Thursday, October 31, 2019

Brand personality Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Brand personality - Literature review Example Brands may be also said as business organization; at the same time, it helps in generating revenue, thus brands can be regarded as investment. In return, brands need to payback certain amount of revenue to their owner. Brand Personality is a collection of human features connected with a specific brand (Aaker & Biel, 1993). A brand can easily come across the notice of the customer if the advertisement is done with known celebrities or with the help of certain well known figures of historic moment. Brand personality is often questionable in terms of scale and at times is answerable in theoretical conception based on nature. Once brands are developed, they shelter the company under the umbrella with numerous numbers of products, which can provide it incredible strategic advantage and financial gains. In the present market scenario, a major role is played by brand. Over a long period of time, brands have significantly controlled the performances of the marketers and have influenced the p romises and the benefits provided by the brand to their consumers for that particular product (Hanasali & et. al., 2005). The paper intends to discuss branding and Aaker's brand personality with its explanation along with its criticism. Meaning of Branding A brand is fundamental by nature or is represented by its offerings and what it delivers. Brand motivates its consumers by the offerings provided by a particular company. Brands establish themselves in the market over a period of time by the means of conveying a company’s message to their customers through consistent advertisements and by following suggestions provided by friends, colleagues, by family members along with ensuring communication between its representatives and its company members. The brands are often protected from others by securing service maker or trademark by a certified agency, generally by government agency (Herford & et. al., 2007). The public knowledge about the companies brand is often set as a fact or of companies’ evaluations. At times, corporations undergo market research to become aware about the public brand recognition, at the same time to know about the behaviour of the customers towards the brand. When the companies are building a brand or working upon a brand, at times they take the help of search engine and WebPages having the outline of the work details before establishing the successful brand. Organising the fields name and the brand name is an extremely vital part of searching and keeping in touch with the clients and the visitors consequently branding the new company (Asperin, 2007). Brand name helps in the identification of the image and idea of that particular service or product, which in return results in the clients to be drawn towards the new brand in the market. Branding is a procedure of building companies’ asset, which helps to build goodwill in the market. If a company is able to establish a stellar reputation among the competitors then bran ding procedure can help in creating an image in the market. It motivates a company to meet its expectations by bringing in more innovative service or product and to surpass its expectations in the competitive market scenario. In today’s dynamic marketplace, brands have large marketing landscape, where the ground of spreading the message and introducing the product is largely performed through the use

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Analyse and critically assess Baumol's model of innovationbased of Essay

Analyse and critically assess Baumol's model of innovationbased of growth - Essay Example For this reason he states that competition and the free market economy has played a major role in encouraging innovation by enterprises in the economy which has resulted into economic growth. According to Baumol (2002) capitalism is unique in its innovation characteristic and that the product of the capitalist society is economic growth. he notes that past economies such as medieval China were characterized by innovative and invention ideas but due to the economic system and characteristics innovation did not result in economic growth, the difference between these economies is that the modern economy is characterized by free competition and also that innovation is used as a competition tool in the market. Firms in the modern world have two competitive weapons and they include prices and innovation, innovation in the modern world is the prime weapon and has become mandatory in the modern firms. The firm that do not undertake innovation face closure in the modern world, therefore they compete to outperform their competitor in innovative ideas in the market other than the use of price, this form of competition results into new and better products and processes that benefits consumers. Firms result in frequent innovation as a competitive strategy and this innovation results into further innovation, innovation therefore becomes a routinised process. ... He also notes that the Capitalist economy is driven by profit motives, these motives makes firms to perform tasks efficiently and effectively, and that the invisible hand controls firms in the market from deriving abnormal profits forcing a firms to provide better products in the market than its rivals. Baumol (2002) however states that economic growth does not solve other problems the society may face such as inequality and this is because economic growth only solves problems that depend on it. On large and small entrepreneurs he noted that small and independent innovators provide a significantly startling result, he notes that a recent study by the small business association the frequency of citation of small firm patents is more likely to be among the first top one percent, Some of the products by independent and small firm innovation include the airplane, pace maker and the helicopter. This trend is expected to exist in future and that independent inventors over the years open up large firms that perform routine innovation. Large firms on the other hand also contribute to innovation. Large firms specialize in product improvement, provision of user friendly products and finding new consumers for their products. These large firms are characterized by bureaucratic controls that ensure that innovation processes are incremental and predictable, for this reason these control restrict imaginative ideas which may result into disaster and that may also result to revolutionize into a new world. Conclusion: From the above analysis it is evident that Baumol analysis of economic growth advocates for the free market economy, the capitalist society promotes growth whereby it is

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Attentional Control and Working Memory

