The Relevance of Employee Engagement Indices as a Performance Measure Dissertation

The Relevance of Employee Engagement Indices as a Performance Measure and Indicator in Institutions - Dissertation Example This dissertation seeks to establish the relevance of employee engagement indices as performance measures and indicators with practical use in organizations. It examines the effectiveness of employee engagement indexing as a common practice among institutions in measuring organizational performance. The study found that employee engagement indices bore significant relationship to certain aspects of companies’ operational performance, to degrees that vary among the scale and type of the organization. Human resources aspects of operations that are significantly related to EEI are the line manager’s actions, the degree to which employees believe management will take action based on the EEI survey, the employees’ workload, their pay, the team with which they work, and the organizational policies and practices that impact upon their working conditions. Overall, the employee engagement index is an effective tool in improving performance, provided the EEI is formulated according to firm-specific factors and conditions, and provided they are analysed consistently and refined strategically over the long term. Table of Contents Abstract 2 List of Tables 7 Chapter 1: Introduction 8 1.1Chapter overview 8 1.2 Background of the problem 8 1.3Purpose of the Study 10 1.4Aim and Objectives 10 1.5Research questions 11 1.6Assumptions 12 1.7Rationale and significance of the study 12 1.8 Chapter summary 13 Chapter 2: Literature review 15 2.1 Chapter overview 15 2.2 Concept of employee engagement 15 2.3 Engagement as a driver of productivity 18 2.3 Practices in measuring employee engagement 24 2.4 Identified drivers or measures of employee engagement 26 2.5 Chapter summary 27 Chapter 3: Research methodology and methods 28 3.1 Chapter overview 28 3.2 Research approach and strategy 28 3.4 Research methods and techniques 29 3.5 Methods of data gathering 31 3.6 Methods of data analysis 32 3.7 Hypotheses 33 3.8 Description of population and sample 33 3.9 Limitations o f the research methodology 34 3.10 Ethical and Political Considerations 36 3.11 Chapter summary 36 Chapter 4: Data Analysis 38 4.1 Chapter overview 38 4.2 Respondent profile 38 4.3 Respondents’ perceptions based on mean scores 45 Table 15: MNE, LDC, and SME Mean scores and standard deviation 53 4.4 Correlational study 58 4.5 Regression analysis 62 4.5.1 Overall Sample 62 4.5.2 Multinational Enterprises 68 4.5.3 Large Domestic Corporations 71 4.5.4 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises 73 4.6 Qualitative information provided by respondents 77 4.7 Chapter summary 78 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations 80 5.1 Chapter overview 80 5.2 Summary of findings 80 5.3 Conclusion 86 5.4 Recommendations 87 5.5 Directions for future research 89 Bibliography 90 Appendix 92 List of Tables Table 1: Frequency distribution according to age 38 Table 2: Frequency distribution according to gender 39 Table 3: Frequency distribution according to education 39 Table 4: Frequency distribution accord ing to position in the company 40 Table 5: Frequency distribution according to scale of company 41 Table 6: Frequency distribution according to employment status 42 Table 7: Frequency distribution according to length of stay 43 Table 8: Frequency distri

First People of Canada Essay Example for Free

First People of Canada Essay The purpose of the writer is to present his analysis of the present condition of the educational system of Canada which he regards as colonial education for the aborigines of Canada. He examined the manner in which the Indigenous education and epistemologies have been ignored and undermined and made recommendations on the revitalization of an education reflective of the needs and sentiments and culture of the Aboriginal Canada. The article is based on facts and not opinion. The information given are well researched and are supported as the writer presented evidences that the present educational system has â€Å"physically, spiritually and mentally destructive and disruptive components of colonial education (p. 3)† The objective of the author is well achieved as his arguments are logical. His choice of language is effective for his intended audience is the general public especially the education sector who needs to do something about the colonial education. The author discussed that the residential schooling and the Eurocentric schooling and the curriculum are not reflective of the culture of the Aborigines and were far different from the traditional education. The education then is colonial and beyond the experiences and the daily life of the Aborigines. It needs to be reformed. The author is successful in letting his audience understand his point because his illustrations why he takes the education of Canada as colonial are very effective.

How People with Autism Experience the World Essays -- Science Scientif

How People with Autism Experience the World Many of us have heard of the neurological disorder called autism, and have a general sense of what the term "autism" means and all of the typical behaviors that belong in its category. Yet, I must question how many of us out there who do take an interest in autism really understand how having this disorder can totally distort one's perception of what one experiences in the world. A person with autism senses things differently than we normally do, and also responds to them in other ways – what we would call "abnormal behaviors". Why is this so? According to scientists, MRI research studies have shown that the brains of autistic individuals have particular abnormalities in the cerebellum, brain stem, hippocampus, amygdala, the limbic system, and frontal cortex (7). This provides substantial evidence that autistic behaviors must be in some way caused by these abnormalities. The problem is that we do not know exactly how or why these abnormalities cause someone with autism to experience the world differently than we do. This underlying issue of autism has always greatly intrigued me, and yet the topic of sensory integrative dysfunction in autism has been overlooked for many years. Articles and documents addressing this feature of autism have begun to appear only recently. While conducting research for my paper, I found it a challenge to find articles that specifically talked about this topic that I desired so much to learn about. Thus, the ultimate goal of my discussion is to reveal a misunderstood, hidden world – the complicated sensory dysfunctions that underlie autistic spectrum disorder. What have we found out so far about how people with autism experience the world? Al... ...s and Communication Disorders http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Auditory_Processing_Problems.htm 8)Autism Today Page, An Inside View of Autism http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/An_Inside_View_of_Autism.htm 9)Pub Med Page, Nicotinic Receptor Abnormalities in the Cerebellar Cortex in Autism http://www.brainbank.org/HtmNew/Abstracts/LeeM.html 10)Pub Med Page, Stereological Evidence of Abnormal Cortical Organization in Individuals with Autism http://www.brainbank.org/HtmNew/Abstracts/Hutsler.html 11)Autism and Related Conditions Page, Sensory and Motor Disorders http://www.ratbag.demon.co.uk/anna/asa/definitions/sensory.html 12)National Center for Biotechnology Information Page, Neurofunctional Mechanisms in Autism http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ 13)Autism Today Page, Sensory Disorder http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Sensory_Disorder.htm

