Reflecting on ‘Reflective practice’ Essay

â€Å"Maybe reflective practices offer us a way of trying to make sense of the uncertainty in our workplaces and the courage to work competently and ethically at the edge of order and chaos†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Ghaye, 2000, p.7) Reflective practice has burgeoned over the last few decades throughout various fields of professional practice and education. In some professions it has become one of the defining features of competence, even if on occasion it has been adopted – mistakenly and unreflectively – to rationalise existing practice. The allure of the ‘reflection bandwagon’ lies in the fact that it ‘rings true’ (Loughran, 2000). Within different disciplines and intellectual traditions, however, what is understood by ‘reflective practice’ varies considerably (Fook et al, 2006). Multiple and contradictory understandings of reflective practice can even be found within the same discipline. Despite this, some consensus has been achieved amid the profusion of definitions. In general, reflective practice is understood as the process of learning through and from experience towards gaining new insights of self and/or practice (Boud et al 1985; Boyd and Fales, 1983; Mezirow, 1981, Jarvis, 1992). This often involves examining assumptions of everyday practice. It also tends to involve the individual practitioner in being self-aware and critically evaluating their own responses to practice situations. The point is to recapture practice experiences and mull them over critically in order to gain new understandings and so improve future practice. This is understood as part of the process of life-long learning. Beyond these broad areas of agreement, however, contention and difficulty reign. There is debate about the extent to which practitioners should focus on themselves as individuals rather than the larger social context. There are questions about how, when, where and why reflection should take place. For busy professionals short on time, reflective practice is all too easily applied in bland, mechanical, unthinking ways, Would-be practitioners may also find it testing to stand back from painful experiences and seek to be analytical about them. In this tangle of understandings, misunderstandings and difficulties, exactly how to apply and teach reflective practice effectively has become something of a conundrum. This paper explores current ideas and debates relating to reflective practice. In the first two sections, I review key definitions and models of reflection commonly used in professional practice. Then, in the reflective spirit myself, I critically examine the actual practice of the concept, highlighting ethical, professional, pedagogic and conceptual concerns. I put forward the case that reflective practice is both complex and situated and that it cannot work if applied mechanically or simplistically. On this basis, I conclude with some tentative suggestions for how educators might nurture an effective reflective practice involving critical reflection. Defining reflective practice †¦reflection can mean all things to all people†¦it is used as a kind of umbrella or canopy term to signify something that is good or desirable†¦everybody has his or her own (usually undisclosed) interpretation of what reflection means, and this interpretation is used as the basis for trumpeting the virtues of reflection in a way that makes it sound as virtuous as motherhood. Smyth (1992, p.285) The term ‘reflective practice’ carries multiple meanings that range from the idea of professionals engaging in solitary introspection to that of engaging in critical dialogue with others. Practitioners may embrace it occasionally in formal, explicit ways or use it more fluidly in ongoing, tacit ways. For some, reflective practice simply refers to adopting a thinking approach to practice. Others see it as self-indulgent navel gazing. For others still, it  involves carefully structured and crafted approaches towards being reflective about one’s experiences in practice. For example, with reference to teacher education, Larrivee argues that: â€Å"Unless teachers develop the practice of critical reflection, they stay trapped in unexamined judgments, interpretations, assumptions, and expectations. Approaching teaching as a reflective practitioner involves fusing personal beliefs and values into a professional identity† (Larrivee, 2000, p.293). In practice, reflective practice is often seen as the bedrock of professional identity. â€Å"Reflecting on performance and acting on refection†, as McKay (2008, Forthcoming) notes, â€Å"is a professional imperative.† Indeed, it has been included in official benchmark standards laid down for professional registration and practice (see table 1 in Appendix 1). One example is in the way it has been included, explicitly and implicitly, in all Project 2000 curricula for Nursing Diplomas, while reflection is highlighted as a pivotal skill to achieve required Standards of Proficiencies in nursing and other health professional education (NMC, 2004; HPC, 2004). It has also become a key strand of approaches to the broader field of continuing professional development, work-based learning and lifelong learning (Eby, 2000; HPC, 2006). Given its growing emphasis in professional practice and education, it would seem important to explore the concept of reflective practice in some detail. To this end, this section distinguishes between different types of reflective practice and looks at the sister concepts of reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity. Reflection ‘in’ and ‘on’ practice Dewey (1933) was among the first to identify reflection as a specialised form of thinking. He considered reflection to stem from doubt, hesitation or perplexity related to a directly experienced situation. For him, this prompted purposeful inquiry and problem resolution (Sinclair, 1998). Dewey also argued that reflective thinking moved people away from routine thinking/action (guided by tradition or external authority) towards  reflective action (involving careful, critical consideration of taken-for-granted knowledge). This way of conceptualising reflection crucially starts with experience and stresses how we learn from ‘doing’, i.e. practice. Specifically Dewey argued that we ‘think the problem out’ towards formulating hypotheses in trial and error reflective situations and then use these to plan action, testing out our ideas. Dewey’s ideas provided a basis for the concept of ‘reflective practice’ which gained influence with the arrival of Schon’s (1983) ‘The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action’. In this seminal work, Schon identified ways in which professionals could become aware of their implicit knowledge and learn from their experience. His main concern was to facilitate the development of reflective practitioners rather than describe the process of reflection per se. However, one of his most important and enduring contributions was to identify two types of reflection: reflection-on-action (after-the-event thinking) and reflection-in-action (thinking while doing). In the case of reflection-on-action, professionals are understood consciously to review, describe, analyse and evaluate their past practice with a view to gaining insight to improve future practice. With reflection-in-action, professionals are seen as examining their experiences and responses as they occur. In both types of reflection, professionals aim to connect with their feelings and attend to relevant theory. They seek to build new understandings to shape their action in the unfolding situation. In Schon’s words: The practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique. He reflects on the phenomenon before him, and on the prior understandings which have been implicit in his behaviour. He carries out an experiment which serves to generate both a new understanding of the phenomenon and a change in the situation. (Schon, 1983, p. 68) For Schon, reflection-in-action was the core of ‘professional artistry’ – a concept he contrasted with the ‘technical-rationality’ demanded by the (still dominant) positivist paradigm whereby problems are solvable through the rigorous application of science. A contemporary example of this paradigm is the evidence-based practice movement, which favours quantitative studies  over qualitative ones, and established protocols over intuitive practice. In Schon’s view, technical-rationality failed to resolve the dilemma of ‘rigour versus relevance’ confronting professionals. Schon’s argument, since taken up by others (e.g. Fish and Coles,1998), was as follows: Professional practice is complex, unpredictable and messy. In order to cope, professionals have to be able to do more  than follow set procedures. They draw on both practical experience and theory as they think on their feet and improvise. They act both intuitively and cr eatively. Both reflection-in and on -action allows them to revise, modify and refine their expertise. Schon believed that as professionals become more expert in their practice, they developed the skill of being able to monitor and adapt their practice simultaneously, perhaps even intuitively. In contrast, novice practitioners, lacking knowing-in-action (tacit knowledge), tended to cling to rules and procedures, which they are inclined to apply mechanically. Schon argued that novices needed to step back and, from a distance, take time to think through situations. Whether expert or novice, all professionals should reflect on practice – both in general and with regard to specific situations. Schon’s work has been hugely influential – some would say ‘canonical’ – in the way it has been applied to practice and professional training and education. For example, in the health care field, Atkins and Murphy (1993) identify three stages of the reflective process. The first stage, triggered by the professional becoming aware of uncomfortable feelings and thoughts, is akin to Schon’s ‘experience of surprise’ (what Boyd and Fales, 1983, identify as ‘a sense of inner discomfort’ or ‘unfinished business’). The second stage involves a critical analysis of feelings and knowledge. The final stage of reflection involves the development of a new perspective. Atkins and Murphy argue that both cognitive and affective skills are prerequisites for reflection and that these combine in the processes of self-awareness, critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation (see Appendix 2). In the education field, Grushka, Hinde-McLeod and Reynolds (2005) distinguish between ‘reflection for action’, ‘reflection in action’ and ‘reflection on action’ (see Appendix 3). They offer a series of technical, practical and critical questions for teachers to engage with. For example, under reflection for action teachers are advised to consider their resources and how long the lesson will take (technical); how to make the resources relevant to different learning styles (practical); and to question why they are teaching this particular topic (critical). Zeichner and Liston (1996) differentiate between five different levels at which reflection can take place during teaching: 1. Rapid reflection – immediate, ongoing and automatic action by the teacher. 2. Repair – in which a thoughtful teacher makes decisions to alter their behaviour in response to students’ cues. 3. Review – when a teacher thinks about, discusses or writes about some element of their teaching. 4. Research – when a teacher engages in more systematic and sustained thinking over time, perhaps by collecting data or reading research. 5. Retheorizing and reformulating – the process by which a teacher critically examines their own practice and theories in the light of academic theories. While Schon’s work has inspired many such models of reflection and categories of reflective practice, it has also drawn criticism. Eraut (2004) faults the work for its lack of precision and clarity. Boud and Walker (1998) argue that Schon’s analysis ignores critical features of the context of reflection. Usher et al (1997) find Schon’s account and methodology unreflexive, while Smyth (1989) deplores the atheoretical and apolitical quality of his conceptions. Greenwood (1993), meanwhile, targets Schon for downplaying the importance of reflection-before-action. Moon (1999) regards Schon’s pivotal concept of reflection-in-action as unachievable, while Ekebergh (2006) draws on  phenomenological philosophy to argue that it is not possible to distance oneself from the lived situation to reflect in the moment. To achieve real self-reflection, she asserts, one needs to step out of the situation and reflect retrospectively (van Manen, 1990). Given this level of criticism, questions have to raised about the wide adoption of Schon’s work and the way  it has been applied in professional practice and education (Usher et al, 1997). There have been calls for a m ore critical, reflexive exploration of the nature of reflective practice. Reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity Contemporary writing on reflective practice invites professionals to engage in both personal reflection and broader social critique. For example, work within the Open University’s Health and Social Care faculty has put forward a model whereby reflective practice is seen as a synthesis of reflection, self-awareness and critical thinking (Eby, 2000) (see figure 1). In this model, the philosophical roots of reflective practice are identified in phenomenology (with its focus on lived experience and personal consciousness) and also in critical theory (which fosters the development of a critical consciousness towards emancipation and resisting oppression ). Self-awareness Roots: phenomenology – The cognitive ability to think, feel, sense and know through intuition – To evaluate the knowledge derived through self-awareness to develop understanding Reflection Roots: existential phenomenology and critical theory -interpretive and critical theory – tool for promoting self- and social awareness and social action – improving self-expression, learning and co-operation – links theory and practice Reflective Practice Critical thinking Roots: scepticism and critical theory – identifying and challenging assumptions – challenging the importance of context – to imagine and explore alternatives which leads to reflective scepticism Figure 1 Skills underpinning the concept of reflective practice. Other authors argue for the concept of critical reflection, which is seen as offering a more thorough-going form of reflection through the use of critical theory (Brookfield, 1995). For adherents of critical reflection, reflection on its own tends to â€Å"remain at the level of relatively undisruptive changes in techniques or superficial thinking† (Fook, White and Gardner, 2006, p.9). In contrast, critical reflection involves attending to discourse and social and political analysis; it seeks to enable transformative social action and change. For Fook (2006), critical reflection  Ã¢â‚¬Å"enables an understanding of the way (socially dominant) assumptions may be socially restrictive, and thus enables new, more empowering ideas and practices. Critical reflection thus enables social change beginning at individual levels. Once individuals become aware of the hidden power of ideas they have absorbed unwittingly from their social contexts, they are then freed to make choices on their own terms.† Fook and Askeland argue that the focus of critical reflection should be on connecting individual identity and social context:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Part of the power of critical reflection in opening up new perspectives and  choices about practice may only be realized if the connections between individual thinking and identity, and dominant social beliefs are articulated and realized.† (Fook and Askeland, 2006, p.53). For Reynolds (1998), four characteristics distinguish critical reflection from other versions of reflection : (1) its concern to question assumptions; (2) its social rather than individual focus; (3) the particular attention it pays to the analysis of power relations; and (4) its pursuit of emancipation (Reynolds, 1998). By way of example, Reynolds argues that when managers critically reflect (rather than just reflect) they become aware of the wider environment in which they operate. They begin to grasp the social power exercised by their organisation through its networks and relationships. : In the field of teaching, Brookfield (1995) characterises critical reflection as ‘stance and dance’. The critically reflective teacher’s stance toward teaching is one of inquiry and being open to further investigation. The dance involves experimentation and risk towards modifying practice while moving to fluctuating, and possibly contradictory, rhythms (Larrivee, 2000). A key concept giving momentum to the idea of reflective practice involving both personal reflection and social critique is reflexivity. Reflexive practitioners engage in critical self-reflection: reflecting critically on the impact of their own background, assumptions, positioning, feelings, behaviour while also attending to the impact of the wider organisational, discursive, ideological and political context. The terms reflection, critical reflection and reflexivity are often confused and wrongly assumed to be interchangeable. Finlay and Gough (2003, p. ix) find it helpful to think of these concepts forming a continuum. At one end stands reflection, defined simply as ‘thinking about’ something after the event. At the other end stands reflexivity: a more immediate and dynamic process which involves continuing self-awareness. Critical reflection lies somewhere in between. Previously, I’ve proposed five overlapping variants of reflexivity with critical selfreflection at the core: introspection; intersubjective reflection; mutual collaboration; social critique and ironic deconstruction (Finlay, 2002, 2003). These variants can similarly be applied to  distinguishing between the types of reflection practitioners could engage in when reflecting on practice. Reflective practice as introspection involves the practitioner in solitary self-dialogue in which they probe personal meanings and  emotions. Intersubjective reflection makes the practitioner focus on the relational context, on the emergent, negotiated nature of practice encounters. With mutual collaboration, a participatory, dialogical approach to reflective practice is sought – what Ghaye (2000) calls a ‘reflective conversation’. Here, for example, a mentor and student, or members of a team, seek to solve problems collaboratively. Reflective practice as social critique focuses attention on the wider discursive, social and political context. For instance, the practitioner may think about coercive institutional practices or seek to manage the power imbalances inherent in education/practice contexts. Finally, reflective practice as ironic deconstruction would cue into postmodern and poststructural imperatives to deconstruct discursive practices and represent something of the ambiguity and multiplicity of meanings in particular organisational and social contexts. At the very least, a critical and possibly satirical gaze could be turned to challenging the ubiquitously unreflexive rhetoric of reflective practice. In practice, introspection is the dominant mode of reflective practice. Sometimes presented as merely a promising personal attribute (Loughran , 2006), it is a predominantly individualistic and personal exercise (Reynolds and Vince, 2004) in which practitioners tend to focus on their own thoughts, feelings, behaviours and evaluations. This passes as legitimate ‘reflective practice’ which professionals then can use to advance their cause to fit formal requirements for continuing professional development. While such reflective practice may take place in dialogical contexts such as supervision sessions, the onus stays on the individual practitioner to reflect upon and evaluate their own practice. What is lacking is any mutual, reciprocal, shared process. Institutional structures and quality assurance  systems encourage, perhaps even require, this individual focus. It starts early on during professional education and training where learners engage professional socialisation and are taught how to reflect, using structured models of reflection. One of the consequences of the lack of consensus and clarity about the concept of reflective practice is the proliferation of different versions and models to operationalise reflective practice.

Global Economic Environment Essay

(a) How has Apple capitalized on the globalization of production? What advantages does manufacturing in China offer the company? ANS: Globalization has been a heat topic in these past years. Many international companies will use this advantage for their own production, and Apple is definitely one of the significant examples. Below shown are the ways that Apple capitalized on the globalization of production. Firstly, Apple finds and searches subcontractors from places such as Korea, Taiwan, China and even Germany. It keeps expanding itself by improvements as well. For example, it replaced plastic screens by glass screens in 2004. Secondly, the fact that globalization has made the rules less strict, it becomes easier for Apple to set up factories in different countries. Thirdly, Apple also uses the competitive advantages of foreign locations. For example, this place is an expert of manufacturing particular device then Apple can give this certain task to it and ensures the high quality of the product. Moreover, Apple creates a lot of job opportunities. It employs 43000 people in the states and also supports another 254000 jobs. Some people may point out that jobs only increase for the workers in developing countries, but still thanks to globalization, Apple creates hope and stable salaries for those non-skilled workers. Lastly, globalization allows Apple to spread its fame to the world. Apple not only based on its own ability, but it is also assisted by the trend of globalization and becoming a legend for years. There is a list of advantages of choosing China as a place to manufacture. The core reason will be its low labor costs comparatively. It is known that workers working in FOXCONN are earning $14 a day, which is lower than those in the states. It’s also easy to hire engineers in China. It usually just takes 15 days. It may need months to hire engineers in foreign countries. Also, Chinese subcontractors can give quick responses as the factories are all clustered together. The large population of China may not be a main reason of its advantage, since large population doesn’t mean better workers. However, more people that are in that area, more suitable choices that Apple can choose, so this may be one of the minor advantage as well. Besides, China is a developing country where everybody is looking for a stable job. The workers in China usually wont mind the low labor cost, but they will look for safe and stable ones for their daily necessities. Last but not least, China is claimed to be the location of world factories. It seems to be more experienced in handling complicated machines during the manufacturing process. The above are the advantages that producing in China can offer. (b) Why do you think Apple continues to keep activities like product design, software engineering, and marketing in the United States? ANS: Steve Jobs once mentioned that MacBook is a machine that made in America. This whole idea comes from American designers. More importantly, these activities are called intellectual activities. Intellectual activities represent the collective corporate culture, identity and history of a company. Keeping these activities in the States can grant Apple industry information, trade secrets or special ability to innovate and bring new and better products and services into the marketplace. Apple fosters creativity by proving a flexible corporate atmosphere. Question 2 (a) What are the benefits to a law firm of outsourcing legal services to a foreign country? What are the potential costs and risks? ANS: Outsourcing legal services have three main benefits. Firstly, it lowers the firm’s administrative costs, as salaries of Indian workers are lower undoubtedly. Secondly, it increases the diversity of labor in the company. Since India obviously has a different culture comparing to the States, the culture within the firm will be more diverse and more communications will occur. Thirdly, since these Indian workers do not work directly under the American law environment, they will then work in a more free and relaxed environment. With the existence of the benefits above, there are certain risks that are involved in outsourcing. The workers are not directly supervised by the American law firm therefore the service will then not be guaranteed. If there are any mistakes, the firm will have a worse reputation and image consequently. Also, there may be a chance of exploitation of Indian workers because they have lower bargaining power. In this certain case, the workers will be less devoted during work and have less sense of belonging to that law company. (b) Which group gain from the outsourcing of legal services? Which group loses? On balance, do you think that this kind of outsourcing is a good thing, or a bad thing? Why? ANS: Using a monetary point of view, the owners of the firm surely gain from the reduction in costs. Besides, the US firms will earn by enlarging its profits. Most significantly, the Indian workers are gaining from this outsourcing activity. They can have a stable profession in the States and they may earn a higher salary comparing to the low skilled jobs provided in India. For the groups that will lose, they are the US lawyers or some of the Indian workers in special cases. The US lawyers may have difficulties in finding jobs since the Indian workers are hired. There will be then less US lawyers will be considered by those US law firms. Indian workers may also lose at the same time if they are being exploited or not having enough welfare from the law firms. Outsourcing has advantages, but meanwhile also disadvantages. Let’s start with its good deeds. It’s a good thing when it can lower labor cost and enhance labor diversity. It also reduces the money needed in recruitment due to the large amount of suitable candidates in India. It also helps to increase the disposable income of citizens in both countries. It also links up the two countries that are involved, bonding them with a sense of partnership. However, outsourcing has certain potential harms. Workers face a more intense competition since there are more choices of workers due to outsourcing. Therefore, the Indian workers will feel more stressful in this way. Also, more monitoring work is needed for the quality of work in order to reduce the occurrence of errors. All in all, with balanced managing skills, outsourcing will then be a good deed to grant benefits to both countries involved, which will be India and the States if it’s in this case in this question. (c) Why were the services in this case outsourced to India, as opposed to another country such as China? What does this tell you about the kinds of factors that are important when a firm is considering whether to outsource a value creation activity, and where to outsource it to? ANS: The reasons include same law systems, amount of law students and the ability of speaking English. Firstly, Indian and US share the same set of laws, then it will be easier for Indian lawyers to handle law cases subcontract from US law firms. For China, it has a different law system with the one in US. If China is chosen, every procedure will be difficult to handle. Secondly, India beats China due to the relatively large amount of law students. More suitable candidates can be chosen in India more than in China. Thirdly, which is an important reason that Indian young lawyers have better English skills than ones in China. English is the mother language of the Indian, it’s easier for them to browse documents or draft contracts for the US law firms. For those in China, they have lower education levels and can only good to perform factory work. Also, US and India share the similar culture while China has a complete different one. This will make the young lawyers easier to communicate with their bosses and share the same common culture with some other US co-workers. There are a few factors that have to be considered while deciding whether to outsource or not. The first one will be the ability and costs of labor. Costs include transportation costs and cost of communication between main firm and subcontractors. If the cost will be lowered in a large proportion, outsource will then be considered. Also, regulations of different locations are core factors as well. Outsourcing needs to focus on different cultures and rules in order to avoid errors or unnecessary violations. The main firm’s own financial status is also another core factor. With more financial power, the certain firm can have a more flexible managing skills and can decide whether outsourcing can really help itself or not. For the choice of locating outsourcing services, developing countries will always be appropriate places due to their low cost labor, which makes everything easier. For example, the most popular two choices would be Indian and China, with many suitable candidates and low standard of living. Question 3 (ai) What are the important challenges faced by managers specifically in an international business? ANS: International business enjoys a large economy of scale, but it suffers from challenges at the same time. First, it requires a long time in reaching consensus between different contractors and departments. It is because parts of the manufacturing are too dispersed. It’s hard for them to communicate or reach consensus. They may need to make numerous phone calls or hold long period of conference video to reach a final decision. Secondly, international business tends to have more conflicts due to the different culture adopted in different places. Contractors may argue about some rules and have different opinions due to different religions. Thirdly, international business can no longer produce standardized product. They need to produce different types of product to satisfy the demand of different cultures. For example, for McDonald, they change their menu in India and produces rice in Hong Kong for people who need to have quick lunch. Last but not least, international business also needs to spend more effort on deciding where should they set up their factories. It’s hard for them to decide. They need accurate measurements and discussions to find perfect locations for their factories. In order to stay competitive, international business has to make sure that it can handle these challenges by overcoming it and also solving it with appropriate and efficient measures. aii) In this context, how is managing an international business different from managing a purely domestic business? ANS: In terms of law and regulations, international business needs more effort to deal with these issues in satisfying every demand of different countries. In contrast, local domestic business needs not to consider, it can just focus on itself and think creative ways to attract its domestic buyers. International business and local business share different ways of promotion and employment. International business needs much more expenses on promotion. It needs to spread its fame to every corner of the world, which means that more promotion fees will needed to be paid. Also, international business has a larger structure. It needs more people to work for them than the domestic ones. They may need managers, associates and overseas managers. More people needed to be hired and meanwhile more employment will be paid by the international business. Besides, international business sometimes will be less unique as they will always produce standardized products while domestic ones will be more able to remain its own special features and attract customers in the same way. Also, international business is always harder to run. It needs to overcome more challenges then domestic ones do. It must use a proper way to enter the market which to avoid violations and conflicts. The above are the differences between international business and domestic business. (b) Analyze the arguments for and against globalization with regards to: (i) Jobs and income ANS: Globalization creates lots of job opportunities for both skilled and non-skilled workers, but it may cause a small group of people to become unemployed due to the shifting of jobs. Job efficiency may be attained as well since globalization allows a better utilization of workers. It also enhances more stable job positions. Globalization leads to competitive working environment. Everyone fights for a better job and reputation. The intense competition will make some companies to cut off some deadweight. Some unlucky employees may lose their jobs in this way. In terms of income, people enjoy an increased disposable income, meaning they have a better living standard. However, intense competition may lower the income levels of certain employees as some companies may cut cost in both hiring and welfare. (ii) Labor and environmental protection ANS: Social responsibility is a main issue of globalization. It may provide a better working environment for employees. For example, Google is a perfect example. It’s such a huge organization that creates an enormous working campus for its workers. It hires so many experts as it provides a technological and comfy place for them to work in. Labor there can enjoy welfare from work. Globalization grants companies better resources from all over the world that they can have more abilities to protect their own workers. In the contrary, globalization may lead to a worse environment of the world. Less focus will put on the environment issues since every company is just thinking ways to earn profit. Waste and pollution may increase. Those international companies may just ignore the fact that they are producing much harm to the environment around, but they will just remain their pace of production. They will aim at efficiency no matter it is underproduction or overproduction. All in all, for those who support globalization, they are usually richer and tougher. They also rule themselves with stricter regulations. They also will claim that globalization can enhance specialization and also division of labor. They enjoy the comparative advantage that globalization grants and try their best to enter the global economy. Reference: News Report: 3 More FOXCONN Employees Commit Suicide http://www. pcmag. com/article2/0,2817,2419223,00. asp Videos: World Business: Legal Outsourcing in India 12/11/2010 http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=EKuVICAdwB0 Made in China: The Real Reasons Why Apple Won’t Build iPhones in the US http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=kikwfJ5BGVE Inside Foxconn: Exclusive look at how an iPad is made http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=5cL60TYY8oQ Readings: http://citeseerx. ist. psu. edu/viewdoc/downloaddoi=10. 1. 1. 202. 9503&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Human Resources Essay

