Assignment 5 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

5 - Assignment Example After successful hiring, the next big issue is whether the organization will be able to maintain these individual’s engagement, maximize their potential for high quality work and finally be able to retain them for long within the organization. Some of the things that they mention that can assist strengthen a procurement team include but not limited to offering strong benefits package and/or flexible working conditions. The other thing that can strengthen public procurement professionals is offering training and development and making sure that their employees are professionally certified. Apart from that the modern-day procurement team will require current communication and technology tools. For instance, they also need remote access to e-mail and voice mail since the team strongly desires and relies on technology and software to perform their duties efficiently and effectively. This is because millenials are the most technologically savvy generation to date and cannot stay a single day without the use of internet or its associated devices. They have got information available to them just at the click of the button or sound of their voices (Jean, 2014). For the procurement team to be able to stand strong, it needs these professionals to have all these types of gadgets at their disposal. These are the modern-day professionals who come to the working environment with specific resource expectations which have to be met so as to satisfy their requirements. Apart from that the procurement professionals need to be equipped with knowledge of best practices and a roadmap for continuous development should be made available to them. The procurement team therefore should be equipped with tools commonly available in today’s environment. This will help fellow employees to complete tasks independently and finally want to be evaluated on the outcome versus the road

The Impact of Employee Participation for Transparency in the Hiring Assignment

The Impact of Employee Participation for Transparency in the Hiring and Promotion Process of Public Agencies - Assignment Example This research will begin with the statement that the problem is that many public agencies are not being transparent in their hiring and promotion practices, and they are not seeking out adequate levels of employee participation throughout the process. The process of hiring and promoting employees is certainly an exercise that takes place almost daily in large institutions, companies, and organization of various sorts. Without transparency and a level of employee participation throughout the process, however, it is often difficult to get rank and file staff members to truly commit and buy into the true vision of the organization. Oddly enough, this is a problem that continues to persist despite numerous attempts to rectify the situation and create more transparency and opportunities for participation on the part of everyone in the organization. Much work still needs to be done in order to shore up the hiring and promotion process, particularly in public service agencies, in order to r educe incidences of hiring and promotion the wrong individual for important positions within the organization. Judging from the fact that the degree of inefficiency continues to persist, not necessarily because of an absence of a sound recruitment strategy, but as a result of the failure of existing strategies, the simple indication that it sends is that it is important to change the processes and methods involved in tackling the situation. The major problem, therefore, has to do with the failed attempt to identify the right approach or method in tackling recruitment in various organizations, most commonly as a result of a lack of transparency throughout the hiring and promotion process.

Instructor Baby Massage Lesson Essay Example for Free

Instructor Baby Massage Lesson Essay Welcome to your first baby massage session, my name is ., and I will be with you during the next five weeks teaching you this amazing technique which help both of you, baby and mum or dad to improve in the ways that I will to explain to you in a few minutes. But first of all I would like to tell you that don’t worry if the baby cries, don’t feel uncomfortable, get up if you need, hug and cuddle her, feel free to be dedicated to the baby as if you were in your home. For all of us today and the next few weeks that we will share time together, the most important will be the baby and her comfort. Now it is your turn and I would like you introduce yourself and your babies please. Thank you so much†¦.. Benefits of baby massage: Interaction: bonding and secure attachment, demonstrating love†¦ Stimulation: the internal circulatory, digestive, hormonal, immune, lymphatic, nervous, respiratory and vestibular systems are both stimulated and aided. Relief: Gas and colic, constipation and elimination, gastrointestinal cramps, growing pains, muscular tension, Teething discomfort, Excess mucus and nasal congestion, sensitivity to touch, Physical and psychological tension. Relaxation: Improve sleep patterns, Regulation of behavioural states, being calm, Reduce stress, Increased levels of relaxing, less hypersensitivity, Less hyperactivity. But we as parents will also get benefits such as improving our ability to read our baby’s cues, bonding, confidence and on the physical side it helps to reduce blood pressure, stress, improves overall health†¦. The ideal place it is a warm room 24 is the ideal temperature, in a dim light or if we have natural