Hunter-gatherer: Food and Limited Personal Possessions Essay

My people are what you call Hunter-Gatherers. We survive by hunting and gathering our food. We live in what are called â€Å"Bands.† These usually consist of 15-20 people, all of which are usually related either by blood or marriage. We don’t have any type of government or hierarchy like other civilizations. Instead we believe we are all created equal, and we treat each other in that manner. We are nomadic, which means that we do not stay in the same place year around. We move in order to take advantage of the abundance of different foods in different areas. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me take you through a day in my life. Our breakfast is pretty simple. The outcome of the hunting and gathering of yesterday decides what food we will eat for breakfast today. On a good day we will eat grapefruit, or a mixture of fruits and nuts along with some elk jerky, and of course accompanied by spring water. After breakfast the men will leave for their daily hunt.There is a great skill to their hunting, for they must know where and when to look for the foods. The men use various tools in hunting for animals. The most common of these tools is the bow. This is the most powerful weapon available. Arrows made of wood with flint blades set in their ends are also used for hunting. Our men hunt for game such as deer, elk, bear, birds, etc. They also fish. The results of the hunt are very important, mostly because we must eat, but also because we need to utilize every part of the animal in order to survive. We have various uses for the animal after it has been killed. First and foremost it is our source for food. It also provides us with the shelter and the clothing we need.I guess now would be a good time to tell you about the types of homes we live in. We cannot build permanent homes because we move around. Our houses are temporary, and because we move around we have limited personal possessions. Our shelters are lightweight huts and wind-breaks that are built out of branches. We also use the skins of animals to create tents.Our clothing is also made of animal skins. We make our clothes by stitching together hides using bone needles and animal sinew. The teeth of the animal are often used to create necklaces or pendants.After the men arrive home from their hunt, the women work together to process the food that was collected that day. The nuts and shellfish need to be removed from their shells, and the birds that were killed need to be plucked of their feathers. We also need to skin the animals and prepare the meat for cooking. For dinner we will have duck, served with nuts and fruit. If anyone is still hungry afterward they can eat jerky or grapefruit. The meat will be cooked over a simple fire, roasted on a spit. Dinner will be delicious tonight, and a great reward for a successful day’s hunt.After dinner we sometimes gather around the fire and tell stories, or dance in celebration of the hunt. We must not take life for granted, for our lives are filled with hard work and the struggle to survive.Hope you enjoyed accompanying me in the journey through my day to day life!

Myths America Lives by

Pardeep Kullar Myths America Lives By The American Creed is spoken through myths that tell of the meaning and purpose of our country. These myths testify to the love and patriotism that we have for America. Each epoch had its own myth that it lived by in creating the American Creed that justified the existence and action of our nation. Based on the cynical response, if a collective group of Americans detested to the stories that hold America together and concluded that they were false, our nation would be in danger at that point.The problems that exist in America would take the forefront and question the existence of our country. The absolutist response, on the other hand, claims to the righteousness of America and supports the actions pursued by our nation in tumultuous times. Although the absolutist response tries to affirm the American creed, it undermines it at the same time. The Myth of the Chosen People first emerged amongst the Puritans in the colonial period. It basically sta ted for people to love each other with a brotherly love and to take on one another’s burdens.In time, this myth changed from â€Å"chosen for the good of the neighbor† to chosen by God for â€Å"special privileges in the world†. The Myth of Nature’s Nation emerged during the Revolutionary Era. It basically claimed that humans had unalienable rights. But in order to justify the oppression that existed in American culture in the nineteenth century was affirmed by claiming that nature did not include Native Americans or Blacks. They Myth of the Christian Nation was created through the Second Great Awakening. It emphasized to keep behavior in line with the teachings of Christ.But this myth quickly embedded the myth of the chosen people and the myth of nature’s nation into it, so that even Christ’s teachings gave special privileges and rights to only certain selected Americans. The Myth of the Millennial Nation emerged during the early national p eriod. Americans believed that America would lead the world into an age of freedom. This myth too has been absolutized. Americans believe that they are pushing the world towards freedom by forcing others to be free by actively engaging in war. The Myth of the Innocent Nation came into being in the twentieth century.It is rooted in all the other myths, making it very powerful. This myth is grounded in disillusion and tells no truth in its story. After the World Wars, Americans believe that because they had faced great evil, they were righteous and innocent in all of their acts. Although America’s involvement in Vietnam, made the claim to innocence very questionable, they myth prevailed and is stronger now than ever since the 9/11 attacks on America. So once again, America’s interference in the Middle East is perceived as one of innocence.The African American perspective is included to critique the myths America lives by as it shows the other side of the coin. Because Af rican American experience was very different from the White American experience, it adds a component of truth to the myths that is nonexistent from the other perspective alone. Although African Americans express a different perspective, they also express a validity and hopefulness in the American Creed that they wish will one day be carried out to its truest measures.

Annotated Bibliography for Journal of Economic Perspectives

Shiller, R.J., 2010. Speculative prices and popular models. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(2), pp.55-65. The author provides the reader with rational expectations, especially in the economic revolution. People hold a lot of expectations for future economic variables, which influence their fundamental purchase behaviors. When prices drop, it is evident that demand in the market increases. Consumers will rush to satisfy their preferences with the affordable commodity at that time. When prices increase, demand decreases, as consumers tend to withdraw their constant purchase behaviors and only consume what is available and affordable at that time. This source highlights the rational expectations model, and the author emphasizes the importance of businesses to relate to gross oversimplification. Profitability will not increase when prices are increased, without considering the purchase ability of prospective consumers. This is a credible source, and the article goes ahead to highlight significance in understanding how the markets work, for the sake of making decisions based on speculations. Market dynamics should be studied and interpreted for business success. IMF. 2017. Supply and Demand: Why Markets Tick Retrieved from: https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/suppdem.htm The source provides information in regards to the different forms of transactions which take place in the market. In most cases, buyer –seller relationships and availability dictate the market prices, as well as trends which affect the profitability of all market participants. This is a credible source as it explains the different competitive models in the market, such as perfect competition, oligopoly market features, monopolistic market and monopolies which dominate trade in the market. The author provides distinct information in regards to quantities, determining aspects of prices, and what suppliers are willing to offer a different price ranges in the markets. The main benefit of this source is that it complements all other research work in the same field, which makes it credible. This website source helps the reader to understand different price impacts on market demand. The market conditions always need to be safeguarded, not to oppress the small scale trader and at the same time, maintain optimal levels of competition. Connor, D. 2017. Why Falling Home Prices Could Be a Good Thing Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/upshot/popping-the-housing-bubbles-in-the-American-mind.html This magazine article helps a long way, in helping the reader to understand the market specifics and dynamics which help shape competition and efficient market structures. The author engages the reader in rhetoric. For example, the article begins by asking; supposing there was a way which can be used to pump up the economy, for the sake of reducing inequality, would this be of help in ending depression? This magazine article helps in the identification of the impact of lowering prices both for consumers and businesses. Homes have been used to symbolize the largest assets and the ones considered most significant by the citizens in the nation. While some of these are luxuries, some are necessities such as food and clothing. According to this source, businesses cannot just thrive through a reduction in prices of their commodities. For profitability to be realized, a lot of other strategies need to be combined with a price reduction, for the sake of success.   Batra, R.N. and Ullah, A., 2014. Competitive firm and the theory of input demand under price uncertainty. Journal of Political Economy, 82(3), pp.537-548. This journal article is a credible source of information. First, the behavior of the competitive business has been emphasized, as well as the problems facing the same analyzed. Making decisions under tight economic times has proven to be very difficult for most organizations. The input demand function is downward sloping, but this only happens when the production function is also at its best. This source is highly relevant and beneficial to use, considering the ability of the author to examine firm behavior. It also highlights contributions made by other theorists, which makes it entirely relevant. The question of demand, price, and profitability has been approached from different angles. The focus of this source is about the impact of a drop in prices, which may either lead to profitability or losses. Demand and supply functions are essential in determining the profitability of organizations in the competitive industry.   Economics. Supply- Demand Market Equilibrium. Retrieved from: https://thismatter.com/economics/market-equilibrium.htm After considerable review of this source, it is evident that it cannot be termed credible in the research process. The topic under consideration has been sufficiently addressed by the source. However, a lot of weaknesses are still evident hence making it less adequate for the process. For example, the source does not have an author who can claim responsibility for the material.   It is only website specific but does not have details on its day of publication, author, publisher or even its complementary sources. The source explains how price increases lead to a shortage of buyers, leading to decreased demand in the long run. The aspects of equilibrium quantity and price have also been addressed. There is a need to adhere to all relevant aspects which make a source credible.   Data provided in the source is adequate and correct, but cannot be considered peer reviewed. Shiller, R.J., 2010. Speculative prices and popular models. The Journal of Economic  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perspectives, 4(2), pp.55-65. IMF. 2017. Supply and Demand: Why Markets Tick. Retrieved from:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/basics/suppdem.htm Conor, D. 2017. Why Falling Home Prices Could Be a Good Thing. Retrieved from:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/10/upshot/popping-the-housing-bubbles-in-the   American-mind.html Batra, R.N. and Ullah, A., 2014. Competitive firm and the theory of input demand under price  Ã‚  Ã‚   uncertainty. Journal of Political Economy, 82(3), pp.537-548. Economics. Supply- Demand Market Equilibrium. Retrieved from:   https://thismatter.com/economics/market-equilibrium.htm

