Euthanasia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Euthanasia - Essay Example The American Medical Association embraces the belief that active euthanasia is not acceptable due to the involvement of the intentional ending of a patient’s life by another human being. Many current thinkers have argued for and against this view discussing the moral acceptability of such an action, and some of the most notable arguments come from James Rachels. Rachels states that a strong case can be made against the American Medical Association’s doctrine. His main point is that passive euthanasia is not always preferable to active euthanasia: he states that, in some cases, there is simply no moral disparity linking active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. This is because they both are morally equivalent concerning the ultimate goal; however, it is factual that active euthanasia may be fair compared to passive euthanasia. He says that once the choice has been made not to prolong the patient’s agony, active euthanasia would be preferable because the latter wou ld lead to an unnecessary period of suffering (Dixon 25). His most brilliant example is the instance of the babies with a severe Down’s syndrome who were given birth with obstructions in the intestines. He states that sometimes in such cases the babies are allowed to die even if these matters were considered deeply; thus, we would find compelling moral grounds for preferring active euthanasia to passive euthanasia in the vastly greater degree of suffering involved in letting the baby die. Rachels challenge the doctrine that passive euthanasia is preferable to active euthanasia; he declares that it leads to decisions concerning life and death based on irrelevant grounds as to whether a person’s life should continue or not. He argues that ordinarily an intestinal obstruction can be fixed and is not a life or death matter; but in the case of a baby with Down’s syndrome with an intestinal obstruction, he or she should be allowed to die because of Down syndrome and n ot the intestinal obstruction. The presence of the intestinal obstruction in the baby becomes irrelevant due to its having Down’s syndrome, and this is the argument which justifies allowing the prolonged suffering of the baby before it dies instead of fixing the intestinal obstruction which would relieve it of the pain. This justifies Rachels’ argument against the American Medical Association’s doctrine that this doctrine rests on a distinction between killing and letting die that itself has no moral importance because they both lead to the same end and the means of getting there is inconsequential (Javier 262). Jake objects to Rachels’ argument and justifies his stance stating that active euthanasia is based on a person’s decision of killing a patient intentionally, and this is meant to bring to the end the patient’s suffering. This is hugely different from passive euthanasia, as in this case a patient is left to die in his or her own time and not given any substance that will make them die. According to Jake, therefore, it would be true to say that there is a clear difference between active and passive euthanasia, and that this difference is based on the morality of the two actions. While passive euthanasia can be considered morally right, active euthanasia

I am not sure about the subject that i used, but you have to put the Assignment

I am not sure about the subject that i used, but you have to put the right subject for each - Assignment Example This comes in the wake of different cases around the nation where officers are seen to manhandle or mistreat people from minority groups, with some even leading to the death of the said individuals (Schmidt 1). The issue of hate crimes has been a topic that is often discussed in hushed tones in various areas in the United States. In yet another different online article, The Guardian dated 10 Feb. 2015, three individuals were sentenced to prison for alleged hate crimes that led to the death of one James Craig Anderson. In the wake of these allegations, it later emerged that a group of white people would go to Jackson to pester, harass, and assault black people. Others were waiting sentencing stemming from the same hate crimes and conspiracy to do the same against nonwhites (AP 1). After a series of attacks by both white police officers and civilians, it has become necessary for major newspapers around the nation to highlight what is happening, and what should be done about it. It is clear that race is still an issue that most people are battling with, and with the rising number of cases, the attitude and mentality of everyone involved needs to change. This is for the betterment of society and everyone involved in making it prosper. It is my belief that whenever minority groups hear of such cases, there is bound to be traces of anger, bitterness, and resentment towards the other race, especially when perpetrators are not brought to book. It is about time people realize that society is made up of all races, and not just the whites. Associated Press, Jackson Mississippi. â€Å"Three sentenced in Mississippi for ‘Hate Crime’ Murder of Black Man.† The Guardian 10 Feb. 2015. Print. Schmidt, Michael S. â€Å"F.B.I. Director to Give Speech Addressing Relations between Police and

Open vs Closed Systems Essay Example for Free