Fairtale Essay

One of the most well known, well loved and influential genre of literature is the fairy tale. A fairy tale is defined by the Oxford dictionary as â€Å"A children’s story of magical and imaginary beings and lands†. Overtime the concept of fairy tales has changed. Fairy tales are being re-written and re-illustrated constantly, which makes fairy tales appealing to every generation. Fairy tales broaden the imagination of children. They allow us gain an insight into a world of magic and adventure- a world we will never experience but fantasize about. â€Å"Fairy tales are nothing if not realistic: and it is their cynicism that keeps them lively. (Opie, 1980, p. 19) â€Å"A characteristic of the fairy tale, as told today, is that it is unbelievable. Although a fairy tale is seldom a tale about fairy-folk and does not necessarily even feature a fairy, it does contain an enchantment or other supernatural element that is clearly imaginary. † (Opie, 1980 p. 18). The orig in of fairy tales is commonly unknown and more often than not never discovered by the reader. French writers Catherine Bernard, Marie-Jeanne Lheitier, Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy are believed to be â€Å"chiefly responsible for the establishment of the fairytale as a literacy genre in Europe. (Zipes, 2006,p. 13) of the 1960s. However, it was Italian writers Giovan Francesco Straparola and Giambattista Basile who played a major role in the rise of literacy in Europe. â€Å"This is one of the best kept secrets that is well worth unlocking because it reveals just how closely tied the literacy fairy tale as genre is to spread of the civilizing process throughout Europe. †(Zipes, 2006, p. 13) However, it was the influence of Boccaccio’s Decamerone that led to the production of various collections of ‘novelle’ that had an impact on the literacy fairy tale as a short narrative.Straparola was the first to publish his collection â€Å"Le piacevoli notti (1550 and 1553) from the example Boccaccio had set. Straparola was different from previous writers. He was the first European writer â€Å"to adapt many tales from oral tradition, creating approximately fourteen literacy fairy tales in his collection of seventy four novella. † (Zipes, 2006, p. 14) Straparola’s work caused some controversy and at one time one of his collections was banned by the pope in 1791. This was due to themes which Straparola had included in his work.He introduced â€Å"plain earthy language† and â€Å"critical view of power struggles in Italian society†. Basile shared similar views on power and civility. (Zipes, 2006). Even form this early stage, fairy tales have always been connected to power, social class and gender stereotyping. Both Straparola and Basile recognised that Italian principalities were being damaged through family conflicts, the change in commerce and trade and war. They used fairy tale's as a written means of broaching t heir concern over the unexpected change of norms on human behaviour. Although time passes and things change, fairytales have not dated.The classic fairy tales that Basile and Straparola once told are still being told to children today all over the world. Thanks to the origination of the fairytale by Straparola and Basil â€Å"we still rely on its narrative strategy to see how dangerous it is to think that we live in more civilized and better world than the realms of the past. †(Zipes, 2006) For centuries young children have been enthralled by fairy tales. Tales of witches, wizards, princes and princesses, fairy godmothers and villains alike have been influencing how children view the world around them.This appears particularly true in the case of young girls, with whom these stories seem to resonate. However living in a contemporary 22nd century society the question needs to be posed; are these stories, written centuries ago, still providing a relevant and realistic portrayal of female role models to the youth of today? Or are these folktales of ‘prince charming’ and ‘happily ever afters’ corrupting ideals from infancy and setting these young girls up for disappointment? Women today have come along away from their 18th century counterparts.Women have fought for years to be able to vote, work, raise children as a lone parent and run a household. Women have gained their right to respect and independence in a world that is no longer dominated my males. These rights are marked as historic events that women are extremely proud of. However still today, when educating children we use â€Å"fairy tales† as means of communicating, although sometimes indirectly, the role women should play in life. For example, in fairy tales, the concept of beauty is outlined very clearly. Beauty is expressed as a physical necessity.The leading lady in the typical fairy tale is usually described and illustrated as a woman possessing features consi dered physically attractive to males, a thin figure, glowing skin, red lips, symmetrical facial features and well attired. In the classical tale of Sleeping Beauty Aurora has â€Å"red lips as red as the red red rose† fair skin, blue eyes long blonde hair and an impossibly thin figure. This seems to be the universal concept of what beauty is among all the fairy tales that Walt Disney have produced. This image of beauty is in stark contrast to the reality in which we live into today.This depiction of the need for beauty is not the only negative stereotype conveyed in fairy tales. Instead of being able to defend and stick up for themselves, women are forever relying on males to rescue them. Whether it be the ‘handsome prince charming’ or the father figure, a male, nevertheless is always there to save the day and resolve whatever predicament has arisen in order for all involved except the villain to live â€Å"happily ever after†. The act of stereotyping serv es as a short-cut to the way that the majority of the population views our culture.Therefore, though we might not completely agree with the way in which gender roles are represented in these fairy tales, it still serves us well in a sense that we might gain a basic understanding of what it means to be a male and what it means to be a female. Whether personally accepted or rejected, the notion of males being dominant and females being subordinate has been deeply embedded into our culture’s view of the gender roles. The villain is also an interesting stereotype which is evident in all fairy tales.Villains are portrayed as ugly, malicious, jealous characters. They are almost always characterised by being an evil step-mother, wicked queen, a witch or an evil mother in law. The job of the villain in a fairytale is to make life difficult for the leading protagonist. The queen in Basile’s version of Snow White is described as â€Å"a murderous and unnatural, unsexed anomaly who tricks Talia†¦ †(Warner ,1995,p. 220). However, evil they are, they always play a powerful female role in all the fairy tales I have chosen to discuss.To consider whether the portrayals of women in classic fairy tales are genuine role models for young girls, I will be examining and referring to the following books: Cinderella , Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Mulan and Shrek. Certainly by examining classic fairy tales it is obvious that the central female character is continuously presented as being ‘beautiful’. In the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast, the story begins with â€Å"Once upon a time there lived a rich merchant with three pretty daughters.The youngest was the prettiest of the there and she was called beauty. † From the very beginning of the story, emphasis is put on how beautiful Belle is in the fairytale. The fact that the lead character is appreciated for her beauty alon e speaks multitudes about the message the story gives out to its reader and indeed to young girls. â€Å"There is the threatened union of an almost supernaturally beautiful girl with a hideous monster. † (Iona,Peter, 1980,p. 180) The fairytale puts emphasis on how beautiful Belle is and how ugly the beast is.Similarly Sleeping Beauty â€Å"had a beautiful face and she thought beautiful thoughts†, Snow White â€Å"grew into a beautiful woman†, when Cinderella arrived at the ball everyone wondered â€Å"Who is that beautiful girl? † and The Little Mermaid was â€Å"the youngest, and most beautiful, daughter of Mer King. † The initial portrayal of these women is innocent and positive. Any young girl would aspire to possess such favourable qualities and attractiveness. Being beautiful and falling in love with prince charming, then living happily-ever-after, seems to be the most important outcome of these fairy tales.But the question we have to ask ours elves is -are these ‘harmless’ tales instilling false ideas of what life is like for children? One may not think that reading such biased material to a child could possibly have a lasting effect on their perceptions of how one should conform in society, however according to Bettelheim â€Å"A child trusts what the fairy tale tells, because its world view accords with his own† (Bettelheim, 1991, p. 45) The fairytale is so convincing to the child, as the tale matches the child’s thinking, approach and understanding of the world.Bettelheim states â€Å"these fairytales direct the child’s own thinking about his own development, permitting the child to draw his own conclusion†, yet since some classic fairy tales are known to display gender stereotyping, we must ask ourselves, what implication this has on children’s perspectives of specific gender roles in society if the child is drawing his/her own conclusion after reading the fairy tale. F airy tales portray a black and white view of society. Males are frequently portrayed as the head of the family, who are physically and emotionally strong, and whose sphere exists outside of the home.Females are frequently portrayed as dependent, physically and emotionally weak, and belong inside the home. This depiction of the male and female roles sends a very false and blinding message to its audience. On the other hand it can be argued that stereotypes are a part of life/society. The act of stereotyping serves as a short-cut to the way that the majority of the population views our culture. Therefore, though we might not completely agree with the way in which gender roles are represented in these fairy tales, it still gives a basic understanding of what it means to be a male and what it means to be a female.A similar theme seems to run through all the fairy tales I have chosen. All of the female protagonists are punished in some way as a result of their physical fortune. In Snow W hite, the evil queen wants the â€Å"fairest of them all† so a search is sent for Snow White to be killed. Snow White ends up cleaning, tidying and cooking for seven dwarfs in the forest as payment for letting her stay. Similarly in Cinderella, the beautiful Cinderella is made servant to her step mother and step sisters. Cinderella is isolated in the house and ignored by her step sisters and step mother.Sleeping Beauty is cursed from the moment she was born as a result of her beauty. A wicked witch was furious that she wasn’t invited to the baby’s banquet so she put a spell on her to remain asleep for a hundred years. Belle in Beauty and the Beast finds herself in a similar situation; she is one of three sisters and the only one who cleans and cooks as a result of her misfortune. The women all have a variety of traits in common. All of the female characters I have mentioned display admirable qualities.All of the women are kind and gentle but these female charact ers are viewed as being passive and submissive. These women depend on the male characters in the tales to be either saved or to be happy. This sends out an extremely negative stereotype to young readers, presenting that women’s job in life is cook, clean and wait for â€Å"Prince Charming† to come in order to be happy. According to Bettelheim it is child’s life experiences that teach the child the right manner, he goes on to say â€Å"when children are young, it is literature that carries such information best. † (Tartar, 1999, p. 69) If this is the case then children reading heavily stereotyped tales from an early age will impact their manner and possibly the way they view the gender roles. Bettelheim also states that a child’s â€Å"mind is animistic† and children especially young girls are vulnerable to believing that being beautiful and meeting prince charming are key goals and will result in a â€Å"happily ever after. † West (20 04) argues that â€Å"books are such a major influence in the formation of children’s values and attitudes that adults need to monitor nearly every word that children read. (Hunt, 1999, p. 5) If this is the case, should we be reading child fairy tales? It was the feminist movement that brought a closer examination of gender roles in fairytales. In Lissa Paul’s article she argues that â€Å"While children’s literature is predicated on the notion that children are essentially blank or naive and are in need of protection and instruction, then issues of suitability or unsuitability are important. † (Hunt, 1999, p121) This idea seems to be evident in feminist’s attitudes with regards the lead female character in fairy tales.Feminists feel that these women over rely on their beauty and each wait, in some way or another, for their Prince Charming to come rescue them. According to Lissa Paul’s article, while discussing Cinderella, she states that à ¢â‚¬Å"Most of us- women, children and feminist critics, I imagine – don’t want to be seen valuing riches. Or princes for that matter† (Hunt, 1999, p. 112). However many of the fairy tales chosen for the essay have the common theme of a male hero rescuing or saving the female heroine in the story.They solely depend on the prince to come save them in the end. In Cinderella her family feels she is inferior to them and so she serves as a slave in her own home. â€Å"They were very unkind to her and ordered her about from morning until night. † She is too weak to stand up to them and so waits for a prince to come rescue her. Similarly in Sleeping Beauty she sleeps for one hundred years before a prince comes and rescues her, in Beauty and the Beast, Belle finally ends up with a handsome prince â€Å"the beast disappeared and in his place stood a handsome prince†.In Snow White after she ate the poison apple, she lay peacefully in her coffin until a prince fell in love with her and rescued her â€Å"she opened her eyes and on seeing the handsome prince she fell in love with him†. There is evidently a strong portrayal of physical beauty in these fairy tales and these images of the female protagonist gives a very weak and negative display of women’s abilities and aspirations. On the contrary, however, a very interesting aspect is in Beauty and the Beast. Belle demonstrates having a mind of her own compared to her female counterparts whose main focus was to find their handsome prince using their good looks.Belle looks beyond physical appearance and recognises the good man in the Beast â€Å"she has not mistaken a human lover for a monster, like Psyche, or failed to see a good man beneath the surface.. †(Warner, 1995,p. 307) This follows her gradual arousal of both attraction and sexuality for the Beast throughout the course of the fairytale until he unsurprisingly too turns into a handsome prince at the end. â€Å"B eauty’s wooer has the appearance of a monster, and only after Belle has overcome her aversion for his vile shape can the monster be seen to be a handsome prince. (Opie, 1980, p. 180) The notion of being socially stable is put forward to us. Once these women are saved by their ‘Prince Charming’ and fall in love with him, they are rewarded with a luxurious life as a princess and will ultimately ‘live happily ever after’. The Little Mermaid was written by Hans Christen Andersen in 1836 and was released by Walt Disney in 1989. This fairytale was hoped to go against the grain and portray a leading women who wasn’t submissive or passive but strong and independent and good role model of young children.The tale is about a young teenage mermaid, called Ariel, who doesn’t like her life under the sea and is much more fascinated by the human world. Regardless of her father’s warnings she exchanges her voice for legs with the evil witch to sp end three days on land. She must make Prince Eric fall in love with her and kiss her or else she becomes the sea witch’s forever. The witch reassures her â€Å"the graceful form, the modest gait and speaking eyes. With such as these, it will easy to infatuate a vain human male† (Anderson, 1993,p. 8). It is clear from that short summary that the tale still managed to stereotype women. The message being sent out is that if Ariel relies on her beauty alone she will get the Prince to fall in love with her. Trites 1990 said, â€Å"Undoubtedly, feminists’ have criticized Ariel because she seems to have little ambition beyond getting her prince. † (http://charlottesmedia. blogspot. com/) The story of Mulan helped change the perception of women in Fairy tales but still managed to imply a message that women are inferior to men.Mulan is no one’s trophy and to me is the first groundbreaking Disney film to show a woman to be capable of taking the same roles of men. The story is based on a Chinese myth about a woman who saves china from the Huns. She goes to fight in the war instead of her father and displays traits that are stereotyped as only being male. She is a strong and a courageous woman and breaks social boundaries and expectations. However, Mulan is similar to Belle in Beauty and the Beast, as she too isn’t seen as acceptable in society and this idea of gender obligations is evident.Women ‘should’ be a homemaker and a wife, not cleaver and strong. Finally the film Shrek, created in the 22th century and displays beauty in a different way. Beauty is displayed on the inside in this new image of the princess, which I found to be really refreshing. The two leading characters are ogres. The film goes against the classical fairy tale characteristics. Princess Fiona is different from other princesses and does not wait for prince charming to rescue her. She is a dependent woman who is able to stand on her own two feet. She chooses Shrek as a husband and decides to live her own life as an ogre.This is a unique fairytale as Fiona overlooks physical beauty and is not saved by a male, which results in her having a better life. However she still does live her life as a princess. Unfortunately, many women today hold a â€Å"princess attitude†, and aspire to have a princess type of life. This attitude can be seen among some girls and young women. They often believe that marrying well, especially financially, is desirable, so they can easily live the life of a princess. This may very well be an effect caused by the women that are presented to us in these fairy tales since early childhood.Certainly a clear progression can be seen with regards the representation of women between the 17th-18th century fairy tales (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty) and the 19th -22nd century fairy tales (Mulan, Shrek). I do appreciate that the morals and values are changing in regard to fairytales in recent years. As a who le, however, In my opinion I think that the fairy tales discussed portray a negative stereotype to young children and are not good role models. According to Zipes â€Å"We can continue to enjoy this harmless pastime of telling classical fairytales to our children, not realising the possible harm or harmlessness. Zipes, 2006,p. 57) Bibliography Andersen, H. C. Fairy Tales: The Little Mermaid, Bristol, Parragon Book Service Ltd, 1993. Bettelheim, B. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning And Importance Of Fairy Tales, England, Penguin, 1991. Charlotte’s media blog. available at http://charlottesmedia. blogspot. com/ accessed on 14/4/2012 Hunt, peter. Children’s Literature, An illustrated History, Oxford, University Press,1995. Hunt, Peter. Understanding Children’s Literature, London, Routledge, 1999. Ladybird, Snow White And The 7 Dwarfs, Ladybird Ltd, 2005. Marsoli, L. A.Mulan, NY, Mouse Works, 1998. Opie, Iona ; Peter, The Classic Fairy Tales, USA, Oxford Univers ity Press, 1980. Soanes, Catherine, and  Angus Stevenson. Concise Oxford English dictionary. New York:  Oxford University Press,2012. Southgate, V. Beauty and the Beast, UK, Ladybird Books Ltd, 1988. Southgate, V. Cinderella, UK, Ladybird Books Ltd, 1982. Southgate, V. Sleeping Beauty, UK, Ladybird Books Ltd, 1984. Warner, M. Beast to the Blonde ,London, Vintage. 1995. Zipes, Jack. Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion, New York, Routledge, 2006. Film: Shrek, Disney, 2001.