1. Explain how realistic job previews (RJPs) operate. Why do they appear to be an effective recruitment technique? Realistic Job Previews show potential candidates a (mostly) unbiased snapshot of a firm, including pros and cons about a job, its details and the current employee satisfaction with the job and company. It appears to be an effective recruiting technique because it lets the potential recruit know what they are getting into before going through the hiring process, therefore preventing high turn overs and increasing employee satisfaction. 2 . What are the advantages and disadvantages of filling openings from internal sources? Advantages include: A firm being able to receive a return on their investment by getting the full use out of the professional maturity of an employee from entry level to career level Having the surrounding employees feed off the growth of their peer and strive to also become a leader and advance Rewards the work ethic of employees who start from the bottom and move up Disadvantages include: The existing employees available may not have the requirements for the open position The attributes of the current staff might carry over into the new positions and there may never be any different views or personalities, as opposed to hiring someone externally, which allows for ambiguity. The firm will have used all their available employees from the entry level positions and need to hire externally for those. 3. What contributions can a career management program make to an organization that is forced to downsize its operations? A career management program can contribute to an organization that’s downsizing by using the assessment tools to pinpoint what is needed from its employees to succeed, and using the inventory and human capital, eliminating those who may not have the motivation or are high risk to the future of the company. They can also discover who will remain an asset and place them in different roles that will capitalize on their skill and potential, and eliminate unnecessary roles or job positions. 4. How are career challenges of minorities both similar to and different from those of women? The challenges of minorities are similar to the challenges of women because they’re limited to resources that help their development in similar ways; minorities are not exposed to the same educational backgrounds.

Managing emotions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managing emotions - Essay Example Interaction amongst workforce within an organization is intrinsic part of cohesive work ideology. Thus, a person who brings in negative energy like tension, worry, fear, disgust etc. is likely to adversely influence organizational performance. I think organizational leadership is vital tool that promotes optimistic disposition that looks at adversity as challenges to be exploited for improved performance. I also believe that effective communication and non verbal behavior are critical aspects of inter personal interaction that send out important messages of sincerity and trust. Indeed, emotional intelligence encourages understanding of human behavior so that messages are correctly interpreted and not under some emotional upheaval. It is for this reason that tough decisions or important information that may impact people should be conveyed face to face. It helps to understand and rationalize issues and information positively. Indeed, understanding of human behavior helps the leadership to meet the challenges. They are better equipped to encourage proactive participation of individuals for improved productivity. At the same time, it also helps them to diffuse conflicting situations in the workplace. Hence, organizational culture must promote understanding of human behavior and human psychology so that negative emotions of people can be turned into assets that can be exploited for higher performance. (words:

Textual Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 6

Textual Analysis - Essay Example In this essay, there is a detailed textual analysis of the themes of two fictional writings, which are â€Å"The Ingrate† by Paul Laurence Dunbar and â€Å"Albert and Esene† by Frances Khirallah Noble. The analysis is taken through four major steps, all of which tries to throw more light on the themes of the two stories in a comparative and contrasting manner. In the first step, there is focus on the main themes displayed in the two texts, whiles the second step looks at how the element of fiction was used to display the themes conveyed in the texts. There is then a discussion on why and how the elements of fiction were used to illustrate the themes, before delving into the effectiveness of the themes and elements of fiction as they reflect the meaning of the texts. Reading through both texts, one gets the understanding that both works focus on the theme of human reception of love. This comparative similarity notwithstanding, there were different approaches by which the theme of human reception of love was presented in each work. The differences in approach of presentation are what formed the major contrasting point in the two texts. As far as â€Å"The Ingrate† is concerned, the writer uses the story of Mr. Lecker who was a master and his slave, Josh to depict that humans can receive love in an ungrateful and deceptive manner. This is because having tried his best to live his slave well and even considered educating the slave in how to read and write, Mr. Lecker was repaid with and escape by the slave after the slave became empowered (Dunbar, 145). On the other hand, human reception of love was treated as one that be rewarding and accommodating as the wife of Albert, Esene shows maximum appreciation for the efforts her husband took to e mpowering her by teaching her to read and write. At least this was done to surprise all those who did not believe Esene could do this (Noble, p. 164). To exemplify how contrasting the theme of human reception of

Natural resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Natural resources - Essay Example The world is faces with a challenge to guarantee the lasting utilization of natural resources at the lowest possible environmental cost while still assuring economic and social development. Natural Resources & Environment (NRE) is a broad emphasis area with major impact on the quality of our world. NRE programs strengthen the nation's capacity to address critical environmental priorities and contribute to improved air, soil, and water quality; fish and wildlife management; enhanced aquatic and other ecosystems; the sustainable use and management of forests, rangelands, watersheds, and other renewable natural resources; and a better understanding of global climate change, including its impact on the diversity of plant and animal life. These programs also demonstrate the benefits and opportunities of sustainable development, and contribute to the economic viability of agriculture and rural communities and realizing the impact of environmental policies and regulations. The sustainability of natural resources immensely depends on the use and management decisions of individual private landowners, who have a collective control over more than two-thirds of the nation's land and water resources. As agriculture is no longer the largest element in the economic base of most rural communities, natural resource wealth and income opportunities are becoming more important to farmers, ranchers, other landowners, and communities. Pressures on land and natural resource use are becoming more and more competing and conflicting.. Public demand keeps growing for natural resource products, services, and improved environmental quality. On the other hand, changing demographics and social values bring new challenges. Urbanization has serious impacts on ecosystem structure and function and they are becoming increasingly fragmented for the production of food and forest products. The goal should aim at discovering new, improved ways to use and manage natural resources and educational programs that teach best management practices will enhance environmental and economic benefits, as well as human well-being. These are critical ecological strategies are investments for our future Outline a process by which you could determine primary gross and net productivity, use data to support your process. The term "Production" implies to the creation of new organic matter. When a plant grows, new organic matter is created by the process of photosynthesis, which converts light energy into energy stored in chemical bonds within plant tissue. This energy fuels the metabolic machinery of the plant. New compounds and structures are synthesized, cells divide, and the plant grows in size. When we attempt to measure the rate at which photosynthesis occurs, or the rate at which the individual plant increases in mass, we are concerned with primary production (definition: the synthesis and storage of organic molecules during the growth and reproduction of photosynthetic organisms). * Gross Primary Production, GPP, is the total amount of CO2 that is fixed by the plant in photosynthesis. * Respiration, R, is the amount of CO2 that is lost from an organism or system from metabolic activity. Respiration can be further divided into components that reflect the source of the CO2. Rp =Respiration by Plants Rh = Respiration by Heterotrophs Rd = Respiration by

Capital Appraisal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Capital Appraisal - Research Paper Example Total Cost 14,000,000 22,400,000 28,000,000 19,600,000 9,800,000 Gross Profit (Rev-cost) 10,000,000 8,400,000 11,600,000 6,800,000 200,000 Less: Depreciation Expense (1,600,000) (1,600,000) (1,600,000) (1,600,000) (1,600,000) Net Profit/Net Loss 8,400,000 6,800,000 10,000,000 52,000,000 (1,400,000) Calculation of Cash Flow Years 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Net Income/Net Loss 8,400,000 6,800,000 10,000,000 52,000,000 (1,400,000) Add: Depreciation expense 1,600,000 1,600,000 1,600,000 1,600,000 1,600,000 Cash Flow 10,000,000 8,400,000 11,600,000 6,800,000 200,000 Present Value of Future Cash flows Years 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Interest factor 0.621 0.683 0.751 0.826 0.909 Cash Flow 10,000,000 8,400,000 11,600,000 6,800,000 200,000 Present Value 6,210,000 5,737,200 8,711,600 5,616,800 181,800 Present Value of Terminal Cash Flow $ Present Value Interest factor 0.621 Salvage Value + Working Capital 4,000,000 Present Value of Terminal Cash Flow 2,484,000 Calculation of Net Present Value $ Present Value of Cash Flows 26,457,400 Present Value of Terminal Cash Flow 2,484,000 Total Cash Flow 28,941,400 Less: Initial Investment (17,050,000) Net Present Value 11,891,400 Option 2 Initial Investment (Cash Outflow) $ Research & Development Expenditure 5,000,000 Since the manufacturing and marketing has been outsourced by Newton to another company Faraday Electricals Ltd, Newton does not have to bear any fixed or variable costs. Calculation of Income Years 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Royalty Payment (No. of Units) 880,000 1,540,000 1,980,000 1,320,000 550,000 x Royalty Payment/unit 5 5 5 5 5 Total Income 4,400,000 7,700,000 9,900,000 6,600,000 2,750,000 The income is the cash flow that will be discounted at the present value factors as... 1. Newton has three options with respect to the operation of the business. The first option is to manufacture market and sell the products itself; the second option is to outsource the entire manufacturing and marketing of the products to another company Faraday Electricals Ltd and receive royalty payments and the third option is to sell the patent rights to Faraday Electricals Ltd and receive the money from it. 2. There are many factors that should be taken into account besides the calculation of Net Present Value (NPV) before making a decision. If the payback period is calculated for option 1, it is 1.83 years which means that the initial investment is recovered in less than 2 years. Payback period for option 2 is 2.5 years and payback period for option 3 is 2.42 years. The payback period suggests that Newton should consider option 1 as it has the lowest payback period. However, payback period has its flaws which make it a less reliable method in making decisions. Firstly the payback method ignores all the cash flows that are generated after the payback period and secondly it gives equal weights to all the cash flows before the payback period despite the fact that the more distant cash flows are less valuable. IRR for option 1 is 42%, IRR for option 2 is 25% and IRR for option 3 is 26%.

The Fragility of Doubt Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Fragility of Doubt - Assignment Example When Sister James says that she can handle her class, Sister Aloysius makes her doubt herself by saying: â€Å"But perhaps you are wrong. And perhaps you are not working hard enough† (Shanley 18). She wants Sister James to doubt her performance as a teacher, so that she will never stop criticizing her abilities and so that she will continue growing as a teacher and as a nun. Sister Aloysius, furthermore, doubts those who violate moral codes. She has an instinct for detecting suspicious behavior. She could be right because Father Flynn has been defensive when asked about what he did to Donald Muller. Instead of simply saying he did nothing, Father Flynn answers: â€Å"Whatever I have done, I have left in the healing hands of my confessor† (Shanley 49). The way he gives vague answers confirms that he has done something wrong in the past and that he might as well have done something wrong with Donald too. Besides doubting others, Sister Aloysius shows her Socratic side when she doubts her teaching abilities. Socratic means she knows that she knows nothing. She reveals to Sister James that she has been married before taking the habit, but she admits that she â€Å"would feel competent to lecture tittering girls on the subject of womanhood† (Shanley 23). Sister Aloysius is aware of her weaknesses as a teacher, which is quite important because doubt can be used as a means for self-improvement. Like Sister Aloysius, Father Flynn also doubts others. He doubts his team of basketball players for not giving their best. He believes that they should set high social stands and excel in their performances.

Ethical presentation PowerPoint Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethical - PowerPoint Presentation Example b. Starbucks Mission To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup andone neighborhoodat a time (Starbucks b) c. Product range Starbucks offers a range of exceptional products that customers enjoy in their stores, at home, and on the go. Among these products are; Coffee with more than 30 blends and single?origin premium coffees. Handcrafted beverages of fresh?brewedcoffee, hot and iced espresso beverages, Frappuccino ®coffee and non?coffee blendedbeverages, smoothies andTazo ®teas. Coffee?  andtea?brewing equipment, mugs and accessories, packagedgoods,music, books and gifts. FreshFood baked pastries, sandwiches, salads, oatmeal, yogurt parfaits and fruit cups (Starbucks b). II. Position on ethical matters a. People – people are the most important asset in an organization. In Starbucks, the importance of its people are elevated in treating them as partners and implementing labour practices that is consistent with Starbucks Global Human Rights Standa rd where Starbucks promotes equal opportunity in its hiring practices, makes recruiting decisions based solely on job-related criteria and does not use forced labor. To quote Starbucks; â€Å"We respect diversity in each other, our customers and suppliers and all others with whom we interact.† Starbucks offers comprehensive healthcoverage for eligible full?  and part?time partners and equity in the company through Bean Stock as its expression of treating employees as partners (Starbucks a). b. Ethical Sourcing – Starbucks takes a holistic approach to ethically sourcing the highest quality coffee. Their purchasing decisions includes supporting farmer loans and forest conservation programs to areas where they buy their coffee. Through this ethical purchasing practice, Starbucks is able to help foster a betterfuture for farmers and help create a more stable climate forthe planet. In the business aspect, this ethical practice also helps to provide the company a long?term supply ofthe high?quality beans it has been offering to its customers (Starbucks d). c. EnvironmentalStewardship – Starbucks share their customers' commitment to the environment. One of its core values is the belief in the importance of caringfor our planet and encouraging others to do the same. It envisions that by 2015, all of its cups will be made up of reusable or recyclable materials. It also endeavors to significantly reduce its environmental footprint through energy and water conservation efforts, recycling and green construction (Starbucks d). d. Community Involvement – Starbucks endeavors to be a socially responsible member of its community wherever it may conduct business. From the neighborhoods where its stores are located to the ones where its coffee is grown –Starbucks believe in fostering thriving communities. Bringing people together, inspiring change andmakinga difference in people’s lives – it’s allpart of being a good neig hbor. Also, it aims to contribute one million hours each year to the communities in 2015 (Starbucks c). Enforcement of Starbucks ethical standard Starbucks implement a zero tolerance compliance to its ethical standards. Any suppliers who fail to adhere to Starbucks their ethical practices are discontinued from doing business with the company. During an audit of its suppliers in 2011, the assessment found that 38 out of 129 factories failed their zero-tolerance standards. Subsequently, 26 of these businesses were discontinued and 14 were able to resume business with Starbucks after a

Examine Sociological Theories Essay Example for Free

Examine Sociological Theories Essay Examine sociological theories that explain the ethnic dimension to crime and deviance (21 marks) Recent statistics show that black people are five times more likely to be in prison than whites. Ethnic groups are heavily over represented in prisons. Waddington et al investigated whether ethnic groups were targeted by the police and whether they were treated unfairly. Waddington et al concluded that these ethnic minorities were stopped and searched more because they were out on the street at the time. His research could be criticised because he only interviewed the police, he didn’t interview the groups that were treated by the police. This would result in the police possibly lieing and saying that they treat the black people just as equally as they treat white people. Phillips and Bowling would disagree with Waddington et al as they believe that the over policing of ethnic neighbourhoods creates resentment. After the death of Stephen Lawrence the McPherson report stated that poor black areas were over policed but under protected. This would again back up Phillips and Bowling and their theory of over policing in poor black areas. This angers the people in these poor areas because of the fact that the police are only targeting them for certain crimes such as drugs. The report states that they will randomly pick on a working class black male rather than someone else for a stop and search as they believe these people are more likely to be holding drugs. This leaves the rest of the people under protected because the police aren’t concentrating on other crimes such as robbery or assault. Skolnick believes that most police stereotype the young black male as being a typical offender. He says that these stereotypical beliefs come from the ‘canteen culture’ and it is this belief that backs up Phillips and Bowling, as they would say that this belief would lead to the over policing in the poor black areas. Drabble investigated whether black people were treated unfairly in the courts. He found that blacks were more likely to be charged with more serious forms of offence than whites, whites were more likely to be cautioned whereas blacks were more likely to be prosecuted. This is evidence of institutional racism mentioned in the McPherson report. Hood found that black people were more like to receive custodial sentences even though other punishments such as fines and community service were available alternatives. Fitzgerald researched ethnic minority street crime in London. He interviewed young ethnic minority offenders and their mothers and found that the higher the levels of deprivation in an area, the higher the levels of crime. It is a statistic that Afro Caribbean households are more likely to be headed by lone parent families, which then results in higher crime in the family. This links in with Charles Murray who said that lone parent families would result in higher chances of failure at score and therefore higher chances of them turning to crime. It also links in with left realism and Jock Young and John Lea’s theory of relative deprivation. They say that people commit crime when they feel deprived, the media stresses the importance of economic goods and some will turn to crime to get these goods. They also say marginalisation is a reason for the increase in crime because of young black men are made to feel on the edge of society with nobody to stand up for them, this causes frustration and resentment which leads to crime being committed. These reasons then cause an increase in subcultures or gangs and therefore an increase in crime. All of these researchers could be criticised as they reinforce stereotypes of the young black male as well as not looking at white, middle class crime. This would then link in with Marxism and the fact that the upper class are being treated more fairly with crime they commit than the lower class.

