Analyzing Geoff Moore's Chasm Model Research Paper

Analyzing Geoff Moore's Chasm Model - Research Paper Example This group needs to be first taken into consideration for they would help in endorsing the new technology being introduced. The second group relates to such people who are known as the early adopters. These people tend to identify the benefits related to a technological innovation and thereby tend to increasingly link such benefits to the operations conducted in their firm or organization. Further these people tend to work more based on the level of their intuition and thereby does not tend to depend on any referred source of study or knowledge. The third adopter segment identified in this model is referred to as early majority. Like early adopters these people also work on their level of intuition in regards to decision making or purchase actions. However unlike early adopters these people work in a pragmatic fashion such that they measure or evaluate their actions against referred or authentic sources of information. Hence they not only successful into entering new territories but also can gain high amount of revenue and profits. Another adopter group in the fourth category relates to late majority people. These people however tend to avoid being drawn to new technologies or innovations. Rather they tend to depend on standardized and well recognized sources to gain resources for their business. Thus gaining over this source helps the research and development team to counter the loss of profits and rather meet the expenses incurred. The final group of adopters in the fifth category relate to a population known as laggards that do not go for new technology products. Rather they tend to depend on other products for their survival. Moore’s Chasm thus refers to the difference between the two segments of technological diffusion relating to the early adopters and the groups known as the early majority. The first group is understood as potential visionaries that tend to bring about new thoughts and ideologies while the latter are held to depend on pragmatic id eas (Dams 88; Moore 12-13). The Chasm Model in Regards to Consumer Behavior The Chasm theory of Moore’s when dealt in regards to consumer behavior identifies early adopters as those people that rush over to the market place in sight of new technology or products being introduced. In other words the early adopter group of consumers tends to take to higher purchase risks in that they go for untested products that have been introduced in the market. However it must also be understood in here that the early adopters also endeavor to look for specific value in regards to the products they ought to procure from the market. Thus a separate culture needs to be developed where the consumers would be introduced to the values and benefits they ought to obtain from the product or service. Unlike the early adopters the early majority consists of such population groups that would not go for rightly procuring a product or service unless and until they have rightly evaluated such to satisfy their needs and aspirations. Henceforth these people need not be introduced to values and benefits of the products. Rather they endeavor to conduct a market research on the people who have been using such product or service. The process through which the behavior pattern of the early adopters can be infused to look for proper benefits and positive experiences before procuring such can be held as a means to earn a breakthrough in

Daoism and Confucianism Essay Example for Free

Daoism and Confucianism Essay Daoism and Confucianism are two of China’s oldest and most pervasive philosophies. They arose during the same period in Chinese history, called the Hundred Schools of Thought, a time often marred by unrest and feudal strife. Both philosophies reflect this, as their overarching goals are to seek order and harmony in one’s life, relationship with society, and the universe. Confucianism is a philosophy originated by the Chinese philosopher, Confucius, which teaches that logic and reason can solve all human problems, and rejects excessive emotion and superstition. Confucianism also teaches that following the traditions of early Chinese culture is the best way to organize society. Traditional ritual, music and poetry are also seen as important tools in maintaining societal harmony. Confucius was concerned with matters of human relationships. His philosophy inspires scholars to take up civil service with the goal of building a society based upon their discernment of good and bad and to desire that which is judged to be good. The way of Confucius is to forge a moral society protected from the world. The main source of Confucian teaching is the Analects of Confucius. Daoism on the other hand was started by Lao Tzu, and is mainly concerned with living a balanced life based on following Nature. Lau Tzu saw the natural world as a sort of teacher which could impart wisdom to mankind if we only observed it and modeled our lives on what we see in nature. Extremes are to be avoided, passivity is encouraged over force, going with the flow of things and avoiding conflict is the goal. Lao Tzu rejects worldly concerns, limited knowledge and flawed judgments as creating an imbalance in the nature of things. The way of