Taking the Wild Out Of the Wild Animal Essay Example for Free

Taking the Wild Out Of the Wild Animal Essay Grabbing the audiences’ attention Going to the zoo seems completely normal and extremely fascinating for most families, but what happens behind the scenes is where going to the zoo doesn’t seem all that realistic. Thesis There are many reasons why it is not right for wild animals to be caged up and taken away from their homes and put into a zoo for public display. MP1 The animals inside of zoos are not in their â€Å"natural habitat†. Detail 1 Wild animals are meant to be free and roam across their homelands. Detail 2 These animals are not catching their own food, they are being fed like pets. This interrupts their skills to hunt their meals and learn how to survive out on their own. Detail 3 Wild animals are meant to live on their own, not to be on a zookeepers schedule to be fed and played with. MP2 Wild animals should not have any human contact. Detail 1 Out in the wild, there are no humans to help catch any predator’s food, not to mention giving it to them on a dinner plate. Detail 2 Wild animals are built and raised to hunt and kill, not be served like a human being. Detail 3 Human interactions are slim to none for most animals out in the wild. Detail 4 Wild animals don’t need assistance giving birth to their young nor do they need help raising and teaching them the necessities for everyday living out in the wild. MP3 When locked up, these animals become depressed and suffer from anxiety. Detail 1 Some signs of depression and anxiety are: pacing back and forth, isolating themselves in corners, abnormal behavior, and swaying from side to side. Detail 2 â€Å"Captive animals are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, and as a result, they become bored and lonely and many even suffer from a condition called â€Å"zoochosis.† If you’ve ever witnessed a captive animal rock and sway back and forth, you’ve seen the disease firsthand. This condition is so rampant in zoos that some zoos give animals a mood-altering drug, such as  Prozac, because the public has started to catch on.† (Carr.) Detail 3 Wild animals are not supposed to be locked up and fed medication to cure their diseases of depression or anxiety. MP4 Some people say that the zoo provides great information on wild animals and their â€Å"natural habitat† when clearly they are sending the wrong message across to people by keeping them locked up and barricaded in little prison cells. Detail 1 Showing people these animals the way they are is wrong and cruel. Detail 2 It gives people the wrong impression on how these wild animals live their life. Detail 3 There are better resources that people could use instead of going to the zoo and experience something that is not true of nature. For instance, documentaries, books, or even schooling for people that want to make it as a career, are better than taking these animals away from their homes and locking them up in small spaces. These options don’t involve taking the animal out of the wild. Detail 4 â€Å"One reason why some zoos have not done a better job in educating people is that many of them make no real effort at education. In the case of others the problem is an apathetic and unappreciative public.† (Jamieson.) MP5 Animals inside of zoos are not getting the amount of exercise, as they would out in the wild. Detail 1 â€Å"Elephants typically walk up to 30 miles in just one day.† (Carr.) Detail 2 Giving this some thought, when elephants are put into zoos, they only get so much room to roam, which doesn’t allow them to get their adequate exercise. Detail 3 In most cases, a lot of these animals are becoming under coordinated by huge percentages which makes them not fit for being released. This also shortens the lifespan of many animals. Thesis There are several explanations of why zoos are not okay for wild animals. Conclusion No true understanding is being accomplished by anyone who visits a zoo. These animals are not in their natural habitat, and if they were, they would most defiantly be considered â€Å"wild animals.† Some aren’t use to having any human interactions at all. Many animals suffer from diseases caused by being inside of a zoo. There are always other ways to learn about these immaculate creatures besides keeping them locked up with no â€Å"wild† to experience. These animals need freedom of time and space to learn how to survive adequately, or at least be able to walk as far as they would like to walk. Amber Wharton WRI 95.01 Professor Goodman March 11, 2014 Argumentative Essay Zoos: Taking The WILD Out of Animals Going to the zoo seems completely normal and extremely fascinating for most families, but what happens behind the scenes is where going to the zoo doesn’t seem all that realistic. The animals inside of zoos are not in their â€Å"natural habitat†. Wild animals usually are not use to having any human contact, at least out in the wild they don’t. When locked up, these animals become diseased and suffer from depressed and anxiety. Some people say that the zoo provides great information on wild animals and their â€Å"natural habitat† and use â€Å"going to the zoo† as a resource for learning more information on these amazing animals. Animals inside of zoos are not getting the right amount of exercise, as they would be getting out in the wild. There are many reasons why it is not right for wild animals to be caged up and taken away from their homes and put into a zoo for public display. Wild animals are meant to have their freedom and roam across their homelands without limitations or boundaries. These