frame to the recipients that it can be processed at in early stage. This information must be reliable i.e. consistent that execution of different processes can be performed in proper order and in the right direction. As well the information must be trusted i.e. accurate, update and must be gathered from the trusted source otherwise it will lead to program failure. Improving the quality of business decision- making The data governance programme must be able to utilise certain standard decision support systems for the achievement of high quality of business decision-making such as Model Driven DSS, Data Driven DSS etc. The available data for decision-making must be according to certain quality standard, appropriate format, well structured and well organised. Ensuring consistent use of information The data governance program must ensure the consistent use of information in organisation for reliability and smooth flow of business different process. The information flow must be regular to different component of the overall system that the system can generate reliable, trusted and high quality of result otherwise inconsistency will generate incorrect result and will lead to system failure. Management information value Timeliness Timeliness is a high importance in management information, which means that the recipients must receive information within the prescribed time frame. The timeliness can ensure an early stage information execution, which generates the accurate information result. The characteristic of timeliness of information must be effective as well must includes the current up to date information. Content Management information system provides valuable contents for organisation internal and external process support. These contents support business different process such as contents for decision making process, for manufacturing process, for marketing process, financial process, customer and services support etc. Format Management information system provides information in an appropriate and clear format, which is easily understandable. The provided information clearly describe the need, the purpose and place where it can be used such as market related information clearly describes the value of the organisation and its product that can be used to improve quality and services. Cost Management information systems help organizations in cost reduction in the overall business i.e. internally and externally. It allows organizations to deliver their products and services to customers at lower price than their competitors. Therefore, due to information system organizations can survive in difficult situations and can grow rapidly. Discuss process for analyzing impact of information on strategic decision made Set objective of process or organization The information analysis allows the decision-maker in the organization to develop and set objectives and allocates resources required for the achievement of these objectives. Thus the organization top-level management is benefiting from information analysis in making strategic planning. Evaluate weather goals achieved The information system allows the organisation to evaluate weather the desired goals are achieved from the information analysis or not. In case of failure the process is refined with utilising more resources, expertise, care and thoroughly investigation to make sure a quality of result achieves. Gap analysis is used for the evaluation of weather goals achieved or not. Assess reasons for variance from target to actual The performance diagnosis is done by applying knowledge to performance to check weather the processes, operations and functions are generating the quality results or not. Each process is judged thoroughly weather the overall process is running smoothly and will complete successfully. Revise and implement new approaches or modify goals If there is any mistake in the process it is revised and retest. Some times the achievement of the desired resulted new approaches is implemented and some time the difficulties in achieving result can lead to modification in goals. The ASHEN factors is used for the assessment of knowledge quality at the points described below Decisions Problem solutions Solution creation Judgement Learning points The ASHEN factors are one of the important attributes used in DIKAR model for knowledge quality assessment. It helps in making the decisions in the right place and direction, helps in finding the solution for the problems, helps in finding solution in an appropriate manners, helps in judgement of the task, problems, solutions and finally allowing end user to learn different approaches for the solution of the desired task. REFERENCES Dr.L.Ali, 7004_Strategic Information Management, 2009, Lecture Notes, Cromwell college of IT Management Manga Singh, Management Information System, 2010, Thesis Data Protection Act 1998 The Principles explained, at http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/pls/portal/NTC_PSCM.PSCM_Web.download?p_ID=29520

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Kate Chopins Desirees Baby Essay -- Kate Chopin Desirees Baby

Kate Chopin's Desiree's Baby This essay will focus on the short story by Kate Chopin and its use of symbols, setting and characters. Desiree’s baby was perhaps one of the best stories I’ve ever read. Analyzing it was not easy at all. Its use of symbols was very hard to comprehend. At first, it doesn’t make sense. But as you think critically, all the symbols, and setting and the characters in this literature plunge together in one amazing story. Literary Analysis on Kate Chopin's Desiree's Baby â€Å"Tell me what it means!† she cried despairingly.† It means,† he answered lightly, â€Å"that the child is not white; it means that you are not white† (Chopin, p. 192). Kate Chopin's "Desiree's Baby" is a well-known short story. â€Å"In her life, Kate Chopin actively searched for female spiritual emancipation and expressed it in her writing†(Deter, 2000). Throughout the story, Kate Chopin uses symbolism to convey her themes of racial predisposition, unequal gender roles, and social ladder in a society. The characters and the setting in this short story help provide the readers with more understanding of how patriarchal our society is at that time. The story begins with the narrator speaking of Desiree, and how she was found lying asleep, next to the property entrance. It was evident that she was abandoned; there were assumptions of who might have possibly left the small infant child. The story line took place in Louisiana. During the particular time era, and in this region, large plantations were very common, slavery too. The family who found Desiree was plantation owners an... ... wants the readers to know that if only women would have the courage to walk dangerously in life, women can succeed at anything. And Desiree didn’t look back. Fear was something Armand did not know because he always had domination over everything around him. It was on the last part of the story that he discovered a letter from his mother to his father that revealed that it was indeed he who was black. God did enact the final revenge with the appearance of the letter. The story touches on several social issues that would not be talked about in specific places and times. The struggle for women and the discrimination against certain races continue as of this moment. The symbols, characters, and setting of this short story helped me to analyze how Kate Chopin writes her work. I just wonder what would Armand Aubigny do after he found out that he is one of them.

