Berlin Conference Essay

The Berlin Conference is a conference that was held in Berlin in an effort to reach and agreement among European nations regarding the distribution of goods and free trade in Central African Territories. The Berlin Conference had the greatest political imperial impact during the 19th centuries because the conference was where all of the European countries decide which pieces of Africa each European nation would get and this resulted in many new changes for Africa both positive and negative. The Berlin Conference had a political impact on the division of Africa by the European nations. â€Å"One of the main goals of the Berlin Conference was to secure free trade in the Congo Region.†(Finkelman, 1998). During the conference no African representatives were invited. Africans were considered to be uncivilized, so they were not included. â€Å"Thinking that Belgium would be easier to influence than the more powerful Great Britain, France, or Portugal, Bismarck backed up IAC’s (International Association of the Congo)†. (Stock, 2013) other countries eventually came to an understanding and the IAC got control of many miles of land of the Congo River Basin. The General Act, which was signed at the Berlin Conference, which secured access to the Niger and Congo rivers for all nations. â€Å"The basis of the General Act had the intentions to abolish the slave trade and insure Africa’s native population kept their morals† (Leopold II, 1890) and comf ort along with health, which was an extremely positive intention. Other consequences from the Berlin Conference were the economic impact over the division of Africa. Even though the â€Å"Berlin Act was greatly concerned with free trade, mainly in liquor between the European Nations, it is generally recognized as the first time the European nations formally recognized any sort of duty to Africans.† (Finkelman, 1998). Even though Atlantic slave trade was essentially extinguished, slaves continued to be traded in Africa and exported to Arabia. The Berlin Act explained that they  would have abolished slave trade to improve the conditions of their health and well-being. The Berlin Act also provided that â€Å"Trading in slaves is forbidden in conformity with the principles of the international law as recognized by the Signatory Powers.† (Stock, 2013) Nevertheless, this did not accommodate any provisions for enforcement. Therefore the Berlin Act has an insufficient impact or absolutely no impact on the slave trade in Africa. Although, ev en with their choice of what to trade, the trading industry boomed which is a positive impact on Europeans only. Other than the slave trade many goods were distributed abroad such as cloth, iron, copper, shells, jewelry, ivory, spices, and many more which had a positive impact on the economy due to many new things being discovered and traded. The economic and political impact unintentionally influenced the social impact of Africa due to the European and Africans coming together. Most Africans did not benefit from interacting with the Europeans. â€Å"Europeans were discriminative against the Africans because of their dark skin color† (Finkelman, 1998), leading to the Africans becoming the slaves of the Europeans in the Americas. â€Å"The Europeans benefitted from the use of Africans† (Stock, 2013), being their slaves because they are receiving labor without having to pay for it. With the coming together of nations there was great tension and racism between the two because of the skin color and many more reasons. In conclusion the Berlin Conference has the greatest political impact during the 19th centuries on the division of Africa by the European Nations. The division of Africa led to slave trade and loss of culture. The Europeans took over Africa and made it their own by having free labor by transporting Africans around the world to work. The Berlin Conference had good intentions by abolishing slave trade but it unintentionally led to many bad things effecting Africans but benefiting the Europeans.

Memo Review Essay

The writer knowing the audience will help with what information to keep or remove, whether the memo will be formal or informal, and word choice. Memoradum Review An informal memo, typically, is between two colleagues for notification of information or to obtain input on different subjects. Andrew Accountant’s memo was an informal memo the teammates to obtain information on the inventory methods of LastIn/FirstOut (LIFO) and FirstIn/ FirstOut (FIFO). The review of Andrew’s memo will show what information to use or remove and word choice, which both depends on the writer’s knowledge of the audience. Repercussions can arise when there is no knowledge of the audience. Inclusion of Information The information of a memo is important because it tells the audience the reason for writing the memo. Memorandums can have information that does not apply to the message. For instance, Andrew had information about Macy’s winning the test case against the United States right to use LIFO. This information is not necessary because it does not apply to the company. A memo with information overload can cause the audience to lose their attention, and it has the potential of letting the audience know that they have no knowledge of the subject. Word Choice â€Å"The words that communicate best will be those that appeal to your particular readers and enable them easily to understand what you are trying to say† (Flatley, Lesikar, & Rentz, p. 27, 2008). Word choice is important to written communication because it conveys the tone and personality of the writer; the audience cannot see the nonverbal communication, which it conveys the emotion and feelings behind verbal communication (Beebe & Masterson, p. 144, 2006), in written communication. For example, Andrew wrote stating the possibility that the team will recommend LIFO. The statement conveys the decision of which inventory method to recommend is made without team discussion. The team could have confusion on team leadership and feel their opinions do not matter which can harm the group communication. Andrew should have started the statement with ‘in my opinion’ and then the supporting details of his opinion. Jargon is a special language used in a group (jargon, n. d. ). The use of accounting terms is necessary for Andrew’s informal memo because it is the language used between the team. If the memo were to be directed at a different audience, there should be explanations of the accounting terms, so the audience can understand, or do not use the terms. When the audience cannot understand the message, they will lose attention and feel the writer was in rush and did not care about the message. Conclusion Overall, the audience is important because the audience has an influence on the language, format, and information. The writer wants to keep the audience attention and make sure the audience can understand the memo. Written communication can improve or harm a relationship depending on how the audience interprets the message. To achieve this, proofreading and editing is important to having an effective memo. Well-written memos are a good way of communication and show others with â€Å"respect and friendly human concern† (Flatley, Lesikar, & Rentz, p. 76, 2008). References Beebe, S. , & Masterson, J. (2006). Communicating in Small Groups: Principles and Practices (8th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Flatley, M. E. , Lesikar, R. V. , & Rentz, K. (2008). Business Communication (11th ed. ). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. jargon. (n. d. ). The American Heritage ® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Retrieved February 05, 2013, from Dictionary. com website: http://dictionary. reference. com/browse/jargon INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT FROM:AFTDEN WHITE & TEAMMATES SUBJECT:LAST IN/FIRST OUT & FIRST IN/FIRST OUT DATE: FEBRUARY 5, 2013 In response, to the request of overview inventory methods: Last In/ First Out and First In/ First Out. The team researched and discussed the contrast between the two inventory methods. The choice of Last In/ First Out and First In/First Out will influence the profit and loss statements. The company should continue using Last In/ First Out if the costs remain the same, but we should move to First In/First Out if the costs increase, as expected. The question of whether the company’s Cost of Goods Sold and inventories cost will increase or decrease with the use of the two inventory methods. To our findings, the First In/First Out will decrease the value of the Cost of Goods Sold and have an increase value of inventory. The Last In/ First Out will decrease the value of Cost of Goods Sold and decrease the value of inventory. To improve the company’s cash flow and profit margin, the Last In/ First Out method is best. With Last In/ First Out, we can continue to reduce federal and state corporate income taxes. The reduction of corporate income taxes has leaded the company to better cash flow and profit margin. We recommend continuing to use the Last In/First Out because of the improvements it will have on cash flows and profit margin. Please find the overview to be helpful in making the decision of which inventory method to apply to the company. .

A Game of Chance: Eat at Your Own Risk around Northeastern Essay

For freshmen, it's about getting away from the cafeteria. For upperclassmen, it's either not knowing how to cook or not having enough time to cook. When it comes to food at Northeastern University -- eating out is king. However, many students never consider what goes on behind the scenes at one of the local eateries on or near campus. Most probably don't want to know, caring more about the cheap menu than how the food is prepared. The feeling remains that as long as the food is good, then the restaurant too is good. Yet, when someone gets sick from the meal, it then becomes an issue. In and around campus, some restaurants are giving some of their customers more than they bargained for. According to the Boston Inspections Department's health inspections reports, some of the restaurants around campus such as University House of Pizza and Chicken Lou's have serious health infractions and often times, those restaurants are guilty on numerous occasions. At mayorsfoodcourt.com, the Inspections Department has reports on thousands of restaurants in metropolitan Boston. They categorize health infractions into three categories: Foodborne Illness Risk Factor Critical Violation, Critical Violation and Non-Critical Violation. A Foodborne Illness Risk Factor Critical Violation is an infraction that occurs when improper practices or procedures are identified by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the prevalent contributing factors of foodborne illness or injury. This is the most serious infraction that a restaurant can have. An example of one such violation is the restaurant not advising customers against ordering uncooked, or rare, meat. A Critica Pizzeria Uno - 280 Huntington Ave. - Inspected September 24, 2003 7 Risk Factor Critical Violations 3 Critical Violations 14 Minor Violations A Taste of Asia - 267 Huntington Ave. - Inspected July 15, 2003 1 Risk Factor Critical Violation 1 Critical Violation 5 Minor Violations Vinny T's of Boston - 867 Boylston St. - Inspected January 29, 2003 4 Risk Factor Critical Violations 2 Critical Violations 15 Minor Violations University House of Pizza - 452 Huntington Ave. - Inspected October 9, 2003 10 Risk Factor Critical Violations 2 Critical Violations 11 Minor Violations To view the entire inspection reports, visit mayorsfoodcourt.com. To make a complaint about a restaurant, visit the website, call the Division of Health Inspections at 617-635-5326 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or call the mayor's 24-hour hotline at 617-635-4500.

