Reasons for the failure of Germany in World War II Essay

Backing to the year 1933, National Socialist Adolf Hitler became the leader of Germany and began a massive rearming campaign. This worried France and the United Kingdom, who had lost much in the previous war, as well as Italy, which saw its territorial ambitions threatened by those of Germany. Hitler was convinced that fate had chosen him to rescue a humiliated nation from the shackles of the Versailles Treaty, from Bolsheviks and Jews. Thus he wanted to wage war in order to recover Germany. Eventually, in 1939 with the German invasion of Poland, the World War II’s European battleground began. On September 1st 1939, German armies invaded Poland and henceforth Hitler’s main energies were devoted to the conduct of a war he had unleashed to dominate Europe and secure Germany’s â€Å"living space†. The first phase of World War II was dominated by German Blitzkrieg tactics: sudden shock attacks against airfields, communications, military installations, using fa st mobile armor and infantry to follow up on the first wave of bomber and fighter aircraft. Poland was overrun in less than one month, Denmark and Norway in two months, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg and France in six weeks. After the fall of France in June 1940 only Great Britain stood firm. Just as what he had prophesied at the end of January 1939, that â€Å"if the international financial Jewry within and outside Europe should succeed once more in dragging the nations into a war, the result will be, not the Bolshevization of the world and thereby the victory of Jewry, but the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe†.(Evans, R. J., 2005 ). For many points to the reparation payments that Germans had to pay after the first world war as the cause of this downturn. Both through envy and despise, he and many other Germans began to scapegoat the Jews as the cause of all their suffering. Jews were slaughtered during the World War II by German armies. Exactly as the film â€Å"Schindler’s List† (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg showed that the figure for the number of Jews who were killed in the Holocaust is about 5.7 million to 6.0 million. However, it was still the same country which was always be regarded as the strong during the whole process of World War II, Germany was one of the vanquished countries of WWII. It was concluded from the army strength and the historical evidence of the condition of the WWII that although Germany was powerful during the World War II, Germany was defeated by its vanity, without people’s support and Hitler’s dictatorship. According to Lowe, K (2012), by Ian Locke’s examining the British attainment of German industry. Although German economic was better than any other European countries at that time, German was still not enough powerful to wage the war. The advanced science and technology might help Germany equip its army well. Which leads to most of the German tanks and other weapons were way ahead of anything their opponents had to offer. Their tanks were faster, better armored and had a longer range than anything the allies had available. However, after America joined the war and supplied the British and Russians with armaments, the flood gates were opened and the battlefields were swamped by technically inferior but numerically superior weapons. Once overview the domestic ground condition of Germany in 1945. It was obviously that Germany made too many enemies. Germany during World War II, focusing particularly on the evidence gathered from archival sources at the Russian Federation’s Foreign Ministry Historical Documents Department. On April 27, 1945, the Soviet 70th Army of the 2nd Byelorussian Front under the management of Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky held the town of Prenzlau as part of the Soviet process to take Berlin, Germany. The reason to this tragic historical event is that Germany had not been fully focused on the defense for the camp. Meanwhile, Germany was also fighting against Great Britain. (Zaleeva, A. A., 2010) During the World War II, it was the period that airpower was the element of crucial importance. Losing airpower usually means losing the victory. Based on the record of the history by Harvey, A. D(2012). German Luftwaffe battled against the British Royal Air Force during the Air Battle of Britain in 1940. The Luftwaffe failed to properly identify their numerical advantages over the RAF within their missions. Including Nazi military leader Hermann Gà ¶ring, German Messerschmitt Bf109 military fighter planes, and U.S. Army Air Force Lieutenant James Doolittle. After the losses of the Air Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe never fully recovered. By 1944, they had lost control of the skies over most of Europe and were subject to 24hour bombing. It was because lack of airpower meant lack of photo reconnaissance, so the German high commands were making decisions without proper intelligence. Since losing the resource gates in the previous battle and having blind confidence about the airpower itself. The air warfare strategies used for bomber and fighter aircraft during both events. It was because German looked down upon the Royal Air Force, leading to the lack of airpower so that lacking of photo reconnaissance. Eventually it resulted in German failure of WWII. Moving to the reason why Nazi government could not gain people’s support. From the career of Albert Speer, principal architect of the Nazi regime, who played the role in the atrocities committed by Germany in World War II. Among his major responsibilities was the procurement of manpower to keep the Nazi factories in operation which played an important role in the organization of the Nazi forced-labor programs. Since labors were forced to work, they were not willi ng to do it, so German domestic residents were not support the war. They were working without their own willingness. In this case, not even to mention to gain any support from allies. Only the country who had the same objective by waging the war made friendship with Germany, most of other countries were standing against Germany, it also indicate that only through following people’s heart, can they lead a strong army. And Germany made too many enemies all over the world was another reason for its failure. (Forsgren, R. 2012) Last but seems to be the most general one is the system of organization. Looking back to Adolf Hitler’s biography, Strategy used by him to strengthen the violence on the roads; Purpose of the government for not legally banning communists; Connection between social democrats and communists; Reason behind the firing of judges, state prosecutors and judicial officials in Germany. Diplomatically, his style of leadership involved him personally taking all the major decisions, with little delegation. Under the circumstances, his dictatorship dominated Germany. Leading to a dictatorial government in which one person has absolute power, often backed by the military, over the entire country and its people. What is more, he removed certain rights from people, most of the time trespassed certain human rights.(Zaleeva, A. A. 2010) The mental state of general Germans at that time was blind and lack of personal thinking. The way they followed was the responsibility which was given by their nation, no matter it was right or not. Under this situation, the wrong war was waged. It could be concluded from the personal diary of August Tà ¶pperwien, a German Protestant, who was not a Nazi and however maintained a loyal nationalism to the end. In so doing, it probes the troubled morality of someone whose conflicting senses of personal duty and political obligation found their vent in pages of silent self-reflection, and so reveal with an unusual simplicity of the underlying frames of moral refe rence, which so often remain implicit and argued in the short-hand and rational of other diaries and family letters, let alone macro-level surveys of widely held attitude. From his personal feeling, the responsibility that led to Germany’s failure is that German’s soldiers wrongly regarded the support for the Nazi regime and for the war were the same thing then overrated their power to against the rest of the world. (Stargardt, N. 2010). World War II is the largest war in human’s history, which causes the most losses, either the number of casualties or economic losses, and brings human being disasters. It lasted for 6 years, more than 60 countries or regions took part in the war. The immediate cause of the outbreak of World War II is fascist regime, the rapid rise. Fascist rulers head of Germany, Italy, Japan in order to achieve the re-divide the world and expand their areas attempted to cause the War. With Germany was defeated in North Africa and Stalingrad. In 1943, with a series of German defeats in Eastern Europe, the Allied invasion of Fascist Italy, and American victories in the Pacific, the Axis lost the initiative and under took strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. In April 1945, the Soviet Union occupied Berlin as Hitler committed suicide. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7th, 1945. The war in Europe ended. Later 1945, World War II was completely ended with Japan’s unconditional surrender. Fortunately, this costed more than six years’ war eventually ended with the victory of the world anti-fascist alliance. Looking back to the history, by summing up the reasons why the result was occurred, it is reasonable that Germany would fail in this war obviously. Under Hitler’s dictatorial domination and the excitation with their early victory, Germany became more and more arrogant. Regarding they could achieve whatever they wanted to come true. Dreaming to dominate the other nations all over the world even without their domestic support. History was correct, it chose the victory deserved to win. Peaceful Americans, grieved British, tough and tensile Soviet and Chinese made great contribution to international public. No matter how it was negative at the beginning of the war, they never gave up. By taking up the vital point of Germany, international public finally made the gorgeous reversal come true. How foolish that German looked down upon such opponents! Although Germany was powerful during the World War II, Germany was defeated by its vanity, without people’s support and Hitler’s dictatorship eventually. References 1. Evans, R. J. (2005). Hitler’s Dictatorship. (Cover story). History Review, (51), 20-25. 2. Forsgren, R. (2012). The Architecture of Evil. New Atlantis: A Journal Of Technology & Society, 3644-62. 3. Harvey, A. D. (2012). The Battle of Britain, in 1940 and â€Å"Big Week,† in 1944: A Comparative Perspective. Air Power History, 59(1), 34-45. 4. Lowe, K. (2012). From the Archive. History Today, 62(2), 72. 5. Steven, S. (1993). Schindler’s List 6. Stargardt, N. (2010). The Troubled Patriot: German Innerlichkeit in World War II*. German History, 28(3), 326-342. 7. Zaleeva, A. A. (2010). Freeing Belgian Generals from the Prenzlau Nazi POW Camp. International Affairs: A Russian Journal Of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations, 56(4), 242-246.

