IT Solutions for Small and Medium

IT Solutions for Small and Medium Introduction The Internet of Things (Internet of Things) will grow over the next years in application and adoption. As it grows, its associated technologies will also have to undergo major advancements to accommodate customization and scaling needs of the Internet of Things. For example, privacy, security and semantic interoperability are all features that need further attention.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on IT Solutions for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, other IT advancements like cloud technologies and big data, as well as future networks like in the case of proposed 5G will also have to be considered when contemplating the adoption of the Internet of Things now and in the medium-term. For Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the IT solutions combined with the Internet of Things promise to enhance competitiveness and to make the daily running of businesses easy. E nhancement will come through better customer relationships, better supply chain management and relationships, as well as the provision of an affordable innovative avenue that translates to better services and products. However, the uptake of cloud computing, big data analytics, the Internet of Things, among other features faces the hurdle of overcoming sceptical thoughts about the advancements and their actual need for SMEs (Ruggieri Nikookar 2013). Research mythology The findings of this research come from a secondary literature review guided by the papers title. The researcher relied on internet sources for publications that discuss the present and past features of SMEs adoption of the novel IT features. It also relied on published research findings from other scholars to make deductions and to inform the analysis part of the paper. Application of theory/methods This paper will rely on the theories about diffusion as they apply to technology adoption in reviewing the various rese arch reports and industry reports on the use of technologies. The various states of technology adoption are awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption. The provided states allow practitioners to categorize a country, institution, or sector according to its stage of adoption. Alternatively, adoption could be categorized in the form of two categories; the innovators and the imitators. This would apply to the users of the technology and its creators. SMEs that are innovators would be those that base their decision to embrace the solution independently. Meanwhile, the imitators would be the ones that are influenced by other firms and industry trends to adopt the given technologies.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), behavioural intentions rely on the attitude about the likelihood that a given behaviour will lea d to an expected outcome. At the same time, it will depend on the subjective review of associated risks of the behaviour and the benefits of the outcomes. In this respect, when looking at an SME as a social entity, its behaviour of adoption will depend on its attitude or the known features of adopting, as well as the expected outcomes and the risk associated with the uptake compared to its benefits (Al-Qirim (ed.) 2004). The use of the TPB is informed in part by the fact that in SMEs, the business owners mostly behave like individual decision-makers. At the same time, the secondary literature available shows that new technology adoption, behaviour of SMEs is similar to a person’s processing of adopting technologies. However, in the business case, social influence would translate to influences happening in the competitive environment, such as the need to grow competitiveness or to catch up with the competition (Dahnil et al. 2014). Lastly, the Task-Technology Fit Theory is als o useful in explaining the adoption of technologies. According to the theory, the task and technology characteristic will affect its suitability and performance when used by humans and compatibility affects adoption (Dahnil et al. 2014). Findings A requirement of cloud computing is that the infrastructure must have access to data anywhere, anytime, and on any devices at a level that meets the minimum threshold of quality service. In many European countries and in North America, a high number of individuals have access to broadband and almost all corporate entities are hooked to broadband internet services. The existence of a network of connected individuals and companies provides the market requirement for cloud computing and offers demand for the service (Kloch, Petersen Madsen 2011).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on IT Solutions for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For cloud compu ting to make sense, it has to be combined with broadband and for SMEs; the inclusion of e-commerce makes the uptake more exiting in the business sense. According to Kloch, Petersen and Madsen (2011), there is a huge number of SMEs that still apply manual billing systems, like the use of Excel-like systems. Such SMEs are also ill equipped in their respective IT departments, such that they are unable to embrace advances in the automation of their systems. As a result, they spend most of their human resources on their manual system. For the society, which includes businesses of all sizes, to benefit from the possibilities of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), the applied processes must be efficient. In this regard, there is a need for ease of maintenance, flexibility, and scalability to a worldwide platform. A possible solution has been to remove the hardware limitations caused by the geographical and physical needs of hardware for computing. Instead, solutions are offer ed by cloud computing, which serves as the necessary infrastructure upon which other normal business system services lay (Kloch, Petersen Madsen 2011). In Hong Kong, the existence of an excellent and affordable ICT infrastructure that supports the delivery of secure e-services and the development of the local ICT industry has been instrumental in facilitating the update of cloud computing, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things (So 2013). In addition, market liberalisation has allowed internet access to penetrate throughout the population at an affordable price. In such a geographically small area, in comparison to the mainland China, the broadband penetration is 85 per cent (So 2013). On the other hand, Hong Kong enjoys a mobile penetration rate of 231 per cent, which makes it one of the highest in the world. Typical speeds for users are about 10 Mbps, while peak speeds reach more than 60 Mbps (So 2013). Now and then, SMEs have to deal with the fact that technology comes a long in a way that is so profound, powerful, and universal, such that it changes the way of doing business totally (Ramsey et al. 2003). In theory, the top performing SMEs are the ones that embrace ICT in all their operations.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The reason for this theory is that the services and systems under ICT provide a business with competitive advantages, which are distinctive in the first instance, but they become common after wide adoption. Even then, the businesses that are left out of the ICT bandwagon cannot match efficiencies and scalability enjoyed by their counterparts that are already seeking more robust ICT features to improve their production processes and service delivery, as well as customer and supply chain relations (Ramsey et al. 2003). In 2003, according to research by Ramsey et al. (2003), most SMEs in European countries were not using ICTs, such as the Internet for commercial transactions. They were missing out on the benefits of e-business and the upstream or downstream application. In North Ireland, 83 per cent of business respondents mentioned that they had no strategy for including the Internet or ICT in general as part of their marketing strategy (Ramsey et al. 2003). On the other hand, overwhe lming evidence also presented by Ramsey et al. (2003) shows that despite the numerous possibilities of ICT and the different levels of maturity for e-commerce usages, most SMEs have low-level requirements and they follow non-linear path. Unfortunately, at the time, available models were weak in theoretical underpinning, even though they