Service Contracting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Service Contracting - Essay Example 2. Feasibility study is essential in evaluating the practicality of a project. Normally, when services providers are solicited through an RFP (request for proposal), a solicited proposal is developed and feasibility analysis is carried out in order to assess the associated costs, risks and timelines. Feasibility analyses help in mitigating the risks and provide a cost-effective way for service providers to proceed with the project. 3. Contractor selection occurs on the basis of the submitted proposals. The solicitation contains the criteria for selection of the contractor in addition to other instructions relating to the evaluation process (Le Roux, 2007). The exact proposal evaluation process for awarding of contract varies. However, contract awarding and the proposal evaluation processes are prone to biases such as lack of competition, less number of submitted proposals, deviation from the company’s policies, and lack of compliance. Manny issues stem from lack of competition itself, for example, monopolistic pricing. 4. The best practice is to ensure that the selected contractor possesses the ability to meet the needs of the project. All written contracts should be formally documented and the specifications and requirements must be clearly defined beforehand. In addition, there must be a sufficient level of completion, that is, there must be a sufficient number of proposals received before the contract is awarded (Savas. 2005). If not, a sole source justification must be provided making a case for the only supplier. Auditing of the evaluation process and contract awarding must be carried out in order to ensure compliance with the policies in addition to contract monitoring. 5. Contract monitoring allows the contractors to be looked out for their compliance with the ethical standards and policies. In case of any deviations, law enforcement agencies as well as the

People Resourcing and Development Unit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

People Resourcing and Development Unit - Essay Example PAs can be used for development with proper manager training and with employee involvement at each stage of the evaluation process. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1 2. Benefits of Performance Appraisals 1 3. PAs as control mechanism 1 4. Drawbacks of the feedback system 3 5. Multi-source approval 3 6. PA system can be used for development 4 7. Conclusion 4 References 5 1. Introduction Employee development is a key activity of human resource management and focuses on the process of developing people within organizations. However, organizations oscillate between development and control – the two opposed sets of motivations. The delivery of effective people development process requires effective performance appraisal mechanisms. The traditional approach has been to achieve efficiency by imposing management control but over time it has been found that such an approach is counter-productive (Meyer 1991). In fact most researchers find that performance appraisals are disliked by b oth subordinate and managers alike. For some the process can be unnerving and a frightening experience which can lead to tension between the supervisor and the subordinate (Schareder, Bectorn and Portis 2007). The motivation to control employees manifests in performance management and in performance-related-pay, believe Hendry et al (2006). Performance appraisals (PAs) are primarily meant for development but the system is misused because people are seen as ‘human resources’ rather than resourceful humans, argue Hendry et al. According to Caulkin (2001, p.32) how organizations manage and develop people has a powerful effect on overall performance (cited in Torrington, Taylor and Hall, 2008). This paper will argue that performance appraisal as used by organizations is a means of controlling, not developing employees in modern work place. 2. Benefits of Performance Appraisals Performance appraisals had become institutionalized during the Industrial Revolution when it becam e necessary to monitor the organizational output (Kondrasuk 2012). It is generally assumed that employees would not like to be monitored but assisted to achieve performance goals, because in the words of Grubb (2007) performance appraisals are meant to engage, align and coalesce individual and group effort towards continuous achievement. Appraisals help identify and correct disparities in performance. The main objective of PAs is to compare between the performance expected from the organization with the performance achieved by the individual (Giangreco, Carugati, Pilati and Sebestiano 2010). PAs reduce employee uncertainty as communication occurs between the manager and the employee. PAs enhance motivation and performance while reducing role ambiguity (Pettijohn et al. 2001). Reduced role ambiguity results in commitment, satisfaction and reduced turnover. Davis and Landa (1999) link appraisals to succession planning, to compensation and promotion decisions. It also provides systemat ic judgment to the organization for salary increases, while making the employee aware of the needed changes in his attitude, behaviour or job knowledge (Obisi 2011). However, all these benefits cannot be achieved if PAs are used as control mechanism. 3. PAs as control mechanism Performance appraisals conducted in the traditional manner have been found to be authoritarian (Meyer 1991). PAs inevitably highlight poor performance (Kondrasuk 2012) and

Organization implications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organization implications - Essay Example The merit pay systems emphasizes on the fact that teachers are to be paid for their achievement in the classroom as opposed to their seniority or the number of ed-school credits that they have collected. This paper will discuss the merit pay system and teacher performance in public schools The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 put the merit system principles into law, specifically section 2301 of title 5 of the U.S. Code. It was set as a national policy intended â€Å"to provide the people of the United States with a competent, honest, and productive workforce...and to improve the quality of public service, Federal personnel management should be implemented consistent with merit system principles† (Pfiffner & Brook, 2000). Since then, the merit system and its principles have been implemented both in the public sector and in private sector in the country. The merit system can be defined as a personnel system applied in the process of hiring and promoting government employees based on merit to obtain the highest efficiency in public personnel functions. The application of the merit system in the public education sector has brought about unending controversies especially with the merit pay issue. The merit pay systems emphasizes on the fact that teachers are to be paid for their achievement in the classroom as opposed to their seniority or the number of ed-school credits that they have collected as it has been done from the 1920s period. Reformers in the education system including the government have emphasized that the merit pay will encourage high performing teachers to do well and drive the lazy ones away, thereby improving the performance of public schools. However, teachers’ unions have continually opposed the move stating that there is no objective way of measuring the classroom performance of a teacher. In addition to this, opposing views have pointed to the fact that the merit pay system has a high chance of failing

How Would You Develop a Safety and Health Management System That Coursework

How Would You Develop a Safety and Health Management System That Achieves Managements Objectives - Coursework Example Additionally, improvement of the safety and health management systems within the organization will improve productivity of working by reducing fears that are usually impacted on them from severely injured workmates. Therefore, the main purpose of initiating and implementing SHMS to its totality is to reduce costs related to injuries at workplace. Notably, saving a crewed by effective implementation of SHMS will definitely exceed the SHMS workplace costs (American National Standard, 2005). The effective SHMS’s critical elements includes the commitment of the management and the employees’ involvement, prevention and control of hazards, supervisors, managers, and employees’ training, worksite analysis. The culture of the organization can have direct influence on safety and health management system successes within the organization. Therefore, this organization must play vital role in ensuring its success in relation to the SHMS (Czerniak and Ostrander, 2005). The management is the first organ of the organization that will be required to manage SHMS just like it would manage other organizational duties and concerns. In other words, the management must integrate safety and health management systems into all organs or departments of the organization (American National Standard, 2005). Moreover, all the departmental heads must be involved personally in establishing safety and health accountabilities within their departments. â€Å"The workplace must be safe and healthful to every employee. All employees must follow and adhere to safe and healthful work practices and outline in each work practice’s safety and healthy rules and regulations.† It is worth noting that working with each departmental head, SHM rules and regulations will be established for every work practice towards ensuring that all the workplaces are safe and healthy for all workers at all

Clinical neural scaffold for olfactory ensheathing cells Thesis

Clinical neural scaffold for olfactory ensheathing cells - Thesis Example It is known that UV can degrade polymer. Previous studies showed that UV wavelength of 250 nm can cleave poly (methyl methacrylate), a standard polymer to its monomer methyl methacrylate and gases (Srinivasan, Braren, & Casey, 1990). Increasing the duration of the sterilization also increased damage to the polymer structure (Shearer, Ellis, Perera, & Chaudhuri, 2005)Recently, UV has been shown to induce significant degradation of PLGC and P(LLA-CL) nanofibers (Yixiang, Yong, Liao, Chan, & Ramakrishna, 2008). The degradation by UV of electrospun nanofibers can be exploited for the fabrication of 3D nanofibrous scaffolds with micropores. For the ethanol sterilization, the global structure of the fibrous mesh shrank in size, detaching part of the fastened portion of the mesh from the membrane insert Investigation on two different scaffolds showed that ethanol sterilization also resulted in damage to the polymer (Shearer, Ellis, Perera, & Chaudhuri, 2005). Digital image analysis from SEM images, showed that average fibre diameter expanded by 21.1% (EOa= 1.08Â µm; EOb=0.89 Â µm) (Error: Reference source not found). ... been the sterilization process of choice in electrospun PLGA nanofiber scaffold for inducing the continuous differentation of mesenchymal stem cells, chondrogenic and osteogThe PMMA membrane inserts were inert to all sterilization processes. enic lineages (Xin, Hussain, & Mao, 2007). Ethylene oxide sterilization had no effect on the inherent viscosity, glass transition temperature and mechanical properties of 82:18 poly(l-lactic acid)-poly(glycolic acid) used on craniofacial plates. The in vitro hydrolysis rates and mechanical strength loss were not also affected providing evidence that ethylene oxide sterilization cycle agrees well with copolymer plates and thus should not affect clinical performance (Pietrzak, 2010). 14.2 Cellular Response on Scaffold Functionalization Scaffolds to encourage cell growth and differentiation must mimic not only the biological but also the physical properties of the extracellular matrix. Functionalization of the engineered scaffolds aims to improve su rface properties towards cell differentiation and proliferation. The high fidelity of the submicron scale features and dimension in the PLGA electrospun fibres mesh after coating and air-drying was verified through SEM (Error: Reference source not foundC, E, G, I). The effect of nanofibres functionalization was then studied by analysing the cellular responses on the nanofibres.After four days in culture, the responses of seeded purified OEC on the four types of functionalization were investigated using immunofluorescence microscopy. All four coatings (collagen, laminin, pLL and pDL) promoted cell attachment, when compared to the non-functionalized PLGA electrospun nanofibres mesh (Error: Reference source not foundD, F, H, J vs. Error: Reference source not foundA). All four