animals inside of zoos are not in their â€Å"natural habitat†. They have limited amount of space that they can walk around in and are most likely not anything like their natural habitat. These animals are not even catching their own food; they are being fed like pets. This interrupts their skills to hunt their meals and learn how to survive out on their own. These animals have insufficient knowledge of actually being a wild animal. They probably think it’s normal for them to be locked up because they were born inside of a zoo. Better yet, the food that they do eat is more likely not what they would eat out in the wild or it’s already dead. Wild animals are meant to live life and kill their food on their own, not to be on a zookeepers schedule to be fed and played with. Wild animals usually are not use to having any human contact. Out in the wild, there are no humans to help catch any kind of animals’ food, not to mention giving it to them on a dinner plate would be completely out of the ordinary out in the wild. Wild animals are built and raised to hunt and  kill, not to be served like a human being. Human interactions are slim to none for most animals out in the wild. Wild animals don’t even need assistance giving birth to their young nor do they need help raising and teaching them the necessities for everyday living out in the wild, not that they need that knowledge inside of a zoo. When locked up, these animals become depressed and suffer from anxiety. Some signs of depression and anxiety are: pacing back and forth, isolating themselves in corners, abnormal behavior, and swaying from side to side. â€Å"Captive animals are deprived of everything that is natural and important to them, and as a result, they become bored and lonely and many even suffer from a condition called â€Å"zoochosis.† If you’ve ever witnessed a captive animal rock and sway back and forth, you’ve seen the disease firsthand. This condition is so rampant in zoos that some zoos give animals a mood-altering drug, such as Prozac, because the public has started to catch on.† (Carr.) Wild animals are not supposed to be locked up and fed medication to cure their disease of depression or anxiety that was caused by being inside of a zoo. Some people say that zoos provide a great deal of information on wild animals and their â€Å"natural habitats† when clearly they are sending the wrong message across to people by keeping them locked up and barricaded in little prison cells. Showing people these animals the way that they are presenting them to the public is wrong and cruel, not to mention it is not at all accurate to how they would be out in the wild. It gives people the wrong impression on how these wild animals live their life. There are better resources that people could use instead of going to the zoo and experience something that is not true of nature. For instance, documentaries, books, or even schooling for people that want to make it as a career, are better than taking these animals away from their homes and locking them up in small spaces. These options don’t involve taking the animal out of the wild. â€Å"One reason why some zoos have not done a better job in educating people is that many of them make no real effort at education. In the case of others the problem is an apathetic and unappreciative public.† (Jamieson.) Animals inside of zoos are not getting the amount of exercise, as they would out in the wild. â€Å"Elephants typically walk up to 30 miles in just one day.† (Carr.) Giving this some thought, when elephants are put into zoos, they only get so much room to roam, which doesn’t allow them to get their adequate exercise. This  also shortens the lifespan of many animals. In most cases, a lot of these animals are becoming under coordinated by huge percentages that make them not fit for be ing released. â€Å"Zoos breed animals in an effort to keep drawing in paying visitors—yet often, there’s nowhere to put the offspring as they grow. Breeding programs serve no true conservation purpose because giraffes and other animals born in zoos are rarely, if ever, returned to their natural habitats.† (PETA) In my opinion, I think all zoos should be closed permanently for the sake of the animals’ freedom. Animals are not supposed to be paired up and stuck together by what a human thinks is okay for their environment. They are supposed to roam their land and eat the food that they catch. Even learning instincts are a huge factor of being a wild animal. These wild animals are not supposed to be taken care of by humans like an infant human baby would be. No true understanding is being accomplished by anyone who visits a zoo. These animals are not in their natural habitat, and if they were, they would most defiantly be considered â€Å"wild animals.† Some aren’t use to having any human interactions at all. Many animals suffer from diseases caused by being inside of a zoo. There are always other ways to learn about these immaculate creatures besides keeping them locked up with no â€Å"wild† to experience. These animals need freedom of time and space to learn how to survive adequately, or at least be able to walk as far as they would like to walk. There are several explanations of why zoos are not okay for wild animals. Works Cited Carr, Michelle. â€Å"The Reality of Zoos.† People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.. PETA. Web. 11 March, 2014. Jamieson, Dale. Against Zoos. In Defense of Animals, New York: Basil Blackwell, 1985, (108-117) 11 March, 2014. Print. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA. 10 Feb, 2014. Web. 11 March, 2014.