Open vs Closed Systems Essay The state of Kansas defines OSS (Open Sourced Software) as software for which the source code is freely and publicly available, though the specific licensing agreements vary as to what one is allowed to do with that code. The book defines open source operating systems as those made available in source-code format rather than binary code. Closed source is exactly the opposite. Closed source is proprietary software that is only made available in binary code which is very difficult to reverse engineer. Open-source code is exactly what the programmer developed including all of the comments and notes. Open-source is most commonly confused with free software although the difference is very miniscule however strongly opposed. When all of these ideas are put together we can understand that as an end user with open sourced OS’ we have the ability to see all of the code and modify most of the OS if we have the necessary skills to do so. Whereas with closed source we can only see the code after it has been compiled into binary, or machine code, and only make changes that the programmers allow us to make within the OS. Open Sourced OS When we talk about open-sourced OS’ usually people think of UNIX or Linux. These are great examples of what open- source is. If a user wanted to download a version of Linux to install on his computer he could, and the open source would not cost him a thing. What he may end up paying for is support. Or if he is an experienced developer himself he can do what open-sourced software was originally intended to and make changes to the source himself. This is the biggest difference between open and closed source OS. With open source the individual has the freedom to make absolutely any change he deems necessary to the OS. Imagine being able to change the way Windows works. If you somehow figured out that the Windows OS would always crash when you have exactly 6 explorer windows open what would you do? Well if Windows was an open-source OS you could fix it and compile it. Then you could send the fixed version to the author so it could be updated and distributed to everyone else. That is the beauty of open-sourced OS’. Some can argue that because there are so many more eyes on the open-source systems that it makes them more secure. Closed Source OS Closed-source operating systems are the extreme opposite of open-source. The only form of closed source you can get is binary, which means you’ll have to do some very heavy hex reverse engineering in order to be able to actually understand the code. Closed source OS’ like Microsoft cost hundreds of dollars to buy, and if there’s issues with the latest version, you are forced to wait until Microsoft developers release an update that may fix your issue and yet break another one of your applications. Users are at the mercy of Microsoft at all times. You can make recommendations and complaints about Windows not behaving in a matter that suits your needs, but you can’t do very much more. GNU Public Licenses GNU (GNU Not UNIX) General Public licenses are licenses used for distributing free software. The idea of â€Å"copyright† was flipped around and introduced as â€Å"copyleft† by the FSF (Free Software Foundation). The purpose of â€Å"copylefting† was to do exactly the opposite of copyrighting. Instead of locking the software down and using the full extent of the law against anyone attempting to copy the copyrighted software; a GNU GPL forces the authors to allow anyone to copy and modify the code. The best example of how the GNU GPLs are used is the Linux operating system. Using GNUs UNIX compatible tools, Linus Torvalds created a UNIX like kernel and invited all developers around the world to modify his code and submit it back to him. Using the open source method Linus was able to complete the Linus OS much faster than anyone anticipated. Even though GNU had begun to be developed before Linux, the use of the internet and GNU GPLs allowed Linux to be completed before GNU was. Microsoft Licensing Due to the fact that Microsoft Windows was created to be a closed-source OS, users are forced to pay for a license before being able to download the binary file and install the software. Microsoft licensing copyrights the software and prevents anyone not appointed by Microsoft from viewing and modifying the source code. The advantage of Microsoft licenses is that when vulnerabilities or bugs are found, the end user doesn’t have to worry about figuring out how to fix it. Microsoft developers package the fixes and notify the end user’s OS when they are available for download. For an end user with no programming experience, the Microsoft Licensing scheme is a perfect scenario. Of course it costs a nice chunk of change, but for some people ignorance is bliss. The obvious disadvantage to this licensing structure is the complete opposite. The end users are completely powerless to fix known vulnerabilities and bugs. Microsoft has been able to blow past the competitors because of the availability of Volume licensing and software assurance policies. The biggest customer any software company can have is the government. When Microsoft started offering proprietary software that was easily deployable in any environment, the government and most other large companies were enticed into buying into the Microsoft Licensing closed source idea. Conclusion As a rule of thumb a person should never completely close any door even after seeing what’s inside and turning the other way. In one hand open-source OS’ can be extremely useful because they are easily modified and tailored to ones need. Along with the fact that there seems to always be someone interested in helping with code and the development of useful software. Most of the time, these programmers are not getting paid and are mostly just looking for a challenge. And on the other hand when money isn’t an issue and the knowledge of code is an issue, one can easily find themselves completely absorbed in the closed source way of life. Is either one better than the other? Maybe in some scenarios, but neither can nor should be considered a failure of societies way of thinking.