obliged to the principles of e-business. Nevertheless, most SMEs were subjected to heavy usage of their scarce resources on these models (Ramsey et al. 2003). Zhuge (2011) helps to link human intelligence and control to the advancement of intelligent information processing technologies and their various uses. The research notes that unlike humans, machines can only process pre-designed algorithms and data structures in the cyber space. They cannot move beyond the cyberspace to learn thinking rules or know the effect of linking. Neither can they explain what happens when computing results are added to physical, psychological, and social laws. Neverthe less, researchers, developers, and practitioners are advancing their knowledge and applications that link various spaces to create a complex space, where cyber space is only a part of it. A consequence of such integration is the development of cyber-physical-psychological-socio-mental environment (Zhuge 2011). Indeed, Zhuge (2011) points out the possibilities of linking various spaces to realize a human-machine environment uniting society, cyberspace, and nature. Here, patterns of social individuals’ movements are collected and analysed to reflect the status of the individual or a society. With these patterns, it is possible to provide appropriate services to users and to make the right decisions to change a given status. Thus, the application of the interconnections is helpful to both organizations delivering goods and services and consumers of the goods and services, as it increases understandings of entire systems of components of the system. According to Mui (2012), SMEs adopt business intelligence products and services for growth, differentiation, and agility. They are able to understand their businesses and make better decisions, which should lead to more sustainable growth together with differentiating pursuits and agility. This is what Zhuge (2010) theoretically presumed when contemplating the effect of super networked spaces. Cloud technologies that incorporate in-memory computing allow businesses to obtain immediate answers through a remarkable increase in the speed of analytics. They also get real-time access and deeper insight as they can interrogate a large scope of granular data. Moreover, the solutions are simpler and more cost-effective because the IT complexity burden is low (Mui 2012). With big data analytics, it is possible to employ in-database, predictive algorithms to obtain various insights into internal and external business trends. At the same time, SMEs can access open source algorithms that directly integrate into their big da ta analytics systems, such that they would not have to incur additional programming and customization costs. Moreover, it is possible to embed specific or entire components of the big data analytics framework to existing business platforms and extend the obtained business intelligence into company reports, with delivery options of the information happening real-time to companywide communication channels, such as alerts to smartphones (Mui 2012). The European Commission (2013a) evaluated the current adoption, plans of adoption, and drivers or barriers of big data usage by EU companies. The report shows that big data include hardware and software integration, organization, management, and analysis with the presentation of data that is massive in volume of data and is varied in the breadth of data sources and formats (European Commission 2013a). In addition, there is a velocity characterized by a high speed at which information arrival, analysis and delivery happen, and value character ized by cost of technology and utility (European Commission 2013a). When considering adoption of big data, SMEs have to invest in the following features either as services provided by intermediary companies or as an in-house solution. They need the infrastructure, which includes storage systems, servers, and data centre networking. They also need software to manage and organize data, software to analyse and discover, as well as decision support and automation software. Other than that, companies implementing big data technologies need business consulting services, business process outsources, and other outsourcing services for IT and IT project based. They may also demand support and training services for big data implementations (European Commission 2013a). According to Miller and Mork (2013), SMEs require a plan that considers the entire continuum of big data application from the begging of data collection to the final decision based on the data collected. Thus, the biggest benefi t arises when all stakeholders in the continuum integrate big data solutions. After a decade of the Ramsey et al. (2003) research that reported limited uptake of ICT by SMEs, the European Commission (2013b) report quotes a 29 per cent figure for European companies that are ready for big data uptake. At the same time, a majority of business included in the survey content that they need to re-asses their current information management processes to meet the challenges of data growth. Nevertheless, big data adoption is still in its infancy at 6.2 per cent for SMEs, with 10 to 250 employees (European Commission 2013b). However, from the same survey, trends show that adoption among SMEs will increase significantly due to vertical integration along the supply chain and in particular industries, such as financial, oil and gas, telecom, computers, and electronics where data processing needs are high. Drivers of adoption include the data explosion witnessed in recent years. In fact, compared to 2003 when Ramsey et al. (2003) made their report, 2013 witnessed an extraordinary increase in internet usage and data transfers. The world now creates about 2.5 quintillion bytes of data daily (Xia et al. 2012). Today, sources of data include social media, digital imaging and video, smart meters, non-traditional networked smart devices, and machine to machine communication in factories. IT vendors are also producing tools for collection, storage, and analysis to meet the emerging needs of dealing with the data. Consumers and customers are also becoming more connected and demand access and availability of ready-to-use information. As consumers demand personalization, they are ceding more privacy to enterprises. Now data and personalization is not only happening in traditional environments like call centres and mobile applications, but also on cars and domestic appliances in the Internet of Things. But, as hinted earlier, resistance to share personal and proprietary data and inform ation will remain hindrances for the adoption and full utilization of cloud computing, big data, social media, and the Internet of Things. For SMEs, the lack of time and resources to study trends and opportunities and threats serves as a barrier for uptake of the IT innovations. Language differences make data analysis complex, just like differences in national regulations on privacy and data usage also complicate matters for SMEs seeking to fully utilize the novelty of the various technologies. According to Duhnil et al. (2014), social media is among the most popular novel IT technologies embraced by SMEs across the world. Social media has become a fresh tool for marketing communication. It fits well with the need to deploy rapid and dynamic campaigns for businesses that are already using other forms of electronic media. Its adoption is helped by the social uptake of the technology and service, which now make it relevant for both businesses and customers (Michaelidou, Siamagka Chri stodoulides 2011). Social media marketing is now a subset of marketing, where the marketing practices, information, and ideas spread through social media online. Nevertheless, social media marketing and usage are not social marketing. The latter is the bigger environment within which the former falls into (Dahnil et al. 2014). End users remain a major factor in influencing the adoption of social media by SMEs; a second influencing factor is the technological orientation of the SMEs, which determines just how compatible the intended adoption will be. A third reason is the management when looked at from the business environment perspective (Durkin, McGowan McKeown 2013). Critical analysis The uptake of cloud computing, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things among