Computer Based Instructional Programs For Student Reading...

Chapter three will describe the methodology selected for an applied dissertation study, the participants, research design, instruments, data collection procedures, and limitations informing the research. The purpose of the proposed study is to determine the effectiveness of the i-Ready ® computer-based reading program used at a Title I school in a large urban district for relationship to increases of student reading achievement. i-Ready ® is an interactive computer-based instructional program designed to accelerate reading and language skills at the host school. According to Curriculum Associates (2014,) i-Ready ® combines assessment and individualized instruction in a single web-based format ensuring accessibility anywhere a computer or tablet with internet access is available. i-Ready ® screens all students for reading difficulties by first requiring students to take a computerized diagnostic test to determine a personal i-Ready ® ability level. Thus, the diagnostic can monitor individual performance throughout primary and secondary education by analyzing specific needs for students. The adaptive technology analyzes test response patterns to derive information in order to pinpoint needs more efficiently than traditional fixed-form testing methods. The i-Ready program was designed in 2013 to meet the growing demands of the Common Core State Standards, which was adopted prior to the Florida State Standards. For reading, i-Ready addresses the primary Common Core domains: Phonics,Show MoreRelatedStudent At Risk And With Disabilities1400 Words   |  6 PagesSTUDENT AT RISK AND WITH DISABILITIES Recently, CAI has become an acceptable instructional strategy to provide several academic outcomes for at-risk students and those with disabilities. Even though there has been research on the effects and implications of CAI on students without disabilities, there is limited research evidence about the effects of CAI on students with disabilities. Ross et al., (1991) assessed the effects of CAI on students’ attitudes toward school, grades, computer skillsRead MoreNew Styles of Instruction Essay1304 Words   |  6 Pagestrend in education appears to be the integration of technology for instructional purposes. One such technological advancement is the inclusion of the iPod Touch in the classroom. This technology hosts a vast array of applications in diverse subject areas that can be used across grade levels. There are many ways in which the iPod Touch can be integrated to customize the learning experience for all (Banister, 2010). Laptop computers are also being used more in the classroom. Educators are not merelyRead MoreHigh Stakes Testing : Is It More Than Just Numbers And Test Scores? Essay1383 Words   |  6 PagesWith student learning and achievement being the priority in education, this era of accountability and high stakes testing puts a great deal of pressure on an educational leader. Therefore, learning about data driven decision-making (3D) added another valuable tool to my leadership repertoire. Because students need to be prepared for working in the 21st century, incorporating technology into the classroom as well as using it for data purposes is a must. As I strive to close the learning gaps forRead MoreDespite Being One Of The Most Common Disabilties, Those1690 Words   |  7 Pagesprocesses involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written [that] may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations† (Tur nbull et al., 2016, p. 104). However, a student is not classified as having a learning disorder if his or her learning problem primarily results from a condition other than a learning disability (Smith et al, 2016) –hearing, motor, visual disabilities, environment, emotional disturbance, economicRead MoreEssay on How To Effectively Teach Students With Learning Disabilities864 Words   |  4 Pagesthe highest achievement for children. Today we face the issue of how to effectively teach students with learning disabilities and meet the lesson plan objectives. I will explore three potential issues that currently exist in the educational system and how an action research plan would prove beneficial. Research Topic Literature Exploration Problem Statement The problem is children with learning disorders often exhibit anger management and problem solving skills. How can art based education beRead MoreImplementing Technology into the Classrom1618 Words   |  7 Pagescomplex tasks (rather than as a subject of study for its own sake) that engage students in extended and cooperative learning experiences that involve multiple disciplines† (Griffin and Holland, 2008). Technology is a good tool to use when accommodating different learning styles. Therefore technology can become a motivator for students to keep them interested in the lesson. Collaborative-team-learning settings aide student with retain formation by implementing technology. Many of the urban school targetsRead MoreSpelling: Linking Words to Meaning by John R. Pescosolido1682 Words   |  7 Pagesbooks and other instructional materials. Some textbooks become unfitting to teachers because they do not align with current content or teaching methodologies, although the educational value remains constant. Particularly for special educators, the use of commonly assigned textbooks and relevant materials is minimal, as a result of it not being conducive to education goals for students with disabilities. For textbooks and other instructional materials to enhance learning by all students, instructionRead MoreLeveraging Computer Technology for Literacy Instruction in the Classroom2385 Words   |  10 PagesComputer-Based Reading Programs for At-Risk Learners Children with disabilities face a variety of challenges when learning to read. Some students experience processing disorders, some have auditory or visual deficits, still others have gross or fine motor disabilities. Computer technology is adept at addressing all of these issues by the nature of its flexible and extensible application. As a relatively low-cost solution for providing specialized instruction, integrating computer technology isRead MoreMy Philosophy Of Education It Is Student Centered1660 Words   |  7 Pagesphilosophy of education it is student centered, where teachers are facilitators contributing to optimize student’s potential. Educators should be equipped to serve, prepare, and help students to build a promising future full of opportunities. My vision as an educator is to optimize human potential. As an educator, I believe that students have the potential to learn, to apply in real life experiences what they have learned, and to serve equitably a diverse world. All students should have the access toRead MoreRole of Peer Coaches Essay913 Words   |  4 PagesIs it effective? Teachers have an essential role in students’ performance and achievement. The quality of teaching, teachers’ experience and knowledge, curriculum planning and instruction they all have effect on students’ achievement. Becker (2010) describes peer coaching as a method that improves teaching and learning. As we can see majority of the time our focus is on students and teaching methods and elements that enhance their achievement. Peer coaching is a new technique and practice that

The Lottery, By Shirley Jackson And A Rose For Emily By...

The Use of Symbolism in â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson and â€Å"A Rose for Emily† by William Faulkner The use of symbolism is used in literature to enhance writing and add meaning to a story, this is evident in the two short stories â€Å"The Lottery† written by Shirley Jackson and â€Å"A Rose for Emily† written by William Faulkner. With the authors use of symbolism Jackson and Faulkner are able to add depth to their writing in a way that connects with the readers. By adding symbolism to the short stories the authors manage to add meaning to inanimate objects that in the end become a crucial part to understanding the story and the lessons it contains. Without these uses of symbolism in the short stories the text would not be as compelling to the reader and not have such a strong impact on how the reader interprets the story. Whether it be a black box filled with sheets of parchment paper, a wooden stool, a simple red rose, or time itself the u se of symbolism can be seen in almost all pieces of literature and is essential in creating a piece of work that readers will connect with. In the short story â€Å"The Lottery† written by Shirley Jackson, the use of symbolism is evident throughout the short story. We as the readers first see the use of symbolism in the text when the sacred black box is brought out into the town square where people are gathered to one by one draw a piece of paper from out of the box. While the box is viewed as a long standing tradition within the community theShow MoreRelatedTraditions in The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner1176 Words   |  5 Pagesto do whatever they want. There are a lot of comparisons between The Lottery by Shirley Jackson to the short story A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner. In the short story â€Å"the Lottery† by Shirley Jackson has a very unique twist and different traditions. This story is about how the whole community is coming together for a gathering every once a year. It is not any happy gathering that people might think it would be. The lottery is a tradition that the community has picked up after years back andRead MoreWilliam Faulkner s A Rose For Emily And Shirley Jackson s `` The Lottery ``1061 Words   |  5 PagesWilliam Faulkner’s, â€Å"A Rose for Emily† and Shirley Jackson’s, â€Å"The Lottery† short stories have a unique way of sharing similarities but have their differences. Both authors open up their stories as a quite everyday small town with everyday people. Faulkner and Jackson both use an individual type of foreshowing and use a great deal of imagery to pull the reader into their story. There is a history behind each story and each with their own family backgrounds. Tradition has a major rol e in each asRead More Tradition in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily and Shirley Jacksons The Lottery656 Words   |  3 PagesTradition in William Faulkners A Rose for Emily and Shirley Jacksons The Lottery People throughout the world do things for many different reasons. Religion, peer pressure, or tradition are some of the reasons the people do things. In the U.S. we have many traditions such as Christmas. Some people have strange or out of the ordinary traditions. The two short stories ?The Lottery? and ?A Rose for Emily? both portray tradition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In ?The Lottery?, tradition is showed in three main waysRead MoreAmerican Gothic Compare and Contrast Essay 930 Words   |  4 Pagesthe truth is, how things really happened and it doesn’t sugar coat anything. In â€Å"A Rose for Emily† Emily becomes a sad and depressed person who will do something completely unexpected. In â€Å"The Lottery† the townspeople have a twisted tradition that takes place once a year. These two stories have a lot of comparison and contrast dealing with theme, foreshadowing and imagery. Both â€Å" The Lottery† and â€Å" A Rose for Emily† are American Gothic, they focus more on the dark side of life. For example â€Å" ThenRead MoreA Rose For Emily and The Lottery1172 Words   |  5 Pagesï » ¿Get Over the Past, Focus on the Present â€Å"A Rose for Emily†, by William Faulkner and â€Å"The Lottery†, by Shirley Jackson are both short stories that deal with conflict from either the community or individually. Faulkner hints us readers the main conflict in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† is not only Emily but other characters in this short story. For â€Å"The Lottery†, Jackson hints the readers the conflict is more on the social side meaning the community or society not only the main characters. But the main comparisonsRead MoreEssay about A Rose for Emily vs the Lottery940 Words   |  4 Pages There are many ways that a reader can be prepared for the ending of a story, â€Å"The Lottery† and â€Å"A Rose for Emily† are two very grueling short stories with a long suspense and a similar plot. The narrator’s stance in â€Å"A Rose for Emily† was first-person observer, which is defined as a single character point of view in which the narrator was is not involved wit h the story and the narrator’s stance in â€Å"The Lottery† was third-person anonymous which is involves a narrator that does not enter any mindsRead MoreA Rose for Emily, A Worn Path, and The Lottery1175 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"A Rose for Emily,† â€Å"A Worn Path,† and â€Å"The Lottery† by William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, and Shirley Jackson all have similar writing styles in their literature. In these three short stories the authors all use contrasting nature within their literature to predict the outcome and to learn for the upcoming events in the readings. The authors take subliminal phrases and subliminal symbolic text to have the reader become more attached and understand more of what the characters, setting and theme of theRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 PagesRichard Gould, Kenneth King, Marjorie Lee, Elizabeth Perry, Heidi Wackerli, Perry Weddle, Tiffany Whetstone, and the following reviewers: David Adams, California State Polytechnic University; Stanley Baronett, Jr., University of Nevada-Las Vegas; Shirley J. Bell, University of Arkansas at Monticello; Phyllis Berger, Diablo Valley College; Kevin Galvin, East Los Angeles College; Jacquelyn Ann Kegley, California State University-Bakersfield; Darryl Mehring, University of Colorado at Denver; Dean

