Chinese and Greek Mythology Essay

Long ago, people wanted to acquire a better understanding of the beginning of the universe which ultimately resulted in the establishment of religions, beliefs and most pertinent, creation myths. Mythology provides explanations for the worlds mysteries especially in regards to the creation of Earth, Humans and the environment. This comparative paragraph analyzes the similarities and differences between a Greek myth entitled, The Beginning of Things, and a Chinese myth named, Heaven and Earth and Man, contrasted in the aspects of conflict, solutions, heroic action, and the education of the first humans. Conflicts arise for different concerns but after the battles cease, peace is restored because of supernatural intervention, the world advances and progresses to prevent future misfortune. Firstly, if peace is kept in the heavens of Greece then there will be less despair on Earth. The battle of authority results in a punishment system being enforced to confine cruel people and prevent rebellions. In ancient Greece there was a constant power struggle for the gods because of the underlying fear that their children would replace them in the chain of command. The text supports the argument of development and enhancement after unreasonable decisions are made by the deities; If any of them breaks the oath, for one year he lies breathless, and cannot partake of sweet nectar and ambrosia; after that year he is cut off from the meeting of the gods for nine years more, and then only may he come back and join their company. (Rouse, 3) During the destruction of the battles, evil is unleashed and causes chaos in the land. The justice system, which is created in response to Cronuses’ rebellion, is essential for any society to continue successfully. There is heroic involvement in both myths, with Zeus in particular in Ancient Greece. Zeus defeated his father and saved his brothers and sisters after being swallowed and trapped in his stomach. Cronuses’ awful deed deserves punishment which results in Zeus creating the Underworld and a standard of the amount of time spent punished. In fact, the Chinese story also includes a quarrel, different in rationale but improvement after the disagreement is a prevalent theme in both. Subsequently, in respect to the Chinese myth, after the war between fire and water, the pillar was destroyed; Nu-Kua repaired the gaps in the sky by supporting the sky with additional blocks. The literature provides evidence to confirm this line of reasoning; Block by block, she patched the holes in the sky. Lastly, she killed a giant turtle, and cut off its powerful legs to make pillars between which the sky is firmly held over the Earth, never again to fall. (Birch, 7) After chaos returns for the second time, when the elements fight against each other, involvement from spirits resolves the crisis and mitigates harm from humans. The irrational and aggressive clash between fire and water causes destruction but also provides reasoning for the position of the oceans and world geography. Apart from the similarities, there are many discrepancies circulating around the topic of conflict. In the Greek myth, conflicts originate from the desire to establish power and authority by rebelling. First, Cronus rebelled against his father Uranus and Zeus against Cronus followed. The competition is caused because children inherit their parents’ position and both gods prevent this from happening by swallowing or imprisoning them. On the contrary, the Chinese dispute is against the elements fire and water. In Chinese mythology, fire is masculine and symbolizes strength, aggression, impulsiveness. Water is considered feminine and symbolizes fluidity, downward energy but has the potential to be noisy. The conflict is probably caused because the elements are opposites and naturally enemies. This clash of the elements is a result of senseless hostility and not a fight for control. The difference in culture is what causes the significant differences in myths. Evidently, in Greek mythology acquiring status and supremacy is valued whereas there isn’t a sense of hierarchy but instead teamwork in China. According to the Asian myth, the spirits all work together towards a common goal which is to enhance and protect the Earth. Another obvious commonality in relation to either conflict is the presence of a supreme being which triggers and assists the chain of events which form the World. The Greek mythology had many different supreme beings which were responsible for various forces on Earth. The Chinese version, only included two main beings, one which was the result of the environment and the other was the creator of the human race. Comparative mythology also requires examining the distinction between the ideas of how both cultures though the Earth was created. An indication of how diverse the culture and beliefs of people is demonstrated in the topic of the formation of Human beings and the surrounding eco-system. The creation of humans, wildlife and geographic landscapes varies with the idea of the Greek Gods sculpting most organisms themselves whereas the Chinese believe Pan’Ku’s body transforms into the environment. The aspect of creation and the environment is portrayed very differently in both legends. The number of dissimilarities outweighs the number corresponding ideas surrounding the mystery of the beginning of the Universe and our existence. In ancient Greece, after a period of chaos and disagreement between the deities a clever titian named Prometheus establishes the first human and provides luminosity and warmth in a world, swallowed by darkness after the sun sets. Prometheus sculpts animals and accidentally, the first human out of clay and began to teach them how to survive including hunting and making fire; Prometheus was very much pleased with his new pet. He used to watch men hunting for food and living in caves and holes, like ants or badgers. He determined to educate men as well as he could. (Rouse, 2) After rebelling by taking responsibility for the Earth underneath the heavens, Prometheus entertains himself by making models out of clay. Accidently, he creates humans and spent most of his time teaching humans how to continue to exist. Prometheus sculpts humans by accident whereas Nu’Kua from the Chinese myth wants to produce beings that will aid to cure her solitary state. To contrast, in the Chinese myth, the weather conditions, mountains, rivers and vegetation are all created by Pan’Ku’s body. Additionally, after humans are created by Nu’Kua, they are taught many vital skills in addition to simply the ability to survive; â€Å"Who in his life [Pan’Ku] had brought shape to the universe, by his death gave his body to make it rich and beautiful†¦ to the Earth he gave his body† (Birch, 6). In the Chinese story, the environment is not created by a specific spirit but instead transforms from a god into the surrounding nature and landscape. A further comparison against the Greek tale is the little explanation about how the land and plants are created except for the separation of sky and ground which reveals an already existing ecosystem. Moreover, the humans in the Chinese myth are taught how to communicate, reproduce and to live in peace. The humans in ancient Greece are never taught skills beyond survival. Finally, there is an evident variation for the reasons to assemble humans. Nu’Kua intends to create a creature that will provide her relief from isolation meanwhile Prometheus is only amusing himself and the first human emerges entirely unintentionally. Nevertheless, both fairy-tales have a couple of resembling principles. To begin with, humans are formed and educated by the deities. The first humans were taught to hunt, gather food, and construct shelter to avoid perishing as a species. The principal objective is to aid humans to continue to populate and the justification in both fables was that supernatural intervention maintained the evolution of such a powerful species. Magical clay was used in both myths as the main material in the production of creatures and human beings. The motive for why these two parables are so similar is to emphasize how there is an external influence which assisted the formation of humans because it is difficult to believe that simple resources could have conceived such complex living, breathing creatures. Additionally, as a society in the present day, education is a requirement and essential for the genetic continuity of the human race, peace and maintenance of the Earth’s resources. By the means of education can one’s potential be used to maximum extent. It is natural for the authors of these short fictitious stories to assume the hero’s and goddesses teach humans because then there will be no foundation to carry on the sharing of lessons and information. In conclusion, it is in the nature of humans to wonder about the unknown and search for answers. At the foundation of nearly every culture is a creation myth which explains how the wonderful mysteries of the Earth came to be. Despite geographical barriers, many cultures have developed creation myths with the same basic elements and structure. However, there are many cultural and societal influences which cause variations in the beliefs and alter the overall creation myth from region to region. Apart from the fundamental similarities, the Greek and Chinese ideologies deviated in certain aspects of the myth because their values and morals as separate countries have impacted, adapted and evolved differently in response to world events.

