Thursday, October 31, 2019

Concept of Virillio and Klein on globalization Assignment

Concept of Virillio and Klein on globalization - Assignment Example Armitage (2011) reports that an analysis of the professor's work reveals expressions that tend to link the globalization concept to internationalism, a term with a close association to communism and a distance a way from the unifying capitalistic market concept preached by preachers of pro westernized philosophies. Virillio rejects the globalization concept as perpetuator of a success of over free trade over totalitarian Marxism. According to Armitage (2011), his rejection of this view is in reaction to his claim that the definition lacks the aptitude to address the present loss of time gaps, the telescoping inherent in industrial and post industrial actions. Furthermore, the extensive concept of globalization is leading to the upper echelons of human modernity which is cultivated by technology and media coercion. In Armitage (2011), it is clear that Virillio believes that past these levels human beings can only encounter the backward tightening to a spectacle characterized by an inf inite density and dilapidated to personified humans permitting only existence through a phantom space. Armitage (2011) reports that Virillio arguments as supported by the recent fiscal catastrophes that brought countless nations to the brink of bankruptcy while putting countable multinationals out of business. Virillio suggest that the comprehension of the present fiscal predicaments should take a school of thought that hat views it as a hypermodern catastrophe. A misfortune characterized by hypermodern speed flanking the entire global civilization which is a bout to rupture, (Armitage, 2011).Evidently, this proposition is inline with the well comprehended economic perception that any form of advancement as a corresponding face of a catastrophe. This has the implication that progress has an equivalent face which is an upheaval and is analogous to the double faces of a coin. Armitage (2011) cites such pundits like Walter Benjamin who furthered the theoretical conceptualization of cat astrophic attributes of globalization to have influenced Virilio's perception of globalization. Armitage (2011) cites Virilio's assertion that the westernization forged by Benjamin Franklin which over the decades supported rampart capitalistic globalization has finally reached its conclusive phase. Consequently, the present persistent fiscal negativity evident globally impeccably confirms these propositions. According to Klein (2008), globalization which has in the past years prompted the free global trade has over years profited multinationals at the expense of the disadvantage populace around the globe. From both books, Klein (2008) and Klein (2000), it is evident that corporations have over the years advanced sizably to levels that they presently supersede state organizations. Klein (2000) suggests that presently, corporate commands such elevated echelon of influence that they dictate the direction taken by political regimes across the globe. Klein (2000) argues that while they h ave in time indirectly captured governance, they are not obligated to nations' citizens but to their self centered shareholders. Klein (2000) claims that the events have adversely affected the tri pillars of civic space resulting in highly constricted social liberties and increasingly restricted employment prospects. According to Klein (2000), the maiden pillar that the corporate through state agencies have taken away from the common populace is the constricted liberty. Klein

Monday, October 28, 2019

In the three stories from other cultures (Country Lovers, Veronica and A Stench of Kerosene) Essay Example for Free

In the three stories from other cultures (Country Lovers, Veronica and A Stench of Kerosene) Essay In the three stories from other cultures (Country Lovers, Veronica and A Stench of Kerosene) discuss how the relationships in each one are affected by cultural forces In Country Lovers, the Apartheid in South Africa stopped blacks and whites intermingling. The Apartheid meant that police could decide to invade peoples homes if there was a suspicion of blacks and whites having a sexual relationship together. South Africa was a worse place due to the Apartheid and even now the division still has an affect on peoples lives. The main Act that governed the Apartheid was the Immorality act. This ultimately banned mixed marriages and later went on to be amended to ban sexual relationships. If mixed marriages were heard of the couple would be arrested and sent to prison, although even the sentencing was biased as blacks got harsher sentences than whites. At the start of the story Paulus displayed true love towards Thebedi by bringing home a painted wooden box he had made for her in wood-work classes. He had been sent away to do these classes at a boarding school. The boarding schools were another reason why blacks were not as educated as whites because it was just simply not given to them in the same way it was given to the whites. Thebedi also returned the love by giving Paulus a sort-after bracelet which she had made. This bracelet made his white friends jealous, so this shows that just because Thebedi is black doesnt mean she cannot bring happiness to anyone. This shows the affect it had on both races to the extent where if they had known the bracelet was made by a black person, they wouldnt have been jealous. When Paulus goes off to Veterinary College, it gave Njabulo a chance to show his love for Thebedi. He had had a crush on her for a long time but never revealed his feelings until Paulus went away. The relationship between Thebedi and Njabulo would not have been so frowned upon at all as they were both the same colour. The most controversial issue within the story is when Thebedi and Njabulo supposedly have a baby, but when the baby is born it is mixed-race. Njabulo accepts the baby by going out and buying things for it, he bought from the Indian store a cellophane-widowed pack. This is probably because he loved Thebedi too much to get rid of her because of a mixed-race child. This shows the different views within the cultures. But when Paulus finds out that the baby is most probably his, he demands that Thebedi gets rid of it, You must give it to someone. This shows that he is scared of the authorities, because if they find out he would be facing prison or worse. So when the baby is found dead, and the forensic evidence relates to poison, Paulus is the main suspect. But when Paulus gets to court it says that when Thebedi was giving evidence she was still wearing the ear-rings Paulus had given her when they had first met, she wore gilt-hoop ear-rings. This proved that she still had feelings for Paulus. In Veronica, it is not a case of racial differences; it is the fact that society dictates the way you live by your gender. Fatalism plays a big part in this story. Okeke shows that he accepted what he had been given more so than Veronica. This is shown by the fact that Okeke moves away top the city to try and make a life of his own. Whereas Veronica was not persuaded by Okekes efforts to try and get her to come with him. Instead she stayed in the village to try and scrape a life off of very little money. Okeke proved to be moralistic, all the women I meet are only interested in money and cars. Veronica herself had to mature a lot quicker than any other adolescent as her father was a bitter drunk and her mother was weak and poorly. When Okeke went away to his life in the city, I think both of them were feeling as if their lives were going to be dramatically changed but were too afraid to admit it. Okeke returned to the village as a prosperous doctor with many paths he could choose to take his life down. He came back to discover that Veronica was still living the same life but with a child and husband. Her brothers and sisters that she worked so hard to keep alive had left her and dispersed into different parts of the country and forgotten about her. The war breaks out and Okeke returns again to find Veronica lying there close to death. She says she wants to dies because she has lost everything, I dont want to live, you hear?. So Veronica slips away and Okeke shows how much he felt for her by burying her down by the river, where they spent so much time together in their youth. A Stench of Kerosene is set in Jammu and Kashmir, Northern India. It is based in mid 20th Century. The cultural force that plays its part in this story is the Hindu Marriage Act (1955). This governs all Hindu marriages. This Act also applies to Buddhists and Sikhs. It said that the bride should be 18 and the groom 21. Neither should already have a spouse and both should be capable of giving consent. It was also believed that both spouses should be fit for both marriage and consummation. This rule however did not apply to the counties of Kashmir and Jammu. Manak truly loved his wife called Guleri. There was a carnival in a town called Chamba. Guleri looked forward to it every year and was set on going the same as usual. But there was just one problem, Manak knew that if Guleri left for any length of time, his mother would set up a marriage with someone else he might not even like. He was so seperate for her to stay he even begged her, I ask again, dont go away this time. The reason his mother wanted Manak to get a different was because Guleri had never conceived a child and therefore could not continue with the family name. His mother paid 500 rupees just to get Manak another wife. This worked because after a short time of being with the second wife conceived a child. When Guleri heard the news of Manaks second wife she soaked her clothes in kerosene and set them alight. The fact you dont ever find out what the second wifes name is, tells us that she was irrelevant to Manak and that he considered her to just be there as his wife. The main reason he just put up with her is because he respected his mother and thought that it would be wrong to speak up about how he actually felt. Also this shows that Manaks mother cannot be blamed entirely because she was just acting how her culture dictates. Overall in these didactic stories, it shows the effects that different cultural forces had on peoples relationships and that people had to go to extreme lengths to avoid the terror of being caught doing something they know is wrong but cannot help.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Strategic Issues In Training And Development Multinational Corporations Management Essay