light it would be perfect. You can use non-scented oils such as mineral oils or vegetables oils, but if your baby has sensitive skin then it is better to use Vegetable oils that usually contain high proportions of oleic acid such as the olive oil or the high oleic sunflower seed oil. And always Mineral oils may have a use-by date, whereas vegetable oils may have a best-before date. So please check this. The best time is the quiet alert state and we can identify it in Newborns when they make small, infrequent movements, if any at all. The eyes remain open wide in watchful awareness. Quiet alert babies are relaxed, calm, and happy. Babies in this state are ready to learn and socialize with everyone around them. Stare contently at your face, follow your voice, and work hard to interact and play with you. Infant cues: So that the baby recognise that it is time for massage we should begin all our massage sessions with a visual cues: Add a bit of oil massage in our hands and rub them in front of her eyes and if the baby’s response is positive then we will undress the baby and begin if he is not happy with being naked he can be massaged partially or fully clothed. Positioning of the baby. Tips for parents: * Use a comfortable surface, towel and massage oil. * Remove any rings or bracelets you wear * Ensure that nails are sooth and hands clean * Tie your long hair * Be careful with very loose clothes you wear * Relax before starting with some breathings * Respect the V zone. Don’t massage this area * Interact with your baby while the massage ALWAYS START AND FINISH YOUR MASSAGE SESSION WITH THE COVER OF LOVE. Stroke from the top of the head down baby’s sides to the feet. Today’s session is about Face and Head, the massage in this part of the body stimulates and can help cold symptoms and it is very relaxing. But this section usually likes least to babies and please here we will use minimal oil as the face is quite oily already. Strokes names: 1. Hilltop Thumb at the top of the nose and stroke upwards and out to the sides in an arch, start tracing the eyebrow line and go higher the other two strokes. Repeat 3 times 2. Sleep sweep place your forefinger in the centre of the forehead at the hairline and gently sweep over the forehead to the end of the nose. Repeat 3 times. 3. Say cheese Place pads of your thumbs just above the top lip in the centre, sweep our thumbs outward and upwards in the shape of a smile, repeat this just under the mouth. Repeat 3 times. Rhyme: Smiling is infectious/ you can catch it like the flu/ when someone smiled at me today/ I started smiling too. 4. Cheek Sweep: Place the thumb pads together at the top of the nose in between the eyebrows. Sweep thumbs down the sides of the nose and out over the cheeks to the ears following the line of cheekbones. Repeat 3 times. 5. Love Heart: Place your pads of your fingers at the front of the ear, in one sweep stroke both hands over and behind ears then down the jaw to meet at the chin, creating the shape of a heart. Repeat 3 times. Rhyme: Oh my darling, oh my darling/ oh my darling valentine/ you are perfect and I love you/ and I ‘m glad that you are mine. 6. Spider Slider: Place hands cupping baby’s shoulders, walk fingers up shoulders towards the head and continue underneath up to the top of the back of the neck. Stroke both hands down from behind neck to shoulders in one fluid motion. Repeat the stroke in the opposite direction sweeping from shoulders to behind neck and finish walking fingers from underneath neck down towards shoulders.

Study On The Objectives Of Micro Finance Institutions Finance Essay

Study On The Objectives Of Micro Finance Institutions Finance Essay A sustainable economic growth and development has its foundation on economic agents access to financial services (credit, savings, pension funds etc). Studies have shown that there has been a failure of both the government and financial institutions to provide access to loan able funds to the grass root level of the economy (GCAP, 2010; Sundaresan, 2008), for this reason it has become increasingly fashionable for national economies to set up Micro-finance Institutions to meet the need of these groups of people. Microfinance is becoming widely accepted especially in the developing countries and it is now playing a major role in reduction of poverty and the economic development in the world. This essay seeks to analyse both theoretical and empirical evidence with the view to ascertaining whether MFIs have lived up to their objectives as key drivers of economic growth and development. In addition, the essay will look at the impact of MFIs in Nigeria in relation to poverty eradication wi thin the following perspectives: Provision of Financial Services Access to Finance and Regulatory and Legal Framework for access to finance Nigeria Financial Services Sector is made up of the commercial banks, the Microfinance Banks, Discount houses, Cooperative societies, Insurance sector and Pension funds, Savings and Loans, Leasing companies etc. The essay will focus on those financial institutions that are licensed to take deposits and create loans. Microfinance is defined in terms of the services they offer; the provision of a wide range of services including deposit taking, advancement of loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance services to the low income members of the economy (ADB, date). Microfinance can simply be seen as the provision of quality financial services to the poor. The theory of Microfinance dates back to 1975 to Mohammed Yunus, an Economics University lecturer in Bangladesh. In