Founders Of Infosys Technologies Limited Commerce Essay

Founders Of Infosys Technologies Limited Commerce Essay Narayana Murthy is the Non-Executive Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited. He is a living legend and an epitome of the fact that honesty, transparency, and moral integrity are not at variance with business acumen. He set new standards in corporate governance and morality when he stepped down as the Executive Chairman of Infosys at the age of 60. Born on August 20, 1946, N.R. Narayana Murthy is a B.E. Electrical from University of Mysore (1967) and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur (1969). Narayan Murthy began his career with Patni Computer Systems in Pune. In 1981, Narayana Murthy founded Infosys with six other software professionals. In 1987, Infosys opened its first international office in U.S.A. With the liberalization of Indian economy in 1990s, Infosys grew rapidly. In 1993, the company came up with its IPO. In 1995, Infosys set up development centers across cities in India and in 1996, it set up its first office in Europe in Milton Keynes, UK. In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ. Today (in 2006), Infosys has a turnover of more than $ 2billion and has employee strength of over 50,000. In 2002, Infosys was ranked No. 1 in the Best Employers in India 2002 survey conducted by Hewitt and in the Business Worlds survey of Indias Most Respected Company. Conducted in the same year. Along with the growth of Infosys, Narayana Moorthy too has grown in stature. He has received many honors and awards. In June 2000, Asiaweek magazine featured him in a list of Asias 50 Most Powerful People. In 2001, Narayana Murthy was named by TIME/CNN as one of the 25 most influential global executives. He was the first recipient of the Indo-French Forum Medal (2003) and was voted the World Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 by Ernst and Young. The Economist ranked Narayana Murthy eighth on the list of the 15 most admired global leaders (2005) and Narayan Murthy also topped the Economic Times Corporate Dossier list of Indias most powerful CEOs for two consecutive years 2004 and 2005. StartUp (http://www.citehr.com/118434-amazing-infosys-story-how-infosys-born.html) April 26, 2004 What makes Infosys tick? Extract from Infosys Technologies co-founder and CEO Nandan M Nilekanis interview to CIOL: Actually when Infosys was formed, all of us were working with Patni in Mumbai and Narayan Murthy was our boss there, heading the software group. The group strongly felt that there is a need to create a very professional company, one that was based on very strong ethics and values. We also wanted to create a company that really valued people. That is how we started. The fact of the matter is that there were many such companies that started at the same time during early 80s, however, what made us different was that we stuck it out-we realized that it was not a sprint but a marathon and we were long distance runners. We went through difficult times, but none of us digressed from the common vision. All of us believed that Infosys was bigger than any of us and we were willing to subordinate our egos and our desire to larger boats. I think that determination to create a world-class company, to stick together, willingness to keep Infosys ahead of any individual-perhaps these are the charact eristic not many people and companies had to the extent we had. Thats why we were able to last the marathon for last 23 years. Infosys Technologies is one of the few Indian companies that has changed the way the world looks at India. No longer is India a land of snake charmers and beggars. It is now perceived as an economic giant to reckon with, bursting with brilliant software engineers and ambitious entrepreneurs. And Infosys is an symbol of Indias information technology glory. Infosys has many firsts to its name: The first Indian firm to list on Nasdaq; the first to offer stock options to its employees. . . The company crossed $1 billion in revenues for the first time in 2004. TCS, however, was the first Indian IT firm to top $1-bn in revenues. Infosys is an organisation that inspires awe and respect, globally. On July 2, Infosys completed 25 years in existence. This is its amazing success story, illustrated by rare photographs. The idea of Infosys was born on a morning in January 1981. That fateful day, N R Narayana Murthy and six software engineers sat in his apartment debating how they could create a company to write software codes. Six months later, Infosys was registered as a private limited company on July 2, 1981. Infosys co-founder N S Raghavans house in Matunga, northcentral Mumbai, was its registered office. It was then known as Infosys Consultants Pvt Ltd. What was the companys starting capital? US $250. Murthy borrowed $250 from his wife Sudha to start the company. The front room of Murthys home was Infosys first office, although the registered office was Raghavans home. Who were Murthys six friends who joined hands to launch Infosys? Nandan Nilekani, N S Raghavan, S Gopalakrishnan, S D Shibulal, K Dinesh and Ashok Arora. Are all of them still the founding directors? Murthy is currently chief mentor and chairman while Nilekani is the chief executive officer and managing director. Gopalakrishnan, Shibulal and Dinesh are directors. Raghavan retired as joint managing director in 2000. He is currently the chairman of the advisory council of the N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Ashok Arora worked for the company till 1988 and left after selling his shares in the then unlisted company back to the other promoters. He moved to the United States where he now works as a consultant. Murthy was always broke Murthy was always broke. He always owed me money. We used to go for dinner and he would say, I dont have money with me, you pay my share, will return it to you later. For three years, I maintained a book of Murthys debts to me. No, he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after our wedding. The amount was a little over Rs 4,000. An excerpt from Sudha Murthys reminiscences. She is the wife of Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy. Those days, Murthy wanted to do something with his life, but he had no money. Murthy was married to Sudha on February 10, 1978, while he was working with Patni Computers. In 1981, it was Murthys idea to start Infosys. Murthy had a dream, and no money. So Sudha gave him Rs 10,000, which she had saved without his knowledge. Murthy and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981. No, it was not in Bangalore, but in Pune that Infosys set up its first office, in 1981. The house that Murthy and Sudha bought with a loan became the first Infosys office. As Murthy ran Infosys, Sudha took up a job as a systems analyst with the Walchand Group of Industries to support their household. In 1983, Infosys moved to Bangalore when it got its first