Minorities Fall Victim to Achievement Gap

The studies do not Ill and give proof that there Is a problem occurring in American schools. A solution needs to be derived fast: and, a senior admissions officer at Harvard university believes he has a simple-?yet effective-?method to solve the problem. In the essay, â€Å"Paying Kids to Study? It's Not a Crazy Idea,† David L Evans believes we should give incentives to minorities in order to motivate them to strive for academic greatness.First, Evans explains that â€Å"Tiger Woods and Serene and Venus Williams† are at the top of their game and are minorities In their particular sport(11 Evans states that these athletes give minorities' a role model to look up to and a reason to feel good about being different. Tiger Woods and Serene and Venus Williams give students a reason to be leave in hard work and that perseverance pays off, explains Evans. When Woods and the Williams sisters win a match or tournament, they are rewarded with a trophy and/or money. Evans calls the se Incentives, which reward them for their hard work and dedication.Therefore, Evans believes that all minority students should receive incentives Like their favorite major athletes. Evans explains that we should do the same by giving â€Å"material rewards or monetary inducements to minority students as motivation to do well academically' (11). Further, Evans explains that this might seem like a crazy idea but that it is a very thought out plan. Evans explains that some of the most distinguished colleges have awarded student for their achievement. In the same manner, Evans explains that there are Insurance businesses that have discounts for students with good grade.Evans believes molesters should receive such incentives through individuals or groups that would give a couple hundred dollars away to students that have greatly improved their grades. Instead of money Evans says that students may receive â€Å"clothing, sneakers, invitations to fancy dinners tit famous personalities o r chauffeur-driven limousines to proms could serve the same purpose† (11). To continue, Evans explains that even though there were many obstacles for Tiger and the Williams sisters to overcome, they still managed to Decode â€Å"emailed role models In a society Tanat Is In constant pursuit AT material rewards† (11).To conclude, Evans states that we should recognize academic success and reward students with more than Just the usual â€Å"pat on the back† (11). Even though, Evans' idea of giving rewards-?material or monetary-?to minority students is a great idea on paper, but fails when faced with the real world. Evans fails to see the consequences that could arise and he fails to realize that this will not work for every minority student, for everyone is different.Evans should have thought how peer pressure from â€Å"Acting White† really affects students, how moral values and material rewards do not mix, how damages intrinsic values and will not increase s elf-esteem, and how professional athletes as role models can increase academic difficulties. Furthermore, the achievement gap is the gap between minority students and non- minority students academically. As stated above, the achievement gap can be seen wrought â€Å"test scores, grades, drop-out and graduation rates, and almost every relevant indicator of academic performance† (Encourage).Although there are probably hundreds of contributing factors, some are family problems, low-incomes, social problems, and learning problems. Many researchers, reformers, and educators often use the achievement gap compare the gap between White and African-American students, it is also use to compare the gap between Latino students. The achievement gap is also caused by students who have certain disadvantages and attend schools that are unable to understand their particular needs and only hurt hem even more.Another example that shows the achievement gap are the results of the 2006 California Standards Test, which showed that 60. 3% of Whites, 29% of African-Americans, and 27. 4% of Hispanics scored proficiency in English-Language Arts and 53% of Whites, 24. 9% of African-Americans, and 29. 8% of Hispanics scored proficiency in Math (O'Connell). Peer pressure in school can affect many aspects of a students' life and among them is academic achievement. As explained by Evans, â€Å"Acting White† is when an African-American student â€Å"stand[s] apart from the crowd† (11). â€Å"Acting White† by Roland G.Fryer, an assistant professor of economics, explains that acting white can be characterized by the â€Å"academically inclined, but allegedly snobbish, minority students who were shunned by their peers† (53). What Fryer means that they are the minority students who excel in school-?often the richer-?and are separated from their peers because of all the pressure they receive for acting white. To be precise, Fryer explains that for this essay, act ing white refers to â€Å"a set of social interactions in which minority adolescents who get good grades in school enjoy less social popularity than white students who do well academically' (53).Further, acting white â€Å"is most prevalent in racially integrated public schools,† where there is a greater ratio of white to black (54). Fryer explains that there are many variations to the definition of what acting white is, but all show a similar â€Å"reference to situations where some minority adolescents ridicule their minority peers for engaging in behaviors perceived to be characteristics of whites† (54). Fryer also says that since â€Å"reading a book or getting good grades might be perceived as acting white that makes the topic a matter of national concern† (54).As black students Gaps increase above a 3. Level, â€Å"they tend to have fewer and fewer friends† (56). Fryer found through his research that black students did not have the peer pressure of acting white when attending an all Dalai cocoons, out 010 when attending an Integrated cocoons. He also salsa TN African American students that went to a private school had more friends and more â€Å"cross-ethnic friendships† (58). In the essay, â€Å"The Significance of Race in the Racial Gap in Academic Achievement,† Pedro A.Encourage, a professor in the graduate School of Education at Harvard University, and Anti Oakum, a doctoral student in Sociology at he University of Pennsylvania, explain that even when a minority student makes the particular requirements for advanced placement(AP), they will often decline the offer because they do not want to lose their friends. Further, Encourage and Oakum explain that this is also true will other things such as â€Å"the school band, newspaper, debating team or honors society. Acting white plays a huge role in a students' peer group; they want to be in the popular group or the sports group and despite their parents words o f advice they would rather listen to their peer group, which could lead them the wrong way. While Evans goes about his idea of giving rewards to minority students who show improvement in their academics, he makes the assumption that all minorities will participate. Although, incentives might sound good to an African- American student or Hispanic student, it still does not erase the peer pressure students feel from their peers when they excel in school.The feeling of being accepted in a group is greater than that of an education. In the essay â€Å"Money for Mortality [sic],† Mary Argues, a freelance writer living in Reading, PA, explains that rewards can damage the â€Å"virtues of honesty and kindness. â€Å"A reward is a gift; any gift should at least be met with the presumption of genuine gratitude on the part of the giver,† explains Argues. To show how our society believes a good deed must end with a reward, Argues tells a story about a young boy who found an enve lope full of money and returned it to its right-full owner.When the boys school heard of his great deed, they persisted to say that some sort of reward was required and that they $3 he received was cheap. To make things worse, the school presented him with a $1 50 savings bond. Argues believes that his mined the boys sense of self-gratitude. When Argues' son came to her asking for $10 for every A she said, [d]owing well is its own reward. The A Just confirms that. † Argues makes clear that she does praise her son but Just not with money or other incentives.She explains that it is â€Å"not meant to reward or elicit future achievement, but rather to express my genuine delight in the satisfaction he feels at having done his best. † Argues' main point is that rewards cause us to lose sight of our virtues, leaving us â€Å"incapable of feeling a genuine sense of inner peace. † In the essay, Studies Find Reward Often No Motivator,† Life Cohn, a Cambridge, MA wri ter, explains that many people believe that â€Å"rewards promote better performance. Cohn explains that psychologists have â€Å"been finding that rewards can lower performance levels, especially when the performance involves creativity. † â€Å"[T]he sense that something is worth doing for its own sake†¦ Declines when someone is rewarded for doing it† (Cohn). Cohn said that when he studied a group of young children that were rewarded for drawing, they became less likely to draw by themselves than that of children who would draw because they enjoyed it.Cohn explains two reasons why rewards hurt performance: first, â€Å"rewards encourage people to focus narrowly on a task, to do it as quickly as possible and to take few risks;† second, â€Å"people come to see themselves as being controlled by the reward. † Evans fails to realize the difference Detente reward Ana award. A reward Is â€Å"something glen In return Tort something done† and an a ward is â€Å"given after being Judged. † Evans confuses the two when he is explaining how major athletes receive rewards when they win a game or a math or a tournament.Argues and Cohn both see the affects rewards-?creativity and titivation-?can have on a child or a student. Argues sees it through every day things such as reading the newspaper; whereas, Cohn sees it through things such as research. Rewards can ultimately damage intrinsic values and will not increase self-esteem. Steven Rises, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University, explains intrinsic motivations as â€Å"doing something because you want to† and extrinsic motivations as â€Å"seeking a reward. Rises explains that money can be an effective motivator and so can grades, and that everyone is different, therefore, people will have different ways f being motivated. Rises continues to say that â€Å"some people are very curious and enjoy spending a great deal of time learning on their own,† but there are also people that â€Å"don't enjoy learning for its own sake. † Rises explains that many people might not be intrinsically motivated because of the â€Å"negative feelings they cause, such as performance anxiety. In the article â€Å"The Feel-good Trap,† Richard Westbound believes that a students' ability to learn does not deal with rewards or acting white, but that they have no â€Å"confidence in their ability to learn† (12). Westbound explains hat the self-esteem movement believes that â€Å"[r]gassing their self-esteem would boost their achievement† (12). Westbound disagrees with the self-esteem movement and says â€Å"[s]elf-esteem has little or no impact on academic achievement, or on drug use, violence or any other serious problems (12). Even if schools were to raise students' self-esteem levels they would be unable to â€Å"manage humiliation or maturity' (12).Westbound believes â€Å"too much unconditional praise produces not s elf-confidence but cynicism about adults and doubts about themselves† (12). Further, Westbound explains that while focusing on self-esteem â€Å"teachers dumb down curricula, inflate grades and avoid discussing real academic problems with parents† (13). Westbound believes schools need to drop the idea of self-esteem completely and â€Å"should instead set high expectations of children, cultivate in them a wide range of competencies, coping strategies and ethical sensibilities, and show them the value of these abilities† (13).Adults need â€Å"to spend more time with children† and not take the â€Å"short cut† by constantly praising children and giving them their â€Å"time and attention† that they so need and deserve. (13). Westbound believes parents should be more involved in school and help out more at home, in order to fix the achievement gap. On the opposite side, Evans believes rewards will motivate minority students because they will no t themselves and that self-esteem issues will be resolved be rewards and improved academics.In comparison, Rises believes that rewards work only for certain people; different people are motivated by different things. Also, Westbound believes that no reward or motivator will ever affect a students' self-esteem because the issue is set deep within the brain, which rewards will fail to fix. In the essay, â€Å"The Significance of Race in the Racial Gap in Academic Achievement,† Encourage and Oakum see how looking up to major league athletes as role models can affect a students' attitudes towards school.Encourage and Oakum explain that â€Å"many young people believe that they have a greater chance of Decoding a mainly pal tinplate or rap artist than an engineer, doctor or steward programmer. † Even though, the odds of being in a major league sport are very few, students will still set their lives primarily on sports not leaving adequate time for academics. Differing from Encourage and Oakum, Evans believes professional athletes would become the basis of all role models for minority students. Evans fails to realize that this could have major affects on a students' academic achievement.To conclude, Evans makes a whole bunch of assumptions that were not supported by proper evidence. â€Å"Acting White† is much more than standing out in the crowd; it is about minority students feeling socially obligated to decline sports or academics, so they will not lose the friends they have. When a child is growing up they are learning at a rapid pace and then there moral values are screwed up by material rewards, Hereford learning to become dependent on a reward in order to do something; once a student receives a reward for a good grade, they will not have the same feelings toward school as before.Rewards can damage intrinsic values by giving people the perception that they can only complete or do something if they are rewarded for their efforts; further, se lf-esteem is not something that can be fixed by rewards, due to the fact that is requires much more. Lastly, professional athletes are not role models worth looking up to because they can only twist and tangle students attitudes awards school; they feel they have a better chance of making it in a major league sport than in any academically required profession.