his classic research project he designed a credit and delivery system to provide banking services to the rural poor (Hulme et al, 2009). The research gave birth to what is known today as the Grameen bank; that has grown both in assets and operations (Grameen, 2009). The provision of financial services within the Nigeria context has been an abysmal failure. Recent survey by the FinScope found some staggering fact about the level of banking participation in the economy FinScope (2008). According to the study 74% of the adult population have not been banked, 15% of women at the time of the survey have no bank account and 86% of rural adults are not unbanked (FinScope, 2008). A comparison of the level of access to financial services particularly the deposit money bank done amongst four countries in African including; Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania found that Nigeria has the second largest number of non-banking population see Fig. 1 (Isern et al, 2009). The level of financial services illiteracy amongst the adult population is equally very low according to the survey (FinScope, 2008). See Fig 3. The close proximity of Microfinance banks to the rural population offers them a great advantage to reach the nonbanked populace unfortunately; emp irical studies showed that only 3 percent of adults use Microfinance as their main bank (Bun et al, 2007). The Small and Medium Enterprises have been identified as the engine room of growth and development in most economies (Malik and Teal, 2008). However, this very important sector of every developed and developing economy has been very dormant in Nigeria. A World Bank study in 2008 (World Bank, 2008) have identified access to finance amongst others as one of the top constraints of the development of SMEs in Nigeria. In a study that compared the Sectoral contribution to GDP, it was observed that Nigeria SME sector was much smaller than that of other developing countries; according to the study, the SME accounted for about 50% of the nations GDP very little when compared with the 80% of the other developing economies. To improve on this the country need a well funded and operationally strong Microfinance institutions, it is arguable though whether the MFIs operating in the country have lived up to their expectations. For instance, a study done by Malik and Teal (2008) showed that only 5% of firms have received loans from Microfinance Institutions even when 80% applications were received from the SMEs. See Fig.4. The study showed the extent to which access to and cost of financing are a problem for Nigerian SMEs. Access to loan able funds was seen as a function of size; according to the survey, about 59% of small firms faced varying degrees of difficulties in accessing finance compared to 35% of medium firms and 11% of large SME firms. A world comparison of access to and cost of credit done on India, China, South Africa, Indonesia and Brazil saw Nigeria closely following Brazil as countries with the highest impediments to access to credit see Fig 5 (ICA 2008). The study of Isern et al (2009) showed that households, rural populace and SMEs are not very interested in accessing investment funds from MFIs. Part of the reasons adduced for this lacklustre attitude include high interest rates (cost of funds), collateral requirements, maturities mismatch etc. However, the study done by ICF in 2008 showed that cost of funds is cheaper in Nigeria relative to the other 5 countries surveyed. The supply of Microfinance services has a very long history in Nigeria, although this was frequently done in informal ways. A study done by Food and Agricultural Organisation in 2004 estimated that 25% of Nigerians accessed some informal sources of financing (FAO, 2004). USAID in 2005 carried out a survey that estimated that a majority of funding for Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises came from personal savings, informal lending schemes known as esusu and gifts from family members (USAID, 2005). The FinScope survey in 2008 equally revealed that 24% of SMEs used informal sources of funding for their businesses. Various forms of Non-Governmental Organisations NGOs which are not for profit oriented micro-credit schemes have been in place since the 1980s. For instance Ford Foundation began supporting households and SMEs in 1993 and as 2004 have provided capacity building grants to 123 organisations worth $180,000 US dollars at the 2000 exchange rate, and the Foundation have refinanced loans to 241 organisations to the tune of $1.7 million (Isern et al, 2009). The study noted that majority of the NGOs used Grameen solidarity groups model to provide loans to small groups of people. The 2005 Microfinance framework made provision for traditional community banks that were operating in the country to be re-licensed as microfinance institutions with a minimum capital base of NGN 20 million (CBN, 2005). The community banks operating in the country before the re-licensing were privately held companies licensed to take deposits from the public as well as provide credit services. CBN reports showed that these banks became very successful in deposit mobilization but failed in their functions as lenders to the rural households and SMEs within the communities that they operated (CBN/OFID Reports, date). As at July 2008, about 125 Microfinance licenses were processed by the Central Bank of Nigeria and most of these licenses were for internationally experienced Microfinance organisations such as ACCION International which is a partnership between Citibank-Nigeria, Ecobank, Zenith bank, IFC