A Study on Impact of Fdi on Service Sector Essay

The study aims to analyze the growth dynamics of the FDI. It intends to see whether the growth in FDI has any significant impact on the service sector growth and also investigates whether a growth in this sector causes the GDP to grow, also analyzes the significance of the FDI Inflows in Indian service sector. The study also looks into the sub-sectoral dynamics and indicates towards the fact that the trade, hotels and restaurants, transport. storage and communications sub-sector contributes the most in the growth of Indian service sector. FDI to developing countries in the 1990s was the leading source of external financing. It is one of the most important component of national development strategies for most of the countries in the world and an important source of non-debt inflows for attaining competitive efficiency by creating a meaningful network of global interconnections. FDI provide opportunities to host countries to enhance their economic development and opens new opportunities to home countries to optimize their earnings by employing their ideal resources. India ranks fifteenth in the services output and it provides employment to around 23% of the total workforce in the country. The various sectors under the Services Sector in India are construction, trade, hotels, transport, restaurant, communication and storage, social and personal services, community, insurance, financing, business services, and real estate. Meaning: FDI stands for Foreign Direct Investment, a component of a country’s national financial accounts. Foreign direct investment is investment of foreign assets into domestic structures, equipment, and organizations. It does not include foreign investment into the stock markets. Foreign direct investment is thought to be more useful to a country than investments in the equity of its companies because equity investments are potentially â€Å"hot money† which can leave at the first sign of trouble, whereas FDI is durable and generally useful whether things go well or badly. Classifications of Foreign Direct Investment FDI is classified depending on the direction of flow of money. * Outward FDI:Any investment made by a country in other countries will account for outward FDI. Where as, all the FDIs invested by other countries in that country is called inward FDI. Outward FDI, also referred to as â€Å"direct investment abroad†, is backed by the government against all associated risk. * Inward FDI : Inward FDI occurs when foreign capital is invested in local resources. The factors propelling the growth of inward FDI include tax breaks, low interest rates and grants. FDI is classified depending on how the subsidiary company works in par with the parent investors. * Vertical: Vertical FDIs happen when a corporation owns some share of the foreign enterprise. The local enterprise could either be supplying the input or selling finished goods to the parent corporation. The subsidiary here helps the parent company to grow more. * Horizontal: When the MNCs kick off similar business operations in different countries it becomes horizontal Foreign Direct Investment. It is actually a cloning that is happening here. Both the countries enjoy the same share of growth. FDI IN INDIA After getting independence in 1947, the government of India envisioned a socialist approach based on the USSR system to developing the country’s economy. The last decade of the 20th century witnessed a drastic increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), accompanied by a marked change in the attitude of most developing countries towards inward investment. FDI flows have grown in importance relative to other forms of international capital flows, and the resulting production has increased as a share of world output.. FDI in India has in a lot of ways enabled India to achieve a certain degree of financial stability, growth and development during recession. This money has allowed India to focus on the areas that may have needed economic attention and address various problems that continue to challenge the country. The factors that attracted investment in India are stable economic policies, availability of cheap and quality human resources, and opportunities of new unexplored markets. Mostly FDI are flowing in service sector and manufacturing sector recorded very low investments. The investments in service sector enhanced the benefit of flow of funds to the home country. Presently India is contributing about 17% of world total population but the share of GDP to world GDP is 2%. India has been ranked at the second place in global foreign direct investments in 2010 and will continue to remain among the top five attractive destinations for international investors during 2010-12 period, according to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in a report on world investment prospects titled, ‘World Investment Prospects Survey 2009-2012’. According to the fact sheet on foreign direct investment dated October 2010. Mauritius is the highest FDI investment in equity inflows with 42% of the total inflow followed by Singapore, USA, UK and Netherlands with 9%, 7%, 5% and 4% respectively. Service sector is the highest FDI attracting inflows with 21% of the total inflows, followed by computer software and hardware, telecommunication and housing and real estate with 9%, 8%, 7% and 7% inflows respectively. A report released in February 2010 by Leeds University Business School, commissioned by UK Trade ;amp; Investment (UKTI), ranks India among the top three countries where British companies can do better business during 2012-14. According to Ernst and Young’s 2010 European Attractiveness Survey, India is ranked as the fourth most attractive foreign direct investment destination in 2010.

Bshs/382 Research and Statistics Dq’s

Week 1 DQ 1 1. Voluntary consent of the participant is absolutely essential. The subject must be capable of giving consent without coercion, and full responsibility for obtaining consent rests with the principal investigator. 2. The experiment must be designed to bring forth results that will benefit society and that cannot be obtained in any other manner. 3. Human experimentation should be based on animal research results as well as knowledge of the natural course of events, disease, or problems. 4. All unnecessary mental or physical harm should be avoided. 5. When there is reason to believe that death or disabling injury may occur, no experiment should be conducted except, perhaps, when the experimenting physicians also serve as subjects. 6. The degree of risk should never exceed the humanitarian importance of the problem to be solved. 7. All precaution should be taken to protect subjects from even remote possibilities of injury or death. 8. Only qualified personnel should be allowed to conduct experiments. The principal investigator must be ready to terminate the experiment at any stage if it appears that injury or death will result. Research Techniques for the Health Sciences, Fourth Edition Chapter 4: Considering Ethics in Research Explain two basic principles for humane treatment of human subjects in research. Drawing on the course readings or a current news item, provide an example of a study in which ethical principles were not followed. How might study design have been improved in that case? The two basic principles for human treatment of human subjects in research most significant to me are, making sure all precaution is taken to protect subjects from even remote possibilities of injury or death, and allowing the subject to withdraw from the experiment at any time if a point is reached that may bring about physical or mental harm. It is important that we do not use humans in research as crash dummies, as if they are simply replaceable after harm and injury. It is only right to take all precautions and allow the human subject to change their mind about participating in the research. Ethical principles were not followed in the Tuskegee Syphilis Study found in our text. The human subjects were not fully aware of the study, and the purpose of the research was more so the subjects could die and they could perform an autopsy. Week 1 DQ 2 What are the advantages of using a mixed method approach to research? What are the challenges? Provide an example of how you have used (or, in the future, could use) this approach in your professional role. The strength of the research; 2) Use of multiple methods in a research helps to research a process or a problem from all sides; 3) Usage of different approaches helps to focus on a single process and confirms the data accuracy. A mixed research complements a result from one type of research with another one. This research does not miss any available data. The aim of a mixed method design is to summarize positive aspects of two approaches and produce a highly accurate data. When you use several methods in your research process, then you can use the strength of every type of information collection and minimize the weak points of every of both approaches. A mixed method approach of gathering and evaluation can increase the validity and accuracy of the information. The advantages of using a mixed method approach to research are having several different outcomes in the process of your research. What this does is allows the researcher to use the strengths from the information collected and minimize the weaknesses from the information collected. Using a mixed method approach can ultimately increase the accuracy and validity of the information. The challenges of using a mixed method approach will be that the time of researching will be extended. Extending the time of research could definitely be a challenge if there is a time frame to find results in. Depending on the purpose of the research, using a mixed method approach can be a waist of time. An example of using the mixed method approach was when I wanted to explore (qualitative objective) why people shop on-line. I conducted open-ended interviews (qualitative data collection) asking people why they shop on-line, and then I quantified the results by counting the number of times each type of response occurred (quantitative data analysis). Week 2 DQ 1 What is the difference between reliability and validity? Imagine that you are going to develop a new instrument for research in your