Othello Prelim Essay

When the aspirational values of an individual become all-consuming, the relationships of those close to them are destroyed, through the corruption of loyalty and trust. Both Shakespeare's Othello and Geoffrey Sax's Othello portray many elements of tragedy, by exploring the relationship of Othello and Iago/Jago, and the way his manipulations distort Othello's mind. Iago's zealousness in Shakespeare's play Othello reflect the elements of a fatal flaw in an individual, and the disruption of the Chain of Being, both being key features of a tragedy.Iago's words, â€Å"Men should be what they seem†, are ironic, as he hides his true self from Othello, who trusts him completely, in order to gain what he desires. His rejection, and pursuit, of the job of Othello's lieutenant eventually causes his demise, hence becoming his ‘fatal flaw'. Iago's continued pursuit of his goal leads to the deaths of many, which provides a metaphor for all audiences of the destruction our aspirations can cause.The imbalance in the Chain of Being is corrected in the conclusion of Shakespeare's Othello, however, Sax's Othello results in Ben Jago becoming successful, and achieving the position of Police Commissioner. Sax's Jago psychologically manipulates and abuses his victims, in contrast to the original play, where many are physically killed. Our modern audience expects this, however, because we, as well as Jago, realise that for him to achieve his goals, he has to be subtle in order to avoid detection in our age of fingerprinting and DNA sampling.In this way, Sax's Jago has to prepare his plans a lot more than Shakespeare's Iago, which leads to him gaining the position he wanted, rather than being captured. However, both have very similar plans, revolving around manipulation, especially Othello's mind and emotions. Othello's trust, thereby his loyalty, relies on his knowledge of the individual, particularly their past. In both texts, his slight uncertainty with his trust in Des demona/Dessie is due to their fast marriage and lack of knowledge of their lives before he met them.In Shakespeare's Othello, Desdemona's and Othello's sudden marriage, which finalises their relationship, is accentuated by Iago asking Othello â€Å"But I pray sir,/ Are you fast married? † This leaves us confused as to how these characters became truly familiar with each other before their marriage, and foreshadows what is to later come. Sax portrays Othello's niggling doubt towards Dessie as due to her silence about her boarding school days, when she met Lulu. However, Dessie defends herself against his accusations of her being secretive, by shouting, â€Å"It's always you talking and me listening!†This frame is a close-up, overhead shot of Dessie, emphasising how vulnerable she is to Othello, and foreshadowing the circumstances of her death. Othello's distorted trust enables Iago's plan to succeed, because he puts his loyalties in the wrong hands. Sax portrays Ben Jag o as a police officer, who we and also Othello, expect to be just and honest, as police uphold and enforce the law. Similarly, Shakespeare's Iago held a position that was expected to be trusted, as a part of the army who were assigned the role of protecting their country.This fallibility of Othello's trust and loyalty allowed Iago to manipulate him such that he was able to isolate him, and destroy his relationships with others. The relationship breakdowns in both versions of Othello cause vast amounts of chaos, because the Chain of Being is broken. Shakespeare's Othello decides that Desdemona is guilty before even consulting her, as seen when Iago tells him, â€Å"She did deceive her father, marrying you†, and he replies, â€Å"And so she did.†His truncated sentence bluntly expresses his view, implying that he has made up his mind, and nothing can change it. Similarly, Sax depicts Othello as already concluded that Dessie is guilty, by him saying, â€Å"You tell me wha t I want to know†¦ Tell me the truth bitch! † These words are accompanied by a low shot, looking up at a close-up of Othello's face, indicating the power Othello has over Dessie, and makes the viewer empathetic towards her, by feeling weak and insecure. However, we have recurring scenes that show how Desdemona is trying to keep their relationship together.Sax shows this by representing Dessie as a woman in a domestic violence household, especially when she says, â€Å"He needs me. † Similarly, Shakespeare characterises Desdemona as a dutiful wife, â€Å"It was his bidding†¦ We must not displease him. † Desdemona/Dessie's loyalty to her husband infuriates Othello more, as he believes it is more of a lie to keep the secret from him, rather than tell him outright, and it is the worst thing that Desdemona could do to him, â€Å"She's like a liar gone to burning hell.†All these little aspects of Desdemona/Dessie and Othello's relationship, in both Sha kespeare's and Sax's Othello, combine to cause the destruction of it, upon which the whole play is hinged upon. The end of a relationship is caused by many varying factors, but mostly a diminished sense of trust, whether it has a basis to be there, or whether someone values it so lowly that they put their own selfish desires over it.This is true in the case of Shakespeare's Othello, and the modern adaption Othello, directed by Geoffrey Sax. Iago/Jago's aspirations cause him to manipulate many people, with the purpose of destroying Othello's relationships, mainly with Desdemona/Dessie, to achieve the position that was â€Å"wrongly† given to someone else. This holds a mirror up to both the Elizabethan and our modern societies, critiquing our nature and values.