Attentional Control and Working Memory Attentional control and working memory over top-down, bottom-up factors Complicated activities rely on attention to selectively focus on task-relevant stimuli while overlooking salient distractive stimuli. For instance, drivers need to able to attend to oncoming traffic while simultaneously ignoring distracting stimuli such as eating, looking after children, or hearing the bell of a cellphone receive a message. Most models pertaining to the selectivity of attention suggest that our attention is biased to either stimulus-based factors (bottom-up selection) and/or goal-driven factors (top-down selection) (Theeuwes, 2010). Physically salient properties of objects that draw attention involuntarily are bottom-up factors, in contrast, past knowledge, goals, and future plans are top-down factors that automatically guide our attention (Katsuki Constantinidis, 2014). Attentional control researchers have continuously argued whether goal-driven factors or stimulus-based factors have a larger influence on attentional control. However, this assumes that attention co ntrol involves a dichotomous selection between stimulus-based factors and goal-driven factors. This is an assumption that is incorrect and does not consider attentional control research that exists beyond this dichotomic viewpoint (Vecera et al, 2014). Past theories of attention focusing on the biases between goal-driven (top-down) and physically salient stimuli (bottom-up) do not take into consideration findings that persist outside of these factors, such as, the influence of experience with distractors on future search tasks. Attentional control, using working memory of distractor experience and strong biases, is a more effective posit than the dichotomic bias between goal-driven factors and physically salient factors. Although the dichotomy of bottom-up and top-down does not account for selection biases that are not goal-related nor physically salient, it still provides a highly acceptable theory of attentional control. The first visual sweep is completely driven by stimuli (Theeuwes, 2010). Theeuwes (2010) claims that the most physically salient item drives attention during the first visual scan, it is not until later in time that visual selection is biased in a top-down manner. This top-down manner involves feedback processing and voluntary control based on willful plans and current goals. Theeuwes (1992) found that when looking for a circle among diamonds of all the same color, the response time was a lot slower when one of the diamonds was red. Their study demonstrated that salience has an impact on visual attentional control. Goal driven selection matches targets that most fit the observers goal template. For example, when at the supermarket, if the goal is to buy a red apple, the observer wi ll prioritize red items. Overall, the bottom-up and top-down model offers a much more simplistic approach to attention and is one that can be easily accepted due to its lack of complexity in reasoning. For instance, it is easy to comprehend that items that pop out are more likely to grab attention, as well as, current selection goals of the on looker. However, this theory suggests that irrelevant items are not learned and cannot be used in future search tasks. Both stimulus-based and goal-driven factors influence attentional control, however, researchers have recently started to notice the impact experience has on the selective nature of attention (Awh et al., 2012). For example, participants point out noticeable, color targets quickly if the target-color is repeated throughout subsequent trials (Maljkovic Nakayama, 1994). They found that even when observers have a strong stimulus-based bias towards the target, experience strengthens this bias. Accordingly, priming of pop out of targets in repeated trials demonstrates the ability of experience to change the efficiency and overall efficacy of attentional control (Lee, Mozer, Vecera, 2009). These findings further support the idea that experience can influence attentional control, an idea that is not supported by bottom-up and top-down theories. In contrast to research done in favor of bottom-up, top-down posits, one memory system that falls in favor of experience and attentional control is priming of pop out (PoP). PoP occurs when individuals can point out a target faster if the essential feature of that target is constant in subsequent trials (Maljkovic Nakayama, 1994). In their study, they had their participants look for a colored diamond and had them identify if the diamond had a feature missing from either side. They found that PoP helped individuals and increased their response times. Their findings suggest that by continually showing a targets defining features, it reinforces the selective bias towards that targets features. In a similar vein, Tulving and Schacter (1990) found that representation systems based on perception allow for perceptual priming to occur. These representation system process new information in short-term memory. This short-term memory hastens the processing of similar information in future task s. Thus, when the visual information sweep frequently encounters similar items to process, these items are processed in a faster manner because short-term memory already has a memory trace of that item. Priming of pop out further demonstrates how learned experience with physically salient items benefits subsequent search tasks. It demonstrates that passive priming can provoke strong selection biases that have nothing to do with goal-driven selection. The bottom-up, top-down attentional control model does not consider these findings. Large amounts of research on attentional selection cannot be accounted for by the tendency to group attentional control in either top-down or bottom-up factors (Awh et al., 2012), for example, memory. There are two types of memory that have different roles and first need to be distinguished. Visual working memory depictions are different from visual long-term memories (VLTM). Visual working memory depictions are held for a limited amount of time, while visual long-term depictions continue throughout time (Luck, 2008). The constant maintenance of information limits the length of time for which visual working memory (VWM) depictions are upheld in memory. Lastly, VWM can only hold three to four items at the same time, while VLTM depictions are not bounded to a specific amount of objects (Brady et al., 2008). Although VWM is important in memory, VWM, in regards to attentional control, is specifically important for building experience with distractor rejections, but, is not useful for fut ure use. Visual long term memory (VLTM) uses information (information that is no longer relevant to the task) encoded in the past to guide attention (Fan Turk-Browne, 2016). In their first experiment, Fan and Turk-Browne (2016) found that VLTM for the associated location of a target guided spatial attention during visual search for the target, even when this location was not relevant to the task. Their second experiment expanded on these findings by discovering that VLTM for the associated color of a target influenced attentional capture in a different task. Memories can guide attention toward associated features, even when these features were encoded incidentally and were never relevant to any task (Fan Turk-Browne, 2016). An items features are automatically retrieved from long-term memory based on environmental cues encoded into working memory. These working memory representations bias selection toward items perceived in the world that match with features in memory through react ivation. An example of this would be shopping at a supermarket frequently gone to. When shopping at the local supermarket looking for your favorite cereal, for example, you are less likely to be distracted by other grocery items because you know where youre going and do not have to scan the visual area as often as opposed to it being the first time at that specific store. Observers find targets more easily when knowledge is given beforehand concerning the physical features of the target, like location, identity, and color (Moher Egeth, 2012). This is a process known as visual cueing. Observers find targets more easily, when they are told beforehand, not to look at certain irrelevant areas of the display areas that will not have any targets pop up. For example, an individual is more often than not to find their friend at a mall if told that their friend will be wearing a bright yellow shirt. In the same manner, Woodman and Luck (2007) found that targets were located faster if distractor items that were in the color that had to be ignored were present versus the distractors not being there at all. They concluded that participants used a template for rejection wherein items that match any beforehand features that had to be ignored, could be avoided during search, thus, items possessing the feature that had to be ignored were quickly rejected, ultimatel y, minimizing the size of the search. Knowing what not to look for reduces the number of items needed to be scanned, inadvertently reducing the time it takes to search through items. Further extending current research on the theory that individuals can use cues to bias attention away from salient distractors, individuals need experience with distractors before the distractors can actually be ignored (Cunningham Egeth, 2016). Experience with irrelevant stimuli can improve search in tasks. Learning to ignore features can result in a benefit in search tasks because time spent learning about these features, that need to be ignored, enhances its ability to be used by individuals in future search tasks (Cunningham Egeth, 2016). Results from their experiment found that within the same task, observers only benefited from cues that were consistent and not by cues that changed trial by trial. This demonstrates that cues can only be beneficial in search tasks if the cues are repeatedly shown ; developing a more concrete trace in long term memory in which participants can use. The mentioned studies establish that memory is an important part of the attentional selection process. The concept of memory cannot be put into a category that is either stimulus-driven or goal-driven, but rather makes its own valid case in the plethora of selection phenomena. Biased competition proposes that attentional control mechanisms occur when several neuronal axons land in the same receptive vicinity (Desimone Duncan, 1995). They found that when several stimuli fall into one receptive field, a neuron has multiple choices as to which of these stimuli it should respond to; this is quite an uncertain process. However, attentional mechanisms solve this uncertainty through two processes: attention is biased towards matching target objects with templates held in VWM. And, attention is biased towards items that are physically salient. Objects that are held in VWM are preferred over objects that are not because cells that have the objects features show higher rates of activity (Miller Desimone, 1994). Features of items in the external world are represented by these cells held in VWM, thus, the higher the activation rate, the more probable these neurons are to reach supra-threshold and fire an action potential when an external item matches that of the ite m in working memory. In support of experience and attentional control, biased competition reveals that past experience directs learning towards novel characteristics in settings and plays an important role forming the long-term memory system (Hutchinson et al., 2016). Frequent studies of attention have looked at task-related goals and its effect on memory encoding, but not much research has investigated the role of memory guiding itself during selection (Awh et al., 2012). According to Hutchinson et al. (2016), memory allows for the brain to differentiate between old information (information in which the individual has already encountered) and new information that will give the best representation of the surroundings. Thus, in circumstances that involve both the presence of old and new information, old information will affect how new information is processed and interpreted. Biased competition further supports that experience has an effect on what enters the memory system, which then, subsequently affect s the attentional systems use of templates in the prioritization of certain items. Cases that cannot be explained by the traditional dichotomy of attentional control can be further expanded by reward control. Although attentional selection can be voluntary, in the case of goal-driven tasks, subsequent selection can be provoked be rewards. Hickey et al. (2010) had participants look for a diamond shape while also ignoring irrelevant color stimuli at the same time. Participants were given a low or a high monetary reward depending on whether they answered right. The researchers found that rewards could bias attentional selection to either the target or to the irrelevant stimuli trial after trial.ÂÂ   For instance, if the target color stayed the same on subsequent trials, participants had a fast response time after given a high monetary reward. However, when the distractor had the same color as the previous target, reaction times were slow after given a high monetary reward. This study suggests that monetary reward influenced attention towards the color that was gi ven the high reward, irrespective of whether the color was associated with the distractor or the target. Several studies have shown that attentional selection is biased towards monetary reward. These findings cannot be explained by the voluntary, top-down or the physically salient, bottom-up attentional control dichotomy. Monetary reward further demonstrates that the dichotomic posit of attentional control is one that is incomplete and that monetary reward only expands on the present findings related to selection phenomena. Rewards are one of the strong biases that have a significant influence on selective processes. When encountering physically noticeable distractors, the experiences built on these distractors allows individuals to focus in future search tasks. This finding reveals that experience with physically noticeable distractors, and not only target templates held in working memory, benefits the high functionality of attentional control. Like further posits of attentional controls dependence on experience, learning to reject irrelevant stimuli depends on visual long term memory. This is an acceptable finding to grasp because long term memory possesses the ability to direct attention to target items in the present and later on, and, away from distractors. This finding further validates that attentional control cannot be explained by purely using the dichotomy of goal-driven and physically-salient-driven efforts. Rather, attentional control is an active process founded on creating experience with specific objects. Consequently, attentional control is a skill that is increasingly sharpened a s we gain experience out in the world. By not having much experience, the skills used in controlling attention is rather basic and depends on the simple use of the physical noticeability of object features. However, as individuals experience increases with certain tasks, the skills involved in attentional control sharpens and focuses on specific features. Once our attention is focused on a specific set of features, top-down control of attention can operate more efficiently. The importance of attentional control can be further seen in everyday life, especially in the realm of mental health. Several findings have found that there is a high correlation between those who suffer with mental illnesses and levels of attentional control. Individuals who have Alzheimers disease, for example, have trouble maintaining goal-directedness (Coubard, et al., 2011). They found that Alzheimers disease affects the ability of switching attention, suppressing, and preparing attention for random events. Further, individuals who suffer from schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have a fast response time in tasks when levels of anxiety and depression are lessened (Sarter and Paolone, 2011). Emotional processing is an important of human interaction and communication. Low attentional control would hinder the ability to shift attention away from potentially threating information which would increase ones susceptibility of developing harmful psychological effects (Fergus et al., 2012). Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is another mental illness that is also affected by attentional control. Individuals with PTSD and low attentional control show attentional avoidance (Schoorl et al., 2014). Attentional avoidance is the concept of biasing attention away from threatening situations. These threatening situations serve as triggers that remind individuals with PTSD of the traumatic events they have experienced. This cognitive avoidance can be dysfunctional becaus e individuals with PTSD do not face threatening stimuli head on and avoid it, which, deprive them of the chance to realize that the traumatic event will not occur again (Schoorl et al., 2014). This was only the case when post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were high and attention control levels were low. Works Cited Awh, E., Belopolsky, A. V., Theeuwes, J. (2012). Top-down versus bottom-up attentional control: A failed theoretical dichotomy. Trends In Cognitive Sciences, 16(8), 437-443. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.010 Brady, T.F., Konkle, T., Alvarez, G.A., Oliva, A. (2008). Visual long-term memory has a massive storage capacity for object details. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(38), 14325-14329. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0803390105 Cunningham, C. A., Egeth, H. E. (2016). Taming the white bear: Initial costs and eventual benefits of distractor inhibition. Psychological Science, 27(4), 476-485. doi:10.1177/0956797615626564 Coubard, O. A., Ferrufino, L., Boura, M., Gripon, A., Renaud, M., Bherer, L. (2011). Attentional control in normal aging and Alzheimers disease. Neuropsychology, 25(3), 353-367. doi:10.1037/a0022058 Desimone, R., Duncan, J. (1995). Neural mechanisms of selective visual attention. Annual Reviews of Neuroscience, 18(1), 193-222. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ne.18.0030195.001205 Fan, J. E., Turk-Browne, N. B. (2016). Incidental biasing of attention from visual long-term memory. Journal Of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, And Cognition, 42(6), 970-977. doi:10.1037/xlm0000209 Fergus, T. A., Bardeen, J. R., Orcutt, H. K. (2012). Attentional control moderates the relationship between activation of the cognitive attentional syndrome and symptoms of psychopathology. Personality And Individual Differences, 53(3), 213-217. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2012.03.017 Hickey, C., Chelazzi, L., Theeuwes, J. (2010). Reward Changes Salience in Human Vision via the Anterior Cingulate. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(33), 11096-11103. doi:10.1523/jneurosci.1026-10.2010 Hutchinson, J. B., Pak, S. S., Turk-Browne, N. B. (2016). Biased competition during long- term memory formation. Journal Of Cognitive Neuroscience, 28(1), 187-197. doi:10.1162/jocn_a_00889 Katsuki, F., Constantinidis, C. (2014). Bottom-up and top-down attention: Different processes and overlapping neural systems. The Neuroscientist, 20(5), 509-521. doi:10.1177/1073858413514136 Lee, H., Mozer, M.C., Vecera, S.P. (2009). Mechanisms of priming of pop-out: Stored representations or feature-gain modulations? Attention, Perception, Psychophysics, 71(5), 1059-1071. doi: 10.3758/APP.71.5.1059 Luck, S.J. (2008). Visual short-term memory. In S.J. Luck A. Hollingworth (Eds.), Visual Memory (pp. 43-85). New York: Oxford University Press. Maljkovic, V., Nakayama, K. (1994). Priming of pop-out: I. Role of features. Memory Cognition, 22(6), 657-72. doi: 10.3758/BF03209251 Miller, E.K., Desimone, R. (1994). Parallel neuronal mechanisms for short-term memory. Science, 263((5146), 520-522. doi: 10.1126/science.8290960 Moher, J., Egeth, H.E. (2012). The ignoring paradox: Cueing distractor features leads first to selection, then to inhibition of to-be-ignored items. Attention, Perception, Psychophysics, 74(8), 1590-1605. doi: 10.3758/s13414-012-0358-0 Sarter, M., Paolone, G. (2011). Deficits in attentional control: Cholinergic mechanisms and circuitry-based treatment approaches. Behavioral Neuroscience, 125(6), 825-835. doi:10.1037/a0026227 Schoorl, M., Putman, P., Van Der Werff, S., Van Der Does, A. W. (2014). Attentional bias and attentional control in posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal Of Anxiety Disorders, 28(2), 203-210. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.10.001 Theeuwes, J. (1992). Perceptual selectivity for color and form. Perception Psychophysics, 51(6), 599-606. doi:10.3758/BF03211656 Theeuwes, J. (2010). Top-down and bottom-up control of visual selection. Acta Psychologica, 135(2), 77-99. doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2010.02.006 Tulving, E., Schacter, D.L. (1990). Priming and human memory systems. Science, 247(4940), 301-306. doi: 10.1126/science.2296719 Vecera, S. P., Cosman, J. D., Vatterott, D. B., Roper, Z. J. (2014). The control of visual attention: Toward a unified account. In B. H. Ross, B. H. Ross (Eds.) , The psychology of learning and motivation, Vol. 60 (pp. 303-347). San Diego, CA, US: Elsevier Academic Press. Vogel, E.K., Woodman, G.F., Luck, S.J. (2006). The time course of consolidation in visual working memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance,32(6), 1436-1451. doi: 10.1037/0096-1523.32.6.1436