ART History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ART History - Essay Example â€Å"The Dadaists’ pessimism and disgust surfaced in their disdain for convention and tradition. These artists made a concerted and sustained attempt to undermine cherished notions and assumptions about art† (Kleiner 928). Therefore, the movement came to question former artistic standards by denying any existing connection between reason and logic on one hand and artistic expression on the other hand. Marcel Duchamp was one of the most important representatives of the Dada movement and was also known as a hero of anti-art, because he challenged traditional artistic conventions. One of the facts that earned him this characteristic was his exhibit the ready-made sculptures in 1913. These were casual objects abandoned by their and stumbled upon by the artist on the streets or somewhere else; Duchamp altered or combined them with other objects in order to created the so called ready-mades. This way, the objects lose their utilitarian function and gain an artistic one. One of the most famous ready-mades, which triggered the public’s strong reactions of admiration or disagreement, was the Fountain, which is illustrated in the first image below. It is a porcelain urinal, which Marcel Duchamp altered by adding the signature (â€Å"R. Mutt†) and the year of 1917, carelessly written on the left side of the urinal. The signature has its roots in the mundane as well, since â€Å"R. Mutt† is not a famous, important name but rather pseudonym which derived from the name of a plumbing company, Mott. Perhaps the name of the readymade is the one that makes the piece so interesting; fountain suggests somewhat the idea of a beautiful architectural monument, while Marcel Duchamp’s fountain is a tribute derived from a simple object that serves basic human physiological needs. Nothing extraordinary, yet somewhat challenging for the human perception. However, I would like to emphasize the fact that Duchamp did not choose to exhibit the Founta in aesthetical purposes, since it would have been a contradiction to the Dada philosophy. Still, even if it does not have an aesthetical role, the Fountain has profound resonances as an important work of art; meaning of this artwork is that it he challenges the viewer to see a simple, ordinary object from a different angle and this way, to gain new a perspective and find a new use for it. Therefore, the Dada movement did not try to create the extraordinary, but merely to put the ordinary into a whole different light and it is hard to imagine a more aggressive avant-garde approach to art (Seigel). Another artist who has also created art that challenges the traditional standards and understandings of traditional artistic thought is Bruce Nauman, an American contemporary artist who is considered to be a performance and conceptual artist. In the mid 1960s he abandoned painting and decided to focus his creative activity towards object making or modern sculpture. This way, by experimentin g with different materials, that were not normally associated with an artistic function, such as latex, different kinds of wires, fiberglass, latex, concrete and even wax, he managed to make a very distinctive statement in the art world. At the same time, I believe that it is admirable that he tried to incorporate in his art modern visual aids such as neon lights, video and sounds, trying to create innovative and somewhat shocking, attention grabbing artworks, which would be able to

Public Service Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Public Service - Essay Example The federal laws prohibits insider trading and provides for establishment of audit committees that ensure accuracy of the audited financial statements (Savas, 2005). The latest efforts of governance at the federal level is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that sets a code of conduct for senior financial officers and outlines director responsibilities thus creating more transparency in public corporations. The federal level has guidelines for service contracting in government agencies and the objective is to ensure the public interest is safeguarded and public goods and services are provided more efficiently and effectively (LeRoux, 2007). The changing role of public management in serving the public interest is characterized by need to ensure accountability, justice, and consultations with the public while respecting the rights and security of citizens as guaranteed in a democratic society (LeRoux, 2007). The federal government is supposed to provide the regulatory framework that safeguards public interest in corporate organizations through external regulation and internal structures that safeguard against illegal and unethical practices such as corruption or money laundering (LeRoux, 2007). There are alternative ways that private and non-profit sectors are engaged in delivering public service such as empowering citizens and minimizing the impacts of market externalities such as pollution. The private sector can deliver public service through corporate social responsibilities that aim at enhancing the standards of living of surrounding communities such as building schools while the non-profit sector can deliver public service through advocacy and education programs that aim at minimizing the waste of natural resources and conservation of the environment (LeRoux, 2007). The public-private partnerships can be formed in order to deliver essential public services such as infrastructure and health

Healthcare Service in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthcare Service in America - Essay Example The American Association for Labor Legislation (AALL) of 1915 was one of the legislative attempts prior to WWII that sought to get the government intervening in healthcare provision but it failed due to opposition from different quarters. The limited government involvement in healthcare provision prior to WWII is an important factor why the average American of that time was serviced poorly than American of today. This is because limited government involvement in healthcare provision Americans vulnerable to unscrupulous healthcare service providers who charged unreasonably high prices for treatment. Today, the government is deeply involved in healthcare service provision at different points of healthcare providers seeking to safeguard better service to the average American. The government regulates the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, procurement, and administration. It also monitors and regulates the provision of healthcare insurance (Dranove, 2002). The clash between interest group s The average American who lived prior to WWII was serviced poorly than today’s average American because of a clash between different interest groups. Organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA) and National Physician Committee (NPC) had influence enough to oppose attempts of protecting the average American. For example, in 1932 when Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated legislation for universal health care linking it to the Social Security Act, AMA and NPC successfully opposed it.

Management Roles Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management Roles Paper - Essay Example Management roles, as presented by Henry Mintzberg (1980), are the most popular, compact set of managerial roles about managerial behavior, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. These are ten management roles in total, comprised by 3 categories: Leader role. Under this role, the manager is expected to lead and supervise teams, motivate the subordinates, and train the employees. He gives them feedback about their performances, and makes constructive criticisms. Disturbance handler role. Under this role, the manager resolves conflicts among employees, arranges for mediators if necessary, and seeks to achieve the best solution to employees’ problems. He makes the employees adapt to changes and deal with crisis efficiently. Summing it up together, management roles are a diverse set of responsibilities that managers are expected to carry out. If they carry out these roles effectively, they become efficient managers that everyone at the workplace looks forward to. Each role is unique, with its demands and expectations. Henry Mintzberg has provided us with above mentioned management roles, which also serve as a guideline for all managers, and help us understand their importance and authority in the

Communication at work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Communication at work - Essay Example These two cultures are distinct not only in terms of norms and values but also differ with respect to how people behave and interact with each other. In today’s increasingly globalised world people from different cultural backgrounds are required to work together and have consensus on critical issues. Effective communication becomes very important in the context of such working relationships. It is therefore of particular significance to examine the influence of culture on the communication styles adopted by individuals as well its impact on people’s personal relationships. This paper illuminates the ways through which salient cultural characteristics influence an individual or whole society’s communication styles. It categorises the differences in cultures with respect to individualistic and collectivistic approaches as well as high and low context of communication. It basically aims to illustrate that culture plays a very important role in determining the way people communicate and interact with each other. Culture plays an important role in determining the specific traits and characteristics of individuals belonging to a group that are distinct from other groups of people. People tend to identify themselves with respect to cultural groups and take pride in associating with them. Hofstede defines culture as, â€Å"the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another† (51). People in a separate group share similar characteristics that are identifiable with the help of visible traits and qualities. Drake delineates that, â€Å"culture describes a group’s relatively homogenous evaluations of multiple, interrelated phenomena† (320). These homogenous cultural traits develop into certain social norms and values that have a significant impact on how people think, feel, observe

MBA Dissertation Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MBA Dissertation Proposal - Essay Example Research objectives describe what is aimed to be accomplished by the research. Principle objective of this research is to identify the effects of recession on the global automobile industry. The research will be conducted with the objective of finding out the significant changes that have taken place in the automobile industry due to global financial turmoil. Since the financial meltdown started from the mid of 2008, the research will be carried out to find out those changes that have taken place from the year 2008 till February, 2010. Changes can only be understood when previous statistics will be compared with the present statistics. As a result it is very important to find out the situation of the industry prior to the period when there was no recession and the situation that has emerged after the recession. Finding out these situations is a major objective of the research. Recession is one of the most talked about topics in the global economic scenario over the last two years. It has affected almost all the industries in all the countries starting from developed to developing. Automobile industry is one of those industries that are badly affected by the global financial turmoil. However before getting into further details regarding the effects of recession on the industry, it is crucial to have a clear idea regarding recession, its causes and effects. This research will include a well structured literature review where all the theoretical aspects of recession will be clearly explained. The literature review will also contain the theories that are related to marketing and strategic management. Moreover the literature review includes all the theories that are related to the research methodologies and that are relevant to this particular research. Research methodology is referred to the method in which the research would be conducted. It includes research

KATIE'S CUSTOM ENGRAVING LOGOS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

KATIE'S CUSTOM ENGRAVING LOGOS - Case Study Example The e-commerce business expands the consumer market beyond local. Katie is anticipating a huge opportunity of making money and is quite enthusiastic about establishing this business. Katie determines all costs associated with the establishment of the business. This business is very localized and independent with hardly any competitors or the dominant industry players. Katie considers her financial sources for investment in the business and seeks further knowledge. Her uncle tells her that at 876 images a year, Katie would have a break-even point, though selling 1000 images a year would lend her a substantial profit and payment. Although she is capable of producing over 1000 images a year, yet she is unsure about the size of the market for the custom images as well as the market share she needs to break even. Katie thinks upon the way to determine her venture’s market potential as well as of making a realistic estimation of the market share that results from that

Similar Triangles Project Essay Example for Free

Similar Triangles Project Essay Introduction: In this project, I found the height of an object I chose based on how tall one of my partners is, how far away she is from the mirror, and how far the mirror was from the base of one of the objects. From there I set up a proportion and solved for X. X represented the unknown height of the chosen object. Once I figured this out I then converted to feet and compared that to my partners height to see if it was a reasonable or realistic height. Two-Column Proof: |Statements |Reasons | |The triangles are right triangles |Given—Mr. Visser told us that we can assume this | |Triangles are similar |If there exists a correspondence between the vertices of two | | |triangles such that two angles of one triangle are congruent to | | |the corresponding angles of the other, then the triangles are | | |similar. | Conclusion: In this project I learned that you can prove similarity in triangles even if you don’t know all of the angle measures and side measures. I thought it was interesting how in all of my objects my estimation on ratio’s from Dannie to the object, were usually fairly close to what it actually was. I liked in this project how we got to chose the things that we measure so there is variability between each group’s projects. One obstacle I ran into was the two column proof because at first I just couldn’t think of how to start, then I just tried the first thing that came to mind, and it ended up helping.