Relevance of Intellectual Capital Research †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Relevance of Intellectual Capital Research. Answer: Introduction Uber Corporation is a company that started in the year 2009. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The company operates worldwide in more than 570 cities spread across the globe. The company has specialized in development, marketing and operation of the mobile apps. These apps are the Uber Car transportation and food delivery mobile apps. People with cars; whether rented or personally owned can join and use Uber apps. Drivers use smartphones to connect with taxi customers who are also required to have smartphones or access to the mobile website. The company is, therefore, able to manage its operation using technological innovation (Barrett Sean, 2010). Innovation refers to the process of creatively generating new ideas that can be translated into the value which customers can pay for because it satisfies their particular need. Entrepreneurship refers to the course of applying through putting the innovative ideas into practice (Gassmann et al., 2010). This involves the company's willingness to invest in the notion and also acceptance and management of its associated risks. Nowadays, Innovation and entrepreneurship are considered to be the change driver, because business process change in many companies is mostly geared by the innovation and entrepreneurship (Christensen et al., 2015). Knowledge management entails all aspects of information in the organization. It covers information creation, movement, and its general use. This concept focusses on the various ways in which companies generate, share and utilize the information to act as a gear towards achieving their business objectives. It also covers the aspects of knowledge transition on how knowledge can be passed from those people exiting the company to those joining the organization. This helps mentor and build individuals who later become resourceful to the team (Booker et al., 2008). Governance refers to the established processes, rules, systems and the policies which are used to guide and control a given company. It, therefore, defines the way a given organization is lead. The organizations governance usually exists in two categories. Firstly, there is an internal aspect which constitutes the company policies and the ruling Constitution among others. Secondly, there is the external aspect which is made up of the government laws, existing regulations in the area of operation, the expectations of the community where the business is operating among others (Clarke, 2007). Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Uber Corporation Uber has shown a lot of efforts to adopt change for sustainability.Innovation entails coming up with new ways of doing business, coming up with lucrative ideas and their application. Uber was founded and is sustained by technological innovation. It has demonstrated its entrepreneurship through its acceptance to manage the risks that are associated with the implementation of the innovative ideas. The company is trying to implement and promote innovation by incorporating it into the organizations culture. These efforts have helped Uber to improve on its production and also in gaining the competitive advantage (Oke, 2007). Innovation and entrepreneurship have been a fundamental aspect driver in the business operation of Uber. It has shown a lot of efforts in adopting change and it runs on the technological innovation which has helped it to grow fast since the time of its establishment in the year 2009. Through, entrepreneurial spirit, the company has invested a lot of money and other resources into innovation. Through innovation, Uber has managed to improve on the brand strength by improving brand reach to its customers in the whole world. This has made it get a higher market ratio because many people at different places can access and use the Uber services (Kosoff, 2015). Besides improving the brand reach, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of Uber have also helped it to make more profit. The company develops and manages two mobile applications where customers can access the services from wherever they are, and it is not a must for clients to come to the office in person. It is always convenient for customers to get a self-service, and Uber has achieved this. This has increased the client's number using the services because the technological innovation has made possible for them to get served from wherever they are. This is convenient for customers, saves them time, cost, and other also delivers them value (Dahlan Gann, 2010). It is evident that implementation of innovative ideas prone the organization to losses before the notion become successful. Innovation may require a lot of capital, resources and other massive inputs and thus the company will incur losses in case the implementation of the idea is not successful. Therefore, Uber needs to have an established system that can be applied to the potential risks through identification, controlling and solving of the bad events that may happen (Enkel et al., 2009). This is important and will help the company to gain more out of innovation. Uber Corporation has acquired a lot of technological innovation. The benefits have helped the company to move to the top in the transportation industry. Innovation and entrepreneurship have helped it to gain the more competitive advantage over other businesses in the transportation industry. Nowadays, innovation is the power for success in any industry, and it is, therefore, true that innovation plays a critical role in the profitability of the organization and the general sustainability of this company. Therefore, Uber should continue embracing change for it is a guarantee to growth. Domestic contextual factors Government regulations affect business in many ways. The policies and regulations of different countries always affect the businesses that operate in those countries. Some laws restrict certain activities that could be profitable to the organization such as those that mainly inhibit implementation of some creative ideas that seems lucrative to the organization. It is, therefore, important for Uber to ensure that it implements only strategies that are in line with the laws, policies, and regulations of the country of operation. This reduces the conflict in the business process that may arise when the company carries out its activities. Businesses operating in a given country are significantly impacted by the state of infrastructure in that country. A nation that has good roads, electricity and telecommunication systems will help businesses to carry swiftly thus more profitability. Roads help for quicker better movement of various aspects of production. A better telecommunication system in the country facilitates easier business information sharing thus improved productivity. It is, therefore, true that poor infrastructure hinders the productivity of the country while better one promotes performance (Lichtenthaler, 2011). Businesses operate at the mercy of the political state in the country of operation. A stable political state will help the business to operate normally according to their plan. On the hand, if the political situation of the country is not stable, the proper operation of the firm is interrupted. Thus they can't realize the expected profit due to reduced productivity. In extreme cases of political instability, some businesses are forced to close down. This, therefore, shows that the innovation and entrepreneurship or the general productivity of Uber is substantially determined by the political state of the country in operation (Midgley, 2010). International contextual factors People at different places have different beliefs and values which influence the business process in various ways. Some cultures advocate for particular products and services while others may be of the same. This affects the type of the goods and services consumed and their general purchase habits. If not well considered, companies may run to a loss. Thus, they need to understand the culture of their consumers to ensure that the products or services produced satisfy their demands and expectations (James Szeman, 2010). Some of the legal factors include ownership rights, rewarding systems, tax laws, business registration processes among others. These factors affect the business in many different ways. Business organizations must operate within the existing legal rules for their smooth running. Some legal factors may appear discriminating to the company, tending to restrict the business from certain activities yet allowing others. It should, therefore, come up with the strategies to comply with the legal system in place (Barry et al., 2017). World economic state affects the business in many ways; better state affects the business positively while bad state affects it negatively. Some of the economic factors include the labor conditions, inflation, cost of living and the cost of production among many others. Innovation and entrepreneurship in a given company are directly affected by the world economic state. Businesses enterprises make the profit when the financial condition of the world is right, for when there is no inflation, the cost of production is lower among others, but on the other hand, they make the lower profit when these factors of economic conditions have changed negatively (Chaudhry et al., 2007). Conclusion In conclusion, every business should embrace innovation and entrepreneurship culture. This can be implemented through strategic directions that accommodate innovative culture because the best way to adopt it is through organizations incorporation into their corporate culture. Innovation is nowadays a change driver, and it gives businesses a competitive advantage. Also, various factors affect the innovation and entrepreneurial culture of a given organization. These factors are categorized as internal factors such as the political state of the country, government regulations, and the infrastructure or may be international factors such as the legal issues, cultural factors, and the world economic state. All these factors have different effects on the business, and therefore it needs to come up with strategic plans that ensure they successfully ensure that these aspects work for them. References Barrett Sean D. (2010). The Sustained Impacts of Taxi Deregulation. Economic Affairs 30(1): 6165. Barry, Jordan M., and Elizabeth Pollman. (2017). Regulatory Entrepreneurship. Southern California Law Review 90(1): 363. Booker L., Bontis N., and Serenko A. (2008). "The relevance of knowledge management and intellectual capital research." Knowledge and Process Management.15(4): 235246 Chaudhry, Azam, and Phillip Garner. (2007). Do Governments Suppress Growth? Institutions, Rent-Seeking, and Innovation Blocking in a Model of Schumpeterian Growth. Economics Politics 19(1): 3552. Christensen, C.M., Raynor, M.E. McDonald, R. (2015). What is Disruptive Innovation.hbr.org website at https://hbr.org/2015/12/what-is-disruptive-innovation accessed 08 May 2016? Clarke, Thomas (2007)"International Corporate GovernanceLondon and New York: Routledge,ISBN 0-415-32309-6 Dahlan, L. and Gann, D. (2010). How open is innovation?', Research Policy, Vol. 39, pp.699709 Enkel, E., Gassmann, O. and Chesbrough, H. (2009). Open RD and open innovation: exploring the phenomenon,' RD Management, Vol. 39, No. 4, pp.311316. Gassmann, O., Enkel, E. and Chesbrough, H. (2010). The future of open innovation,' RD Management, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp.213221 James, P. Szeman, I. (2010). Globalization and Culture, Vol. 3: Global-Local Consumption. London: Sage Publications. Kosoff, Maya. (2015). Uber Has a Clever Response to a Proposed Law That Could Kneecap the Company in One of Its Largest Markets. Business Insider. Http://?www.?business insider.?com/?why-uber-has-a-de-blasio-car-option-in-new-york-city-2015-7IR=?T. Accessed 09 may 2017. Lichtenthaler, U. (2011). Is open innovation a ?eld of study or a communication barrier to theory development?A contribution to the current debate, Technovation, Vol. 31, pp.138-139. Midgley, D. (2010). Integrated Strategies and Practical Tools for Bringing Value Innovation to the Market, Wiley Oke, A. (2007). Innovation types and innovation management practices in service companies. International journal of operations and production management, 27 (6), pp. 564-587

