Emotion and New York Essay

In Proof, there is a contrast presented between the abstract and tangible aspects of life. Claire’s life revolves around everything that is practical while Catherine relies more on things that are theoretical. These choices cause problems in each sister’s life in that they are both disconnected from the real world and neither can relate to other people, including each other. Catherine focuses on the theoretical, letting her life revolve around things that are not tangible, things that other people cannot necessarily see. Early on in the play, Catherine figures out that the number of days she has wasted because of her depression is a mathematically significant number. Math is a very abstract science and this scene shows how mathematically minded Catherine is. It also shows how easily she is able to think abstractly. Her father helps her mathematically manipulate this number right before he admits that he is, in fact, dead at the time of this conversation. Again, Catherine is relying on something intangible, the mental representation of Robert. While Robert was ill, Catherine stayed with him to take care of him emotionally. She did not typically wash dishes, clean the house, or pay bills, Catherine was taking care of her father’s emotional state. In her mind, she was making sure he stayed well by having someone to rely on for the intangible aspects of life. Because Catherine lives in the abstract, she is unable to relate to people who live in the real world. Because of this and other reasons, she has no friends. She tells her father, â€Å"in order for your friends to take you out you generally have to have friends.† Most 25 year olds would go out with friends on their birthday; the fact that she has no friends is odd and causes the audience to worry. In the end of Act 1 Scene 1, Catherine calls the cops to keep Hal from stealing one of her father’s notebooks even though, as she admits in the beginning of Scene 2, she didn’t really want them to come. The cops come back the next morning and are not happy. This shows that she does not relate well with the practical world and its consequences. Unlike her sister, Claire is overly practical, completely engrossed in material aspects of life. While Catherine is at home with their father,  Robert, Claire moves to New York to continue her education, get her own place, and have a job. She pays all the bills from New York, but does not involve herself with other aspects of taking care of their father besides encouraging Catherine to put him in a full time care situation. Bills are very material and concrete, showing how much Claire relies on tangible aspects of life and how well she can deal with these things. When Claire is visiting Catherine for their father’s funeral, she tries to get Catherine to try a conditioner she likes. When Catherine asks Claire for some scientific facts about the Jojoba in the conditioner, Claire replies, â€Å"it makes my hair feel, look, and smell good. That’s the extent of my information about it.† Claire doesn’t know any scientific information about the Jojoba, only how it physically affects her hair. Claire values material objects over immaterial things like emotions, which makes it difficult for her to connect with people and deal with them appropriately. At the party after the funeral, Claire tries to out drink the theoretical physicists and fails miserably waking up with a horrible hangover. Claire does this because she believes, incorrectly, that she is better than the theoretical physicists based on their lack of grounding in the practical world. At the end of Act 1, Claire tells Catherine, â€Å"it’s not your fault. It’s my fault for letting you do it.† This implies that Claire thinks she can control Catherine. Claire believes she can control people like she can control things. Claire also decides she wants Catherine to move to New York so she can keep a better eye on her. She tells Catherine â€Å"it would be much easier for me to get you set up in an apartment in New York† again showing how she wants to control Catherine’s life and does not show regard for Catherine’s emotions such as Catherine’s desire to stay in her home town and her sense of belonging there. Due to Catherine and ClaireÂ’s different priorities, they do not relate to each other and have a disconnected relationship. This is established early on in the play when Catherine says to her father, â€Å"she is not my friend, she is my sister†¦And I don’t like her.† It is clear from this statement that Catherine does not feel connected to Claire. At one point Claire goes so far as to accuse Catherine of being insane, claiming that Catherine has made up  Harold Dobbs. She later meets Hal and does not even apologize to her sister. Sadly, this is not the only thing Claire does to show complete disregard for her sister’s feelings. When Hal shows up in Act 1 Scene 2, Catherine makes a big scene and Claire completely ignores her. “CATHERINE: Okay? I really donÂ’t need this, Claire. IÂ’m fine, you know, IÂ’m totally fine, and then you swoop in here with these questions, and “Are you okay?” and your soothing tone of voice and “Oh, the poor policemen” Ââ€" I think the police can handle themselves! Ââ€" and bagels and bananas and jojoba and “Come to New York” and vegetarian chili. I mean it really pisses me off, so just save it. (Beat.)CLAIRE: (smoothly to HAL) IÂ’m Claire. CatherineÂ’s sister.”Clearly Claire is ignoring CatherineÂ’s emotions and chooses to not try to deal with her sister’s fit. This is also an example of how Catherine inappropriately deals with her own emotions and her sister’s attempts to help. Claire cannot be there for Catherine if she wonÂ’t deal with any emotions and Catherine chooses not to react calmly to ClaireÂ’s assertions. Neither sister has found the best way to live their life, they need to find a happy medium between the practical and theoretical aspects of life so that they can function properly in the real world and relate to the people living in it. Works Cited: Proof by David Auburn

Birdsong: Man and Stephen

Birdsong Essay Sebastian Faulks shows us many horrors of World War One by using language and structure of the novel. For example this shows the imagery of the horrors of war at the hospital when Stephen got injured and what happened with the boy. Faulks starts of with Stephen Wraysford and how he is coming back to life but with pain. His pain is nothing compared to the man next to him, the man apparently could â€Å"visualize the pain† also its says he could see it hovering over him this I think could relate to two thing either his pain or the mans spirit. Faulks describes the imagery for us how bad it is- â€Å"His body decomposing as he lay there, like those that hung on the wire going from red to black before they crumbled into the earth leaving only septic spores†- this shows us the horrors of what war does to people. Also Faulks uses this one man to describe the many other men that go through this in the war. Faulks uses descriptive language and we can visualise the boy when â€Å"His mouth was pulled open and his neck were stretched† and also â€Å"The skin of his cheeks and forehead was marked with bluish-violet patches. His eyes were oozing, as though with acute conjunctives†- shows us the graphic imagery of the boys eyes. Stephen tells us in about this boy, not knowing who he is and having no relation to Stephen at all this shows that Stephen has sympathy and thoughts about what these soldiers go through I think he is comparing on how lucky he is that his pain was very minor to the ones that other people s uffer. Stephen describes the boy’s body â€Å"The soft skin on the armpits and inner thighs was covered in huge, raw blisters†. Makes the reader visualise and actually see what Stephen is seeing. On page 187 it tells us that the boys voice came back to Stephen and â€Å"He begged to die†- this shows us the effect on how the damage and the pain that the boy actually must be going through. Faulks also shows us how hard the nurses job is and how her love can take over her job† Impotently, she held both her arms wide in a gesture of motherly love, as this would comfort him. † Stephen hopes that the boy would die soon, it is all so reverse he should be praying for him to live soon, but seeing and hearing the agony the boy is going through death would be more peaceful. On page 188 Faulks describes the boy the last time before he dies and we can see and imagine how his condition would be like for example-â€Å"He lay motion-less, trailing his raw skin. His infected lungs began to burble and froth with yellow fluid† Faulks shows Stephen with no emotion or sympathy for the boy no remorse â€Å"Stephen prayed that the boy would die† the nurse was the opposite to what he was like she was â€Å"pale, shocked, then burst into shuddering tears. She has sympathy for the boy and some feeling of lost. The next horror incident is when they go over the top to attack and Faulks uses emotional horror in the letters when they write back home. Faulks shows in Michael Wiers letter is formal like he says â€Å"Don’t worry about me, please. It is warm enough. †-shows he is covering up reality and not showing or telling the real truth because even if he does they would be able to understand it. And he says that â€Å"May your prayers be with the men who will go over the top†- shows respect and feelings to all the other soldiers. Stephens letter to Isabelle shows how lonely he is and what he has experienced

Social analysis is valued because it is inspired by a will to make a Essay

Social analysis is valued because it is inspired by a will to make a better world (Steven Seidman 1998) Discuss this statement - Essay Example Seidman described his disappointment in the sorts of sociological practice that has become a narrow and specialized conversation about definitions in theory and disagreements about method. Then he wrote, more optimistically: â€Å"I return to sociology as I initially came to the discipline, with the hope of finding a home where social analysis is valued because it is inspired by a will to make a better world. †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Social analysis is then part or a technique in sociology, purpose of which, according to Sweden, is â€Å"to be a part of the ongoing conversation and conflict over the present and future shape of the social world.† Du Bois & Wright (2001), in their work ‘Applying sociology –  Making a better world’ define the term as follows:† Sociology is the study of human social life, groups, and societies, giving special emphasis to modern industrialized systems. It is a discipline involving the ability to think imaginatively and one in which personal views of the world are set aside so we may look more carefully at the influences that shape our lives and those of others. Social structure is an important concept in sociology.† From the above definition, what group view matter? Although the author said personal views are set aside, individual goals must be disregarded. It simply means that the works of sociology is to find melting points where people of different beliefs and biases could work together for the common good. Du Bois & Wright (2001) believe in permanent construction and reconstruction of social life, which is based upon the meanings people attach to their actions. The authors thus said: â€Å"In sociological research it is important to distinguish between the intended and unintended results of human action. Sociology studies the resulting balance between social reproduction and social transformation. Social

