Integrating the Philosophy of Socrates into the Engineering Curriculum

Academic institutions in America have a difficult task, being primarily responsible for the education of the population. Higher education institutions play the largest role in developing individuals and helping them find their roles within society. It is then necessary to look into how the best institutions in the country are educating and developing the minds of the next generation of leaders. In particular, a great focus should be placed in the rising responsibility of STEM (Science Engineering Technology and Mathematics) graduates and their education due to the growing demand of STEM professionals in this era. Engineering curriculum's, for the majority, follow specific criteria to define what is necessary and important for an engineering student to learn. This criteria is set by ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, which has identified eleven (11) student outcomes upon graduation of an engineering Baccalaureate level program. Among these eleven outcomes, are three outcomes that involve something broader than technological knowledge, design and methods, and they are: (1) the broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context (2) a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in life-long learning (3) a knowledge of contemporary issues. In order to accomplish these outcomes, it is necessary to implement ancient philosophies from one of the greatest philosopher that ever lived, Socrates. Socrates had a lot to say about knowledge, wisdom and education. He is famously known for the ideas that â€Å"the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,† â€Å"the unexamined life is not worth living, † and â€Å"education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. † Many students and professors in the school of engineering do not realize how little they know. For students, when accepted into a high ranked four-year institution, they might believe they are already among the best and the brightest, and this happens more often in the school of engineering. Students tend to think they have four more years of education left (typically) since they've made it so far already and don't realize that their learning has just begun. For professors at top higher institutions in Engineering, many have earned at least Master's degree or better. It is common that most professors hold Ph. D's at top research universities. With vast amount of knowledge these professors gain, they feel as if they know more than the students. Professors readily admit that they don't know everything. There are not many opportunities to question the curriculum that is assigned. More professors can benefit the student's learning experience by providing an environment to learn beyond what is required. Both professor and students are at fault for not acknowledging their own ignorance, which hinders the students in their intellectual growth. Moreover, once students and professors can come to realize how much more there is to learn this can open a world of knowledge for them. Socrates highly valued curiosity and wonder stating that life should not go unexamined. So how does one go about ensuring the outcomes ABET outlines? They implement a philosophical approach to technical education. Although this is present in some courses it is not enough. Most syllabi outline in detail what you are going to learn from concepts to chapters to homework problems to exams on day one. Learning is structured and more about following the rules. There is not a lot of encouragement to seek knowledge in other disciplines. The importance of concepts and ideas about other topics such as philosophy, politics, and education is not usually taught in engineering courses. Yet it is required by ABET for students to have that board exposure to be great engineers. For example, the an aerospace student who is looking to work in the industry after college needs to study the economy and politics. That student needs to understand how the economy stands regarding consumer spending and analyze the possibility of their country going to war. These factors can determine whether or not there is a need for commercial airplanes and/or a demand for defense airplanes. That student can then have a better understanding of what real engineering problems he will encounter and start thinking of ways to provide solutions by studying more applications of such problems. It is also important to know where that industry is head and looking into trends from the past to predict future ones and have a clearer vision of where to seek employment. This education, however, is not covered in your typical engineering course. Faculty and staff needs to put a bigger emphasis and link to education outside of STEM. It is the curiosity and wonder of the students that will lead them to self-educate themselves on these broader topics outside of their curriculum that they are expected have learned upon graduation. This leads to the issue that higher education has developed as a compartmentalized learning system, seen more evident in the engineering schools. In my experience at a leading four-year, private, research university, it felt as if the engineering professors were concerned about what the students know as opposed to how they processed thoughts and ideas. This is contrary to the belief that Socrates had, â€Å"education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel. † With the focus to memorize formulas and problem solving methods students are just being filled with information and are then tested on how well they can recreate what they learned in lectures and texts in an exam. When asked, most alumni admit that they have retained very little from the concepts and formulas they learned in class. They state what they really acquired out of engineering school was the problem solving ability. This makes sense, since books and the internet are available to an engineer as a professional; there is no need to memorize the content. Practice with concepts and methods are necessary yet it is more important to understand how these concepts came to be. Socrates would encourage students to ask more about the who, what, why, how, and when in the midst of their learning experience. Developing a critical mind should be the focus of teaching not how well a student can memorize. Engineering programs across the nation don't place enough of an emphasis on critical thinking and self-education of concepts outside of engineering. Engineering education is not just about the practice of engineering methods; it's about recognizing hidden principles, patterns of learning and developing a desire for lifelong learning. With the teachings of Socrates, students will realize what they don't know and start to become more curious and begin to self-educate themselves outside of the classrooms to become individuals that live fulfilling lives as professionals and members of society community.

