Discourses in Childhood Essay

What is a discourse? Describe two competing discourses of childhood and suggest the ways that they can have an impact on children’s lives. The concept of discourse is the key to understanding a social constructionist approach to childhood. A discourse is an independent set of interrelated ideas held by a particular ideology or worldview. The social constructionist approach tries to describe the different ways in which knowledge of children and childhoods are constructed. Different discourses of childhood have different ideas of childhood which has different implications on the way in which children are treated. Within the social constructionist theory there are 3 main discourses – romantic, puritan and tabula rasa. This essay will look at 2 of those discourses, which directly compete with each other – the Romantic and Puritan, and suggest ways in which they impact children’s lives. The romantic discourse of childhood suggests children are naturally good. InRousseau’s (1979) view childhood and innocence go hand in hand – children are born pure and innocent. He believed children ought to be given freedom to be who they are, that their childhood should be carefree, and that their innocence should be protected. Rousseau believed children only learn evil and misbehave because they have been mistreated or corrupted in some way. This is contrary to the Puritan discourse, which believes children are born wicked, are amoral, without conscience, and if left to their own devices will resort to savagery. According to Hobbes (1588-1679), who supports this discourse, children should be controlled and disciplined by adults – even if it causes the child unhappiness, short-term pain or distress. Unlike the previous discourse, the Puritan discourse sees children as being responsible for their actions. These discourses of childhood are seen constructed in the media. The Peugeot television advert (Video 1 Band 3, page no’s 239 – 256)gives an example of a man driving a car fanaticising about being a hero andsaving the little girl pictured from being run over. The advert tries to construct the image that  the Peugeot is the type of car that will appeal to a â€Å"hero† and one who is a ‘protector.’ The advert is constructed in such a way to encourage the viewer to form an image of an innocent, vulnerable child and to treat children as people needing protection. (the man is the hero protecting the child from danger). It is obvious that this advert reflects the Romantic discourse. One further advert constructed around the romantic discourse is the Evian water advert (Video 1 Band 3, video page no’s 256 – 257 & 266 – 268) featuring babies swimming in water. From this the viewer is meant to construct an image of the baby as being pure, and unspoiled. This advert is designed to encourage the viewer to think of pure Evian water and a ‘pure’ baby, suggesting that babies are innocent because they are pure. As already said the romantic and puritan discourses are directly competing. The Puritan discourse can be seen through the following 2 film clips. Thefirst is from the film â€Å"Leon† (Video 1 Band 3, video page no’s 271 – 297) which is a story of the friendship between Leon, a professional assassin and Mathilda who is a young girl who’s parents and young brother have been killed and who asks Leon to teach her to kill so that she can avenge her family’s death. The film has constructed an image of Mathilda as an unruly, sinful, and wicked child which is how the puritan discourse describes children. â€Å"Leon† shows that childhood in this case is not a time of innocence and that bad things, like violence and death are witnessed – and caused – by children. It shows a child – as Mathilda is obviously still a child – who has not had her childhoodprotected. The final film clip (Video 1 Band 3 p 333-339) is that of â€Å"American Beauty† portraying a young girl named Angela who is a friend of Lester’s daughter’s. Angela is depicted in a way that makes the viewer think she is sexuallymature and like Mathilda in the previous clip – ‘knowing’ and not innocent. This challenges the viewer’s ideas of childhood being a time of sexual innocence as here is a young girl oozing sexuality, definitely not innocence – but as a child lacking in morals, mirroring the puritan view of childhood. However in a scene where Lester thinks his fantasy of Angela is about to come true, Angela reveals that she innocent in her knowledge of sexual matters, reminding viewers that she is still a child in need of protection. This film clip began as depicting an amoral, sinful, ‘knowing’ young girl in line with the puritan discourse and ends by depicting children as people in need of protection and who are innocent, and as childhood as a time which adults should be protecting the child from anything that will shatter the child’s innocence. In a sense, the end of the clip depicts the adult’s job as to be the hero, saving the child from ‘evil’ much the same as the man in the Peugeot advert mentioned earlier. These discourses affect our views of children which in turn affects how children are thought of and therefore treated. In adopting a Romantic view, you will see children as innocence which in the 2 media clips, was associatedwith vulnerability and purity. According to Rousseau, children should be protected from the adult world, and everything should be done to make their childhood a happy carefree time. As already seen though through the 2 film clips, the Puritan discourse treats children as being unruly and in need of control. They are treated as being responsible for their actions and therefore they should be punished when they do wrong. Having shown how romantic and puritan discourses can be seen in contemporary childhood through the use of the media, I will move on to look at a true life example – that of the murder of 3-year old James Bulger in1993. This little boy was badly beaten and left on a railway line after being abducted from his mum whilst on a shopping trip. His killers were two 10-year old boys. (Asquith 1996)To adopt the romantic discourse of childhood in dealing with the those two boys who killed James Bulger would be to suggest you believed the boys to be naturally good but corrupted by adults and therefore should be forgiven and given rehabilitation – not punishment. On the other hand, to agree withthe competing discourse – that of the puritan discourse  then you would seethose boys as being inherently evil and responsible for their own actions and therefore deserving punishment. Therefore it is clear that whichever discourse of childhood is chosen in dealing with children, it has implications on the way in which children are treated. So far this essay has looked at the social constructionist approach to childhood, but will now consider another approach – the applied. Whenstudying childhood from an applied approach, the main interests are the effect which practical issues like the children’s upbringing and development will have on the children’s lives. Within this approach there are 2 models ofhow the law can deal with young offenders, like the boys in the James Bulger case. According to Asquith 1996 there are two models within the appliedapproach that give different opinions on how to deal with young offenders. These are linked to the discourses already mentioned within the social constructionist approach. The welfare model uses social and individual factors in explaining why children do wrong – it is because they have been mistreated or deprived in some way. This mirrors the Romantic discourse in the sense that both see children as being innocent and blame other factors for children’s wrongdoings. It believes, therefore that children do not deserve to be punished but ought to be shown forgiveness and deserve to be cared for in order to overcome any disadvantages they have faced. In following this model, children should not be dealt with in a court of law but by means of rehabilitation and by considering what would be best for the child. The justice model is in contrast to the welfare model and sees child offenders as being responsible for what they’ve done and deservepunishment and dealt with in a court of criminal law. The justicemodel mirrors the puritan discourse, as they hold similar beliefs thatchildren are innately evil and ought to be held responsible for their own actions and deserve to be punished accordingly. This essay has looked at 2 competing discourses of childhood – the romantic and the puritan. They are competing in the way that they view children and  childhood which in turn has a direct implication for the way that children are treated. Within the Romantic discourse, children are constructed as being pure, innocent and their childhood should be protected and kept carefree. This discourse competes with the puritan discourse which sees children as being innately wicked, unruly and lacking in moralsIt stands to reason therefore that these competing discourses have different implications for the way children are treated. In adopting a romantic discourse children will be forgiven for wrongs, protected from evil and offered rehabilitation when they do offend whereas in adopting a puritan discourse children who are â€Å"naughty† do so because of their innate evilness and deserve to be punished. REFERENCES Book 1 Understanding Childhood,Chapter 1Block 1 Study Guide and Audio-Visual Notes, Unit 1Video 1 Band 3 â€Å"Representations of Childhood†

Problem Statement of Lubricant Industry Essay

Lubricant industry is a very competitive industry because many companies around the world have created their own private label and competition between the well-known product in the market such as Shell, Castrol, Royal Purple etc. The availability of a vast range of products at competitive prices has been a major factor in attracting customers to lubricants market. As a result, many manufacturers of lubricants, including big corporations, have been aggressively pursuing international and Asia markets. Moreover, the market share of the industry is monopolized by big corporations, such as, Petronas, Shell and Caltex. The big corporations and manufacturers have the advantages many small companies lack of, such as, expensive advertisement, sponsorship and expert management team. For the small businesses to tap into market that has been monopolized by big corporations is very difficult for companies. Psychologically, consumers always and only use products that are recommended by peers or they have been using it for a while (2). Because of this reason, products that are very new will be hard to market their brands into the market effectively. The user confidence is very low because weak brand image, uncertain quality and doubtful suitability. Besides that, counterfeiting has become the major issue for various types of products in the market. As technology become more sophisticated and cheap, many counterfeiters easily copied products that are well-known and established. This also becomes a problem by Moto7 Distribution S/B to overcome as it has to compete with the original products and counterfeit products, hence making the market shares become much smaller.

Reading and Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reading and Questions - Assignment Example In his publication, Feldman (2002) pointed out the precise definition of existential reflection. He derived the definition from the goal definitions of the research activity as being the part of authentically moving in a forward direction. It is characterized by making a strong structure of understanding of a teacher in a classroom set up and the illumination of assumptions with regard to an individual as a teacher. Also by clearly expounding light assumptions, hypothesis, theories and even some common myths found in the surrounding systems effecting teaching. In short, existentialism asserts our existence to have come before essence. This is to mean we first are then later we seek to find a definition of whom we are. Therefore, this existentialism tries to help individuals to realize the freedom they have to choose. Judging how existential action research is oriented, there exists a close relation to a critical approach to a research that considers critical issues especially when engaging an action. This research action is supported with proper pillars, which makes it a sensible approach. Some of the critical approach in this research action include; the constant search for ourselves that starts when we realize that we were thrown to existence’ and not particularly sure of when we came, hence; we wake up making discovery of ourselves. After this, the long journey of trying to find a sense the follows. Also, since action research acts in the confines of the system that the improvement and understanding of such practice situations is to be carried, it involves the researching of one’s own practices and hence makes a critical enquiry to be made public (Feldman, 2002). This explains how hard it is for an existentialist approach to action separate from the way a person acts and who that person is. This is explained in the way a teacher first has to question

Inmate Custody and Control in Correctional Facilities Essay

Inmate Custody and Control in Correctional Facilities - Essay Example The inmates and prison staff often confront with many challenges as well as threats to their safety. It is important to consider the essential aspects which can make inmate custody and control more effective. One of the main issues often observed in prisons is the paucity of healthy relationship between inmates and officers. To begin with, effective administrative measures offer better services to inmates and a peaceful ambiance in prison that would enhance the relationship between the inmates and officials to certain extent. Inmates usually belong to different cultural backgrounds with varying criminal intensity. This diversity itself may give rise to further disputes or violence within prison. Violence and indecent behavior within the institution could be reduced by initiating various disciplinary actions under strict supervision of responsible individuals. On the other hand, correctional officers and other concerned officials have to be given proper training to address the unexpected issues effectively through emergent strategies. As Barnhart (2006) reminds, training includes providing information regarding the planned strategies of the organization and various techniques to execute them successfully while maintaining of security and control in the prison. The physical layout of the facilities provided to inmates is an important matter of concern.