field, using course readings, provide specific examples of how you might go about establishing its reliability and validity. (Make sure to cover at least one approach for determining reliability and one for determining validity. Reliability is, roughly, whether you could replicate an experiment and get comparable results – either because an individual's responses are consistent (for example, their reaction times in a test are consistent when the test is carried out again), or the general overall results are consistent (for example, the average score on a test is the same or similar when carried out again on a c omparable group) Validity is whether the construct you are using really measures what you are using it to measure. For example, if you devised a test to measure people's self-esteem, does it really measure self-esteem, or something similar such as extraversion? Reliability refers to the ability to perform the same experiment and get the same results. Validity refers to the accuracy of those results. You could perform the same experiment many times and get the same results, but they may not be correct (if the experiment is flawed for example). This would be reliable, but not valid. Conversely, you could perform an experiment that yields accurate results once, but not when it is repeated. This would be accurate (one time anyway), but not reliable. Reliability is the consistency of the degree to which an instrument measures the same way each time it is used under the same condition with the same subjects; in short, it is replicating an experiment and getting comparable results. For example, a second test measuring reaction time showing the same reaction times as the first test. Reliability is all about the ability to perform the same experiment and get the same results. Validity is whether the construct you are using really measures what you are using it to measure. It is essentially the strength of our conclusions, inferences or propositions. For example, a test measuring people's confidence, does it really measure confidence, or something similar such as faith in something? Week 2 DQ 2 What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of survey research? Provide an example of survey research findings that were recently published in the news. First, briefly summarize the study design and findings. Second, based on what we have read about survey research, provide critical feedback on this study's design or explain what additional information you would need to make a critical assessment of this study. Strengths: 9. Surveys are relatively inexpensive (especially self-administered surveys). 10. Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population. No other method of observation can provide this general capability. 11. They can be administered from remote locations using mail, email or telephone. 12. Consequently, very large samples are feasible, making the results statistically significant even when analyzing multiple variables. 13. Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving considerable flexibility to the analysis. 14. There is flexibilty at the creation phase in deciding how the questions will be administered: as face-to-face interviews, by telephone, as group administered written or oral survey, or by electonic means. 15. Standardized questions make measurement more precise by enforcing uniform definitions upon the participants. 16. Standardization ensures that similar data can be collected from groups then interpreted comparatively (between-group study). 17. Usually, high reliability is easy to obtain–by presenting all subjects with a standardized stimulus, observer subjectivity is greatly eliminated. Weaknesses: * A methodology relying on standardization forces the researcher to develop questions general enough to be minimally appropriate for all respondents, possibly missing what is most appropriate to many respondents. * Surveys are inflexible in that they require the initial study design (the tool and administration of the tool) to remain unchanged throughout the data collection. * The researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply. * It may be hard for participants to recall information or to tell the truth about a controversial question. As opposed to direct observation, survey research (excluding some interview approaches) can seldom deal with â€Å"context. † Advantages of survey research could be cost efficiency since surveys are relatively inexpensive. Surveys are useful in describing the characteristics of a large population and not a lot of other methods of observation can provide this general capability. They can be administered fr om distant locations. Many questions can be asked about a given topic giving flexibility to the analysis. Disadvantages of survey research could be researchers being forced to develop general questions. Surveys are inflexible because they remain unchanged throughout the data collection. Also, with surveys the researcher must ensure that a large number of the selected sample will reply, otherwise the survey would not be sufficient. In the news there was a survey about homelessness in Santa Cruz County. A count and survey conducted by the United Way of Santa Cruz County and the nonprofit research firm Applied Survey Research, and it showed that the homeless population in Santa Cruz County has jumped 22 percent in two years. The survey design was cross-sectional. It asked several questions at one oint in time. The survey collected age, gender, race, and reason for being homeless. http://www. santacruzsentinel. com/opinion/ci_18565125 http://www. phc-santacruz. org/_pdfs/2011%20Santa%20Cruz%20Homeless%20Report%20-%20FINAL. pdf Week 3 DQ 1 How can you avoid bias when selecting samples for human services research? Imagine that you are going to design a survey that will be administered to consumers/clients in your field (e. g. , nursing home residents, youth mentors, single mothers); how would you go about sampling from this population in order to generate meaningful data? What might be some of the challenges in ending up with a representative sample? To avoid bias when selecting samples for human services research a diverse set of individuals should be chosen within the same community. Different ethnicities, different genders, equals different beliefs, backgrounds, and futures. Selecting individuals in this manner should avoid bias. Hypothetically I work for an organization that offers services to young and troubled girls, especially those who have been to juvenile hall. Schools and juvenile halls if permitted would be great places to begin my sampling. Schools and juvenile halls both have a diverse population where bias could be avoided. The barriers I could see myself running into would be getting the permission to survey the minors in the first place. The biggest barrier would be knowing what girls are considered troubled or not and who they are specifically to get only their feedback and not girls who are not considered troubled. Week 3 DQ 2 List different measures of variability discussed in the readings and, using your professional field, provide an example to illustrate the concept. If you were a manager looking at these measures of variability around some aspect of employee productivity, what may they tell you about an individual's or team's performance? The range is the most obvious measure of dispersion and is the difference between the lowest and highest values in a dataset. The range is based solely on the two most extreme values within the dataset. The range is simple to compute and is useful when you wish to evaluate the whole of a dataset. The standard deviation indicates how tightly the values in the dataset are bunched around the mean value. The standard deviation is the most vigorous measure of variability because it’s measuring how every value in the dataset varies from the mean. You must be careful when calculating the standard deviation to consider whether the entire population or a sample is being examined and to use the appropriate formula. If I were a manager looking at these measures of variability around some aspect of employee productivity, the range would point out the highs and the lows of the team performance. This would allow me to know my team’s strength and weakness, and then I would be able to work on ways to minimum the weaknesses in performance. Week 4 DQ 1 Based on the textbook readings, describe the â€Å"third variable problem† as it relates to correlation and provide an example of how you might see this played out in your own field. Week 4 DQ 2 How does hypothesis testing contribute to the scientific knowledge base? Based on the textbooks' descriptions of hypothesis testing, provide an example of how you might implement this in your work. othesis is an edjucated guess an it is some time's the closest we can get to the trueth of things we do not yet understand Scientists use a scientific method to investigate phenomena and acquire knowledge. They base the method on verifiable observation — i. e. , on empirical evidence rather than on pure logic or supposition — and on the principles of reasoning. [1] [2] Scientists propose explanations — called h ypotheses — for their observed phenomena, and perform experiments to determine whether the results accord with (support) the hypotheses or falsify them. They also formulate theories that encompass whole domains of inquiry, and which bind supported hypotheses together into logically coherent wholes. They refer to theories sometimes as ‘models’, which usually have a mathematical or computational basis. [3] [4] determining the focus and direction of the research, it forces researcher to state the purpose of the activity, determines what variable are being studied and or considered and also it allows to a required operational definition of the variable that are being studied. Hypothesis testing is a must for any person to successfully test their studies and make sure there are no flaws. Hypothesis is an educated guess an it is some times the closest we can get to the truth on matters that we do not yet understand. Scientist base their method on verifiable observation rather than on logic. Hypothesis testing forces researchers to address the purpose of the activity while determining what variables need to be studied and also requires operational definition.

Explain three (3) world arguments for birth control and two (2) world Essay

Explain three (3) world arguments for birth control and two (2) world arguments against birth control. Give original examples (not in the textbooks) or further clarification of each viewpoint or position - Essay Example ore necessary to re-examine some old and new arguments for birth control because the reasons are valid and make tremendous sense to any sensible person concerned with human life. Some people have raised these alarms many times but were just ignored over the years. The foremost argument for birth control is an old one, raised several centuries ago by a famous English scholar and political economist Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834). He argued that human populations are subject to the same limiting factors as any other living species in the world such as famine, diseases and available food supplies. Human populations tend to grow or outstrip increases in food supplies and would simply result in majority of humans suffering under a cloud of hunger and misery. This is very much evident today in various parts of the world such as Africa where famines occur regularly. Moreover, the total arable land has decreased over the years due to increasing development and the rise of urbanization, reducing the area available for food production. Additionally, human activities have led to pollution of water supplies, which make potable water difficult to obtain in many areas and droughts also caused supply scarcity. The worlds natural resources are mostly finite in nature, and any increase in humans will surely contribute to depletion of these supplies. Water, food and energy are not readily or always renewable in limitless quantities and some form of birth control has to be instituted. The world is definitely reaching its limits that can sustain an acceptable level in the quality of life. A consequence of increased human populations is the issue of global warming. Climate change is now upon us and this has affected everything on Earth, including the ability to raise the food crops necessary for survival and the water supplies for irrigation. More people means more carbon footprint and harmful gas emissions that contribute to the worsening of global warming. On the other hand,

Learning Theories of Albert Bendura Research Paper

Learning Theories of Albert Bendura - Research Paper Example Similarly, Bandura held that all sorts of learning cannot be products of reinforcement and held that social and psychological factors are associated with the process of learning. He propagated the theory of social cognitive learning and emphasized on observational learning and modeling. Similarly, Bandura also introduced several other important concepts, including reciprocal determinism, self-efficacy, self-regulation which have been beneficial to the understanding of human learning and subsequent behavior formation. In short, Bandura advocates behavior modeling and observational learning whereby a person observes and then imitates the behavior of people who are around him and whose actions motivate him.  Ã‚   While the behavioralists held that it is the environment that causes one’s behavior, Bandura went a step forward and propagated his reciprocal determinism whereby he argued that â€Å"behavior causes environment† just as environment causes behavior (Boeree 2006). He viewed human personality as an interaction of three factors-â€Å"the environment, behavior, and the person’s psychological processes† and believed that man’s cognitive faculties play a pivotal role in the formation of one’s personality (Boeree 2006). The psychological processes comprise of one’s ability to entertain images in minds and language. Bandura thus believed that learning occurs in the social context and that people learn from one another.  Ã‚   The social learning theory has been considered as Bandura’s major contribution to the field of psychology and learning. The social learning theory blends together cognitive and behavioral frameworks and the theory stresses the importance of observing and modeling on the behaviors, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others. For Engler (2008), Bandura maintains an agentic perspective in his socio-cognitive view of personality.  

At the Core of Hendrix's Ladyland Experience Essay

At the Core of Hendrix's Ladyland Experience - Essay Example Though it lacks the recording quality and quiet grace of "All Along the Watchtower", it throws out the real Hendrix that was woven through all of his too few albums. The song is rooted in Hendrix's genius for creating open-ended passages that flow out of a simple construction based on few chords. His prolific use of the 9th chords provides the song with a rock-blues sound with an ever-present feeling of tension. As Hendrix overlays his classic guitar leads, he pulls the song back to its blues roots only long enough for the listener to catch up and anticipate the coming resolution. The song is reminiscent of other blues giants of the period such as Butterfield, Mayhall, and Bloomfield but benefits from the addition of the extra musical filigree that only Hendrix possessed. The song is further enhanced by the profound use of multi-tracking, which was still a relatively new concept. By today's standards "Long Hot Summer Night" is rather poorly produced. At times the song is muddy and lacks the clear and crisp sound found on other songs from "The Experience". However, Hendrix's guitar leads remain intact with the hair-raising richness that is immediately identifiable. He handles the neck of his Stratocaster as if it's another appendage. Though few devices are noticeable on the track, Hendrix utilizes slides and bends with an ease that leaves no doubt that Jimi is in charge. The fullness of the amplifiers produce a sound that fills the listener with the liquid metallic smoothness of the finest blues-rock sound ever created. The guitar is rife with the round richness of overtones that we know as Hendrix. The familiar guitar is accompanied by Hendrix on vocals and spotlights his classic combination of defiance, pleading, and poetry. Though Hendrix was often self critical of his own voice, on "Long Hot Summer Night" he provides the harmony on the back up parts as well. His self-consciousness shows through as the back up vocals are often thin and seem out of place with the rest of the high power material. However, the force of Hendrix's poetry is able to overpower the song as the back up passages contain no meaningful lyrical content. It is able to successfully tell the age-old story of struggle and conflict that is as important today as it was then. The lyrics, typical of the period, are laced with psychedelic references that would be out of step today. The song tells of "three sugar walls and two candy cane windows " and serves up images of the surreal world of Hendrix. Yet, these are only lyrical devices that Hendrix uses to set the stage for his story. It is about the troubled "Summer of '68" and the trouble Hendrix was confronting while seeing himself as a musician thrust into a world of business and fame that he privately shunned. It is a song about escaping the twin masters he served, his art and the record label, as we see in his use of contrast as he repeats the line "hot cold summer". When he first introduces the telephone, clearly an annoyance, he says, "the telephone blew its horn". A few lines later, the tension has escalated and now "the telephone is screaming". At this point Hendrix breaks into a guitar solo signaling his escape from the torment and back into his craft, the quintessential Hendrix. The lyrics beg fo r release from the confusion of the earlier verses as he pleads for his

