Tuesday, August 25, 2020
In Man and Superman Shaw Was Not Writing a Regular Play Essay
In Man and Superman Shaw was not composing an ordinary play; he just joined up discourse, conversation, contentions to cause them to show up as plays. Still the occurrences of circumstances in the play do in one way or the other propagate the quest for man by womanââ¬of Tanner by Ann. The most fascinating is the Hell Scene where the conventional Don Giovanni theme is most cleverly rearranged in the soul of satire to prove Shawââ¬â¢s proposition that it is the lady essentially who is boa-constrictor from whom the new Don Juan takes off to spare his individual. The Hell Scene has been united on the plot from outside and it doesn't develop from the dirt of the story. Its focal business is to feature the focal thought process of the playââ¬the pursue of man by lady as a feature of the procedure of Creative Evolution just as the illumination of hellfire as a generally unique, along these lines attractive state of presence which guarantees joy of mankind. The transformation of the characters like Tanner and Ann fitting the air is astounding; however soon the sensational intrigue winds down as the contentions begin shaking the advantages and disadvantages of the Scene. From the perspective of the power of the contentions the Hell Scene has essentialness, else it looks simply odd and from the perspective of the power of the plot superfluous. It can't be denied that the Hell Scene is a most remarkable visit de-power of Shawââ¬â¢s creative mind. Shaw had added to the play an extensive Preface, wealthy in thought and content and toward the end we get the Revolutionistââ¬â¢s Hand Book and Pocket Companion. The abrogating Shavian pre-occupation with his way of thinking gets the opportunity to be proceeded in Hell Scene. At whatever point Shae has a chance, he communicates his perspectives (albeit cleverly) on bliss, love, marriage, sex relations, ladies, craftsmanship, communism, majority rule government, industrialisation, religion, ethical quality, uprightness, sin, passing, harmony, war, subjection and a large group of different themes. Shaw has been unbiased enough to permit even the Devil to have his state and openly express his perspective. The prod behind this is the presumption that lady is a long way from powerless and defenseless and that explicitly lady is Natureââ¬â¢s invention for the propagation of human race. An all the more scary certainty is, explicitly man is womanââ¬â¢s invention for satisfying natureââ¬â¢s command in the most ideal manner. Controlled by the visually impaired wrath of creation, lady scans for a male naturally generally alluring and when she discovers him, she is generally heartless in her quest for him. The Don Juan in Hell Scene lifts up this essential topic of life-Force and Creative Evolution with Superman and Superwoman into the domain of Shavian-Socratic discourse. Shaw hilariously trades the Superman of Nietzsche (who was a merciless being and an epitome of might! ) by another Don Juan; Tanner who considers life to be co-activity with lady in its upward battle. On the off chance that the evolutionistââ¬â¢s account is precise, life has created in the waters of the sea and the ooze of the sea shores until it came to the colossal and since a long time ago terminated animals that inhabited the earth in pre-noteworthy occasions. In his vision Tanner hears Don Juan express this to him. Life is a power which has made countless examinations in sorting out itself. He further reveals to him that as long as he can imagine an option that could be superior to himself, he can't be simple except if he is endeavoring to bring it into reality or making room for it: ââ¬Å"That is a mind-blowing law. That is the working inside me of lifeââ¬â¢s unremitting goal to higher association, more extensive, more profound, exceptional, hesitance and more clear self-comprehension. â⬠The Devil in his turn communicates articulately and persuasively about manââ¬â¢s direct on the planet and takes a cynical perspective on him. He holds that people are both idiotic and insidious and headed straight toward absolute decimation. Shaw makes a firm differentiation in the process between his two capacities as author: the capacity of a writer from one viewpoint and on the other, that of a dramatist. The significant distinction is that a dramatist needs to put on the stage various characters whose suppositions vary and conflict for the essential component in show in struggle. It might be physical clash, the contention of feelings, of thoughts or even of convictions. The crowd watches and hurries to the contention; it hears the characters advancing contradicting sees; and having heard the contentions the individuals from the crowd utilize their own reasoning forces and arrive at their own decisions. A lot of what is said by the Devil in Man and Superman is reasonable articulation of the pieces of human conduct is embraced in different plays by Shaw. What is in question is the end the Devil draws from the realities. Can man be spared from his own ruinous propensities? The Devil pronounces that he can't. Wear Juan accepts that he can in the event that he is given the good thought to live forââ¬the extraordinary thought, for instance, that man can, on the off chance that he wills, can do the perfect reason (read the motivation behind Life-Force). The cerebrum won't bomb when the will is sincere to Life, the power behind the Man, and mind is a need in light of the fact that without it he bumbles into death. Similarly as Life, after times of battle, advanced that brilliant substantial organ, the eye, so the living life form ould see where it was going and what was going and what was coming to help or undermine, and along these lines maintain a strategic distance from a thousand threats that at last slew it, so it is developing to date in mindââ¬â¢s that will see, not the physical world, however the reason for Life, and subsequently empower the person to work for that reason as opposed to impeding and confounding it by setting up shallow individual points as present: ââ¬Å"I sing not arms and the Hero yet the rational man; he who looks for in examination to find the internal will of the world, in creation to find the methods for satisfying that will and in real life to do that will. The preeminent triumph of Shawââ¬â¢s dramaturgical rationalizations is to be found in the restoration of remodel of the eighteenth century picture of Don Juan or rather the Spanish Don Giovanni. It is significant on the grounds that Tanner gets the mantle of the ignitable from this very human picture. Obviously, the technique has been one of transformation of old materials in to nineteenth century terms, both topical and specialized. He dismisses by and large the faction oIn Man and Superman Shaw was not composing a standard play; he just joined up discourse, conversation, contentions to cause them to show up as plays. Still the episodes of circumstances in the play do in one way or the other propagate the quest for man by womanââ¬of Tanner by Ann. The most fascinating is the Hell Scene where the conventional Don Giovanni theme is most entertainingly modified in the soul of spoof to prove Shawââ¬â¢s proposal that it is the lady essentially who is boa-constrictor from whom the new Don Juan takes off to spare his individual. The Hell Scene has been joined on the plot from outside and it doesn't develop from the dirt of the story. Its focal business is to feature the focal intention of the playââ¬the pursue of man by lady as a major aspect of the procedure of Creative Evolution just as the illumination of damnation as a generally unique, in this way alluring state of presence which guarantees joy of mankind. The transformation of the characters like Tanner and Ann fitting the climate is astounding; yet soon the emotional intrigue disappears as the contentions begin shaking the upsides and downsides of the Scene. From the perspective of the power of the contentions the Hell Scene has hugeness, else it looks simply strange and from the perspective of the power of the plot unessential. It can't be denied that the Hell Scene is a most remarkable visit de-power of Shawââ¬â¢s creative mind. Shaw had added to the play a protracted Preface, wealthy in thought and content and toward the end we get the Revolutionistââ¬â¢s Hand Book and Pocket Companion. The abrogating Shavian pre-occupation with his way of thinking gets the chance to be proceeded in Hell Scene. At whatever point Shae has a chance, he communicates his perspectives (albeit entertainingly) on satisfaction, love, marriage, sex relations, ladies, workmanship, communism, majority rule government, industrialisation, religion, ethical quality, righteousness, sin, passing, harmony, war, subjugation and a large group of different themes. Shaw has been unbiased enough to permit even the Devil to have his state and openly express his perspective. The prod behind this is the presumption that lady is a long way from frail and defenseless and that explicitly lady is Natureââ¬â¢s invention for the propagation of human race. An all the more scary reality is, explicitly man is womanââ¬â¢s creation for satisfying natureââ¬â¢s command in the most ideal manner. Controlled by the visually impaired fierceness of creation, lady looks for a male naturally generally attractive and when she discovers him, she is generally heartless in her quest for him. The Don Juan in Hell Scene lifts up this essential subject of life-Force and Creative Evolution with Superman and Superwoman into the domain of Shavian-Socratic discourse. Shaw amusingly trades the Superman of Nietzsche (who was a merciless being and an exemplification of might! ) by another Don Juan; Tanner who considers life to be co-activity with lady in its upward battle. In the event that the evolutionistââ¬â¢s account is exact, life has created in the waters of the sea and the sludge of the sea shores until it came to the tremendous and since a long time ago wiped out animals that inhabited the earth in pre-noteworthy occasions. In his vision Tanner hears Don Juan express this to him. Life is a power which has made countless examinations in arranging itself. He further reveals to him that as long as he can imagine an option that could be superior to himself, he can't be simple except if he is endeavoring to bring it into reality or making room for it: ââ¬Å"That is an incredible law. That is the working inside me of lifeââ¬â¢s ceaseless goal to higher association, more extensive, more profound, extreme, hesitance and more clear self-comprehension. ââ¬ï¿½
Saturday, August 22, 2020
The Story of the Septuagint Bible and the Name Behind It
The Story of the Septuagint Bible and the Name Behind It The Septuagint Bible emerged in the third century B.C., when the Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, was converted into Greek. The name Septuagint gets from the Latin word septuaginta, which implies 70. The Greek interpretation of the Hebrew Bible is called Septuagint since 70 or 72 Jewish researchers allegedly partook in the interpretation procedure. The researchers worked in Alexandria during the rule of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-247 B.C.), as per the Letter of Aristeas to his sibling Philocrates. They gathered to decipher the Hebrew Old Testament into the Greek language since Koine Greek started to displace Hebrew as the language most normally spoken by the Jewish individuals during the Hellenistic Period. Aristeas confirmed that 72 researchers partook in the Hebrew-to-Greek Bible interpretation by computing six older folks for every one of the 12 clans of Israel. Adding to the legend and imagery of the number is the possibility that the interpretation was made in 72 days, as per The Biblical Archeologist article, Why Study the Septuagint? composed by Melvin K. H. Subsides in 1986. Calvin J. Roetzel states in The World That Shaped the New Testament that the first Septuagint just contained the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch is the Greek adaptation of the Torah, which comprises of the initial five books of the Bible. The content narratives the Israelites from creation to the leave-taking of Moses. The particular books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Later forms of the Septuagint incorporated the other two segments of the Hebrew Bible, Prophets and Writings. Roetzel examines a contemporary frivolity to the Septuagint legend, which today likely qualifies as a supernatural occurrence: Not just completed 72 researchers working autonomously make separate interpretations in 70 days, however these interpretations concurred in everything about. Highlighted Thursdays Term to Learn. The Septuagint is otherwise called: LXX. Case of Septuagint in a Sentence The Septuagint contains Greek figures of speech that express occasions uniquely in contrast to the manner in which they were communicated in the Hebrew Old Testament. The term Septuagint is here and there used to allude to any Greek interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. Books of the Septuagint GenesisExodusLeviticusNumbersDeuteronomyJoshuaJudgesRuthKings (Samuel) IKings (Samuel) IIKings IIIKings IVParalipomenon (Chronicles) IParalipomenon (Chronicles) IIEsdras IEsdras I (Ezra)NehemiahPsalms of DavidPrayer of ManassehProverbsEcclesiastesSong of SolomonJobWisdom of SolomonWisdom of the Son of SirachEstherJudithTobitHoseaAmosMicahJoelObadiahJonahNahumHabakkukZephaniahHaggaiZechariahMalachiIsaiahJeremiahBaruchLamentations of JeremiahEpistles of JeremiahEzekialDanielSong of the Three ChildrenSusannaBel and the DragonI MaccabeesII MaccabeesIII Maccabees
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Twas the night before the 8.01 final
âTwas the night before the 8.01 final No. Really. Finals week starts tomorrow, and my 8.01 final is in ten hours, but Ive been studying quite a bit this weekend. Stalling=blog post! Woo hoo! With that said, here are a few of the things Ive seen while running around campus, finding places to sit and study physics. Yesterday, on my way to the Student Lounge off the Infinite, I saw that this hack 4.301 final project (after reading the comments, I checked things out it is for a class) had been moved to the East Campus courtyard. Apparently, this has something to do with some expensive and less-than-attractive (in some peoples opinions) art pieces located around campus. Dont look at me. I didnt do it. Speaking of EC, this evening when I was walking home from studying at the student center, these had been strung from the windows of 5th West: Oh, the holiday spirit. This one may require a bit of explaining: Or you can just watch this, a video of an interesting phone call made during my 18.02 class last week Friday during our review for the final. And thats all from me. Sleep! Finally! Well, two hours on the radio first. Then sleep. I leave you with a picture of A-Control of WMBR, MITs campus radio station. (Thats Hanna 10, who does the show with me, hiding in the corner.)