client, Data Basics Corporation from the United States. The first mini computer arrived at Infosys in 1983. It was a Data General 32-bit MV8000. The very next year Infosys switched from mini to main frames with a CAMP application for a Data Basics customer A huge struggle, day in and day out When they began moving ahead with Infosys, the founders Murthy, Nilekani, Shibulal and the others took a firm decision that their wives would not be involved in the running of the company. So after Murthy, it was Nilekani and his wife Rohini who moved to Bangalore. But they had no house to stay. So the Nilekanis stayed with the Murthys at their Jayanagar home in Bangalore. Rohini took care of Murthys son as Sudha helped write software programmes for Infosys. There was no luxury, only struggle, day and night. They had no car, no phone. Murthy later recalled that it was not the luxuries of life, but the passion to create something new and innovative that made them keep going on and on and on. Despite the struggles, the Murthys, the Nilekanis and the other partners took time out for picnics in Bangalore The crisis, and how Infosys began to grow The first years of Infosys were not smooth. Most of the founders Murthy, Nilekani, Dinesh, Shibulal and Gopalkrishnan were into writing codes. And they wanted to make an impact in the American market. So Infosys got its first joint venture partners in Kurt Salmon Associates. Gopalakrishnan, who had spent time working in the United States, was the public face of the KSA-Infosys venture in America. But the joint venture collapsed in 1989, leaving Infosys in the lurch. Gopalakrishnan relives the memories of those days. We had nothing after eight years of trying to bring up a company. Those who studied with us had cars and houses, he says. The collapse of the KSA joint venture led Infosys to its first crisis. The company was on the verge of collapse. One of the founder-partners Ashok Arora was dejected with the way the company was going, and decided to quit. The others did not know what to do. But Murthy had the courage of conviction. If you all want to leave, you can. But I am going to stick (with it) and make it, Murthy told them. The other partners Nilekani, Gopalakrishnan, Shibulal, Dinesh and Raghavan decided to stay. And thus began to germinate the seeds of Infosys enormous growth. The Nasdaq listing It is said that Infosys began getting big breakthroughs from the US market. How? The initial foray of Infosys into the US market was through a company called Data Basics Corp as a body-shop or on-site developer of software for US customers. Later, Infosys formed a joint venture with Kurt Salmon Associates to handle marketing in the United States. Even today, Infosys derives about two-thirds of its revenue from the United States, serving corporate clients like Reebok, Visa, Boeing, Cisco Systems, Nordstrom and New York Life. Infosys is the largest publicly traded IT services exporter in India, providing services to 315 large corporations, such as GE and Nortel, predominantly in the USA. It was the first Indian company to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 1999. And the other Infosys group companies? Progeon Ltd: The Infosys BPO arm. Infosys Technologies (Shanghai) Company Limited: The companys base in China. Infosys Australia Pty Ltd: Infosys Australian venture. Infosys Consulting Inc: The companys foray into the consulting business. 25 years sheer determination, and growth In the last 25 years, Infosys has been growing and growing. Today, Infosys is Indias second largest software exporter. It now enjoys a strong liquidity position with over Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) in assets, including surplus cash. During 2005-2006, the Infosys internal cash accruals more adequately covered working capital requirements, capital expenditure and dividend payments leaving a surplus of Rs 1,612 crore (Rs 16.12 billion). As on March 2006, the company had liquid assets including investments in liquid mutual funds of Rs 4,463 crore (Rs 44.63 billion). This collectively makes the liquidity strength of Infosys at Rs 6,078 crore (Rs 60.78 billion). Where are these funds parked? These funds have been deposited with banks, highly rated financial institutions and in liquid mutual funds. Infosys last year derived an average yield of 4.48 per cent (tax free) from these investments. The company received Rs 647 crore (Rs 6.47 billion) on exercise of stock options by employees and cash equivalents including liquid mutual funds increased by Rs 1,612 crore during 2005-06. Key milestones Year of Incorporation : 1981 Became a public limited company in India : 1992 ISO 9001/TickIT Certification : 1993 Attained SEI-CMM Level 4 : 1997 Listed on NASDAQ : 1999 Crossed $100 million in annual revenues : 1999 Attained SEI-CMM Level 5 : 1999 Crossed $400 million in revenues : 2001 Crossed $ half a billion in revenues : 2002 Crossed $ billion in revenues : 2004 Crossed $ 2 billion in revenues : 2006 Another Note on infosys INFOSYS CASE STUDY ÃÆ' ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Narayana Murthy and Infosys The case study ÃÆ' ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Narayana Murthy and Infosys describes how Narayana Murthy, set up Indias leading software company Infosys. Narayana Murthy turned a small software development venture that he had set up with his friends in 1981, into one of the leading companies of the country. Infosys grew rapidly throughout the 1990s Narayana Murthy distributed the companys profits among the employees through a stock-option program, and adopted the best corporate governance practices. All this earned him praise and respect. In 1999, the company became the first Indian firm to be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market. In 2000, Infosys was poised to become a true global company.By 2000, Infosys market capitalization reached Rs.11 billion and by 2001, Infosys was one of the biggest exporters of software from India. Narayana Murthy had built an organization that was respected across the country, with very strong systems, high ethical values and a nurturing working atmosphere.In February 2001 , Infosys Technologies Ltd. (Infosys) was voted as the Best Managed Company in Asia in the Information Technology sector, in leading financial magazine Euromoneys Fifth Annual Survey of Best Managed Companies in Asia. KEY SUCCESS FACTORS With his sound management skills, Narayana Murthy seemed to have taken Infosys to the pinnacle of success with the following key success factors : 1. Leadership team : The leadership team needs to balance vision with practical experience. In most cases, a technology start-up will have a visionary and/or a technical genius (most often, these are the founders) in place from day one. However, all to often, the leadership team is not rounded out by people who actually know how to run a business and how to drive sales. Building a strong balanced team can be one of the trickier aspects of creating a successful start-up because it necessarily requires the visionary and the technical genius (founders) to admit their practical shortcomings and give up some of the control of the business. The idea behind a start-up is often somebodys baby and, quite naturally, they want to control every aspect of its development. Once you move these people away from micromanaging the business, the start-up begins to have a chance. 