SMEs globally has not been very successful in the past decade, as it would be expected. Part of the reason, as elaborated in the findings of this paper, is the misalignment of risk and costs with the expected benefit s of the technologies. As the European Commission (2013a) report stated, the uptake was more in bigger companies than in SMEs, which would be partly attributed to the accessibility of technology. The findings have also shown that SMEs have discontinued systems that would benefit most SMEs in integration, but the integration would be too costly. In this respect, it is not surprising to see that there are many research reports on SME adoption of social media compared to the Internet of Things, Big Data analytics, and Cloud Computing. During the research, this researcher encountered many pointers to social media usage by SMEs, especially in their marketing efforts. It explains why the other features of IT developments have not caught up with business owners. The reason is that they do not directly affect the customer as much as social media does. Most help in the backend, thus they are not readily considered as revenue generating opportunities for the small and medium firms. As Mui (20 12) and Zhuge (2011) showed, the uptake of networked based implementation, such as big data analytics and the Internet of Things depend more on the level of vertical integration. Thus, when one compares firms operating in highly integrated industries, such as the financial sectors, one is most likely to find SMEs that embrace cloud technologies and big data, while those in manufacturing chains may not have deep linkages with vertical partners other than basic business process relations (Schwertner 2013). The limited uptake among SMEs of the mentioned technologies is changing rapidly because the cost of not catching up to the competition is rising. The demand for efficient and usable systems for handling data will also increase among all business sizes, thus SMEs are not spared. As the report by So (2013) on Hong Kong highlighted, and as Zhuge (2011) also contemplated, the future will see the connection of various spaces to realize a multi-networked environment where data gathering a nd analysis will be key to survival and understanding. Thus, SMEs will undoubtedly have to adopt at a faster rate than they currently do. Limitation and implications This research was restricted in scope by relying on secondary literature. It does not provide new information other than the analysis due to the lack of primary data sources as part of its limitation. Another limitation of the research would be the existence of errors in the researches and reports consulted for the study, or biases exist in the scholars’ analysis of their findings. Nevertheless, the paper serves as an important contribution that brings together the analysis of big data, the Internet of Things, cloud computing and social media in one report. Thus, practitioners will be able to get insights at a glance. Lastly, the recommendation to SME owners is that they should embrace these technologies as a matter of survival. Reference List Al-Qirim, N (ed.) 2004, Electronic commerce in small to medium-sized e nterprises, Idea Group Publishing, Hershey. Dahnil, MI, Marzuki, KM, Langgat, J Fabeil, NF 2014, Factors influencing SMEs adoption of social media marketing, Procedia Social and Behavioral Science, vol 148, pp. 119-126. Durkin, M, McGowan, P McKeown, N 2013, Exploring social media adoption in small to medium-sized enterprises in Ireland, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol 20, no. 4, pp. 716-734. European Commission 2013a, Business opportunities: Big data, Report, EC. European Commission 2013b, Horizon 2020 Work programme 2014-2015, http://ec.europa.eu/research/participants/portal4/doc/call/h2020/common/1587758-05i._ict_wp_2014-2015_en.pdf. Kloch, C, Petersen, EB Madsen, OB 2011, Cloud based infrastructure, the new business possibilities and barriers, Wireless Personal Communications, vol 58, no. 1, pp. 17-30. Michaelidou, N, Siamagka, NT Christodoulides, G 2011, Usage, barriers and measurement of social media marketing: An exploratory investigation of sm all and medium B2B brands, Industrial Marketing Management, vol 40, no. 7, pp. 1153-1159. Miller, HG Mork, P 2013, From data to decisions: A value chain for big data, IT Professional, Jan-Feb 2013, pp. 57-59. Mui, E 2012, Do small businesses have big data needs?, Ecosystem Channels Product Marketing at SAP, SAP AG. Ramsey, E, Ibbotson, P, Bell, J Gray, B 2003, E-opportunities of service sector SMEs: an Irish cross-border study, Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development, vol 10, no. 3, p. 250. Ruggieri, M Nikookar, H 2013, Internet of things: Converging technologies for smart environments and integrated ecosystems, River Publishers, Aalborg. Schwertner, K 2013, Modern Information Technology (IT): Factor for business efficiency and business driver, Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing, vol 9, no. 8, pp. 1131-1139. So, G 2013, Public consultation on 2014 digital 21 strategy, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Hong Kong. Xia, F, Yang, LT, Wang, L Vinel, A 201 2, Internet of Things, International Journal of Communication Systems, vol 25, no. 9, pp. 1101-1102. Zhuge, H 2011, Semantic linking through spaces for cyber-physical-socio intelligence: A methodolgy, Artificial Intelligence, vol 5, no. 6, pp. 988-1019.

A Selection of Quotes by Jomo Kenyatta

A Selection of Quotes by Jomo Kenyatta Jomo Kenyatta was an activist and politician in Kenya who led the country as Prime Minister in 1963 and then as President in 1964. He is credited for his part in turning Kenya into an independent republic. He died in office at the age of 81. Quotes If Africans were left in peace on their own lands, Europeans would have to offer them the benefits of white civilization in real earnest before they could obtain the African labor which they want so much. They would have to offer the African a way of life which was really superior to the one his fathers lived before, and a share in the prosperity given them by their command of science. They would have to let the African choose what parts of European culture could be beneficially transplanted, and how they could be adapted ... The African is conditioned, by cultural and social institutions of centuries, to freedom of which Europe has a little conception, and it is not in his nature to accept serfdom forever. Europeans assume that, given the right knowledge and ideas, personal relations can be left largely to take care of themselves, and this is perhaps the most fundamental difference in outlook between Africans and Europeans. You and I must work together to develop our country, to get education for our children, to have doctors, to build roads, to improve or provide all day-to-day essentials. To .. all the dispossessed youth of Africa: for the perpetuation of communion with ancestral spirits through the fight for African freedom, and in the firm faith that the dead, the living, and the unborn will unite to rebuild the destroyed shrines. Our children may learn about the heroes of the past. Our task is to make ourselves the architects of the future. Where there has been racial hatred, it must be ended. Where there has been tribal animosity, it will be finished. Let us not dwell upon the bitterness of the past. I would rather look to the future, to the good new Kenya, not to the bad old days. If we can create this sense of national direction and identity, we shall have gone a long way to solving our economic problems. Many people may think that now there is Uhuru, now I can see the sun of Freedom shining, richness will pour down like manna from Heaven. I tell you there will be nothing from Heaven. We must all work hard, with our hands, to save ourselves from poverty, ignorance, and disease. If we respect ourselves and our Uhuru, foreign investment will pour in and we will prosper. We do not want to oust the Europeans from this country. But what we demand is to be treated like the white races. If we are to live here in peace and happiness, racial discrimination must be abolished. God said this is our land, land in which we flourish as people... we want our cattle to get fat on our land so that our children grow up in prosperity; and we do not want the fat removed to feed others.