Strategic Analysis of Facebook Inc Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic Analysis of Facebook Inc - Term Paper Example In this regard, the business organization selected for the paper is Facebook Inc. Facebook is regarded as one of the most prominent social networking service provider company. The company was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in the year 2004. The company is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. In recent period of time, the company has become quite popular tool of social network among its users (Veer, 2011).The company provides the facility to its user of sharing information, posting their photos and videos, connecting and chatting with other person, joining any group, and playing online and interactive games. In order to avail such social networking facilities provided by the company, the user is required to make his own account on Facebook with the help of its e-mail Id. Nowadays, in order to make the usage of this site easy and convenient; Facebook is available on the user’s smart phone also (Business Summary, 2012). Earlier the firm used to operate as a private business organ ization within the marketplace, but in 2012, the company has become publicly traded corporation by launching one of the largest IPOs in US stock market history (Business Summary, 2012).... Industry Structure and Global Markets The company operates in the industry of Internet Information Providers. In the existing period of time of where Information Technology has become quite advanced and effective, this industry has become quite competitive. This industry can be characterized as wide-ranging competitive industry. In this direction, the company is facing some stiff competition provided by other social networking facility provider company. Among such competitors, some major competitors of the company are Google, Microsoft, and Twitter Inc. In the competition of Facebook, Google has recently launched its social networking utility, namely Google+. Moreover, there are other social networking utilities such as E-buddy, blackberry messenger, Linkdin and so on, which are delivering some intensive competition to the company (Business Summary, 2012). In existing period of time, the company is enjoying some favorable business conditions across the world. As internet penetration across the world is increasing rapidly. Moreover, the interest of young generation towards social networking is also enhancing quite intensively, which shows some positive conditions for the growth of the company (BBC: News Technology, 2011). In direction to this, the company has registered some intensive market growth in terms of international presence. The total number of users of the company across the world can be presented as below: (Source: Facebook Users in the World, 2012). Economics Before the year 2012, the company was not traded on stock market. In May 2012, the company launched its IPO. The opening share price of the company at that period of time was $38, which was considered overvalued by traders.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 220

Assignment Example In particular, the responsibilities and roles of Congress and the Executive Branch in matters relating to defense acquisition, have been an eye opener (Kramer, 2012). In addition, I have come to appreciate the role played by Congress in matters of defense and particularly its role in determining whether the U.S goes to war and if it does, the amount to be set aside for defense in the budget. I have been able to have a deeper comprehension of the Budget and its influence on not only the military, but also on other sectors of the economy which has made me realize the importance of the Presidency. Since the President sets the agenda for the country, I have come to realize that big differences in the military can be altered by an individual winning the presidency. The influence of the presidency cannot be understated and this has made me have a deeper appreciation for national politics, since they have a great impact on policy. A lot of times, people overuse the term life-changing experience, but I am certainly not one of those people. The work and discussions held in class have indeed made me a better student and a far more informed individual. For instance, I now comprehend that masculinity and machismo in the military is not how wars are won, but through logistical planning and management which is aided by technology. According to Barrington et al., the role of technology in the military cannot be ignored any longer. The use of drones and other computerized airstrikes are what sets the U.S from all the other countries in the world. Our military supremacy is primarily due to our strong economy and our superior logistics warfare management. As indicated, the role of the U.S economy is fundamental to the success of the military. A closer analysis of this role has been informative and particularly the relationship between the impacts of the U.S economy on

Theme of The Lion King Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Theme of The Lion King - Essay Example The movie opens with the sunrise and the song, "Circle of Life." This song is significant because it implies that everyone and everything is part of the circle. As the sun rises, the audience witnesses a new birth of a lion cub. The song and the sunrise symbolize new birth and we understand that this new cub is not an ordinary cub, but he is the son of the king. The audience also witnesses a naming ceremony for the young cub as he is presented to the rest of the pride and brought into the circle of life. This ritual is showing the audience a very old African ritual. The cub is named Simba and it is very clear that his destiny is to become the next king. Each person in his pride has a job and a certain place in the circle. Simba will also join the circle in his rightful place but he has to be taught what he must do as a king. Simba's story is like many other ones where a young boy is reluctant to take responsibility for his life. In this case, although Simba is being primed for his job by his father Mufasa and Zazu a hornbill who is attempting to make Simba mind him, he would rather be off playing with his friends. After all, in his mind when he gets to be king, he can do anything he wants because he is the ruler. The song, "I JustCan't Wait to Be King" is a perfect example of a small child's dream about what he will do when he is king. At this point in his life, Simba really just wants to explore his childhood. He has no reason to be a king at this point and it is essential to him to just fool around.

Human Embryonic Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Embryonic Research - Essay Example â€Å"Natural law†¦permitted: (1) if the action was good in itself or not evil, (2) if the good followed as immediately from the cause†¦, (3) if only the good effect was intended, and (4) if there was as important a reason for [the good] as for allowing the evil effect.†1 This proves, in effect, only that natural law allows for some freedom of interpretation, supposing that the good effect trumps the evil effect. Natural law does not go so far as to say, â€Å"Embryos are not feeling beings therefore they don’t deserve the same respect as human beings.† Even though embryos are potential human lives in the sense that, yes, the sperm has joined the egg—this a baby does not make. An embryo goes through nine (9) months of gestation in order to form a fully-formed human being. Anything less is not considered—for all legal purposes—a person. Of course, one could rationalize that, sure, an embryo is just a person in an undeveloped stage. T he fact is, if one can’t describe with words what constitutes a life, then one does not know what a life constitutes. People can cry foul and say all they want about â€Å"it was the chicken before the egg,† but what they really don’t understand is that human life is a miracle in the making and it can’t be explained by natural law. ... Human life comes in the form of a completely formed skeletal system, nervous system, and parasympathetic nervous system—and not a moment before. Embryos should be regarded as potentially sentient beings. One can tell if embryos can feel pain by doing research as to whether they can feel. However, just because an embryo is sensitive and feels (is sentient)—that does not anywhere near begin to approach the argument that an embryo is indeed a rational being—it’s just nature. This does not mean that embryos are rational beings, because rational beings have free will. However, the fact that embryos are absent of having free will does not necessarily prove that they are rational beings either. Indeed, it would be very difficult to prove that embryos are rational beings even though they are feeling or sentient beings. It could be hypothesized that, since embryos might be able to move away from the heat or cold, that they can rationalize because they can tell the difference between hot and cold. However, whether this would just be a natural gut reaction or demonstrate the embryo’s ability to rationalize, that would be difficult to tell. Just because someone has an allergic reaction to histamines does not mean that the person is rational—it only means exactly that, that they are allergic to histamines. We cannot be making up stories about what we believe to be true about embryos—we must maintain the truth about what an embryo can and cannot do, and what an embryo is and what an embryo isn’t. Until we have these definitions fixed in our minds as to what an embryo constitutes, we will never be able to have a polite discussion or even debate with people who are convinced that embryos are human lives incarnate. The debate may

Critical Comparison between Questionnaires and Focus Groups Essay

Critical Comparison between Questionnaires and Focus Groups - Essay Example This research will begin with the definition of research as a systematic or scientific way of searching for knowledge. Research provides answers to questions by uncovering hidden truths. An individual can conduct a research to familiarise with a certain phenomenon or discover new insights on a familiar phenomenon. Research can also be conducted to test formulated hypothesis on a phenomenon or describe the characteristics of the object under study. Therefore, the kind of research approach that an individual utilises is based on the purpose and objective of the research. Research can be categorised in many ways. One such way is descriptive versus analytical research. Descriptive research is conducted to investigate various aspects of a phenomenon. A researcher in this case aims at finding out facts about research objects. It may include surveys and enquires on the current situation in the researcher’s area of interest. In a descriptive research, the researcher simply reports fac ts about variables. The researcher has no control of over variables and cannot manipulate them in the study. Therefore, the researcher gives a description of variables as they exist in their natural environment. Descriptive research is useful in measuring objects. In this kind of research, different methods are used depending on the nature of the study and the researcher’s preferences. Comparative and correlation research methods are used in descriptive research. Analytical research involves using the facts collected on a phenomenon to evaluate that phenomenon. Therefore, the researcher does not just gather facts about research objects but also uses those facts to analyse or make judgements about the objects under study (Kumar 2008, p. 6; Kothari 2008, p.2). Research can also be categorised as fundamental or applied research. Applied research differs from fundamental research in that it seeks to provide an immediate solution to an existing problem. Fundamental research will g eneralise a problem and develop theories of how the problem began or how it can be solved. Thus, multiple solutions may be generated and analysed in fundamental research but the researcher gives his or her recommendation on the ideal solutions. Fundamental research is often referred to as basic research because an individual gathers facts for the sake of adding to their level of knowledge. Applied research is conclusive and provides solutions to research questions or actual problems in the area of study. Therefore, basic or fundamental research adds to the existing body of scientific knowledge while applied research provides solutions to problems (Ethridge 2004, p. 20). Research can be categorised as conceptual or empirical. Conceptual research is based on theories and is used to develop new concepts about a phenomenon. This research can also be used to reinforce or interpret existing concepts and theories. Empirical research does not consider the existing theories but relies on obs ervation. This type of research is based on data collected and conclusions are drawn based on observations. Empirical research is experimental and a researcher collects firsthand information on phenomenon. The research may manipulate things in an environment to achieve the desired results. Empirical research in most cases starts with a hypothesis or expected results from an experiment. The data collected in this case will be used to test hypothesis. Empirical research is used to describe relationships between two or more variables (Kumar 2008, p. 8; Burns 1992, p. 195). Research can be categorised as either quantitative or qualitative. This is the most common categorisation of research. Quantitative research is based on measurable variables. The main objective in quantitative research is to generalise collected data. Qualitative research focuses on collecting information on immeasurable variables such as human behaviour, emotions and feelings among