Importance of Science Essay

One of my old, fairly innocuous posts has been climbing up the popularity lists: The Importance of Science in Our Lives. It’s just a link to an article online with a little commentary. I see on my statistics pages that a lot of people arrive using google searches of â€Å"Importance of Science.† I wonder if this is a common school assignment for students, e.g., â€Å"Write about the importance of science in the modern world† or some other similar variation, and then off they go to google to get their answers rather than thinking for themselves. Maybe that’s too cynical. Anyway, I have been intending to follow up with some more specific and simply worded reasons that science is important to not just me (e.g., my income), but to our civilization today. Science is important because†¦ 1. †¦we don’t have to take someone’s word for something, we can test their claims. 2. †¦horrible diseases can be cured, or prevented entirely, and it can still provide hope for those with as-yet-incurable diseases. 3. †¦people who love each other can talk to each other whenever they want no matter how far apart they are in the world, and can be together the next day. 4. †¦science can show us what has caused mass extinctions and point the way to preventing similar catastrophes in the future. 5. †¦science can make us feel big and special for understanding the age of the Earth, the nature of stars, and the size of the universe, even if those things dwarf us. 6. †¦science saves lives. 7. †¦it has helped us to no longer need to worry about personal survival as our top priority, giving us more time for love, laughter, singing, and dancing. 8. †¦whenever one problem is solved another two rear up to take its place, so the need for science will never go obsolete. 9. †¦science gives us superpowers, like looking across the universe, seeing atoms, flying across the Earth or to the moon, moving mountains, and harnessing the energy of the sun. 10. †¦science, in the long run, is the only reliable way to figure things out in a world that is so seldom fair and impartial. Well, those are ten of mine. I could elaborate or further justify each of these, but for now I will leave these here to ferment some more. There’s a darker version of this list that would talk about guns, nuclear bombs, and more, but I’ll pass on that for now. Violence isn’t nice, but it surely is important. Science is everywhere in today’s world. It is part of our daily lives, from cooking and gardening, to recycling and comprehending the daily weather report, to reading a map and using a computer. Advances in technology and science are transforming our world at an incredible pace, and our children’s future will surely be filled with leaps in technology we can only imagine. Being â€Å"science literate† will no longer be just an advantage but an absolute necessity. We can’t escape from the significance of science in our world. The present era is the era of science. Science has undoubtedly done a great service to mankind. Man, a rational being, has been curious to explore mysteries of nature and this led to many discoveries being made in various part of the world. But he is never satisfied with the acquired knowledge and is always keen to unravelle mysteries of the universe. He has conquered the land and air. His incredible lust for knowledge has revolutionise d human life and raised the standard of life. He was able to invent innumerable ways of making his life comfortable and happy. Every sphere of life has been revolutionised by science. There have been innumerable inventions. One of the greatest inventions is the invention of medicines. There has been a series of tests carried out using animals as subjects and various medicines have been tried out on these animals to check their efficacy. Many fatal diseases can now be cured because we have the drug to fight those diseases. It has reduced the rate of infant mortality and increased the life span. Before these inventions millions of people died for lack of medical care. Science has given us many machines that have made our lives very comfortable. Buses, cars, sewing machines, mixes, grinders, etc. are all machines that are used every day by us and the discovery of electricity has made it possible for us to change night into day and summer into a comfortable cool season It is now easy to cultivate fields as we have tractors. New forms of irrigation are now being employed. It is easier to protect the crops because of the use of various chemicals and pesticides. Even mosquitoes can be driven away because of the discoveries made in science. It has enabled man to entertain himself in many ways. TV, radio, video and the cinema are all popular means of entertainment. Besides entertainment they educate the masses. Today the computer has made life even more easy for us. The press, the means of communication, etc. have all improved because of science and its gifts to us. Before understanding the importance of science and technology, it is important for us to understand that science and technology are closely associated with our lives. They are closely linked aspects of society and the studies and developments in both of science and technology are essential for the overall progress of society. Why is technology so important? How does scientific development affect society? Let us find out.Scientific research comprises a wide variety of fields ranging from the study of different branches of science to relatively advanced fields like space exploration, human genetics and cloning. Scientific study attempts to explore and understand the working of the physical world. It tries to analyze the occurrences in nature and gain knowledge about nature through experimentation. As scientific research aims at gaining knowledge of the complexities of nature, it is important for the progress of mankind. The seemingly impossible feats have been made possible, thanks to the scientific research.Natural sciences deal with the study of nature and human life. The studies of natural and artificial sciences reveal the relationship between nature