Construction Industry in Sultanate of Oman Essay

Construction Industry in Sultanate of Oman - Essay Example The country’s many construction projects include the tourism projects, private and public commercial buildings. Economic report shows that the industry grew from RO 349 Million in the year 2006 to RO 470.7 million in 2007(Oxford Business Group 2007: 110). It is expected that the industry will continue to grow because of government support. The industry plays a great part in the economy of the country. Apart from the revenue generated by the industry, it has improved the living standards of many individuals by creating employment. The nature of construction varies according to the projects. For instance, construction activities include building infrastructure that support different modes of transport such as railways, sea and air. The nature of construction also includes the real estates. The construction processes involves three parties who are the contractors, consultants, and clients. A contractor is the person who plans and coordinates all the activities in construction sites. His role entails ensuring that projects are completed within the specific time frame and budget. They also ensure that construction activities are aligned with the country’s regulations. Consultants are those who analyze and give recommendations regarding construction issues while clients are owners of the building. They choose contractors and consultants to help with the construction. They also ensure that there are enough resources to complete the projects based on the advice of consultants (Oxford Business Group 2007: 110). The construction industry in Oman is highly growing because of the government support. However, the country has a very low labor power. This is because of the low population in the area compared to the number of construction projects. The country only has a population of 2.8 million individuals (Pitcher 2014: 1). The labor issue is especially affecting the private construction firms. Apart from the small

Transfer Funds Business Miscommunication Case Study

Transfer Funds Business Miscommunication - Case Study Example This cae study researches the issue of miscommunication that may happen while transfering of the funds. The researcher provides the explanation of the situation as following. There was miscommunication in the transfer of funds. The manager forgot to indicate the U.S dollars currency as the right transfer funds currency. The organization clerk did not clarify from the manager the proper currency to be used in the funds transfer. The finance department moved to right the wrong transfer funds act. The message receiver should exert enough efforts to clarify any vague or confusing message by contacting the message sender. The finance department should ensure that the message is vividly transmitted from the message sender to the message receiver. The researcher tries to conclude the research presented in the case study and suggests that summarizing the important points of the discussion mentioned in the case study, communication incorporates message sending issues. It is analyzed that the wrong message sending can and should be prevented. Understanding the special business communication principles enhances message clarity for employees. The message sender and receiver must do their best to ensure that the message receiver accepts the message in the same way that the message sender aims to. Evidently, all these parties must contribute to the clear message sending process of business communication and ensuring the business communication messages are received in crystal clear manner.

UK Marketing Environment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

UK Marketing Environment - Case Study Example The macro marketing environment on the other hand refers to the broader influences on the business such as the politics of the day, social trends, technology, economy (e.g. recession) etc which have more impact on the business. It is important to note the fact that often when businesses analyze the marketing environment they make two very costly omissions. First, they assume that the physical environment is not part of the macro marketing environment and secondly, they focus so much on the present generation of customers, employees and other stakeholders ignoring other potential customers, shareholders etc who may not necessarily belong to the present generation. This paper seeks to highlight the general marketing environment for the UK based discount stores such as Aldi, Lidl and Netto in terms of their marketing mix and product portfolio management and thereby recommending the possible actions in future marketing activities. A few examples of discount stores in the UK include the Aldi, Lidl and Netto and when talking of supermarkets, then Tesco Plc and Wal-Mart Store Inc.'s Asda come at the top of the list. These discount stores and supermarkets mostly sell merchandise generally with few instances of brand names. Some of the merchandise sold include; The current marketing environment is greatly influenced by the c... Most of the marketing approaches of the discount stores and supermarkets have ventured into price cuts to attract customers in a bid to maintain their market segments, sales and competitive edge in their competitive markets. For instance, Tesco reduced the price of 3,000 every day items such as fresh meat and baby food and 5,000 every day essentials. Further, the above named two supermarkets have, since January stepped up promotions to prevent customers from turning to discount retailers such as the Germany's Aldi Group and Lidl. Therefore, the discount retailers such as Lidl, Aldi and Netto are up against market giants and the pace of the marketing competition has been set by the present recession in the UK economy. It for a fact that Tesco Plc, the UK largest chain of supermarkets, saw its market share on expenditures on groceries slide to an all time lowest in three years as customers turned to Asda and discounters Aldi Group and Lidl. As Tesco's market share dipped, Asda's and th ose of the discounters increased. Asda posted an annual market share increment of 17.3% up from the 17% as Aldi and Lidl boosted their share on grocery spending to 2.9 % up from 2.6% and 2.3 % up from 2.2 % respectively (Jarvis, 2009). Actually, as per the current marketing environment in this recessive period, the retailers and discounters will have to need weaker rivals and an increased discount-product ranges to survive the recession. This is where marketing mix and a widened product portfolio will be required to help deal with the hostile marketing environment for the discounters. The retailers and discounters are currently faced with shifting consumer behaviour and marked fluctuations in the currency powers and the share prices. All

Compare and contrast two business case studies Essay

Compare and contrast two business case studies - Essay Example Tesco’s great number of manpower and its powerful marketing strategy are the underlying strengths that make it dominant in its specified area of business. (ivythesis.typepad.com, 2011) Eden project aim is to promote the understanding and responsible management of vital relationship between plants and resources. The site covers 50 hectares and could hold 35 football pitches. The biomes are not covered y glass but in EFTE, a transparent high tech foil, contain more than 100000 plants from 5000 species. ? 86 million has been spent to autumn 2002. Staff almost doubled by 2002 to 650. The site has attracted over two million visitors in less than two years a benefit of ? billion to the Cornish economy is predicted for the period 2001-2011.The project was a brain child of a former record producer Tim Smith who started to formulate the idea when driving around the abandoned china clay pit just outside St Austell has become home to the largest conservatories (‘Biomes ‘Peter Long, 2004 p 824). The iconic build began in Cornwall in 1998 and was officially opened in March 2001; they had planned for 750000 visitors in the first 12 months instead 1.9 Million people made their way to former china clay Pit in England most Westerly County. Eden Project has given a huge boost to Cornwall’s economy creating more than 400 Jobs. ... One out of every three pounds spent in a supermarket goes to Tesco. It is the Britain’s biggest private employer with a workforce of 260,000 employees. (Poulter S 2005) In order to achieve steering- wheel -targets, Tesco’s HR strategy revolves around work simplification, performance management, challenging unwritten rules and rolling out core skills to all head office employees. This clearly highlights how business measures at Tesco are closely linked to performance management. Although the frontline employees are considered to be Tesco’s reflection to its customers, all employees have vital roles to play in achieving the organizations goals. This is done through an innovative induction programme that caters for styles of learning, different cultures and varying work commitments which ensures that every employee clearly understands his or her individual role in contributing to Tesco’s core values and purposes. Tesco ensures that employees understand how th eir actions affects the big ‘picture’ of the overall business by providing continuous training that creates a graphical journey through Tesco’s history, its values, core purpose, business goals, financial aims, commitment to customers and the marketing strategy. In order to keep lead over its rivals in the fiercely-competitive UK supermarket sector, Tesco has adopted a human-resource-led business strategy. The strategic policy started in the company’s supermarkets with an aim of improving customers’ service by freeing up stores employees. Tesco concentrates on clear definition of employees’ roles, activities and responsibilities to ensure that employees are accountable, responsible, consulted and informed. 13 key management techniques are

Occupier Liability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Occupier Liability - Essay Example According to the discussion there is a common duty of care6 on the occupier to ensure his premises are reasonably safe at all times.7 If any danger exists, it is the duty of the Occupier to post signs warning of the danger and this can satisfy the duty of care expected8. In the case of the Park, due signs were posted and therefore, visitors to the park were duly warned they were using the facilities at their own risk. Occupier liability will be limited by the element of foreseability of accidents. In the case of Cunningham v Reading9 loose tiles on the terrace were the cause of police injury, for which the Occupier was held liable, because this was an instance where injuries were foreseeable and chances of occurrence were also higher, therefore the Occupant was held liable. This may also hold good in the case of the Park, because three aspects must be noted the signs warning of the risk were corroded and unreadable and therefore practically non existent. Exclusion clauses, waiving li ability, must be clearly communicated - if they are printed on the back of a ticket or communicated indistinctly, they will not be valid10. the element of foreseeability of accident was high due to the nature of the facilities. Moreover, the Park may also face difficulties on the issue of maintenance of the slides, since they collapsed with the weight of only two children.