Blue ocean strategy Essay

The concept of blue and red oceans is used to describe the market universe occupied by business. The red ocean consists of all industries which are currently in operation. In this business universe, the boundaries of industries are defined as well as widely accepted. This business world is characterized by high competition as companies try to outdo their rivals. Increase in competition crowds the market thus reducing prospects of profit and also growth resulting to cutthroat competition. This competition then turns this business ocean bloody thus the name red oceans (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). The blue ocean on the other hand refers to industries which are not yet in existence. Under this ocean, demand for products is created instead of being fought for as in the red oceans. This universe also has opportunities for growth and higher profitability. Under the blue oceans, competition is irrelevant since the rules are not yet set. This approach defines the potential that is unexplored by the already existing markets. Value innovation is the base of blue ocean strategy and a company creates a blue ocean when it is able to achieve value innovation with the capacity to create value for the buyer and the seller simultaneously. The blue ocean strategy is today being used by most of the successful businesses around the world. Businesses have realized the value of adopting value innovation to help in growth and profit sustainability. China mobile company is one of the businesses which have reaped the benefits of applying blue ocean strategy in its operations (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). Adoption of blue ocean strategy by China mobile company While using the blue ocean strategy, a company tries to create a space which is uncontested and to create and then capture new demand in the market. Another aim of the company is to ensure that competition is made irrelevant. Blue ocean strategy also tries to break the cost trade off or the value. The other objective of a blue ocean strategy is to align the entire system of the activities of a company towards differentiation and attainment of lower costs (Kim & Mauborgne, 2005). China mobile is among the most successful companies in the mobile phone market which have largely adopted the blue ocean strategy in its operations. Competition in this market is fierce as it has more than 100 phone manufactures and over 1000 products being launched in the market. This competition led china mobile to adopt a different approach to ensure it survives in this industry. China mobile has created over five domains of blue oceans which include the invention of TV phones, stock mobile phones, navigation mobile phones, secure mobile phones and energy saving phones. By the time china mobile was introducing some of these services to their phones, most of the companies in this field had not explored these areas making china mobile sales to increase and costs to reduce. Most of these areas like the secure mobile locks are still widely unexplored by most manufacturers of mobile phones (Federation of Hong Kong Industries, 1996). The mobile products of China mobile are characterized by innovative products which have created and raised their demand all over the world. Their innovative processes involves integrating and converging computers, communications, and consumer electronics functions in coming up with the china mobile phones with above specifications. While developing the phones, the company looks at possible demands within the environment which may arise in the future. One of the most popular phones from this company is the navigation mobile phone. Another make that have attracted more customers is the solar powered mobile phone (Hamel, 1998). While using the blue strategy, china mobile tries to come up with mobile phones which create demand in the market while at the same time reducing possibilities of competition. It makes phones to meet and satisfy a certain need in particular but individual market segments. Hi-tech wealth phones are secure mobile phones from china mobile which are specifically produced to fit the needs of business people as well as entertainment industry. By making this phone, the company was able to create a need in this category of people and also to increase the demand for the product. Before invention of this mobile phone, business men and the entertainment industry had no need for secured phones. However, the nature of their work could have necessitated such a phone. By making such a phone, china mobile did not only create a need in these people but it also created awareness of such needs and successfully met them. Making products which fit or satisfy a need that a company creates is effective in creating blue oceans for a company and china mobile has been able to do this (Wang & Ahmed, 2002). China’s stock market is characterized by red hot ocean. This market has high competition and many players who trade in the stock market. People involved in the stock market operations are keen on the different trends this market takes. China mobile identified these need and came up with the china Unicom and also china mobile which aids in operating the mobile stock business. Invention on the china Unicom led to high demand of it in the country. China mobile have to a large extent applied blue ocean strategy which have enabled it to continue growing and expanding even in the global markets. The products of this company are widely used due to their uniqueness and their markets are not faced with competition unlike other mobile phone manufacturers (Asongu, 2007). However, despite the proven benefits of the blue ocean strategy, it is highly criticized by different authors as well as businessmen. One of the criticisms is based on the unavailability of uncontested spaces in the market. This approach is dismissed as being descriptive or taking a theoretical perspective instead of being prescriptive. While this strategy argues that there are spaces in the market which are unexplored, identifying such places is difficult and maintaining them to avoid competition is also impossible. Since china mobile invented the TV mobiles, most of other manufacturers also followed suit thus increasing competition. The temporary blue ocean created does not last long enough to enable a company attain desired growth. Blue oceans always end up being red oceans within short periods and are hard to maintain. The cost of developing a blue ocean may thus be high than that of operating in a red ocean (Huang, n. d). The blue ocean strategy is also criticized on the ground that there has not been any control group which have been cited or used to determine its viability. There could be many companies which failed while attempting to employ this strategy thus making the viability of this strategy questionable. This theory thus does not meet the criteria of falsiability in the real practice because no deductive process has been followed to ensure its workability (Truch, 2006). The blue ocean strategy is only an enhancement of other theories of competition and now a new idea. It expounds on Porter’s competitive theories of SWOT analysis. However, this theory fails to recognize the potential threats that may face a firm while exploring new markets. Porter’s theory is superior in that it takes into consideration of possible opportunities within the industry and also the possible threats. Also, Porter’s theory is more practical unlike the blue ocean theory (Hollensen, 2007). Conclusion Businesses require strategic planning for them to be able to grow and be productive. There are different business strategic approaches which a business may adopt to ensure it gains a competitive edge in the market place. Blue or red ocean strategies are some of such strategies available to a business. With increase in competition and globalization on the rise, it is vital for any business to be innovative and creative. One of the ways to ensure that a business maintains its market share and profitability is by developing products or offering services which are of higher value as compared to other available goods or services. This can be effectively done by identifying the needs of the customers and producing products that meets and creates more demand for a product. This is only possible if a company is able to identify untapped business areas. A business should however adopt a strategy that suits its marketing needs and its growth prospects. Reference: Asongu, J. J. (2007): Generating Sustainable Funds through Branding: RED Campaign Introduces New Business Model for CSR. Journal of Business and Public Policy Blundell, R. , Griffith, R. & Van Reenen, J. (1999): Market share, market value and innovation in a panel of British manufacturing firms. Review of Economic Studies Federation of Hong Kong Industries (1996): Hong Kong Industrialist: Journal of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries

Discovered Biological Functions Of Rna Health And Social Care Essay