Strategic Issues In Training And Development Multinational Corporations Management Essay Nowadays Multinational corporations are more and more widespread, but a problem that they still don t have accomplished is how to have successful employees, and most importantly how to train their employees and make them a useful and successful resource of the their enterprises. The increase of multinational corporations has led to employees sent in a foreign country to undertake international assignment more than ever before, with estimation that the use of expatriate will continue to increase in the future (Van der Bank Rothmann, 2006). Some researchers estimated that around 30% of all expatriates sent to undertake overseas assignments return home prematurely (Kim Slocum, 2008; Mendenhall, Dunbar, Oddou, 1987). And failure rates increase further when is considered also employees who return home and leave their company within one year (McGinley, 2008). One of the major causes attributed to expatriates failure is the inability of these expatriates or their spouses to adapt themselves in the host-country s new environment and different culture (Tung, 1988). Failed adjustment of expatriates leads to high amount of economic and social costs for multinationals corporations. Expatriate failure is defined as the inability of the expatriate to perform effectively the international assignment, with the consequence of being fired or recalled to home (Tung (1982), therefore it is crucial to identify the ways to reduce and eliminate such failures. Although estimations of the costs of expatriate failure tend to vary in regards to each different country and are not based on a fixed set of criteria, they certainly cannot be neglected by multinationals (Gregersen Black, 1990). This essay aims to explore the strategic issues around training and development that are faced by Multinational corporations. What is International training and development One of the most important activities of International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is International training and development and its potential benefits are highly recognized in the literature. (Dowling and Welch, 2004; Kamoche, 1996; Mendenhall et al., 1987; Tung, 1982). Kamoche (1996) says: The human resource refers to the accumulated stock of knowledge, skills and abilities that individuals possess, which the firm has built up over time into an identifiable expertise (p. 216). In the management literature, the two words International training and management development are always related to each other. Training has the aim to increase work skills and behaviour, and development has the aim to improve abilities in regards to some future position (Dowling et al., 1999, p. 155). Dowling and Welch (2004) argue that the issue for multinationals is how to retain and leverage their employees in order to have at disposal highly trained, internationally oriented human resources to support their strategic responses and concur to their key competencies. Multinationals are increasing their usage of training to improve and assist expatriates activities. The importance of training and development in MNCs Nowadays, a successful international manager has to detain a set of specific abilities in regards to the context, such as ability to handle responsibility, cultural sensitivity, ability to develop subordinates, ability to demonstrate and to exhibit (Baumgarten, 1992). These ability are considered important international skills and characteristics which can be generated with an effective international training and development program. International training is the type of training specifically set for who has been allocated an international assignment. In Multinational corporations there are mainly three different group of international trainings. They are divided in: 1. Pre-departure training for expatriates: before an expatriate s departure for the international assignment, there will be a preparatory training course, this has the scope to ensure that the expatriate has the right capacity and knowledge to accomplish his assignment in a successful way. 2. Post-arrival training for expatriates: Once the expatriate is arrived in his destination to fulfil his international assignment, he will be provided with on-site training, in order to familiarize with the new working environment. 3. Training for host country nationals (HCNs) and third-country nationals (TCNs): This training aims to help HCNs and TCNs to understand the corporate strategy and the different culture. In the international literature the group of international training that has received more attention is Pre-departure training for expatriates, as overseas failure (i.e. the return of an expatriate employee before the completion of the assigned assignment) is most of the time caused by failure to provide adequate international training for expatriates and their spouses. In order to measure the effectiveness of employees expatriation, the expatriate failure rate is a good indicator. One of the reason MNCs have to avoid expatriation failure is certainly because their cost are really high, involving direct (salary, training, travel and relocation costs) and indirect expenditure. The average direct cost per failure to the parent company goes from US$ 55.000 to US$ 80.000, depending to the assignment s destination (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1986). Whereas indirect costs can be considerable and difficult to quantify, including the damage of the relationships with host country s government, other organizations and with customers, losing market share and company s reputation, therefore also missing future business opportunities. Some research conducted among American s multinationals has revealed a high rate of expatriate failure and therefore it remain a recurring problem (Brewster, 1988). Table 1 shows this phenomenon (Shen and Edwards, 2004). The global environment is becoming more and more complex and in continuous change, for this reason it requires flexibility. Therefore organizations have to devise strategic responses with the help of suitably trained and internationally oriented employees. Researches find that there is positive correlation between the rigor of the selection and training process and its expatriate success rate (Tung, 1981). This means that if a company use a more rigorous training program then it will significantly benefit and improve the performances of the expatriate in the overseas environment, therefore decreasing the failure rate (Mendenhall et al.,1987). Cultural training aims to enables personnel to adjust themselves in the foreign culture and then work more effectively in the new environment (Earley, 1987). Table 2 shows (in descending order of importance) some reasons of expatriate failure in US and Japanese MNCs (Tung, 1982). Table 2. SOURCE: Tung, 1982. From the table it s important to note that the more important cause of expatriate failure is not expatriates absence of adequate technical skills, but the inability of expatriates and their spouse to adapt themselves in the new overseas environment and culture. The aims of international management development is to identify, promote and use international managers, and it is expected to play a central role in MNCs because it is fundamentally needed in order to develop a cross-national corporate culture and to integrate international operations. Bartlett and Ghoshal (2000), argue that multinational corporations can construct their inter-unit linkages by creating a pool of international managers from different countries. International training and development programs Pre-departure training Most of the literature is concentrated on expatriate pre-departure training programs and their scope is to provide and develop host-country s cultural awareness to expatriates. Once expatriates have been selected by the multinational for an international assignments, pre-departure training is the next indispensable step to be taken in order to ensure the successful and effective performance of expatriates assignment in the host-country (Dowling, Engler, Festing, 2008). Pre-departure training programs to be effective have to include different components: cultural awareness training, preliminary visits, language instruction and assistance with practical, day-to-day matters (Mendenhall Oddou, 1986). Cultural awareness programs Is generally known that expatriates have to feel comfortable and adapted in the host-country in order to perform effectively their task, therefore is fundamental to provide them with a well-designed cultural awareness training program. Receiving this kind of training expatriates will understand and appreciate host-country s different culture and can behave accordingly or develop appropriate coping patterns. Without any understanding of host-country s different culture, expatriates are likely to feel disoriented and face difficult behavioural problems during their time abroad. Therefore, cultural awareness training is considered the most common and important part of pre-departure training. Cultural awareness training programs is formed by different components which may vary according to country of destination, duration of the assignment, purpose of the expatriation, and the provider of such programs (Dowling, Engler, Festing, 2008). Preliminary visits One methods for orientating the expatriates is to send them in the host-country for a short trip. If the trip overseas is well planned can provide a useful preview to expatriates and their spouse about the international assignment s destination, and allow them to assess their suitability for the new environment. This kind of trip is needed also to introduce expatriates to the new business context in the host-country and provide them with more information before their departure. Preliminary visit to the host-country can assist in the initial adjustment process when used as part of a pre-departure training program (Dowling, Engler, Festing, 2008). Even if the useful adoption of preliminary visits is well known, some European multinationals do not provide it. The 1997 European study reported what one firm admitted: We do not provide pre-assignments visits where conditions are so poor that nobody would want to go. Language training Language training is an important component of a pre-departure training program. However its importance is always put after that of cultural awareness training. It is generally worldwide accepted that English is the common language of the business world. The ORC Worldwide 2002 survey discovered that the adoption of language training for expatriates and their spouse, as part of the pre-departure training program is increased. In fact, results say that 59% of the sample firms provided language training before the departure of expatriates, and 74% provided language training once expatriates arrived on the assignment s destination. The ability to speak the foreign country s language is essential to perform better and improve negotiating ability, indeed Tung (1997) discovered from a survey of 400 expatriates that language competence is a critical part of the assignment s performance. Language skills is not important only for task performance but also for cultural adjustment. One reason for multinational not providing language training may be the difficulty and long time required to learn even a base level of a foreign language. A solution to this problem for multinationals is to hire a large language competent staff from which they can choose the potential expatriates to send abroad, but multinationals have also to keep an up-to-date information on all employees, and make frequent tests to verify if those language skills have been maintained (Marschan, Welch, 1997). Practical assistance Providing practical assistance is another component of a pre-departure training program. Practical assistance aims to help expatriates and their family to adapt themselves to the new foreign environment. Many multinationals are paying specialized assistants in order to help expatriates and their family, providing practical assistance in finding a suitable accommodation or school for their children. Trainees: Who should be trained? The support of the expatriate s family is of critical importance for any international assignment to be successfully completed. From this point of view, is clear that multinationals have to train all family members of the expatriate in order to receive a high and effective performance of the assignment. According to a survey conducted by Organizational Resource Counselors (ORC), 47% of multinationals offer training program to the entire family of the expatriate, 33% offer to their employee and spouse, and 20% offer training only to the expatriate employee. Different researchers have analysed this phenomenon and argue that the most important and common reasons for which expatriate cannot perform effectively their international assignment is the inability of their spouses to settle well and live in the host culture (Black, Gregersen, Mendenhall, 1992; Adler, 1997; Kohls, 1994). While expatriate are sustained by the workplace with familiar routines and job tasks, the situation of his or her family members is quite different. The spouse is left alone and have to face difficult challenges in a new international environment such as how to deal with relocation logistics, to establish the household, to settle the children at school, to negotiate with the local services, and to become part of a social network. Obviously the level of difficulty depends on spouses level of confidence and skills. According to findings of a research made by Bennett Associates and Price Waterhouse, most of the times all expatriates are married and the accompanying spouse is female, and they have to face the dual-career dilemma situation at the time of the international relocation. When the accompanying partner is in front of this situation, she or he may feel ambivalent about the move and worried about how to find employment once arrived abroad. So all training programs should take in consideration these issues and help the spouse in order to have a positive growth and development during the time abroad. Therefore is very important that the spouse feel that he or she is also an active part in the international assignment (Lublin, 1999). Training programs should also include young family members, supporting them to adapt in the new environment. All these programs should be tailored according to different needs of children, and they are particularly useful in case of strong difference between childrens culture and host-country ones. In most major business centers there are international schools that help expatriate community, trying to facilitate their transition from their own country s environment to the new foreign country s environment. In other cases, when is not possible to find this kind of international schools, children have to put more efforts in facing new education system, social norms, and the challenges posed by a new language. Some recent research studies and innovative multinational companies practices suggest that there are three main emerging topic that managers working in multinational corporations have to be aware: 1) In-Country, Real-Time Training; 2) Global Mindset Training; and 3) CD-ROM/Internet-Based Training. In-Country, Real-Time Training The majority of multinational corporations think that pre-departure cross-cultural training alone can already give expatriate the necessary skills and knowledge to perform well in the overseas environment. But researchers in this area have analyzed the expatriation process from different perspectives and discovered that multinationals thinking is erroneous, and argued that is important to continue the cross-cultural training program in the early stages of the international assignment (Gudykunst, Guzley, Hammer, 1996; Mendenhall, 1999). Living in a totally new environment facing different culture is a complex task and pre-departure training can provide expatriate with skills and knowledge only to survive, not to excel and overcome problematic situations where expatriates don t know what they should do, because pre-departure training methods cannot cover all the specific cross-cultural situations that expatriates encounter during the international assignment. Therefore once arrived in the foreign country is important to provide expatriates with further education and training in order to make them able to process accurately the new environment around them and to undertake wise moves. In-country training suits these specific needs. How to deliver In-Country Training In-country training can be delivered from: traditional or real-time training. The traditional training is the kind of training that brings all expatriates together, forming a group, when they are in-country, and provides them with in-depth skills and knowledge of the complexities and difficulties they have to face in the host culture, which are not covered in the pre-departure training program. In-country training and pre-departure training in its traditional format are different only for the location where the training is held and the depth of the content. One negative aspect of the traditional format is that all expatriates receive the same content.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Malaria Life Cycle :: essays research papers

Page 1 of 6 Life Cycle of Malaria Page 2 of 6 Malaria is an ancient disease transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito that predates recorded history. Historically it was common in the swampy areas around Rome, and was believed that the tainted air in those locations made people very sick, the disease was therefore named malaria for the Latin root words bad air. Malaria is caused by small parasitic protozoa of the genus Plasmodium which infects both humans and mosquitoes in a cyclical process. It is carried by only by female mosquitoes residing in tropical and subtropical areas and is injected into unsuspecting human hosts by the bite of an infected mosquito. This particular Plasmodium is highly specific to infecting humans as we are the only vertebrates infected and the Anopheles mosquitoes are the vectors. (1). This papers main focus shall be the process by which a malarial plasmodium colonizes and infects a human host, the methods the body employs to control the infection and the continuous life cycle completed between the two hos ts. To understand any disease in humans one must first understand how it arrives into the body and what processes ensue. The following shall first describe the transmition of the disease and then the colonization that takes place. During a blood meal on a human a female mosquito must inject her saliva containing an anticoagulant agent to ensure and even flow of blood into the mouth (1). With the saliva comes malarial sporozoites which, within minutes of direct contact with the blood take an immediate route with the circulation of blood to the liver of the human (2). Research has indicated that once the sporozoites arrive in the livers sinusoidal cavities they stop their movement by using two major surface proteins, the circumsporozoite and the thormbospondin-related adhesive protein (3). Research Page 3 of 6 conducted by Pradel et al. suggests that the sporozoites use these surface proteins to attach to proteoglycans in the sinusoidal extracellular matrix to slow their travel through the liver and then bind to chondroiten and heparin sulfate proteoglycans on the Kupfer cells. The Kupfer cells then become the doorways through which the sporozoite leaves the circulatory system and enters the underlying hepatocytes. Once the sporozoites invade the hepatocytes they are protected from the immune system by a parasitophosphorous (4) vacuole that does not colocalize with the normal signals for acidifying organelles (2). Because the body doesn’t recognize the vacuole as a threat at this point it remains safely with in the hepatic cell where it will stay for 9-16 days and differentiate into haploid cells called schizont which contain nearly 30,000 compact cells called merozoites (1).

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Basic Concept Of Ppsmi Education Essay

The whole thought of a good instruction system is to fix out kids so that they are better prepared to confront the challenges of globalisation, liberalisation every bit good as the fast development in today ‘s information and communicating engineerings. To enable our state to make this we needed competent and resilient human capital that is able to confront the challenges locally and internationally. In order to bring forth this sort of human capital, authorities had come out with few policies in instruction system. One of the policies was PPSMI that was introduced in 2003 and later it is abolished in 2012. The basic construct of PPSMI – the instruction and acquisition of scientific discipline and mathematics in English The virtues of PPSMI – the instruction and acquisition of scientific discipline and mathematics in English The demerits of PPSMI – the instruction and acquisition of scientific discipline and mathematics in English Summary. The basic construct of PPSMI The instruction and acquisition of scientific discipline and mathematics in English or in short known as PPSMI, that stands for Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran Sains dan Matematik Dalam Bahasa InggerisA is a authorities policy aimed at bettering the bid of the English linguistic communication among pupils at primary and secondary schools inA Malaysia. Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, whom was the premier curate at the minute introduced this policy in 2003. However, since it was introduced, PPSMI has been a heated topic and has been debated among faculty members, politicians and even in society until the Deputy Prime Minister, Tan SriA Muhyiddin Yassin announced the policy ‘s reversal in 2012. Harmonizing to the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in The Star ( 2009 ) , the spread between rural and urban pupils has widened since PPSMI started. Merely 19.2 % of secondary instructors and 9.96 % of primary instructors were sufficiently proficient in English. He said this one of the grounds the Cabinet has decided that the medium of direction for Math and Science will return to Bahasa Malaysia in national schools and mother-tongue linguistic communications in national-type schools from 2012 onwards and the reversal of the instruction of Math and Science in English ( PPSMI ) policy will be conducted in phases. The virtues of PPSMI Back so, the medium for communicating in instruction system was chiefly used our mother-tongue, Malay linguistic communication. Then in order to develop the state, the premier curate at that clip, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad proposed a policy that changed the medium of direction from the Malay linguistic communication to English for the instruction and acquisition of Science and Mathematics topics. Basically the policy was made based on the authorities ‘s concern on the state ‘s human capital development towards accomplishing the criterion of a developed state, every bit good as an early readying to vie in the epoch of globalisation. Kim ( 2011 ) stated that scientific discipline and mathematics are two chief Fieldss that form the footing and have a important function in the advancement and development of a state. Besides, the turning watercourse of transmutations and finds in these two Fieldss happen quickly and information entree in these Fieldss is largely in the English linguistic communication excessively. So, the command in this linguistic communication would do us easier to acquire the cognition in scientific discipline and mathematics. Though by presenting PPSMI is non the best method to better English, it is however a worthy enterprise that will convey the duplicate benefits of betterment in English every bit good as ready connectivity to the universe of scientific discipline and engineering. Harmonizing to Kim ( 2011 ) , oppositions of PPSMI ever make Russia and China as an illustration that one can lodge to one ‘s national linguistic communication and yet accomplish outstanding advancement in scientific discipline and technology.A But these critics forget that states like Russia and China have large populations and their people are good equipped with cognition in scientific discipline and engineering comparison to us, Malaysians that largely still depends on aliens. One more thing is about the resources. English text books are already widely used in our establishments of higher acquisition excessively, so why must we halt the instruction of mathematics and scientific discipline in English at an earlier age and change over back to Malay linguistic communication? The merely acceptable ground for halting PPSMI should merely because of the deficiency of English-proficient instructors. They did non hold sufficient preparation to be able to learn efficaciously. However, many options can be conducted to develop them. After that, all they needed is sufficient clip to accommodate to the alteration and later travel frontward to run into the challenges. In decision, we can straight see that the policy determination to implement PPSMI was made to do certain pupils ‘ command in scientific discipline and mathematics in position of the fact that most of the beginnings are available in the English linguistic communication. Indirectly, it is besides hoped that the execution of PPSMI would lend to the enhancing of pupils ‘ bid of the linguistic communication. The demerits of PPSMI Even though PPSMI seemed to be a good policy to be implemented in our instruction system, after much idea and considerations from experts, non-governmental organisations and concerned persons about the impact of PPSMI on pupil acquisition, the authorities decided to get rid of the instruction and acquisition of Science and Mathematics in English. Harmonizing to an article ‘Why PPSMI is abolished ‘ in The Star newspaper, the cabinet found that during the execution of PPSMI merely 4 % of Mathematicss and Science instructors used 90 % or more of English in the instruction and acquisition of the two topics. A mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and English was used more by them and the instructors had to often exchange to Bahasa Malaysia in their instruction because pupils could non understand their lessons in English. To turn out the statement above, a survey conducted by a group of educationalists from the Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris ( UPSI ) revealed that 70 % of Form Two pupils found it difficult to larn Mathematicss and Science in English. Another survey done by a Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ( UKM ) professor concluded that PPSMI hampered pupils ‘ ability to understand Mathematicss and Science constructs, hence ensuing in their hapless public presentation in these two topics. The cabinet besides stated that lone pupils with good bid of English benefited from PPSMI while others who lack of proficiency in English became victims. So, obviously it is unjust to these pupils if the authorities decide to go on with the policy. â€Å" Apart from holding to larn a linguistic communication which is non their female parent lingua, our kids are being made to analyze the two topics in English every bit good, † A Muhyidin said, adding that surveies had besides shown that pupils would break understand a topic if it was taught in their female parent lingua. The determination to change by reversal to Bahasa Malaysia is in line with the place taken by Unesco that the female parent lingua is the best medium of direction in schools. As we can see the current coevals of attorneies, comptrollers, scientists, technocrats, and other professionals are the merchandise of our National Education System where Bahasa Malaysia is the medium of direction in schools. Therefore, it has proven that Bahasa Malaysia is an effectual medium of direction in the national schools. Drumhead All in all, whether it is the execution or reversal of PPSMI, the biggest also-rans are still pupils in Malaysia. So it is of import that wise actions must be done by every party to assist the pupils from being victim to the unsteady policies in Malaysia educational system. However before authorities want to present new policy, surely they did some researches before it was implemented and same goes to the new policy that replaces PPSMI now. Although PPSMI is no longer used as a medium of direction at schools, the desire to get the hang English should non be stopped in our immature coevalss because our state needs a population that is competent in English to must bring forth top class workers who will be able to vie in the globalised universe. In relation to this, the Education Ministry has taken comprehensive steps to better our pupils ‘ bid of English through the new policy, Strengthening English Language ( MBI ) policy. Besides that, there are several ways that authorities attempts to make in order to guarantee pupils get a good bid in English linguistic communication for illustration bettering the methods of instruction and acquisition of English in schools, increasing English hours and engaging quality English instructors, including from abroad, to assist our pupils be proficient in English. The support from all parents excessively is another cardinal factor to heighten the quality of our instruction and better pupil acquisition.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Free Essays on Handmaids Tale Analysis

â€Å"The Vulnerability that Comes Along with War† War and political conflict can affect the human body to a self-destructive point. In Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale we see traces of the effects of political conflicts and war on the characters. The main characters in the novels have experienced fragmentation of the body and identity as well as isolating themselves from the society surrounding them. Caravaggio, Hana, Almasy, Offred, and the Commander all have the same emotional and psychological characteristics of vulnerability. The fragmentation of the body is demonstrated through imagery in Ondaatje’s The English Patient and Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale. A person experiencing any sort of conflict automatically pulls himself or herself away from the source of pain, whether it is emotional or physical. In The English Patient, the effect of war is especially seen on Almasy’s body. â€Å"There is a face, but it is unrecognizable† and he has forgotten who he is, because he has pulled away from society (Ondaatje 28). Almasy’s body is a story of his anguish through the conflicts of nations at war; from being the enemy of one country to then becoming it’s ally, from gaining the understanding of love to the loosing it before he completely understood it. Hana also has been affected emotionally and physically by the war. â€Å"When he had first seen her after all this time she had looked taunt†¦Her body had been in a war and, as in love, it had used every part of i tself† to detach herself from what was happening around her and focusing on her patient, Almasy (Ondaatje 81). Caravaggio on the other hand was physically fragmented through the war and political conflicts surrounding them. His thumbs were removed because he was a thief of the enemy. The enemy thought that this would be a lesson well learned, but Caravaggio still a thief in the end. He doped Almasy on mor... Free Essays on Handmaids Tale Analysis Free Essays on Handmaids Tale Analysis â€Å"The Vulnerability that Comes Along with War† War and political conflict can affect the human body to a self-destructive point. In Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient and Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale we see traces of the effects of political conflicts and war on the characters. The main characters in the novels have experienced fragmentation of the body and identity as well as isolating themselves from the society surrounding them. Caravaggio, Hana, Almasy, Offred, and the Commander all have the same emotional and psychological characteristics of vulnerability. The fragmentation of the body is demonstrated through imagery in Ondaatje’s The English Patient and Atwood’s The Handmaids Tale. A person experiencing any sort of conflict automatically pulls himself or herself away from the source of pain, whether it is emotional or physical. In The English Patient, the effect of war is especially seen on Almasy’s body. â€Å"There is a face, but it is unrecognizable† and he has forgotten who he is, because he has pulled away from society (Ondaatje 28). Almasy’s body is a story of his anguish through the conflicts of nations at war; from being the enemy of one country to then becoming it’s ally, from gaining the understanding of love to the loosing it before he completely understood it. Hana also has been affected emotionally and physically by the war. â€Å"When he had first seen her after all this time she had looked taunt†¦Her body had been in a war and, as in love, it had used every part of i tself† to detach herself from what was happening around her and focusing on her patient, Almasy (Ondaatje 81). Caravaggio on the other hand was physically fragmented through the war and political conflicts surrounding them. His thumbs were removed because he was a thief of the enemy. The enemy thought that this would be a lesson well learned, but Caravaggio still a thief in the end. He doped Almasy on mor...