Category Specific Impairments in Recognition and Naming

Category Specific Impairments in Recognition and Naming Category specific impairments in recognition and naming: fact or not? - Question: What’s black and white and looks like a horse? Answer: Hmmmmm†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..a black and white horse? Question: What do you call a guy who can’t tell the difference between an apple and a barn? Answer: Uhhhh.†¦ what’s the name for a thing with two legs, two arms and a head and, well, they look familiar†¦ they are, like, everywhere†¦ oh, I give up†¦ - Introduction to a Both Sides of an Issue In the above riddles the answers may seem strikingly obvious almost anyone. That is, anyone except what is termed â€Å"semantic impairments† in which there is a marked disability of the individual to pair up the meaning of what they see (visual semantic disorders), hear (auditory semantic disorders) or even touch (tactile semantic disorders) with the ability to identify the object. This represents essentially a disconnection between what a person knows and what they can readily express. As there are numerous specific documented cases such as those studied in Capitani, Laiacona, Mahon Caramazza’s review of 79 patients for the purpose of assessing the ‘division’ line of the impairment with regards to specific semantic categories such as â€Å"animate/living† and â€Å"inanimate/artifact†-type items (Capitani, Laiacona, Mahon, Caramazza 2003, p.213). In a different setting, Tyler and Moss present the interesting case of â€Å"DrO†, a 61-year old male who suffered particular deficits with regard to abstract words (i.e., love, hope, trust vs. concrete words such as bird, cup, etc.) following a cerebro-vascular incident. This study thoroughly details a number of testing procedures to compare his abilities to a group of peers as well as significant data in regards to his perceptual acuities such as hearing and vision. In their investigation, these utilize DrO as a literal test bed against the various theories regarding ‘traditional’ category-specific deficit disorders and the way that words and ideas might be encoded into memory. In the end, though DrO looks like a â€Å"classic† case of category-specific deficit, the researcher conclude that it is more likely to due an auditory ‘input’ problem in which they endorse the model proposed by Plaut Shallice in which concrete words are posited to ha ve greater semantic features, that is, they are easier to ‘grab on to’, and thus typically evidence faster recall and recognition (Tyler Moss, 1997, p. 315). Though it seems clear that cases exist which exhibit the phenomena of category-specific disorders, as the above example of the case of DrO indicates, things may not always be what they seem as it is not necessarily the memory that is at fault but more likely the ‘connections’ that allow one to have full mastery of the information stored in one’s own brain. In Support of Category Specific Disorders†¦ To begin, one must understand that the brain is essentially a storage bin of some sort for intangible inputs and outputs. The real trick of the matter is to know the nature of the bins†¦ specifically, how are they divided and how do they function? What is the hierarchy or taxonomy of stored sensory information? Are experiences broken down into the different sensory components? Is it stored chronologically? Most of these eclipse the current state of knowledge yet, by carefully observing the output, an idea can be formed about how the system might work. It is by these means that the idea of a category-specific impairment came to be when researchers noted, in ‘normal’ subjects, a difference in picture identification between natural objects and other artifacts suggesting that memories were stored or accessed according to some categorical hierarchy (Humphreys, Price Riddoch, 1999, p.118). Issues such as these manifest themselves in the classic ‘naming difficultyâ €™ tests such as the patient who was presented with a picture of celery and responded, â€Å"†¦it is green and you have it as a main course†¦ I dip it in salt†. This type of response, in which the subject demonstrated extensive knowledge about the object, was heard numerous times as the issue of category-specific impairment certainly seemed to be a logical explanation that fit the theory of memory in which data is separated and stored in logical â€Å"bins† to retrieve on cue later (Humphreys, Price Riddoch, 1999, p.122). Operating under the assumption that such a disorder exists, one interesting aspect that the categories while logically infinite seem to limit themselves to a comparatively very few key groups: biological categories (possibly subdivided into ‘animals’), food (often fruits vegetables) and artifact-type items with musical instruments a popular sub-category (Capitani, et al. 2003, pp. 225, 235-244). In terms of the type of impairment reflecting the proposed model, the most frequently occurring impairment has exhibits a disability to retrieve information related to the properties of an object or its associative knowledge of the item in a given category (Capitani, et al. 2003, pp. 228-229). One potential rationale for the division of categories is the within-category similarity of items. For example, categories such as â€Å"musical instruments† or â€Å"animals† have a greater perceived degree of within group similarity than categories such as â€Å"jewelryâ⠂¬  or â€Å"beverages†. Accordingly, this same justification can be utilized to rationalize the breakdown of particularly large heterogeneous categories such as â€Å"animate/living† (Sartori Lombardi, 2004, pp. 441-442, 446). Additional insights are provided when one observes impairments in items that have both â€Å"functional† and â€Å"perceptual† qualities such as would be the case in which deficits were observed in both musical instruments and living objects, thus defying the heretofore idea that deficits were limited to semantic ‘categories’. Based upon these findings, it has been hypothesized that the perspective of perceptual attributes are primary memory sorting parameters and then category-specific attributes (i.e., living vs. non-living) play a potential secondary role (Devline et al. 1998, pp. 77-78). Also, the idea that categories such as â€Å"living things† are stored/recalled by perceptual attributes while inanimate objects are stored/recalled by â€Å"functional† attributes, thereby establishing a fit for perceptual and functional priorities (Berndt, 2003 , p. 101). A popular understanding of the brain is that functions are laid out ‘topographically’ such that differing item attributes are focused in different physical locations in the cortex. Though it may seem overly simplistic, there is research to support a topographical model as evidenced by imaging studies that have demonstrated a different location of activity for living versus non-living items (Humphreys Riddoch, 2003, p. 263). Consistent with the topographical view is the â€Å"sensory/functional theory† one of the early hypothesis on how memory ‘works’ with regard to category-specific impairments. According to this theory, experiential data is organized in the brain by sensory modality and, secondly, that the primary differentiation in stimuli is determined by its sensory or perceptual properties and by its functional attributes (Caramazza Shelton, 1998, p. 4). Despite some support, a problem with these models occurs in the cases of non-focal, widely distributed legions such as those produced by Alzheimer’s or Herpes simplex encephalitis patients have produced the same type of category-specific deficit as would be expected with a highly localized lesion (Devline et al. 1998, p. 78). In attempting to explain cases from this theoretical perspective, category-specific disorder cases similar to DrO in which the problem was believed to be an ‘input’ or ‘processing’ failure, a key factor is that the impairment should not be mode-specific in that the issue should reside at the â€Å"semantic† node from which all inputs and outputs pass. That being the case, for a case to be a ‘real’ category-specific disorder, the problem should be isolated to instances in which the stimulus is presented not just in a solely audible or visual form (Caramazza Shelton, 1998, p. 13). Explaining Things Based on the existence of category-specific disorder, Humphreys and Riddoch began to seek to postulate a model that would explain the myriad complexities of both normal and deviate cases. Extending from the information presented previously on the division of categories, researchers suggest that perceptual and functional memory associations are recalled by correlated perceptual features. For example, â€Å"has a trunk† is likely to be highly correlated with an elephant whereas â€Å"has four legs†, while quite accurate, does not exude the same strength as the previous descriptor (Sartori Lombardi, 2004, p. 439; Humphreys Riddoch, 2003, p.265). This model is referred to as the â€Å"distributed semantics† model as a consequence of the features of memory being stored in numerous ‘places’. Taking this model a step further, Humphrey and Riddoch proffer the Hierarchical Interactive Theory (HIT) the allows the use of a flexible (but fairly standard) metho d of categorization by individual. In this model, there is a hierarch of processing levels that include, â€Å"the structural description system through to the semantic representations [functional attributes]†¦ or names†. With such a structure, one the means by which it differs from the distributed semantics or other models is that is acknowledges ‘up-front’ that processing can occur at level rather than a fixed ‘processing spot’ (Humphreys Riddoch, 2003, pp.266-267). In summary, though memory is, at best, only a partially understood concept, the existence of disorders such as category-specific impairments provide researchers with both a challenge and the key to solving a portion of the puzzle. By understanding the dynamics of what can happen when the system is ‘working right’, one has the opportunity observe the differences. Works Consulted Capatani, E., Laiacona, M., Mahon, B. Caramazza,A. (2003). What are the Facts of Semantic Category-Specific Deficits? A Critical Review of the Clinical Evidence. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 20 (3,4,5,6), 213-261. Caramazza, A. Shelton, J. (1998). Domain-Specific Knowledge Systems in the Brain: The Animate-Inanimate Distinction. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 10 (1), 1-34. Devlin, J., Gonnerman, L., Andersen., E., Seidenberg, M. (1998). Category-Spefic Semantic Deficits in Focal and Widespread Brain Damage: A Computational Account. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 10 (1), 77-94. Humphreys, G., Riddoch, M. (2003). A Case Series Analysis of â€Å"Category-Specific† Deficits of Living Things: The HIT Account. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 20 (3,4,5,6), 263-306. Humphreys, G., Price, C. Riddoch, M. (1999). From Objects to Names: A Cognitive Neuroscience Approach. Psychological Research, (62), pp. 118-130. Sartori, G. Lombardi, L. (2004). Semantic Relevance and Semantic Disorders. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 16 (3), 439-452. Sloan-Berndt, R. (2003). Lexical-Semantic Aspects of Language Disorders. In K. Heilman E. Valenstein (Eds.), Clinical Neuroscience, 4th Edition. (pp. 92-107). New York, New York: Oxford University Press. Tyler, L. Moss, H. (1997). Imageability and Category-specificity. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 14 (2), 293-318.