Jeffrey Skilling Essay Example for Free

Jeffrey Skilling Essay In 1975 Jeffrey Skilling received his B. S. from Southern Methodist University in applied science, and in 1979 received his M. B. A. from Harvard. He was hired by McKinsey Company as a consultant and in 1987 began working with Enron to help create a forward market in natural gas (wikipedia. org). Ken Lay hired Skilling in 1990 as chairman and chief executive officer of Enron Finance Corp. and in 1991 he became the Chairman of Enron Gas Services Co. Also, he was appointed CEO/managing director of Enron Capital Trade Resources. Skilling was promoted to second highest position in the company, president and chief operating officer in 1979. By pushing an aggressive investment strategy, Skilling helped Enron to become the biggest wholesaler of gas and electricity (biography. com). On February 12, 2001 he was named the new CEO of Enron, replacing Ken Lay. Later in 2001, during the energy crisis in California; Skilling resigned on August 14 and shortly after he sold off large blocks of his shares of Enron. Enron declared bankruptcy in December 2001. The Federal Bureau of Investigations indicted Skilling on 35 charges, which he pleaded not guilty on February 19, 2004(wikipedia. org). His trial began on January 30, 2006 and lasted four months. On May 25, 2006 he was found guilty on one count of conspiracy, one count of insider trading, five counts of making false statements to auditors, and twelve counts of securities fraud; and not guilty on nine counts of insider trading(wikipedia. org). October 23, 2006 Skilling was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in a federal prison and was fined 45 million dollars. Skilling began serving his prison term on December 13, 2006 at a low security federal prison in Littleton, Colorado. His release date is scheduled for February 21, 2028 according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Management and Human Resource Development Essay Example for Free

Management and Human Resource Development Essay 1.Integration with organizational missions and goals According to Garavan (1991), integration into business planning in order to contribute to corporate goals and missions of the organization are very crucial. One of Human Resource Development’s functions is to help in formation of business strategies for the organization and it is seen as a responsive and reactive role for strategic human resource development (McCracken Wallace, 2000). Furthermore, the role of SHRD is to shape the organization strategy instead of simply supporting role. Another role of Human Resource Development is to implement or form the corporate strategy. These tasks require them to link the corporate strategy with the organization’s missions and goals. According to Legnick-Hall and Legnick-Hall (1988) and Butler (1988), besides integrating the corporate strategy with the organizational missions and goals, strategic human resource development also plays an important role in shaping and influencing the missions and goals (as stated in McCracken and Wallace, 2000). 2.Top management support  In strategic human resource development, top management support is very important in order to implement the corporate strategy. The corporate strategy that has been formed need to be led actively by the top management people rather than just simply supported by them (Harrison, 1997). Active leadership from the top management will help the managers to adopt strategic thinking in achieving the targeted goals (McCracken and Wallace, 2000). 3.Environmental scanning  In SHRD, environmental scanning is very important to develop the strategic planning. HRD professionals and others senior managers need to conduct the SWOT and PEST analysis. These analyses will help the organization to respond or react to any changes in the internal or external environment (Rainbird, 1995; Peery and Salem, 1993). However, environmental scanning alone is not enough because HRD terms and top management need to implement it (McCracken and Wallace, 2000). Level of Strategic Human Resource Development  The first level of contexts that are crucial in order to understand the contribution of strategic human resource development is global environment. By analyzing and understanding the global environment is very important for an organization in order to be more flexible. Being flexible helps an organization to control and respond quickly to its surrounding, especially the external environment. This level focuses on a multiplicity of external factors that explain the role of SHRD in crisis management and generate particular SHRD initiatives (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009). There are three sets of component that must be understood in the context of global environment which are local conditions, national conditions and multinational conditions. Local conditions basically focus on laws and protocol. For example, the organization might need to devise emergency planning processes to tackle potential crisis regarding the safety and health law (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009). Local conditions can be divided into two parts which are economic and political trends as well as industry characteristics. The organization must alert with the economic and political conditions within the country. For the industry characteristics, the organization must ensure that their products and services have its own uniqueness. They need to master the products and services very well where all information need to be in their fingertips. They also need to know the targeted audiences for every of the product and services provided. The national conditions which can be divided into four parts. The first part is technology change. The organization must provide adequate training to its employees to increase the productivity of the employees in operating the latest technology. Since technology is rapidly change, so the employees need to be trained from time to time. The second part is the characteristics of the labor market. An organization must be flexible in terms of planning about the resources of the organizations especially when it comes to human resources. The management needs to hire more expertise. The third set is national culture. The organization need to learn and understand about the culture in order to provided the right products and services. For example, the food industry in Malaysia, they need to ensure that most of the foods are halal in order to fit it with the Muslim culture. The last part is regarding the national HRD systems. Some countries use the â€Å"soft† interventions rather than the â€Å"hard† approaches such as codes and protocols (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009). It may appear as a component of partnership planning between the government, employers and trade unions. The last set of components is the multinational conditions which are cross-culture difference and international laws and regulations. Cross-cultural differences such as cultural assumptions towards planning and risk may also operate by some organizations. According to Tierney,Lindell Perry (2001), Asian countries are slow to react to disasters and they do not understand the important of systems and processes to deal with these disasters. Meanwhile, according to Caudron (2002), global terrorist events and international criminal acts have alert the national government regarding the important of providing the security education and professional education of human resources involved in security management. Certain multinational corporations may also pose some policies on individual companies within the corporation’s (Wang, Hutchins Garavan, 2009).

The Argument Of A King By Martin Luther Religion Essay

The Argument Of A King By Martin Luther Religion Essay While Martin Luther King Jr.s audience, the white clergymen, accused him of his protests being unwise, untimely, and extreme, he effectively constructs an acceptable Christian definition of just and unjust laws, as well as what nonviolent direct action should entail by the use of an assortment of rhetorical techniques. In his inspirational literary piece, Letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. King addresses not only the 8 white Alabama clergymen, but also a larger array of citizens, explaining his views on the evils of segregation. He was aware of the clergymens lack of interest in how civil rights activists were breaking laws instead of handling the matter in a lawful, controlled manner. This led him to devising a more brilliant strategy for his rebuttal rather than an aggressive confrontation. He also knew that his words would be ignored, because all white clergymen and most religious non-supporters saw him as an inferior human being. Too often, arguments fail to bring about any type of understanding to the opposing side because each group has an assortment of important ideas that circle the basis of an argument from two different ends of the spectrum but very rarely tie together. Dr. King, therefore, realized that he must relinquish the role of an anti-segregationist and instead write in such a manne r that would portray him as a righteous man with similar views and characteristics with that of his target audience, which, in this case, were the clergymen and other white members. He employs Aristotles three means of persuasion, ethos, pathos, and logos, to accomplish this task. Discussing whether or not a law should be followed on the grounds of its virtue requires the individual to be one whom is worthy of explaining such matters. Rather than coming out directly and arguing that the clergymen were wrong, which would illustrate King in the same likes as other anti-segregationists, he takes a much more sensible approach to his opponents to show his readiness of discussing these matters in good nature and maturity. Dr. Kings effective use of rhetorical technique begins with the opening line. He states, My Dear Fellow Clergymen (King 213). This form of salutation completes two objectives. Firstly, it addresses the men who he disagrees with in a warm, welcoming fashion. The use of the word Fellow also creates a bond between King and his addressees, instead of separating them and making his letter seem quite offensive. The two aforementioned methods of using an affable type of welcoming set Kings letter up to be a logical discussion, rather than a customary disp ute in opposition to the clergymens views. King employs this method further into his letter when he identifies the men as men of genuine good will (King 214). King states that he understands their viewpoint on the subject at hand and acknowledges them as men with good intentions before he explains why he disagrees. If King instead accused these white clergymen, who happen to be heavily influenced by religion, of any act of sinfulness, he could have potentially lost their interest and respect exceptionally early in his letter. Another remarkable strategy used in Kings letter, also found in his opening excerpt, is the following: While confined here in Birmingham city jailà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (King 213). Rather than being interpreted as a meaningless introduction, it illustrates the readers interpretations of a cold, isolated, and unfeeling jail cell. Constructing this idea early into the minds of his addressees reminds them throughout the entire letter of where King is expressing these dee p, emotional feelings from, while they correspond from a significantly relaxed atmosphere. Having the foundation of his argument set in place, King begins to explain the hardship of African Americans in the South, and how despite their repeated efforts, they continuously fail to achieve recognized civil rights. He discusses the unjust laws keeping African Americans from the rights that they long to attain. Further into the letter, King introduces the reader to his assertion that unjust laws should not be obeyed faithfully; he explains, Too long has our beloved Southland been bogged down in a tragic effort to live in monologue rather than dialogue (King 216). Using the phrase Southern lands, rather than explaining that it is the African American community experiencing these troubles, effectively directs the reader into realizing that the hardships are not only felt by a small group of people, but rather the entire South. The aforesaid passage builds a strong logical appeal: if, in a specific populace, a persons opinions are heard and acknowledged, then the possibility opens up of the laws in that region being unjust and in need of alteration. King is delicately persuading his addressees to concur with his impending arguments toward, what were at the time, the current segregation laws. Doing so will successfully rid the reader of any disagreement barrier when he writes You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern (King 218). Dr. King strives to display a mellow comprehension on a matter in which he lived to fight for, while simultaneously sympathizing with the sentiment of his opposition. The logical and emotional appeal displayed in Kings thoughtfully planned out reasoning attracts the reader further into wanting to consider the remains of his argument. A major occurrence in Kings letter that signifies his use of logical persuasion is seen with his quote from St. Augustine, an early bishop of the Christian Church who deeply influenced the spirit of Christianity for many centuries, where he explains, an unjust law is no law at all (King 218). Before delving into the subject of just and unjust laws, however, King mentions that he strongly agrees with obeying just laws. Doing so creates another ethical bond with his addressees, which happen to be the men in charge of protecting laws, showing them that he also happens to be an individual with good intentions. This quote also draws a connection between King and St. Augustine, almost explaining that if the Saint were still alive, he would support Kings endeavors. This is an important passage to note due to the fact that Ki ngs addressees were strongly influenced by religion at the time, therefore, making connections through religious correspondence was a legitimate form of communicating his ideas. The use of several occurrences when Christians broke unjust laws and resisted unreasonable rules because of their belief in God attempts to make a connection between Kings actions and those of early Christians. This effectively portrays Kings ethical characteristics to his audience; placing him above the standards of what many white readers would see him as. Bringing religion into his argument forces the clergymen to re-evaluate their statement about the impropriety of disobeying segregation laws because it would be out of the question for them to argue against Kings biblical correlations. Although there appear to be a large display of literary techniques used by Dr. Martin Luther King to gain respect and approval from his addressees, one may argue against many of Kings ideals. One of which would be his main argument; the use of nonviolent direct action. The concern of the efficacy of nonviolent direct action arises, and ideas begin to develop on whether or not violence is actually needed in order to communicate ones viewpoint. As with anything else in the world, no action is guaranteed to work every time. Although nonviolence does have its drawbacks, as seen in Burma and China, it has a relatively strong effectiveness. There have been dramatic improvements in civil and political rights over the past two decades, and nonviolent action has played a crucial role in this transition, including the downfall of dictatorships in Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Nonviolent struggles in recent decades have not only led to significant political and social reforms advancing the cause of human rights, but have also even toppled repressive regimes from power and forced leaders to change the very nature of their governance. As a result, nonviolent resistance has been evolving from an informal strategy associated with religious or ethical principles into an insightful, even institutionalized, method of resistance. One may also argue against Kings religious references, stating that these analogies wouldnt apply to those persons who were not as heavily involved with religious, or, happened to be a part of a group aside from Christians. In such case, King emotionally appeals to every true American when he finishes his letter off discussing World War II. He reminds the reader that everything Hitler did was considered lawful at the time, and that aiding the Jewish civilians in German-controlled regions was deemed unlawful. This example from King is one that touches the hearts of many, since at the time WWII had recently ended yet still rested in the thoughts of every American. Drawing such a comparison was an extremely effective, however delicate, way for King to emotionally persuade, and show that, religious or not, the act of killing another human being can never be established as lawful. King was quite aware of the white clergymens use of several caustic messages of altercation underlying the very sophisticated words that were used to compile their public statement that inspired him to write this letter. He therefore took it upon himself to strike back with a similarly professional tone, addressing both what the clergymen claimed and the implications they overlooked in their views. His ability to compose a logical, even-tempered, argument, with such anger and frustration hidden deep in his heart, truly gains him the respect of the reader. With this acquired respect, he therefore is able to justifiably express his views on just and unjust laws. His addressees, who have already been swayed both expressively and plausibly, are pushed even further into creating a whole-hearted bond with a man who many considered an inferior human being. It is by this extraordinary display of writing and technique that King is able to communicate his viewpoints in a way that is both ratio nal and nonviolent.