An Introduction To Theological Reflection

An Introduction To Theological Reflection Stephen Pattison article entitled Some Straw for the Brick: A Basic Introduction to Theological Reflection introduces a model of theological reflection called critical conversation. In this model the conversation is between three parties, namely the students own faith presuppositions, the particular situation/context being looked at and the Christian tradition. Pattison is by no means suggesting that the critical conversation model is the only model of theological reflection. He has chosen it because its derived from others forms of theological reflection and lists seven advantages to it. ( pg. 139). According to Pattison, purpose of this model of theological reflection according is to help people think through and analyse their own experiences, the issues and the situations that they face and in so doing the practical theology gets underway. As far as Pattison is concerned the critical conversation has more to do with asking the right questions than arriving at the right answers. He also appears to suggest that theological reflection has less to do with academic ability than with inventiveness and imagination, creativity that seeks to discern patterns in a particular situation. Why critical reflection one might ask? Pattisons answer to that question is as follows: a). It helps us to bring about an understanding of human and religious experience in contemporary society whether superficial or complex. He suggests that, more complex the situation, require a depth in the conversation by drawing resources from other secular knowledge base, i.e. or Christian theology. b). It connects belief and practice to everyday life. c). Prevent people from making false assumptions. d). Helps one to grow deeper in faith and appreciation of theology. Theological reflection must become the filter of the ministry of the church. Critical reflection serves as a critical tool for the purposes of practical theology It is active enquiry, .dynamic, deep searching and open ended. Not intended to produce universally acclaimed answers by everyone and in every places in all cases. Theological reflection should not be seen as relevant to all people in all situations because of the different contexts. It is worth pointing out that theological reflection undertaken by individuals may well reveal more about the person and their perspective than it does about a secular situation or Christian theological tradition. To avoid that Pattison recommends that individuals be self-critical when doing theological reflection on their own. Theological reflection should be done as a group exercise instead. Helen Cameron illustrates the importance of this through her group work with TAP. Clearly this important point is articulated by all the other writers whose work form part of this review. Theological reflection in group setting is conducive to a deep and enhanced critical conversation likely to produce à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Any enquiry must aim at enriching the individual but crucially must be for the benefit of the Christian community. Such an outcome is bound to give new meaning and new orientation to the ministry of the church as has been the case throughout the churchs history. The weakness of this model of theological reflection is that it can be too subjective as it appeals to peoples particular theological bias, temperament and cultural leaning. Relativism, idiosyncratic are.. mutually interrogative method can lead to further questions, does not provide eternally valid answers which can be applied to everyday life. Asking questions and engaging in critical conversation is not an adequate way of conceiving theological reflection. Pg. 142 (limitations) Also the conversation may no be academic enough. One other criticism to be said about Pattisons model of theological reflection is that it assumes everyone can do it. The fact of the matter is not everyone has the skill Ballard page 2. Elaine Graham Elaine Graham etal recognises that the subject of theological reflection has been research extensively resulting in the production of numerous publications. However for her and fellow writers their article entitled Method or Mystique in Theological Reflection: Methods offers a challenge to the vague manner theological reflection is viewed. They point to the fact received understanding of theological understanding are largely under- theorised and narrow, and too often fail to connect adequately with biblical, historical and systematic scholarship (pg.1). As such they aim to help the reader engage in patterns of theological reflection that are richer in the source they draw on more rigorous and more imaginative. Their introductory chapter gives a history outline of the discourse. We have an account, of understanding practical/pastoral theology as a discipline concerned with practical training which is broader and understands theology as critical reflection in a variety of settings. Graham etal, sites Donald Scon who argues for a shift from theoretical knowledge, technical rationality and scientific precision which is all theoretically and not practically based consequently eroding public trust of experts. According to them, professional knowledge of expertise is only acquired in a particular context or situation that is implicit and problem based. Furthermore the learning takes place by responding with flexibility to situations, willingness to be a proactive learner and risk taking. (pg. 4) This view that knowledge comes by experience is also shared by Kolb in his book on model of experimental learning. (pg. 5) As such theology ought to be understood as a process rather than product. Christi an practice, alongside systematic biblical and historical theology is crucial to theological reflection. In their view such engagement with these traditional Christian resources is weak. It is to this interrelated problem of traditional Christian resources that Theological Reflection: Methods reverts. My third article for review is entitled Characteristics of Theological Action Research by Helen Cameron etal. The article comes from the book written by her and others called Talking about God in Practice. In it a methodology of research called Theological Action Research is introduced. TAR is a brain child of Action Research Church and Society made up of two teams that are ecumenical and interdisciplinary chosen. The team members are all theological practioners and researchers, made up of a team from Heythrop and the other team from outside. ARCS objectives are realised when dialogue goes on in each team and also across the teams. The teams demonstrate willingness to share good practice and ideas of theological research between teams. As a model TAR has four stages called a cycle of theological reflection and are the following; experience, reflection, learning and action. The methodology require that each stage of the cycle is carefully examined and documented using its action research process and social sciences methods of collecting data. Theology plays a key part in all the stages of the practice right from the beginning to the very end. That also includes the shared reflections of the practitionrs and researchers. We can conclude that the lessons learnt are the following: Theological reflection and theology is directed at life situations in every human experience whether be a believer, church community including those who confess to be atheists. According to Metz, as he made reference to Karl Rahners a critical observation of Vatican II. God is a universal theme, a theme concerning all humanity or it is simple no theme at all. (pg 57 M.K). Rahners ascertion is an attempt to address an abserd belief which was sectarian and excluded others in taking part the faith dialogue/God. It is also true to say that when theology becomes self-absorbed by ignoring the worlds reality of human suffering, poverty injustice etc. it loses its purpose. The theological reflection model looked at in this review appear narrowly focused atà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. with a particular racial group, principally white European and middle class. We live in a diverse à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. The church is a reflection of society that is multicultural, ethnic Robert Kinast in his article on the subject makes the same point that theological reflection is a threefold movement, which begins with the lived experience,

The Positive Impact of Being a Disciple of Jesus Essays -- Papers

Being a Disciple of Jesus and Its Effect on a Person's Life Depending on who you are and where you come from, "good effect" can have a number of meanings. Some people can say that a "good effect" is taking heed of God's message to love one another, and showing kindness in little ways, or a "good effect" can mean deciding to give up your life to devote it to poor people or the sick, or by becoming a priest. However "good effect" can mean deciding to change your life from sinful ways, like drinking too much, taking drugs, or being a child abuser, and following God, and repenting for what you have done. Also, some people think that being rich and famous, and having lots of possessions is "good," or simply being thankful for having your family near you. Some people think that being a follower of Christ gives you something to believe in and someone to use as a role model, to mould their behaviour on. This would have a good effect because they would be spreading the word of God and also, they would be helping people, by ...