Individual Personality Profile Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Individual Personality Profile - Assignment Example The study of personality is undertaken mostly by both sociologists and psychologists to give them an insight into what makes a person tick. There are two broad ways of how to approach or implement the study of personality. The first is through discovering some general principles that apply to all types of people such as self-actualization principle that governs all human beings. The second approach is to observe and understand an individual by his unique aspects. The first approach is generalized or macro view (termed as nomothetic psychology) while the second is a micro view of a person or specific and called idiographic psychology. There are also several theoretical viewpoints used to study personality such as social learning perspective, biological, humanistic, behavioral and psycho-dynamic. Various tests have been designed to determine an individuals personality using some of these theories to arrive at a coherent and complete picture of a persons psychological composition or makeup. Personal psychology is used in a variety of ways such as hiring policies for employment. This paper will describe my personality based on some tests I took and discuss its implications. Knowing your personality type can help a lot in career decision making. This is due to the fact that certain personalities are more suited to particular jobs or professions. Having a good fit between personality and job description helps towards achieving efficiency at work and increased employee satisfaction as well. This is why personality tests are important in the world of work and many firms use personality tests to determine if an applicant is suitable or not for a vacant job position. Hiring the right employees helps to improve or achieve overall organizational objectives. Training and work experience can come in later and augment all an employees strengths in performing the job functions but the

Sustainable Buildings Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sustainable Buildings - Assignment Example ding United Kingdom, japan have had strict environmental policies implemented to help in enhancing the environmental quality and thus preserving the resources sustainability (Gottfried & Malik, 2009). According to McDonald (2005), Canada’s green building is growing vigorously in the market. The prediction of the increased activity of green building is widely done by several firms that suggest that at the overall share of green buildings in the market is likely to grow at a stronger pace. While Canada’s construction market is smaller compared to the one seen in the United States and the data used in building a green building share in the U.S are not available in Canada. The top environmental main reason Canada is constructing green buildings is to reduce the consumption of energy. Water and energy consumption as well as improving the quality of air that is indoor are the driving factors. There is a lower greenhouse gases emission during construction. The future if green building in both the United States and Canada is seen to be in a good place several years to come if they master the skill of cross- disciplinary. Since communities are integrated with their natural environments, the industries must, therefore, master these skills. Several institutions of education in both United States and Canada are offering courses in green building that target sectors that are specific sectors. This will ensure proper knowledge and skills are imparted, and the future of green building lay

How Organisations can Utilise the Talent Pipeline Essay

How Organisations can Utilise the Talent Pipeline - Essay Example The paper will also focus on how the concept of best practice can contribute to talent management. In order for the organisation to utilise the talent pipeline to be a super achiever, factors such as acquisition, utilisation, development and reward of talent have to be taken into consideration. The first step that should be taken by the organisation is to attempt to streamline its recruitment efforts so that they are geared towards attracting the best talent in order for it to operate viably. Pfeffer (1989, p.65) suggests that companies which are concerned about their competitiveness as well as making profits through people ought to â€Å"expend the effort needed to ensure that they recruit the right people in the first place.† In this regard, there is need to create a super ‘fit’ whereby candidates with qualities that meet the expected role standards are recruited in the organisation. Talent is identified during the recruitment exercise and it is my strong convic tion that the right person is selected to fill the post within the organisation. Such a move can motivate me to join a particular organisation given that I will be aware of the fact that I possess the right skills and talent to execute the tasks that will be assigned to me. Factors to consider when recruiting employees There are many factors that can be considered when determining the right person to fill the post available in the organisation. According to Baron & Kreps (1999), candidates who display greater talent and knowledge of the of the job ought to be given preference as these can be continually developed to meet the changing expectations of the organisation. This is supposed to be the first stage in recruitment and ultimately retention of talented employees given that the employers are given the opportunity to assess the candidates at face value if they are capable of meeting the demands of the job as well as to establish if they possess interests for that particular job. T his stage heralds a complex process that is concerned with choosing the right candidates for the organisation. It is easier to retain a talented employee than the one who is not as going to be illustrated below. Retention of employees Employers can utilise the talent of the employees through implementing various measures. According to Pfeffer (1998), there is need for the organisation to take into consideration the needs of the employees so that they can put optimum performance in their operations. I am also of the idea that if the employee is treated as a valuable asset to the organisation, he is likely to utilise his talents for the betterment of the organisation in the execution of his expected duties. The employee should be given the opportunity to display his prowess in that particular task assigned to him. The employers must also be accommodative to the ideas that may be suggested by the employee such that his talent can be fully utilised for the benefit of the organisation as a whole. Development of employees Acquisition of talented employees is not an end in itself given that there is need to constantly develop these employees so that they remain competent in their operations. According to Schultz et al (2003), organisations operate in a dynamic environment that is constantly changing and in order for them to remain viable, they need to adopt change. On the other hand, the employee

The ABC Service Agency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The ABC Service Agency - Essay Example The ABC Service Agency The committee included six board members and four of our top managerial staff. The board of directors together with other key partners held meetings twice a week to review the mission and the core values of the company. Company staff members were also instrumental in providing support to the committee and review of the draft plan (Bond, 2003). In addition, different stakeholders provided their views on organizational assessment in relation to challenges and opportunities of international business. Executive summary Background The ABC agency was established in 1992 as a volunteer organization to provide support to children with disability. Currently the organization provides support services to over 2,000 children and adults across the United States and it is a major employer. ABC agency support program provides placement and support, Respite care, or planned relief for the caregivers of children and adults with disabilities, and vocational training. The agency also provides informati on and referral services to the community with the aim of providing support to people living with disabilities. Direction and Results Strategic direction and results included in this plan are based on the value that the company places on its customers and the need to utilize available resources for sustainable growth. The company is also keen on identifying opportunities in order to counter possible challenges. Due to the growing need for our services beyond our borders, the agency needs to expand its marketing and operation tentacles to enable it exploit emerging opportunities (Lawrence, Weber & Post, 2005). The five-year plan aim at establishing concrete relationship with the donor community and expand productions and marketing options. We also acknowledge the sensitive role that the company plays in the community. To maintain its position in the society the company seeks to expand its production capacity in order to cater for an expanding market. ABC agency will pursue the follow ing directions The company will review and heighten its existing services to ensure that they are effective and reliable. The company will also assess customer satisfaction index to determine its influence in the international market. The ABC agency will work with humanitarian organizations across the globe to identify possible areas of interests. The agency will also collaborate with leading manufacturer of support equipments around the globe to produce support equipments for people with disability at an affordable cost. The company also aims to collaborate with major technology companies to design an information system that will form its main operation platform. Goals The following goals were drafted following cross consultation with key stakeholders and a detailed analysis of the current business environment. The goals provide a strategic framework that will enable the company achieve its target within the stated time. Service delivery It is evident that the company has become a market leader due to its ability to offer high quality services to its customers. We deal in a highly sensitive environment and, therefore our services are evaluated various parties including human rights and government agencies. We therefore seek to reinforce our service delivery in providing family support, education, and employment opportunities. Human resources ABC agency values its staff and the

Summarizing a biological article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Summarizing a biological article - Essay Example It is, therefore, added to tools of sampling mosquitos. The study investigated whether CO 2, supplied from gas cylinders could be replaced by CO 2 derived from fermenting yeast. Trapping experiments targeting of gambiae s.s. Mosquitos species were conducted in the laboratory for both semi-field and field (Verhulst 28). The main purpose of the study was to answer if: CO 2 derived from fermenting yeast replace that supplied from supplied from gas cylinders in catching mosquitoes? (Verhulst 28). Change in CO 2 concentrations in MM-X trap baited affects the number of mosquitoes trapped? And which one of the MM-X traps recorded a significant number of mosquitoes? The main experimental approaches used were field and laboratory tests. In these methods, it was found that more mosquitoes were recorded in the baited trap with CO 2 produced by yeast than in unbaited trap.MM-X trap was baited with volatiles produced by mixtures of sugar, water and yeast in 25 L bottles (Verhulst 28). Comparisons of Catches were done with traps baited with industrial CO 2. Human odors were also examined as an additional effect. In the semi-field facility and laboratory dual-choice experiments were performed. The test showed that the yeast-produced Carbon dioxide on mosquitoes’ number entering an African house was carefully studied in the Malaria Sphere. The results of these methods recorded that, Traps baited with yeast-produced CO 2 trapped a significant more mosquitoes than traps baited with industrial CO 2 and unbaited traps, both in semi-field the laboratory. Adding yeast-produced CO 2 to traps baited with human scent significantly increased trap catches. Outdoor traps baited within industrial CO 2 or yeast-produced CO 2 + human odour reduced mosquitoes’ entry to the house with a human host under a bed net indoors. During the field trials, Anopheles gambiae s.s. was not caught. However, similar numbers of Anopheles arabiensis was caught in traps baited with yeast-produced