My Philosophy of a teacher Essay

What makes a good instructor? There are lots of factors, which determine the answer to this question, and one of the most important aspects of being a good teacher is, I believe, the teaching strategy of a teacher. I think that teachers play a very important role in molding the career of a student emotionally, technically and intellectually. A good teacher is a person who works with a single powerful goal in mind: working for the best interests of all the students, which help them, succeed socially and academically. I certainly don’t agree with the statement made by Dunny that a good teacher is just about knowing the curriculum and forcing the stuff on the students without taking much interest in it. I think that if this thought of dunny materializes, I can’t imagine the level of deterioration in education and true knowledge in the students. Being a good teacher does not mean a person with all the bookish knowledge imparting it to the students without taking a personal interest in the subject. Involving your whole self into the subject and helping the students to realize the main morale of the situation follows true knowledge and not the cramming of books. Also, I think that if a teacher pays greater attention to every student’s personal interests, it will help them to succeed in their career intellectually as well as morally. Besides imparting the curriculum on the students, a teacher has the responsibility of shaping the youths of their class with the knowledge and social experiences they will need to improve their future, so it is very important for a teacher to go beyond the curriculum and impart true knowledge. How can you expect a senior year student to succeed in college if he/she hasn’t got any preparation for the transition by the high school teachers? A true teacher in that case would bring a college like atmosphere into the classroom, which would help the students prepare for the way things would be in college. This is just a small example of what teachers are for, to educate students on more than just books or academics but on life. Teachers are more than just people who relay information about a certain subject. Being a teacher means being a mentor to someone who desperately needs a  mentor: providing love and understanding to someone who may not receive it at home: taking care of someone who is hurt: teaching students to be a success in life and being responsible for their future. The personal satisfaction of giving a new hope to the future citizens of the country greatly surpasses all the negative and strenuous aspects of the job. Learning needs to be fun and hands on as much as possible in order to keep the children interested and eager to learn and this is only possible if the teacher takes personal interest in the curriculum he/she teaches. If students are taught in a way that they will remember, then in the future they will be able to put this knowledge to use practically. If a teacher follows â€Å"the Dunny rule† in class, the students will grow rebellious eventually they may turn up to cursing and screaming in class due to the lack of enjoyment in the knowledge they are being imparted. This results in deviation of the schools main goal: To make their students succeed in life. Finally, I believe that the real duty of a teacher is to foster love for learning and take true interest in the knowledge he/she is imparting to all the students. This includes allowing students to take ownership of their learning, shape their instruction and ultimately give them the choice of success or failure depending on their own sense of responsibility. Thus, I believe that to be a successful teacher, not only one has to impart the knowledge in the curriculum but also prepare the students for life and this is only possible when the teacher takes personal interest in his/her subject while teaching and helps every student to succeed in academics as well as Life, beca use what matters finally is ‘Life’.

Macroeconomics and its study with relevance to china

SummaryIn accordance to the formulation of latest economic data juxtaposed with macroeconomic principals and theories it can be stated that at the start of 2006, the People's Republic of China officially proclaimed itself as the fourth largest economy, determined by USD-exchange rate leaving behind France and the United Kingdom. The People's Republic of China has an economy, which is graded as the fourth largest economy in the world, when measured by nominal GDP. According to the records of 2005, about 70% of China's GDP is in the private sector.IntroductionAccording to The Star Business, it is estimated by the financial specialists of Pricewaterhouse Coopers that, â€Å"China could overtake the United States by 2025 to be the world’s largest economy and is anticipated to grow to about 130% the size of the United States by 2050†.[1] (The Star, 2008) it can well be stated that the basis of this statement is completely dependent on the microeconomic theories related to fi nance and particularly the quantity theory of money.In general, it can be stated that Macroeconomics is a subdivision of economics that has its transactions with the behavior, structure and performance in terms of regional or national economy. Aggregated indicators price indices, unemployment rates and GDP are the prime factors of this subject along with several other variables such as international finance, international trade, investment, savings, inflation, unemployment, consumption, output and national income.The current article analyzes the trends of Chinese finance market and applies the quantity theory of money and the momentum or velocity of its circulation in Chinese market and beyond. The equation of exchange i.e. M. V=P.Y is applied in this case to yield the forecast. In accordance to the formulation it can be stated that China's National Bureau of Statistics in December 2005 recalculated its 2004 nominal GDP raised by 16.8% or Rmb2, 336.3 billion (US$281.9 billion), maki ng China the 6th largest economy in the world, leave behind Italy, with a GDP of almost $2 trillion USD. At the start of 2006, the People's Republic of China officially proclaimed itself as the fourth largest economy, determined by USD-exchange rate leaving behind France and the United Kingdom. (Edelman, 2005)DiscussionAt the beginning of 2006 China arises as the second largest economy in the world determined by domestic PPP (purchasing power) measure, at about $10 trillion USD, although such approximation must be taken with a great deal of warn as PPP estimation is very vague, more than ever in a huge country like China, Chinese acquiring capacity varies radically between Shanghai and Sichuan, and PPP is immaterial for imported products and overseas acquisitions. By the end of 2008, China foresee (determined by exchange rate) to go beyond Germany as the third largest economy, and to overtake Japan by the year 2015. (IMF, 2007) Thus, it is certain that China is fast becoming a globa l super power, at least economically as the quantity theory of money suggests and as calculated by the financial specialists of Pricewaterhouse based on this theory.The People's Republic of China has an economy, which is graded as the fourth largest economy in the world, when measured by nominal GDP. Its cost-effective productivity for 2006 was $2.68 trillion USD.   Its per capita GDP is rising rapidly. According to the records of 2005, about 70% of China's GDP is in the private sector. The less significant public sector is occupied by about two hundred large state enterprises concerted mainly in utilities, energy resources, and heavy industries.Since 1978 the People's Republic of China (PRC) government has been restructuring its economy from a Soviet-style centrally planned economy, where the state or government have the sole power over the issue of production and takes all decisions about their utilization and about the dissemination of income, to a new market-oriented economy, in which the manufacture and dissemination of goods and services is done through the system of free markets directed by a gratis price system.Within the political skeleton, given by the Communist Party of China this economic system has been termed as Socialism with Chinese characteristics and is a category of mixed economy. Since 1978 after the implementation of these reforms, millions of people have been elevated out of poverty, bringing down the poverty rate from 53% of populace in 1981 to 8% by 2001. (Kar, 2006)Thus it is clearly seen that the velocity of money is fast gaining momentum and when the equation of M. V=P.Y is applied it is clear that growth is tangible and constant.The record of China’s progress over the past two decades has demonstrated naysayer wrong and optimists not positive enough. Upon close assessment, China’s record loses some of its sheen. China’s economic presentation since 1979, for example, is in fact less imposing than that of its Ea st Asian competitors. Regardless of China's distinguished economic progress, its per capita and total GDP growth has been over taken by some nations.From 1999 to 2006, Russia's minimal per capita GDP increased from $1334 to $6879 (515 percent), while that in People's Republic China increased from $870 to $2000 (229 percent). Similarly impressive are some oil producing nations of Middle Eastern, such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Brunei. Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Angola had outpaced China in utilizing huge energy coffers in the same time.On the other hand, Equatorial Guinea, an African country recorded 79% percent real GDP augmentation in 2004. Even some countries in Asia such as Vietnam have made GDP triple between 1999 and 2006 in ostensible per capita dollar basis, astonishingly more than China. The strength of overall economy is a major determinant of political significance in the present time and China is doing quite well in this prospect. (King, 2006)In adjunct, it must be kept in mind that per capita income in absolute dollars (not percentage) GDP per capita is ascending much rapidly in most of the developed nations of the world than China, on account of China's very low foundation of   income. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party a short time ago permitted the draft for the 11th 5-year plan for 2006 – 2010. The plan is intended to achieve a comparatively conventional 45% increase in GDP and 20% decline in energy intensity by 2010.Intriguingly enough, due to its vast population, China's per capita share of world GDP can by no means accomplish the levels of the USA or Japan or some European countries in the 1990's by economic progress alone. Avowed in another way, an average Chinese can never posses the same comparative economic power that possessed by average Americans, Western Europeans, and some Japanese in 1990's. This is demonstrated as Japan had 20% of world GDP in April 1995, with not more than 2% of its population. (Lamb, 2004)ConclusionAs China contains approximately 20% of the world's population, it would require 200% of world GDP to compete with Japan's level by this evaluation in April 1995, which is next to impossible. China’s share of total population of the world would have to reduce in size to well below 10% for this to happen. (Fletcher, 2005) Thus, it is quite clear that microeconomic theories like the quantity theory of money is very relevant in the modern context of financial analysis and forecast and the formulation of the national and economic variables are always dependable. Thus, it is obvious that economic commentaries or economic reports, like the one by The Star, can always be used for the fundamental understanding of macroeconomics and its principals.References:Edelman, S; (2005); Evaluation Techniques in International Business Management; Bloemfontein: ABP LtdFletcher, R; (2005); Principals: Beliefs and Knowledge; Believing and Knowin g; Dunedin: Howard & PriceIMF; 2007; Reports: 2006-2007; Paris: ADM PressKar, P; (2006); History of Industrial Economics and Related Applications; Kolkata: Dasgupta & ChatterjeeKing, H; (2006); Economic Principals Today; Auckland: HBT & Brooks LtdLamb, D; (2004); Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata; Wellington: National Book Trust[1] The Star; (March 2008); China to be world’s largest economy in 2025; KUALA LUMPUR: thestaronline