Decreasing Social Interaction Anxiety for Schizophrenia

Decreasing Social Interaction Anxiety for Schizophrenia CHAPTER V DISCUSSION, SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. This chapter deals with discussion, summary and conclusions drawn. It clarifies the limitations, the implications and the recommendations of the study which are given for the different areas in Nursing practice, Nursing education, Administration and Research. The primary aim of the intervention is to decrease the social interaction anxiety among patients with schizophrenia. DISCUSSION. Schizophrenia is relatively common affecting 1.1% of population in or around 65 million people worldwide. In India about 4.5 – 7.8 millions of people suffers from schizophrenia and 7 lakhs of people suffers from Schizophrenia in Tamil Nadu. The patients with Schizophrenia have been found to have pronounced deficits in the social skills. These deficiencies may reflect the primary influence of the illnesses itself.(Del prette,1999). The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness of social skills training on social interaction anxiety among the patients with schizophrenia. It was conducted at Kongunadu Mana Nala Arakkatalai ,a chronic centre at Coimbatore. The sample size was 30 patients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia. Demographic variables showed that 80 percent of the patients were under the age group of 40 – 60yrs, 53.3 percent of the patients were males, 70 percent of the patients completed their high school, 63.3 percent of the patients were married and 60 percent of the patients were from the nuclear family. Clinical variables showed that 73 percent of the patients were chronic schizophrenic patients, 50 percent of the patients were having the illness from 2 – 4yrs and 56.6 percent of the patients were admitted in the hospital for more than 2 yrs. The distribution of the subjects according to the mean pre test values of social interaction anxiety showed 47.97 and the distribution of the subjects according to the mean post test values of social interaction anxiety showed 43.57. The collected data of the present study were statistically analyzed and the results based on the objective are discussed below:- (1) To assess the social interaction anxiety before and after the social skills training among the patients with schizophrenia. The level of social interaction anxiety before the social skills training among the patients with Schizophrenia was assessed by using the SIAS scale. The scale consists of 20 questions which includes the aspects of communication, eye contact , listening, appropriate emotional response ,interaction anxiety , greeting and smiling to others. The mean pre test value of social interaction anxiety was 47.97 and the post test value was 43.57 respectively. It showed that the schizophrenic patients are having severe social interaction anxiety. From the above results the researcher came to a conclusion that the schizophrenic patients are having severe social interaction anxiety to go for effective communication which affects their day to day life. Thus by giving the social skills training; a behaviour therapy technique the patients can improve their social skills which further leads to the good communication. A study supporting the above result is as follows: Beaz . S.et al.,(2013) conducted a study to evaluate the social functioning performance (social cognition tasks) that incorporate the different levels of contextual dependence and their involvement in the real life scenarios.50 samples were included as the study participants and out of these 25 were the control subjects. The subjects were analyzed by using the pre prepared diagnostic assessment. The results showed that the both groups has the greater interaction anxiety and thus gives the poor performance in the social cognition tasks which constitutes emotional processing, empathy and social norms. The result suggests that the social skill deficits in the patients with schizophrenia will impairs their involvement in the real life situations. (2) Evaluate the effectiveness of social skills training among the patients with schizophrenia. The post-test level of social interaction anxiety was assessed after the intervention. The comparison between the social interaction anxiety of the patients before and after social skills training was statistically evaluated using paired t’ test. The mean pre-test value of social interaction anxiety was 47.97 and post test value was 43.57. The calculated paired ‘t’ value was 6.067 which is greater than the table value (1.672) and it was significant at P From the above analysis, the investigator came to the conclusion that the social skills training was an effective intervention for decreasing the social interaction anxiety of the schizophrenic patients. A study supporting the above finding is as follows : Imam.A.S,et.al.,(2004) conducted a study to determine the effect of social skills training program on social interaction anxiety of individuals with schizophrenia. For a one month program; 62 inpatients, 32 in the study group and 30 in the control group were selected as the participants and they were given 60 min training in 10 sessions for 15 days. The results indicated that social interaction anxiety had shown a tendency to gradually decrease with the lengthening of the group treatment time. The findings demonstrated that the social skills’ training is effective in reducing the interaction anxiety in individuals with schizophrenia. Similarly; as in the above described study, the present study also showed the effectiveness of social skills training programme on social interaction anxiety among schizophrenic patients. (3)Associate the social interaction anxiety with the selected demographic and clinical variables among the patients with Schizophrenia. The association of social interaction anxiety using with selected demographic and clinical variables is found out by using the chi square test and it shows that, the calculated chi square value for all demographic variables such as age , gender, education, type of family , type of schizophrenia, duration of illness, and period of stay does not have any significant association with the social interaction anxiety at P A study supporting the above result is that Hayes (1995) conducted a study on effects of social skills training on the community functioning and its impact with the chronic schizophrenic patients.63 patients met in small groups for 36 sessions of training over 4 months. The results showed that there is a significant association in community functioning with demographic status such as gender, educational status and marital status of the patients. No association was found between the age , type and duration of illness ,and period of admission. The association of social interaction anxiety with demographic variables such as age (0.842), gender (0.523), education (0.276), and type of family (0.36) were not statistically significant at P The association of social interaction anxiety with clinical variables such as the type of schizophrenia(0.589), duration of illness (0.657), period of stay (0.992) showed no significance at P The above mentioned study also supports that there was no association between the age, type and duration of illness and period of admission. And in the present study, the researcher suggests that irrespective of the age and gender; the people will have to deal with the stressful life events daily hassels which consequently affects the social decompensations which will be varying from one another and hence their perception towards the social skills might be different. And on the other side, the educational status; the participants may not have the capability to understand the social skills training it’s importance. For the other variables, type of family, type of schizophrenia, duration of illness, period of stay ; the duration and sample of the study is less. Hence this may be the reason these variables are found as no association in the present study. Similarly as the above ; in the present study there was a significant association with the social interaction anxiety and the marital status and no association was found between age, gender, education ,type of family ,type of illness and its duration and the period of stay. SUMMARY The present study was aimed to assess the effectiveness of social skills training on social interaction anxiety among the patients with schizophrenia. The objectives formulated were as follows:- To assess the social interaction anxiety before and after the social skills training among the patients with schizophrenia. Evaluate the effectiveness of social skills training among the patients with schizophrenia. Associate the social interaction anxiety with the selected demographic and clinical variables. The social skills training was the independent variable and the social interaction was the dependent variable. One group pre–test post–test quasi experimental design was used for the study. The samples include 30 schizophrenic patients. Non probability purposive sampling technique was used. The tool for the data collection consists of the demographic and clinical variables of the patients, and social interaction anxiety scale was used to assess the social interaction anxiety of the schizophrenic patients. The study was conducted at Kongunadu Mana Nala Arakkatalai, Coimbatore for a period of 6 weeks. After the pre-test, the researcher used social skills training as the intervention. The training showed a decrease in the social interaction anxiety for the patients which was assessed by the post test. As on the hypotheses and objectives, data’s were analyzed by using both descriptive and inferential statistics to find out the effectiveness of social skills training on social interaction anxiety among the patients with schizophrenia.. And it tested and proved the formulated hypothesis. MAJOR FINDINGS OF THE STUDY The pre-test and post-test values showed that there was a decrease in the social interaction anxiety among schizophrenic patients. Thus, it was an effective intervention to decrease the communication problems among schizophrenic patients. The calculated paired‘t’ test value for the social interaction anxiety among the patients with schizophrenia was 6.067. This value was greater than the table value (1.672) and‘t’ value was significant at 0.05 level. Thus this finding implies that there was a decrease in social interaction anxiety after social skills training. The association of social interaction anxiety with selected demographic and the clinical variables using chi square test shows that; among the calculated chi square values for demographic variables, marital status had a significant association at P CONCLUSION The conclusion drawn from the study is as follows:- The statistical analysis proved that, the social interaction anxiety of the patients with schizophrenia was decreased after social skills training. Thus, social skills’ training is a good intervention to improve the social skills among the patients with schizophrenia. IMPLICATIONS The present study contributes to nursing practice, nursing education, nursing administration and nursing research. The social skills training can be used to decrease the social interaction anxiety among the patients with schizophrenia. Nursing Practice The social skills’ training is an effective therapeutic technique to improve the social skills of the patients. In the nursing practice, the Psychiatric nurses as teachers or trainers can work collaboratively with their patients for behavioural modifications such as increasing socialization, improving assertiveness. The decrease in the social interaction anxiety will improve the communication pattern of the patients which in turn help them to improve their day to day life. By using this training ; nurses can overcome the social difficulties of their patients and help them achieve higher levels of psychosocial adaptation. Nursing Education. The nurse educator can encourage the staff to implement the social skills training technique for the patients in an active and more lively manner. The nurse educator can make the staff nurses , to understand about the social skills training and thus to deliver an effective and good quality of care to their patients. Nursing Administration. The nurse administrator can initiate the social skills training in psychiatric units. The nurse administrator can implement the social skills training as a group activity among the patients. Nursing Research. The nurse researcher should explore the factors that are contributing to the lack of social skills in the hospital environment among the patients with schizophrenia. More researches should be encouraged to assess the effectiveness of social skills training in all the areas of communication. LIMITATIONS The time period of the study was very short to assess the behavioural change of the patients. The study was conducted for one aspect of the social skills. The study was conducted with the limited number of samples. RECOMMENDATIONS. A comparative study can be done with the experimental and the control group. A longitudinal study can be done with large number of samples in different settings. Further research can be conducted focusing the other aspects of social skills. A comparative study can be done with the other behaviour modification techniques.

Conscription Campaigns in Australia: WW1

Conscription Campaigns in Australia: WW1 Can the Australia governments conscription during World War I be considered a public relations campaign? Why or why not? What specific â€Å"strategies† were used to encourage the Australian community to support (or not) conscription? Refer to relevant public relations theories in your response. In your response you will need to consider the notion of a public relations campaign. Compare your understanding of a public relations campaign to similar events. Compare this in terms of the historical development of public relations at that time. Public relation and the is the art of winning people’s hearts so it is very important for us to fully understanding it by using the relevant examples from the past because it is much easier for us to analyze these samples’ challenges , achievements and methods in order to apply into the current situation. By this action we can minimize not only the costs which can be incurred but also the risks of failure which we might dealing with. So let’s moving on to the question about the Australian Government’s conscription during the World War I. Personally, I think it is a public relation campaign because the definition of an campaign is an â€Å" organized activity or operation designed to attain a political, social or commercial goal†(Bobbit and Sullivan, 2005, p.32). Hence, a public relations campaign, according to Kendall, are considered as a â€Å"â€Å"concerted effort of an organization to build socially responsible relationships by achieving research-based goals through the application of communication strategies and the measurement of outcomes†. Let’s take a closer look at some keywords such as : â€Å"organized activity†, â€Å"political goal†, â€Å"build socially responsible relationship†, â€Å"application of communication strategies â€Å" and â€Å"the measurement of outcomes† and think about conscription of Australian Government’s in World War I or more specifically under the lead of Billy Hughes- The Prime Minister. First of all, we can see here this conscription is and â€Å"organized activity† which require a lot of preparation for Yes vote and in more particularly, Mark Sheehan( 2007) states that:† the campaign to persuade voters went beyond the methods used in recruiting†. In addition, this campaign served a â€Å"political goal â€Å"which is the need to win the war or in other word to extend conscription so that men could be sent to reinforce the front line in Europe to serve for the World War I. Thirdly, this campaign is trying to â€Å"build socially responsible relationship† by called ‘shirkers’ and ‘traitors’ to many eligible men over the age of 21 by using posters and speeches in order to persuade targeted men ‘eligible’ to enlist. Finally, it is the â€Å"application of communication strategies† because of using â€Å"theatr es, cinema, town halls, sporting events and even beaches† in the campaign in 1917 and this is noted by Carlyon (p.525) and it also failed in two referendums-which is a â€Å"measurement of outcome†. These are the proofs that the conscription occurred in World War I is a public relations campaign. But the question here is why it is failed in considered about the strategies of Yes- voters, the length of campaign, the target public and so on†¦ To answer this question we need to go through a bit about history Let’s first start with the definition of conscription which â€Å"is compulsory enlistment in the armed forces†. This means that it is compulsory with every men in the age bracket. In 1916, Australia had that conscription but it maintain inside Australian territory and that’s why Billy Hughes’ public relation campaign start in order to extend conscription so that men could be sent to reinforce the front line in Europe. And this is where the battle of voting started for overseas military service that split the community. Secondly, I want to talk briefly about the anti- conscription with we might call the No campaign of the labor movement and the member was in the Labor Party due to the threat to the white Australian working man. And Hughes’ pro-war enthusiasm made him into deep conflict with the Queensland Australian Labor Party Premier, T. J. Ryan. Therefore, Ryan did everything in his abilities to defeat conscription. Thirdly, let’s moving on the for- conscription which we called the Yes vote, in this part we will discuss the strategies and also some of important points of this campaign. About the member, this campaign was strongly supported by the business community who were the benefiter substantially from the introduction of conscription as suppliers of arms, uniforms and equipment, and by those who saw loyalty to God and Empire as paramount. By using not only propaganda and dissemination of information but also the sophisticated two-way asymmetric activity of opinion leaders- Billy Hughes was successful in create public opinion in the conscription in World War I. Cameron et al (2007, p.175) stated that opinion leaders frequently act as catalysts in the formation of public opinion by using mass media to make opinion flows from these leaders to the public. The theory in this campaign is media- dependency theory which is people who know little about the subject need to depend on mass media for their source of information and opinions. In addition, there are two ways of thinking ( yes and no for conscription) which is framing theory because of journalists and public relation personnel support a specific feature of a issue. The strategies of this campaign can be summaries as followed: Creating Government supported grass-root groups in each state (Robson 1970, p.99) in order to make it easier for opinion leaders to persuade the voters of the value of offering up their sons or husbands in what they thought â€Å"the most noble of fights†. Prime Minister Billy Hughes indicated in 1916 â€Å"cabled all mayors and shire presidents throughout the Commonwealth asking to take immediate steps to develop vigorous local organizations† (Robson 1970, p.106). And Hughes a strong network with the Premier of New South Wales, a former Prime Minister, and the Anglican Primate of Australia and the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney (Carlyon 2006, p.268). In addition, Dame Nellie Melba sang at events organized to support for the Yes vote and influence women (Robson 1970, p.107). The â€Å"mainstream press, city and country† (Carlyon 2006, p258) also supported under Hughes’s call for Yes –vote in conscription campaign. Understood that soldiers at the front were a vital vote for this campaign, Hughes developed a Soldier’s Manifesto and sought wide distribution a month before the referendum. For this task he relied on war correspondent Keith Murdoch. Through his network in the military Murdoch arranged delivery of the Manifesto for each soldier and also distribution to the British press. Moreover, he also organized meetings of soldiers which would carry resolutions asking the voters at home to vote yes. Despite the Prime Minister’s efforts the vote of the serving soldiers was uncertain. In a second attempt in 1917 , Hughes broadened the use of persuasive tactics and pointed out Claude McKay, a former journalist and writer, to work on the promotion of the campaign by taking place on the back of other events and to that extent caught the public unaware and unprepared to debate or question the organizers. And in this time, every mass media are used but it still lead to a failure for Hughes and Yes –voters which is quite narrowly 49 percent over 51 percent. So in summary, from 1916 to 1917, Hughes created 2 referendums which is voting for extend conscription from within Australia territory to Western Front Line for the call of England in World War 1 but both two times he failed closely although he tried really hard in term of public relations campaign by the using of two way information and mass media. Imagine that the Australian government wants to re-introduce conscription in 2013. You can choose to take the pro-conscription view (and support the government) or the anti-conscription view. How would you implement a campaign given your understanding of public relations theory, its role, and society today? You will need to break down the campaign into elements (such as goal, target public, strategies and evaluation). Demonstrate how these elements would be realized in 2013. Strategies need to be realistic, achievable and theoretically sound, determined through appropriate research. You can use the same strategies as the historical campaign, if you think it is relevant. Or you can come up with your own ideas. Dont worry about budget, imagine money is no object. If I’m leader of the pro-conscription view I will think about the moves of Billy Hughes in the old times and analysis these moves then based on these background I will update it because remembering that two referendums were closed with very narrow results 49 percent over 51 percent in the first time and the second time with a slightly bigger gap. So in my opinion, these results reflect a good trend but not right methods which need to improve by using some of the public relations theories and persuasion plus mass media effect in modern life. That’s why some of the commentators while trying to explain the failure of Billy Hughes stated that it might be the issues of providing a focus for a lot of different points of view about the war. In particular, there were some people opposed the war while others were opposed to conscription as a principle. And because at that time, the economy was in bad shape therefore others were saying that they were hurt by the economic situatio n hence the World War I, and so on.Consequently, public opinions are diverting in too many ways which are hard to unite because people were not, but they all agreed on the conscription question, and the issue gave them all a chance to express their opposition. In 1917 in an attempt, Hughes held another vote on the conscription and in this time he actually had a majority in both Houses of Parliament, and did not need the vote but because of his desire, he want to give the people another chance to overcome what he called as their great mistake in rejecting conscription the previous year a chance to correct themselves. But in controversy, the campaign was again fall in the wrong way of his thought, and conscription was again defeated, this time by a slightly larger margin. So in this time we need to work out again about the theory of publicity’s opinions and the method in order to improve the result. So let’s start with goal and target public and I think it probably the same with the old time which will be more than 51 percent voting in the referendum by using these target public such as followed. Firstly, the business man who support for the conscription and benefit because of the war, they can be weapon companies and related industries or people who faithful with British Government, Australian Government or Catholic Church. The reason why we need to target these groups because this group is what we called the ground which we can build a pyramid on that, these groups will contribute the money and the enthusiasm to do anything to support for the conscription. The second part of public which we need to target is the Australian women who might be the mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters, and daughters of the listed soldiers which can support or anti our votes. About the importance of women in this context , we need to remind a bit about history with the withdrawal of about h alf a million men in 1916, and more clearly man is in crisis of going to work because of their direct replacement by women which will be happen if we have a conscription currently. Finally, there is one target who Billy Hughes were targeted but were not succeed and this is soldiers or most importantly the up front-soldiers who are fighting. Because these man can be described as â€Å"role model† which are called â€Å"informal opinion leaders†. According to Wilcox, â€Å"informal opinion leaders† are those â€Å"who have clout with peers because of some special characteristic. They may be role models who are admired and emulated or opinion leaders who can exert peer pressure on others to go along with something. In general, informal opinion leaders exert considerable influence on their peer groups by being highly informed, articulate, and credible on particular issues. â€Å"Consequently, in this case, if we want to recruit more soldiers who are enlisted, we n eed to create a â€Å"role model† which everyone must know, want to know, inspired by his/her. If we can do that the morale of the soldiers who are already enlisted or thought about enlisting will be very high which will befit for our public relations campaign not like Billy Hughes’s campaign. In the methods section, I think we need to base on the old times method because basically they are not on the wrong tracks but sharpen it by using mass media and remember technology in the modern life. In addition , keeping in mind that when we using mass media effects , we need to care about some theories of it which are agenda- setting theory, framing theory and lastly but also most importantly conflict theory. Let’s start which the definition of mass media effects: â€Å"traditional media, implies that information from a public relations source can be efficiently and rapidly disseminated to literally millions of people.†(Wilcox, 2013).Hence, a detailed recent research carried by professors and students at University of Technology in Sydney (UTS) showed that 55 percentage of the stories in leading Australian dailies come from what we called public relation sources. Therefore, the importance of mass media with public relation is undeniable with the appearance of public relations people who uses mass media to become major players in forming public opinion because of their â€Å"hot news† which are coming in the first compare to others. Understanding the importance of mass media is easy but how to use mass media require an understanding of theories which started by agenda- setting theory that is defined by Klapper as limited-effects model of mass media, media content sets the agenda for public discussion, and he stated that† mass medial ordinarily does not serve as a necessary and sufficient cause for audience effects, but rather functions among and through a nexus of mediating factors and influence.† Therefore, in the theme of this theory, we need to have a public relations campaign which not only setting the time for people to come back and follow but also can convey the set of attributes about conscription by using mass media day by day which leading to impact what audiences think about, according to Patricia Curtin, Qi Qiu an d Spiro Khiousis. Thirdly, framing theory is a theory which related to journalist and how they â€Å"frame† the story by choosing the particular facts, themes, solutions or others features†¦ And by that, journalists can create a different point of views for targeted public. That’s why political science Professors Shanto Iyengar an Donal Kinder note how â€Å"public relations professional working for political campaigns seek to emphasize consideration that will help voters decide in their favor, often enlisted the expertise of a popular leader, and to downplay the considerations that will hurt their cause or candidate.† In this case, we can use journalists to protect our side by framing conscription as good deed while the cause effects at unavoidable or fair price which we need to pay. Finally, the conflict is about disagreement between two or more individuals, groups, organizations, or communities because of the gap in interests. As the result, conflict theory is â€Å"research about differences among individuals or groups and explains conflicting interests, goals, values, or desires. Public opinion often reflects such different, or even conflicting, views, attitudes, and behaviors.† At this point , we can see how importance the conflict theory is, keep in mind that it what Billy Hughes missed, the united of public opinions because of lacking of researches at those time which we can do it easily by using technology such as Facebook, debating on YouTube, television or mass media. By unify so many differences or in other word diversities of the public, we can create an enthusiasm â€Å"army† to support for our vote. About the evaluation, because of the development of technology, it is quite easy now for us to know whether we do the right thing by using poll. Poll can use likely everywhere on the internet (for example Facebook, YouTube, or other social networks like twitters, if the websites don’t have we can use the like button to estimate it or number of views could be a good indicator) , in the subway, shopping mall or other common places by using the face to face methods .Remember that we can use the mass media to know how much attention we could draw. References: Dennis L. Wilcox

Computer Access :: Personal Narrative Technology Essays

Computer Access My experience with access to computers has been a roller coaster ride this year at school. At the end of the last year’s school year, when I had to face the scary fact that I would be in charge of producing a 240 page yearbook, I knew that I needed to start planning right then and there. Since I knew the adviser I was taking over for had a TTI laptop on loan from the school and would have to give it back, I wrote the principal a note inquiring how I could get my hands on that precious piece of technology. I knew having an instrument that I could carry with me back and forth to school would make the nightmare of being a yearbook adviser a little bit easier, since I knew I would be devoting a lot of time after school to this second job. Excited about this prospect, I felt like I had been literally punched in the stomach when I got a note back that read "Contact Media Services". After contacting Media Services and asking if I could trade in my TTI IMAC for a laptop, I was told th at the TTI contracts were for three years and I couldn’t make a "trade". I already had my own desktop computer at home, so the IMAC sat next to my computer, only to go unused. What I waste, I thought to myself. But what could I do? I travel to three different classrooms throughout my school day, so I don’t even have anywhere that I can store the IMAC for easy access. Discouraged, one of my fellow English colleagues offered up her TTI laptop, since she had other "access". Excited, I eagerly accepted. I was instantly able to download Adobe PageMaker 7.0 and all of the other yearbook software I would need. Pumped, I still needed to follow up on a proposal that was submitted for an $8,000 technology grant for yearbook computers. I contacted the appropriate person to find out that the grant was approved. Once the check was received at school I contacted a Media Services Specialist from the district who happily helped me pick out computers that would get the yearbook job done. I ended up with four Dell desktops, one of which we call the "Mother Ship" because it has a zip drive, the most memory, and some other bells and whistles.

Television Commercials Designed for the Female Audience Essay -- Explo

Television Commercials Designed for the Female Audience The television commercial is perhaps the most effective means of product marketing and advertisement. Television is present in 99% of American households, and it stays turned on an average of seven hours per day. (http://www.envirolink.com/) The television audience is a varied, widespread audience, ensuring manufacturers that their products' advertisements are reaching all possible customers. Obviously, not all products are produced for all consumers. Market analysts and advertisers must find advertising techniques that can be used in commercials for certain target customers and use those commercials to directly affect the ideal customer for the product. Gender, social, and cultural ideologies are often used to influence the audience. The vast array of possible studies on commercials includes gender differences and influences on the development of children, demographic stereotypes and the effects on society, even the use of dialogue and its importance to the advertisement; however, I 've focused on a slightly more narrow path of research and observation. I have narrowed down the comparisons of gender differences to focus only on the female's place in the commercial world and how television advertisements change their approach for different age groups. By observing five basic parts of the commercial-- the camera work, the product advertised, the sound, the actors, and the action- I was able to focus on the advertiser's ideas of the female child, teenager, adult, and elder, and sort similarities, differences, and correlations between the commercials of the different age groups. The subject of my research was approximately 190 commercials, recorded over a period of one ... ... as energetic fun-seekers- are influential or not will be determined by the consumer and his or her pocketbook and the advertiser's continued ability to hit that target. RESOURCES TV Facts from http://www.envirolink.org/issues/system/media/tv_facts.html Paper format after Jacquelyn Bradway http://www.wcsu.ctstateu.edu/~mccarney/acad/bradway.html VCR Recordings from NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX Other Ideas and Information from The Marketing Concept http://ctl.augie.edu/dept/coth/coth380/advert/WHEEL.HTML Gender Differences in Communication http://cpsr.org/cpsr/gender/mulvaney.txt TV Programs Have Underlying Economic Purposes http://www.widmeyer.com/tv/viewing/link11.htm Content Analysis of Gender Differences in Children's Advertising http://www.aber.ac.uk/~ednwww/Resdeg/merris07.html A Definition of Advertising http://www.wsu.edu/

The Scarlet Ibis :: essays research papers

James Hurst's short story, "The Scarlet Ibis" reveals that the brotherly bond between the narrator and Doodle is an essential component in the story. If Doodle was a girl, the brotherly connection and bond would be lost, resulting in many variations throughout the story. If Doodle was a girl the narrator probably wouldn't spend as much time with Doodle. A brother-brother relationship is very different than a brother-sister relationship. Doodle would likely be closer to another female such as her mother. Young girls tend to spend more time indoors with their mothers learning to sew, playing with dolls and other girl things. Its not that a brother-sister relationship is non-existent, but its a lot different. With Doodle spending more time inside, "she" wouldn't ever experience summers down by the swamp learning to run, box and climb trees. All of those things are things that little boys do. Brothers spend more time outside running, wrestling and playing sports. They enjoy doing things that take physical skill. Even if Doodle went outside, she probably wouldn't be interested in running through the forest and climbing trees. Chances are that she would be more into picking wildflowers and feeding the squirrels. There are rare occasions where you will find a real special brother-sister relationship, especially at the age Doodle and his brother were at. Younger children often play with other kids of the same gender and thinks the opposite sex has "kuddies." The two children would be at a vulnerable age to risk a close relationship. Close brother and sister relationships don't usually evolve until the mid teenage years. For example I have two older sisters that I am very close with now, but when I was young I didn't want anything to with them. So I began to develop a close relationship with my dad at a young age. That is why I believe that if Doodle was a girl, she would have been connected closer with her mother because of the gender relation. Not as much is expected physically from a girl, therefore I believe Doodle would be handicapped the rest of "her" life.