2. Well-conceived business plan : This is an area where the practical experience of a well-rounded leadership team gives the start-up a leg up. The business plan needs to be practical and detailed. The business plan provides the blueprint for the growth of the company. Perhaps more importantly, the business plan is how you demonstrate the viability of the business to third party investors. 3. A strong product : It is a given that the product needs to be special ÃÆ' ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ something that will differentiate itself from the universe of competing products but there are other important factors. Ideally, the product will be one that can be protected by patent. If the products cannot be protected by a patent, then the start-up has to be positioned to capitalize on being the first to market. Absent patent protection, being the first to market and capturing as much market share as you can before the copy-cats arrive is the next best thing. The product needs to have a ready market meaning that there is a market for it and that either there is no real competition or that the product allows the company to differentiate itself from the competition. 4. Scalability : The scalability of the business may not be critical to the success of every business, but it is critical to drive a start-up to a large scale business. In other words, if the goal is to become a large, valuable company, scalability is key. However, if the goal is a little less lofty, then scalability is a little less important. 5. Adequate capital :. Without adequate capital, the business will struggle. Perhaps the business will have phenomenal sales, but be unable to deliver the product. Or, the business may build the product, but lack the cash to adequately market it. Or the business will be unable to attract the leadership team it needs and the team it has is diluted to ineffectiveness. Or, the business is unable to capitalize on its first-to-market status. While it is true that the management team for a start-up has to be versatile and willing to wear different hats, a capital-starved start-up can force the dilution of the management team to the point of everything being done poorly. Quite obviously, in many cases, the luxury of having adequate capital does not exist from day one. Finding the capital in a timely way can be very difficult. The more that can be done to address the other four points, the easier it will be to find capital. Launch of Infosys Narayana Murthy obtained his Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Mysore in 1967 and his Masters degree in Technology from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur in 1969. He started his career as head of the computer centre at IIM, Ahmedabad.In 1972, he went to Paris where he was part of the team that designed a 400-terminal, real-time operating system for handling air cargo for Charles De Gaulle airport. Narayana Murthy was a left-wing activist and mingled with French communists during his stay in Paris but his outlook changed while traveling around Europe. He believed that the only way to pull India out of poverty was to create more jobs, by setting up new companies.In 1975, he returned to India and joined Systems Research Institute, Pune,(Maharashtra). He then headed Patni Computer Systems Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, (Maharashtra) before founding Infosys in 1981, along with six other professionals. The Strategist From the beginning, Narayana Murthy focused on the worlds most challenging market the US. He had two reasons for this. First, there was no market for software in India at the time. He believed that Indian software companies should export products in which they had a competitive advantage.In 1987, Infosys entered into a joint venture with Kurt Salmon Associates (KSA), a leading global management consultancy firm. KSA-Infosys was the first Indo-American joint venture in the US. People Management Analysts felt that one factor which helped Infosys to grow at a faster pace than others was the low employee turnover.The turnover rate at Infosys was around 11% as opposed to industry average for software companies of over 25% during the 1990s.Infosys retention capability was a function both of its rigorous selection procedures as well as proactive HRD practices. About 80% of the middle and senior level executives were promoted from within the organization Corporate Governance and Infosys Analysts felt that Infosys became one of the most respected companies in India, through its corporate governance practices, which were better than those of many other companies in India. Narayana Murthys move to adhere to the best global practices was driven by his vision to become a global player. Infosys adopted the stringent US Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) many years before other companies in India did Leaders in the Making Narayana Murthy set up a Leadership Institute in Mysore, India, to manage the future growth of Infosys. The institute aimed at preparing Infosys employees to face the complexities of a rapidly changing marketplace and to bring about a change in work culture by instilling leadership qualities. I would like to end with a comment from Sri Narayana Murthy: He said, ÃÆ' ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½It is our vision at Infosys, to create world-class leaders who will be at the forefront of business and technology in todays competitive marketplace This has been at the forefront of their corporate culture !!! 2. Company Profile Infosys Technologies Ltd. provides consulting and IT services to clients worldwide. Founded in 1981, the corporate headquarters are based in Bangalore, India. However, Infosys offices span the globe. Since incorporation, annual revenue has rapidly increased and it reached $500 billion in 2002. Unlike many other Indian IT companies, Infosys has concentrated on building applications and this has contributed to its global success. Infosys Technologies employs nearly 17,000 people worldwide, almost 10,000 of whom are software professionals. 116 new clients in the financial year (FY) 2002 added to the already prestigious list that includes Airbus, Cisco, Nordstrom and Boeing. Retail banking services account for around 4% of total revenue. The company vision is to be the best globally, commercially and ethically. As such, Infosys has developed a C-Life principle of core values that it aims to honour in all aspects of its business conduct.