Political Ideology

Chapter#4-Poetical Culture and Ideology In the textbook, American Political Culture Is described as the extensive communal pollens, standards, and morals citizens have In correlation with the government, as well as in relation with each other. One of the contributing factors that make the culture that way is suffrage, which is the right to vote. For example, our thoughts in suffrage went from the belief that white men who own property are allowed to vote to all citizens who are adults, besides criminals in some cases, have that right.Another season for this would be deliberation, which is the procedure where administrators or people gather to converse and contemplate public Issues, along with social capital, which Is democratic and municipal series of debating, agreement, and regard for contrast, which derives from involvement in optional groups. An example that represents these overlapping ideas is political campaigning because of their extensive use in internet that allows people t o interact with each other on their thoughts.Our shared values include natural rights (born with moral rights), liberty sovereignty), equality (providing fair opportunities to all, no discrimination), Individualism (freedom of action for individuals over group authority), respect for the common person (does not have to be superior with money In order to be respected; common people can be successful: makes economy thrive), democratic consensus (we all come to a common line), and majority rule/popular sovereignty (allowing people to decide who can go forward on).These can all relate to political culture, because these are what we believe in as a nation to be Just, and these beliefs that we hare with others and the government is political culture. The most Important aspects are equality, and respect for the common person, because without these two attributes, our nation would not provide equal opportunities to everyone who are not considered to be superior above all else because of the lacking amount of money they have.Equality and respect for the common person helps to make our democracy prosper. The American Dream is defined as â€Å"the widespread belief that the United States is a land of opportunity and that individual Initiate and hard work can bring economic success†(Government by the People 112).In terms of work, success, and capitalism, these can be shown through the ownership of one's private property, availability/people who work hard that get economic rewards (free market system gives everyone equal opportunities and freedom depends on capitalism which helps grow our economy), wealthy people who fund campaigning projects, and wealthy people who fund money to try and influence elections or public policy (such as donating money to organizations to prove their support for that particular topic). Verbalism- Liberalism alludes to the belief that the government can affect fairness and equality of option. Examples of this would be shown through their support on equal access to health care, same-sex marriage, abortion, other forms of individual choices, more environmental protection, education for all citizens, protection for workers' health and safety, affirmative action programs, and tax rates that rise with a person's income. Menservants- Conservatism touches upon the belief that limited government guarantees order, competitive markets, and ones' own personal equines opinions, the main task of the government should be to protect the country from foreign invaders, support economic growth by promoting competitive markets, and free fair trade, encouraging family values, rejecting Judicial laws that allow abortion, same-sex marriage and affirmative action programs. Socialism- Socialism is an economic and governmental practice that depends on public ownership involving production and exchange.Various examples of this would be represented in wanting a immensely expanded role in nationalizing industries, taxing the wealthy more than rower and middle class men, instituting a public Jobs program and cutting defense spending. Environmentalism- Environmentalism is a supposition that looks at environment instead of genes/heredity as the significant element in the growth and particularly the cultural and cognitive development of a group or individual.Examples of this would be viewed through dealing with issues regarding global warming, overpopulation, and genetic engineering. Libertarianism- Libertarianism is the ethics that fosters individual liberty and promotes minimal government, advocating a free market economy, a nonintervention's foreign policy, and a lack of regulation in moral, economic, and social life.Examples of this include favoring major cuts in government spending and a termination to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, and the most regulatory commissions, opposing all government regulation (mandatory seat- belt and helmet laws), because t hey believe the attitude â€Å"live and let live† and thinks that an undistorted free market will benefit individuals. I would describe the American people in terms of their political ideology as mostly well balanced, even though the majority of the groups are conservatives, according to figures 4-2, 4-3, and 4-4.My reason for this is because in all figures, they showed a significant amount of conservatives/conservative related opinions that outnumbered the moderate and liberal groups. In figure 4-2, 77% of people thinks that â€Å"there is too much power concentrated in the hands of a few big companies† (116). This issue is mostly interpreted by conservatives. Also, in figure 4-3, once I added up the totals of the sex, race, age, religion, education, and party columns for each of the 4 groups, conservatives won the majority out of the other 3 groups.In figure 4-4, it showed results that there was a slight increase of conservatives in 2008 (most recent year noted), and a steady decrease for other groups as well, including liberals, and moderates, whereas the don't know/have not thought about it group has increased very slightly. Conclusions that I can reach about the ideology of people of the United States are the facts that ideology overtime shown in figure 4-2, is well balanced for all of the conservatives, liberals, don't know/have not thought about it group, and moderates.Also, there has been more of an increase shown in moderate/don't know/ haven't thought about it group, as well as conservatives only. In 4-2, the graph shows how the don't know/haven't thought about it group has increased compared to all else, besides conservatives. In figure 4-3, it also shows similar results, representing that there has been an increase of moderates/don't know/have not thought about it rope (47%), there are more conservatives (17%)/slightly conservative (12%) than liberals liberal (3%).I think that Americans are mostly a part of the moderate/don't know/hav en't thought about it group, because there has been rising solution than the other groups'. This can lead to an indecisiveness for all people who have been passionate in the past with their former group, because they may have disappointed them with agreeing in something/many other things that the person would not agree with, and then not being able to agree with other ideologies as well.

Creating and Sustaining a Healthy Communitive Climate Essays

Creating and Sustaining a Healthy Communitive Climate Essays Creating and Sustaining a Healthy Communitive Climate COMM 1101 Interpersonal Communications and Relationships Dr. James Tomasson A supportive climate is created when people feel they are valued. In a positive communication climate people interact confidently and courteously. Their relationships are built on openness, honesty and trust which comes from the goodwill they feel towards one another. People are willing to speak with others, to listen carefully, ask questions and offer feedback. Information and ideas are conveyed accurately. A defensive communication climate is created when the contribution of individuals is not appreciated. A negative climate makes it difficult for people to get and give information and to take action, because it is hard to communicate. People feel uncomfortable and unwilling to interact. Consequently, they are less willing to ask questions, or offer ideas and feedback, and are more inclined to wait and see what happens. The accuracy of the communication declines and interpersonal relationships are less effective in a negative communication climate. I had a supervisor who was always at me for every little thing, she was always so negative, rude and unprofessional and handling situations. I worked in a office as a receptionist where I was like 10 minutes late almost every day due to the person I was catching a ride with was always running late herself because she had kids to get ready for school. One day I come in, 10 minutes late of course and my supervisor is standing at my desk looking at the clock and looking at me, I go to punch in and as I am making my to my desk she calls me into her office, I knew already what is was about. She explained to me that being late is unprofessional that if I continued to be late that I would be fired. I had tried to explain to her that is was my ride that they were always running late and they were my only was of transportation. But before I could get one word out she put her hand out in front of her and said I dont want to hear it, whatever it is, is not my problem I am not here to listen to your complaints. I went to my desk feeling unheard and useless and decided to go to the boss about it. We talked about the situation and I had told him what she had done and said. He was very understanding about my situation but wanted to hold a meeting between me and my supervisor to discuss the issue. He then brought up how rude she was to me, that being rude like that makes the department look bad and that she could have heard me out and empathised for me a little and be more understanding. That I wasnt the only one to complain about how rude she was. She then looked at me and somewhat gave me an apology, said she was sorry but rolling her eyes then walked out of the bosss office. When she left he told me that if I notice anymore rudeness from her to let him know so he can deal with it so no one else has to go through what I went though. I left his office and went to my desk and noticed throughout the day my supervisor avoided me completely. A defence communication can be how someone is always late with work, school or anything important, the evolution is tardiness.

