Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Recession in American economy Essay

The economic meaning of the term recession is, â€Å"A period of economic decline in a Country, characterized by reduced trade and industrial activity, production decline and increased levels of unemployment. It normally lasts between one and two quarters consecutively†, (Tremblay; 2007). In the US, incidences of recession have occurred since 1854. This paper, seeks address the reasons for recession in the US, with reference to the principles of consumer behavior and the firm as a whole. Observers were not expecting an incidence of recession this time round. Most observers have been persuaded to expect moderate economic growth rates in the US, of about 2 to 3 percent and a moderate inflation of around 2 percent (George. S, 2008). This is due to the fact that the US economy has proved to be the most resilient in the world. They however (the observers), have good reasons to back their predictions; 1. They have placed their hopes on relatively stimulative monetary policy to keep consumption and investment spending up and expect the worst of the housing decline to be over. 2. With stock prices making new highs, some point out that presidential and stock market cycles are favorable to higher stock prices since investing during 27 months before a US presidential election has proved in the past to be more Profitable than investing during 21 months after elections. In the October 16th issue of Headwinds, 2007 for the US economy, it is explained that macro-economic conditions make it a matter of months before the US economy and the dollar begun to experience some downward pressure (recession). This is probably the time for this recession. The US is the country with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in the world, with a GDP of $13 trillion . This has however reduced in the recent past. Employment levels have also declined. Production levels have gone down owing to cut-throat competition from emerging world producers like China and other Asian Countries. An attempt by the households to save more from a given income led to the decrease in actual amount they succeeded to save-paradox of thrift, (Lachman, 2008). Different reasons can however be put forward to explain the causes of this recession; 1) The outgoing administration’s short term reaction that they gave the economy before the 2004 and 2006 elections through a combination of large tax cuts and large increase in military spending. This ended up being a waste as billions of dollars were spent on a futile war (Trembley, 2007) 2) Record budgetary and current account deficits have severely neutralized the federal monetary policy attitude, because interest rates cannot be reduced substantially for fear of a collapse of the US dollar from the federal budgetary deficits as they are being reigned on. (Lachman, 2008) 3) With all this taking place at the same time that the construction industry is in disarray and housing prices have tapered off or are declining. Be that as it may, it is important to note that home ownership is more widespread than stock ownership; slightly more than two thirds of Americans own their homes, while less than half own equities. The objective of the households is to maximize utility. By spending more on home ownership than on stocks, utility is attained quickly and it is within the consumers budget space (Ingdahl, 2008). 4) This rules the question of how long the American consumer will keep up the high pace of spending in such a context. During the years of the housing boom, consumer spending was driven by the accumulation of wealth and record consumer indebtedness, most of it in the form of mortgages as the price of houses increased. Now that the reverse is occurring and banks and other loaners are reclaiming property for unpaid debts, a retrenchment in consumer spending cannot be ruled out (Trembley, 2007). 5) Protectionist push from the Democrat controlled congress, risks putting in jeopardy the flow of capital of about $2 billion a day that the US economy is borrowing from abroad (mainly from China and Japan). Trade frictions between the US and China could force banks to raise interest rates and not lower them. In any case, the banks would not lower the interest rates as expected to make up for the housing crisis (Trembley, 2007). 6) Collapse of one and possibly several major financial institutions under the pressure of bad loans and record foreclosures (take possession of somebody’s property usually because they have not paid back an agreed part of the loan). Particularly at risk is the sum $2. 5 trillion mountain debt concentrated in sub primes and loans. One major sub prime lender, (New Century Financial) filed for bankruptcy protection. Others are likely to follow suite because 2007 was the year when a large number of sub prime real estate locus had to be renegotiated at higher interest rates. Foreclosures rate is bound to shoot upwards. This will culminate in the next few years into a financial hurricane (Trembley, 2007). 7) The seventh and final reason is a geopolitical factor. The outgoing US administration has created some tension between the US and some countries in the Middle East. The Middle East, is the world’s largest oil producing region. In the coming years, the world economy will have to adjust to a peak in oil production and higher prices after the current lull. Geoplitical mistakes made by the outgoing administration have turned the richest oil producing region into a hot war zone making the US economic situation disastrous (Lachman,2008). The above listed reasons shed some light on why the US economy could be undergoing some kind of recession. They however do not provide a conclusive explanation or reasons as to why the American economy could be in recession. Unlike other forecasts, one can only tell when recession started and ended after it has ended. The determination of recession is left to the National Bureau of Research (Campbell. R. M & Stanley. L. B, 2005). However, it is possible to tell whether or not the economy is in recession by looking at past cases of recession. The great depression was the worst economic slump ever in the U. S history. It began in 1929 and lasted for close to a decade. Just like a recession, many factors led to the great depression; however, the main cause for the great depression was a combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920’s and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part of the same decade. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U. S and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920’s kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes, (Gusmorino, 1996). Almost eighty years later, the U. S might be facing the same situation though not as severe as it was then. Wealth disparities are all over the world today. Although the worst cases are not experienced in America, cases of unequal distribution of wealth are still in America. As mentioned earlier, the American household does not invest much on stocks but in acquisition of homes. Speculations in the stock market are relatively high though not as high as it was then. It is not easy to conclude that the American economy is in recession. Whether or not there is a recession, depends on both on actual economic activity and economic analysis in the future. The facts as they are right now, show that the American economy is in recession. REFERENCES. Campbell, R. M. & Stanley, L. B. (2005). Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional. Gusmorino, P. A. (1996). Main causes of the Great Depression. Washington: Planet Press George, S. (2008). The New Paradigm for Financial Markets: The Credit Crisis of 2008 and What It Means. Chicago: Public Affairs. Furchgott, D. (2007). The Great Recession of 2008. New York: An over view of the US economy, (22) 9:31-35 Ingdahl, W. (2008). Global Financial Markets Want an Immediate, Bold, and Coordinated Policy Response. New York: London Press Lachman, D. (2008). What can global policymakers learn from the Swedish financial crisis of the early 1990s? Washington: US economic crisis, (31) 11:67-90. Trembley, R. (2007). A Slowdown or a Recession in the U. S. in 2008? Carlifonia: Global financial crisis, (14)6:101-143.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Different Issues About Sex Education Education Essay

IntroductionSexual activity instruction is perchance one of the most talked-about subjects presents, particularly among concerned citizens and the authorities. Sexual activity is a natural thing for all of us and it is merely right for the research workers every bit good as the readers to cognize and larn more about it. But the inquiry is, is it right for sex instruction to be taught in primary schools? This research paper tackles the different issues about sex instruction. It contains the pros and cons of learning sex instruction in primary schools. Opinions from different sides such as instructors in primary and secondary schools are considered. With such divisions, the reader can come close their ain comprehension of the subject and therefore lend ways to help the primary pupils sing this affair. In this research paper, the research workers would wish to demo the readers the importance of instructors ‘ perceptual experience on learning sex instruction in primary schools. The research workers are convinced that this paper will be of great value to pupils and instructors.Conceptual ModelSexual activity EducationTeachersSecondaryPrimaryPerceptStatement of the ProblemThe survey aimed to happen out the instructors ‘ position on learning sex instruction in primary schools. What is the general profile of the respondents in footings of: Age Civil Status Gender Capable instruction What are the instructors ‘ positions of learning sex instruction in primary schools? What are the issues/concerns of instructors in the instruction of sex instruction primary schools? Is there a important difference on how the instructors view the instruction of sex instruction when compared by primary and secondary schools?HypothesisThere is no important difference between the positions of the instructors from primary and secondary schools.Premises of the StudyThe research workers assume that the questionnaires distributed to the respondents are answered candidly and truthfully, and that all informations that will be gathered is dependable to the survey. The research workers besides assume that the personal values may impact the respondent ‘s reaction to the inquiries given and personal experiences may act upon the response to the inquiry.Research LocaleThe survey will be conducted in Southville International School and Colleges located at 1281 Tropical Ave. cor. Luxembourg St. , BF International, Las Pinas City, Philippines. The school will be the focal point of the survey because it is more convenient to the research workers, it has a large population and it is suited for the survey.Significance of the surveyParents: They will be guided on doing the determination of allowing their kids analyze sex instruction in the school where their kids are analyzing. Students: They will hold an thought about what they can acquire from larning sex instruction. They will be cognizant that the really bosom of this issue is for their hereafter.Scope and Restrictions:The research focused on the perceptual experiences of the instructors towards learning sex instruction in primary schools. The respondents are the instructors in primary and secondary degree of school twelvemonth 2010-2011, from Southville International School and Colleges.Definition of FootingsCurricula- are the classs offered by an educational establishment. It is besides a set of classs representing an country of specialisation. Mandatory- can besides be mandatory the instruction of sex instruction is obligatory. Optional- the instruction of sex instruction for immature people is non mandatory. Perception- is a consequence of perceiving, observation, a mental image, or construct. Primary school- includes classs one to six. Secondary school- a school normally including old ages 7 to 10. Sexuality- is an look of sexual receptiveness or involvement particularly when inordinate. Sexual activity wise- it is a 12 portion series which discussed sex instruction, household life instruction, contraceptive method, household life instruction, contraceptive method and parenting. Sexual activity Education- is an instruction