Friday, October 25, 2019

Women in Art Essay -- Arts Females Gender Artistic Painting Essays

Women in Art Throughout history many artistic works have been deemed "great" and many individuals have been labeled "masters" of the discipline. The question of who creates art and how is it to be classified as great or greater than another has commonly been addressed by scholars and historians. The last quarter of the 20th century has reexamined these questions based on the assertions that no women artists have ever created or been appreciated to the level of "greatness" that perpetually befalls their male counterparts. The position that society has institutionalized on women as unable to be anything but subordinate and unexpressive is a major contributor to this claim. Giving a brief history of gender discrimination in the art field, examining different theories in regard to why women have been excluded from art history throughout the ages, and finally, discussing the contributions and progress that women artists and historians have achieved in the past two decades, will help to better under stand the complexity and significance of women artists. The early years of the 1990's mark the 20th anniversary of the women's movement in art. The exact date of the movement can not be ascertained due to the fact that there was such an immense number of things happening for the Women's Liberation movement at that time. Nevertheless, the achievements of the 1970's women's art movement were enormous and it is one of the most influential movements of that decade. Twenty years later, the struggle for representation in the arts continues. In 1990, a U.S. study was conducted on Gender Discrimination in the Artfield. The results are as follows: 50.7% of all visual artists are female and women hold 53.1% of the degrees in art,... ...Feminist Art. Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1994. Chadwick, Whitney. Women, Art, and Society (revised edition). Thames and Hudson Inc., 1996. Freud, Sigmund. "Femininity." Feminist Frameworks. Ed. Jaggar and Rothenberd. McGraw-Hill, 1978. 91-98. Morse, Marcia. "Feminist Aesthetics and the Spectrum of Gender." Philosophy East & West 42(April 1992) 287-289. Nochlin, Linda. "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" (1971). In Women, Art, and Power, and Other Essays. Harper & Row, 1988. Portwood, Pamela. "Feminist Views; Schapiro helps female artists shed their cloaks of anonymity." The Arizona Daily Star. 19 Feb, 1999. Starlight 6E. Strawter, Lisa Marie. "Facts About Women in the Arts: Women Artists Archive" [Online] Available. http://libweb.sonoma.edu/special/waa/, (accessed April 19, 1999).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

How do RC Sheriff and Susan Hill explore the loss of youthfulness and innocence during war in Journeys End and Strange Meeting?

The frontline battlefront and home line homefront of war held opposing attitudes especially regarding the effect on the soldiers' emotions. With propaganda and patriotism encouraging so many men to enlist, they entered the trench life naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and unprepared for how war was going to change their lives. The families who were lucky enough to have their loved ones return home, had to welcome changed men. They left their homes as young boys proud to serve their country but returned with the emotional turmoil of dealing with the consequences of their experiences. RC Sherriff and Susan Hill both use specific treatments in their development of their central characters to build upon the theme of loss of youthfulness and innocence. In Journey's End, Stanhope is evidence of the transformation that men went through whilst at war. A once spirited and eager young man, he now cannot serve without being intoxicated with alcohol. Loss of youth is truly evident in this character. He will continue to battle with the addiction of drink, in order to cope with the horrific sights suffered, whilst serving. Although Journey's End is only based over four days, 18 March 1918 to 21 March 1918, in the trenches, Stanhope fluctuates between his unstable and drunken state as he must continue with his duties. As he is not a new officer, we, as the reader, only journey with him on his unstable side, which is made evident, when he loses control in act one, â€Å"all of a sudden he jumped up and knocked all the glasses off the table.† (WE don't see this – what is the effect of having it reported?) His states of emotions become truly evident when Raleigh joins his battalion. A â€Å"keen† schoolboy, full of false expectations, who knows Stanhope o a personal level through his sister who is Stanhope's girlfriend. Raleigh's arrival truly shows Stanhope's vulnerability and insecurity. Whilst discussing Raleigh's arrival with a fellow officer , Osborne, Stanhope insists on censoring Raleigh's letters to ensure he doesn't reveal Stanhope's new dependency on alcohol. â€Å"You know he'll write and tell her I reek of whisky all day.† Stanhope resents Raleigh's arrival and worries that he will become aware of the devastating effects brought on him through war. Raleigh admires Stanhope for his devotion to duty, his service and his hero-worship and naivety becomes evident when he reveals he thought it was coincidence which brought him to Stanhope's battalion, â€Å"I was frightfully keen to get into Dennis's regiment. I thought, perhaps, with a bit of luck I might get to the same battalion.† It soon becomes evident that Stanhope does not appreciate Raleigh's devotion and admiration , when he overreacts, â€Å"Stanhope clutches Raleigh's wrist and tears the letter from his hand.† Raleigh is a reminder of who Stanhope used to be, when he joined, and Stanhope resents him for his immature expectations of life at the Front.He believes Raleigh needs to grow up and rid himself of his false expectations, like thousands of other schoolboys who are forced to abandon their youth and grow up into men, if they are to survive. This stage indicates a turning point in what Raleigh is going to experience in his brief and tragic time at the Fron t.. Susan Hill uses Strange Meeting as a journey not only of service to the war but of a friendship which grows during each chapter. Barton and Hilliard, who have met from different family backgrounds, come together to support each other as a team. However, they had to engage each others' personalities in order to gain an understanding of one another; this has led them to growing up quickly. Barton, who is a calm, open and friendly young man , is transformed emotionally from child to father figure to Hilliard. Hilliard is changed by Barton, enabling him to open up and express himself personally to someone. Hilliard has been at the Front before and he represents experience because of this. However, Barton is the one who stabilises and prepared Hilliard for what he will experience and how to share the experience with others, showing support. These are two young boys, taking on large commitments to serve their country. YOU MUST USE QUOTATIONS TO SUBSTANTIATE WHAT YOU SAY The stresses of these commitments begin to have their effects. A visible change of Barton is evident, which is a key turning point in the novel. He becomes the same as all the other soldiers, â€Å"his eyes had taken on the common look of shock and misery†¦the texture of his flesh was altered, grained and worn.† All due to the feeling of guilt and responsibility for a fellow soldier, Harris' death. Each and every soldier went through these emotions when they lost their friends. Their innocence is lost as they have to experience bereavement daily and independently but are expected to continue to fight. When Barton last spoke to Hilliard he said, â€Å"you must never worry about me again.† These are not words which you would expect someone so young to say. Barton no longer values his life. Although this comment does not reflect his age it does in fact show a maturity that he understands the inevitability of death. Susan Hill portrays a loss of youthfulness through new attitudes gained from experiences at war. The young men had no choice but to grow up. Raleigh also is seen to have matured, which is expected of him. Once a schoolboy who spoke of ‘rugger,' is now not afraid to stand up to Stanhope, â€Å"facing him squarely†, he has gained confidence from the war. However, his service abruptly ends, after three days, when he is killed. Realistically, it is impossible to mature over this short period of time, but war is not a realistic lifestyle to be living in. Therefore, Sherriff has managed to develop the character of Raleigh through his journey at war and the people he has journeyed with. Journey's End and Strange Meeting both hold strong dependency on their characters to ensure the reader journeys with them personally. By using characterisation it is easier for the reader to connect with the changed and emotions that the characters go through. Both authors, Hill and Sherriff, use similar characters, for example Stanhope and Hilliard are used to represent how the experienced soldiers dealt with war, as they have both served before. Sherriff particularly references to Stanhope's new dependency. Alcohol is his lever of pain and the only way he seems to gain authority over himself emotionally although physically it is doing the opposite of this. He represents a broken man, who should be becoming personally dependant and thinking of his future with his girlfriend but instead breaks down and gives in to alcohol daily. Loss of innocence and youthfulness are truly represented through characterisation. Alcohol dependency is how Sherriff represents change, compared to Hill's use of characterisation within a journey. Hilliard has returned to war after taking leave due to injury. He deals with war by detaching himself mentally from his actions. Hill introduces Barton into Hilliard's life. By having contradictory characters together in a pressurised environment, Hill takes the read through the bond they share. Therefore, the changes of characters personalities become more evident and the loss of youthfulness and innocence are easier to recognise. In conclusion, propaganda encouraged the young to enlist, with families and friends pressurising those who did not. They were filled with false expectations and were naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve to the effects of war to the lives, if they were to return. As explored, many young men left their families, never to return, giving their lives to the glorification of war. The vulnerability of their youth was soon crushed by the true realities of war and a whole generation was wiped out, leaving many wives widows, at such young ages. Sherriff and Hill, use the frontline perspective of war to express the changes men went through due to the circumstances of their daily routines. Characterisation through dependency and journeys are used to express the characters emotions. Especially for Journey's End, a small period of their lives serving has changed so many people's lives at the time and still to this day.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Evaluating the Arts Essay