Lao Tzu is to allow man and nature to come into a harmonic coexistence. So, to boil it all down to one point, Taoism is all about mans relationship with nature, while Confucianism is about mans relationship with his fellow man. Confucianism was created in the early fourth century B. C. E. The founder of Confucianism was Kong Qiu (Kung Chiu), who was born around 552 B. C. E. in the small state of Lu and died in 479 B. C. E. The Latinized name Confucius, based on the honorific title Kong Fuzi (Kung Fu-tzu), was created by 16th-century Jesuit missionaries in China. Confucius was a teacher to sons of the nobility at a time when formal education was just beginning in China. He traveled from region to region with a small group of disciples, and believed that his philosophy could transform individuals and society into a more harmonious unit. Confucius was not particularly famous during his lifetime, and even considered himself to be a failure. He longed to be the advisor to a powerful ruler, and he believed that such a ruler, with the right advice, could bring about an ideal world. Confucius said heaven and the afterlife were beyond human capacity to understand, and one should therefore concentrate instead on doing the right thing in this life. The earliest records from his students indicate that he did not provide many moral precepts; rather he taught an attitude toward ones fellow humans of respect, particularly respect for ones parents, teachers, and elders. He also encouraged his students to learn from everyone they encountered and to honor others cultural norms. Later, his teachings would be translated by authoritarian political philosophers into strict guidelines, and for much of Chinese history Confucianism would be associated with an immutable hierarchy of authority and unquestioning obedience. Confucius’s teachings were carried on and promoted by his disciple Mencius, and, later, by Hsun-Tzu, who lived from about 300 to 235 B. C. E. E. A rationalist form of Neo-Confucianism, an outgrowth of Confucianism, began to gain popularity through the teachings of Chu Hsi, who lived from 1033 to 1107 CE. A more socially oriented Neo-Confucianism became popular through the teachings of Wang Yang-Ming, who lived from 1472 to 1529 C. E. The Analects is a collection of principles enunciated by the Chinese thinker Confucius in conversations with his disciples. Similar to Proverbs in the Old Testament, the analects depend heavily on analogy and metaphor. They stress the importance not of rules per se, but of ethics, that guide behavior. Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself. He also stressed the need for ritual and music. These principles set standards for individual conduct and the administration of government and community. After Confucius died in 479 B. C. E. , his followers compiled his teachings in the form of dialogues between him and his students. The resulting collection highly influenced educational, social, and cultural thought in China and elsewhere. Running through the teachings of Confucius is this theme: A man should lead an upright life, educate himself, and contribute to the betterment of society. The superior man, he says, respects elders, cultivates the friendship of good people, presides over his subordinates with a fair and even hand, continually educates himself, overflows with love for fellow human beings, and in general sets a good example for others to follow. The Analects are terse and usually easy to understand. Many of these passages, though presented in the form of conversation, are epigrams that stand alone as wise and memorable admonitions. The statements make frequent use of parallel structure and antithesis. Some say Confucianism is not a religion, since there are no Confucian deities and no teachings about the afterlife. Confucius himself was a staunch supporter of ritual, however, for many centuries there were state rituals associated with Confucianism. Most importantly, the Confucian tradition was instrumental in shaping Chinese social relationships and moral thought. Thus even without deities and a vision of salvation, Confucianism plays much the same role as religion does in other cultural contexts. Confucianism is a socio-philosophical system aimed at bettering individuals and society. Its primary goals were to educate people to be self-motivated and self-controlled, and to enable people to assume their responsibilities, which would, in turn, cultivate a better self and a harmonious society. Confucius believed that lawlessness and social problems stemmed from the combination of unenlightened individuals and a social structure without norms. Confucius believed in the Great Ultimate (Tao), which manifests itself in the I, or change. Tao is the cause of I, and generates Yang (energy) and Yin (a passive form). Together, Yin and Yang are seen as complementary symbols of the energy and tension in a system of counter forces. Tao, or the Great Ultimate, is the first-cause of the universe, a force that flows through all life, but is not a personal being. Ultimately, we are here to discover our real self, which is the nature of Tao. Humans are thought to be inherently good. Through self-discipline, a human is able to move in accordance to Tao and thus will enjoy the principle of change. In a practical