The Eight Basic Types of Runs Essay -- sport, runner, forefoot, injury,

Running is one of the many sports that do not get enough attention that it rightfully deserves. What is so special about it anyway, all people do in this sport is either run various distances in different terrains or in endless circles on a track. But, it is so much than that there is so much preparation and technique that goes into running. It’s the same as a football player spending hours studying multiple plays; or a volleyball player tirelessly redoing a spike to get just the right impact time. The same goes for a runner so much preparation goes into the sport mentally and physically. Injuries are quite frequent in running so there are various methods to help runners heal in the quickest way possible. When the simple methods don’t work to heal injuries there are different medical instruments used to find out where the source of pain is coming from. The way a runner’s foot lands on the ground also causes effects to a runner’s body. People think it is as simple as getting out of their bed to be able to run competitively but even the way they run is even requires enormous amounts of intense consideration. With all these examples in mind along comes a multitude of variations in which rung can be executed. Logically people would want to use the most efficient method to produce the fastest times when running. This would benefit all types of runners from beginners all the way to the seasoned pros. Every year 65% to 80% of all runners will suffer an injury (McDougal). How do so many people suffer injuries and are still able to run? There are various remedies to help cure all kinds of different injures from ankle rolls to shin splints. One common and universal remedy is R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compression, elevation) (WebMD). R.... ...The 8 Basic Types of Runs." Competitor Running. N.p., 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Contresible, B. "The Biological Evolution of Pain." The Biological Evolution of Pain. N.p., 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. "Foot Anatomy 101." Born to Run. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Gould, Todd A., and Molly Edmonds. "How MRI Works." HowStuffWorks. Discovery, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Hahn, Jane U. "The Perfect Form." Runner's World & Running Times. Runner's World, 16 June 2005. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. Larson, Peter. "Facts on Foot Strike." Runner's World & Running Times. Running Times, 17 May 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. "Muscles of the Knee (Cross-section View)." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. "Runner's Knee: Symptoms, Pain, Causes, and Treatment." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. "What Is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)?" WebMD. WebMD, 03 Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. The Eight Basic Types of Runs Essay -- sport, runner, forefoot, injury, Running is one of the many sports that do not get enough attention that it rightfully deserves. What is so special about it anyway, all people do in this sport is either run various distances in different terrains or in endless circles on a track. But, it is so much than that there is so much preparation and technique that goes into running. It’s the same as a football player spending hours studying multiple plays; or a volleyball player tirelessly redoing a spike to get just the right impact time. The same goes for a runner so much preparation goes into the sport mentally and physically. Injuries are quite frequent in running so there are various methods to help runners heal in the quickest way possible. When the simple methods don’t work to heal injuries there are different medical instruments used to find out where the source of pain is coming from. The way a runner’s foot lands on the ground also causes effects to a runner’s body. People think it is as simple as getting out of their bed to be able to run competitively but even the way they run is even requires enormous amounts of intense consideration. With all these examples in mind along comes a multitude of variations in which rung can be executed. Logically people would want to use the most efficient method to produce the fastest times when running. This would benefit all types of runners from beginners all the way to the seasoned pros. Every year 65% to 80% of all runners will suffer an injury (McDougal). How do so many people suffer injuries and are still able to run? There are various remedies to help cure all kinds of different injures from ankle rolls to shin splints. One common and universal remedy is R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compression, elevation) (WebMD). R.... ...The 8 Basic Types of Runs." Competitor Running. N.p., 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Contresible, B. "The Biological Evolution of Pain." The Biological Evolution of Pain. N.p., 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. "Foot Anatomy 101." Born to Run. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. Gould, Todd A., and Molly Edmonds. "How MRI Works." HowStuffWorks. Discovery, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. Hahn, Jane U. "The Perfect Form." Runner's World & Running Times. Runner's World, 16 June 2005. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. Larson, Peter. "Facts on Foot Strike." Runner's World & Running Times. Running Times, 17 May 2012. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. "Muscles of the Knee (Cross-section View)." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. "Runner's Knee: Symptoms, Pain, Causes, and Treatment." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2013. "What Is Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)?" WebMD. WebMD, 03 Jan. 2010. Web. 17 Oct. 2013.

Louise Erdrichs Tracks Essays -- Louise Erdrich Tracks Essays

Louise Erdrich's Tracks   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Louise Erdrich’s â€Å"Tracks';, the readers discovers by the second chapter that there are two narrators, Nanapush and Pauline Puyat. This method of having two narrators telling their stories alternately could be at first confusing, especially if the readers hasn’t been briefed about it or hasn’t read a synopsis of it. Traditionally, there is one narrator in the story, but Erdrich does an effective and spectacular job in combining Nanapush and Pauline’s stories. It is so well written that one might question as he or she reads who is the principal character in this story? Being that there are two narrators, is it Nanapush, the first narrator, him being a participant in the story, who tells his story in the â€Å"I'; form? Or is it Pauline, the second narrator, who also narrates in the â€Å"I'; form? Upon further reading, the motive for both narrators’ stories become more evident, and by the end of the book, it becomes clea r that one character is the driving force for both of the narrators’ stories. This central character is Fleur Pillager. She in fact is the protagonist of â€Å"Tracks';. Even though she is limited in dialogues, her actions speak more than words itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Structurally speaking, Fleur is mentioned in every chapter of the book, either being referred to by the two narrators or being part of the story. In fact, after researching the novel several times, no other character including the two narrators is consistently mentioned in every chapter. In the first chapter, Nanapush tells Lulu, his granddaughter, about the fate of the Chippewa Tribe. He then spends most of the chapter discussing the beginning of Fleur, who is Lulu’s mother, and how he saved her life. In the second chapter, Pauline, the second narrator, begins her story gossiping about Fleur to an unknown listener in detail. Pauline continues to focus her story on Fleur’s life, discussing in length of incidents about her. Pauline’s obsessive behavior becomes more evident when she’s in Argus with Fleur. â€Å"Since that night (in Argus), [Fleur] puts me in the closet, I was no longer jealous or afraid of her, but follow her close as Ru ssell (Pauline’s cousin), closer, stayed with her, became her moving shadow that the men never noticed†¦'; (22).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Therefore, in these two chapters both narrators set the stage for telling their stories on their account of Fleur. Not o... ...med to gain attention by telling odd tales that created damage" (39). Her presence to him is more like a pesky fly that won’t go away. It is this lack of attention by others in which drives Pauline to tell her story.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Looking back at the atom theory stated earlier, if we exclude Nanapush and his story from â€Å"Tracks';, what we have left is Pauline’s obsession with Fleur. In Pauline’s eyes, as well as others, Fleur is good- looking, mysteriously powerful and dangerous. In contrast to her who is â€Å"a skinny, big-nosed girl with staring eyes'; who is also so â€Å"poor-looking'; (15). Pauline notices these differences and in effect becomes jealous of Fleur because of all the attention she receives from people. She sees herself in â€Å"competition'; with Fleur. At first, Pauline just wants to be close to Fleur, but by the end she wants to be â€Å"better'; than her. Within her story, the argument that Pauline is the protagonist and that Fleur is her antagonist could be valid, but if you look at the novel in its entirety, meaning the structure and content, the principal character that emerges from it is Fleur Pillager.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Work Cited Erdrich, Louise. Tracks New York: Harper & Row, 1988

Up The Down Staircase :: essays research papers

Up the Down Staircase   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  By Bel Kaufman The main character of this book is Sylvia Barret she is a recent college graduate, and works as a high school English teacher. Sylvia would like to work in a nice private school, like so many of her friends. Instead Sylvia takes a job with the board of education, in a nieve attempt to reach out to the under privileged inner-city children in public schools. Sylvia battles with so many choices in this book. In the end she makes the right ones. Another character that is important to this book is James J. Mchabe. He signs his name with Adm. Asst. (administrative assistant). Sylvia calls him â€Å"Admiral Ass† because he is always looking over her shoulder. It seems like Mr.Mchabe’s only propose in life is to bother Sylvia and the other teachers. The admiral always seems to find something wrong with the manor the teachers run their classes in.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bea Schachter is another teacher at Calvin Colidge High School. Bea has been a teacher at Calvin Coolidge for a very long time and she automatically makes Sylvia her friend. Bea shows Sylvia the ropes; what to do, what not to do, where to go, where not to go. That kind of stuff. Bea is a good teacher, and a good friend to Sylvia. One of Sylvia's students is Joe Ferone. Joe is a rebel and a hoodlum. Joe barely ever comes to class. Sylvia really wants to help Joe. Sylvia tries to schedule after school sessions with Joe, but he never shows up. Towards the end of the story I get the feeling Sylvia was starting to fall in love with him. This story takes place in a New York City school in Manhattan, in the nineteen- sixties. The book covers the span of one school semester form September to February. Sylvia Barret, a new teacher is starting her first day in room 304. She finds out that teaching isn’t all that she thought it would be. Her first friend is Bea a veteran teacher who helps Sylvia out by explaining how Calvin Coolidge high works. The writer takes all the craziness of a normal high school and embellishes them; for instance the school guidance counselor is always using big words and thinks all the students need help. And Mr. Mchabe the administrative assistant who is nosy about everything. The Janitor who is never available.