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Definition and Examples of Duality of Patterning
Duality of patterning is a characteristic of human language whereby speech can be analyzed on two levels: As made up of meaningless elements;à i.e., a limited inventory of sounds or phonemesAs made up of meaningful elements; i.e., a virtually limitless inventory of wordsà or morphemesà (also calledà double articulation) Definition [D]uality of patterning, saysà David Ludden, is what gives language such expressive power. Spoken languages are composed of a limited set of meaningless speech sounds that are combined according to rules to form meaningful words (The Psychology of Language: An Integrated Approach, 2016). The significance of duality of patterning as one of the 13 (later 16) design features of language was noted by American linguist Charles F. Hockett in 1960. Examples and Observations Human language is organized at two levels or layers simultaneously. This property is called duality (or double articulation). In speech production, we have a physical level at which we can produce individual sounds, like n, b and i. As individual sounds, none of these discrete forms has any intrinsic meaning. In a particular combination such as bin, we have another level producing a meaning that is different from the meaning of the combination in nib. So, at one level, we have distinct sounds, and, at another level, we have distinct meanings. This duality of levels is, in fact, one of the most economical features of human language because, with a limited set of discrete sounds, we are capable of producing a very large number of sound combinations (e.g. words) which are distinct in meaning.(George Yule, The Study of Language, 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2006) Duality of Language and Animal Communication The level of sounds and syllables is the province of phonology, while that of meaningful elements is the province of grammar and semantics. Has this kind of duality any analog in animal communication systems?... The short answer to [that] question seems to be no.(Andrew Carstairs-McCarthy, The Origins of Complex Language: An Inquiry Into the Evolutionary Beginnings of Sentences, Syllables, and Truth. Oxford University Press, 1999) It is hard to find clear and uncontroversial examples of duality of patterning outside our own species. But let us say that we can find themââ¬âand there is evidence, from the way some animals like birds and dolphins manipulate melodies, that this might be true. This would mean that duality of patterning is a necessary condition for a communication system to be a human language, but that by itself it may not be enough. There is no human language without duality of patterning.(Daniel L. Everett, Language: The Cultural Tool. Random House, 2012) Hockett on Duality of Patterning [Charles] Hockett developed the phrase duality of patterning to express the fact that discrete units of language at one level (such as the level of sounds) can be combined to create different kinds of units at a different level (such as words)... According to Hockett, duality of patterning was probably the last feature to emerge in human language, and it was critical in separating human language from other kinds of primate communication...The most difficult bit to figure out is how and when duality of patterning could have emerged. How did individuals manage to isolate various bits of calls so that they could be endlessly combined into arbitrary symbols? Hockett thought that if two calls each had two distinct parts, then perhaps something in the blending process might alert individuals to the existence of discrete units. If you can combine breakfast and lunch into brunch, then does that alert you to the possibility that br is a distinct unit of sound that is combinable with other dis tinct units of sound? Solving this puzzle remains one of the thorniest of the problems in determining how language became possible.(Harriet Ottenheimer, The Anthropology of Language: An Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology. Wadsworth, 2009) The Structures of Phonology and Syntax The question of whether the structures of phonology and syntax are separate and distinct is relevant to the notion of duality of patterning... The division between meaningful and meaningless elements is less sharp than it appears, and the fact that words are composed of phonemes is arguably just a special case of the pervasive hierarchical structure that is present in language...Of all Hocketts design features, duality of patterning is the most misrepresented and misunderstood; in particular, it is frequently conflated with or linked to productivity (Fitch 2010). Hockett seems to have regarded duality of patterning as the single most important breakthrough in the evolution of language (Hockett 1973: 414), yet he himself was unsure whether to ascribe duality of patterning to the dance of the honeybee (Hackett 1958: 574).(D.R. Ladd, An Integrated View of Phonetics, Phonology, and Prosody. Language, Music, and the Brain: A Mysterious Relationship, ed. by Michael A. Arbib. MIT Press, 201 3)
Tuesday, May 12, 2020
The United States And Wyoming Economy Essay - 1234 Words
The crackling and popping of the large redwood finally falling was a sweet noise to my grandpa Rayââ¬â¢s tired arms. He stood back and watched with satisfaction as the tree began to fall away from him, but as it fell the large tree hit the branch of another tree and instead of knocking over the other tree or breaking the branch, this large tree was heading straight for him. He saw this and stepped back to move out of the way and fell over a stump. He cried out in agony as the log fell onto his leg. The happenings in the U.S. and Wyoming economy in the 90s and the conditions my grandmother, Cindy Pittsley, faced caused her to move from Dubois to a few different places before she settled in Glenrock and led her to where she is today. My grandmother, 62 today, has lived an eventful life very unknown to her 22 grandchildren. Most of us know she was married to our grandfather, Ray Pittsley, at the young age of 16, however, before and after that is mysterious. They settled in Dubois, Wy oming and raised a family of three girls and two boys. During their childrenââ¬â¢s teens and twenties, my grandparents worked for the Louisiana Pacific Sawmill in Dubois, Wyoming. This company logged in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana and created the job industry in these places. At the sawmill, my grandmother worked the post peeler. ââ¬Å"I would generally work eight hours a day. It wasnââ¬â¢t hard hard work, but it was work.â⬠Cindy would go to work no matter the weather and no one would ever hear a grumble. WhileShow MoreRelatedImpacts of Wyomingââ¬â¢s Agriculture on Economy1372 Words à |à 5 PagesWyomingââ¬â¢s economy includes four main aspects: agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and service. Among them, agriculture takes an important place in Wyomingââ¬â¢s economy. It contributes numerous billions to economy every year. There is a general evaluation of Wyomingââ¬â¢s agriculture from a website. ââ¬Å"Historically, agriculture has been an important compon ent of Wyomingââ¬â¢s economic identity. Its overall importance to the performance of Wyomingââ¬â¢s economy has waned. However, it is still an essential part of Wyomingââ¬â¢sRead More Renewable vs Nonrenewable Resources Essay1527 Words à |à 7 PagesRenewable vs Nonrenewable Resources The United States has 4% of the worlds people, but as a country consumes 25% of the worlds oil. The U.S. and Western Europe are obsessed with a standard of living that is reliant on energy consumption maintained by the burning of fossil fuels. These nonrenewable resources continue to be depleted, despite the fact that solar power, wind power, hydropower, biomass, and many other renewable resources are available and accessible. The switch to these renewablesRead MoreThe Federal Reserve System And The United States Central Bank1196 Words à |à 5 PagesThe Federal Reserve System (hereafter referred as the Fed) is the United Statesââ¬â¢ central bank (Federal Reserve.gov 1). Formed by the United States Congress in 1913 and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, the intention behind its creation was to offer a safer, more stable, and more flexible financial and monetary system for the United States (Federal Reserve.gov 1). Similar to other industrialized states, the United St atesââ¬â¢ Fed acts as a central bank designed to meet particular requirementsRead MoreWhat s The Big `` Fracking `` Deal? Essay1913 Words à |à 8 Pages Whatââ¬â¢s the Big ââ¬Å"Frackingâ⬠Deal?: An Analysis of State of Wyoming, et al. v. United States Dept. of the Interior BACKGROUND On June 21, 2016, in State of Wyoming v. United States Dept. of the Interior, the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming ruled on challenges to the ââ¬Å"Bureau of Land Managementââ¬â¢s (BLM) issuance of regulations applying to hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands.â⬠The District of Wyoming held that the ââ¬Å"Fracking Ruleâ⬠issued by the BLM was notRead MoreThe Importance Of A Community Health Assessment Essay2269 Words à |à 10 Pageshttp://www.cdc.gov/ Wyoming has had an increasing number of suicides within the last twenty years, primarily within the Natrona County District. Health Care professionals have implemented new intervention programs to decrease suicidal rates within Wyoming. In efforts to stop suicide, health care professionals have focused on specific areas where suicide rates are at their highest. Natrona County is geographically located in Wyoming. Wyoming is in the western part of the United States. Cities that resideRead MoreThe Effects of a Minimum Wage Law655 Words à |à 3 Pagesis still an issue that people research and discuss about its impaction to our economy continuously. The minimum wage was used for the first time in New Zealand in 1896 under the Australian state of Victoria of legislation that create a wages boards system. Therefore, it was not until 1911, when it covered most states in Australia. European countries soon followed the minimum wage law, for example, France (1915), United Kingdom (1918) and Spain (1926). However, the law protected only a few industriesRead MoreHistory, Final Notes3724 Words à |à 15 PagesReview Questions for Wyoming History Final Exam, December 6, 2011, 10:15 a.m. The exam will consist of three parts:à à PART I: Short Identifications (50 points total) You will asked to select FIVE names/terms from a list of eight or nine choices. You will write a paragraph identifying the name/term and provide additional information about the significance of the name/term to Wyoming history. Some possible terms are listed under questions in Part III (below). à PART II: Two Book Questions (25Read MoreUS Senate Case Study1693 Words à |à 7 Pagestechnological debate in the United States in the modern day, the US Senate will discuss the possible impacts and effects of automation in the workforce and vote on a resolution. The Senate committee will replicate parliamentary procedure and will be based off the current United States Senate. As it stands, the Republican party dominates the Senate with the following demographic: Republicans: 52 Seats Democrats: 46 Seats Independents: 2 Seats Republican States: Alabama, Alaska, ArizonaRead MoreWomen s Suffrage Movement : Lucretia Mott1399 Words à |à 6 PagesMovement impacted the United States by giving women the right to have a voice and to finally be able to vote. Achieving the right to vote was the culminating event of the Women s Suffrage Movement. The Women s Suffrage Movement was also known as Women s Suffrage. The movement was the struggle for women to be able to vote and run for president. It was also closely linked to the women s right movement. In the mid 19th century women in several different countries, mostly the United States and Britain beganRead MoreEssay about The Life and Accomplishments of William Edwards Deming1524 Words à |à 7 Pagescontrol as the basis of his own work. He eventually went off to college and ended up with his Doctorate degree. He made an impact on Japan helping them to get their economy back together after WWII. After working in Japan he came back to the United States and was pro fessor at many different colleges. His big break in the United States was when he did an interview on NBC showing the progress that he had made in Japan. After this he signed major contracts with major corporations like General Motors
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Streams of Silver 24. Eulogy for Mithril Hall Free Essays