Annotated Bibliography for Africas Hunger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Annotated Bibliography for Africas Hunger - Essay Example its failure to offer food security to its people, many people think that Africa unproductive, but it is an agriculturally productive continent, but lacks ways of managing its food production, and has poor farming practices and, therefore, the yields are minimal. "13 Million People threatened by Food Crisis in Africa" Telegraph.co.uk. 9 Mar. 2012. Web. 10 Mar.2012.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/9133915/13- million-people-threatened-by- food-crisis-in-Africa.html. This newspaper article highlights issues pertaining to the food crisis in Africa and its effect on the people of Africa. HIV/AIDS has resulted in deaths in the past years since it was discovered in Africa. This has affected the workforce. More people die and others become sick and cannot work anymore. This has made it impossible for some African countries because they lack personnel to work in industries for production of food. For this reason, the rate of poverty still goes high as people do not earn an income. HIV/AIDS has resulted further to deaths resulting in desperation amongst some Africans to the extent that they are discouraged to work and produce food. In the end, they die of hunger. The contents of this newspaper article give information on how this situation has become life threatening in Africa. This book was written following a hearing that had been held in 1984, on the basis of African affairs; inclusive of the hunger problem that had started to become a problem in the continent. They spoke of the unfair trade markets and how it affected the people’s trading of goods across continents. Unfair trade markets has also contributed to hunger in one way or another, the exportation of food crops has become very lucrative in Africa, but the problem arises because the crops being exported are being underpaid and the freight charges are high. This still hinders the growth of GDP. It contributes to hunger as it increases the rate of hunger in the population due to

The role of His Highness Shiekh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nhayan in the Essay

The role of His Highness Shiekh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nhayan in the formation of the UAE - Essay Example While the cities are growing at a rapid pace, the economies are also boosting, resulting in employment and social prospects for the people. Amongst the developed nations of today’s world, United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of it. United Arab Emirates is a legitimate alliance that came into formulation in the last quarter of 1971, consists of seven emirates that are â€Å"Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah† (Miller, pp. 35-79, 2004). UAE is located in Southwest Asia and its border connects with Qatar to its west side, Oman lies to its north and east and Saudi Arabia is at its south and west part. Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Iran connect the sea boundary with UAE (Miller, pp. 35-79, 2004). Abu Dhabi is considerably the biggest city of the federation amongst all the other emirates and is the capital of United Arab Emirates, which is the focal point of political and industrial functioning. Ajman is the smallest emirate of UAE and su bsumes the nominal area of the whole. A mixture of topography is present in UAE. More than half of the entire area of it is a barren region and desert, nevertheless, this country comes under the category of one of the most urbanized, developed and beautiful places in the world. Distinct and divergent sceneries, overwhelming sandbanks, rich oases, sheer and steep rock-strewn mountains and fruitful prairie are all geographical factors that highlight the beauty of UAE (Miller, pp. 35-79, 2004). UAE is a state, which has made the use of the modern technologies to its fullest and has included its name in one of the world’s fastest growing states. UAE not only worked on expansion of the emirate but it paid scores of attention in developing its tourism due to its classy infrastructure, thus, putting efforts on building numerous shopping malls, high-class hotels and restaurants and holiday resorts. With its widespread and beautiful sandy beaches, diverse sceneries, deserts, diverse s ports activities, shopping, resorts and captivating customary traditional culture makes UAE a perfect and an ideal place for a holiday. Since bygone eras, geological location is of utmost importance as it makes UAE easily accessible to different parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. Indian Ocean has a brawny weight on the climatic conditions of UAE due to the reason that it touches the borders of Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, therefore, the atmospheric conditions of UAE comes under the dry, scorched, and parched tropical zone. Due to this reason, UAE experiences intense warmth and heat that comes with humidity in the summer seasons particularly in the coastal areas. The temperature deviations between the coastal regions, deserts, and hilly areas observe a clear and visible pattern. The nights of UAE to some extent are chilly than that of the daytime weather (Rashid & Nel, pp. 25-55, 2001). Despite of the fact that UAE is a country that has a president and has come into formation, it e ncompasses neither a lawful kingdom or absolute monarchy, nor a democracy. It comprises of seven separate kingdoms, which comes under governance by seven different authorities, each having its own supremacy and domination. Though the rulers of all the federations select a president, the ultimate power remains in the hands of these monarchs called emirs/sheikhs. A constitution of UAE do not guide the emirs as to

Globalization Impact on Chinese Culture

Globalization Impact on Chinese Culture Globalization is an irresistible trend in the progress of society. From the introduction of the concept of globalization and widespread use among mainstream press, the lives of most people in the world are affected by the impact of globalization. Globalization can be regarded as a process which is essentially multifaceted and intimately related to free trade, technological innovation and information communication, demographic change linked to the development of global societies, socio-cultural, economic, and ideological convergence (Thomas, 2005, p. 138). In recent years, the impact of globalization is more obviously reflected in the exchange of goods, technology, and culture. Although globalization recedes the constraints of geography on economic, political and cultural arrangement (Water, 2001, p.5), integration and confliction still company in the process of globalization due to the diversity of values and ideologies hold by people from different countries. Generally speaking, glo balization brings positive and negative impact on peoples daily lives, which is not only changing the living styles, but also challenging traditional culture values of a nation. Global culture inevitably uniforms and standardizes peoples day to day lives. As Waters suggests that there will be a single society and culture occupying the whole planet in a globalized world (Waters, 2001, p.5). It is believed that the global marketing of artifacts is not only to maximize profits, but also to disseminate and reinforce culture influence of an economic power (Oliver, 2005, p.10). There are many phenomena can be observed as the influence of global culture. English is used as a dominant language in global communication, commodities of famous brands such as Coca Cola, Nike, and Adidas are sold in shops around the world, fast foods like KFC and McDonalds become popular among young people, and Internet transfers the whole world into a village. According to Thomas (2005, p. 143) socio-cultural dimension to globalization involves changes in attitudes to cultural and religious beliefs. Thus, it is likely that the uniformity and standardization of global culture leads to a p otential danger of challenging identities of a nation. China receives challenges and opportunities through globalization, which has a great impact on Chinas economy and culture. After carrying out the reform and opening up policy in 1978, China gradually involved in the flood of global market. During over thirty years development in the global market, China achieves significant accomplishments in the aspects of economy, international competitiveness, and the improvement of peoples