The Unnamed Wife in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Essay -- Sir Gawai

The Unnamed Wife in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight the green knight’s wife plays a pivotal role in the story. Yet, she is never given a name and it is unclear what motivates her actions. She could simply be following her husband’s orders to seduce this visiting knight. She could be under the tutelage of Morgan le Fay. Or she may be acting under her own guidance and using her sexuality to carry out her own desires or gain power. In light of this uncertainty, the unnamed wife’s role in the bedroom scene is also hard to decipher. As a woman she should be submissive, and yet it is Gawain who is forced to defend himself against her advances to which he eventually submits. The multiple readings of the wife’s role also inform the notions of Christian and pagan in the story. Female power and sexuality are aligned with the wife, Morgan le Fay and paganism, while Gawain seeks protection and chastity from Mary and Christianity. Despite the power the wife may gain from pagan traditions, she could also be perceived in a Christian, patriarchal context as a sexual object who is commanded by her husband’s authority. As a result the green knight’s wife represents the duality of Christian and pagan and its prevalence in medieval society. In the bedroom scenes the wife appears to be playing the role of a submissive woman, but is in fact using her position to dominate Gawain, who is limited by his pledge to the Green Knight. The wife tells Gawain, â€Å"My body is here at hand, Your each wish to fulfill; Your servant to command I am, and shall be still.† Here the wife is literally submitting her body to Gawain to use as he desires. Yet, she is making this proposition in order to entice him to... ...ere her true allegiance lies. On the other hand, her position in this story provides insight into medieval society. Her antics with Gawain in the bedroom scenes reveal that her position as lady of the house is superior to Gawain’s as a knight. This situation further illuminates medieval gender roles especially when examining the lady’s relationship with her husband. Even if he may use her as a sexual pawn, she is able to assert herself thought the tactics she uses to persuade Gawain to break his oath. She is also intrinsically linked with Morgan le Fay and pagan traditions. This bond is balanced by Gawain’s connection with Mary as a figure for guidance. The wife’s position in this story epitomizes the dualities of medieval society. The conflicting social and gender roles and Christian and pagan traditions are somehow able to operate in this complex society.

Womens Rights :: Women Empowerment

Today women and men right are equal in the United States of America. Not long ago, there was a great difference in the treatment of men and women. Women provided care for the children and usually remained at home. Their education was limited to learning domestic skills. There were few opportunities for women to obtain an education because only a few colleges or universities would accept a female. Women had no access to positions of power. They were not allowed to enter professions such as medicine or law. They thought they were totally dependent on men. For the Industrial Revolution women were a really important role. This was the beginning of their independence, although factory conditions were very bad and their pay, were lower than men's, meant that lower-class women could become wage earners in factories. At the same time middle and upper-class women were expected to stay at home as idle, decorative symbols of their husbands' economic success. Such conditions encouraged the feminist movement. With industrialization happening rapidly in Great Britain and U.S feminism was more successful. In 1848 more than 100 persons held the first women's rights convention, at Seneca Falls, New York. Led by the supporter Lucretia Mott and the feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton, they demanded equal rights, including the vote and an end to the double standard. The number of working women increased virtually after the two world wars, but had low paid, female- dominated occupations, such as school teachers and clerical work. Women were not even allowed to vote until August 1920. In the 1960's however, changing demographic, economic and social patterns encouraged a resurgence of feminism. As working women encountered discrimination in many forms. The women's movement also questioned social institutions and moral values, basing many of it's arguments on scientific studies suggesting that most supposed differences between men and women result not from biology, but from culture. In the early 70's active feminists organized women's rights groups, ranging from the moderate National Organization for Women, founded in 1966 and claiming about 250,000 members to smaller, more radical groups. Private and governmental efforts covered in November 1977, when the largest convention of women ever held in the U.