The burning dragon drifted lower and lower, the light of the flames slowly diminishing to a mere speck at the bottom of Garumnââ¬â¢s Gorge. Drizzt scrambled up over the ledge and came up beside Catti-brie and Wulfgar, Catti-brie holding the gem-studded helm, and both of them staring helplessly across the chasm. The two of them nearly fell over in surprise when they turned to see their drow friend returned from the grave. We will write a custom essay sample on Streams of Silver 24. Eulogy for Mithril Hall or any similar topic only for you Order Now Even the appearance of Artemis Entreri had not prepared Wulfgar and Catti-brie for the sight of Drizzt. ââ¬Å"How?â⬠Wulfgar gasped, but Drizzt cut him short. The time for explanations would come later; they had more urgent business at hand. Across the gorge, right next to the lever hooked to the bridge, stood Artemis Entreri, holding Regis by the throat before him and grinning wickedly. The ruby pendant now hung around the assassinââ¬â¢s neck. ââ¬Å"Let him go,â⬠Drizzt said evenly. ââ¬Å"As we agreed. You have the gem.â⬠Entreri laughed and pulled the lever. The stone bridge shuddered, then broke apart, tumbling into the darkness below. Drizzt had thought that he was beginning to understand the assassinââ¬â¢s motivations for this treachery, reasoning now that Entreri had taken Regis to ensure pursuit, continuing his own personal challenge with Drizzt. But now with the bridge gone and no apparent escape open before Drizzt and his friends, and the incessant baying of the shadow hounds growing closer at their backs, the drowââ¬â¢s theories didnââ¬â¢t seem to hold up. Angered by his confusion, he reacted quickly. Having lost his own bow back in the alcove, Drizzt grabbed Taulmaril from Catti-brie and fitted an arrow. Entreri moved just as fast. He rushed to the ledge, scooped Regis up by an ankle, and held him by one hand over the edge. Wulfgar and Catti-brie sensed the strange bond between Drizzt and the assassin and knew that Drizzt was better able to deal with this situation. They moved back a step and held each other close. Drizzt kept the bow steady and cocked, his eyes unblinking as he searched for the one lapse in Entreriââ¬â¢s defenses. Entreri shook Regis dangerously and laughed again. ââ¬Å"The road to Calimport is long indeed, drow. You shall have your chance to catch up with me.â⬠ââ¬Å"You have blocked our escape,â⬠Drizzt retorted. ââ¬Å"A necessary inconvenience,â⬠explained Entreri. ââ¬Å"Surely you will find your way through this, even if your other friends do not. And I will be waiting!â⬠ââ¬Å"I will come,â⬠Drizzt promised. ââ¬Å"You do not need the halfling to make me want to hunt you down, foul assassin.â⬠ââ¬Å"ââ¬ËTis true,â⬠said Entreri. He reached into his pouch, pulled out a small item, and tossed it into the air. It twirled up above him then dropped. He caught it just before it passed beyond his reach and would have fallen into the gorge. He tossed it again. Something small, something black. Entreri tossed it a third time, teasingly, the smile widening across his face as Drizzt lowered the bow. Guenhwyvar. ââ¬Å"I do not need the halfling,â⬠Entreri stated flatly and he held Regis farther out over the chasm. Drizzt dropped the magical bow behind him, but kept his glare locked upon the assassin. Entreri pulled Regis back in to the ledge. ââ¬Å"But my master demands the right to kill this little thief. Lay your plans, drow, for the hounds draw near. Alone, you stand a better chance. Leave those two, and live! ââ¬Å"Then come, drow. Finish our business.â⬠He laughed one more time and spun away into the darkness of the final tunnel. ââ¬Å"Heââ¬â¢s out, then,â⬠said Catti-brie. ââ¬Å"Bruenor named that passage as a straight run to a door out of the halls.â⬠Drizzt looked all around, trying to find some means to get them across the chasm. ââ¬Å"By Bruenorââ¬â¢s own words, there is another way,â⬠Catti-brie offered. She pointed down to her right, toward the south end of the cavern. ââ¬Å"A ledge,â⬠she said, ââ¬Å"but hours of walking.â⬠ââ¬Å"Then run,â⬠replied Drizzt, his eyes still fixed upon the tunnel across the gorge. By the time the three companions reached the ledge, the echoes of howls and specks of light far to the north told them that Duergar and shadow hounds had entered the cavern. Drizzt led them across the narrow walkway, his back pressed against the wall as he inched his way toward the other side. All the gorge lay open before him, and the fires still burned below, a grim reminder of the fate of his bearded friend. Perhaps it was fitting that Bruenor died here, in the home of his ancestors, he thought. Perhaps the dwarf had finally satisfied the yearning that had dictated so much of his life. The loss remained intolerable to Drizzt, though. His years with Bruenor had shown him a compassionate and respected friend, a friend he could rely upon at any time, in any circumstance. Drizzt could tell himself over and over that Bruenor was satisfied, that the dwarf had climbed his mountain and won his personal battle, but in the terrible immediacy of his death, those thoughts did little to dispel the drowââ¬â¢s grief. Catti-brie blinked away more tears, and Wulfgarââ¬â¢s sigh belied his stoicism when they moved out across the gorge that had become Bruenorââ¬â¢s grave. To Catti-brie, Bruenor was father and friend, who taught her toughness and touched her with tenderness. All of the constants of her world, her family and home, lay burning far below, on the back of a hell-spawned dragon. A numbness descended over Wulfgar, the cold chill of mortality and the realization of how fragile life could be. Drizzt had returned to him, but now Bruenor was gone. Above any emotions of joy or grief came a wave of instability, a tragic rewriting of heroic images and bard-sung legends that he had not expected. Bruenor had died with courage and strength, and the story of his fiery leap would be told and retold a thousand times. But it would never fill the void that Wulfgar felt at that moment. * * * They made their way across to the chasmââ¬â¢s other side and raced back to the north to get to the final tunnel and be free of the shadows of Mithril Hall. When they came again into the wide end of the cavern, they were spotted. Duergar shouted and cursed at them; the great black shadow hounds roared their threats and scratched at the lip of the other side of the gorge. But their enemies had no way to get at them, short of going all the way around to the ledge, and Drizzt stepped unopposed into the tunnel that Entreri had entered a few hours earlier. Wulfgar followed, but Catti-brie paused at the entrance and looked back across the gorge at the gathered host of gray dwarves. ââ¬Å"Come,â⬠Drizzt said to her. ââ¬Å"There is nothing that we can do here, and Regis needs our help.â⬠Catti-brieââ¬â¢s eyes narrowed and the muscles in her jaw clenched tightly as she fitted an arrow to her bow and fired. The silver streak whistled into the crowd of Duergar and blasted one from life, sending the others scurrying for cover. ââ¬Å"Nothing now,â⬠Catti-brie replied grimly, ââ¬Å"but Iââ¬â¢ll be cominââ¬â¢ back! Let the gray dogs know it for truth. ââ¬Å"Iââ¬â¢ll be back!â⬠How to cite Streams of Silver 24. Eulogy for Mithril Hall, Essay examples
Saturday, May 2, 2020
ITIL Service Lifecycle
Question: Discuss about ITIL Service Lifecycle. Answer: Introduction This Case study is written in order to explain how ITIL framework can be adopted in an SMB organization and its benefits can be realized. The report explores the case of a company called HBZS which is into rescue services for underwater and underground areas. The company has adopted ITIL framework and has reached level after development of a service strategy and design of its services. The study would give insights into the ITIL processes and would assist the IT manager in taking decisions on the adoption of remaining processes in ITIL framework. The study is divided into five parts that starts with an understanding of ITIL framework and the benefits it can extent to an organization for improving their service management processes. Further, the existing IT processes that are already adopted by the chosen company would be explored. The aim of this study is to explore, devise and explain the right plan of action for furthering the ITIL process adoption. The recommendations would be made for the organization in order to improve its service levels and gain a higher maturity of IT services through the use of ITIL framework. After the existing adoption and service maturity level of HBZS would be understood, higher levels of ITIL including service transition, service operations and Continuous Service Improvement concepts as defined in the framework would be explored and the same would be applied to the given case to understand how the company can take decisions and what provisions would be required for the company to adopt as the part of ITIL framework. Each step of the adoption process of IT is defined in a separate section in this report in which the case is deeply explored to identify methods for adoption and ways of using best practices to achieve benefits. On the basis of the insights that would be obtained in the exploration of concepts, some recommendations would have made for the company for adoption of ITIL process adopting its best practices that would be most appropriate for the current organization. ITIL Framework ITIL (IT Infrastructure Library) is a framework containing practical guidance on best practices of IT service management. It provides a framework for governing IT systems and processes with focus on continuous improvement of IT systems. Key benefits that can be achieved upon adoption of the framework include higher level of customer satisfaction, improved service availability, resource management, risk management, cost management and decision making (ITIL Introducing service operation, 2016). The core reference model of ITIL contains 5 key processes of development that include service strategy, service design, service transition, service operation, and continual service improvement. In the first stage, service strategy is build by identifying needs for service improvement in the company and the same information is then used for designing and catalog services. After catalogue of services is created, the company goes through a transition stage and then actual operations that are planned are implemented. Finally, a CSI strategy is applied so that the benefits of framework can be continually achieved with lessons learned applied to the IT service management practices even in future. ITIL has 3 versions including its initial version, version 2 and version 3, each differing in additional perspectives and services that are made part of the framework and additional best practices. With the help of reference material of 5 processes, newer versions have further derived new products such as service life cycle, agile project and service, release control and validation and so on. In this report, the basic structure of ITIL adoption is assumed for analysis and no specific versions are separately covered. This can be done as al versions are build on the same foundation of 5 processes of ITIL adoption (ITIL Maturity Model | ITIL | AXELOS, 2016). Ongoing ITSM at HBZS HBZG is a subsidiary of OKD which is a Joint stock company based out of Czech Republic that produces coal and has 100% stake in HBZG which provides Mining rescue services in the region.1 the rescue is provided for workers and materials from both underground and underwater operations. It also provides ancillary commercial services and non-stop emergency services. with the help of its 26 regular rescuers who work 24 hours and 8 additional workers who make themselves available for rescue work within an hour of receiving requirement. In 2014, company conducted 384 rescuesin 15000 hoursthat included commercial services for underground building safety, fire prevention, working at height rescues, underwater operations and the company also provided rescue training to new rescuers. For this, the operations needed a support from IT especially for formulation of configuration of staff for every rescue operations. The IT infrastructure was formed out of 180 computers, servers and internet devices. Over time, with increase in number of rescue operations, demand of IT services increased and in house IT services were unable to tackle to load because of conflicts and low level of Business maturity which is why company decided to adopt ITIL for management o it systems and decided to incorporate the same for event and incident management, asset and configuration, and knowledge management (Case, 2009). The 1st phase of adoption was smooth and brought benefits with better understanding and usage of IT systems. A serVICe catalogue was planned for 59 businesses and 10 technology services. It activities were divided according to business needs that made understanding IT systems outputs