Employment Laws and Managerial Consequences

Employment Laws and Managerial Consequences Free Online Research Papers It is the liability of HR as well as the Company to stay compliance with state and federal laws that pertains to worker practices. A worker’s instruction manual is considered to be the basis of information that is used in management in order to assist managers so that they can steer clear of legal actions brought on via the workforce and outer entity (Davis V., 2009). An HR director should be conversant with not only the system of rules enforced through a set of institutions, but also with the company’s written contract and measures within handling members of a staff controversies and legal document used to begin a civil lawsuit. They have got to keep in mind that almost not a day goes by without reports of equal-opportunity related lawsuits at job (Dessler G., 2009), and these procedures can certainly be avoided. Directors have to make sure that none of their employees are in violation. If they are in violation, the directors must take specific measures in dealing with the protest and infringement. Or else, there may be unalterable penalty, and the worker may possibly file a grievance. Several of the Laws connected with employment rights in which directors are required to pursue contain are; the Civil Rights Act, American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), Veterans Employment Opportunity Act of 1998 (VEDA), the Equal Opportunity Act of 1972 (EEO), Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act (WARN), and the Immigration reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) (Dessler G. 2009). It is essential for every director to be conversant with these laws and put into practice when handling every workers grievance. Even the most skilled directors, team leaders, or administrators seemed to forget about the Law of unintentional penalties; saying that for each alteration or deed, there are both optimistic penalties and pessimistic unintentional penalties. The directors on the other hand tend to want the optimistic penalties and so not so much the pessimistic unintentional penalties. (Bacal R., 2009). If the administrator follows the corporation’s course of action, which are the policies and measures that have been set forth via the corporation, then the penalties of a court case, high economic expenditure, and awful publicity can be invalidated. The most frequent accusation as well as the most significant Law within the employment business is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This Law was of legislation within the year of 1972 via the federal agency charged with ending employment discrimination; stating that it is illegal for any firm that employs workers to differentiate against a member of their staff based on race, color, religion, sexual characteristics, or nationalized origin. Within this Law, the firm which pays for or hires the services of another person cannot turn down a hirer or release a human being with admiration to his or her reparation, stipulations, circumstances, or human rights of employment, because of a person’s race, color, religion, sexual characteristics, or national origin (Dessler G., 2009, p.28). A lot of workers file civil lawsuits against their employers due to such inequity and illegitimate release. Another infringement that a director frequently make is injudicious decisions about is unwanted physical intimacy, requests for sexual favors, spoken words or gestures. The Anti-Sexual Act of 1995 was formed to make firms accountable for reprimanding violating workforce according to specific guiding principle. Undesirable sexual advances, wishes for sexual favors, and other vocal or bodily demeanor of a sexually ambiguous nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or inexplicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment (Sexual Harassment, 2009). Lots of directors’ fall short of showing real concerns when it comes to their worker’s grievance, and that is why it tends to be one of their largest mistakes. Offenses such as sexual harassment are extremely serious and needed to be both assessed and acted on promptly in order to avoid managerial consequences. The best things that employer can do to avoid consequences is to make sure that all employees receive and understand the policies and procedures given in the employee handbook. They should provide training and take immediate action when a complaint or grievance is filed. By following the government employment laws, and company policies and procedures, they will find that legal issues and other entities will be avoided. References Bacal R. (2009). Ignoring the Law of Unintended Consequences. Retrieved on May 31, 2009 From: www.thetrainingworld.com/up/2009/04/19/ignoring-the-law-of-unintended-consequences-commonmanagerial Davis V. (2009). Colorado technical University Online, Phase 2 DB Live Chat HRM246_55_5_3. Retrieved on May 31, 2009 from: www.ctuonline.edu Dessler G. (2009). A Framework for Human Management (5th Ed.), Prentice Hall. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2009). Sexual Harassment. Retrieved on May 31, 2009 from: www.sexualharassmentsupport.org/SHworkplace.html-52k- Research Papers on Employment Laws and Managerial ConsequencesMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesTwilight of the UAWPETSTEL analysis of IndiaQuebec and CanadaThe Project Managment Office System19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraTrailblazing by Eric AndersonStandardized TestingIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Is the ACT Curved Expert Guide to the ACT Curve