Police Brutality :: Use of Excessive Force by Police

In recent years, police actions, particularly police abuse, has come into view of a wide, public and critical eye. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep a watchful eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today, including the use of firearms and receipt of private information. I will also discuss what and how citizens' rights are taken advantage of by police. For these problems, solutions will be discussed, focusing on political reform, education, and citizen review boards. These measures are necessary to protect ourselves from police taking advantage of their positions as law enforcement officers with greater permissive rights than private citizens. Because of this significant differential, all citizens must take affirmative action from physical brutality, rights violations, and information abuse. Problems arise, however, when one side is told what to do by another, as there is bound to be conflicting viewpoints. In regard to police abuse, there will be many officers who feel that their job of fighting escalating street crime, gangs, narcotics violations, and other violent crimes is difficult already, and that worrying about excessive policy for abusive behavior will only further decrease their ability to fight crime effectively, efficiently, and safely. Citizens, however, have been caught up in this gung-ho attitude, and police are more and more often crossing the line of investigation and interrogation with abusive behavior. This abuse must be monitored so that police do not forget who they are serving--not themselves, but the public. This means that even the criminals, who are a part of the public, have certain rights, particularly, civil rights. All citizens must be aware of these rights to protect themselves against over-aggressive officers who take advantage of their pos ition as badge and gun holders to intimidate and abuse civilians for personal or departmental goals. Such conflicts have significant implications on departmental and administrative policy procedures. One of the main police abuse problems is physical brutality. The main goal here should be to get the police departments to adopt and enforce a written policy governing the use of physical force. The policy should restrict physical force to the narrowest possible range of specific situations. For example, their should be limitations on the use of hand-to-hand combat, batons, mace, stun guns, and firearms. However, limiting polices' actions will bring much debate, especially from police officers and administrators themselves.

Superdads :: essays research papers

Superdads A long time ago, way back in the 1950's, there was a cold, icy creature known as the "fifties father." He rarely displayed affection, and he hid most of his feelings behind the newspaper. Most of the child-rearing duties were left to mom. We can kiss those days good-bye! In Western cultures there is an increasing number of men who are extremely active in all stages of raising their children. The old "fifties father" is now becoming the "nineties nanny." These modern "superdads", as we call them, have to manage the tough job of raising children and supporting them financially. Men have to fo this without the help of a previous role model in a past generation to model themselves after. Not having a role model makes being a superdad tougher than being a single mom. It leads to the creation of a "superdad syndrome." Superdad syndrome stems from the fact that boys growing up have very little practice at homemaking. Boys who play with dolls are considered weirdos while girls who play with dolls and participate in sports are trained for anything. Men can do a great job raising their children and providing basic needs, support, and love, but a man can never be a mother. A good example of this is Joel Chaken from New York City. He quit his job as an engineer to stay at home with his baby. His wife was an attorney. After a while he felt isolated at home all the time, and ne wanted to join a support group for new mothers who felt the same way. He was kicked out because he was not a mom, he was a superdad. Men need support groups of their own, for fathers. Even though there is an increasing number of dads taking care of their children, the court system rarely gives full custody to fathers. When superdads get custody of their children, they find it very rewarding to get closer to their kids. They also feel a sense of nobility. Many people look at single fathers with greater respect than single mothers. Fathers are seen as "superheroes." One such superhero dad is Rudy Szabo of Cleveland, Ohio. When his wife left, he quit his job as supervisor ar BEK Industries to stay at home

Jet Blue Analysis Essay

Jet Blue is now a major U.S. airline that has established itself as a leading low-fare, low cost passenger airline by offering customers high quality customer service and a differentiated product according to Jet Blue 10-K/A pg . Their steps to achieve their goals in the market place are to stimulate demand with low fares. Jet Blue offers a wide variety of low fares that target those leisure travelers and business persons that would have sought out alternative travel options. They emphasize low operating costs. They are fully utilizing technology with incentivized and productive workforces. They excel at maintaining high aircraft utilization by operating a single aircraft type with a single class of service as described in the Jet Blue 10-K/A pg 2. Jet Blue offers point to point flights to underserved and/or overpriced large markets. There is a great deal of demand for these types of services, customers are looking for direct flights and a cheaper price, the additional benefit of Jet Blue travels is the accommodations provided. Customers have free access to DirectTV, larger leather seats, extra legroom compared to other airlines. Lastly, Jet Blue believes their long term success with be because of a how they differentiate their products and services. Jet Blue’s flying experience for customers is more of a pleasure rather than a burden or what sometimes feels like an obstacle getting from point A to point B. Jet Blue does not overbook their flights and they are proactive and honest about any delays especially related to weather. Jet Blue is an organization that primarily relies on operational excellence. Jet Blue does not offer a wide variety of products; they only have one type of aircraft with a single class of service (Jet Blue 10-K/A). They are very interested in customer feedback to continuously improve their services to stand out from the rest of the airlines. They truly take out the hassle in flying. Jet Blue does have its own business risks that may threaten the company’s ability to satisfy stockholder expectations. The airline industry in itself is an extremely competitive industry. There is competition in every city that has more financial resources and a more known brand name. Failure to successfully increase the frequency of flights in their current markets could harm their business. There is a new aircraft being introduced and failure to meet the obligation of ordering the minimum 100 aircraft plus an additional 100 aircrafts will harm the business. These new aircrafts have to be ready for servicing flight schedules they need to be properly financed and meet the necessary certifications. Jet Blue uses the following techniques that could help to reduce the risks of providing a return to their shareholders. Through marketing and distribution Jet Blue has created a customer loyalty program that will reward and recognize the most valuable customers. The people that are hired to work for Jet Blue are considered crewmembers; these crewmembers treat the passengers as they would want to be treated. Jet Blue passengers do not return just because of the low fares, the employees of Jet Blue provide high quality service that keeps people coming back. Jet Blue’s tiered pricing helps the ease of carrying fare that have higher fares with more restrictions Individual fares that are sold for the flights is an example of unit-level activities. These fares will help determine the profitability of a flight and determine their load factor and breakeven load figures. Another unit-level activity that could apply to an airline would be individual salaries of the employees for each flight. If a flight is not completely full, that will limit the number of employees needed to assist in the plane. These activities are monitored and evaluated for top efficiencies by offering low fares in high demand markets and by employing productive and incentive motivated employees. One example of batch-level activities would be fuel. The fuel is a cost per flight no matter how many passengers are aboard. Another example would be the total of aircraft owned and leased by the company. An airline will need to fully utilize all aircraft that is in working condition to collect revenue towards any rents and loans. If an airline owns 44 planes and only can book 40 of those planes for business, they are still paying on the full 44 planes, thus being a batch-level activity of the airline. Jet Blue has taken many steps to utilize the fuel purchased for use and the efficiency of booking their flights with a single service. There is a new aircraft that is replacing the current aircrafts that is equipped with larger leather seats, entertainment, and added comfort. Jet Blue is working tirelessly to make sure this aircraft is financed in the most efficient way as well as passing all certifications required for flying. As described by Noreen, Brewer, & Garrison (2011) a customer-level activity is one that includes sales calls, catalog mailings, and general technical support that is not related to any particular product (pg. 238). Jet Blue utilizes its customer-level activities through advertising and promotions through newspapers, magazines, television, radio and outdoor billboards and through targeted public relations and promotional efforts (Jet Blue 10-K/A). An organization-sustaining activity for Jet Blue would be regular maintenance of aircraft and buildings. An airline has plenty of behind the scenes support systems such as regular maintenance of their aircraft and the buildings that support the aircraft. References Jet Blue 10-K/A financial data Noreen, E. W., Brewer, P. C., & Garrison, R. H. (2011). Managerial Accounting for Managers (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Experiential Marketing Essay