easy for business users. However, in the 2nd phase, several challenges were faced majorly due to low level of maturity of operations leading to competency disputes and conflicts of requirements between different staff of the organization. The catalogue was built at last and business representatives were dedicated for each of the 10 Services to resolve conflicts between Departments. Abstraction in Activities was eliminated and regular reviews of services allowed company to influence service direction for improvements (Case, 2009). The major challenge faced in ITIL adoption was in conversion of technological perspective to Business perspective in order to establish smooth communication between technology and business. It was difficult for technical IT team to explain how their services translated into business benefits. The terminology that was used by IT team different greatly from the business terms and when it was a need for measurement of the success of the IT service management, the business users could never be satisfied as the metrics presented by IT team were either not understood or were misinterpreted by the business managers. However, the processes were made to align with introduction of business terminologies for measurement of IT services performance in the phase 2 of ITIL adoption. Maturity of services is still a major concern and needs to be improved for which company which needs to revise its processes according to the guidelines of the framework which would help them mature their services. This would include transition of services to the ITIL processes, development of IT service operations as per framework and formalization of a continuous improvement process for future developments of the services. IT service management ITSM is a process that focuses on use of best ITIL practices such that effective It services can be provided and with continuous service improvement program (CSIP) this effectiveness can be kept improving. The ITSM along with CSIP make it possible to align its service deliverables with business needs which requires transformation of the business-IT paradigm such that business needs can become key drivers of it processes with support from experts. CSI can improve the quality of measurement metrics in line with organization culture. To be able to achieve these benefits, the company would first need to have a clarity on the level pf maturity the business has in terms of ITIL and ITSM such that scope for improvement can be identified. An ITIL and ITSM maturity assessment of people, processes, organization and information is available for this and the same has been derived from IT service capability maturity model (CMM) that defines a business service on four levels of maturity including initial repeatable, defined, managed and optimized. Measurement metrics are defined for different areas of it service management including: Service level management: a mature business service involves management of IT service quantity and quality. An assessment would require an understanding of whether services are delivered as per initial agreements and of they are made affordable for the long term. This also needs establishment and management of interfaces between IT and business as well as user. In case of HBZS, services have been delivered a per agreement and the interfaces with business and people is managed but no specific provisions are observed for management of quality or quantity of service and its affordability. While Service Level Agreements define the requirements of a service from the business perspective, operational level agreements ensure that these business requirements are met with the IT services of the department( IT Process Maps GbR, 2009). Availability Management: Availability and reliability of IT services have to be managed and business needs for which IT services are being accessed have to be satisfied. The infrastructure of IT that is established needs to be made as per the Service Level Agreement. Business needs of the organization are being satisfied by the incorporation of ITIL to some extent in the two phases of adoption but the concerns of SLA have not been addressed. Capacity Management: Accurate forecasts have to be made available about the IT requirements and deliveries for future. Further, the development must make improvements in current knowledge, future knowledge ( IT Process Maps GbR, 2009), ability to make services cost effective, planning and implementation of IT capacities in future. In case of HBZS, current capacity has been managed as well as improvements were seen in the capacity from previous phase but this still leaves the scope for understanding cost impacts and ability to better planning and implementation processes for future. Financial Management: IT services that are delivered by an organization must satisfy business needs and must make way for continuous improvements. Certain business needs of HBZS has been satisfied but continuous improvement plan is required to be implemented and is under consideration such that the services can be made to reach a higher level of maturity. Incident Management: The company has implemented systems for management incidences that includes resolution of incidences that can impact business, maintenance of service quality to a level, improvement in business processes that was achieved in 2nd phase of ITIL adoption and user satisfaction which resulted from the deployment of specific service experts or representative who could help resolve conflicts of departmental requirements. Problem Management: Service quality improvements include understanding and reducing impacts of incidences and problems on business, and reduce the cost of problem impacts on users. Change Management: Change management process is required to be established in such a way that it makes it repeatable for future use in case of any need for change. Moreover, the changes must be made fast and accurate as well as services must remain protected against any impacts of changes. With time, efficiency and effectivenessof change management must be improved. In case of HBZS, no change management practice has been established yet. Release Management: This includes implementation or adoption of software and hardware as per business needs. The establishing of release management processes must make way for smooth and accurate implementation of releases in future as well as enable cost savings in future releases. In case of HBZS, the costs parameters are still not clear and release management process is at a very nascent stage with no established release management process. Configuration Management: IT assets of the organization needs tobe controlled and support must be provided against delivery of quality of IT services. This way services have to be improved to make them economic. Moreover, support, integration and interfacing of IT with business and people have to be managed to achieve next level of maturity in IT management which is lacking in the case of HBZS. With the current maturity level of HBZS, it can be said that there is a clear need for improvement which can be done by adopting more areas of ITIL as per the assessment and that include availability management, change management, capacity management, problem management, and so on. Service Transition ITIL framework can be adopted in stage wise manner beginning with development of service strategy that would include identification of the business needs and required IT services that can satisfy those needs for the organization. This involves strategic management, building of a service portfolio for IT department, assessment and provision of financials, and customer relationships requirements to be filled with the provision of IT services. The company has done the analysis in the first stage of ITIL adoption to come up with a service (ITIL Welcome to the Service Transition introduction toolkit, 2016) strategy in which company identified 10 Technological services that would be delivered and managed through the ITIL framework. In the second phase of ITIL, the companywent through the service design process in which the chosen 10 services were designed with identification of their capabilities and agreements for delivery off the business service needs. In this stage, HBZS build a catelogue of services which helped the organization divide activities in different departments in way to form specific number of service deliverables. The company was particularly benefited by the connection that was established between IT services and the business such that the metrics and measurements of performance of IT processes could be presented in the business language for better understanding of business users. Further, assigning single service presented in the catalogue was managed by a single business represented which further eliminated confusion and hence, competency disputes that were faced in the first stage of development. The IT manager also asked for support from top management which was further simplifying the complexities of service management and by the end of the phase the company was able to serve 59 business needs with 10 technological services. This eliminated the abstraction in the activities to be performed as well asITIL now served as a guide for the management while they reviewed the progress of theITIL adoption process. However, even with initial identification of strategy, some operational challenges were faced such as communication between IT and business. In the second stage of service design, not just the conflicts between departments were resolved but the process also made way for development of terminologies that could simplify explanation of the outcomes of technology service deliveries through the use of understandable metrics for business users. Regular review meetings were planned in which the reviews were conducted for assessment of performance of IT service management throurhg the use of business focused metrics. HBZS has considered moving to the third stage of service transition that would involve development of plans for managing supplies and deliveries of IT service, change management process, asset management, configuration management, release management, validity and testing of service releases, change evaluation and knowledge management. However, challenges were faced as the coal prices dropped affecting the parent company resulting into reduction of capital available for resources but at the same time, demand on the IT department increased. Before a company took the transition into the next phase of the ITIL adoption, it was essential understand the level of maturity it has achieved and the same can be done by understanding how the company adopted each function and requisites of the IT service management process and these helped company make a decision on what needs to be added while going through service transition process. The maturity level assessment could help management understand how the company's IT systems were performing in each area of IT management such that the scope for development and improvement can be understood. For every level of adoption beginning withstrategy making, service design, service transition, operations and continuous service improvement, a certain level of maturity in different areas is required. The same can thus be assessed in case of the company to understand if the company was prepared for the phase of transition and what needed to be done in each area during the transition stage to b e able to get to the next stage (Service Measurement Reporting Across the ITIL Service Lifecycle - www.itsmwatch.com, 2016). These included: Management Commitment: The level of commitment required in the process of adoption of ITIL increases with the stages. In the service strategy and designing, low level of commitment from the top management could still get a way for the company to move ahead with adoption but the commitment from the management has to be visible enough when moving on to the transition stage as it would require all employees to be performing and adopting ITIL guidelines sincerely which would be difficult to achieve in absence of support from top management. In case of HBZS, the top management was willing to support the ITIL transition process as they have realized its benefit in the earlier phase of adoption when the service catalogue was built for its IT services (ITIL.org - Service Reporting, 2016). Reponses Strategy: The response to triggers for change or any issue was mostly reactive before the company adopted ITIL but it still has a majority of its work done in response to the triggers. The company has only implemented incident management function in its service management portfolio. However, a proactive approach was required in the transition stage which would need company