Managment and Digital Labour Networks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managment and Digital Labour Networks - Essay Example This report declares that many commentators and users of digital networks have applauded this explosion of non-cultural production as an evidence of a new era in cultural production and other related aspects as well as a much needed democratization in the field. This means that today, people are at liberty to expand their scope of thinking and research into ways that seem effective for them as far as collection of inputs and production of information and other kinds of output is concerned. Bruns has claimed that the internet age has been the new invention that has replaced the industrial age which has stood for a long time. This development means that information is the single resource that is needed to power different social, economic and environmental systems. As the discussion stresses some of the services that are offered among thousands include wed site development, creation and modification of software packages, reading as well as active participation and involvement mailing lists and establishment of virtual spaces respectively. Other developments in the same field include creation and participation in internet games as well as television programs, all these developments are said to interpenetrate each other within the context of emerging giant online economy. How does this online technology work and influence people? Usually, consumers who also happen to be developers of the content are invited to sell access to their personal lines in a way that is not directly related to the manner in which they sell their labour power.

The Presence of Black People in the Bible Essay Example for Free

The Presence of Black People in the Bible Essay Although not very important, I took the liberty this past month(Black History) to document my research to the age old question, Was Jesus Black, after a small debate with my auntie Angelina Quarterman arguing that He was a Jew, and Jews are White(lol). The typical Hollywood image in which ancient Israelites look like fair-haired White Americans is way off the mark. The people of the bible were Semitic(Afro-Asiatic languages) and would have been dark- skinned. The racial emnity equating Black with evil was an unfortunate development in later Europe, devised in part to justify African slavery. This topic of course has been a discussion almost since the introduction of Christianity to the western world. What color was Jesus Christ? I challenge those who may believe that Jesus was of White, Arabic, or Semitic(which doesnt consitute a race, but a group of languages and culture) descent to do some research. We must first begin by understanding that the first humans were black and were discovered in what is known today as Africa ( Akebu-Lan, which means Mother of Mankind to the natives of Africa or Garden of Eden). This name for Africa (Alkebu-Lan) was given to the continent by the Moors, Nubians, Numidians, Khart-Haddans (Carthagenians), and Ethiopians. The Muslims called it El Bilad es Sudan which translates as Land of the Blacks. You must also note that Africa was a name given by European conquerors, particularly the Romans/Greeks. There are many other names that Africa has been called by such as Kemet, Libya, Ortegia, Corphye, Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, Olympia, Hesperia, Oceania, and Ta-Merry. It was even called Aethiops which meant burnt faced people in Greek. Many also do not know that the original Hebrews were black-skinned people. Today we have terms used to describe blacks such as Negro or African which does little to say or prove the roots of black or darker skinned people. The term Negro was given to Blacks as they left Africa for the slave ships (ca. 1500 A. D. ). Negroland was also used by the Portuguese which means black land of course. This term was used to save them from having to call them by their true roots, which were Cushites, Nubians, Ethiopians, or Abysinians, in which they are called by in the Bible. These people were the founders of Christianity and Judaism in Alkebu-Lan, North Alkebu-Lan and Europe. What we have today is Western bias which has thwarted the history of the black race and it takes great study to get back to the truth. Even Moses (who married an Ethiopian woman) is commonly portrayed as an Eurasian or European. You also have people like Tirhaka, King of the Ethiopians, and as a Pharaoh was the fourth member of the Twenty-fifth Egyptian Dynasty that ruled Egypt from (730-653 B. C.). This man is commonly portrayed as European or White. Tirhaka was of grave importance to Israel in the days of Hezekiah. His armies were needed to stave off an impending Assyrian assault by Sennacherib. Furthermore we arrive at the question; What did Jesus of Nazareth look like? His Mother Mary was black/afro-asiatic and closely resembled those of Yeminite, Trinidadian, or African American descent of today. The perception of the Madonna and Child can also be challenged. In Matt 2:15 and Hos 11:1 we find Out of Egypt, I have called my son. This particular passage speaks about Mary and Josephs attempt to hide the one that King Herod feared would displace him. Can you imagine the divine family as Europeans hiding in AFRICA?!? There are literally hundreds of Shrines that depict the Black Madonna in many parts of North Africa, Europe, and Russia. These are but uncanny reminders of the original people who inhabited ancient Palestine. Watercolors and marvelous oils of the painters brush has recast the image and rebirth Jesus as a European. Medieval and renaissance artists (such as Michaelangelo) made him suitable for a European form of Christianity. You even had people like Shakespeare have a hand in editing the the King James Version of the Bible. Again people will argue Jesus was Semitic, but again this is a group of languages that include both Hebrew and Arabic and NOT a racial type. It is ironic that the term Semitic was created at around the same time the Middle East was created. It is as they sought to simply de-Africanize the sacred story of the Bible by disconnecting a part of Africa. In my final analysis I would like to provide evidence that Jesus was of African descent based on the descriptions given in the Bible as regard to appearance. Dan 7:9 reads I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, who garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. We all know that blacks have hair that closest resembles that of wool. We continue on to Rev. 1:13-15: And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet unto like fine bronze as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice like the sound of man waters. I can go on and on and continue to prove my point, but as of now you can decide for yourself.