Evaluating Employee Retention Essay

High employee turnover rate has been considered as one of the highest drivers for direct and opportunity cost to rise for companies. In the Coca Cola Retailing Research, Blake (2000) estimates that about US$5. 8 billion annually are lost in the supermarket sector alone due to employee turnover. More importantly, this figure significantly reduces the profitability of firms to as much as 40%. Hence, the mantra that human resources or people are still the most important factor of production considering the improvements in technology is still a prevalent notion among scholars and businessmen alike (Buckingham and Vosburgh, 2001). With this in mind, human resources management is driven to attract and retain employees that have proved valuable in the company over periods of time. Essentially, employee retention and the reduction of employee turnover rate had been studied in the literature and in company case studies. However, despite the numerous studies provided to us, there are still debates that need to be resolved on the most potent factors that would make employees stay. This paper presents a case study of Coca Cola Company particularly its program on employee retention, the issues and challenges that it faces in terms of employee turnover, its impact on the company both financially and operationally, and the improvements that can be made in order to enhance the employee retention program and reduce turnover rates. Employee Retention: Factors and Drivers Employee retention on a macro-scale had generally been impacted by the external economy in general and the trends in the business sector (Frank and Taylor, 2004). On a micro-scale however, employee retention are affected by programs/policies of the company, wages and benefits in relation to its competitors, skills, training and promotion, employee motivation and satisfaction as well as other factors that are internal to the company. For instance, while the US economy had been considered at a low level in recent years, employee turnover had been maximal in the periods 2002-2003 because of the downsizing that had been prevalent in US companies. Add to this factor, employee discontent according to the survey of the Conference Board (2003) had been highest since 1995 and that employees are only waiting for a market recovery to look for other jobs (Kaihla, 2003). Hence, aside from these factors that needs to be considered by companies, employee turnover affects the cost of the US economy by at least US$5 trillion annually (Journal of Business Strategy, 2003) and reduces stock prices and earnings to about 38% (Sibson, 2000). Consequently, aside from the financial impact of employee turnover, employee retention has been directly correlated by Dresang (2002) to increase productivity as well as customer loyalty. Employee retention had been attributed to several factors; let us first analyze the factors identified in the literature to contribute employee retention and reduction of turnover. In Coca Cola, the top retention drivers between hourly employees and management employees were identified as follows. For the hourly employees, providing directions, availability of equipment and supplies and immediate supervision were identified as drivers for retention while for managers, it would be organizational direction, training and advancement (Frank, 2000). These factors validate earlier studies that front-line leaders play a critical role in the retention of employees (SHRM Retention Survey, 2000). This is because poor management would drive employees away because of their perceived lack of importance accorded to them by the company. Consequently, this result implies that managers being critical factors in employee retention would need to be improved in terms of training and professional development programs by the company (Gantz Wiley Research, 2004). Hence, Frank (2000) asserted that organizational and management practices as drivers for retention have specific and identifiable goals. First, for employees working by the hour, tactical practices in accomplishing their jobs effectively are considered to be important. This is because these employees derive their satisfaction and motivation from the feedback that they receive from their immediate supervisors. Hence, their execution of their specific tasks is important in order to make them feel important in the company. However, management retention had been attributed to the strategic direction of the company as well as their professional training and advancement. This implies that managers are more likely to stay in a company with a training program that would encourage professional growth as well as a program with concrete promotion guidelines. Coca Cola Employee Retention Program Coca Cola, the leading manufacturer of carbonated drinks had been considered as one of the top employers not only in terms of providing hundreds of jobs worldwide but also in strategically managing its employees turn over rate. The advocacy of Coca Cola rests on the productivity and skills of its employees in providing quality products and assuring quality control of its merchandise. In return, Coca Cola incorporates in its core policies the Workplace Rights Policies which includes a holistic view of its workers ensuring that its policies serves up to the promotion of a holistic employee growth (The Coca Cola Company, 2008). Unlike PepsiCo, Coca Cola allows unions and provides for a collective bargaining in order to protect the rights of its employees. This has led to the unorganization of the employees of PepsiCo compared to that of Coca Cola- while there is a high level of collective bargaining in Coca Cola, PepsiCo has not provided its employees the venue to air its grievances. However, compared to PepsiCo’s Taste to Success employment brand statement and its numerous programs for employee retention such as â€Å"Culture of Shared Principles†, â€Å"Ability to Make an Impact†, â€Å"Quality People† and â€Å"Passion for Growth†, Coca Cola’s campaign for employee retention is still in the process of evolving. For one, the 2000 research employed by Coca Cola to determine the cost and the opportunities for employee retention, the company had redeveloped its corporate strategy to specifically address its management and rank and file retention issues by changing its strategy. For instance, Coca Cola has the â€Å"talent magnets† program in celebration of managers who are able to attract outstanding talents in their team. This is done by Coca Cola in order to provide advancement not only for managers but for rank and file employees as well. Consequently, Coca Cola in its mission statement includes four components indicating the responsibility of managers to develop the rank and file employees. For example, in Coca Cola’s Competency/Success Model, it targets the self and others, rank and file employees would provide the necessary feedback on their manager regarding their development success and compensation based on their skills. Based on these criteria, the managers are then judged by upper management (Olian, et al, 1998). Hence, the focus of Coca Cola is on teams and not on individuals alone. This is similar to the practices in PepsiCo but to a lesser extent. For instance, PepsiCo still values individual achievement and skills in its promotion and advancement. In terms of compensation and pay, both PepsiCo and Coca Cola had been criticized by foreign countries by providing below level compensation for employees. In the United States, typically, the wage of same level employees is the same for both. Consequently, the benefits for regular and part time employees are comparable with one another. Moreover, both companies provide training and development programs, diversity and multi-cultural work environment as well as programs for advancement. However, the primary difference is that Coca Cola had been considered to fundamentally more sound strategically than that of PepsiCo. For instance, while PepsiCo offers different variety of products in the beverage and snack sector and have declared bankruptcy in the past, Coca Cola’s sound management fundamentals have prevented it from investing in risky ventures. While both PepsiCo and Coca Cola had been fraught with workers issues particularly in low salaries and wages as well as the issues of better rights for workers, Coca Cola had fared well better in retaining its employees because it is more stable than PepsiCo (which had closed 4 plants in New Jersey) and because of the presence and tolerance of unions. To a large extent, unions in Coca Cola had perennially protected the rights of its workers and hence, led to lower employee turnover in Coca Cola. Valid and Effective Employee Retention Program Employee retention programs while it should consider external aspects of its operations such as the economic performance of the country, the wages and salary in that specific country as well as competition, internal factors within the human resource sector would also needed to be re-examined particularly in determining the means to retain employees. It should be noted that skillful employees and managers are considered to be precious and scarce commodities in today’s employment world. This is the reason why companies such as Coca Cola reserves rewards for its top performers in selling and marketing its products. For instance, those who have shown superior performance than others are given career advancements readily, trainings and professional development growths are available and they have better bargaining power. Hence, these workers can demand for better work conditions particularly in balancing their work-family life. This however, does not only apply for managers but also for rank and file employees. While priorities would differ for the two classes, the need to be valued by the organization is important. This is manifested in terms of pay and wages, benefits, promotions, advancement, work condition as well as the need to know their role in the organizational mission. Hence, employee retention programs should focus on the internal and external factors of employees: pay, benefits and promotion as well as the working relations of the employees on their immediate superiors and co-workers as well as in providing a better consideration for themselves as a person and not just a worker. For instance, feedback from the manager are important considerations from rank and file employees (Frank, 2000) implying that it is no longer the salary and compensation that matters for retention but also on the relationship of subordinates to superiors. Hence, programs on employee retention should focus on managers’ ability to improve their subordinates and drive their team to achieve. This would imply that advancements would also focus on the ability of the managers to train and improve the position and compensation of their employees. Finally, the ability of companies such as Coca Cola to provide a better balance in the life of the employees by providing opportunities for better working conditions such as work-life balance can improve the loyalty of the employees as well as enhance their productivity (Younger, Smallwood and Ulrich, 2007). Method in Determining Effective Employee Retention Program The Coca Cola Study had proposed thirteen (13) scales for management and organizational practices that can serve as a benchmark in evaluating the employee retention program: 1) organizational direction; 2) immediate supervision; 3) providing directions; 4) providing feedback; 5) equipment and supplies; 6) working conditions; 7) work organization; 8) pay administration; 9) pay and benefits; 10) advancement; 11) impact; 12) training; and 13) capacity (Frank, 2000). These scales serve as a benchmark in evaluating current employee retention programs in Coca Cola. Accordingly, these factors would be critically assessed in the next section using the Coca Cola study in order to determine the areas where Coca Cola had improved since the study was completed in 2000 and the areas that would need improvement. It should be noted that this scale system is specific to supermarket products and may not reflect with other companies. Discussion and Recommendations for Effective Employee Retention Program in Coca Cola Traditional conception on employee retention had been that: increase the pay and employees will stay. However, in current business environment where skilled workers are offered with numerous job offers, the scope of employee retention had also broadened. First, employees now consider the organizational direction of the company. As shown in the survey of Coca Cola, organizational direction is important for managers in order to determine their goals in line with that of the company. A company with good fundamental organizational goals is more likely to retain managers who align themselves within the organizational direction. However, this is not only the case for managers as implied in the second factor which is immediate supervision. Managers and supervisors are tasked with the need to improve on the quality of its supervisory capacity in order to retain rank and file employees. In Coca Cola, managers who are in charge of a team are judged not on their individual performance but on how the team had performed. Hence, effective supervision and management are critical in determining the success of employees both in the managerial as well as the rank and file level. The principle is no longer that managers will rise alone but rather, rank and file employees will rise alongside their manager. This is also the core policy of Coca Cola’s self and others program wherein one is not only responsible for his or her self but for the team as well. Third, providing directions is no longer the monopoly of supervisors and managers. Typically, the vertical or line hierarchy within business firms had been replaced by horizontal and a more interactive workplace. Rank and file employees now have the freedom for better independence as well as in providing input to the management. In Coca Cola, this is no longer prohibited but is encouraged in order to gain fresh and better insights to improve on performance. The principle behind this is that those who do the work are better equipped with the knowledge on how to improve it. Along this line is the recognition that rank and file employees can provide direction to the organization as well which is the fourth factor in the item- providing feedback. The feedback system in Coca Cola does not rest solely on the discretion of the managers but also on the records of the employee. However, the feedback given by the immediate supervisors are important in determining the capacity and skills as well as the importance accorded to an employee. At Coca Cola, since teams are driven to produce, supervisors and managers can provide immediate feedback. Positive feedback gives the sense of accomplishment for employees as well as the feeling that they are valued members of the organization. This in essence, increases employee motivation and satisfaction. The fifth and sixth factors include availability of equipments and supplies as well as working conditions of the employees. It should be noted that in order to accomplish a task, materials necessary would have to be available. For rank and file employees, the management that ensures that these materials are available is tantamount to the perception that the work they accomplish is important in the organization. This leads us to the sixth factor which is working condition. The work environment has been considered as one of the more important determinant of employee motivation and hence, employee retention and turnover. Those employees whose work is not recognized are more likely to be unmotivated. Coca Cola for its part has better working conditions than PepsiCo. However, working conditions outside of the United States would need to be improved because of their poor managerial and plant support. In the United States, these issues are less pressing. Thus, it is the responsibility of the top management to ensure that despite the need of workers in third world countries of work, its improvement would cut the rate of employee turnover and increase the possibility of retention. Seventh, one good way to improve employee retention is for the Coca Cola management to use a slogan that will serve as the company’s goal similar to that of PepsiCo. Many corporations use the slogan, â€Å"People are our most important asset. † Similarly, many companies contend that their values support teamwork, integrity, respect, and dignity. While this may sound good, it takes hard, consistent work in policies, statements and actions for employees to believe it. Eight, the classic pay philosophy is to provide wages that will attract and retain qualified employees. Being aware of the wage rates in an organization’s external market place is critical to Coca Cola’s success for retaining employees. The case of the Coca Cola’s wage scale is low; the company has already lost employees to other sectors that pay a higher rate. Hence, there is a need for improvements in the compensation by improving on performance pays. For instance, lump sum merit awards on the other hand provide financial recognition for an individual’s job performance in lieu of merit-based salary increases. This is an effective way to provide financial recognition, especially to those individuals whose base salary is already relatively high.