to add problem management to the portfolio. An issue can arise once but if the same issue is seen in multiple incidences then it denotes the presence of a problem in the wider context which would require problem management function to be included in the ITIL service portfolio. Instead of being active and responding to the incidences, this will make company somewhat pro-active and this would involve recording of probable issues that can arise and decide cause of action in advance to either avoid the problem from happening or mitigating the impacts caused. Automation: The level of automation required in the transition stage is more than the service design stage, In the design stage, some of the activates can be automated but during the transition stage, most routine activities have to be automated. Thus, before the company can move on to the transition stage, plans have to be made for automating routine activities in IT service management. In the subsequent stages, this level of automation would not suffice and more and more routine services would have to be automated. Processes that can be automated are only the ones requiring a repetitive human efforts and the variation is less such that the same can be coded by a program. However, if the variation of the service process is high, then automation would not serve the purpose and its adoption would rather degrade the services. An example where service process can be automated is event management activity like cleaning up of the disk space. If the disk space available in computers used b y employees of HBZS has to be cleaned manually every time, it would take time and affect the productivity of the worker. Such a process is be repeated in the same way several times and thus can be automated by writing a program for detecting available space when it goes below threshold, analyzing disk space, send mail to administrator with option to archive or delete some designated files, command the clean up as per choice and then sending an email confirming the completion of clean up(ENTERPRISE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES , 2008). Automation would have several benefits for HBZS such as increased visibility of service in the system, higher speed, improved quality, regulatory compliance, and superior financial performance. Moreover, automation makes the processes more proactive than active. Incidence management, for instance, can be automated to monitor processes, identify incidences and then react to incidences occurring automatically. Activities: Till now, most activities performed by the company were done on ad hoc basis with a few resources formalized with the introduction of the catalogue but in the transition phase, activities have to be planned in advance before they are performed. Moreover, different activities are required to be coordinated in some way. Roles: In the design stage, company recognized various IT specific roles but the same have to be formalized, defined and assigned properly in the transition stage. This includes defining role of each of the service representative and assignment of duties to them accordingly. Stakeholder Involvement: The stakeholder involves is low in the design stage but in the transition stage, it had to be improved and thus, they were made the part of review processes through reporting of progress of adoption as well as IT service management. The review would require service representatives to prepare performance metrics and measures not only for the internal stakeholders including top management but also external stakeholders like customers. There has to be transparency on how IT services are performing in the organization. Documentation: In the previous stages, a few documents were prepared by the organization starting with a lengthy document "Rules for using Information and Communication Technologies" in the strategy phase which after cataloguing was reduced to 4 pages which only listed principles of services in bullet points. However, this documentation would not be enough as more documentation would be involved for roles, definition, stakeholder expectations, performance reporting and so on to be able to achieve successful transition in the third stage. Service Operations Service operations as per ITIL framework involves certain processes including event management, incident management, problem management, access management, and some functions such as service delivery, technology management, operations management and application management (ITIL.org - Service Reporting, 2016). The company is considering outsourcing of it Department s services including operations and help desk. It operations include internal services targeted to serving internal employees while help desk would be a one point of contact for external stakeholders or customers. The cost of developing and operations of these two core areas of IT would be much less when outsourced than in the case when capabilities are built in house. However, the level of control of processes, changes, risk, data, and so on would be very low which would create problems when facing risks, incidences, ad hoc or unplanned work. Although the service provider would be experts of the arena but without management control over internal processes, issues can arise in deliveries and process aspects. Especially, in case of core it services targeted to internal stakeholders, a higher level of control is necessary for ITIL to perform at its best. The help desk service has a limited exposure and Mostly deals with incidences rather than on big business problems and thus, if this part is outsourced to experts, it would not cause any issues in management of it services or their deliveries Core service operations of it service management domain involve fulfillment of user requests from internal users of the organization, resolution of serv8ce failures, fixing of issues and problems and routine operational tasks. In terms of ITIL framework, specific core operations of the companycan be identified as follows: Event management: critical incidences along with service provisions and statuses have to be recorded as belonging to specific category of events and the same can then be monitored. The incidence can be categorized into several types of events such as information, warning, alert or exceptions. This classification can be used to create incident filters such that moat critical issues can be filtered out and resolved on priority. Several management and technological tools can be used to detect events and send the notifications of the same to users such as simple network management protocol that can generate event notifications for problems in configuration items Incident management: the practice of incidence management involves management of the entire life cycle of all incidences that are identified and the aim remains to restore affected IT service as soon as possible. HBZS has incorporated incidence management as its core IT process which involves receipt of incidence information from users and acting upon the same for fat restoration. Request fulfillment: Any request received for certain information or Change requirement, the same has to be fulfilled and managed. For HBZS, these requests can be related to construction of a configuration of the rescue team for a specific rescue operation. Access management: while company runs it process over an IT infrastructure, it is important that only authorized user is able to gain access to information or processes, thus, policies for access rights and identity management have to be established as a part of access management. In case of HBZS, specific information would be provided only o concerned staff member and not to other. Different Department s may be provided with access rights to different IT service feature based on policies. Problem management: while incidence management concerns with a single issue, problem management would delve deeper to identify similar issues caused by a specific problem that has to be addressed. Further, the incidence reports already available would be analys3d o identify trend such that probable predictions can be made to avoid incidences or reduce their impact on services proactively. Entire problem life cycle management would also be done on this operation. IT operational control: The services provided as well as the IT infrastructure would required to be Monitored routinely and a control may be established. This control process can somewhat be automated which would allow monitoring of the infrastructure and identification of any possible or potential problems that are likely to occur such that resolutions can be suggested to administrators of HBZS. Facilities management: facilities include those external elements that support IT infrastructure such as power, cooling, building, access control and environment of the infrastructure. These would have to be managed by company for management of internal services. Applications management: the life cycle of all application that are the part of IT department would be managed by the company for the operations phase of ITIL adoption. This would include identification of requirements, designing of the service, development of the application, training to people on application, launch of application, its usage and maintenance. Technical support: technical support can be provider for managing infrastructure of IT. In the case of HBZS, an internet service desk can be established within the office which would respond to all IT related issues faced by employees of the organization such that the resolution can be done instantly. The core operational process of IT discussed above would not remain very effective in terms of ability to monitor and serve with speed if the same are outsourced to an external IT service provider. For instance, if a need for application is identified, the outsourced partner would not know about it until specific requirements are already worked upon and submitted to them by the internal staff. This would consume time as well efforts. Also, if ITIL is not adopted by the service provider, then there would be required for converting business needs into IT requirements to submit the same to contractor. Moreover, for development of every new service planned, the company would incur additional expenses and thus, would try to avoid new application development but try to customize those already existing. Another area of IT service operations is service or helpdesk that can actually be outsourced to save on cost, However, it would require management to take decision on what service desk model can be used while outsourcing it to have clarity on how customers would be served so that performance of help desk can be improved with use of coordinated activities. A service desk can be in the form of a call center where service professionals would receive calls from customers for resolving issues or obtaining information, help desk where customers would have to Visit to resolve their queries or service desk that can provide single level of service such as a self serv8ce kiosk or multiple level support by providing self service, first line support from call center, expert group support or vendor contact for physical online or offline support from the vendor or manufacturer directly. Service desks can be established locally by Providing help desk near to customer, centrally through a single service center, dispersed with virtual service desk creating illusions of centralization or follow the approach may be used by providing service across globe using multiple channels. As HBZS is a small business unit, with more local customers, local centers can be created used but it would be costly and thus central location may be a choice. However, if the service desk is outsourced to a consultant, a dispersed network may be used but virtual system may be created on the side of the company connected with both customers and third party service provider such that an illusion of central service desk is created for customers while calls and queries are managed by different service personnel across different locations A service desk can serve as a cost center where company would invest into same and can also be made a profit center by charging customers. HBZS can use the profit model through development of client subscription model for provision of services A common practice of service desk takes inbound calls from customers but some service desks also provide outbound call services to keep monitoring incidences and stay connected to client which makes client feel being cared for. However, provisions allowing service calls from customers is still needed and thus, HBZS may go for a combination of inbound and outbound service desk servicing customers both ways. CSI and Business-IT Alignment Continual Service