Is the ACT Curved Expert Guide to the ACT Curve SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Whether you've already taken the ACT or are busy preparing for it now,you've likelywondered at some point: isthe ACT curved? Does a 32 on one ACTequal a 32 on another? In this article, we’ll investigate the rumor of the ACT curve andexplain what it really means. Then we'll examine the function of this curve as well as how it's changedover time, before finally explaining what the ACT curve means for test takersand how you can use it to your advantage. Is the ACT Curved? Contrary to popular belief, there is no ACT curve. This means that how well other test takersdo on the ACT willnot affect your ACT score. Even if everyone who took the ACT on a particulartest date were to receive lowscores, none of these scores would be raised or redistributed to establish a more balanced ACT bell curve. In short,your ACT score will always be the exact score you earn on the test- itwill never increase nor decrease as a result ofother test takers' performances. So how does ACT scoring actually work, then? The test's creators,ACT, Inc.,account for variations in difficulty across test dates througha special processcalled equating. This process ensures that scale ACT scores from different administrations of the test always indicate the same level of ability, regardless of when or with whom you take the ACT. Here's howACT, Inc., describesequating: â€Å"Statistical processes, referred to as ‘equating,’ are used to ensure that scores from the same test (e.g., ACT math, ACT English) are comparable across administrations and students, so there is no advantage in taking a test in one administration (e.g., October 2015) over another administration* (e.g., May 2013).† *Emphasis mine. Basically,there's no such thing as an easier or harder ACT test date. ACTs are equated so that your chance of getting a certain scale score is the same for all administrations. This means thata Math score of 28 on one ACT will always equal a Math score of 28 on anotherACT, even if one test contains hardermath questions. So despite what the rumors may claim, there is no "best" time to take the ACTbecause when and with whom you take the ACTis ultimately irrelevant. In truth, neither factoraffectsyour chance of hitting your ACT goal scoreon test day! Even if you were surrounded by Albert Einsteins, their ACT scores still wouldn't affect yours! How Does the ACT â€Å"Curve† Work? Before we delve into the ACT curve,let's take a moment to review the ACT scoring system. The ACT comprises four subject areas: English, Math, Reading, and Science. (There is also a fifth optional Writing section.) Each of the four major sections is assigned a scale score on a scale of 1-36. These four scale scores are then averaged together to give you a composite ACT score out of 36. (This composite score does not include the ACT Writing score.) So how does ACT, Inc.,calculate these scale scores? For each section, you’ll begin with a raw score, which isequivalent to the number of questions you answered correctly. (Note that there are no penalties for incorrect or blank answers.) So ifyou answered 60 out of 75 questions correctly on the English section, your raw English score would be 60. Afterward, each raw score is then converted into a scale score out of 36. But here’s the kicker: how a raw score converts into a scale score varies with each administration of the ACT. This is because each ACT differs slightly in content and difficulty; thus, each test must use a unique equating formula to determinehow its raw scores will translate into scale scores. Unfortunately, this means there's no way for us to know for sure how a raw score will convert into a scale score on an upcoming ACT. That being said, we canestimatehow raw scores may convert into scale scores using score conversion charts fromofficial ACT practice tests. All of these practice tests are based on former ACTs that were actually administered, so the equating processes they employ are guaranteed to be most similar to those used for upcoming administrations. Below are the scoring tables for the2014-15and2016-17ACT practice tests. These tables will show us how raw scores vary in the scale scores into which they convert. 2014-15 ACT Score Conversion Table Scale Score Raw Scores Scale Score English Math Reading Science 36 75 59-60 40 40 36 35 73-74 57-58 39 39 35 34 71-72 55-56 38 38 34 33 70 54 - 37 33 32 69 53 37 - 32 31 68 52 36 36 31 30 67 50-51 35 35 30 29 66 49 34 34 29 28 64-65 47-48 33 33 28 27 62-63 45-46 32 31-32 27 26 60-61 43-44 31 30 26 25 58-59 41-42 30 28-29 25 24 56-57 38-40 29 26-27 24 23 53-55 36-37 27-28 24-25 23 22 51-52 34-35 26 23 22 21 48-50 33 25 21-22 21 20 45-47 31-32 23-24 19-20 20 19 42-44 29-30 22 17-18 19 18 40-41 27-28 20-21 16 18 17 38-39 24-26 19 14-15 17 16 35-37 19-23 18 13 16 15 33-34 15-18 16-17 12 15 14 30-32 12-14 14-15 11 14 13 29 10-11 13 10 13 12 27-28 8-9 11-12 9 12 11 25-26 6-7 9-10 8 11 10 23-24 5 8 7 10 9 20-22 4 7 6 9 8 17-19 - 6 5 8 7 14-16 3 5 4 7 6 11-13 - 4 3 6 5 9-10 2 3 - 5 4 6-8 - - 2 4 3 5 1 2 1 3 2 3-4 - 1 - 2 1 0-2 0 0 0 1 Now how did THIS table get in here? 2016-17 ACT Score Conversion Table Scale Score Raw Scores Scale Score English Math Reading Science 36 75 60 40 40 36 35 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 71 57 38 38 34 33 70 55-56 37 37 33 32 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 31 67 52-53 34 36 31 30 66 50-51 33 35 30 29 65 48-49 32 34 29 28 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 27 62 43-44 30 32 27 26 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 25 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 24 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 23 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 22 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 21 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 20 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 19 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 18 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 17 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 16 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 15 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 14 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 13 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 12 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 11 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 10 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 9 18-19 - - 5-6 9 8 15-17 3 5 - 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10-11 2 3 3 6 5 8-9 - - 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 1 Based onthe charts above, we can see that there are several variations inscore conversions. To get a scale score of 20 on Math, you’d need to answer at least 31 questions correctly on the 2014-15 test but only 29 on the 2016-17 test. This difference hintsthat the Math on the 2014-15 testisof a slightly easier difficulty than that on the 2016-17 test. Why? Becauseyou'd need to score more raw points on the 2014-15 Math section to get the same scale score on the 2016-17 Math section. We can also see that if you were to get a raw Readingscore of 28on the 2014-15 test, you’d get a scale score of 23. Buton the 2016-17 test, this same raw score would net you a noticeably higher score of 25. Once again, this relationship indicates that the 2014-15Reading section is slightly easier than the2016-17 Reading section. So what do these findings ultimatelymean for us? First off, score conversions for the ACT don't seem to vary significantly. On these two tests, most differences are fairly nominal - around two or three points at most - indicating that there likely won't beany giant discrepancies in raw score conversionsfor upcoming ACTs. Perhaps more importantly, though, we seethatyou can never knowexactly how many questions you'll need to answer correctly to geta certain scale score on the ACT. All you can do is estimate the number of correct answers you'll need using patterns in conversions for previous tests. Now, try estimating the number of books in this insanely cool book spiral. Has the ACT Curve Changed Over Time? We know that eachACT uses a different equating formula to convert raw scores into scale scores. But hasthis pattern in conversions changedover time? To answer this question, we’re going to look at the oldest and newest ACT practice tests currently available online: the 2005-06 test and the 2016-17 test. (Remember, these practice tests are based on real ACTs, so their score conversion tables should give us a general sense of how the ACT curve haschanged, if at all, over the years.) 2005-06 and 2016-17 ACT Score Conversions Scale Score Raw Scores (2005-06) Raw Scores (2016-17) Scale Score Eng Math Read Sci Eng Math Read Sci 36 75 60 40 40 75 60 40 40 36 35 74 59 39 - 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 34 73 58 38 39 71 57 38 38 34 33 72 57 - - 70 55-56 37 37 33 32 71 55-56 37 38 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 31 70 54 36 - 67 52-53 34 36 31 30 68-69 52-53 35 37 66 50-51 33 35 30 29 67 50-51 34 36 65 48-49 32 34 29 28 65-66 48-49 32-33 35 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 27 63-64 45-47 31 34 62 43-44 30 32 27 26 61-62 43-44 30 33 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 25 58-60 41-42 28-29 31-32 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 24 56-57 38-40 27 30 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 23 54-55 36-37 25-26 28-29 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 22 52-53 34-35 24 27 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 21 49-51 32-33 23 25-26 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 20 46-48 30-31 21-22 23-24 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 19 43-45 28-29 20 21-22 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 18 40-42 25-27 19 19-20 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 17 38-39 21-24 18 17-18 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 16 36-37 18-20 17 15-16 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 15 33-35 15-17 15-16 14 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 14 30-32 12-14 14 13 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 13 28-29 9-11 12-13 11-12 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 12 26-27 7-8 10-11 10 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 11 24-25 6 8-9 9 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 10 21-23 5 7 7-8 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 9 18-20 4 6 6 18-19 - - 5-6 9 8 15-17 3 5 5 15-17 3 5 - 8 7 12-14 - 4 4 12-14 - 4 4 7 6 10-11 2 - 3 10-11 2 3 3 6 5 8-9 - 3 2 8-9 - - 2 5 4 6-7 1 2 - 6-7 1 2 - 4 3 4-5 - - 1 4-5 - - 1 3 2 2-3 - 1 - 2-3 - 1 - 2 1 0-1 0 0 0 0-1 0 0 0 1 Glancing at each section, you can probably already see that there are some key differences in how raw scores convert into scale scores. On the Science section, missing three questions gives you a scale score of 33 on the 2016-17 test but only a 30 on the 2005-06 test. This trend applies to the other scores in Science, too:you’d generally have to score more raw points in Science on the 2005-06 test to get the same scale scores in Science on the 2016-17 test. Thus,we can infer thatthe2005-06 Science questions were slightly easier than the 2016-17 Science questions. But do the other sections follow similar patterns? Yep!On Reading, a raw score of 35 translates to a scale score of 32 on the 2016-17 test but only a 30 on the 2005-06 test. Once again, this points to a slight difference in difficulty, with the 2005-06 Reading section being a little easier than the 2016-17 section. Likewise, on Math and English, the 2016-17 test tends to require fewer raw points to get certain scale scores than the 2005-06 test. Even withthe presence of these patterns, however, most differences in score conversions for the two tests are minimal.In fact, the vast majority of raw scores convert intoscale scores only one to two points lower or higher. So despite the fact there are clearly differencesin the equating formulasfor the two tests, we can conclude that the number of questions you must answer correctly to get certain scale scores on the ACT has remained relatively consistent throughout the years. Additionally,by taking into account the consistency of ACT percentiles, we seethat the overall difficulty of the ACT hasn’t experienced any drastic shifts, either, further supporting our conclusion. The number of sprinkles on these cookies is definitely NOT consistent. What Does the ACT Curve Mean for YOU? As I've mentioned before, theACT curve is extraordinarily useful for estimating the number of correct answers you'll need to get the scale score you want on test day. Before you start prepping for the ACT, find your target score. Then, use official ACT score conversion charts from practice tests to estimate the number of questions you'll need to get rightin order to reach your target scores for the English, Math, Reading, and Science sections. Just remember the caveat: noscore conversion chart will apply exactly to your upcoming ACT administration, as each of these charts showcasesthe equating process forone specific test.But by usingseveral charts together, you can give yourself a fairly accuraterange of raw-score-to-scale-score conversions. Additionally, it's important you understandthe following key pointsabout the ACT curve: When you take the ACT does not affectyour scale score.The equating process ensures that test takers on one test date will not have an advantage over test takers on a different test date, and this goes for state-sponsored administrations, as well. So don't believe the rumors - there's no easier or harder test date! (This is why raw scoresconvert differently intoscale scores!) Who takes the ACT does not affect your scale score.Scale scores are not like ACT percentilesin thatthey're not determined by how well other test takers perform. So, really, it doesn’t matter at all who you take the test with. Even if you were to take the ACT with all certified geniuses, their scores still wouldn't affect yours in the slightest! You can'tuse the ACT curve to game the system.Because you'llnever know beforehand how a specific ACTwill convert raw scores into scale scores, youcan't everguarantee yourself a higher score by taking the ACT on a certain date or with a specific group of people. Absolutely none of these factors affects the ACT curve, and anyone who claims otherwise is wrong! Unfortunately, you can't Houdini your way to a high ACT score. Recap: Is the ACT Curved? Despite what's often rumored, there is no ACT curve - at least not a traditional one. The ACT accounts for differences in difficulty among various administrations of the exam through a complex equating process. But because we don't know what the exact equating formula is for each test, we'll never be able to predict with certainty how raw scores on an upcoming ACT will convert into scale scores. Nevertheless, you can use score conversion tables from official ACT practice tests to estimate the number of correct answers you’ll need to reach your goal scores on test day. All official practice tests are based on past ACTs and thusoffer a realistic glimpse intohow raw scores typically convert into scale scores. Overall, the essential facts to remember about the ACT curve are the following: The ACT curve is actually an equating process that accounts for variances in difficulty among different test dates. Therefore,it doesn’t matter when or with whom you take thetest. The ACT curve has remained relatively stable over time, meaning the number of correct answers you need to get certain scale scores varies only minimallywith each test. You can't use the ACT curve to cheat the systemor secure yourself a higher ACT score, so don’t even bother trying! What’s Next? Want to learn more about ACT scoring?Get the rundown onhow the ACT is scoredand check out our guide for detailed tips on what the ACT score range means for you. Need ACT tips and resources?We've got a huge selection here at PrepScholar, whether you're looking for the best ACT prep books or our expert strategies for getting a perfect 36. What about the SAT? Does it have a curve, too? Hop on over tomy in-depth analysis of theSAT curve (coming soon) tolearn more about the SAT equating processand how raw SAT scores convert into scaled scores. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Electroinc contract law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Electroinc contract law - Essay Example The main procedure to be followed will be culling research based on the electronic signature's safety to be fit into one of the three categories in the thesis. The main objective of the project is to establish the relative safety of the electronic signature by looking at its reliability, enforceability, and the possibility of it being used illegally. The scope of the project is limited to the electronic signature. In data collection and tools, a variety of resources will be available for use, including scholarly journals, periodicals, books, newspapers, the news media, and the Internet. Ethical standards, of course, do apply, and this writer will be citing all sources where necessary and give credit where credit is due. Statistical analysis will only play a role if it is crucial to the research. Here, definition and discussion of contracts and contract law will be delved into; the dissertation will be going in-depth into applicable case law. A contract, by definition, is "[a]n agreement between two or more persons which creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing. Its essentials are competent parties, subject matter, a legal consideration, mutuality of agreement, and mutuality of obligation."3 Additionally, a contract Contracts may be one of three types: express (an agreement brought about by words); implied-in-fact (an agreement brought about by conduct); or implied-in-law, also known as a "quasi-contract" (which is "not a true contract but an obligation imposed by a court despite the absence of a promise in order to avoid an injustice."5 Chapter 3. The Electronic Contract and Electronic Contract Law. Here, a definition of the electronic contract and electronic contract law will be examined, while a further discussion of specific case law will be probed in the dissertation. An electronic contract is "a written agreement between parties that is presented through software being installed in your computer or transmitted by means of the Internet, whether it is: presented on a webpage; sent through e-mail; or

The Life of Pi book review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Life of Pi book review - Essay Example The story is basically about a boy who is on a boat that is sinking, and escapes to a lifeboat with several zoo animals, who eventually all get eaten by a tiger. I think that one of the main reasons that I liked this book so much is that for a long time I identified with the main character, and felt that I was like him. I think the fact that I enjoyed this book so much, and read it several times in a few month span tells me several things about myself. First I think it tells me that I felt lonely, because I could identify with the main character, and that main character spends most of the book alone on a raft with only a vicious tiger for company, and possibly because the book is also a story about immigration, about leaving a home you know to go to a home that you do not, and that is something that I enjoy thinking about. But I think that this book also indicates that I am thinking too much on the past, and am feeling sorry for myself, and should move on to something else. I do not think that I have fully put this book in the past, but I hope to soon. I hope to put the part of me that it represents in the past as well. One of the most important ideas to this book is probably the idea of loneliness, and of feeling alone when you are not in a place that you are used to. When I first came to this country, I felt very alone because I did not know very many people, and my move to this country had put a large amount of strain on my relationship with my family. There are a few lines from The Life of Pi that I have underlined more than the rest as I read them. On page 163, the main character is starting to think about what he must do to survive, and says these words: â€Å"There was so much I had to do. I looked out at the empty Horizon. There was so much water. And I was all alone. All alone. I burst into hot tears. I buried my face in my crossed arms and sobbed. My situation was patently hopeless† (Martel, 163). I believe that these lines are probably the mos t important of the book in some ways, and are probably the reason that I enjoyed the book so much and why I have read it so many different times. There are many ideas in this lines that I can understand and identify with, and that make me see now that I was probably not doing the things that were best for me when I first came to this country from my homeland, away from my friends and family. I think that, when I first was arriving at this country, there were many things that I felt that I had to do all at the same time. I had to start preparing for school, had to find place to live, had to find friends, had to meet new people, had to start learning where everything is, where to get groceries, where to have dinner, where to have fun. But I also think that I could not do these things. I always had some excuse, and I was so tired, and everything was so hard, so much harder than it probably actually was. And now, reading these lines, I think everything was hard because I felt alone, str anded away from everything I knew. In The Life of Pi, the main character is not actually hopeless here, he can survive for a very long time afterwards, and does survive for such a long time, â€Å"227 days† at sea, and then decades and decades more once he gets back to land (205). But he feels hopeless, because there is no one to share his burden, no one to distract him, no one to help