sense, we are here to better ourselves and society. This is done through education and enlightenment. Daoism was created in China in the Late 4th century B. C. E. Daoism was founded by Li Erh (better known as Lao Tzu), or â€Å"Old Master†, in the sixth century B. C. E. Lao Tzu was the keeper of the imperial library and the author of Tao Te Ching, or the Book of Dao and Virtue. The specific date of birth of Lao Tzu is unknown. Legends vary, but scholars’ place his birth between 600 and 300 B. C. E. Lao Tzu’s wise counsel attracted followers, but he refused to set his ideas down in writing. He believed that written words might solidify into formal dogma. Lao Tzu wanted his philosophy to remain a natural way to live life with goodness, serenity and respect. Lao Tzu laid down no rigid code of behavior. He believed a person’s conduct should be governed by instinct and conscience. Lao Tzu believed that human life, like everything else in the universe, is constantly influenced by outside forces. He believed â€Å"simplicity† to be the key to truth and freedom. Lao Tzu encouraged his followers to observe, and seek to understand the laws of nature; to develop intuition and build up personal power; and to use that power to lead life with love, and without force. Legend says that in the end Lao Tzu, saddened by the evil of men, set off into the desert on a water buffalo leaving civilization behind. When he arrived at the final gate at the great wall protecting the kingdom, the gatekeeper persuaded him to record the principles of his philosophy for posterity. The result was the eighty-one sayings of the â€Å"Tao Te Ching. † The Tao Te Ching was written in China roughly 2,500 years ago at about the same time when Buddha expounded the Dharma in India and Pythagoras taught in Greece. The Tao Te Ching is probably the most influential Chinese book of all times. Its 81 chapters have been translated into English more times than any other Chinese document, and it provides the basis for the philosophical school of Daoism, which is an important pillar of Chinese thought. In Tao Te Ching, it never specifically defines The Way. It’s a series of verses, poems, and riddles. It emphasizes control but not dominance, fluidity but not ambivalence, and mystery but not confusion. Dao is analogous to God, but Dao is not a being. Rather, Dao is the source of all and the ultimate reality, and Dao is the cause of all change in life. Dao permeates the universe and is the principle behind all that is. Dao can only be experienced through mystical ecstasy. Daoists seek transformation of their self and body into a cosmic, Dao-focused entity. This is achieved through ritual and meditation. Daoism teaches that there is one undivided truth at the root of all things. Daoism is the organized, indigenous religion of China. From a philosophical standpoint Daoism focuses on Dao, or way, and deals with ideas about naturalness, ease, non-action etc. Physically, Daoism focuses on health through concepts like Qigong and Taiji quan, which involve deep breathing, slow, graceful motions and gentle stretching. From a religious standpoint, Daoism is reflected in many areas, including a social and political vision, rituals, a hierarchical priesthood, talismans and exorcisms. Other Daoism practices include advanced spiritual meditation and mystic, ecstatic soul travel. The universe is hierarchically organized in such a way that its entirety is reproduced in its individual parts. Thus, man is a microcosm within the macrocosm (small universe within a larger one). Man’s parts correspond to parts of the universe and nature. All is from the Dao, and all will return to the Dao. Daoism was created to reunite with Dao through the transformation from disharmony to harmony. Disharmony causes a destructive or waning cycle of the Five Elements (metal, wood, earth, water and fire). This cycle consists of metal destroying wood (wood is cut by a metal ax); wood dominating earth through its roots (domination through power); earth mastering water and preventing floods (anti-nature forces); water destroying fire (pollution is caused by anti-nature, and destroys the beauty of the world); fire melts metal (causing pollution). Through personal and social transformation, humans can convert the destructive cycle of the Five Elements into a creative or constructive cycle of the Five Elements. Metal in the earth nourishes underground water (purification); water is the source of life for vegetation, including wood (nourishment); wood is the fuel for fire, which causes ashes, which then form earth (natural recycling). The formation of metal in earth completes the cycle. Daoism has a very recognizable symbol. It is the Yin-Yang, a circle divided in two equal parts of dark/black (Yin) and light/white (Yang). Within the dark, there is a circle of light, and within the light, there is a circle of dark. The two parts are equal because they signify the balance in the world caused by the Yin and Yang forces in all things. Each has a circle of the other to symbolize that each contains elements of the other, and that each cannot exist without the other. Sometimes, the Yin-Yang symbol will be surrounded with trigrams, or sets of three lines with breaks in various positions. Each trigram stands for a certain principle in Daoism.