Friday, October 11, 2019

“In the Heat of the Night”; Movie or Book? Essay

â€Å"In The Heat of the Night† is a gripping murder mystery story that incorporates a major issue of the time it was written at; racism. The original novel (published in 1965), written by John Ball, is a story of Virgil Tibbs, a Negro homicide investigator. The death of orchestra-conductor Enrico Mantoli and a series of other events lead up to him in charge of a murder investigation in Wells, Carolina. This is much to the dismay of Bill Gillespie, the extremely prejudice police chief. The movie version (released in 1967), also features Mr. Tibbs as the leader of a murder investigation. However, the setting is Sparta, Mississippi, and the victim is Philip Colbert, a man planning to build a factory in the town. The movie was very successful, and proceeded to win 5 Academy Awards. Despite this, I find the book is more appealing because the characters are easier to relate to, and have a chance to get well-rounded in a gradual sense. In addition, the plot development steadily makes progress, and is overall less tense, therefore more enjoyable. Both movie and book, however, are quite impressive in the incorporation of racial equality issues, and should equally be recognized as landmarks in American media for this reason. The most prominent change in characters is the personality of Virgil Tibbs. â€Å"Instead of being stretched out on the bench, he was wide awake and sitting up straight as though he were expecting something to happen. His coat was off and laid neatly beside him. He had been reading a paperback book up to the moment Sam entered†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pg. 15) This is almost identical to the scene where we are introduced to Virgil in the movie. However, the quick-thinking, cold and intense version to be seen later on in the movie was very surprising. The humble, clever and cool homicide investigator from the novel is much preferred. His collected manners also make it all the more enjoyable when seeing Gillespie’s frustration at the Negro’s wits, and all the more heart warming as Sam Wood and Virgil Tibbs start to open up to one another. Also, the movie somewhat exaggerated on Mr. Endicott as being a â€Å"bad guy†. From being somewhat a pest, however definitely not on anyone’s ‘bad books’, too being a plantation owner who sends a group of thugs to beat up Virgil is just ludicrous. It seems he is used as an excuse to bring out another foe, another bit of action to make the movie more exciting. The subtle mystery of not knowing who is â€Å"bad† or â€Å"good† in the novel is a lot more satisfying, perhaps even more once you find out who the real murderer was. The movie, at a full running time of 109 minutes, has quite an exciting plot, with slow parts and exciting action parts. It incorporates many essential things to the original story of ‘In the Heat of the Night’, (such as the association with Delores Purdy) however it differs quite a bit as well. As mentioned above, the setting is in Sparta, Mississippi, where Philip Colbert, planning to build a factory in this town, is murdered. This change of plot on its own removes something that could be considered essential to the plot; romance. The budding relationship between Duena, Enrico Mantoli’s daughter (who doesn’t show up what so ever, seeing as Enrico Mantoli was not the victim) and Officer Sam Wood adds a bit of ‘spice’ that is lacking in the movie. On the topic of Sam Wood, his character being a relatively minor one sets a rather different way of looking at his character. In the book, the reader gets a closer glimpse on Sam Wood’s life, and gets to enjoy his personality and forgiving character more so then the movie. As a result of this, when Sam Wood is suspected of murder, we feel all the more protest and frustration for Gillespie to even dream of this possibility. The movie makes us feel bad for Sam, as it is pretty obvious he is not guilty if Virgil says he is not, but this emotion is lacking compared to the feelings the book inflicts. However, I do prefer the ending of the movie to the book. Instead of the gallant statements of how Bill Gillespie respects Virgil Tibbs as a human, are rather out-there, (if not heart-warming, I have to admit†¦) while the simple good-bye of the movie shows on its own how Gillespie has come to admire and respect Virgil. ‘In the Heat of the Night’, movie or book alike, is an inspiring tale of overcoming prejudice in the backward, racist town in the south- eastern United States. In both forms of media, we see from beginning to end the trials and prejudice thrown at Virgil Tibbs, solely because he is coloured. The inhuman way of dealing with racial hate is disgusting. Virgil Tibbs, however, is always cool and collected, and is an admirable character that will be remembered by everyone who reads or watches ‘In the Heat of the Night’. In being mocked for having a classy name such as ‘Virgil’, and asked what he’s called where he comes from, he responds with the famous line, â€Å"They call me Mister Tibbs.