Aphrodite Invocation :: essays research papers

Oh Muse! With visions Thou hast filled my soul, With visions overpowering, for Thou Hast shown me Golden Aphrodite; now The blaze emboldens me; like coal To brighter burning fanned by Breath Divine, The Cyprian enflameth me with words, Seductive sounds, which swiftly would entwine My soul, as lime-twigs trap unwary birds. An Ancient Poet* spake the truth; he said When Cypris cometh swift, high-spirited Just like a Hero -- irresistible Her onslaught, nor may anyone annul Her summons; flouting Her is arrogance, A failure to respect the difference `Tween Gods and Mortals; nor can even They Resist Her Power. She is held at bay By only three: Athena, Bright-Eyed Maid, And Artemis, who haunts both wood and glade, And Hestia reject the Paphian's Dove, For They alone deny delights of Love. The Cyprian's summons is a challenge. Be Thou brave and answer it, for verily A God hath willed it; surely stinging grief Will be refusal's price, so seek relief, Conforming to the Paphian's Will. So spake the Poet Truths he would instill. Far-shining Aphrodite, hear our prayer! Thou Laughter-loving Lady, Paphian, Well-girded, Golden, Sea-born, Cyprian, Companion, Tender-hearted, or howe'er It pleaseth Thee to be addressed, attend, We ask, our words of praise, and send Thy Grace, because Thou art the source of all That's charming, graceful, all that doth enthrall In word or deed, in action, figure, face. For Thine is the allure that doth enlace Our hearts as one, for as the charmed is bound, So also is the charmer quickly found Surrendering, with yearning undisguised, The compromiser gladly compromised! But irresistible is even this, Seducer falling to seduction; bliss Repaid is twofold bliss, drawing tight The bonds about them both, in shared delight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now I call in ancient sounds: Aphrodite Khrusostephane Glukumeilikh' O he Kalligloute Thea Pandeme Hetaira su Morpho, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Or whatever name doth please Thee, Hear! If ever I've appeased Thee, Now attend my prayer beseeching, See my hands toward Thee reaching, Know my love is everlasting! Lady, grant the gift I'm asking And appear before us, whether Now sojourning deep in Nether Regions with the Queen of Hades, Or in Heaven with Thy Ladies, Founts of all allure, the Graces, Fair Their form and fair Their faces! I request Thee, leave Thy station! Grant to us a visitation! Show to us Thy face delightful! Let us worship Thee as rightful, Shapely form that's Thine adoring! Hear our voices now upsoaring To the Heavens from our chorus! Please, we ask Thee, stand before us! Queen of Twilight, Queen of Morning! Deeds just done or now aborning Are Thy favorites; prized the clever Warrior of the bold endeavor! Dear to Thee the Sun that's rising, Thou reward for enterprising Souls, Thou prize of tasks completed, Thou in rivalry entreated To bestow Thy grace, advising, Bold advances galvanizing! Such Thy gift and such Thy favor,

Al Capone Biography :: Biography

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Al Capone was possibly the largest and most feared mofia boss America has ever seen. This 1920’s gangster made his mark on the world through organized crime during the Prohibition era. He is solely attributed with Chicago’s reputation as a lawless city.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alphonsus Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. As a child he was a member of the Brooklyn Rippers and the Forty Thieves Juniors â€Å"kid gangs.† Capone quit school at age fourteen in the sixth grade. He worked a few odd jobs in Manhattan in a bowling alley and a candy store. Then Capone took a position as a bouncer in Frankie Yale’s Brooklyn dive and the Harvard Inn. While working at the Inn he was attacked by a man and received the facial scars that would give him the byname â€Å"Scarface.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capone met Anne â€Å"Mae† Coughlin at a dance in 1918. Later that year on December 4, 1918 she gave birth to their son, Albert â€Å"Sonny† Francis. Less than a month later they were married.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capone became a member of the Five Points gang in Manhattan. During this time he hospitalized a rival gang member in a fight. Feeling the heat from the conflicting group, he moved his family to Chicago. He began to work for John Torrio, an old partner and mentor of Yale. Capone was soon helping to manage Torrio’s bootlegging business. He quickly gained the respect of Torrio and became his number two man. After being shot by an opposing gang member, Torrio left Chicago. Capone became boss of the â€Å"outfit.† Torrio’s men respected Capone and trusted his business decisions. They referred to Capone as â€Å"the big man.† In the next five years he expanded his industry of crime. Capone controlled speakeasies, nightclubs, brothels, gambling houses, and much more. His bootlegging provided the city of Chicago with alcohol during prohibition. Capone had a reported income of $100,000,000 a year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Capone had an intricate spy network throughout Chicago. Crooked police men let him prepare for liquor raids and some of his other men made him aware of assassination plots. He would use hotels as his headquarters and front businesses for a hideout. Capone was always good at successfully knocking off his enemies when they became too powerful. Although he killed men himself, it was much safer for his henchmen to do his dirty work. Capone’s men would rent an apartment across the street from their target and gun him down when he stepped outside. These operations were quick and precise, and Capone always had an alibi.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On St. Valentines Day, 1929, four of Capone’s cohorts entered the