Nestle vs Cadbury: Financial Analysis

Nestle vs Cadbury: Financial Analysis The report mainly analyzes and compares two companies financial reports between 2005 and 2008. The two companies chosen are CADBURY PLC and NESTLE SA. Both of them are renowned in consumer business and are transnational enterprises. The differences between them are NESTLE SA is a Swiss company and listed in several stock exchanges, while the CADBURY PLC origins from United Kingdom and is listed in the London Security Exchange (LSE). Referring to their core businesses, Nestle SA groups principal activities are to manufacture, process and sell food products, including diary, confectionery and culinary products, coffee, beverage and drinking water, Besides this, they also sell ancillary equipment. Similarly Cadbury groups principal activity is also to manufacture, distribute and sell confectionery products. Its products consist of three categories: chocolate, gum and candy. Thus in the overlap fields, the competition between them exists all the time. The purpose of this report is to eva luate their financial performance in past four year since 2005. The structure of the report will be as follows. The first part will list the reformulate financial statements, including balance sheets and income statements of the two companies from 2005 to 2008, respectively. The second part will calculate relative ratios based on the reformulated statements; then on basis of these ratios, analyze their probability and growth; finally compare them on the common size, and research their trend during the research period as well. The last part will discuss the result and make a conclusion. Reformulate financial statement In the following part, the two firms reformulate balance sheet and income statement will be exhibited. Note: taxes are calculated at 30% according to the UK tax Note: the taxes includes withholding taxes on income from foreign sources, as well as Swiss taxes for which adequate provisions have been established. Analysis of profitability The key indicator for profitability is ROCE-Return on Common Equity. ROCE reflects the average earnings of common shareholders equity. Under the premise of maximize shareholders interests, its a comprehensive indicator to evaluate the production and operation of an enterprise. It can be clearly seen from the chart that the ROCE of Cadbury increased almost 100% from 2005 to 2006 followed by a sharp decrease in 2007, and then kept steady in 2008. Specific ratios about profitability are as following: As we can seen from the table above, the Financial Leverage of Cadbury was decreasing from 2005 to 2008. Opposite trend can be seen in Net Borrowing Costs which increased from 0.0345 to 0.515. The significant increase in ROCE in 2006 is mainly because the suddenly increase of RNOA in that year. The Asset turnover was fluctuated slightly around 1 during 2005 to 2008. The PM saw an incredible increase in 2006 but fall sharply in 2007. So the PM is the main cause for the change of ROCE in Cadbury. FLEV FLEV = NFO/CSE The financial leverage of Cadbury was decreasing. As we can seen from the chart, the NFO is decreasing generally while the CSE is relatively steady. Third-level Breakdown: PM: Generally speaking, both sales PM and other items PM are is an increasing trend. It can be clearly seen that Sales PM is the main source of PM. The cause of the significant increase in ROCE, RNOA, PM in 2006 is because the other items PM increased to an unusual level. Selling, General admin expenses were steady for Cadbury while the Gross Margin continuously increased from 2005 to2008. ATO: The ATO drivers are shown in the following table: Nestle It can be clearly seen from the line chart that the ROCE of Nestle keeps a good trend of increasing, especially in 2008. The ROCE of Nestle in 2008 was 0.15 more than that in 2007. Trough the table above, we can see that the RNOA of Nestle was increasing from 2005 to 2008.The NBC was fluctuated around 0.05. The FLEV of Nestle had a increasing trend although a slight decrease can be seen in 2008. It can be clearly seen in the bar chart that both sales PM and other items PM are very steady from 2005 to 2006, significant increase can be seen in both the two kind of PM. The components for sales PM of Nestle from 2005 to 2008 had not been changed much. All of them were steady. Comparison It can be clearly seen from the chart that the ROCE of Nestle was increasing in the past 4 years while ROCE of Cadbury dropped about 80% from 2006 to 2008. In 2005, ROCE of Cadbury is higher than that of Nestle. But after a 4-year increasing, the ROCE of Nestle had catch up and even 0.25 higher than ROCE of Cadbury in 2008. In terms of RNOA, it is similar to the situation of ROCE, thus the profitability of operational assets of Nestle is better than that of Cadbury. In terms of NBC, they are