† (pg. 36) This line is present in both film and book, a demanding statement of racial equality that sticks in the reader’s mind. By comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences, it shows that the characters were more subtle and realistic than the movie’s stereotypical good guys and bad guys. Also, the plot of the book was better thought-out, and had many other enjoyable subplots that were lacking in the movie. Through his short stay in Wells, Carolina (or Sparta, Mississippi) Tibbs may not have altered the town’s views on discrimination against blacks, but John Ball left a definite strong imprint about social equality, and in doing so left more questions about human and social behaviour for the reader than simple answers.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Environmental Pollution Essay

Environmental pollution is the biggest menace to the human race on this planet today. It means adding impurity to environment. The environment consists of earth, water, air, plants and animals. If we pollute them, then the existence of man and nature will be hampered. It is true that trees are being cut down rapidly. Our earth is becoming warmer. If pollution continues, the day is not far when our earth will be a boiling pan and become a desert. Or it will be covered with sea water causing destruction of mankind. Pure air is always needed for inhaling. If we take pure air, our health improves. On the other hand impure air causes diseases and impairs our health and causes our death. Smoke pollutes the air. It is the root of air pollution. The smoke which is discharged from industries, automobiles and kitchens is the mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane etc. These are all poisonous gases. These cause lung-cancer, tuberculosis etc. which take a heavy toll of life. The glaring incident is the Bhopal gas leak in December 1984. Thousands of the residents of Bhopal died due to lungs problem which was caused by methylamine gas from the Union Carbide Plant. The garbage emitting foul smell, the decaying plants and animals also cause air pollution. Hence the doctors advise the patients having lungs trouble to settle in some rural places because the air of villages is pure and free from population. Then comes sound pollution. The harsh sounds of buses, its, mopeds etc. affect our power of hearing and causes fart trouble. It has been reported that there are two villages named Biraspalli and Devadas Palli near Dum Dum airport m Calcutta where a large number of people have lost their power of hearing. This is because of the frequent sounds of planes coming in and going out of Dum Dum Airport. The evils of sound pollution can be imagined from this example. The water of rivers and seas is being constantly polluted all over the world by various dangerous chemical and biological wastes. Mills and factories discharge very harmful waste waters into many rivers and sea. The water of the Ganges flowing by the side of both Varanashi and Calcutta is extremely polluted and contains all sorts of dangerous bacteria. It is really very strange and laughable that large number of the Indians regard this water as holy. They even drink this water for salvation. There is no doubt that the fish that grow in such waters are poisonous too. Reckless application of chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides pollutes the soil. Vegetables and fruits are quite injurious today, because they contain the poison of insecticides and pesticides. If the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil which produces our crops, vegetables and fruits, all become more and more impure, then our chances of good health and longevity will be very less and less. Environment pollution is a serious menace to our existence. Realising the danger, we must plant trees in large number to absorb impure air. Impure water from industries can be sent back for purification and then it can be used for irrigation purpose. Our government is well aware of the fact and is taking steps to save environment from pollution. We have also I minister to look after the environment.