Gatto’s Against School

â€Å"Gatto’s Against School† In John Taylor Gatto’s â€Å"Against School†, the author describes our educational system, from a teachers’ point of view, as boring. Not only are the students bored, but the teachers are as well. Gatto asserts that, â€Å"Teachers are themselves a product of the same twelve year compulsory school program that so thoroughly bore their students and school personnel†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (683). If the teachers aren’t happy with and are bored of the educational system, the students aren’t going to have the want or drive to learn.Students want to be engaged by the teachers. If the material they’re teaching isn’t reacting to the students than maybe it’s time for a change? Like Gatto, I believe that most students only want to learn about something that they have a vested interest in. If they don’ have any interest in it, then of course they are going to be bored. Gatto suggests ways of fixin g the â€Å"boredom† within the student.The author asserts that, â€Å"Instead of receiving schooling that bores them, we encourage the best qualities of youthfulness- curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight-simply by being more flexible on time, texts, and tests, by introducing truly competent adults and giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then† (684). I know from my own experience that if I am challenged, and pushed to take a risk, that you can perform at your very best.If the students have to take a class with boring or dull material, than the teacher cannot expect the students to want to push themselves to do their best. Although our educational system has served us as a nation very well, the author believes that it has failed to prepare people for what lies ahead after schooling. According to Gatto, there are three main purposes for schooling, â€Å"1) To make good people, 2) To mak e good citizens, 3) To make each person his/her best† (685).Gatto believes that these values in and of themselves are not wrong, but that we can’t do enough to achieve them. The author adds the point that, â€Å"The main functions are to hold back and limit progress of the student†. I feel it is not just the educational system but the teaching as well. If there were more competent teachers that understood that the material they are mandated to teach is boring and ineffective, than they should change it, or at the very least suggest a change in material to the head of the department.If one of the purposes of our educational system is to make each person achieve his/her best, than the teachers should strive to make sure the students are getting the best possible product out there. In essence, Gatto’s â€Å"Against School† asserts that our educational system is boring and fails to allow the student to take risks by subjecting the student to the same ma terial that they either already know, or that the teachers themselves are bored with, and or don’t know enough about.After reading this essay, it is hard to disagree with what Gatto states. I believe that changing the material once in a while will allow the student to achieve higher expectations and to help the student to reach his/her personal best. Having competent teachers, will ensure the student has the best subject matter expert to be giving out the material. After all, it’s the student who suffers as he or she is there to gain the knowledge from the teacher; shouldn’t the student get the best? Gatto’s Against School â€Å"Gatto’s Against School† In John Taylor Gatto’s â€Å"Against School†, the author describes our educational system, from a teachers’ point of view, as boring. Not only are the students bored, but the teachers are as well. Gatto asserts that, â€Å"Teachers are themselves a product of the same twelve year compulsory school program that so thoroughly bore their students and school personnel†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (683). If the teachers aren’t happy with and are bored of the educational system, the students aren’t going to have the want or drive to learn.Students want to be engaged by the teachers. If the material they’re teaching isn’t reacting to the students than maybe it’s time for a change? Like Gatto, I believe that most students only want to learn about something that they have a vested interest in. If they don’ have any interest in it, then of course they are going to be bored. Gatto suggests ways of fixin g the â€Å"boredom† within the student.The author asserts that, â€Å"Instead of receiving schooling that bores them, we encourage the best qualities of youthfulness- curiosity, adventure, resilience, the capacity for surprising insight-simply by being more flexible on time, texts, and tests, by introducing truly competent adults and giving each student what autonomy he or she needs in order to take a risk every now and then† (684). I know from my own experience that if I am challenged, and pushed to take a risk, that you can perform at your very best.If the students have to take a class with boring or dull material, than the teacher cannot expect the students to want to push themselves to do their best. Although our educational system has served us as a nation very well, the author believes that it has failed to prepare people for what lies ahead after schooling. According to Gatto, there are three main purposes for schooling, â€Å"1) To make good people, 2) To mak e good citizens, 3) To make each person his/her best† (685).Gatto believes that these values in and of themselves are not wrong, but that we can’t do enough to achieve them. The author adds the point that, â€Å"The main functions are to hold back and limit progress of the student†. I feel it is not just the educational system but the teaching as well. If there were more competent teachers that understood that the material they are mandated to teach is boring and ineffective, than they should change it, or at the very least suggest a change in material to the head of the department.If one of the purposes of our educational system is to make each person achieve his/her best, than the teachers should strive to make sure the students are getting the best possible product out there. In essence, Gatto’s â€Å"Against School† asserts that our educational system is boring and fails to allow the student to take risks by subjecting the student to the same ma terial that they either already know, or that the teachers themselves are bored with, and or don’t know enough about.After reading this essay, it is hard to disagree with what Gatto states. I believe that changing the material once in a while will allow the student to achieve higher expectations and to help the student to reach his/her personal best. Having competent teachers, will ensure the student has the best subject matter expert to be giving out the material. After all, it’s the student who suffers as he or she is there to gain the knowledge from the teacher; shouldn’t the student get the best?

Accounting (Managerial) 530 Portfolio Case Study Essay

Imagine you are applying to become a trainee in a management consulting company, Solutions Inc., which claims to deliver innovative solutions. They are looking for innovative employees who engage with their work. The selection process will be rigorous. You know you will be asked to submit reports based on questions regarding your knowledge of management accounting practice and strategic management accounting. To provide a context for the reports, you have been provided with a scenario in the form a case study on which the questions are based. To answer the questions you are going to have to do some research in the library. Giving you the questions is a method to test your information literacy skills. Submitting your answers in the form of reports is a way of testing your aptitude as an analyst and communicator. Scenario on which to base your report submissions Assume you have been appointed as a consulting Management Accountant to an organization with rapidly growing sales and expanding customer acceptance in the surf wear clothing target market 18-30 years. The clothing is sold under an increasingly recognized brand name worldwide. Sales are made online -both internationally and locally, as well as through franchised outlets. The accounting system has not kept pace with the growth and complexity of the company. It is even more critical for the company to take control of its finances in the current slow recovery of the U.S. and European markets. You have been given a list of issues listed below by the management of the company. In analysing the issues, the management of the company is concerned that the accounting system does not provide tight cost control, measure quality control, and does not provide a good basis for the budgeting system. No cost analysis has been done within the company to date. The management of the company wishes you to investigate the following issues; given that management wishes to maintain growth in this turbulent environment: Report One (Issues 1 to 3) Issue 1: It is difficult to see the relationship between the stated cost of production and the selling price for the various lines of clothing ranging from simple to complex clothing. According to the management â€Å"We don’t need a product costing system. About half of our product range is made in China and shipped to online customers from there so we avoid GST. The remainder of our production consists of a growing range of high value, small batches of swim wear, surf wear and wet suits. We apply a just-in-time approach so that our inventories are minimal. We have little influence over product price as price competition is on the increase and brand loyalty isn’t sufficiently strong to justify uncompetitive prices. Anyway, our accountant is already far too busy to bother with a product costing system†. In your submission to the management, discuss the current no costing policy, and present an argument in support of undertaking an appropriate product costing system. Issue 2: The managers of the company have been convinced that they need a better costing system for their local production. They have heard about Activity Based Costing and they believe that it will improve the accuracy of the costing of their products. In your submission to the management, provide the conditions under which the use of activity based costing may be justified, and whether you believe there is a case to implement Activity Based Costing in this organization. Issue 3: The management of the company has concerns that they do not know enough about the relationship between cost and profit. Include in your submission to the  management, a discussion on the difficulties they may face in gathering the information they might need to carry out an analysis of cost behavior, and the development of a cost function in this company. A brief comment on the benefits the company can derive from a full understanding of cost behavior is also desirable. Report Two (Issues 4 to 6) Issue 4: The management wants to be able to predict the effect on profits resulting from changes in volume, costs and prices. Prepare a submission for management on how this may be done, and the difficulties that they are likely to face in undertaking this sort of analysis. Issue 5: Previously the company did not use budgets because the owners were the managers of the business and close to activities being managed and did not feel the need for budgets. As the company has grown, and the operations have become more diverse, professional managers have been recruited. Include in your submission an argument for budgeting, indicating the benefits of budgeting, and the factors to take into consideration when faced with uncertainty regarding sales growth. Issue 6: The company has a need to make choices sometimes whether to make or buy certain of the products carrying their brand. On other occasions they are also required to make decisions on special prices when a potential retailer makes an offer to buy goods from them at a price lower than their normal price. The management currently make their decisions in these matters based on the average cost of goods sold in the previous accounting period. Discuss the concept of Relevant cost and benefits, and the type of accounting and non-accounting information they would need for such decisions. Instructions for the portfolio submissions: 1. Assume that the management of the company has little technical knowledge in management accounting. You would need to define terms and explain concepts to the management before linking those terms and concepts to your report. 2. You must submit your responses in the form of two separate reports as follows: a. Report 1 covering Issues 1 to 3 b. Report 2 covering Issues 4 to 6 You should read the Guidelines available on blackboard prior to writing up your report. There are strict requirements as regards formatting and layout.

Remembering Gregory Hines Essay

On the 14th of February 1946, a talented artist was born to the Hines family. Gregory Hines started dancing with his older brother Maurice at the age of barely three years. Approximately two years after that, the Hines siblings made professional appearances in nightclubs across the country. Aside from the fact that the Hines brothers came from a family of performers, they were also practically exposed to tap dancing legends at that time namely Honi Coles, Sandman Sims, the Nicholas Brothers, and Teddy Hale, watching them at the backstage of Apollo Theatre. 1 Gregory’s career in tap dancing went on for a while with his brother and dad as they had international tours and show exposures on â€Å"The Tonight Show. † Little did he know that his next decisions would lead him to a long, exciting ride in his artistic growth. Gregory and his brother had relational and professional tensions that have piled up and, coupled with the declining interest of the public for tap dancing, the artist decided to leave his dancing group in 1973 to move to California. There, he formed the jazz-rock band called Severance. He was the band’s songwriter, guitarist, and singer. His band split up before the end of the 70’s though and Gregory has to return to New York and resume on his dancing career. The Hines brothers got reunited to do a tribute to American ragtime composer and pianist, Eubie Blake in a production entitled, Eubie! This opened an opportunity for Gregory to get a Tony Award nomination. Several nominations would follow suit for his performances in Comin’ Uptown (1979) and Sophisticated Ladies (1981). Hines also conquered the television world, which proved his versatility in acting. This earned him film credits having appeared in History of the World: Part I (1981), The Cotton Club (1984), and White Nights (1985). It was in television that Gregory’s talent was first recognized with an Emmy Award for his television feature, Gregory Hines: Tap Dance in America. 2 Then comes the next highlight to his career—a Tony Award at last! Hines portrayed the older version of Jelly Roll Morton on a Broadway show entitled Jelly’s Last Jam. In this show, he co-starred with Sammy Davis Jr. , his idol in the field. He has looked up to this great entertainer so much that when the latter was dying of throat cancer, he was there to visit. During the funeral of Sammy, Gregory spoke on how he felt like his idol believes that he can continue on from where Davis has left off. 3 Gregory Hines continued to be active in the entertainment industry from the stage, to television, to music, and even to film directing. His latest works would include an LP entitled, Gregory Hines, which was produced by no less than Luther Vandross. He also had television appearances in the popular contemporary comedy, Will and Grace. However, like all others, good things come to an end. Gregory Hines died in 2003 at the early age of 57. 4 With his death caused by liver cancer, he was then engaged to Negrita Jayde. 5 Tragic it may seem, but the bright side to it is, Gregory has not left this world colorless and meaningless. An article quote says it all: â€Å"Gregory Hines, the genial, suave dancer, singer and actor who for many personified the art of classical tap in the 1980’s and 90’s . . . †6 References Britannica. Gregory Hines. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/901439/Gregory-Hines Dunning, Jennifer. (2003). Gregory Hines, Versatile Dancer and Actor, Dies at 57. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://query. nytimes. com/gst/fullpage. html? res=9D05E4DF1031F932A2575BC0 A9659C8B63 Tap Legacy Foundation. (2007). Gregory Hines Tribute Site. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www. taplegacy. org/gh/bio/bio. html Wikipedia. (2009, March 1). Gregory Hines. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Gregory_Hines