almost the same, that means the expenses they used on financial obligation were almost the same and very steady. In terms of FLEV, the FLEV of Cadbury is much larger than that of Nestle, which means Cadbury faced with more risk. The OLLEV of Cadbury is larger than Nestle too. It illustrates that Cadbury relies more on liabilities both in operation and general. The PM and ATO of Nestle are both larger than those of Cadbury. The larger the ATO is, the better the firms ability on sales is. That mean s the ability on sales of Nestle is better than Cadbury. In a nutshell, the profitability of Nestle is generally better than Cadbury according to the past 4 years data. Analysis of Growth It is a sensible way to view growth in terms of growth in residual earning as a growth firm is ones that can grow residual earnings. Changes in residual earnings are driven by return on common equity (ROCE), the amount of common shareholder investment (CSE), and the cost of capital. We focus on the analysis of changes in ROCE and CSE. Analysis of Growth in ROCE Return on common equity (ROCE) is driven by operations and by the financing of the operations. So the change in ROCE is explained in two parts: 1. Analysis of Changes in Operations There are two kinds of components in explaining changes in profitability (RNOA). One is generated by repetitive business called core income, while the other is referred to as unusual items (UI) or transitory items, which applies to a particular period, and so are nonrecurring. It is important to distinguish core and unusual components of RNOA in the analysis.The great volatility of RNOA in 2007 and 2006 is largely caused by the changes in unusual items which are not lasting. It is proven in 2008 when RNOA changes little with few UIs. Unusual item, asset turnover and profit margin play an important role in the change of RNOA in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. In general, unusual items contribute to the growth of RNOA less in Nestle than in Cadbury. It seems that Nestle is more likely to generate profits from sales.. 2. Analysis of Changes in Financing Changes in RNOA partially explain changes in ROCE. The explanation is completed by an examination of financing. It can be separated into three parts: changes in operating profitability, changes in spread and changes in leverage. For Cadbury, the changes in ROCE in past four year are largely due to the rise or drop of core operations or spreads, rather than changes in leverage. For Nestle, the situation is quite similar expect in 2007. The growth of ROCE that year was almost totally due to the financial leverage. On the whole, it can be concluded that the change in ROCE is driven by core operation to a large extent rather than by changes in leverage in these two companies. Analysis of Growth in Equity Investment The change in CSE can be explained by three components: change in sales at previous level of asset turnover plus change in asset turnover while minus change in financial leverage. Cadbury shows a decline trend in CSE as their sales drop sharply in past four years. Nevertheless, Nestle exhibits a relatively smooth rise trend in both CSE and sales. It can be derived that sales growth is the primary driver of the change in CSE but sales growth requires more investment in net operating assets, which is financed by either net debt or equity. And investments earn through ROCE and the factors that drive ROCE. Together, investment and ROCE drive residual earnings and abnormal earnings growth. It has been recognized that there is a tension to growing CSE. Equity investment can easily be increased by issuing new shares or reducing dividends. But the new equity might not be used wisely. It could be invested in projects with low RNOA or financial assets with low return, reducing ROCE, residual earnings, and value. Common size analysis Common size analysis on balance sheet Compare the operating section of common-size Balance sheets of the two companies between 2005 and 2008 respectively, the result will be shown in exhibit 5. Take the comparison in 2007 as an example. From exhibit, we can know clearly the composition of operating assets for the two firms. For both of the two firms, the most important part in the operating assets is Other Assets, the reason might be the intangible assets take a huge amount in the two companies. In Cadbury, other assets occupied up to 62.08%, much more than that in Nestle SA, which is only 40.56%. The second most important part is Other Investments, occupied 21.59% in the Operating Assets for Nestle SA and 17.84% for Cadbury. Following this, it is Receivables Net, 15.09% for Nestle SA, compared with 10.64% for Cadbury. Besides this, Investment in Unconsol Subsidiaries for Nestle SA is 8.74% but for Cadbury, it is only 0.30%. In other three years, the composition is almost the same. Refer