Disease in Bram Stoker’s Dracula

As science continues to illuminate the darkened corners of our world, another mythic tale–the drinking of blood by the ubiquitous Dracula–may have a basis in fact according to Wayne Tikkanen, a professor of chemistry at California State University, Los Angeles. â€Å"I am a trained scientist. I don't believe in vampires and werewolves,† Tikkanen told Anthony Breznican for an AP release on Halloween, 1998.Tikkanen speculates that some European monster myths were the product of a blood disease known as porphyria that causes the skin to weaken and be negatively affected by ultraviolet rays that change heme, a component of blood that carries oxygen to the brain, into a toxin. As the disease progresses, the skin blackens and ruptures in the sun, followed by hair growing in the scars. Lips are burned, causing them to peel back, thus making the teeth more prominent.In some cases the nose erodes and the fingers disintegrate, making the hands resemble paws. The disease af fects one in 100,000 people and is treatable with medication. Tikkanen thinks it is possible that those afflicted with the disease centuries ago may have drunk animal blood to relieve their pain as a folk remedy, and that they would have preferred to go out at night in order to avoid the sun, and that perhaps this behavior was co-opted into myths.â€Å"You may do this all the time, but people will only see you when the night is at its brightest–or in other words, a full moon,† Tikkanen said. Unfortunately, the result of such myth-making was that as many as 600 victims of this disease were considered to be monsters by the 16th-century European judge H. Bouget, who subsequently had them burned at the stake. â€Å"Just think: you're horribly disfigured but you're perfectly lucid,† Tikkanen said. â€Å"You don't know what's happening to you, and the doctor doesn't want to treat you even if he knew how.Your priest wants you to confess your sins or the judge will bur n you at the stake. But you don't know what you've done wrong. † Other elements of the Dracula myth often include garlic, which Tikkanen says causes victims of porphyria to suffer violent illness because of the creation of toxins in their blood. Fear of the cross also makes sense in this theory, because the cross represents the Church and thus the Inquisition, which would have instituted the torture and murder of the sufferers of porphyria.In the same vein, the superstitious Romanian society projected its fear of disease and deviancy onto Dracula, thus rising the well-liked folklore hypothesis that â€Å"a man or woman who has led a predominantly wicked existence will almost certainly become a vampire; it is his curse for the wicked deeds committed during the usual term of his life, as well as an entrance that a influential sin can not easily be put to rest† (Douglas, 39). This resembles the idea propagated by the religious right that AIDS is a visitation of heavenly pu nishment for sexual deviancy, i. e. , homosexuality.David Prindle in his book Risky Business â€Å"of all the diseases, the ones that are sexually transmitted seem to carry the heaviest burden of symbolic weight. Such diseases seem to bring our peoples anxieties about spiritual and physical pollution, their dread of being exposed as hypocritical sinners, their yearning to condemn those less righteous than themselves† (Prindle, 73). In Coppola's Dracula, Lucy, who is teasing, inquisitive, and immoral is punished for her â€Å"evil† behavior, her sexuality, by being seduced into the warren of Dracula and thus flattering a vampire herself.Once a vampire, Lucy takes a young child as her injured party, intimidating the guiltless child much in the same way that infants with AIDS often are fatalities of their mother's performance. Susan Sontag notes that these metaphors â€Å"are hardly in contradiction. Such is the extraordinary potency and efficacy of the plague metaphor: it allows a disease to be regarded both as something incurred by susceptible others and as potentially everyone's disease† (Sontag, 152). Bela Lugosi first gave Dracula filmic complexity in the 1931 Dracula. His moves were smooth and contemporary, steeped in gender and glamour.His affluent inflection gave the count the religion that awoke the sexuality of female audience members. Christopher Lee (1958) followed in Lugosi's steps and moved Dracula from sexual innuendoes to blatant sexuality. At one point in The Horror of Dracula, he bites a youthful woman's throat-not simply feasting, but apparently experiencing orgasm. Dracula had thus developed into a seduction fantasy, vitally disturbed with the circumstances and penalty of premarital or extramarital luxury in forbidden corporal relations, in this occurrence with the opposite sex.Gary