lives. According to the speech at the meeting marking the 30th anniversary of reform and opening up in the year 2008 by Chairman Hu Jintao, the total import and export of China raised from $20.6 billion to $2.17 trillion during the period from 1978 to 2007, which ranked the third in the world and became the No.1 country in terms of foreign reserves, and the paid-up overseas investment amounted to nearly $1 trillion. Therefore, it is obvious that globalization and international cooperation speed up Chinas economic development while contributing a lot to the worl d economy. As to the culture aspect, Chinese traditional culture is inescapably affected by global culture. In the process of globalization, western world takes dominant position in advanced technology and economic system, therefore, the global culture is mainly composed by the western culture, which is characterized by free markets, consumerism and individualism (Arnett, 2002, p.777). In contrast, countries such as China and Japan have tradition of collectivistic values (Natio Gielen, in press; White, 1993 cited in Arnett, 2002, p.776). When traditional Chinese values meet global culture under the circumstance of globalization, there will be some extent of conflicts and integrations, which will generate the crisis on the issue of identity. Identity crisis can be regarded as a new phenomenon brought by globalization. In the following essay, it will critically analyze the issue of identity among some Chinese young people under the influence of globalization and global culture. Chinese culture also has reaction on global culture. In recent years, China is making an effort to introduce its traditional cultures and values to the world and laying some extent of influence on the global culture. By the end of 2009, there have been 282 Confucius institutes and 272 Confucius Classrooms established in 88 countries, and the Confucius Institutes/Classrooms adopt suitable teaching styles to teach Chinese language as well as promoting Chinese cultures (http://english.hanban.org/node_10971.htm). Chinese cultures and values are gradually recognized by western society, which is a consequence of cross-cultural communication in globalization. Byram (1989) suggests that Culture is knowledge which is shared and negotiated between people, belonging to all of them and not being idiosyncratic to any single one. It is necessary to develop an understanding and appreciation of other cultures meanwhile critically thinking about ones own culture and other cultures (Byram, 1996, p.25) . The following essay will mainly focus on two aspects, the impact of globalization on Chinese culture and the reaction of Chinese culture to the world. In the first section, it will critically analyze the issue of identity among Chinese young people, how it is formed, affected and reinforced through the global culture brought by globalization, and the efforts by government and schools to strength students notion of identity. In the second section, it will discuss the intercultural communication and culture exchange between nations in the world under the circumstance of globalization, and illustrate the importance of intercultural competence in globalization. Section One: The Challenge of Chinese Culture on the Aspect of Identity Issue under the Affection of Globalization As discussed above, the identity issue of Chinese young people can be regarded as a consequence of globalization and global culture imposes influence on Chinese traditional cultures and values. In order to demonstrate this, this section will firstly focus on the concept of identity and Chinese identity in order to present a framework of the identity issue. Secondly, it will critically analyze the identity crisis of Chinese young people through the process of globalization. Thirdly, in this section, it will suggest that the conscious of globalization and cross-cultural communication should be introduced into education though various challenges and problems may company through the process. 1. The concepts of identity and the formation of Chinese young peoples identity 1.1 The concepts of identity There are many forms of identities in academic field, but this assignment will mainly focus on three kinds of identities, which are national identity, cultural identity, and social identity respectively. As to national identity, different researchers suggest various models. Smith (1991) proposes a Western civic model, which focused on territory and the idea of patria (Smith, 1991, p.10), and a non-Western ethnic model, which emphases on descent and blood tie. However, Kellas claims that ethnic, social an official nationalism are more important than geographical boundaries (Kellas, 1991, cited in Parmenter, 1997, p.24). It is obvious that the definition of national identity is based on some common ideas such as shared territory, shared culture and community for group, and recognition, acceptance and sense of belonging for the individual (Parmenter, 1997, p.26). Compared with Ting-Toomey and Chungs definition of cultural identity (2005, p.93), which emphasizes the emotional significance of belonging to a larger culture, Brock and Tulasiewiczs definition is more precise and recapitulative. Brock and Tulasiewicz indicate that cultural identity is a world view, constructed and developed by the individual in interaction with others (Parmenter, 1997, p.27). The elements such as language and religious help to shape cultural identity but these are not the determinate factors. The relationship between national identity and cultural identity implied by Parmenter (1997, p.27) is that national identity is constructed on the basis of cultural identity and involves particular political ideas, attitudes, values and practice in the cultural identity. The form and development of national and cultural identity can be analyzed by the secondary socialization theory. School education and curriculum such as language and history offer a chance to nurture national and majority cultural identities (Tate, 1994, cited in Parmenter, 1997, p.35). According to Berger and Luckmanns secondary socialization theory (1966), the assimilation of primary knowledge mush through pedagogic techniques. The education process works as a pedagogic technique, which is strengthen the concept of individuals fist notion, in other words, is to reinforce the concepts of national and cultural identity. Social identity is stemmed from individuals group memberships and social comparison, as to establish self-esteem of individuals which based on the status of the group (Tajfel, 1981, p. 277). The concept of social identity shows the behavior of individuals when they act as a member of a group, and the feelings of being a member of a group. According to Tajfel (1978, 1981, cited in Ward, 2001, p. 103), the social identity mainly includes three features, which are self concept, awareness of membership in a group, and evaluative and emotional significance. These three features work as major element of defining social identity. It is also demonstrated by Tajfel that intergroup bias is irresistible consequence of social identification (Ward, 2001, p.104). Individuals seek status and self-esteem in their own group and judge it as superior than the other groups, which not only leads to prejudice on out-group people and in-group people, but also generates confliction and competition between g roups. 