about human sexual anatomy, reproduction, and intercourse and other human sexual behavior. Young people- are besides referred to as adolescents or kids ages between to 10 to 12.Review of Related LiteratureSexual activity EducationIt is sometimes called gender instruction or sex and relationships instruction, is the procedure of geting information and forming attitudes and beliefs about sex, sexual individuality, relationships and familiarity. Sexual activity instruction is besides about developing immature people ‘s accomplishments so that they make informed picks about their behaviour, and experience confident and competent about moving on these picks. It is widely accepted that immature people have a right to arouse instruction. This is because it is a agency by which they are helped to protect themselves against maltreatment, development, unintended gestations, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV and AIDS. It is besides argued that supplying sex instruction helps to run into immature people ‘s rights to information about affairs that affect them, their rig ht to hold their demands met and to assist them bask their gender and the relationships that they form. It aims to cut down the hazards of potentially negative results from sexual behaviour, such as unwanted or unplanned gestations and infection with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV. It besides aims to lend to immature people ‘s positive experience of their gender by heightening the quality of their relationships and their ability to do informed determinations over their life-time. Sexual activity instruction that works, by which we mean that it is effectual is sex instruction that contributes to both these purposes therefore assisting immature people to be safe and bask their gender. ( http: //www.avert.org/sex-education.htm, 2010 )BeliefsYoung people can be exposed to a broad scope of attitudes and beliefs in relation to sex and gender. These sometimes appear contradictory and confusing. For illustration, some wellness messages emphasize the hazards and dangers associated with sexual activity and some media coverage promotes the thought that being sexually active mak es a individual more attractive and mature. Because sex and gender are sensitive topics, immature people and sex pedagogues can hold strong positions on what attitudes people should keep, and what moral model should regulate people ‘s behavior – these excessively can sometimes look to be at odds. Young people are really interested in the moral and cultural models that bind sex and gender. They frequently welcome chances to speak about issues where people have strong positions, like abortion, sex before matrimony, sapphic and cheery issues and contraceptive method and birth control. It is of import to retrieve that speaking in a balanced manner about differences in sentiment does non advance one set of positions over another, or intend that one agrees with a peculiar position. Part of researching and understanding cultural, spiritual and moral positions is happening out that you can hold to differ. Effective sex instruction besides provides immature people with an chance to research the grounds why people have sex, and to believe about how it involves emotions, regard for one ego and other people and their feelings, determinations and organic structures. Young people should hold the opportunity to research gender differences and how ethnicity and gender can act upon people ‘s feelings and options. They should be able to make up one's mind for themselves what the positive qualities of relationships are. It is of import that they understand how intimidation, pigeonholing, maltreatment and development can negatively act upon relationships. . ( As besides stated at the web site: hypertext transfer protocol: //www.avert.org/sex-education.htm, 2010 )Sexual activity instruction worldwideAfricaSexual activity instruction in Africa has focused on stemming the turning AIDS epidemic. Most authoritiess in the part have established AIDS instruction plans in partnership with the World Health Organization and international NGOs. These plans were undercut significantly by the Global Gag Rule, an enterprise put in topographic point by President Reagan, suspended by President Clinton, and re-instated by President Bush. The Global Gag Rule â€Å" †¦ required nongovernmental organisations to hold as a status of their reception of Federal financess that such organisations would neither execute nor actively promote abortion as a method of household planning in other states. † The Global Gag Rule was once more suspended as one of the first official Acts of the Apostless by United States President Barack Obama. The incidences of new HIV transmittals in Uganda decreased dramatically when Clinton supported a comprehensive sex instruction attack ( including information about contraceptive method and abortion ) . Harmonizing to Ugandan AIDS militants, the Global Gag Rule undermined community attempts to cut down HIV prevalence and HIV transmittal.EuropeSuomiIn Fila nd, sexual instruction is normally incorporated into assorted obligatory classs, chiefly as portion of biological science lessons ( in lower classs ) and subsequently in a class related to general wellness issues. The Population and Family Welfare Federation provide all 15-year-olds an introductory sexual bundle that includes an information booklet, a rubber and a sketch love narrative.England and WalesIn England and Wales, sex instruction is non mandatory in schools as parents can decline to allow their kids take portion in the lessons. The course of study focuses on the generative system, foetal development, and the physical and emotional alterations of adolescence, while information about contraceptive method and safe sex is discretional and treatment about relationships is frequently neglected. Britain has one of the highest adolescent gestation rates in Europe and sex instruction is a het issue in authorities and media studies. In a 2000 survey by the University of Brighton, ma ny 14 to 15 twelvemonth olds reported letdown with the content of sex instruction lessons and felt that deficiency of confidentiality prevents adolescents from inquiring instructors about contraceptive method.FranceIn France, sex instruction has been portion of school course of study since 1973. Schools are expected to supply 30 to 40 hours of sex instruction, and base on balls out rubbers, to pupils in classs eight and nine. In January 2000, the Gallic authorities launched an information run on contraceptive method with Television and wireless musca volitanss and the distribution of five million cusps on contraceptive method to high school pupils.GermanyIn Germany, sex instruction has been portion of school course of study since 1970. Since 1992 sex instruction is by jurisprudence a governmental responsibility. It usually covers all topics refering the growing-up procedure, organic structure alterations during pubescence, emotions, the biological procedure of reproduction, sexual activity, partnership, homosexualism, unwanted gestations and the complications of abortion, the dangers of sexual force, kid maltreatment, and sex-transmitted diseases, but sometimes besides things like sex places. Most schools offer classs on the right use of contraceptive method. A sex study by the World Health Organization refering the wonts of European adolescents in 2006 revealed that German adolescents care about contraceptive method. The birth rate among 15- to 19-year-olds was really low – merely 11.7 per 1000 population, compared to the UK ‘s 27.8 births per 1,000 population, and-in first place-Bulgaria ‘s 39.0 births per 1,000.PolandIn the Western point of position, sex instruction in Poland has ne'er really developed. At the clip of the People ‘s Republic of Poland, since 1973, it was one of the school topics ; nevertheless, it was comparatively hapless and did non accomplish any existent success. After 1989, it practically vanished from the school life – it is presently an sole topic ( called wychowanie do A?ycia w rodzinie/family life instruction instead than edukacja seksualna/sex instruction ) in several schools their parents must give consent to the schoolmasters so their kids may go to. It has much due to the str ong expostulation against sex instruction of the Catholic Church ; the most influential establishment in Poland. It has, nevertheless, been changed and since September 2009 sex instruction will go an obligatory topic in the figure of 14 per school twelvemonth – unless parents do non desire their kids to be taught. Objecting parents will hold to compose particular dissensions.North AmericaUnited StatesAbout all U.S. pupils receive some signifier of sex instruction at least one time between classs 7 and 12 ; many schools begin turn toing some subjects every bit early as classs 5 or 6. However, what pupils learn varies widely, because course of study determinations are so decentralised. Many provinces have Torahs regulating what is taught in sex instruction categories or leting parents to choose out. Some province Torahs leave course of study determinations to single school territories. Two chief signifiers of sex instruction are taught in American schools: comprehensive and abstinence-only. Comprehensive sex instruction covers abstinence as a positive pick, but besides teaches about contraceptive method and turning away of STIs when sexually active. A 2002 survey conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 58 % of secondary school principals describe their sex instruction course of study as comprehensive. Abstinence-only sex instruction tells adolescents that they should be sexually abstentious until matrimony and does non supply information about contraceptive method. In the Kaiser survey, 34 % of high-school principals said their school ‘s chief message was abstinence-only. The difference between these two attacks, and their impact on adolescent behaviour, remains a controversial topic. In the U.S. , teenage birth rates had been dropping since 1991, but a 2007 study showed a 3 % addition from 2005 to 2006. From 1991 to 2005, the per centum of teens describing that they had of all time had sex or were presently sexually active showed little diminutions. However, the U.S. still has the highest adolescent birth rate and one of the highest rates of STIs among teens in the industrialised universe. Public sentiment polls conducted over the old ages have found that the huge bulk of Americans favour broader sex instruction plans over those that teach merely abstinence, although abstention pedagogues late published canvass informations with the opposite decision. On the other manus, advocates of abstinence-only sex instruction object to curricula that fail to learn their criterion of moral behaviour ; they maintain that a morality based on sex merely within the bounds of matrimony is â€Å" healthy and constructive † and that value-free cognition of the organic structure may take to immoral, unhealthy, and harmful patterns. Within the last decennary, the federal authorities has encouraged abstinence-only instruction by maneuvering over a billion dollars to such plans. Some 25 provinces now decline the support so that they can go on to learn comprehensive sex instruction. Funding for one of the federal authorities ‘s two chief abstinency-only support plans, Title V, was extended merely until December 31, 2007 ; Congress is debating whether to go on it past that day of the month. The impact of the rise in abstinence-only instruction remains a inquiry. To day of the month, no published surveies of abstinence-only plans have found consistent and important plan effects on detaining the oncoming of intercourse. In 2007, a survey ordered by the U.S. Congress found that in-between school pupils who took portion in abstinence-only sex instruction plans were merely every bit likely to hold sex ( and utilize contraceptive method ) in their teenage old ages as those who did non. Abstinence-only advocators claimed that the survey was flawed because it was excessively narrow and began when abstinence-only course of study were in their babyhood, and that other surveies have demonstrated positive effects. Harmonizing to a 2007 study, Teen pregnancies in the United States showed 3 % addition in the adolescent birth rate from 2005 to 2006, to about 42 births per 1,000.VirginiaVirginia uses the sex instruction plan called, The National Campaign to forestall adolescent and unplanned gestation. The National Campaign was created in 1996. The plan focuses on forestalling adolescent and unplanned gestations of immature grownups. The National run set a end to cut down adolescent gestation rate by 1/3 in 10 old ages. The Virginia Department of Health ranked Virginia 19th in adolescent gestation birth rates in 1996. Virginia was besides rated 35.2 adolescent births per 1000 misss aged 15-19 in 2006. The Healthy people 2010 end is a adolescent gestation rate at or below 43 gestations per 1000 females age 15-17.AsiaThe province of sex instruction plans in Asia is at assorted phases of development. Indonesia, Mongolia, South Korea have a systematic policy model for learning about sex within schools . Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand have assessed adolescent generative wellness demands with a position to developing adolescent-specific preparation, messages and stuffs. India has plans aimed at kids aged nine to sixteen old ages. In India, there is a immense argument on the course of study of sex instruction and whether it should be increased. Attempts by province authoritiess to present sex instruction as a mandatory portion of the course of study have frequently been met with rough unfavorable judgment by political parties, who claim that sex instruction â€Å" is against Indian civilization † and would misdirect kids. ( Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan have no coordinated sex instruction plans. ) In Japan, sex instruction is compulsory from age 10 or 11, chiefly covering biological subjects such as menses and interjection. In China and Sri Lanka, sex instruction traditionally consists of reading the reproduction subdivision of biological science text editions. In Sri Lanka they teach the kids when they are 17-18 old ages. However, in 2000 a new five-year undertaking was introduced by the China Family Planning Association to â€Å" advance generative wellness instruction among Chinese adolescents and single young person † in 12 urban territories and three counties. This included treatment about sex within human relationships every bit good as gestation and HIV bar. The International Planned Parenthood Federation and the BBC World Service ran a 12-part series known as Sexwise, which discussed sex instruction, household life instruction, contraceptive method and parenting. It was foremost launched in South Asia and so extended worldwide.Acrimonious Argument over Sexual activity Education in the PhilippinesThe educational faculty â€Å" Adolescent Sexual Health, † though non yet released to all high schools in the Philippines, has already drawn heavy unfavorable judgment from the Roman Catholic Church, pro-life militants, and some parents. â€Å" The manner it is being taught deficiencies the fear, the polish that the capable affair demands, † said Jo Imbong, legal officer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Deciding when to learn kids about sex should be left to their parents, he said. But Professor Corazon Raymundo, manager of the University of the Philippines ‘ Population Institute ( UPPI ) , said sex instruction in schools is necessary because it is non in the state ‘s civilization for parents to discourse sex with their kids. The instruction section, which presented the faculty as a response to the state ‘s flourishing population growing, emphasized it is non a sex manual but instead a instruction usher covering with household planning, generative wellness, and the dangers of early and pre-marital sex. Harmonizing to a UPPI study, 23 per centum of Filipinos ages 15-24 engaged in pre-marital sex in 2002, up from 18 per centum in 1994. The prevalence of bad sexual behaviours among striplings rose from 20 per centum in 1994 to 27 per centum in 2002. Further, this age group now accounts for 17 per centum of all induced abortions in the state. â€Å" It ‘s high clip that the ignorance of striplings be addressed in a manner that will let them to do an informed pick, † said Solita Monsod, former economic planning secretary. Now, nevertheless, instruction functionaries have responded to the unfavorable judgment by retreating the faculty â€Å" for farther communications among stakeholders. † Before it is returned to schools, some subdivisions will be revised, said Lolita Andrada, the faculty ‘s editor and the manager of the Bureau of Secondary Education. In peculiar, the subdivision on safe sex, which some viewed as a publicity of promiscuousness, will be rewritten, Andrada said. ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.thebody.com/content/news/art23803.html, 2010 )Dep.Ed. sued over sex instruction programMANILA, Philippines ( UPDATE ) – The former legal officer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines on Monday sued the Department of Education for integrating sex instruction in the course of study of simple and high school pupils. In an interview, attorney Jo Aurea Imbong said she filed the instance in behalf of 30 concerned parents who opposed the sex instruction program. She described the sex instruction plan as a signifier of â€Å" prophylactic imperialism † that assaults moral esthesias and values of immature people and really encourages sexual promiscuousness. â€Å" We have examined the faculties being used by DepEd and found that it promotes household planning, generative wellness and demographic development in topics such as Mathematicss, Science and English. It is specifically designed to transform the attitudes, behaviour and societal norms of immature people based on a foreign theoretical account, † she told abs-cbnNEWS.com. Imbong said the category suit aims to halt DepEd from implementing Memorandum No. 26, which integrates sex instruction in the course of study for private and public schools. She said the plan changes the attitudes and values of kids particularly in Christian households. Imbong said sex instruction was already being implemented in the basic instruction course of study 12 old ages ago, and the new DepEd memo merely updates the faculties. She said following the sex instruction program will fast-track moral decay among immature people who are exposed to sex at an early age. â€Å" While wonder is normal for immature people, it is still the primary duty of the parents and households to inform their kids about sex, † she said. She besides noted that the sex instruction plan is having funding from the United Nations Fund for Population Activities ( UNFPA ) . In response, Education Secretary Mona Valisno said the sex instruction plan is still being pilot-tested and that the treatments will concentrate on the scientific discipline of reproduction, physical attention and hygiene, right values and the norms of interpersonal dealingss to avoid prenuptial sex and adolescent gestation. She said the Deped consulted different sectors about the plan including the CBCP and the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas. She said parents who were consulted about the plan were really happy with it particularly since it provides relevant information to kids. She besides questioned why a tribunal instance was filed particularly since the plan does non belie the authorization of DepEd to protect kids ‘s rights to quality instruction. â€Å" Our course of study does n't speak about rubbers and such. It ‘s merely exposure to the kids to the right information in order for them to do the right determination†¦ Kung hindi natin kailangan, so the new secretary of instruction can alter it, † she told ANC. She said the sex instruction program seeks to conflict the high per centum of indefensible gestations in the state, which is one of the 10 highest in the universe, and prevent dropouts as a consequence of teenage gestations. She said the subjects integrated into the faculties will be scientific and enlightening and are non designed to tickle lubricious involvement. In Science, sex instruction subjects will cover the generative system, parts of the organic structure, generative rhythm, and pubescence. Under Edukasyong Pantahanan at Pangkabuhayan ( EPP ) , proper behaviour among and between equals of different genders will be discussed. In Health categories under MAPEH ( Music, Arts, PE and Health ) , personal hygiene and generative wellness will be portion of the lessons. In Heograpiya, Kasaysayan, at Sibika ( HEKASI ) classes, treatment will include the place of faith on prenuptial sex and the norms when people of opposite sex interact.A In Math categories, informations on issues like prenuptial sex, adolescent gestation, and sexually transmitted infections will be used in analyzing mathematical analysis and statistics. ( Dizon, 2010 )

Monday, July 29, 2019

Information Technology on Individuals, Organizations and Societies

Part VI Implementing and Managing IT 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. Chapter 17 IT Strategy and Planning Information Technology Economics Acquiring IT Applications and Infrastructure Security Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society Movie Piracy Learning Objectives 17. 1 Perspectives on IT Impacts 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, After studying this chapter, you will be able to: Space, and Distance Understand the changes that take place in the workplace and the lives of individuals when information technology eliminates geographical and spatial barriers.Describe some of the major impacts of information technology on individuals, organizations, and society. 17. 3 Information Is Changing from a Scarce Resource to an Abundant Resource Discuss the positive and negative effects associated with the abundance of information made available by IT. 17. 4 Machines Are Performing Functions Identify the issues that arise du e to uneven diffusion of information technology across countries and socioeconomic classes. Previously Performed by Humans 17. 5 Information Technology Urges People to Reexamine Their Value Systems Understand the complexity of effects of technological rogress on labor markets and individual employees. 17. 6 Conclusion 17. 7 Managerial Issues Discuss the impacts of information technology on the quality of life and interpersonal relationships. Recognize the legal, ethical, and moral issues that become particularly critical due to proliferation of information technology. Minicases: 1. Megachurches 2. RFID for Consumer Products Integrating IT ACC FIN MKT POM HRM IS SVC 663 MOVIE PIRACY The Problem Generations of moviegoers went to movie theaters to enjoy the latest films. They accepted the idea of paying for their movies. However, movie piracy, which has been reatly accelerated by information technology, is challenging this notion. Now, movie pirates are bringing the latest motion pictu re releases to an Internet-connected computer near you. For years, movie studios suffered minor losses due to high-tech piracy (theft of digital content) that was carried out by people duplicating videotapes and DVDs. The need to produce and distribute physical media presented a number of technical and logistical difficulties for movie pirates, which limited the scope of their operations. Thus, picture studios largely ignored these activities. When Napster. com and other sites began to se the Web and peer-to-peer technologies to share pirated music, movie producers felt reasonably immune to this trend. After all, it would take more than a week to download a 5-gigabyte DVD-quality movie using a 56-kilobits-per-second modem. Some individuals argue that piracy does not hurt film studios but, rather, makes movies available to those people who would not be able to enjoy them otherwise. Information technology that enables movie piracy raises a number of significant issues, such as intelle ctual property rights, fair use, and the role of government in regulating these issues.Furthermore, information technology makes it easier than ever to cross national borders, adding international implications to the issue of movie piracy. The Solution To deal with movie piracy, picture studio executives attacked several aspects of the problem simultaneously. First, media companies tried to shape public opinion in a way that would discourage movie piracy. For instance, to raise public awareness of the issue, filmmakers launched an advertising campaign with the slogan â€Å"Movies. They’re worth it. † Second, the movie industry performed a number of ctivities that made it more difficult to copy and distribute pirated movies without being noticed. For instance, 664 