Plts Award in Employement and Personal Learning Skills in Health

Unit 1- Preparing for an Apprenticeship 1. What are the components of your Apprenticeship? 1. 1 What are the components of your Apprenticeship framework and what is the relevance of each? | Functional Skills Level 1 (English & Maths) : Functional skills provide you with the basic skills that are required in day to day activities to support you in life, learning and work.Employment and Personal Learning and Thinking Skills Level 2 (PLTS) : Personal learning and thinking encourages the development of being able to generate ideas, tackle problems and find solutions, work independently or within teams and understand legal and organisational requirements. Certificate in Healthcare Support Services Level 2 : The purpose of this qualification is to guide and assess the development of knowledge and skills relating to the health workforce.This qualification confirms competence in a range of healthcare support service skills. | 1. 2 Describe how each component will be assessed| Functional Skil ls Level 1 (English & Maths) : This component will be assessed by the completion and achievement of external assessment (online or paper based test) achieved within an agreed timescale of the first 6 months. Employment and Personal Learning and Thinking Skills Level 2 (PLTS) : This component will be assessed by the completion of the PLTS workbook.Certificate in Healthcare Support Services Level 2 : The component will be assessed through work based learning. Demonstrating knowledge and performance within set criteria using a variety of methods, such as: Observations, Work Products, Case Studies, Professional/Guided Discussion. | 1. 3 Describe the purpose of the apprenticeship agreement| The apprenticeship agreement states that all persons involved in the apprenticeship are supportive to the learner achieving what has been agreed, and are fully committed to do so.This relies highly on the learner being dedicated and motivated to achieve their milestones, the employer being able to pro vide the learner with opportunities to learn with guidance from their mentor, with their mentor being able to recognise the learner’s individual learning styles and strengths in order to efficiently support and capture evidence to gain achievement of the framework within the agreed timescale. | Be able to set goals for the coming year. 2. 1 Describe the importance of meeting deadlines| Deadlines are there for a reason.Without a deadline to meet you could simply postpone whatever it is you have been working on for as long as possible resulting in work never getting done, which is hardly a productive way of working. It is therefore important to meet any deadlines that have been set. Failure to meet the deadlines puts you into a stressful position and may damage self motivation and efficiency with meeting set targets. The deadlines are there to help me as a learner achieve areas of my framework within a realistic timescale.Not meeting deadlines may result in falling behind other colleagues on work and could potentially assist in failure of tests/assessments that are carried out. | 2. 2 Describe the importance of being organised| Being organised will ensure successful completion of qualifications. Its helps me to know what is expected and helps to be prepared to meet those expectations. Once organised, I will not only be prepared to respond effectively, I’ll also find that organisation allows me to be more creative and productive. Organisation consists of prioritising my objectives making them easier to handle.For example delegate tasks that are not my strengths or are not in my area of expertise. Being unorganised will result in:High stress levelsMissed deadlinesMissed targetsUnder Achieving Letting yourself and others downPrevent others from supporting effectively| 2. 3 Create targets for own skills development and completion of the Apprenticeship. | Complete units and targets in time for deadlinesKeep work and research to a high standardResearch j ob opportunities or further educational routesBe punctualFollow policies and proceduresWork to the scope of practiceMaintain a professional appearanceUphold the Trust’s image|Understand the progression routes. 3. 1 What sources of information are available regarding progression routes? | Information that is available regarding progression routes and roles can be sourced from the Internet and YAS Intranet. | 3. 2 What are the possible progression routes within YAS? | There are many progression routes that can be taken after completing the apprenticeship. Three of the main roles are:Band 2/3 PTS DriverAssistant PractitionerParamedic |

Sony Research Paper