Customer Satisfaction Essay Example for Free

Customer Satisfaction Essay Filipino’s have been given a chance to finally choose groceries business and minimart across the country. One of the pioneer groceries in town is the Consumers Minimart Inc. formerly named Caragan. Ever since Consumers Minimart Inc. experienced a lot of competitors on their times, minimart is still existing and alive.At this time many establishments exist like CSI, Royal Mall, Save More, but the Consumers Minimart Inc. is still having a profit and their loyal customers were always remained.Bayambang is one of the town with the largest number of barangays in Pangasinan, a largest place to establish a business. Business opportunity is increasing like mini grocery market, malls, fast food chains, banks, water refilling station and other small and big enterprises. This business establishment where very profitable and have impact to the customers especially here, is the groceries stores because customer or people can get or buy their daily needs into this kind of business, and one of that business is the Consumers Minimart Inc.Consumers Minimart Inc. is owned and manage by Jovita De Leon. It was established last March 18, 2010. They established their business in Bayambang because this place is very promising town, has 77 barangays and there is a lot of nearby town, and prospect customers such as Bautista, Alcala, Urbiztondo, and Malasiqui.Caragan was became Consumers Minimart Inc. because of being long term industry and the owners were became stockholders. The standard monthly income has been reach also by the said business. The formerly competitors were Lita’s grocery, old Royal mall stores and some local stores located at the market of Bayambang.But there are things that this business needs to improve, including the satisfaction of the customers. Consumers Minimart Inc. need additional effort in making their service much better including in queueing system or waiting time, delivery service, visual merchandising and physical set-up, and add to the strategies of the business. This will be used as strategy to makes their customer more satisfy in their service, it will add to have more customers and become more profitable, more improvement in their services. Consumers Minimart Inc. also need to improve their marketing strategy because it is a part of over all plan of the said business by establishing another branch in the province of Pangasinan for expansion for them to become more popular in terms of selling diffirent kinds of product. According to Peng Shao and Zeliang Sun (2012), Groceries today have to deal with the more dynamic and competitive environments than before. The frequent mergers and acquisitions among the groceries suppliers and retailers made industry structure strongly concentrated and competitive.And the limited retail stores are being increasingly standardized and homogenized. Facing the Bayambang market which only has 96,609 population, the three major competitors grocery, CSI, Savemore and Royal Mall need to differentiate themselves. Thus maintaining long-term relationship with customers is important, in order to keep their good organizational performance and profits. Identifying the key attributes influencing customer satisfaction during customers’ purchasing in their stores is critical. Groceries need to explore their resources and internal capabilities, so that they can make proper strategies to remain competitive. Unique attributes and sub-attributes are the important resources and internal capabilities of each grocer, which can help grocer to differentiate themselves from its competitors, and maximize the level of customer satisfaction. Customer satisfaction means that customer needs are fulfilled when doing the purchases. So the groceries must understand what the customers want and provide customers with what they need. A large number of studies have demonstrated a positive relationship between organization performance and customer satisfaction. Keeping long-term customer satisfaction is seen as a critical success factor for grocery retailers, because the competition in the groceries industry is strong and margins are becoming limited. There is a straight forward and simple link between customer satisfaction and profits. Retailers used to shape customers shopping habit, without listening much to consumers needs and desires. However, as the industry has been changing, customers change their shopping behavior. For example, the proximity between home and stores become less concerned, so retailers should adapt to new change of customers shopping behavior. Retailers must concern about the attributes, including quality of product, assortment, customer attention, additional service, store atmosphere, store location and price and discount, so that they can shorten the customers perception gap. In the future, the company will have applied its best practices especially to the customer satisfaction in their service not only in the province, but also in the entire Philippines. These Best Practices will not only consist of the most efficient systems, but also consider human elements such as local knowledge and relationship building which are equally essential in attaining great satisfaction. Statement of the problemThis study focused on the extent of customer satisfaction of Consumers Minimart Inc. located in Bayambang, Pangasinan. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of customers in terms of : a) Types of customers ; and b) Average purchased per transaction 2. What is the extent of customer satisfaction in terms of : a) Queueing system or Waiting timec) Visual merchandising b) Delivery systemd) Physical set-up 3. What are the problems encountered by the customer in terms of: a) Availability of product b) Parking area c) Sanitation d) Ventilation e) Services Accuracy f) Facilities g) Physical set-up h) Distribution i) Inventory j) Pricing Scope and Delimitation of the Study This study determined the extent of customers satisfaction of Consumers Minimart Inc. in the Municipality of Bayambang. The respondents of this study have the total of 100 respondents in a random basis like owners of sari-sari store or retailers, and end users who purchased in the Consumers Minimart Inc., regarding in their types of customers and average purchased per transaction, queueing system or waiting time, delivering system, visual merchandising, physical set-up, availability of product, parking area, sanitation, ventalition, services accuracy, pricin, inventory, distribution and facilities. Significance of the Study The researchers believed that the result of this study would benefit the following. The Manager. This study will enhance competence in the management and operation of the business and will provide with additional knowledge on how to improve business and to get customers satisfaction and loyalty. The Customers. The result of this study will serve as the source of affordable and easy buying decision. They would also be informed and be guided about the different services and existing prices that the business render to the public which the people will appreciate. The Government. This study will bring about additional income to the local government in the form of taxes and they will be provided with some needed basis to come up with rules and regulations to prevent cheating on the suggested retail price. The Future Entrepreneurs. This study will serve as a guide to those future entrepreneurs who wants to establish this kind of business. Definition of Terms To facilitate understanding of this study, the following terms were defined operationally. Consumers Minimart Inc. It is the name of the mini grocery business in the Municipality of Bayambang, that we are studying in our research. Satisfaction. Is an attitude of a person of being happy of the products and services offer. Suppliers. Is a person, company or organization that sells or supplies something such as goods or equipments to business. Customers. They are the retailers and end-users who consumed or use the products and services. Product. Something that is made or created by the manufacturer or supplier. It is offered to customers. Services. A product of human activity meant to satisfy a human need but not constituting item of goods. Queueing System. The queuing discipline describes the order in which arrivals are serviced. Visual Merchandising. Is a form of store presentation of all forms of advertising and marketing. Physical Set-up. Is a form of displaying the products. Delivering System. process for conveying a product or service to a customer. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES This chapter present a review of professional literature and related studies relevant to the present study. This literature and studies have given the researchers more information and clearer view of the problem in this study. Those that are relevant to this research are presented in the following discussion. RELATED LITERATURE This section presents the both foreign and local related literature relevant to the study. This relevance is shown by the proponents in order to give more reason and understanding of the proposition. Customer Satisfaction Customer satisfaction provides a leading indicator of consumer purchase intentions and loyalty. Customer satisfaction data are among the most frequently collected indicators of market perceptions. Organizations need to retain existing customers while targeting non-customers. Measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the marketplace. Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending on other options the customer may have and other products against which the customer can compare the organizations products. In retailing, consumers typically patronize multiple outlets. Thus, an important issue is why consumers vary in how they divide their purchases across outlets and how outlets can get a greater share of consumer expenditures. Two potential avenues for increasing customer share are to raise customer satisfaction, and increase repeat purchase through loyalty cards. This study examines the effects of customer satisfaction and loyalty cards as well as consumer characteristics on customer share spent on the primary grocery store. The findings suggest that customer satisfaction has a positive, albeit modest, effect on share while consumer economic shopping orientation has a negative direct effect on share. The economic orientation of shoppers, their felt importance of a personal relationship with store personnel, and the level of their aggregate purchase volume moderate the effect of satisfaction on customer share. Finally, the results provide mixed support for the impact of loyalty cards on customer behavior. Customer Satisfaction in Queuing Systems Companies have to increase their customers’ satisfaction to keep their competitiveness. In services, waiting has great impact on service level and customer satisfaction. Consequently, in time-based competition, one of the main objectives of service companies is to minimize customer waiting. Waiting can be defined in several ways; however, the ultimate management objective should be the maximization of customer satisfaction. The paper shows how customer satisfaction can be approximated with utility functions and establishes a theoretical background for utility transformation of waiting time. The case study of the checkout system of a real do-it-yourself superstore is used to illustrate the application of the suggested method. The results show that utility related objective function may justify queuing system changes even if the average waiting time does not improve. Elements of Queueing Systems Population of Customers can be considered either limited (closed systems) or unlimited (open systems). Unlimited population represents a theoretical model of systems with a large number of possible customers (a bank on a busy street, a motorway petrol station). Example of a limited population may be a number of processes to be run (served) by a computer or a certain number of machines to be repaired by a service man. It is necessary to take the term customer very generally. Customers may be people, machines of various nature, computer processes, telephone calls, etc. Arrival defines the way customers enter the system. Mostly the arrivals are random with random intervals between two adjacent arrivals. Typically the arrival is described by a random distribution of intervals also called Arrival Pattern. Queue represents a certain number of customers waiting for service (of course the queue may be empty). Typically the customer being served is considered not to be in the queue. Sometimes the customers form a queue literally (people waiting in a line for a bank teller). Sometimes the queue is an abstraction (planes waiting for a runway to land). There are two important properties of a queue: Maximum Size and Queuing Discipline. Maximum Queue Size (also called System capacity) is the maximum number of customers that may wait in the queue (plus the one(s) being served). Queue is always limited, but some theoretical models assume an unlimited queue length. If the queue length is limited, some customers are forced to renounce without being served. Queuing Discipline represents the way the queue is organised (rules of inserting and removing customers to/from the queue). There are these ways: 1) FIFO (First In First Out) also called FCFS (First Come First Serve) orderly queue; 2) LIFO (Last In First Out) also called LCFS (Last Come First Serve) – stack; 3) SIRO (Serve In Random Order); 4) Priority Queue, that may be viewed as a number of queues for various priorities; and 5) Many other more complex queuing methods that typically change the customer’s position in the queue according to the time spent already in the queue, expected service duration, and/or priority. These methods are typical for computer multi-access systems. Most quantitative parameters (like average queue length, average time spent in the system) do not depend on the queuing discipline. That’s why most models either do not take the queuing discipline into account at all or assume the normal FIFO ( First In First Out) queue. In fact the only parameter that depends on the queuing discipline is the variance (or standard deviation) of the waiting time. There is this important rule (that may be used for example to verify results of a simulation experiment). The two extreme values of the waiting time variance are for the FIFO (First In First Out) queue (minimum) and the LIFO (Last In First Out) queue (maximum). Theoretical models (without priorities) assume only one queue. This is not considered as a limiting factor because practical systems with more queues (bank with several tellers with separate queues) may be viewed as a system with one queue, because the customers always select the shortest queue. Of course, it is assumed that the customers leave after being served. Systems with more queues (and more servers) where the customers may be served more times are called Queuing Networks. Service represents some activity that takes time and that the customers are waiting for. Again take it very generally. It may be a real service carried on persons or machines, but it may be a CPU time slice, connection created for a telephone call, be ing shot down for an enemy plane, etc. Typically a service takes random time. Theoretical models are based on random distribution of service duration also called Service Pattern. Another important parameter is the number of servers. Systems with one server only are called Single Channel Systems, systems with more servers are called Multi Channel Systems. Output represents the way customers leave the system. Output is mostly ignored by theoretical models, but sometimes the customers leaving the server enter the queue again (round robin time-sharing systems). Queuing Theory is a collection of mathematical models of various queuing systems that take as inputs parameters of the above elements and that provide quantitative parameters describing the system performance. Because of random nature of the processes involved the queuing theory is rather demanding and all models are based on very strong assumptions (not always satisfied in practice). Many systems (especially queuing networks) are not soluble at all, so the only technique that may be applied is simulation. Nevertheless queuing systems are practically very important because of the typical trade-off between the various costs of providing service and the costs associated with waiting for the service (or leaving the system without being served). High quality fast service is expensive, but costs caused by customers waiting in the queue are minimum. On the other hand long queues may cost a lot because customers (machines e.g.) do not work while waiting in the queue or customers leave because of long queues. So a typical problem is to find an optimum system configuration (e.g. the optimum number of servers). The solution may be found by applying queuing theory or by simulation.