Operation Risk Management

Questions: 1. List the position names (e.g., administration assistant) for all new employees to be recruited to fulfil the requirements of the operational plan. 2.Briefly describe the activities to be completed at each stage of the acquisition process. 3.List any organisational and operational plan considerations. For example, organisational HR policies and procedures, timelines for acquisition or specialist responsibilities. 4. List any legal considerations, for example, how EEO legislation might affect position advertisements or selection processes. Answers: 1. List of the Positions that are Vacant William Blue Dining restaurant is facing challenges, because most of the book keeping work in the organization is carried out manually. Thus, handling so much of paper work is creating problem for the organization. Therefore, organization has decided to come up with automated management system. The new operational plan, therefore, requires new employees. The employees, who will be recruited for the implementation of the new operational plan, will fill the following vacant positions: Account Manager Data Entry Operator System Engineer Associate System Engineer 2. Activities to be completed at Each Stage of Acquisition Process Preparing for Recruitment The preparation and planning of the recruitment procedure will start with the drafting of the comprehensive job specification. The drafting of the job specification will include the following details: The major as well as the minor responsibilities that the employees will have carry out. Skills, experience and the qualification required for the particular vacant position. The grade of the position; it will denote the level of payment for that particular vacant position. The job specification should also include the fact that whether the particular job is a permanent or a temporary job. If there are any special, conditions then that too will be included in the job specification. The recruitment plan should be structured and documented in such a way that the best talent in the industry is attracted. Moreover, the job specification should be structured in such a way that it helps to ensure such an applicant pool; where there is place for the women and the under-represented groups. Recruitment Procedure The integral part of the selection procedure or the recruitment procedure is screening. The candidates are first screened and shortlisted and only after that the selection procedure begins. The applicants who will be applying for different positions will be screened against experience, skills, interest, knowledge and qualification. Selection of the Staff After the candidates are shortlisted for the selection, they will have to go through the following procedure: They will have to appear for the preliminary interview They will have to sit for the selection tests, which include the intelligence and the aptitude test. The technical and the psychometric test, along with it the ability and the interest tests are included in it at the same time. They will have to go through the employment interview They will also have to go through the physical examination They would be provided with the offer letter The selected employees have to sign the employment contract. Induction of the Staff The Human Resource Manager is responsible for providing induction to the staff. It should be carried out over number of weeks and even during the months. During induction, managers should provide great deal of information to the new employees, who are being recruited by the organization. 3. Organizational and Operational Plan HR Policies and Procedure: HR planning and procedure is an important task that should be carried out in the operational level. The HR planning and procedure helps the staff to achieve both their long and short-term goals. HR policies and procedures forms an integral part of the HR planning and procedure. The HR policies and the procedures are developed through the following steps: Establishing the need for developing the policy within the organization: The policies are the written records and the documents that help in keeping the record of the rules and the regulation of the organization. Therefore, it is important to establish the policies within the organization, since it will make the new employees aware of the workplace rules and regulation. Developing the Content of the Policy: The legal consideration should be taken into account while drafting the content of the policy. Policies are generally based on the requirements those are derived from the legislation (Zhu, Cooper, Fan. and De Cieri 2013). Drafting the Policy The policy should be drafted in a proper way so that the employees are clearly made aware of the policies of the organization (Stone 2013). The draft of the policy should be written in clear and straightforward language. The draft should avoid the usage of jargons, and too much of legal terms at the same time. Writing the Procedures related to the Policy: Sometimes there are certain policies that are associated with policies that are being drafted by the HR management (Hrcouncil.ca 2016). It is important to write down those policies as a section of a particular policy or in a separate document. Reviewing the Policies: The policies should be reviewed not only by the HR management but also by the other key managers of the organization. The stakeholders could review the policies as well. Approving the Policy of the Organization: The formal approval of the policy is important for implementing the policy within the organization (Kunze, Boehm and Bruch 2013). The board of directors of the organization would approve the policy that has been prepared by the HR management Implementation of the policy The policy should be communicated to the employees, along with it; the policy should be communicated to the managers and the stakeholders of the organization as well. 4. Legal Consideration The legal consideration that should be considered during the time of the selection or the recruitment process includes: Discrimination in Employment Advertisement: According to this particular law, organization could not advertise a job positing, where special preference is given to the people of a particular, race, ancestry, religion, sex or colour (Vickers, McDonald and Grimes 2014). Discrimination in Wages: The BC Human Right Act states that the employees should not be discriminated and paid less because of their sex (Go2hr.ca 2016). The act clearly states that discriminate between employees by employing an employee of one sex for work at a rate of pay that is less than the rate of pay at which an employee of the other sex is employed by that employer for similar or substantially similar work. Therefore, these are the certain legal considerations, which should be taken into account during the recruitment process. References Carman, C. (2013). The Basics of Resource Acquisition and Management - Dice Insights. Dice Insights. Cartwright, S. and Cooper, C.L., 2012. Managing Mergers Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances. Routledge. Go2hr.ca. (2016). Legal Issues in Your Recruiting Process - HR Information for BC Tourism Employers - go2HR. Hrcouncil.ca. (2016). Developing HR Policies | HR Policies Employment Legislation | HR Toolkit | hrcouncil.ca. Kunze, F., Boehm, S. and Bruch, H., 2013. Organizational performance consequences of age diversity: Inspecting the role of diversityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ friendly HR policies and top managers negative age stereotypes. Journal of Management Studies, 50(3), pp.413-442. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. McGraw-Hill. Singh, J., 2016. Towards a Concerted Approach to Physical Resource Management. Stone, R.J., 2013. Managing human resources. John Wiley and Sons. Vickers, G., McDonald, M. and Grimes, J., 2014. A cross country comparison of best practices in recruitment and selection. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 15, p.1. Williams, C. (2016). Strategic Planning And Resources. Managerwise.com. Yin, H., Srinivasan, R. and Ahmadi, S., 2014. Techniques to provide physical resource allocation using a tree-based structure and communicate a channel quality indicator. U.S. Patent Application 14/155,085. Zhu, C.J., Cooper, B.K., Fan, D. and De Cieri, H., 2013. HR practices from the perspective of managers and employees in multinational enterprises in China: Alignment issues and implications. Journal of World Business, 48(2), pp.241-250.

Personality theory

Many people use the term ‘personality’ to identify the characteristics of an individual or the kind of skills a person has. Psychologists who study human personality tend to use idiographic or homothetic techniques in trying to explain the aspects of human behavior. â€Å"Personality theories organize what of which we already know, stimulate new research and give theorists an opportunity to specify a view in personality† (Engler, 2008)Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Personality theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Trait theory Trait theory is the primary personality theory that is biologically based on classical human genetics. Such utterances as being outgoing, kind, hot tempered are some of the words used to describe individual. All this words can be concluded to being the personal traits of an individual. Most of time we use an individual characteristic to explain their behavior. Theo rist who studied this theory focused on the difference in character portrayed by different individuals. The Idea behind this theory is that, how an individual behaves, is dictated by the joint effects of the organisms inherited capabilities and past experience. It centers on the capability of recognizing and measuring a person’s personality. One of the early theorists to study this theory was Gordon Allport in 1937. He began his research after noting that there were almost over 4000 words which could be used to describe character trait of a person from a single dictionary. His approach was based on the differentiating the different types of traits within a person (Richard, 2007). According to him, the central human traits were dictating the personality of individual e.g personality expressions while the secondary human traits were more peripheral and did not manifest immediately. He also thought that the most common traits were the ones which were recognized in a cultural context which varied across different cultural practices. Besides Gordon, Theorists such as William Sheldon also took part in trying to explain the traits theory.Advertising Looking for report on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This theory is argued on the basis of how one would carry out the study which was through idiographic or homothetic techniques. Gordon applied the principles of scientific taxonomy as he studied the character traits of different people, another principle he applied was expanding a unified theory of personality in a general manner other than the specific aspects of it which was later reviewed by Raymond Cattell and Hans Eysenck (theorists). Important aspects about this theory according to Gordon are that personality is dynamic adult and children have different motivation schemes, he also believes that with a few character traits one can easily explain an individual behavior and conscious va lues can be used to shape the personality of a person. Allport theory is completely viable in the sense that it is credible. Its concept primarily relies on the learning theory, psychoanalysis and existentialism. Although many other theorists find his work more descriptive and it lacks specific propositions from which a researcher can conduct tests and get the result from. The validity of trait measures and its objectivity has been well defined in the five factor model which defines neuroticism, extraversion, conscientiousness, openness and agreeableness all which have brought order and understanding to the traits theory. Most physiologists assumed that traits could be used to explain human abilities. Issues related to culture, national origin, native language, gender, racial identity are some of the differences between people. These aspects are known to explain the kind of character trait a person is believed to have. It is considered that personality traits structure transcends cultural differences (Engler, 2008). The theory has been used to look at specific cultural manifestations of common personality dimensions especially upon the big five personality traits with the only difference being the modest created for each of these traits.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Personality theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More References Engler, B. (2008).Personality Theories: An Introduction. New York, NY; Cengage Learning, Richard M. (2007). Theories of Personality. New York, NY; Cengage Learning, This report on Personality theory was written and submitted by user Will H. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Personality Theory Introduction Erik Erikson is a proponent of Freud’s psychosexual development theory supporting Freudian elements of psyche and the concepts of Oedipal and Electra complexes as explanation of sexuality. In his theory of epigenetic psychosocial development of personality, he expanded the Freud’s psychosexual theory by introducing the aspect of society and culture and by adding the principle of epigenetic.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Personality Theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Erikson postulates that the genesis of the personality development is from the innate characteristics of a child that are sequentially build through the eight stages of personality development under the influence of the society and culture. Erikson believes that personality development does not end at adolescence as depicted by Freud but it is a lifelong process. Each stage has an optimal time required for th e ego to resolve a psychosocial crisis. The resolution of the psychosocial crises at the preceding stages cumulatively determines the personality. Proper resolution of the psychosocial crisis in each stage result into a personality virtue while poor resolution of the psychosocial crisis result into mal-adaptation and malignancy. Mal-adaptation and malignancy are the anomalies of imbalanced personalities that may occur at each stage. The malignancy is due to skewed ego resolution towards negative personality while mal-adaptation is due to the skewed ego resolution towards positive personality. Hence, the epigenetic psychosocial theory postulates how personality develops from the innate characteristics through into the adulthood by the consecutive and cumulative impacts of the society and culture. The Infant Stage This personality development occurs within the first two years of an infant, a stage known as oral-sensory stage. The psychosocial crisis here is between the trust and mistr ust that depends on the perceived quality of the maternal care by the infant. Proper resolution and balance of the trust and mistrust by the ego, results into a virtue of faith and hope that gives an infant the qualities of patience and tolerance when the needs are not satisfied in time.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These virtues are important in our future personalities, as they will help us â€Å"get through disappointments in love, our careers, and many other domains of life† (Boeree, 2006). Faith and hope will make us endure the hard circumstances we encounter in the society and our work places. Improper and imbalanced resolution of trust and mistrust by the ego will result into malignancy and mal-adaptation. Too much maternal care will result into â€Å"mal-adaptive tendency of sensory mal-adjustment† where an infant will trust anybody through into the adulthood without imagining of possible harm from the strangers. On the other hand, poor maternal care will result into â€Å"malignant tendency of withdrawal† where an infant develops mistrust, depression and psychosis way into the adulthood (Boeree, 2006). An overt trust or mistrust personality affects our relationships in the work place and the society. The Toddler Stage This is the second stage occurring between 2-4 years, and is known as anal-muscular stage. The psychosocial crisis at this stage is the autonomy versus shame and doubt that depends on the degree of the restrictions imposed on the child by the parents. The toddler needs a balance between autonomy, and shame and doubt thus the ego must resolve the psychosocial crisis by balancing the two. According to Boeree (2006) â€Å"proper, positive balance of the autonomy, and shame and doubt, you will develop the virtue of willpower or determination.† The virtue attitude of determination improves our performanc e in the work places and the society. Little or no restriction of a toddler will result into â€Å"mal-adaptive tendency of impulsiveness† where a toddler develops a personality of shameless and overconfidence in which later in adulthood one become over ambitious. On contrary, too much restriction of the toddler will result into â€Å"malignant tendency of compulsiveness† where the toddler loses self-esteem and becomes dependent on the rules and regulation in order to do things perfectly (Boeree, 2006).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Personality Theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Preschooler Stage This is the genital-loco motor stage, which occurs at the age of 4-6 years. The psychosocial crisis is between the initiative and guilt at the level of family relation. At this stage, the child develops the capacity of moral judgment and oedipal experience ensues. The virtues of purpose and courage result when the ego resolves and balance the psychosocial crisis between the initiative and the guilt (Davis Clifton 1995). The virtues of purpose and courage help us to be responsible in our work and to the society. If the child has too much initiative, it will result into â€Å"maladaptive tendency of ruthlessness† where the person becomes selfishly objective in life not considering the interest of others. On the other hand, too much guilt will result into â€Å"malignant tendency of inhibition† (Boeree, 2006). The inhibited person becomes reserved and rigid, never to propose anything that is worth doing in the work places and in the society. School Age Child This is the fourth stage in psychosocial development and it occurs between the ages of 6-12 years. The psychosocial crisis is industry versus inferiority that occurs in the context of the community and the school. At this stage, the balance between industry and inferiority results into the virtue of co mpetence (Davis Clifton 1995). The virtue of competence in our lives makes us achieve satisfaction in our work and serving the society. The mal-adaptation of industry will result into narrow virtuosity that is characterized by the narrowness of our minds and interests, hence making us be mere actors of our real characters in the society (Davis Clifton, 1995). The malignancy of inferiority that occur at this stage is the inertia; one become inactive in the work place and in the society due to the feeling of inferiority complex thus the inactiveness makes have poor socialization skills. Adolescence Stage This is the fifth stage occurring between the ages of 12-18 years. The psychosocial crisis is between ego identity and the role confusion in the context of peer groups and role models. The virtue of fidelity is achieved when there is proper resolution of the psychosocial crisis by the ego (Boeree, 2006). Fidelity makes us to conform to the demands of the work and the society in spit e of the challenges.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The anomaly resulting from psychosocial crisis resolution is the identity crisis. Too much of the role confusion will result into â€Å"malignant tendency of repudiation† where one becomes alienated from the mainstream society and get involved with the vices in the society. On the other hand, excess of the ego identity will result into â€Å"mal-adaptive tendency of fanaticism† (Boeree, 2006). Fanaticism makes one to nurture the infallible interests without considering the views of others. Adult Stage These are the sixth, seventh and the eight stages and occur between the ages of 18 and beyond. The psychosocial crises are intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation and integrity versus despair. The psychosocial crises occur in the context of friends, partners, workmates, and the society. If the psychosocial crises are resolved and balanced very well, the virtues of love, care, and wisdom are obtained (Davis Clifton, 1995). The virtues of love and care ar e what makes us a have a healthy relationships with our partners, families, friends, community and the whole society. While the virtue of wisdom makes one approach death with courage and this is the gift to the children as â€Å"healthy children will not fear life if their elders have integrity enough not to fear death† (Davis Clifton, 1995). The mal-adaptations at these stages are the promiscuity, overextension, and presumption. The mal-adaptations results into loose behavior at young adult, overworking in the middle adult and presumptuous character. In contrast, the malignant tendencies are exclusion from relationships in the young adult, middle life crisis of rejectivity and disdained in the life of the old (Cherry, 2010). These malignancies and mal-adaptations are the personalities the society is trying to avoid in the bid to build a better society. Conclusion The epigenetic psychosocial personality development theory clearly elucidates the sequentially development of pe rsonality from the innate personality of an infant through into the old through a cumulative effect of the societal and cultural factors. This theory is consistent with the Freud’s psychosexual theory with extension of the developmental stages into eight as compared to the five stages of psychosexual theory. Moreover, the aspects of culture and society have been incorporated together with the epigenetic concept. Balanced and proper resolution of the psychosocial crises at the stages results into personality virtues while skewed resolution of the crises results into personality anomalies of ma-adaptation and malignancy. The personality virtues and anomalies determine our roles in the work places and in the society. References Boeree, G. (2006). Erik Erikson: Personality Theories. Psychology Department  Shippensburg University. Retrieved from http://www.social-psychology.de/do/pt_erikson.pdf Cherry, K. (2010). Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development. Psychology. W eb. Davis, D., Clifton, A. (1995). Psychosocial Theory: Erikson. Haverford. Retrieved from http://ww3.haverford.edu/psychology/ddavis/p109g/erikson.stages.html This research paper on Personality Theory was written and submitted by user Aryana P. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Personality Theory Introduction Personality theories are conceptions that have been propagated by psychologists and academicians from time immemorial. The attempt at defining personality is guided by the intent of trying to understand and explain the psychological distinctiveness and similarities that people exhibit. This essay will critically analyze the cause of different personalities or character traits among individuals. The analysis will put into consideration the various theories that have been posited in effort to explain the same. This essay is largely informed by chapter 11 of the book â€Å"Psychology† by Hockenbury Hockenbury. In the book â€Å"psychology†, fifth edition, Hockenbury Hockenbury (458), observe that one has to understand the theory upon which the description of an individual’s personality is based in order to understand and make sense of the different characteristics of that personality type.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Persona lity Theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hockenbury Hockenbury (458) further argue that there are clear explanations for the different characteristic in different personality types. Some of the theories discussed by Hockenbury and Hockenbury include the psychoanalytic theory, the social cognitive and humanistic perspective, the behavioral genetics theory and the trait theory. An analysis of these theories shows that one’s personality is dynamic and is dependent of many factors. For instance, as per the behavioral genetics theory, the manner in which a person behaves is influenced by inherited traits. On the other hand, the trait theory posits that one’s personality is dependent on what he or she has learnt from experience. The biological dimension indicates that the personality of our parents and fore-parents rubs on us. Each person gains something, in terms of personality trait, over time in the course of his own n atural growth and development. This means that a child will partly possess the character traits inherited from his family or parents and equally incorporate some characters he learns in his childhood into his or her persona. â€Å"The girl with a dragon tattoo†, is a movie that was produced in the ghettos of the US by Jermaine Dupree. This movie was geared towards highlighting the other face of the US. Unlike the much-publicized good life in America, which characterized by conspicuous consumption, fun and liberty, there are neighborhoods in the USA where crime and poverty among other ills abound. The movie rotates around one character, a girl by the name Lisbeth Salander. Salander is born and brought up in the ghetto from which the movie is shot. Her mother, Megan Salander, bore her after she was heartlessly gang raped by a group of young men who were drug peddlers for having failed to pay a drug debt. Being a drug addict herself, she did not care about the consequences of th at act, as she was already accustomed to bigger shocks and harsher treatments. For the mother, Lisbeth was born after or because of a bad accident and therefore was not a fruit of love. This meant that from the onset the mother treated Lisbeth unlovingly. Actually, many of her mother’s friends marveled and believed that it was by a miracle that the poor girl survived an abortion. Analysis of Lisbeth’s Traits Based on Personality Theories The life of lisbeth confirms some of the personality theories discussed in Hockenbury Hockenbury. For instance, after watching the movie, one cannot fail to relate the personality theory of behavioral genetics exemplified in the life of Lisbeth Salander. In the movie, the girl is portrayed as having a variety of character traits. Interestingly, when one compares her with the mum one can clearly differentiate the characters she inherited from her mother and those she picked along the way. The semblance between the character traits of L isbeth and her mother tend to confirm the theory that some character traits are genetic based.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Considering the psychoanalytic perspective on personality, lisbeth’s behavior can be understood as defense mechanisms she develops in order to survive in her environment. Sub-consciously, having had an unloving mother, she tends towards being defensive. Among her dominant traits highlighted in the movie is brutality. This particular trait is observed from her very early life. Psychoanalytically, it could be argued that love needs from since when she was born drive her towards hate. The girl was practically vicious in everything she did. At a mere age of three, she had already caused enough damage to many children of her age. This meant that many parents in the neighborhood would rarely allow Lisbeth to get anywhere close to their children. Eventually, the child was left with few if any child to play with. Matters deteriorated when she joined school. The very first day at school was met with untold hostility from her to the rest of the pupils. She actually managed to ruin another girl’s face using one of her toys. The girl in question had to undergo medical treatment, as she needed several stitches to bring her angelic face back to normal. By the time Lisbeth was halfway through her school life, she had been transferred to uncountable schools. This restless behavior could be explained psychoanalytically, but it could also be explained in terms of an under compensated ego as per the socio-cognitive perspective. Lisbeth could be said to have had an undercompensated ego due to the unloving childhood. Nobody in here social environment affirmed her. Consequently, desiring affirmation or due to reciprocal determination found in her social environment, she had literally appeared on the black book for record times in every school s he attended. She was always referred as the ‘special one’, by not only her fellow pupils but her teachers as well. In Lisbeth’s actions, one discerns desire to proof herself. One incident that prompted the authority to seek psychiatrist help for the girl was an instance of madness she got involved in with a boy in their class. Many knew the boy in question for his brutality, and practically he was certainly not just any other push over. He was hugely built and this meant that many of his colleagues were no much to his strength. The only mistake the boy did was to undermine the capability of Lisbeth. Being a small and lean girl, the bullyboy was sure of beating hell out of her head. He managed and actually beat her into a pulp.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Personality Theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At least for a while, the rest of the school was in high spirits that some medicine had actually been discovered to heal Lisbeth extraordinary craziness. They were all mistaken. The next few days were hell to Lisbeth and she did not dare get out of their house as she had a black eye. Upon resuming school, her mission was clear, at least to herself, she was a girl going after revenge. It did not take long for the Physical Exercise class to come, and they were all thrown out of class into the field. In total amazement to many pupils and teachers, she was very active that particular day on the hockey pitch. The first swing she made with her stick left the boy who had bullied her without at least six teeth according to those who could count them. Her comment was simple, it must have been an accident and that she was sorry. That was her last day in school. The behavioral genetics theory, arguably, also captures or explains Lisbeth’s character. The neighborhood, in which Lisbeth was brought up, was literally for the outcast in the society. The only thing that was not done there was merely the one that did not exist. By this notion, every kid was somehow an expert in many evils and prostitution or sexual immorality was their favorite. As many would guess, Lisbeth was not an exception. At a tender age of fifteen, she had literally graduated from sleeping with boys, and not many grown up men could equally meet her urge. Considering the trait theory, one discerns impulsiveness, disnihibition and elements of introversion in Lisbeth’s character. Lisbeth was widely known to be a loner, which is a trait of introverts. However, she approached issues with much impulsiveness, obsession and worrying novelty. One thing that amazed many people, those that were fortunate to interact with her, because she was a loner, was her brilliance in using and manipulating a computer. According to her own explanation, having been raised by many trustees, one of them was a computer scientist and it was from his motivation that she actually developed interest in computers. The most fascinating thing was how even the most qualified computer scientist, could not be able to handle some of the tasks she used to perform with no basic formal training.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion From the discussion on Lisbeth, as portrayed in the movie â€Å"the girl with a dragon tattoo†, it is clear from the onset that individuals acquire character traits from their parents i.e. inheritance but also from environment i.e. learning behavior of a neighborhood. There is a lot of things or happenings in Lisbeth’s life that confirm that character traits are inherited while there is enough to confirm as well that character traits are learnt from the environment. Lisbeth, one of the main characters from the movie ‘The girl with a dragon tattoo’ tends to resemble her mother in many ways. From being hostile, immoral but very brilliant, one can tell that she took after her mother. Lisbeth is strategic and does her things meticulously but with very selfish intentions and she is never remorseful about her dirty life. Such a disposition, it can arguable be asserted that she acquired it from living in her neighborhood. Work Cited Hockenbury, Don Ho ckenbury, Sandra. Psychology, New York: Routledge Publishers, 1991. Print. This essay on Personality Theory was written and submitted by user Mae Fisher to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Definition and Examples of RAS Syndrome

Definition and Examples of RAS Syndrome RAS syndrome is a humorous initialism for Redundant Acronym [or Abbreviation] Syndrome syndrome: the (redundant) use of a word thats already included in an acronym or initialism. Also known as  PNS syndrome (PIN number syndrome syndrome) and acronym-assisted pleonasm. Common examples of RAS syndrome include  PIN number (personal identification number number),  AC current (alternating current current) and HIV virus (human immunodeficiency virus virus).  Such redundancies, says Bryan Garner, may be passable in speech- especially with unfamiliar acronyms- [but] they should be avoided in formal writing (Garners Modern American Usage, 2009). The term RAS syndrome first appeared in the magazine New Scientist (May 26, 2001). Examples and Observations LCD display for liquid crystal display displayCNN network for Cable News Network networkRAM memory for random-access memory memoryRSI injury for repetitive strain injury injury  SARS syndrome for severe acute respiratory syndrome syndromeMVUE estimator for minimum-variance unbiased estimator estimatorCMS system for content management system systemBBC corporation for British Broadcasting Corporation corporationIRA account for individual retirement account accountPCR reaction for  polymerase chain reaction reaction Redundancies Everywhere You Look I overheard part of your ATM story and I just couldnt let it go by. Do you know what ATM stands for?Of course. Automated teller machine.He went to college, Robin said.Okay, how about PIN?You mean as in PIN number?Aha! she exclaimed again. Now do you see it? The bartender brought her drink and she took a careful sip, then came back to them. You said you were at the ATM machine and forgot your PIN number. The automated teller machine machine and the personal information number number. Redundancies everywhere you look.(John Lescroart, The Hunter. Dutton, 2012) Reply RSVP The request reply RSVP is pretty much the same thing as youre being asked to reply twice. . . . [T]he word Sahara means great desert in Arabic (via Tuareg), so referring to that big, hot, sandy place in North Africa as the Sahara Desert is totally tautological, meaning as it does great desert desert.(Roger Horberry, Sounds Good on Paper: How to Bring Business Language to Life. Bloomsbury, 2010) The Lighter Side of RAS Syndrome Sidney Cochran: I am going to bed. We have a 10 a.m. plane to catch in the morning.Diana Barrie: 10 a.m. is the morning. That is redundant, you A.H.(Michael Caine and Maggie Smith in California Suite, 1978)

GLOBALIZATION POVERTY AND INEQUALITY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9000 words

GLOBALIZATION POVERTY AND INEQUALITY - Essay Example It makes us wonder whether in this context, globalisation is actually beneficial as the neoliberals claim. In fact, time has come to search for other viable alternatives, or if necessary, to modify globalisation in such a manner that it really helps to serve the poor and needy, and helps to remove all boundaries of inequality. Executive Summary: A close look at the arguments presented by the neoliberal theorists will show us that in the past two decades there has been a marked decrease in the income inequality index factor and also a downward growth rate of the poverty factor, a great deviation from the picture that we have seen for a century and a half. Neoliberal arguments further explain that this improved picture is arising mainly from the globalization factor that is bringing about a fusion of economies throughout the world breaking all national borders and boundaries. A look at the economic conditions of the third world countries reveal that, nearly all of the South East Asian countries, especially China and India, have progressed rapidly with a fall in poverty rates. However the central and eastern European countries, comprising many of the former members of the Soviet Union republic, and the countries of the sub-Saharan belt have regressed and shown increased poverty levels. The Latin American cou ntries are stagnant as far as their poverty graph is concerned; however the neoliberal argument says that globalization is here to stay, since after the break down of Bretton Woods, it has been generally concluded that it is more beneficial to have an converging system, instead of opting for interests that conflict and create barriers. This paper will explore and will take an in-depth look at the arguments put forward by the neoliberal theories, and will analyze the empirical basis for their arguments. â€Å"Globalization

Project Management Master Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Project Management Master - Assignment Example That is why Project Management is told to be the best method of implementing change. The defining and planning stage - means to plan the project in more detail by writing and publishing a full definition of the project and determining a project plan. The production of a Project Plan, or Schedule, is a key part of the development of any project. The schedule Formal methods of project management offer a framework to manage this process and provides a series of procedures to manage the project through its life cycle. According to the Lasa Computanews Guide to Project Management, the key elements are: Many project management systems are proprietary. Project management consultants sell them as a package of services that will include training sessions and consultancy alongside documentation that will include templates and guidance notes. These packages don't come cheap - they cost hundreds or thousands of pounds. But this approach may be a cost effective solution for larger organizations that want to set up a structure to manage a number of projects. Practically, they are paying to set up a framework that includes: training for staff, consultancy and support to manage projects within the organization. However, in RCIAS Good Practice Bulletin No3 there are noted some of the common issues identified within the Research Councils or the wider public and private sectors: Procurement Strategy, Guidelines, Supply of management information, Training, Contract Signing Powers, Use of consultants. The Procurement Strategy issue is determined by the fact that few councils have a formal and authorized procurement strategy.

2ND PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

2ND PAPER - Essay Example Chances that the super power would diminish in the next decades are clearly high. The best positioned countries to challenge America’s prominence are found in East Asia and globally by China. (Abdelnour, Wesley & Herman pg57) It is believed that if Chinas economic growth continues consistently the next two decades just in the same pace as the last two decades, then it would surpass and rival the United States of America in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) .GDP is not measured in terms of dollar but in terms of purchasing power parity. Even if Chinas economic status does not does not reach the Americas standards, it is notable that the growth has created a fundamental political inspiration in the entire East Asia. The economic clout extends East Asia affecting both great powers and the developing countries due to enthusiasm for raw materials and competitive prices for low cost goods. China is resolute in climbing the technological ladder, a clear indication that it might affect United States of America economically. Already China is regarded as the most dominant military powerhouse in the entire East Asia thereby making significant strides creating excellence in the armed forces. The tense relationship between USA and Russia has been fuelled by Americans interest in Crimea with regard to the sanctions that have been attached to Russia recently by President Barrack Obama of the United States. Several banks have been blacklisted by the US government following the Russian infiltrations in Ukraine. Majority of Russian businessmen in the United States who have close links with Vladimir Putin have been expelled from the country. President Obama has also come with strategies to tame some parts of the Russian economy comprising both the oil and gas industries which form a bunch of Russians export. (Abdelnour, Wesley & Herman pg29) According to President Barack Obama, the action would interfere with the

Queen Victorias Effect on Britain

Queen Victorias Effect on Britain Did Queen Victoria leave her subjects in a better condition in 1901 than when she found them in 1837? The Victorian era was principally a time of change, of transience: the translocation of a people, challenged morally, socially and in their religious beliefs, as never before. Standing majestically above all this was the image of stability which Queen Victoria symbolised. The shift from the rural life of the eighteenth century and the Romantic Movement in the Arts which accompanied it was displaced and the population in the industrial towns and cities swelled to the point of overflowing, producing slums and sweatshops rather than the wealth and security that had been sought, with ‘the Age of the Novel’ involved with social issues as well as establishing a new literary genre. In 1837, when Victoria came to the throne, these changes had already begun and by the time her reign ended, in 1901, more was ahead particularly if one considers the ‘long nineteenth century’ which encompasses the pre-war years up to 1914. How far her people were in a ‘better condi tion’ by the end of Victoria’s reign will be the subject of this essay, looking at the idea via the different media of change evidenced in religion, literature, politics and related social issues as well as the Imperialism which the establishment of the British monarch as the first Empress of India established. In many ways, it is true to say that Victoria presided over a Renaissance which had not been seen since her antecedent, Elizabeth, had been on the throne. The coincidence that a female monarch should have been in place at both times of regeneration does not, however, imply a connective: conditions were very different during Elizabeth’s reign, particularly in the area of social mobility and religious imperatives. The Victorian era saw the greatest challenges to both of these that had ever been seen. The movement of the peasantry to the towns saw an enormous shift in both the physical location of the population and its imperatives. Much was lost, in terms of tradition and permanence when the move to the cities occurred because most of those who did relocate in the hope of increasing their meagre incomes had never been farther than the next village before they moved and this had been the case for generations. Indeed, as early as the mid-nineteenth century novelists were using the idea of the rural idyll to exemplify an ideal existence now lost[1]. This is evident in novels such as George Eliot’s Adam Bede (1859) which was set some fifty years before it was written: As he reached the foot of the slope, an elderly horseman, with his portmanteau strapped behind him, stopped his horse when Adam had passed him, and turned round to have another long look at the stalwart workman in paper cap, leather breeches, and dark-blue worsted stockings.[2] The mounted, unidentified and detached observer (a connective with the contemporary reader) takes a ‘long look at the ‘stalwart workman’ in an elegiac emblem of the author’s intent within the novel to show a time now lost and the changes that were about to take place. Adam as a type of workman has been displaced and is no longer to be found and which represents a longing for a return to old times and old days associated with the countryside which can be traced to the present day and certainly becomes a primary informative, present in works such as Flora Thompson’s enduringly popular Larkrise to Candleford (1945) and further evidenced even in the work of such ‘scientific’ novelists as H.G. Wells in his novel, The History of Mr Polly, and the character of Leonard Bast as well as the evocative, mystical rural setting in E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End, both written in 1910. The novel also introduces the character of a female preacher, a ‘Dissenter’, in other words a Methodist, and by combining the two, Eliot shows that despite the loss of the life portrayed in her novel, there were positive challenges which changes such as the growing desire for the emancipation of women, at the forefront of which was J.S. Mill[3], and the need to find new ways of expressing religious sensibility. The ultimate challenge to religion, of course, was presented by the theories of evolution which were being formulated in the 1860s. Although Charles Darwin is credited with having discovered this, the work of such as Herbert Spencer, who actually coined the term ‘survival of the fittest’ in his Principles of Biology (1864) which Darwin incorporated into a later edition of his own work, were also significant. Within his seminal The Origin of Species, first published in 1859, Darwin introduced to the wider public the then profoundly disturbing notion that man was not created entire and complete as the Bible relates but evolved and thus dispossessed an entire generation who had previously felt secure in the knowledge of God as their Creator (though Darwin uses this term himself many times within the work and does not deny the idea of a Creator directly[4]). It is a mistake, however, to assume that Darwin’s ideas had much immediate effect on the population at large. R ather, its immediate aftermath may be discerned in the literature of the time, George Eliot, a close friend of Spencer, amongst these. Moreover, his published theories were simply an affirmation for many of a growing generic scepticism, such as Thomas Hardy shows: On the last day of the year [1901] he makes the following reflection: ‘After reading various philosophic systems, and being struck with their contradictions and futilities, I have come to this: Let every man make a philosophy for himself out of his own experience. He will not be able to escape using terms and phraseology from earlier philosophers, but let him avoid adopting their theories if he values his own mental life. Let him remember the fate of Coleridge, and save years of labour by working out his own views as given him by his surroundings.’[5] However, just as the move from the towns to the cities subsequently produced a sense of loss, the disconnection with the certainty of divine creation also saw the longing for a mystical element to life once ‘the divine’ had, in a sense, been removed from it: seeking ‘an oasis of mystery in the dreary desert of knowledge’[6]. The disconnection resulted in the burgeoning of interest in Spiritualism which was witnessed at the end of the century, with personages as eminent and respected as Rudyard Kipling not only interested and involved with this but also writing about it in stories such as the mysterious ‘They’[7] and imagination came to be seen as connected to the divine and dislocated by Darwin’s discoveries, Forster wrote in 1910: ‘They collect facts and facts and empires of facts. But which of them will re-kindle the light within?’[8] However, the connection of facts with the denial of imagination had been discussed much earlier by the man who is above anyone the voice of the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens. In his novel of 1854, Hard Times, he demonstrates the denial of the importance of ‘fancy’ in Utilitarian educational methods and the pre-eminence of ‘facts’[9]. This he extends to the teaching methods used to train the teachers themselves: He and some one hundred and forty other schoolmasters had been lately turned at the same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense variety of paces, and had answered volumes of head-breaking questions. [†¦] He had worked his stony way into Her Majestys most Honourable Privy Councils Schedule B, and had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics and physical science, French, German, Latin and Greek. [†¦] Ah, rather overdone, MChoakumchild. If he had only learnt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more![10] Dickens the radical is less appreciated now than in his own time, as in subsequent centuries he has come to be seen simply as a master-story teller, which of course he was. However, this is to deny the way that Dickens, as evidenced in this satirical swipe at the Utilitarian movement, used his immense popularity in the cause of social reform. Indeed, in the early years of Victoria’s reign, he published his second and third novels, Oliver Twist (1837-9) and Nicholas Nickleby (1838-9). The first of these was concerned with the effects of the infamous ‘Poor Law’ and the 1834 amendment. It was widely believed that the abuse of this injured rather than helped the poor and Dickens’ novel was intended to bring that to the notice of those who had the power to do something about it, as well as reaching the newly literate lower echelons and letting them know they had someone who would speak for them, that their story, as Dickens remarked in his Preface to the 1867 ed ition, from thieves to prostitutes, was a ‘TRUTH’ that ‘needed to be told’[11]. As his friend and first biographer remarked: His qualities could be appreciated as well as felt in an almost equal degree by all classes of his various readers.[12] Thus, as the novelist is known to have said, by making people care about one child, he might make them care about the many and this emanated from his own sufferings as a child alone in London when his father was imprisoned for debt in the infamous Marshalsea (which was to provide the setting for his later novel, Little Dorrit, 1857, though the six hundred year old prison closed in 1842) whence he was accompanied by his wife and younger children[13]. Dickens never spoke of the experience, save through his fiction, nor did he ever forget it. In Nicholas Nickleby and the creation of Dotheboys Hall, Dickens continued to exercise his creative power to bring to the attention of his readers the appalling social evil of the Yorkshire schools, whose abuses he remembered hearing of as a child and then investigated (whilst wearing a disguise) as part of his research for the novel. As the author said in his fragment of autobiography, ‘we should be devilish careful what we do to children’[14]. Dickens had a long memory and an acute social awareness and both are evident in Nickleby, as is the sheer exhilaration and appetite for life which had proved so popular in his first novel Pickwick Papers (1836-7). Moreover, Dickens was a successful reformer, commenting in his preface to the 1848 edition: This story was begun, within a few months after the publication of the completed Pickwick Papers. There were, then, a good many cheap Yorkshire schools in existence. There are very few now.[15] The fact is stated simply but the achievement was immense. The obverse of these schools, of course, was seen in Arnold’s pioneering work in reforming the public schools, as evidenced in Thomas Hughes’, Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857). The issue of social and educational reform was one with which many novelists were concerned at this time, engaging with both the needs and desires of the weakest in society. Engels had identified this as ‘the social war, the war of each against all’[16] and he applied this as a generic to the multiplicity of industrial towns and cities: What is true of London, is true of Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, is true of all great towns. Everywhere barbarous indifference, hard egotism on one hand, and nameless misery on the other, everywhere social warfare, every mans house in a state of siege, everywhere reciprocal plundering under the protection of the law, and all so shameless, so openly avowed that one shrinks before the consequences of our social state as they manifest themselves here undisguised, and can only wonder that the whole crazy fabric still hangs together.[17] Engels’ work was published between September 1844 and March 1845 and had an immediate effect on not just those who were, if one may term it so, ‘declared radicals’, like himself, but also those like the deeply ‘respectable’ and widely respected writer Elizabeth Gaskell, whose first novel, Mary Barton, written in 1848, partly to assuage the pain of losing her child, deals largely with the poverty experienced by the poor in Manchester. Gaskell, encouraged by both her husband, the Ereverend William Gaskell, and Dickens, researched the conditions of the city in which she and William were then living. What she found horrified her and the reality of expression present within the novel can be seen in her powerful descriptions of the slum dwellings she had seen: Our friends were not dainty, but even they picked their way, till they got to some steps leading down to a small area, where a person standing would have his head about one foot below the level of the street, and might at the same time, without the least motion of his body, touch the window of the cellar and the damp muddy wall right opposite. You went down one step even from the foul area into the cellar in which a family of human beings lived. It was very dark inside. The window-panes many of them were broken and stuffed with rags, which was reason enough for the dusky light that pervaded the place even at mid-day. After the account I have given of the state of the street, no one can be surprised that on going into the cellar inhabited by Davenport, the smell was so foetid as almost to knock the two men down.[18] The importance of setting such descriptions in the context of fiction might be thought possibly to lessen its reality in the eyes of contemporary readers but nothing could be farther from the truth, as though few would be drawn to the admirable tracts of Engels, many were attracted to the vivid stories of such as Dickens and Gaskell. Indeed, Gaskell was careful always to ensure that her work did not offend those in power to the extent that she will qualify a passage on the uncaring attitude of the rich as perceived by the poor by adding placatory comments such as: I know that this is not really the case; and I know what is the truth in such matters: but what I wish to impress is what the workman feels and thinks.[19] The implied separation in comprehension may appear patronising by today’s standards but it must be remembered that Gaskell was truly attempting to do as she proclaimed, ‘impress’ the thoughts and feelings of ‘the workman’ on those in power in the hope it would aid reform. If she had been too directly challenging, they would simply not have read her works which would have defeated the object. Gaskell faced similar opposition in her second novel, Ruth, published in 1853, when she addressed the topic of an unmarried mother sympathetically, much too sympathetically for the liking of many, who felt she was undermining the perceived moral and religious mores of the time. The novel was thought to be based upon the true story of a girl called Pasley: In 1850 she took up the cause of a girl called Pasley whom she had come across in the New Bayley prison. In a long letter to Dickens, at that time involved in his emigration project for fallen women, she gives details of the case. Pasleys career exemplifies the dangers facing even a girl of respectable parentage who was neglected. The daughter of an Irish clergyman who had died when she was two, she had been neglected by an indifferent mother, and then placed in an orphanage, before becoming a dressmakers apprentice. Following a series of misfortunes for which she had not herself been responsible she had been seduced by her own doctor. The consequence had been first the Penitentiary and then a career of petty crime; finally, by an appalling stroke of coincidence, the poor girl had been confronted when in prison by her very seducer, now acting as prison surgeon.[20] Certainly, there are many similarities between the case of Pasley and that of Ruth and Gaskell’s clear intent is to show how difficult was the plight of girls in Ruth’s and Pasley’s situation. Gaskell successfully persuaded Dickens to intervene for Pasley and she emigrated but clearly the case was not forgotten by her as emblematic of the vulnerability of young girls in nineteenth century society. Indeed, she had already addressed the idea that prostitution was the usual fate of such girls in Mary Barton and the ‘petty crime’ to which she refers might certainly be euphemistically describing prostitution. Attitudes towards prostitution were far from sympathetic and much of the reforming work done at the time concerned not only changing conditions for prostitutes but also in improving the notorious double-standard which operated towards it, both then and now. The Contagious Diseases Acts of 1864, 1866, and 1869 to some extent reflect this. The Act was established to protect soldiers but had the coincidental effect of advancing the cause of women’s liberation: [†¦] legislation intended to protect members of the British armed forces from sexually transmitted diseases ended up galvanizing a major Victorian feminist movement in which working- and middle-class women worked together for a common cause.[21] Thus, it can be seen that Gaskell’s pre-emptive strike truly reflected the feelings of many that Victorian laws operated for the protection of men rather than women and that even though there were exceptions, such as Mill and Dickens, the latter of whom set up Urania Cottage as a refuge for ‘fallen women’, the vast majority of the population preferred simply to ignore the suffering and anguish of girls on the streets. Somewhat ironically, compassion towards prostitutes was stirred by the infamous ‘Whitechapel Murders’ of 1888-91, perpetrated by the still unidentified ‘Jack the Ripper’. Even for the so called ‘respectable’ working classes, indeed, in general conditions were appallingly bad, especially in the factories and sweatshops[22] which abounded both in London and elsewhere in the country: ‘The nineteenth century saw the Englishman turn town dweller and by 1900 three-quarters of the nation lived in towns’[23]. Bearing this in mind, it seems inevitable that conditions in these towns would be at best difficult and at worst unbearable (the infamous employment of children as, for example, chimney-sweeps, being evident in the work of such as the reformer Charles Kingsley who wrote The Water Babies in 1863 to expose this abuse). Thus, approaching the end of Victoria’s reign, the population was generally in a state of crisis. However, there was a discernable exception to this, in part, in the beginning of what we would now take to be an upwardly mobile meritocracy. Consisting largely of those persons concerned with ‘white-collar work’, the clerk for example, this section of society knew a growth and freedom such as never before. Possibly the best example of this is to be found in George and Weedon Grossmith’s The Diary of a Nobody, first published in Punch as a series of articles during 1888-9, in the form of a diary of the fictional Mr. Pooter. The highly amusing work is also an invaluable record of a new type of man emerging in Victorian society: My clear wife Carrie and I have just been a week in our new house, â€Å"The Laurels,† Brickfield Terrace, Holloway—a nice six-roomed residence, not counting basement, with a front breakfast-parlour. We have a little front garden; and there is a flight of ten steps up to the front door, which, by-the-by, we keep locked with the chain up. Cummings, Gowing, and our other intimate friends always come to the little side entrance, which saves the servant the trouble of going up to the front door, thereby taking her from her work. We have a nice little back garden which runs down to the railway. We were rather afraid of the noise of the trains at first, but the landlord said we should not notice them after a bit, and took  £2 off the rent. He was certainly right; and beyond the cracking of the garden wall at the bottom, we have suffered no inconvenience.[24] The Pooters encapsulate the image of a new class, living in their own home, employing a servant, having a garden and yet still retaining their parsimonious connective with their humbler origins; in many ways, the Pooters are the future. In conclusion, it may be remarked that the Victorian era saw the greatest period of change that had ever been seen. Industrial development saw riches and poverty in unequal measure; improvements were made in nursing and social concerns but the population mostly remained in poverty and both ill-nourished and inadequately cared for in terms of health; the trains united the country but the rural population was fragmented and the urban largely in dire circumstances; schooling was expanded and literacy improved but the standard of education was at best questionable; the Empire flourished but its members across the seas were mostly downtrodden, subjugated and rebellious: in short, to quote Dickens’ famous opening to A Tale of Two Cities (1859), ‘it was the best of times and the worst of times’. It is extremely difficult to assess, in the final analysis, whether the end of Victoria’s reign saw her people in a better or worse condition than when her reign began but certainly, the single most important development seen was the opportunity for change. In this sense if no other, the population was better off at the end of the long nineteenth century than at the beginning of it. However, the war that was about to devastate Europe brought apocalyptic changes which could never have been envisaged and certainly Tennyson’s famous reference in ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (1854) to the fact that ‘Some one had blunderd’ would take on a profoundly disturbing resonance from which the world over which Victoria presided would never recover. Truly, 1914 brought more than just the end of an era it brought the end of Victorian mores and the expectations of the population would alter radically, with revolution, such as occurred in Russia in 1917, a perpetual possibility, especially with the growth of the unions and the Socialist Party, which wiped out the Liberals. Victoria’s reign was not just one age but many and as such, like most eras, was both good and bad. Bibliography Ackroyd, Peter. Dickens. London: Guild Publishing, 1990. Beer, Gillian. Darwin’s Plots. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Davis, Philip. The Victorians. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002. Cobbet, William. Rural Rides. New York: Cosimo Classics, 2004. Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Dickens, C. Oliver Twist. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999 Dickens, Charles. Hard Times. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. Eliot, George. Adam Bede. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Eliot, George. The Lifted Veil. London: Virago Press, 1985, Englels, F. The Condition of the Working class in England (1844) http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/condition-working-class/index.htm> Forster, E.M. Howards End. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987. Forster, J. The Life of Charles Dickens in Two Volumes. London: J.M. Dent, 1980. Hardy, F.E. The Life of Thomas Hardy. London: Macmillan, 1962. Hughes, Thomas. Tom Browns School Days. New York: Harper Brothers,1911. Gaskell, Elizabeth. Mary Barton. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993. Gaskell, Elizabeth. Ruth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Grossmith, G M. The Diary of a Nobody. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. Kipling, Rudyard. Kim. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1918. Kipling, Rudyard. Traffics and Dicoveries. New York: Charles Scribner Sons. Langland, Elizabeth. Nobodys Angels: Middle-Class Women and Domestic Ideology in Victorian Culture. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1995. Lawrence, D.H. The Rainbow. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Lightman, Bernard, ed. Victorian Science in context. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997. Maltus, Thomas. Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), 29.11.08. http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/economics/malthus/index.htm> Mathias, P. The first Industrial Nation. London: Routledge, 2001. Mayhew, Henry. The Unknown Mayhew. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971. Mill, J.S. The Subjection of Women. New York: Prometheus, 1986. Roberts, F. David. The Social Conscience of the Early Victorians. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2002. Smiles, Samuel, Self Help. 29.11.08 http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext97/selfh10h.htm> Smiles, Samuel. Industrial Biography: Iron-Workers and Tool-Makers. Boston: Ticknor and Fields,1864. Sturt, George. Change in the Village. London: Caliban Books, 1984. Thompson, Flora. Lark Rise to Candleford. London: Penguin, 2008. The Victorian Web. accessed 30.11.08. http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/contagious.html> Worthen, John. D H Lawrence. The Early Years 1885-1912. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 1 Footnotes [1] For more on the idea of changes and loss of traditions see: Sturt, George. Change in the Village. London: Caliban Books, 1984. (First published in 1912.) [2] Eliot, George. Adam Bede. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 12. [3] See: Mill, J.S. The Subjection of Women. New York: Prometheus, 1986. [4] Darwin, Charles. The Origin of Species. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. [5] Hardy, F.E. The Life of Thomas Hardy. London: Macmillan, 1962, p. 310. [6] Eliot, George. The Lifted Veil. 1878. London: Virago Press, 1985, p. 26. [7] Kipling, Rudyard. Traffics and Dicoveries. New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1904, p. 337. [8] Forster, E.M. Howards End. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1987, p. 43. [9] Dickens, C. Hard Times. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, pp. 8-9. [10] Dickens, C. Hard Times. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, p. 10. [11] Dickens, C. Oliver Twist. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, Preface, p. xx. [12] Forster, J. The Life of Charles Dickens in Two Volumes. London: J.M. Dent, 1980, vol. I, p. 83. [13] Forster, J. The Life of Charles Dickens in Two Volumes. London: J.M. Dent, 1980. [14] Forster, J. The Life of Charles Dickens in Two Volumes. London: J.M. Dent, 1980. [15] Dickens, C. Nicholas Nickleby. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1990, Preface to the 1848 Edition, Lii. [16] Englels, F. The Condition of the Working class in England (1844): 29.11.08. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/condition-working-class/index.htm> [17] Englels, F. The Condition of the Working class in England (1844): 29.11.08. http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1845/condition-working-class/index.htm> [18] Gaskell, Elizabeth. Mary Barton. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993, pp. 79-80. [19] Gaskell, Elizabeth. Mary Barton. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1993, p. 49. [20] See Alan Shelston’s introduction to: Gaskell, Elizabeth. Ruth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. vii-viii. [21] See: ‘The Contagious Diseases Act’, accessed 30.11.08. http://www.victorianweb.org/gender/contagious.html> [22] See: Mayhew, Henry. The Unknown Mayhew. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1971. [23] Mathias, P. The First Industrial Nation. London: Routledge, 2001, p. 226. [24] Grossmith, G M. The Diary of a Nobody. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998, p. 3.