and SME manager. Other international organisations like K-REP (Kenya), BRAC (Bangladesh), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have provided both funding and technical expertise to MFIs. The traditional commercial banks were not left out of the Microfinance arrangements as most of them opened subsidiaries that undertook the functions of MFIs (CBN reports, 2008). The growth of MFIs in Nigeria was encouraging. See Fig 6. The international capital flows as well as the technical expertise helped to build the much needed confidence that was lacking when the banks operated as community banks. However, the growth and concentration of MFIs may become too risky; as majority of them are serving the same market. CBN data showed that 100 of MFIs were operating in Lagos State alone and 16 in Abuja the Federal Capital. Reports from the CBN showed that as at the end of October 2008, a total of 724 MFIs were fully licensed and in operations, with 607 of them being community banks that were re-licensed as MFIs, about 86 MFIs have been given approval in principle during the period under review (CBN, 2008) Again another important source of risk is from the very low capital base that is required for the MFIs and poor regulatory and supervision framework. The CBN in their current reforms are taking some major steps to mitigate these risks; with the proposal of merging and consolidations within the sector. If the various reforms pull through, the country may see more financial strong MFIs that are able to perform their functions as key drivers of national growth and prosperity. Despite the rapid growth of the MFIs in both size magnitude and operations; lending to rural households and SMEs has continued to stagnate. The growth in MFIs have failed to translate into easy access to investment funds, SMEs and households have continued to bedevilled by high cost of funds and collateral requirements. Adverse selection within the financial services sector has continued to persist as a result of information asymmetry. Information asymmetry in the sense that the MFIs have no way of fully guiding and protecting their loanable funds to the public, as a result of this; higher risk premia are demanded to provide financial services which excludes high quality borrowers. The table showed the low reliance of SMEs in the country on capital from financial institutions; clearly borrowed funds from the banks including the MFIs have remained very low, largely as a result of the factors mentioned before. The result is even worst when compared with that of other developing economies like Brazil, South Africa, China, India, Indonesia and Kenya. Source: ICF Survey (2008) the result showed is for short term financing as in the case of long term financing firms depend entirely on personal funding. Table 8 clearly shows that only 4% of SMEs have access to lines of credit/loans while 8% have access to various forms of overdrafts. MFIs account for a very low percentage of financial services funding in Nigeria, largely because of loan ceiling that is active within that sector. Microfinance institutions operating in Nigeria are mandated to keep 60% of their loan portfolio below the NGN 500,000 (US$4310) loan threshold. Central to the Microfinance regulatory framework is the CBN guidelines for licensing of microfinance banks (MFBs). The guidelines provide two licensing options; unit MFBs that are licensed to operate within the local government area in which they are registered with a minimum capital base of NGN20 (US 172,000) million naira. The unit MFBs according to the guideline may expand their operations subject to the NGN20 million capital requirement per branch. State MFBs are licensed to operate in all parts of the state in which they are registered and are subject to a minimum capital requirement of NGN 1 billion (US $8.6 Million). For the state registered MFBs to raise additional funds and open more branches; they are required to have covered at least two-thirds of the state and raise additional NGN 20 million to open a branch in another state. The prudential regulations of MFIs are designed to manage credit risks that are part of the Microfinance operations; the capital adequacy ratios of the MFIs are set with the notion that the institutions will be engaged in mostly unsecured credit financing, the capital adequacy ratio is set at a risk-rated 10:1 ratio (CBN2005). In addition, there are strict guidelines setting up reserves and dividend pay-outs. Microfinance prudential regulations are designed to reduce risk concentration by putting a cap on the amount of credit an individual and groups can access. The Microfinance prudential regulation is designed to reduce risk concentration by putting a ceiling on individual loans (1% of unimpaired shareholder funds and 5% for group borrower), a 100% provisioning is required for loans over 90 days in arrears or restructured (Isern 2009). Microfinance deposits up to NGN 100,000 (US $862) are protected by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Fund (CBN 2008). The Supervision of microfinance is based on both on and off-site supervision, box 2 shows a summary of the regulatory and supervision principles of microfinance institutions in Nigeria. Interest Rate policy of Microfinance institutions in Nigeria ranges above 20-30% for loans, advances, overdraft facilities and other types of lending services (Isern, et al 2009). The interest rates charged by the MFIs are quite high when compared to that charged by the conventional money deposit banks see Table 13. The high rates of interest reflects the high risk