Term paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Term paper - Essay Example One significant example of how one culture has absorbed musical styles from other cultures is jazz music. The role that has been played by blacks, creoles, and whites in the musical amalgamation that eventually came up with jazz music is a vital element in the development of the genre. African Americans in the South, as well as those living elsewhere in America, adopted many values held by their white counterparts. However, their musical style has remained inherently reflective of dichotomies that they faced as Americans living in the United States and these were absorbed into their music (Hardie 31). Slave music remained a distinctive cultural form for African Americans. African Americans had little distinction between sacred and secular music. They sang varieties of songs as spirituals and for work, just as their ancestors had done in Western Africa. Black music was never limited to any single tradition of music. While we tend to view black music in terms of all genres such as funk and other art forms, some of these genres are not informed by the reasoning that African American musicians treat their music as an oral art form rather than a written one. African Americans, living in a country that was, and in some cases still is, covertly and overtly hostile to them, attempted to accommodate these different cultures in the United States with the aim of speaking out (Hardie 32). They fit these cultures very well into their music, which allowed them to incorporate and learn a new repertoire that became acceptable as part of their music, especially in the initial stages of jazz and its formation. In the 20s and 30s, many producers were in the business of marketing race records, which allowed them the chance to target the black demographic and had more chance of making money (Hardie 35). African Americans were exposed to different music genres, and they played blues music rich with influence from performance by the creoles. Their music also had borrowed aspects from Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica and came to be known as Afro-Caribbean music. This style included some ethnic styles borrowed from the Spanish Creole, the French Creole, Germans, and the Cajun. A situation also arose where African Americans played jazz and folk music, sharing a repertoire of music with their counterpart White Americans (Hardie 35). Many locations in New Orleans, by the year 1940, consisted of an increasing population of citizens born outside the United States. In this city, the brass wind ensemble of the 1840s, for example, the Richmond Light Infantry Blues was enlisted in Southern America together with Allen’s Brass Band (Hardie 36). Some of the American states had a society that allowed free slaves. This allowed a few slaves and freemen to earn special a reputation and recognition as musicians and performers in the nineteenth century. Such artists included legends like Anthony Jackson and Klondike. Others included such Southern artists also Roland Hayes and Willi am Grant, as well as female performers including Chieppie Hill and Bessie Smith. This list also extends to the Mississippi Urban Blues singers like B.B. King and Muddy Waters (Hardie 36). There were also the buck dancers and reels of banjo pickers and slave fiddlers that had evolved from Northern Mississippi’s fife drum bands, New Orleans’s brass bands and the Charlestown and Memphis based jug bands evolved into the early

Environmental Effects of Plastic Water Bottles Essay

Environmental Effects of Plastic Water Bottles - Essay Example Research shows that approximately 18 million barrels of oil are used every year to manufacture plastic bottles in the US. It is also estimated that almost 3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide are generated from the production process. Other studies indicate that approximately 3 billion of plastic bottles are disposed of in the landfill. Less than 15% of the plastic bottles are recycled. As a result, the disposal cost for plastic waste is estimated at $100 million inclusive of the transport, collection, and litter removal cost.According to Dobkin, & Weigand, recycling of plastic bottles will ensure that the funds used for disposal are directed to more pressing issues such as the maintenance of public water infrastructure.Despite the availability of recycling infrastructures for plastic bottles, according to Hopewell, Dvorak, & Kosior, (2009), 85% of the plastic water bottles still end up in the landfills. Approximately 20 billion plastic bottles are disposed of in the landfills. Ea ch plastic bottle takes up over 500 years to decompose. The landfills are not only filled with plastic bottles, Li, et al., suggests that over 20 billion glass bottles that never decomposes also end up in the landfills. The chemical compounds used to manufacture the plastic bottles can have devastating effects on the human health. Studies show that plastic bottles used by most households are commonly made from polycarbonate compound. The compounds are usually released in the liquid stored in the container.

Report on the UK Governments new welfare system project Essay

Report on the UK Governments new welfare system project - Essay Example Every country do have their system policies so as to make her citizens live with ease and access the basic requirements whether young, middle aged or at the old age. The UK government thus has developed a project in the welfare system under the universal credit plan of to help all groups in the society as the service takes care of both the unemployed, students, the working lot, hence providing a welfare of all kinds under one roof. However the project has experienced delays in its implementation due to arousing challenges in the key sectors. For instance, the IT department finds it difficult to bring together composite processor systems so as to enhance claimant registration, poor management of the project by officials and constant different political opinion from the political divide. Nevertheless the government is hopeful that the project will go through. Welfare system is quiet important to any national government priority as it determines the nature of the future population hence key reforms must be put to it as people develop, grow in size and face various challenges in different economic times. Thus over the periods a number of reforms have taken place right from 20th to 21st centuries. In the early days the provision of welfare was on voluntary rather than state offered as mutually and friendly partners benefited each other. Thus as new governments came in, they developed refined ideas aiming at improving the general society. For example the Labor party members used the policy on welfare reforms as key tool in their campaigns. Hence the current government has embarked on reforms of the implementation of the unthinkable concepts generated by the earlier leaders. This is motivated by theories that a good welfare system determines the behavior of the public to any country as it helps shape actions and traits of the citizens, provid es good motivation and moral will between the government and the

American Lit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American Lit - Essay Example It then narrows down to the nations within that continent. Furthermore, it becomes more specific which is the battlefield and finally it talks of a specific ground or position. Then from that specific position, it goes to a much broader scope, larger than the continent – the world. Once again it centers on the specific nation, then back to the larger position which is the earth, another name for the world. The presentation of geography is deductive, starting from the broader position then gradually focusing on its smaller components until it points to the specific position they (speaker and audience) are in. From that specific position it goes to the largest dominion that is the world and emphasizing the position of that specific nation in the largest scope, the earth. It can be illustrated as a number of circles within a circle, beginning with a big circle then into diminishing diameters or dimensions of circles within that circle. From among the small circles stands out one small circle which is the nation that the speaker is talking about. This is a good way of stressing and highlighting one’s point. It sort of compares and contrasts the degree of the importance of each position presented. This use of emphasis in Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address is indeed very effective. At first sight, without first reading the story, I guessed that the main character is Bartleby because the title of the story is his name. However, when I began to read the short story I became confused whether it is really Bartleby because there was so little known about him that the narrator has stated: â€Å"I believe that no material exist, for a full and satisfactory biography of this man† and that â€Å"Bartleby was one of those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable, except from the original sources, and, in his case, those are very small.† My doubts about Bartleby as the main character even increased as I continued to read

Palladium Doors Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Palladium Doors - Case Study Example The cost associated with the chosen alternative has also been shown. The projected Gross Profit and Net Profit figure have also been reflected here. The study will reflect the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the company. It will highlight the analysis of the Political, Environmental, Social, and Technological environment of the operational market in which the company is operating. Problem Statement Palladium Door, Inc. is one of the privately owned producers of different commercial and residential garage doors. In its product line, the company manufactures both insulated and non insulated cables, steel garage doors, supplies, rollers, springs and the side roller tracts. The company wanted to increase the sales by 36 percent in the year 2004. Robert Hawly, the director of sales & marketing, was concerned that whether the present distribution strategy which was used by Palladium would be able to achieve the goal. Although the company has shown a steady growth from p ast 10 years, but the market share of Palladium was only 2.6 percent. The senior executives of the company were made to believe that this sales goal was justified and would help the company in attaining a large sales volume for the preservation of its buying position with the suppliers. During its growth period, Palladium has even exceeded the industry growth. Three new plans have been chosen for the achievement of the company’s goal. There are four different point of views related to the marketing decisions. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis will help to analyze various organizational issues (Mintzberg et al., 1998; Ansoff, 1965). It is a traditional method for making strategic plans (Dickson, 2002; Glaister & Falshaw, 1999). The SWOT analysis will help in selecting the best strategic option followed by the decision making after understanding the inter relationship between the company and its respective environment (Pahl & Richter, 2009; Ferrel & Hartline, 2010). Strengths 1. When Palladium was in its growth stage, it had a sales growth which was even higher than the industry growth. This is a significant strength of the company which has helped it to achieve a remarkable position in the market. 2. The company has a good partnership associated with the exclusive dealers. The exclusive dealers are responsible for almost 70 percent of the company’s sales. This will help the company to achieve the targeted sales goal. 3. The company is one of the biggest steel door manufacturers. Weaknesses 4. Although Palladium has shown a steady growth from past 10 years but the market share of the company was only 2.6 percent. 5. The company had only 50 additional dealers in previous 10 years. This was counted as one of the weaknesses of the company. Opportunities 6. Palladium has high opportunities by expanding its operations in the North West and West markets, where the houses build are aging. 7. There exists low brand awareness in the market where Palladium operate s. This gives the company an opportunity to attract the customers who are not brand conscious. 8. Palladium has the opportunity to extend the total number of exclusive dealers which

Chines Leisure Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Chines Leisure Industry - Essay Example Similarly, gardening or cooking which can be considered a leisure activity for many, but that does not necessarily mean it is one for a gardener or a chef. Defining leisure is very difficult because of its complexities. Any activity that people enjoy doing after completing their obligations, which causes relaxation and peace of mind, can be considered a leisure activity. Because of its abstract nature, it is difficult to name all leisure activities. Leisure activities are likely to keep changing with time but it will always be something that a person enjoys doing and brings them happiness. The leisure industry refers to an industry that is closely related to people's leisure lifestyle, leisure activities and leisure requirements, including primarily the economic forms and industry systems such as entertainment, tourism, service, culture and sports industries, and groups that are generated from such industries (Yan, 2006). The People's Republic of China is the third largest country in the world in terms of area, and the first largest in terms of population (China National Tourism Administration). Until a few years ago, the leisure industry in China was unheard of. However, with changing times, this concept has been flourishing rapidly. Leisure and vacations have become very common and attracted the attention of many citizens and governmental organizations. According to statistics from China's National Tourism Administration, as a major representative of the leisure industry, China's domestic tourism industry recorded 1.2 billion in tourist volume and 768.6 billion Yuan in total tourism revenue in 2005, and has been growing ever since. Because the tourism industry is a significant impulse to consumption and economic growth, twenty-four Chinese provinces now consider the tourism industry as a pillar industry, or a leading industry (Yan, 2006). As many as twenty-four of China's thirty-one provinces, muni cipalities and autonomous regions have made tourism one of their leading industries, encouraging greater consumer spending in leisure activities (Access Asia, 2004). As China's consumer market expands, government and private companies are looking to exploit areas of potential opportunity in the theme and amusement park industry. The Chinese government recognizes the potentially massive boost that increased domestic demand. While foreign direct investment (FDI) provides valuable income, it cannot be compared with surging urban spending in the country's wealthy coastal provinces. Major cities down the eastern seaboard are home to China's expanding urban middle class younger generation of consumers with rising disposable income and an increasing tendency to spend rather than save. While, well to do consumers can afford to travel to other parts of the country on holidays, a vast majority of consumers look for entertainment destinations close to home. These typically include zoos and wildlife parks, aquariums and marine parks, and theme and amusement parks (Access Asia, 2004). Hence, the demand for this kind of entertainment has been increasing, and this industry has seen a rapid growth. Chinese theme parks advocate seeing the world through the ideas upon which many of the theme parks are built. Their aim is to promote and educate people on Chinese culture as well as world cultures. The parks portray beautiful sceneries, architectural

Affluenza Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Affluenza - Essay Example This heady mix of wealth and power need to be counterbalanced by accountability and responsibility for the general public. But, going by the evidence presented by the authors of this book, the outcomes so far have been harmful for the people at large and the environment in which they live. The poor people are especially badly hit by this phenomenon (de Graaf et. al, p.112). While the rich are getting richer than ever before, the real incomes of the poor in America have stagnated or declined. In this way the poor are disadvantaged twice, as the consumerist society keeps promoting ‘affluenza’. In this context, one can understand the importance of delving further into this topic and learn more about its role in promoting a regressive consumerist culture. The following passages will cite pertaining arguments from the book in support of the thesis, which is that the poor are punished twice as a result of Affluenza. A major manifest symptom of Aflluenza, the authors point out, is the general decline in sense of self-worth among Americans. A culture that endlessly promotes materialism and accumulation of wealth with barely any mention of other aspects of healthy living such as harmonious family life, participation in communal activities, etc. is fundamentally wrong. What psychologists refer to as low self-esteem is alternatively called as ‘status anxiety’ by social commentators. These are especially more evident in poor peoples’ conceptions of themselves, as they suffer from ‘Affluenza’ - â€Å"the bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses† (de Graaf et. al, p.172). In other words, it is the influenza like ailment that affects citizens when they march mindlessly in pursuit of affluence. As the authors pertinently state, â€Å"theres a downside to this obsession, and in our

Competing Political Interests And Poverty Reduction Essay

Competing Political Interests And Poverty Reduction - Essay Example It can negatively affect the progress of the nation itself. â€Å"Poverty is produced by circumstances, not individuals,† (Fincher & Wulff, 1998). Economic crisis increases the so-called ‘poverty sector’, leading to joblessness and social unrest. A proper planning and a better utilization of the available resources of the nation will lessen the poverty level to a great extent (Narayan & Parker, 2000). Diverting the existing resource to the disadvantaged people is the need of the hour. Every nation needs a proper governing authority to plan, accomplish and accelerate its growth. In developing countries especially, governments and political parties lead the show and try to bring progress to the society and stability to the economy by eliminating the curses like poverty. The ruling party and other political parties try to uplift the general status of the society and go deep into the problems and grievances of the people to a certain extent. Even though they do have o pinion disputes and conflicts among them, they contribute a lot for the progress of the society and nation (especially rural areas where poverty is still a problem) (Pantazis, Gordon & Levitas, 2006). Political interests and competitions play a major role in eliminating poverty from the nations. In the third world countries especially, political parties contribute a lot to the development works. Political parties try to perform well during their ruling tenure and take various actions for the negatively privileged sections of the society. They try to look into the agonies of the people of ill-developed areas since such areas have the majority of the population in it. These less developed areas would be eagerly looking forward to a government which can help them to improve their total grade. No political party can ever think of getting the rule in their hand without the votes of these majority weaker sections.

Satire in Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

Satire in Huckleberry Finn Essay Chapters 1-4: Superstition In chapters 1-4 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Twains characters tend to get worked up over the silliest of superstitions. In the second chapter, when Huck accidentally flicks a spider into a flame, he, â€Å"Was so scared and most shook the clothes off [him]† (Twain 3). He counters the burden that the dead spider will bring by performing plenty of even more odd acts like turning around while crossing his breast and tying up a lock of his hair to ward off the witches. Huck is still anxious because he hadnt been told that any of those counter charms were good for removing the penance of killing a spider. Most superstitions throughout these chapters stem from one person telling another of an irrational belief they hold as the truth like Jims â€Å"magical† hair-ball that he profits off of by telling people very vague fortunes (Twain 17-18). Some of these fortunes come true, so people tell others about the miraculous magic hair-ball. Superstition is an issue that has been around forever, and will probably be around forever. A psychologist, B. F. Skinner, discovered that any animal will develop superstitions, we are all just wired that way. For example, if one makes a bad grade on a test Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and it rains Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, one may start to believe that the rain is the reason why they have bad test grades just because of the correlation . Because of this, they may never want to take tests when it rains. Today, superstitions are less abundant because of widespread knowledge of science and reasoning, but it can still be observed in sports and religion where people do things really without a reason or dont really understand why. They just do it because theyve always done it. Superstition today does not really harm society but honestly makes it more interesting. Chapter 5: Greed In chapter 5, Mark Twains character, Pap Finn portrays greed in its purest form, and that is, in a stinky, rotten, hairy, drunkard. Pap Finn never does anything unless it benefits himself. Pap never helped another person out in the entire novel if it meant he had to lift a finger. He only even visits his only son whenever he needs money. When Huck finds Pap in his room right after hearing Jims fortune about the appearance happening, Pap first orders Huck to stop being smart because its making him look bad, and then reveals the real reason for his sudden showing up when he demands, â€Å"You git me that money tomorrow—I want it† (Twain 20). Pap uses the last bit of his power, his father authority, to exercise his greediness. Twain uses Pap to prove that absolute greediness is illogical. Even though Pap does whatever he can to help himself, because he was not good to others like his son, he receives none of the wealth that Huck has gained which would be given to a decent father. Greed is strongly prevalent today, especially in our economy. The American capitalistic economy is strongly centered on greed and excess. The highest ranking person in a business is really almost just like Pap, except they are rich and all.. The banks often try to profit quickly from the less fortunate by mortgage scams and placing many in debt and in even worse conditions than they were already in. CEOs and executives on Wall Street find loopholes to help themselves without even considering the lasting effects on the economy. Of course, there is greed and corruption in the government too. I think that this positively reinforced greed has really damaged the country. Greediness is the heart of America, but if it doesnt have boundaries, we may all turn into very lewd Pap Finns. Chapter 8: Slavery Twain, in chapter 8, demonstrates how slavery rips apart the moral fabric of a society by exposing the hypocrisy and underlying effects of the issue. Slavery corrodes the slave owner just as much as the slave as evidenced by Miss Watson lying about never sending Jim to New Orleans, but since the money was worth more to her than a human life, she goes back on her promise (Twain 43). Despite Miss Watsons piety, because she owns a slave, her morals are allowed to break down, and she breaks a commandment and goes against the bible when she greedily accepts the money. Jim, as a slave, is always in fear. He was afraid of Miss Watsons treatment when he lived with her, afraid of being sent to be a plantation worker, and now terrified of being caught as a runaway (Twain 43). This alone is enough to ruin his humanity, not to mention his physical beatings as well. The only thing he has to hold on to are his various superstitions like, â€Å"You musnt count the things you are going to cook for dinner, because that would bring bad luck† (Twain 45), and all of the signs and other things he points out. Huckleberry, even though he is very fond of Jim, constantly refers to him as â€Å"Miss Watsons Jim† (Twain), reminding the reader that Hucks society was taught that slaves were just property and nothing more. Because of slavery, the southern society in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has a lapse in morals by almost all of the whites, actually supports the devastatingly inhumane psychological and physiological treatment of humans, and contains seriously horrible false perceptions and prejudices. Slavery is not really an issue today. It has been abolished for over 100 years now. Although, the fact that (southern) society is functioning much better than it did back then proves that the slave-centered society was not only morally atrocious but also financially weak. The slave owners owned almost all of the wealth in the southern society. The poorer whites all idolized the planter aristocracy, but the aristocracy was hogging all of the wealth and causing the poverty. The Impending Crisis of the South by Hinton Helper, used charts and graphs to explain how exactly the non-slave holding whites were actually being harmed by the institution. The book was quickly ordered to be burned by the planter aristocracy. The only reason the poor whites kept voting for slavery was because they hoped to someday own slaves, and because they liked feeling racially superior. Slavery ended, and a few decades or so later, almost everybody was pretty much content with the way society was functioning Chapters 12-13: Man’s Inhumanity/Cruelty to Man In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck Finn is initially not one to stray away from violence and is typically fascinated with it. However, when Twain transitions the violence from make-believe with the band of robbers with Tom Sawyer to bloody, cruel violence on the steamboat, he exposes another moral atrocity by examining it through the eyes of a young boy. Although Huck had been intrigued with murdering and robbing in the beginning of the book, in chapter 12, Huck is greeted by actual violence and death, and realizes how awful it really is. On the steamboat, Huck reacts extremely impulsively when he realizes that the men are actually going to die. He becomes alarmed and heroically wants to save them even if it meant risking his own life (Twain 69-70). Even though Huck had been raised by an outrageously selfish father, and even though he pretends not to be bothered by blood and guts, when confronted with real violence, he puts aside his own need to rescue another. A young, barely educated child can realize how barbaric cruelty to another human is, but the frequency of such events have just desensitized most adults from realize the true monstrosity. I strongly agree with Twains idea that most people are born innocent. Not a great number of killings have been done by young children. Today, I think most of the worst cruel, inhumane treatment is done by people with psychological issues. A lot is done by people who have grown up in an environment that has desensitized them to violence like gangs, drug dealers, and the even the military. The media also plays a role in sustaining inhumanity. The increased violence in video games and on TV shows has made violent events part of every day life. Although I do think most people can differentiate between real violence and fantasy, I also believe that making gore so prevalent has made it seem less serious than it actually is. To me, inhumanity is probably the most disturbing issue. I sympathize immensely with people in poverty, and I really hate people being treated unfairly, but I sometimes cannot even stand to hear or look at somebody treating another person like an animal or even saying awful things to them. Chapter 6: prejudices/biases In chapter 6 of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain satires black prejudice by contrasting a white man and a black man. The white man, Pap Finn is dirty, hairy, greasy, and illiterate. He is infuriated that a black man is allowed the right to vote even though he is, â€Å"Most white as a white man†(Twain 27). Pap Finn portrays the white man as evil and racist in the novel. The free black man is the complete opposite of Pap. He is clean, well-educated and nicely dressed (Twain 27). The differences in this man and Pap exacerbate Pap. Just being black was enough to gain Paps hate, but since it was a smart, clean, well-dressed black man, it set him off. Twain disproves the idea of black men being stupid and uncivilized and white men being the better breed by filling the book with exceptions to these claims. I think that people today do get flustered by people being different and come up with racist ideas to help them cope with that. I guess I still live in my own little bubble of Kingwood suburbia, but I have not seen much evidence of extreme racism. I dont even really feel prejudice often either. I try to be analytical of people, but hardly ever base anything off of ones race. I know dangerous racism is still occurring in the deep south, but honestly, its dying out because more and more people are realizing what Twain was preaching. All men are created equal. I think that homosexuals are the next group that will be vindicated. Their civil rights movement is following more of the same patterns as previous ones. People have been slowly understanding them more and more. It is just hard for some to dismiss previously held beliefs.