The two pieces of art I have chosen to write about are both performance art pieces by Trisha Brown. Brown is a postmodern performance artist whose work is shown throughout the United States, although mostly in small, liberal arts colleges, such as Mills College in California. All of her works are considered to be extremely experimental, as well as extremely contemporary and postmodern. The first work is Man Walking Down the Side of a Building. However, the actual still shot is called Walking on the Wall, and for our purposes, this is what will be studied. The still frame involves five bodies, all literally suspended, walking on a wall. The five dancers are in no particular order. They are simply walking, in order, at any pace, down the wall. This 1971 piece was designed to be performed at a specific site, with the dancers suspended in harnesses, moving along the wall. The wonder of this piece of art is that there is absolutely no metaphorical meaning. Now, that is not to say that there is no deeper meaning. There certainly is. But the piece is viewed by artists as completely unconventional, because this piece was originally a dance of sorts. However, there are no standard five positions of the feet, as seen in conventional, classical ballet. There was no music, no stage set, nothing. It was simply movement, and gravity. Brown was trying to have the audience understand that art does not need to have some sort of deeper meaning in order to be valuable; that’s already been done. The most intriguing part about this piece of art is the colors that were used. As it is all in black, whites, and grays, those shades become the center of the piece, as well as the shadows. Because the shadows point in different directions, it is difficult for the eye to simply focus on one section. In addition, this piece was made in the late 1970’s. Of course, it was extremely controversial, as the form of dance that was en vogue at the time were Balanchine’s classical ballerinas, who of course performed classical and neoclassical works. This was meant to be a rebellion of that form of work. The second piece of artwork I have chosen is a still of Brown’s Roof Piece (1973. ) Much like Walking on the Wall, this piece was created as a postmodern response to art. In Roof Piece, the dancers were on twelve different rooftops over a ten-block area throughout New York City. Each dancer would transmit movements to a dancer on the nearest roof. Therefore, this was actually an improvisational piece. In addition, Brown’s artistic intent was to create a piece of art that had no metaphorical or symbolic meaning. In the still frame of this piece, it is easy to see the fluid, yet also geometric design of the dancers. Of course, this still frame is also in black and white. However, what is particularly interesting about this piece is the way in which the background of New York City is blurry, while the dancer is in perfect focus. The artist obviously intended for the dancer to be the only one in the spotlight. With the busy connotations of the City, it is quite refreshing to see the dancer juxtaposed against the city. In addition, it is almost as if the dancer has been suspended in time, as if the dancer stopped moving so the photographer could find a good shot. Works Cited â€Å"Roof Piece: Brown. † Ncf. Carleton. 20 Aug. 2007 . â€Å"Trisha Brown Dance Company: Man Walking Down the Side of a Building. † Tate Online. Tate Online. 20 Aug. 2007 .