Recently, the figure of ascertained biological maps of RNA has been increasing. In add-on, the range has been expanded, and therefore RNA is non merely a inactive courier of familial information from Deoxyribonucleic acid to proteins makers as had been thought earlier. It has been found that RNA plays of import functions in all of molecular biological science such as transporting familial information ( messenger RNA ) , construing the codification ( ribosomal RNA ) , and reassigning familial codification ( transfer RNA ) . It besides performs different maps which include: catalyzing chemical reactions [ 1 ] , [ 2 ] , directing the site specific alteration of RNA bases, commanding cistron look, modulating protein look and helping in protein localisation [ 3 ] , [ 4 ] . The map of RNA molecules determine many diseases caused by RNA viruses. Identifying the secondary construction of RNA molecules is the cardinal key to understand its biological map [ 5 ] . The RNA construction anticipation methods, is tremendously affected by the quality of alignment [ 6 ] . MSA significantly improves the de novo anticipation truth of proteins or RNAs structures [ 7 ] . For illustration, current RNA secondary construction anticipation methods utilizing aligned sequences is win in deriving higher anticipation truth than those utilizing individual sequence [ 8 ] . Multiple sequence alliance ( MSA ) has become widely used in many different countries in bioinformatics. Multiple alliances are present in most of the computational method used in molecular development to assist happening sequences household, predict the secondary or third construction of new sequences, RNA folding, cistron ordinance and polymerase concatenation reaction primer design [ 9 ] , foretelling maps, predict patient ‘s diseases by comparing DNAs of patients in disease find. MSA is the most natural manner to see the relation between sequences by doing an alliance between the primary sequences so that indistinguishable or similar residues will be aligned in columns. That is why this method is so called multiple sequence alliance ( MSA ) . At kernel, all widely MSA tools used to better the alignment quality of initial alliance [ 10 ] . The sequence alliance job can be considered as an optimisation job in which the aim is to maximise a marking map [ 11 ] . One chief challenge with MSA is how to gauge the quality of computer-aligned sequences. An nonsubjective map ( OF ) is required in the optimisation processes to happen the optimum alliance. The pick of nonsubjective map is critically of import in obtaining high quality alliances [ 12 ] . In add-on, OF acts an indispensable function in optimisation algorithms whereby there is a relation between the alliance mark with the mark computed by the alignment quality. MSA optimisation job is NP-complete [ 13-15 ] , which motivates, the research for heuristics [ 16 ] . Over the last decennary, the evolutionary and meta-heuristic are the recent attacks to work out the optimisation job. Consequently, most of practical MSA algorithms are based on heuristics to obtain moderately accurate MSA within moderate computational clip and normally produce quasi-optimal alliance. Many researches solve MSA job as optimisation job by utilizing familial algorithm [ 17, 18 ] , Particle Swarm [ 11 ] , ant settlement [ 19 ] , and Simulated tempering [ 20 ] . MSA job can be resolve as optimisation job based on harmoniousness hunt algorithm [ 21 ] to maximise the nonsubjective map and happen the optimum alliance. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and examined the correlativity of different nonsubjective maps utilizing standard sets of RNA datasets. The most straightforward OF is the sum-of-pairs ( SP ) score [ 3 ] , weight sum-of-pair [ ] , java [ 22 ] , Xstate [ ] and NorMD [ 23 ] . This paper is organized as follows: Section 2 introduce the multiple sequence alliance job. Section 3 explains the different nonsubjective map from the state-of-the-art. Section 4 explains the proposed methodological analysis. The rating and analysis methodological analysis that is used to measure our comparing is explained in Section 5. Last, Section 6 provides the decision and sum-up of the paper.2.0 Multiple Sequence AllianceA sequence is an ordered list of symbols from a set of alphabet S ( 20 amino acids for protein and 4 bases for RNA/DNA ) . In bioinformatics, a RNA sequence is written as s = AUUUCUGUAA. It is a twine over the set S of bases symbols Adenine ( A ) , Cytosine ( C ) , Guanine ( G ) and Uracil ( U ) : S = [ A, C, G, U ] . Alignment is a method to set up the sequences one over the other in a manner to demo the matching and mismatching between residues. A column, which has lucifer residues, shows no mutant is go oning. Whereas, the column with mismatch symbols shows that several mutant events are go oning. To better the alliance mark, the character â€Å" – † is used to match to a infinite introduced in the sequence. This infinite is normally called a spread. The spread is viewed as interpolation in one sequence and omission in the other. A mark is used to mensurate the alliance public presentation. The highest mark one is the best alliance. For lucidity ‘s interest, the generic MSA job is expressed with the following declaration: â€Å" Insert spreads within a given set of sequences in order to maximise a similarity standard † [ 24 ] . The MSA job can be divided into three troubles, which are scalability, optimisation, and nonsubjective map. Finding an accurate MSA from sequences is really hard. It is a clip consuming and computationally NP-hard job [ 13-15 ] . In fact, that complexness comes from that all three jobs must be solved at the same time. The first job is the scalability, which is to happen the alliance of many long sequences. The 2nd job is the optimisation, which is to happen the alliance with the highest mark based on a given nonsubjective map among sequences. Optimization of even a simple nonsubjective map is an NP-hard job. The 3rd job is the nonsubjective map ( OF ) , which is to rush up the computation in order to mensurate the alliance. Most modern plans for building multiple sequence alliances ( MSAs ) consist of two constituents: an nonsubjective map for measuring the quality of a candidate alliance of a set of input sequences, and an optimisation process for placing the highest scoring alliance with regard to the chosen nonsubjective map [ 25 ] .3.0 Objective mapsAligning multiple sequences is a extremely non-trivial undertaking ( in both a biological and computational sense ) whose truth in pattern depends mostly on the pick of input sequences, the cost ( or aim ) map, and the heuristics employed [ 26 ] . An of import facet of alliance mark is to set up how meaningful a given multiple alliance is. This is to find whether the aligned sequences are in fact optimum and to gauge the mark of the alliance in which there is no anterior cognition of the mention alliance. Objective map is the psyche of iterative algorithms in the sense that it determines the campaigner move to be taken to better the solution quality. In multiple sequence alliance, nonsubjective map Acts of the Apostless as the cardinal factor to command the development of an alliance into a mature one. Using optimisation algorithm to work out any job requires delegating a fittingness map. In harmony hunt algorithm, this map evaluates and ranks harmoniousnesss in the harmoniousness memory harmonizing to their tonss. Harmonies that ain good alliance mark in the harmoniousness memory are retained. In this subdivision different nonsubjective maps are studied. The pick of nonsubjective map is strictly a biological job that lies in the definition of rightness. A mathematical map able to mensurate an alignment biological quality that defines a right alliance and its expected belongingss is called nonsubjective map ( OF ) . Given a perfect map, the mathematically optimum alliance assumes to be biologically optimum. While the map defines a mathematical optimum, it is seldom that this optimum will besides be biologically optimum [ 25 ] . There are different nonsubjective maps to hit the quality of the alliance, viz. sum-of-pairs, leaden sum-of-pairs, and NorMD [ 23 ] , MstatX, amd COFFEE [ 22 ] . They are used in optimizing and iterative alliance methods to better the alliance by seeking to maximise the nonsubjective map [ 27 ] .3.0.1 sum-of-pairsPresently sum-of-pairs nonsubjective map is most widely used [ 28 ] . Carrillo and Lipman [ 29 ] foremost introduced the sum-of-pairs ( SP ) mark map, which defines the tonss of a multiple alliance of N sequences as the amount of the tonss of the N ( N-1 ) /2 pairwise alliances [ 29 ] , [ 30 ] . Although SP mark map has been widely used to measure MSA, it does n't truly supply any biological or probabilistic justification [ 30 ] . Each sequence is scored as if it is descended from the N-1 other sequences alternatively of a individual ascendant. As a consequence, evolutionary events are frequently overestimated. The job worsens as the figure of sequences additions [ 30 ] the sum-of-pairs ( SP ) mark described in [ 31 ] , [ 32 ] , [ 29 ] , [ 33 ] is used to cipher the nonsubjective map ( OF ) where there is no anterior cognition of the mention alliance. The general signifier of OF mark of alignment n sequences consist of m columns is OF = . Where is the similarity mark of the column myocardial infarction, is the spread punishment of the column myocardial infarction and is the sequence length. The similarity mark of the column myocardial infarction can be measured by the sum-of-pairs ( SP ) . The SP-score S ( myocardial infarction ) for the i-th column myocardial infarction is calculated as follows: S ( myocardial infarction ) = , ( ) where is the j-th row in the i-th column. For alining two residues x and y, the permutation matrix s ( x, y ) is used to gives the similarity mark.3.0.2 Weighted sum-of-pairsThe leaden sum-of-pairs ( WSP ) score [ 28 ] , [ 34 ] is an extension of SP mark so that each pairwise alliance mark otherwise contributes to the whole mark. A leaden SP mark map has been proposed in the manner to reflect the relationships between the sequences. The rule is to give a cost to each brace of aligned residues in each column of the alliance ( permutation cost ) , and another cost to the spreads ( spread cost ) . These are added to give the planetary cost of the alliance. Furthermore, each brace of sequences is given a weight related to their similarity to other braces. The WSP calculates a entire mark from the leaden pairwise mark of all the sequences. The undermentioned figure shows the mathematical preparation of the leaden SP mark map. WSP ( A ) = ( ) Where N is the figure of sequences, k the length of aligned sequences, is the weight given to a brace of sequences, and is the similarity cost of two symbol sequence ( ) . The cost map included spread gap and extension punishments for gap and widening spreads. The weight of pairwise aligned sequences may be proportionately score [ 35 ] , [ 36 ] harmonizing to the sum of alone information enclosed in the sequence. These weights try to diminish the influence of excess information from strongly related sequences. A weight represents a per centum equal to a per centum individuality ( PID ) calculated over each brace of aligned sequences [ 24 ] as follows ( excepting spreads ) : PID = ( )3.0.3 Normalized Mean Distancenormalized mean distance ( NorMD ) [ 23 ] is a normalized mean distance ( MD ) mark measures the normalized mean distance between the similarities of the residue braces at each alliance column, introduce in ClustalX, between similarities of residue braces at each alignment column. A mark for each column in the alliance is calculated utilizing the construct of uninterrupted sequence infinite introduced by [ 37 ] and the column tonss are so summed over the full length of the alliance. NorMD take into history the sequence information, such as the figure, length and similarity of the sequences to be aligned. NorMD is used in RASCAL [ 38 ] and AQUA [ 39 ] .3.0.4 Consistency markConsistency-based nonsubjective maps focus on improved marking of lucifers in early alliances by integrating information from of pairwise alliance. This consistence construct was originally introduced by Gotoh [ 40 ] and subsequently refined by Vingron and Argos [ 41 ] . Kececioglu [ 42 ] reformulated this job as a maximal weight hint ( MWT ) job. It was further expanded by Morgenstern [ 43 ] who proposed the first heuristic to work out this job for big cases. Consistency-based marking is used in T-Coffee [ 44 ] , MAFFT [ 45 ] , and Align-m [ 46 ] algorithms. The COFFEE [ 22 ] is a consistency-based which step optimized the figure of aligned residues that were besides aligned in planetary pairwise alliances of the same sequences. Coffee nonsubjective map which evaluates the consistence between a multiple sequence alliance and a antecedently defined library of pair-wise alliances. COFFEE required two constituents: ( I ) a set of pairwise mention alliance by utilizing any method for doing pairwise alliances, ( two ) the OF that evaluate the consistence between a multiple alliance and the pairwise alliances contain in the library. COFFEE plants by first bring forthing the pairwise library of the sequences in the alliance and so calculates the degree of individuality between the current multiple alliance and the pairwise library. COFFEE is non using excess spread punishments so that, it is non sensitive to the permutation tonss of amino acids, the mark is normalized, and the cost of similar braces is place dependent. Coffee is reflect the deg ree of consistence between a multiple sequence alliance and a library containing pairwise alliances of the same sequences. The planetary mark mensurating the quality of the alliance is computed by the undermentioned expression. Coffee mark = ( ) where Len is the length of the MSA ; Aij is the pairwise projection of sequences Si and Sj obtained from the MSA ; Wij is the per centum individuality between the two aligned sequences Si and Sj ; is the figure of residues braces that are shared between Aij and the pairwise. In add-on, utilizing chance in consistence leads to a alleged chance consistency. This hiting map is introduced in ProbCons [ 47 ] . It assigns position-specific permutation tonss based on a step of expected truth derived from a concealed Markov theoretical account. This thought is implemented and extended in the PECAN [ 48 ] , MUMMALS [ 49 ] , PROMALS [ 50 ] , ProbAlign [ 51 ] , ProDA [ 52 ] , and PicXAA [ 53 ] plans.3.0.5 POsition-Specific and consIstency-based nonsubjective function ( POSITION )POSITION [ 54, 55 ] is based on the consistence, it calculates the degree of individuality between the current multiple alliance and the pairwise library. The hiting map for POSITION is shown as under in Eq. ( 5 ) . POSITION = ( 5 ) where N is the figure of the sequences ; Aijl is the brace of residues at index cubic decimeter of the pairwise projection of sequences Si and Sj ; and Occurrence ( Aijl ) is a 0-1 binomial map of whether brace Aijl occurs in the pairwise library. W ( Aijl ) is the weight of Aijl and is assigned to the mean similarity of residue braces around index l. This is an attempt to specify the weight harmonizing to contextual information of residue braces.3.0.6 MaxZMaxZ is a statistical alliance quality mark introduced in [ 56 ] which first quantifies the grade of preservation at each alignment place and so counts the figure of significantly conserved places over the alliance. It used Zscore for mensurating the grade of preservation that is based on profile analysis [ 57 ] Then, by utilizing the importance trying method [ Using the SIR algorithm to imitate posterior distributions. ] , the statistical significance of an observed mark value is calculated. In footings of positional significance degrees, the full alliance mark is calculated.3.0.7 MstatXMstatX calculates the trident statistic of each column in the multiple sequences alliance. Then by stipulate the statistic with the flag options. It can gives many different statistical steps on columns of a multiple alliance like Shannon information, frequence counts, spread counts, and more sophisticated marking. The default statistic is a weighted-entropy which means a Shannon information based on chances computed with the sequence burdening strategy defined by [ 58 ] . Statisticss proposed in MstatX is based on [ 59 ] and [ 60 ] .3.0.8 Maximal expected truth ( MEA )Maximal expected truth ( MEA ) [ 61 ] : The basic thought of MEA is to maximise the expected figure of â€Å" right † aligned residue braces [ 62 ] . It has been used in PRIME [ 63 ] , and ProbCons [ 47 ] algorithms.3.0.9 Segment-to-segment nonsubjective mapSegment-to-segment nonsubjective map: It is used by DIALIGN [ 64 ] to build an alliance through comparing of the whole sections of the sequences instead than the residue-to-residue comparing.3.0.10 Profile markProfile hiting map uses a marking map which is defined for a brace of profile places. In add-on to SP, MUSCLE [ 65 ] uses a new profile map which is called the log-expectation ( LE ) mark. Some of these nonsubjective maps integrated into other nonsubjective maps, each have its ain advantages and disadvantages. The nonsubjective map presently used in DIALIGN that is segment-to-segment nonsubjective map is flawed [ 66 ] . On the other manus T-Coffee is excessively memory demanding [ 12 ] . Sum-of-pairs is the most popular marking method because of its comparative velocity and hardiness. The velocity advantage is chiefly because the sum-of-pairs method does non necessitate a tree [ 67 ] . Some nonsubjective maps use permutations matrices whereas other used consistence construct by involve pairwise alliance. [ 68 ] disadvantage of these permutations matrices is that they are intended to rate the similarity between two sequences at a clip merely, and in order to widen them to multiple sequences, it is common to happen that they are scaled by adding up each pairwise similarity to obtain the mark for the multiple sequence alliance [ 5 ] .4.0 Alignment QualityQ ( Quality ) is a quality map to gauge the comparing between the alliance and the mention alliance. Q mark is the figure of right aligned residue braces in the trial alliance divided by the figure of residue braces in the mention alliance. This has been termed as the developer mark [ 69 ] and SPS [ 31 ] .5.0 MATERIALS AND METHODSHarmony hunt algorithm – which is out of range of this paper – is used to happen the optimal or a close optimum alliance harmonizing to the nonsubjective map. Given a perfect map, the mathematically optimum alliance will besides be biologically optimum. While the map defines a mathematical optimum, it is seldom have an statement that this optimum will besides be biologically optimum. two type of dataset are chosen ( I ) the subset of BRAliBase which are extremely variable and suited for local MSA ; ( two ) LocalEXtR, an extension of BRAliBase 2.1, consisting large-scale trial groups and patterned on BRAliBase 2.1 ; The series of experiments has been conducted in order to analyze the relationship of the corresponding nonsubjective map mark with the alignment quality. The experiment has been done in the term of correlativity coefficient between the nonsubjective map mark and the alignment quality mark in one side and the consuming clip in another side. First, the different nonsubjective maps are used as a fittingness map in HS algorithm and the relationship between them are studied. Second compare the quality tonss of 5 nonsubjective map utilizing database In pattern, it is hence ever recommended to utilize as many different methods. hence analysis did non curtail to merely a few of the best alignment methods but aimed to utilize as many methods as possible [ 12 ] . One of the primary challenges in sequence alliance is to happen a biologically meaningful nonsubjective map. A common pick of many alliance algorithms has been the ‘sum-of-pairs ‘ ( SP ) mark, which merely takes the amount of the tonss of all pairwise alliances in a given multiple alliance. To day of the month, there is no nonsubjective map that has been every bit good accepted for multiple alliances [ 70 ] as similarity has been for pairwise alliance. Alignment quality requires a mention alliance from database benchmark. The comparing is between the trial alliance and the mention alliance and it is called here alignment quality.Performance ratingTwo scenarios are done in different manner, The first scenarios, it uses an nonsubjective map in the HS Improvising procedure and analyze the relationship between the alliance mark with alignment quality for concluding alliance. This is repeated with all nonsubjective map. The motive for mark the alliance many times in every loop was the fact that alliances generated prior to the several iterative polish are frequently rather different from the concluding alliance [ 12 ] . Second scenarios, it measures alignment mark and alignment quality for the same alliance which is the concluding alliance by every nonsubjective maps individually. Alignment mark and its quality are compared for each alliance. This seneraio is to compare the consequence of different nonsubjective map on the same alliance These experiments to cognize how strong is the relation between them in each nonsubjective map individually. A comprehensive reappraisal of all methods will non be given here, but the common nonsubjective maps will be focus on.a. Harmony hunt algorithmHarmony hunt algorithm ( HS ) is developed by Geem [ 21 ] . HS is a meta-heuristic optimisation algorithm based on music. HS is imitating a squad of instrumentalists together seeking to seek the best province of harmoniousness. Each participant generates a sound based on one of three options ( memory consideration, pitch accommodation, and random choice ) . This is tantamount to happen the optimum solution in optimisation procedure. Geem et Al. [ 21 ] theoretical accounts HS constituents into three quantitative optimisation procedure as follows: first procedure, the Harmony memory ( HM ) : It used to maintain good harmoniousnesss. A harmoniousness from HM is selected indiscriminately based on the parametric quantity called harmony memory sing ( or accepting ) rate, HMCR ?„ [ 0,1 ] . It typically uses HMCR = 0.7 ~ 0.95. Second procedure, the pitch accommodation: it is similar to local hunt. It is used to bring forth a somewhat different solution from the HM depend on pitch-adjusting rate ( PAR ) values. PAR control the grade of the accommodation by the pitch bandwidth ( brange ) . It normally uses PAR = 0.1~0.5 in most applications. Third procedure, the random choice: a new harmoniousness is generated indiscriminately to increase the diverseness of the solutions. The chance of randomisation is Prandom = 1- HMCR, and the existent chance of the pitch accommodation is Ppitch = HMCR A- PAR. The pseudo codification of the basic HS algorithm with these three constituents is summarized in Figure 1. Harmony Search Algorithm Get down Declare the nonsubjective map degree Fahrenheit ( x ) , ten = ( x1, x2, aˆÂ ¦ , xn ) Initialize the harmoniousness memory accepting rate ( HMCR ) Initialize pitch seting rate ( PAR ) and other parametric quantities Initialize Harmony Memory with random harmoniousnesss While ( t & lt ; max figure of loops ) If ( rand & lt ; HMCR ) , Choose a value from HM If ( rand & lt ; PAR ) , Adjust the value by adding certain sum End if Else Choose a new random value End if End while Measure the solution by utilizing nonsubjective map Accept the new harmoniousness ( solution ) if better Update HM End while Find the current best solution in HM End Figure 1 Pseudo Code of the Harmony Search Algorithm [ 71 ] The HS algorithm has been applied to assorted optimisation jobs [ 72 ] that include Real-world applications, Computer scientific discipline jobs, Electrical technology jobs, Civil technology jobs, Mechanical technology jobs, and Bio & A ; medical applications.B. Benchmark DatasetThree type of dataset are chosen ( I ) the subset of BRAliBase which are extremely variable and suited for local MSA ; ( two ) LocalEXtR, an extension of BRAliBase 2.1, consisting large-scale trial groups and patterned on BRAliBase 2.1 ; ( three ) Lset, a brace of large-scale trial sets representative of current biological job. The subset of the BRAliBase 2.1 are selected from the most variable dataset within the suite. They are from THI, Glycine riboswitch and Yybp-Tkoy RNA households, and contain 232 trial datasets. LocalExtR uses the same seed alliances from Rfam that BRAliBase uses and signifiers big trial groups. BRAliBase is label a trial group qi, where I is the figure of sequences for each trial set in the group. The tabular array ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) show the inside informations of the dataset and the description information about each trial set. Table 1: Trial Dataset Number of each Test Group trial Group gcvT Family THI Family yybp-ykoy Family BRALiBase 2.1 ( 232 datasets ) k5 22 69 33 k7 12 32 18 k10 3 17 12 k15 1 5 8 LocalExtR ( 90 datasets ) k20 10 10 10 k40 10 10 5 k60 10 10 0 k80 5 10 0 Entire 73 163 86 Table 2: Sequence length of each Test Group sequence length trial Group Avg. Min. BRALiBase 2.1 ( 232 datasets ) k5 109 96 k7 110 94 k10 108 94 k15 110 88 LocalExtR ( 90 datasets ) k20 115 90 k40 114 87 k60 107 81 k80 106 775.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONOne chief challenge with MSA is how to gauge the quality of computer-aligned sequences. Therefore, an nonsubjective map ( OF ) is required in the optimisation processes. The pick of nonsubjective map and heuristics is critically of import in obtaining high quality alliances [ 12 ] . In add-on, OF acts an indispensable function in optimisation algorithms whereby the alliance is optimized against a mark computed by the OF [ 2 ] . The most straightforward OF is the sum-of-pairs ( SP ) score [ 3 ] , weight sum-of-pair [ ] , java [ 22 ] , Xstate [ ] and NorMD [ 23 ] .5.1 Correlation between Objective maps Score and alignment qualityTheoretically, an OF should ever give higher tonss for alliance with better quality [ ] . In world, nevertheless, since the nonsubjective map tonss and the alliance qualities are measured utilizing different standards, incompatibility happens. Correlation between alignment quality and different nonsubjective maps score were practiced on each experimental. Correlation coefficients ( R2 ) were so computed for each nonsubjective map and Q mark of the alignment quality. Two scenarios are performed to look into the correlativity the first one where utilizing the nonsubjective map as the HS Improvising procedure, the 2nd one where mark a concluding alliance by different nonsubjective maps. ( a ) First Scenario: utilizing the nonsubjective map in the generator procedure Five experiments are carried by utilizing an nonsubjective map and compared alignment mark with alignment quality in each experiment. Each experiment has been repeated 5 times for the same dataset and the norm is calculated. In this experiment, each nonsubjective map have been used individually as a fittingness map. Then, the correlativity of the nonsubjective map mark and the alignment quality mark is calculate utilizing the Correlation coefficients ( R2 ) . Each instance has been repeated 5 tallies for same dataset and calculated the norm for each nonsubjective map theoretical accounts. The figure of loop in each tally, is fixed in all the experimental in this experiment to 10,000. 322 trials set are used and their inside informations are summarized in Mistake: Reference beginning non found HS parametric quantities and others parametric quantities are setup to default puting for all nonsubjective map. Alliance Generator OF1 Alliance Mark |qualityaˆÂ ¦Alliance Generator OF2 Alliance Mark |qualityaˆÂ ¦In this experimental BHS-MSA is used to bring forth the alliance. Within the optimisation processes the nonsubjective map theoretical accounts, sum-of-pairs, weight sum-of-pair, java, Xstate and NorMD were used individually to give the good alliance quality. The concluding alliances were measured and evaluated by comparing with the mentions utilizing the rating map Quality ( Q ) and Entire column Score ( TC ) . The mean correlativity coefficient value of all dataset is listed and the spread secret plan graphs are listed as shown in Figure 2. shows the R indicated that the java and sum-of-pairs nonsubjective map has better positive correlativity with alignment quality than others does. The relation is positive that mean when the nonsubjective map is increase the alignment quality is increase this is clear shows in the Figure 3. Table 3: Correlation coefficients ( R2 ) of option Objective maps for scenario 1 SP WSP NorMD MstatX Coffee Correlation coefficients ( R2 ) 0.9216 0.7278 0.7613 0.8259 0.9642 fig 2 copy.jpg Figure 2: Scatter secret plan of alternate nonsubjective Functions for scenario 1 ( B ) Second Scenario: step a concluding alliance by different nonsubjective maps. In this experimental, 10 experiments are transporting out and alliance are bring forthing indiscriminately. Final alliance is measured by each nonsubjective map individually. Then, the correlativity of the nonsubjective map mark and the alignment quality mark is calculate utilizing the Correlation coefficients ( R2 ) [ 12 ] . This scenario is to back up the old 1. The correlativity on different nonsubjective map on alliances is study here by another manner where the nonsubjective maps are step the same alliance together and the relationship between the alliance mark with alignment quality are studied individually for each nonsubjective map. For ocular review, matching spread secret plans for all nonsubjective maps are presented. Alliance Generator OF1 Alliance Mark |qualityaˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦OF2 Mark |qualityaˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦HS and MSA parametric quantity are fixed to same values in all experimental. The mean correlativity coefficient value of all dataset is listed in Table 4 and the spread secret plan graphs are shown in Figure aˆZ3 Table4 shows the R indicated that the java and sum-of-pairs nonsubjective map has better positive correlativity with alignment quality than others does. The relation is positive that mean when the nonsubjective map is increase the alignment quality is increase this is clear shows in the Figure aˆZ3 Table 4: Correlation coefficients ( R2 ) of option Objective maps for scenario two sum-of-pairs ( R ) wsop ( R ) NorMD ( R ) Xstat ( R ) Coffee ( R ) Correlation coefficients ( R2 ) 0.8319 0.7558 0.6762 0.8028 0.9494 fig 3 copy.jpg Figure aˆZ3: Scatter secret plans of alternate nonsubjective maps for scenario two5.2 Study of Coffee and SP Objective maps based on clip costObjective map is the most computationally time-consuming constituent of MSA alliance method. The clip complexness of calculating an nonsubjective mark additions linearly with length of alliance and the figure of sequences. Figure aˆZ shows that increasing the sequence figure lead to increase the clip cost for calculate the nonsubjective map for the java and SP nonsubjective maps. Table5: Time cost of each Test Group Test Group No. of Seqs. sequence length Avg. Time Avg. min soap SP BRALiBase 2.1 ( 232 datasets ) k5 5 109 96 125 0.16 k7 7 110 94 131 0.32 k10 10 108 94 129 0.66 k15 15 110 88 137 1.60 LocalExtR ( 90 datasets ) k20 20 115 90 172 3.52 k40 40 114 87 180 16.96 k60 60 107 81 189 42.72 k80 80 106 77 204 88.01 Based on the correlativity shown in 4, the correlativity between the alliances hiting and the alignment quality utilizing the COFFEE nonsubjective map and sum-of-pairs were better than those found utilizing the NorMd, MstatX, and WSP nonsubjective maps. Coffee and sum-of-pairs nonsubjective maps have the highest correlativity. Based on the clip cost shown in Table5: Time cost of each Test Group and figure 4, the cost clip used by sum-of-pairs is better than java nonsubjective map for all trial groups. Figure aˆZ4: Coffee and SPS Objective map clip6.0 DecisionThe alliance of multiple sequences remains a challenging job today. Here, we do non discourse possible schemes to better alliance quality, but alternatively concentrate on the maps used to measure the quality of completed alliances. The relationship of the alliance mark and alignment quality of different nonsubjective map is the aim of this paper. It is recommended to run several maps and compare their consequences to happen the most suitable one. The consequence shows that the correlativity between the alliances tonss and the alignment quality utilizing the COFFEE nonsubjective map and sum-of-pairs were better than those found utilizing the NorMd, MstatX, and WSP nonsubjective maps. Coffee and sum-of-pairs nonsubjective maps have the highest correlativity. It besides shows that the alliance marking by sum-of-pairs is better than java nonsubjective map for all trial groups in footings of consuming clip The tonss produced by sum-of-pairs and java are better correlated to the existent alliance truths than tonss produced by other methods.7.0 RecognitionThe writers would wish to appreciate the School of Computer Sciences every bit good as University Science Malaysia for their installations and aid. The writers are appreciative of the attempts of the referees for their helpful remarks.

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As of July of the present year, the country is occupied by an estimate of 11,451,652 people having different racial descent including Africans, Spanish, Westerns and Asians (â€Å"The World Factbook†). Despite changes that have been introduced in the country, there are still issues that have been bothering the nation and even its citizens. Through its communist form of government, many activities were hardly exercised by the citizens because of government suppression. The most suppressed and monitored activity is the expression of ones thoughts and ideas. The right to express ones self is being curtailed by the government especially when it contains ideas that are against the government. The role of media is to protect the government as it is founded only to voice out words that the government desires to hear. In contrary to the role played by media in many countries, the Cuban media does not serve as the voice and protector of the people from the government but as an ally of the state. The treatment of the media people is also despicable in the eyes of the international community and of the journalists themselves. Hence, this paper will present the relationship of the media and government as well as the role it plays in the country. Concomitant to that is the life of journalists under the communist government of Cuba. Role of Media Media has been recognized as indispensable tool in communication. Mass media, as defined, is â€Å"the technological means of sending information, ideas, opinion, etc. through the mass communication device to a diverse audience† (â€Å"Impact of Media on Culture†). Various means used by mass media in transmitting information effectively and swiftly includes television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and internet. Notably, internet has been the most preferred and ideal means of mass media because of its ability of reaching a wider audience and is laxly monitored. In addition, internet is most preferred because it does not require profession to enable any individual to express his or her ideas. Among other nations, mass media is recognized as the fourth department of the government because of the role it plays in the political and social aspect. The mass media usually fills in the gap between the government and the people. It voices out the sentiments or thoughts of the people to the government while it also brings to the people the sentiments and plans of the government for the country. In some instances, mass media becomes a watchdog against government abuses and activities that are definitely out of reason. Furthermore, mass media has continually become the source of information about things, persons, places, and events, among others. Due to the indispensable role of mass media in the society, it need to be free and not controlled by any person or agency nor can be regulated by the government. Instead, it should be free in order to properly carry out its objective. Apart from that, it should not be controlled to ensure its impartiality and neutral role. Historical Background of Media in Cuba The epoch of mass media in Cuba can be traced back during the Spanish regime. The history also of the country’s press has undergone five periods (Browning). The Colonial period which stated from 1723 to 1868 is recognized as the first period. During that period, the first newspaper entitled Gazeta de la Habana was released in 1782 and become the nation’s publication (Browning). In 1790, the newspaper was followed by the very first magazine entitled Papel Periodico de la Habana (Browning). Both were regulated by the Spanish government but enjoyed less restriction because of the French Revolution affecting the government power of Spain over Cuba. The second period began in 1869 when Independence was first craved for and ended in 1902. The period is also called the Independence Revolution (Browning). During that period, press was given full freedom purposely to win the support of the reformists. Eventually periodicals containing ideas about reform began to evolve which includes El Cubano Libre, Estrella Solitaria, El Mambi, and El Boletin de la Guerra (Browning). Notably, during the second period, more revolutionaries were inspired to fight for their independence through the influence of Jose Marti who writes in several newspapers such as Patria, La Nacion, and New York Sun (Browning). The second period was marked by independent exercise of expression through publications that is direct, immediate and constant (Browning). The third period started when called the Republican period which started from 1902 and ended in 1930. The third period was ruled under the dictatorship of Gerardo Machado (Browning). During his era, freedom of expression was enjoyed by journalists. Newspapers, publications and other dailies thrived in the city of Cuba, Havana. This period was also marked by prosperity because political parties sponsored lots of publications and added to the benefit of the country’s economy. However, the exercise of the freedom was shaken by the plan of Machado to assimilate and provide government subsidies in exchange for support in 1928 (Browning). The following years was marked by economic downturn and political unrest that further led to the end of freedom enjoyed by the Cuban journalists. The fourth period started after Machado was overthrown in 1930 until 1959 (Browning). For 29 years, Batista ruled the nation. During the reign of Batista, the freedom of expression was experiencing threat of extinction. Though, technological innovations in journalism were introduced in the country. Among these includes increased commercial sophistication and steam-powered printing presses (Browning). However, at the latter part of Batista’s reign, the freedom of expression has finally faded because the government took control of the press. The fifth period started when Batista was overthrown by the communist group led by Castro in 1959 and continues at the present era (Browning). Since the beginning of Castro era, the freedom of expression was already curtailed. Eventually, the press and media were finally controlled by the government and journalists were not given freedom to voice out their thoughts against the government. The government’s strict control over media started in 1930. No independent journalists were freed to release publications which have the effect of criticizing the government. During that period, journalists tried to oppose the move of the government but to no avail. Finally, in 1990’s through the introduction of Internet, independent journalists have found new medium to castigate the government’s control of information (Browning). However, the media, private and public, are still under the control of the government. Information dissemination is still suffering strict regulation. Independent journalists also continue to struggle and risk their lives for an independent journalism. It can be observed that since the evolution of media, the government already held control of it. The changes in phases under several governments have made media limited and restricted. Some of the actions that the government had done in curtailing free press and flow of information were censorship and closure of newspapers (Browning). Until now, the freedom of information remains evasive and independence of journalists is still obscure to be enjoyed. Current Status of Media in Cuba In Art. 53 of the 1976 Cuban constitution, freedom of press and expression have been explicitly stated. However, such freedom is subjected to limitations as contained in Art. 62 Art. 5, further, contains that all communication should be controlled by the Communist Party for the benefit of the country (Browning). As an effect, information was regulated and controlled by the government. Journalists were also restrained from publicizing without the knowledge of the state. Apart from that, journalists were arbitrarily imprisoned for exercising their freedom of expression. Mass media in Cuba is definitely not free. In the field of print media, the nation maintains three newspapers which are fully regulated by the government. These nation’s newspapers are Granma, Juventud Rebelde and Trabajadores (Browning). Granma is the official publication of the Communist Party which was founded in 1965 (Browning). Juventud Rebelde usually contains the same youth-oriented stories covered in Granma but in simplified and summarized manner. The Trabajadores, on the other hand, is more politically inclined publication as it contains Marxist principles (Browning). Notably, Granma’s circulation has widened in some other parts of the world through the power of internet. The website is called Digital Granma Internacional (Browning). It is also noteworthy that during the recognition of the press, the Union de Periodistas de Cuba (Union of Cuban Journalists) was founded in July 15, 1963 (Browning). It is a nongovernment organization which engages the membership of professional journalists in order to work in distinguished media in the country. However, such organization has already been controlled by the government and its constitution also dictates that editorial line of journalists must follow that of government. On this era of technological innovations, independent journalists found internet as a means of voicing out their cries and redress against the Cuban government. However, the control of the government in curtailing unwanted information has also reached the World Wide Web and several independent journalists have been imprisoned for such exercise of expression. It is noteworthy that 21 journalists have been recorded to have been imprisoned after a closed-door trial (â€Å"Attacks on the Press in 2008†). Among the journalists that suffered the harshness of the state is Yoani Sanchez, 33-year old blogger (â€Å"Attacks on the Press in 2008†). Sanchez, at first, found freedom through her blog called Generation Y which contained observations about hurricane devastation, politically motivated arrest, and food shortages (â€Å"Attacks on the Press in 2008†). Her blog has been read abroad but has also been made known by the government. Thereafter, her passport was confiscated and was not allowed to leave the country. Today, state authorities has started to regulate internet cafes to track down individuals with the purpose of publishing dissent against the government through internet. Another independent journalist that has experienced the government’s cruelty is Victor Rolando Arroyo (â€Å"Cuban Journalist in Second Week of Hunger Strike†). Arroyo, who writes in Union de Periodistas y Escritores de Cuba, was arrested during the fight for independence press in March 2003 (â€Å"Cuban Journalist in Second Week of Hunger Strike†). He caught the world’s attention when he took hunger strike for almost two weeks because of the maltreatment and indecent treatment of prisoners like him.

Performance Appraisal System Impact on Employees Apollo Tyres

Performance Appraisal System Impact on Employees Apollo Tyres 1.1 Introduction According to Mayo, 2000, Human resources management is an important function of a firm because the machines can be easily directed, repaired and utilised but employees are living beings with emotions and prejudices and cannot be easily directed, repaired and utilised. In 20th century the theoretical as well as practical aspects of the Human resources management got a scientific dimension, the consistent efforts of the management to improve the performance of the firm has resulted in the performance evaluation of human resources or employees. The employees are the building blocks of a firm and the defective block will deform the entire firm so it is the responsibility of the management to shape these building blocks according to the needs. The performance appraisal system is not new concept it has an age old history to tell but the modern appraisal system has evolved in the mid of 20th century. The performance appraisal system, which integrates many departments of the firm, is aimed at the enhancement of performance of the employees. The employees who are not scoring in the performance appraisal period are required to undergo training and skill development programme. The performance appraisal was believed to be a motivation factor but in practise many studies have shown that it is not always act as a motivational factor but sometimes has de-motivational effects on the appraised. The system which formulates the rules and regulations to motivate the employees to perform better in the next appraisal period can be called as a best suited system for that particular firm because there is no optimum method or procedure to be followed in a performance appraisal system in a firm. (Nishad, 2005) The motivation and de-motivation factors may be present in the same performance appraisal system. The appraisal may be motivational to some employees meanwhile it is de-motivating for others. The combined effect is a general thing in all appraisal system but the proportion of motivation to de-motivation factors should be high otherwise the entire objective of the Performance appraisal will be failed. (Seong and Lewis, 2009) There are many factors which affect the result of performance appraisal the main factor is the appraisal procedure and the evaluation criteria, the next important factors are social, cultural, economical and political aspects of the employees. The social and cultural aspects are known as permanent factors which cannot be nullified so it becomes the duty of the employer to plan a PA system which suits the socio-cultural aspects of the employees in addition to the due consideration for the political as well as the economics factors. (Nishad, 2005) 1.2 Background and justification of the study 1.2.1 Background of the Study Apollo Tyres Ltd is a multinational company having many divisions all around the world. It is a private sector company with limited liability. The performance track of ATL has attracted many foreign firms to initiate joint venture with this company in UK, US and African continent. The performance of this company and the varied product categories it offers to the customers are