International Hrm And Comparative Hrm Management Essay

International Hrm And Comparative Hrm Management Essay The growth in international trade and globalisation has encouraged firms to expand their operations worldwide, which has resulted in the emergence of new markets such as China, India, South East Asia and Latin America. This trend has also been accompanied by an increased level of competition amongst firms at both national and international level. The challenge of managing a workforce worldwide with different cross-cultural skills, competencies and demographic characteristics means that managers can no longer rely on traditional HRM models developed for Anglo-Saxon countries. Many firms underestimate the complexities involved in international operations, and there is some evidence to suggest that business failures in the international arena may often be linked to poor management of human resources (Desatnick Bennett, 1978). Western academics and practitioners have thus moved from traditional international HRM issues to the area of comparative HRM. In order to maximize cross-national management capabilities, there is need to understand how employees in different national settings respond to similar concepts within their particular functions. This essay has been structured as follows. In the next section, I will examine the difference between international and comparative HRM. I will then look at the way comparative HRM assist academics and practitioners appreciate the differences in the strategies and processes in MNCs. A conclusion is then presented. Difference between international and comparative HRM International HRM has been defined as HRM issues, functions, policies and practices that result from the strategic activities of MNEs (Scullion, 1995). IHRM deals principally with issues and problems associated with the globalisation of capitalism. It involves the same elements as domestic HRM but is more complex to manage, in terms of the diversity of national contexts and types of workers. The emphasis is on the MNCs ability to attract, develop and deploy talented employees in a multinational setting and to get them to work effectively despite differences in culture, language and locations. International HRM tends to mitigate the impact of national culture and national employment practice against corporate culture and practices. Comparative HRM, on the other hand, is a systematic method of investigation that seeks to explain the patterns and variations encountered in cross-national HRM rather than simply describe HRM institutions and practices in different societies. According to comparative HRM literature, different national business systems arise from differences in specific historical, cultural and institutional heritage in certain countries. Comparative differences occur due to decisive historical events such as the process of industrialisation or due to the legacy of pre-modern forms of social organisation. Hofstedes (1980) adopted the culturalist perspective where he argued that national business styles emerge due to ingrained cultural attitudes and mental schemas. He described culture under five dimensions which are power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation. Other researchers claim that HR management practices differ between nations due to the presence of specifically national institutions such as education, banking services or state/legal support. In what ways (if at all) does an understanding of comparative HRM assist academics and HR practitioners appreciate the difference in the strategies and processes in MNCs which are often termed as International HRM? The contrasted view to a divergence point mentioned above is that some academics claim that with HRM policies and practices are becoming universal (tending more towards the dominant American models) and that country-of-origin effects are no longer relevant. The pressure to build standardised operations internationally is strongest in sectors where competition is highly internationalised and where firms compete on the basis of a similar product or service across countries such as in cars and fast foods. They have put forward several reasons to explain this trend. Firstly, all MNCs operate in one global market and therefore have to respond to the same environmental pressures such as globalisation and technology, the growth in international trade and the move towards an internationally-integrated financial system. Secondly, the widespread practice of benchmarking best practice in terms of cost, quality and productivity may also have contributed to convergence of international HRM models for e.g. Japanese style lean-production system in the 1980s and 1990s. Moreover, these pressures towards convergence stem in part from the influence of MNCs themselves through their ability to transfer practices across borders and erode country-of-origin effects. Finally, the formation and development of like-minded international cadres mostly from American or European business schools may have contributed to homogenised international HRM policies and practices. Since the early 1990s, the international HRM literature has been dominated by models and typologies aimed at identifying how international HR fits with organisational strategy. Bartlett and Ghoshal (1998) argue that the main issue for all multinational companies is the need to trade-off the advantages global efficiency namely the coordination of its operations to achieve economies of scale and scope as opposed to the need to differentiate its products and services to meet the local demands. They also identified a third pressure, namely worldwide innovation and learning, whereby firms are encouraged to support innovation and learning across their network of subsidiaries rather than simply relying on research and development at the headquarters. MNEs then follow the appropriate HRM policies and practices according to the structure of the organisation, the competitive strategy chosen or stage of corporate evolution reached. Below, the Taylors (1996) model of strategic international HRM has been described. Exportive This is essentially a model where the HQ management takes home country management approach and try to implement them in their foreign subsidiaries in order to achieve economies of scale. In this model, there is a system of hierarchy and a centralised control. This is especially useful in instances of uncertain political environment and high risks demanding greater control from corporate parents. Given this pattern of centralisation, there is a considerable amount of forward policy transfer and less reverse transfer from subsidiaries to the HQ, i.e. they rely mainly on the technical know-how of the parent company. Global firms offer products or services that are standardised to enable production to be carried in a cost-efficient way. Their subsidiaries are not subject to rigid control except over the quality and the presentation of the product or service. This structure is normally associated with the American firms with their formalised, bureaucratic control and a dominant finance sy stem to internalise risks. Adaptive Differences in the host environment demands and conditions mean that overseas subsidiaries have to operate independently. This is common where departing from established practices in host environments is unlawful. For example, in some Germany, there is a legal obligation to negotiate with employee representatives concerning major organisational changes. In other cases, transferring practices may be legal but would go against traditional practices at the risk of losing goodwill from staff. Firms may decide to forgo HQ control if there is the possibility to exploit most efficiently the local labour markers. For example, MNCs which origin from high-cost highly regulated economies such as Germany may well choose not to transfer important elements of their HR systems such as collective bargaining or apprenticeship if they move to lower wage, lightly regulated economies such as China. Integrative It is also argued that the more management processes and activities can be integrated across geographical boundaries, the easier it is to share resources and knowledge. They can identify and best use the skill and management talent that exists across the MNC network allowing for both global integration and local differentiation. As mentioned previously, international HRM processes consist of the same activities as domestic HRM but applied in an international context. These include an accurate human resource planning to ensure that the MNCs have the right people at the right place around the world, good staffing policies that capitalise on the world-wide expertise of expatriates and locals, performance appraisals that fit with the competitive strategies of the HQ, adequate training and development to ensure that expatriates do not suffer from culture shock and compensation policies that are strategically and culturally relevant. The focus in international HRM strategy is how MNEs coordinate their geographically dispersed operations strengthening the organisational culture, promoting commitment and encouraging willingness in employees to act in the interests of the firm. Recruitment and selection of international managers Employees play a crucial role in sustaining and coordinating their geographically dispersed operations. The challenge is that of resourcing international operations with people of the right calibre. Traditionally, MNEs sent expatriates, i.e. a parent country national abroad to ensure that the policies and procedures set by the parent -company were being followed as well as to bring expertise to the local employees. However, the high number of expatriate failures has meant that more and more MNEs are turning to host country nationals to satisfy the international staffing needs. The prominent reason to explain international assignment failures was the inability of the expatriate or his family to cope with the culture shock. Researchers revealed that international business travellers faced problems in their personal lives and were victims of stress. Moreover, changes in legislative conditions affecting labour relations combined with security issues have made it more costly to use expatr iates at senior management positions at subsidiary level. The advantages of employing local nationals are that they are familiar with local markets, the local communities, the cultural setting and the local economy. They speak the local language and are culturally assimilated. They can take a long-view and contribute for a long period (as distinct from expatriates who are likely to take a short-term perspective). Expatriates are only used as technical troubleshooters and general management operatives. This means academics need to find the best ways to recruit and select local managers and help them cultivate a global perspective rather than a narrow outlook on how to conduct business in the local environment. International pay and reward and performance management The concept fair pay and reward is also subject to different interpretations depending on the national business system. Triandis (1998) differentiated between vertical cultures which accept hierarchy as given whereas horizontal cultures accept equality as given. In individualistic cultures, there are few rules and norms about correct behaviour and employees expect to be rewarded on their own merits and performance. Countries like US feature at the higher end of the individualistic spectrum. On the other hand, collectivism emerges in societies that have many rules and regulations about correct behaviour. In these societies, employees accept rewards or recognition on the basis of their seniority, efficiency and conformity with the organisational values rather than on the basis of their creativity or professionalism (Pascale and Athos, 1981). China is an example of a collectivist society. In such societies, rewards for individual performance or differentiating between employees are not acceptable. Indeed, the prevailing view is that it takes the contribution from everyone to achieve continuous improvement (kaizen) in Japanese enterprise. Singling one employee may cause him to lose face and consequently a loss of goodwill for the expatriate manager. Moreover, an understanding of the body language is vital for senior expatriate managers when providing feedbacks. While in individualistic society, it is perfectly acceptable for a subordinate to participate in a discussion with his senior, in collectivist societies such as India, disagreeing with ones supervisor is considered disrespectful. Furthermore, countries like Korea and Taiwan prefer more subtle ways of communicating feedbacks. Up-front reprimand or performance appraisal is likely to clash with the societys norms of harmony and the employees may view it as a personal affront. Understanding these local customs and mapping them across countries is an exciting field of study for researchers interested in global performance management systems. Training and development Training and development is vital to ensure that the workforce remains competent and flexible by developing the know-how thought necessary for success in the company and on the job. Scholars have highlighted the importance of national culture on training and development in terms of the hard and soft approach. The hard approach views employees in the organisation as a mere resource to achieve goals of the organisation while the soft approach views them more as valued assets capable of development (Tyson and Fell, 1986). This approach obviously influence the level amount of institutional (percentage GDP) spent on education. The German tradition adopts the soft approach and relies on formal apprenticeship, functional rotation and career path where technical expertise is gradually developed. UK which support the hard approach, believes that the individual is responsible for funding his own education and career advancement. This difference in national training and education systems will m ean that the skill and competence profile of the workers available on the labour market will vary from one country to another. Comparative studies have also shown that there are national differences in the way that managerial careers and management development are organised. Both Japan and France rely on elite recruitment, that is, future managers are decided at the point of entry based on their exceptional qualifications. This contrasts with the American belief of self-improvement where the philosophy is its never too late to change. Also, there are also noticeable differences in the teaching and learning style across countries. The idea of working in groups is more natural to Asian than individualist Anglo-Saxon managers. German and Swiss managers favour structured learning environments and coming to the right answers and are tolerant of confrontation. Asian countries, in contrast, are more concerned about status differences and may be unwilling to exchange ideas against their mentors. This will consequently impact on the format of delivering training for the practitioner, whereby the Asian employees might prefer lecture-type training and German and Swiss might prefer the seminar-type interpersonal interaction. Employment relations Finally, the type of employee relations pursued by the MNE depends principally on the national business systems characteristics of the both the home and host countries. According to Hall and Soskice (2001), there are two varieties of capitalism: Liberated market economies and coordinated market economies. In liberal market economies, firms coordinate their activities primarily via hierarchies and competitive market arrangements. Market relations are characterised by arms length exchange of goods and services and formal contracting. The demand and supply of goods and services are regulated though market mechanisms. There are comparatively fewer state controls. Nations like US and UK fall under this category of market. Consequently, US MNEs adopt a short-termist shareholder value mentality which means they are less willing to offer secure employment to their workers. Therefore, management of labour in the US mirrors the economic model of demand and supply, with market determined wages, hire-and-fire practice and many workers employed on a temporary basis. Employers in US are also more resistant to trade union organisations than in other developed industrial democracies and the legal support for trade union organisations and collective bargaining are relatively weak in the US compared to those in other countries. In contrast, in coordinated market economies, firms depend more heavily on non-market relationships to coordinate their activities with other economic actors. These non-market modes means there is greater reliance on private information inside networks and a greater reliance on collaborative relationships. Coordinated market economies are also characterised by a higher degree of government intervention. Countries such as France, Italy and China are examples of such economies. To illustrate, countries like Germany and Japan have adopted the long-termist approach whereby the interests of stakeholders are considered rather than simply of shareholders. This means these MNEs can offer its employees long-term employment. German trade unions are considered as a powerful stakeholder in the labour market and have the right of collective bargaining, i.e. employers need to so consult their workers before any major changes are carried out. To conclude, the basic purpose of examining human resource from a comparative and international perspective is that it contributes to an understanding of the extent to which there are differences between organisations and their subsidiaries located in different countries. The main difference between comparative and international HRM is comparative HRM seeks to explain the differences arising between different business systems while IHRM downplays the importance of host and home country differences. The greater cultural distance between home country and host country, the harder it will be for the MNCs to transfer home country philosophies and practices. This impact on the way HR practitioners have to implement their policies but opens up new avenues for research for the academics.