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Stereotyping Essays

Stereotyping Essays Stereotyping Essay Stereotyping Essay Stereotyping has always been viewed as a form of prejudice that interferes with the harmonious relationships of people.   But, there are some groups that view stereotyping as advantageous. During a diversity management session, a manager suggests that stereotypes are a necessary part of working with others. â€Å"I have to make assumptions about what`s in the other person`s head, and stereotypes help me to that,† she explains. â€Å"It`s better to reply on stereotypes than to enter a working relationship with someone from another culture without any idea of what they believe in!† This statement of the manager has some merits, as well as problems. Based on current research, what does stereotyping bring into the work environment? Does stereotyping lead to more advantages than disadvantages? If stereotyping results to negative consequences, how can these be minimized or managed?What is stereotyping?The most definitive definition of stereotyping mu st be assembled from various sources so that any biases in definitions must be removed. In doing so, three important aspects about stereotyping have been discovered. First, stereotyping is based on either initial or early judgment.   Second, stereotyping has basis. This means that physical, social, historical, economic, cultural, geographical, and emotional events create stereotypes. For example, the 9-11 terrorist attacks placed almost all people from the Middle East a member of the Al Qaeda (Wharhaftig 1991).. And lastly, the third aspect of stereotyping has many forms. That is, there can be stereotypes based on gender, age, socio-economic status, religion, and race. In the workplace and within a country, the most common form of stereotyping is based on race. For example, the progressive country of Singapore is composed of the Chinese, the Malays, the Indians, the Eurasians, and other races. Racial stereotyping exists in Singapore (Zhuang 2006). In all three aspects of stereotyp ing, there is no bias towards the negative consequences. It appears that stereotyping may have advantages, especially in the workplace.Why is stereotyping beneficial?In the workplace, stereotyping becomes an important part of decision making, especially when the manager is forced to come up with a decision based on incomplete information.   The argument against this reason is that the manager should have obtained all necessary information so that he would not make a prejudiced decision. Unfortunately, some economists find that the benefits of obtaining more information do not exceed the disadvantages of quickly making a stereotypical decision.   Thus, one strong reason for employing stereotyping is economics. In Europe for example, the strict labor laws prevent many employers from firing workers who do not exactly meet their expectations. Thus, the employer uses stereotyping. If an employer does not heed his preconceive notions and hire someone who does not physically appear as capable, perhaps the beard and hair are too long and the clothes are sloppy, in order to give this applicant a chance, the employer may end up with a lazy worker and this is an economic loss to the company (Malek 2006).Aside from economics, stereotyping is also beneficial in the field of anthropological and cultural studies. The way that social scientists classify culture, into high-context and low-context culture, is an example of stereotyping. High-context culture is composed of people who are more group-oriented, such as most Asians. On the other hand, low-context culture is composed of people who are more individualistic, such as North Americans (Burgess 2003). If speaking before a group of people, the lecturer must take into consideration the nature of the audience. Is it high-context or low-context? In doing so, the speaker will be more effective.What problems does stereotyping bring?Stereotyping also presents problems in the workplace especially when it is typically based on wrong assumptions. A female worker, because of a pretty face, will most probably be stereotyped as less intelligent than the other workers. While there are instances when stereotypes are helpful, there are also instances that stereotypes create a hostile environment in the workplace. With a hostile workplace environment, the whole organization cannot function effectively and efficiently. Stereotyping may also lead to lawsuits, especially in countries where there are strict laws against gender, age, and race discrimination (Hoffman Hurst 1990). Thus, even if stereotyping is pervasive in all aspects of human interaction (Parker, Archer Scott 1992), there is a need to take actions that will reduce stereotyping and minimize or manage its negative consequences.How to minimize and manage stereotyping?There are many books and articles that offer various ways of dealing with stereotypes. For example, Burgess (2003) suggests that media must take more responsibility so that stereotyping is not developed easily especially in children. And then, Breslin (1991) suggests that a person must always focus on the individual. But such a method may not be easily implemented, especially when there are cultural differences. It would be interesting to compare two nations and the different ways that they manage racial stereotypes. The United States deal with racial stereotypes by recognizing the uniqueness of each race. Thus, a Chinese-American is aware of his cultural heritage from China. On the other hand, the government of Singapore suppressed open discussion of racial differences. As a result, a Chinese-Singaporean is only knowledgeable about being a Singaporean, but not about being Chinese (Moore 2000). Which method is better? There is no accurate or morally acceptable answer. Therefore, in managing and minimizing the negative consequences of stereotyping, there must be a scientific approach that focuses on how stereotyping or the early pre-judgments of people can change throu ghout time.Allport (1954) described two ways of changing stereotypes: bookkeeping and conversion. In bookkeeping, the manager accommodates new information that does not agree with the original stereotype. It is a slow process but this is the usual path that people take when they have strong stereotypes of others. Conversion, on the other hand, is a radical change of the preconceived image when a contradictory fact is revealed. For example, if an American coworker is stereotyped as arrogant and he showed humility, then the stereotype is removed.   By focusing on these two processes, the management can deal with the negative consequences of stereotyping.ConclusionStereotyping presents advantages from the perspective of economics, effective communication and cultural studies. However, in the workplace, stereotyping will most likely bring about conflict, hostilities, lower production, and even lawsuits. These negative consequences must be minimized. Unfortunately, stereotyping is prev alent and often utilized. Removing stereotypes, therefore, is neither possible nor practical. But the management can help change, not remove, stereotypes by modeling two processes, bookkeeping and conversion. These two processes happen as more information about the workers is revealed and longer working relationships are carried out. Stereotyping Essays Stereotyping Essay Stereotyping Essay Stereotyping has become so prevalent in the business world. It is as if people have created a giant system that categorizes people and groups into classes. In todays international business world, it is commonplace to work with people from different cultures and thus stereotyping will inevitably exist especially when dealing with people from diversified backgrounds. Stereotypes is defined as A fixed impression which conforms very little to the facts it pretends to represent and results from our defining first and observing second (Katz Brady 1935, cited In Schneider 2004, p. 6). American Journalist Walter Lifespan introduced the concept stereotyping In his 1922 book Public Opinion as a means of describing the way society set about categorizing people -stamping human beings with set of characteristics ( Nacho Lease 1992, n. P). Stereotypes as deflations are usually link to as offensive: they have negative connotations. Elderly are absent minded, athlete as dumb, mother-in-law as troub le maker. And you can easily fill in many others that are far more offensive. But there are also stereotypes which are costive, Asian Americans are smart and hardworking, Hispanics are family oriented, black is good athletes and women are kind and caring (McCrea, Stanton Weston 1996, IPPP). In an organization context, manager tends to engage In stereotypes because drawing on the cognitive Ideas of Lifespan (1992) and Laptop (1954) that as human beings, we need to simplify and categorize the social world (Hint 2000, p. 20). Machines and Tetravalent (2007) states, It Is Impossible to recall the entire unique characteristic of the employee that they have work with. They do not have much information when hey first meet. Therefore they rely extensively on stereotypes to fill in missing pieces. Negative perception views of employer through stereotypes usually limit the persons ability to contribute to the company (Stanton, 2000). Women in the past have been excluded from specific occupation such as engineering. Studies indicate that females and males hold negative stereotypes about the ability of women to be effective engineers. Likewise, to be a good mother, you have to dedicate a lot of time and energy to It and therefore there is this belief that you have less time and energy for ark and so you cant do a good Job. Thus, a woman who Is a mother Is often denied the opportunity to move forward and that Is detrimental to women. This forms a halo effect If a general Impression Is drawn based on a single characteristic (Robbins et al. 1998 p. 130). Easier since it permits us to maintain consistency. It is less difficult to deal with an unmanageable number of stimuli if we use stereotypes (Robbins et al. 1998, p. 128). For example, if a company is hiring a sales manager, the candidate who is young and a fresh graduate will likely to get the Job compared to a candidate who is older in age, aired and with children. The business manager perceives that it will be easier to engage in people who is y oung and has motivation than people who is more devoted to their family and children than with Job responsibility. This supports the managers statement that it is better to rely on stereotypes than engaging with someone of another culture. Advantages of stereotyping have its limitation. Problem occurs when we inaccurately stereotype especially when we speed read others, drawing incorrect pictures because we see what we want to see resulting in unwarranted conclusions from an ambiguous situation. For example, all accountants are not quiet and introspective, just as all salespeople are not aggressive and outgoing. Stereotype in recruitment interviews will hinder the company of an opportunity to recruit the right candidate when interviewers make instinctive Judgment that are often inaccurate which are based on appearance, racial, gender, education level and age. For example Overweight people are viewed in very negative terms, such as being lazy and undisciplined and lacking in self control, and they face widespread coordination'(Allan 1982, cited in Blaine 2000 p. 144). Inevitably, the interviewer will stifle that individuals imagination, initiative, sense of responsibility, and most importantly, his or her investment in the organization. If stereotyping is put in practice in a diversified management, it will become the biggest hurdle in growing developing talent in the organization by not capitalizing on peoples knowledge and such discrimination crushes entrepreneurial spirit. The organization will suffer because no senior management knows or can do everything. A stereotypical assumption about class kills everything that the company is working towards, including profits. Therein, leaders who are serious about fully engaging and leveraging the knowledge of the work force in the enterprise must be adamant about confronting these ingrained views to ensure the companys success, both in the short and long-term. Singapore is a paper chasing society especially in public sector as it still banks on typical assessment methodologies that rely too heavily on academic grades, degrees from top schools, prior industry experience and subjective interview results. Most Job positions are primarily determined by the academic grades and the working experience of the candidates. Thus, civil servants holding middle management level and above are local university graduates with good academic grades. Women in Singapore today have achieved great improvement in various aspects of men. Unfortunately, at the organizational level, women are still under-represented, facing psychological and corporate barriers as they try to move ahead in their careers. Based on Statistic Singapore workforce, the percentage of male holding the cost of administrative, managerial and professional Jobs are higher than females. Major Jobs for women are still dominantly employed in production and clerical work making them more vulnerable to economic fluctuation and retrenchment, low pay and little chance for advancement. This explains why there is still an income gap between female and male having the same Job scope. In short, Old stereotypes can be hard to change as men by virtue of their gender have higher status than women (Basso 1992 IPPP). Todays workforce (and society) demographics are more complex and hybrid than ever before and there is rarely any such thing as pure culture anymore. Thus, despite the fact that stereotyping is a natural method of classification and has useful functions under certain circumstances, it should not be used a standard platform to assess and rely on when it comes to hiring the right person for the company. An effective recruitment process will reduce the subjective element in interviews, increase the success rate of choosing the right candidate and hence cost saving for the company. References: Bigness. Com/papers/30247/Stereotyping/

Monday, October 21, 2019

How to structure documents for busy readers

How to structure documents for busy readers The 4-letter formula that makes writing much easier Some documents succeed or fail based on how well they get key points across in the shortest time possible. If you need to write a document like this, you must remember one crucial detail. A detail that people dont necessarily like to talk about. Here it is: Your document might not be read to the end. Yes, we said it. And theres no shame in it: its just a reality of life today – and a reflection of how busy we all are. Many people – either through time pressures or a lack of interest – will stop reading partway through. In fact, this mirrors the way most of us typically read newspapers (or online news). We generally read them between ‘main activities’ – on our way to work, waiting for the bus, and so on. We don’t have the time (or, usually, the inclination) to wade through masses of background or hold complicated concepts in our head. We just want to know what happened. At work, it can be the same: we just want the facts. We don’t want lots of background – unless, of course, we’re particularly interested in the subject. So, if we want to make sure our research and insights arent lost, how can we adapt our writing in light of this fact of (working) life? Well, the answer is to look again to the news – this time for inspiration. How news is written Newspaper news stories tend to put the most important information – the news – before the background. This allows busy readers to instantly pick out the key points of a story, and then to choose whether or not to read on for more detail. In fact, the structure is even more formulaic, with most stories following this pattern: What’s happened How it happened Amplify Tie up loose ends Youll see this ‘WHAT’ formula used in the news sections of any paper. In fact, with a well-structured news story, you should be able to cut from the bottom up without losing any of the main sense. Its also one of the most efficient ways to transfer knowledge at work, as it makes the most of how the brain absorbs information. WHAT in action Heres an example of how the formula can appear in the news – in this case, in an abridged version of a press release we put out last year. And if you read news stories, you wont have to look far to find this structure. Next time you pick up a newspaper or read online reports, see if you can spot the formula in action. Applying the WHAT formula at work So, how do you apply this journalist technique to the things you write at work? For some documents you can use the WHAT formula as it stands – especially if you write blog posts, press releases or articles. But with only a little tweaking, you can also use the structure for: summaries briefings company updates presenting research and insights short reports presentations For these other kinds of document, you may need to adapt the formula as follows: What’s happened – an outline of your main conclusions after evaluating the evidence How it happened – an outline of the evidence that your conclusions are based on Amplify – a more detailed description of your conclusions plus the supporting evidence Tie up loose ends – any further information you think the reader needs to know. Unlock your documents Perhaps you have a long, in-depth report in desperate need of a summary that conveys the core message. Or you might have piles of research youve gathered so you can brief a colleague or line manager before an important meeting or presentation. But how do you go from a jumbled set of notes or a complex report full of background information to a well-structured and succinct document that produces results? Thats where the WHAT formula comes in. It can unlock your documents – and your key insights or conclusions – for your readers to take in. Readers can pick out the essentials of your message before they (potentially) stop reading. Of course, if you capture your readers interest with the conclusions in your first few paragraphs, they may just be engaged enough to keep reading for the finer detail. But, with WHAT, youre safe either way – and your document can do its job. This post is an extract from a lesson in our online-learning programme, Emphasis 360, which is designed to transform your writing step by step, in practical, bite-sized lessons. You can try it out for free here. Image credit: qvist / Shutterstock

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How Mark Twains Views on Slavery Evolved