Journey of SONY : A Revolution of Walkman to I-Pod 1981 Walkman II Sony is arguably Japan's best known company and one of the world's largest and most well respected consumer-product manufacturers. Its products are world famous and sold everywhere around the globe. Surveys in early 2000s have showed that Sony was the most recognized and esteemed brand name in the United States (ahead of Coca Cola, General Motors and General Electric) and is third coolest global brand after Nike and Tommy Hilfinger among American teens. Although Sony has some of its luster since then it is still a remarkable company.Sony is the world’s No. 2 consumer electronic maker after Panasonic with around $70 billion in worldwide sales. One of Japan’s first internationally-minded companies, it has relied heavily on exports and was among the first Japanese firms to build a U. S. factory. In the 1960s, 70s and 80s it helped turned â€Å"Made in Japan† from a joke into a symbol in unsurpassed q uality. Sony has traditionally been known as a great innovator that transformed entire categories of electronics with products like the Walkman music player and PlayStation game console, and was able command premium prices for its top-quality products.Sony not only changed business and the electronic industry it also changed the world. Before it came along electronics were large bulky products that kept people sequestered in their homes. After Sony, they became small products that people they could to take with them to enhance their surroundings wherever they went. Sony topped a Harris poll for best brands for the 7th consecutive year in 2006. Dell and Coca Cola were 2nd and 3rd respectively. In 2004, it was ranked by Forbes as the 72nd largest company in the world. Sony placed 35th in the 2011 Interbrand Best Global Brands ranking. Coca Cola and IBM were No. and 2. Sony had 160,000 employees and 57 manufacturing sites as of September 2008. It has traditionally been regarded as one of the top transnational companies in terms of foreign assets and foreign employees. The goal of the company has been to apply the most advanced technology to consumer products for fun and enjoyment rather than just practical uses. Sony Walkman Walkman prototype The Walkman miniature cassette player first went on sale in July, 1979. Inspired by pocket cassette recorders designed for dictation, it changed the way we lived by making music and electronics portable, personal and mobile.It changed the lifestyles and listening habits of millions and was particularly embraced by young people, commuters and joggers. In 1986, â€Å"Walkman† was added to the Oxford English dictionary. For a while it was used as a generic term for all portable music devices. The Walkman was originally made as a prototype so that Sony co-founder Akio Morita could listen to opera on long-distance flights. The device, which was original marketed in Britain as the Stowaway, almost didn’t happen. â₠¬Å"Everybody gave me a hard time,† Morita said in his memoirs.Sony engineers and executive said it was ludicrous to sell a tape-player without a recording function. It took a while for the Walkman to catch on. Sales initially were sluggish. The Walkman has been described as Morita’s product and his greatest contribution to Sony. It was Ibuka who came up with the idea for product but Morita was the one who overcame resistance of senior Sony executives to bring the product to market. The Walkman was the right product for the right time. It was the prefect device for the me generation era and the fitness craze.Its headphone output jack was originally named â€Å"guy† and input hole â€Å"doll. † A famous Walkman ad from the 1980s featured a monkey (a Japanese macaque) listening to a Walkman with a very human-like relaxed, content expression on its face. The Walkman was followed by Watchman mini television (1982) and Discman compact disc player (1984) and hund red of imitations by competitors. As of 2004, 340 million Walkman had been sold and130 different Walkman models had been released. They included models that ran MDs and memory sticks. The first device to gain as much attention as Sony’s Walkman was Apple Ipod, released in 2004.In response to that Sony introduced a hard disk Vaio pocket and a hard disk Walkman. In October 2010, Sony announced it was cease producing conventional Walkman cassette players. They were done in by competition from MP2 players and Ipods. They lasted for 31 years. Sony and Sweden’s Ericsson produce cell phones together, mainly making mid- and high-range handsets, In recent years sales have suffered. It has profits have been around $300 million on around $4. 5 billion in sales Sony and KDDI developed a Walkman brand cell phone that downloads music Sony: How did the former gadget king lose its mojo?Before the iPod, everyone's headphones were plugged into the Sony Walkman. But as the Walkman lost i ts relevance, Sony seemed to, as well posted on April 2, 2012, at 6:25 AM Sony has faded since its classic '80s-era Walkman went out of style, but a new CEO is trying to change that. Photo: DK Limited/CORBIS Like Xerox, Kleenex, and Google, Sony's Walkman was the rare brand that was so popular it became the thing itself. The Japanese electronics giant was ubiquitous in other ways, too, and there was a time when it seemed as if everyone owned a Sony device, whether it was a television, a camcorder, or a stereo.But in the iPad age, Sony seems to have all but disappeared from the marketplace for must-have gadgets. What happened? And how can its new CEO, Kazuo Hirai, turn the company around? Here, a guide to Sony's woes: How badly is Sony struggling? It's not pretty. The company is set to post a loss of $2. 