Prevalence of Refractive Errors in School Children

Prevalence of Refractive Errors in School Children Introduction : Uncorrected errors of refractions have become one of the major important public health problems worldwide nowadays. They include myopia , hyperopia and astigmatism . Myopia (nearsightedness)is an ocular disorder in which the optical power of the eye is very strong for the corresponding axis. (1) It represents a major health problem among school children and it is reported that there are about 80 millions myopic child in the world.(2) It has two groups simple myopia or non pathogenic ( 6 diopters ) that is progressive and presents at early childhood. (3) Hyperopia or ( farsightedness) is categorized by the degree of refractive error into : Low hyperopia is +2.00D or less, Moderate hyperopia ranges from +2.25 to +5.00D, and High hyperopia is +5.25D or more but rarely reach +8 D. (4) Astigmatism is a condition that may affect both farsighted and nearsighted people . It is due to corneal or lenticular irregularities that cause blurring of vision. Mild and moderate astigmatism have the r ange of ( 1 to 2 D ) , severe astigmatism ( 2-3 D) , while the extreme astigmatism reach > 3 D . About 5-15% of children are considered to have refractive errors ( world health organization WHO ,2001) .In 2002 , 161 million people globally have been reported to be visually impaired due to different eye diseases as cataract , trachoma and onchocerciasis ( but errors of refractions as a cause was not included in such statistics) (WHO 2002 ). But since then , the WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness(IAPB), both separately and with them the global initiative ,VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, have worked very hard to include uncorrected errors of refractions in such statistics due to their great importance in visual impairment occurrence. So on October 12, 2006 , the WHO has revealed the magnitude of visually impaired people due to uncorrected errors of refraction to be 153 millions either blind or of low vision , with at least 13 million children (aged 5†“15 years) (5,6) Blindness is defined in terms of visual acuity (VA) as 3/60 in the better seeing eye and low vision as VA between 6/18 to 3/60 in the better seeing eye , but all on the base of the presenting visual acuity rather than the best corrected visual acuity . And so, uncorrected errors of refractions become the second main cause of preventable blindness ( 18%) after the cataract (39%). (7,8). Uncorrected refractive errors are major problem in school children. Lead to inability to read what is written on chalkboard which greatly affect a child’s learning process.[19]. It has serious social effect on the child in school. Continuous blaming of the child as being lazy and stupid is very frequent by non-responsible teachers. schoolmates tease the child. These factors may lead to decrease the child’s performance leading to recurrent school failure. A study formed in Brazil showed the great impact of refractive errors on the child’s education. About 10% of these children at higher probability of dropping out of school. [11] Non-compliant Children who don’t wear spectacles had an average academic score lesser than compliant beers . But, there could be confounders for this like IQ.[17] the prevalence of visual impairment from uncorrected refractive errors in some regions appears to be higher in urban areas than in rural areas, despite the presence of better health services. This may be due to a high incidence of myopia in these populations because of direct relation between increased access to education and myopia.[12] The lack of screening, and the availability and affordability of refractive corrections are the most important. [12,13] Many factors that contribute for refractive errors remaining uncorrected like lack of awareness and recognition of the problem at personal and family level and community level, equipment for diagnosis and treatment of errors of refraction are not available (WHO, 1993). In the age group 5–15 years, non-correction of refractive errors is due to several factors like absence of screening program. However, cultural barriers and believes can play a role, as shown in studies from where free and easy routine screening program and aids to correct errors of refraction are present. [12,13] Poor access to refractive services in rural children, despite the fact that refractive errors are less common amongst rural children.[14,15] cosmetic factors like that the spectacles make the face look more nerdy, which may be more acceptable to girls and boys are more prone for activities and sports in rural areas.[13] A Tanzanian study showed that spectacles provided free of cost under insurance cove rage, were used less as compared to those the patient pay for them.[18] The age factor showing controversial effect on compliance of spectacles wear, increasing the age has minor negative effect in a study from Mexico, while it shows a positive effect in a study from rural china.[16, 17] less educated parents is a contributing factor for non-compliance of spectacle wear. Fathers education has more prominent effect than mother’s educational level. This may be due to that educated women always have equal or more educated husbands. Children from larger villages were more non-compliant than those from smaller villages. Cosmetics is not an important issue in small villages.[19] Non-availability of different types, shapes, colors, and sizes of spectacles is another cause. only one size spectacles that fit all ages is considered unfashionable. Small refractive errors (20] Many studies have been conducted in different parts of the world using the same protocol . The latest global estimate of prevalence of visually impaired children ( 5-15) due to refractive errors was 0.97% with higher prevalence in china and urban areas of south east Asia (9) Few studies were also conducted in Egypt , but one of largest studies conducted in Cairo , the capital of Egypt, using a large sample (6000) children from different governorates and socioeconomic classes has revealed the prevalence of refractive errors (VA = or So the objective of our study is to measure the prevalence of refractive errors among schoolchildren from (5 to 18 years ) at El-Demerdash hospital . Subjects Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study is to be conducted where participants are selected from patients attending the Ophthalmology Department, at El Demerdash Hospital, with a total of 500 children; 250 boys and 250 girls. Age group ranges from 5-18 years and the study will take place in the period from February 2014 till July 2014. Each participating child will have his/her personal details recorded on a form, and will undergo a standard ophthalmological examination including: Visual Acuity (VA) with/without glasses, cycloplegic retinoscopy, cycloplegic autorefraction, external eye and fundus examination with all the results recorded. Refraction will be done using retinoscopy after 1% cyclopentolate eye drops instilled in the eyes at least half an hour prior to the examination. Only children who have a VA of less than 6/6 in at least one eye will undergo retinoscopy. Inclusion criteria: Any child at the school age of 5-18 years, attending the Ophthalmology Department, at El Demerdash hospital as inpatients, whose parents will sign a written informed consent forum. Exclusion criteria: Children who are unwilling to undergo the examination, although an informed consent is signed by their parents. Children with co-morbidities or other illness, or children taking any drugs that might have ocular side effects. Sampling method used is the convenience (purposeful) method, sample size of 500 patients with a sampling frame from the patients’ records are to be obtained at the start of the study. Data analysis: Data will be entered into a computerized database-using the CDC-WHO package EPI-INFO, and results of analysis are presented in the form of tables. Ethical considerations : The study protocol is approved by the ethical committee at Ain Shams University. Written informed consent are taken from parents or legal guardians as a pre requisite for inclusion References : 1-The National Eye Institue, The National Institute ofHealth.http://www.nei.nih.gov/healthyeyes/myopia.asp [May 2010] . 