enhanced physical security at movie theaters, which may include the use of metal detectors and physical searches for recording devices, helps the film industry deter piracy at â€Å"sneak previews† and movie premieres (Ripley, 2004). Technology plays an important part in this process. The Results Hollywood had several high-profile wins in its fight against Internet movie piracy in 2005 and 2006. The film industry’s trade organization, the Motion PictureAssociation of America (MPAA), slapped hundreds of people with lawsuits for illegally downloading and trading films online. The U. S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security shut down Elite Torrents, a popular Web site that spread copies of Star Wars: Episode III— Revenge of the Sith before the movie officially opened. Even Bram Cohen, creator of BitTorrent (a peer-to-peer file-sharing program responsible for an estimated 65% of illegal movie downloads in 2005), agreed to cut links to MPAA-pirated content off his Web site (Leung, 2006). Yet the problem seems to be getting worse.According to London-based research firm Informa, illegal movie downloads cost the industry U. S. $985 million in 2005, up from U. S. $860 million in 2004. Growing access to broadband likely played a role, as higher Internet speeds made downloading large movie files faster. Studio executives realize that enforcement is only part of the solution. As in the music industry, many believe the best way to prevent illegal downloads is to offer legal alternatives. Warner Bros. turned a technology used by Internet movie pirates to its advantage. In March 2006, in Germany, Austria, and parts of Switzerland, the company aunched In2Movies, a peer-to-peer file-sharing network that lets users download movies for the price of a DVD or less. Kevin Tsujihara, the president of the Warner Bros. ’ home entertainment group, said Germany has all the right ingredients for such a service: high rates of piracy due to high levels of broadband penetration, a tech-savvy population, and consumers willing to pay for downloaded movies. Sources: Compiled from Leung (2006) and Ripley (2004). Lessons Learned from This Case Obviously, information technology is not the cause of movie piracy, just as it is not the cause of music iracy. (See Online File W17. 1 for a discussion of music piracy. ) However, it is the tool that tremendously heightens the importance of legal, ethical, and regulatory issues related to this phenomenon. Copyright, trademark, and patent infringement, freedom of thought and speech, theft of property, and 17. 1 fraud are not new issues in modern societies. However, as this opening case illustrates, information technology adds to the scope and scale of these issues. It also raises a number of questions about what constitutes illegal behavior versus unethical, intrusive, or undesirable behavior.This chapter examines these and numerous other impacts of information technology on individuals, organizations, and society. Perspectives on IT Impacts Concern about the impact of technology on people, organizations, and society is not new. As early as the 1830s, English intellectuals expressed philosophical argumen ts about the effects of technologies that had given rise to the Industrial Revolution some 60 to 70 years earlier. Samuel Butler, in his 1872 book Erehwon (an anagram for nowhere), summarized the anxiety about the disruptive influences of technology on the lives of people.The book described a society that made a conscious decision to reject machines and new technology; in it, people have â€Å"frozen† technology at a predetermined level and outlawed all further technological development. While there are many philosophical, technological, social, and cultural differences between society at the start of the Industrial Revolution and the society of the middle of the Information Age in which we now live, there are, nevertheless, people who continue to believe that humankind is threatened by the evolution of technology. Overall, however, our society has not rejected technology but, rather, has embraced it.Most of us recognize that technology and information systems are essential t o maintaining, supporting, and enriching many aspects of the lives of individuals, operations of organizations, and functioning of societies. Humans are involved in a symbiotic relationship with technology. All the same, we must be aware of its effect on us as individuals and as members of organizations and society. Throughout this book, we have noted how information systems are being rationalized, developed, used, and maintained to help organizations meet their needs and reach their goals.In all these discussions, we have assumed that development and implementation of information technology produce only positive results and leave no major negative consequences. However, is this really true? Abundant evidence unmistakably points to potential negative effects of technology in general, and information technology in particular. Information technology has raised a multitude of negative issues, ranging from illegal copying of software programs to surveillance of employees’ e-mail. The impact of IT on employment levels is of major concern, as are the effects on sociability and the quality of life. A more critical issue, however, involves questions such as: Will proliferation of technology cause irreversible changes to the society as we know it? Will humans benefit from the new capabilities of information technology, or will they be harmed by machines playing more and more prominent roles in the society? Who will investigate the costs and risks of technologies? Will society have any control over the decisions to deploy technology? 665 666Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society This chapter will discuss several major themes that can be identified among the countless effects of information technology. We will discuss how information technology removes spatial and geographic barriers, transforms information into an abundant resource, enables machines to perform â€Å"human† tasks, and forces people to reconsider their value syste ms. Each of these trends is comprised of the effects of multiple technologies and has far-reaching implications for various groups of people. 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, Space, and DistanceOne of the most noticeable developments precipitated by information technology is the elimination of numerous barriers that traditionally separated individuals, organizations, and societies at different geographic locations. In essence, information technology is redefining the entire concept of time, space, and distance. Proliferation of high-speed data communication networks that span the globe enables companies to integrate geographically distant manufacturing and research facilities, link international financial markets, and even provide customer service from halfway around the world.GLOBALIZATION Offshore outsourcing is one of the manifestations of the trend toward globalization— blurring of geographic barriers—that is accelerated by information technology. Well -educated English-speaking employees residing in countries like India and the Philippines can perform services demanded by firms based in the United States, Great Britain, or any other country. In fact, outsourcing of white-collar services has already become mainstream, with software development and call-center operations being among the most prevalent.Furthermore, the outsourcing trends are naturally expanding into such activities as processing of insurance claims, transcription of medical records, engineering and design work, financial analysis, market research, and many others (â€Å"The Remote Future,† 2004). From a macroeconomic perspective, the effects of offshore outsourcing are quite positive: It facilitates a more efficient allocation of human resources by removing the imperfections introduced by geographical boundaries. On a microeconomic level, numerous companies will benefit from lower costs of outsourced activities.For example, by outsourcing back-office work to Costa Rica, the Philippines, and Great Britain, Procter & Gamble was able to realize $1 billion in cost reductions (La Londe, 2004). Nevertheless, outsourcing, as any other impact of information technology, raises an array of complex interrelated issues that are not always positive. For instance, outsourcing may be advantageous to some groups of people, but detrimental to others. Nasscom, the Indian IT industry lobby, forecasts that employment in the â€Å"ITenabled services† industry in India will grow from 770,000 in 2004 to 2 million in 2008 (â€Å"The Remote Future,† 2004).Yet, employees and trade unions in Western nations are expressing concerns about job losses resulting from offshore outsourcing. The U. S. federal government and the majority of individual states are already considering laws that would prevent government agencies from contracting their services out to foreign firms (Schroeder, 2004). As the volume of sensitive data processed offshore increases, o utsourcing will raise the questions of privacy and confidentiality.Privacy standards in a country where data originate may vary dramatically from the privacy laws and privacy safeguards in the country where the data are processed. An incident in which a disgruntled worker in Pakistan threatened to post medical records of U. S. patients on the Internet highlights the seriousness of this issue (Mintz, 2004). 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, Space, and Distance 667 The remarkable communications capabilities delivered by IT promote globalization not only through offshore outsourcing but also through enabling firms to distribute core corporate functions around the globe.TELECOMMUTING Broadband Internet access, secure virtual private networks, and mobile computing technologies are making it possible for many professionals to telecommute, or work from outside the office. According to some estimates, by the year 2010 more than half of workers in the United States will spend 2 o r more days a week working away from the office. However, experts estimate that even in 10 years it would be uncommon to find workers who telecommute 5 days a week, suggesting that telecommuting would not fully eliminate the need for central office locations.From 1990 to 2000, the number of those who worked more at home than at the office grew by 23 percent, twice the rate of growth of the total labor market. Since 2000, telecommuting has continued to increase. Approximately 4. 5 million Americans telecommute a majority of their total working days, with some 20 million commuting at least some days each month and 45 million telecommuting at least once per year. Telecommuting offers a plethora of benefits, including reducing rush-hour traffic, improving air quality, improving highway safety, and even improving health care (see IT at Work 17. ). Among the large metropolitan areas in the United States, the largest amount of telecommuting occurs in Denver, Portland, and San Diego. The pr ojected growth of IT-related jobs is on the rise. Five of the top ten highest-growth jobs are IT-related, including computer software engineering for applications, computer support specialists, computer software engineering for systems software, network and computer systems administrators, and network systems and data communication analysts (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook; see money. cnn. om/magazines/ business2/nextjobboom/), and the rates of telecommuting are expected to grow even higher. Many of these IT-related jobs can now be effectively performed from home, thanks to excellent bandwidths and improved technologies to support telecommuting. IT at Work 17. 