The History Of The Uncertainty Avoidance Sociology Essay

The History Of The Uncertainty Avoidance Sociology Essay In many international countries such as Britain, intercultural communication takes place. This is all about the interpersonal interaction between members of different groups, which differ from each other in respect of the knowledge shared by their members and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behaviour'(Karlfried Knapp 1978). It can be analysed to prove that there are many different ways in which the world works, in order to show how intercultural communication happens in day-to-day life. Although this report is going to be evaluating four of them which are, high context/low context, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity/femininity. High context/low context is a type of cultural coordination that can be understood in various ways. This image shows the majority of the countries on a scale ranging from high to low context. Whatever the situation may be at hand, high context cultures depends on their speech and behaviour. This is explained as a theory from Hofstede (1980) stating that, high context conversations consist of the sender pre-planning what they have to say, in order for the receiver to understand. There is evidence in China of this, because before they meet up, all of their discussions take place beforehand. Once they have met, which is officially known as a ceremony; they would make whatever they spoke about beforehand approved. On the other hand, in low context conversations, the sender may say there dialogue in short-form, although the receiver would still understand. In contrast to China, America and Germany dont have a discussion beforehand, but inform the participants in the meeting. Generally in high context cultures, information is carried out through body language. From this, people are likely to understand the discussion without much explanation. In some cultures, looking at people in the eye is normally used for people to have a straight forward dialogue. A good example of a high-context experience would be the Japanese tea ceremony. As shown in this image (Copyright  © 1990 by Japan National Tourist Organisation), this is a traditional cultural activity; therefore everybody who takes part knows what to do. Also the shared experience shows that every citizen would know what is included i.e. the tea house, the flower arrangement, the calligraphy scroll, and the ceramics. (F.E. Jandt, 2001).context.gif (550ÃÆ'-185)http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/japan/japan/tea.jpg Also, individuals in the Arab culture feel that if they use too little eye-contact in their conversations, they may find it impolite. Conversely in the USA, the best way to bond with people is to have eye-contact with them. Even in the English culture, a certain amount of eye contact is essential, but too much makes people uncomfortable. Problems often occur when workers from high and low context cultures, have a work-related conversation with each other. This may happen as citizens from high-context cultures familiarise themselves to their families, friends and close colleagues. In this group, everyone knows what is going on, as they regularly communicate and exchange information about everything. On the other hand, in low-context cultures the people do not get along with others in their daily life. So therefore they do not get a chance, to go out and meet new people like citizens from high-context cultures. Also, they are never able to create a close relationship with the people they meet, as their conversations happen in a long-winded way. In professional situations they only talk about the necessary information that is needed in order to complete the job; this doesnt happen constantly. When dealing with people from a high or low-context culture, each person has to notice the origin culture of the speaker. This is to be able to avoid any confusion, and it allows everybody to have longer or future conversations. Individualism/Collectivism Individualism/Collectivism is the concept of how people make important and useful decisions. A decision can be made in two ways, either as a group (collectivism) or as an individual (individualism). The main difference between the two would be that, in an individualistic cultures, people are supposed to look after themselves and their immediate family only, while in collectivistic cultures, people belong to in groups or collectivities which are supposed to look after them in exchange for loyalty (Hofstede Bond, 1984, p.419). Although nowadays, Masakazu (1994) defines modern individualism as a view of humanities that justifies inner beliefs and unilateral self-assertion, as well as competition based on these. An example of an individualistic culture would be people in the USA; they are likely to only take care of themselves and their direct family. Normally to be able to create a close relationship, you would like to know more about the persons personal life i.e.: their occupation, their achievements in life, where they live etc. Although, this doesnt occur in individualist cultures, as surveys show that the most unique and everlasting characteristics of the United States character are independence and individuality. The country also allows citizens in the country to have the freedom to be an individual, which is what their passion is. In theory Patterson (1991) has believed that this passion is related to the countrys history of slavery. In contrast, collectivistic cultures mainly look after other people and understand their characteristics (Gudykunst, Gao, Nishida, et al., 1992). They also try to avoid situations where they hurt people, either physically or mentally (Kim, 1994). This may be because in collectivist cultures, they expect people to fit into groups. http://www.watchmesavetheworld.com/wp-content/themes/Nomad/timthumb.php?src=http://www.watchmesavetheworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/P1040042-1024768.jpgh=300w=720zc=1 Lets start by unpacking the concept of collectivism and its ideological counterpoint individualism. In simplest terms collectivist societies place the primacy of the group over the primacy of the individual, vice-versa for individualist societies. Archetypal examples of collectivist societies include communist China and Russia, and Scandinavian countries with strong social services programs. Examples of archetypal individualist societies include the United States, Japan, and Germany. Of course, this is all a massive oversimplification of a complex concept. In reality, levels collectivism break down over political, social, educational, and even technological dimensions. A country might be highly collectivist in one dimension, and not at all in another, or it might comprise various sub-cultures that are far more or less collectivist that the country taken as a whole. Notwithstanding the breadth and depth of this subject, I want to focus on a few particular facets of Moroccan culture th at most powerfully indicate the presence of a collectivist mentality: meal consumption, the educational system, and received wisdom. Examples of collectivism in social interactions abound, but one of the most obvious is in food preparation and consumption. With very few exceptions, meals are eaten out of a large common dish, using bread as utensils. Vegetables and sauce are eaten first, and meat is eaten last, often divided up by the person who cooked the meal to ensure an equitable share for each participant. This is an easy contrast to western eating, where individual portions, utensils, and ever increasingly, individual meals are the norm. Moroccan families will almost always wait for all members of the family to arrive before eating. If you are anywhere in the  vicinity  of a meal as it starts, you will inevitably be invited to eat. Every invitation that you get to join a person or a family for a meal is absolutely sincere, and they will expect you to come. These examples point to the prevalence of collectivism on a the level of an individual or a family, but collectivism in Morocco is equally prevalent in the aggregate, and sometimes with less copacetic results. An example of this culture would be in Japan. In this society people are dependent on one another, which is the main indication that shows that Japan is a collectivistic culture. Groups are formed in which citizens will hold onto all the way through their lives. It would also be their back-up and protection for whenever they are in need for unquestioning dependability. This brings a joy to the group, as well as the need to connect with others. This has a great importance as the difference can be defined with what is said in public and the truth. wrong Nevertheless, people in individualistic cultures apply the same standards to everything whilst relating to everything and everybody. This is compared to collectivistic culture citizens, who treat member of their in and out groups with different value standards. Individualistic culture members are more worried with the simplicity of their conversations (Kim, 1994) and view this as an important issue for effective communication (Kim Wilson, 1994) compared to collectivistic cultures. Another comparison between both types of cultures, is that individualistic people notice direct requests as their most effective strategy in order to complete their goals, while members of collective cultures are the opposite (Kim Wilson, 1994). In completion, it can be understood that the stress in individualistic societies is based on the individuals personal goals and achievements, whereas the complete opposite is the where the stress is based on belonging to groups in collectivistic cultures. Uncertainty avoidance Uncertainty avoidance looks at a degree to which cultures feel defenceless due to doubtful situations, also the point to which they try to avoid these. It shows that to a certain point a culture pushes their members out of their comfort zone, to be able to see how they deal in situations which are unknown, surprising and different from usual. Uncertainty avoidance can either be high or low. The main difference is that, citizens normally show their emotions more in high compared to low uncertainty avoidance cultures. This may be because in low uncertainty avoidance cultures, people have lower stress levels as well as they dont mind either disagreeing or taking risks compared to people in high uncertainty avoidance cultures. Uncertainty avoiding cultures have a chance of reducing the chance of any risky situations happening. This is by having strict laws and rules, which have safety and secure measures. An example of high-uncertainty avoidance country would be France. This is because their organisations approve having strong establishments and in general discourage risk taking activities taking place. On the other hand, Britain and Norway are countries which have low-uncertainty avoidance. They will follow a more flexible structure and encourage people to have diverse views. In the Uncertainty avoidance by Country graph (Appendix 1), it shows 12 countries and how much uncertainty avoidance there is in each country. It can be analysed, to be able work out that U.S.A is known to be highly debateable so that is why they have a low rank of 46 on uncertainty avoidance. Even though India is less avoidant of uncertainty compared to U.S.A, they still have scored a reasonably high score of 52. Interestingly, of the G-8 countries, only Canada (48) and the U.K. (35) had relatively low scores like the U.S.A. On the other hand, Russia (95), Japan (92), and France (86) were out of the range, when comparing to other countries as they have scored extremely high for uncertainty avoidance. Masculinity/femininity In all of the countries around the world, everybody has an opinion about gender inequality. Always questioning themselves as to why there may be more masculine or feminine. Therefore it can always be identified, that in every culture and society around the world there is a gender disproportion. In general, it is normally specified that some responsibilities or jobs are assigned to women. Even in religious ways, allocation of different social responsibilities goes to men and women. Not just in family households, the whole social system becomes a characteristic, as it leads to unequal distribution of control, respect and properties. It shows that in principals, everybody cares about this situation compared to showing their concern for individuals and their quality of life. In other words, Masculinity is the opposite of femininity; together, they form one of the dimensions of national cultures. Masculinity stands for a society which social gender roles are dearly distinct: men are suppo sed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. (Source: Hofstede, page 262). A main example would be India and Malaysia. Between these two countries, India has a high male portion of citizens in their society, compared to Malaysia who has a high female portion. In these cultures, one gender is normally controlled by the other. There is known to be six types of gender inequality which are; mortality, natality, basic facilities, ownership, household and special opportunity. One of the main types of gender inequality is to do with basic facilities. In India, boys have a greater opportunity of having an education compared to girls. Girls are also unable to showcase their talent and also take part in social events that take place within the community. Not just in these sorts of situations, parents also favour their sons to enter higher education. In their opinion, this may because they believe their sons need to earn a good education to be able to take care of their future families. Also for future families, ladies are expected to be a good housewife, but this doesnt need a lot of knowledge, as they are able to study this information from their mother. Even if women try to finish their studies, they are only able to continue on, with the condition that they must come from a rich family. Alternatively, in Malaysia their cultures are more caring. As in their education system, women and men are allowed to have an education, yet anybody can be defeated in the act. This shows that based on Malaysian culture, gender unfairness does not exist.http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3815/3529/320/basic%20facilities.0.jpg Another type of gender inequality is to do with household work. As in India, it is mainly known for men to go to work and earn a living, and then for women to stay at home looking after their children and do the housework. This is a disadvantage, as women will never get the chance to be able to experience the outside world. This links from the fact that, they are unable to have an education as well. Then again in femininity countries such as Malaysia, women have the freedom to be able to choose the jobs that they favour. Also, they are capable to gain more experience, by furthering their studies whilst overseas. Elsewhere, when it comes to housework, men also share the load. This helps the family a lot, as both parents are able to work and help with the financial matters.http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3815/3529/320/Household%20inequality.0.jpg Conclusion Overall, it is essential to understand that there are many differences in people who come from other cultures. The main difference is that in all the countries around the world, there may be an issue with cultural coordination, how people make important and useful decisions in their life, how people may feel doubtful in various situations and the way gender inequality occurs. It can be understood that a role of individualism-collectivism is low-and high-context communication. (Gudykunst Ting-Toomey, 1988). Also when looking at gender inequality, pain is more familiar for people in masculine cultures compared to feminine cultures (Gudykunst Ting-Toomey, 1988). Therefore, everybody must be careful whilst having a gathering with people. This is because by not knowing what culture they come from, problems may occur easily due to the way the person communicates, their attitude towards conflict, the way they make decisions and the how they approach to knowing about life. Appendices http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/uncertainty.gif