Art And Hyper Reality In Animation How Have Things Changed Film Essay

Art And Hyper Reality In Animation How Have Things Changed Film Essay Introduction In this dissertation I will be posing the question Art and hyper reality in animation and how have things changed? A lot of commercial animation today is being pushed by 3D computer technology and the audience perceptions of the true meaning of animation had been clouded by this new era of animated film. I want to find out about the commercial acceptance of animation and the history behind it. This is an interesting subject area because a lot has changed in the past 50 years in terms of animation and moving image. I will be finding out how recent technological advancements in creating realistic looking visuals has effected how we perceive animation and if it has retracted from the original statement that animation is an art form. Recent commercial animation being produced is full of realistic 3D computer graphics therefore moving away from the more traditional 2D animation process. I want to find out why using a sense of visual realism in animation has become the norm. By looking at a range of hyper realistic animation such as Final Fantasy I will be able to find out why they have become so accepted and how the modern audience have adapted their tastes to this new form of representation in cinema. Modernism and post-modernism movements were very powerful in the art world and I want to see how breaking away from a certain way of working brings a new wave of creation, this chapter can be applied to animation in the way that animation has broken away from using pencils and now rely heavily on computer technology. I will also be looking into animators that were the pioneers of the animated form and what they were trying to achieve in the early stages of this emerging medium. These early animators were seen as being experimental because they were the first people that were doing this kind of work. Also by looking into Disney and the way he managed to commercialise animation will give clues as to how 3D computer animation has done the same thing with the likes of Pixar. Audience trends play a big role into finding out about commercialisation and how society/ culture can affect certain trends. By looking into the re-invention of cinema and its audiences I will be able to find out how these factors have changed how people perceive art in cinema. I will then summarise what I have learnt from doing this dissertation and answer my title question in relation to the chapters I have discussed. Contents Reality effects in computer animation. My first chapter will be discussing reality effects in computer animation. I will be referencing an article by Lev Manovich and reviewing the content in this chapter. This article is relevant to the title question because it looks at how technology has affected the process of making realistic looking visuals. This chapter will help me to understand how visual realistic imagery has advanced and why 3D visuals are superseding traditional ways of working. I will also be mentioning and talking about some animated films which use computer technology and how they have helped push the boundaries of what can be achieved by using this technology. Animation and its progression to commercialism My second chapter will be looking into experimental animation which will discuss the reason why animation visuals dont have to make sense to still be true to the animated form. Experimental animation is a genre in itself and I will be looking at why new audiences want to see visually realistic imagery over an abstract film. I will also be discussing how Walt Disney commercialised animation and how this has changed the audiences perception of animation. This chapter will create a contrast between the first chapter and show just how different these animated practices are. Modern and post-modern movements My third chapter will be talking about the modern and post-modern movements and finding where animation fits into them. This will be interesting to look into because these movements can be applied to what is happening now such as cinema breaking away from more traditional 2D animation to 3D hyper realistic animation. Modern Audience in relation to animation My fourth chapter will be looking into audience trends in the cinema. This will help me to understand why audiences are becoming more and more comfortable with being exposed to computer generated imagery when 20 years ago the industry was more interested in traditional 2D and stop motion imagery. Conclusion My final chapter will be concluding what I have studied in this dissertation and answering the title question. Chapter 1: Reality Effects in Computer Animation I will be reviewing the article, Reality Effects in Computer Animation by Lev Manovich, which is from Jayne Pillings book A Reader In Animation Studies London 1998. Lev Manovich is an author of new media books and a professor of Visual Arts, University of California, San Diego, U.S. where he teaches new media art and theory. I will also be discussing what methods animators go through to achieve a sense of realism. The purpose of the article is to identify how reality in animation and cinema first developed and how different levels of realism have affected these industries. The title question is important because the rapid growth of cinematic and computer technology is constantly changing the advances in reproducing reality. Therefore it is interesting to find out how other practitioners have identified the term realism and the impact their thoughts have had in defining the purpose of reality in computer animation. The main points I will be discussing in this review will be the compar isons between early attempts of realism and three dimensional computer graphics. I will also be discussing how the developments of new technology have further enhanced realism in regards to computer animation and cinema. This article starts with outlining the early discoveries of recreating the human form in a visual output such as paintings. Giotto di Bondone (an Italian painter) has been mentioned as being the first person to produce three-dimensional forms on a flat surface. He has been compared with his mentor Cenni di Pepo or also known as Cimabue who was also an Italian painter. Cimabues work in comparison with three-dimensional computer imagery is mentioned as having a more 2D look unlike Giotto whose work achieves a stronger 3D effect. This comparison is relevant to the realism debate because Giotto has been considered as the first great artist of the Italian Renaissance, which was a turning point in art history and the incorporation of realistic techniques. The article then goes on to say that A Renaissance painting and a computer image employ the same technique (a set of consistent depth cues) to create an illusion of space, existent or imaginary. However the difference between the mediums is that a viewer can now experience moving around a simulated three-dimensional space, which isnt possible with a painting. To then approach the problems of realism in three-dimensional computer animation Lev starts by looking at the arguments that have advanced in film theory in regards to cinematic realism. This is a good avenue to look down because a lot of computer animation is being incorporated into live-action films these days so a better understanding of cinema realism will further enhance the importance of reality effects in computer animation. However I think the incorporation of the Italian painters as a comparison to computer generated imagery is a bit dated and it would be beneficial if more modern examples were shown as computer animation is seen as a modern art form and it has only really been around since the 1950s. Technology has played a big part in making computer graphics look realistic and Lev had covered this topic in some detail. The term mimesis has been brought up in this section because the modern technology of cinema has been seen in Andrà © Basins eyes as being a realisation of this ancient myth. Mimesis is a critical and philosophical term that carries a wide range of meanings which include imitation, representation, mimicry, similarity and the art of resembling. Therefore mimesis can be related back to reality because the term explains certain factors that affect a realistic outcome such as the art of resembling. For example resemblance can also mean similarity, which is what commercial computer animation tries to recreate, taking a look at real life and recreating it in a virtual world. Manovich states each new technological development (e.g. sound, panchromatic stock, colour) points to the viewers just how un-realistic the previous image was and reminds them that the present ima ge, even though more realistic, will be superseded in the future- thus constantly sustaining the state of disavowal. So by something that is believed to be realistic at a certain period in time will soon become out-dated because technology is rapidly evolving, therefore the notion of never being able to recreate reality in regards to computer animation is an interesting concept and ideology. In terms of animation software Lev then goes on to say. New algorithms to produce new effects are constantly being developed. To stay competitive, a company has to quickly incorporate the new software into their offerings. The animations are designed to show off the latest algorithm. This statement backs up the technological advances in realistic looking computer graphics and can also explain how computer imagery is becoming ever more impressive and pioneering than the previous production. There are different levels of realism for example in animation practice the art of walk cycles display a realistic quality but they will never capture the true essence of the human form compared to live action. Whether a 3D character is walking, running or jumping, it is difficult to recreate a realistic sense of movement when working frame-by-frame. Footage created with frame-by-frame photography in 3D animation lacks the motion blur that occurs naturally when a figure moves in real time before a live action camera. So certain techniques that can be achieved using a computer that can control the motion and add a blur effect to create a realistic sense of movement. Rotoscoping is a technique that allows animators to trace over live action film one frame at a time therefore creating flawless movements and realism to any character or object. However this process is in a way cheating because no one is animating the movements but instead just tracing over and copying the movements that are already there, therefore loosing the skill and style of an animator. Human movements can also be captured by using a technique called motion capture. This technique uses sensors to record the movement of an object in live action, motion capture is a computer driven animation system which allows a director to rehearse and direct the movements of a three-dimensional character. Almost all 3D animation is shot horizontally on a set of some kind just like live action film whereas 2D is generally recorded from a camera placed overhead (vertically). The use of sets for 3D animation makes it possible to get a number of angles whilst filming the action, this way of filming can create a sense of realism to the audience. For example the use of these cinematic angles that are also used in live action film could make the audience believe that they ar e watching something real because the same shots are used in films when capturing real life actors. Jan Svankmajers Alice shot his live action/animation film at full scale placing his live actress and animated characters within what appears to be real rooms, or outside on a rocky terrain. The way in which this film was shot makes it realistic because of the mixture of a live action actress and animated real life objects such as the stuffed rabbit toy. Realism in animation can be good because the audience can relate to what they see and can almost gain comfort from what they know; such as the animated film Bolt where the dogs characteristics are so life like and realistic that you could imagine seeing this dog in real life. Final Fantasy the spirits within was a groundbreaking film at the time because of its hyper-realistic look. Roger Ebert was a strong advocate of the film; he gave it 3 ½ stars out of 4, praising it as a technical milestone while conceding that its nuts and bolts story lacked the intelligence and daring of, say, Steven Spielbergs A.I.. He noted that while he did not once feel convinced Aki Ross was an actual human being she was lifelike, stating her creators dare us to admire their craft. Ebert expressed a desire for the film to succeed in hopes of seeing more films made in its image, though he was sceptical of its ability to be accepted in the wider audience. This happened to be the case as the box office figures for Final Fantasy strongly indicate a lack of positive reaction from audiences, a fact further supported by the overwhelmingly poor response from film critics. To summarise, the terms reality and realism play a big part in computer animation because people are endlessly re-duplicating the visible so that the viewer can relate to the imagery and be impressed by what can be achieved using these technologies. Therefore the role of realism will always be apparent and a defining factor in computer animation. With the accessibility of the internet, freelance artists are constantly out-doing each other which is also driving the production of reality effects and advancements in technology. The article as a whole has shown me that reality in computer animation is a competitive business and that the technologies used to create these effects werent originally designed for entertainment purposes. I have found that not every theorist such as David Bordwell and Andrà © Bazin share the same views or opinions so it becomes difficult to get a true definition or the sense of a certain ideology. The possibilities of recreating reality effects in computer animation are endless because using 3D effects in cinema is becoming the norm almost. Moreover the demand for incredible effects and imaginative imagery is becoming more apparent every year because film makers know that this is what the audience wants to see. Also with the abundance of new technology, computerised imagery is becoming easier to create. Chapter 2: Animation and its progression to commercialism In the beginning all animation was experimental. Experimental animation can be seen as one of the realist form of animation because it is not trying to conform to a certain genre or ideology but rather lean towards an experimental, more abstract or random approach to what is being displayed. Film historian William Moritz quotes: No animation film that is not non-objective and/ or non- linear can really qualify as true animation, since the conventional linear representational story has long since been far better done in live-action. Here Moritz defines what may be regarded as a purist view of what properly constitutes as true animation. He is suggesting that the animated form is best shown when the concentration is purely on using, developing and experimenting with the unique vocabulary which is available only in animation. The freedom of animation has allowed certain animators and artists not to find appropriate means by which they express their vision, but to further progress the medium. Moreover the reason to push the boundaries of what an animator is doing makes an experimental piece truly experimental. Abstraction goes hand in hand with experimental animation because something being abstract can exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Animators which pioneered this new animated art form such as Emile Cohl, Stuart Blackton and Windsor McCay used very basic ways of working mainly due to the fact that they didnt know any better or the