and human life. Research in science has paved a path to many brilliant inventions and discoveries.When it comes to science and technology, we cannot forget the automobile and the transport industries that have grown tremendously on account of the developments in science and engineering. Technological advancements have driven the developments in the different modes of transport. Bicycles have transformed into scooters and sport bikes. Four and six wheeled vehicles have started running on the roads, thanks to the advancing technology. The developments in air transport have winged the common man to soar high!The importance of technology lies in the benefits of technology on society. The positive effects of technology on society are many. The advancements in technology have revolutionized human life. It has provided a great impetus to the computer and the telecommunication industry. The developments in the communication technology have made the world a smaller place. The Internet serving as an excellent communication platform has made the world flat!The World Wide Web has proved being an enormous information base, from which information can be retrieved by the means of search engines. Information from all around the world is housed on the web. Thanks to the development of the web technology, the information can be stored in an organized manner and relevant information can be retrieved on supplying search strings to the web search engines.Digitization of information has been a major breakthrough in the world of information technology. It has made possible the compaction of information, which in turn allows efficient information storage.The most important benefit of science has been the luxury it has brought to daily life. The mechanization of industrial processes has reduced human effort. Household appliances that are in the daily use of the common man are a result of scientific research. Machines have replaced human beings in monotonous and risk-bearing tasks. Scientific discoveries have made life easy.Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-science-and-technology.html In every generation and in every century there always exist a number of people, who are afraid of everything that is related to possible changes. In various epochs they are called differently: luddites, anti-globalists, ecologists and so on; but their nature is always the same. They hate progress and strive to preserve the status quo without seemingly realizing the fact that the same very kind of people hated progress and strived to retain the status quo a hundred years ago, and now they use all the things that were denounced by their spiritual ancestors. In their blogs on the Internet they write about immoral scientists, who conduct dangerous experiments; but they do not realize that they actually use the product of the very science they hate in order to convey their thought to the similarly-minded. Science always has to fight against heavy odds, for it always tries to show how useful something may be to people who don’t want to listen, knowing that the very moment they will be persuaded, they will use a yet another product of science against what has created it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that a scientist is the hero of modern day, and not a politician or a social activist. Science makes our life possible – today a human being cannot imagine his or her life without all the many thousands of little and big things, created by science in the course of millennia. And the people who denounce it for meddling with the things that we do not understand, just don’t see that there is no way to study a thing that you don’t understand without, well, studying it. Of course, science always prevails in the end, for life is stronger than death. But it is really embarrassing to see how hard it has to fight. 2013-02-19T14:25:54start intext order & inq uiry code Science and technology provide people with the knowledge and tools to understand and address many of the challenges. Students must be provided with opportunities to access, understand, and evaluate current information and tools related to science and technology if they are to be ready to live in a 21st century global society. The study of science and technology includes both processes and bodies of knowledge. Scientific processes are the ways scientists investigate and communicate about the natural world. The scientific body of knowledge includes concepts, principles, facts, laws, and theories about the way the world around us works. Technology includes the technological design process and the body of knowledge related to the study of tools and the effect of technology on society. Science and technology merge in the pursuit of knowledge and solutions to problems that require the application of scientific understanding and product design. Solving technological problems demands scientific knowledge while modern technologies make it possible to discover new scientific knowledge. In a world shaped by science and technology, it is important for students to learn how science and technology connect with the demands of society and the knowledge of all content areas. It is equally important that students are provi ded with learning experiences that integrate tools, knowledge, and processes of science and technology. The Science and Technology Standards outline the essential understandings of these disciplines. Standard A describes four themes that serve as a broad scaffold for understanding and organizing student understanding of the content and processes of science and technology. Standard B describes the processes of scientific inquiry and technological design. As a complement to the expectations of inquiry and design outlined in Standard B, Standard C describes the enterprises of science and technology and the connection to society. Standards D and E have performance indicators that encompass the subject matter conventionally referred to as life, physical, and earth and space science. It is essential that classroom instruction integrate the processes and ideas of Standards