1 Telemedicine Helps Indian Tribe Get Better Health Care The Alabama Coushatta Indian Tribe Reservation, located 45 miles outside of Houston, Texas, in Livingston County, has experienced an outmigration of its people to more metropolitan areas in search of better education, jobs, and health care.Wanti ng to preserve its race and culture, the 300-member tribe sought ways to make living on the reservation more attractive to its young members. In partnership with Sam Houston State University (SHSU) and with $350,000 in funding from the Rural Utilities Services, a network called RESNET was created to bridge the information and communication gaps for residents of Livingston and surrounding counties. A fiber-optic network links the medical clinic on the reservation to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Polk County as well as to the Tyler County Hospital. Tribal members can ow receive more specialized care as two-way consultations between the clinic on the reservation and the hospital in Polk County or Tyler County are now possible. Individuals with ailments that might require hospitalization, but about which they are not sure, such as a diabetic with a concern about a swollen limb, can first check with the medical clinic on the reservation. Vital signs can be taken and radiology images shared with the specialist physicians at one of the hospitals, and then informed decisions about whether the patient needs to travel to a hospital can be made.This helps improve the quality of care as well as saves time both for patients and for medical staff. Source: USDA (2006) and shsu. edu (1997). For Further Exploration: What are potential legal problems associated with telemedicine? What are some trade-offs to be considered? 668 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society The typical telecommuter is well-educated, financially stable, has children, works in management and/or sales, and had worked in his or her current position for several years face-to-face before starting to telecommute Balaker, 2005). Likewise, as the percent of service-related jobs increases—by 2002, 82 percent of the U. S. workforce worked in service-related jobs—the potential for more telecommuting also rises. It is simply not possible for factory or agricultur al laborers to telecommute, but many service-related jobs do offer the potential for telecommuting. One area where telecommuting is having a promising impact is that of telemedicine. For instance, in 2001, doctors in New York performed the first successful crossAtlantic telesurgery on a patient in Strasbourg France.The removal of the patient’s gallbladder was conducted via a robotic arm that was remotely controlled by the surgeons. A fiber-optic cable operated by France Telecom enabled the high-speed link so that the images from the operating table in France were on display in front of the doctors in New York, with an average time delay of only 150 milliseconds (Johnson, 2002). Other areas of medicine are experiencing surges in telemedicine as well. Replacing the couch with a monitor and video feed, telepsychiatry in particular is becoming popular, fueled in part by the need to serve rural patients and the need to service prison populations.Data from the National Conference o f State Legislatures indicates that as of 2006, six states in the United States required private insurers to reimburse patients for telepsychiatry. Impacts of Working from Home or Virtual Office. All forms of telecommuting— working from home (WFH) or a virtual office—give employees greater flexibility in their working locations and hours. Working in a virtual office is one way an employee can telecommute by completing job duties virtually anywhere—a car, hotel room, airport, or any hotspot.Telecommuting (or telework) played a significant role in business continuity and continuity of operations planning. Companies who had employees in New York City on 9/11 or New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina relied on telework. Their employees were able to work immediately after these tragedies because of the telework programs they had in place. The Telework Coalition (TelCoa. org), a nonprofit membership organization that promotes virtual and distributed work, conducted a be nchmarking study of employers in public and private sectors with large telework programs. Employers represented roughly 00,000 employees and 150,000 teleworkers and mobile workers. The 2006 study, sponsored by Intel, looked at how these large organizations resolved problems to create successful programs that benefited the organization and employees through reduced real estate costs, increased employee retention, and a higher rate of employee satisfaction. The survey was valuable because it examined details such as benefits, costs, challenges, and unexpected consequences experienced by managers. Most participants emphasized the importance of the mobility that telework enables when dealing in a global economy.To read the Executive Summary of the telework survey, visit telcoa. org/id311. htm. An interesting finding was that telework was being regarded as â€Å"just work† and not an unusual form of work. As long as employees had a phone, laptop, high-speed Internet access, and fa x, they are in business wherever they are. With the convergence of technologies, such as a wireless-equipped laptop with a VoIP phone, or a new-generation PDA, work can be done from almost anywhere. Telework is also of great importance to the local community and society because of effects on the environment, safety, and health.For example, the strength of a society depends on the strength of its individuals and the strength of their families. Other potential benefits 17. 2 IT Is Eliminating the Barriers of Time, Space, and Distance TABLE 17. 1 669 Potential Benefits of Telecommuting or Virtual Work Individuals Organizational Community and Society †¢ Reduces or eliminates travelrelated time and expenses †¢ Improves health by reducing stress related to compromises made between family and work responsibilities †¢ Allows closer proximity to and involvement with family †¢ Allows closer bonds with the family and the community Decreases involvement in office politics â € ¢ Increases productivity despite distractions †¢ Reduces office space needed †¢ Increases labor pool and competitive advantage in recruitment †¢ Provides compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act †¢ Decreases employee turnover, absenteeism, and sick leave usage †¢ Improves job satisfaction and productivity †¢ Conserves energy and lessens dependence on foreign oil †¢ Preserves the environment by reducing traffic-related pollution and congestion †¢ Reduces traffic accidents and resulting injuries or deaths Reduces the incidence of disrupted families when people do not have to quit their jobs if they need to move because of a spouse’s new job or family obligations †¢ Increased employment opportunities for the homebound †¢ Allows the movement of job opportunities to areas of high unemployment of telework to individuals, organizations, and communities are listed in Table 17. 1. There are numerous potential negative effect s of telework, including a sense of isolation when working from home even though such work often requires a lot of telephone contact with people in the office.Growth in telecommuting raises the questions of whether the benefits of working from home outweigh the costs, and whether telecommuting is appropriate for everyone or only for workers with certain qualities and personality types. Few of us want to work around the clock, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, but the pressure to do so could be considerable if the facility exists. Another pressure may be to work antisocial hours—night shifts, for example, or weekends—which can adversely impact the quality of social interactions and interpersonal relationships. For more on teleworking, see Online File W17. 2. ) Globalization and telecommuting are only two examples of how information technology removes the barriers of time, space, and distance. Far-reaching results of this trend are changing the way we l ive, work, play, and do business, bringing both improvements that we can enjoy and the challenges that we need to overcome. In the context of organizations, these changes have important implications for structure, authority, power, job content, and personnel issues. STRUCTURE, AUTHORITY, POWER, JOB C ONTENT, AND PERSONNEL ISSUESThe IT revolution may result in many changes in structure, authority, power, and job content, as well as personnel management and human resources management. Details of these changes are shown in Table 17. 2. In addition, other changes are expected in organizations. IT managers are assuming a greater leadership role in making business decisions. The impact goes beyond one company or one supply chain, to influence entire industries. For example, the use of profitability models and optimization is reshaping retailing, real estate, banking, transportation, airlines, and car renting, to mention just a few.These and other changes are impacting personnel issues, as shown in Table 17. 3. Many additional personnel-related questions could surface as a result of using IT. For example: What will be the impact of IT on job qualifications and on training 670 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society TABLE 17. 2 Impacts of IT on Structure, Authority, Power, and Job Content Impact Effect of IT Flatter organizational hierarchies IT increases span of control (more employees per supervisor), increases productivity, and reduces the need for technical experts (due to expert systems).Fewer managerial levels will result, with fewer staff and line managers. Reduction in the total number of employees, reengineering of business processes, and the ability of lower-level employees to perform higher-level jobs may result in flatter organizational hierarchies. The ratio of white- to blue-collar workers increases as computers replace clerical jobs, and as the need for information systems specialists increases. However, the number of profess ionals and specialists could decline in relation to the total number of employees in some organizations as intelligent and knowledge-based systems grow.IT makes possible technology centers, e-commerce centers, decision support systems departments, and/or intelligent systems departments. Such units may have a major impact on organizational structure, especially when they are supported by or report directly to top management. Centralization may become more popular because of the trend toward smaller and flatter organizations and the use of expert systems. On the other hand, the Web permits greater empowerment, allowing for more decentralization. Whether use of IT results in more centralization or in decentralization may depend on top management’s philosophy.Knowledge is power, and those who control information and knowledge are likely to gain power. The struggle over who controls the information resources has become a conflict in many organizations. In some countries, the fight may be between corporations that seek to use information for competitive advantage and the government (e. g. , Microsoft vs. the Justice Dept. ). Elsewhere, governments may seek to hold onto the reins of power by not letting private citizens access some information (e. g. , China’s restriction of Internet usage).Job content is interrelated with employee satisfaction, compensation, status, and productivity. Resistance to changes in job skills is common, and can lead to unpleasant confrontations between employees and management. Change in blue-towhite-collar staff ratio Growth in number of special units Centralization of authority Changes in power and status Changes in job content and skill sets requirements? How can jobs that use IT be designed so that they present an acceptable level of challenge to users? How might IT be used to personalize or enrich jobs?What can be done to make sure that the introduction of IT does not demean jobs or have other negative impacts from the w orkers’ point of view? All these and more issues could be encountered in any IT implementation. TABLE 17. 3 Impacts of IT on Personnel Issues Impact Effect of IT Shorter career ladders In the past, many professionals developed their abilities through years of experience and a series of positions that exposed them to progressively more complex situations. The use of IT, and especially Web-based computer-aided instruction, may short-cut this learning curve. IT introduces the possibility for greater electronic supervision.In general, the supervisory process may become more formalized, with greater reliance on procedures and measurable (i. e. , quantitative) outputs and less on interpersonal processes. This is especially true for knowledge workers and telecommuters. The Web has the potential to increase job mobility. Sites such as techjourney. com can tell you how jobs pay in any place in the United States. Sites like monster. com offer places to post job offerings and resumes. U sing videoconferencing for interviews and intelligent agents to find jobs is likely to increase employee turnover.Changes in supervision Job mobility 17. 