Gangs Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Gangs - Coursework Example o note the direction in which the suspect fled, the mode of transportation he used, the make, color, and model of the vehicle he used as well as the license plates and an any other thing that may describe the vehicle like its condition (Portal.chicagopolice.org, 2014). It is important to observe if the suspect is armed and if so what type as well as the accomplices involved in the crime. This involves an outline of the suspect’s characteristics. First, note the sex of the suspect and the race or nationality if it is possible to identify. A complexion description is also necessary. The body size should come next. This consists of the suspect’s height and build. An estimate of the weight may also be included. The suspect’s age range should also be identified. Another important feature is the hair. This involves color, style, texture and length (Portal.chicagopolice.org, 2014). Also note the nature of the eyes in terms of color, shape, eyebrows and eyelashes. Physical peculiarities like limps, high pitched voice and accents need to be remembered. Start with the general appearance of the suspect, whether, neat, sloppy, well-groomed or dirty. Then give a description of the pieces of clothing that he or she is wearing. This incorporates the color, length, accessories, design, patterns and style of everything that the suspect is wearing, from the hat, shirt, coat and trousers to the socks, shoes and jewelry (Portal.chicagopolice.org, 2014). If there are any oddities it is important to mention them. The mugging occurred at the union street train station at six o’clock in the evening. There was only one attacker armed with a knife. The suspect was a Hispanic male in his mid twenties, about six feet tall and weighed around 200 pounds. He had black hair that was straight and short with a receding hairline. He had large brown, bloodshot eyes with heavy eyebrows. His cheeks were deep set with a double chin that was covered by a two day beard. He spoke in a deep voice

A tale of two airlines case Essay Example for Free

A tale of two airlines case Essay As Professor Roger McPherson’s wait to go through the security process a second time dragged on into its third hour on this Spring day in 2002, (all passengers had to be rescreened upon the discovery that one of the airport screening machines was unplugged) he was reminded of another delayed business trip and the role that information technology played in the story. At 5:30pm on February 15, 1995, 200 feet off the ground, Professor Roger McPherson gazed anxiously through the fog as his airplane moved to touch down at Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, more than 1 hour and 15 minutes late. He had 30 minutes to catch his 6:00pm flight to London, where he would be meeting with the executive leadership of a major British power company to discuss their information strategy. He felt fortunate, however, to be flying this carrier, which had a reputation for outstanding service. He was even more comfortable because he had a full-fare first-class ticket and was a Gold Card member. Professor McPherson was always uneasy about the large premium charged for full, first-class tickets, but knew that in a crunch it often meant the difference between a making a connection and missing one. He well remembered a decade ago flying this airline from Milan to London to connect to a flight to New York. Bad weather then had also reduced his 1-hour-and-30-minute connect time to 10 minutes. A discussion of the problem with the first-class cabin attendant had resulted in a phone call from the pilot to London (the airlines hub city), and a car to whisk him and one other passenger to the New York flight, which took off only one minute late. That extraordinary service had made Professor McPherson a 10-year devotee of the airline. In the network age, he knew it would be different and he was secure. The airline flying to London would have identified him off their computer as a close-connecting passenger. It would have noted he checked no bags through, and it would be anxious to capture his $2,500 fare—about 10 times that of the average passenger—on an only moderately loaded flight. As his plane pulled into the gate at 5:40pm, he knew it would be tight but he would make it, particularly given the fact that all planes were coming in late. Moving his 57-year-old frame into a dim recollection of a high school 400-meter specialist, he set off. Two escalator rides and one train ride later, the gate came into sight and he braked to a halt at 5:53pm. It was close, but he had done it. Looking through the airport window, however, he was stunned to see the air bridge detached from the plane with splendid teutonic efficiency 7 minutes early. The door to the bridge was closed, no agent was in sight, and he was reduced to waving his bags through the window to the pilot 20 yards away (it had, after all, worked once in a similar situation on Continental Airlines). Alas, by 5:58pm the plane was pushed back, and the agents emerged and quite cheerfully (and unregretfully; they had no clue who he was) booked him onto another airline that would leave 1 hour and 45 minutes later. He would be 30 minutes late for his meeting in London, but the executives would understand. Distinctly irritated, he straggled off to the new airline’s first class lounge to begin a frantic series of phone calls and faxes to the United Kingdom. As he trudged through the airport, McPherson began to see the beginning of a lecture on service in the network economy and the fact that technology is only a small enabling piece of a total service concept. At 7:50pm, comfortably seated in the first-class cabin of his new carrier, McPherson jerked to attention as the captain came on to announce that because of a leak in the hydraulic system, there would be an aircraft change and a two-and-one-half-hour delay. Sprinting off the plane, McPherson realized that the meeting with the power company executives, planned three months ago, would be over before he got there. The following day he was due in Frankfurt to give the keynote address at a major information systems conference. Flying to the United Kingdom to connect to Frankfurt would be a hassle and unnecessary since the purpose of stopping in the United Kingdom   was now totally negated. Glancing up at the departure board, McPherson was surprised to see a 7:55pm boarding departure for a plane to Frankfurt, nine gates away. Pulling into the gate at 8:02pm, he discovered several things: 1. The plane was at the gate, and with commendable dispatch the gate agent relieved him of his London boarding pass and his London-to-Frankfurt ticket and hustled him onto the plane minutes before the door closed. 2. The cabin attendant, giving him his favorite drink, explained that because of favorable tail winds across the Atlantic and the fact that eight passengers (plus now McPherson and one other) had very tight connections, they had decided to hold the plane for 15 minutes to get the extra passengers and still arrive on schedule. The note of pride in the cabin attendants voice was evident. One-and-a-half hours later, appropriately wined and dined, McPherson drifted off to sleep, reflecting on what a remarkable case study had played out in front of him in the previous two hours. Information technology, operations strategy, management control, an empowered (also unempowered) work force, and service management had been interwoven into a tableau. A revised format for his speech in Frankfurt began to emerge. Best of all, he would not have to go through a case release process because it had all happened to him.