technology wasnt available to them. Artists such as Jules Engel who began his animation career working on Disneys Fantasia and UPA cartoons refers to experimental animation as fine art animation because he sees his way of working as more of an art form rather than a commercialized commodity. There were animators that wanted commercial success for the fact that they wanted animation to be seen by everyone. Stuart Blacktons trick film, The Haunted Hotel further enhanced the view that the animated short mig ht become more commercially viable. Walt Disney was the man who broke away from experimental animation and brought a new era of animated film into the commercial limelight. Disney was the first to produce an animated feature-length film called Snow White. Critics however dubbed the project Disneys Folly and were certain that the project would destroy the Disney Studio. Walt used the Silly Symphonies as a platform for experiments in realistic human animation, distinctive character animation, special effects, and the use of specialized processes and apparatus such as the multiplane camera. Walts drive to perfect the art of animation was endless. Technicolor was introduced to animation during the production of his Silly Symphonies Cartoon Features. Walt Disney held the patent for Technicolor for two years, allowing him to make the only colour cartoons. This further held his grip on the animation industry at the time. Disney played an active role in behind the scenes in World War II. He was asked to create training and ins tructional films for the military, home-front morale-boosting shorts such as Der Fuehrers Face and the feature film Victory Through Air Power in 1943. It is clear that in the post-war period in America, Disney started to integrate himself into the world of politics. Disney was the founding member of the anti-communist Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. However Disney was not an aggressive person and kept very reserved    in 1947, during the early years of the Cold War. Disney testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), where he branded Herbert Sorrell, David Hilberman and William Pomerance, former animators and labor union organizers, as Communist agitators. This was the start of Disney becoming a global brand and ultimately being boosted into the commercial spotlight. The development of Disney Land and Disney World soon rocketed Disneys success; these amusement parks especially in their early stages were Disneys personal proje cts. A pitch kit which was prepared for visitors to read when they enter through an entrance describes Disneyland in detail. The idea of Disneyland is a simple one. It will be a place for people to find happiness and knowledge. It will be a place for parents and children to share pleasant times in one anothers company, a place for teacher and pupils to discover greater ways of nostalgia of days gone by, and the younger generation can savor the challenge of the future. Here will be the wonders of nature and man for all to see and understand. This description of Disneyland also applies to everything that Disney represents and this is how his animation has skyrocketed into the mainstream by the fact that it is so universally appealing to all races and cultures. Pixar is an animation company that focuses on using computer generated imagery in their films. Pixar has gone from strength to strength because of their use of likable characters, engaging stories and visual aesthetics. You could compare Pixars recent success with how Disney first started. In the early 90s computer graphics, especially in commercial work was primarily used to create effects such as flying logos and morphing. Pixar settled into a niche by using computer animation to create character animation which very few studios at the time were doing. Most of the animators who started in Pixar used to work at Disney and in the spring of 1991, Pixar and Disney signed a co-production agreement for three pictures. So going back full circle, Disney was still at the forefront of the next revolution in animation. Toy Story was the first Disney/ Pixar film to be made and was released on November 22nd 1995. It became a phenomenon and ended up as the top grossing film of the year, as well as one of the best reviewed. Toy story was the first feature film to be entirely made using CGI which made people realize that using computers to create animation was a viable way of working. Soon after this revolution in computer animation, we soon start to see popular live action directors such as Steven Spielberg and James Cameron using this new medium in their films to create special effects. Working with this technology is cheaper than the old fashioned ways of working such as creating elaborate sets or real life explosions. CGI allows film makers to create the unimaginable and impossible because the only limitations of what can be achieved rests within our own imaginations. Moreover this allows certain films to have that wow factor that cinema audiences crave in a film. As technology has moved on many amateur film makers can also work with CGI because of affordable animation and compositing software, furthermore pushing the boundaries and the potential of what can be achieved with this relatively new medium. Traditional ways of working such as using animation cels and ink in an animated film have been shunned out in favour of CGI graphics. However many daytime cartoons such as Spongebob square pants are still made using these methods. Cartoons in the Golden Age of Hollywood animation were normally created in-house whereas nowadays cel animation is shipped off overseas to places such as Korea because they can be produced more cheaply. This then strips the amount of artistic talent and personalisation of the cartoon because of the mass production side of things. In the 1950s animators such as Tex Avery made cartoons to make people laugh, his mentality towards his cartoons was to think in gags and hold no restrictions to his drawings. Therefore the cartoons became a lot more personal. From watching some of Tex Averys animated cartoons we cant help but notice the amount of limited animation such as the holding of certain frames and gags. However this was a common occurrence from animations i n that time period. Blitz Wolf is an animation based upon Adolf Hitler; it is a brilliant piece of animation as well as a wonderful example of propaganda in wartime. In the short the wolfs car features a logo Der fewer (der better) brilliant in its simplicity. When the wolf steps outside with a leering face he watches the audience and shows a sign saying Go ahead and hiss, who cares a very good representation of Hitlers insolence before the war when he made some despicable acts that he didnt care were going to affect his international reputation. Tex a has a non-realist approach to animation because his cartoons encouraged animators to stretch the boundaries of the medium and do things in a cartoon that would not be possible in the world of live-action film. For example a scene in Dumb Hounded shows the wolf running down a flight of stairs at an impossible speed then enters a car before travelling around the world to get away from Droopy. Also in The Early Bird Dood It there is a sc ene where the chicken is chasing the worm with a wooden bat, soon after the chicken is staring a cat in the face and his wooden bat turns all floppy. A quoted line from Averys cartoons was, In a cartoon you can do anything, and his cartoons repeatedly did just that. In 2009 The Princess and the Frog was released by Disney. This film used traditional 2D hand drawn techniques mixed with digital drawn aspects such as the backgrounds and effects. This film showed that traditional 2D animation can still be achieved and still capture the attention and imagination of a modern audience, the film with its universal rating appealed to all ages. Chapter 3: Is Animation Seen As A Modernist Or Post-Modernist Art Form? Modernism and Post-modernism are two subjects that are constantly being discussed in the art world. For me to answer the title question thoroughly and informatively I must first address the main factors of this chapter, Modernism and Post-modernism. I will be discussing the history of Modernism, how the movement started and how it affected the art world. This will allow me to understand how to tackle the question for this chapter. I will be also be discussing the same points in relation to Post-modernism. After looking into these movements I will conclude my findings and incorporate my own personal opinions and thoughts about what I have found in my research. Looking into the history of animation will also be beneficial because this art form is an integral part of this chapter and dissertation. After gaining a better understanding of these movements I will be able to answer the question is animation is a modernist or post-modernist art form? Modern as a historical art term, refers to a period in history that dates roughly from the 1860s through the 1970s and is used to describe the style and the ideology of art produced during that era. The term Modernism is also used to refer to the art of the modern period and philosophy of Modern Art. The Modernist movement first emerged in 1862 and 1863 when the painting Le dà ©jeuner sur lherbe, which is French for The Lunch On The Grass; was created by Édouard Manet. This particular piece of art sparked controversy even to this day because it displayed nude women around fully clothed men, which was seen as indecent behaviour and a taboo subject in the time it was painted. Manet deliberately chose a large canvas size which were normally reserved for grander subjects therefore he broke the academic traditions of the time. But the question can be posed: Why did Manet paint Le Dà ©jeuner sur lherbe? My answer would be because he was interested in exploring new subject matter, new painting ideologies, and new ways of thinking. Therefore he rebelled against the conventional subject matters that were common in this period of history and adopted the new found modernist approach. The Modernist movement can be seen as a socially progressive trend of thought that encouraged human beings to create improve upon and redefine their environment with the help of experimentation, technology and an open mind with no boundaries. Avant-garde was the term given rather than Modernism at first, this term remained to describe the movements that identify themselves as attempting to overthrow or reinvent some aspect of tradition. The English dictionary refers the term Avant-garde as writers, artists, filmmakers, or musicians whose work is innovative, experimental, or unconventional and is considered as a group. I have included this dictionary reference to see if the term is described in the same way as the art world interprets it, because in some instances the true meaning and no tion of the word can be misrepresented. By 1930, Modernism had entered popular culture which sparked an influx in artistic movements. Abstract Expressionism, Minimalism, Dadaism and Pop art are a few movements that appeared throughout the 20th century. As Modernism started to flourish through the consumer/capitalist societies it soon entered mainstream popular culture which was the main factor the movement rejected in the first place. Therefore the movement had become so institutionalised that it was seen as post avant-garde and soon adopted the term Post-Modern. However for others such as art critic Robert Hughes they refer to post-modernism as being an extension of modernism. The postmodernist movement began in America around the 1960s-1970s and then it spread to Europe and the rest of the world, this movement is still present today. Post-modernism is used in a confusing variety of ways. For some it means anti-modern; for others it means the revision of modernist ideologies. The term Post signifies a historical sequencing in which a previous state of affairs is outdated, therefore functioning in the first instance as a period defining term. Postmodernism in its simple form means after the modernist movement while the term modern refers to something related with the present. What people first thought was modern and modernistic, others were dissatisfied with what they saw because of the way Modernism has evolved therefore leading to a Postmodernist movement. Post-modernism was primarily a reaction to Modernism because the Modernist movement was seen as fraudulent and contradicting. This movement began with architecture, as a reactionary movement against the so-called blandness and conventionalisation present in the modernist movement. Architects werent interested in creating perfect buildings that conformed to certain social rules. Instead architects such as Michael Graves took it upon themselves to favour personal preferences over popular culture therefore creating a post modernist structure. Postmodernists felt the buildings failed to meet the human need for comfort both for body and for the eye. Modernism did not account for the desire for beauty. The post-modern philosophy is distinguished by factors such as criticism, scepticism and subjectivity. In my opinion from looking at my research I would class post-modernism as having the same ideologies as the modernist movement as in wanting to break away from the conventional and mainstream. Moreover post-modernism was breaking away from the now mainstream movement Modernism therefore creating a new movement altogether, Post-modernism. Animation has been around since the turn of the 20th century when filmmakers such as J. Stuart Blackton made the first animated film called Humorous phases of funny faces. Blackton drew comical faces on a blackboard and filmed them. He would stop the film, erase one face to draw another, and then film the newly drawn face. The stop-motion provided an animated effect as the facial expressions changed before the viewers eyes. Humorous Phases of Funny Faces is regularly cited as the first true animated film, and Blackton is considered the first true animator. Animation is different from live action film in the sense that there are limitless amounts of possibilities that can be achieved because the only real boundary is the artists imagination rather than physical restraints. In the early 1900s animation was dominated by Disney productions such as Snow White, which marked the golden age of Hollywood animation. Through the 1950s animation became a lot more stylised and broke away from the mainstream Disney style. The animations in this period incorporated modern art aesthetics such as in the backgrounds and general stylisation of characters. As technology evolved the use of computers started to play a part in animation. For example artists were now able to reproduce shapes, characters and scenery digitally without the need for pencils and paper, therefore allowing the animator to watch their progression in real time instead of having to film each frame. After researching it could be said that early animation such as traditional hand drawn and stop motion are a modernist art form and that the incorporation of computers and 3D animation nowadays can be seen as being post-modern because it has broken away from the traditional ways of working. So is animation a modern or post-modern art form? From my research into both movements I can positively say that animation is a post-modernist art form. I have come to this conclusion based on the fact that cinema is a modernist art form and animation was developed as a new form of expression and creative output that broke away from the mainstream which was cinema at the time. By writing this chapter it has given me a better understanding of what art movements occurred during certain periods and the impact they created in society. My next question would be what movement is going to emerge next after post-modernism and what kind of creativity and ways of thinking are go