Monday, October 21, 2019

Connections between Platos Allegory of the Cave Galileo Galileis Dialogue of Two Chief World System

Connections between Platos Allegory of the Cave Galileo Galileis Dialogue of Two Chief World System Introduction Throughout history, the understanding of human nature has been a complex phenomenon. Scholars, philosophers, researchers and the laymen, have been reading different scripts, concerning the real nature of human society and human thinking. Different philosophers, including Plato and Galileo, have offered insightful ideas concerning the actual nature of human mind and the society in general.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Connections between Platos Allegory of the Cave Galileo Galileis Dialogue of Two Chief World System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The segregation of mankind on knowledge has been provided by these two philosophers. Based on their ideas, rejection of new ideas is the rule in human society. Mankind is always suspicious of new things and knowledge concerning his surrounding. In regards to Plato’s Allegory of the cave and Galileo Galilei’s Dialogue of Two Chief Worl d Systems, the human society is highly segregated on knowledge and awareness, concerning what is true or false. A strong connection exists between the ideas of the two philosophers, Plato and Galileo, whereby, the actual nature of human mind and the nature of learning have been exposed. The philosophers and the laymen are living in two distinct worlds, as far as knowledge and understanding of the globe is concerned. Discussion Due to the different levels of knowledge of people in the society, there is a very great challenge in the way people learn. The nature of human kind is always suspicious of new ideas. In this case, people who are ignorant or unaware of their world, always perceive new ideas as crazy, needless, unreal and to some extent, as heresy. In regards to the inferences of Plato and Galileo, people are living in mere darkness of their world. Little or no concern is shown in seeking new ideas or knowledge. The restrictive structures of the human society also inhibit the e ndeavors of mankind from seeking knowledge. This is evident through the case of Plato, where he depicts humanity as prisoners in a cave. This scenario implies the denial of knowledge and the ignorance of people, concerning their own world. These ideas are also evident in Galileo’s inferences, whereby, a huge gap of knowledge exists between philosophers and the layman, concerning the universe (Boyum 547).Advertising Looking for research paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The concept of the Cave developed by Plato, illustrates the ignorance of the human society as far as philosophical education is concerned. Plato equates the prisoners of the cave as the laymen who are unaware of their world. Majority of the human society are living in the dark, and are not educated like the philosophers. This is a huge proportion of the society, which is only dependent on the ideas and knowledge offered to the m by the philosophers. According to Plato, the journey out of the cave is only through philosophical education. According to Boyum (547), people pass through different stages in their endeavors of gaining light concerning their world. People in the cave are highlighted as living in the dark and only hear echoes and see shadows. The concepts of denial, rejection and suspicion, overwhelm people in the cave. As outlined by Boyum (547), everything in the cave is constantly shifting, ephemeral, flickering and impossible to pin. Basic knowledge is usually unattainable to the laymen, due to their insubstantiality and instability. It is worth noting that the human society is a world of intermediates, whereby, nothing is fixed, and everything is ambiguous (Boyum 547). The process of philosophical education or learning has been jeopardized by the suspicion between people. Boyum (4) argues that human souls are turned towards particulars, whereby, people seek to judge the just or practicability of new ideas. The need to differentiate between truth and false, is a key phenomenon in the nature of human learning. In order to move out of the cave, the uneducated persons are usually compelled by the educated to understand. This is the philosophical education whereby, the philosophers share their knowledge with the layman. Due to their ignorance, the laymen who are equated to prisoners in the cave, have no option other than believe the knowledge offered by the philosophers (Boyum 6). According to Zamir (92), the parable of the cave by Plato, is a nice presentation of the real nature of mankind. The cave dwellers or the laymen are ignorant of what is around them. The sculptures and artifacts presented to the cave dwellers concerning the outside world, are usually ignored by the cave dwellers due to their ignorance.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Connections between Platos Allegory of the Cave Galileo Galileis Dialogue of Two Chief World Syste m specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Unlike the philosophers or the educated individuals, the cave dwellers are not in a position to see themselves or their neighbors. A high level of ignorance concerning self-knowledge as well as knowledge on who they communicate with exists among the non-philosophers. It is interesting to note that neither the cave dwellers nor the philosophers have command of their knowledge. This is evident from the opposition the philosophers face from cave dwellers, towards their knowledge which is not based on mere intellectualization (Zamir 92). The concept of the cave by Plato is meant to exemplify the dividing lines in the human society. The misrepresentations, forms and visible realities in the human society concerning knowledge, are depicted in the concept of the cave. Plato conveyed the knowledge that the laymen are like prisoners, since what they hear does not come from what they see rather from shadows and echoe s. The misrepresentations in the society from the few elites, are the source of the sounds people hear. Based on the concept of the cave, people learn from what they see or hear. The ideas of the philosophers, are believed to contribute a lot to the growth of philosophical education. The people living in the dark or the illiterate only belief in shadows they see as reality. The shadow makers or opinion makers compel the cave dwellers to belief or act in a certain manner and belief it to be truth. In this form of world, people belief whatever enters their mind regardless of its source or nature. People in the cave come to learn from shadows and echoes, and have no power to differentiate between illusion and reality, truth and false, genuine and pseudo or legitimate and phony (Miles 900). Among the three divisions of people, including the illiterate, semiliterate and literate, the literate are perceived to be the most knowledgeable. The illiterates and semi literate depend on the know ledge and ideas offered by the literates or the philosophers. The educated are referred to the erudite of the world, and help in passing knowledge to the other sphere of the society. It is worth noting that the elites or the philosophers have been liberated from the caves of ignorance. The path of gaining knowledge for this group of people is not much easy, whereby, they pass through different challenges. By gaining knowledge, the philosophers were able to move from the cave of darkness to the brightness of the sunlight (Martin 6).Advertising Looking for research paper on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In regards to the ideas of Galileo Galilei concerning the two chief world systems, the human society is clearly segmented on knowledge. The laymen and the philosophers live in different worlds of knowledge. As evident in the case of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Galileo Galilei’s Dialogue of Two World Systems depicts the lines dividing the human society. The lower segment of the society which composes of the illiterates, has little or no understanding, about the world they are. Despite being the majority, the uneducated have no idea about their society. This is contrasted to the massive knowledge and awareness of the philosophers or the elites, concerning the world. In his book, Galileo has explicitly demonstrated the knowledge gap in the human society. Based on the dialogue between Salivati, Simplicio and Sagrado, the ignorance of the uneducated concerning their world is demonstrated. Galileo has been able to highlight the darkness, in which the layman live in. The su bmissive nature and innocence of the laymen to believe what is taught to them by the philosophers, is demonstrated (Galilei 53). Based on the insights offered by Galileo, the suspicion and rejection of people on new knowledge is evident. Despite the eager of people to receive new ideas, they are usually skeptical of what is taught to them and always undermine it as heresy, needless, unreal and crazy. This is very evident in Galileo Galilei’s Dialogue of Two Chief World Systems, whereby, Copernican theory is accepted and Ptolemaic theory is rejected. It is worth noting that the line between truth and false is never clear in the human society, thus challenging the authenticity of the ideas offered by philosophers (Galilei 1). A point worth of consideration is that people can live in their level of imagination or level of perception, and still be satisfied with their lifestyle. People always know and are willing to know that what they imagine or perceive is the truth. This poses challenges in philosophical education, whereby, people are not ready to adopt ideas offered by their colleagues. Though the point of change from darkness is painful and usually overwhelmed by denial, one usually finds it rewarding and adopts it. People who have broke the chains of ignorance and moved to the brightness of the sunlight, find life rewarding. This makes it impossible to move back to the lower stages. In light with these scenarios, people in the lower segment are more eager to believe what the philosophers have for them than vice versa (Jerry 98). Conclusion The discussion has clearly shown the real human nature, which is overwhelmed by knowledge segmentation. The society is divided into different lines, based on the knowledge and awareness of people. The un-educated, who form the majority, are believed to be in a cave of darkness and have no understanding about what happens outside the cave. This is in contrast to the educated or philosophers, who have been liberated f rom the chains of darkness and have massive understanding about their world, themselves and their neighbors. Both Plato and Galileo have offered insightful ideas concerning the different worlds in which people live, based on their ignorance or knowledge. The path of learning is not easy, since each person has confidence and satisfaction in what he/she imagines or perceives. This has made it difficult for people to adopt new knowledge, due to the overwhelming rejection, suspicion and denial on new things. The difficulty in differentiating truth and false is a great challenge in human learning, which in this case, contributes to opposition on new ideas. With this analysis, it is evident that a strong connection exists between Platos Allegory of the Cave and Galileo Galileis Dialogue of Two Chief World Systems, concerning the nature of humankind. Bà ¸yum, Steinar. The Concept of Philosophical Education. Educational Theory 60.5 (2010): 543-559. Print. Galilei, Galileo. Dialogue Concer ning the two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican. London: University of California Press, 1962. Print. Galilei, Galileo. Dialogue concerning the two Chief World Systems. Webexhibits, 28 May 2012. Web. Jerry, Gill. â€Å"Re-exploring Plato’s Cave.† Philosophy Today 38. 1 (1994): 98-112. Print. Martin, Iddon. â€Å"Plato’s Chamber of secrets on Eavesdropping and Truths.† Performance Research 15.3 (2010): 6-10. Print. Miles, Groth, and Elizabeth Shaw. â€Å"The Essence of Truth: On Plato’s Cave Allegory and Theatetus.† Review of Metaphysics 58. 4 (2005): 900-901. Print. Zamir, Tzachi. The Face of Truth. Metaphilosophy 30.1 (1999): 79-94. Print.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Marketing Plan Assignment Sample