Motivation and Personality Motivation is a business and how it affects consumers

Motivation and Personality Motivation is a business and how it affects consumers 3.4 Motivation and Personality Motivation is a stimulating factor; it generates a behaviour which gratifies a need (Meyer et al., 2004 and Parish et al 2008). As a particular need satisfies, it generates a new one thus needs are perennial (Drakopoulos, S. A., 1994). As per Abraham Maslow consumer behaviour or purchasing decisions are based on their live pyramid which is exhibited in Fig (1.1). Â  This figure also clarifies priority decisions based on economic and general circumstances. Maslows motivational need theory states that people are encouraged through their unsatisfied needs. It further implies that lower needs should be fulfilled prior to higher needs. Also, he stresses that each and every need (i.e. survival, physiological, love, safety, and esteem)Â  should be fulfilled in an unbiased manner (Gawel, 1997). The definitions of motivation (Meyer et al., 2004 and Parish et al 2008) and the concept of needs (Drakopoulos, S. A., 1994) emphasis over consumers purchase decisions. These definitions clearly justify that there is a relation between consumer behaviour and Maslows motivational theory; as a person who is living in a street, would be more interested in food and shelter rather than keeping money to buy a BMW car. Maslows theory is quite pertinent for marketing purpose as marketers must keep into consideration this theory while designing marketing tactics and strategies, and specifically for marketing communications quotes and messages. The Maslows theory is appropriately elaborated below :- Fig.1.6 Source: (Huitt. 2004, pp1). Physiological needs are primary needs of human being; it comprises the basic necessities of life (food, clothing, and shelter). These needs are more significant than safety needs or other needs which are in the hierarchy (Maslow, 1970). He further described these needs as survival needs, and stated that their gratification is prominent in order to fulfil other hierarchical needs. Security and safety comes under safety needs, it includes economic security and physical safety and economic security. Once an individual becomes physically secured and economically stable, he/she start focusing to social needs, which consist of need for love, affection, intimacy, acceptance etc. After gratifying social needs, he/she starts craving for self accomplishment, which means prestige and social status. The final need is Self-Actualization when the individual recognises his/her personal potential, seeks personal growth, self-fulfilment and peak experiences. The main question here is how these needs do affects consumers purchasing behaviours, and what are the marketing implications? Norwood proposes that Maslows hierarchy is very helpful to describe and understand the variety of information that individuals search in order to gratify their needs at various levels. Norwood (1999) again stated that individuals at the lowest level only look for information which will him/her help to get their basic needs. Hence, any information which is not directly helping the individual to meet basic need will be ignored. He further emphasized that individual who is at the safety level of the hierarchy will be interested for that information which will help him/her to be secure and safe. Belongingness needs can be easily sought out by Enlightening information [which is generally found in books, magazines or other materials pertaining to relationship development]. He further evoked that Individual at the esteem level would be more interested to gather Empowering information which will help him/her to satisfy their self ego. In order to satisfy cognitive, aesthetic, and Self-actualization needs, edifying information would be helpful. While Norwood does not specifically address the level of transcendence, I believe it safe to say that individuals at this stage would seek information on how to connect to something beyond themselves or to how others could be edified (Huitt, 2004) 3.5 Learning and Perception Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organises and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the world. (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999, pp21) It is also defined as changes in an individuals behaviour based on experience. Learning and Perception are very prominent and persuading psychological factors in consumers buying decisions. Within the domain of perception, self concept is the totality of an individuals thoughts and feelings about oneself. Thus ones thoughts and feelings influences how one selects, organises and interprets information to create a picture of the world (Rosenberg 1979 and DeLamater, 2003) After intensely analysing the two definitions [perception by Pizam and Mansfeld and self concept by Rosenberg], it can be easily conclude that consumers perception about product affect his/her purchase decision as purchase decision is directly proportionate to consumer perception. Repercussion of perception in marketing is that people selectively perceive what they look forward for which ultimately affect their buying decisions. Different perceptions impact consumers decision making differently (Pizam and Mansfeld 1999) Selective perception notifies that it is a tendency of customer to organize and interpret information constantly, on the other side selective exposure proposes that customer pay attention to those thoughts and messages which are connected to its belief and attitude. And if in case these messages are not related or connected than they remain unnoticed and ignored. Just opposite to this approach, selective comprehension states that customer interprets only that information which is consistent with their held attitude and belief. The other element of perception is selective retention which reveals that everyday customer come across several advertisement, marketing communication messages, emails etc but they do not remember all that they see, read, and hear, hence they are always very selective as what to retain and what not. Lastly comes, subliminal perception, it stresses that several times customer hear and see messages without awareness, nevertheless, the impact of these messages on buying decisions is still pretty arguable. Learning is a behaviour which result into repetitive buying. It comprises the process of automatic reaction to a circumstance constructed through constant exposure of it (i.e. Behavioural learning); monitoring the results of others buying behaviour and correct it accordingly (i.e. cognitive learning) and the next arguable point is loyalty, its a positive and supportive attitude or in other words consistent purchase of a single brand again and again (Kerin et al., 2003). As per Delamater (2003), lifestyle means learning of influenc, how an individual live, what products he/she buys, how he/she use it, what they actually think about these products and how they feel. Moreover, attitude, values and beliefs are other very important psychological factors that stimulate consumer decision making. 3.6 Marketing, Social and Economic Factors influencing consumer purchase decisions There are various factors like social, environmental, marketing, promotional, and economic except psychological factors, that play vital role in consumer buying decision. Persuasive promotional campaigns, advertisements and other informative messages are at time very useful while consumer buying decisions such as whilst information search phase, adverts serve as significant source in order to evaluate information regarding rival brands. [as discussed in chapter three] Moreover, marketing campaigns also convince consumer to a large extent in order to identify their wants and needs towards products and services (inception of decision making process) Some factors like economic factor are as prominent as psychological influences (Pizam and Mansfeld, 1999; Norwood, 1999; Kerinn et al., 2003 and De Lamater, 2003) For instance, If need is identified, it is dependent on the consumers economic powers that can actually decide whether to buy products or services or not to gratify the urge. At times consumers ethical values could also stimulate the buying behaviour. Additionally, disposable income and availability of finance have great impact on buying a product or brand over other, in a broader sense it greatly impact consumers buying decisions. According to a research in US, it is revealed that the level of disposable income is considered most important factor which impact automobile demand. It further showed that the scarcity of fuel and frequent hike in gasoline prices also influenced the demand of cars to a great extent and noticed a steep fall in demand (Carlson, 1978) Soon, another research was carried out by Carlson and Michael (1980) with the aim to forecast the demand of US car industry. This research concluded that disposable income is a major factor that affects the final demand. It also revealed that price plays a significant role to decrease the sale of automobile. Similarly various other studies was carried out to by various researcher like Arguea, Hsiao and Taylor (1994), Kang and Chen (1996) Kobos, Erickson, and Drennen (2003) over the topics study of the US car industry and research of demand for Chinese automobiles. All of them concluded that prices of fuel and income of the consumer stimulates the demand of cars. Their research also demonstrated that availability of credit and income are very important determining factor of consumer decision. Here the foremost question arises that how the recent economic recession result in to decrease in the demand of goods and especially for cars [which this project intends to uncover]. Generally, during recession, consumers even those who are employed] are sceptical and more conscious about their spending and more towards savings money for future uncertainties, and this is one of the reasons of reduced demand of goods and it is quite apparent in the car industry. Further, the impact of this and all other theories discussed above are analysed in chapter four and five.

Narsapur vs. America :: Feminism Feminist Essays

Narsapur vs. America This Women’s Studies Senior Seminar class has provided the opportunity to read about many cross-cultural issues pertaining to women. In the article, â€Å"Women Workers and Capitalist Scripts: Ideologies of Domination, Common Interests, and the Politics of Solidarity† by Chandra Talpade Mohanty, issues of â€Å"poor women worker in the global capitalist arena† (3) are addressed. Mohanty focuses on the plight of exploited, poor Third-World women. She illuminates specific issues that relate to the transformation of developing countries to capitalism. Mohanty’s article is split up into sections, the section that I want to focus on in order to compare key issues between Narsapur and America is called â€Å"Housewives and Homework: The Lacemakers of Narsapur." In this specific article Mohanty illuminates the effects that capitalism has on areas that are being developed, she portrays its effects on women as well as men. In Narsapur the lace making industry skyrocketed between the years 1970 and 1978. As a result of the increased demand, the process of making lace and the final product, which is lace, has been feminized while the trade or exportation of the lace is viewed as business, as a masculinize activity. Women working outside the home in this culture are defined as housewives, hence the job of being a lacemaker is defined as housework. Mohanty argues that the â€Å"definition of women as housewives also suggests the heterosexualization of women’s work - women are always defined in relation to men and conjugal marriage† (12). As a result of the heterosexualization of women’s work plus the feminization of the process and product and the masculinization of the trade â€Å"men sell women’s products and live on profits from women’s labor† (12). I think there are similarities between the hegemony in Narsapur and in the United States. Our society’s practices and treatment towards women’s work and the treatment of women’s work in Naraspur can be compared. One comparison in the U.S. is the treatment of women’s work outside of the job force. By sheer lack of acknowledgement, women’s work inside the home is overlooked and hence not considered to be work at all. Work that receives no recognition is invisible and invisibility of work carries with it no economic power. American women are still perceived as primarily being housewives first, then they are doctors or lawyers or you can fill in the blank.

Sayo Masuda’s Autobiography of a Geisha Essay -- Sayo Masuda Autobiogr

Sayo Masuda’s Autobiography of a Geisha Autobiography of a Geisha was originally written for a memoir competition run by the Japanese magazine Housewife’s Companion. Sayo Masuda wrote and submitted her manuscript in hopes of winning the monetary prize offered. She won second place in the competition and came to the attention of an editor who helped her expand her story and publish it as a book. Riding on the wave of interest stirred by Arthur Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha, G. G. Rowley translated Sayo Masuda’s tale for the American market. Rowley did an excellent job of capturing Masuda’s voice in his translation. If English had been Masuda’s native language, the result might easily have been Rowley’s translation. Masuda’s tale is heart-wrenching. First sent to work as a nursemaid as a small girl, Masuda escaped the torments of that life only to be sold to a hot-springs geisha house. At the hot-springs geisha house, Masuda was again a tormented soul, barely above a prostitute. Her danna, or patron, was hardly a rescuer. Masuda chafed against her role, even attempting suicide to release herself from serving a man for whom she had neither love nor respect. The advent of World War II eventually freed Masuda from the life of a geisha, but her tale continued to be one of hardship. Masuda took on the responsibility of looking after her little brother and traded various goods on the black market to support her brother and herself. When times were hard, Masuda prostituted herself to American soldier s. She eventually found a job at a diner, but life continued to be a struggle until she wrote her autobiography. Masuda endured much during her lifetime and is unflinching in her writing. Readers should expect to come away from Autobi... ...en from the perspective of the geisha elite and hold true for the upper echelons of the geisha world alone. Readers should enjoy Masuda’s book while keeping in mind that her experiences do not hold true for all geisha, only for the hot-springs geisha, the dregs of the geisha world. Works Cited â€Å"Autobiography of a Geisha (Book).† Kirkus Reviews. 71.5 (March 1, 2003). Gavin, William F. â€Å"Irish intrigue, geisha woes, Canadian angst.† The Washington Times. Masuda, Sayo. Autobiography of a Geisha. Trans. G. G. Rowley. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. Napier, Susan J. â€Å"Autobiography of a Geisha Book Review.† Persimmon Magazine. Palmer, Kimberly Shearer. â€Å"Geisha reality.† Women’s Review of Books. 20.12 (September 2003): 14.