Multi Cloud Database Service Providers (MCDSP)

Multi Cloud Database Service Providers (MCDSP) A Multi cloud service provider is expert in building the distributed database cloud and can manage those cloud storage servers also. And this multi cloud database service provider is capable of operating the cloud computing system in an interactive way. When a user wants to store the data in the multi cloud, he needs to log with his credentials. MCD service provider of the multi cloud plays a dominant role in managing all the resources of cloud databases to offer a high quality 24X7 secure access. In reality the architecture is planned to operate with any number of databases and types, the architecture is planned to work with a limited number of cloud databases. In its inception the project is planned to use MySql as the storage server in all the cloud environments. The cloud databases can be accessed, controlled and configured through MCDSP’s configuration control manager. Thus we have configured five server databases of which the user can choose any three servers of his choice to store his confidential information. The client is simply aware of the storage servers and their status used for storing information. In this multi-storage environment the client can manually stores user (secret) information by choosing the server IP address (name) from the active servers list. So involvement of MCDSP is nullified, when the client puts his information in the cloud. 5.2.1 Cloud server’s information: 5.2.1.1 Cloud sever1 Cloud Server Name:SVPPC704 Configured IP address: 10.10.10.200 dbname : db1 Password : user1 User name : user1 5.2.1.2 Cloud sever2 Cloud Server Name: SVPPC705 Configured IP address : 10.10.10.83 dbname : db2 Password : deepika User name : deepika 5.2.1.3 Cloud sever3 Cloud server Name: VJ Babu Configured IP Address : 10.10.10.99 dbname : db3 Password : user3 User name : user3 5.2.1.4 Cloud sever4 Cloud server Name: SVPPC707 Configured IP Address : 10.10.10.125 dbname : db4 Password : user4 User name : user4 5.2.1.5 Cloud sever5 Cloud server Name: SVPPC719 Configured IP Address : 10.10.10.74 dbname : db5 Password : user5 User name: user5 Information of MCDSP, is stored in databases is stored as, 5.3 UML Diagrams The unified modelling language is a standard language for specifying, Visualizing, Constructing and documenting the software system and its components. It is a graphical language that provides a vocabulary and set of semantics and rules. The UML focuses on the conceptual and physical representation of the system. It captures the decisions and understandings about systems that must be constructed. It is used to understand, design, configure, maintain and control information about the systems. 5.3.1 Class diagram A Class diagram shows a set of classes, interfaces and collaborations and their relationships. Class diagram addresses the static design view of a system. Class diagrams to describe the structure of the system. Classes are abstractions that specify the common structure and behaviour of a set. Class diagrams describe the system in terms of objects, classes, attributes, operations and their associations. In UML class diagrams, Top compartment contains name of the class. Middle compartment contains class’s attributes or instance variables. Bottom compartment contains class’s operations or methods. 5.3.2 Use case diagram Use cases are used during requirements elicitation and analysis to represent the functionality of the system. Use cases focus on the behavior of the system from the external point of view. The actor is outside the boundary of the system, whereas the use cases are inside the boundary of the system (MCDS).The Actors involved in this use case diagram are: User, MCDSP. 5.3.3 Sequence diagram The time ordering messages are emphasized by the Sequence diagram; this is the one of the type of interaction diagram. To visualize the communication among objects and behaviour of the system are can be done by using the sequence diagram. By using, identifying the any additional objects may participate in the uses cases or not can be done by using this sequence diagram. This diagram shows the where the interaction takes place among the objects. 5.3.4 Activity diagram The flow from activity to activity, shown by using the activity diagram within a system. One of the dynamic views of the system is activity diagram. The system can be described as activities, in the activity diagram. In this diagram, operations execution is represented by using the activities. The activity diagrams are as similar to the flowchart diagram. Description: The admin gets login and checks whether the admin had an appropriate login id and password. The admin enters successfully and upload the files, maintain the files. The user gets login, if the user is a new one then he must have to create an account and gets login. The user searches the file, if it exists, displays the original file by entering the access key. 5.4 User Interface Design The design of computers, applications, machines, mobile communication devices, and websites are designed by considering the user’s experience and interaction is called as User Interface Design or User Interface Engineering. The main goal is, make the user’s interaction is simple and as efficient as possible can be done by considering the user goals and this design procedure is called as user centred design. Without drawing the unnecessary attempts and finishing the task at hand is called as good user interface design. To design a user interface there must be an balance between technical functionality and visual elements. This is important, because when creating a system it is not only operable but also usable and adaptable. When designing the user interface design it should be useful for the users, means that the it is in meaningful manner, it should be clear then only useful for users, appearance model is easily recognizable by the users, giving more clearance by separating the similar and dissimilar things separately. This overall design can be done based on the interface architecture. 5.5 Input Design Output Design 5.5.1 Input Design Through a link only information system and user can communicate with each other and that link is called as input design. This input is taken from either in the form of printed document or entering the key values by using the keyboard can be done by using the computer and processed by the processor. There is an control on how much amount of input is required, controlling the errors, avoiding the delays, extra steps are avoided and the process is as simple as possible all these are considered when designing the input. When designing the input by considering the all these things it provides the security and ease of use. By considering the following input is designed as, To give an input which data is given? In which format the data should be arranged or coded? When operating the system personally, there is an dialog to provide the input? When an error occur, what are the different methods used for preparing the input validations and steps. Objectives: An user oriented description of an input is converted in to computer based system can be done by using the input design process. When to design this process that must be error prone and giving correct directions when accepting the input from the keyboard. To handle the large volumes of data, creating the user friendly screens for data entry. While entering the data it must be easier and it is an error prone. While entering the data, all data must be manipulated and also providing the viewing facilities also. Checking validation for input is necessary and also through screens only input is entered. When entering the data, appropriate messages are provided for better understanding purpose. For this if input layout is designed, by using this layout easy to follow the instructions. 5.5.2 Output Design The output quality is important because end user requirements are satisfied and clear information must be there. After processing the input in any system the output is displayed. The intermediate results of the output are also stored in the form of hard copy for further references. For users direct information resource is output only. For decision making and maintaining the relationship with system output is necessary. To design the output it meets the requirements of the end user. The developed output must be right and if necessary the people can used. Proper methods are selected for presenting information. In the user manual, it should contain the information regarding the output. The successful implementations of the information system having the objects are, providing information for past activities, Present status and also proving the future enhancement also. Giving information for proble.ms, important event, warnings and different opportunities. What are the different actions are performed on Triggers. What are the conformation actions are performed. 5.6 System Requirements 5.6.1 Hardware Requirements: System:Pentium IV or equivalent Hard Disk (Free space):20 MB. RAM:256 MB. 5.6.2 Server Software Requirements: Operating system : Windows XP Professional Front End : JAVA Back End (Database) :MySql Tool :Net beans IDE 5.6.3 Client Software Requirements: Operating System : Linux or windows Access: Web browser (Recommended Firefox) Memory: 256 MB (RAM) 6. IMPLEMENTATION 6.1 Shamir Secret Sharing Algorithm In this project using algorithm proposed by Adi Shamir called Shamir’s secret sharing algorithm, by using this algorithm sharing the secret information into multi cloud and again reconstructing the secret information can be done by using this algorithm. The algorithm called Shamir’s secret sharing is worked as, the secret information of user’s data can be divided into number of pieces of secret information and each part of secret information is stored into different servers of the Multi cloud and this service is provided by the multi cloud service provider. To reconstruct the original secret information, accessing the pieces of secret information from the at least two servers from the Multi cloud. 7. SYSTEM TESTING The purpose of testing is to discover errors. Testing is the process of trying to discover every conceivable fault or weakness in a work product. It provides a way to check the functionality of components, sub assemblies, assemblies and/or a finished product It is the process of exercising software with the intent of ensuring that the Software system meets its requirements and user expectations and does not fail in an unacceptable manner. There are various types of test. Each test type addresses a specific testing requirement. Testing is a critical element of software quality assurance and represents the ultimate review of specifications, design and coding. Following are some of the objectives of testing. Testing is the process of executing program with the intent of finding an error. A good test case in one that has a high probability of finding an as yet undiscovered error. A successful test is the one that uncovers as an yet undiscovered error. Testing cannot show the absence of defects, it can only show that software errors are present. The benefits obtained are: If testing is conducted successfully (according to the objective stated above), it will uncover errors in the software. As a secondary benefit, testing demonstrates that software functions appear to be working according to specifications and that performance requirements appear to have been met. In addition, data collected as testing is conducted provides a good indication of software reliability and some indication of software quality as a whole. 7.1 Types of Tests 7.1.1 Unit Testing Unit testing involves the design of test cases that validate that the internal program logic is functioning properly, and that program inputs produce valid outputs. All decision branches and internal code flow should be validated. It is the testing of individual software units of the application .it is done after the completion of an individual unit before integration. This is a structural testing, that relies on knowledge of its construction and is invasive. Unit tests perform basic tests at component level and test a specific business process, application, and/or system configuration. Unit tests ensure that each unique path of a business process performs accurately to the documented specifications and contains clearly defined inputs and expected results. 7.1.2 Integration Testing Integration tests are designed to test integrated software components to determine if they actually run as one program. Testing is event driven and is more concerned with the basic outcome of screens or fields. Integration tests demonstrate that although the components were individually satisfaction, as shown by successfully unit testing, the combination of components is correct and consistent. Integration testing is specifically aimed at exposing the problems that arise from the combination of components. 7.1.3 Functional Test Functional tests provide systematic demonstrations that functions tested are available as specified by the business and technical requirements, system documentation, and user manuals. Functional testing is centered on the following items: Valid Input: identified classes of valid input must be accepted. Invalid Input: identified classes of invalid input must be rejected. Functions: identified functions must be exercised. Output: identified classes of application outputs must be exercised. Systems/Procedures: interfacing systems or procedures must be invoked. Organization and preparation of functional tests is focused on requirements, key functions, or special test cases. In addition, systematic coverage pertaining to identify Business process flows; data fields, predefined processes, and successive processes must be considered for testing. Before functional testing is complete, additional tests are identified and the effective value of current tests is determined. 7.1.4 System Test System testing ensures that the entire integrated software system meets requirements. It tests a configuration to ensure known and predictable results. An example of system testing is the configuration oriented system integration test. System testing is based on process descriptions and flows, emphasizing pre-driven process links and integration points. 7.1.5 White Box Testing White Box Testing is a testing in which the software tester has knowledge of the inner workings, structure and language of the software, or at least its purpose. It is used to test areas that cannot be reached from a black box level. 7.1.6 Black Box Testing Black Box Testing is testing the software without any knowledge of the inner workings, structure or language of the module being tested. Black box tests, as most other kinds of tests, must be written from a definitive source document, such as specification or requirements document. It is a testing in which the software under test is treated, as a black box .you cannot â€Å"see† into it. The test provides inputs and responds to outputs without considering how the software works. 7.2 Test Results 7.2.1 Unit Testing Unit testing is usually conducted as part of a combined code and unit test phase of the software lifecycle, although it is not uncommon for coding and unit testing to be conducted as two distinct phases. 7.2.2 Test strategy and approach Field testing will be performed manually and functional tests will be written in detail. Test objectives: All field entries must work properly. Pages must be activated from the identified link. The entry screen, messages and responses must not be delayed. Features to be tested: Verify that the entries are of the correct format. No duplicate entries should be allowed. All links should take the user to the correct page. 7.2.3 Integration Testing Software integration testing is the incremental integration testing of two or more integrated software components on a single platform to produce failures caused by interface defects. The task of the integration test is to check that components or software applications, e.g. components in a software system or – one step up – software applications at the company level – interact without error. Test Results: All the test cases passed successfully. No defects encountered. 7.2.4 Acceptance Testing User Acceptance Testing is a critical phase of any project and requires significant participation by the end user. It also ensures that the system meets the functional requirements. Test Results: All the test cases have passed successfully. Minor defects encountered are fixed. Fix quality is maintained. 7.3 Test Cases Table 7.3: test cases 8. FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS In this project work the numeric attribute (integer data type) is considered in the secret sharing approach. For future work, further evaluation of non-numeric data types and larger data size can be performed. Another area of attention for future work is the idea of substituting simulation for real CSP, such as own cloud. 9. CONCLUSION The cloud computing usage is significantly notified across medium to large scale companies. But security in the cloud is still a challenging issue. A clear attempt is made to enhance has the security using Shamir’s secrete sharing algorithm. A cloud environment is simulated with six cloud databases which can be configured by the MCDSP which are available to the users to choose and then to store their information. By setting up the above kind of environment confidence can be built to the cloud users to w.r.to security and availability compromising a bit storage time.