Skull Beneath the Skin

The avowed aim of the crime fiction genre is a quest for justice for the victims of crime. This is driven by our fears and desires. It is the moral responsibility of the detective to solve the crime, and see that moral order is restored. As humans we have an innate sense that justice must be served; the quest of the detective becomes ours as well. Murder, being the ultimate crime reflects our fear of death and our desire to see moral retribution. It is part of the human condition to understand the world around us and from this desire stems an existential anxiety and a fear of the arbitrary and inexplicable cruelty of fate. Life is fraught with moral ambiguities. Appropriately the title the skull beneath the skin refers to the fact that death is ever present lurking beneath the surface just as a skull hides beneath the face. P. D James challenges the traditional conventions of the crime fiction genre. She clearly incorporates a combination of intuitionist, realist and hard-boiled styles of Crime fiction and even explicitly draws attention to these by intertextually referencing other crime works such as Marlowe, Webster and Shakespeare. In her novel James transforms the simplicities and crudities of the old- fashioned detective story, which usually approach the plot as an intellectual puzzle of â€Å"whodunit†, into a modern detective story concerned with psychological truth and the moral ambiguities of human action. The classic detective story rests on the fundamental idea that â€Å" the good will triumph and the bad will be punished†, leaving the reader with a reassurance that justice will be served. However, James’s subverted approach to the genre demonstrates realism as depicted by the moral ambiguities and the relative nature of truth. The novels unsatisfactory approach to reality is effectively utilized in her plot, which mirrors a cynical modern awareness that life is not necessarily just or fair. For example, we are morally ambiguous about Simons’ murder of Clarissa, we see it as provoked and justified and we sympathise with him. James offers us an enigmatic ending rather than any restoration of justice or social order- it is unclear to the reader whether or not Cordelia will be able to prove Ambrose’s is guilt or whether he will be brought to justice. Her readers recognize that in reality there is no stable, secure or protective refuge against evil or murder Despite the fact that PD James sought to elevate crime fiction into literature, she does conform to the conventions of attributing motives to a number of suspects. This tangle of motivations creates an atmosphere of suspense and intrigue for the reader, allowing her to delve into the psychological truth of her characters. This complexity of plot and character is consistent with James’s view of the detective genre. This technique engages the audience enabling them to identify with the detectives quest to find those responsible for the murder so that order can be restored. James goes to a lot of trouble to establish the possible motives for Clarissa’s murder. Clarissa is detested be everyone, due to her egotism, faithlessness and manipulative personality. This alienates everyone involved with her, giving each person a strong motive for menacing her with notes containing death quotes and later for murdering her. Tolly, her devoted assistant has reason to resent Clarissa. Clarissa denies Tolly the right to see her dying daughter, as it would interfere with her performance of Macbeth. Ironically, Clarissa was playing Lady Macbeth, but she herself was possessed of evil. Courcy Island is an artifical environment of the egotistical dream of Ambrose Gorringe. It is a world of Victoriana with Macabre memorabilia, such as the marble arm of the princess, which even repels the antique dealer when handling it because â€Å" it reminds me of death†. This setting is a microcosm of British high society, with its servility rituals such as fancy dinner parties and constant maid service. These rituals act as a facade and a disguise for feelings, motives and human flaws. The society at Courcy contrasts vividly with the simplicity and morality of Cordelia, who is happiest locating lost cats in her detective agency, â€Å" Animals didn’t torment themselves with the fear of death†¦ they didn’t burden you with their psychological problems.. they didn’t surround themselves with possessions†. Conversely James’s novel is very concerned with all three of these human flaws. In traditional detective fiction, the setting is an essential part of story. It is not only a backdrop for the action but also creates atmosphere and helps provide clues that are necessary in the investigation. Typical of the Intuitionists text, Courcy Island is a classic closed setting physically and socially cut off from the outside world, which can only be accessed by boat. In this respect the investigation is limited to a certain location and group of people, creating an atmosphere of fear and suspense, intensifying the sense of immanent threat- â€Å"Here on the southern shore where the mainland couldn’t be seen, it was easy to imagine that the island was totally lost at sea.. †. Crime fiction is often set in a hostile world, which appears dangerous and threatening. In the novel, this danger is alluded to by the awareness of the characters of its violent and bloodstained history including its chambers of horrors and its morbid past of murders, plagues and tortures, â€Å" They saw the skulls at once. One whole wall was patterned with them, a grinning parade of death†. As Cordelia begins her investigation she learns many dark secrets and we as an audience realize that the occupants of Courcy Island may go to extreme and violent measures to protect these secrets. Not only does this indicate danger in the past, it alludes to danger in the present. These factors of setting combine with the references to the fear of death, which permeate the novel, give it a macabre atmosphere. In the modern world we are continually faced with images of death in our everyday lives. We feel our powerlessness in the face of death, and this fear haunts human existence. Thus the reader finds comfort in seeing murderers brought to justice. Ironically, when Gorringe is finally exposed as the murderer, we have no such assurance from James that justice will prevail. Clarissa’s fear of death verges on the paranoid, giving us the title of the novel. She tells Cordelia, â€Å"I always see the skull beneath the skin†. This fear is exacerbated by the death notes she receives with their well-known quotations focusing on fears, judgments and the inevitability with death. â€Å" On pain of death let no man name death to me â€Å" (Brachiano’s words from The White Devil). These references become ominous motifs and help build the sinister atmosphere. They are ultimately the reason Cordelia is called upon to watch over her-â€Å"Cordelia felt their potent and nostalgic power†. James makes even the physical environment of the Island become part of a deathly ambience: † Outside the accumulated heat†¦ like a sweaty fumed soaked blanket.. utting of air†. Finally, Cordelia fails in her assigned task to prevent the murder of Clarissa and is indeed threatened herself with death. This realism is typical of James’s non-idealized approach to detective fiction genre. Cordelia is not a super sleuth who triumphs in the punishment of the perpetrator. She is meticulous and thorou gh in her procedure of the investigation. However, she is exhausted by the psychological complexities and lacks the consolation of knowing that the perpetrator will be punished. She welcomes the new cases of lost cats. This is almost a sense of anti-climax in the context of detective fiction. Her incursion into the world of psychological complexity has confronted her with the fear of death and the quest for justice. However she is happy to suspend herself from this intimacy with death and to resume a humble existence. Much of our lives consists in appreciating the mundane. Therefore, we to have to suspend the fear of mortality, as well as the desire to understand â€Å" the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune†.