Story about a Car Wreck Essay -- Personal Narrative Essays

â€Å"We have to get them out of there!† I heard voices yelling out in the distance, but was to lightheaded to know where they were coming from. Confused, shocked and fear filled my mind as I lye on my side, gasping for air, trying desperately to stagger onto my knees. A sharp pain suddenly ran up my spine into my forehead and quickly I collapsed back onto the cold damp floor inside this mangled metal coffin in which I was trapped in. Bit by bit I moved my hand closer to my forehead, trying to impede this massive throbbing that was affecting my head. I skimmed my forehead and paused my hand on a huge gash. The pain shot into my head again, but I was able to clutch on to the seat and hold my balance. There was blood pouring down the side of my face, forming a puddle on the floor. As I lifted my head up, all I could see were lights flashing and ghostly shadows moving in all directions. The blood that I had loss slowly took affect on me, feeling disoriented I plummeted to the ground hoping that this twisted metal coffin would not become my tombstone. â€Å"I don’t want to go!† I shouted at my mom. â€Å"Perry get in the car, no questions asked!†She refused to repeat herself. My mom was one of those people who had been through a lot in her life. When you stared in her eyes, instead of her backing down she would stare right back at you with 10 times the force, which literally felt like your eyeballs were being pushed right to the back of your head. She always made dinner for the family, and like any women had a little â€Å"me† time where no one could bother her as she filled her brain with useless T.V drama. â€Å"Hurry your lazy ass up† my little brother swiftly remarked before making his quick exit through the front door. â€Å"I’ am not going to hi... ... was placed over my face. Was it over? I deliberated to myself. I tried not to breathe, but in less than a second I was unconscious again. In no apparent order multiple scenes began to flash through my head. My thoughts turned to nothing, and for one minute all I saw in my mind was an everlasting black abyss accompanied by a single deafening beep. â€Å"Perry...Perry?† A soft peaceful voice echoed in my eardrum. â€Å"Good morning† A beautiful nurse awoke me. I truly thought I was in heaven. â€Å"How are you feeling their big guy?† My curiosity got the better of me â€Å"am I in heaven?† She chuckled â€Å"Of course not† she started running some tests. I slowly pushed my eyelids open, finally coming face to face with reality. â€Å"Is my mom okay?† â€Å"Yea she’s fine, you did a very brave thing back there,† she whispered to me. I whispered back, â€Å"the funny thing was†¦I never wanted to go†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Farmers see trouble as tomato prices nosedive Essay

The main problem outlined in the article is low price of tomatoes in Coimbatore market, Tamil nadu. This is a result of surplus of tomatoes in Coimbatore caused by high supply of tomatoes. The basic economic problem, that is, for whom to produce? (Distribution of goods) is being faced by the farmers. In this graph, we can see that supply has increased indicated by the rightward shift in the supply curve from Se to S 2. This shift has resulted in the price falling from Pe to p 2. There are several factors that has jointly caused this high increase in supply. First is the weather conditions, â€Å"good southwest monsoon†. The second factor is improvement in technology/ availability of advance machines, â€Å"better irrigation facilities†. And the last factor is â€Å"inadequate demand† in Kerala market that made the farmers in the western Tamil nadu to move their supply of tomatoes to the retail outlets of Coimbatore. It is believed that demand will remain low in Kerala until the national festival onam arrives and will gradually start increasing. This demand will make the western Tamil nadu farmers to shift focus back to the Kerala’s market. This will result in decrease in supply in the market of Coimbatore, which will lead to increase in price of tomatoes in Coimbatore market. This graph shows the decrease in supply in the market of Coimbatore represented by the leftward shift of the supply curve(s 2) to the new supply curve(s 3). This in turn increased the price from P 2 TO P 3. This graph shows demand and supply in the market of Kerala after the arrival of onam festival and before it. The equilibrium demand is De and equilibrium supply is Se. Firstly, the supply increases from Se to S2 because of a bumper harvest and to prevent from loses they move their that part of the market to Coimbatore represented by the reverse movement from S2 to Se. Later when the festival season arrives the demand increases indicated by the rightward shift of De and in respond the supply also increases from Se to S2. The outcome of the whole situation is very devastating on the farmers. They are not even being able to get back half of the total production cost and are facing huge losses. And if this continues they will be forced to let the tomatoes to rot. Which means that the factors of production used in the process of farming are wasted. Which has a huge cost to it as that factors(such as the farm land) could have been used for some other purpose. This problem of surplus of tomatoes in the market is seen every year and therefore a step should be taken by the government to tackle this issue, as the producers are a part of the society and it is a market failure if the producers don’t receive the right amount for their commodity, which is, also misallocation of resources as too much of a commodity is being produced at too low price. That means welfare loss to the society. Therefore, the government of India should take solid steps in order to stop the exploitation of the farmers and give them an incentive for continuing producing their commodity. This can be done in many ways. First is by fixing a minimum price or floor price for tomatoes to sell at which will help the producers get a appropriate profit and buy the surplus of the commodity and sell it elsewhere in the country. The government can also form an union for tomato farmers which will in times like one discussed in the article will buffer stock and regulate the supply to get the minimum price or sell tomato in the other local markets of the country and if possible and appropriate import it to other countries. This will help farmers get high profits as well as improves the trade balance of the country.

Linux Companies

LINUX COMPANIES 1. Quintet solutions National Residency Complex, Edappally, Kochi-24, Kerala, INDIA [email  protected] com +91-484-4055472 2. Vipoint solutions 3. Spark supportWindows Engineer SparkSupport Infotech Pvt Ltd. 3rd Floor, Leela Infopark Phase II, Kochi-30, Kerala, India Phone:+91 484 6561696 [email  protected] com 4. Ideamine technologies Linux System Engineer (1 – 3 years) 111/347-B, PTRA 106, First floor, P T Road, Chembumukku, Kochi – 682021 Kerala, India [pic]  91-484-4044362 [email  protected] com 5. Armia 6. Admin ahead First Floor, Image Arcade | |Airport-Seaport Road | |Kakkanad | |Cochin – 682037 | |Kerala , India | [email  protected] com 7. Admod technologies 8. Syntrio technologies 9. N dimensionz 10. On mobile 11. Hash root 12. Hashcod 13. BVS technologies 14. Rmesi 15. X Minds 16. OOPS Matrix (Denoct) 17. KSWAN 18. Vanilla networks 19. Sequires 20. Aigensolutions 21. Xieles 22. Webhostrepo 23. Supportsages 24. Servadm 25. Logic support 6. Bobcares 27. Bigserversolutions 28. Cliffsupport 29. Liquidsupport 30. Supportlobby 31. Best value Support 32. Supportresort 33. Asteriskssoft 34. Igloo 35. Takira solutions 36. Active Lobby NB:These are the companies i know. You do one thing search the contact number of these companies in google and call them and say that you heard about some vacancies there. Then they will give their mail id or will say to come directly to their company. Before that study DNS,DHCP,HTTP server,mail server, all port numbers,basic commands,hardlink,softlink,nice value,find,grep,pipe,all configuration files,mysql port number etc†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦

A219 Exploring the Classical World

A219 Exploring the Classical World Essay PART ONE Look at the Illustrations Book, Plate 16: Athens: Parthenon. South metopeXXXI. Lapith and centaur. 447–439 BCE (1. 3 x 1. 3 m). In no more than 500 words: (i) briefly provide the context of this sculpture (ii) discuss the ways in which its subject matter conveyed a political message to Athenian viewers Metopes were situated on the outside of the Parthenon building they are high reliefs carved into rectangular slabs placed over the columns. There are 92 Metopes on the Parthenon building, which relate to four different myths.The Parthenon itself is a Temple dedicated to the Goddess Athena built on the Acropolis in Athens. Metope XXXI found on the southern side of the Parthenon believed to depict the Centauromachy the mythical battle between Centaurs and Lapiths. The mythical Lapith king invited the Centaurs to his wedding. Where the Centaurs got drunk and tried to abduct the bride as well as the other Lapith women. The Lapiths fo ught off the Centaurs and were victorious. (Art the Parthenon http://www. ancientgreece. com/s/Parthenon/)The Parthenon erected during the 440s- 430s’BCE was the largest of the temples on the Acropolis it was a classic Doric design which incorporated some Ionic architectural features. Even though a very impressive structure it housed the equally impressive Statue of Athena Pathenos made with Ivory and Gold, and had a separate room housing a treasury. It did not hold the most sacred image of Athena, which was a statue made of olivewood, which was within the Athena Polias Temple. This is where the Panathenaic procession ended in the early fifth century.Before the Erecthion was completed in 406 BCE (A219, DVD 2, Section3, Tracks 2-3) The other subjects of the metopes are The Trojan War, Greeks verses Amazons and The Gods verses Giants. An overall theme of order that the Greeks would prevail against non-Greeks (block2 part 2 p79) The Parthenon dominated the Acropolis and seen fro m afar it showed off the power of Athens their military prowess and the dominance of Athens over the rest of the Greek-speaking world and beyond. (Art the Parthenon http://www. ancientgreece. om/s/Parthenon/) The Parthenon was part of Pericles’ building program funded by the treasury of the Delian League, which it housed when it was completed. The political message conveyed by the subject matter of metope XXXI and the Parthenon, as a whole was one of superiority over their barbarous enemies. It portrayed barbarians non Athenians/Greeks as not having any morals, self-restraint or the ability to have reasoned rational thoughts or discussions. (OCC, p111-112) Centaurs and Amazons had become the epitome of barbarian forces who opposed the cultural and political ethos, which was predominant in Athens at that time. OCC, P148-149). The housing of the treasury of the Delian League within the Parthenon cannot be ignored either, It made it into a civic as well as religious building. Th e Delian League formed in 478 BCE against the constant threat of Persian attack. Athens did not control the funds from the formation of the league in 478 BCE they seized the opportunity to do so soon after. (BHAG, p139-140). . Athens then transferred the funds from Delos in approximately 454BCE to Athens. Athens showing its prominence to the world was also a nationalistic exercise, forging a common link among Athenians and other Greek speaking states.Bibliography Art the Parthenon, (2012 January 10) Retrieved January, 10, 2012 http://www. ancientgreece. com/s/Parthenon/) Hornblower, S. and Spawforth, A. (eds) (1998) The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization, Oxford: Oxford University Press. (A219, DVD 2, Section3, Tracks 2-3) Pomeroy, S. B. , Burstein S. M. , Donlan W. and Roberts, J. T. (2004) A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society and Culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press Part Two â€Å"The Athenian artistic performances and displays of the fifth century BCE were firstly and foremost a form of propaganda. Do you agree or disagree with this Statement? Answer with references to at least two of the following: the art and architecture of the Acropolis, the Ephitaphios Logos, Persians and Lysistrata Propaganda is a subjective term so for the purposes of this essay I will be using the definition provided by the (OCC, p573. ) Using Persians, Art and architecture of the Acropolis, the Ephitaphios Logos and Aristophanes Lysistrata to explore the different forms propaganda takes and whether it makes a text or piece of architecture more about propaganda than any other purpose it may serve.Before discussing these texts and architecture, it is worth noting that Pericles is closely connected to the first three items under discussion. Although Strategos at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war he died within approx in the first two and a half years of the outbreak in429 BCE. Pericles a democratic aristocrat born in 495BCE was very successful. He was the (choregos) Chorus leader responsible for the training and paying of the festival chorus for Aeschylus’ Persians in 472BCE; he initiated the building program on the Acropolis in the 440s-430s BCE and gave the first Ephitaphios Logos of the Peloponnesian war.He was elected general (Strategos) for 29 years consecutively uncontested (OCC, p527) although democracy had been around for 50 years Pericles was the one who championed it that as well as Athenian imperialism. His peers held him in high regard. (Bhag, p145) Aeschylus’ Persians financed by Pericles is an excellent example of Integration propaganda it sought to reinforce the nature of the barbarian. Which were un-Athenian, barbarians were uneducated effeminate subject to the rule of one leader, which was anathema to the Athenian sense of superiority of mind, body and tongue.Aeschylus set the play in Persia and detailed lots of the defeat that they have suffered it was a lesson in what happens if one man rather tha n the democratic process should gain power. Persians celebrates the Greek victories over Persia and is â€Å"patting itself on the back† for having such an excellent democratic government rather than a despotic leader like Xerxes who in his hubris ransacked the temples on the Acropolis. In the speech made by Dareios (Persians lines 824-832) it is clear that the play is a moral lesson to all including the Greeks and Athenians against hubris. As well as being very pro Athenian. Block 2, part one) The Parthenon itself was both a civic and religious building its many ornate features evoking pride and citizenship. The temple was much larger than others were and could be seen from afar being high up on the Acropolis. Its large selection of decorations was superbly created the pediment pieces were fully carved all around even though they could not be viewed. On the west pediment, the dispute between Athena and Poseidon was represented competing with their chariots for the city of At hens this faced the Propylaea and could be seen from the rest of the city.The eastern pediment bore the tale of Athena’s birth from the head of Zeus. The inclusion of a second elaborate frieze, around the inside wall, that was usually viewed from afar between the outer columns. Was not a usual feature of Doric temples. The frieze believed by some scholars to evoke the Panathenaic festival is an extravagant addition to the temple. The festival is an annual event in honour of Goddess Athena’s Birthday.On the frieze itself people are depicted as well as Gods women and horseman and possibly slaves giving rise to the possibility that Athens was a society that included everybody.. This is the first instance of people being represented on a temple decoration. This could be argued that it is defiantly more about civic pride than piety. The building program, which Pericles instigated also, included the Erecthion, the Propylaea and the Temple of Athena Nike (victory) they were t o show that Athens had recovered from the Persian attack on the Acropolis in 480 BCE.The whole program was funded by money from the Delian league (Block 2, Part 2) In The Ephitaphios Logos, a version of Pericles speech by Thucydides at the end of the first year of the Peloponnesian war, he presents a very nationalistic view of Athens and of the Athenians themselves he starts out by praising the ancestors for handing down the country free and makes it clear that they did this with valour. When he states in (Reading’s book â€Å"2. 37) that, their constitution does not copy others but that others are more likely to copy it.He is saying we are the best. The speech goes on to expound the virtues of Athenian democracy and way of life and in doing so he manages to contrast it with that of life and rule in the undemocratic Greek states and non Greek lands. He seeks to instil national pride and remind the citizens of their civic duties to the state as well to fellow Athenians. As wh en a country is at war, patriotism is very important and how better to remind them of their greatness and accomplishments.It was propaganda to reinforce Athenian pride in their state and to demonize the enemy by contrasting it yet again against the mighty and great Athens. (Block 2, Part 3) , Aritophanes’Lysistrata written and performed in the twentieth year of the Peloponnesian War 411BCE was written at a time when the war was not going well for Athens they had suffered heavy losses. Things were not going to get any better for them. Political satirist Aristophanes takes the universal and â€Å"turns it upon its head†. He uses a world where mere women can outwit the men.To end a war that everybody was sick of apart from the government who had the funds to keep it going. Using all the satirist tricks of comedy, farce, parody, and a comic fool he manages to convey that the war has gone on long enough and even offers solutions with the analogy of women’s work (Lysi strata 575-587). Combining this with a good mix of the bawdy, song and dance he connects with his audience who know what the political position is at the time. In direct contrast to the above pro Athenian propaganda of Pericles’ achievements, Aristophanes Lysistrata is anti-war/Athenian propaganda. Block 2, Part Four) In conclusion, I find it hard it difficult to agree or disagree that any of the propaganda presented was the primary function of either the plays or architecture of the Acropolis. The Parthenon could very well have as much about piety as it was propaganda and the plays also had other functions Persians as a warning to all about the consequences of impiety and Lysistrata as a comedy that took the circumstances at the time so as to connect with the audience.Bibliography Hornblower, S. and Spawforth, A. (eds) (1998) The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pomeroy, S. B. , Burstein S. M. , Donlan W. and Roberts, J. T. (2004) A Brief History of Ancient Greece: Politics, Society and Culture, Oxford: Oxford University Press Budelmann F, Hardwick L, Robson S, (2006) A219 Block 2: ‘Classical Athens’, Milton Keynes: The Open University A219 Readings Book 1, (2006) Milton Keynes: The Open University

Expressing Teen Identity by Using Slang: Attitudes and Opinions Towards the Slang of Teenagers