Maturational, Environmental and the Constructivist theories Essay

Theories of development are much more specific than paradigms or worldviews (Miller, 1993). A theory of development deals with change over time and is usually concerned with three things. First, it should describe changes over time within an area or several areas of development. Second, it should describe changes among areas of development. Third, it should explain these changes. No one theory has proved adequate to describe and explain learning or development. Numerous theories of development have influenced educational practices during the 20th century (Aldridge, Kuby, & Strevy, 1992), and currently a shift is affecting theories of child development and education. Some of the historical and current theories that have influenced education include Gesell’s (1925) maturational theory, Skinner’s (1974) behaviorist approach, Freud’s (1935) psychoanalytic theory, Piaget’s (1952) constructivist theory, Vygotsky’s (1978) socio-historical approach, Bronfen brenner’s (1989) ecological systems theory, and Gardner’s (1983) multiple intelligences theory. More recently, critical theory (see Kessler & Swadener, 1992) has influenced education and child development practices, even though critical theory is not a theory of development. Finally, postmodern conceptions have changed the way we think of children and how to educate them (Elkind, 1995, 2000/2001). There are several theories of a child development but three of them have a profound impact on kindergarten readiness practices. These three theories include maturational, environmental and constructivist perceptions of development. We will take a look to each one individually, and then we will compare them against each other. The maturational theory was highly developed by Arnold Gesell and continues to affect what goes on schools, mainly in early childhood classrooms. Arnold Gesell (1880-1961) followed the works of Darwin and other evolutionists, eventually developing the Gesell Maturational Theory. His theory contends that development in childhood and adolescence is primarily biological, or genetic, in origin. Biology and genetics inheritances determine predictable patterns of biological behavior that Gesell termed norms. He felt that children’s development patterns opened automatically by biology, as the unfolding of a flower does because it is genetically programmed to do so in the right environment. As the flower requires proper soil and rain, children require a nurturing, stable environment, and little else to mature both biologically and psychologically. In the company of renowned author and physician Benjamin Spock, who wrote Spock’s Baby and Child Care, Gesell was among the first professionals to compile developmental stage information with which parents could learn to understand their children. Because childhood and adolescent development is the product of millions of years of evolution, he mainly advocated sensitivity and understanding as parental approaches to development. Biology has already given children what they need to understand their own development. Gesell worked in a lab at Yale University, studying children and their developmental stages. He cataloged children’s behavior at various ages and described the norms in their collective development. As such, his theory is often grouped with normative-descriptive approaches, because it uses norms of development to describe the process of maturation. Gesell’s theory was groundbreaking because it implied that learning, illness; injury and life experiences were secondary, if at all influential, to biology and the evolution of the genetics that program a child’s development. Unless the child’s environment were so distorted as to be harmful, he felt that children were born with all the information their bodies needed for development and maturation. Genetics determine the developmental process and the timing of maturation, and parents could affect very little of this, except by being sensitive to cues learned from the descriptive norms. Maturational theory believers, think that development is a natural process that occurs automatically in conventional, chronological stages over time. This perspective leads many teachers and families to assume that young children will gain knowledge naturally and automatically as they mature. According to maturational theory, school readiness is a condition at which all healthy young children can perform tasks such as reciting the alphabet and counting. If a child is developmentally unready for school, maturationists might suggest referrals to transitional kindergartens, retention, or holding children out of school f or an additional year (DeCos, 1997). These practices are sometimes used by schools, educators, and parents when a young child developmentally lags behind his or her peers. The young child’s underperformance is interpreted as the child needing more time to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to perform at the level of his or her peer. Today, maturational theory is partially responsible for the existence of prekindergarten and pre first grades aimed at children who supposedly need the† gift of time,† because of immaturity or a late birthday. These classrooms tend to have a ratio of boys to girls of anywhere from 7:1 to 10:1 (Aldridge, Eddowes, & Kuby, 1998). These practitioners of maturational theory consider that any difficulty that a child is experience is found within the child. Another problem of the maturational theory is the late birthday. This means that children in the classrooms, who are the youngest, are being labeled as â€Å"late birthday† and are often branded by the teachers as being slower and less ready for instruction. Maturational theory strongly influenced the teaching of reading in the mid 1900s (Morphett & Washburne, 1931). Children were not thought to be ripe for reading until they had a mental age of six and a half years. Consequently, readiness activities were developed for children who were not yet ready to read. Some of this nonsense still occurs in preschool, kindergarten, and even primary-level classrooms. Today, maturational theory is partially responsible for the existence of prekindergarten and pre first grades aimed at children who supposedly need the† gift of time,† because of immaturity or a late birthday. These classrooms tend to have a ratio of boys to girls of anywhere from 7:1 to 10:1 (Aldridge, Eddowes, & Kuby, 1998). The environmental theory has