Career as a Concept Artist Essay -- Video Game Development

The employment outlook in my area for a Concept Artist in Video Game Development isn’t too promising. Nebraska isn’t the metropolis for technological employment like this, thus I would have to relocate to somewhere along the East or West Coasts, where jobs are more available than they are in the mid-west. This is due to the fact that a lot of the Game Publishing companies, such as Blizzard Entertainment, Monolith Games, a subdivision of Warner Bros. Entertainment, require an applicant to work on-site. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007, Graphic Designers earnings ranged from entry-level pay of about $35,000.00 to staff-level median of $45,000.00. More seasoned designers earned $62,000.00 and freelance designers earned around $60,000.00. Design Directors earned up to $98,600.00. Graphic designers with ownership or partnership interests in a firm or who were principals of the firm in some other capacity earned $113,000,00. Generally, for every company, there’s a different salary, depending on the type of work being completed and what they need. The role of ...

Money and Morals Essay

The underlying consequences of the clash between social and market norms are multitudinous and frequently inimical to our humanity. Fundamentally, the sages of our pasts weren’t wrong when they said, â€Å"Money is the root of all evil.† Dan Ariely, an American professor of psychology and behavioral economics, claims that, â€Å"When social and market norms collide, trouble sets in.† (Ariely 68) This essay will make an attempt at proving that claim; naturally, it is not unusual that money is the chief topic of this essay. Ariely makes several claims, but doesn’t adequately describe the unpropitious effects of money. Money rules the â€Å"market world;† consequently, money and its contemporary adverse effects and affects will be analyzed in this essay. Everyone knows money propagates deceit and betrayal. It changes social relationships to a darker shade from its original bright and happy color. It generally provokes a darker human: one that cheats, l ies, and destroys lives for the betterment of their future. It ravages our being, causing monetary values and materialistic items to define our purpose. Karl Marx once noted, â€Å"Money then appears as the enemy of man and social bonds that pretend to self-substantiate.† (Porto) Clearly, one can see how money degrades character; however, the reasons are unclear. Some say greed and the desire to fulfill one’s every wish are simply too overpowering a force to oppose, and specifically those things are the motivation to acquire more money. However, only a select few can seriously have the requisite spine to risk their personal lives and even companies to do that. Maybe greed isn’t the only factor. A study conducted by Harvard and Utah Students that proposes a different answer. The study was published in Behavioral Reasoning Theory, a book by J.D Westaby, who is a professor in Columbia University with a PhD in social-organizational psychology. The students collected a myriad of undergraduate students and presented videos, images, and texts that made them think of money, such as dollar bills and expensive jewelry. Then, they showed them other things that had nothing to do with money. Some students were exposed to monetary-related pictures more than others. Then, a  comprehensive questionnaire was filled by all the students. The und ergraduates exposed to the images related to money exhibited questionable ethics. They consistently chose answers that were cut-throat, immoral, and selfish. Surprisingly, however, the students didn’t see their choices as immoral at all. They, â€Å"framed their choices as products of cost-benefit analysis.† (Porto). The study’s abstract says, â€Å"Students constantly exposed to [money] were more likely to steal numerous pages from a printer†¦ and create stands to sell products in a school without permission.† (Westaby [Study 1] 60). The student’s reactions are symbolic of the unconstructive behavior money tend to propagate when gone out of control. Although their perusal of the images and texts related to money was rather short, the outcome was apparent. It discouraged positive social interaction and encouraged a grimmer human. When money rules our lives, and when we feel very wealthy, we tend to behave adversely. Think about it this way: Pretend you are playing a game of Monopoly; however, in this game, the combination of skill, luck, and intelligence has been rendered irrelevant. Why? The monopo ly game is rigged, and you have the advantage. You’ve been given several more opportunities to move around the board. You have most of the money. You have most of the â€Å"cities† and numerous hotels. Every time you land on a â€Å"chance,† or â€Å"community chest,† you find yourself with more resources. How might this unfair advantage influence the way you thought of yourself and, more importantly, how you regard the other player(s)? This experiment was, in fact, performed by psychologist Paul Piff. Piff is a social psychologist and post-doctoral scholar in the Psychology Dept. of UCBerkley. He published an article titled, â€Å"Higher Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior.† It proved through questionnaires, quizzes, in-lab manipulations, and several other techniques, that living high in the socioeconomic ladder increases the chances dramatically and exponentially of dehumanization. It drives affluent societies to immoralities, causing them to be more insular and acrimoniously unsympathetic. It can make them more likely, as Piff shows in one of his several experiments, to deliberately and knowingly take candy from a bowl of sweets designated specifically for children. Wealthy individuals, Paul Piff claims, â€Å"Are way more likely to prioritize their own self-i nterests above the interests of other people. It makes them more likely to exhibit characteristics that we would  stereotypically associate with, say, assholes.† (McElwee)* Piff was able to gather 100 participants, and set up 50 monopoly boards. Each monopoly game had two participants, and at the flip of a coin, it was decided who would be the richer player in the rigged game of monopoly. The luckier player had several advantages: they got twice the salary, earned four hundred (instead of two hundred) when they passed â€Å"Go,† and were allowed to role two die instead of one. Piff installed hidden cameras in the rooms the players were in, and reported several intriguing things. First of all, the richer player began to show off his dominance. He moved around the board louder. It was as if the piece he was controlling symbolized his footsteps: loud, confident, and obstreperous. Moreover, they smirked disapprovingly at ever â€Å"stupid,† move the poorer player made. In contrast, they richer player made jubilant sounds – that seemed to depress the poorer players – every time they made a move. As the game progressed, so did increase of the rich player’s hubris. There was a bowl of pretzels on the side, and the rich players began to eat from the pretzels, and gave dirty looks to the poorer players when they even approached the pretzels. One player even said something along the lines of, â€Å"Don’t eat my pretzels.† The rich players started to get ruder and ruder, making comments like, â€Å"You’re going to lose big time at this game,† or â€Å"Wow, you’re so poor. I’m still going to take all your money though. *chuckle*.† One player even said, â€Å"Are you sure you even know how to play this game?† At the end of the game, Paul Piff interviewed the players. He reports that the richer players, when asked why the won the game, replied with a very intriguing, yet not surprising, answer. They attributed their inevitable victory to their skills! They ignored the fact, or maybe even forgotten, that they were put into a much more privileged and advantaged situation. Even the means by which they were chosen to be rich was ruled by luck, not skill. This game of monopoly can symbolize society. It gives us much insight into how humans essentially view advantages and opportunities they were given. As a person’s level of wealth increases, their feelings of entitlement and self-interest increase with it. Conversely, their empathy, compassion, and consideration decrease. Paul Piff says, â€Å"In surveys, wealthier individuals are more likely to moralize greed being good, and that the pursuit of self-interest is favorable and moral.† (TedxMarin)* To further understand why affluent people exhibit less altruistic behavior,  another study was lead by Daniel M. Stancato. Daniel M. Stancato, like Paul Piff, is a social psychologist and post-doctoral scholar in the Psychology Dept. of UCBerkley. He co-authored, â€Å"Social Class Predicts Increased Unethical Behavior.† This study meticulously examined whether provoking an environment where greed is regarded positively increases the unethical tendencies of the less-pri vileged enough to meet their rich counterparts. In the experiment, when the benefits of greed were emphasized, Daniel hypothesized that blue-collar individuals would be as susceptible to unethical behavior as richer individuals. If these findings were true, it would attest a revelation, that is lower-class individuals tend to act more ethically is because they hold relatively unfavorable sentiments towards greed. Conversely, rich white-collared individuals tend to act more adversely is because they hold relatively favorable sentiments towards greed. The study was, essentially, an economic game. Around 100 participants were gathered, and given â€Å"laboratory† credits. These credits, the participants were told, could be traded for real money. They were then presented with a questionnaire. The questionnaire prompted the participants to list the ways the participants viewed greed, and why. After about an hour, the participants were given the opportunity to give some of their laboratory credits to a needy stranger. The lower-class individuals (those who made $20,000 and less) gave a total of 45% more than the rich white-collared folk (those who made 150k+). Not surprisingly, the poorer individuals had negative sentiments towards greed, and the richer individuals felt more comfortable and accepted greed more easily. Later, the participants were given a different questionnaire that prompted them to list three negative outcomes of greed. They were then shown several videos of starving children. Then, they were again given the opportunity to give money to a needy stranger. The difference in lab credits given between the two groups was near negligible. This shows that, in an environment where greed is negatively promoted, one can give more. A while later, the same participants were given another questionnaire that prompted them to list three positive outcomes of greed. Afterwards, they were shown several clips of very rich people and the lives they lead. They showed them mansions, jewelry, expensive cars, and several other materialistic items that emphasized on money. They were then, again, given an opportunity to give  away some of their lab credits. This time, however, very few people gave away anything, and those who gave, gave very little. This study shows that money can seriously make individuals less generous, compassionate, and altruistic. The first part of the experiment introduced an atmosphere where greed was looked at neutrally; one was supposed to fill out their general attitude towards having a covet nature. When the individual was left to their own devices, their actions reflected upon their true nature; consequently, the poorer folk, who fully understood the egregious consequences greed has on society, gave more. The richer folk, who practically lived in an environment where taking advantage of every possession is vital to success, were a lot less giving. However, a new environment was introduced. By prompting the participants to list three negative outcomes of greed, the participants were influenced. They were manipulated into adopting a new paradigm – a paradigm where greed was bad. Consequently, their actions were reflected that new way of thinking, and caused several people to give more. This is important because the previous mentality (for the rich individuals) existed solely because they were in an environment that promoted the hoarding of resources, like money, and that blocked feelings of empathy and generosity. Again, when money rules your life, including your social (life/norms), there is a distinct negative effect on the personality. Its intrusion is very dangerous, and it is essential to keep a balance, because if one immerses their entire lives in the market (life/norm), they will give up an extremely vital part of their humanity. It is important to keep in mind I am not bashing wealthy individuals. It is a fact that several of them secede from moral values more than I would like, but it is not because they have innate egregious qualities. Another study shown, by Dacher Keltner, who has the same credentials as Paul Piff and Daniel M. Stancato, suggests otherwise. Keltner showed rich and poor individuals a 45 second video calling out for support to starving African children. One hour later, Keltner had the individuals try to help other individuals in distress, and the wealthier people exerted just as much energy as the poorer, suggesting that these differences are not categorical, but are extremely malleable to slight changes. Little nudges of compassion and empathy are all one needs. Bill Gates once said, †Å"Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries, but in how those discoveries  are applied to reduce inequity.† Bill Gates has given nearly all his money to the Bill Gates Foundation, which helps support starving children all over the world. I believe money can buy you happiness; just not when its primary purpose is: you. Self-commitment, community, family, friends; investing in others is investing in yourself, and reducing inequities will doubtless increase social mobility, economic growth, trust, and community life. The rat race we involve ourselves in allows negativity to ferment, and only the morally transcendent individuals who have discovered a much more fulfilling calling – the desire to address the needs and satiate the interests of others – have realized that even if you win the rat race, you’re only just a rat. Do you want to be a rat? If you still find my claim ambiguous, let me make it clearer. It is one of the most time-honored maxims in philosophy, clear even in Chaucer’s time. His Pardoner’s Tale is built on ‘Radix Malorum est Cupiditas’: Money is the Root of All Evil. Now, as illustrated in my essay, social science supports that. * I realize you marked things on my paper like, â€Å"I don’t understand where this source comes in. Are you quoting Ariely’s article or not?† No, I am not quoting his article; I am quoting him. Aside from being a writer, Ariely is an extremely famous speaker. Those sources are where I got the quotes from. Specifically, McElwee is an author of an article on a blog, and TedxMarin is just a Ted Talk that took place in Marin. They are in my, â€Å"Works Cited,† page in more detail. If I did anything incorrectly, I am very sorry. That was how I learned to make citations through my entire highschool and college life†¦ Works Cited Paul K. Piff, Daniel M. Stancato, Stà ©phane Cà ´tà ©, Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, and Dacher Keltner â€Å"Higher social class predicts increased unethical behavior† New York: Farrar. 2008. Print. Porto, Eduardo. â€Å"How Money Affects Morality.† Nytimes.com. New York Times, 13 Jun 2013. Web. 13 Feb 2014. Westaby, J.D. Behavioral reasoning theory: Identifying new linkages underlying intentions and behavior. Ney York: Harper Collins, 2008. Print. Cristina Becchio, , Joshua Skewes, et al, et al, Andreas Roepstorff, and Uta Frith. â€Å"How the Brain Responds to the Destruction of Money.† Journal of  Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics. N.p.. Web. 14 Feb 2014. Piff, Pauf. â€Å"Does money make you mean?† Ted Talks. Marin County, California. Oct 2013. Lecture. Loeb, Paul Rogat . Soul Of A Citizen, Living With Conviction In Challenging Times. Los Angeles: St. Martin, 2009. Print. Ariely, D. . Predictably irrational, the hidden forces that shape our decis ions. New York: HarperCollins, 2008. Print. McElwee, Sean