Development of Marketing Trends It is accepted that both the concept and function of marketing have changed and keep changing (McCole, 2004: 2). Adams (2011) reminds the use of the concept of â€Å"live marketing†, which many year ago was used to describe anything where people where a â€Å"just† little more creative than not doing marketing at all. Nowadays, using creative techniques seems to have become almost commonplace (Ibid). Further on, more and more consumers began to perceive marketing trough a wide spectrum of different marketing communication channels (Smilansky, 2009: 1). Traditional channels include advertising, direct mail, packaging and sales promotion (Ibid). These aim to attract consumers’ attention by mainly focusing on the importance to the product/service functional features (Schmitt, 1999: 17). Sponsorships, digital marketing and public relations (PR) were introduced later (Ibid). After that, the integration of these communication channels which traditionally have been used independently, in order to create a synergetic effect and convey a consistent message to the target audience, promoted the development of a new concept called integrated marketing communication (IMC) (De Pelsmacker et al. , 2010: 17). Nevertheless as marketing techniques consumers themselves have also evolved. Been so often subjected to a variety of media channels and marketing methods was already starting to turn them against the use of marketing, making them even more disinterested (Adams, 2011). What this provoked was the rise to the trends of guerrilla marketing techniques, live stunts and a variety of other marketing communication channels (Ibid). The fact is that these are also becoming more and more common place and marketing is then getting closer and closer to a point of being used in an acceptable way for the customers, which in turn are becoming much more difficult to target (Adams, 2011; Smilansky, 2009: 8).