to the composition of Operating Liabilities for the two companies. For Nestle SA, the most important two parts are Account Payable and Provision for Risk and Charges, which account for 51.50% and 30.81%, respectively. By contrast, the most important parts of Operating Liabilities for Cadbury are Other Current Liabilities and Deferred Taxed, which take up for 35.89% and 30.69%. The situation did not change too much in other research years, except in 2008, Deferred Taxed for Cadbury decreased hugely, from 30.69% to -2.15%. The huge change might be caused by the reassessment of capital losses and the tax basis of goodwill on the classification of Australia Beverages as an asset held for sale in Cadbury. Common size analysis on income statement Exhibit 6 compares the reformulated income statements of Cadbury and Nestle on the basis of common-size. Given the Operating expense, the two companies have similar cost structure. With higher cost of sales (47.58%), Cadbury charge approximately 10% less in General expense than Nestle while the difference between the depreciation costs of the two companies are small. However, when the Nestle cost 0.24% in Other operating expense per dollar of sales, Cadbury has no Other operation costs. In comparison with 10.09% Operating profit margin from sales in Cadbury, this margin in Nestle is just a litter higher with 10.57%, the extraordinarily small difference is due to a higher gross income and also a higher general expense in Nestle. However, due to the significant extraordinary charge in Cadbury, its profit reduced to only 6.62% while the Operating income increased a bit to 11.22% attributable to the earnings from equity interest. Comparing with the earning of a net 5.09% per dollar of sales in Cadbury, Nestle earns approximately 10%. The profits are correspondingly decreased by 1.51% and 0.64% owing to financing activities. Trend analysis In this part, we will analysis how financial items have changed over time for the two firms. For both of the cases, the index is 100 for the base year of 2004. For Cadbury, Accounts Receivable, Inventories and Property, plant and equipment have grown steadily in the first three years, but decreased in 2008, which resulted huge decreasing in Operating Assets in 2008. Additionally, the Operating Liabilities fluctuated volatile from 2005 to 2008, contributed to the similar change to Net Operating Assets. Cadburys 2008 Net operating Assets decrease rate was 30.00%, compared with the 50.00% decrease in Net Financial Obligations in the same year. In 2008, Common Shareholders equity decreased by 20.00%, which indicated that the owners investment was declined. Given the income, the sales of Cadbury decreased a bit in 2005, followed by a continuous grow up in the next two years with 110% and 118% but drops dramatically by almost 20% in 2008. The expense of sales in 2007 is higher than other years with 131 percent while it stays stably in other years. Because the costs of sales have grown quickly than revenue of sales, gross income grow up at a lower rate. The sales of Cadbury in 2005 decrease by nearly 4 percent and grow at the rate of 14.58% and 7.2% in 2007 and 2007 respectively, compared with a significant decline (32.45%) in 2008. Because of a low operating expense in 2005, the operating income from sales in 2005 has an 11% growth compared with the 7% decrease in gross margin. At the same time, though the company has reduced the expense in 2008, the income from sales also lower than 60%. Finally, the comprehensive income grows up to 177% in 2005, followed by a high growth rate of 136.74% owing to a gain from asset sales. However, this i ncome to common is only 93 and 84 percent of that in 2004. For Nestle SA, the steady growth in all of the indexes happened in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but the trend changed in 2008, decrease in these indexes appeared, especially for the Net financial Obligations, it decreased by a much huge amount, almost 50.00%, which is discerned in exhibit 8. The revenues from sales grow up stably over the four years with 8.1%, 9.2% and 2.42% growth rate. Correspondingly, the comprehensive incomes increase bit by bit as well with 119%, 137%, 158% from 2005 to 2007 and due to a large gain from other income, the income in 2008 is high to 268%, which presents a greater growth trend in comparison to the Cadbury. Looking forward In comparison with the stably growth in Nestle since 2005, Cadbury suffers a significant decrease up to 20% in sales. In 2008, Cadbury increase its price, which may be a important reason for the decline combing with the global economic crisis. For Cadbury, in 2009 and even the next few years, it will in a difficult situation to against the unexpected global economic outlook and the high cocoa prices. On the other hand, the company of Nestle shows a bright prospect.