3-Friedman NJ, Kaiser PK. Essentials of Ophthalmology. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Inc; 2007:253-254. 4-Moore BD, Augsburger AR, Ciner EB, Cockrell DA, Fern KD, Harb E. Optometric Clinical Practice Guideline: Care of the Patient with Hyperopia. St. Louis, MO: American Optometric Association; 1997:1-29. 5-World Health Organization. Sight test and glasses could dramatically improve the lives of 150 million people with poor vision.Press release, 11 October 2006. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/HYPERLINK http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr55/en/index.html2006HYPERLINK http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr55/en/index.html/prHYPERLINK http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr55/en/index.html55HYPERLINK http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr55/en/index.html/en/index.html. 6-Resnikoff S et al. Global data on visual impairment in the year 2002. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 7- Dandona R, Dandona L. Refractive error blindness. Bull World Health Organ. 2001;79(3):237–243. 8-World Health Organization. International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. 10th Revision, 2nd Ed. Geneva,World Health Organization: 2005. 9.Zhao, J., Mao, J., Luo, R., Li, F., Pokharel, G. P., Ellwein, L. B. (2004). Accuracy of noncycloplegic autorefraction in school-age children in China. Optometry and Vision Science, 81, 49-55. http://dx.doi.org/HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-0001010HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-00010.HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-000101097HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-00010/HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-0001000006324HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-00010HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-00010200401000HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-00010HYPERLINK http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/00006324-200401000-0001000010 10. Negrel AD, Maul E, Pokharel GP, Zhao J, Ellwein LB. Refractive errorstudy in children: sampling and measurement methods for amulticountry survey. Am J Ophthalmol. 2000;129(4):421–426. 11. Gomes-Neto J, Hanushek E, Leite R, Frota-Bezzera R. Health and schooling: evidence and policy implications for developing countries. Econ Edu Rev. 1997;16(3):271–282. 12.Khandekar, R., Mohammed, A. J., Al Raisi, A. (2002). The compliance of spectacle wear and its determinants among school children of Dhakhiliya region of the Sultanate of Oman. A descriptive study. Sultan Qaboos University Journal for Scientific Research Medical Sciences, 4, 39-42. 13.Preslan, M. W., Novak, A. (1998). Baltimore vision screening project. Phase 2 Ophthalmology, 105, 150-3. 14.Dandona R, Dandona L, Srinivas M, Sahare P, Narsaiah S, Muà ±oz SR, et al. Refractive error in children in a rural population in India.Invest Ophthalm Visc sci.2002;43:623–31.[PubMed] 15.Murthy GVS, Gupta SK, Ellwein LB, Muà ±oz SR, Pokharel GP, Sanga L, et al. Refractive error in children in an urban population in New Delhi.Invest Ophthalm Visc Sci.2002;43:615–22. 16.Congdon N, Zheng M, Sharma A, Choi K, Song Y, Zhang M, et al. Prevalence and determinants of spectacle non-wear among rural Chinese secondary school children. The Xichang Pediatric Refractive Error Study Report 3.Arch Ophthalmol.2008;126:1717–23.[PubMed] 17.Castanon Holguin AM, Congdon N, Patel N, Esteso P, Toledo Flores S, et al. Factors associated with spectacle-wear compliance in school-aged Mexican Children.Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.2006;47:925–8.[PubMed] 18.Esteso P, Castanon A, Toledo S, Rito MA, Ervin A, Wojciechowski R, et al. Correction of moderate myopia is associated with improvement in self-reported visual functioning among Mexican school-aged children.Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci.2007;48:4949–54.[PubMed] 19.Preslan MN, Novak A. Baltimore vision screening project.Phase 2.Ophthalmology.1998;105:150–3.[PubMed] 20.Congdon NG, Patel N, Esteso P, Williams C, Wolke D. The association between refractive cutoffs for spectacle provision and visual improvement among school aged children in south Africa.Br J Ophthalmol.2008;92:13–8.[PubMed]

Problems about Scientific Explanation Essay -- Van Fraassen Scientific

Problems about Scientific Explanation Have you ever thought about the way your car works? The inner works of the engine, how does the fuel make it work, how does combustion lead to movement and is then passed to the wheels? If you have, what are you going to answer an 8-year-old kid when he asks: 'Why does the car move?'; Are you going to start explaining high school physics, mechanics, chemistry of combustion and the concept of friction? Or are you just going to say: 'Well, the car eats up gas, and that makes the engine move the wheels.'; Granted, the latter doesn't explain much about what a car is. But it answers the question by the kid's understanding, doesn't it? The question is answered, the kid is happy, and you did not have to spend a few weeks introducing what you just said. Some may argue that this is misleading, but despite the fact that when viewed generally, the simple answer might seem false or incomplete, in the context of the situation, it is quite adequate. That is what van Fraassen is trying to say with regard to scientific explanation. According to him, there are two problems about scientific explanation. Both are very easily seen in our example. The first is, when is something explained? Some argue that we should not explain a phenomenon unless we have the full, unifying, true-to-the-last-miniscule-detail explanation, which will also cover all the cases which correspond to our case, cases similar to our case, or distant variants of our case. In short, what they want is a theory of everything, which in itself is a noble goal, but is hardy achievable. Let's face it, everything in our universe is connected in one way or another, or through one another, to everything else in it. A man bears definite connection to, for instance, 'gas giant'; type of planets. A reason for that could be, for example, that both share some mutual chemical elements. Does that mean that same theory should apply to prediction of man's movement as to a gas giant movement? As ridiculous as it sounds, this type of proposition often arises in sci ence, though not as grotesque, but nevertheless as distant, for example, Theory of Relativity and the Quantum Theory. If a child would have been told to expect the same behavior from and ant and from and elephant, he would be quite confused. How do we then expect gigantic objects to obey the same rules as microscopic ones? W... ...yone would go into the chemical components causing the green color of the apple's skin, unless asked about it. Demonstrations, however, are proofs, and while also answering 'why'; questions, relate the causes to the essence of the phenomena, otherwise the proof is incomplete. A good example of this distinction would be the application of a simple logic rule (also known as De Morgan law), that (~A and ~B) is ~(A or B) and vice versa. We can say that ~(P and ~Q) is (~P or Q) because of De Morgan law, and that is sufficient for an explanation. Yet, if we were to rigorously demonstrate this without any initial assumptions, we would have to prove De Morgan law while at it, or our proof would be incomplete. To conclude, Van Fraassen's idea of explanation is that which has no place in purely theoretical science, as he rejects the truth of theories as well ass their appeal to essence. An explanation's domain, according to him, is to be adequate in the context chosen by pragmatic factors, which are derived from the 'why'; question the explanation is called to answer. Surely, van Fraassen would not doubt for a second what to answer the kid who asked what is the reason his car moves.