Marketing Plan Assignment Sample Marketing Plan Assignment Sample Marketing plan assignment sample is worked out to provide an example of the plan that will help to define the further directions of the company and identify its primary needs to achieve the stated aims. Marketing plan consists of the particular sections that include: market research (gathering and classifying the current data about the market of the the organization as well as its dynamics, customers, competition, and the current sales volume for the industry as a whole), market plan strategies (include advertising, direct marketing, training programs, trade shows, website), marketing plan budget (means that top managers need to review their current financial situation), and marketing goals (monitoring of the marketing plan results). Besides, the organization needs to identify the strategies that are working and those that are not working. Before performing the marketing analysis, an understanding of the core term has to be achieved. Thus, market research means gathering and classifying the current data about the market of the organization. Besides, a short introduction to the company itself has to be performed. The company PeopleAhead works with the improvement of the career advancement. Particularly, it provides a basis for the potential employees to find, advance, and develop the careers they already have by sharing their aims, holding conversations on their professional opportunities and development plans, and communication with other professionals in the related areas. On the basis of the examining of the market dynamics, customers, and the current sales volume for the industry as a whole, it has been revealed that the company currently helps people with the career advancement and improve the human capital in the organizations. The website of the company acts as a networking platform for the professionals and career matching. The market dynamics is reported to be positive. Besides, the company has its constant customers and productive sales. The examining of the competition will be focused on the small and medium businesses as these entities are underserved by the great competitors in the online recruitment market. Simultaneously, such choice stems from the fact that this demographic has a less effective recruitment procedure that would cause advantages mostly from the services of PeopleAhead. Within this segment, the HR managers are responsible for the sourcing of the applicants. The market plan strategies are the following: the company will become the leader of the career advancement online service where people would create a history and establish the connections in the place that would make the company a staple among the chosen websites. The company will deliver the professional development and the career opportunities to provide people with the opportunity to create the professional records and useful career advancement instruments. The marketing plan budget is the following: the overall cost structure would include the administrative and general operating expenses, the sales agent salaries, and marketing. The first year, marketing monthly costs are considered to be $6,250. Monthly overhead is expecting to achieve $24,750 and be constant. The marketing goals are: to use the brand matching technology; to establish a critical mass of the customers; to drive the traffic to the site through the marketing blitzes; and to start using the word-of-mouth advertising from the satisfied customers. Monitoring of the marketing plan results has to be performed as well. At you can buy a custom marketing plan online. All you need is to fill in the order form at your site.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

CJ summarize 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

CJ summarize 8 - Essay Example For instance, in meal and services, opportunistic theft, kickbacks among many other forms of this illegal vice. In addition to that, it attributes this activities to a slippery slope as supported by the society at large. Moreover, it goes ahead to explain that there are some structural explanation, contradictory set of norms and dishonesty rampancy that contribute to the spread of this vice in the police force. On the same point the article delves to document that there has been formation of inquiries into the matter that have in fact drafted recommendations of the same problem. On the contrary, the article also states some of the instances of police brutality for instance harassment. Notably, the article also says that this vice can be stopped with the enactment of the police act which serves to discipline errant behaviour. On the same not, the article also documents that this will be the first step towards police reforms. To this end, this illegal vices need to be fought against in bid to boost service

Friday, October 18, 2019

Gettysburg (1993), directed by Ron Maxwell Movie Review

Gettysburg (1993), directed by Ron Maxwell - Movie Review Example Raiding each other was also a major contributor to the fighting. None of the troops were willing to surrender hence the retaliation to any form of attack was to fight back. Some of the reasons that they fight about are as simple as shoe supplies. It is witnessed in the movie that Brigadier General John Burford’s cavalry engages with Henry Heth’s troop that had organized a move into Gettysburg to restock their depleted shoe supply (Maxwel, 1993). The other reason for the fighting was to ensure that the union never took any part of Gettysburg; every effort had to be made to ensure that advances of enemy troops towards Gettysburg were seen from a far and dealt with accordingly. The fighting was further for the purpose of taking or conquering new areas such as the â€Å"Devil’s Den†. The army had to fight to ensure they took control of the key grounds that would work to their advantage when it came to war, therefore, fighting was paramount in ensuring all the important area were under the army. Each head of a cavalry had their own role to play. The roles ultimately comprehended one another so that the entire army could be firmly held together under the same strong pillars. Major General JEB Stuart’s cavalry was recognized as the eyes of the army and when it decides to go on a raid without informing the rest of the army, it leaves the entire operation in danger of failing (Maxwel, 1993). Conflict sometimes develops between the confederate generals and the confederate soldiers due to the difference in opinion concerning the way forward during the war. The generals feel that they cannot accommodate whatever the soldiers try to offer are they are driven by the assumption that the soldiers are only meant to listen to orders and execute them rather than having a role to play in the formation of war tactics. There is also struggle between the generals and the soldiers as some of them refuse to take part in their duties,

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Economics - Essay Example The short-run or long-run of one industry is often different from another. (Moffatt, 2011) A given firm’s costs may be reliant upon the time or period under consideration. Most of the decisions are fixed when a short-run time frame is taken into account and thus the long-run and short-run cost curves are different. Short-run costs and costs in the long-run are, however, related. For instance, a long-run average cost curve is more flat in comparison to a ‘U’ shaped short-run average cost curve. Short-run cost curves usually lie upon the long-run cost curves. Figure1. A graphical illustration of a short-run cost and a long-run cost curves Average costs LATC SATC1 SATC2 SATC3 Quantity Note: SATC stands for Short-run Average Total Costs while LATC stands for Long-run Average Total Costs. Short-run Average Total Costs of a firm differ from the Long-run Average Total Costs since the fixed costs in the short-run can be varied over the long-run. (Mankiw, 2008 p256) In the case of an operator of a port, cost efficiency occurs efficiency occurs where the throughput is made available at the lowest cost possible with resource-prices paid by the operator put into consideration. The economic cost of a port is represented by the relationship depicted by minimum costs of handling any given throughput levels. Over the short-run time period, there must be at least one of the port resources that should be fixed with regards to amount. For example, the buildings or the wharf of a port are some of the resources that cannot be varied in the short-run period. Unit costs in relation to a port’s costs are usually compared by dividing them with their throughput amounts. Figure 2: A graphical presentation of Short-run Total Costs, Short-run Variable Costs and Short-run Fixed Costs. That is; STC, SVC and SFC. Cost STC SVC SFC Port throughput Figure 3: Average costs in the short-run Cost per unit SATC SAVC SAFC Port throughput Note that SATC stands for Short-run Average Total Costs, SAVC for Short-run Average Variable Costs and SAFC for Short-run Fixed Costs. Short-run average total cost is gotten by dividing short-run total cost with throughput. On the other hand short-run average fixed cost is the short-run fixed costs divided by the throughput and short-run average variable cost is short-run variable cost divided by throughput. Average fixed cost reduces in a continuous manner as the level of throughput rises; that is, since a fixed cost continues to be divided by bigger and bigger amounts of throughput of the port. As the amount of throughput rises, average variable cost as well as short-run average cost reduce initially, get to a minimum and afterwards rise. In the port’s long-run, the costs in whole are variable. Therefore, long-run total costs that are incurred by the operator of the port of the port for the given throughput amounts are a total of variable costs. Long-run average total costs are equal to long-run total costs d ivided by total port’s throughput. A long-run average total cost curve has a negative slope for a given range of throughput and then it starts to increase. Figure 4: Long-run Total Cost curve and a Long-run Average Total Cost Curve. cost port throughput cost per unit LATC Port throughput (Talley, 2009 pp98-100) A convenience store is usually a type of retail business. Costs of a convenience store that maybe short-run may include costs of

Work-Based Practice, Including Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Work-Based Practice, Including Ethics - Essay Example The effect of physical harm and abusive language was traumatic and resulted in emotional distress for the disabled patients. Although the accused were given sentences in jail for around six months time, however the question arises how ethical values conflicted in this scenario and also how fundamental theoretical principles of ethical decision making are applicable here. There are four fundamental ethical principles that cover the social care practice. These values include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice (Gostin, 1991, p. 191). Within these doctrines come other principles such as respect, non-discrimination, well-being, consent and confidentiality (BASW, 2012). Being autonomous include showing respect for other individuals’ independence and also the decisions made by them (Tauber, 2005). In situations, where a certain individual is not capable of making sound decisions or exhibit autonomy, necessary measures are required to be taken to curtail any chances of harm to the clients. On the other hand, beneficence and non-maleficence are complementary values that are applicable together in certain situations (Tauber, 2005). Beneficence includes measures that ensure wellbeing of others and non-maleficence includes not taking any decisions or steps that can cause harm to others especially clients (Robison and Resser, 2002). There can be instances in which these values may conflict. In the given scenario, it was the responsibility of the care home workers to ensure that respect of the patients who were a vulnerable population already remains well-protected and no measures should be taken that can cause harm to them physically or mentally. In the given scenario, discrimination was practiced often and disregard for such patients was given as the reason by the accused staff. More than treatment itself, the reasons behind such behaviour were based on prejudice which is against the

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Analysing legal issue on Gun Control in Canada Essay

Analysing legal issue on Gun Control in Canada - Essay Example 2 An audit by the Auditor General of Canada in 2002 further showed that the Department of Justice estimated the cost of the gun registry program would rise significantly by 2004-2005, costing more than $1 billion while gun registration fees amounted to about $140 million in fees, 2 though no significant benefit of the gun control program is recognized. According to John Lott and Eli Lehrer since the start of the new gun control program, crime rate in Canada has increased.3 The Canadian government also recently admitted it could not identify a single violent crime that had been solved through the process.3 Canadian Alliance Party critic Gary Breitkreuz says the current firearms law should emphasize on harsher punishment for those who use weapons in the commission of a crime.2 Bob Runciman called for the program to be put on hold while describing it as a waste of taxpayers' money.2 The Justice Department's statistics that claim Firearms Act and gun registrations are on the increase are irrelevant, since criminals don't sign up for licenses. From statistics compiled from the registration program it is clear that even though rural Canada has by far the majority of firearms, it still recorded the least amount of crimi

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS - Assignment Example The first store to be opened globally was in Middle East in Dubai. (i) Current Ratio: The current ratio signifies a company’s ability to pay off its short term obligations that is the ability to cover up short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with short-term assets (cash, inventory and receivables). The higher the current ratio, the higher the ability of the firm to payoff short-term obligations but it can also depict inefficiency in handling illiquid assets such as inventory. AEO depicts a favorable trend in terms of this ratio as it has elevated from 2.9 in 2010 to 3.0 in 2011. In contrast with the industry average, the company has performed quite well. But such a high current ratio can also show inefficiency in handling illiquid assets such as inventory but this cannot be determined without the help of Quick ratio. (ii) Accounts Receivable Turnover: This ratio talks about the management efficiency of a firm in collecting cash from debtors who were sold goods on credit by the firm; the ratio is computed in times and shows how many times a firm generates and collects cash from debtors in a year. The higher the turnover, the more the efficient the firm is but this would also depict an aggressive or tightened credit policy and can lead to lesser sales generation. American Eagle Outfitters’ trend of Accounts receivable turnover is favorable as it has increased from 2010 to 2011. This compared to the industry shows a way higher ratio and depicts that it operates a very aggressive credit policy. (iii) Inventory Turnover: This ratio again comes under management efficiency of a company and depicts that how many times a year the inventory had been sold for cash and re-stocked; the higher the turnover the more efficient the management of the firm is. The trend of this ratio is favorable for American Eagle as it has increased in the two years