improvement is done for improvement of efficiency and effectiveness of IT processes and services continually. It uses principles of quality management by learning from past mistakes, failure and success for devising improvement strategies. The process is also in Line with ISO 20000 (ITIL Introducing continual service improvement, 2016). Besides adoption of ITIL process, the company has also planned for adoption of ISO 20000 requirements with the help of the framework and thus, it would be worthwhile to explore how specific requirements of ISO 20000 can be translated into ITIL practices to adhere to adopt the standard. Key requirements of the standard include (ITIL Introducing continual service improvement, 2016): Planning and implementation of new or modified services which can be achieved by building service strategy and making service level agreements Service Delivery: Delivery of service as per the standard involves various processes that include service level management and service reporting that can be achieved using ITIL service level management guideline. It also includes service continuity, availability management, budgeting and accounting, capacity management and information security management. Each of these requirements can be fulfilled by separate processes defined in the ITIL framework. Relationship Processes: Business relationship management which is one of the requirements of ISO standard can be achieved by service portfolio management, service level management and continual service improvement. Supplier management is another processes which is included in ITIL framework and is one relationship requirement of standard. Other requirements of ISO include incident management, problem management, configuration management, change management, and release management. ITIL provides provision of practices for each of these requirements. Thus, it can be said that with the adoption of further levels of ITIL framework both ITIL and ISO certifications can be achieved to make the IT service management more efficient and effective. Figure 1: CSI (ITIL Introducing continual service improvement, 2016) In business terms, continuous improvement can be defined through identification of vision, how is company doing now, what improvements are required, what can be done to achieve them and how to measure if they are achieved. However, to be able to convert these into IT requirements that can be implemented, the business needs can be converted into specific metrics such as business vision, mission, goals, baseline assessments, targets, service and process improvement, measurements and metrics. Key processes involved in continual service improvement include service review, process evaluation, definition and monitoring of CSI initiatives. Service review: HBZS would require to take service check for its IT infrastructure and services regularly with aim to find ways these can b improved in quality and that can be done in economical ways. Process evaluation: HBZS can regularly look for events when target process metrics are not reached to identify problems proactively and resolve the same. For a regularity in this process, methods like benchmarking, audits, maturity assessments and reviews can be conducted periodically. The evaluation would then be carried out by assignment of these to metrics such as number of reviews co ducted can be one metrics for evaluation of ITIL adoption (Software, 2016). Definition of CSI initiatives: various IT service initiatives cause development of processes and services and the same would be resulting from reviews and evaluation of services a processes. These initiative can be internal requiring company capabilities or external requiring support from customers. In any case, initiative would have to be identified and appropriate action for implementation would be taken (ITIL V3 one year on, 2008). Monitoring of CSI initiatives: After CSI initiatives are finalized and started to be implemented, monitoring of the same is required so that they can be improved and in case of any issues making them suffer in quality or completion, corrective actions may be taken Business IT integration was started by the company but it has to be maintained at all level to be able to remain successful in implementation and use of ITIL framework. Several ways this can be made possible are: Building trust between IT and Business: IT can establish control over certain processes such as governance, risk management andprocurement to sustain purchasing power and support from suppliers can be received on time and as required. However, it must also be willing to give away control to some extent to keep business users satisfied and bring them usage convenience. This way, business users can practice innovation and serve themselves. For instance, in case of HBZS, business users can be provided access to IT system for extraction of information required for routine work but they may not have the control over modification of procurement policies IT has to work closely with other Department s to build trust and provide easy deliveries, easy access to services on demand from business users from other departmental. In case there are complexities arising in integration, the Same can be communicated to business users. For instance, if a business user demands a custom report on certain data within a day but it is complex and IT could not d3liver the same before a week because of this, the business user should not only be communicated about the delay but also be explained technical reasons behind it. This would build trust between IT and business users. Transparency: a strategic transparency must be maintained between different departmental such that they all know what other departs are going to achieve strategic goals and how they are working including IT, marketing, operations, HR, etc. Integration over re-invention: development of new IT solutions every time may not be a feasible option as it would not only be costly and time consuming but its complexities may also require extensive training of business users. however standard solutions with known interfaces a processes can easily be integrated and used by business users with faster learning curve while adoption. For instance, ergonomics design is a proven approach to user friendly interface and thus, may be used directly for development rather than conducting new research on area by asking users. In the same way established cloud models can be integrated as a part of infrastructure with available applications that can be run on virtual systems rather than doing acquisition of new hardware and development of new application from scratch. Integrating ITIL and Six Sigma: The adoption of ITIL framework affects the four Ps of an organization that include people, processes, product and partners. Thus, a great level of commitment from management is need to be able to successful in the adoption. Moreover, processes once adopted cannot remain efficient for the entire life of the organization unless the organization continues to improve processes which is made possible with the adoption of CSI initiatives defined in the framework. But this process improvement is a very generic guideline and practitioner of quality improvement for service may need a more specific guideline for which several other frameworks can be used such as Six Sigma, which talks about improvement in services performance considering their impact on consumers. ITIL framework guidelines can be applied to six sigmas and the sig sigma principles can thus be used for CSI process of ITIL for further improvement of the process. Sig Sigma can be applied to specific problems faced by customers which can be resolved with specific set of improvement practices. It would then allow measurement of process data related to area of the problem such that an analysis can be performed to identify root causes of defects and solutions can be deployed to maintain these defects to lowest level such that customer experience can be improve continuously(Probst, et al., 2013). Conclusions and Recommendations This report was written to explore a case of ITIL adoption bysmall business organization called HBZS that was providing rescue services for underground and underwater recues. The company has an IT Department that managed information of rescuers and incidences to come up with configuration of rescue teams that were constructed on ad hoc requests. The company was facing major challenges in managing demands from business users on ad hoc basis and was looking to strategize third IT processes to make them inline with business needs so that 7sers could be served better. For this, the IT manager decided to adopt ITIL framework for development and management of their IT services and had completed two phases including service strategy formulation and service design. This gave them Significant business benefits with improved communication between IT and business. A serv8ce catalogue of Business and technology serv8ces was constructed further to organ8ze service management which improved unders tanding of business users on IT capacity of the firm. The firm now has plans to adopt subsequent stages of ITIL framework including transition, operations and CSI. This report explored this idea of attaining higher level of IT service maturity by using ITIL framework and each of the remaining stage was explored for understanding how they can be made possible for the given case of HBZS and how each of them can benefit the organization. Based on the the study and discussion on ITIL adoption in SMB, certain recommendations may be made for the IT manager for making the moat out of ITIL adoption process and achieve service efficiency and effectiveness and these include: ITIL framework provides guidelines and is very flexible. Manager may be tempted to use best practices but at the same time they may have cost implications and risks that are best known only to company and thus best practices may not be followed blindly but a consideration may be made for assessment of risks and modify the approach by skipping certain risky adoption of ITIL framework for best interest of the company The adoption ca. Be continued using a phased approach and this time for individual processes that are to be matured including incident management, problem management, Change management and configuration management that can be treated as sub project while adopting phase wise. HBZS has already implemented Incident management but that only takes care of problems after they are already escalated. However, if the company implements problem management over it for managing multiple incidences and making use of the incidence records for taking proactive decisions, it can increase responsiveness to problems and reduce errors. Further, it would enable organization to proactively eliminate causes that can cause problems in advance with learning from past incidences(Aldon, 2008). Map existing IT processes with desired processes before a plan can be made to move to the next stage of ITIL adoption If Configuration management is implemented at earlier stages of ITIL deployment, it would have significant benefits for the business processes and thus, organization can take the very next step for implementing the same(Ragsdale, 2004). Continuous improvement appears at the last stage of adoption but it is not a onetime but a permanent process that has to be kept on as a journey. Organization must take a collaborative perspective to achieve performance through ITIL adoption with focus kept on the customer service and customer satisfaction(BMC Software, 2014). It is not necessary that all recommendations or guidelines of ITIL would have to be used in practice but the organization has the flexibility to explore all of them to decide on what best suits their needs and accordingly implement those measures. ITIL adoption requires services to be matured for which processes and IT systems are required to be scaled up without which the ITIL process elements of further stages could not be implemented successfully and thus, as the ITIL implementation proceeds, the company has to scale its processes and systems simultaneously which will have brought about many changes in between and to management, change management process would have to be established in the transition stage. Figure 2:ITIL Process Coordination (Serview, 2015) ITIL activities have to be coordinated to ensure business continuity. As strategy management gives elements for service designing, the outputs of service design process including service level agreements, catalogue management, security management, capacity management, availability management, and supplier management must be used for establishing change management process through building knowledge based on service designing and validating the design ideas to come up with plans for deployment. Six sigma guideline can be integrated with ITIL for establishing focus on customer satisfaction and achieve the same in CSI of ITIL through the application of Six Sigma to it. Instead of development of new applications or processes every time, the company can adopt already existing best practice or take an outsourced solution to capture the business need. this would save time and costs for the company. Transparency needs to be maintained between departments such that they all know what other departments are doing including IT. References Anon, 2007. ITIL refreshed.ITNOW, 49(4), pp.17-17. Anon, 2008. ITIL V3 one year on.ITNOW, 50(6), pp.26-27. Anon, 2016.ITIL Introducing continual service improvement. [online] Ucisa.