Utopia :: essays research papers

What is â€Å"Utopia†? What does this word mean to you? What would be your â€Å"Utopia†? Think about this while it is being read to you or while you read it and hopefully by the time the you get to the end you to will know what it means to you; and what your utopia would be like. By definition from a dictionary â€Å"Utopia† means, an ideally perfect place, especially in its social, political, and moral aspects. Utopia is your perfect world or society. It is a world of your choice, a world that meets every single expectation you have of life. A utopia in my mind would be a world where all people great and small, all shapes and colors, and all creatures are treated as one or as equals. It would be a world without discrimination and racism. My utopia would never have to worry about pollution or chemical weapons. People could believe in whatever god they wish but they would not kill others just because they did not believe in their god. Artist and utopia; is there any connection or resemblance in either?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is art not an artist’s utopia? Think about it. Isn’t utopia whatever world, society, or maybe space you want it to be? So for artist a sculpture garden could be their utopia because they put the pieces of art that they had made or bought in that area. The artist could have also designed that place of perfection or tranquility to their liking, so if that were true it would that artist’s â€Å"Utopia†. The, Nasher Sculpture Center, in Dallas, is a perfect utopia for the owner of the center because it houses everything that person wanted just to make the center. To make that utopia the owner had trees brought in from all over the world and the trees were put in certain places all around the 54,000 square foot property.

Danger, Death, Boredom and Reporting from Iraq Essay

The war in Iraq is arguably the most significant news story of our time; a relentless show of bloody violence that has dragged on for six years and claimed thousands of civilians’ and foreigners’ lives. Unfortunately, it is perhaps the most underreported war at least in certain inside story aspects due to the danger that its bloody violence poses on journalists. It is not easy to be a news reporter in Iraq. While many of them make a valiant attempt to penetrate the most dangerous turfs and report the real story, only a few of them manage- and live to tell the tale. As the war progresses, foreigners –majority of who are journalists- have increasingly become the prime target of the militia. For years, Iraq has been ranked by the Committee to Protect Journalists as the deadliest place for the media to work in worldwide- and the figures are telling. As of 2007, a total of 133 media support workers and journalists had lost their lives; 83% of them locals who were linked to the Western media. Fast forward to 2009 and the figures are likely to be higher than that. The most disturbing fact about these deaths is that the journalists are not hapless victims caught in a cross fire but are actually the targets of these attacks. While some journalists, especially those embedded in the US and British armies are killed in combat, murder remains the leading cause of death for journalists in Iraq (Ricchiardi, 2007). Cockburn (2007) has noted that due to the difficulty faced by journalists in unearthing and reporting the real story, it is easy for politicians to say anything they want, usually to their advantage and get away with it since the truth cannot be established. This is very frustrating for journalists since they cannot verify the real situation on the ground without risking their lives; essentially they cannot do their work. The main reason why journalists have become the prime targets is because they are regarded as spies out to collect information for the enemy camp. Unfortunately, the nature of the journalism trade requires them to actually be in the field where the crossfire is taking place and to constantly expose themselves to danger in an attempt to get an inside story. Thus they have been felled by bullets, roadside bombs, rockets or they have been kidnapped for ransom. Some of those kidnapped have ended up being beheaded. Undoubtedly, urgent steps have to be taken to protect the lives of journalists. Some media houses have taken great lengths to protect their correspondents by offering them tight security while on the ground but even then, it is not a guarantee that they are fully protected and an