at its development theorists such as J. Watson, B.F. Skinner and Albers Brandura, who contributed greatly to the theory perspective. Environmentalists believe the child’s environment shapes learning and behavior. The environmental theory emphasizes the role of the environment on an individual’s development. This environmental point of view leads many families to believe that young children develop and gain new information by reacting to their surroundings. Kindergarten readiness, according to the environmentalists, is the age or stage when young children can respond appropriately to the environment of the school and the classroom (e.g., rules and regulations, curriculum activities, positive behavior in group settings, and directions and instructions from teachers and other adults in the school). Teachers who are followers of this theory, believes that the ability to respond appropriately to this environment is necessary for young children to participate in teacher initiated learning activities, and that the child success depends on following the teacher instruction. Many environmentalist-influenced educators and parents believe that young children learn best by rote activities, such as reciting the alphabet over and over, copying letters, and tracing numbers. These viewpoints are evident in kindergarten classrooms where young children are expected to sit at desks arranged in rows and listen attentively to their teachers. While at home children are provided with workbooks containing activities such as coloring or tracing numbers and letters. Also this theory proposed that children are influenced by the multiple systems in which they reside, either directly or peripherally. These systems include the microsystem, the mesosystem, the exosystem, and the macrosystem. Applications of this contextual theory focus on the seemingly endless variables within the child, and between the child and the numerous contexts affecting her. Although few people would quarrel with the importance of these influences, trying to account for all the endless interactions and variables affecting a child is exhausting and impractical. How would we ever have enough information about children’s temperament, activity levels, attentional states, or learning capaciti es as they relate to the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem? The next theory is the constructivist. Its perspective was advanced by theorists such as Piaget, Montessori and Vygotsky. It can be described as a theory that deals with the way people create meaning of the world through a series of individual constructs. Constructs are the different types of filters we choose to place over our realities to change our reality from chaos to order. Von Glasersfeld describes constructivism as, â€Å"a theory of knowledge with roots in philosophy, psychology, and cybernetics†. Simply stated, it is a learning process which allows a student to experience an environment first-hand, thereby, giving the student reliable, trust-worthy knowledge. The student is required to act upon the environment to both acquire and test new knowledge. This theory relies heavily on logical-mathematical knowledge and universal invariant stages of development to the neglect of other forms of knowledge and the importance of context in a child’s development. Even though knowledge is constructed from the â€Å"inside out† through interaction with the environment, the focus is more on the individual’s coordination of relationships rather than on socially constructed knowledge. Constructivists view young children as dynamic members in learning process, and are consistent in their belief that learning and development take place when young children interact with the environment and people around them. Because active interaction with the environment and people are necessary for learning and development, constructivists believe that children are ready for school when they can initiate many of the interactions they have with the environment and people around them. During kindergarten, classrooms are separated into different learning centers, and are prepared with developmentally materials for young children to play and manipulate. During home parents engage their young children in reading and storytelling activities and encourage children to participate in daily household activities, in a way that introduces concepts as counting and language use. In addition, parents may provide young children with picture books containing very large print, and toys that stimulate interaction (such as building blocks and large puzzles). When a young child encounters difficulties in the learning process, the constructivist approach is neither to label the child nor to retain him or her; instead, constructivists give the child some individualized attention and customize the classroom curriculum to help the child address his or her difficulties. Autonomy is the aim of education in constructivism (Kamii, 2000). Constructivist theory, however, has not adequately addressed either individual differences or cultural and contextual contributions to development and education (Delpit, 1988; Kessler & Swadener, 1992; Mallory & New, 1994). Thus, the needs of children who are different often are not met in constructivist classrooms. Today, most researchers have come to understand child development and learning process as expressed by the constructivist. However many parents and teachers still believes that children who cannot recite the alphabet or count are not ready for school. References Buchwald J (1987), â€Å"A comparison of plasticity in sensory and cognitive processing systems†, in Gunzenhauser N, Infant Stimulation, Skillman NJ: Johnson & Johnson Mind in Society: The development of higher psychological processes (Translation by Michael Cole), Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1978 (Published originally in Russian in 1930) Mossler, R.A. (2011). Child and adolescent development. Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Powell, D.R. (1991, July). Strengthening parental contributions to school readiness and early school learning (Paper commissioned by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education. Vygotsky, L.S. (1998). Child psychology. The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky: Vol. 5. Problems of the theory and history of psychology. New York: Plenum. White, S.H.(1968). The learning maturation controversy: Hall to Hull. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly