Is Raymond Williams A Modern Culture - 1621 Words

‘Culture’ can be a difficult term to define as many different people have different ideas of what the definition should be Raymond Williams (1983) calls culture ‘one of the two or three most complicated words in the English language’, the oxford dictionary defines culture as ‘the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively’. Whereas Williams believes there are three vague definitions. The first is referring to culture as ‘a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development’, the second use could be to suggest ‘a particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group’ and finally ‘culture’ could be used to refer to ‘the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity’. This leads to the definition of popular culture which is the entirety of arts that is within the mainstream of the 20th and 21st century and is heavily influenced by mass media. Most people refer to the second and third of Williams’ definitions of ‘culture’ when linking it to ‘popular culture’. In the past the term was linked to those of the lower classes, high classes would enjoy poetry, opera, literary novels and ‘arthouse’ films, whereas the lower classes would enjoy romance novels, soap operas, reality tv, musicals etc. This could mean that popular culture merely refers to the things that didn’t make it or were left out from what people believed was high culture. ‘Popular’ refers to something has gained popularityShow MoreRelatedThe Culture Industry By Adorno And Horkheimer And The Magic System1625 Words   |  7 Pagessocio-economic culture. The interaction of individuals and the relation to the hegemonic societ y has created this new grouping of the public; to be consumer culture. The socio-economic structure thrives in capitalism and has evolved society, culturally. A new way of living has evolved and ultimately altered and shaped the public to be heavily influenced by capitalism. The two-works affected and focused around this topic are; The Culture Industry by Adorno and Horkheimer and The Magic System by Raymond WilliamsRead MoreThe Evolution Of Advertising : The Magic System1416 Words   |  6 Pagesgeneration and entice the material desires of their users. Advertising was not always this way however, and in his essay â€Å"Advertising: The magic system† Raymond Williams introduces the evolution of the modern advertising industry. Williams provides a critical insight into how modern advertising has become structured and ingrained in modern culture, this insight allows us to evaluate the effects of advertising on film and television as well as the daily impact of advertising on our social media drivenRead MoreThe Tempest By William Shakespeare1603 Words   |  7 Pagesand Prospero’s pursuit of dominance and revenge over Antonio and Alonso inevitably brings him misery. However, Prospero’s unhappiness eventually leads to an acknowledgement of his faults and an emergence of a moral transformation best described by Raymond Williams’s essay: Dominant, Residual, and Emergent. In act I scene i of The Tempest, the plays protagonist, Prospero, initiates a powerful storm (tempest) beginning a motif of control in the play and demonstrating his dominance and authority to theRead MoreThe Marketing And Advertising Industry Essay1276 Words   |  6 Pagescertain products, change their viewpoints and even develop new cultures. I too was curious on how this industry became so large and if spending over 200 billion dollars a year had a positive impact on consumer brand awareness. What is the history of Marketing and Advertising how has marketing and advertising changed over time and what trends will stay the same or what new ways will be developed in the future. Through Raymond Williams article Advertising, the Magic System as well as researching differentRead MoreHousehold Design of the 1950s2407 Words   |  10 Pageswares of a vigorous, efficient society with an aggressive faith in its future. Flashy exaggeration at the hands of the stylists, ever compelled to ‘improve’ on last year’s model, gave streamlining a bad name.† (Hodges, Coad, Stone, Sparke, Aldersey-Williams, The New Design Source Book, 1992, p.158) Discuss in relationship to the ‘innovation’ in household designs of the 1950’s, how do these designs compare to similar examples of today? Do designers today feel â€Å"compelled to improve on last years modelRead MoreAnalysis Of Matthew Arnold s Culture And Anarchy785 Words   |  4 Pagesterms that were discussed during the first half of this semester. Culture, hegemony and ideology must be part of any study of popular culture. With the evidence pulled from our readings, this essay will define these terms and insert them into the context of understanding popular culture as a whole. Culture: In Matthew Arnold’s â€Å"Culture and Anarchy,† there is little discussion about the word culture. Instead, he describes culture as striving for perfection in a world without it. Without a clearRead MoreThe Study Of Culture By Arnold, M., Raymond William And Attach Them With The Book1665 Words   |  7 PagesThe study of â€Å"culture† is one of the most important and relevant topics for today and even a long time ago. People have different views on culture, some mean literature, architecture, visual art, other claim word ‘ culture’ as a way of living, language or religion. Every epoch culture acquires new forms and impact on society. For instance, in the century of computer technology and opportunities to grasp new realities society is more likely to interact with science, figures and new outer limitsRead MoreEssay about Technology and Literacy1668 Words   |  7 Pages] What wonder if this historical process, a textual process, has wedded so many scholars to the conviction that these are â€Å"literary† works in the fullest modern sense of the term, composed by â€Å"authors† who must themselves have been â€Å"writers.† (20) However, Havelock concludes that Homer and Hesiod were not writers, at least not in the modern sense of the word. Instead, both give the Muse credit for their compositions because they â€Å"mediate[d] between the Muse, whoever she [was], and the audienceRead MorePersonal Views On Anthropology And Ethnography1445 Words   |  6 Pageslittle experience with other groups or peoples until I got older and began to travel. I love travelling, and, as I have visited numerous states, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Europe, my understanding has grown immensely. My love for history and culture has only expanded and it grew easier to see things without the moral outline I had when I was younger to compare against. Post-modernism, a cultural phenomenon occurring before my birth, set in motion a series of adjustments in cultural anthropologyRead More Definition Essay - The True Meaning of Hegemony585 Words   |  3 PagesHegemony - The True Meaning Hegemony was derived from the Greek word egemonia, meaning leader or ruler, often in the sense of a state other than his own (Williams 144).   Although the base of this definition remains true, the word has evolved to much more.   Hegemony is defined by Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought as Political and economical control exercised by a dominant class, and its success in projecting its own way of seeing the world, human and social relationships as common

Foreshadowing and Dramatic Irony in Death and the Maiden

Foreshadowing is the warning or the indication that something else is going to happen later on in the story. In Death and the Maiden, Ariel Dorfman uses this literary device to the maximum, exploring all the different ways he can make the reader predict or foresee what’s going to happen next. However, Dorfman also takes on the audience’s ideas and implements dramatic irony, giving the plot a twist of events and making the audience question themselves and their own theories as to why the character acts that way or why the author set things as they are. Dorfman takes the idea of dramatic irony when referring to the characters and their roles in the play. The greatest contrast in the play is between Paulina and Gerardo. Paulina Salas, a†¦show more content†¦In addition, one can also argue about Paulina’s love-hate relationship with Gerardo, as she is clearly very emotionally attached to him, yet seems as though she treats him with a sort of disrespect or harsh manner. Paulina’s strange relationship also brings the audience to question this woman’s sense of judgment, and maybe even her past. Ironically, later she refers to him as ‘my little man’, contrasting with how he called her, and making sure that Gerardo knows that he is her husband, and she’s in charge. Furthermore, Dorfman shows the dramatic irony in the gender roles once Paulina finds out about Doctor Miranda and gets the gun. At the beginning of the play, the gun was a sign of safety and security, and by the climax, she uses the gun to manipulate Roberto and Gerardo to do what she wants, and what she thinks is ‘fair’. GERARDO: Paulina, I’m asking you to please give me that gun. PAULINA: No. GERARDO: While you point it at me, there is no possible dialogue. PAULINA: On the contrary, as soon as I stop pointing it at you, all dialogue will automatically terminate. If it put it down, you’ll use your strength to win the argument. (Death and the Maiden, Act 1, scene 4, pgs- 24-25) Paulina knows that without the gun, she is hopeless. Her own husband won’t listen to her, and they think she’s completely crazy. All she wants isShow MoreRelatedImportant Quote from Othello5402 Words   |  22 PagesI in my speech, / And little blessd with the soft phrase of peace * Othello on how war has been his life: little of this great world can I speak, / More than pertains to feats of broil and battle * Brabantio on Desdemona’s personality: A maiden never bold; / Of spirit so still and quiet, that her motion / Blushd at herself * Suggestions of Othello’s otherness when Brabantio says it is impossible that Desdemona fall in love with what she feard to look on! * Brabantio claims that

Heart Of DarknessSymboliszm Essay Research Paper Joseph free essay sample

Heart Of Darkness-Symboliszm Essay, Research Paper Joseph Conrad s usage of visible radiation and darkness to stand for good and evil in the Heart of Darkness helps in developing the subject and the secret plan of the novel. Conrad uses the symbol of light and darkness repetitively throughout the novel in order to unwrap his penetration to the reader ; Conrad uses visible radiation and darkness when mentioning to the Thames and Congo river, the tegument colour and Black Marias of the Whites and inkinesss, and the black kept woman and the Intended. Conrad s usage of visible radiation and darkness is apparent from the gap of the novel. The narrative opens on the tranquil Thames River aboard the cruising yawl called the Nellie. All is composure on the H2O as the visible radiations of London scintillation around the boat. The Thames River, which is seen as unagitated, civil and bright, is an obvious contrast to the Congo River that Marlow navigates in Africa. We will write a custom essay sample on Heart Of DarknessSymboliszm Essay Research Paper Joseph or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The Congo is full of darkness and unruliness. Ironically, the bright Thames is described likewise to the dark Congo. In the shutting lines of the novel, the Thames seems to be fluxing # 8220 ; into the bosom of an huge darkness ( ) . During the oncoming of the novel, in which none of Marlow s narrative is disclosed, the storyteller is ignorant to the horrors of European imperialism, and he later describes the Thames as bright and lit. However, during the shutting of the novel, in which the startling inhuman treatment of the Europeans is divulged, the storyteller describes the Thames as strikingly different: vastly dark. Through the usage of elation and darkness Conrad inveighs that regardless of where the white adult male exists, in civilised London or deepest Africa, he seems to convey darkness: inhumaneness to his fellow adult male. Conrad uses visible radiation and darkness in context of the colour of tegument of the Whites and inkinesss, every bit good as the corresponding good and immoralities of their Black Marias. In contrast to the greed and inhuman treatment of the white work forces in Africa, who voraciously and recklessly prehend tusk at any cost to human life, Conrad depicts the black indigens as holding more self-denial. The Manager is hungering the man-eaters on board Marlow # 8217 ; s steamer to decease, and although they thirstily oculus the organic structure of the dead steersman and besides the build of the plump Russian, they restrain their native impulses and do non assail the life or the dead. In a similar mode, the barbarians along the Congo do non assail the soft-shell clam bearing the greedy Europeans even though they know the purpose is to be evil and destructive. It is merely a white adult male s bid, at the goad of Kurtz, that the indigens attack the soft-shell clam. It is deliberately dry that the black adult male in the novel has a purer ( light ) bosom than the white adult male, whose bosom is indurate, barbarous and baneful ( dark ) . The two adult females in Kurtz # 8217 ; s life are besides described with the usage of visible radiation and darkness. Kurtz s black kept woman in Africa is really demonstrative, have oning bright vesture and jewellery and moving in a loud, wild mode, clearly exposing strong emotions. In contrast, Kurtz # 8217 ; s Intended in Belgium is just, mild-tempered, and draped in black. The brightness and passion of Kurtz s black kept woman are revealed from her bright garb while the passivity of Kurtz s intended is apparent from her dark vesture. However, despite their differences in visual aspect and disposition, the love they feel for Kurtz is really similar. The white Intended s garb of black shows her bond with the black adult female, while the black kept woman s bright vesture and jewellery show this common bond every bit good ; built-in in both is a love for Kurtz. The usage of the symbols of visible radiation and darkness aid in developing many major subjects in the Heart of Darkness. Many of these subjects, if non grasped by the reader through the usage of symbols and other literary devices, generate a misunderstanding of the novel. Therefore, the allegations holding Conrad racialist are simply the consequence of ignorant readers who do non grok the manner of composing which he employs.

Philosophy Research Proposal Essay Example

Philosophy Research Proposal Essay Philosophy is the discipline which studies the fundamental questions connected with the existence and the purpose of the human life and the relation of the human with the surrounding world. During the time of the existence of philosophy the discipline was believed to be able to explain the fundamental laws and rules of the development of the world and the society. Philosophy tries to research the processes of thinking and understand the moral categories and values. Among the most important and famous questions which have always disturbed the minds of philosophers since the time immemorial are: ‘Can we understand the world?’ ‘Does the God exist?’ ‘What is the truth and realness?’ ‘What is good and evil?’ Modern philosophers claim that philosophy is the science with the narrow scope of research and that it is rather a certain type of the worldview, a general approach to the understanding of the essential questions mentioned above. Philosophy exists like a set of the completely different and controversial theories and approaches which are opposed to one another. There are many branches of philosophy and the most famous of them are metaphysics, ethics, political philosophy, etc. philosophy is considered to be the mother of all the existing sciences, because every science, like biology, physics, etc tries to answer the questions connected with the origin of life, purpose of life and existence of the world. No wonder, every existing science is closely connected with philosophy and has its background in it. We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy Research Proposal specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy Research Proposal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy Research Proposal specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Philosophy is the fundamental science, which tries to explain all the processes on the planet. There were many philosophers who devoted their life to the development of the discipline and presented their theories. Although the theories and points of view are completely different, everyone can find there something important and useful for him. When a student has become interested in philosophy, he can try to prepare a research proposal and win the opportunity to complete a good research paper on it. A well-organized philosophy research proposal should be informative, interesting and contain brand new ideas supported with the reliable evidence from the trustworthy sources. Moreover, a research proposal is a kind of a persuasive writing, so a student should do his best to complete a logical and well-structured brief paper with the interesting content. Except of a literature review and methodology chapters a research proposal on the discipline has other difficult moments. First of all it is structure and the process of formatting. With the help of the Internet and a free sample research proposal on philosophy one will easily understand how to solve these problems. Moreover, a free example research proposal on philosophy is a high-quality piece of advice for students who are not aware of the convincing ways of writing. At EssayLib.com writing service you can order a custom research proposal on Philosophy topics. Your research paper proposal will be written from scratch. We hire top-rated PhD and Master’s writers only to provide students with professional research proposal help at affordable rates. Each customer will get a non-plagiarized paper with timely delivery. Just visit our website and fill in the order form with all proposal details: Enjoy our professional research proposal writing service!

Free Essays on The Weekend

Today’s American society is working more, only to have less leisure time. There seems to be an increasing trend to work an increasing amount of hours. People are not valuing there leisure time like they should. American families are evolving around what Juliet Schor calls, the work and spend cycle. This is an idea of working, not to save money, but only to spend it on material goods. Americans are mass consuming goods at an increasing rate. Many American households consume as much as three to four times as what a European family household might consume. I believe the United States may have a waste management problem that will not be able to be solved. With all this consumption of goods, I would like to think that Americans would put a higher degree of importance on their leisure time. This is not the case; American families seem to be enjoying the television a lot more than any other culture. Is watching television really a form of leisure? People all around the glo be work day after day waiting for that two day period of time which is called the weekend. This is when the real ideal of mass consumption takes place. From the ideals of Juliet Schor’s â€Å"The Overworked American† to Witold Rybczynski’s â€Å"Waiting for the Weekend† today’s families are working longer hours only to mass consume. The mass consumption of goods mostly takes place during a two-day increment, The Weekend. According to Schor (1992), â€Å"Americans report that they only have sixteen and a half hours of leisure a week, after the obligations of job and household are taken care of†(p.1). Americans really need to start putting a higher degree of importance on their leisure time. The rise of capitalism has made many Americans extremely greedy. American families are consuming so many material goods, if productivity doesn’t increase, prices will have to fall. The trend of buying goods only to keep up with a status quo (The Jones’) will kee... Free Essays on The Weekend Free Essays on The Weekend Today’s American society is working more, only to have less leisure time. There seems to be an increasing trend to work an increasing amount of hours. People are not valuing there leisure time like they should. American families are evolving around what Juliet Schor calls, the work and spend cycle. This is an idea of working, not to save money, but only to spend it on material goods. Americans are mass consuming goods at an increasing rate. Many American households consume as much as three to four times as what a European family household might consume. I believe the United States may have a waste management problem that will not be able to be solved. With all this consumption of goods, I would like to think that Americans would put a higher degree of importance on their leisure time. This is not the case; American families seem to be enjoying the television a lot more than any other culture. Is watching television really a form of leisure? People all around the glo be work day after day waiting for that two day period of time which is called the weekend. This is when the real ideal of mass consumption takes place. From the ideals of Juliet Schor’s â€Å"The Overworked American† to Witold Rybczynski’s â€Å"Waiting for the Weekend† today’s families are working longer hours only to mass consume. The mass consumption of goods mostly takes place during a two-day increment, The Weekend. According to Schor (1992), â€Å"Americans report that they only have sixteen and a half hours of leisure a week, after the obligations of job and household are taken care of†(p.1). Americans really need to start putting a higher degree of importance on their leisure time. The rise of capitalism has made many Americans extremely greedy. American families are consuming so many material goods, if productivity doesn’t increase, prices will have to fall. The trend of buying goods only to keep up with a status quo (The Jones’) will kee...

Private School Uniforms and Dress Codes

Private School Uniforms and Dress Codes When you think of a dress code or uniform, what comes to mind? Most people will call to mind the stereotypical images we see in media: pressed and proper uniforms at military academies, the navy blazers or sports coats with ties and slacks at boys schools, and the plaid skirts and white shirts with knee socks and dress shoes at girls schools. But is this attire actually the norm at private schools? Many private schools attribute most of their uniform traditions and dress codes back to their British public school roots. The formal starched collars and tails worn by Eton College boys are world-famous, but they are hardly typical of a normal school uniform these days. Much more common is a looser dress code consisting of the ubiquitous blazer, white shirt, school tie, slacks, socks and black shoes; or the option of wearing dresses, or a blazer and blouse with slacks or skirts  are pretty much standard for girls. What is the difference between a uniform and dress code? The very word uniform suggests the raison detre for unis as some of the private school crowd calls them. It is one specific and standard style of dress that every student wears. Some school uniforms allow for optional additions, such as sweaters or vests to wear over the uniforms. While the rules at every school will differ, some will allow students to add their own personal flair, dressing up their standard attire with scarves and other accessories, but there are typically limitations to how much can be added to the uniform. A dress code is a strict outline of acceptable attire that isnt limited to one or two options. It serves as more of a guideline rather than a rigid rule, and provides more flexibility for students. Many view dress code as an attempt to create conformity as opposed to uniformity. Dress codes can vary by school and range from more formal dress codes requiring specific colors and limited choices of attire, to more flexible options that may simply prohibit certain forms of attire.   Why Do Schools Have Uniforms and Dress Codes? Many schools have implemented uniforms and dress codes for both practical and social reasons. Practically speaking, a standardized uniform allows a child to get by with a minimum amount of clothing. You have your everyday wear and then a Sunday best outfit for more formal occasions. A uniform often serves as a marvelous equalizer of social status. It matters not whether you are the Earl of Snowdon or the son of the local green grocer  when you don that uniform. Everybody looks the same. Uniformity rules. Do uniforms improve test scores and enhance discipline? Long Beach Unified School District, back in the 90s, instituted a dress code policy for its students. Proponents of the policy claimed that the dress code created a climate for education which led to improved test scores and better discipline. Research may vary on this, and responses from parents often differs from teachers, with parents (and students) arguing for more flexibility for personal style and expression, while teachers are often largely supportive of uniforms and dress codes because of the perceived improvements in both student performance and behavior. That said, private schools generally create a climate for learning more consistently than public schools do, to begin with. Uniforms and dress codes are just one part of the formula for success. The real secret to success is consistently enforcing rules and regulations. Hold students accountable and you will see results. What About Teachers Dress Codes? Most private schools also have dress codes for teachers. While the guidelines for adults may not mirror that of students, they are often similar, engaging faculty members in modeling good behavior and dressing best practices.   What Happens When You Disregard the Uniform or Dress Code? Now, we all know that students of any age have their ways of getting around dress code requirements. The slacks have a way of becoming a bit baggier than the school regulations intended. The shirts tend to hang out below the oversize jacket. Skirts seem to shrink overnight. This can be difficult for schools to enforce, and infractions can result in varying responses, ranging from verbal reminders to detention and even formal disciplinary action for repeated offenders.

Nursing research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 58

Nursing research - Essay Example Nonetheless, staff should always ensure that they remained updated on the changes in technology and standards in order to adjust their practice in line with the new technology and standards, which effectively improves the quality of care. I consider poster presentations as an important way of communicating information. In line with this, posters are  an important aid to present the essence of a topic. Importantly, a combination of visual aids and a verbal presentation smooth the progress of communicating scientific ideas in a poster. However, the graphics, which is the poster presentation’s visual aid, attracts my attention. Consequently, I use graphics in a poster presentation to ensure that I drew the attention of people to the poster. However, I have to ensure that the graphics are unique in order attract the attention while also holding the attention. Moreover, I ensure that the graphics on the poster are relevant and increase the understanding of the message

Discussion and reply to a discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion and reply to a discussion - Essay Example The family's capacity to deal with these challenges is determined by the family's patterns of communication, problem-solving skills, degree of cohesion within the family, interfacing with the external world, and conflict resolution abilities. According to the literature on the topic, the involvement of families in critical care settings has a positive effect on the effective service to the needs of families and patients during a medical crisis. "The challenges for the critical care nurse are to (1) understand how the medical crisis affects family functioning and dynamics, (2) understand the emotional intensity often experienced by families, and (3) determine the appropriate level of family involvement in the patient's holistic care during the hospitalization." (Leon and Knapp, 2008, p 256). Therefore, family nursing is an essential reality of the health care system of the day and the importance of holistic nursing cannot be ignored by the schools of nursing.

Reinforcement and Employees Essay Example for Free

Reinforcement and Employees Essay Q3. What tools does Walmart use to motivate employees? How might a lack of motivation affect associates and how should managers respond? Give me a W! Give me an A! Give me an L! Give me a squiggly! Give me an M! Give an A! Give me an R! Give me a T! What’s that spell? Walmart! Whose Walmart is it? It’s my Walmart ! Who’s number one? The customer! Always! The good times continue at Walmart, and so do hard work and achievement. For many employees, seeing peers rewarded for a job well done proves highly motivational. Executives at Walmart refer to the company as one big family. There are no grunts or gophers –no employee, no matter how new, is thought of as low person on the totem. According to the company’s â€Å"open door† policy, all associates are encouraged to speak freely, share concerns, and express ideas for improving daily operations. In return, they can expect managers to treat all discussions fairly with an open mind. The policy is right out of Walton’s playbook. â€Å"Listen to your associates,† Walton urged. â€Å"They’re the best idea generators.† The founder’s wisdom is routinely reaffirmed through the oft-repeated quote that â€Å"nothing constructive happens in Bentonville† – a reference to Walton headquarters. In Walton’s grass – roots ethic, local employees are the ones most likely to produce fresh ideas. One significant way managers can meet higher motivational needs is to shift power down from the top of organization and share it with employees to enable them to achieve goals. Empowerment is power sharing, the delegation of power or authority to subordinates in an organization. Increasing employee motivation for task accomplishment because people improve their own effectiveness, choosing how to do a task and using their creativity. Empowerment is one way managers promote self- reinforcement and self- efficacy, as defined in the discussion of social learning. Empowering employees involves giving them four elements that enable them to act more freely accomplish their jobs: information knowledge, power, and rewards. First of all, employees receive information about company performance. In companies where employees are fully empowered, all employees have access to all financial and operational information. Secondly, employees have knowledge and skills to contribute to company goals. Companies use training programs and other development tools to help people acquire the knowledge and skills they need to contribute to organizational performance. The third motivation is employees have the power to make substantive decision. Empowered employees have the authority to directly influence work procedures and organizational performance, such as through quality circles or self- directed work teams. And last but not least, employees are rewarded based on company performance. Organizations that empower workers often reward them based on the results shown in the company’s bottom line. Organizations may also use other motivational compensation programs described in Exhibit 16.8 to tie employee efforts to company performance. Exhibit 16.8 Many of today’s organizations are implementing empowerment programs, but they are empowering workers to varying degrees. At some companies, empowerment means encouraging workers’ idea while managers retain final authority for decisions; at others it means giving employees almost complete freedom and power to make decisions and exercise initiative and imagination. Current methods of empowerment fall along a continuum, as illustrated in exhibit 16.9 . The continuum runs from situation in which front- line workers have almost no discretion, such as on a traditional assembly line, to full empowerment, where workers even participate in formulating organizational strategy. Exhibit 16.9 Perhaps the most important things managers can do to enhance organizational communication and dialogue can encourage people to communicate honestly with one another. Subordinates will feel free to transmit negative as well as positive message to managers without fear of retribution. Efforts to develop interpersonal skills among employees can also foster openness, honesty, and trust. Second, managers should develop and use formal communication channels in all direction. Scandinavian Designs uses two newsletters to reach employees. Dana Holding Corporation developed the â€Å"Here a Thought† board- called a HAT rack- to get ideas and feedback from workers. Other techniques include direct mail, bulletin boards, blogs, and employee surveys. Third, managers should encourage the use of multiple channels including both formal and informal communications. Multiple communication channels include written directives, face- to- face discussions, and the grapevine. For example, managers at GM’s Packard Electric plant use multimedia, including a monthly newspaper, frequent meeting of employees’ teams and an electronic news display in the cafeteria. Sending messages through multiple channels increases the likelihood that they will be properly received. Fourth, the structure should fit communication needs. An organization can be designed to use teams, task forces, project managers, or matrix structure as needed to facilitate the horizontal flow of information for coordination and problem solving. Structure should also reflect information need. When team or department task are difficult, a decentralized structure should be implemented to encourage discussion and participation. Empowerment is the process of distributing decision-making power throughout an organization. It is a process which enables employees to set personal work goals, make minor decisions and to solve conflicts by using their personal authority. Team Bonuses, in situations in which employees should cooperate with each other and isolating employee performance is more difficult, companies are increasingly resorting to tying employee pay to team performance. For example, in 2007, Wal-Mart gave bonuses to around 80% of their associates based on store performance. If empl oyees have a reasonable ability to influence their team’s performance level, these programs may be effective. One way Wal-Mart facilitates respect for an individual is through an open-door policy that allows employees of all levels to communicate with managers in higher levels of the company. This open-door policy is also a way of keeping unions from forming in the company. The philosophy is that when employees have avenues for expressing their complaints and problems, there will be no reason to have union representatives (Cray, 2000; Slater, 2003). However, people may question how effective this policy is, because employees still attempt to form unions. Walton also believed in the importance of having a clear flow of communication with his workers, claiming that the more information they received the harder they would work for him. â€Å"The more they know, the more they’ll understand,† he said. â€Å"The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.† To Walton, the free flow of information between him and his worke rs demonstrated the trust and respect he had for them. Without that trust, Walton felt he could not succeed. â€Å"Information is power, and the gain you get from empowering your associates more than offsets the risk of informing your competitor,† he said. For Walton, the bottom line was to appreciate his workers and to make them feel valued. He knew that a paycheck and stock options alone would not guarantee loyalty or hard work. Instead, he realized the importance of making sure his workers knew they were appreciated. â€Å"Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise,† he said. â€Å"They’re absolutely free – and worth a fortune.† By having motivated and loyal employees, Walton could then use them as his secret weapon. â€Å"The folks on the front lines – the ones who actually talk to the customer – are the only ones who really know what’s going on out there,† he said. By listening to his workers and their ideas, Walton could stay on top of his game; â€Å"This really is what total quality is about.† Listen to everyone in your practice/team. Obviously your team is a lot smaller than Wal-Mart, but Sams tactic of figuring out ways to get â€Å"front line† people talking holds true for advisors. You can gain a lot of insight into your clients, and it will help strengthen relationships with support personnel. And yes, listen to your clients too. continuous communication is the most important thing to remember. Change usually causes fear about different things. Communication must be very open, honest and encouraging. It also has to cover all the parties involved in the change. Happy employees mean happy customers. Walton admitted that initially he was so stingy and did not give good pay to his employees. But eventually he realized that he should give a larger payment to his employees because they are considered as â€Å"business partners†. According to Walton, who treated the way management is the same business partner in a way that applied to the consumer. If the business partner treats their customers well then the consumer will come again and again therein lies the advantage and business success. Walton also often visited his shop and asked for their opinions, especially employees who are on the front lines, those who actually faced and talking with customers, as people who know the real situation on the ground. Management’s number one goal with their employees is to make working at Wal-Mart fun and rewarding. They even have their own cheer to boost associates morale and organizational spirit (Wal-Mart, 2008). â€Å"Who’s Wal-Mart? It is my Wal-Mart† (Wal-Mart, 2008). This is the type of leadership styles that all organizations need to use. This style makes employees want to come to work everyday and they feel secure knowing that they are working for a great organization. Wal-Mart is like one big family and like to make their associates feel like they are an important part of keeping the doors open for everyone. If Walmart this organization are lack of motivation itll affects associates also called employees. Lack of motivation equates to less work being accomplished. Productivity does not disappear; it is usually transferred to aspects not related to the organizations work. Things like personal conversations, Internet surfing or taking longer lunches cost the organization time and money. Reduced productivity can be detrimental to an organizations performance and future success. Low employee motivation could be due to decreased success of the organization, negative effects from the economy or drastic changes or uncertainty within the organization. No matter what the cause, having the reputation of having an unpleasant work environment due to low employee motivation will ultimately impact how existing and potential clients or partners view working with an organization. A reputation can precede an organization and dictate its future in the industry. The reinforcement approach employee motivation sidesteps the issue of employee needs and thinking processes described in the content and process theories. Reinforcement theory simply looks at the relationship between behavior and its consequences. It focuses on changing or modifying employees’ on –the-job behavior through the appropriate use of immediate rewards and punishments. Behavior modification is the name given to the set of techniques by which reinforcement theory is used to modify human behavior. The basic assumption underlying behavior modification is the law of effect, which states that behavior that is positively reinforced tends to be repeated, and behavior that is not reinforced tends not to be repeated. Reinforcement is defined as anything that causes a certain behavior to be repeated or inhibited. The four reinforcement tools are positive reinforcement, avoidance learning, punishment, and extinction, as summarized in exhibit16.6 Positive reinforcement is the administration of a pleasant and rewarding consequence following a desired behavior, such as praise for an employee who arrives on time or does a little extra work. Research shows that positive reinforcement does help to improve performance. Moreover, nonfinancial reinforcement such as positive feedback, social recognition, and attention are just as effective as financial incentives. One study of employees at fast- food drive- thru windows, for example, found that performance feedback and supervisor recognition had a significant effect on increasing the incidence of â€Å"up- selling† or asking customers to increase their order. Montage Hotels resorts, known for its culture of gracious yet humble service, uses a variety of employee recognition programs to positively reinforce employees for providing exceptional service. CEO Alan J. Fuerstman says â€Å"it’s simple psychology. People commit more acts of kindness when they are appreciated fo r them.† Avoidance learning is the removal of an unpleasant consequence once a behavior is improved, theory encouraging and strengthening the desired behavior. Avoidance learning is sometimes called negative reinforcement. The idea is that people will change a specific behavior to avoid the undesired result that behavior provokes. As a simple example, a supervisor who constantly reminds or nags an employee who is goofing off on the factory floor and stops the nagging when the employee stops goofing off is applying avoidance learning. Punishment is the imposition of unpleasant outcomes on an employee. Punishment typically occurs following undesirable behavior. For example, a supervisor may berate an employee for performing a task incorrectly. The supervisor expects that the negative outcome will serve as a punishment and reduce the likelihood of the behavior recurring. The use of punishment in organization is controversial and often criticized because it fails to indicate the correct behavior. However, almost all managers report that they find it necessary to occasionally impose forms of punishment ranging from verbal reprimands to employee suspensions or firings. Extinction is the withholding of a positive reward. Whereas with punishment, the supervisor imposes an unpleasant outcome such as a reprimand, extinction involves withholding praise or other positive outcomes. With extinction, undesirable behavior is essentially ignored. The idea is that behavior that is not positively reinforced will gradually disappear A New York Times reporter wrote a humorous article about how she learned to stop nagging and instead use reinforcement theory to shape her husband’s behavior after studying how professionals train animals. When her husband did something she liked such as throw a dirty shirt in the hamper, she would use positive reinforcement, thanking him or giving him a hug and a kiss. Undesirable behaviors, such as throwing dirty clothes on the floor, on the other hand, were simply ignored, applying the principle of extinction. Reward and punishment motivational practices based on the reinforcement theory dominate organizations. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 84 percent of all companies in the United States offer some type of monetary or non- monetary reward system, and 69 percent offer incentive pay, such as bonuses, bases on an employee’s performance. However, in other studies, more than 80 percent of employers with incentive programs have reported that their programs are only somewhat successful or working at all. Despite the testimonies of organizations that enjoy successful incentive programs, criticism of these â€Å"carrot- and- stick† methods is growing, as discussed in the Manager’s Shoptalk. If rewards and motivation are failed to fulfill the employees the manager of Walmart should apply some positive reinforcement in order to safe the situation. Positive reinforcement is the practice of rewarding desirable employee behavior in order to strengthen that behavior. For example, when you praise an employee for doing a good job, you increase the likelihood of him/her doing that job very well again. Positive reinforcement both shapes behavior and enhances an employee’s self-image. Recognizing and rewarding desirable employee behavior is the essential key to motivating employees to work more productively. This method will reap many benefits, first it clearly defines and communicates expected behaviors and strengthens the connection between high performance and rewards. It reinforces an employee’s behavior immediately after learning a new technique and promotes quick, thorough learning. It motivates effective workers to continue to do good work. Lack of reinforcement leads to job dissatisfaction. It increases productivity by rewarding workers who conserve time and materials. Employees who are rewarded after they successfully perform feel self-confident and become eager to learn new techniques, take advanced training, and accept more re sponsibility. Rewarding employees who suggest improved work procedures will produce more innovation – if you create a relaxed work environment, reward new ideas and tolerate innovative failures. Employees who receive recognition for their achievements are more enthusiastic about their work, more cooperative, and more open to change. Besides that, when you show appreciation and reward employees for good work, youll be able to increase their job commitment and organizational loyalty. In conclusion, giving positive reinforcement does not mean that what is done incorrectly by an employee is to be ignored. Instead, it means to recognize what portion of the work was done correctly first, then follow-up with what can be done better the next time and why the performance or work result was not quite what was expected. If this means the manager must take some of the blame for not giving detailed instructions for the desired behavior or result, they should do so in an apologetic manner and then proceed to explain how the manager personally will try to do better. This is an excellent time for the manager to let the employee know they still have faith in them but need their help and cooperation by their asking questions if the managers instructions are not clear. This allows both the employee and manager to get better at communication, which results in improved task completion. Remember mangers need to give positive results first, then follow-up with what improvements are needed, apologize if necessary, and then reinforce what was done right again. When working the improvement or follow-up statement do not use the word but as this word often negates anything said before it and the employee may stop listening as they know a negative is coming next.

edgar allan poe :: essays research papers

American poet, a master of the horror tale, credited with practically inventing the detective story. Edgar Allan Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, Massachusetts, to parents who were itinerant actors. His father David Poe Jr. died probably in 1810 and his mother Elizabeth Hopkins Poe in 1811. Edgar was taken into the home of a Richmond merchant John Allan and brought up partly in England (1815-20), where he attended Manor School at Stoke Newington. Never legally adopted, Poe took Allan's name for his middle name. Poe attended the University of Virginia (1826), but was expelled for not paying his gambling debts. This led to a quarrel with Allan, who later disowned him. In 1827 Poe joined the U.S. Army as a common soldier under assumed name and age. In 1830 Poe entered West Point and was dishonorably discharged next year, for intentional neglect of his duties. Little is known about his life in this time, but in 1833 he lived in Baltimore with his father's sister. After winning a prize of $50 for the short story "MS Found in a Bottle," he started a career as a staff member of various magazines, among others the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond (1835-37), Burton's Gentleman's Magazine in Philadelphia (1839-40), and Graham's Magazine (1842-43). During these years he wrote some of his best-known stories. In 1836 Poe married his 13-year-old cousin Virginia Clemm. She burst a blood vessel in 1842, and remained a virtual invalid until her death from tuberculosis five years later. After the death of his wife, Poe began to lose his struggle with drinking and drugs. He addressed the famous poem "Annabel Lee" (1849) to her. Poe's first collection, Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, appeared in 1840. It contained one of his most famous works, "The Fall of the House of Usher." During the early 1840s Poe's best-selling work was The Conchologist's First Book (1839). The dark poem of lost love, "The Raven," brought Poe national fame, when it appeared in 1845. The Murders in the Rue Morgue(1841) and The Purloined Letter are among Poe's most famous detective stories.

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil Archetypal Project

Midnight in the garden of good and evil archetypal project. Summary 1, November 10, Pages 1-25: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil starts with the main character, John Berendt as the Narrator. He first introduces the book by speaking of a man by the name of Jim Williams, the home owner of the Mercer house in Savannah Georgia. This intelligent yet cocky man is an antique dealer and is quite rich, owning many houses and valuable antiques. He spends most of his time restoring antiques and â€Å"living like an aristocrat, but not actually being one. His assistant, Danny Hansford is very rowdy, he intrudes on Berendt's interview of Williams by storming into Mercer house cursing a certain â€Å"Bonnie† and insists that he get â€Å"jacked up† on drugs. Summary2, November 11, Pages 25-50: In the second chapter of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, we are introduced to yet another character by the name of Mary Harty, and elderly woman who has lived in Savannah for m ost of her life. Miss Harty is the mentor archetype, she drags Berendt all through Savannah, giving him information that only locals could tell you.Once the tour was finished, Berendt decided he would like to stay longer in the grand town of Savannah, and booked a room in the second floor of a carriage house. From here we meet the temptress Mandy Nichols and the trickster Joe Odom. Joe is the permanent host of an everlasting party, he steals electricity from the next door neighbors and swindles people out of their money, yet everyone loves him to death. Mandy is his fourth wife in waiting, she’s won several pageants and is quite beautiful. Summary 3, November 12, Pages 50-75:Into the 4th chapter of the novel, Berendt takes us to a junk shop to shop for necessities for his new living space in Savannah. He describes a Buddha-like owner and an â€Å"expressionless man in his mid-thirties, with mousy brown hair and one eye made up in purple eye shadow. † The man with one e ye made-up is referred to as Jack-the-one-eyed-Jill, according to his boss. Afterwards, Berendt comes across a strange man who has the same morning routine as himself, and orders the same meal every single day; this man isLuther Driggers the inventor. This man is the outsider archetype, no one particularly enjoys his company, and rumors spread that he has a poison stronger than arsenic, and plans to one day dump it into Savannah’s water supply. Summary 4, November 13, pages 75-100 Berendt;s journey is beginning to unfold and the â€Å"small world† philosophy is starting to show, everybody seems to be connected to everybody in Savannah now that Berendt is getting to know more and more locals.In Joe Odom's house he meets Emma Kelly a pianist who hardly ever sleeps, music is her entire life. Joe describes the aspects of Emma's life to Berendt and he is throughly pleased to listen. Later on, Berendt is driving home and spots a woman staring him down, her name is Chablis, s he is a drag queen. Chablis is a temptress, Berendt describes her as â€Å"having no masculine features† at all and being quite beautiful and feminine. Summary 5, November 14, pages 100-125

Job Discrimination

Job Discrimination in organization Definition Discrimination can be define as the wrongful act of distinguishing illicitly or illegally among people not on the basis of individual merit, but on the basis of prejudice or some invidious, unpleasant or morally reprehensible or wrong attitude. The main economic definition of â€Å"employment discrimination† implies that it is efficient and leads to unusual and narrow empirical methods. From a legal perspective one can note that this definition does not advance equality.Other such definitions relate discrimination to specific market failures. This paper argues that economic theory could base its definition on the fundamental theorem of welfare economics and market functionality. Since society constitutes markets by use of law, this definition indicates some additional legal means to address problems of discrimination. Gary Becker defined employment discrimination as different pay for equally productive individuals (based upon membe rship in a certain group). Becker’s definition cited the cause for unequal pay as discriminatory tastes.Others argued that there may be another cause at times: some information problems that are correlated with the said social groups. Description The discrimination in employment must involve 3 elements. First, it is a decision against one or more employees/prospective employees that is not based on individual merits (ability to perform job,) or other morally legitimate qualifications. Second, the decision derives solely or in part from racial or sexual prejudice, false stereotypes, or some other kind of morally unjustified attitude against members of the class to which the employee belongs.Third, the decision has a harmful or negative impact on the interests of the employees, (no job, no promotion or pay rise) Reference (Business Ethics 7th edition by Manuel G. Velasquez 2012) EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: SOME ECONOMIC DEFINITIONS, CRITIQUE AND LEGAL IMPLICATIONS by GARY S. BEC KER. Milton Friedman ed. , 2nd ed. 1971 Becker, Gary S. 1971, the Economics of Discrimination, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Why Bacon Smells So Good

Why Bacon Smells So Good Bacon is the king of food. You can savor it slice by slice, enjoy it in sandwiches, indulge in bacon-laced chocolate, or smear on bacon-flavored lip balm. Theres no mistaking the odor of bacon frying. You can smell it cooking anywhere in a building and when it gone, its lingering scent remains. Why does bacon smell so good? Science has the answer to the question. Chemistry explains its potent scent, while biology rationalizes a bacon craving. Chemistry of How Bacon Smells When bacon hits a hot frying pan, several processes occur. The amino acids in the meaty part of bacon react with carbohydrates used to flavor it, browning and flavoring bacon via the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is the same process that makes toast toasty and seared meat mouth-wateringly delicious. This reaction contributes the most to the characteristic bacon aroma. Volatile organic compounds from the Maillard reaction are released, so smell of sizzling bacon drifts through the air. Sugars added to bacon  carmelize.  The fat melts and volatile hydrocarbons vaporize, although nitrites found in bacon limit hydrocarbon release, compared with pork loin or other meats. The aroma of frying bacon has its own unique chemical signature. Approximately 35% of the volatile organic compounds in the vapor released by bacon consist of hydrocarbons. Another 31% are aldehydes, with 18% alcohols, 10% ketones, and the balance made up of nitrogen-containing aromatics, oxygen-containing aromatics, and other organic compounds. Scientists believe the meaty smell of bacon is due to  pyrazines, pyridines and furans. Why People Like Bacon If someone asks why you like bacon, the answer, because its awesome! ought to be sufficient. Yet, there is a physiological reason why we love bacon. Its high in energy-rich fat and loaded with salt two substances our ancestors would have considered luxurious treats. We need fat and salt in order to live, so foods the contain them taste good to us. However, we dont need the parasites that could accompany raw meat. At some point, the human body made the connection between cooked (safe) meat and its smell. The odor of cooking meat is, to us, like blood in the water for a shark. Good food is near! Reference: Study of the Aroma of Bacon and Fried Pork Loin. M. Timon,  A. Carrapiso,  A Jurado  and J  Lagemaat.  2004. J. Sci. Food Agriculture.

Definition and Examples of Visual Euphemisms

Definition and Examples of Visual Euphemisms Visual euphemism is the use of a pleasing or inoffensive image to represent an object, concept, or experience thats considered unpleasant, distasteful, or distressingly explicit. In  Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language (2006),  Keith Allan and Kate Burridge point out that visual euphemisms are commonplace; for example,  low-calorie salad dressing (usually  oil-free) is presented in shapely, slender-waisted bottles. The shape, the cleverly altered spelling and reversed coloring on some of the packaging sends out the message non-fattening loud and clear. Examples and Observations Good  visual euphemisms are  to be found in advertisements concerned with false teeth- something that no one wants to see. An advertisement for one fixative simply shows two beautiful slim blue cylinders fitting together perfectly, as a voice  Ã‚  praises the efficiency and salubriousness of the product.(Toni-Lee Capossela,  Language Matters. Harcourt Brace,  1995) Visual Euphemisms in Everyday Life: Romance in the Toilet Bowl CleanerSociety has many instances of visual euphemisms. Bald men wear toupees. Both sexes wear contact lenses. Fig leaves hide the genitals of statues. Pubic hair was airbrushed out of soft-porn photographs until the 1960s. The Society for Indecency to Naked Animals designed boxer shorts, knickers, and petticoats to cover the sex organs of animals during the 1960s (cf. Fryer 1963:19). Frilled pantalettes modestly hid the limbs (legs could not properly be mentioned, especially in America, see Read 1934:265) of the table and the pianoforte during the V ictorian era. . . .Attractive packaging itself is a kind of euphemism: emphasis on appearance instead of the product contrasts strikingly with the old-time grocer who displayed items in bulk. Lighting effects that redden meat, the waxing of fruit, and the attractive packaging are cosmetic; and like verbal euphemism, they create a positive illusion. Still photography, film, and television are superb media for deceptive euphemisms. . . . These media present a world of perfected forms in which there is romance in the toilet bowl cleaner, poetry in the sanitary napkin, temptation in the tampon, and beauty in a glass of dentures.(Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as a Shield and Weapon. Oxford University Press, 1991) SharksAs trash-happy and ridiculous as it sounds, the movie [Spring Break Shark Attack] isnt just another load of tired old beach bunk. For one thing, the scary parts really are scary, enough so that little kids should be sent to their roomswhere, presumably, they can watch the less menacing aquatic antics of SpongeBob SquarePants. . . .When a partly eaten shark victim washes up onshore, for example, he really looks like a partly eaten shark victim, not the scrubbed-up visual euphemism of TV times gone by. Is this progress? Wellkinda?(Tom Shales, Cue the Shark Music and Prepare to Be Scared. The Washington Post, March 19, 2005) Sexual EncountersVictorian novels and pictures frequently feature a woman enthroned on a gentlemans knee as a visual euphemism for sexual encounter. Although William Holman Hunts famous picture The Awakening Conscience (1854) indicated that the fallen woman regained her moral conviction by showing her in the act of rising from her lovers knee, many pictures a nd stories celebrated the happy wife, held by her husband on his knee as both sweetheart and child.(Judith Farr, The Passion of Emily Dickinson. Harvard University Press, 1992) Deception and SecrecyThere is no doubt that some euphemism adds dimensions of deception and secrecy. And in the case of the visual euphemism the illusion is very effective. Its always much harder to prove misrepresentation when a claim is expressed non-verbally; in other words, not in propositional language with actual nouns and verbs. The visual euphemism can be a lot more sneaky.(Kate Burridge, Weeds in the Garden of Words: Further Observations on the Tangled History of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2005)

Creation of a paper on how you would research a business sector and Assignment

Creation of a paper on how you would research a business sector and how you would structure a project report - Assignment Example ournemouth, Solar Simple Ltd in Worcester, Rain Wind Sun in Swindon, Green and Co Renewables in Rushden, Solar Power UK Ltd in Braintree, Impact Renewables in Leeds and numerous others scattered all over the United Kingdom’s geography. (UK Renewable Energy Companies, 2012). These companies provide energy solutions to replace conventional energy forms, solar , nuclear and wind energy being a popular choices due to convenience. The Government has also taken an active interest in this sector due to gravity of the environmental threats currently facing the planet and thus the Government has committed itself to help businesses in this sector develop successfully. Their goal for 2020 is to achieve 15% of their total energy from renewable resources. Another reason why the Government is especially interested in the development of this sector is because it has generated great interest from foreign investors. In additional to the investment that this will bring into the UK, it will create a multitude of job opportunities. The UK however needs to improve its infrastructure to be able to deal with and reap the benefits of this investment. (The UK Renewable Energy Sectors, 2012). Research has shown that the UK will be able to reduce almost $17 billion of its per annum energy costs if it sticks to its renewable energy plan. Soon the Government will introduce a bill that will detail the fine print of this energy saving plan. (Hussain, 2012). It becomes quite clear that due to the immense foreign investment and jobs this sector is generating, it has a large scope in the business world. The size of the sector is also expected to grow into the foreseeable future as demand for alternative energy forms increase in the face of depleting resources of conventional energy forms and a growing awareness of the damage they have caused to the earth and its environment and how usage of clean, renewable energy is better for the planet and its people. Carbon emissions are expected to

ASEAN a vision of economic integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

ASEAN a vision of economic integration - Essay Example In as much as ASEAN is a regional economic powerhouse, the organization has a number of challenges, and these challenges include disputes amongst its members concerning the South China Sea maritime region. Experts in international relations claim that ASEAN lacks the necessary diplomatic coherence, and its member countries have different strategic priorities, and this makes it difficult for the alliance to make any meaningful negotiation with China, which is responsible for creating animosity in the region, with its claim of various territories. This has resulted in the creation of diplomatic tensions within the region (Jones, 2012). In as much as this territorial tension arises, ASEAN is a useful ally of United States. The United States on most occasions uses the alliance to expand its influence into the region, and to limit the influence of China into the region. Cooperation between United States and ASEAN has been strengthened, through the treaty referred to as Amity and Cooperation. This treaty allows the United States to attend any summit sponsored by ASEAN, and creates an annual U.S-ASEAN summit (Blizkovsky, 2013). This paper argues that ASEAN plays a great role in promoting economic integration within the region. In defending this thesis, the researcher will use the three levels of analysis that are used to analyze relations amongst the states in International relations (Blizkovsky, 2013). The three levels of analysis are individual, domestic, and systematic levels of analysis (Dunne, Kurki and Smith, 2010). The individual level of analysis involves the analysis of the character traits of individual leaders, and those responsible for making policies within a given state (Dunne, Kurki and Smith, 2010). This level focuses on the human actors in the international relations, and their process of making decisions. For example, the World War 1 is attributed to the personal character of Kaiser Wilhelm II (Dunne, Kurki and Smith, 2010).

P.T. Barnum's Cruelty within the Circus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

P.T. Barnum's Cruelty within the Circus - Essay Example From time to time, he was indicted of being misleading and encouraging bogus publicity. He just modified the truth and made it appear more attractive. He was aware of what America required and he delivered exactly the same. This paper sheds light on animal abuse and violence in circus, with special reference to P. T. Barnum’s circus and its cruel behavior with elephants, particularly ‘Jumbo’ - a big, 13000-pound African Elephant. Jumbo was a huge ‘sensation’ in the London Zoo. During the period of 16 years he gave rides to thousands of kids on his back and pleased people with his naughty, humorous nature. However, surreptitiously the enormous creature - Jumbo - terrified zoo representatives with bad temper - and it appeared that just the similarly disobedient Scott could handle him. Therefore, the London Zoo management sold Jumbo and shipped him - along with Scott - to P.T. Barnum for his well-known circus. One may have doubted how the Barnum circus m akes a 13000-pound Jumbo to carry out tricks such as â€Å"sitting up or standing on his or her head† (Coup, p. 22). It is by means of ruthless behavior of trainers. The well-known circus shatters the strength of elephants when they are defenseless kids who should be staying with their mothers. They had a life of slavery from the second they came into this world: all innate movements, all senses and way of being is shattered, by means of bull hooks, ropes as well as electric shock. In the year 1885, during the tour of Canada, Jumbo was hit by a cargo train and killed on the spot. Barnum's subsequent test was to modify public feelings with reference to the theater. Generally considered as ‘places of wickedness’, Barnum desired to place them as fortresses of learning as well as amusement, and as ‘highly regarded’ middle-class hobby. He constructed the city's biggest as well as most ‘up to date’ theater, which was named as â€Å"Moral Lect ure Room† (Hartzman, p. 111). Circus Cruelty During the year 1882, P.T. Barnum gave 10,000 USD to buy Jumbo, the most renowned elephant around the world, chained up like ‘Houdini’, â€Å"stuffed into a crate and sailed across the ocean to New York City† (Bartholomew, p. 89). Barnum purchased Jumbo inexpensively because - not known to him but known to Zoo keepers in London - â€Å"the elephant had gone bonkers† (Bartholomew, p. 89). Jumbo had turn out to be such a danger that his possessors were afraid for the protection of a number of kids riding on his back. One of these rides had an asthmatic Teddy Roosevelt, who, possibly shocked by the incident, would later attacked and killed four elephants in less than five minutes while on safari in British East Africa (Bartholomew, p. 96). Jumbo was so devastated by his journey through ocean, detained within his barred enclosure, which his trainer had to get him intoxicated. In view of the fact that alcoholic drinks were previously a part his standard food, making the elephant to gulp down a few buckets of whiskey was not a difficult task. Following three years Barnum got his reward elephant, Jumbo â€Å"met his end† (Bartholomew, p. 96) during a direct collision with an ‘off-schedule locomotive’. The calamity took place as the animals were entering into the boxcars to go to the next town. A roaming circus is simply a headache and nothing else, particularly when one is using inflexible, unpredictable creatures like lions as well as

Annotated Bibliography Of John Steinbeck

Annotated Bibliography Of John Steinbeck East of Eden is John Steinbecks most famous novel. This book published in 1952 has won international critical acclaim, and propelled Steinbeck to international glory. Critics, both positive and negative, often describe the book as the most ambitious literary project of Steinbeck. The book talks about the intricacies of two families that live in the Salinas valley. The families are the Hamiltons and the Trasks. The two families have interwoven stories. The book originally addresses the authors two young sons, Thom and john. The book describes in detail the Salinas valley in California where the story is set. The story also involves other places like Connecticut and Massachusetts. The Salinas valley in central California is aptly described as it is the setting of the book. The story begins with the Hamilton family that has emigrated from Ireland. Samuel Hamilton raised his brood of nine children on some infertile patch of land until they are able to fed for themselves. As Hamiltons children begin to leave home, a well-off stranger buys the best ranch in the Salinas valley. The stranger is Adam Trask, and he has come to his riches after discovering that his father left him and his brother some worthwhile inheritance. Adam has fallen in love, and married Cathy Ames, a girl who is described as a monster. This is because she has been a manipulator of men, and she has left home after killing her parents. After giving birth, Cathy shoots Adam in the shoulders and flees. Adam has to rear his twin boys with the help of Samuel Hamilton and Lee. Lee is a Cantonese servant of Adam. The three men make good companionship and engage in lively biblical debates. Cathy turns to prostitution, and through murder, manages to acquire a brothel. The boys grow up, and Samuel Hamilton dies. Adam loses his fortune in a business misfortune. One of the boys chooses to farm, and the other twin becomes a priest. Caleb the farmer gets to be successful. During thanksgiving, he gives his father a gift of $15,000, which his father rejects. Meanwhile, his brother, Aron wants to drop out of college. The book ends with Adam bedridden, and Lee pleading with Adam to forgive his son. Benson.J. (1977). John Steinbeck: Novelist as Scientist. Novel, Vol. (10):6. It is important to note that, during the publication of East of Eden, the book did not get positive acclaim. It was rejected for many literary and biblical allusions that did not auger well with the critics of his day. East of Eden has been loved by the general readership worldwide. One of the failures of the East of Eden is that the book has borrowed heavily from Author Gunns book, New family physician. The borrowing is used to deepen the creative legacy and artistic portrait of Samuel Hamilton. John Steinbeck, in writing East of Eden, has strayed from his literary style and adherence to realism and naturalism. This is because of his habit of what he has referred to as creative reading. Creative reading can be related to creative writing. Only in this case it is the opposite, for the creative reader reads to write. The implication is that Steinbeck has immersed himself in various documents, some of them scientific to come up with East of Eden. The book has been superimposed with so many allusions that it loses the fictional ability with which it is supposed to command the reader of fiction. The result is that the book borders on non fictional work. In many respects, the book is drawn from the authors background. This makes it an autobiographical stretch of his life. For example, Samuel Hamilton, the benign farmer is a representation of Steinbecks grandfather. His execution of form (Steinbecks) is heavily influenced by other works. The problem is not the heavy borrowing, the problem is the way he has failed to disguise his borrowing. It is a fact that all great literary work is some form of copying, or stealing. Shakespeare plagiarized ninety percent from ancient Greek writing. He plagiarized in mastery disguise, and what we have of him are great works. East of Eden is blatantly plagiarized. Fensch, T. (1988). Conversations with John Steinbeck. New York: Free Press. The use of symbols and symbolization has been employed to masterly level in East of Eden. Like in all his other novels, symbolism is one of the marks that distinguish the works of Steinbeck. Symbolism is the use of objects, figures, colors and characters in representing abstract ideas and concepts. The usage of symbolism in East of Edn is of the most classical nature. Symbolism brings out the realism in East of Eden without sacrificing modernism. Salinass valley, that was the original title of the novel, is a representation of the biblical Garden of Eden. The lyrical opening of the book with a description of the smells and sights of the valley parallels the garden of Edn that is virginal in its depiction in the bible. The Salinas valley is the home of the contest between the likes of Adam and Cathy. It depicts the genesis of the great diabolical deception that contributed to the fall of man. The title rightly depicts the fall of man, for in the biblical chronology, man was chased out towards the east. The mountains in the Salinas valley represent the struggle of man between the eternal forces of good and bad. The scars that Charles Trask get after wounding himself represent the mark of Cain. French, W. (1976). John Steinbeck and Modernism, in Steinbecks Prophetic Vision of America, ed. Tetsumaro Hayashi and Kenneth Swan. Indiana: Upland press. One of the characteristics of the books of Steinbeck is that they contain spiritual positivism. In East of Eden there, is the tendency of the writer to want to lift the reader and to encourage the reader. This is one of the most enduring positive traits of East of Eden. The author does not adopt a strict moralistic view or an amoral view. Rather, it puts to the reader that sainthood and damnation are both available to human beings. The difference between the two is determined by the choice of man. The author has drawn vivid biblical allusions that portray that human choices are the determinants if his destiny. The titling of the book captures the fall of man in the original Garden of Eden. The author has, however, used some depictions that contradict the biblical stories. In reading the book, it is apparent that the portrayal of women is negative. The negative traits of Cathy Ames are exaggerated. It is a well known fact that the author depicts her as the devil, and this is taking th e negation of women too far. This is because no other male character gets to do the wicked things that she has been doing. The other insult to womanhood is that the author has not at least developed another female character to counter the negative image of Cathy Ames. The grief that is so apparent at the end of the book does not do much to lift the hope of the reader. The sense of guilty that follows the characters in the book is not good for the book. This is because the main characters seem to find no atonement for the wrongs that they have done in society. Parini, J. (1996). John Steinbeck: A Biography. Carlifornia: Holt Publishing. The critical acclaims that Steinbeck has got have been from his short stories and rarely for his novels. A significant observation is that the author has not faired well even with a book that won him the Nobel Prize in literature in 1962. This is the book, East of Eden. In fact, his literary fame and reputation declined with the publication of East of Eden. The book in discussion, East of Eden, is overly theatrical. Its biblical allusions are farfetched, and the portrayal main character lacks originality. The book is an amalgamation of themes, characters and literary styles from various sources without cogent intrinsic threading. It is disconjuctive in it ending, and leaves the reader with a sour taste in the mouth. The book is too sentimental and philosophically simplistic. Although Steinbeck remains on of the most celebrated authors, East of Eden is no Paradise Lost. Its humor is overly sympathetic, and the sociological perception that is said to distinguish is work is water down i n this work by an overt desire to see himself, and his family, in his works. Robert. ed. (2002). John Steinbeck, Novels 1942-1952. Washington: Library of America. East of Eden is a paradox in its reception. This is because the public received the book well with the critics writing off the book. The book, like all Steinbecks past world war two books, is not hard to understand. This is because it develops the themes that are first exposed in his short stories. The criticisms of heavy borrowing from Gunns works, and the biblical allusions cannot detract from his work.

The Myth Behind La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre :: Cuban Culture

The Myth Behind La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre To many Cuban-Americans living in Miami, La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, is one of the only ties remaining that unifies them with their homeland. The Virgin is a renowned and integral part of Cuban culture and plays an important role in the Catholic heritage of Cubans exiled inside and outside of North America. The church, La Ermita de la Caridad del Cobre, is a memorial that was constructed in honor of her and is a monument to the religious and political history of the island. Since there are many different versions circulating about the sighting of the Virgin, one must discuss the most popular and the most commonly accepted. The myth behind the La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, originated in 1606. The Virgin appeared one day in the Bay of Nipe near Santiago to two brothers, Rodrigo and Juan de Hoyos, and to Juan Moreno,a black boy roughly ten years of age. They were out on a fishing trip in the Bay. While struggling in their storm tossed boat, they heard a voice declare, "I am the Virgin of Charity." In one hand, the Virgin carried a mulatto baby Jesus; in the other, she held a cross. She also appeared to be holding a tablet which contained the inscription, "I am the Virgin of Charity." A replica of the same tablet is now framed and displayed on the first floor of La Ermita in Santiago de Cuba. In Cuba, there is also a statue of the Virgin, approximately one meter tall, located in a small chapel on the second floor. The statue is of a pretty mulatta who wears dangling earrings and a golden robe. La Virgen's racial attributes is a mixture of black, white and Indian; essentially, it covers the entire racial makeup of Cuba. She has dark hair and carries the baby Jesus in one hand and a cross in the other. People flock to her memorial to pray to her and give her thanks. They often leave small tokens of their appreciation and gratitude. To the exile community, she represents a Catholic Cuba untouched by the religious beliefs of the communist regime of he last four decades.

Production and Operation Management Essay

The Bronson Insurance Group was originally founded in 1900 in Auxvasse, Missouri, by James Bronson. The Bronson Group owns a variety of companies that underwrite personal and commercial insurance policies. Annual sales of the Bronson Group are $100 million. In recent years, the company has suffered operating losses. In 1990, the company was heavily invested in computer hardware and software. One of the problems the Bronson Group faced (as well as many insurance companies) was a conflict between established manual procedures and the relatively recent (within the past 20 years) introduction of computer equipment. This conflict was illustrated by the fact that much information was captured on computer but paper files were still kept for practical and legal reasons. FILE CLERKS The file department employed 20 file clerks who pulled files from stacks, refilled used files, and delivered files to various departments including commercial lines, personal lines, and claims. Once a file clerk received the file. Clerks delivered files to underwriters on an hourly basis throughout the day. The average file clerk was paid $8,300 per year. One special file clerk was used full time to search for requested files that another file clerk had not been able to find in the expected place. It was estimated that 40 percent of the requested files were these â€Å"no hit† files requiring a search. Often these â€Å"no hit† files were eventually found stacked in the requester’s office. The primary â€Å"customers† of the file clerks were underwriters and claims attorneys. UNDERWRITING Company management and operations analysts were consistently told that the greatest problem in the company was the inability of file clerks to supply files in a speedy fashion. The entire company from top to bottom viewed the productivity and effectiveness of the department as unacceptable. An underwriter used 20-50 files per day. Because of their distrust of the files department, underwriters tended to hoard often used files. A count by operations analysts found that each underwriter kept from 100-200 files in his or her office at any one time. An underwriter would request a file by computer and work on other business until the file was received. Benson employed 25 underwriters. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM Upper management was deeply concerned about this problem. The MIS department had suggested using video disks as a possible solution. A video disk system was found that would be sufficient for the Semester II Examination Papers IIBM Institute of Business Management companies needs at a cost of about $12 million. It was estimated that the system would take two years to install and make compatible with existing information systems. Another, less attractive was using microfilm. A microfilm system would require underwriters to go to a single keyboard to request paper copies of files. The cost of a microfilm system was $5 million. 1. What do you recommend? Should the company implement one of the new technologies? Why or why not? 2. An operations analyst suggested that company employees shared a â€Å"dump on the clerks† mentality. Explain. Caselet 2 Harrison T. Wenk III is 43, married, and has two children, ages 10 and 14. He has a master’s degree in education and teachers junior high school music in a small town in Ohio. Harrison’s father passed away two months ago, leaving his only child an unusual business opportunity. According to his father’s will, Harrison has 12 months to become active in the family food-catering business, KareFull Katering, Inc., or it will be sold to two key employees for a reasonable and fair price. If Harrison becomes involved, the two employees have the option to purchase a significant, but less than majority, interest in the firm. Harrison’s only involvement with this business, which his grandfather established, was as an hourly employee during high school and college summers. He is confident that he could learn and perhaps enjoy the marketing side of the business, and that he could retain the long-time head of accounting/finance. But he would never really enjoy day-to-da y operations. In fact, he doesn’t understand what operations management really involves. In 1991 Kare-Full Katering, Inc. had $3.75 million in sales in central Ohio. Net profit after taxes was $ 105,000, the eleventh consecutive year of profitable operations and the seventeenth in the last 20 years. There are 210 employees in this labor-intense business. Institutional contracts account for over 70 percent of sales and include partial food services for three colleges, six commercial establishments) primarily manufacturing plants and banks), two long -term care facilities, and five grade schools. Some customer location employs a permanent operations manager; others are served from the main kitchens of Kare-Full Katering. Harrison believes that if he becomes active in the business, one of the two key employees, the vice president of operations, will leave the firm.Harrison has decided to complete the final two months of this school year and then spend the summer around Kare-Full Katering – as well as institutions with their own food services – to assess whether he wants to become involved in the business. He is particularly interested in finding out as much as possible about operations. Harrison believes he owes it to his wife and children to fairly evaluate this opportunity.

Family Law Reflecting Moral and Ethical Issues

The legal system continuously endeavours and reforms to provide effective legislative remedies and modify existing legislation to reflect the changing nature of the Australian family structure. Family law has always been a colossal aspect of Australian society with many effective measures in place for family matters. Numerous values and their effectiveness have been debated through various features of family law, and these debates continue to the present day. Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage by an official court decision and was once frowned upon within society, and prior to 1974, married couples who wished to divorce had to apply under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1959 (Cth) on the ground of â€Å"fault† – that is, on the basis that one or both spouses admitted to acting in a way that undermined their marriage (for example, adultery, cruelty, insanity and desertion). However, the first major change to family law in Australia occurred when the law took reform in this aspect with the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), which states that the only ground for divorce is the â€Å"irretrievable breakdown of the marriage†, such as the case in the marriage of Todd (1976), one or two of the spouses must consent for divorce. The declining influence of religion and the idea that marriage does not always â€Å"last for life† were social factors that influenced this change. The erosion of the concept of fault and the establishment of a single ground for divorce thus demonstrates changing societal values and how law is changed over time. Australian society believes that it is important to protect the disadvantaged, or those who cannot act to preserve their own rights – particularly children. After a marriage has been dissolved, it is the responsibility of both parents to provide financial support for their children as the case of Campbell and Campbell (1998) established that it is in the best interests of the child to maintain the lifestyle to which they have grown accustomed. The Australian Bureau of Statistics Marriages and Divorces 2011 Media release indicates there are 44,000 children under 18 affected by divorce. As such, the Child Support (Assessment) Act 1989 (Cth) requires that children receive a proper level of financial support from their parents and the Child Support (Registration and Collection) Act 1988 (Cth) ensures that periodic amounts payable by parents towards the maintenance of their children are paid on a regular and timely basis. Prior to the Acts, only 40% of claims for child maintenance were being met, whereas after the Acts were passed, approximately 70% of claims are being met. The new emphasis on children’s rights and parental responsibility reflects the social perception that children are vulnerable members of our society and thus require greater legal protection. Another important change in social attitudes has been the increasing acceptance of same-sex relationships, and recent law reforms have centred on providing same-sex couples with the same rights as de facto heterosexual relationships, and removing discrimination based on sexuality. At the State level, the De Facto Relationships Act 1984 (NSW) was amended to the Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW), for the growing acceptance of heterosexual and homosexual relationships highlighted by news article ‘Partners who just can’t wait (2010)‘ which states the growth in unmarried couples living together. It now recognises same-sex relationships as having the same legal standing as heterosexual de facto relationships, and thus provides protection to people in same-sex de facto relationships in property division, inheritance and decision-making in illness and after death. The Miscellaneous Acts Amendment (Same Sex Relationships) Bill 2008 (NSW) creates amendments to 57 pieces of state legislation to ensure de facto couples (including same-sex couples) are treated equally with married couples. This Act also creates amendments to the Anti-discrimination Act 1977 (NSW) to ensure that same-sex couples are protected from discrimination on the basis of their â€Å"marital or domestic status† in employment, accommodation and access to goods and services, articulated in the Daily Telegraph ‘Gay couple win foster care case (2008)’, after a gay couple won $10,000 in damages when their application to become foster carers was refused. However in terms of federal laws at present, same-sex couples are unable to marry. The Marriage Act 1961 (Cth) defines marriage as â€Å"the union of a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others voluntarily entered into for life†, a definition established by the case of Hyde v Hyde and Woodmansee (1866) and repeated in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). In 2004, the Commonwealth Government reconfirmed the traditional concept of marriage as the â€Å"union of a man and a woman† when it passed the Marriage Amendment Act 2004 (Cth) meaning same-sex marriage is automatically void in Australia, ncluding overseas marriages. Over time, both State and federal governments in Australia have enacted legislation to encourage and enforce practices which are not only in the public interest, but also reflect the moral and ethical standards of society. While legislative mechanisms have been reasonably successful in achieving this goal with regard to the introduction of â€Å"no-fault† divorce and the protection of children, there is the need for further review and reform of legislation concerning same-sex couples.