Research Study on Gender Bias in Education

Gender Biases in Education: Math Nicole S. Tester Bryant University Abstract This research project conducted was to find out whether women were more affected by gender based expectations than men. This was done by giving both young men and young women a simple standardized math test which most likely they had all been taught and exposed to in the past. This particular test was designed to be at or below the performance level of most college students. There was two versions of the test instructions, with one version providing information about men typically outperforming women on the test, and the other version stating the opposite.These instructions were used as a form of deception to prove my hypothesis. My hypothesis was that women would be more affected by this deception than would the men. My results proved otherwise. Results showed there was little difference in the way the women and men performed on these tests on either version. The ANOVA testing showed these clear results. Do es Performance Reflect Success? Gender biases are present in the American culture. Women are put in a stereotype as the one to stay at home cleaning and cooking while men are believed to have to bring home the paychecks. How we live though is not the only area with gender biases.There are biases when it comes to sports, who can do what jobs and even education. Women are believed to be better at the education aspects having to do with words and comprehension while men are believed to be better at numbers or math. In the research world there is much controversy on whether the bias presented is true or not. Researchers have not been able to support this belief or disregard it due to the many conflicting results. A study done with the purpose of determining whether gender expectations still exist in present time, resulted in the idea that more and more genders are becoming equal in education (Jordan 2008).It was found that both sexes are more likely than ever to complete their high scho ol education and even be able to obtain higher degree. The study also showed the gender gap in scores on the National Association of Education Progress becoming more and more narrow over time. Jordan does not refute the idea of gender bias in education but supported the idea that it is diminishing. These two researchers on the other hand, Fisher (2008) and Johnston (2005), have studies supporting their beliefs that gender biases in teaching are simply a myth.Both constructed research to support the idea that neither females nor males perform differently according to gender expectation or that these gender expectations are implemented at all. Fisher more, specifically, researching in math and Johnston in math and education. Chapman (2012) and Goetz (1996) though, both have studies that seem to prove otherwise. Chapman conducted a study, in Canada, which lead to the belief that gender discrepancies in teaching and education focus more positively on females. Chapman believes males are the ones taking losses in education expectancies.Goetz on the other hand, researched and came up with results which led him to believe American educators focus their attention more on males allowing them a positive advantage. After learning so much from previous research it can be accurately inferred that the gender bias in education does exist. A psychologist, Ghandi (2006) stated in his study the truth behind the bias. He used this truth to conduct a study in which he found that women not only believe the bias but are subject to it when they are told they will fail due to their gender.This particular study is what laid down the foundation for my research study. All of the above researchers knew the biased existed and all tried to support it or disprove it. This research project has one purpose; to find out not if gender biases exist but whether women are affected by these gender based expectations more than men. In many colleges and universities women are very comfortable with the ir gender; they are powerful, and successful. There are clubs devoted to women’s sexuality, success, and even fashion senses.There are awards given to women who have gotten superior grades, been offered great jobs, or are simply a success. Knowing this, what I want to learn is whether these women who are so highly praised and allowed the same success as men are still subjects to gender based expectations, more specifically in learning and education. In my study I will be deceiving the participants into thinking that only women will be successful in this study or to another group I will be saying only men will be successful. The way this will be done is by using simple high school level math tests. Before he test I will be falsely informing half of my participants (equal number of females and males) that only men will pass this test, and then I will repeat this with the other half of my participants but falsely informing them of the opposite. The fact that I will play on women ’s vulnerability will allow me to learn whether these very empowered and successful women will still be so after being told they will fail before even trying. My hypothesis is that these women will be affected by such a statistic and depending on the false statistic they get, they will fulfill it. Methods ParticipantsForty eight undergraduate volunteers (24 males and 24 females) from Bryant University took part in this study. The average age of participants was recorded at 20. 22 years (SD=1. 13). No cultural or ethnic backgrounds were recorded. With help from different psychology professors a general description was given out within psychology classes and volunteers were recruited. To these participants in particular extra credit was allotted. The rest of the participants were recruited through word of mouth and e-mail in which they were once again given a general description of the study and asked whether they would be willing to volunteer.Each participant was tested indivi dually and required approximately 15 minutes to complete study. Materials The study consisted of participants completing a standardized math test, four survey questions, and a deceptive article which can all be found in the appendix. The math test was found in an SAT math test practice site. This math test worked as the channel for the dependent variable (result on the test). The survey questions asked were simply used for collecting information. The questions did not ask sensitive information or anything that would put any participant at risk.Finally, the short article was written by myself and is completely fictional. It falsely informed the participants on information regarding SAT tests and reported false statistics on men outperforming women for half of the studies and the opposite for the other half. This was used as the deception part of the research which inconspicuously provided the participant with the independent variable (whether females or males pass this test) Procedur es Forty eight students were recruited (24 females and 24 males) from Bryant University as the participants of my study.They were all recruited through psychology classes in which Professors gave a brief overview of what my study entailed and from there proceeded to recruit. The participants recruited in such a manner were rewarded with extra credit points in their class. The rest of the participants were recruited through word of mouth and group e-mails. With each participant recruited I have a brief explanation of what the study was comprised of, what it entailed, and more specifically what each participant would have to contribute. Once I recruited all participants which were necessary I began the research itself.At the start of their participation, each participant was handed a consent for in which they were asked to read thoroughly and if they agreed to the terms and conditions they were to sign and date. In the consent form participants were informed of their ability to leave the study at any time, their entitlement to any information and debriefing, on the confidentiality of the study and many more safety factors. To show the validity of the form I signed and dated on the same page each participant did right in front of them.Each participant agreed to the consent form allowing the study to continue. Once the consent form process was finished I would hand each participant the study packet. At this point they were told that each study was to be completed alone. The packet started off with an article which was entirely false and used to deceive each participant. On it there was made up information on the performance of genders on the SAT test throughout the past years. Each participant was informed that they would not be able to continue with the packet if they did not read these instructions.Once the instructions were read each participant could continue to the next section which consisted of the survey questions. These questions were purely used to colle ct data for analysis. Once the second part was completed each participant would continue on to the math portion of this study. The math portion of the test was a high school level standardized math test previously tested by college level participants. Each participant completed the math portion and would come to me to hand it in. when each individual would approach me I made sure to let them know the true nature of the study and informed them of the deceit.It was very important that no participant left the study with the false idea of one gender outperforming the other. I made sure each participant was thoroughly debriefed and had any questions they had answered. Results The data were analyzed using an ANOVA with the alpha level set at . 05. The main effect of gender participation was not significant, ? (1,44)=. 12, p=. 73, ? 2=. 003 and the main effect of gender test taking was not significant, ? (1,44)=. 00, p=1. 0, ? 2=. 00. However, the interaction between the gender participati on and gender test was marginally significant, ? (1,44)=2. 97, p=. 9, ? 2=. 06. Figure 1 shows a cross-over interaction in which the two variables almost perfectly interact. My hypothesis stated that women’s scores would be more affected by the test gender and the deception then would the men’s. The results of the tests did not vary according to the gender of the participant or gender of the test. My hypothesis was not supported by the above data. There was, however, a notable factor in the results and the fact that they were similar in score for both genders. Discussion No significant main effect for test gender or participant gender occurred in this study.When taking a math test right after reading a deceitful article about the tendency of males or females to outperform the opposite sex, neither gender’s score seemed to be affected. This particular result is not what I predicted in my original hypothesis. Straying away from my belief that women would underperf orm the men once they were deceived into believing they would be outperformed, the results disproved my hypothesis. This outcome is consistent with the research of Fisher (2008) and Johnston (2005) in finding there is no significant gab in the performance of females and males in the subject of math.The results are not consistent though with those findings by Ghandi (2006) a researcher whose findings state that women do poorly on math when they are told their gender is to blame. Some factors which may have led to the inconsistency between my hypothesis and my results can be attributed to the limitation when conducting this research. Being part of such a small university, my research was very limited in the sample size it could use. Three thousand undergraduate students was a small population to choose just forty eight participants from.This also lead to what I believe was a biased sample since each and every participant was also my friend. The fact that the participants had a relatio nship with me could have caused an over performance level which would not usually happen. Some internal validity which should be looked at was the fact that many variables were simply not recorded. These factors include the race and ethnicity of the participant, whether English was their native language, if they understood the deceiving article in the start, and whether they understood every question asked in the math portion.Another internal validity factor is the way in which data was recorded. If this study were to be repeated, observation should definitely be an alternative way of recording data. There was so much happening as I observed each and every participant complete my study. Participants would get frustrated or smile the whole way through. Sometimes they would try to help each other out when I looked the other way or simply just guessed the answers since they did not want to be taking a math test.Using a standardized that does not give anything in return to these partici pants, should not have been my only source of data since it was not the best way to find results. Regardless of the limitations, new studies and research in the field of gender differences in education have resulted with outcomes very similar to mine. Although my hypothesis was not supported, the consistency it has with the studies of Fisher (2008) and Johnston (2005) only come to show that this study will be supporting much research in the psychology world.My results will be one more way to support the idea that there is little or no difference in gender performance in math. In addition to replicating my results, future research might extend the finding by examining other subjects in the world of education. Expanding the testing to be possibly in language, critical thinking, sciences and also math may give a better understanding on whether there is a discrepancy in women’s performance when they are told they are going to fail. Future research might also want to expand their sample by moving to younger generations in school, possibly in igh school, and older generations in and out of school. By doing so the outcome may result more accurately and allow a better understanding of the prediction. In conclusion, gender performance on standardized math tests do not have a direct link to the subject or the belief that one gender will outperform the other. After testing 48 participants (24 female and 24 male), giving each the same exact standardized math test but deceiving each to think they would outperform or underperform the opposite sex, no gender seemed to truly outperform. Each gender resulted close to equal.The results did not support my hypothesis but it led the way to a new hypothesis and a completely new approach to this study. References Goetz, J. (1996). In Education Expert: Classroom Gender Bias Persists. Cornell Cronicle. Retrieved from http://www. news. cornell. edu/chronicle/96/4. 25. 96/gender. html. Jordan, J (2008) The Myth of Gender Bias in School. Retrieved March 8, 2012. From http://www. parentdish. com/2008/05/20/the-myth-of-gender-bias-in-school/ Fisher, M (2008) Study: No gender differences in math performance. University of Wisconsin-Madison News. Retrieved from http://www. news. wisc. edu/15412Johnston, T (2005) No evidence of innate gender differences in math and science, scholars assert. Stanford University News. Retrieved from http://news. stanford. edu/news/2005/february9/math-020905. html Gandhi, U. (2006) Gender bias in math skills doesn’t add up, scientists say. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www. theglobeandmail. com/news/technology/science/article197902. ece Chapman, A. (2012) Gender bias in education. Research Room. Retrieved from http://www. edchange. org/multicultural/papers/genderbias. html Table 1 Cross over interaction [pic] Appendix Survey questions Male/ Female (circle one)Date of Birth __________ Anticipated graduation year __________ Have you ever taken a standardized test (e xample: SAT) Math questions (standardized test) http://www. majortests. com/sat/problem-solving-test01 1. Of the following, which is greater than ? ? [pic]A. 2/5 [pic]B. 4/7 [pic]C. 4/9 [pic]D. 5/11 [pic]E. 6/13 2. If an object travels at five feet per second, how many feet does it travel in one hour? [pic]A. 30 [pic]B. 300 [pic]C. 720 [pic]D. 1800 [pic]E. 18000 3. What is the average (arithmetic mean) of all the multiples of ten from 10 to 190 inclusive? [pic]A. 90 [pic]B. 95 [pic]C. 100 [pic]D. 105 pic]E. 110 4. A cubical block of metal weighs 6 pounds. How much will another cube of the same metal weigh if its sides are twice as long? [pic]A. 48 [pic]B. 32 [pic]C. 24 [pic]D. 18 [pic]E. 12 5. In a class of 78 students 41 are taking French, 22 are taking German and 9 students are taking both French and German. How many students are not enrolled in either course? [pic]A. 6 [pic]B. 15 [pic]C. 24 [pic]D. 33 [pic]E. 54 6. If f(x) = Â ¦(x? – 50)Â ¦, what is the value of f(-5) ? [pic]A. 75 [pic]B. 25 [pic]C. 0 [pic]D. -25 [pic]E. -75 7. ( v2 – v3 )? = [pic]A. 5 – 2v6 [pic]B. 5 – v6 [pic]C. 1 – 2v6 [pic]D. 1 – v2 pic]E. 1 8. 230 + 230 + 230 + 230 = [pic]A. 8120 [pic]B. 830 [pic]C. 232 [pic]D. 230 [pic]E. 226 [pic] 9. Amy has to visit towns B and C in any order. The roads connecting these towns with her home are shown on the diagram. How many different routes can she take starting from A and returning to A, going through both B and C (but not more than once through each) and not travelling any road twice on the same trip? [pic]A. 10 [pic]B. 8 [pic]C. 6 [pic]D. 4 [pic]E. 2 [pic] 10. In the figure above AD = 4, AB = 3 and CD = 9. What is the area of triangle AEC ? [pic]A. 18 [pic]B. 13. 5 [pic]C. 9 [pic]D. 4. 5 [pic]E. 3

Ge Case Study

Date: April 27, 2009 Course 5130: Strategic Thinking Session 3 Assignment: GE Case Study The culture at General Electric, before Jack Welch assumed his role as CEO in 1981, was highly decentralized, where significant emphasis on strategic planning was levied on 43 Strategic Business Units. However, Jack’s vision of changing the culture of the company was a priority to him. As a result, Jack began the culture change by replacing 12 of his 14 business heads. He replaced them with new managers who had a strong commitment to the new management values, with a willingness to break from the old culture, and had the ability to take charge and bring about change. Welch wanted to reflect a management style of openness, candor, and one of facing reality. In addition to the culture change, he wanted the culture to be characterized by speed, simplicity, and self-confidence. Instead of continuing with the old style bureaucracy characterized by large corporation, Welch wanted to create a culture of small companies where everyone had a voice and felt engaged in their business. One of the initiatives Welch implemented in the late 80’s, which was instrumental to changing the culture at GE, was called â€Å"Work-Out†. This process was designed to get unnecessary bureaucratic work out of the system while creating a forum in which management and employees could work out new ways of dealing with each other, and cut out the bureaucracy. This open style forum would bring 40 to 100 employees together to share their views about their business and how it might be improved. The â€Å"work-out† consisted of three-day sessions where employees would get the opportunity to lists all of their problems, debate solutions to these problems, and prepare presentations. On the 3rd day of the session, the employees would make their recommendations and the process would require the bosses to make decisions on the spot in front of every employee and their peers. Welch also focused of realigning skills sets and changing the mindset of his employees with GE’s new strategy and organizational imperatives. Because of this new demanding environment, some employees felt overworked and there was some residual distrust from the layoffs that took place during the 80’s; hence, he recognize this challenge and felt the need to redefining his commitment to his employees. As a result, a new psychological contract developed which gave a sense to the employees at GE that their jobs were the best jobs in the world. They had the best training and development resources, and they provided an environment committed to providing opportunities for personal and professional growth. Another initiative Welch took on, as a way to shock the culture at GE, was by introducing the notion of â€Å"stretch† to set performance targets. In addition to setting their basic targets, managers were asked to set stretch goals for their businesses as a way to reach for a higher mark knowing that they would be rewarded handsomely if they hit these goals. Within a year of introducing stretch goals into the organization, GE was reporting significant progress in areas such as inventory turns and operating margins. Finally, one of the last cultural changes Welch was able to integrate at GE was having a boundaryless company. This vision is characterized by an â€Å"open, anti-parochial environment, friendly toward the sharing and seeking of new ideas, regardless of its origin. He envisioned removing all barriers amongst disciplines and operations, and one that removed labels in titles and hierarchy chain. Equally important to having a boundaryless company was changing the internal mindset of selling products to helping their customer to win. In order to make all of these cultural changes, Jack Welch needed to make human resource changes which will allow him to execute on his vision to be the best company in the world. He introduced the 360degree feedback process where employees were graded by his or her manager, peers, and all subordinates on a 1 to 5 scale in areas such as team building, quality focus, and vision. Management went through rigorous appraisals, development, and succession planning reviews named Session C’s. Welch also wanted to make certain that they maintained their best employees. He asked top executives to identify future leaders, outline planned training and development plans, and detailed succession plans on all key jobs. He didn’t like the reward system of insignificant salary increases year after year. Instead, stock options became the primary component of management’s compensation. In their Crotonville facility, priority became to develop a generation of future leaders aligned with GE’s new vision and cultural norms. The place evolved from a training center to a place where teams of managers worked together on real priority issues and decided on results-oriented action. One of Welch’s concerns regarding some of his managers was their unwillingness to embrace the open and participative values he espoused. As a result, he categorized his leaders into 4 different types: ? First type delivers on commitments and shares the values of the organization. This type of leader certainly had a great future at GE. ? Second type was the complete opposite to the previous type. This type of leader did not deliver on commitments nor did he or she share the values of the organization. This individual did not last long at GE. ? Third type of leader misses his or her commitments but shared the company’s values. This individual would be given a second opportunity, most likely in a different environment. The fourth type of leader was one whom Welch, and most top managers, had more difficulty dealing with. This is the type of leader who delivers on his commitments, but does not share the values of the organization. These types of managers are typically characterized by being autocratic, and who forces performance out of their employees as opposed to inspiring his people. These types of leaders were e xposed during the 360 degree feedback process, and were subsequently let go. Finally, Welch envisioned only having â€Å"A† players across his organization. Individuals who displayed a vision, had leadership qualities, were energetic, and displayed courage. These individuals were characterized with the 4 E’s: had energy, could energize others, had an edge about them, and were able to execute their job. As a result, GE ranked their employees into the following 5 categories based on long term performance, also known as the â€Å"Vitality Cure†: 1) Top 10%, 2) Strong 15%, 3) Highly Valued 50%, 4) Borderline 15%, and 5) Least Effective 10% In order to mobilize the organization to develop and execute business strategies, Welch did the following: 1. Reduced bureaucracy by being lean and agile, which resulted in 50% reduction of strategic planning staff. 2. Scrapped GE’s laborious strategic planning system, and replaced it with real time planning. 3. Eliminated â€Å"sector† level managers, previously the powerful level of strategic control. Hierarchy levels went from 9 to 4, and they all reported directly into Jack. 4. Instituted the process of â€Å"Best Practices† or â€Å"Benchmarking†. This process was intended to increase productivity by sharing best practices employed by each business amongst each business. In addition, the implementation of â€Å"Best Practice† resulted in development of effective processes rather than controlling activities; customer service was their main gauge of performance; treating suppliers like partners; and an emphasis in providing a constant stream of high quality new products designed for efficient manufacturing. At the end of the day, Welch was regarded as the greatest CEO during his days at GE because he was able to envision, communicate and execute on what he wanted GE to look like. He began by delivering the message that all GE businesses had to be either #1 or #2 in their category, otherwise they needed to disengage. GE took a serious approach to become a global company. During the early to mid-80’s, they made several major acquisitions, and these businesses were responsible for implementing their own plan appropriate to their particular needs. Welch, however, remained very involved with these companies, and he also applied the standard of excellence where they needed to be either #1 or #2 in their business. Welch also wanted to reduce the amount of dependence on the traditional industrial products, which resulted in a new business strategy initiative of pushing for product services. By the supplement the traditional industrial products with added-value services, Welch believed that services would present the biggest growth opportunity for GE. This new initiative led to a number of acquisitions. Benchmarking with companies such as Motorola and Allied Signal, Welch understood how the Six Sigma quality initiative these companies had been utilizing could significantly impact GE. Six Sigma was a discipline, statistic-based system aimed at producing not more than 3. 4 defects per million iterations for any business process†¦from manufacturing to customer transactions. One of GE’s early successes in utilizing the Six Sigma process was in its Lighting division, where the use of Six Sigma was credited for cutting invoice defects and disputes by 98 percent. On his final days at GE, Welch introduced his last business initiative targeted at GE’s e-business. The program called â€Å"destroyyourbusiness. com†, or â€Å"dyb. com†, provided focus and challenged each business to look for opportunities via the internet within their own business. Welch felt the opportunities through this medium loomed large, and Welch was very pleased with the early results. Without a question, Jack Welch made a significant mark during his time at GE both professionally and in society. He changed the way businesses are managed and operated, and he left a legacy of future managers whom have moved on to lead large corporations. Unfortunately, some of them have not enjoyed the same success Welch experienced. Nonetheless, it is impossible to deny Jack Welch’s impact on the global business during his time at General Electric. Porter’s Five Forces We, at Thomas & Betts, are constantly battling against all 5 of Porter’s forces. Following are examples on how our business is impacted by these forces: 1. RIVALRY – We certainly view companies such as Cooper Industries and Hubbell as our primary rivals. For the most, one of us controls a big a portion of the business at the electrical distributors. Because of the legacy products our companies were built on are so similar, our customers tend to use price as a way to get what they want. As a way to combat pricing pressures, our focus is to bring new products to market providing financial benefits, such as labor savings, to the end-user. . THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES – Unfortunately, there are a significant number of competitors that we compete with in every product line we manufacture. Many of these competitors do not have the capacity or product breadth Thomas & Betts has, and that’s the value proposition we offer to our customers. The ability to purchase multiple electrical lines, and placing it in one order, having one shipment, and paying one in voice. However, it has being difficult to quantify what this means to our customers from a financial perspective. As a result, our customers continue to pin each supplier against each other by using pricing, rebates, and/or promotions as a stick to get a better deal. 3. BUYER POWER – Fortunately for us, we have a high level of brand recognition and demand at the end-user level. We work with Specifiers and Engineers to get our products specified on jobs, which gives us leverage when dealing with a distributor on how much business they should award us. 4. BARRIER TO ENTRY – As previously mentioned, one of the barriers of entry in our industry is controlled by what type of brand or product the specs calls for on specific jobs. For the most part, specs list a primary supplier and a substitute brand that allows us to compete in most situations. Another barrier to entry could be at an account where the relationship of the existing supplier is so strong that we’re better off spending our time developing other distributors. 5. SUPPLIER POWER – Once again, the supplier has the power in situations where the end user specifies which supplier they would want to use in a specific job. At that point, the distributor has to work with the specified supplier and the leverage swings in the supplier’s side. Pricing and competitive threats are removed off the table.

An Evaluation of Money with No Intrinsic Value in Naked Economics

An Evaluation of Money with No Intrinsic Value in Naked Economics Money, at least in the modern sense, has no intrinsic value. Because it does not need to. It is for people to have an ease in transaction. Money needs to be easily stored, commonly accepted, and store some value dictated by its users. This seems perfect—the dollar can be stored in your wallet, or online, and everyone in the United States has to accept it. However, fiat money can be manipulated by governments both for malevolent—in the case of North Korea cutting the money supply to control black market businesses, all while making North Koreans poorer—and for benevolent purposes—the United States Federal Reserve creating more money out of scratch to help with the economic recovery following the 2008 Great Recession. Because the money is not backed by materials with intrinsic value, the government can manipulate the value of money. However, fiat money is worse than money with intrinsic value—the mackerel pouches in prisons, money backed by gold, or g old itself—because it can increase in supply as the economy grows. If money were limited to materials with intrinsic values, the economy would not be able to grow easily—it is a lot harder to find five percent more gold in the world than it is to create five percent more fiat money when the economy grows by five percent. Money without intrinsic value also only has to be commonly accepted, as in the case of the Somalian shilling, in order to function as money. People need money because people need a way to keep track of their wealth, easily store their wealth for future purposes, and to exchange their wealth easily for other goods and services. Fiat money fulfills those requirements—it is easy to assign a value to, it is easily stored in paper, bank accounts, or even bits and bytes among other methods, and can be exchanged as easily as a click of a button. And its supply can always be increased when the economy grows.