7 billion for the current fiscal year. It was worth $100 billion in 2000, but since then has lost 80 percent of its value. And it's even struggling in its native Japan, where Apple f or the first time was just voted the country's top consumer brand. Where did Sony go wrong?Sony is an enormous company, and its movie unit (which produced the Spiderman movies) and music business (which distributes Adele and Taylor Swift) post profits. In fact, its biggest moneymaker is Sony Life, an insurance company. The problem is lackluster gadgets. Consumer electronics still account for half of Sony's sales, and the company's once-unrivaled television division, for example, â€Å"is drowning in red ink,† says Matt Burns at TechCrunch. Why can't it make another Walkman? Sony's â€Å"gift for innovation† came more easily when the company was â€Å"young and streamlined, not sprawling,† says Chico Harlan at The Washington Post.Sony has become an â€Å"unwieldy multiheaded beast,† says Burns, and is simply less focused on product development. Furthermore, Sony is reluctant to take the draconian steps — firing workers, for example — that are often necessary to make companies more nimble. Like other struggling Japanese companies, Sony still adheres â€Å"to cultural expectations of lifetime employment,† says Harlan. What is Sony's new CEO planning to do? Hirai, who took the helm on April 1, is proposing a new business structure called â€Å"Sony One,† which will see the company focus on gaming, mobile devices, and digital imaging.For a company that missed out â€Å"completely on the iPod era of portable music devices,† it's hoping to â€Å"make up for lost time† with a big splash in the smartphone industry, says Devindra Hardawar at VentureBeat. Gaming is still a â€Å"cash cow† for Sony, and its digital cameras are â€Å"better† than most, so the Sony One plan seems solid. Can it make a comeback? Hirai says he's willing to take the â€Å"painful† steps it will take, says Cliff Edwards at Bloomberg Businessweek, including cutting costs. But Sony will also have to do a bet ter job of wedding its gadgets with the vast music and movie content at its disposal.Sony's â€Å"engineers were slow to weave it all together, as Apple did seamlessly with its iPod and iTunes,† says Harlan. It's an ironic twist of fate for the reigning company â€Å"Apple and Steve Jobs were aiming to dethrone 15 years ago,† says Burns. Sony's Walkman Disappears With a Whimper Few tears were shed as Sony announced plans to shelve most editions of its once ubiquitous Walkman cassette player. The now-unwieldy device, which debuted in 1979, was credited with beginning the portable music player craze and ushering the transition of music fans â€Å"from listeners into users. But many columnists, instead of penning fond farewells to the iPod's ancestor, are bidding the device good riddance, asking why it wasn't discontinued â€Å"years ago. † Still, there were a more than a few who waxed nostalgic about those tinny headphones blaring their favorite '80s tunes. A Ver y Subdued Goodbye for the Device The Wall Street Journal's Daisuke Wakabayashi wonders how the iconic device managed to disappear so inconspicuously, especially in Japan. â€Å"Perhaps there was no raucous send-off in Japan, because the Walkman has come to symbolize, fairly or unfairly, how Sony relinquished its portable music player lead to Apple Inc. s iPod on its ways to taking a backseat to Steve Job’s seemingly endless string of hits†¦. To be sure, most consumer electronics products disappear with barely a whimper†¦. However, one can not help but think the Walkman and its incredible success deserved more than a gadget’s equivalent of a gold watch and a pat on the back. † ‘The Best Symbol of the Demise of Sony' Douglas A. McIntyre at 24/7 Wall Street pens a eulogy for the Walkman and, in turn, Sony. â€Å"There will be many histories of Sony written and most will question why the company was not more aggressive to court music companies and c reate its own iTunes store. Unfortunately, McIntyre argues, â€Å"Its digital version of the Walkman came to market too late†¦. The burial of the Walkman signals the death of Sony’s own ambitions in the portable multimedia device industry. It will be a case study at business schools for decades to teach how a company can lose a market it has dominated. † It Used to Be Amazing, Today It's ‘Kind of a Joke' Talking Points Memo editor Josh Marshall briefly recalls 1979. â€Å"It wasn't just that the device was small, though it was — not that much bigger than the size of a cassette itself.It was that the headphones were so small and managed to provide — right up against your ear — a surprising degree of audio fidelity. Remember, holding a boombox up on your shoulder wasn't just an affectation. It was the only real way to listen to music on the go. † We Wouldn't Have the iPod Without It After making the requisite quips about the Walkman (â€Å"at least it outlived disco†) CNet's Greg Sandoval notes that the devices designers â€Å"likely influenced† the eventual concept of the iPod. â€Å"[Steve] Jobs took portable music to a new level, one where even [Sony] couldn't compete.Jobs wrapped his offering around a cohesive and as yet unbeatable combination of hardware, software, and