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/Files/members/activities/ITIL/continual_service_improv/ITIL_Introducing%20Continual%20Service%20Improv%20pdf.ashx [Accessed 11 Jun. 2016]. Anon, 2016.ITIL Introducing service operation. [online] Ucisa.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/Files/members/activities/ITIL/service_operation/ITIL_Introducing%20Service%20Operation%20pdf.ashx [Accessed 11 Jun. 2016]. Anon, 2016.ITIL Welcome to the Service Transition introduction toolkit. [online] Ucisa.ac.uk. Available at: https://www.ucisa.ac.uk/~/media/Files/members/activities/ITIL/servicetransition/ITIL_welcome%20to%20service%20transition%20pdf.ashx [Accessed 11 Jun. 2016]. Anon, 2016.ITIL Maturity Model | ITIL | AXELOS. [online] AXELOS. Available at: https://www.axelos.com/best-practice-solutions/itil/itil-maturity-model [Accessed 11 Jun. 2016]. Anon, 2016.ITIL.org - Service Reporting. [online] Itil.org. Available at: https://itil.org/en/vomkennen/itil/serviceimprovement/csiprozesse/index.php [Accessed 11 Jun. 2016]. Anon, 2016.Service Measurement Reporting Across the ITIL Service Lifecycle - www.itsmwatch.com. [online] Itsmwatch.com. Available at: https://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3920681/Service-Measurement--Reporting-Across-the-ITIL-Service-Lifecycle.htm [Accessed 11 Jun. 2016]. Case, G., 2009. Continual Service Improvement: Bringing It To Life. 1st ed. Mora, M., Gomez, J., O'Connor, R., Raisinghani, M. and Gelman, O., 2015. An Extensive Review of IT Service Design in Seven International ITSM Processes Frameworks.International Journal of Information Technologies and Systems Approach, 8(1), pp.69-90. Software, B., 2016.Continual Service Improvement: Best Practices Processes for ITIL CSI - BMC India. [online] Bmcsoftware.in. Available at: https://www.bmcsoftware.in/guides/itil-continual-service-improvement.html [Accessed 11 Jun. 2016].
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Friday, March 6, 2020
DJ scharton essays
DJ scharton essays This book is written in the perspective of a teenagers life. The writers name is Luke Carver and he is seventeen years old. Luke starts the story off by writing Man, is this lame or what? A seventeen year old guy writing a journal. (pg3) Luke then starts explaining how he was supposed to be writing in his journal over Christmas vacation but he procrastinated as usual. Its now the day before school starts and he only has half a page written. Luke starts writing about his girlfriend Megan and how beautiful she is. Then he goes into explaining how the tri-meet is coming up this Saturday. It takes Luke awhile to get used to the idea of writing a journal but when he does it starts getting interesting. Luke tells about one time that he and his friend Hutch went to top-o-the-world(this is like a lookout spot where you can see for miles). When they got up there Hutch says, Itd be pretty cool to climb down there huh? (pg. 49) Luke then said, Wanna do it? (pg. 50) Hutch then mentioned that Lukes mom kind of made him promise to look out for him. After Luke heard that he got angry and their was no talking him out of climbing down. When they were both done climbing down hutch walked the path to the top and Luke climbed the way One night Hutch spent the night at Lukes and they were sitting watching television and talking. As they were talking Luke asked Hutch if he wanted to visit Lenny, party, and find some girls. They got to Lennys but he said he couldnt go to the party because he had a ten-page paper that was due the next day. So they left and went to the party. After awhile of standing around someone yelled out, Hey, I havent seen you around before. This person introduced herself as Sherry Keeler and introduced her friend Kate Samuels to Hutch. The only one not drinking was Luke because he had to drive h ...
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Service and Sacrifice by America's Veterans Benefit Today's Youth by Essay
Service and Sacrifice by America's Veterans Benefit Today's Youth by - Essay Example However, Veterans who fought in the Second World War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War and the Gulf wars are still with us today and their sacrifice is remembered since they gave America the status of the global power it enjoys today. America did not come to this position overnight and government policy as well as the collective work of the American society itself certainly deserves credit but the veterans form an essential element in being the strong arm of the American government as well as the enforcers of American policy. This enforcement of American policy includes the protection of American interests around the world whether they are threatened in the black forest of Germany or on the islands of Japan. From the deserts of the Middle East to the mountains in South America, wherever there is a need for an American soldier, s/he is ever present and vigilant. Veterans were responsible for putting their feet on the ground and maintaining American control wherever it was needed. Undoubtedly, some of the wars have been called unjust and have also been noted as mistakes. The Vietnam war and even the gulf wars have been called unnecessary since the government decided to go into battle without all the required information or by working with the wrong data. However, that does not take anything away from the valor and the courage of the veterans who fought when they were told to fight believing that they were defending America, the freedom of the American people and their liberty. Thus, the freedoms enjoyed by the American youth can be credited to the efforts of the veterans who protected and defended America when they were called to do so. Had these veterans not offered their lives and their blood as a sacrifice, it is entirely possible that America would not be what it is today. In fact, from the first individual who died fighting in the War of American Independence to the soldiers who are giving their blood for their country today, the debt which the nation
Tuesday, February 4, 2020
Descartes Meditations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Descartes Meditations - Essay Example He expresses his disdain about the knowledge acquired through the senses because the senses are deceptive. He compares the state of wakefulness and dream and finds no distinguishing features; they are alike and one cannot tell either from the other. He does this to find what is real. Having thought that all things could be imaginary, he assumes everything is imaginary. From this, he observes that even in dreams the objects have resemblance to real objects. Thus, he concludes that there must be some objects that are unquestionably real. In this class of real objects, he places figures, quantities or magnitudes, number and time. On these findings, he finds that only geometry and arithmetic constitute true knowledge which is irrefutable. Descartes examined the existence of God. He argued that if he exists, then he allows people to be deceived. He then disqualifies this pointing to the fact he is all good. In assuming there is no God, he concludes that the being responsible for human bei ngââ¬â¢s existence would be even more imperfect. Leaving this assumption, he devices the deceiving devil. In the second meditation, he observes that the only truth that remains even if there is a devil that deceives is the fact that he exists. Because even if he experiences deception in the existence of all things, it shows he exists; albeit as a thinking being. He observes that though wax changed in form when heated it still remained as wax through this analogy, he came up with other real things. The idea of a substance and identity is also true. In the third meditation, Descartes seeks to examine the existence of God. He wants to expand on his limited list of true knowledge. He argues that one idea cannot be truer than the other and cannot be considered false if it does not refer to an object. Because the existence of God is no bases on any assumptions, (it is an idea) then there is no base to evaluate its falsehood. Since his idea of God extended beyond the finite, it could no t have originated from himself as a finite being. Therefore, because he had an idea of God, then God exists. In the fourth meditation, he explains the chances of his erring in reasoning. Having recognized that a perfect God created him, Descartes seeks to know how he commits errors. He recognizes error as a defect and not a trait given by God. This error occurs because the power to differentiate between good and bad given by God to humans is finite, just as a person is finite. His knowledge and power to choose deceives him into error. In meditation five, Descartes finds another way of demonstrating the existence of God2. He observes that the things for which he has clear thoughts about, whether they exist out of his mind or not, they are true. The characteristics assigned to these ideas remain true. Then it follows that, in his clear thought, he has an idea of God with certain characteristics, then existence of God is true. In meditation six, he evaluates the existence of tangible o bjects and the difference between the soul and body. First he differentiates between thought and intellect. He uses the example of a triangle and notes that he can easily conceive of a three sided figure as well as thousand sided polygons. The difference was when he tried to form a mental image of the two figures; the triangle formed easily while the thousand-sided polygon did not. That which requires more effort to visualize is from imagination and that which is easy to visualize is f
Sunday, January 26, 2020
The Purpose Of Theory In International Relations Philosophy Essay
The Purpose Of Theory In International Relations Philosophy Essay International Relations (IR) theory aims to provide a conceptual framework upon which international relations can be analyzed. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories act as a pair of colored sunglasses, allowing the wearer to see only the salient events relevant to the theory. An adherent of realism may completely disregard an event that a constructivist might pounce upon as crucial, and vice versa. Robert Coxs ideas on the purpose of theory in International Relations, is not a search to find the truth but it is a tool to understand the world as it is, and to change it through the power of critique. According to Robert Cox, theory has two purposes: one of them is the problem-solving purpose that is synchronic which deals with the givens and tries to manage the smooth functioning of the system. The other kind of theory is the critical theory, and the purpose is to become aware of the situations not chosen by one, and to establish an emancipatory perspective. Once looked from the Coxian lens, it is clear that the discipline of international relations were from the very beginning loyal to this kind of purpose in theorizing, i.e., the smooth working of the system. As Robert Cox articulates, Theory is always for someone and for some purpose; this statement reflects the context in which the theory is being analyzed. Robert Cox says in one of his interview, What I meant is that there is no theory for itself; theory is always for someone, for some purpose. There is no neutral theory concerning human affairs, no theory of universal validity. Theory derives from practice and experience, and experience is related to time and place. Theory is a part of history. It addresses the problematic of the world of its time and place. An inquirer has to aim to place himself above the historical circumstances in which a theory is propounded. Cox has analyzed various theories and he critiques the earlier theories for their absolutism. He presents three challenges to previously established theories of IR.Ã Firstly, he appreciates the holistic intent behind both neorealism and world systems theory but warns against drawing conclusions which may detract from true formulation of a holistic approach.