How Mark Twains Views on Slavery Evolved What did Mark Twain write about slavery? How did Twains background influence his position on slavery? Was he a racist? Born in a Slave State Mark Twain was a product of  Missouri, a slave state. His father was a judge, but he also traded in slaves at times. His uncle, John Quarles, owned 20 slaves, so Twain witnessed the practice of slavery firsthand whenever he spent summers at his uncles place. Growing up in Hannibal, Missouri,  Twain witnessed a slave owner brutally murder  a slave for merely doing something awkward. The owner had thrown a rock at the slave with such force that it killed him. Evolution of Twains Views on Slavery It is possible to trace the evolution of Twains thoughts on slavery in his writing, ranging from a pre-Civil War letter that reads somewhat racist to postwar utterances that reveal his clear opposition to slavery and his revulsion of slaveholders. His more telling statements on the subject are listed here in chronological order:   In a letter written in 1853, Twain wrote: I reckon I had better black my face, for in these Eastern states, nrs are considerably better than white people. Nearly two decades later, Twain  wrote to his good friend, novelist, literary critic, and playwright  William Dean Howells  about Roughing It  (1872):  I am as uplifted and reassured by it as a mother who has given birth to a white baby when she was awfully afraid it was going to be a mulatto. Twain laid bare his opinion of slavery in his classic  The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,  published in 1884.  Huckleberry, a runaway boy, and Jim, a runaway slave, sailed down the Mississippi together on a flimsy raft. Both had escaped abuse: the boy at the hands of his family, Jim from his owners. As they travel,  Jim,  a caring and loyal friend, becomes a father figure to Huck, opening the boys eyes to the human face of slavery. Southern society at the time considered  helping a runaway slave like Jim, who was thought to be inviolable property, the worst crime you could commit short of murder. But Huck sympathized so profoundly with Jim that the boy freed him. In Twains Notebook #35, the writer explains:   It seemed natural enough to me then; natural enough that Huck his father the worthless loafer should feel it approve it, though it seems now absurd. It shows that that strange thing, the conscience- the unerring monitor- can be trained to approve any wild thing you want it to approve if you begin its education early and stick to it. Twain  wrote in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court (1889): The blunting effects of slavery upon the slaveholders moral perceptions are known and conceded the world over; and a privileged class, an aristocracy, is but a band of slaveholders under another name. In  his essay The Lowest Animal  (1896), Twain wrote: Man is the only Slave. And he is the only animal who enslaves. He has always been a slave in one form or another  and has always held other slaves in bondage under him in one way or another. In our day, he is always some mans slave for wages and does that mans work, and this slave has other slaves under him for minor wages, and they do his work. The higher animals are the only ones who exclusively do their own work and provide their own living. Then in 1904, Twain wrote in his notebook: The skin of every human being contains a slave. Twain said In his autobiography, finished in 1910 just four months before his death and published in three volumes, beginning at his behest  in 2010: The class lines were quite clearly drawn and the familiar social life of each class was restricted to that class. For most of Twains life, he railed against slavery in letters, essays, and novels as an evil manifestation of mans inhumanity to man. He eventually became a crusader against the thinking that sought to justify it.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Hum sammary 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hum sammary 2 - Essay Example ming that men can do nothing more than guess and interpret what Jesus meant when he told a Samaritan woman that her fifth husband was not her husband. Furthermore, she reasons out that the Scriptures talk about God’s command to â€Å"go forth and multiply† and that even great Old Testament figures, like Abraham, Jacob, and Solomon, enjoyed multiple wives at once. The Wife of Bath admits that many great Fathers of the Church have proclaimed the importance of virginity, such as the Apostle Paul. However, she argues that even if virginity is important, there must be existing people who are procreating so that virgins can be created. Thus, she says that virginity should be left to the perfect so that the rest could use their gifts in the best way they could. Undoubtedly, her gift is her sexual power and she uses this power as an â€Å"instrument† to control her husbands. It is at this point, the Pardoner interrupts. The Pardoner is planning to marry soon and he is worried that his wife will control his body, in the same way that the Wife of Bath describes. The Wife of Bath tells him to be patient and to listen to the whole story to see if it reveals the truth about marriage. Of her five husbands, three have been â€Å"good† and two have been â€Å"bad.† She further admits that the first three of her husbands were good because they were rich, old, and submissive. She then laughs as she remembers the torments that she put her husbands through and she even recounts a typical conversation that she had with her older husbands. She then accused her husband of having an affair, and launched into a litany in which she  would charge him with a bewildering array of accusations. If  one of her husbands got drunk, she would claim he said that every wife is out to destroy her husband. He would then feel guilty and give her what she wanted. In the end, the Wife of Bath says that these were all lies and that her husbands never held these opinions, but she made these claims to give

Friday, October 18, 2019

Pros and Cons of Private Schooling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Pros and Cons of Private Schooling - Essay Example This paper analyzes the pros and cons of private schooling as explained in four articles, links to which are given in the references section. Private schools have conventionally played a very important role in promoting and strengthening UK’s economy despite being lesser in number as compared to the public schools. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that individuals educated in private schools gain a lot of economic advantages in their professional career. They get better jobs and are employed at higher salaries than the graduates of public schools, though there is little know-how about the way the social and economic influence of the private schooling has surfaced. In their paper, Green et al (2010) have provided empirical evidence for the degree of change experienced in the education differentials and school wages over the period of time. The reasons why pupils educated in private schools have more advantages than those educated in public schools include but are not limit ed to substantive increase in the number of resources, increased emphasis of the private schools upon the academic achievement of students through internal transformation, and increased fee amounts that parents do not have problem with paying given the widespread knowledge economy and increase in the number of women participating in the labor force. ... (Green et al, 2010). The authors conclude that half of the increase in salary differential between the graduates of private and public schools is because of the better qualifications of the former than the latter. Homeschool Academy (2007) discusses a number of advantages of the private schools. The academic performance of private school students is much better than that of the public school students. One of the several reasons behind this is increased parental involvement in the child education in private schools. Private schools are characterized by freedom from the constraints imposed by the government over public schools. Private schools are free to select core academic subjects for teaching. They do not have to bear the pressure of political advocacy groups while designing the curriculum for their students. Because of their increased freedom, private schools are better able to enforce discipline within the classroom as well as in the campus. They are greatly facilitated by the p arents of the students in implementing discipline in the schools because parents are as concerned about making the private school education a success as the school administrators and owners themselves are. However, private schools still have to overcome the challenges of age segregation in classrooms and the inflexibility of teachers with respect to their speed of teaching. NCSPE (n.d.) explains why private schools are so controversial. Private schools provide the families with a way to retreat from their responsibilities towards the society as citizens and also promote inequality. The fundamental cause of injustice is the use of public dollars by private schools that are potentially

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Business - Essay Example The decision of the body will be rested in the hands of the owner and the government or the legislative body of the state. However, many companies fail to follow interests of the last two components of the corporate law which are the citizens and the nation as a whole, its integrity, environment and culture. The trend of globalization has further intensified the competition in the business world, where each company tries to overpower other by whatever means available. Thus, in this race for power and money, it is the local people who become the victim of lies, cruelty and cunningness of companies’ money oriented intentions and plans (McFarland, 2004). This paper is an attempt to illustrate the real essence of Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) and how and which companies have violated it for their self interests. For the paper argument, the Canadian documentary film â€Å"The Corporation† by Joel Bakan is made the prime source (Bakan, 2012). Example of Companies 1. Johnson & Johnson J&J is a renowned brand of cosmetics, shampoo and skin lotions. The company is one of the trend setters in the cosmetics world hiding which hides the danger behind their â€Å"good for skin† products due to the brand reputation (CBS NEWS, 2012). The products of the J&J Company have been found to contain a diluted amount of Carcinogen Formaldehyde in their baby shampoos. In their effort to create a brand new image of a baby shampoo, they came up with an idea of â€Å"No More Tears† to attract their customers. From a customer point, it can be regarded as a great innovation in baby shampoo, but on the cost of healthcare issues (Mercola, 2011). Carcinogen Formaldehyde is one of the materials that can risk to Cancer in the later stages of life. This chemical is also present in their adult products and raises the question of whether their products are actually made for the benefit of people or just for their own benefits (NCI, 2011). However, after been fo und guilty by the Health and Environment Group, the company announced to remove those materials from its products by 2015. These factors leaves the questions that if products of the most famous company which are launched after great research are not safe, can the other products be trusted? (CBS NEWS, 2012) 2. Hershey Hershey is the largest chocolate producing company with worldwide recognition and consumers. It is evident that sales of the company is incomparable to sales of an average company, but still the greed for money cannot be ever satisfied (Hsu, 2012). Hershey Company has been recently indicted by utilizing child labor of Africa, for their cocoa harvesting and refining. The corporate government laws and those of International Labor Organization clearly states that child labor is an act of injustice and should be practiced anywhere in the world (Huff Post Business, 2012). Practices of child labor in the underdeveloped regions show their poverty and strive to earn their livel ihood. However, if the same practice is supported by giant business personnel and organizations like Hershey then it is a clear sign of immorality and easy measure to get low cost labor (Hsu, 2012). 3. KFC KFC is another big name when talking of corporate giants. It is the world’s leading fast food chain with its specialty in fried chickens. It is suspicious that how they fulfill the growing demand of chicken food items throughout the world, with the limited number of farming