ambush is always lurking somewhere. Thus other media companies have pulled out altogether with some opting to use local correspondents who stand a slightly better chance of security than their foreign counterparts (Cockburn, 2007). The Iraqi war started in earnest and for months on end dominated the newsrooms as dramatic events such as the capture and execution of Saddam Hussein unfolded. However, even the most sensational story loses its luster with time and the Iraq war is no exception. Having dragged on for years and with no end in sight, it slowly slipped into oblivion as journalists tired of reporting the same old bloody story and the public grew numb to the coverage. A study by the Project of Excellence in Journalism reveals falling Iraq news coverage, 24% to 1%, by cable networks. Print media have also reduced coverage, from 457 stories related to Iraq as of September 2007 to 49 as of March 2008. Clearly, interest in the Iraq coverage seems to be declining. This has been attributed to several factor such as the danger faced by journalists in Iraq, declining budgets in the face of high maintenance costs for Iraq correspondents, competing stories and war fatigue (Ricchiardi, 2008). Personally, I tired of following the Iraq war coverage quite a while back. This is because there is nothing new. Day in day out, we listen to the same old bloody story and sadly, we have become used to it. With no end in sight, I have had found myself letting go of the Iraq war and shifting focus to other events. Maybe it is time for the U. S government and its army to do the same.

Adolescent Theory

The theories of child development evidently depict the rational process that occurs in adolescent. The following presented in the study justify the processes that occurs in adolescent. Before concluding in the best possible theory for adolescent, let us analyze and scrutinize three major views of adolescent development. According to the psychosocial theory of Erik Erikson, the stage of adolescent is role fidelity versus role confusion. In this stage, an adolescent begins to establish his or her own character, personality and ideations. The build of â€Å"who you are† occurs in this phase. Peers influence, social organizations and getting into fads are some of the ways that this stage utilizes to promote appropriate expression of adolescence (McCormick & Pressley, 2006, p.144-146). According to the Cognitive theory of Piaget, this stage of adolescent belongs to the last stage of Formal Operation stage. During this stage, the cognitive functioning is highly organized and develop ed. The child in this stage has the ability to grasp abstract reasoning and theoretical concepts unlike in the former stage, concrete operations, wherein the person moves only through logical operations.This stage is the most flexible stage wherein the reasoning starts to break away from the content and goes right into thought exploration (Pelaez & Novak, 2004, p.225). The last theory to be tackled is the psychosexual theory of Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology. The theory states that the primary contributing factor for man’s overall nature is the libido. In this theory, Freud categorized the stage of adolescence to the Genital stage. This is most advance phase in the theory of psychosexual.It suggests that resurgence of sexual impulses occur in the genital regions of both sexes. Psychologically, this is the phase wherein attraction between the opposite sex occurs. The gratifying centers of the body are the genitals (Sperry, 2003, p.22).In the analysis of the the ories identified, psychosocial theory proves to be the most evident theory that explains the development that occurs in adolescents. It tackles mainly the social background of this particular age group; viewing the relationship mechanism that are employed in their interaction with other individuals.The only weakness; however, is the theories reliance to sole social aspect of adolescent development. Over-all perspective view that adolescent are more inclined in social interactions than any other fields; hence, this theory proves to be the best explanatory perspective for the development of this age group. ReferenceMcCormick, B. C., & Pressley, M. (2006). Child and Adolescent Development for Educators. Guilford Press.Pelaez, M. B., & Novack, G. (2004). Child and Adolescent Development: A Behavioral Systems Approach. Sage Publications Inc.Sperry, L. (2004). Sex, Priestly Ministry, and the Church. Liturgical Press.