Popular Culture In Singapore

Popular Culture In Singapore Number the question: Question 3. With reference to at least two types of popular culture, discuss and evaluate the role and impact of popular culture in Singapore between the end of the Second World War and Singapores independence in 1965? Popular culture is defined as a cultural artifact or events by which large numbers of people are voluntarily attracted to through the dissemination of mass media. The study of popular culture helps us to understand the society that embraced it as it developed over time. Popular culture also tackles the everyday life and lived experiences that are often neglected. It is argued that popular culture plays a role in shaping the values and identity of a society when the general masses consumes and embraces it. In this paper, the author will look into the role and impact of popular culture in the form of Shaw Cinema films and the mass visiting of amusement parks between post war and independence of Singapore. Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945 and the British returned on the island on 5 September 1945. Britains failure in defending Singapore had undermined her credibility as a governor of the island. In addition, post-war Singapore was plagued with poverty, unemployment and economical uncertainty. These gave rise to political awakening and nationalist identity amongst the Singaporeans.  [1]  This period of uncertainty and anxiety shaped the identity and popular culture of post-war Singapore. Shortly after the return of the British to Singapore and Malaya, the Shaw cinemas started afresh and business began to boom. On the return of the British to Singapore and Malaya, we started afresh and business became prosperous because the public hungered for the opportunity to see British and American films. Theatres were crowded especially during the first few months with the main draw being war movies. With such overwhelming response, we had to plan for expansion.  [2]   Cinemas owned by the Shaw stretches from Sembawang to Balestier and prior to the Lido, Shaw had the Pavilion on Orchard Road. By 1965, the number of cinema halls owned by Shaw in Singapore totaled 19. The independent halls in Singapore which were contracted to play only Shaw distributed films numbered 30. With cinemas scattered throughout the island, the Shaws had the widest exhibition circuit in Singapore. Cinemas during the post war period were avenues where new modern technology and culture converge. In addition, cinema films also had a role in shaping political awareness and nationalist sensations just after the war amongst the community in Singapore and Malaya. These could be seen from the popular demand for war themed British and American films. On one hand, the reasons were partly due to Singaporeans losing confidence in them as an infallible ruler and on the other hand, the British government was also gradually preparing to grant self-governance to Singapore and Malaya. Secondly, the post war films by the Shaw Brothers played an important role in shaping the identity of the Chinese in Singapore. The film, The Song of Singapore, highlighted Nanyang Style and Nanyang atmosphere, the identity of being a Chinese national was still predominant in the movie. The term huaqiao denotes an overseas Chinese residing in a foreign country and will ultimately return to their homeland China.  [3]   By the mid 1950s, the Chinese films from Shaw studio in Hong Kong and Shaw Malay films began to gain popularity over the American Hollywood. The first Malay film of the Shaw Brothers, Singapore at Night (Singapura di Waktu Malam) was made after the war. The emphasis of post- war movies were local style, local flavor, and local character. At that time, the major selling points of the movies were that it conveyed a totally Nanyang style and a fully Nanyang atmosphere.  [4]   During the post-war period, films in cinemas not only had the role of evoking nationalism, the impact of the cinemas were so huge that they became the representations of mass entertainment consumption and voluntarily participation. Patronizing the cinemas had also become a new form of sensation and indulgence where patrons were eager to experience. As mentioned above, cinemas during the post-war periods were avenues where audiences could catch a glimpse of technological innovations. With increasing popularity and competition from other post-war exhibitors and other forms of mass entertainment, the Shaw cinemas imported the latest in cinematograph and theatre equipments, sound systems, furnishings, air-conditioning and chairs. Over the years, other than the improvements in colour and sound there were also other innovative methods for enhancing the cinema experience constantly being launched from Hollywood.  [5]  Although many of these special format films were shortlived, but they renewed excitement in cinema during the various periods they were launched. Cinemas were also avenues of cultural convergence where patronizing audiences could experience a new form of modern culture. One example was the dual purpose halls in which the Shaw cinemas not only screened movies; there were also held live shows and events. Some of these were meant for promoting films and others were purely for entertainment. Imported live shows and performance from Malaya and the region made its way into Shaw cinemas as early as 1951. Visiting magicians and illusionists never failed to draw crowds with their exciting performances which not only provide entertainment; it also drew a form of mysterious sensation amongst the audiences. Dances by visiting dance troupes from all over the world were also popular demands amongst patrons then.  [6]   By the 1950s, the advertising campaigns during the post war period became more sophisticated and creative. The impact of the film industry on the locals was so great that promotional and advertising materials sent from major studios abroad had to take on a local context. Furthermore, the Shaw Cinemas went on to involve public participation in order to achieve success in film promotion events. You must advertise, put up the posters, put it in the newpapers you must think what are the kind of people, what kind of advertisements to attract the people  [7]   Daily newspaper ads, cinema standees poster displays and movie trailers provided the mainstays of Shaw promotions. Posters were not only hung outside of the cinemas but also on poster boards along road junctions and overhead bridges. They were also hanged in other major locations such as shopping centres, supermarkets, fairgrounds, schools, coffeeshops and even the Singapore Turf Club. To further engage larger crowds, billboard trucks travelled all over the island to broadcast coming attractions and distribute handbills. Promotions for blockbusters were even more elaborated as it involved all forms of public transportations and even armoured trucks and airplanes. These vehicles were outfitted with advertising banners and billboards. Apart from mere screening of films and performances, Shaw cinemas went further to entice and involve their audiences and patrons in their business. For example, Movie theme marketing was another effective method at drawing attention. Within the cinema itself, the Shaw marketing team would organise theme screenings with audiences dressed up in movie themes. Another was the red head promotion at the Capitol in 1956 for the premiere of Slightly Scarlet. Girls who flaunted the loveliest red hair were given a spray of flowers and a voucher for free hairdo with a leading hairstylist. As a source of publicity, personal appearances by stars created maximum impact for their films wherever they went. Touring stars from Hollywood or Shaw Studios added glamour to movie premieres, cinema openings, festivals, charities as well as other events in Singapore and all over Malaysia. Autograph signing sessions never failed to draw crowds as well as interest from the press. These events and contests were considered new and exciting to Singaporeans during the post war periods. The Shaw cinemas at its peak during this period not only created a platform that united community from different ethnicity and languages; it further created a form of lifestyle and mass culture amongst the community that indulged in mass consumption of entertainment. The impact was far-reaching that it even introduced to the community the first time the idea of star chasing and the glamour to be a successful celebrity. Amusement parks operated by the Shaw Brothers during post-war Singapore were also familiar sights. Since 1930s, it had always been an unforgettable experience for populace of Singapore to visit these amusement parks.  [8]  These amusement parks resumed business shortly after the war; continued to offer variety and non-stop offerings which could not be found in traditional culture and entertainment venues. It was a crucible of new culture forms, as old contents transformed to meet changing popular taste, and new ones were introduced to suit the diverse crowds. Popular live stage shows featuring all forms of dances, game contests, magic shows, comedy shows, fashion parades as well as band performances before the screening of movies. Some stage shows featured local or visiting celebrities, but most of the time they were performed by amateurs or semi-professionals. Then there were the contests based on fads. In addition, depending on what was popular at the time, dance contests were held regularly. In 1956, with rock and roll sweeping the film world, a rock and roll contest was held at the Great World Caberet to promote Rock around the Clock. In 1957, the same venue was used for the cha cha cha contest to promote the film Cha Cha Cha Boom. In 1963, with twisting films increasingly popular, a twisting contest was held at Sky.  [9]   One of the highlights in the amusement parks was the bangsawan which was a travelling commercial theatre meant to generate profits. Although the main language used was Malay, the bangsawan as a cultural form was effectively multicultural.  [10]  Bangsawan was a popular culture that transcends all boundaries; ethnicity, linguistic and cultural. Not only was the profile of the audience cut across class distinction, it was also multi-ethnic and multi-cultural. In the amusement parks, there were also other forms of popular culture such as the Chinese Wayang, band performances, open air cinema, and Malay social dances. Consequently, this process of assimilating traditional performance groups, and especially travelling theatres in the amusement parks inevitably resulted in the transformation of different cultural forms.  [11]  When bangsawan was assimilated into the urban amusement parks, it featured an improbable variety of shows. To fill in time between acts, or before and after each play, there would be musical and dance interludes. Until mid 1960s, Singapore was largely socially stratified and each person was kept to exclusive clubs and clan associations. Amusement parks on the other hand were accessible to any social groups. The various cultural forms which were adapted allowed for different degrees of participation in the show, depending only on the amount of money one could spare. This loosening of boundaries of the urban amusement parks hence provided everyone a glimpse into the different cultures, practices, and leisure life of the diverse community living in Singapore.  [12]  Such opportunities during post war or prior independence were rare. The urban amusement parks were then a different world to the visitors where they could participate in leisure activities and cultural performances of the various communities, all at once, within a single community. Both Shaw Cinema and amusement parks played a major role in attracting multiethnic groups under one roof and consuming the diverse forms of entertainment, culture and technological advancements which never failed to evoke strong sensations and excitement amongst the patrons. The cinema films also played a role in evoking nationalism and shaping of the Nanyang identity during the post-war period. Perhaps, it could be argued that these avenues to a certain extent provided refuge from reality and the harshness of life during post-war Singapore. The impact of publicity and marketing was so far-reaching amongst the local community that the culture of star chasing then mirrored the image and glamour pop and movie stars enjoy in contemporary Singapore. Blibiography Barbara Leitch Lepoer, ed. Singapore: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1989. Sai-Shing Yung, Territorialization and the Entertainment Industry of the Shaw Brothers in Southeast Asia, China Forever: The Shaw Brothers and Diasporic Cinema, ed. Poshek Fu, pp. 133-153. Tan Sooi Beng, From Popular to Traditional Theater: The Dynamics of Change in Bangsawan of Malaysia, Ethnomusicology, vol.33, no.2, Spring-Summer 1989, pp.229-237 Wong Yunn Chii and Tan Kar Lin, Emergence of a cosmopolitan space for culture and consumption: the New World Amusement Park- Singapore(1923-70) in the inter-war years, Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Volume 5, Number 2, 2004, pp. 279-304

Oppression in Sinclairs The Jungle and Steinbecks The Grapes Of Wrath

Oppression in Sinclair's The Jungle and Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, and The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, the characters are forced with economic, social, and political problems that they must cope with throughout the story. Both books are similar in that they emphasize that in this country, one simply cannot win unless they play by nature’s rules.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The economic problems of both stories were great. Jurgis (The Jungle) wishes to go to America to get rich. Buying a house stresses the whole idea of animals to have something that is theirs. This is also shown with the Joads. They go to California in search of money and something of their own as well. Both, however, are faced with strong economic problems. For Jurgis, it is the poor manag...

Analysis of Baldwins Giovannis Room Essay -- Giovannis Room Baldwin

Baldwin portrays sexual oppression in his novel entitled, Giovanni's Room. Sexual oppression is exemplified through individual homosexual white men who are unable to find happiness or contentment in themselves or in everyday relationships. In Baldwin's 'Everybody's Protest Novel' he writes, 'but our humanity is our burden, our life; we need not battle for it; we need only to do what is infinitely more difficult-that is, accept it.' Giovanni's Room is about each individual's need to accept their own humanity and societies need to embrace the universal theme of suffering. Baldwin uses the main character David to exemplify an individual's struggle to accept himself, unfortunately his rite of passage is thwarted by his inability to accept his humanity in a world of socially ascribed sexual categories. One of the main themes expressed in Giovanni's Room is that of societies loneliness. Baldwin portrays this universal suffering among all of his characters and he uses this suffering as a means of motivation. Loneliness plagues each of the characters, regardless of whether or not they have accepted their humanity. Everyone from David?s father to Jacques to Hella is searching for a love or a meaningful connection in the world. At the beginning of the novel, when we are first introduced to the narrator, David, we learn about his friendship with Joey. This relationship provides David with his first sense of joy and contentment, yet his fear of falling outside of societies sexual definitions overpower these feelings and leads him back into the arms of loneliness. The narrator reflects on his experience and Baldwin writes, ?the power and the promise and the mystery of that body made me suddenly afraid. That bo... ...revents him from ever grasping his true humanity. Baldwin exemplifies his words in ?Everybody?s Protest Novel? through this novel by painting a picture of how difficult it can actually be to accept our own humanity. Baldwin clearly states a message which promotes universal understanding in a world of complex individuals. He portrays the reality of human beings common suffering, while campaigning for humanity to accept and not define individual categorizations. Baldwin uses David to show the power of love and human connection in society, along with the negative effect socially defined roles can have on individuals development. Work Cited Baldwin, James. Giovanni's Room. New York: Random House Inc., 2000. Work Consulted Mengay, Donald H. "The Failed Copy: Giovanni's Room and the (Re)Contextualization of Difference." Genders. No 17, Fall 1993.