Oldman takes Lee's erotic Dracula one step hither in Coppola's Brain Stoker’s Dracula. When Oldman attempts to nibble the neck of the i noffensive Mina at the Nickelodeon, the camera comes in on a taut attempt of his face as his eyes change color, his fangs are exposed and his corpse tremors with expectation. The transformation of Dracula to his present- day classification makes him the most sexual of all the creatures of the night.Dracula's sexual insinuation and blatant hunger for human blood make him the wonderful mythic vehicle to express American society's fear of the modern day plague of AIDS, since the HIV virus is transmitted through blood and semen. Coppola's Dracula visits his victims in the dead of night or in a dark milieu. He takes Lucy from her bed to connect her with both intercourse and feeding. These visits from the attractive creature who first exhausts the sleeper with fervent embraces and then withdraws her blood symbolically parallels the night-time emissions that convoy erotic dreams.Frank Jones points out in his book â€Å"On the Nightmare of Bloodsucking† : â€Å"In the unconscious mi nd blood is commonly an equivalent for semen† (Gottsman, 59). However, the sentence for these sexual interludes with the leech is the permanent alteration into vampirism; an illness that separates the afflicted from the rest of the society, one that insists on sucking the life out of other people. In this admiration the vampire enters the victim's blood stream, as does the HIV virus, to eventually exhaust the host of his/her life.Coppola cinematically reflects this correlation throughout the course of the film. Initially, Dracula renounces the church, and in doing so plunges his sword into the cross at the alter. Blood then flows from the cross, and Coppola cuts from a stone angel icon releasing tears of blood to a shot of Dracula satisfying a cup and consumption the blood. In this pre- recognition succession, the back illumination creates a striking similarity between Christ and Dracula (the shoulder length hair, smooth skin and ethereal glow).On his return home from war, Dra cula learns of the death of his wife. His stabbing of the cross is a phallic metaphor for intercourse with a virgin, whose loss of virginity is often marked by a loss of blood. The cathedral, infected and raped by war, denies the interment of Dracula's suicided bride. Dracula renounces the church by drinking the blood out of the chalice, declaring that: â€Å"Blood is the life and the life is mine. † Here he metaphorically takes on the position of the bug, gratifying the judge of life and death.David Prindle reinforces the vampire as a metaphor for the virus: â€Å"As a deadly threat, the disease was made to order for melodrama; as a potential sexual assassin, the HIV carrier could easily be portrayed as a demon. † (76). Coppola establishes a departure from innocence to evil by using peacock feathers, representative of innocence and vanity, as a transition between the â€Å"enlightened† world and the dark road to Transylvania as the young Jonathan Harker is sent to Transylvania to work for Dracula.Both virtue and pride are lost when Jonathan encounters a group of female vampires who seduce him throughout his first night in the castle. Coppola reinforces the anonymity of the participants by showing incorporeal footsteps appearing by the bed while the women appear from within his sheets and start to embrace and murmur to Jonathan. He does not resist and follows through in what could be termed a one night stand. The camera shows a head shot of one of the â€Å"vamps† whose hair is made out of snakes, referring to Medusa or the serpent From Genesis that caused the eviction of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.References Babuscio, Jack. â€Å"Camp and the Gay Sensibility. † Gays and Film. Ed. Richard Dyer. New York: Zoetrope, Inc. , 1984. Broeske, Pat. â€Å"Hollywood Goes Batty for Vampires,† New York Times, April 26, 1993. Canby, Vincent, â€Å"Coppola's Dizzying Vision on Dracula,† New York Times, Nov 13, 1993. Douglas, Drake. Horrors! The awful truth about monsters; vampires, werewolves, zombies, phantoms. mummies and ghouls of literature and how tiny went Hollywood. New York: The Overlook Press, 1989.Gottesman, Ronald. Focus on the Horror Film. Trenton, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1972. Hogan, David. Dark Romance-Sexuality in the Horror Film. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. , 1986. Prindle. David. Risky Business. the Political Economy of HollywoodBoulder: Westview Press, 1993. Russo, Vito. The celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies. New York: Harper arid Row Publishers, 1990. Sontag, Susan. Illness as a Metaphor/AIDS and its Metaphors. New York: Doubleday, 1989.