premia of the targeted audience that the MFIs are designed to serve. The high rate of interest rate has been identified as one of the key factors that limit rural households and businesses from access to credit through the MFIs (Philips 2002). This imposes distortion in the flow of credit as companies that cannot afford the high cost of borrowing look for informal sources which are marred by risks and uncertainties. The review of the operations of Microfinance Institutions in Nigeria has clearly revealed that there should be a trade-off between high cost of funds on one hand and provision of financial services on the other hand. From what they are designed to achieve, they are supposed to provide some sort of lose collateral lending and as such have a higher risk than the conventional commercial banks. Microfinance Institutions in developing economies like Nigeria faces some challenges both in their operations and in the environment in which they operate. One of these challenges as noted by Cerven and Ghazanfer (2008) includes some cultural practices that discriminate against women such as specific cultural, familial and personal circumstances other important considerations to women empowerment in Nigeria are religious issues like Purdah: (seclusion of women) which is rampant in Northerner Nigeria. Technical know-how and in-adequate regulation has been identified as one of the internal and external factors that militate against the growth of MFIs in Nigeria (Campion 2002). Microfinance been in a somewhat embryonic stage; developments and regulations are still evolving is expected that the sector could face some hiccups before stabilizing. Microfinance Institutions have enormous growth opportunities in Nigeria as a result of most of the factors highlighted in this essay; the nature of their operations and the Acts establishing them makes them a better preferred choice for consumers of financial services. However, this comes with a high cost to both the MFIs and their customers. To the MFIs the potential for high loan defaults are present; this may if not managed properly lead to financial fragility in the sector. To their customs; the high cost of interest and cumbersome application process that they have to face is a big challenge; there is an irony in the interest rate charged by MFIs in Nigeria, a country that has a forecasted average growth rate in GDP of between 5-6% per annum, has a cost of fund of between 20- 30%, this presupposes that businesses should grow more than the countrys GDP. Despite all the challenges of the MFIs in Nigeria, they remain substantial to the growth and development of any economy; and in Nigeria in particular the MFIs have large un-tapped markets and are set for long-run profitability if the relevant infrastructures are put in place. Fig 3 Percentage of adults who have never heard of the listed services and products

The Effective Use of Symbolism in Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby Essay

The Great Gatsby is one of the finest pieces of literature written in the 20th century. It explores the nature of westerners during hardships and other social problems. The Great Gatsby is not just a mere historical novel from 1920’s. Fitzgerald gives a great in depth analysis of the lives of ordinary people through the characters and the symbols in this book. Through these characters and symbols Fitzgerald portrays on the lack of moral and spiritual values of the people and different aspects of the society. One of the three of main symbols used in Great Gatsby is the valley of ashes. â€Å"Immediately the ash-gray men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud, which screens their obscure operations from your sight† (Fitzgerald 23). This gray land suggests the ignorance and careless ness of the wealthy during the 20th century. All these rich ever dreamed about was their growth rather the growth as a nation. This use of symbolism illustrates the vast amounts of unexplored real world by the rich, and how they always live in their own circle of people believing that money is the only thing in this world. The other side of this symbolism is the reality of the lives of people, for example Mr. Wilson, helpless, he passed his long life in his garage with his unhappy wife, and how the rude arrogant behavior of the rich in the end turned him into a murderer. This indicates that how the rich people like Tom acted as a barrier. These people oppressed the poor the whole time, and did not even give them the opportunity to grow in their status rather used their hopelessness for their own desires. On the contrary to the above symbol, the next symbolism depicts the goal and future based of a human being, which is the green ... ... the injustice; in this story the wealthy. Mr. Wilson looking at the billboard claims, â€Å"god sees everything† (Fitzgerald 160). Only poor and honest people like George Wilson could see god. This explains the blindness of the wealthy and how god favored only ethical people. Fitzgerald suggests that everyone is accountable to god and even though it may seem that nobody is watching you that moment, there is always a spiritual power recording all your sins. The author brings about this suggestion as a warning to the people, and explains how the people were not aware of this caution during the 1920’s. The rich were deeply immersed in the ocean of wealth and were not able to swim their way out. In conclusion, Fitzgerald clearly sums up the problems that people face through his effective use of symbolism. He also reveals many interesting facts about the lives of people.

The Republican Party Essay examples -- Papers Government Politics Essa

The Republican Party The Republican party is one of the two major POLITICAL PARTIES in the United States, the other being the DEMOCRATIC PARTY party. It is popularly known as the GOP, from its earlier nickname Grand Old Party. From the time it ran its first PRESIDENTIAL candidate, John C. Fremont, in 1856, until the inauguration of Republican George BUSH in 1989, Republican presidents occupied the WHITE HOUSE for 80 years. Traditionally, Republican strength came primarily from New England and the Midwest. After World War II, however, it greatly increased in the Sunbelt states and the West. Generally speaking, after World War I the Republican party became the more conservative of the two major parties, with its support coming from the upper middle class and from the corporate, financial, and farming interests. It has taken political stances generally in favor of laissez- faire, free enterprise, and fiscal responsibility (at least until 1981) and against the welfare state. The Founding of the Party Scholars agree that the origins of the party grew out of the sectional conflicts regarding the expansion of slavery into the new Western territories. The stimulus for political realignment was provided by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. That law repealed earlier compromises that had excluded slavery from the territories. The passage of this act served as the unifying agent for abolitionists and split the Democrats and the WHIG party. "Anti-Nebraska" protest meetings spread rapidly through the country. Two such meetings were held in Ripon, Wis., on Feb. 28 and Mar. 20, 1854, and were attended by a group of abolitionist FREE SOILERS, Democrats, and Whigs. They decided to call themselves Republicans--because they p... ...en George Bush won the presidency by a large margin. President Bush's approval rating reached an impressive 89 percent in 1991 after the international coalition he forged against Iraq achieved victory in the Persian Gulf War. However, a recession that began in 1990, combined with the electorate's growing concern with domestic issues in the aftermath of the Cold War and public impatience with "gridlock" in the government, counted against him in his reelection bid. Led by Bill CLINTON, the Democrats in 1992 captured the presidency (with 370 ELECTORAL votes to Bush's 168) and solid majorities in both houses of Congress. In 1994, having blocked Clinton's legislative agenda and mounted an aggressive counterattack in that year's mid-term election campaign, Republicans seized control of both houses of Congress. Bibliography: American Encyclopedia on line

Red Dead Redemption Analysis

Critical Analysis of a Game: Red Dead Redemption Professor Shawn Graham Jad Slaibeh 100804020 Submitted: Thursday February 7th 2013 The game I have chosen for my critical analysis is Red Dead Redemption. Red Dead Redemption was made, published, and engineered by a company called Rockstar Games (Rockstar Website). The major distributor of the game is a company who happens to own Rockstar, Take-Two interactive. Being one of the most successful video game developers to date, Rockstar is famous for creating the popular and controversial game series Grand Theft Auto.Rockstar differs very much from other video game developers because they are one of few who have grown and experienced the advancement of video games in terms of graphics and gameplay. Rockstar is known for revolutionizing the concept of having an open world in console video games. This was not originally the case and happened over years of expansion. Rockstar’s first game was released on the original PlayStation. The g ame is called Grand Theft Auto. Its camera was in a bird’s eye view with basic 3D graphics consisting of repetitive player movements. In comparison to today, the game was really quite simple in terms of graphics and game play.The game lacked a larger narrative. Its gameplay was based mostly around the options of stealing cars, doing hits for gang members, killing civilians, and evading the police. This lack of narrative and focus on violence may be one of the reasons why Rockstar dealt with a lot of controversy from the media. As Rockstar grew and released multiple titles, their video games utilized the advancement in technology to create a larger narrative. Using Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE), Rockstar developed third person 3D modeled sandbox game (Ogilvie, 2010). With this new open world, the game developers were able to explore more narrative options.Red Dead Redemption used their graphical improvements to allow for new historical representations such as: talking N PCs with their own ethnicity and culture and NPCs who show facial emotion and body language. This allows players to connect better with the world Rockstar has created because they represent what people are familiar with. Rockstar had greatly passed simple storyline of Grand Theft Auto. This is why I chose Red Dead Redemption. It excels in the ability of experiencing a fun and highly skilled game while having improved representations of people, stories, and histories.They do so through implementing character traits in certain NPCs. The NPCs are programmed primarily in two ways. One is to help the player in their quest by providing information to solve the main problem space. The other is to try and stop the player; this creates another problem space that the player must solve. The addition of these advanced NPCs really helped Rockstar deliver a story to their players. They force the player to constantly see familiar NPCs which creates a bond between them and the player. These NPCs fo rce you to make many moral decisions throughout the game.These moral choices the player has to make adds a great deal of advancement to the narrative because the game is programed to change based on these decisions. If the player was to help a gang of thieves raid a site in order to get money, civilians would remember due to the decrease in honour and news would spread. Decisions the player makes affect how NPCs, such as townsfolk or sheriffs, approach the player in the game. If the player was riding their horse along a prairie road and happened to see a gang of thieves taking someone hostage, the player could kill or hogtie the bandits and their honour meter would go increase.These decisions program NPCs to now feel safe around the player by cheering for them. These cheers can often make the player feel happier because of the heroic role they are playing. This social value is what makes Rockstar games a fan favourite. Another reason Rockstar advanced so quickly was the positive cha nge in hardware. The game was originally released on both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 on May 18th 2010. I played the game on my Xbox 360 console. To capture the experience of the Wild West, Rockstar consulted some historical experts in the field, along with channelling a lot of time and money into the graphics of the game.According to a New York Times online article, Rockstar spent between 80-100 million dollars on developing the game (Schiesel 2010). I mention this statistic because this comes to show the new era of devotion Rockstar brought to video game production. In any video game, soundtracks can be an incredible boost in its overall character. The soundtracks in Red Dead Redemption are authentic; it gives the game historical flavour. What I mean by this is you truly get a feeling of the Western experience. Rockstar brought on composers Woody Jackson and Bill Elm.In a behind the scenes video, the composers explain that it is essential for them to â€Å"find a balance, paying hom age to what was there but also trying to add our stamp to the music† (GamerSpawn, 2010). Another interesting fact they mentioned was the ability for the game to launch certain lines of music to start based on your actions. For example, if you jump on a horse, a bass line rolls in. If the player is in a shootout, the music intensifies. The music helps reinforce the player’s connection with the historic west by creating familiar sounds associated with the Western era.Before I mention the problem spaces of the game, I would like to continue back to explaining some of the hardware information behind Red Dead Redemption. First we will talk about the controller/controls. Controls have the potential to play a big factor in how we experience a video game. The way the controls are programmed correlate directly with your character’s movement. This gives the player a bigger sense of control. This control makes for a better physical connection. Red Dead Redemption’s c ontroller functions do a great job in the ability to allow the player to become immersed in the game world.If you were not aware of the classic Xbox 360 controller, here is how it is laid out: Some basic controls of the game are: left stick controls which direction your character moves in, right stick controls which direction your character looks, pulling the right trigger will fire your weapon, and pulling left trigger starts the aim mode which makes it easier to hit your target. The Xbox 360 controller, along with the Red Dead Redemption controls, allow the player to control what we are familiar in our everyday lives For example, to shoot a gun in the real world you have to pull a trigger.This is emulated when pulling the trigger on the Xbox controller. When driving a vehicle and turning in a certain direction, we turn the wheel. This is emulated by moving the left stick in order to direct your character. This makes the experience more enjoyable and recognizable. Throughout the ga me you are only controlling one character, the protagonist. The name of this protagonist is John Marston. Marston is a former outlaw who makes a deal with the state to bring justice to his former gang of outlaws in order to get his family back.Upon Marston's attempt to find and capture his former gang members, the plan goes wrong for our protagonist and he is left for dead. Luckily, you are approached by a local ranch farmer, Bonnie Mcfarlane. Bonnie saves your life and brings you back to her farm. That is our initial problem space. The player is immediately placed into the world with a want to defeat our twisted former gang of outlaws and get our family back. This creates an immediate sympathy for our protagonist which adds even more of narrative. Because the game represents plausible situations, players are more likely to sympathize.Although we are placed in a world where there is only one end goal of killing the men who left you for dead and are in the way of getting your family; we have a wide variety of choices in the path of attaining this goal. This concept of beginning the game after being left for dead completely on your own creates an even bigger problem space. My big question was, what do I do first? The player has the ability to access this map in the start menu: [pic] In the Western era, maps would certainly be a way to represent space. Therefore the map gives us the ability to represent space in a way that people are used to.This adds a historical flavour to it because it represents history with adding its own personalized flavour. This map is a fictionalized/representational map of Canada, Mexico and the US. Much like the real world, each territory has its differences. For example: certain NPCs with ethnic representations are present in each area, certain animals are associated with familiar habitats in different territories, and territories such as Canada have more green lands where as Mexico is represented as more dry. To travel to these diffe rent lands, we are immediately handed a horse.When the player first gets their horse, it is quite slow. This is a problem and slow travel can become quite boring. Upon playing I thought there had to be some options to overcoming this problem. Like the real world, the player has the option of feeding their horse to increase its stamina. Another implementation is the trust bar that develops with the players’ horse. This trust bar adds narrative because we are familiar with gaining trust with living things in the real world. The longer the player has kept their horse, the faster it gets and the more risks it is willing to take to get you to your destination.The game specifically promotes value by rewarding the players for keeping the same horse. In doing so, the interface encourages the player to behave a certain way with this virtual animal, representing a relationship common to real life. Even though this horse is merely a program in a video game, the power of the game and the value I had onto it made me have a connection to it. Unfortunately, it is quite possible for the player’s horse to die. For example, upon passing by a poor woman being harassed by drunk men just before entering a town, one of the men shot my horse dead while attempting to hogtie them.After all the investment of money I had put into my horse to increase its stamina, the time spent together gaining trust, and the many missions we had completed together, my horse was now gone. Connecting to history, the video game allows the player to feel the pain that people must have gone through when their own horse died. Clearly their problem was much bigger than a video game can represent, but it once again brings out empathetic emotions. Although the game itself was not based off any real characters or real story lines, it still had the power to create a real connection.The game places the character in an age outside of their norm. If a car breaks down, that person now has the ability to take out a cell phone and call a friend to pick them up. If in 1900 someone’s horse died, that is that until a new horse is acquired. This was now part of my problem space. With these newly acquired problems that I did not have just thirty seconds earlier, I clearly had to deal with these men who altered my path for the negative. Due to this setback I had developed, I quickly hogtied the surviving men and placed their bodies on the train tracks for the upcoming train to deal with them.Although this was an act of immorality because the game gives you an option to return them to the sheriff’s station, I felt no sympathy for these men who, before shooting my horse, were attacking a lone woman. Looking at the game on a narrative level, this meant that a side of my true character was shown, one that let my emotions dictate my actions. At that exact moment the video game explained and taught me a lesson in morality. It also explained how, just like in the real world, others may have handled that same situation completely differently.Moving forward in the game, I was forced to purchase another horse and develop a new connection between us. Purchasing horses is one of the many ways that money is used to solve problems in the game. Money is quite similar to how it is in the real world. The player needs to do work and complete services in order to gain it. It is quite hard to gain money, unlike the other Grand Theft Auto games, which enforces the player to spend wisely. Some examples of situations where you need money are: to buy weapons, ammunition, houses (in order to have multiple save points), and medicine to heal.The player may also acquire money through selling items they find and doing favours and missions for locals and friends met along the way. There is one final question to be answered: was the game historically accurate? The answer to this question is: it depends what you classify as â€Å"historically accurate†. The term is thrown arou nd quite often. Unfortunately, based on the game play, there is far too much fantasy to consider it a game that accurately depicts the lifestyle that people lived in the early 20th century.The game is based off a completely fictional story with fake characters in a fake world. However, the game did a great job of showcasing some aspects of the time frame by utilizing: the advanced RAGE physics engine, the programmed NPCs with character traits, a familiar map system, the player’s horse that rewards you for your loyalty and protection, and the advanced controller settings. Overall, the narrative behind Rockstar Games’s Red Dead Redemption will be remembered in history as one of the most advanced video games for its time. Reference List: 1.Rockstar San Diego Official Website – Available from: http://www. rockstargames. com/reddeadredemption/ 2. Ogilvie Red Dead Redemption: All the RAGE – Available from: http://ca. ign. com/articles/2010/01/28/red-dead-redemp tion-all-the-rage Jan 28 2010 3. Schiesel Way Down Deep In the Wild, Wild West – Available from: http://www. nytimes. com/2010/05/17/arts/television/17dead. html? pagewanted=all=0 May 16th 2010 4. GamerSpawn Red Dead Redemption: Soundtrack Behind the Scenes – Available from: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=vEsknPy5rvg July 29th 2010