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Work-Based Practice, Including Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Work-Based Practice, Including Ethics - Essay Example The effect of physical harm and abusive language was traumatic and resulted in emotional distress for the disabled patients. Although the accused were given sentences in jail for around six months time, however the question arises how ethical values conflicted in this scenario and also how fundamental theoretical principles of ethical decision making are applicable here. There are four fundamental ethical principles that cover the social care practice. These values include autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice (Gostin, 1991, p. 191). Within these doctrines come other principles such as respect, non-discrimination, well-being, consent and confidentiality (BASW, 2012). Being autonomous include showing respect for other individuals’ independence and also the decisions made by them (Tauber, 2005). In situations, where a certain individual is not capable of making sound decisions or exhibit autonomy, necessary measures are required to be taken to curtail any chances of harm to the clients. On the other hand, beneficence and non-maleficence are complementary values that are applicable together in certain situations (Tauber, 2005). Beneficence includes measures that ensure wellbeing of others and non-maleficence includes not taking any decisions or steps that can cause harm to others especially clients (Robison and Resser, 2002). There can be instances in which these values may conflict. In the given scenario, it was the responsibility of the care home workers to ensure that respect of the patients who were a vulnerable population already remains well-protected and no measures should be taken that can cause harm to them physically or mentally. In the given scenario, discrimination was practiced often and disregard for such patients was given as the reason by the accused staff. More than treatment itself, the reasons behind such behaviour were based on prejudice which is against the

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS - Assignment Example The first store to be opened globally was in Middle East in Dubai. (i) Current Ratio: The current ratio signifies a company’s ability to pay off its short term obligations that is the ability to cover up short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with short-term assets (cash, inventory and receivables). The higher the current ratio, the higher the ability of the firm to payoff short-term obligations but it can also depict inefficiency in handling illiquid assets such as inventory. AEO depicts a favorable trend in terms of this ratio as it has elevated from 2.9 in 2010 to 3.0 in 2011. In contrast with the industry average, the company has performed quite well. But such a high current ratio can also show inefficiency in handling illiquid assets such as inventory but this cannot be determined without the help of Quick ratio. (ii) Accounts Receivable Turnover: This ratio talks about the management efficiency of a firm in collecting cash from debtors who were sold goods on credit by the firm; the ratio is computed in times and shows how many times a firm generates and collects cash from debtors in a year. The higher the turnover, the more the efficient the firm is but this would also depict an aggressive or tightened credit policy and can lead to lesser sales generation. American Eagle Outfitters’ trend of Accounts receivable turnover is favorable as it has increased from 2010 to 2011. This compared to the industry shows a way higher ratio and depicts that it operates a very aggressive credit policy. (iii) Inventory Turnover: This ratio again comes under management efficiency of a company and depicts that how many times a year the inventory had been sold for cash and re-stocked; the higher the turnover the more efficient the management of the firm is. The trend of this ratio is favorable for American Eagle as it has increased in the two years

Hardness Removal Essay Example for Free

Hardness Removal Essay 88%. Total Hardness Percentage Removal = 100-84328*100=74. 39 % Calcium Percentage Removal = 100-59296*100=80. 06% Magnesium Percentage Removal = 100-2532*100=21. 88% ) How close did the treatment process come to reaching the practical limits of hardness reduction? Hardness removal limits were not achieved. Calcium was reduced to a concentration of 59 mg/L versus the limit of 30 mg/L. And in the case of Magnesium the concentration was reduced to 25mg/L versus the limit of 10mg/L. Calcium percent difference: 30-5930=96. 66% (Absolute value) Magnesium percent difference: 10-2510=150% (Absolute value) 4) How many metric tons of Ca(OH)2 and NaCO3 are necessary to process 59 million gallons of water per day based on the calculations of 1. a. and 1. b.? To run this water softening technique in a water plant processing 59 million gallons per day it would require 51 tons of Ca(OH)2 and 33 tons of NaCO3 2. 27*10-4kgL*223. 02*106L*(ton1000 kg)=51 tons of CaOH2 per day 1. 48*10-4kgL*223. 02*106L*(ton1000 kg)=33 tons of NaCO3 per day Discussion Hard water is an issue for industries that rely on large amounts of water to operate. Hardness generated by elements such as calcium and magnesium cat ions produce scum in pipes and with many industrial chemicals reduces their overall effectiveness. That is why it is important to have economic and reliable ways of reducing water hardness in large scales. The particular method used in this experiment was lime soda softening. It has to be noted that this particular procedure only works for water that has an initial pH level lower than 8. Based on stoichiometry and the addition rules according to Nazaroff and Alvarez-Cohen we are able to find what concentration of Ca(OH)2 and NaCO3 are needed to remove hardness from the water. Based on our results the softening of the water was a success. Initial total hardness was recorded at 328 mg/L, after softening the concentration was found to be 84 mg/L. Looking individually at the reduction of calcium and magnesium the concentration was reduced from 296 mg/L to 59 mg/L and 32 mg/L to 25 mg/L respectively. Even though a large amount of the hardness was removed from the water it was nowhere near the practical limit levels. This can be attributed to the fact that the reactions that dictate hardness removal suffer from diminishing returns. Sources of error in this lab can be attributed to the fact that the sample water was only allowed to precipitate for 15 minutes instead of the 20 that was required as stated by the procedure.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Competitive advantage of Firms in Global Industry

Competitive advantage of Firms in Global Industry THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF FIRMS IN GLOBAL INDUSTRY Introduction First and foremost, the important aspect to note and to discuss is the creation and sustainability of competitive advantage of multinational enterprise in the Global world and how strategies formed by each firm contributes to competitive advantage. Strategic competition An industry regardless is a combination of group of competing companies providing services or products that compete directly with each other. Products are encircled by strategically oriented industries especially if they have similarities in competitive advantage. The industries who share the same consumers, technologies, production channels, and etc. have their distinct way of competitive advantage requirements. Multinational enterprise competition is either won or lost depending on how successful their strategic competitive advantage favors them. The industry is an open avenue where multinational enterprise can compete with each other. Firms use competitive advantages to sustain and maximize profit for themselves although, there is no best competitive advantage but only the strategic means that is in favor of the firm succeeds. There are two major aspects to be considered while choosing a firms competitive advantage. The structure of the industry where the firm competes. The industrial competitiveness differs to each other, so for sustainable profits, not all industries offer same opportunities. Positioning within an industry: competitive positioning is very important but some multinational enterprise in a highly attractive industry may still be in difficult situation and might not have earned satisfactory profits if it has not chosen the right competitive positioning. Changes in the structure or entry barrier of industry can influence the attractiveness of the industry. Analytical structure of industry There are five competitive forces that explain what multinational enterprises undergo in order to compete with each other in the industry. They are as follows: The threat of new entrants into the industry The threat of substitute products or services of another firm Suppliers bargaining power Buyers bargaining power Rivalry among the existing competitors The performance and the profitability of each multinational enterprise are determined by the strength of the above mentioned five forces. Many industries where by the five forces favors them performs profitably well with great invested capital returns such as soft drinks, database publishing, pharmaceuticals etc. Whereas, industries which experiences pressure from one or more of those five forces tends to struggle and few among the firms in the industry realize profitability for a long term. The five forces are the basic tools used in determining the profitability of the industry because the prices firms charge are controlled by these forces and likewise the cost they have to bear and above all the investment required to competing in the industry. for instance, when a new entrants surfaces, there would be limits to the overall profit potential in the industry due to the fact that new entrants would bring fresh capacity and would look for market share pulling down margins. Higher cost of competitiveness brings about more profits for example, advertising, sales expense or passing on profits to customers in form of lower prices. Competitors tend to lower the price they charge on of products due to the presence of close substitute products. The structure of the industrys function is determined by the strength of each competitive factor for instance, the extent at which an enterprises sales is at risk to any one buyer and the issue of price sensitivity. This is regarded as buying power. Multinational enterprise can use their strategy influence the five forces to raise barriers of entry for instance the introduction of computer information to airline industry has raised the entry barrier as any new enterprise would require investment in hundreds of millions of pounds. Industrial structure varies and are different to each other depending on the type of industry it is such as the pharmaceuticals where barriers of entry is very high and difficult to penetrate due to the need of huge fixed research and development costs and economies of scale in selling to physicians. Getting and developing a substitutes and effective to drugs is not an easy task. The structure of the industry creates differing requirement for success such as differing skills and resources in different industries. Furthermore, multinational enterprise must be structurally attractive in the industry with sustainable entry barriers such as technology, skills, channels access and reputation of brand/product. Factor that might affect competitive advantage of multinational enterprise is the standard of living which would depend of the capacity of the firm to penetrate structurally attractive industries. Structural change helps competitiveness and creates opportunities for competitors to penetrate new industries. Structural change creates avenue for competitors to penetrate industries. A good example is the American dominance of IBM and Xerox, the firm was challenged successfully by a Japanese copier company due to underserved product segment such as small copier, using a new approach to the consumers by using dealers instead of direct sales, mass production of goods and pricing approach was modified. This strategic approach reduced the entry barriers and had a negative implication on the previous leaders (American firm) advantages. Positioning within industries According to Porter, at the heart of positioning is competitive advantage therefore for multinational enterprise to achieve success, they must possess a sustainable competitive advantage the two types of competitive advantages by Porter are as follows: Lower cost: this means being able to design, produce and market similar product more efficiently than other competitors. For example the Korean steel and semiconductor firm was able to produce at a very low cost, using low-wage but highly productive labor force and a modernized process. Differentiation: the ability to maintain quality and unique and superior value to consumers. From: http://tutor2u.net/business/images/competitive_strategies.gif Competitive Advantage Creation Competitive advantage would be shifted by innovation if multinational enterprise fails to perceive a new way of competing or are not able to respond to competition. For e.g. the Swiss watch producers were unable to identify the competitive advantage of Timex an American company due to the fear of low quality production whereas the American Timex mass produced inexpensive disposable watch. Causes of competitive advantages are: New technologies: some multinational enterprises steeped in an old technological paradigm cannot cope with this New and shifting consumer needs: in order to meet the needs of consumers firms might need to adopt a new value chain which might be difficult for some firms. For example the American fast food firms were able to gain competitive advantage over local restaurants due to this. Shifting cost: firms may find it difficult to compete as cost of production changes. New entrant /new industry segment: Government regulation changes: government may change her regulation such as the standard required for each products. This might be a barrier for some firms to compete. Highlights of factors affecting multinational enterprises There are two major types of factors affecting multinational enterprise. Internal factors External factors Internal factors include: Political parties Suppliers Buyers Competitors Consumer of respective country External factors include: Political environment, Legal environment, Socio-cultural environment Demographic conditions of respective country FURTHER EXPLANATION ON THE PROBLEMS FACING MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE The supply chain of multinational companies can be made richer and promising, the cost of work force which is high could be changed or transformed and potential markets can be expanded. Furthermore, the advantage of multinational enterprise competition can be made stronger in a global market. Otherwise, some problems are met in the changed environments in foreign countries at the same time. The changed environments can be divided into four main parts, such as the following: Difference in culture Factors occurring in the environment Legal issues in environment Economic environment Political system issues All the changed environments make problems to multinational companies. In particular, problems which are caused by changed culture environment are the most serious aspect of running a multinational business. Cultural Competitive Advantage The norms and values of a country contribute to the cost and influence the cost of doing business in that country and likewise, the cost of doing business in a country enhances the strength of firms competitive advantage in an international market. For instance, the Hindu does not support capitalism as the ethics embedded in the Protestantism and the Confucianism furthermore, the Islamic laws disallowing interest payments mat raise the cost of doing business by constraining a countrys banking system. The example of Japans cultural influence of competitive advantage on international business cannot be over emphasized due to its ability to lower the cost of doing business such as group affiliation, loyalty, reciprocal obligations, honesty, and education which has contributed to the success of the countrys competitive advantage. In comparison of Japan and American firms, it has been argued that Japan is not in support of entrepreneur whereas the Americans are which has made it possible for the American firms to dominate companies that are in support of entrepreneurial activities such as biotechnology and computer software. Maintaining Economic Competitiveness Factor bestowal/benefaction As argued by Michael Porter, according to Heckscher-Ohlin theory, governments investment in education would go a long way to help the country by giving a good and proper education and skills to a larger population in the country. A good example is Japan, the secrete behind her success is the provision of quality education to a larger number of her population, which has tremendously maintained, contributed and helped her competitive advantage. Status of demand The status of home demand has a major role to play in the production of domestic products which enables firms to be innovative and aspire for quality. Japaneses quality camera production is due to the need for consumers demand. Complementing industries The existence of complementing industries would help the strength of its competitive advantage such as the Swedish steel industrys strong competitive advantage due to the production of fabricated steel like ball bearing and cutting tools. Adopted strategy, structure and firms rivals According to Michael Porter argument, the idea developed or employed by each country varies which might or might not help them maintain national economic competition. According to him, the Japanese and the German firms are being dominated by top engineers whereas in the USA, that with good financial background dominates the firms. He further argues that the USAs loss of power in the engineering dominated firms was due their adopted idea. Furthermore, rivals into the industry always bring about ways of improving production quality, cost reduction and innovative ideas which helps firms to compete internationally. Conclusion Michael Porter has very good competitive ideas which could help a firm to compete internationally. References: Richard M.S Wilson and Collingilligan A. (2007) Strategic marketing management, planning, implementation and control 3rd edition. Elsevier limited. Helen Deresky (2006) International Management, Managing Across Borders and Cultures. 5th Edition, USA: Pearson prentice hall. Jan Aart scholte (2000) Globalization, A Critical Introduction, 2nd Edition. Palgrave Macmillan. McGraw-Hill/, (2005) international business: competing in the Global marketplace 5th Edition. The McGraw-Hill/Irwin companies Inc. http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/global-business-global-strategy.html 4th Jan 2010 http://i.investopedia.com/inv/articles/site/IndustryHandbook1x.gif 5th Jan 2010 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/56/36/1922428.pdf 9th Feb 2010 http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Discuss-Management-Problems-Facing-Multinational-Companies/120224 10th Feb 2010 http://tutor2u.net/business/images/competitive_strategies.gif 11th Feb 2010 http://www.articlealley.com/article_183485_22.html 13th Feb 2010