Essay --

â€Å"Jack was safe from all shame or self consciousness, behind the mask of his paint† (Golding-125). In the book Lord Of The Flies, The symbols of the Conch, and Piggies Glasses represent order, logic, and civilisation within the microcosm of the island the kids are stuck on. But these two symbols, which are at first powerful motifs, are later on overruled by the evil within all of them. This evil is is triggered by the face paint they wear. What at first is a game turns into a type of camouflage cover, releasing the boys from all shame, allowing them to become savages. They are hidden from the values of society and give in to their state of nature selfs. I observed that in the beginning, the conch holds the ultimate power on the island. It dictates what has to be done, and allows Ralph to have control over the rest of kids simulating a mini society. This is displayed when Ralph is elected as chief: †Him with the shell." "Ralph! Ralph!" "Let him be chief with the trumpet thing† (Golding page___). This quote shows how the kids think that the power comes from the conch, and is a sign of protection, order, and leadership. The Conch also illustrates order because you must have the Conch to Speak in an assembly or meeting similar to the rules in class. This is shown when Ralph explains the rules of the group after being elected: †We can't have everybody talking at once. We'll have to have 'hands up' like at school." (Golding___). The â€Å"like at school† suggests the kids are trying to replicate society and keep order. In spite of this, the Conch starts to lose this power later on in the book. This can be seen when Jack dismisses the power of the conch: â€Å"Conch! Conch! We don’t need the conch any more. We know who ought to say things." (Go... ...of wisdom, he was set apart due to his glasses, and bullied. Ralph was a good leader, his power came from the conch and his broad, attractive appearance. The kids should have let it stay that way. But Jack came in, he introduced the face paint mask, releasing the beast within all of them, and causing them to all turn into savages, free of guilt. The symbols of order in the book are overpowered by human nature and the lack of authority. We learn that society is held together by symbols of power. The book teaches you that every human has the ability to be a savage and that evil is only controlled by the rules of society. Once rules are gone, anarchy breaks out and the evil or beast within us comes free. Civilised behaviour is fake, left on their own humans are violent. The world is a cruel place and that the only person you can really count on , and trust is yourself.

Henry :: essays research papers

Henry Ford was the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the driving force behind the firm and its products, who made an extraordinary impact on the American industry. Henry made many accomplishments, which include the Quadricycle and the Model-T car. As a young kid Henry was really into the mechanical industry, which helped him in life to develop all of the cars that he created during his years at the head of Ford and as he worked in his younger days at a Detroit factory. (2:23) Also when Henry was married to Clara Bryant in 1888, he ran a sawmill, which helped him make some money to get his family started. (6:1) The Model-T car was very cheap and this made it available for every man or woman who wanted to get a car. This vehicle initiated a new era in personal transportation. The Model-T was easy to operate, maintain, and handle on almost any road conditions, which immediately made it a huge success. Henry Ford was a huge success in the boom of the economy in the early 1900â€⠄¢s. (4:2) Henry Ford was born on July 30, 1863 and he was the first of William and Mary Ford’s six children. (2:3) He was born on a farm near what is now called Dearborn, Michigan. As a young boy Henry Ford enjoyed a normal young life of the rural nineteenth century. (3:4) He spent most of his youthful days in a very small school and doing chores on his family’s small farm. When Henry was in the early stages of childhood, he showed a lot of interest in mechanical things because he did not like doing farm work. (5:8) In 1879, when Henry Ford was sixteen years old, he left home to the city of Detroit to go to work as a mechanic’s helper. Even though he left home for Detroit, since the cities were close together, he often came home to help out on the farm. Henry worked as a mechanics apprentice for three years then he returned back home to Dearborn. (2:25) The next couple years of his life Henry was dedicated to dividing his time between using many different types of machines , otherwise he spent his time fixing up steam engines and he occasionally worked in a Detroit factory. (5:2) Henry also spent a lot of his time helping on his dad’s farm apparatuses, in addition to doing other hands on farm work.

A Short Review of The West Side Story :: essays research papers

One of the things that first struck me about the play was that the characters believed they lived a good life. I saw the exact opposite. The good life is shown through success, success through a career, education, goals, and love, or at least we are brought up thinking so. The gangs only had one another and without the support of that gang, these boys/characters would not exist as individual human beings. The Jets did not want to have jobs, and they mocked the ex-gang member, Tony, for leaving the gang to make a future for himself. Life outside the gang was not an option for the Jets. None of the boys had any future plans or felt the need for anything else in their lives. Tony did not live the good life, but he did have dreams. He knew there was a better life for him out there, and parting from the gang allowed him to search for that life. Maybe it was only me, but Tony seemed to be the happiest person there, even before he met Maria.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The West Side Story did not demonstrate a good society, either. The people outside the gang did not help to lead these kids in the right direction. The gangs learned to be negative towards one another, because people of higher authority did the same, such as the cops. I was shocked when the cop made racist comments towards the Sharks, I would think that a black man in that time period would be more aware of racial tensions and slurs. In the song â€Å"Officer Krupke† the Jets sing of several reasons to why society believes they are bad kids. Society makes it okay for them to be bad, and the boys just accept those excuses. People in their society were constantly giving them negative remarks and this eventually led them to believe that what people told them was true. The society had the same hatred that the two gangs for each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In spite of their lack of opportunities both gangs have a lot of fun at the dance (although it is laced with tension). The fun was portrayed by the vibrant colors of the girl's dresses and the boys' shirts, the frenetic music. I really loved the wonderful outfits, and I think that they really do make the play reachable. I was wondering if West Side Story has ever been done in a setting other than proscenium. A Short Review of The West Side Story :: essays research papers One of the things that first struck me about the play was that the characters believed they lived a good life. I saw the exact opposite. The good life is shown through success, success through a career, education, goals, and love, or at least we are brought up thinking so. The gangs only had one another and without the support of that gang, these boys/characters would not exist as individual human beings. The Jets did not want to have jobs, and they mocked the ex-gang member, Tony, for leaving the gang to make a future for himself. Life outside the gang was not an option for the Jets. None of the boys had any future plans or felt the need for anything else in their lives. Tony did not live the good life, but he did have dreams. He knew there was a better life for him out there, and parting from the gang allowed him to search for that life. Maybe it was only me, but Tony seemed to be the happiest person there, even before he met Maria.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The West Side Story did not demonstrate a good society, either. The people outside the gang did not help to lead these kids in the right direction. The gangs learned to be negative towards one another, because people of higher authority did the same, such as the cops. I was shocked when the cop made racist comments towards the Sharks, I would think that a black man in that time period would be more aware of racial tensions and slurs. In the song â€Å"Officer Krupke† the Jets sing of several reasons to why society believes they are bad kids. Society makes it okay for them to be bad, and the boys just accept those excuses. People in their society were constantly giving them negative remarks and this eventually led them to believe that what people told them was true. The society had the same hatred that the two gangs for each other.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In spite of their lack of opportunities both gangs have a lot of fun at the dance (although it is laced with tension). The fun was portrayed by the vibrant colors of the girl's dresses and the boys' shirts, the frenetic music. I really loved the wonderful outfits, and I think that they really do make the play reachable. I was wondering if West Side Story has ever been done in a setting other than proscenium.