Ã Secondly, the state and social forces ought to be considered jointly in order to understand the route created by historical processes.Ã Finally, he argues for an empirical-historical methodology that accommodates and explains change more effectively than neorealists historical positivism. All theories derive from a perspective which determines their purpose.Ã By that Cox means all theories are colored by the time, place, and culture which produced them.Ã Cox identifies two strains of theorizing, the first, problem-solving theory, employs the existing theoretical framework and political conditions in order to isolate and address issues.Ã Conversely, critical theory is reflective, rejecting the false premise of a fixed social and political order, which Cox asserts is a convenience of method that constitutes an ideological bias in favor of the status quo.Ã If the purpose of political and social inquiry is indeed to effect change, critical theory is best suited towards that mandate, as a guide to strategic action cognizant of the history and ideology which inevitably impacts theory.Ã Problem-solving theory restricts the theorist into (perhaps inadvertently) perpetuating the status quo.Ã That being said, Cox acknowledges (in accordance with his belief tha t theory belongs to its historical climate) that there can be a time and place for problem-solving theory. Problem solving takes the world as it is and focuses on correcting certain dysfunctions, certain specific problems. Critical theory is concerned with how the world, that is all the conditions that problem solving theory takes as the given framework, may be changing. Because problem solving theory has to take the basic existing power relationships as given, it will be biased towards perpetuating those relationships, thus tending to make the existing order hegemonic. What critical theory does is question these very structural conditions that are tacit assumptions for problem-solving theory, to ask whom and which purposes such theory serves. It looks at the facts that problem-solving theory presents from the inside, that is, as they are experienced by actors in a context which also consists of power relations. Critical theory thus historicizes world orders by uncovering the purposes problem solving theories within such an order serve to uphold. By uncovering the contingency of an existing world order, one can then proceed to think about different world orders. It is more marginal than problem solving theory since it does not comfortably provide policy recommendations to those in power. The strength of problem-solving theory relies in its ability to fix limits or parameters to a problem area, and to reduce the statement of a particular problem to a limited number of variables which are amenable to rather close and clear examination. The ceteris paribus assumption, the assumption that other things can be ignored, upon which problem-solving theorizing relies, makes it possible to derive a statement of laws and regularities which appear of general applicability. Critical theory is critical in the sense that it stands apart from the prevailing order, and asks how that world came about. It does not just accept it: a world that exists has been made, and in the context of a weakening historical structure it can be made anew. Critical theory, unlike problem-solving theory, does not take institutions and social power relations for granted, but calls them into question by concerning itself with their origins, and whether and how they might be in process of changing. It is directed towards an appraisal of the very framework for action, the historical structure, which the problem-solving theory accepts as its parameters. Critical theory is a theory of history, in the sense that it is not just concerned about the politics of the past, but the continuing process of historical change. Problem-solving theory is not historical, it is a-historical, in the sense that it in effect posits a continuing present; it posits the continuity of the institutions of p ower relations which constitute the rules of the game which are assumed to be stable. The strength of the one is the weakness of the other: problem-solving theory can achieve great precision, when narrowing the scope of inquiry and presuming stability of the rules of the game, but in so doing, it can become an ideology supportive of the status quo. Critical theory sacrifices the precision that is possible with a circumscribed set of variables in order to comprehend a wider range of factors in comprehensive historical change. Cox believes that Critical theory does not propound remedies or make predictions about the emerging shape of things; world order for example. It attempts rather, by analysis of forces and trends, to discern possible futures and to point to the conflicts and contradictions in the existing world order that could move things towards one or other of the possible futures. In that sense it can be a guide for political choice and action. Cox sums up the salient features the purpose of the Critical Theory as follows: 1.Ã Action is never absolutely free but takes place within a framework for action with constitutes its problematic 2.Ã Not only action but also theory is shaped by the problematic 3.Ã The framework for action changes over time and a principal goal of critical theory is to understand these changes 4.Ã The framework has the form of an historical structure 5.Ã The framework is to be viewed from the bottom or from the outside in terms of the conflicts which arise within it and open the possibility of its transformation Having outlined his theoretical perspective, Cox explicates the role of historical structure in the formation of world orders, paying particular attention to hegemony. a structure is defined by its potentials in the form of material capabilities (technological, organizational, and natural resources) and ideas (historically conditioned intersubjective meanings and conflicting collective images of social order) institutionalization, which reflects and entrenches the power relations evident when particular institutions arose, is linked to the Gramscian concept of hegemony. In a hegemonic structure, the dominant interests secure power by co-opting the weak as they express their leadership in terms of universal or general interests these processes are not static; rather, they are limited totalities of a particular time and space which contain the dialectic possibility of change; that is, social forces, forms of state, and world orders can all be represented as a series of dominant and eme rgent rival structures = Social forces, hegemony, and imperialism interact as states mediate global and local social forces, establishing the political economy perspective in which power emerges from social forces and ideas, institutions and material capabilities are assessed on these three levels Cox then discusses the internationalization of the state as fragments of states evolved to become the primary units of interaction in developed states this represents the ascendancy of state ministries as independent actors, while in the periphery the power rests with international organizations. International production is engendering a global class structure which co-exists with national class structures, led by the transnational managerial class. Workers have also been fragmented into non-established and established, working respectively in international and national production, creating problems for social cohesion. Future world order prospects are presented in three hypothetical situations based on configurations of social forces with varying implications for the state system. Firstly, there is the possibility of a new hegemony based on internationalized production, suggesting a continued primacy of international capital and interests in both the core and the periphery. Conversely, a non-hegemonic world structure of conflicting power centers may emerge if neo-mercantilism rises in the core, creating a climate of cooperation with a particular core state for each periphery country. Finally, Cox does not rule out the possibility of a counter-hegemony based in the periphery, resulting in the termination of the core-periphery relationship which is entirely contingent on increased development in the periphery. Coxs strength lies primarily in his thorough assessment of historical examples without downplaying the role of history as neorealists do with their picking historical facts out of a quarry approach. Moreover, his re-orientation and reframing of international relations theory as a normative, emancipatory exercise establishes the discipline as a source of progress, rather than a cottage industry justifying the status quo. Critical theory emphasizes the political aspect of political science, reminding students and observers that each theorist (or diplomat) must contend with their own personal and cultural prejudices as human observers of politics cannot divorce themselves from their subject matter. Ultimately, critical theorys value rests with its reflexivity and hope for progress. Let us take an example to understand the applicability of this statement in real life scenario. Let us look at Climate change as a scenario and apply the statement and the theory relevance. With the example of climate change, the question is not to choose between problem-solving or critical theory. Problem solving theory is practical and necessary since it tells us how to proceed given certain conditions (for instance, the consequences to be expected from carbon generated from certain forms of behavior in terms of damage to the biosphere). Critical theory broadens the scope of inquiry by analyzing the forces favoring or opposing changing patterns of behavior. In the example of climate change, problem-solving theory asks how to support the big and ever increasing world population by industrial means yet with a kind of energy that is not going to pollute the planet. It requires a lot of innovative thought, has to mobilize huge reluctant and conservative social forces within a slow moving established order with vested interests in the political and industrial complex surrounding existing energy sources. Problem-solving theory gives opportunity to innovate and explore new forms of energy. Critical theory would take one step further and envisage a world order focused not just on humanity but on the whole of life, taking into account the web of relations in which humanity is only part in our world. Humans have to come to terms what it means to be part of the biosphere, and not just the dominant feature. In fact, it is a big problem of Western religion and modernist enlightenment thinking alike that nature is seen to be created in service of humans in the first, and is a force to be dominated in the second. Both Western religion and modernism have analytically disembedded humans from nature, turning nature into something to be dominated or an abstracted factor of production. To rethink this, to make humans part of nature, implies seeing humans as an entity with a responsibility vis-Ã -vis the bigger world of which they are a part. Conclusion One has to question about the intent, the goal and the purposes of those who construct theories in specific historical situations. Broadly speaking, for any theory, there are two possible purposes to serve. One is for guiding the solving of problems posed within the particular context, the existing structure or the status quo. This leads to a problem-solving form of theory, which takes the existing context as given and seeks to make it work better. The other which is called critical theory is more reflective on the processes of change of historical structures, upon the transformation or challenges arising within the complex of forces constituting the existing historical structure, the existing common sense of reality. Critical thinking then contemplates the possibility of an alternative. We need to know the context in which theory is produced and used; and we need to know whether the aim of the user is to maintain the existing social order or to change it? Ever since, Coxs work has inspired critical students of IR and International Political Economy to think beyond the boundaries of conventional theorizing and to investigate the premises that underpin and link international politics and academic reflection on it. Recognized by many as one of the worlds most important thinkers in both IR and IPE, Cox assembles impressive and complex thinking stemming from history, philosophy, and geopolitics, to illuminate how politics can never be separated from economics, how theory is always linked to practice, and how material relations and ideas are inextricably intertwined to co-produce world orders.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)