3 Information Is Changing from a Scarce Resource to an Abundant Resource 17. 3 671 Information Is Changing from a Scarce Resource to an Abundant Resource Few people disagree with the notion that information is a valuable resource and that increased availability of information can be beneficial for individuals and organizations alike. However, information technology’s capability to introduce ever-growing amounts of data and information into our lives can exceed our capacity to keep up with them, leading to information overload.Business users are not suffering from the scarcity of data; instead, they are discovering that the process of finding the information they need in massive collections of documents can be complicated, time consuming, and expensive. The impact of information overload is felt not only in business circles b ut also in many other parts of the society, including the military intelligence community. At the onset of the Information Age, intelligence professionals acquired never-before-seen data collection tools, including high-resolution satellite imagery and versatile sensors capable of penetrating natural and manmade barriers.Furthermore, information technology enabled the intelligence community to establish high-speed communication links to transfer the data, build vast databases to store the data, and use powerful supercomputers with intelligent software to process the data. Clearly, information technology has greatly increased both the amount of information available to the intelligence community and the speed at which it can analyze this information. However, existing computer systems and human analysts are unable to deal with the increasing volumes of data, creating the information-overload problem.For instance, according to MacDonald and Oettinger (2002),â€Å"information that mig ht have prevented some of the September 11 attacks apparently existed somewhere within the vast quantity of data collected by the intelligence community, but the systems for using such information have lagged far behind the ability to collect the data. † To be effective at solving the problem of information overload, information systems must differentiate between the data that can be safely summarized and the data that should be viewed in its original form (DeSouza et al. , 2004). INFORMATION OVERLOAD INFORMATION QUALITY FINAs organizations and societies continue to generate, process, and rely on the rapidly increasing amounts of information, they begin to realize the importance of information quality. Information quality is a somewhat subjective measure of the utility, objectivity, and integrity of gathered information. Quality issues affect both the simple collections of facts (data) and the more complex pieces of processed data (information). To be truly valuable, both data and information must possess a number of essential characteristics, such as being complete, accurate, up-to-date, and â€Å"fit for the purpose† for which they are used (Ojala, 2003).The value and usability of data and information that do not satisfy these requirements are severely limited. Issues relating to information quality have become sufficiently significant that they now occupy a notable place on the government’s legislative agenda. The Data Quality Act of 2001 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 impose stringent information quality requirements on government agencies and publicly traded corporations (Loshin, 2004).For example, one of the provisions of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act makes chief executive and financial officers personally responsible and liable for the quality of financial information that firms release to stockholders or file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This rule emphasizes the importance of controlling and measuring data qualit y and information quality in business intelligence, corporate performance management, and record management systems (Logan and Buytendijk, 2003). Information quality problems are not limited to corporate data. Millions of individuals face information quality ssues on a daily basis as they try to find information 672 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society online, whether on publicly available Web pages or in specialized research databases, wikis, blogs, or newsfeeds. Among the most common problems that plague online information sources is omission of materials. A number of online â€Å"full-text† periodicals databases may omit certain items that appeared in the printed versions of those publications. In addition, online sources of information leave out older documents, which are not available in digital form.Thus, one cannot be assured of having access to a complete set of relevant materials. Even materials that are available from seemingly reputab le sources present information quality concerns. Information may have been reported wrong, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or the information may have become out of date (Ojala, 2003). These and other information quality issues are contributing to the frustration and anxiety that for some have become the unfortunate side effect of the Information Age. SPAM THE DIGITAL DIVIDESpamming, the practice of indiscriminately broadcasting unsolicited messages via e-mail and over the Internet, is one of the most widespread forms of digital noise. Spam is typically directed at a person and presents a considerable annoyance, with 70 percent of users indicating that â€Å"spam makes being online unpleasant† (Davies, 2004). Bulk unsolicited electronic messages—spam—accounts for more than 66 percent of all e-mail traffic on the Internet. Some 25. 5 billion spam messages were sent in 2004 (reported by Defacto, 2005).This volume of messages significantly impairs the ban dwidth of Internet service providers and places excessive capacity demands on mail servers. In electronic commerce, spam can delay transactions and can cause problems in supply chains where business data are exchanged through specially configured e-mail accounts (Davies, 2004). Spam hurts businesses even more by lowering the productivity of employees who have to deal with unwanted messages. Spam can originate in any country, making the anti-spam legislation of any given country largely ineffective in keeping spam out.The 2004 Ferris Research Study on spam found that the average amount spent on anti-spam products was $41 per user per year, so for a company with 10,000 employees, this would total $410,000 for the company per year. Thirty-four percent of the respondents in the Ferris study indicated that between 50 and 74 percent of all incoming messages were spam. Fortythree percent reported that managing spam was a major managerial concern. Of the approximately 500 organizations stud ied, 56 percent had already implemented antispam software with another 30 percent planning to.For the 14 percent that did not plan to implement spam software, the major reason was the fear of â€Å"false positives†Ã¢â‚¬â€ that is, the concern that messages that are quite important will be filtered as junk. In fact, unless employees occasionally browse their junk mail, they might very well miss important messages. Thus, in addition to the cost of the software, there is no way around the fact that spam costs organizations in terms of employee time. See Online File W17. 3 for discussion of the U. S. Can-Spam Act.Internet service providers and software companies have embarked on a technological campaign to eradicate spam. Mail-filtering software and other technologies have made it more difficult for spammers to distribute their messages. However, spammers have responded with creative new schemes to defeat the anti-spam solutions. The battle of innovations and counterinnovations between spammers and anti-spam companies continues. Some of the major anti-spam software providers include SpamAssassin, Symantec, Network Associates McAfee, TrendMicro, GFI, SurfControl, and Sophos.Technologies enabling access to information are not distributed evenly among various groups of people. For some people, information continues to be a scarce resource, which puts them at a comparative economic and social disadvantage. The gap in computer technology in general, and now in Web technology in particular, 17. 3 Information Is Changing from a Scarce Resource to an Abundant Resource 673 between those who have such technology and those who do not is referred to as the digital divide.However, by 2003, nearly 100 percent of the public schools in the United States had Internet access (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2005). Not only has the divide in terms of access per se been reduced, but the divide in terms of the quality (or speed) of access has been reduced. By 2003, 95 percent of public schools used broadband connections to access the Internet, as compared with 80 percent in 2000 and fewer than 15 percent in 1996. Greater access in public schools is helping break the racial digital divide that has been noticeable since the Internet first emerged.The New York Times reported in March 2006 that a Pew national survey of people 18 and older found that 61 percent of African Americans reported using the Internet, compared with 74 percent of whites and 80 percent of English-speaking Hispanics (Marriott, 2006). However, what these studies do not indicate is the purpose of the Internet use, the frequency of it, or the benefit of it. Nor do the studies provide evidence that the divide is shrinking across households. Poorer households remain less likely to have Internet access from the home than do wealthier counterparts (Marriott, 2006).Moreover, even as the divide lessens in regard to mature technologies, it continues to exist for newer technologies. Fo r example, some schools with sufficient resources are now making iPods a tool for all students (see IT at Work 17. 2). IMPACTS ON I NDIVIDUALS Together, the increasing amounts of information and information technology use have potential impacts on job satisfaction, dehumanization, and information anxiety as well as impacts on health and safety. Although many jobs may become substantially more â€Å"enriched† with IT, other jobs may become more routine and less satisfying.Dehumanization and Other Psychological Impacts. Many people feel a loss of identity, a dehumanization, because of computerization; they feel like â€Å"just another number† because computers reduce or eliminate the human element that was present in the noncomputerized systems. Some people also feel this way about the Web. On the other hand, while the major objective of technologies, such as e-commerce, is to increase productivity, they can also create personalized, flexible systems that allow individua ls to include their opinions and knowledge in the system.These technologies attempt to be people-oriented and user-friendly (e. g. , blogs and wikis). The Internet threatens to have an even more isolating influence than has been created by television. If people are encouraged to work and shop from their living rooms, then some unfortunate psychological effects, such as depression and loneliness, could develop. Some people have become so addicted to the Web that they have dropped out of their regular social activities, at school or work or home, creating societal and organizational problems.Another possible psychological impact relates to distance learning. In some countries, it is legal to school children at home through IT. Some argue, however, that the lack of social contacts could be damaging to the social, moral, and cognitive development of school-age children who spend long periods of time working alone on the computer. Information Anxiety. Another potential negative impact is information anxiety. This disquiet can take several forms, such as frustration with our inability to keep up with the amount of data present in our lives. Information anxiety can take other forms as well.One is frustration with the quality of the information available on the Web, which frequently is not up-to-date or incomplete. Another is frustration or guilt associated with not being better informed, or being informed too late (â€Å"How come others knew this before I did? †). A third form of information anxiety stems from information overload (too many online sources). 674 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society IT at Work 17. 