Invasion of privacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Invasion of privacy - Essay Example The article complained about the intrusion of the media into the private and domestic life and argued that gossip had become a trade, with the goal of generally informing people about other people`s intimate activities. Gradually, the courts began to recognize invasion of privacy. Today almost all the states of the U.S. recognize all four sub-torts as common law: intrusion (any form of intrusion into someone`s private space), appropriation of publicity rights (use of a person`s name, likeness or identity without consent), public disclosure of private facts and false light (publication of false, highly offensive information about an individual). We can look at this case study: Steve recently joined a church. Church doctrine required that members reveal any personal indiscretions to the leaders of the church. Steve disclosed some of his personal indiscretions to the leaders of the church. After his disclosures, these leaders informed Steve that they intended to tell other members of the church about his indiscretions because they thought the church leaders might help him overcome his problems. Steve was dismayed that this personal information might be disclosed. He told the church leaders about his intention to leave the church rather than have his problems disclosed. The church leaders informed him that their next step was to tell the members of the church, his neighbours, and his employer about his problems. In this case we can look at the sub-tort public disclosure of private facts , from the tort invasion of privacy. Steve`s personal indiscretions are true and they were consented, but they were disclosed to church members for spiritual purposes and not in order to be discussed with the other members. In no way can that information be considered newsworthy to any part of the public, and its disclosure to other church members who might help Steve overcome his problems is an entirely separate issue that

Leopards and Humans Conflict in india Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leopards and Humans Conflict in india - Essay Example HWC normally come in a number of ways but the most common methods are crop destruction and the attacking of livestock. Many Indians who reside close to forest boundaries are farmers that mostly depend on agriculture (Pradhan et al.). Most of them normally keep domestic animals due to the abundance of grass in the forest. Forested regions normally receive a large amount of rainfall hence an ideal place to reside for farmers. In order to curb human-wildlife conflicts, the Indian government ought to come up with a more stable idea whereby both humans and wild animals will benefit. According to an interview on approximately 103 respondents residing in 5 different villages close to Kitam bird sanctuary, continuous destruction of crops by wild birds such as the Indian peacocks has not only resulted to loss of crops but also money that farmers have invested in the crops (Pradhan et al.). Apart from birds, wild animals have also resulted to a massive extermination of domestic animals. According to the research, approximately 1.55 goats have been lost to wild animals in each homestead (Pradhan et al.). According to some interviewees, goats are normally the most targeted especially by the leopard (Pradhan et al.).Therefore, the government ought to come up with a lasting solution because the only methods used by residents to protect their crops and animals mostly are non-lethal methods such as guarding their crop s and wildlife at nighttime. Apart from guarding the crops and animals, residents have also devised other methods such as the use of scare cows to frighten wild animals (Pradhan et al.). Research cites several factors, which the government and its citizens can embrace to minimize the rate of HWC in India. One of the possible solutions to human wildlife conflicts is to minimize the rate at which the media reports HWC issues (Bhatia et al. 588). According to research so far conducted, the mass

School uniforms Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

School uniforms - Research Paper Example Traditionally, school uniforms were meant for the private sector and it is only recently that a viable policy was introduced for uniforms in public schools in the United States of America. It is for this reason that public school administrators are now considering uniform policies in a bid to improve the school environment and subsequently the overall performance of the students in these schools. School uniforms are universal attires worn by students while in school. On most occasions, these uniforms are designed as simple clothes that can be easily distinguished from ordinary attires. Sometimes school uniforms include simple neckties while some schools prefer to have uniforms without neckties. There have been mandatory uniform principles and policies focused on the recent push for reforms in public school especially in the United States of America. Proponents of the adoption of school uniforms in public schools emphasize the importance of these outfits. They relate the uniforms to specific academic outcomes and behaviors amongst not just students but also teachers in charge of teaching the students (Jamison, 2006). A number of researches have been conducted to ascertain the significance of school uniforms. Some researchers have found out that these attires have a considerable impact on the academic performance of students and their behavior as well. Nonetheless, these research findings have been subject to heated debates (Anthony, 2006). Critics have claimed that school uniforms have impacts on neither academic performance nor behavior of students both at school and in their homes. They claim that uniform policies may have adverse effects on student outcomes and school environments by offering a public and visible representation of strict rules and utter control (Wilken, & Van, 2012). One ought to note that the public policies revolving around education reforms

Critical thinking why guns wont make us safer Essay

Critical thinking why guns wont make us safer - Essay Example there are suggestions from the public that guns enable citizens to protect themselves, this is not the case because, guns continue to be used in domestic violence across the American society. To further prove the need for gun control, studies shows that countries implementing laws related to gun control have realized success in terms of reducing homicides, suicides, domestic violence and other gun related violence or crimes (Trotter 26). Sean Faircloth is correct in his argument that guns will not make the society safer. The infiltration of guns into the hands of the citizens in America, has done more harm than good. Statistics shows that gun ownership has resulted to an increase in homicide which often occur because of domestic violence. In addition guns are used to commit suicide and mentally or psychologically disturbed teenagers are using guns to kill fellow students. In essence, this statistics is an evident that there is need for gun control in the American society to protect c itizens from harm. As argued by Faircloth, it is true that most homicide committed in American homes is mainly contributed by ownership of guns by citizens. Citizens normally acquire guns for safety purposes; however, these guns pose a danger particularly in a spate of anger, either spouse can use a gun in case of an incidence of domestic violence. On the same note, it is true that domestic violence go hand in hand with gun violence and in most cases, it is women who are the victims of gun violence especially in American homes. Most people who own gun in the American society are not insane, the citizens who own guns are stable and their prior intention is to improve the safety of their homes (Faircloth). As reiterated by Faircloth: â€Å"Most citizens who own guns normally do not have an intention to turn against their wives or girlfriends, but in a spate of anger guns can become a tool of lashing out. Shooting another person only takes seconds and one only realizes after the damage

The technology marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The technology marriage - Research Paper Example There are, however, drawbacks of this way of meeting, including those from religious perspective, which will be considered in this paper. Internet has become an overwhelming source of any kind of information and it is capable of satisfaction of any requirements of the users. It offers such a wide range of the topics covered, resources available, and the ways the certain data are searched that it is possible to obtain any kind of knowledge and perform certain activities, for example, online shopping, that it has become unnecessary to go outside. There has also been introduced such an unusual way of meeting marriage partners as online meeting, which is, obviously, an easy way for this purpose, but, as any other thing, it also has its strengths and weaknesses, from the religious point of view as well, which will be given below in this paper. The methods for researching the subject matter of this paper are investigation of the marriage websites and their characteristics, such as success, efficiency, references, and religious opinions about their activity. There are marriage websites designed especially for religious people. The first one is www.christianmingle.com which will be analyzed. As it is obvious from its name, the website is designed for the Christian singles to meet and state relations with the same Christian singles. As per the website’s presentation, the relationships that it helps to build are not limited to just a romance, but also facilitate and encourage marriage relations establishing according to the Bible and the Christian tradition. (www.christianmingle.com, 2015). The site provides ergonomic interface and provides a simple registration process; another benefit is creating a profile with the possibility to control how much information about oneself can be shared and who to interact with.

Toyota Brake Problem Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Toyota Brake Problem Analysis - Research Paper Example They are the leading automobile manufacturer in the world for the last few decades. Even in America, Toyota cars are selling more than what the local automobile manufacturers were able to sell. Quality and reliability are the major features of Toyota vehicles. Competitors are struggling to compete with Toyota because of the superior quality, excellent supply chain, and very good after sales support, offered to the consumers by Toyota. It is difficult to compete with Toyota individually and therefore competitors are forming regional blocs to compete with Toyota. For example, â€Å"DaimlerChrysler and BMW accepted GM's invitation to cooperate in joint development of hybrid technology, in part to gang up on Toyota†2. In short, the competitors were struggling to compete with Toyota till recent times. However, Toyota suffered some major setbacks in recent times and forced to recall some of its cars because of technical problems like brake problems accelerator pedal problems etc. Th is paper briefly analyses the impacts of such problems caused to Toyota at present and in future. Some owners of the 2010 Prius have reported their brakes do not always engage immediately when they press the brake pedal, or that the brakes have an inconsistent feel. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it would assess the scope of the problem and the safety risk to about 37,000 cars that could be affected3 Brake problems and accelerator pedal problems were the major technical problems which caused Toyota to recall millions of vehicles from America, Europe and Asia for repairing and replacing. The Prius, a hybrid-powered (gas and electric) sedan introduced in American market as the most environmental friendly car by Toyota, suffered major brake problems which forced Toyota to recall around 37000 cars from American market alone. This vehicle was manufactured strictly in accordance with the demands of President Obama. Obama earlier declared cash for clunker program f or replacing old cars from American roads and to encourage Americans to use more environmental friendly and fuel efficient cars. Many of the Americans utilized the cash incentives offered by Obama to replace their old cars and they purchased Prius because of the claims put forward by Toyota. However, the brake problems of Prius affected the images of Toyota as a trusted brand in America. Toyota Motor Corp extended its safety recall of millions of its most popular cars to Europe and China in a further blow to the reputation of the world's largest auto maker. The scale of the fix for potentially dangerous accelerator pedals emboldened rivals and could land the Japanese carmaker with hundreds of millions of dollars in extra costs per month. Toyota, a byword for quality and reliability, said it had not yet determined how many vehicles in Europe would be recalled, or when, but media and analysts believe 2 million may be affected on top of some 6 million in North America. In China, the wo rld's biggest auto market in 2009, the carmaker said on Thursday it had submitted an application to recall over 75,000 RAV4 vehicles4 It is estimated that around 8 million Toyota were so far recalled from the global market because of accelerator and brake problems. Toyota engineers are working day and night to rectify the problems and to regain the lost confidence of the public. Nobody has any doubt about the abilities of Toyota in bouncing back from this crisis; however, it is