Expressing teen identity by using slang:attitudes and opinions towards the slang of teenagers Introduction One of the most significant elements which people notice while meeting with someone is the person’s language. As Trudge (2000:2) points out, the manner in which we use our language has a great importance while â€Å"establishing social relationship and while conveying information about the speaker†. Ethnic background, gender, education, social class, age and many other aspects may influence the way we talk.And the way we talk may influence other people’s perception about us. Language in the society also differs in the formality levels. When talking about any specific kind of a language we use the term language variety. The variety of the language which is used in a particular situation is called style. Styles are mainly characterized by the vocabulary differences, but also by syntactic ones. Styles range on the scale from very formal to extremely informal. V ocabulary which is at the extremely informal end of the continuum is known as slang. 1] Some people might think that slang is only a young people issue. However the truth is that all of us use some kind of slang, and this usage is influenced by many factors. It is obvious that slang creates barriers between people or groups of people. So if you do not want someone, who is not a member of your group, understand what are you saying, you may use a particular slang, which is inherent only for your group. Using slang may also be part of a person’s identity.Therefore the main task handled in this paper is to examine the use of slang among teenagers and the sources they are influenced by. This essay presents a view on teenage slang as a means of expressing their identity. It also includes society perspective and opinions on the adolescent use of slang. The teenage language was for a long period under-represented in language corpora. In order to repair this, a very comprehensive teen age language corpus, the Bergen Corpus of London Teenage Language (COLT, 2002), was created.This large material is focusing on the spoken language of teenagers between 13 to 17 years in London. It consists of five hundred thousand words and it is a part of the British National Corpus. [2] As a basis for my arguments I will be mainly using corpus compilation, analysis and findings named Trends in Teenage Talk published in 2002 by Anna-Brita Stenstrom, Gisle Andersen and Ingrid Kristine Hasund, because as it consider the teenage slang language, it is the most relevant corpus for this essay. Slang and teenage languageIt is hard to give a definition of slang, because there is a difficulty of distinguishing it from jargon (special vocabulary used by particular profession), colloquialisms (special use of vocabulary according to geographical region), usage of vague terms (statements with unclear message) or neologism (new coinages or senses of words or phrases). Definitions do, however, ex ist, and the online Oxford English dictionary (2012) classifies slang into the three types: The first type consider slang as the special vocabulary used by any set of persons of a low or disreputable character; language of a low and vulgar type.Another definition is that it is the special vocabulary or phraseology of a particular calling or profession; the cant or jargon of a certain class or period. And finally the last one says that it is the language of a highly colloquial type, considered as below the level of standard educated speech, and consisting either of new words or of current words employed in some special sense. Slang is natural part of each language. It is the non-standard vocabulary usually connected with particular group of people. When discussing slang, we should consider its history and development.Slang has its origin in the middle of the 18th century. In that time slang was seen as a low level language, since it was used primarily by criminals, revelers and drunk en people in pubs. Later on slang became regarded as a specific vocabulary of certain professions, like printers, poets and even lawyers or doctors. During the beginning of the nineteen century slang begins to be seen as a highly colloquial part of almost any language. [3] Moreover as the online Oxford English dictionary demonstrates, the word slang appeared in the connection with the language of youngsters for the very first time in 1818, when Sir J. T.Coleridge was recorded to have stated the following: †Two of the best [students] come to me as a peculiar grinder (I must have a little slang)†. [4] This connection appeared as well in William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel Vanity Fair: â€Å"He was too old to listen to the banter of the assistant-surgeon and the slang of the youngsters. †[5] This fact proves that the importance of the adolescent talk has been seen as an important variety of language for a relatively long period. As well as human language also slang is continuously changing its form and vocabulary and not all of the expressions have to disappear as its generation grew up.On the one hand there are new slang words springing up and on the other hand old ones are dying. This means that the slang expressions used by teenagers may sometimes overlap the barriers of a particular group and become more widely used. Some of the slang expressions may absorb into the English language and become part of Standard English. Types of slang As I stated previously it is hard to distinguish slang from other types of informal language. Linguists therefore tend to use different terms when describing types of slang.Slang is generally divided into general slang and specific slang. While general slang is used among all people without the need to be a member of an exact group, mainly to avoid conventions; specific slang is used with a purpose to show that a person belongs to a specific group and has a loyalty with other members of this group. It se ems obvious that teenager's slang belongs to the specific one. In the Norwegian study Trends in teenage talk Stenstrom, Andersen and Hasund (2002: 65) stated that adolescent talk do not include only general slang, but also vague (E. . â€Å"stuff like that†, â€Å"lots of†), vogue (words which already exists in the language, but become fashionable for a short period of time[6]), proxy (the usage of a verb â€Å"go† or â€Å"be like† instead of the quotation), small words (E. g. â€Å"you know†, â€Å"sort of†, â€Å"yeah†, â€Å"like†), taboo and swear words; which he described with a term â€Å"slanguage†. In the next section I will look at these features of â€Å"slanguage†. Teenage talk Before we start to talk about teenage language in depth, we must define the word teenager. The word teenager firstly appeared in 1941.Earlier on expressions like puber, adolescent, teen, farrow or teener were used to refer to a young person between the ages of 13 and 19. [7] The teenage years might be viewed by some as the most difficult period in a person’s life. It is typical that society views them as rebellious, sloppy, messy and imprecise. And this view is also reflected on their language. The rebellion might be seen in a use of slang words and new expressions in order to shock, the imprecision in the lack of grammar, sloppiness in amount of fillers like â€Å"like† or â€Å"um† and messiness in their handwriting.They are to some extent expected to act like adults, however, they might still be treated as children. Sometimes even parents may not understand their children language, so that their attitude towards their slang use might be negative. However, the present generation of teenagers is not the first to have these kinds of informal expressions. Each generation uses a language composed of informal words and phrases or a special own way of using a standard vocabulary. Everyone use different kind of language in different situations, so that adolescents will not use the same language while speaking with their parents as they do with their friends.The only reason of using this slang in front of their parents might be to keep them out of the loop. And this generally happens while they are talking about sex, drug or ethnic issues. Although many of these slang expressions are harmless and teenagers are using them just to be on the same boat as they peers, parents should be aware of this slang, so they can avoid some unpleasant situation. Teenage age is the part of life when most people do not yet know what to do with their life.That is one of the reasons why many teenagers are trying to find their place and identity by joining some social groups, which they can feel connected with. They usually feel a need to become members of some subcultures that relate to their own attitudes and interests. Some subcultures have their own private language code, which helps it s members to support their values, attitudes and uniqueness even more; in other words slang language. As already mentioned, apart from general slang, teenagers also use other characteristic linguistic features known as â€Å"slanguage†.One part of the teenage slanguage is vogue expressions. Vogue words are already existing words like â€Å"massive†, â€Å"paranoid† or â€Å"reckon†, which have become trendy in teenage talk, but they tend to lose their popularity in a short time. It might also be words like â€Å"wicked† or â€Å"sad† used in a different new way: a) Sad drinking habits = secret drinking in a boarding school[8], and b) A wicked pair of ragamuffin trousers, wicked rap, wicked music[9]. As Stenstrom, Andersen and Hasund (2002: 86-89) states another fashionable feature in teenage language is the usage of vague words.Some classic examples of vague words are: lots of, stuff like that, kind of, for ages, and so on, and whatever. Vag ue words are used instead of the adequate words in talk. The reason for using them is to take up the talk to a more colloquial level and fill the gaps in a sentence. These words occur in adults talk as well. The example of vagueness we can see in this conversation: Tommy: and they like wanna see like how we talk and all that. [You know] Regina: [Yeah] Tommy: rastafarian style and all[10] According to Chanell (1994: 197) vague words do not have a function of fillers without meaning.They are used for purpose to contribute the communicative message. Vague words are discussed with two interesting features in COLT (2012: 105;106): a) The research showed that usage of vague words is more frequent among adults than teenagers. However this finding might be quite inaccurate, because adults in COLT conversations mainly appear in the position of teachers and they might adopt the language means of their students to get more closed to them; and b) COLT study find that it is not possible to assoc iate the use of vague words with a specific gender or social background.Another trend in present teenage language is the usage of proxy phrases. It is the way of using verbs such as â€Å"go†, â€Å"say†, â€Å"be like† to substitute verbs of quotation. By using these verbs they can report to some situation or conversation and meaning can be also influenced by the tone or mimicry. In the corpus I have found following exmples: a) It was like sort of, she just went (banging noise), and just fell over and I just†¦ [11], and b) Well what I tried last weekend, not quite crying but I did a sort of moody sort of thing, I di= I was really quiet and I just gnored everyone and I was like really like, you know, didn't say a word. [12] According to Stenstrom, Andersen and Hasund (2002: 165) other typical feature of teenage talk are small words, which can be divided into hedges, empathizers and tags. The usage of invariant tags namely â€Å"yeah†, â€Å"eh†, â€Å"okay†, â€Å"right†, and â€Å"innit† is one of the most frequent feature in teenage slang. Empathizers are used to evoke sympathy between speaker and listener. An example of this is â€Å"you know†. By hedges are considered expressions like â€Å"just like† or â€Å"sort of†. Their purpose is to make speech sounds more or less unclear or fuzzier.Another feature of slanguage is a vocabulary which is considered as forbidden because of its offensive character known as taboo words. Taboo words are usually connected with sex, death, excretion or the human body. Slang taboos are used to replace the regular synonyms. Examples of these might be â€Å"take the piss out of† (make fun of), â€Å"screw up† (ruin), â€Å"to be pissed† (to be drunk). Teenage age is generally seen as an age of rebellion. Adolescents want to shock not only with their style of