Paper on Career Skills Essay

1. Career direction It starts with five articles which help you think about career direction. These tools help you uncover what you do best and identify the types of work that you’ll enjoy doing most. From this, you can figure out how to make the most of your skills and preferences, whether in your current role or in a new one. a. Personal SWOT Analysis shows you how you can apply the well-known SWOT strategy tool to your life and career, helping you identify your strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities open to you and the threats you face. This leads naturally into the idea of job crafting. This is something that many of us do subconsciously to some extent, but our article gives you a rigorous approach that you can use to craft your ideal job. b. Develop your career in various ways. We show you what you can be doing now to future proof your career and to get ready for promotion. And if you’re frustrated because your hard work and abilities are going unnoticed, find out how to get the recognition you deserve. we show you how to live with a lack of job security and how to cope with life after job loss. Yet even when the economy’s booming, you can still face challenging career situations such as hitting a â€Å"glass ceiling†. We round off this section with two articles that will help you transition through significant events in your career. First, we look at what you can do when you get a new boss, and then we see how to wrap up in one role before moving on. Finding Career Direction Discover Yourself and Your Purpose How long has it been since you asked yourself what you want to be when you grow up? If you haven’t considered the idea since high school, then you may have settled into a job that is not fulfilling your professional aspirations, or your purpose. Each of us has particular talents that, when expressed or exercised, make the world a better place. Most likely you enjoy doing these things, and you find that people respond well to you when you do them. Perhaps they’re things you gravitate towards during out-of-hours activities, and that people respect you for. When you develop these talents as far as you can, you can make your greatest possible contribution to the world, and enjoy personal and professional satisfaction that goes along with this. Your Career Direction Journey The process of uncovering what you are meant to do, that is finding career direction, is a journey. It starts with discovering the essential â€Å"you†: the person who truly resides behind the facades, defenses, and stresses of everyday life. Once unmasked, your journey continues with specific career exploration and identification of a career that allows you to make good use of your talents. And it moves on with a focused job or career move, in which you identify the jobs you want and put yourself in the best possible position to get them. In fact, this journey never really ends because work itself is all about change, growth, development, and reinvention. By taking a talent-based approach to your career search right from the start, you keep yourself heading toward the right career even when the actual direction shifts over time. This approach consists of sequentially answering three questions: 1. Who Am I? 2. What Do I Want to Do? 3. How Do I Get Hired? 1. Discovering Who You Really Are The first question to answer is â€Å"Who am I?† We’ll take two approaches to answering this – firstly asking you to explore your talents, and secondly using psychometric tests to explore your preferences. Exploring Your Talents First of all, consider your answers to the following questions: * When have you been most committed, passionate and enthusiastic? * When have you been most creative? * When have you been most sure of yourself and your decisions? * What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment? * When have other people considered you to be most successful? * When have you enjoyed your work most? * What talents were you relying on, and using, in these situations? * For what would you take a very strong stand? * What about the world puzzles or disturbs you that you could make an impact on? * What jobs do you like to do at work when you have a choice? * What activities are you drawn towards out of work? * If money were no concern, what would you be doing? Brainstorm each of these questions, and then use your answers to identify the top three talents that you most use when you’re successful. Rank these in order. Tip:If you’re having problems choosing, use a technique like paired comparison analysis to rank things in order. | Personality Inventories Next, we’ll look at using personality inventories as a way of looking at your preferred way of working relative to other people. There are many typologies available including Myers-Briggs, DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness) and the strength finder evaluation in â€Å"Now Discover Your Strengths†. Tip 1: Some of these cost quite a lot of money, however considering the importance of what you’re doing, it is probably worth investing in them if you haven’t already done so. Tip 2: It can be hard initially to see how to apply these tests. One trick is to turn things around, and as you identify possible careers, think about what personality type is most likely to be successful in these careers. Is there a match or a mismatch? We’ll do this later. Tip 3: Treat these tests as advisory only – you can’t capture the whole complexity of your personality and experience with only a few questions. That said, you’ll probably find the tests quite insightful! | With personality testing you learn what you have in common with other people. You also discover potential points of friction with people of other personality types. While no personality type is good or bad, it does help you discover what motivates and energizes you. This in turn empowers you to seek those elements in the work you choose to do, and avoid the things that frustrate and demotivate you. As you explore your personality you come to realize that who you are is really determined by the choices you make. You choose to react one way over another, or to prefer one thing to another. You can take this self-awareness one step further by examining why you make the choices you do. In psychological terms, what is your payoff for making the choices you make? When you know the â€Å"why† it is easier to see how you can become fulfilled through the work you do. Write a â€Å"Who I Am† Statement Now draw this together into a simple written statement of who you are. This is an important step toward self-discovery and defining your purpose. Use it to answer the following questions: * What your talents and strengths are. * The talents you achieve most with. * The activities you get most satisfaction from. * The type of activity the psychometrics you’ve completed guide you towards. Tip: When you’re doing this, be careful not just to look back nostalgically at simple jobs where you performed well – after all, many different people could perform well in these situations, and this gives you little information. Focus instead on more difficult areas where you made a positive difference, and where others didn’t. 2. Finding Out What You Want to Do Now that you know who you are, the next stage is to think about what you want to do. For your life to be balanced and fulfilled, your career must be aligned with who you are: Otherwise you’ll be unhappy with work, and you’ll probably underachieve. After all, ill-fitting jobs demand different talents from the ones that you have. If you try to pursue a career path that is at odds with your values, your beliefs, and your way of seeing the world, then you’ll struggle constantly and be under a great deal of stress and pressure. The starting point is to do some brainstorming on the jobs that you think would suit who you are. We’ll then confirm this with some different psychometric tests, and then extend this list with some more brainstorming. You then need to spend some time researching the top careers you’ve identified. i. Exploring the Options You Know About Starting with your â€Å"Who I Am† statement, start thinking about all of the jobs you can see that would suit you someone with the talents and interests in that statement (by depersonalizing it in this way, you help to avoid â€Å"being too close to the issue.†) Starting here is particularly important if you’re already established in a career: It’s important to capitalize where you can on the experience and contacts you’ve already built up, compared with ditching everything and starting completely afresh (while this sounds glamorous and enticing, it puts you in the position of competing equally with other career starters, who may be much younger than you. On the other hand, if you’re profoundly unhappy with your company, industry and profession, a radical career change may be the best thing†¦) So start by asking yourself if your current role can be adapted to suit you much better; if there are other roles within your existing company that would be worth trying; or whether similar roles in other organizations might be more rewarding. Once you’ve done this, extend out and brainstorm the other options available. ii. Using Career Tests The next stage is to use online career tests to explore options that you might have missed. Useful ones are: Free, but limited career selection advice: Princeton Review Career Quiz Chargeable (but inexpensive, and with good selections of possible careers): http://www.self-directed-search.com http://www.assessment.com iii. Thinking Further The unavoidable flaw with these career tests is that they’re based on backward-looking data, and can only cope with the major career types. Because of this, they can’t recommend new careers, nor do they know about less well-known careers. Using the test results as a starting point, do some brainstorming to see if there are new technology careers which demand similar personality types, or if there are more obscure careers that may also be open. iv. Pulling This Together. You’ll now have identifies a wide range of possible careers open to you. Now’s the time to cut these down and prioritize them. We’re not asking you to choose one now, but to cut down to your top 5 or 6 choices (the reason being that when you start researching these careers, some of them may turn out to be quite bad!) Again, if you’re having trouble prioritizing, use paired comparison analysis to rank your choices. v. Perform Career Research Armed with a solid understanding of how you can participate in fulfilling work, you now need to research the various options you have to make money doing so. Career research is not something many people relish, but it is necessary in order to eliminate choices that seem to be great fits on the surface but really won’t align with your mission and purpose. Yes, this is quite tedious. But think about the consequences of getting things wrong! Surely it’s worth spending time exploring your options, rather than a lifetime kicking yourself for making a bad choice! Methods for researching careers include: * Researching the career using sites like Acinet.org, so that you can understand industry trends, job pay levels, qualifications needed, job availability, etc. * Conducting your own PEST Analysis to confirm your own view of likely career trends. * Reading industry/career magazines and get a sense of how â€Å"happy† the industry is, who the major players in it are, and what the issues and problems within it are. Also, looking at job vacancies to see if the career is in demand. * Understanding what talents and personalities make people successful in the career, and mapping these back against your own talents and personality. * Attending professional and trade shows. * Participating in job fairs; * Visiting company websites, and keep an eye on how companies are talked about in the press. * Understanding where organizations are based, and deciding if you’re prepared to travel to interviews, and perhaps to move. * Volunteering. * Working part time and/or seasonally in the industry. Tip: Be careful when using career trends to identify career possibilities: The desire to pursue an up and coming career may overshadow your mission and purpose. This will only lead to dissatisfaction down the road. Also be aware that there’s a natural desire from people within an industry to inflate its prospects (to ensure a good supply of new recruits in the future.) Take official figures with a pinch of salt! | By the end of all of this research, you may have rejected several possible careers. Now’s the time to narrow down to one! Again, Paired Comparison Analysis may be useful here, however so can Grid Analysis which helps you make comparisons where many variables are involved. 3. Answering â€Å"How do I Get Hired?† In this last phase you answer, â€Å"What am I going to do to get hired?† With your â€Å"Who I Am† statement and your research as your compass, now you need to actually map your progress. Many people tend to move from their purpose right into job search mode. This is a mistake because unless you have a plan, it is far too easy to get derailed by a lucrative job offer, an opening that Uncle Vinny has, a job that sounds really glamorous, or a whole host of other distractions. Develop your plan first and you’re more likely to get where you want to go, faster. * Start by writing down the career you want. What is your long-term vision for yourself in terms of your career? * Write down the steps you need to take or the things you need to accomplish, in order to get there. What qualifications should you get? What experience should you build? Which organization will give you the best start? * For each of these steps create a detailed implementation plan. * These are your short term goals. * Be sure to express as SMART objectives. * Go back and identify contingency plans * Do a â€Å"what if† analysis on your goals â€Å"If you don’t get accepted to grad school this year, what will you do?† Tip: The more contingency plans you have the more likely you will be able to survive the inevitable setbacks. You will also have much more confidence in yourself despite the bumps in the road. Tip 2: Recognize that the more opportunities you have, the better the job that you’ll be able to choose. Concentrate on creating as many opportunities as possible! | Now you are free to pursue your dream career with confidence. There are certainly no guarantees but with the right amount of planning and a sufficient dose of reality, the career that you are meant for will materialize. Signs a career direction evaluation may be in order: * Your job lacks challenge and excitement for you. * You are feeling unappreciated. * Your promotional and/or development opportunities are limited. * You are no longer having fun. * Learning is replaced with routine. * You sense that your skills and talents are being wasted. * You are suffering from stress or depression. Finding career direction is a process. The more effort you put into the planning stages the better your results. Uncovering your true self and your purpose is heavy, emotional work and you may have to go through this process a few times in the span of your working life. The effort however, is certainly worth it when you end up with a clear sense of the direction your career should be taking.