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Symbols, Motifs, and Themes of Bless the Beasts and the Children :: essays research papers

Bless the Beast and the Children symbols, motifs, and themes essay In Bless the Beasts and the Children, symbols and motifs help progress the story and develop the theme that ?when faced with a certain situation, boys will do great things?. The boys can use symbols and motifs to help them get through obstacles without giving up and acheive their goal. The boys also give up symbols and motifs they used for comfort or stability that they no longer need because of their independence and maturity. All of the boys carry around a radio, hat, and flashlight which each symbolize how the boys rely on physical things to soothe their emotional distress. The radios give the boys a sense of security when they?re afraid. The hats symbolize shelter for the boys away from the society. The flashlights symbolize a comforting presence when they?re alone. These items all symbolize the boys? immaturity in the beginning which helps progress the story by how the boys can throw them away at the end and declare their maturity and emotional stability. This symbol helps develop the theme because they are faced with the situation of being alone when they?re not stable enough to be dependent on themselves so they use these things to replace that feeling. The gates that constrain the buffalo in their pens symbolize a barrier or obstacle that the boys have to face to get one step closer to their goal. The boys have to solve many conflicts to get their freedom and the buffalo have to get through the gates to get theirs. The buffalo is a motif representing the boys and their struggle not only for freedom but to find themselves and find happiness in society. The gates help progress the story because it is the final challenge the boys have to overcome before completing their goal and gaining independence. This symbol helps develop the theme because it shows that the boys didn?t back out, faced up to the challenge and got what they wanted. Cotton symbolizes the boys? dependency, insecurities, and innocence. Cotton is a vital role in the book because he is a father like figure to the boys that they can fall back on when they uncover obstacles and feel distressed, he can comfort them. The boys are very dependent on Cotton?s wisdom and knowledge throughout the whole story because the boys are still children and need someone to support them, and they are very insecure about themselves and think that they need Cotton.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Brazil Why We Fear the 20th Century Essay -- essays papers

Brazil Why We Fear the 20th Century Why We Fear The 20th Century In the early 1980's, a vision of dystopia was lying in the mind of Terry Gilliam. That vision was his future film Brazil to be written by Tom Stoppard, Charles McKeown, and himself. The movie was filmed in Wembley, England by Lee International Film Studios. After being a remarkable success during its release in Europe in 1984, Brazil had much more difficulties with its release in the United States. Terry Gilliam had previously signed a contract with Universal Studios for an expected 132-minute movie. Brazil, as released in Europe was 142 minutes long. Universal Studios took this opportunity to edit the film as they chose to make it a more marketable film from their perspective. Unfortunately for Terry Gilliam, this meant that they would completely reconstruct the meaning of the movie. He quickly took to doing his own re-editing of the movie to fit it in the 132 minute prerequisite and turned it over in January of 1985. Once this was done, Universal Studios no longer had the right to change Gilliam's movie and instead insisted on not releasing it. Infuriated by his work being put on the shelf, Terry Gilliam took out a full-page advertisement in Variety magazine with the words: Dear Sid Sheinberg,when are going to release my film 'BRAZIL'? Although this advertisement did not get his film released it did create quite a stir among the Los Angeles movie critics. In fact, they were so curious about the movie that the film was played privately in their homes and getting fantastic reviews. The movie did so well, that it ended up winning Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Direction. With much reluctance and little advertising, Universal Studios to released the movie in December of 1985. (http:home.sol.no~frittz) This final release is what still holds the fans of today. Every frame of the movie is speaking to its audience about the issues surrounding the twentieth century and particularly the late seventies and early eighties. It can speak so well of the entire century because the setting itself is unclear about when the events of the film are occurring. In the opening sequence to the movie, 8:49 pm (pause) somewhere in the 20th century, appears across the screen. The people are dressed in 1930's fashions using technologies, some of which are beyond the ... ...ther, who wore the hat, was the ‘perfect’ individual in Brazil’s society. She spent lots of money and felt the government was doing a wonderful job by making it possible for her to think about nothing but her plastic surgery. Reagan not only increased the gap between the classes, he dramatically increased peoples urge to buy because it was the popular thing to do. America’s government was frighteningly close to the Ministry of Information when it came to pushing products. Slogans about buying and being American were one and the same. Brazil tackles an enormous amount of concerns about progress in the twentieth century. Those issues included: government control, the internet, invasion of privacy, separation of classes, consumerism, and technology. Though the specifics of the issues were different between decades, they were always on the forefront during this century. In about two hours, Terry Gilliam managed to name them all. Though Brazil itself seems very detached from the real world, the amount of parallels is astonishing. Overall, Gilliam encourages awareness. That progress and its brothers are not inherently evil but that they must be controlled, cared for and attended to.

Friday, October 11, 2019

CS Southwest

How has the original strategy been altered in recent years? How, if at all, have these changes affected Southwest's key success factors? Southwest added longer routes to its flights and its fun employees outweighed other service factors. Aside from more flights to more distant locations, there were many opportunities to add shorter flights to schedules connecting existing stations in the network. Expanding to Baltimore was a cautious move that proved fruitful. The airline did not lose its â€Å"LUVS' culture by operating there.Thus, the Southwest culture as brought to the East Coast. They later expanded northeastward successfully. Other than the afore-mentioned changes, Southwest also agreed to code share with another airline, changed the boarding process and introduced new fares, products, services and policies. All of these changes helped propel the airline even higher than its competitors. 3 What kinds of things over which Southwest's leadership has some control could go wrong? W hat should be done to make sure they don't happen? Decisions to institute service in an airport leading could go wrong.Since there as a risk of traffic delays at Philadelphia, Southwest's leadership should have made better evaluations. Ample careful planning and consultation should have been made prior to major decisions such as this. 4 Based on your response to question 3, what further changes, if any, need to be made by Southwest's leadership in the face of competitive moves and general economic conditions?