Business simulation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business simulation - Assignment Example Computer Repair business averages ?8,900 in gross monthly profits. The owner/manager believes that it can achieve ?12,000 in gross monthly profits, through promotions and expansion of product lines. Currently, the business employs two part time sales staff and one full time book keeper/receptionist. Though the space currently available for formatting new machines is adequate, nearly one third of it is used to store inventory, which includes new product models for resale. With expansion of services and the need to utilise space more efficiently, the business must consider alternative supply chain processes, such as JIT systems. It must also consider the types of products to offer, such as business machines with networking capabilities. Aside from increase monthly gross sales, the business has identified objectives of greatly increasing its individual customer base and greatly increasing the number of business customers, so that dividing the products into separate business units is fea sible. A thorough analysis of the business environment will allow the computer sales business to make decisions about expansion that are most suitable and to develop a marketing and promotions programme that aligns with expansion of product lines. ... Political Business tax rate remains 21% at projected profit increase, according to Adam & Brown (1999, p.13). Employee vs. Self employment (2 National Insurance taxes for self-employed, affects pool of applicants. Relationship with nearby University critical for technician. Environmental concerns of policymakers and citizens. Consumers want ‘green business’ initiatives. Costs of ‘going green’? Economic Consumers tightening budgets, spending less on new products or choosing more affordable products. Costs for fossil fuels may influence supply costs. Social Social networking for younger users (teens and young adults) may offer an additional channel for promotion. Consumers want value and personal relationship in product sales. Technical Requirements for networking and customization rely on technical knowledge. Use of JIT inventory systems reduces inventory related costs. The SWOT analysis helps the computer sales business determine the type of growth strategy and promotions strategy to be developed, by conducting an honest assessment of the organizations physical and financial assets, its potential capabilities, current shortcomings and potential future challenges. The SWOT analysis table below provides management with greater insights, to develop a successful business strategy. The analysis considers the most important and influential factors in expanding Computer Sales. Strengths Located in business centre of city, exposure can be greatly increased. Relationships with suppliers already established (Dell and Hewlett Packard). Weaknesses Lack of promotions plan, currently relies on word of mouth. Too much physical inventory takes up space and increases costs. No technical expertise for customization. Opportunities Increase awareness through

Broadcast and Film Business Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Broadcast and Film Business Plan - Assignment Example In this situation, I have been chosen to shoot a documentary which will basically consist of 4 interviews in 4 locations. Each of the interviews will last for 5-10 minutes so keeping that in mind, I have designed the budget accordingly. Yet later enhancements in Polaroid picture quality have limited the hole between the semi-professional Polaroid taking a toll  £4,500 and the show Polaroid fetching  £40,000. Thusly, consummately satisfactory presentations could be made with the shabbier supplies at a part of the past expense. However, in any case, you need to utilize talented experts to get great comes about so this may not be the right decision unless you are taking a shot at a quite little plan. A few shots will oblige unique areas, huge lighting apparatuses, Polaroid cranes and extra processing staff. Often the maker will twofold as the executive. Computerized supplies are much more generally accessible than customary 16mm and 35mm film Polaroids and there is an extensive number of nearby organizations that possess Polaroids that might be contracted – in some cases even obtained – by parts of general society. Guide into your neighborhood filmmaking group and you may be stunned by what is accessible for a quite ease and now and again actually for nothing. There's a heap of diverse Polaroids accessible, contingent upon which organize you are shooting. Furthermore the fundamental Polaroid, you may require a set of lenses, a zoom, a head, a tripod, and assuming that you are shooting ready for playback, possibly a movie help (permitting you to see what you have barely shot, as film necessities to be handled before it could be view

Heineken Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Heineken - Case Study Example Nonetheless, the consumption level of beer has been increasing along with its price (Colen & Swinnen, 2011). The diagram represented below exhibits the structure of the internationally expanded beer market as on 2005 along with highlighting the changes since 1961: Structure of the Global Beer Market Source: (Colen & Swinnen, 2011) From the above figure, the consumption level of beer in the global market can be observed and thus it can be stated that the profit ratio of beer industry is also rising with its demand and consumption in various global markets. It is worth mentioning in this regard that with the passing time, the degree of competition along with the threat of substitute products have increased considerably. In this context, wine can be regarded as a major substitute of beer in the global market (Colen & Swinnen, 2011). With reference to Porter’s Five Forces, the threat of substitute products in the global beer market can be regarded as other alcoholic drinks like wi ne and various other types of liquors. However, in recent phenomenon, the industry also needs to witness a strong influence from non-alcoholic substitute products such as soft drinks exhibiting a high degree of substitution threat. Threat of new entrance can also be identified as high within the current structure of the industry as the venture is considered to require only experience and expertise workers involving affordable costs for manufacturing beer. Bargaining power of buyers does not seem to have a major affect on the beer industry mostly owing to its size and diversity. From a similar point of view, the bargaining power of suppliers also has an insignificant impact over the current structure of beer industry due to the easy availability of raw materials. Nonetheless, competitive rivalry indicates the presence of multiple market players, dealing with the similar product. With the increasing threat of new entrants and substitution effects to beer products, it is quite likely t hat the competitive rivalry is expected to increase in the near future (Ekanayake, Getov, & Naridze, 2012). It is in this context that the degree of substitution effect can be regarded as the greater threat to the industry. Contradictorily, the bargaining power of buyers can be regarded to have a minimal effect over the industry operations. 2. What strategy does Heineken follow in the global beer market? Discuss this with respect to competitive strategy, corporate strategy, and international strategy. Concerning its competitive strategies, the company emphasized on adopting various innovative measures intended to change the traditional family-oriented marketing ideologies towards a more technology-oriented modern process. Considering the current industrial structure, it can be stated that a beer company needs to value its competitive strategies along with its corporate and international strategies so as to sustain in its competitive position for a longer period of time. With a simil ar concern, Heineken also adopted the corporate strategy to acquire relatively smaller market players, who were mostly identified as new entrants to the industry. Hence, the corporate strategies adopted by Heineken can be observed as highly influenced by the threat of new entrants in the international arena. Apart from acquisitions, the company also emphasized on encouraging cross-border deals in its international str

Broadcast and Film Business Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Broadcast and Film Business Plan - Assignment Example In this situation, I have been chosen to shoot a documentary which will basically consist of 4 interviews in 4 locations. Each of the interviews will last for 5-10 minutes so keeping that in mind, I have designed the budget accordingly. Yet later enhancements in Polaroid picture quality have limited the hole between the semi-professional Polaroid taking a toll  £4,500 and the show Polaroid fetching  £40,000. Thusly, consummately satisfactory presentations could be made with the shabbier supplies at a part of the past expense. However, in any case, you need to utilize talented experts to get great comes about so this may not be the right decision unless you are taking a shot at a quite little plan. A few shots will oblige unique areas, huge lighting apparatuses, Polaroid cranes and extra processing staff. Often the maker will twofold as the executive. Computerized supplies are much more generally accessible than customary 16mm and 35mm film Polaroids and there is an extensive number of nearby organizations that possess Polaroids that might be contracted – in some cases even obtained – by parts of general society. Guide into your neighborhood filmmaking group and you may be stunned by what is accessible for a quite ease and now and again actually for nothing. There's a heap of diverse Polaroids accessible, contingent upon which organize you are shooting. Furthermore the fundamental Polaroid, you may require a set of lenses, a zoom, a head, a tripod, and assuming that you are shooting ready for playback, possibly a movie help (permitting you to see what you have barely shot, as film necessities to be handled before it could be view

Apple Computer, Incorporated Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Apple Computer, Incorporated - Essay Example Apple's main objective is to become the market leader by capturing a large share of the computing industry. Apple also apparently wanted to dominate the computing industry in terms of innovation. These objectives are backed with definite strategies which ushered Apple in its place in the global market. Apple's strategy is built on its core competence of developing technologically advance and innovative products. It should be noted that Apple is one of the major players in leading the evolution of personal computing since its establishment. During 1977, it can be recalled that the firm introduced the Apple II microcomputer which strongly captured home users. In 1983, Apple came up with another revolution-the Lisa which is the "first commercial computer to employ graphical interface." In 1984, Apple introduced another revolution-the Macintosh which is now known as Mac. Mac became the leader in employing user friendly graphical interface. Apple also succeeded in pioneering the use of the mouse in personal computers. The Mac marked a major success for Apple as it became a major influence in the development of graphical interfaces in other companies. ... In 1991, Apple launched its PowerBook line of portable computers "establishing the modern ergonomic form and design that has since become ubiquitous in the portable market" (Apple 1) The previous years further witnessed Apple's commitment to its innovation strategy as it expanded its focus by including professional and prosumer video, music and photoproduction solutions. Right now, Apple is also considered as a leading force in music space. Apple does not just bring innovative products to the market. The company also focused on bringing products which can better serve its customers. The saga of the innovations spearheaded by Apple recounts how the company invented more user friendly computing equipments. Thus, Apple also focuses on satisfying customer need by introducing new product features which makes computing easier. Because Apple's products are usually represents and features state of the art technology, they are positioned to attract technology savvy customers who can afford their quality. Apple strategically target customers backed by high purchasing power. Apple focuses on capturing customers in the middle and high end markets. Also, one of the most notable strategies employed by Apple is called "backwards marketing strategy." It should be noted that the company is charging its software a very low price. In fact, Apple almost gives away its software. However, this tactic is to get buyers purchase the higher priced hardware (Seward 1). Company Strengths Apple gained its name as one of the largest manufacturer and distributor of computing equipments and software. The company was able to gain this position through its competitive advantage. Apple has strong brand equity, recognized for its