Low Involvement Theory Essay

1.0 BACKGROUND OF FOUNDER They are two founders who developed Interpersonal Deception Theory. Judee Burgoon or known as Professor Burgoon is the director of Human Communication Research for The Management of Information Centre. Besides that, she is also She is Professor of Communication and Professor of Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona She was the PHD holder from West Virgina University. Professor Burgoon has authored 7 books and over 240 articles, chapters and reviews related to nonverbal and relational communication, interpersonal relationship, the impact of new communication technologies on human and human-computer interaction, and other researches. Among the theories that she almost notably linked are Interpersonal Adaptation Theory, Expectancy Violations Theory and Interpersonal Deception Theory. During her career, she has received many awards such as, NCA’s Golden Anniversary Monographs Awards, the Charles H. Woolbert Research Award for Scholarship of Lasting Impact. In 1999, she got the National Communication Association’s Distinguished Scholar Award, its highest award for lifetime of scholarly achievement. While in 2006, she awarded the Steven Chaffee Career Productivity Award. The awards that she gained show that she was talented American Academic. The second founder is David Buller. Professor David Buller was the Professor at Northern Illinois University. He was the philosophy professor. Besides that he also was the writer. Among his publication are Function, Selection and Design, in 1999, Adapting Minds, Evolutionary Psychology and the Persistent Quest for Human Nature in 2005. He has also contributed a lot in writing articles to books and journals. During his career, Buller has experience in finance, management, operations and sales. He has served as chairman of the Writing Committee for Social Studies Standards for Minnesota public schools. In his community he has served on the Hugo Planning Commission and political party precinct chair. As an active member of several professional organizations, he has been president of both the Strategic Leadership Forum and the Association for Corporate Growth. He was also a leader of the Edison Electric Institute Strategy Group and the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals. He was graduated from the Centre for Business Intelligence. He was died in 2011. 2.0 BACKGROUND OF THEORY Interpersonal deception theory (IDT) explain the interplay between active deceivers and detectors who communicate with multiple motives, who behave strategically, whose communication behaviours mutually influence one another to produce a sequence of moves and countermoves, and whose communication is influenced by the situation in which the deception transpires (EmGriffin, 2000). IDT attempts to explain the manner in which individuals deal with actual or perceived deception on the conscious and subconscious levels while engaged in face-to-face communication (Buller, 1996). This theory is an interpersonal theory that a set of unchanging assumptions concerning interpersonal communication in general and deception in particular. This theory is developed by Judee Burgoon and David Buller. The core ideas of IDT can be divided into two which are Interpersonal communication is interactive and strategies deception demands mental effort. Firstly, interpersonal communication is interactive means that interaction, rather than individuality, is at the core of their theory. For instance, if the encounter between you and Pat actually took place, both of you would be active participants, constantly adjusting your behaviour in response to feedback from each other. Whatever story you tell, you shouldn’t expect Pat to remain verbally and nonverbally mute (EmGriffin, 2000). (Judee K.Burgoon, 1996) Second idea is strategies deception demands mental efforts which means that successful deceiver must consciously manipulate information to create a plausible message, present it in a sincere manner, monitor reactions, prepare follow-up responses, and get ready for damage control of a tarnished image-all at the same time. For example, If you choose to be less than honest in your surprise encounter with Pat, you may find yourself unable to attend to every aspect of deception, and some of your communication behaviour will go on à ¢â‚¬Å"automatic pilot.† (EmGriffin, 2000). 3.0 MAIN CONCEPTS/ VARIABLES 3.1 Leakage Leakage concept is the behaviour outside of the deceptive Sender’s conscious control, mostly nonverbal in character, can signal dishonesty and it is applied in IDT. The concept was developed by Miron Zuckerman, who created a four-factor model to explain when and why leakage is apt to occur (A.Fos, 2005). First, deceiver’s intense attempt to control information can produce performances that come across as too slick. Second, lying causes physiological arousal. Third, the predominant felt emotions that accompany deceit are guilt and anxiety. Fouth, the complex cognitive factors involved in deception can tax the brain beyond its capacity (EmGriffin, 2000). Under the four-factor model the extreme concentration required by an individual engaged in deception and employing the compensating mechanisms to mask that deceit may result in their performance appearing polished or rehearsed. Lying also causes a sender to become psychologically and physiological aroused. Suc h arousal is difficult to mask and will eventually evidence itself. It is this very principle on which the polygraph machine is base (A.Fos, 2005). 3.2 Truth bias According to Burgoon and Buller, people tend to regard interpersonal message as honest, complete, direct, relevant and clear although when the speaker lying to them. McCornack claims that there exists an implied social contract that all of us will be honest with each other. It means that a mutual understanding that our messages will reflect reality as we know it. Besides that, Burgoon and Buller also convinced that people who know and like each other are particularly resistant to doubting ach others’ words. For example, the warmth relationships are motivated to find truth in whatever the other says and thus overlook or rationalize away statements that others might find questionable. (EmGriffin, 2000). 3.3 Suspicion Buller and Burgoon picture suspicion as a mid-range mind-set, located somewhere between truth and falsity. In spite of the many ways that respondents could become suspicious, Buller and Burgoon have found that it’s difficult to induce a deep-seated scepticism. Doubters tend to favour indirect methods to gain more information, but there is scant evidence that these probes help unmask deception (Judee K.Burgoon, 1996). Suspicion occurs when someone is tried to find the truth from the others. The person becomes suspicious with people who make them unconfident to believe what the others talk about. It usually happens when the person does not believe what the person says and he/she will not accept the word hundred percent truths. For instance, when you have cheated by someone, it is hard to believe that person again. You become suspicious to whatever the person says to you. 3.4 Interactivity Interpersonal deception theory views deception through the interactivity of interpersonal communication. As such, it considers deception as an interactive process between a sender and receiver. In contrast with previous studies of deception that focused on the sender and receiver individually, IDT focuses on the dyadic, relational and dialogic of deceptive communication. Next, Dyadic communication refers to communication between two people. A dyad is a group of two people between whom messages are sent and received. While relational means that refers to communication in which meaning is created by two people simultaneously filling the roles of both sender and receiver. Dialogic activity refers to the active communicative language of the sender and receiver, each relying upon the other within the exchange. Deception uses when the communication of one participant is deliberately false. For a variety of reasons, including receivers’ own cognitive loading from ongoing information management and the development of rapport between parties as interaction unfolds, receivers will typically judge senders more favorably than passive observers. Obviously, there is a correlation between the level of favorable impression of the sender and the ultimate chances of undetected deception (Burgoon, 1996). 3.5 Strategic behaviour When the Receiver doubts the truthfulness of the information conveyed they will give clues in the form of non-typical behaviours. This will occur even if they attempt to mask such behaviours. Strategic behaviour is the proper behaviour or reaction that people use to act like nothing is happen or trying to hide a secret or the truth. However, deceptive senders are by their nature more attuned to sensing suspicion than the receivers are to sensing deception. Thus, senders will adjust their message and its manner of presentation if they sense suspicion. This serves to make deception all the more difficult to detect. For instance, there is what is known as the â€Å"Othello error.† Individuals who are actually telling the truth behave in the same way when falsely accused or confronted with suspicion as do those guilty of actual deception. The term Othello error refers to the situation where a truth teller’s adaptation to a false accusation strikes the respondent as devious (Hearn, 2006). 3.6 Deception in Communication Buller and Burgoon are more concerned with an individual’s motivation than with their actual actions in determining deception. In their work they found that every deceptive act has, at its core, at least one of three motivations. The first is to accomplish some task or attain some goal. Second, the communication may be directed at maintaining or creating a relationship with the other party. Finally, deception is often used to save face of one or both of the parties to the communication. Most people are uncomfortable when engaging in deception. One way in which they deal with this feeling is to attempt to disassociate from the behaviour. For example, when people try to lie they try to react like normal but there must be something different like reducing eye contact or through their body movement. (Judee K.Burgoon, 1996) The other ways that senders deal with the deception is to engage in their masking behaviour. Masking is an attempt to protect the sender’s self-image and their relationship with the Receiver. When engaging in intentional deception senders will attempt to restrain any bodily cues which may signal deception. They may also engage in compensating behaviour, such as exhibiting extreme sincerity. The difficulty is that the detection of all of these behaviours can only be done if they are measured against the sender’s base-line behaviours (Judee K.Burgoon, 1996). 3.7 Falsification, Concealment and Equivocation One strategy is falsification where the deceiving party also referred as sender. While the person who is flat-out lies of the communication called as receiver. It means that the sender creates a fiction to deceit. For example the sender will creates a story that not really happen just only to lie or hide the truth. The second type of deception is concealment. In concealment the sender omits certain material facts which results in deceptive communication. Finally, equivocation is included in the roster of deceptive behaviour. When employing equivocation the Sender skirts issues by, for instance, by changing the subject or offering indirect responses (Hearn, 2006). Nonverbal cues A nonverbal cue is important element in IDT. People can detect deception through non verbal cues. Although people can manipulate their words, however it is difficult to hide their truth nonverbal cues. Nonverbal cues are including facial expression, eye contact, gestures and touch. When someone try to hide secret or lie, they are difficult to hide their facial expression and especially their eye contact with others. They try to reduce the eye contact with others and the way they talk, they move or react is little bit different from their usual reaction. 4.0 Development of IDT Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT) is generating from the concept of nonverbal cues to detect deception during conversation. The idea of this study was come from Sigmund Freud who studied about nonverbal cues in detecting deception among people. In his study, Freud observed a patient being asked about his darkest feelings. If his mouth was shut and his fingers were trembling, he was considered to be lying. From the situation, he tried to study more about nonverbal cues. Then, in 1989, DePaulo and Kirkendol developed the Motivation Impairment Effect (MIE). This occurs when a person’s motivation to succeed at lying negatively affects on the person’s performance, making the lie less convincing. (Kirekendol, 2011). MIE states the harder people try to deceive others, the more likely they are to get caught. Burgoon and Floyd, however, revisited this research and formed the idea that deceivers are more active in their attempt to deceive than most would anticipate or expect. For instance, DePaulo has estimated the human ability to detect deception at 53%, which she states is â€Å"not much better than flipping a coin.† She has also stated that â€Å"human accuracy is really just better than chance.† (Hearn, 2006). In 1996, IDT was developed by two communication professors, David B. Buller and Judee K. Burgoon. They restudied the studies made by Sigmund Freud, nonverbal cues, and then they observed DePaulo and Kirkendol† studies which they developed about Motivation Impairment Effect. Judee Burgoon and David Buller then combined both studies and they studied in depth about deception in conversation among people. Prior to their study, deception had not been fully considered as a communication activity, it is more like theory of communication strategies use to lie or hide the truth information from others. Previous work had focused upon the formulation of principles of deception. The principles of Interpersonal Deception Study were derived by evaluating the lie detection ability of individuals observing unidirectional communication (Hearn, 2006). The early studies of Interpersonal Deception Theory found initially that, although humans are far from perfect in their efforts to diagnose lies, they are substantially better at the task than would result merely by chance. However, this statement should be contrasted with subsequent statements made by the same researchers. Buller and Burgoon discount the value of highly controlled studies. Therefore, IDT is based on two-way communication and intended to describe deception as an interactive communicative process (Hearn, 2006). Based over years of the author’s and other scholars’ research, IDT expound on the dynamics properties of interpersonal communication, nonverbal behaviour, message processing, credibility and deception as it is achieved through interpersonal interaction. 5.0 Application of IDT IDT demonstrate that people are poor at detecting deception. Thus, it is crucial that one not rely upon a perceived ability to detect deception in the negotiation context. There are habitual liars who compulsively engage in deception. However, most people do not lie without reason. It is natural to think that deception would be beneficial to any negotiating party. Many statements will be made in the course of a negotiation. Not all statements will completely true or completely false. The language used to achieve a specific task can be varied as the people who feel a need to deceive. Yet Buller and Burgoon list some characteristic that reflect strategic intent. 5.1 Uncertainty and vagueness If we do not want our friend to know about our absent for class yesterday, we must keep the answer short and noncommittal. If we say, â€Å"I’m sick† the brevity precludes detail to challenge (Burgoon, 2000). Another way is to speak in the passive voice and use indefinite pronouns. 5.2 Nonimmediacy, reticence, and withdrawal We wish not to be there when our friend ask why we did not come to class yesterday. That desire to be out of the situation is often encoded in nonverbal actions. We might sit further apart that others, or lean back rather than forward as our answer. Words also can show nonimmediacy when the speaker changes verbs from present to past tense (Burgoon, 2000). 5.3 Disassociation This is the way of distancing yourself from what you have done. Levelers are inclusive terms that do this by removing individual choice (Burgoon, 2000). For example, we will tell our friends that everyone has done it and not attending class is normal. All of these linguistic constructions sever the personal connection between the actor and the act of deception. 5.4 Image- and relationship-protecting behavior Since discovery could hurt their reputations and threaten their relationship, they consciously strive to suppress the bodily cues that might signal deception. To mask the cues that leak out despite their best efforts, they try to appear extra sincere. Deceivers tend to nod in agreement when the respondent speaks, avoid interrupting, and smile frequently (Burgoon, 2000). 5.5 Flood the circuits Interpersonal Deception Theory demonstrates that when a Sender’s cognitive abilities are â€Å"overloaded† they will begin to leak. It stands to reason that the greater the load, the greater the leak and the easier its detection. Another major premise of Interpersonal Deception Theory is that individuals are poor lie detectors in one-on-one communication situations. Thus, it would appear to be to a negotiator’s advantage to increase the load on their opposite (Burgoon, 2000). 5.6 Falsification, Concealment and Equivocation One strategy is falsification where the deceiving party also referred as sender. While the person who is flat-out lies of the communication called as receiver. It means that the sender creates a fiction to deceit. For example the sender will creates a story that not really happen just only to lie or hide the truth. The second type of deception is concealment. In concealment the sender omits certain material facts which results in deceptive communication. Finally, equivocation is included in the roster of deceptive behaviour. When employing equivocation the Sender skirts issues by, for instance, by changing the subject or offering indirect responses (Hearn, 2006).

Advantages of Discovery Learning

Advantages of Discovery Learning Jump to: Advantages of Discovery Learning Discovery learning was first put into writing by Jerome Bruner in the 1970’s. In part II of his book titled â€Å"The Quest for Clarity†, Bruner discusses his views on â€Å"the Act of Discovery†. Bruner states his belief that to successfully educate, the educator must first assess what is already known. In this essay Bruner summarizes the basic principles of discovery learning, their benefits, its process, and a set of experiments that Bruner used which according to him, proved his theory. This essay will use research that supports Bruner’s theory in an attempt to prove that discovery learning is more effective than direct instruction and explain how educators should teach in result of the research. What is discovery learning? Discovery learning is an approach to learning that can be facilitated by specific teaching methods and guided learning strategies. For this essay the term discovery learning will refer to learning that takes place within in the individual, the teaching and instructional strategies designed by the teacher, and the environment created when these strategies are used. Direct or traditional instruction are strategies used in teacher led classrooms, including lectures, drill and practice, and expository learning. Bicknell, Holmes, and Hoffman (2000) describe the three main attributes of discovery learning as 1) exploring and problem solving to create, integrate, and generalize knowledge, 2) student driven, interest based activities in which student determines the sequence and frequency, and 3) activities to encourage integration of new knowledge into the learner’s existing knowledge base. The first attribute to discovery learning is a very important one. By exploring problems, and coming up with their own solutions, student’s are taking an active role in creating integrating, and generalizing knowledge. Student’s are not passively taking in information , as they would during a lecture, but are coming up with broad applications for skills by taking risks, solving problems, and examining unique, but useful experiences (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000). This attribute of discovery learning dramatically changes the role of students and teachers, which some traditional teachers find hard to accept. The second attribute of discovery learning is that it encourages students to learn at their own pace (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000). This attribute allow students learning to progress freely as the student is ready to learn new material. Students must obtain a high level of motivation and take ownership in their learning for this attribute to be met. The third major attribute of discovery learning is that it is based on the principle of using existing knowledge as a basis to build new knowledge (Bicknell-Holmes & Hoffman, 2000). Students must be encouraged and provided with knowledge they already know to extend this knowledge and build ne w ideas. A good example of this is when students discover how to multiply a three digit number by a three digit number, by using their knowledge of multiplying a two digit number by a two digit number. The student would build on what they know about multiplication to come up with a new way of multiplying three digits by three digits.

Jack Welch leadership principles Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jack Welch leadership principles - Assignment Example On the other hand, situation theory assets that leaders makes the best decision depending on the situation on the ground whereby, different leadership may be adopted in different situations. Contingency theory asserts that there is no one style of leadership can suit in all situations because different situation may call for different leadership styles (Cherry, 2013). Trait theory asserts that, to be a leader one should possess some special leadership qualities that can help to influence, inspire and motivate others towards meeting the goals and objectives of an organization (Wolinsiki, 2010). In addition, management theory asserts that a leader should be able to supervise and motivate team members by rewarding them accordingly for better performance. Human relation theory asserts that a leader should be able to inspire and motivate members to see the significance of better outcomes. In above connection, participation theory involves encouraging top, middle and lower level employees to participate in decision making process (Cherry, 2013). Therefore, to be efficient and effective, a leader should possess some special traits. This study will put forth the most recent professional roles that one should possess as a leader and principles considered as strength. The study will further explain the impact of this principle to a leader and how those pri nciples considered as strength relate to aspects of emotional intelligence. Additionally, the study will explain specific steps to be employed in order to boast strengths as well as improve areas of development as a leader. Most recent aspects of my professional leadership role and principles strength The most recent aspects of professional leadership include; formulating plans, acting as representative of the entire organization, integrating individual and organization goals, soliciting support, acting as a guide as well communication role. This means that a leader has a role making plans on what to be done in order to avoid confusion and ensure seamless operations within an organization (Cameron & Green, 2008). Additionally, a leader should formulate policies that act as a guide to his or her followers when implementing organization plans. This may help employees to have emotional preparedness on what they are expected to do. In above connection, a leader has a professional role o f representing departments and entire organization inside and outside the organization. For example, during leadership seminars a leader should represents the entire organization. Leaders should communicate the objectives and the needs of the entire organization to the employees and other corporate entities. As a leader one should play the role of integrating employees’ personal goals towards implementing organization goals. In above connection, a leader should play the role of soliciting employees in lower levels of management to participate in corporate decision making (Cameron & Green, 2008). Additionally, a leader has a role of communicating organization goals to all employees as well as ensuring there is proper flow of information within all relevant departments. In addition, a leader plays a professional role of practicing three main leadership traits namely: sharing employees feeling, listening to their opinions as well as providing them with a

Fasting Times Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fasting Times - Research Paper Example First is the sample selection biased that can influence the research study if a non-random sampleof a population in which all individuals, or instances, were not equally likely to have been selected. Thus, results can be erroneously attributed to the phenomenon under study rather than to the method of sampling. Self-selection will be according to the willingness to participate in the study of individuals and there is a tendency that more educated person will agree to join the study. Another is limited response rate where some of the representative cannot fully respond to the activity that is being asked to them (Macnee &McCabe, 2008, 138). Generally, sampling errors and biases are induced by the sample design. Therefore, a researcher must utilize certain sampling methods in choosing representative randomly in the population to have a chance of being included in the study. The difficulty can also be mitigated by weighting the data when population standards are available or by imputing data based on answers to other

A critical comparison of texts Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A critical comparison of texts - Term Paper Example Most of the Chuan qi stories involved some aspect of the supernatural, and often involved humans interacting with supernatural creatures and spirits. The Chuan qi genre is only one of the five forms of fictional Chinese literature, and has four thematic story groups within it, those being historical stories, supernatural stories, stories of knighthood and errantry, and love stories. The love stories of the genre deal with the acts of keeping faith and breaking faith. A creature of another realm could attain human form and gain its liberty by keeping faith with a human; likewise, a human who broke faith with a spirit entity could take on bestial habits and become beasts themselves. The idea behind the two was that one could not happen without the other; there was an even exchange that took place, and as long each participant offered something essential, no retribution took place. But, if one party broke the equation or the exchange, the situation became serious. The moral being that a balance was always to be maintained.1 (Pg.518). T’ang writers brought about the Chuan qi style at a time when the neoclassical movement in prose created a steady foundation for story narration. T’ang subject matter and literary material was taken from the rich, invigorating, cultural livelihood of the big city. Writers of the Chuan qi stories were mostly well-educated men who gathered in the capital city trying to make a name for themselves through either fame or through political advancement. While the Chuan qi genre of story telling often employs elements of the supernatural, the writers tried to tell interesting stories that were straight forward, and devoid of flowery poetic language. Supernatural events occur alongside human interaction, instead of replacing it, and city workers and dwellers are depicted in their everyday lives. Chuan qi stories can be described as tales of the marvelous, and are usually written in the classical

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 21

Discussion - Essay Example In health promotion, wherein about 9 other concepts can be identified (Disu, K.M. and Wooden, D.J., 2012) stated in values and beliefs, SDLC has led to the creation of computer systems that give patients the option to tap their skills, resort to their love for freedom and privacy, and their voluntary decision to seek answers for themselves whenever possible. It makes them feel better to call for a nurse only if they don’t understand what to do in various situations. A virtual nurse had been developed. In wanting to know more about the medications they are taking, at what time, dosage, and for what purpose, patients can be taught to simply type the word â€Å"Medicines† after they log into their account, so that they can view more details about their purpose and the contra-indications. Thus, another concept within health promotion is served – the concept of empowerment. In the other meta-concept which is caring, SDLC can be tapped by allowing the patients to voluntarily submit feedback that can be saved in their database. Patients themselves or the authorized relatives may assist in faster recovery by way of reporting favourable or unfavourable feedback which the doctors can view during their visit. Questions can also be raised anytime if patients are allowed to simply communicate their thoughts with the help of a computer. In fact, SDLC can provide doctors with real time biological response and allow them to become more aware about developments with the patients. Such updated awareness can result in providing initiatives that can show better care and

Homework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Homework - Essay Example For example an advertisement made in contrast of black and white may be eye catching and affects perceptual selection. Expectations Consumer’s expectations also affect how things are perceived by consumer. Consumers generally see what they expect to see. A person expecting to see some particular shop in a shopping mall will soon find out one than the one in no expectation to see that shop. Motives Perceptual selection is also influenced by consumer’s motives at that time, consumer’s current needs and desires affect the stimulus selection for perception. A consumer planning to have a vacation will be more open to resorts’ advertisements, airlines deals and hotels’ offers. These are the two major factors that affect selection of perceptual stimuli. FACTORS AFFECTING NATURE OF PERCETION Exposure Attention Interpretation Exposure Exposure highlights the stimulus to which a consumer is exposed to. Exposure can be either deliberate or random. Selective ex posure is deliberate, it happens when consumers seek out for messages that are pleasant and avoid the ones that are painful. Attention Attention explains out of all exposed stimulus, on which stimulus does the consumer pay concentration on. The attention paid by the consumer can be categorized as either of high involvement or of low involvement. The extent to which a consumer pay attention to particular stimulus is affected by a consumer’s needs interests and motives at that time. A person who is price conscious may pay attention to saver deals advertisements and on discount offers. Interpretation Interpretation defines the assignment of meaning to sensations. Interpretation of stimuli is also uniquely individual process. It is different for every person as each person perceives and interprets stimuli differently and uniquely. Attention Attention occurs when any stimulus is able to activate one or more sensory receptor nerves, and the sensation produced as a result of it, goe s to the brain for further processing. Attention requires consumers to allocate limited mental processing towards information processing. There are multiple stimulus and situational factors that affect on which stimuli consumers pay attention to. Stimulus factors Stimulus factors mostly include physical characteristics and nature of stimulus. Size and Intensity – any stimulus that is huge or giant in size will automatically catch attention of a person. Intensity may include the length, brightness or loudness of the stimulus. Color and Movement – the more colorful a stimulus is, the greater it has the chances to catch an individual’s attention. In addition to being colorful, if stimulus is mobile rather than stagnant, it has greater probability of attracting individual’s attention. A bright colored package is more likely to attract attention. Position – placement of the object in a person’s visual field. Mostly stimuli placed at prime locatio n, or at eye level or somewhere that is much unexpected for an individual to expect that stimulus to be. The greater it will attract the attention. Isolation –

Is Total Quality Management Enough For Competitive Advantage Research Paper - 2

Is Total Quality Management Enough For Competitive Advantage - Research Paper Example And TQM is one of the responses developed. However, currently, there are some concerns regarding its viability. As such, this paper intends to address the question Is Total Quality Management enough for competitive advantage? In lieu of this, the aims of this paper are to provide ample literature that will reinforce and attest to the positive aspects of TQM and at the same time explain its ramifications in the business context. And more importantly, to gain insight regarding TQM and competitive advantage. In order to achieve these aims, in this research, historical or library research has been undertaken together with a qualitative interview of actual practitioners of TQM. In the library research undertaken, numerous secondary data that are made available and are deemed significant in attaining a clearer and better understanding of TQM and its positive aspects are utilised for the literature review. Together with the literature review, primary research has also been undertaken to get first-hand information regarding TQM from the scholars and actual practitioners of the field. The collection of primary data is significant as it pertains to the actual experience of people who are actually adapting and using TQM in their respective companies. Through the research study, it has been found out that TQM is undeniably advantageous to corporations or organisations that employ it. Several advantages have been found out in the course of the research. A significant finding is a hesitance among the interviewed practitioners of TQM when asked whether TQM is enough to attain competitive advantage. It can be claimed that the aims of this paper have been achieved and that the limitations posed by this paper open new avenues for further research. Globalisation is a contemporary phenomenon known only within the last fifty years (Soros, 2002).

Chapter question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Chapter question - Essay Example age, compatibility, complexibility, trialability, observability, impact on social relations, reversibility, communicability, time, risk and uncertainty, commitment and modifiability† (Edberg, p. 59). Relative advantage defines the measure of effectiveness and efficiency of a proposed innovation with respect to the old technology. A significant relative advantage will therefore motivate a faster adoption of the theory. Complexibility refers to the level of ease of applying a proposed technology. While a complex technology may delay implementation due to lack of implementation resources and determination of certainty over the technology, a less complex technology can be immediately implemented (Edberg, p. 59). Triability however defines the ability to test the technology, practically, before its adoption. Where such practical tests are possible, decision can be made on whether to adopt the technology or not. In cases where such tests are not possible, alternative approaches must be devised and this may delay adoption of the proposed technology. The impacts that the technology can have on the society are also important in determining how fast it can be implemented. This is because social responsibility measures must first be put in place before implementation of the technology. The other factors can also either speed up or delay implementation (Edberg, p.

Hong Kong affect its future economy Essay Example for Free

Hong Kong affect its future economy Essay This research project seeks to bring out the effects of the Hong Kong population structure on the future economy of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a booming economy being one of the major financial districts of the South Asian region and its changing population structure has a lot to do with its workforce and in turn affects its working culture and present and future economic structure as well. Research Question: The research question for this project seek to study how or to what extent the population structure a regards to age and gender or social characteristics of the population tend to affect the present and future economy of Hong Kong. So there are two parts to this research project – the first part analyzes the population structure of Hong Kong with regards to the age and gender or social status and the second part brings out the economic structure of Hong Kong from its past to present changes and the future of Hong Kong economy in a more globalized world and the impact of global markets on the financial centre of Asia. The focused research question in this case brings out several dimension of the study as through the analysis of the qualitative and quantitative dimensions, the subjective and objective aspects of the study. The impact of the changes in population structure on the economy could be understood on the basis of changing population numbers and percentages quantitatively and the socioeconomic changes as understood qualitatively. The research question essentially focuses on the qualitative and quantitative dimensions of the research as it seeks to bring out the impact of population change in economic structure of Hong Kong in a descriptive manner and in accordance with socioeconomic changes, as in influence of wage, gender, age gaps and changes etc an also the direct statistical values and correlations between population and economic structures in terms of numbers and statistical values. The research question on the extent to which population structure affects the Hong Kong economy thus brings out this ‘extent’ in terms of numbers or real values as also in terms of description of changes in Hong Kong as what happens qualitatively when the population structure changes and what is the impact on the economy from a descriptive point of view. Like for example this can be related to lack of high living standards, poor health conditions of the elderly. These would be qualitative dimensions of the research and the values or percentages of changing population and simultaneously changing economy would be the quantitative aspects of research. These two methods are discussed further in the methodology section as given below. Background/Literature Review: A brief literature review is provided here and brings out the main points of research articles as published in journals and obtained from ingentaconnect or sciencedirect or JSTOR. The literature review is on the Hong Kong population and economic structure and articles published and written on these issues showing the impact of an ageing population on Hong Kong’s economy and job prospects and on the industries in Hong Kong as influenced by a global economy and ageing population. In this literature review section a study by Leigh (2006), a research article by Chui published 2003 and another by Fan and Lui (2003) have been selected. Leigh’s study shows the direct impact of ageing on Hong Kong’s economy, fiscal changes and living standards. Chui shows how the ageing population face problems of survival and housing in a fast paced Hong Kong economy and Fan and Lui talk of gender and wage gap in Hong Kong’s population that could redefine economic changes and structure. The studies chosen here highlight the qualitative aspects of the impact of ageing and gender changes in population or demography on the economic structure of Hong Kong. The participation of women has also increased significantly necessitating needs of study of the impact of gender on Hong Kong’s economy and how women’s participation in the workplace can change things for the economy. In a research article on the population structure of Hong Kong, Leigh (2006) has suggested that Hong Kong SAR’s population has been aging rapidly and aging could adversely affect the growth and living standards of people in Hong Kong. There has to be some change in economic and administrative policies in keeping with the aging or changing population according to the article. There is a high labor and productivity growth with increased migration of younger skilled workers from Chinese mainland in Hong Kong mainly due to Hong Kong’s booming economy and although this attenuates the economic impact of aging, there is no full offset of the impact of aging population on the economic structure of Hong Kong. According to Leigh, aging puts considerable pressure on public finances particularly as with aging there is also rising health costs that directly affect government spending. There are relatively fewer options that government has and opportunities to implement polices on this are also limited that could lessen the impact of aging on the governance and structure as demographic effects would start setting in by 2015 when the ratio of working population would peak. The Hong Kong SAR authorities have been focused on administrative and governance policies that would limit or reduce the fiscal impact of aging and they have also provided continued expenditure restraint on reform of health care financing with private health insurance systems, along with tax reforms and non age sensitive areas (Leigh, 2006). Considering the gradual ageing problem of Hong Kong, Chui (2001) suggest that Hong Kong as one of the Four Dragons of Asia is faced with the gradual ageing problem that seems to have affected the urban fabric of the city as also the general population. However one of the regions in which Hong Kong seems to be booming along with the economy is property development as Hong Kong is mainly based on a property led economy and the government as well as private and public property developers have been launching redevelopment projects for setting up new structures in Hong Kong. However as Chui points out the special needs problems of elderly people have not been attended to and most of Hong Kong’s elderly people are poor physically, financially and socially. However with urban renewal and changes, the elderly people are at disadvantage and face threats to their survival as they are not in a position to cope with the restructuring changes in Hong Kong’s fast paced urban development projects. There has also been a gradual weakening of the respect to Chinese traditional values and culture as for the respect given to the elderly and this along with nuclearization of families have added to the problems of the elderly. Chui writes that government housing policies in Hong Kong should emphasize on community care and ageing in place and help in solving housing problems and needs of the elderly. The study shows the plight of older people in Hong Kong, a booming economy in the South Asian region and a contrasting fate of the elderly people. The gender gap in wages has been analyzed by some researchers and the trend shows a narrowing gender gap in wages. According to Fan and Lui (2003), the narrowing gender gap may be related to women’s advantages compared with earlier times especially women’s changing positions at the workplace. Gender gap is found as smaller in occupations and industries that are less dependent on physical labour as men are more suitable for physically rigorous work. This shows that when an economy transforms from a manufacturing or production oriented approach to a more service oriented one, women’s productivity would be recognized an with increased women’s participation in service based economies, the gender gap on the basis of wage or participation at the workplace also decreases. A 1% random subsample was used in this study for two population censuses and the results of the experiment also support empirical results. Methodology The methodology to be used for this study will be both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative and quantitative data would be primarily available from the internet and research journal databases and journal articles will be selected along with studies by the Hong Kong government as based on the economic indicators, as well as statistical and other government reports on the population and GDP, GNP and labor or prices. Of course in this section we highlight the importance of theory and practice and differentiate between the theories and the practical implications of research and the use of methodology to explain these two features. The theories that will be dealt with will be economic theories and changes in the global economy along with changes in the Hong Kong economic structure. The practical implications here would be changes in the population structure statistically obtained and otherwise and population changes as indicated in journal articles that deal with ageing and its associated problems in Hong Kong. The theories and practice of the economic and population changes in Hong Kong will be obtained from journal articles selected from journal databases and these articles are obtained by using search terms such as ‘Hong Kong economy’, ‘Hong Kong population, ‘Ageing population, ‘South Asian Economy’, ‘Economic structure of Hong Kong, Population of Hong Kong, ‘Elderly in Hong Kong, ‘Employment in Hong Kong and Economy’ etc. As indicated in the later part of the study, the government’s reports on the economic changes and population changes have been given here and the results can be used to show the trends and the analysis can be done quantitatively and qualitatively to show the changes in population in terms of age, gender and wages or social status. In fact wage structure shows changes in economic conditions of the major part of population and results could be drawn to show how economy and wages would be related in turn to gender and age and the overall impact this has on the Hong Kong’s population structure could be drawn in the analysis and interpretation section of the results. The different possible methodological frameworks would be the qualitative methodology and the quantitative methodology. Qualitative methodology is about understanding the more qualitative or subjective aspects of the population and delineating the attributes or the characteristics of job changes, economic structure and population structure in Hong Kong. Quantitative methodology is about showing statistical tables and values and suggests the population and economic structural changes in terms of values or numbers as given in statistical tables. The impact of old age or ageing population on the economy as discussed qualitatively by researchers would form part of the study using journal articles and descriptions of the situation as given by researchers in articles and published papers as would be the quantitative aspects that are given in published reports and statistical tables giving values or numbers that define the changes in Hong Kong’s social, demographic and economic structure quantitatively in terms of values, statistics and numbers. A snapshot of the qualitative and quantitative primary data as would be used in the research study is given below and from some of the research papers as used in the literature review and the reports published by the Hong Kong government, the primary data in terms of tables or published research reports will be chosen and analyzed for the purposes of this study. The published articles or papers in journals as selected from ingenta, sciencedirect, JSTOR or other such databases thus provide the basis for qualitative primary data and the published research reports as available from Hong Kong government sites showing statistical analysis of population and economic structure form the more quantiatve aspects of this study and a balance of quantitative and qualitative methods will be considered for analysis of this research study. Social science research is largely based on ontological and epistemological propositions that help to understand consumer behavior and in this case population structure and government approach to population and how it affects Hong Kong economy in general. From the ontological point of view any phenomena could be analyzed objectively using economic data and in this case the economic structure of Hong Kong could be comparatively objectively analyzed considering other developed or developing economies and the effects of population on economy. The epistemological approach to methodology emphasizes on people’s perspectives and the subjective or qualitative aspects of research as already indicated. Positivistic and Interpretive theories in social science research focus on scientific data (as in positivism) in which experimental findings are of prime importance and interpretive analysis in which drawing out qualitative aspects and viewpoints of the researcher would be more important. The epistemological, interpretive positions are closer to qualitative methodology and the positivistic, ontological philosophies are akin to quantitative methodology as used in any research project. The Table below provides the population structure of Hong Kong by age and sex and as seen from the initial study of 2007 population growth and structure, 3. 9% of the population is above 60 years of age, 3. 4% of the population is above 65 or 70 years of age, 2. 7% of the population reaches above 75 year limit and 1. 7% of the population crosses the 80 year old mark. 1. 4% of the population is above 85 years. This suggests that a significant portion of the population is an aged population in Hong Kong and this is a change from 2006 in which the 60 year old population was at 3. 7% and above 75 year olds was at 2. 6% and above 85 year olds was at 1. 3%. The charts show that thee has been a slight yet significant increase in aging population of Hong Kong and considerable decrease in the young population as seen from the population data of 2006-2007. If data is attained over a period of last 10 years this aging population trend will however become more prominent and this will be elaborated in the methodology and data collection section of the research. This research table thus forms part of the resources that we use as data for our study on the effects of population on economic structure.

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Essay Example for Free

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Essay Kurt Vonnegut wrote the book Slaughterhouse-Five in order to express his feeling of disgust towards the brutality of World War II. It was written as a general statement against all wars. Vonnegut focuses on the shock and outrage over the havoc and destruction man is capable of reeking in the name of what he labels a worthy cause, while learning to understand and accept these horrors and ones feelings about them. Through his character, Billy Pilgrim, he conveys not only these feelings and emotions, but also the message that we must exercise our free will to alter the unfortunate happenings that might occur in our lives. Vonnegut had tremendous difficulty writing this novel. He says, I thought it would be easy for me to write about the destruction of Dresden, since all I would have to do would be to report what I had seen (Vonnegut 2). He did not count on his emotions interfering with his attempts at a factual and logical report of such atrocities. It took Vonnegut twenty years to directly face his private demon of the firebombing of Dresden in the form of this novel. He had trouble recalling any memories of substance about his time in Dresden. It could be said that he was blinded by the firebombs of Dresden. It was not until Vonnegut returned to the sight of the bombing twenty years later, along with one of his war buddies, that he was able to recall the disastrous and horrific incidents in Dresden. The novel served as a form of therapy for Vonnegut; it enabled him to examine the events of the past that impacted on his life, and to come to terms with them. Vonnegut chooses to focus the novel on events surrounding the firebombing of Dresden, Germany.

Introduction To Trade Union

Introduction To Trade Union According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) there are around 535,500 employees on the Mauritian labour market in the first quarter of 2012. These workers are the human resource of our country and they deserved to be treated as valuable asset. However, in our lucrative oriented era, where the pursuit of profit triumph over the human rights and freedom of these workers. Hundreds of workers have no say in their working conditions; many are helpless in front of the managerial level, others are intimidated, or dismissed when their basic objective is to prone the human rights of freedom of association, collective bargaining and industrial democracy. On this basis, it has been none a coincidence to perceive the rise of trade union movements and understood that these movements had been on a perpetual alert and are continually fighting for their members to make the human right prevail before profits. The history of Trade Unions is a history of struggles for greater social justice and against tyranny, both in societies and at the workplace. The need for Trade Union in our country begun with the Industrial Revolution, where the rise of factories and the deskilling of labour led to workers seeking security through collective bargaining agreements. Trade Unions in Mauritius operate within the framework of the Industrial Relation Act 1973 (IRA). Of course, these trade unions around the country have the same purpose and objectives which is the welfare of the workers. Haniff Peerun the president of MLC confederation told us that: Mauritius Labour Congress being a Confederation always sees to it that all labour laws are respected and that all workers rights are respected. On the same basis, Mr X leader of the National Trade Union Congress told us that; the role of his organisation is to help promote and protect the rights of workers in the country. Trade unions give employees a number of important privileges that they would not otherwise possess as individuals. This is the reason why trade unions need to safeguard that their determinations to defend their labours match the efforts of managers looking to destabilise the employees. In addition, psychological contract and employers- employees relationship is also taken into consideration, by helping in the flow of communication as well as renegotiation through collective bargaining. 1.2 Aims and objectives This investigation will focus on the role and responsibilities of Trade Union movements in our country and the extent to which they are efficient and effective in both the public and private sector. The four specific objectives of this study are: Evaluate the perception of usefulness of trade unions as well as its accessibility in private sector as well as public sector. Assessing the employees intention to rely on Trade Unions and measure the gauge of satisfaction in a Unions member perspective Investigate the methods used by the Trade Union movement to negotiate better working conditions, for negotiation, leadership and securing economic benefits. Finding out how the Trade Union deal with certain crisis that arises in the workplace and the concrete involvement of the Trade Unions for their members 1.3 Background of study Mauritian development promises to promote standards of living for its population by bringing about a greater productivity through the diffusion of technological innovation as well as updated methods in exploiting equipment and the human resources, superior specialization, enhanced access to credit and capital as well as cheaper goods and services. At the same time, policies, laws and acts were amended for the welfare of the citizen, for instance the Industrial Relation Act 1973 or employment rights act 2008. However with the sole vision of making the country a world- wise competitive one, little importance is given to the concrete implementation of those laws on a daily basis. On that basis, Trade Union movements were launched in Mauritius, so as to voice out the workers rights. The chief target of the project is to identify the effectiveness of the roles and responsibilities of trade unions in our Mauritian system. It briefly examines the evolution of these movements in the country, by going back on their very start. In addition, a highlight of the intervention of the Trade Unions in our various sectors and how their concrete actions contribute to their members. The document will also enlighten the functions and importance of trade union in the Mauritian context as well as providing reasons to enrol as a Trade Union member. Analyzing the different challenges face by the Trade Unions such as the recent PRB issue, Labour laws, decent work, living condition among others, in the point of view of the trade unions, federation and confederation.Comparing the old managerial style to the new one, the paper will also bring emphasis on why the popularity of Trade Union has diminished. An overview of the future role of trade union will be discussed in order to see if t hese movements will resist the major changes of globalization as well as financial crisis. As a group of students, we implemented a top-down, quantitative approach to our research, which allowed us to analyse the various roles of trade unions in Mauritius, as this was considered the most appropriate method for studying the topic; we evaluated the hierarchy of trade union; Confederation, federation and finally Trade Unions. We identified the Mauritius Labour Congress as the main Confederation, the National Trade Union Congress and the Mauritius trade Union labour as federation and various other trade unions which are affiliated to the federation. Adhering to the concept of interviews and surveys, our observations were pooled to provide a broader and more precise representation than that provided by a sole investigation technique. Chapter 2: Roles and Responsibilities of Trade Union 2.1 Definition of Trade Union Trade Union is defined in the Employment Relations Act 2008 as an association of persons, whether registered or not, having as one of its objects the regulation of employment relations between workers and employers The Trade Union or Labour Union movement is a continuous and voluntary association whose membership comprises of salary earners, employees and union leaders. Those members have bonded together motivated by a simple motto Unity makes strength. Workers will therefore utilise trade unions as their representative voice when dealing with employers or on the board of directions. Independently, the workers do not bear the power to defy the top management. Therefore they grouped and seek to institute their terms and conditions of employments. When they realised that negotiating as an individual, the manager would be more powerful, due to the fact that an individual would not matter as much a group in regard of running an organisation. According to Cunnison, Trade Union is a monopolistic combination of wage earners who stand to the employers in a relation of dependence for the sale of their labour and even for the production, and that the general purpose of the association in view of that dependence is to strengthen their power to bargain with the employers The main role of trade union is to ensure the welfare of its members such as safeguarding the interests of its members, protecting the reliability of its trade, achieving higher wages by securing economic benefits. It also optimises the working conditions at the workplace and guarantees a job security while protecting members against unfair dismissal at workplace. Through its leadership, trade union engages in collective bargaining, whereby labour contracts are negotiated with the employers. Also it acts as a recruiting manager, the Union leaders interfere with the recruitment and selection of the company, its intention is to maximise the number of employees an employer can hire. 2.2 Hierarchy of Trade Unions There is a hierarchy in Unions, we had identified; the confederation, the federations and the trade unions. Regarding the confederation, there are one main which is Mauritius Labour Congress and it is affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).In the category of federation there are; National Trade Union Confederation (NTUC) which is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC). Finally, the trade unions which are affiliated to the NTUC; The Federation of Civil Service Unions, Federation of Progressive Unions, Federation des Travailleurs Unis, Confederation Mauriciennes des Travailleurs, General Workers Federation and Federation of Free Workers. Confederation: The Mauritius Labour Congress The MLC is the largest registered and recognized central organization of workers in the country. It was created in 1963 from a merger of the Mauritius Trade Union Congress and the Mauritius Confederation of Free Trade Unions. It represents over 45,000 members through its 56 affiliates, which directly and indirectly covers 125 individual trade unions. The MLC was the unique national confederation affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) representing workers from practically all sectors such as Sugar Industry, Civil/Public Service, Para-statal Bodies, Aviation, Docks, Banking, Insurance, Tea, Transport, Hotel and Tourism, EPZ, Local Authorities and the private sector. We had an interview with Mr Haniff Peerun, the president of the confederation who told us that the vision of the organisation was to defend the rights of workers on the labour market. According to him, the aim and objectives of his trade union were: Adequate salary compensation to be paid to workers Make proposal to the government on budget To train the trade union members and affiliates To raise their voice whenever the rights of workers and consumers are at stake. Federation: The National Trade Union Confederation The National Trade Unions Confederation (NTUC) is a national trade union center in Mauritius and is affiliated with the Confederation. Which have two primary affiliates in the name of Federation of Civil Service Unions, and the Organization of Artisans Unity. It is composed of 20 members who represent all categories of workers within the public sector and its members are organised in branches, each branches having an executive committee, consisting of a president, secretary and a treasurer. The Vision of the confederation which has been identified after an interview with the leader of the organisation came out to be: To be a respected partner and a reference in trade unionism To be at the forefront of change, leadership and sound industrial relations. Moreover, according to him the aim and objectives of the Union are: Our main objective is to maintain mobilisation of our members and also organise those whom we represent. We also aim to help to make the public service more responsive to the needs of the people : Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) The Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) is a national trade union center in Mauritius affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation. It was founded by Emmanuel Anquetil in 1946. It comprises of 29,000 members and is have Mr Dewan Quedou as president. 2.3 Structure of Trade Union The trade unions structure is divided into several parts, namely: The Annual Delegates Congress It is the authority which governs the federation. The Executive Council It comprises of one representative of each affiliates which is usually the secretary or the president and the Bureau members and two observers per affiliates. Once every two months they conduct meeting regarding applications for affiliates from trade unions and affiliation of the Federation to any local, regional or international organisation promoting the interest of the workers and to discuss disagreements between different affiliates. Meeting can be scheduled on the demand of the President or the Bureau or of the members of the Executive Council too. The Bureau It comprises of the President, the General Secretary and the eight elected members. Among them, one is the 1st Vice president and another is the 2nd vice president, a 3rd as Assistant Treasurer and a fourth one who is the organising secretary. President He represents the Federation and he is the spokesman of the federation. General secretary The General Secretary arranges meetings and draw up the minutes of the meeting. Along with the General Secretary, Deputy General Secretary and the Assistant General make up the Secretariat of Federation. Treasurer He is in charge of the accounts of the federation. Organising Secretary He is in charge of organising events like training sessions, seminars, workshop among others. Public Relation Officer He deals with the media for conferences, coverage, reports and other information that will be published by the media. 2.4 Nature and Scope of Trade Union The existence of an influential and recognised trade union is a pre-requisite to the industrial development pace of the country. With modernization in different sectors and the formation of new one such as the technological one as well as the tourism sector, human resources were required. However, mistreatment of the Mauritian labour force appears. This is where the trade union emerged; they ensured that the human rights of their members are respect as per the laws and the constitution. Trade Unions are currently considered as a sub-system which attends a precise sub-groups interest. When defending a particular sector they consider themselves as an integral part of the organisation in respect to the feasibility, growth and development of the community of which they formed part of. The influence of Trade Unions is of key importance for their members in the following ways: First, they are more effective and efficient when the need of negotiation is required between employers and employees by attempting to create a win-win situation. They facilitate the flow of communication between workers and the management, by providing the guidance and support to both of them. The Union leaders will seek a health and safety in the working environment. In addition, they also act as an educational institution; they provide different types of courses to their members. They also accelerate the pace of economic development for instance; they act as a recruiting and selecting agent for the unemployed workers, managing conflicts in the organisation, inculcating corporate social responsibilities to the members among others. 2.5 Objectives of trade unions. The main body of a trade union usually consists of individual workers, sometimes professionals and past workers. Their primary aim is to ensure that the employment conditions of employees are respected and that fair working conditions are offered. However, trade unions also engage in issues like: Negotiation One of the main targets of trade unions is to negotiate with employers about the matters affecting their members and other employees at work. If a union is formally recognised by an employer, it can negotiate with the employer over terms and conditions. These negotiations are commonly known as collective bargaining. Any trade union works to protect and advance the interests of its members. One of the ways it achieves this is by collectively bargaining with employers about the pay and conditions under which its members work. The negotiation process normally deals with matters such as working rules and regulations, complaint procedures, hiring principle, dismissing or promoting employees, workplace safety and policies etc. Some trade unions even have the power to negotiate rates of pay, bonuses for target achievement, employment conditions and job descriptions on behalf of the employees. For collective bargaining to be effective, unions and employers need to agree on how the arrangement is to operate. The objective of that collective bargaining or negotiation process is to settle with a mutual agreement also known as collective agreement between the management and the trade union. Representing Body Employees and other workers have the right to be accompanied at a disciplinary or grievance hearing. They can either choose a co-worker or a union representative. Often, the union representative, will be a workplace representative who is also a co-worker and will support the employee on the board meeting. Information and Advice If someone forms part of a union he/she can also ask them for advice. Unions are experts at solving problems at work. Trade unions provide staff with information, advice and guidance about any work related problems. Member Service Trade unions provide its members with a variety of services such as training, insurance, financial assistance and legal advices, sickness benefits, education facilities in some cases, guarantee of satisfactory work conditions in areas such as health and safety as well as equal opportunities. Voice in decision affecting Workers Trade unions act as a spokesperson for the staff. When matters concerning an individual employee or a group of workers arise, the trade unions job is to voice out the problem in order to negotiate for a solution. In case no agreement is settled or respected, the trade union members may enforce strikes or resistance to lockouts. They can also intervene in order to resist schemes of the management which reduce employment, e.g. restructuring and automation 2.6 Types of Trade Union Craft or Occupation Union. This type of union was the earliest type developed, it comprised of employees of a particular craft or skill regardless of place of work. The advantage of craft unionism is the sense of solidarity, as there is a feeling of common interest between the members. In addition, as this union bears skilled workers, they have a good economic position for collective bargaining. On the other side, more and more new mechanical devices were being developed, the need for large numbers of skilled workers decreased. One- Shop Union or House Union The one-shop union organizes all workers in the same establishment or factory. This type of union has the advantage of being relatively easy to organize because all workers share a common goal in securing a good collective agreement for their particular factory. However, as it is small, it has little bargaining power and it is easily dominated by management. Common Employer Union. The common employer union is basically the same except that it organizes across establishments owned by the same employer. It suffers from basically the same disadvantages as a one-shop union. 2.7 Characteristic of Trade Union Trade unions have shown remarkable progress since their inception in Mauritius and as the union is an essential and dynamic aspect of the society it bears special characteristics such as: Trade Union come together for common goals and interest The members have some materials of collective interest such as improving working conditions, better wages, benefits, job security among others. The trade unions have the right to contest a managerial decision, if they considered that their members are at risk with the outcome. Trade Union is an association of workers and salary earners: Unions are essentially a cooperative labour marketing association whose aim is to safeguard human rights on one or more labour market. In addition, they also bear a hand in the progress of the society, cultural interest and political views of its members. Trade unions have been implemented so as each sector of the working class bear a specific union. Mauritius therefore bears different Union association such as: Agricultural Research Extension Unit (AREU) Mauritius Labour Congress (MLC) Mauritius Trade Union Congress (MTUC) National Trade Union Confederation (NTUC) Trade Unions are basically voluntary organizations: Members of any trade union are voluntary in nature. They are completely free to become a member of a Trade Union or not; none is constrained to subscribe to a Trade Union. If any individual is forced to join a Union, the very essence of trade of trade unionism is defeated. Unions are egalitarian bodies: The Unions are self-governed; this is the reason why they can effectively act in our society. The union leaders are voted by the members and perform as per the Trade Union Act. The Trade Union is a continuous association Union is not a daily affair. In order to work effectively for their adherents they ask a long term membership Constant evolution in the characteristic of Trade Union With this dynamic era, the union continually update their techniques and amend their work. With new complications in the workplace, the unions need to find infinite approaches so as to serve the union members. Rapport with the Management: The unions have the responsibility to improve the employers and employees relationship. They go through the process of negotiation and collective bargaining with the direction of the members organisation concerning their problems. In so doing, the employer and employee relationship is enriched and enhance the quality and welfare of the employees. 2.8 Functions of Trade Unions Broadly speaking, trade unions perform two types of functions: Militant Function Amongst the various activities performed by trade unions is the betterment of the position of their members in relation to their employment. The aim of such activities is to ensure that all the clauses of the hiring and psychological contract are respected. When the union fails to accomplish these aims through collective bargaining and negotiation, in extreme conditions they adopt drastic measures in the form of go-slow, strike, boycott, work sabotage etc. to make the management react and reconsider their requests. Hence, these functions of the trade unions are known as militant or fighting functions. Fraternal Function Another actions performed by trade unions are to provide help to its members in needy times, and improving their efficiency. Trade unions try to nurture a spirit of cooperation, mutual aid and promote friendly relationships and sharing of knowledge and culture among their colleagues. In some cases, they also arrange for legal assistance. Besides, these, they undertake many welfare measures for their members, e.g., school for the education of children, library, reading-rooms, in-door and out-door games, and other recreational facilities. These activities, which may be called fraternal functions, obviously depend on the availability of funds, which the unions raise by subscription from members and donations from outsiders, and also on their competent and enlightened leadership. Another broad classification of the functions of unions may be as follows: Intra-mural activities: These deals with whatever happens on the site of work and has direct impact on employees e.g. wages, strikesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Extra-mural activities: These activities help the employees to maintain and improve their efficiency or productivity e.g., methods intended to foster a spirit of cooperation, promote friendly relationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Political activities: Modern trade unions also take up political activities to achieve their objectives. Such activities may be related to the formation of a political party or those reflecting an attempt to seek influence on public policy relating to matters connected with the interests of working class Other Functions Trade unions have a number of functions, one more important than the other depending on the situations; however the five main general principles developed have been: The service function The representative function The regulatory function The government function The public administration function The service function This involves the delivery of services and assistance to the union members. The representative function This implies that the trade union will act like a delegate for the members at the workplace. The regulatory function This enables trade unions to actively participate in rule-making over the workplace. This can be done either: directly multi-employer collective bargaining e.g. through the Joint Industrial Council Or indirectly through regulatory legislation The government and public administration function Trade unions engage with the government to assure that they can accomplish their respective function within the law. Trade unions also play an important role in: improving bottom-up communication in order to increase commitment of employees in meeting the organizations objectives negotiating improvements to pay and working conditions to retain the people encouraging companies to invest in training and development for better performance and personal as well as professional development of employees acting as a positive change agent thus gaining employees support for the smooth running of the organization Protecting the interests of employees by taking active participation in the management. safeguarding organizational stability, growth, and leadership Chapter 3: Trade Union at Work 3.1 Need for trade Union Trade Unions contribute much in the industrial peace; they are required for different purpose such as effective communication between employees and employers as they are the mediator between them. They also make sure that the divergence of opinions is taken into consideration and of course do not turn out into conflicts. They also bear a great responsibility in safeguarding the interests of their members. They are the protector, the counseling, the mediator, coach, and keep an eye on the environment in which their members evolves every day seeking a healthy and safe working place. Reasons why Trade Union is useful at work: Trade unions aid to enhance the pace of economic growth in many ways; through the recruitment and selection of workers instructing discipline among the workforce Trying to inculcate the organisation culture of the organisation to the new employee settling industrial clashes in a rational manner helping in social adjustments: new working conditions, abiding to new rules and policies Trade unions are a portion of society and are concern with the national integration: Encouraging and preserving national integration through the minimization of industrial conflicts. Incorporating a sense of corporate social responsibility in workers Attaining industrial peace To ensure job security and right pay for the members: One of the main reasons why the employee decides to join a union is principally for security, especially in the private sector where people are unsure of their job position. Employees desire to get paid according to their qualifications and skills. To express the complaints of employees to the managerial level: Though some employees do have grievance again the employers, they do not convey their thoughts as they fear of getting dismissed Employees do not like to be subjected to arbitrary and capricious actions by management. When difficult situation happens, employees may notice that they have little or no influence in job-related matters, thus becoming prime targets for unionization Facilitate the flow of communication between employers and employees Enhance the employer and employee relations Facilitate decisions making through the process of collective bargaining and negotiations 3.2 Reason for joining a Trade Union Individuals in various sectors of Mauritius choose to join a union in order to protect by the laws and regulations which abide the union. They might have different reasons joining and these reasons will tend to change over time. At the start of ones career, the main reason is for job security and working conditions, and when having experience it is for a better salary or benefits. Remember that independently, the workers do not bear the power to defy the top management. Therefore they grouped in order to make Unity stand still in front of managers. Other reasons can involve dissatisfaction with management, need for a social outlet, opportunity for leadership, forced unionization and peer pressure. Other important reasons for joining trade union: Greater Bargaining Power: As said before, when trying to bargain alone, the employee will not make the difference but if the whole organisation voices out it will me more tangible; a Strike by a union is a powerful tool that often causes the employer to accept the demands of the workers for better conditions of employment. Minimize Discrimination in decisions concerning wages, working conditions, promotion among others. There might be favouritisms if the manager appreciates more one employee than another. Discrimination can arise in term of racism, culture, religion, gender, origins and names. Sense of Security: employees join unions so as to have adequate security in term of accidents, injury, illness, unemployment, but also obtaining; retirement benefits and compelling the management to invest in welfare services for the benefit of the workers. Sense of Participation: so as to be involved in the decision- making of the organisation and influence the results through collective bargaining. Sense of Belongingness: some join because their co-mates are members others under group pressure. This may be an aspect of respect for those who are not members. Platform for self-expression: the workers want to be taken into consideration by the managerial level. Thus Trade unions provide such a forum to convey feelings, ideas, complaints and opinions. Betterment of relationships; workers believe that unions can satisfy the main need for suitable equipment for proper maintenance of employer-employee relations. Unions help in betterment of industrial relations among management and workers by solving the problems peacefully. 3.3 Pros and Cons of Trade Union Advantages of Trade Union Trade Union can increase the salary of its members as well as benefit through negotiation. Represent the workers in front of the employers and society Protect against exploitation Uphold health and safety legislation Trades unions can give representation to workers facing legal action. Can voice out for better working conditions Ask for training, learning and development of knowledge, skills and abilities Build the employee and employer

Sublime and Fantastic Elements in The Day We Were Dogs :: Day We Were Dogs Essays

Sublime and Fantastic Elements in The Day We Were Dogs      Ã‚   "The Day We Were Dogs" is a short story written by an author born in Puebla, Mexico, in 1993. Elena Garro's major themes revolve around the concepts of time and memory. I do not believe this story is a true example of magical realism; however I do see the sublime and the fantastic used in this story. I think that this story is really a misidentification of magical realism. To start out, I was moved by the way the author talked about a day with two days inside of it. How could this occurrence be? It is two days and two realities. There also were two afternoons and two heavens, dogs talking, dogs named Buddha and Christ. I just see Garro trying to imitate magical realism, but she did a bad job of it. I do have to give her credit for bringing the sublime and the fantastic in, though. The characteristics of magical realism are phenomenal, deeper realm, visibility, mysterious, opinionated, timeless fluidity, and fascinating. This story has none of those characteristics, or at least it does not express them the way a magical realism story would. "We recognize the world, although now-not only because we have emerged from a dream-we look on it with new eyes"(Roh 17). I see what Roh is trying to say about magical realism, and I do not think one can use these certain strategies to figure out this story because it is fantastical and sublime. The fantastic is characterized by the marvelous, the uncanny, the natural, and the supernatural. The marvelous to me in this story would be the two parallel days. It seems so normal how Garro talks about it. They looked at one day or thing and saw what happened, and then they looked at another. Being able to experience time this way seems so wild and crazy. Rabkin states that "we recognize this reversal (90 to 180) through certain textual (signals):the reactions of the characters, the statements of the narrators, and the implications of structures provided by implied authors."(Rabkin 11). The story does show a big reversal as the dogs act as dogs and the people act as dogs. Also, the character questions, "I'm a dog"? Then another dog replies, "Yes we are dogs." I saw that later on in the story she realizes that she was a dog by replying ,"Woof, Woof, Woof," when someone asked her a question.

Poverty in Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck :: Grapes of Wrath Essays

Throughout history, less fortunate people have been set apart or shunned from the general public. In the Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, this statement holds true. Throughout the whole book, all of the less fortunate people are treated like they aren’t even human. This is not much different than how our society is now. In the news article â€Å"Major Cities Get Tough With Homeless†, by Angie Cannon, Judy Appel said, â€Å"We are saying it is your fault that we have created a structure where there aren’t enough jobs and housing for you to lead a decent life.† (Cannon 1) Appel is saying the same thing Steinbeck was saying in his book. Many homeless people are homeless because they were forced to be that way, and the general public doesn’t realize it. In the Grapes of Wrath, and in the present time, the general public has set the less fortunate apart from themselves without even realizing it. â€Å"I’m seeing more apathy on the part of people. I think people used to feel badly. And now, I think people feel bothered. That’s a dangerous shift.† (Cannon 1) What she means is that at one point in time we used to care for the homeless. We used to try and help them out. Now we don’t care and we just want to get rid of them. This is very similar to the situation in the Grapes of Wrath. At first they wanted thousands of people to come and work, but when they actually started coming, the general public wanted to get rid of them. â€Å"And the men of the towns and of the soft suburban county gathered to defend themselves; and the reassured themselves that they were good and the invaders were bad, as a man must do before he fights. They said, these Okies are dirty and ignorant. They’re degenerate sexual man iacs. These Okies are thieves. They’ll steal anything. They’ve got no sense of property rights.† (G.O.W. 363) This was the general publics’ feeling towards the Okies, even though they asked them to come there in the first place. What the people don’t understand is that the Okies are being forced to steal and the general public is the one who is forcing them. In the Grapes of Wrath, and in the present time we, the general public have shunned the less fortunate. It isn’t that we want them to be poor, but we have a hard time fitting in with them.

Complete Communities and Indulgent Diversities Essays -- Campus Life

Rebekah Nathan’s â€Å"Community and Diversity† focuses on the changing definition of the word community on college campuses and how that change affects the way students spend their free time and interact with other students. While campus directors set up and promote campus life community with good intentions of providing every student with interesting activities and helping first-time students make the jump from home-life to college-life, big communities usually only take away from the little free time left in the day and make students feel more isolated and alone. The demand on students to participate in every campus activity in order to form a healthy campus life community pushes students further away from organized groups and makes forming small, exclusive social networks even more desirable. At the beginning of her essay â€Å"Community and Diversity,† Nathan notes most students only feel a sense of togetherness in three areas: â€Å"age, pop culture, and a handful of (recent) historical events† (Nathan 101)—areas that do not exactly function as ties that bind. Even as campuses pour more resources and energy into trying to involve students and to create a functioning community, many students instead opt to reserve time for themselves and small groups of friends, forsaking the large, time-restrictive group for networks of â€Å"individualism, spontaneity, freedom, and choice† (Nathan 105). While these egocentric groups often overlap, they rarely have identical matches, as each student creates his or her own network on a basis of proximity and similar interests. Many of the groups are also either entirely comprised of a single ethnicity or include only one or two persons of different races. Although the large, organized form of campus... ...s purpose and motivation—to provide social structure, to educate, or to merely retain the majority of the freshman class? While a large-scale community can provide students with multiple activities with which to fill their days, it simply cannot offer each student much needed personal care and attention. Although Nathan conducts brilliant observational research in her essay, â€Å"Community and Diversity,† she merely scratches the surface of the situation, reporting on the evidence around her, but not reaching the heart of problem. Students today require a deeper understanding from other students—an understanding they cannot have in a large community. Instead of waiting for small-scale university programming to come along, students have to take matters, and their best interests, into their own hands and create small, private networks that cater to their individual needs.

Legitimating rationale Essay

Explain how and why the Functional Perspective is the legitimating rationale (explanation or justification) for a Capitalist economy, and give examples of this justification through race, religion, class, gender, and educational level. Then, critique the Functionalist ideology from the Conflict Perspective and describe how the stratification system produces deviants (not criminals, but rather those who fall outside the expectations in actions, thoughts, appearance, credit-score, etc) and the result of this labeling in terms of preserving the status quo. Without a judicial system, regardless how flawed it is, in a Capitalist economy it would be bedlam without it. As a human race, we need to abide by restrictions and laws. It is an unfortunate statistic that the majority of inmates are lower class, less educated than the norm. The penal system shows no favoritism on gender nor religion. In our society if the law is not obeyed, then you will have to pay the ultimate price. Earlier social conflict theorists argue that money is the mechanism which creates social disorder. The theory further states that society is created from ongoing social conflict between various groups. The gap between the haves, and have not, have certainly widened in the past five years. Families who were considered middle class five years ago have seen their credit score plummet. Ones that found themselves buying at higher retail stores are now at discounted houses. Having their homes foreclosed, and living week to week, has become the norm in the middle of this society. There is much resentment for the middle class as the higher class seems to go unscathed, and the lower class seems to be getting more and more government services. I believe the word status quo is a thing of the past. Part B Choose 1 legitimating rationale and show how the 5 basic social institutions (economy, family, religion, education and government) work together and support one another both structurally and ideologically to foster this rationale. Then discuss Marx’s claim that the interests and goals of the economic system define  the goals and objectives of all other institutions. (50 pts) â€Å"Women are subordinate to men,† and the way that they all support it. Economy (women get paid less than men: glass ceiling), family (men expect women to play the housewife), religion (the bible talks about women as the â€Å"sinners† and that men are superior/women can’t be priests in the Catholic church), education (we are taught sexist rationales in school like boys are macho and girls play with Barbie’s and don’t fight), government (the U.  S. Constitution says â€Å"all men are created equal† not all â€Å"people† or â€Å"all women†)Beacuse the economy is controlled by a strong male presence (wall street, congress, etc) they continue to re-emphasize the male agenda because they want to keep control (keep higher salaries, make the laws, etc) So the male controlled economy defines the goals and objectives of everything so they stay in power.