1.2 The formation of Chinese young peoples identity The formation of Chinese national identity can be tract back to 1930s. Through eight-year Chinas war resistance against Japan, Chinese people formed a united, patriotic and anti-imperialist national identity. Friedman (1995, p.6) claims that Maos communist-led peasant Red Army is regarded as a symbol of library, which unites Chinese people in a defensive order, even Confucius could not achieve such a strong influence in this period of time. After the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) in year of 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC) takes Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory as the guidance of its actions (http://www.china.org.cn/english/Political/26151.htm). Moreover, most universities in China offer compulsory courses of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory which brings formidable influence on the building of Chinese young peoples national identity. As to the cultural identity of Chinese young people, it is believed that the heritage of Confucian culture takes the dominant position in Chinese society. Confucianism is one of Chinese traditional culture values, which is formed on the basis of colleting experience of the nations exploration and response to the challenge of its national and social environment (Zheng, Yongnian, 1999, p.73). Grown up and educated in such a society, young people form their cultural identity and obtain cultural group membership unconsciously. The culture consciousness is internalized by individuals and finally forms cultural identity (Brock and Tulasiewicz, 1985:4, cited in Parmenter). The obtaining and challenge of social identity among Chinese young people can be analyzed under the circumstance of globalization. Social identity is a much broader concept which can include cultural or ethnic membership identity (Ting-Toomey and Chung, 2005, p.101). The process of globalization is not only an exchange of merchandise, but also an interaction between western and eastern cultures. Some Chinese young people appreciate and accept western culture and values. In this sense, the in-group and out-group in social identity theory can be categorized as follows in this essay: Under the influence of western culture to Chinese traditional culture, those people who hold traditional cultural values of Chinese collective culture can be regarded as an in-group, and the out-group can be regarded as those Chinese young people who are westernized through the process of globalization. 2. Identity Crisis of Chinese Young People through the Process of Globalization and Efforts to reshape identity 2.1 Analysis of Identity Crisis among Chinese Young People The identity crisis towards Chinese young people under the circumstance of globalization can be mainly analyzed in two aspects, namely cultural identity crisis and social identity crisis. The cultural identity crisis is a crisis of Chinese traditional world view and cultural values, which produced in the process of western cultures and values invading into Chinese traditional culture values, while social identity crisis is stemmed from how individuals categorize themselves and others in terms of their belonging to groups (Tajfel, 1981), thus, in the circumstance of China, the follow essay will analyze how Chinese young people categorize themselves in terms of groups. But first, the essay will discuss the unique characteristic of Chinese young people under the influence of globalization and global culture. Those Chinese young people who are experiencing their adolescence year are a unique group in the formation of identity. Adolescence is a certain period of year between childhood and adulthood, which involves psychological revolution, uncertainty, curiosity towards the new trend, and the willingness to learn (Erikson, 1968, p.128). Those Chinese young people who were born after the Reform and Opening Up policy carried out in China have experienced a totally different growing environment from the generation of their parents. Under the influence of globalization, Chinese young people find themselves in a wave of technological, economic, and global cultural trend. It is the characteristic of adolescence determines that Chinese young people have a willingness to learn and accept the western values promoted by globalization as well as traditional values hold by Chinese collective culture. It seems likely that the intimacy of western values in the process of globalization leads to a vaguene ss of Chinese young peoples identity. It could be argued that the period of adolescence is also a period of operating the function of secondary socialization as to form a world view, which is a proceeding process of internalizing the primary concept of ideology. The secondary socialization deals with the already formed self and an already internalized word (Berger and Luckmann, 1966, p.160). In the context of China, traditional cultures and values hold by the society can be regarded as circumstance for Chinese young people to form primary socialization, while education offered by school and society contributes to the effort to form young peoples secondary socialization. Under the influence of globalization and invading of western values to Chinese society, the building of concept through second socialization of Chinese young people is receiving more outer influence and challenges, because of the values promoted by global culture and western values may contradict to their primary concept. Erikson (1968, p.162) claims that the egos function to integrate the relation of newly added identity element with those already in existence, but if the newly added identity elements is conflicted with the former one, there will be an identity crisis come into being. Globalization accelerates the communication around the world, although China is famous for its conservative culture, it is cannot be denied that Chinese traditional culture is affected by the western values. Chinese culture is built in the society of collectivistic values, in which the power of the group is emphasized (Hofstede, 1991, p.50). Chinese people think highly of the family tie and the values such as filial piety, which implies the proper relations of parents and children in Chinese traditional culture. Parents have absolute power in the family and should be respected and reverenced by children, children are taught that they are in duty bound to take care of their elder parents. However, nowadays it is reported that the empty-nest homes (where old couples live alone) make up 49.7% of households in urban areas (Seniors first, 2010), and 74% of young Chinese people feel incompetent to tend the old duo to various reasons (74% of young feel incompetent to tend the old, 2010). Chinese young people are in a danger of losing traditional values. It is widely believed that western values such as individualism and materialism introduce into Chinese culture and trigger a series of changes in Chinese society in the process of globalization. Chinese young people are facing the challenges of maintaining traditional values and internalizing traditional cultural consciousness while accessing to the global culture. Brock and Tulasiewicz (Parmenter, 1997, p.27) suggest that the cultural identity is a certain world view, constructed and developed by the individual in interaction with others. It is obvious that Chinese young peoples world view is challenged and different from the world view hold by traditional larger Chinese culture duo to the accessing of global culture. Therefore, the globalization and western values challenge Chinese young peoples cultural identity. Through the process of globalization, western festivals such as Christmas and Valentines Day become well known among Chinese young people. In contrast, some Chinese traditional festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival, Pure Brightness Day, and Double Ninth Festival are forgotten and even ignored. There is a tendency for some of Chinese young people to take on western values and pursue self-esteem by behaving differently. According to Tajfel (1981, p.277), social identity understood as deriving in a comparative and relational manner from an individuals group memberships. It can be assumed that some Chinese young people regard some western values are better than Chinese traditional values through comparison. Thus, there is a crisis in the aspect of social identity among some Chinese young people to define their place in a social system. 