digital retail. Sony knew hardware but was at best so-so in retail and a total disaster at developing software (see Sony Connect). Some have speculated that Sony's failure to keep up in a segment that the company created was one of the reasons it has given the Walkman such a quiet send off. † ‘Enough Nostalgia. Let's Recall the Bad Times. ‘ NPR's Jacob Ganz remembers the music players with little fondness. Walkman was all about smaller and cheaper: headphones were light, but breakable. You could hear your music on the go; so could everyone else, since the speakers in the headphones were so bad that you had t o crank the volume. † It also had the interesting effect of turning â€Å"music into a drug, boiled down into capsules that were lower in purity but easier to acquire and manipulate. The device itself may have been too rigid and flawed to survive changing times, but the Walkman changed us from listeners into users. † 30 facts from 30 years of the Sony WalkmanThe first Walkman was launched 30 years ago today Related stories Three decades ago today, Sony launched the Walkman in Japan. It changed how and where we listened to music and its legacy and name still continue today. To celebrate the anniversary of the launch, we've gathered together 30 facts from the last 30 years of one of tech's biggest product icons. 1. The idea for the Walkman came from Masaru Ibuka, the founder of Sony. He was a regular user of the 1978 TC-D5 portable tape recorder, but found it too heavy.He and Sony's Executive Deputy President Norio Oga challenged Nobutoshi Kihara to come up with a simple, playback-only stereo version of the small Pressman tape recorder. 2. Despite initial troubles with batteries and the strangeness of a large pair of headphones teamed with a small device, Ibuka said to Sony's Chairman Akio Morita â€Å"Don't you think a stereo cassette player that you can listen to while walking around is a good idea? † 3. Over 300 different Walkman models have now been produced. 4. Walkman was chosen as a name partly because of the popularity of Superman in 1979. 5.In early 1979, Morita held a meeting in which he held up the prototype Pressman-derived device and said the product should be manufactured and would be a hit among the young. He gave the engineering team less than four months to produce the model, which needed to launch in June. 6. Due to the short time frame, members of the engineering team had to work through the night two or three times a week. 7. The first H-AIR MDR3 headphones weighed just 50 grams at a time when most headphones were 300-400 grams. They were being developed in Sony's research labs at the time of the Walkman project. . By June 1989, a decade after the original, 50 million units had been shipped. 9. Morita ordered an initial production run of 30,000 Walkman units to be made – double the montly sales of the best-selling tape recorder. Poor initial response and sales 10. The first TPS-L2 model was shown to the press on 22 June 1979. Journalists were driven to a park, given a Walkman and were told to walk around while listening to an explanation of the Walkman in stereo. 11. However, initial press responses were very lukewarm. They believed it wouldn't take off. 2. By the end of the first month on sale only 3,000 units had been sold. 13. Retailers weren't keen on the product as they didn't think they could sell something that wouldn't record. 14. Yet, the word of the Walkman spread quickly among the young in Summer 1979. So much so that Marui Department Store placed an order for 10,000 units – even though major Japanese retail was still ignoring it. 15. The initial batch of 30,000 units sold out by the end of August and Sony had problems fulfilling orders for the rest of the year. 6. A worldwide launch was planned for six months after the Walkman's Japanese launch, but Sony subsidiaries didn't like the Walkman name. 17. Other proposed names were Soundabout in the US, Freestyle in Sweden and Stowaway in the UK. 18. But Morita went on a business trip and in both France and the UK people asked him when they would be able to get a Walkman. The name was already set in stone. 19. The latest Walkman line is the X-Series portable video player. A complete success 20.To emphasise the nature of the product, the 1979 launch event was held outside with Walkman demos in the form of people roller skating or cycling while listening to the device. 21. 100 million units were shipped by 1992. 22. In 1986 the name Walkman was included in the Oxford English Dictionary. 23. Many at Sony initia lly felt that the Walkman should be able to record, but Morita was determined to produce a playback-only unit. 24. Again, due to the short time frame, the development team was told not to worry too much about what the original Walkman looked like. 25.In the UK, the first Walkman in the UK came with stereo and two mini headphone jacks – even though it only had one pair of MDR-3L2 headphones. 26. Sony does not like Walkman to be pluralised in the traditional form – either as Walkmans or Walkmen. 27. The first Discman was launched as early as 1984 – the D-50 or D-5. Later models included ESP for shock protection. 28. 1992 saw the launch of the digital re-recordable, MiniDisc Walkman. 29. The Sports line of waterproof players was introduced in 1983. 30. Incredibly, Sony still manufacturers cassette-based Walkman players today.