User Sampling Methods :: essays research papers

1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sampling Methods When surveying, for any purpose, it is important to recognise that the results are only as representative as the survey subjects (the sample), and as such much academic research has been performed in to techniques for selection, broadly placing them in one of two categories – probability sampling and non-probability sampling. In short, with probability sampling the participants are selected by chance. There are dozens of methods of selecting members, using a variety of mathematical techniques, but the key is that each subject has a random, calculable chance of being selected. There is no human intervention involved in the selection. Method  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Characteristics Simple (random) Sampling  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sample is selected entirely at random Stratified  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The population is first divided in to exclusive subgroups based on some predetermined criteria (e.g. location), then samples are selected at random Proportionate Stratified  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As above, but a smaller group that would otherwise not provide statistically valid results may be oversampled then the results weighted to correct for this. For example, if a particular group is too small to provide a statistically significant sample, more members of that group would be sampled Clustering  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The starting point for the sample is randomised, then assumes that the sample at that point is representative of the region. For example, selecting a street corner, interviewing the first 10 people, and assuming that they are representative of the area Table 2 - Probability Sampling Methods Non-probability samples, however, contain an element of human bias in the sample selection. Again, there are various methods for the selection, the most common of which are: Method  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Characteristics Quota  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Respondents are preselected to ensure that the sample is representative Purposive  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Subjects are selected as they have some specific characteristic, for example, hold a certain position or job type Convenience  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sample is selected by availability Snowballing  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Contacts provide information about other potential respondents Self-selection  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Respondents volunteer themselves for selection Judgement  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An â€Å"expert† uses his or her judgement to nominate people for sample Table 3 - Non-probability Sampling Methods Most samples use a combination of sample selection methods. For example, quota sampling is often used to ensure that a random sample is actually representative of the population. 2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Survey types There are three basic surveying techniques that are suitable for consideration in the project: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Interview †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Telephone †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Self Administered Survey 2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Interview (face to face) This category includes in-depth interviews, focus groups and projective methods (such as word association tests) which are not suitable for use in this project. There are several distinct advantages to this type of survey, such as: †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Response rates tend to be higher than other methods †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ability to reassure the subject about their responses

Compare London and Westminster Bridge Essay

These two poems, though written within 10 years of each other, convey very different views on London. They were both written during a time of revolution and change. Both these poems were written at the turn of the 19th century, in Georgian times, to illustrate the authors’ views on the City of London. At the time, the industrial revolution was underway and there was a vast growth in the population, due to medical advances and a more promiscuous culture with prostitution in the formation of new cities. There was a revolution started in France and because it was a respected country within Europe at the time, with its pioneers in architecture, gardening and thought, the French had major influence in England. Being its neighbouring country it caused ripples of change and rebellion in European thought. This affected many people in England; the poet Blake was one of them. His revolutionist ideas were conveyed in this poem, London. This was contrary to Wordsworth’s poem, Upon Westminster Bridge, which picked out the imagery of London and its glory, without relating that the frivolous consummations of the monarchy and the church, created a vast gap between the rich and the poor, which Blake picked up on. Wordsworth was most probably ignorant of the fact that the mass of the English population in London was poor, because he was a tourist in the city. Or he could have realised the fact yet looked past it deciding that it would make a better poem to elaborate on London’s splendour. The poem also, seems vastly over the top and many people may just take the poem at its face value and dislike it, but Wordsworth’s poem describes London as ‘glittering in the smokeless air’ and having a calming aura. These statements, I think might be sarcastic. At the time it was written, the Industrial revolution was happening and the chimneys of most factories would be blurting smoke for most hours of the day, and even if they had stopped over night the remnants of months of coal burning would not dissipate within 8 hours. Also to describe London as calming is a little far fetched. London is the heart of the United Kingdom, a port and an important centre of commerce. It is near impossible for us to imagine it as ‘calm’ even in ‘The beauty of the morning;’ Wordsworth’s most famous works are dedicated to the beauty of the awe-inspiring lake district, so it is not hard to imagine he could have been shocked and repulsed by London. Upon Westminster Bridge sets off on the word â€Å"Earth† this could mean that London was the centre of the commercial world, and that at the same time was the best place on Earth to be. This could be another example of sarcasm due to London being half-built during the revolution. Its face meaning though is to start the poem off as a harmony of nature and architecture. The first line shows Wordsworth’s typical naturalistic view upon the city, as he relates with many of his other poems. He was an early romantic poet; he admired nature and natural form, his extreme idyllic view on London could be seen as sarcastic or ignorant. The second line is monosyllabic yet that doesn’t have any relevant dynamic effect on the style of the poem. Dull is the first word that goes against the happier grain of the poem. It relates a feeling of miserableness and boredom, and could be seen to insult the reader that doesn’t agree with his poem, as he would have a â€Å"dull, soul†, and an unopened, insensitive mind. This could be a reason why many take the poem on face value, because no one would want a dull soul as the poem suggests. The end of the line uses enjambment to connect the second line to the third. This line creates imagery; the word â€Å"sight† implies our soul would be â€Å"touched† by London. â€Å"Majesty† is a powerful word, exaggerating the overall romantic theme of the poem and an overview of England as a powerful and unique nation with high status in the world. Line 4 uses a simile and personification to make the city seem as one single body, wearing â€Å"the beauty of the morning†, possibly as a disguise to cover the corrupt people it houses. Wordsworth is viewing the city in the morning, when the city would be very quiet and peaceful. Wordsworth was also standing on Westminster Bridge; from which he had a higher, isolated view over the scene of London. At dawn, London would be showered with the golden light of the sun, the river would appear to gleam and the un-crowded streets would be filled with crisp air. The ground would be covered with dew, all idealistically perfect compared to the reality that within one hour of his view, the streets would awake and the whole scene would change. Blake had a completely different viewpoint on London, his first line opens with a romantic â€Å"wander† through the â€Å"chartered† streets, this is a contrast, he himself whilst romantic and free thinking, is in a city governed by rules, entrapments and corruption. He then repeats this idea in the next line with the chartering of the themes, contrary to Wordsworth’s gliding river, this implies that London is overpowering nature. He then alliterates â€Å"marks† 3 times to give an exaggeration of the theme of suffering. â€Å"Every† from the 3rd line is then repeated in the second stanza to generalise everyone as saddened, depressed and constricted. Blake’s poem is different to Wordsworth’s in its entirety. Blake is describing from a low viewpoint, in the streets between the dirty houses, at about 10:30 at night, with a serious, constricted and darkened theme. Wordsworth’s is from a higher viewpoint on the bridge, at about 5:30 in the morning with not many people about with a happy, elated theme. The techniques, each use to create these effects are also different, Wordsworth uses a typical romantic style sonnet, and both Poems use their structure to emphasise the words in them. William Blake’s ‘London’ is written in four, four line stanzas. Each line of each verse has the same number of syllables; this creates a regimented, almost mechanical effect. It uses alternate line rhyming to make the poem sound regular and accentuates the last word of each line. Each verse of the Blake poem attacks a different aspect of London. It is clear that Blake found London a very corrupt and immoral place. Whereas in contrast Wordsworth’s poem is written in the form of an Italian sonnet the octave of which describes the man made elements of the city, the last sextet refers to natural beauty. This poem also uses alternate line rhyming to create the effect of order. It is written in prose using iambic pentameter. This device brings attention to emphasise the meaning of the rhyming words. William Blake’s poem conveys his feelings in a more abstract style, when he uses the people and buildings of London to represent the institutions which they are associated with. He uses the image of a church to criticise religious establishments and a palace to signify the state, and authorities that control it. He gives the image of the â€Å"soldier’s sigh† running in â€Å"blood† down palace walls. Here he is attacking the monarchy and government for condemning young men to death by sending them off to fight in foreign wars. He uses hyperbole to criticise London and the sadness and malice of the people who live there. Blake’s London brutally painted is a dark, dirty, disease ridden and deprived place Unlike the Wordsworth poem it leaves you in no doubt as to the authors feelings on the subject. In the last verse of Blake’s, it gives us his time scale; â€Å"midnight†, and he shows us the corruption of innocence, with â€Å"youthful harlot’s†. The last stanza accentuates the uncleanness of the area, how London was plagued with diseases and how life in the slums of the city is very short. It may be an example of the typical life of people in London. With children being the product of prostitution and sexual promiscuity, the children are then raised in a poor, unhygienic even uneducated area then marry and die due to blights and diseases. Marriage is supposed to be a happy occasion, but here it shows to be an institution, which carries people to their deathbeds. This may be due to sexually transmitted diseases, which were ravaging through the population at the time. Blake’s entire poem is blunt and to the point, describing what was going on and that he was unhappy about it and the fact that people were ignoring it. Wordsworth’s poem is far less melodramatic than Blake’s, it is a snapshot in time of London in the morning, with no look at the types of people who live there, or of their pasts and futures. Blake’s overall poem display a message of sadness and disgust towards London, its monarchy and the authorities housed there. I think that the style of Wordsworth is very ineffective at relating his like for London as it seems to almost be sucking up to London’s builders and rulers and so it does not provoke strong feelings or thoughts. Even if the reader acknowledges there is sarcasm in the style, it still does not show accurately the problems of London or that anything should be done about it. Blake’s poem on the other hand is very effective at relating his own feelings towards the city, and of provoking our own so that we are appalled by the conditions and mistreatment people were forced to live with at the time he wrote this. I prefer Blake’s poem because the atmosphere he builds, through his phrases and his technique, is far more powerful than the atmosphere Wordsworth attempted to make. It is far more descriptive and flows more poetically than Wordsworth’s and I believe he was overall a better writer.