the key for its success. (Company profile, 2010) Apollo Tyres Ltd is emerging as a global tyre manufactures and it finds its strength in the availability of materials and labour at a lower price than its competitors. The annual revenue for 2009 financial year was 1.2 Billion USD. The main source of income is form the domestic production; recently the firm has acquired many other international firms such as the Dunlop Tyres in 2006 and VBBV of Netherlands as well as the Russias largest tyre manufacturing company Amtel-Vredestein NV. ATL has a direct market strategy and has 2500 showroom all over the world; majority of it are in India. There are 4000 dealerships India and more than 100 dealers internationally. (Company profile, 2010 and Stanley, 2009) The globalisation has brought many challenges to ATL as new multinational companies have entered the health care sector in India. ATL has coped with challenges with diversified product plan and for that it has invested billion of Indian Rupee, as a result the company has major market share in India. It is a matter of credit that around 10% of Tyre Products available all over world belong to ATL because of the export activities of the company. The company is so successful because of the work force it got. (Company profile, 2009) The workers are being provided by good facilities such as good working environment, good salary, flexible time schedule and holiday and festive allowancesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. The Management has already providing them a contributory pension fund and insurance scheme for the employees. The educational scholar ships and education facility up to high school for the children of employees are provided by the company itself, apart from the residential facility. (Company profile, 2010 and Stanley, 2009) The annual report from financial year 2006 to 2009 has proved that the productivity has been getting decreased year by year. In 2006 it was 2.6% decrease and in 2009 it has reached the alarming 18% decrease. The management has a performance appraisal system since 1971 and counselling programme as well as skill development programmes are provided for the underperformed employees. Still the productivity graph records a downward growth. And this proposed study indents to find out the effectiveness and impact of the appraisal system on the employees and the productivity. (Stanley, 2009) 1.2.2 Justification of the study Every organisation around the world has vision and mission, whatever the philosophy behind the vision and mission there will be a common factor in the philosophy improved performance. The improved performance might bring profit to the organisation. The overall development of the organisation may be one side of the improved performance of the firm. the improved performance means the enhanced performance of the its various departments such as Human resources management, financial management, production and operations management, sales management, marketing management, customer care managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. In all of these departments the human factor is a matter of serious consideration. The right people for the right job make all the differences. (Taylor, 2001) All the firms have some or other method to measure and analyse the performance of it. The analysis of this performance and the actions plans to be taken to improve the performance are of great importance of every firm. To manage the performance appraisal of its employees the firms have a separate appraisal department under the human resources department. The functions of appraisal department are integrated with other department such as financial department to coordinate the appraisal rewards and punishments, if any. (Qureshi, 2005) The performance appraisal is a complicated disciple of study because the appraisal result might not be the intended and assumed motivation of the employees. The studies have revealed that in many firms around world the appraisal process and remedial measures have resulted in the declined performance of the employees indicating the de-motivational effect of the appraisal system. (Nishad, 2005) The appraisal methods and criteria should be defined particularly for each firm because the appraisal results and the impact of the employees are very much depended on the external internal factor of the firm. The external factors such as socio-cultural traits of the employees, the economic and political situation of the geographical location of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. The internal factors mean the nature of the jobs, the leisure and pleasure in the job, the working conditions, organisational cultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. (Nishad, 2005) The appraisal theories when applied to the Asian countries the result may be devastating because the western appraisal theories have a great limitation in the Asian countries because of the social and cultural difference of the Asian people. So it is imperative to analyse the appraisal system on the basis of local factor which influence the management and the organisational behaviour of the employees. (Taylor, 2001and Nishad, 2005) In the proposed study, ATL- Kalamassery, in the Kerala state, India, is taken because the political and the economical situations of the state. The Kerala is world famous for the various political ideologies such as communism and socialism. The economic backwardness of the state is also factor to take this unit of ATL for the study. According to Taylor (2001) the social- cultural traits of the employees in India are very much different from the western countries. The social behaviour of Indians is sometimes unacceptable social etiquettes for westerners. The social bond and relations are different from that of the western countries. The proposed study would like to analyse the impact of the factors in the appraisal system and how far the appraisal system of ATL can manage its employees in the improvement of performance. 1.2.3 Literature Review Performance appraisal has a long history it emerged with the civilisation. When the people are interacting to each other in an orderly fashion then it may require some laws to govern the conduct of the people in the group. This preliminary law formation is called grundnorm which means the base norm, and these base norms were designed to control the conduct and also the distributed duties. The distribution of duties include various works; later on when these works required efficiency then performance of the individual and the groups were began to analyse. So it can be said that the performance appraisal was there in the primitive societies and in the course of time the application and the method of evaluation has been changed a lot. (Rajeev, 2000) According to Mayo, (2000), in the modern world, where everything is measured in time, the performance evaluation has great importance. The performance of each member of a group is important for the purpose of performance evaluation. After the industrial revolution new management theories came in to being and many of them went in to oblivion, those survived gave emphasis on the evaluation of the performance on the basis of scientific criteria. The industrial world tries to motivate its man power so that better performance can be obtained from each of the employees. The motivational aspect of the performance appraisal has been subject for deep rooted debates which are based on the many disciplines of study such as psychology, anthropology, sociologyetc. The complexity of the subject matter indicates the intricacies involved in the performance appraisal process and its impact on the employees. (Nishad, 2005) The motivational theories such as Vrooms expectancy theory and hygiene theory suggest that the employees are not motivated by giving them better facilities or salary but there is a mental dimension such as appreciation, recognition, career growth etc. The modern appraisal theory which is based on these concepts where as the classical theory of performance appraisal only support the deterrent method, that is, the employees who are performing well will be paid better and those who are not will be sacked. This approach has many loop holes such as the mental strain during the appraisal period the employees have and the lack of loyalty from the part of the employees and it was proved to be ineffective in motivating the employees. (Rajeev, 2000) The modern approach, meanwhile, support more over a lenient approach towards the employees. The basic philosophy is to understand the basic problem in the underperformance of the employees. The root cause may not be related to the employment or it may be related of some physiological problems, whatever it may the manager or the supervisor who is in charge of the appraisal process is responsible to understand it. The counselling process is designed to understand the problems and give suggestions to solve the problems of the employees. The training and improvement programmes are also conducted in many modern industries to increase the performance level of the employees. (Rajeev, 2000) The performance appraisal is usually begins with the formulation of the criteria on which each and every employee will be analysed. The criteria formation is very complex and will be unique according to the nature of employment as well as the philosophy of the management. The criteria then communicated to the employees and a time period will be given to them to opine about the criteria and after the evaluation of the suggestions from the various sources the management may change the criteria or stick on with it. The appraisal process will start and the each employee will be informed about the appraisal period. The appraisal result will be published publically and remedial measures will be taken thereafter. The remedial measures include the training and improvement programme and even the removal of the underperformance form the employment. (North, 2006) The problem with the performance appraisal begins when the employees are instructed to undergo the remedial measures. According to Nishad (2005), the social and cultural factors of the employees as well as the political strength are important factors that dictate the appraisal process. Unlike the western world in Asian countries the political strength of the employees unions is much stronger and the labour laws are much lenient to support the employees. The appraisal system in the Asian countries shall not follow the procedures of the western firms. The motivational factors and the de-motivational factors are different and contradictory in western and eastern world. The factors which motivate a westerner may a factor for de-motivation in Asian countries. According to Taylor (2001), the social-cultural aspects of the employees have significant effect on the appraisal system in the Asian countries. The trade unionism and the political inclination of these unions are other factors which will affect the appraisal system adversely. The behavioural pattern of the employees have to be analysed before the formulating the appraisal strategy. The political philosophy of the political parties in Kerala varies from leftist ideology to the rightist capitalism. The political parties strongly support one or the other political ideologies; communism and socialism are the major philosophies which are being followed in the state for more than a century. The trade unions of the state are affiliated to anyone of the political parties and the trade unions enjoys the protection of labour laws of the land. (Ashok, 2007) Situation in the ATL is not different from the political situation of the state. The political parties have a great influence on the trade unions and the lives of the employees. Every employee in the ATL is affiliated to any one of the political parties. This is basically a survival strategy for the employees as well as the trade unions. (Ashok, 2007) The collective bargaining of the trade unions and the threat of strikes hampered the growth of many industries in the state. The current situation in the firm is also same and the management have to discuss and reach in a consensus to implement any change in work schedule or in bonus or in the salary. The strength of the management is in the bargaining power and that of the trade unions is in the unity and threat to strike. (Uppal, 2009) The performance appraisal system of any industry is under the scrutiny of the trade unions, the performance criteria should be passed by the trade union so that it can be smoothly run. The remedial measures are also supervised by the trade unions and any action which will be a potential threat will be strongly resisted by the unions. (Uppal, 2009) 1.2.4 Aim The present study aims to analyse the Performance Appraisal System of the Apollo Tyres Ltd and the motivating as well as the de-motivating effects of the appraisal system on the basis of the socio-cultural and politico-economical situations and to suggest the strategies and procedures to improve the performance of the employees. 1.2.5 Hypothesis (A) Null hypothesis H0 Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is depended on the social, cultural, political and economic environment of the firm and the employees (B) Alternative Hyposthesis H1: Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is NOT depended on the social and Cultural environment of the firm and the employees H2: Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is NOT depended on the political and economic environment of the firm and the employees The null hypothesis is statistical hypothesis that is tested for possible rejection under the assumption that it is true (usually those observations are the result of chance). The concept was introduced by R.  A.  