music, clothing, entertainment, but also with the talk style.That is the reason why they have favored the use of taboos. Just like taboos swear words are also considered as a part of forbidden language, which should not be spoken out loud. Although what sets them apart from taboos, might be their acceptance. If person use a swear word in some relevant situation, for example hurting oneself, as a relief, than it might be more acceptable. For example in the Czech republic is not forbidden to curse â€Å"kurva† if you hurt yourself. The purpose of swearing is quite obvious, it can come out of surprise, or anger or it may be used when people want to upset someone.Teenagers usually use some swear words when talking to their friends to look â€Å"cool†. In a recent study by Stenstrom, Andersen and Hasund (2002:64), it has been found that swearwords can be used as intensifiers to put more emphasis on adjective or adverb (extremely, fucking crap), abusives to refer to a person you are talking with (you dickhead/sod/motherfucker) or expletives expressing strong feelings, or serving as an oath or curse (for fuck’s sake, shit). Reasons for using slang British lexicographer Partridge (1993) pointed out a good deal of reasons for using slang.These were: to have fun by using playful expressions; to be different by using new expressions; to make your talk seems more witty, inventive and humorous; to be picturesque; to draw attention; to escape from cliches, or to be brief and concise; to enrich the language; to be solid, concrete or abstract; to strengthen or reduce your statement; to soften unpleasant situations; to reduce or disperse the seriousness of a conversation; to entertain the audience; for a social purposes to induce either friendliness or intimacy; to show that one belongs to a certain school, trade, profession or social class; to not be understood by others; to show someone that he or she is not a part of a group. For instance Stenstrom (2002:16) provides an example that shows how someone is not a part of a group. He gave a tape recorder to few teenagers, so they could record their daily conversations. The following is a transcription of one of these conversations: Johnny: We can’t have a squeak in this room. Get out. Brett: I’m not a fucking squeak, I’m just in a choir. Bradley: /laughing/ Yeah, precisely Rick: /laugh/ Ah that just shows your ignorance dunnit really? Yeah I’m a member of that one. Johnny: Shows my ignorance?Brett: Yeah if you weren’t ignorant you’d know there’s four parts to a choir and not just one castrate section. Johnny: And you’re in the Castro section? Brett: /laugh/ No I’m not. Johnny: With a laugh like that you’ve gotta be. Rick: Actually I tell you one good thing about being in this choir yeah, I’m in this little choir tonight, chamber choir yeah, which is only about, which is only about like eight or nine people yeah? Bradley: Oh so you’re the creme de la choir As we can see Johnny is using the slang word â€Å"squeak† when speaking about Brett and, who are members of the school choir. By this he means that they have mutating voice, while singing in the choir and he is also making a fun, that they are castrated.An important aspect of adolescence is to be perceived as â€Å"cool† or accepted by one’s peers. Because being â€Å"cool† also usually means being popular, and popularity is connected with higher social status. Teenager’s desire for being part of a group, and also being a popular member of a group, may by many be considered one of the most important matters in this point of their life. Teenagers have a tendency to favor unique styles of music or clothes. They choose own friends and places where they like to spend their free time. And they also tend to use specific language. So that the usage of particular phrases, words and slang expressions might be seen as an identity marker for them.The aims of young people are to be independent and free, so that they may use rather informal language than formal, to express their positive or negative attitudes towards other people or situations. Nevertheless at the same time they should be aware about choosing right language, while talking with different people. If they are not capable to choose right way to talk for example with older people, then there is no surprise they might be perceived cheeky, rude or less intelligent. Sources and factors influencing teenage speech Compared with the past days, when the society was not influenced by the mass media, the talk of teenagers is very different today. It is mainly affected by the pop-culture. Most teenagers have access to the same music, films, TV shows, and advertisements and especially they have the connection to the internet.Before the introduction of mass media such as internet, television or radio, slang varied mostly according to the regions you lived in. However in present days as there is a poss ibility to access the world via these electronic medias, adolescents share same or very similar culture. The reason why are these sources included to this essay is that they are influencing adolescent’s language and at the same time they help to spread this language quickly and easily. According to editor of the Oxford English Dictionary Jesse Shaidlower, technology has been one of the biggest drivers of new vocabulary for centuries. [13] There is no doubt that the internet is a great source of influence on the English language.In 2010 there were made an experiment by Salzburg academy about the addiction on media including internet. They asked students in ten universities around the world not to use internet, phone, email or any media for 24 hours. The results were comparable with withdrawal symptoms from drugs or alcohol. [14] We can see that most of the adolescents are addicted to the social pages like Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin, therefore their language is influenced by these social networks. Abbreviations like â€Å"LOL† (laughing out loud), â€Å"OMG† (Oh my God), â€Å"FB† (Facebook) or â€Å"BTW† (By the way) appear on internet pages every day and sometimes you can hear them in a normal spoken language as well.Also there is a grammar issue, because while chatting in the internet grammar is usually missing so the message like this can easily appear: â€Å"BTW hope u r F9 2day. † (By the way hope you are fine today. ) Teenagers tend to save time by reducing proper words to acronyms or symbols. We may say that Net Lingua is slang used among the internet at emails, social networks, online games, etc. We can also find many slang expressions which comes from TV shows, films or advertisements. For example according to Tagliamonte (2005) TV-show Friends popularized the usage of intensifiers such as â€Å"so† and â€Å"very as a means to emphasize some point of view. Another example is the popularization of th e greeting â€Å"Wassup? which is the colloquial pronunciation of the phrase â€Å"What's up? †. It became popular after the screening of the commercial campaign for Budweiser beer in 1999. [15] This phrase was also used in one of the episodes of a popular TV show How I Met Your Mother named Trilogy Time. Another element which influences the adolescent talk is the music they listen to. Most of them prefer main-stream music like pop, pop-rap or pop-rock or hip-hop music. And mainly hip-hop music is the one which has been influencing the English language already for some time. Hip hop renew and usurped already existing words like â€Å"cool†, â€Å"soul†, â€Å"chill†, â€Å"swing† and many other. ConclusionThis assignment has given the overview of lifestyle and speech among today's teenagers and it has find out why teenagers tend to use particular slang to express their identity. Moreover it served the main sources, which influences adolescentsâ₠¬â„¢ language like internet, television or music. It also mentioned the question if the use of slang may leave a bad impression on people they talk with. It was not easy to write about slang, because there are so many sources considering this topic. So that I chose to write about the group I thought uses slang the most, about teenagers. Firstly I tried to explain the term slang, show its origins and development.I have found that for the first time slang appeared in connection with teenagers in 1818. This work showed that above the general slang, adolescents’ talk also include vague, vogue, proxy, small words, taboo and swear words. According to Stenstrom, Andersen and Hasund (2002: 65) this typical vocabulary can be described with a term â€Å"slanguage†. This essay has shown teenagers use the slang to express positive or negative attitudes towards people or situations. On the one hand they use it to support their values, attitudes, and uniqueness and to show their sym pathy for someone. On the other hand they use it to draw the attention, shock, to show the rebellion or antipathy.Perhaps the most important aspect in the life of a teenager is to be perceived as cool. This essay showed that the way teenagers use their language can make them either popular for their peers or outsiders. References: ABC News (2011). OMG! The OED [Hearts] A Few New Words. [ONLINE] Available at: http://abcnews. go. com/US/omg-oed-words/story? id=13220816#. UIgSOsVrit8. [Last Accessed 24 October 12] Ayto, J. , Simpson, J. (1993), The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Slang. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Battistella, E. L. (2005), Bad Language: Are Some Words Better than Others?. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Channel, J. (1994), Vague Language. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Eckert, P. (1989).Jocks and Burnouts: Social identity in the high school. New York: Teachers College Press. Green, J. (1988), The Slang Thesaurus. London: Penguin Books. Jelinkova, H. (2011), Slang Used among British and Czech Teenagers. Zlin: Tomas Bata University in Zlin. Oxford University Press (2012). slang, n. 3. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. oed. com/view/Entry/181318? isAdvanced=false&result=3&rskey=tyORJE&. [Last Accessed 16 October 12]. Oxford University Press (2012). teenager, n. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. oed. com/view/Entry/198559? redirectedFrom=teenage. [Last Accessed 17 October 12]. Partridge, E. (1933). Slang To-Day And Yesterday. London: William Press.Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change (2010). Unplugged: Living without the media. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www. salzburg. umd. edu/salzburg/new/news/unplugged-study-goes-global. [Last Accessed 30 October 12] Stenstrom, A. B. , Andersen, G. , Hasund, I. K. (2002), Trends in Teenage Talk: Corpus Compilation, Analysis, and Findings Studies in Corpus Linguistics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing. Tagliamonte, S. A. , Roberts, Ch. (2005), So weird; so cool; so innovative: The us e of intensifiers in the television series Friends. American Speech. 80. 3: 280-300 Thackeray, W. M. (1999), Vanity fair: A Novel Without Hero. New York: Modern library. The New York Times (2012).Young Women Often Trendsetters in Vocal Patterns. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www. nytimes. com/2012/02/28/science/young-women-often-trendsetters-in-vocal-patterns. html? _r=2&emc=etal. [Last Accessed 24 October 12]. Thorne, T. (2005), Dictionary of Contemporary Slang. London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd. Trudge, P. (2000), Sociolinguistic: An Introduction to Language and Society. (4th ed. ). London: Penguin Books. ——————————— [ 1 ]. Trudgill (2000) 83. [ 2 ]. Stenstrom, Andersen, Hasund (2002) 2. [ 3 ]. Ayto, Simpson (1993) 5. [ 4 ]. OED (2012) http://www. oed. com/view/Entry/181318? rskey=ncdjjC&result=3#eid [ 5 ]. Thackeray (1848) 390. [ 6 ].Stenstrom, Andersen, Hasund (2002) 65. [ 7 ]. OED (2012) h ttp://www. oed. com/view/Entry/198559? redirectedFrom=teenager. [ 8 ]. Stenstrom, Andersen, Hasund (2002) 42. [ 9 ]. Stenstrom, Andersen, Hasund (2002) 45. [ 10 ]. Stenstrom, Andersen, Hasund (2002) 86. [ 11 ]. Stenstrom, Andersen, Hasund (2002) 128. [ 12 ]. Stenstrom, Andersen, Hasund (2002) 117. [ 13 ]. ABC NEWS (2011) http://abcnews. go. com/US/omg-oed-words/story? id=13220816#. UIgSOsVrit8 [ 14 ]. Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change (2010) http://www. salzburg. umd. edu/salzburg/new/news/unplugged-study-goes-global [ 15 ]. Winn (2008) http://www. trendhunter. com/trends/ultra-viral-political-videos-wassup-2008

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