Is Rosalind the Perfect Heroine? Essay

â€Å"As You Like It†, is yet another Shakespearian play that pities nature against civilisation, masculinity against femininity, idealism against cynicism, youth against age, child against parent, time against timelessness, and love against hate. It’s both a gentle, pastoral comedy of love, and a dark and sexually ambiguous comment on gender construction. Rosalind as a character is both a heroine and a portrayal of feminism. The evolution of feminine identity within a patriarchal system of power informs both the setting and characterization of this play. Rosalind dominates the play. As the audience we fully realise the complexity of her character. We understand her emotions, her subtle thoughts, and the fullness of her character that no other character in the play can match. She is successful as a knowledgeable and charming critic of herself and others â€Å"I would give him some good counsel for himself, for he seems to have the quotidian of love above him.† The definition of a heroine looked up in a dictionary is: a woman possessing heroic qualities or a woman who has performed heroic deeds. This definition can be subjective however depending on the context and the time in which the heroine’s character was portrayed. The definition of a heroine changes and evolves over time which is why what a modern audience would class a heroine characterisations is different to the definition of a heroine during the Elizabethan times. The traditional method takes the idea that all characters are real and have lives of their own. This is very different to the modern method as it is structured around the idea that characters are only functions that portray Shakespeare’s ideas. They are all part of Shakespeare’s stage craft. They reflect the bigger aspect of the play. They all have particular dramatic functions, and are set in a social and political world with particular values and beliefs. Looking at a play from a traditional approach is a more imaginative and less academic, however this does allow the audience to become involved and emotionally attached to the characters. This way of approaching a play was used in the time of Shakespeare as plays were made purely for performance. Features of a 17th century heroine differs from a modern day heroine. In the Elizabethan times, beauty, innocence, intelligence, wit and independence would have been classed as heroine qualities. A modern day heroine is thought to be a person that has strength of character, a courageous and original person. Nowadays facial features and beauty does not really count as a heroic quality. However perceptions and ideas of heroines differ from one person to another and this needs to be kept in mind. The portrayal of Rosalind is open to interpretations. It has been interpreted differently by different versions of performances and films. It has also been interpreted differently by different characters in the play. Celia sees Rosalind (Ganymede) as someone who has â€Å"misused our sex†. Other characters like phebe fall in love with (Ganymede) â€Å"I love Ganymede†. In Elizabethan times Rosalind would be viewed as a very feminine character who was at liberty when dressed as a male. This is because in the Elizabethan era, women were viewed as being weak and men as being in control and powerful. Therefore when a woman was dressed as a man she was at more liberty and could do things that she couldn’t have done if she was in form of a woman. Nowadays Rosalind can be viewed a tomboy. Rosalind is a particular favourite amongst the feminist critics, who admire her ability to subvert the limitations that the society imposes on her as a woman. With boldness and imagina tion she disguises herself as a young man for most of the play in order to woo the man she loves and instructs him in how to be a more accomplished and attentive lover, a tutorship which would not be welcome to her as a woman. â€Å"You shall never take her without her answer, unless you take her without her tongue. O that woman cannot make her fault her husband’s occasion, let her nurse hr child herself, for she’ll breed it like a fool.† Rosalind and Celia develop into women. In the court these are inexperienced girls, yet as the comic action moves forward, they are forced to take on disguises and discover what it means to be a woman. Rosalind derives her power from her masculine disguise, and much of her humour is antifeminine. It can be said that this detracts her from being a perfect heroine. She can not exercise such power and control when being simply herself. It’s Celia who actually makes the first step into adult heterosexual womanhood. She’s angry over Rosalind’s boorish behaviour as Ganymede, Celia berates her cousin and says â€Å"we must have your doublet and hose plucked over your head, and show the world what the bird hath done to her own nest.† As mentioned before Rosalind’s character is open to a myriad of readings. Harold Bloom describes her as a character that â€Å"is at once so accomplished in wit, and so little interested in the power that great wit can bring if properly exercised.† Completely contradicting this, Camille Paglia writes â€Å"Rosalind and Ganymede pretend to be a rakish lady killer and, at her assumption of that sexual persona, actually becomes one. She is all sex and power.† Such critical disagreements are not uncommon for plays such as â€Å"As You like It†. In my opinion both of these critics are right in what they say. However Paglia is a bit too unfair and biased. I understand her point about Rosalind being all â€Å"sex and power†, but I disagree with her saying that she’s a â€Å"radish lady killer.† In my opinion Rosalind is a character that challenges feminism. When dressed as Ganymede she portrays the thoughts of men at the time. Shakespeare uses Rosalind to put this point across. That is the fact that at the time men misrepresented and repressed women. This is quite ironic as Rosalind is herself a female and the fact that at some points during the play, she puts females down is due to the fact that she’s trying to act like a man and the men at the time had these types of approach and attitudes towards females. In my opinion she’s not acting the way she does to put women down, but to show the audience how ridiculous it is for men to behave that way towards women and to introduce dramatic irony into the play. In my opinion Rosalind is a perfect heroine, however like any character or any other human being she has fatal flows which in this case has been sheltered by her virtues of character. I completely agree with Bloom on his describing of Rosalind. He also says that she’s â€Å"harmoniously balanced and beautifully sane†, which again I consent with. However he says that Rosalind is not interested in the power that her wit brings her. I think that Rosalind as a character is well aware of the power that she has as Ganymede and the power that her wit brings her. I do also think that she’s interested in the power that being dressed as a man gives her and she enjoys using that supremacy. In my opinion Rosalind is a manipulative character (in a positive way) and can be described as a heroine in most cases. When Orlando asks her if she is a native of the forest, Rosalind makes an ambiguous remark about being as much of a native as a rabbit is to the place where it is born. Here we see how she uses her wit to protect her disguise. In other words, she never quite answers the question directly. She uses this kind of verbal sidestepping again in act V, scene2, when she says that she is in love with no woman and that she’ll marry phebe if she is going to marry any woman at all. She also makes phebe promise that if she refuses to marry her, she’ll marry silvius. Rosalind manipulates the other characters through her use of language, but she does so far one purpose and that is to ensure a happy ending to the play. In my opinion this makes her a genuine heroine. As mentioned before Rosalind subverts the typical role of women in the Elizabethan period. She has great wit and wordplay and this is subversive of Shakespeare to bequeath a female with such qualities. One of the reasons that this play would have been counted as a comedy is the fact that the audience would have found Rosalind’s courage and wit quite funny and they would not have taken it seriously. However Shakespeare would perhaps have wanted to get a very serious and important point across. Some people believe that Shakespeare was a feminist and this is the point to prove it. He could’ have chosen to endow these qualities to another male character, but he chose a female character to reflect on all of these points. Some feminists are keen to stress the utter oppression of women in Elizabethan society in all areas of life; economic, domestic, sexual, familial and personal. Whilst it is certainly true that women were in no way regarded as equal to men in official aspects of life, the plays have an important part to play as pieces of evidence as about the status of women in this period. They are not separate from their background but part of our understanding about women’s lives in this period. This plays has a strong emphasis on the importance of gender at the time and the limitations that females were under due to this. Shakespeare uses Rosalind to undermine this and to illustrate that women can be as witty as men. However significantly and in a sense ironically she is only able to show this to the audience when she is disguised as a male. She is the supreme representation of the possibilities of human personality if there is freedom and if oppression can be overcome. She also shows the p ossibilities of female ability once liberated which in Rosalind’s case is liberty in disguise. At court Rosalind’s status was lower than Celia’s, for Celia was the daughter of the ruling duke â€Å"within ten days if that thou beest found so near our public court as twenty miles, thou diest for it.† Inn the forest of Arden, Rosalind dressed as a man, has higher status and Celia’s role almost fades away. The play has been under a lot of political criticism. It is possible that Shakespeare wrote the play for political reasons. It is a play that describes character like Rosalind and Celia fleeing from the oppression and coercion that they had to deal with when they were at court. Duke Fredrick has been Associated with Queen Elizabeth for his vindictive deeds towards his own daughter and Rosalind. The play is about power and social structure. The court is seen as being the place of higher classed people, whereas the Forest of Arden is supposed to be for the undersides of the society (at the time) like women, exiles, outcasts and people in lower status. The play describes the court as being a patriarchal society and the forest as being a place of justice and equality. However we find out that this is not the case as there are wealthy landowners that enrich themselves of the poor. Phebe and Silvius are examples of these as they are shepherds that work for a rich and cruel man. This goes to show that the forest has the same hierarchy structure as the court. Shakespeare could have been trying to portray the fact that there’s always injustice in â€Å"enclosures†. The end of the play is very significant to the irony of the play. Rosalind loses her independence, autonomy and freedom when she gets married to Orlando and when she takes off Ganymede’s clothes â€Å"to you I give myself, for I am yours†. This is so ironic as after all of Rosalind’s efforts and all of Shakespeare’s efforts to portray her as a witty, intelligent character and a Feminist, she has gone back to being her old powerless self. I think that Shakespeare did this to show the audience that things like antifeminism had to be established and dealt with properly. I think that Shakespeare wanted to bring to light the fact that it wasn’t good enough that Rosalind did all the things that she did, as at the end of the day, Orlando had more power over her and he was in control and she dedicated herself to him. Shakespeare was telling the women n the audience that they would never have rights if they didn’t stick up for themselves and if they didn’t manage to get feminism established. Shakespeare transforms Rosalind’s character throughout the play. From a love struck powerless girl to a dignified, aloof woman who managed to manipulate and influence other characters like Orland (the hero) and Phebe (Ganymede’s lover). Rosalind becomes a very sardonic, scathing and witty character to show that women can be as derisive and satirical as men if they were given the opportunity to be. She fulfils a very important role and a very significant dramatic function. Then he allows her to mould back to her original, immobilized character to show that there had to be a vital change in society otherwise women are never going to get the respect that they truly deserve if the society wasn’t revolutionised and modified.