Thursday, October 10, 2019

An Epic Tragedy of History Essay

Both Native American literature and film have been inspired by the oral tradition of passing down stories and cultural folkways, through the spoken word. The personal journey of chronicling these stories in literature and film is very allegorical in that the personal journeys that these writers also parallel their struggle with a literal journey. As such, these stories become full of symbolism for the types of cultural artifacts that cannot be assimilated into mainstream culture; not in the English language, not in the Christian religion, and not in the reservations that hindered spirituality. There is a theme in all of the texts and in the film that depicts the struggle of trying to determine where the individual and the culture fit into the wider world that knows little of their existence. Other texts provide specific insight into how conversion of Native Americans into Christianity was essential for those of European descent to explain this mysterious group. It becomes apparent that the oral tradition sustained these groups for centuries until the loss of land led to the loss of more freedoms, especially that of having the right to shape ideas about the world without the influence of others. The film and the Native American writers reviewed all seek to exert their power and use words and motion pictures to explain all the literary and historical meaning of the stories told to them, predating all these modes of communication. Scott Momady in his book, The Way to Rainy Mountain describes the story of the creation of the Kwuda, which was passed down in the oral tradition. What is interesting is that he notes that the names of the tribe did change and there was a sense of this tribe being divided. â€Å"Later still they took the name Gaigwu, a name which can be taken to indicate something of which two halves differ from each other in appearance† (17). It is not only the way that this group of people came into existence but also the diversity and difference within this particular tribe that is extremely important. When Native Americans were forced onto reservations, it was of the utmost importance for the rest of the world not to see all Native Americans as the same, as they were varied with the many tribes and also within tribes. These oral stories become even more important to dictate into print or film to show how Native Americans viewed the world, themselves, and most importantly to realistically illustrate their heritage with the hopes of changing how many whites viewed them. The allegorical and symbolic divide that came to move all of these authors to write stories that bridged the gap in their own respective lives, also helped to create a film as well. The movie Dreamkeeper, directed by Steve Barron, shows how a family divided will struggle to keep tradition alive despite the death or disappearance of an important figure. In this film the pressing issues between the grandfather, grandson, and absent father serves as a metaphor for the intrusion on the culture of the family’s tribe versus the tradition of passing down lineage and heritage. The metaphor is that the grandfather is rooted in the past, the grandson is heading into an uncertain future, and the father is the only link to the present. These cultural threats are more than just the loss of land or the loss of a father, it is the changing of times into a future that is being mapped out by another group entirely, that being white Americans. These maps, so to speak, or the oral tradition that has mapped out the history of entire tribes and families has been written about by other prominent Native Americans in their journey and tragedy of trying to fill this divide between past and present all the while wondering what the future will hold. These types of worries were normally settled by spiritual means, but loss of land meant loss of the ability for Native Americans to go on their spiritual quests. Charles Alexander Eastman in his passage from â€Å"The Soul of an Indian† writes about the mystical quest undertaken by Native Americans in his native Sioux tribe that required several nights away from camp in meditation. He also writes of the divide of the Native American, a common theme in all the reviewed works. â€Å"The red man is divided into two parts,-the spiritual mind and the physical mind. The first is pure spirit, concerned only with the essence of things, and it was this he sought to strengthen by spiritual prayer† (767). Because of this loss of land, essentially the loss of spirit or at least the ways in which spiritual rituals were conducted came to an end. Also, the fear of the future was replaced by Christian ideals to help Americans of European descent understand how these natives fir into their Bible. In this way the Native Americans, already concerned with loss of identity were split even further in a divide that led them to an uncertain and uncharacteristic future. It was only through the oral tradition of preserving identity that Native Americans could attempt to achieve a personal wholeness while the many tribes and family members within tribes became scattered and disillusioned. It is through the personal journeys of the writers that it becomes apparent how the loss of land impacted not only an entire civilization, but individuals, who lost identity and did whatever was necessary to try to discover, rediscover, and preserve all that was left. Gertrude Bonnin, in passages from â€Å"Impressions of an Indian Childhood† talks about living what could be considered a double life. Gertrude sometimes refers to herself as her Sioux name, Zitkala-Sa, which means Red Bird. She was born on a reservation to a Sioux mother and her white father was absent in her life. She struggled between the old ways that her mother tried to teach her in the oral tradition and the ways that people conducted themselves outside of the reservation. She became torn and decided that the reservation life was not for her and the American way of treating Native Americans was not appealing either. So she began compiling all the information she could gather from what was relayed to her by her mother in the oral tradition and then wrote these stories in English. She abhorred the fact that the language of her ancestors had disappeared and she was just as concerned as Eastman was about the loss of spirituality for all Native Americans under the conversion to Christianity. Bonnin writes, â€Å"I prefer to their dogma my excursions into the natural gardens where the voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers† (939-940). It becomes clear that for the spirituality of Native Americans to thrive, then land uninterrupted by industrialization was needed in order for this group to be who they had always been before they were removed to reservations. So taking their land was not a simple geographic issue, this also took these peoples’ essence and spirituality from them. It is therefore important for these texts and films to exist as reminder of what was lost, not just space, but a place in history for people who had to rely on a few to pass on as many of the stories given to them in the oral tradition and put it in print or in film. All three written pieces reviewed and the film help to show the importance of the land that was taken from the Native Americans, as well as the influence of the oral tradition of passing down stories and spiritual pathways to each ensuing generation. The film and the written works display both a metaphorical divide in the ways of the respective authors and tribes and the bigger community, showing that differences need to be acknowledged as well as the common goal of this group to gather their cultural artifacts that would have disappeared into an assimilated America. Also, the allegorical journey that all these contributors took to discover their part in history is akin to an epic and a tragedy. Scholars, as well, have looked at the impact of the spiritual strivings of Native Americans and the ultimate need for tribes to achieve a new identity in a foreign land to them, a land that was once their own. It was the need for Christian legitimacy on the part of European settlers that led to a need for Native Americans to be stripped of their spiritual roots and forced to resign to religious conversion. The mission of these Christians â€Å"absorbed Native Americans into a Christian world view that made them comprehensible to Euro-Americans, who were otherwise faced with a population whose mysterious origins threatened to call into question the explanatory value of the Bible† (Wyss, 162). So as Euro-Americans sought to explain the discrepancies with Native Americans and their absence from the Bible, Native Americans had to wrestle with their own identities that were being challenged by these settlers for purposes other than just the acquisition of land. What then became an issue was the questioning of creation on the part of settlers and the â€Å"lost tribe theory† (162) that proposed that Native Americans were part of a tribe that was not thoroughly explained in the Bible. All the while many Native Americans asserted their own creation myths while other Natives tried to assert superiority over whites with the reasoning that if Natives were a part of Israel’s lost tribes then, therefore, they were closer descendants of Jacob. This hierarchy of Biblical place did play an important role on the identity of Natives during their assimilation into Euro-American culture, though the oral tradition certainly did support a different idea for the origins of each tribe. Even those Native Americans that did subscribe to a Christian ideal were â€Å"defined by a constant deferral of home, or the constant movement, both geographical and cultural, of a fragmented people† (165). It seems then that the roots of all Native Americans, who were fragmented and spread across the nation, was entrenched in the oral tradition of creation stories and spirituality. However, the many Native American stories that were told and passed down led to they idea the Euro-Americans had as Natives being savage and mythical, making their stories, even true encounters appear to be false. This led to the Natives â€Å"invisibility in the annals of encounter: constructed as tellers of myth and as peoples of myth, they are denied a place in the national story and a voice in recounting it† (Bellin, 99). This created the powerlessness found in Natives attempting to assert their place in the new America that was founded on laws, both the divine and those conceived by Europeans. The fact that Natives had stories, spirituality, and kinship was not enough to place them in a position of asserting their power in any way that seemed rational to Euro-Americans. As well the illiteracy of Native Americans certainly did not assist this group in gaining any type of recognition for having much to offer the Europeans in their stories. â€Å"the oral nature of much Indian narrative has been taken to explain both the Indians’ irrelevance to history-for what could illiterates offer? -and their inability to remember and record it† (102). As well, Native Americans stories were not just told, they were animated through acting, making the stories more meaningful to the Native audience but meaningless to a person outside of a tribe. It is fair to say that the identity of Native Americans was not only in their oral tradition, but in the ways in which stories were acted out. This is something that is lost even if a story is recounted by a Native to as close to the original message as possible. Much is also lost in translation further undermining any attempts that Natives could make when forced on reservations, where their land and language was taken along with the ties of spirituality that sustained them. It also makes the spiritual identity of Native Americans more complicated when they are not only placed in an Anthropological category of uncivilized, the literary category of completely mythical, and finally over romanticized by scholars, who do not understand the deep meaning behind Native American spirituality and ritual. These rites and rituals are meant to cement a community of people together and individual identity can be created within these rituals. Instead, many times, these acts and stories are perceived as more universal and therefore there is the mistaken implication that Native American spirituality can be lumped into a religion that can be used by all. This has placed and continues to place the sense of community outside of the purposes intended and sadly many people use information gleaned from Native spirituality for profit or for writing scholarly articles that do not take into account the private lives of a single Native, but instead combine individuals into a whole. With a fragmented sense of history and culture, it is right to note that there has been and continues to be fragmentation in the Native American communities, but for an individual, a sense of self requires both community identity and a complex set of cultural artifacts to make that individual whole and not a watered down, assimilated version of the Euro-Americans. To be more clear, the text versions of Native Americans stories involving spirituality and rituals many times do not take into account the personal nature of these events. It is not only a matter of entire communities of Native American feeling the need to forge and reclaim their converted or dismissed identities as a whole, but the essence of the individual in a tribe, separate from others that must do the same. â€Å"Nicknames, shadows, and shamanic [sic] visions are tribal stories that are heard and remembered as survivance [sic]. These personal identities and stories are not the same as those translated in the literature† (Grim, 44). This lack of voice to individual Native Americans and stereotyping of all communities and persons being inherently the same in their spirituality and other social activities makes more important the voices, such as the Native authors and filmmakers reviewed all the more important. These artists have shown how gender, tribe, place, and, politics, to name just a few social forces can affect an individual struggling for acceptance within him or herself and in the larger world. All these factors must be considered when looking at film and literature, separating the individual from the group while at the same time seeing the struggle for those individuals as being the best representation available for a group without a strong voice. In conclusion, the film and the literary works of Native Americans highlight the voice of a specific individual, attempting to speak for their community. Taken with scholarly research, it can be seen the effect of colonialism and religious conversion on the vulnerable Native American population. Their history has many gaps in that the myths and traditions were many times dismissed and the absence from the Christian Bible made their existence confusing and unsettling to the settlers. The voices that have been stifled serve to help save the history of the mainstream at their expense, and this powerlessness and absence from history can only be reconstructed in the best way possible. Though even stories passed down in the oral tradition are lacking in the gestures and actions of the storytellers, which is the essence of oral storytelling. Works Cited Joshua David Bellin, The Demon of the Continent: Indians and the Shaping of American Literature, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001. Gertrude Bonnin, â€Å"Impressions of an Indian Childhood† in The Heath Anthology of American Literature Vol. 2. Ed. Paul Lauter, Lexington: D. C. Heath and Company, 1994. Dreamkeeper, Dir by Steve Barron, Hallmark Entertainment Productions, 2003. Charles Alexander Eastman, â€Å"The Soul of an Indian† in The Heath Anthology of American Literature Vol. 2. Ed. Paul Lauter, Lexington: D. C. Heath and Company, 1994. John A. Grim, â€Å"Cultural Identity, Authenticity, and Community Survival: The Politics of Recognition in Native American Religions† in Lee Irwin Native American Spirituality: A Critical Reader, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2000. Scott N. Momaday, The Way to Rainy Mountain, Albuquerque: University of New Mexico, 1969. Hilary E. Wyss, Writing Indians: Literacy, Christianity, and Native Community in Early America, Boston: University of Massachusetts Press, 2000.