Ethnic literature

Ethnic Literature and Postcolonialism In Barta's ; â€Å"Gad's Tangs'† Reading by using Postcolonial theory The definition of ethnic literature â€Å"is literature like any other, except that it contains ethnic references. † (Reilly p. 2). Another definition of ethnic literature is when there is a literature work that contain religious beliefs, racial issues, linguistics, or cultural heritage. In another word, ethnic literature is the literary work that includes particular culture, beliefs, or linguistics distinction. Postcolonial literary theory draws attention in the issue of cultural difference emerging in the society.One of the issues hich may often appear during the class discussion is hybridity. It seems that people who have been faced by the fact that they are living in a ‘hybrid world' tend to be confused by their real status. They realize for their interest, but they can not avoid the possibility becoming ‘in between'. Although , they are included i nto one part, the native part, but on the other hand they can not deny the deep feeling to be pleasant considering themselves different with the other. There is a kind of more value they have compared with their surround, and they think it is worthy to be kept.Of course, this feeling comes into their mind by some reasons. There must be an additional value added into their original culture. The additional value may be in the form of a new ideology, belief or view which are brought by the dominating. The dominated rarely conscious with the impact. They usually only feel that it is a natural process which become the impact of daily social interaction they are engaged in. Another issue which emerges in postcolonial discussion is about dominated-dominating one. We can not expect who actually take the role as ‘dominating' or ‘dominated'.The practice may turn over, the dominated may become the dominating in the same time oward different object, vice versa. We are also introduce d by ‘Otherness' theory. It makes someone consider that she or he are different from the other, and other people is not the same with her or him. Gad's Tangs' tells a story about a girl life, namely Teyi. She is a Javanese girl who grew up in the Javanese tradition. She lives with his parents and sibling in tangsi area. She was taught to become an obedient girl by her mother with many limitations as a girl. She helps her mother to sell fried bananas every day.Teyi finds herself limited by some rules which are considered as the right rules for her mother. She even does not know how ‘love' or how to be ‘loved' by a man. She was taught to be a polite woman. She finally finds who she is when she is introduced to Putri Parasi by Ndara Tuan Kapten SarJubehi who has helped her. That is the beginning of her new experience to recognize a new world, the world that she has never imagined before. Putri Parasi teaches her everything to be ‘a good lady. Putri Parasi likes Teyi for her politeness. She more likes Teyi after being saved when her disease comes immediately.Putri Parasi expects to teach her how to behave well. She even teaches Teyi to speak Dutch. Teyi starts to be able to read and write. Putri Parasi really wants to prepare her to be taken to Surakarta Keraton and introduced her to a man who will be married with her. She plans to make Teyi deserve to have a husband from Keraton families. In the novel Gadis Tangsi written by Suparto Brata, we can see some unexpected phenomenon occur. It makes me realize that actually there are still many things covered even by what Javanese people considered as ‘budaya adiluhung.The word ‘politeness', ‘hospitality and ‘dignity which come into people mind when they heard about Javanese culture become blur after they read this novel. Javanese woman who is considered as an obedient woman and become a mercy for whom takes her as a wife may be surprised by what Suparto tells about Teyi a nd Dumilah. He brings them in this novel as representative of Javanese woman character, in different point of view. However, the story about them, for me, is far from the stereotype of common Javanese women (may be Just a few). The feeling of ‘in between' seem to be experienced by Teyi.She starts to know about how the way the higher status people behave since she meets Putri Parasi. Teyi realizes that her life style is quite different from her, and she is glad when she knows hat Putri Parasi does not mind introducing this new culture to her. From this intentional interaction, after she is taught how to behave like ‘putri bangsawan', Teyi starts to consider she has a chance to be the same with them. Even she lives with her parents, she starts to consider that she is better than them. She has been raised from the lower part. She has more power than the people in the house.The very obvious impact of this teaching actually appears when Teyi has been left by Putri Parasi. Aft er she passed away, Teyi become independent from the influence of Putri Parasi. Although, there are still some traces of her teaching inside Teyi which reflect in the way she behaves. She seems take the dominating position over her husband, Sapardal. Sapardal feeling about his lower position when they have been married becomes the cause of the divorce. Only two days of marriage, and Teyi considers that she has a right to sue divorce, while Sapardal can only keep silent without any comment.In this relationship, Sapardal as a man who actually considered as the dominating' take the role as the dominated'. He does not feel on the same level with Teyi. He admits that he has no power compared to Teyi. He even has no courage to touch her in their first night of marriage. Here, we can see the role between man and woman has shifted. Brata seems to show us that the role of people in the society is like running on the moving wheel. The dominating and dominated are only a symbol of someone posi tion, which also can be shifted based on where we are standing.Sapardal may fail in maintaining his position as superior in front of Teyi. The cultural change also appears in this novel. Sexual intercourse is not considered as a sacral any longer for almost all the women in this novel. During my reading, I wonder if I ead Indonesian culture literary work, especially belong to Javanese one. However, Brata wrote the novel using the Indonesian condition in the past, in the colonial occupation. In this situation, it is not easy to determine which one who still hold the original value since the influence of other ideology come into the life in that simple way.The force of a new ideology input is not directly felt in this novel. The indigenous people enjoy the acculturation between the dominated and the dominating. It also happens in the shifting of the way they see sexual intercourse actually is. What we call as a taboo becomes commonly conducted by the people. Teyi is defined as a free woman, even she has been married and becomes a wife of Sapardal, and she breaks the rule by having intercourse with Ndara Tuan Kapten SarJubehi. It seems that she wants to take a revenge to Dumilah who is considered nad cheated ner by having romantic attair witn ner master.Sapardal can not do anything. He has failed to become a good husband. This thinking is from his own side. When we look at this phenomenon, again, Teyi proves that she has had a power over a man from her own society. She starts to have a right to consider a man like Sapardal is not at the same level with her. However, in my opinion it will not happen if Sapardal never has the way of thinking. Actually, he has thought that she is great and different from the other woman in his environment before they are married. That makes he has no courage to touch her at their first night.It also makes Teyi feels not being regarding or respecting as a wife. She thinks that Sapardal has no desire toward her, and she thinks that it is better to ask divorce. What a short way of thinking! I found that Teyi has put a wrong way of thinking about what Putri Parasi had taught to her. It seems that she does not consider marriage as a sacral relationship any longer. ‘Love' relationship has been considered as a ‘real' relationship when we have passion to have sex with our couple. Is that so simple? That is the way Teyi think about love basically.It is shown also when she does not mind to have sex with her ex-master, Ndara Tuan Kapten SarJubehi, and then she starts to love someone else, Ndara Mas Kus. There is no any guilty feeling. Finally, we can conclude that there are three aspect of postcolonial reading for Gadis Tangsi has been discussed above. First, hybridity appears when Teyi finds herself has involved nd being a part of Putri Parasi's society, Keraton environment since she has been able to behave and speak like her, so she considers that she is a part of Putri community.While she has that feeling, she still can not avoid other people consideration about her who is only becoming a servant and will not become like them. Second, dominating feeling toward Sapardal comes into her mind. There is dominating-dominated in shifting model between them. It seems a denial for a man who usually considered as the dominating one, while Teyi proves that it can be shifted. Last, ‘Otherness' theory also emerges in this novel. After having taught to ave attitude and behave like Putri Parasi model, Teyi finally considers herself different with other woman in her society.