Fisher (Gonick and Smith, 2006) In this proposed study, the null hypothesis considers the independent variables such as social, cultural, political and economic factors of the environment in which the firm operates. The null hypothesis is assumed to be trued based on the various secondary data. The alternative hypothesis is divided in to two part one with the factors such social and cultural factors and the second one is political and economic factors. According to Malhotra (2008), the social and cultural factors cannot be separated as it is has strong influence on each other. The social factor is formed based on the cultural factor and the cultural is nurtured and propagated through social circumstances. According to Cumbler (2003), The political philosophy is always related with the economy of the country, the political affiliation is more over has direct influence on the economy of the people. It is noteworthy that the communism and other labourer favoured philosophies are flourishing the third world countries because of the poor economic conditions. Once these countries become developed nations the leftist philosophies will cease to exist in course of time. 1.2.6 Primary Objectives of the Study 1. To analyse the performance appraisal system in general and particularly in the Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL) 2. To understand analyse the significance of the performance appraisal system in achieving the goals and objectives of a firm 3. To study and analyse the transition of performance appraisal from conventional to modern and the major factors influenced the transition 4. To understand the motivating and de-motivating effect of the appraisal system on the employees in general and particularly in the ATL 5. To analyse effect of social and cultural factors and political and economical factors of the employees on the appraisal system in general and particularly in the ATL. 1.2.7 Research Questions To fulfil the primary objective of the study the following research questions are proposed Performance Appraisal its meaning and definitions What are the significance of performance evaluation system in accomplishing the organisational objective and goals? What are the differences in the modern as well as in the conventional appraisal system? What is the relation between the motivation of the employee and appraisal system? How do the socio-cultural and politico-economical factors of the employee affect the Appraisal System in a firm? Does the performance appraisal system in the Apollo Tyres Ltd have a motivational effect on the employees? What are the strategies that the ATL follows in the appraisal process to enhance the performance of the employees in the particular socio-cultural and politico-economical background? 2. Research method and Approach 2.1 Introduction The research method and approach is devised to study and understand Performance Appraisal System in the Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL). The study involves the opinion of the employees and the management on the present appraisal system in ATL. The interview method will be used to understand the management side of story on the Performance Appraisal system in the ATL. The questionnaire method is used to understand the employee side story. The literature reviews are depended to make a frame work on the theoretical concept of the study. Various statistical methods will be used to analyse the data and it will be explained on the basis of relevant literature. The span of the research will be six months. In the month of March, 2010 the study will be commenced and the final report will be submitted in September, 2010. 2.2 Research Methodology of the study The research methodology of the study is designed to understand the Performance Appraisal System in the ATL and the impact of present system on the employees. According to Kothari, (2002) the research method suitable for a study where the relevant literatures as well as the primary data are used the two research methods are generally used such as the exploratory methods and the constructive methods. The constructive methods are used when the subject matter of the research needs some frame of reference to handle the entire research results. For example, in international marketing research, sometimes, the cultural traits of customers have to be taken the basis or frame of reference of the study because this trait will affect all the research questions under study. 2.2.1 Exploratory research methods Exploratory research methods are wildly used in the secondary data accumulation. In this present study the literature review will be used to understand and to formulate the theoretical frame work of the entire study. The history of the appraisal system, the relevance of the appraisal system, the motivational as well as the de-motivational aspects of the PA system, the social and cultural factors as well as the political and economic factors will be extensively studied through relevant literature. The relevant sources will be explored to understand the subject matter of the study deeply thus exploratory research methods. (Kothari, 2002) 2.2.2 Constructive Research Methods Constructive research methods are used when the research result cannot be generalised due the influence of dominant factors in the study. (Kothari, 2002) In the present study the performance appraisal system is analysed based on the social and cultural aspect of the employees. The political and economical aspects are also considered for the study because all these factors have a dominant effect on the study. In other words, without taking these factors under consideration the research will be completed. The geographical location of the unit under study is in the Kerala state, India, which is an economically backward place and the political philosophies, such communism and socialism have formidable impact on the people living there. The social and cultural factors are different from the western world and the social bonds and family cohesions are very important aspects this culture. The social interaction and etiquettes are different from that of the western world so the theories applicable in the western world no longer stand good in these situations. So it is mandatory for this study to form a frame work on these factors to analyse th e subject matter of the research. 2.2.3 Questionnaire and interview method Interview and questionnaire methods are generally used to collect the data first hand (Kothari, 2002). In this study these methods are preferred to get the information on the appraisal system of ATL and the impact of such system on the employees. The questionnaires will be used to get the opinions of the employees on the performance appraisal system as well as the appraisal rewards and the methods of the PA system. According to Saunders et al., 2003 the open end interviews are useful to gather data in a larger perspective. The open end interview questions and the answers to it will give the interviewer the opportunity to ask other relevant questions to the interviewee based on the previous answer and can get more details from the interviewer. The interview questions are open end in nature and the questions will be asked to the officials of ATL. According to the answers of these officials other related questions will be asked to get more comprehensive view on the subject. This method is used to interview the officials only because there are very few in number. The questionnaire will be distributed to the employees and the responses will be collected back within one month of distribution. This method is adopted because in this unit there are 2100 employees and interviewing all them will not be possible due to time constrain. 2.3 Method of Study The proposed study requires both primary data as well as the secondary data to meet the objectives of the study. The method of study thus designed to collect the primary as well as the secondary data. The primary data will be collected from the management staffs and from the employees. The secondary data will be collected by referring books, Articles, the e-journals and paper journals, web sitesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. 2.4 Primary data collections methods Primary data will be collected from the employees and the managers of the ATL directly. The employees will be distributed the self-structured close end questionnaire to be answered and 2 weeks time will be given to them to fill it and return. Managerial staff will be interview with open end interview questions. According to Saunders et al., 2003, the open end questions are very apt for interviewing a small sample in a study it also very effective because the open end questions will provide enough opportunity to ask more questions based on the answer for the previous questions and clarify the doubts on the statements if any. 2.5 Secondary Data collection methods The secondary data collection is highly recommended information gathering process in any research work. The researcher should be diligent enough to select apt resources and updated information. In management subjects the data collection should be done through updated resources and latest editions books, articles and journals because new concept and theories and its applications are emerging day by day and it is the responsibility of the researcher to find out the up dated information for his research work. (Kumar, 2005) The secondary data collection method includes access to the relevant and updated books, journals and articles. The website will be extensively used if the authenticities of the sites are known. The university library and online facility will be extensively used for this research. The data regarding the company profile will be gathered though company website and referring the ISO manual of ATL and the annual report which is available in the web site of ATL. 2.6 Method of Data analysis In the proposed study the primary data as well as the secondary data will be used to reach a conclusion and the recommendations. The primary data will be analysed with various statistical tools such as chi square test, ANOVA à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc and the variance analysis will be done to understand the impact of the statement with the literature review. Both the primary and secondary data will be simultaneously used to interpret the results of the research. 2.7 Scope, Ethics and Limitation of the Study Scope The proposed study is on the performance appraisal system and the impact of it on the employees. The scope of the research includes the analysis of the various factors such as the social-cultural aspects and the political-economic factors of the environment in which the Apollo Tyres Limited is operating. The social and cultural aspect of the employees will be analysed and the suitable strategy for the appraisal system will be studied. The political and economic situation of the employees will be analysed and the performance appraisal approach of the management will be studied based on these factors. The scope of the research will be on the formulation appraisal strategy which will be suitable under the various research variables. The motivational and the de-motivational impact of the appraisal system will be analysed based on the four above mentioned aspects of the employees. Ethics According to Kothari (2002), a research study will provide accurate results and will provide a valid conclusion if it has followed a research ethics. In this proposed study the permission to do the research is obtained from the management of Apollo Tyres Limited, Kalamassery Unit, Kerala state, India. The survey among the employees of the ATL will be conducted confidentially. The questionnaire will not contain any whereabouts of the employees only the service, age, gender and positions. It will not ask for any personal details such as the address, name or any name of unique post. The research will seek the written permission from the management for the interview of the Management staffs so the evidence of opinion can be adduced in the Dissertation. Relevant literature will be collected and analysed to gather the knowledge base on the subject matter so that the research should have a through theoretical support. Limitations Short span of time is problem in the research as the time period is limited to three months. The data collection and the analysis of the primary data will be done with maximum speed and there is a chance the responses of the employees is not 100% true to the fact. The literature available on the performance appraisal is numerous and reading the relevant one requires great time. The limited time may limit the number of literature that can be analysed by the researcher. The data will be gathered through research aid wing of Indian Management Association (IMA). The representative of IMA will be hired for the purpose of the data collection; the knowledge limit of the person on the research objective may prove to be a problem in translating the questionnaire to the employees. The cooperation from the part of the employees and other management staff is essential for the success of the research. The research will suffer if there is limited cooperation from the staffs of the Apollo Tyres Limited. 2..8 Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion The trade unionism and the political inclination of these unions are other factors which will affect the appraisal system adversely. The behavioural pattern of the employees have to be analysed before the formulating the appraisal strategy. The political philosophy of the political parties in Kerala varies from leftist ideology to the rightist capitalism. The political parties strongly support one or the other political ideologies; communism and socialism are the major philosophies which are being followed in the state for more than a century. The trade unions of the state are affiliated to anyone of the political parties and the trade unions enjoys the protection of labour laws of the land. Situation in the ATL is not different from the political situation of the state. The political parties have a great influence on the trade unions and the lives of the employees. Every employee in the ATL is affiliated to any one of the political parties. This is basically a survival strategy for the employees as well as the trade unions. The collective bargaining of the trade unions and the threat of strikes hampered the growth of many industries in the state. The current situation in the firm is also same and the management have to discuss and