Tobacco companies imply that Snus is the new safer way to smoke, is Essay

Tobacco companies imply that Snus is the new safer way to smoke, is that enitrely true - Essay Example Regardless of findings, tobacco was responsible for over 1 million deaths in 1990. (Tobacco and health 2007) The results include both smoked and non smoked forms of tobacco. Snus is a product that is made of tobacco. It is similar to cigarettes accept it is not smoked by the consumer and inhaled through the lungs. Snus is a low moisture tobacco product that is in a bag similar to a tea bag. The consumer uses the snus in the gum line. The snus is then dissolved in the mouth to release nicotine. (J Foulds, L Ramstrom, M Burke, K Fagerstro?m2003) What is important to consider is whether or not consumers believe that snus is safer then smoking. Since snus is not inhaled in the lungs and through the air passages, it does reduce the risk of lung cancer. Yes, this is an important risk reduction when choosing snus instead of traditional smoking but lung cancer is not the only problem associated with tobacco use. Tobacco use regardless of the form is harmful to many areas of the body and cont ains many carcinogens and added ingredients. Tobacco comes in many different forms and is thought of in the United States as being unsafe regardless of which tobacco form is used. Since tobacco is portrayed as unsafe, does the public actually think that snus is safer than traditional forms of smoking such as cigarettes, roll your own, or pipes. In a study conducted by Nicotine & Tobacco Research Volume 9, Number 10 (October 2007) 1033–1042, it was found that only as much as 20% of tobacco users through many different countries thought that smokeless tobacco like snus was less harmful than traditional forms of tobacco. These findings are a great supporting document that consumers do not believe claims that are made by tobacco companies. If the tobacco companies claim that snus is a safer tobacco but only 20% believe it is, tobacco companies are proved to be unreliable. It is a fact that tobacco companies produce false statements. The question, tobacco companies imply that snus is the new safer way to smoke, is that entirely true? This is a mixed statement. Research does show that snus is a safer way to smoke because it is not smoked. The question itself and the claim do not really make any sense when further explored. Any type of product that is not smoked is likely to be less harmful of a product then one that is smoked. Statement like that made by tobacco companies are a cheap way to cover up the damage that has been done already by the tobacco industry. Further exploration of the statement would reveal that not smoking something will always be less harmful then not smoking something. The real question that should be explored is whether or not the chemicals in the snus are as harmful as the chemicals in traditional forms of smoking. Snus may be safer to the respiratory system since it is not directly inhaled but snus is reportedly just as harmful to other areas of the body and does pose devastating health risks like that of cigarettes. Snus is harmful to the digestive, cardiovascular and metabolic systems in the human body. A study conducted by Roth Associates Inc, shows that snus does have less risks then smoking but is still harmful. This study supports the statement that snus is less harmful then smoking. Although the product is less harmful it can still be damaging. Chemicals in snus are damaging and increase high blood pressure. An increase in high blood pressure leads to cardiac arrest, stroke and an increase in heart

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Insights at IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Insights at IT - Essay Example Moreover due to lack of interest of customers in the software products owing to their high prices, the software companies have started offering web-based services in which the software programs are not installed on the computer of the customers but services are offered to the customers on web. The customers have started to think that they are not getting the proper business value from the software programs because they think that they are spending more and the return is less. One of the reasons behind this thinking of the customers is the large maintenance costs that they have to pay when the subscription expires. The proof of this lack of interest on part of the customers is the discount offers by various software companies and the increase in the use of web-based software services. The article Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn’t Make, I have observed that the most disastrous practice which is very common in the IT organizations these days is letting IT people prioritiz e the projects according to their business magnitude. No doubt IT people are best at their work and can actually carry out projects successfully but deciding about the projects that which project is the most beneficial for the company is not the job of IT people.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Corruption in the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corruption in the United States - Essay Example However, theoretical study shows that in the short run corruption may promote economic growth as a result of counteracting government’s failure. The failure of the government is itself a function of corruption and hence it will in the long run have detrimental effects on economic growth (Akai, Horiuchi & Sakata 29). The importance of corruption is in its ability to influence the roots of the economy. Corruption has consequences for both equity and efficiency and also erodes property rights. It strains business institutions thus poses threats to the economic benefits attributed to it. Corruption takes place in secrecy causing complications, in the nature of economic exchange. On the contrary, some early authors viewed corruption as a necessary grease to lubricate the wheels of stagnant government administration. Similarly, many other authors demonstrate how bribes enhance public administration efficiency by minimizing the costs associated with government labor and queuing (Kauf mann 45). Corruption is much more than a price mechanism; it causes reallocation of talents towards unproductive rent-seeking activities other than directing talents to entrepreneurial activities. In most cases, talented people compete for the highly payoffs within the economy. Micro evidence appears to suggest that corruption badly hampers development and deteriorates government performance. Corruption is vice that result to many effects affecting a large number of people (Kaufmann 45). USA is not an exception of corruption as it prevails in most of its states. In Connecticut, administration is at substantial risk of the state’s history worst scandal in corruption. Some of Connecticut three mayors and the treasure are in prison. A former Governors deputy chief accepted gold coins in return for government’s contracts; this is a clear evidence of corruption. Another example is that of a governor in Connecticut whose cottage renovations were carried out by private corpor ations in Litchfield. The examples depict Connecticut as a corrupt state. Historically states such as Louisiana, Illinois, Rhode Island and New Jersey have worst reputations for corruption. Recent statistics clearly indicate that Mississippi is the most corrupt state in USA while the least corrupt state in the country is Nebraska. Columbia is the most corrupt district in USA. However, most states are making remarkable efforts in the battle to fight corruption in order to enhance growth and development. The integrity index analyzes five key laws, which directly ensure combating corruption in the government and integrity. They include conflict of interest laws, whistleblower protection laws, gifts, trips and honoraria laws, information laws and campaign finance laws. These laws create transparency; accountability and limits thus fight corruption. Transparency International organization is also dedicated to combating corruption in USA. The world might not understand the exact extent of corruption in USA because the Justice Department’s statistics rarely get to the public. If the Justice Department sought to publicize they masterly work, it could go a long way to stop corruption (Mauro 23). Corruption arises from various causes such as personal motivations where people give bribes so as to get unjust advantage over the rest. Paying lower taxes, bribing to get a promotion or an

Insights at IT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Insights at IT - Essay Example Moreover due to lack of interest of customers in the software products owing to their high prices, the software companies have started offering web-based services in which the software programs are not installed on the computer of the customers but services are offered to the customers on web. The customers have started to think that they are not getting the proper business value from the software programs because they think that they are spending more and the return is less. One of the reasons behind this thinking of the customers is the large maintenance costs that they have to pay when the subscription expires. The proof of this lack of interest on part of the customers is the discount offers by various software companies and the increase in the use of web-based software services. The article Six IT Decisions Your IT People Shouldn’t Make, I have observed that the most disastrous practice which is very common in the IT organizations these days is letting IT people prioritiz e the projects according to their business magnitude. No doubt IT people are best at their work and can actually carry out projects successfully but deciding about the projects that which project is the most beneficial for the company is not the job of IT people.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Economics light Essay Example for Free

Economics light Essay Q1. Mention the problem? The problem of that case study is the organizational conflict i.e. every functional manager is trying to get his own interest; therefore, the working climate became disturbed. In other words, it is possible to say that it is a communication issue. Q2.What did sales managers do? The problem of the sales manager lies in focusing on getting more customers more than thinking of getting more profitable orders. Q3. What did manufacturing managers do?  The problem with the manufacturing managers consists in disordering of work steps, light color orders and dark color orders, which in turn wastes time and money. Q4. State your opinion to solve the problem? SOLUTION 1. Sales manager: He should modify the pricing policy for rush orders in a way that enables the company to exceed its breakeven point and get at least its profitable processing .i.e. to make a special price for rush orders. 2. Manufacturing manager: He should review the cleaning process and try to implement a more cost reducing efficient method. 3. General manager: * He should consider introducing a new machine, one for light color and the other for dark color, hence, reducing the cost of getting a new machine will be covered by eliminating the cost of cleaning and cost of time wasted. * He should ensure that the 250 workforce are aware of that every workers effort and role is step in many pre and post steps. Hence the notion of teamwork will prevail. * Every worker should be aware of not only his own task but also the tasks of all his coworkers to get the value of his own role and appreciate it so self esteem will prevail. * As for , the functional managers, especially, the manufacturing and sales managers should be aware of their critical position and try to be farsighted to the long run  objectives not only the short run. They should get rid of their personal interests and vision. They should cooperate and try to implement an overall objective. Done by Abdulla Talal Alsada BH05501669 SBI((FF))