2 The Dog Ate My iPod Schools and universities are finding new ways to keep up with technology, such as the emergence of iPods on campuses.All levels of education are using this brand of portable media players, designed and marketed by Apple Computer, as a learning tool. Duke University was one of the first to embrace thi s technology. Duke’s provost, Peter Lang, said, â€Å"the direct effect of iPods is they learn better in the classroom. † Duke was awarded a grant to give their freshmen 20-gigabyte iPods—enough storage for up to 5,000 songs. The results are mixed; about 75 percent of those surveyed at Duke said they use their iPods for academic work. Half the time, they use the device in ways recommended by the professors.The positive feedback is that the iPod is similar to the old recording devices used in the past, but with the ability to store, organize, and access with a click of a couple of buttons. Students do not have to attend the class to download the materials online or from a fellow student. Some schools feel that students will skip out on classes and rely on each other’s recordings, or even use the device to cheat. According to Don McCabe, a Rutgers professor who surveyed nearly 62,000 undergraduates on 96 campuses over four years, two-thirds of the students admitted to cheating.That is a concern, especially with the compact size, wireless earpieces, and the ability to hold podcasts—audio recordings that can be distributed over the Internet. But with an abundance of electronic gadgets, including handheld email devices, wireless access in classrooms to the Internet, calculators that are preprogrammed with formulas, and pensized scanners used to copy text or exams for other students, universities have to stay ahead of the curve. Some other concerns are: How will the lecturer’s words and actions be used for unknown purposes and when/where is copyright eing infringed when students and faculty make their own recordings? In spite of the worries of skipping class, personal use, and cheating, Apple Computer is behind the iPod in the education field. Six schools (Duke, Brown, Stanford, the University of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the University of Missouri School of Journalism) recently participated i n a pilot program called iTunes U (apple. com/educastion/solutions/ itunes_u/). The program was so popular that Apple began to offer the program to all colleges for lectures, notes, podcasts, and information in a library for students to download.Other schools, such as Brearley School, a private school for girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, use iPods predominantly in interactive exercises, such as foreign language classes. Katherine Hallissy Ayala, the head of the computer education department, says â€Å"the hope is that if students are interested in this, they’ll download and explore on their own without being told to. † And Jacques Houis, a French teacher at Brearley, feels that â€Å"listening to many different types of French, not just the teacher, is very important. Students have said that the iPod has helped their foreign language skills by listening to playbacks, music, and other sources besides what is taught in the classroom. One thing is for sure, th e iPod is changing the academic field and schools will have to stay ahead of generations born in the ever-changing world of technology. Sources: Ferguson (2005) and Moore (2005) For Further Exploration: How does the use of iPods shift responsibility from teachers â€Å"teaching† to students â€Å"learning†? What excuses might a student use for not completing an ssignment correctly or submitting it on time? Impacts on Health and Safety. Computers and information systems are a part of the environment that may adversely affect individuals’ health and safety. To illustrate, we will discuss the effects of job stress and long-term use of the keyboard. Job Stress. An increase in workload and/or responsibilities can trigger job stress. Although computerization has benefited organizations by increasing productivity, it has also created an ever-increasing workload for some employees.Some workers, especially those who are not proficient with computers, but who must work wi th them, feel overwhelmed and start feeling anxious about their jobs and their job performance. These feelings of anxiety can adversely affect workers’ productivity. Management’s responsibility is to help alleviate these feelings by providing training, redistributing the workload among workers, or by hiring more individuals. Repetitive Strain (Stress) Injuries. Other potential health and safety hazards are repetitive strain injuries such as backaches and muscle tension in the wrists and fingers.Carpal tunnel syndrome is a painful form of repetitive strain injury that affects the wrists and hands. It has been associated with the long-term use of keyboards. 17. 3 Information Is Changing from a Scarce Resource to an Abundant Resource 675 Lessening the Negative Impact on Health and Safety. Designers are aware of the potential problems associated with prolonged use of computers. Consequently, they have attempted to design a better computing environment. Research in the area of ergonomics (the science of adapting machines and work environments to people) provides guidance for these designers.For instance, ergonomic techniques focus on creating an environment for the worker that is safe, well lit, and comfortable. Devices such as antiglare screens have helped alleviate problems of fatigued or damaged eyesight, and chairs that contour the human body have helped decrease backaches (see A Closer Look 17. 1). A Closer Look 17. 1 Ergonomic and Protective Products Many products are available to improve working conditions for people who spend much of their time at a computer. The following photos illustrate some ergonomic solutions. Wrist support Back support Eye-protection filter optically coated glass) Adjustable foot rest 676 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society 17. 4 Machines Are Performing Functions Previously Performed by Humans One of the distinguishing traits of humankind is the continuous quest to find tools and techniqu es to replace human work and manual labor. Information technology greatly accelerates this process and allows machines to perform a variety of complex functions, which, in the past, could be performed only by humans. Robotics offers a clear example of information technology eliminating the need for human labor.Computerized transaction processing systems, automated teller machines, intelligent scheduling software, and voice recognition systems illustrate information technology’s capability to replace administrative and clerical work. Moreover, artificial intelligence and expert systems are now able to perform the work of white-collar professionals. As functionality of machines and computer systems continues to evolve, it will transform societies by influencing such critical factors as the quality of life, the dynamics of labor markets, and the nature of human interactions. QUALITY OF LIFE GOVQuality of life refers to measures of how well we achieve a desirable standard of livi ng. For example, the use of robots in uncomfortable or dangerous environments is one of the primary ways of improving the quality of life with information technology. For decades, robots have been used to replace physically demanding or tedious activities in manufacturing plants. Robots and other quasi-autonomous devices have become increasingly common on farm fields, in hospitals, and even in private homes, improving the quality of life of numerous people. A type of robot works at the University of California Hospital at San Francisco.The five-foot-tall machine, which can drive down the hallways and call an elevator to travel to other floors, carries medicine and blood samples around the building (Stone, 2003). Specialized robots that can relieve people of the need to perform certain household tasks are becoming commercially available. For instance, robotic vacuum cleaners capable of finding their way around furniture and other obstacles in any room are already sweeping the floors in thousands of homes around the world. Military applications of robotics hold the potential not only to improve the quality of life but also to save the lives of soldiers.The Pentagon is researching selfdriving vehicles and bee-like swarms of small surveillance robots, each of which would contribute a different view or angle of a combat zone. In March 2004, DARPA, the research arm of the U. S. Department of Defense, held a race of fully autonomous land vehicles across a challenging 150-mile stretch of the Mojave Desert. Thirteen entrants designed vehicles that could navigate and drive themselves without humans at the remote controls. This race ended without any winners. The machine that traveled the farthest—12 km—was built by Carnegie Mellon University (â€Å"Robots, start your engines,† 2004).These initial results suggest that significant advances in IT will need to be made before robots can handle complex, unfamiliar situations and operate entirely autonomou sly. Somewhat less obvious, but very noticeable improvements in the quality of life arise from the ability of computers to â€Å"make decisions†Ã¢â‚¬â€an activity that used to be in the exclusive domain of human beings. Although such decisions are typically limited in scope and are based on rules established by people, they are successfully employed in a variety of practical applications.For example, automobile navigation systems may be incapable of guiding a vehicle across the unpredictable desert terrain, but they are quite adept at finding the optimal route to the desired destination using a network of existing roadways. Global positioning systems (GPSs) integrated 17. 4 Machines Are Performing Functions Previously Performed by Humans SVC 677 with geographic information systems (GISs) available in many modern vehicles allow the driver to hand over navigational decisions to the computer, thereby offering an additional level of safety and convenience.Expert systems used in the health-care industry offer another example of quality of life improvements that follow from machines’ abilities to perform â€Å"human† work. For instance, some systems can improve the diagnosis process by analyzing the set of symptoms experienced by the patient. Other systems can supplement a physician’s judgment by analyzing prescriptions for dosage and potential drug interactions, thus reducing the frequency and severity of medication errors, which translates into a higher quality of life for the patients. Partners HealthCare System, Inc. for example, reported a 55 percent reduction in the number of serious medication errors following the implementation of such a system (Melymuka, 2002). Whether robots will be of the quality of R2D2 (the Star Wars robot) is another issue. It probably will be a long time before we see robots making decisions by themselves, handling unfamiliar situations, and interacting with people. Nevertheless, robots are around that can do practical tasks. Carnegie Mellon University, for example, has developed self-directing tractors that harvest hundreds of acres of rops around the clock in California, using global positioning systems combined with video image processing that identifies rows of uncut crops. Robots are especially helpful in hazardous environments, as illustrated in IT at Work 17. 3. IT at Work 17. 3 The Working Lives of Robots Laying Fiber-Optic Cables. Cities around the world are transforming themselves to the digital era by replacing copper wires with fiber-optic cables or by installing fiber optics where there were no wires before. Because fiber-optic cables are a choice method to deliver high-speed voice and data ommunication (see Technology Guide 4), demand for them is expanding. Cities know that in order to attract and hold on to high-tech business they must provide fiber-optic access to all commercial buildings. You may have seen this activity many times without realizing it: Workers cut up the street, creating noise, dust, and traffic problems. But the worst part of it is that the disruption to people may take weeks, or even months, just to complete one city block. Now, robots are changing it all. One company that invented a technology to improve the ituation is City Net Telecommunications (citynettelecom .com). The idea is to use the existing sewer system to lay the cables. This way no trenches need to be dug in the streets. Pioneering work has been done in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Omaha, Nebraska, and Indianapolis, Indiana (in spring 2001). How do the robots help? Robots are waterproof and do not have noses, and so they are not bothered by working in the sewer. They do not complain, nor do they get sick. As a matter of fact, they work faster than humans when it comes to laying the fiber-optic cables inside the sewer system. POM GOVWhat does it cost? The company claims that laying the fiber-optic cable with robots costs about the same as the old method. The major ad vantage is that it can be done 60 percent faster and without disruption to people’s lives. Cleaning Train Stations in Japan. With growing amounts of rubbish to deal with at Japanese train stations and fewer people willing to work as cleaners, officials have started turning the dirty work over to robots. Since May 1993, the Central Japan Railway Company and Sizuko Company, a Japanese machinery maker, have been using robots programmed to vacuum rubbish.A railway official said the robots, which are capable of doing the work of 10 people each, have been operating at the Sizuko station in Central Japan. The robots measure about 1. 