Amy Tan Essay Example for Free

Amy Tan Essay Although the daughters know some Chinese words and the mothers speak some English, communication often becomes a matter of translation, of words whose intended meaning and accepted meaning are in fact quite separate, leading to subtle misunderstandings. †¢The first mention of this difficulty with translation occurs when Jing-mei relates the story of her mother’s founding of the Joy Luck Club. After attempting to explain the significance of the club’s name, Jing-mei recognizes that the concept is not something that can be translated. She points out that the daughters think their mothers are stupid because of their fractured English, while the mothers are impatient with their daughters who don’t understand the cultural nuances of their language and who do not intend to pass along their Chinese heritage to their own children. Throughout the book, characters bring up one Chinese concept after another, only to accept the frustrating fact that an understanding of Chinese culture is a prerequisite to understanding its meaning. †¢The Power of Storytelling Because the barriers between the Chinese and the American cultures are exacerbated by imperfect translation of language, the mothers use storytelling to circumvent these barriers and communicate with their daughters. The stories they tell are often educational, warning against certain mistakes or giving advice based on past successes. For instance, Ying-ying’s decision to tell Lena about her past is motivated by her desire to warn Lena against the pa ssivity and fatalism that Ying-ying suffered. Storytelling is also employed to communicate messages of love and pride, and to illumine one’s inner self for others. †¢Another use of storytelling concerns historical legacy. By telling their daughters about their family histories, the mothers ensure that their lives are remembered and understood by subsequent generations, so that the characters who acted in the story never die away completely. In telling their stories to their daughters, the mothers try to instill them with respect for their Chinese ancestors and their Chinese pasts. Suyuan hopes that by finding her long-lost daughters and telling them her story, she can assure them of her love, despite her apparent abandonment of them. When Jing-mei sets out to tell her half-sisters Suyuan’s story, she also has this goal in mind, as well as her own goal of letting the twins know who their mother was and what she was like. †¢Storytelling is also used as a way of controlling one’s own fate. In many ways, the original purpose of the Joy Luck Club was to create a place to exchange stories. Faced with pain and hardship, Suyuan decided to take control of the plot of her life. The Joy Luck Club did not simply serve as a distraction; it also enabled transformation—of community, of love and support, of circumstance. Stories work to encourage a certain sense of independence. They are a way of forging one’s own identity and gaining autonomy. Waverly understands this: while Lindo believes that her daughter’s crooked nose means that she is ill-fated, Waverly dismisses this passive interpretation and changes her identity and her fate by reinventing the story that is told about a crooked nose. †¢The Problem of Immigrant Identity At some point in the novel, each of the major characters expresses anxiety over her inability to reconcile her Chinese heritage with her American surroundings. Indeed, this reconciliation is the very aim of Jing-mei’s journey to China. While the daughters in the novel are genetically Chinese (except for Lena, who is half Chinese) and have been raised in mostly Chinese households, they also identify with and feel at home in modern American culture. Waverly, Rose, and Lena all have white boyfriends or husbands, and they regard many of their mothers’ customs and tastes as old-fashioned or even ridiculous. Most of them have spent their childhoods trying to escape their Chinese identities: Lena would walk around the house with her eyes opened as far as possible so as to make them look European. Jing-mei denied during adolescence that she had any internal Chinese aspects, insisting that her Chinese identity was limited only to her external features. Lindo meditates that Waverly would have clapped her hands for joy during her teen years if her mother had told her that she did not look Chinese. As they mature, the daughters begin to sense that their identities are incomplete and become interested in their Chinese heritage. Waverly speaks wishfully about blending in too well in China and becomes angry when Lindo notes that she will be recognized instantly as a tourist. One of Jing-mei’s greatest fears about her trip to China is not that others will recognize her as American, but that she herself will fail to recognize any Chinese elements within herself. †¢Of the four mothers, L indo expresses the most anxiety over her cultural identity. Having been spotted as a tourist during her recent trip to China, she wonders how America has changed her. She has always believed in her ability to shift between her true self and her public self, but she begins to wonder whether her â€Å"true† self is not, in fact, her American one. Even while a young girl in China, Lindo showed that she did not completely agree with Chinese custom. She agonized over how to extricate herself from a miserable marriage without dishonoring her parents’ promise to her husband’s family. While her concern for her parents shows that Lindo did not wish to openly rebel against her tradition, Lindo made a secret promise to herself to remain true to her own desires. This promise shows the value she places on autonomy and personal happiness—two qualities that Lindo associates with American culture. †¢Jing-mei’s experience in China at the end of the book certainly seems to support the possibility of a richly mixed identity rather than an identity of warring opposites. She comes to see that China itself contains American aspects, just as the part of America she grew up in—San Francisco’s Chinatown—containe †¢ Storytelling – Narrative Style, Symbolism, Figurative Language †¢She uses storytelling to in order for the different characters to understand each others struggles as well as the reader to understand the lives and emotions of both the mother and the daughters †¢The stories they tell are often educational, warning against certain mistakes or giving advice based on past successes. For instance, Ying-ying’s decision to tell Lena about her past is motivated by her desire to warn Lena against the passivity and fatalism that Ying-ying suffered. Storytelling is also employed to communicate messages of love and pride, and to illumine one’s inner self for others. †¢Another use of storytelling concerns historical legacy. By telling their daughters about their family histories, the mothers ensure that their lives are remembered and understood by subsequent generations, so that the characters who acted in the story never die away completely. In telling their stories to their daughters, the mothers try to instill them with respect for their Chinese ancestors and their Chinese pasts. Suyuan hopes that by finding her long-lost daughters and telling them her story, she can assure them of her love, despite her apparent abandonment of them. When Jing-mei sets out to tell her half-sisters Suyuan’s story, she also has this goal in mind, as well as her own goal of letting the twins know who their mother was and what she was like. †¢Storytelling is also used as a way of controlling one’s own fate. In many ways, the original purpose of the Joy Luck Club was to create a place to exchange stories. Faced with pain and hardship, Suyuan decided to take control of the plot of her life. The Joy Luck Club did not simply serve as a distraction; it also enabled transformation—of community, of love and support, of circumstance. Stories work to encourage a certain sense of independence. They are a way of forging one’s own identity and gaining autonomy. Waverly understands this: while Lindo believes that her daughter’s crooked nose means that she is ill-fated, Waverly dismisses this passive interpretation and changes her identity and her fate by reinventing the story that is told about a crooked nose. †¢ All the stories in her books are interlocking personal narrative in different voices. The narrators appear as characters in each other’s stories as well as tell their own stories, Tan does not have to fully develop the narrator’s voice in each story. While American daughters like Jing-mei employ personal narrative as a way of telling stories, the ’’ Because this indirect means is the only way Jing-mei’s mother c an interpret and express her experiences, she is shocked into silence when her daughter speaks directly about the daughters she abandoned in China years earlier. Point of View †¢In â€Å"Two Kinds† the perspective moves back and forth between the adult and then child. In this way, Tan tells the story through the child’s innocent view and the adult’s experienced eyes. This allows reader to make judgments of their own, to add their own interpretations of the mother daughter struggle. Figurative Language †¢This literary device also invites readers to think about the way memory itself functions, how we use events in the past to help make sense of our present. Literary critic Ben Xu explains that ‘‘it is not just that we have ‘images,’ ‘pictures,’ and ‘views’ of ourselves in memory, but that we also have ‘stories’ and narratives to tell about the past which both shape and convey our sense of self. Our sense of what has happened to us is entailed not in actual happening but in meaningful happenings, and the meanings of our past experience . . . are constr ucts produced in much the same way that narrative is produced. ’’ †¢In other words memory is a two-way street; it shapes the story as much as the story makes the memory. In Xu’s words, ‘‘memory is not just a narrative, even though it does have to take a narrative form; it is more importantly an experiential relation between the past and the present, projecting a future as well. ’’ Tan’s style is mainly composed of storytelling as a way for her characters to share their history and retell the significant events of their lives. The Chinese mothers find it exceptionally difficult to talk about their lives due to the language barrier; therefore Tan uses a strategy that is borrowed from Chinese folk tradition called talk story (Brent). E. D. Huntley defines talk story as ‘‘a narrative strategy for those characters whose ties to Chinese tradition remain strong. ’’ It allows these characters to ‘‘draw on traditional oral forms to shape their stories and to disguise the urgency and seriousness with which they are attempting to transmit to their daughters the remnants of a culture that is fading even from their own lives. ’’ This means that the mothers, ‘‘who have been socialized into silence for most of their lives,’’ learn to ‘‘reconfigure the events of hese lives into acceptable public utterances: painful experiences are recast in the language of folk tale; cautionary reminders become gnomic phrases; real life takes on the contours of myth (Huntley). † Story telling serves many different functions in the novel. Primarily, the mother’s use storytelling to communicate with their daughters about their past and better relate to their daughters. In Kitchen God’s Wife, Winnie and Pearl have a hard time understanding each other’s situation as they have had a disconnect since Pearl was a teenager. However, after Winnie tells Pearl the stories of the hardships she had to face living with her abusive husband in China and how that has made her the hard person she is today, Pearl is able to connect better with her mother and understand where she is coming from. Another purpose of storytelling is so the mother’s can teach their daughters important life lessons that can help them be happy as many of the daughters are struggling with their marriages. Thus, she knows that the only way to save her daughter is to tell her story, the story of how her submission to fate and other people’s wills led to discontent and even agony. In her novels, Amy Tan allows her characters to employ storytelling as a device for shaping their histories and making coherent sense of the significant events of their lives. For these characters, storytelling is a means of keeping the past alive and building a bridge between it and the present, of transmitting cultural codes and rituals, of subtly educating their daughters, and finally of somehow imprinting the essence of their selves on the next generation. Tan is especially gifted at weaving multiple stories with a variety of narrators into the intricate fabric of each book. Tan herself has recognized her own ability to construct distinctive and memorable narratives, commenting that her storytelling gifts are responsible in large measure for the ongoing popularity-with readers and critics alike-of her work. She has said that her childhood exposure to Bible stories as well as tons of fairy tales, both Grimm and Chinese (Wang) has made stories a significant element in her writing, and she credits her parents with both instilling in her the impulse to tell stories and providing her with models for unforgettable. In an interview with Gretchen Giles, Amy Tan reveals that she learned the craft of story construction from her father, a very busy Baptist minister who managed to spend quality time with his children by reading his sermons to them and then asking for their opinions on content and language. Citations Xu, Ben. ‘‘Memory and the Ethnic Self: Reading Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club,’’ in MELUS, Vol. 19, No. 1, pp. 3-16. Huntley, E. D. Amy Tan: A Critical Companion, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1998. Brent, Liz. ‘‘Amy Tan Criticism Overview. ’’ Short Stories for Students. Ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 19–20: 288.

Stylishly Reborn Alice In Wonderland Film Studies Essay

Stylishly Reborn Alice In Wonderland Film Studies Essay The original version of Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll is a well-known fairy tale for describing a fantasy world populated by peculiar creatures. A girl named  Alice  who falls down a rabbit hole connected to a  fantasy world described as Wonderland. The newly released movie Alice in Wonderland in 2010 by the director Tim Burton portrays a nineteen-year-old Alice who, 13 years after her previous visit, returns for the first time as a young girl. Tim Burton has a recognizable and distinctive style and thematic content which turn his work into an  oeuvre  and themselves into  auteur which means that Tim Burton slightly changed the original Alice to his style of Alice by adding some different story in the movie. Burton is one such filmmaker, a director who has earned the status of auteur. By portraying grown up Alice, Tim Burton addresses some of both dark and bright sides of the adults society in a stealthy way described as Underland in the movie with visu al elements under the predominant perspective in the shape of fairy tale. In other words, there are hidden sides of Alice in Wonderland such as the use of drugs, gender roles and social hierarchy buried under the fairy tale. This paper analyzes how Tim Burton expresses visual elements to imply hidden meanings of the dark and problematic side and some of the bright side of the adults real society. Kim 2 The movie Alice in Wonderland, released in 2010, brought freshness to the storyline and came out with even deeper meanings implied visually keeping the classic story of Alice in Wonderland by the director Tim Burton. The film adapts many elements besides Carrolls book, rendering it digressive and derivative in the storyline. The movie should not be considered only as a fairy tale for children. Because of the directors style and narrative choices, the movie contains more actual emotional connection by using high quality techniques such as camera movements, colors, angles and lightings. The movie remains a fairy tale but under the surface of the story, it also contains deep psychological structures expressed by the director Tim Burtons style of visual elements such as graphics, camera movements, the contrast between light and shade, and textures in the frames having some deeper messages such as the use of drugs or the dictatorship according to the social class. These visual elements al low the director to represent some hope for the future real society and some of the corrupted adults world hidden under the innocence of a fairy tale. I have naturally thought that no matter what is shown on the movie screen, Alice in Wonderland should always be for innocent children with full of imagination. However, the movie Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton should be regarded as a story of illustrating some parts of corrupted society with the aesthetic visuals shown on the screen. Cleaver and Erdman, who wrote Changing Images Of Alice, reported that analysis of images of Alice found that although the character  of  Alice  was presented differently through time, there were no major changes to the story (Screen 12). The reason is because there had been no remarkable changes in the story of Alice in Wonderland other than Tim Burtons version of it. Tim Burton Kim 3 tried adapting some new point of views by illustrating Alice as a nineteen-year-old girl which implies that she is going to be an adult and enter the adults society soon so that Tim Burton can address deeper messages into the movie with his own style. Daniel Sieden who is engaged in education scholar said that Tim Burton explained the goal of the movie Alice in Wonderland is to try to make it an engaging movie with real emotional connection that he had never felt in other Alice stories (Examiner). The reason why Tim Burton made the film is because to make the original Alice in Wonderland even unique with his own story line making it as Alices second trip to Wonderland which is changed to Underland for grown up Alice. Tim Burton sets up the situation that she does not remember ever being there in the past. Alice mistakenly called Wonderland to Underland in the movie so it is called Underland through the movie which I think was great transition word from Wonderland which implies more c hildrens world with full of curious to Underland which more implies adults dark side of the real world. By setting Alice not remembering visiting Wonderland, Tim Burton connects emotional attachment of being in real Underland reflecting the real world in his style. Moreover, according to Niemiec, author of A Wonderland Journey Through Positive Psychology Interventions, said that though it is a continuation of the classic story in many respects, it is also a unique tale in its own right.  Alice  is now a 19-year-old, in the movie and she must decide whether she wants to accept the marriage proposal of Hamish, the son of a lord.  As she wanders away from the engagement party to reflect on the proposal, her curiosity leads her down the rabbit hole into  Wonderland  which was referred as Underland in the film.  Alices  emergence as a heroine is not only about helping others but also about identity, autonomy, competence, and self-development.  Burtons version is superior in creativity and Kim 4 depth, as well as more resonant with the themes of positive psychology (2). As Niemiec mentions, Tim Burton described well in fantasy way by setting up Alice as a grown up woman. Tim Burton added a chain of a connection between teenagers turning to adults and entering the real grown-up world. Tim Burton pursues his own style of Alice in Wonderland not only with the story of it but also astonishing visual elements generated based on the computer-animated skills. He uses a variety of formal structures such as camera movements, angles, lighting styles, colors, shot framings and visual transitions in each scene in his movie. These various uses of the techniques support discovering some hidden meanings such as the use of drugs, gender roles, and social hierarchy under the surface of the storyline. Throughout the whole movie, there are hundreds of scenes that represent the adults society such as the use of drugs, gender roles and social hierarchy. There are some brief examples showing the use of drugs, gender roles and social hierarchy. Simply, smoking Caterpillar is one of the scenes that shows the use of drugs. For the gender role, First of all, the genre of Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton is an adventurous fantasy. Therefore, there were a lot of scenes that can never happen in the real world even if the movie actually reflects the real world. Thus, there were a lot of scenes that can be interpreted to the use of drugs. When I decided to criticize Alice in Wonderland in my own argument, I personally thought that the film has some sort of allegory for a drug trip which I had never thought of when I read the original Alice in Wonderland in a book when I was a child. It was hard to not see all of the use of drugs once I realized they are in the movie expressed well by visual elements. According to the Unreality Magazine, actually many scenes can be interpreted as the uses of the drugs in Alice in Wonderland such as cocaine, nitros oxide, LSD, crystal meth, marijuana and some more. Almost every scene implied some popular drugs that are big problems in the real world. The way of drawing each scene with the various uses of colors, camera movements, and angles, some characters in the movie can be discovered as using drugs by some changes of their behaviors. For example, almost right after entering the Underland, Alice looks for the Caterplillar called Absolem. The Caterpillars house was hidden by a smoke which seems to be a smoke from cigarettes. At this moment of the scene, the audience can notice that the Caterpillar is definitely smoking a cigarette. When Alice meets the Caterpillar, the Caterpillar is holding a pipe while he talks with Alice. Alice coughs several times because of the smoke from the cigarette. This scene is fairly obvious that the Caterpillar is smoking a cigarette which contains nicotine. Also, Ti m Burton sets Alice and the Caterpillar face each other while talking to each other when the Caterpillar is smoking. This scene reflects the real world that adults smokes in front of people while talking with some people even if they are children no matter how young they are. It implies that adults do not really care the danger of smoking cigarettes to growing up children. This scene addresses problematic side of the corrupted world. People do not actually realize cigarettes are also a kind of drugs. Therefore, they just smoke cigarettes in front of children and the scene shows how adults are not aware of children. Unlike some of the other movies of my childhood such as  The Little Mermaid  or  Beauty and the Beast, Alice had no inclination to find her way to Prince Charming. She instead embraced a childlike curiosity that got her both into trouble and out of it. The gender roles  played out in Disneys newer, live action version of  Alice in Wonderland  are a bit different than both Carolls original book and Disneys original film, however. The fact that the new  Alice in Wonderland features a much older Alice, on the verge of marriage, exposes a bit of our societys infatuation with portraying a much older image as favorable (can kids just not be kids anymore?) This idea of marriage helps exemplify the gender roles present, however. There is much pressure on Alice to not only marry the geeky red-headed aristocrat, but his mother also assumes she will fill her proper gender role by spouting off all of his dietary needs at the very start of the film. Alice seems to go along with it at first, but later catches her sisters husband cheating-this seems to be the turning point in her attitude, and possibly the cause of her running away after the proposal. It is important to note that within  Alice in Wonderland  most of the leadership roles are fulfilled by women-the Queen of Hearts is, of course, the particularly brutal ruler. The White Queen, on the other hand, is the softer, feminine queen that is slowly gaining discreet support. The gender roles of these two queens are very important, especially when you take into consideration the effect their predicament has on Alice. The Queen of Hearts demonstrates that in order to get ahead you must take on a violent and fear-inducing persona-traditionally masculine in our society. The White Queen embraces no such violence, and states a few times within the film that acting violently is against her vows. However, she has no qualms sending others to do her dirty work-hence sending Alice to slay the Jabberwocky (cutting off his head, no less). Though the main leadership roles of  Alice in Wonderland  are held by females, it seems the brains behind the operation in both cases happen to fall with men-the Red Knight for the Red Queen, and most ironically the Mad Hatter for the White Queen. This gives the gender roles an interesting place. The Red Queen is comically shown to be quite stupid-and rather naÃÆ' ¯ve as well. The manipulative Knight rules Wonderland through the Queen. The White Queen may be the ruling figurehead trying to rise up in power, but it is the Mad Hatter that leads and organizes the resistance against the Red Queen. Really, the White Queen does little other than stand as a symbol. I commended the makers of  Alice in Wonderland  at first for allowing the White Queen to retain her femininity, but it was because of her particular lack of action that I was a bit saddened. She needed Alice to save her kingdom and stand as her champion, but again, Alice had to take on masculine traits in order to do this. Now, I have no problems with females embracing courage within childrens movies. Empowering girls is a great action to take, but I feel at the same time that it is a bit archaic that in order to succeed one must take on masculine characteristics. In this way, the gender roles within  Alice in Wonderland  are a bit hegemonic in nature-perpetuating the idea of masculine as ideal in our society. This ideal is perpetuated in the end of the film. I loved that Alice did not end up marrying, and became a part of the company her father left behind-a positive message showing that Alice indeed has the adventurous nature of her father. But forsaking the traditional female gender role to embrace a more masculine version also isnt the answer. What would have been the proper ending for  Alice in Wonderland? There is no easy answer here. I dont believe that the ending was improper, or sexist. It is obviously attempting to empower young girls to seek new horizons, which I entirely support. My suggestion is perhaps to not make the contrast between feminine and masculine quite so sharp. It shouldnt be settle down and be a housewife vs. adventure with your fathers trade route and see the world, after slaying a hideous creature. Gender roles today should be much more fluid in their interpretation, I believe. Why such a stark dichotomy between masculine and feminine within  Alice in Wonderland, as well as our own culture? Im not saying we should perpetuate historical female gender roles, but we shouldnt demonize them either. The point is to consider all gender attributes to be equal, and just as likely within every person.  Alice in Wonderland  does a good job of showing females embracing masculine characteristics (in bot h positive and negative ways), but they do little in showing men with fluid gender roles, positively embracing typically female gender attributes. I think  Alice in Wonderland  made a good effort at empowering young girls to overcome their traditional gender roles to broaden horizons. I believe by giving the White Queen highly feminine traits, and the Red Queen negatively violent traits, we see a step in the right direction in getting away from idealized aggressive masculine traits. Though there are some obvious issues, I would say  Alice in Wonderland  did a relatively good job in promoting healthy gender roles to the youth of our culture. But more work is still yet to be done.