Monday, October 14, 2019

Starbucks Micro and Macro Environment

Starbucks Micro and Macro Environment For any organisation survival depends on its surrounding environment located. It means the trends in political, economical, social, technological, environmental and legal environment, which can influence business. Below the environmental factors are described (P)olitical Issues: Taxation policy If government imposed high tax on farmers in countries producing coffee bean from where Starbucks buy their coffee, than Starbucks needs to pay higher price for their coffee they purchase. This effect will ultimately pass to the customer, because they need to higher price. Government stability Starbucks should carefully investigate the political stability of any country before they want to plan for expand to. It can affect in taxation and legislation when the government change. International stability The global economy must be carried into attention as it can affect Starbucks sales and markets. Employment law A decrease in licensing and permit costs in those countries producing the coffee bean for Starbucks will lower the production costs for farmers. (E)conomic Issues: Interest rates An increase in interest rates means investment and expansion. And also mortgage repayments rate will rise so customers have less money to spend on luxury products such as coffee. Low interest rates have the reverse effect. Economic Growth If economic growth is low in the country of location of Starbucks then sales will fall down. Customer incomes tend to go down in periods of negative growth leaving less money to spend. Inflation rates Inflation is a term for increasing prices. It is measure by using Retail Price Index (RPI) in the UK. Competitors pricing Aggressive pricing and sales from competitors creates a price war for Starbucks, which can drive down. (S)ocial Issues: Population demographics They need to identify and target their customers to aim their products on them. Attitude to work They have to find area where local population have high attitude to work. So their recruitment will be easy, training will be effective and staff turnover will be low. Standard of education/skills Creating new premises Starbucks needs to look for standards of education and skills locally. They must be up to date in order to make any business operation successful. Working conditions/health and safety They must accomplished high standard of friendly environment and follows health and safety. Location this is a major factor it should be in a easy access for both customers and staffs. (T)echnological Issus: IT development Starbucks is well aware to extend and improve its Internet facilities and also tools to target customers, analyse data, and deliver new features to the market in the shortest time. New equipments and processes The technology like as coffee making machines and the computers system development that Starbucks use to operate their till registers will enable their staff to work more quickly and efficiently. Research and Development activity Starbucks has huge budget and have allocated the resources to have accurate Research and Development data. (L)egal: Trade and product restrictions Starbucks have to ensure they dont violate laws e.g., religious laws. Also they have to be attentive on the tariffs have to paid for import / export goods. Employment law Each country has some restrictions on employment laws. Like student work law in UK, the public holidays etc. Starbucks have to account these factors. (E)nvironmental Issues: Pollution problems Customers increase a lot of rubbish that they leave the shop with their cup of coffee and then also leave it in the street. So the packaging for the cup should be carefully accounted to make it environmental friendly. Work disposal Starbucks have to carefully consider the process to dispose rubbish as there are strict laws in most countries. Micro analysis or Michael Porters five forces analysis Michael Porters has developed a famous model of the five competitive forces in his book. The competitive strategy that techniques he analysed for organizations and competitors. It tends to high light on single, stand along and business or strategic business unit rather than a single product or product range in the market. Porter has specified these five competitive forces that form every company and every market. These are: Threat of new entrance Bargaining power of suppliers The threat of substitute products Bargaining power of customers Competitive rivalry Threat of new entrance Economics of scale, high or low entry cost, ease access to the distribution channel; other cost advantages are not associated to the size of the company, whether other competitors will react. There will always be a continuous pressure for Starbucks to respond and regulate these new competitors. The easier it is for new competitor to enter the market the more competition there is within the market. Although this should not be a problem for Starbucks as they have a large number of market share. Literally, it will be a threat for the new entrants. As a companys volume increases, so does its experience and knowledge, which tends to increase the potential risk for the new competitors. Bargaining power of suppliers If little large number of suppliers control the market more than large number of fragment sources, bargaining power of supplier is expected to be high. Even suppliers got certain quantities of power that is limited. But for Starbucks being the most famous specialty coffee shop chain in the world reaching sales of $9.8 billion in 2009 and still increasing they still should be demanding coffee beans for some time. It is legal to say that the Suppliers need Starbucks, just as much, if not more so than Starbucks need their supplies. The suppliers of Arabica beans were mostly owned by medium-size farm and typically sold their production to process by local markets. (Lee, 2007) Particularly, these farms had been placed in the Pacific Rim, Latin America and East Africa. (Lee, 2007) These farms were various and not related with one another, with separation, providing them small bargaining power. Even there was no straight alternative for the Arabica beans which had been use in special coffee production. Huge group of farms which had been supply the crop processed it easy for buyers to escape burdens to any specific farmer, which was difficult for suppliers. The farmers sold the Arabica beans to specialty coffee retailers who were reliant upon their constant business. Luckily for Starbucks they buy their coffee beans directly from producing countries: Latin America (50%), Pacific Rim (35%) and East Africa (15%). Threat of substitute of products It occurs when there is a product-for-product replacement or substitution of need. For example bald head reduces the need for hair gel, where there is common substitution and finally the attitude we could always do without . An example for Starbucks would be if an alternative to coffee was offered e.g. a customer switching from coffee to tea, coffee to chill drinks or coffee to juice. Competitive rivalry: contribute to strong rivalry between existing competitors in an industry. Bargain power of buyers Buyer power is likely to be high if a number of circumstances are in place. There is an awareness of buyers, additionally if the volumes of purchases of the buyers are high, the supplying industry includes a large number of small operators, there are substitute sources of supply, the component or material cost is a high percentage of total cost, the cost of switching a supplier is low or engages little risk, there is always a risk of backward integration by the buyer. Competitive rivalry Every day competitions are growing gradually against the Starbucks as the business growth. Competitors taking chance to reduce the price, introducing a rival product, insistent growth of production to enhance the market share. Starbucks significant innovation their products which also competitors start to keep up. It is very hard for Starbucks as a competitor to keep the fixed cost against the variable cost. Starbucks dont have any other competitive rivals that are of parallel size to them. So there are not any competitors in the market that would be measured in balance with them. However, they must retain their outstanding standards and always be on the watch out for new advances in order to survive as the market leader. SWOT analysis Aim of SWOT analysis is to identify the main internal and external factors that are very significant to achieve the objective. It is essential to be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses to help differentiate the companys situation are today, and where it could be in the future. The strengths and weaknesses are named internal factors and external factors are opportunity and threats. (S)trengths It is a global coffee brand with a high reputation for excellent products and services It has around 17,000 stores in 49 countries.ÂÂ   It has strong ethical values, commitment towards the environment and community activists. It is one of the most Top 100 companies which is work for in 2005 Starbucks Gift Cards, Starbucks Card and rewards. Well-value, well train and well-motivated employees, best working place Established logo, developed brand image, copyrights, own trademarks, website and patents. (W)eaknesses It has majority market share in the USA with more than three quarters of its stores located in the domestic market. In order to reduce business risk, expansion is needed. It has a reputation for trying new products development and creativity. But, they always remain vulnerable to the possibility that their innovation can go wrong. (O)pportunity It has a chance to expand its global operations. Co-branding with other manufacturers of food and drink and brand franchising to other manufacturers of other products and services both has high potentiality of success rate. Technological advantage Emerging multinational markets New distribution channels Supply agreements (T)hreats Its success has lead many competitors and copycat brands pose potential threats for market entry. Starbucks is exposed to increases the cost of coffee and dairy products. Farmers are poorly treated by false publicity in supplying countries. Fragile state of worldwide production for specialty coffees. Isolation of younger, domestic market segments. Cultural and Political factors in foreign countries. Marketing objective and strategy Now we can identify external and internal factors of the company. Starbucks marketing objectives are being consistent with their business objectives. Significantly their marketing objectives should direct to sale. The marketing objectives should follow SMART objectives. SMART objectives are: Specific: organizations objective need to be identify what they want to achieve. Measurable: organization has to measure whether they are meeting the objectives or losing to do so. Achievable: objectives should be set, achievable and realistic. Realistic: The firm is expected to attain the objectives with the resources available. Timed: A timescale require being place for achieving the objectives. The 7th of September in 2010, the company has announced that they expand distribution of Starbucks about 13,000 stores are available at more than 55,000 locations around all over the world. Starbucks is increasing its share of the $23 billion international coffee market. (VIAÂÂ ® Ready Brew through international grocery channels in Japan, Canada and the U.K.) Starbucks has stores in forty nine different countries as well as Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand, and Singapore (Starbucks 2010). And in the U.K. total 80% coffee are selling every day, the product will be available in 2,300 grocery retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury and Waitrose, raising the total figure of distribution locations to more than 2,900 retail locations. At present, Starbucks has expended stores in forty nine different countries as well as Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Thailand, and Singapore (Starbucks 2010). Starbucks consider which is important to have a good relationship with their customers wherever they are situated. Thats why; the company maintain the high quality products and services. This company would not be as successful as they are now. Because they are being considered without diversity as they pride it. They are identified to be recognising of various groups of people because they convey in notes for new growth prospect. Jim Donald, President and CEO of the Starbucks Corporation states, When we embrace diversity, we succeed (www.starbucks.com). Starbucks consider that without change, their company would not have matured into the highly successful global company that it has matured into today.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Mike Tyson Point Of View :: essays research papers

During March 2001, the American heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson and his management expressed a keen interest in visiting Australia to host a boxing bout. The decision about whether or not to welcome Tyson will fall upon the Immigration Minister, Mr. Phillip Ruddock. If Tyson applies for an official visa to enter Australia it should be granted. Australia should seize this great opportunity and ignore the unjustified outrage expressed by some interest groups. With women and family groups applying pressure upon the Immigration Minister to ban Tyson from Australia they are denying him the opportunity to do his job. Tyson does not indent to visit Australia on a holiday and to roam the streets in search of sexual prey. He will have the intention of fulfilling his responsibilities and given the time spent in prison for crime committed long ago, fears of him re-offending are unjustified. Furthermore, people jump to conclusions about his character based on his past rather than likely future intentions. According to a close friend of Tyson, former Australian boxer Jeff Fenech, Tyson would have a busy program including promoting boxing on a world class level in this country and raising the profile of the sport. Fenech is in a stronger position to judge Tyson’s character rather than other people, because of his inside knowledge of how professional boxing is organised. This makes comments by the chairperson of the woman’s group to be obsolete. She made many negative comments about Tyson and his personalty. However, she had no first hand experience with Tyson compared with Fenech and she was not entitled to establish obstacles for him just to do his job based on crimes committed long ago [be specific]. Tyson’s visit to Australia would cause considerable benefits. The attraction of a visit by a former world heavyweight champion boxer would be irresistible for many people and would lead to a significant injection of money into domestic business.