5 meters wide and 1. 2 meters long. The railway and Sizuko spent 70 million yen to develop the machines and are planning to program them for other tasks, such as sweeping and scrubbing. Sources: Compiled from the New York Times (March 6, 2001); from the Wall Street Journal (November 21, 2000); and from â€Å"Robots Used to Clean Train Station in . . . à ¢â‚¬  (1993). See also â€Å"The Robot Revolution Is on the Way† (2000).For Further Exploration: If robots are so effective, what will be the impact on unemployment when more tasks are robotized? What will people do if robots take over? 678 Chapter 17 Impacts of IT on Individuals, Organizations, and Society IMPACT ON L ABOR MARKETS One of the most prominent concerns is the fear that due to technological advances, machines will replace millions of workers, leading to mass unemployment. Robots and office automation systems are effectively competing with humans for blue-collar and clerical jobs. It is important to note that white-collar occupations are not immune to the impact of information technology either.In fact, machines are beginning to challenge scientists, interpreters, computer programmers, lawyers, aircraft pilots, and other professionals in their jobs. Researchers in Great Britain, for instance, have built a robot-scientist capable of performing simple genetic exper iments. The computer-controlled robot independently formulated hypotheses about the functions of unknown genes, designed experiments to test them, manipulated laboratory equipment to conduct the experiments, analyzed the results, and accepted or rejected hypotheses based on the evidence it obtained.The robot’s performance was comparable to the performance of graduate students working on similar tasks (Begley, 2004). Translators and interpreters also face competition from information technology in the form of speech- and text-based machine translation systems. While existing machine translation software cannot rival the accuracy, clarity, eloquence, and vividness of human translations, it is typically able to convey the gist of the message and comply with the major rules of grammar and syntax (Schwartz, 2004). (Visit online-translator. com, google. om/language_tools, and world. altavista. com to review several online translation services. ) Legal professionals may discover som e unusual contenders, eager to take over their jobs. Some software packages used by law firms rely on artificial intelligence to analyze facts, determine applicable regulations, and prepare drafts of appropriate documents—all of which are activities traditionally performed by entry-level lawyers and paralegals. These and other examples illustrate a valid threat that information technology presents to workers in numerous occupations.In addition, they prompt the question of whether you should be concerned about the prospects of computers acquiring the capabilities of doing your job more effectively and efficiently. Following the introduction of new technologies that mimic the functions of human workers, it is common to observe some job losses as old jobs are replaced by computerized equipment. However, this negative impact on employment levels offers a very simplistic and incomplete picture of the chain of events associated with technological advances.One of the more straightfo rward positive side-effects of technological advances is the creation of new jobs, which takes place in other sectors of the economy that produce and operate the new equipment and computer systems. Furthermore, introduction of new information technologies results in more efficient allocation of scarce resources, such as labor, capital, and raw materials. As the production processes become more efficient, they apply downward pressure on price levels, which leads to higher demand, as consumers respond to lower prices.To satisfy the growing demand, producers tend to increase the output of goods and services, which is frequently accomplished by hiring more workers. Other entities in the affected supply chains react to increased demand and instigate further employment growth. Thus, from the macroeconomic perspective, technological progress generally increases the aggregate level of employment (Soete, 2001). Fluctuations in unemployment rates are generally associated with business cycles and do not indicate that information technology is likely to displace a large number of workers (Handel, 2003). IT at Work 17. demonstrates one of the impacts of information technology on employment in the retailing industry. Although the net effect of information technology proliferation is generally positive for the economy as a whole, on a personal level, IT-induced job displacement 17. 4 Machines Are Performing Functions Previously Performed by Humans 679 IT at Work 17. 4 Do-It-Yourself Retailing The concept of allowing shoppers to scan and bag their own items at retail stores has been around for quite a while. In the 1980s, technology necessary to implement self-checkout systems was already available.However, at that time, the costs of such systems were prohibitively high, and consumer acceptance was extremely low. As this technology continued to evolve and mature, self-checkout registers turned into attractive propositions for supermarkets, grocery stores, and other retailers. In winter of 1997, Wal-Mart was among the first merchants to test the self-checkout systems in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and other selected markets. The self-checkout machines were developed by Optimal Robotics based in Montreal, Canada.Each register included a holding area with a conveyer belt, a barcode reader, a touchscreen display, and a voice synthesizer to provide the customer with vocal and visual instructions, as well as a bagging area, which rested on scales that checked whether the weight of the scanned item corresponded with the weight of the item placed in the bag. The checkout stations also included currency readers and equipment to accept credit and debit cards, which allowed the customer to pay for the goods. The results of the initial tests were quite encouraging; thus, in 2002 the company began a large-scale rollout of selfcheckout units.Wal-Mart is installing self-checkout machines in most new Supercenters and Neighborhood Market Stores. A significant number of exis ting stores were also retrofitted with the new technology. Typically, the company installs from four to eight self-checkout stations in a store, depending on its size and sales volume. The main reasons that persuade retailers to adopt the new systems include the desire to provide a better customer MKT experience and the need to control costs. Self-checkout stations occupy 25 percent less space than traditional registers, which allows retailers to place more stations within the same floor space.Furthermore, with only one employee overseeing four machines, the store is able to keep a sufficient number of registers open while driving down labor costs. A set of four registers, which costs $80,000 to $100,000, has a payback period of only 6 to 12 months, if implemented correctly. Consumers enjoy shorter lines, faster service, and greater control over the checkout process. As self-checkout machines gain the capabilities to perform the functions of human cashiers (with some help from shopp ers), they gradually displace store employe

Fire Safety Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fire Safety Project - Essay Example Every building should have minimum requirements of fire protection measures which help the occupants in a timely escape in the event of fire. The building should have both active and passive fire protection in place to ensure safety. This includes alarms, fire detection and safe escape strategies. Placing fire alarms and fire detections are the minimum requirements for any premises. The premises should have better and sophisticated system in place which will help in performing the following functions such as- Provision of fire alarm detectors can help in providing early warning for the building occupants. Fire alarm detectors help in increasing the occupant’s response time. The warning system helps in making the right decision for the occupants to evacuate or hold position in the building. The provision for fire alarm detectors is an additional fire safety and it depends upon the level of management and the number of occupants in the building. Voice alarm will help increase the speed of the response even if the occupants are not familiar with the building layout. (Code of practice for fire safety in the design, management and use of buildings,2008) It is essential that the fire procedures take priority in the event of fire. Trained staffs should be available to be able to guide the occupants to a safe area. The escape flights should be constructed of materials which have limited combustibility. The escape stair should be broad enough to accommodate and have the capacity to a fit large number of people during an emergency evacuation. The fire safety procedure should also have a preferred method of evacuation for disabled people by horizontal evacuation. Provision of sprinklers is also recommended for hotel buildings. In the event of a fire, all the provisions and procedures are implemented to help in taking corrective course of

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Laughing stock Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Laughing stock - Movie Review Example This essay is a response on the performance of the â€Å"Laughing stock† play. Laughing stock, directed by Charles Morey, is an energetic backstage farce and affectionate view into the world of theatre with an appealing story about the bonds that form among actors at a minor, underfunded summer stock theatre. This play is about a group, which is trying to accomplish a certain goal against all odds. In the play, Business manager, Craig, is amazed with the high rise in number of pencils the actors are using. The technical director, Henry, is establishing sets, lighting and special effects for three shows without a budget while the funny and softhearted stage manager, Sarah, is a reality check when things get out of control (Bannon, 2012). In the acting company, there was Ditzy Mary, who is not bright and Tyler who wants venture into Dracula and wonders what it means by being Undead. Vernon always has a comment about everything while Richfield who is always absent minded and cannot remember the names of the characters in â€Å"Dracule, The Prince of the Undead† and keeps forgetting the props. Jack who is young, talented and hardworking is ready to abandon theater for law school while Daisy is knitting at the backstage and wishing everyone well on their opening. Braun, neophyte actor and prop master, forgets which play he is involved in and loses Yorick’s skull for â€Å"Hamlet† (Bannon, 2012). The actors’ performance was perfect, and the audience really enjoyed it as they laughed their hearts out. The whole audience was keen and attentive, and this proves that the play was interesting and entertaining throughout the whole session. The whole audience clearly heard and understood the actors who were energetic in the presentation of the play. The play was delivered in a professional manner including the way the actors utilized the stage in their movements. The standing ovation they kept receiving from the audience, further encouraged