2.2 Efforts to Reshape Chinese Young Peoples Identity It has been shown that the issue of identity crisis is raised from the influence of globalization on Chinese culture. The essay above has analyzed cultural identity crisis and social identity crisis among Chinese young people under the influence of western culture. This section will critically analyze the efforts to reshape Chinese young peoples identity mainly from the aspect of education, and focus on the curriculum of Chinese literature and history. It is widely believed that school is in the position of promoting the development of the identity (Parmenter, 1997, p.34), therefore, it is can be assumed that school also plays an important role in reshaping of identity. Chinese education is carried out under the guideline of Education Law of the Peoples Republic of China. The Law (1995) points out the aims of Chinas education, which is to improve the quality of the whole nation and construct socialist material and spiritual civilization in accordance with the Constitution (Article 1), meanwhile, the Law also indicates that education should be carried out under the guideline of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought and the theories, moreover, education should also inherit and expand fine historical and cultural traditions as to achieve civilization progress of human beings. (Article 3, Article 7). Thus, it is can be seen that education in China has been politicized as to reinforce identity among students. Tate shows that language and history are two major curriculums that foster national and cultural identity (Parmenter, 1997, p.35). The Chinese literature curriculum is a course teaches students Chinese languages as well as Chinese traditional cultures and values, especially the Chinese Classic literature, in which contains Confucians classical works, such as The Four Books (The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects of Confucius, and The Mencius) and the five classics. Confucianism is the core value rooted in Chinese traditional culture and formed cultural identity among Chinese people. As to the language teaching in Chinese literature curriculum, despite the language helps Chinese young people to shape a world view, it is seemed likely that language is a much weaker factor compared with Chinese traditional values hold by the Chinese literature in reshaping cultural identity. Besides, language is not a direct factor in building cultural identity (Parmenter, 1997, p.27 ). However, it is cannot denied that Chinese Literature curriculum plays an important role in reconstruction of Chinese young peoples identity. As to the aspect of history curriculum in Chinas education, the reason of giving a prior consideration of history has argued by Goodson (1998, p.153), history is considered as revive and refocus of national identity and ideology. In the efforts of reshaping identity among Chinese young people, history curriculum operates the same function as Goodson discussed. Although the focus of Chinese history curriculum changes slightly, from historical materialism to Chinese dynastic and cultural heritage, from socialist people to national people, from socialism to nationalism (Jones, 2005, p.95) The function of history remains to the role of transmission of state-authorized memories as to support ethnic, regional, or political identities in both Nationalist and Communist China (Jones, 2005, p.94). 2.3 New Problems rise from the reshaping of Chinese Young Peoples Identity under the circumstance of globalization One issue that should concern us is the national curriculum under the influence of globalization. In the process of reconstruction of Chinese young peoples identity through national curriculum, there may be a tendency of ignoring the influence brought by globalization to Chinas society. The globalization brings significant changes in the aspects of social and cultural life to Chinese young people in and outside school, however, the designers of curriculum seem to ignore the phenomena and continuously draw up exam-oriented curriculum which focuses on building students national and cultural identity within the nation (Mccarthy, C., Giardina, M. D., Harewood, S. J., Park, J., 2003, p.454). It is likely that the over-emphasizing of national and cultural identity in national curriculum will bring negative effect on the awareness of the diversity cultural values in the world. Encouraging an understanding and appreciation of other cultures is the concept promoted in the international education (Cambridge, J., Thompson, J., 2004, p.162). While, Blaney (cited in Walker, 2000, p.200) suggests that Education systems rooted mainly in national concerns and constrained by national ideologies cannot educate young people to live meaningfully in a world society which is global. In the circumstance of globalization, it could be suggested that popular culture should be added into education. The popular culture should be understood as crucial terrain of political and social contestation, negotiation, and resistance that makes up the ever-shifting boundaries and alliances of youth identity formation (Mccarthy, C., Giardina, M. D., Harewood, S. J., Park, J., 2003, p.463). This section mainly deals with the challenge of Chinese culture on the aspect of Chinese young peoples identity under the influence of Globalization. A framework is built through concepts of identity, the formation and crisis of Chinese young peoples identity. Then, identity crisis of Chinese young people is analyzed and the ways of reshaping identity is presented. At last, it is critically analyzed the problem in the process of reshaping Chinese young peoples identity.

A research proposal on contract strategies for projects in the subsea oil and gas industry Essay

Introduction In different subsea oil and gas projects developments, the award of large contracts for a variety of works is undertaken.   Nevertheless, the overall strategy for distributing these contracts to different contractors is the main issue regarding to contracting strategy. The recent researches on the field of contract strategies establish that the world is growing very fast technologically thus provoke the need for further exploration for sources of energy especially in subsea oil and gas industry. Furthermore, a profound increase in the projects complexity, increase in projects sizes as well as the intensified international engagements in related issues characterize oil and gas projects in the present world. Although these projects are based in the sea, it is argued by different scholars that construction processes have numerous groups of individuals and companies who get involved either as suppliers, buyers or as the real builders. To maintain and ensure ethical relationships among the various stakeholders contracts are formed.   A contract is a legal term that is either written or spoken as an agreement between two or more parties for the purpose of the delivery of particular services in return for money or any other valuable asset (Blum, 2007, p. 88). In projects related to subsea oil and gas engineering, the process and the character of contracting and presentation of projects contracts is of great significance for the future course of the project and as well for the general success of the project. As far as subsea oil and gas industry is concerned, contracts are the critical tolls for the allocation of tasks, risks and responsibilities. Most importantly, contracting strategies in the above discussed industry takes into account the division of responsibilities within the project cycle, the desired allocation of risks, splitting of engaged parties and services among the involved groups as well as taking into account the   interface and the market situation. Realistic selection of contracting strategies is the foundation of realization of goals and objectives of such projects. According to Blum (2007), it is of importance for involved stakeholders in such projects to have the awareness and knowledge about the particular characteristics of probable contracting strategies.   Contracting strategies refer to the strategies in all stages of a project that establish a level of integration in design, the actual construction and ongoing maintenance in a project and gives support to t he project in form of risk delivery, risk allocation and incentivisation. The Rationale of the Research Considering the increased exploration and initialization of subsea oil and gas exploration and extraction projects, it is of importance to acknowledge the significance of instigating effective and realistic contracting strategies, as they are key to the success of each and every projects. For this reason, it is important to bring into light various contracting strategies by discussing, exploring and analyzing the impacts of such strategies in subsea oil and gas engineering. It is in this respect that the research that will follow will go even deep to thrash out the advantages as well as the shortcomings of different contracting strategies with respect to various literatures in the specific field. Research issue As many comprehend, there has been very little in terms of research concerning contracting strategies especially in the subsea oil and gas sector.   Although few study this issue, many companies are investing in the industry probably ending up adopting one or several contracting strategies. It is therefore a major issue when the necessary research that can guide these companies in selecting the best approaches is unavailable. Research Aim The aim of this research will be to investigate various types of contract strategy used in the subsea oil and Gas Industries and the consideration made before choosing for a particular project. In addition, the research will provide insight in various concept of contracting strategies besides going deep to unclothe various strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industries. Furthermore, the research will explore, discus and determine the role of contract strategy in project management by comparing and evaluating their impacts on a project by applying cost reimbursable contract strategy and lump sum contract strategy. Finally, the study will materialize in identifying the benefits and disadvantages of the various types of contract strategies. The importance of the study On the event of the completion of this planned research,   it is anticipated that various stakeholders in subsea gas and oil industry will be provided with adequate   and vital information about contracting strategies in the field, their impacts on general project   performance, their advantage and disadvantages as well being equipped with information on the roles of various contracting strategies. Research questions To these ends, the study calls on the following research questions: What are the various types of contracting strategies used in the subsea oil and gas industry? What are the considerations made before choosing a contracting strategy? What are the roles of contracting strategies in the subsea oil and gas industry? What are the advantages and disadvantages of the discussed contracting strategies? The empirical part of the research examines the theoretical framework of the perspective of different contracting strategies, their effectiveness, their roles as well as the benefits and shortcomings that accrue as a result of their espousal. Literature review During the initial stages of any project, the main issue that faces the project management stakeholders is to make informed decisions on which contract strategies to adopt that best suits the project for successful achievement of the projects goals and objectives (Inkpen & Moffett, 2011, p. 187). According to Babusiaux (2007), contract strategy refers to the process or the endeavor to select an organizational or projects contractual policy that is required for the execution of specific projects within the major venture. Most importantly, a proper and effective contract strategy for a project especially the ones related to subsea oil and gas industry involves making of five critical and basic decisions that include; setting of the projects objectives and constraints and making of informed decisions on the selection of proper project delivery method. In addition deciding on selection of proper contract type as well as adopting realistic contract administrative mechanisms serves as a basis for triumphant selection of contracting strategies.   Nevertheless, in the subsea oil and gas engineering projects, a contract type is selected by the managers of the project through the advice of the projects engineers and his or her legal advisor. However, the selection in this case must meet the objectives and the goals of the project and be able to take into account the constraints that relate to the project. The objectives are in terms of the time objectives, functional performance, transfer of technology, use of local materials and resources, allocation and payment of risks as well as cost objectives among others. This lead to a reflective increase in the projects complexity, increase in projects sizes as well as the intensified international engagements. Essentially, there are different contracting strategies in subsea oil and gas industry. The contracting strategies include; Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracting strategy, Engineering Procurement and Construction with Long Lead Items (EPC with LLIs), Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management strategy (EPCM) as well as the Progressive Lump Sum (PLS) (Ross   & Williams, 2012, p. 236). As a matter of fact, the selection of a specific contracting strategy in the subsea oil and gas industry depends on the level of risk an owner of a project dares to undertake and in most cases it reflects the desired peril, the goal and the aspirations of the owner. For that reason, the specific features and factors of the particular project have to be handled with an in-depth analysis and compared to the characteristics of the respective strategy in a manner that provides a foundation for deciding and choosing on the most appropriate solution (Babusiaux, 2007, p. 116). As all this contracting strategies are based on the procurement process, it is basically known that supply chain in the industry of oil and gas has not been taken seriously for quite some time and this has resulted to significant drawbacks . Nevertheless, technological changes lead to the development of core values that aim only at fast exploration with consequent high production of oil and gas products. According to Piskarev & Shkatov (2012) before selecting a contracting strategy to implement, owners of subsea oil and gas projects should ensure that, they consider basic attributes that determine which effective strategy works best in particular environments. To maximize on this, the key factors to consider in such cases include; the type, the size and the location of the subsea industry.   Additionally, as mentioned in the overview, decisions should consider risk allocations, the projects interface, the time constraints   and the market structure among many other factors. References Inkpen, A. C., & Moffett, M. H. (2011). The global oil & gas industry: management,   Ã‚  Ã‚   strategy & finance. Tulsa, Okla, PennWell. Blum, B. A. (2007). Contracts: examples & explanations. Austin, Wolters Kluwer Law &   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business Babusiaux, D. (2007). Oil and gas exploration and production: reserves, costs, contracts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Paris, France, Editions Technip. Piskarev, A., & Shkatov, M. (2012). Energy Potential of the Russian Arctic Seas Choice of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   development strategy. Burlington, Elsevier Science. Ross, A., & Williams, P. (2012). Financial Management in Construction Contracting.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Chicester, Wiley.

The World Wide Web - 1070 Words

We’re able to get informations thanks to the internet, the wild network connecting millions of computers and other devices across the world. The English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989, after 20 years the first connection was established over what is today as we known as the Internet. Although the internet has been around since the 1970, but it was the invention of the World Wide Web that really changed people’s life. There is a early film which the scenario designed based on web, many previous case exist for the idea that the real world is an illusion, and the Matrixtrilogy is connected with specific references to philosophers who have interpreted this idea. For example, The Greek philosopher†¦show more content†¦In this film, it is suggested that people should be free before they reach a certain age because there are also some people who will never be able to accept the reality of the world. The Matrix is another kind of reality that exists in itself. Despite its existence as a simulation, the actions people perform within the Matrix are perceived by the mind as real. Thus, if you are removed by the Matrix, you will die in the real world as well because the mind perceives what occurs within the Matrix as real. The mind views that all things within the Matrix as real, and despite the fact that the characters have the ability to bend the laws of physics to perform superhuman feats because they know that the Matrix is a simulation, they cannot defy the mind’s perception of personal injury or death. The Matrix also has connection with a philosophical question posed by French philosopher Rene Descartes. One of Descartes’s important idea was intellectual autonomy, or the ability to think for ourselves. He also indicates that we should not just having a â€Å"good mind†, but also â€Å"applying it well†. Descartes realized that his sensory experiences did not always equal to the reality, he used the example of Wax to demonstrate how unreliable the senses are: our perceptiveness allow us to know that a piece of wax has a specific smell,shape and texture. But these informations we received will all change when the wax is got close to a flame.