A, B, and C with the knowledge of Standards D and E, rather than teach them separately. Instruction should support students in asking questions and making inquiries to help them, understand and solve problems that require t he integration of knowledge and processes in authentic contexts. Unifying Themes – The proposed revised standards begin with a focus on four themes of science and technology: systems, models, and constancy and change, and scale. These themes provide teachers and students with a scaffold on which to organize the details of the standards. National standards documents identify these themes as critical knowledge for students in the 21st century. The Skills of Scientific Inquiry and Technological Design Process – The Science and Technology Standards define both the student skills of scientific inquiry and the student skills of technological design. The inclusion of scientific inquiry, the development of a coherent section on technological design and the inclusion of a standard on scientific and technological enterprise highlight the importance of developing student understanding of the unique characteristics of and relationships between science and technology. The scientific and technological enterprise standard outlines key understanding s about the relationships among science, technology and society and underscores the role of citizens in the decision-making process related to science and technology. Science is our power as human beings to use our wisdom and make decisions. When a loved one is dying of cancer, what would you do? Would you not do anything possible to try to help them? Here is where science has a role in our lives; when we want to do something otherwise difficult or impossible. Though the ways of learning science has changed over the years from solely thinking logically to reading classics to experimenting, the way scientific knowledge is used has not been changed. When there is an epidemic, medicine is used to carry out man’s will to cure it. When the Egyptian pyramids were to be built, architecture came into use. Yet science is not used only for such needful or elaborate situations. They also appear in our daily lives. We know it is important to wash ourselves regularly, only for biology. The Wright brothers were able to invent the airplane because they knew hot air rises, and since then, we have been able to use their technology to travel great distances in short periods of time. We humans would be so impotent without science. Science is our knowledge of the universe. It is natural to have for a being who thinks. If we did not have science, it would mean we are plain animals motivated purely by instinct. Our definition of â€Å"life† as a human would not exist. Great are the blessings of science. However, our wisdom is not complete, and can lead us to do wrong. Thereupon, science can be a curse. We have changed the passenger airplane into a fighter. Cameras for keeping memories spy on people. Cell phones for conversations are used to bully kids around, and even explode trains. Our greed, hatred, fear, wickedness, and stupidity have produced terrible uses of what our scientific knowledge has put together. As we all know from Spiderman, â€Å"With great power comes great responsibility.† Science gives us options to do or not to do. Though each option has its consequences, it is a distinct strength which evidently separates us from animals. How we use it will greatly influence the lives of each one of us.

Formation of Psychology Essay

Many Philosophers majorly influenced the development of modern psychology in the nineteenth century. In this essay, I will begin by discussing three of the major eastern philosophers that contributed to the formation of psychology as a discipline. I will then discuss the development of psychology during the nineteenth century and the contributions made by these philosophers. Human behavior is a subject that has been thought about for centuries but was not properly recorded until scientific experimentation was performed. There were many major philosophers responsible for the  development of psychology but I will focus on John Locke, George Berkeley, and David Hume. These philosophers are significant in the development of psychology as a discipline and without them; psychology would not be what it is today. John Locke, 1632-1704, was the founder of British Empiricism. He spent his life mainly as a lecturer and tutor, but also as a philosopher, politician, diplomat, and was also trained in medicine. Locke’s main belief was that upon birth, the mind is a blank slate and would be written upon one’s personal  experiences; meaning that you come into this life with no prior knowledge and everything you learn is what you have perceived in your time while living. Goodwin (2008) states that Locke believed that every idea we have comes from only two sources, sensation and reflection. Sensation refers to the way our mind processes information grasped through our sensation in a given environment while reflection refers to information we have processed with the use of our senses and our memory. Locke argued against the use of punishment in children; which makes a great deal of impact on  psychological behavior and a child’s willingness to act out. George Berkeley was born in Ireland and lived from the year 1685 to the year 1753. Throughout his years, he lived as a philosopher, deacon and missionary. His theories from the seventeenth century developed into Materialism in the nineteenth century. His work on vision was the first systematic example of how empiricist thinking could be applied to the study of perception. Berkeley made theories of how the perceptions of objects depend on experience and instead of us seeing things  straight on; we judge them on our experiences of distance and size. Berkeley poses a threat to the act of free will through determinism, which is the belief that something causes every event. Materialism is the theory that the only existing things are matter or energy; all things are made up of atoms and each event is the result of material interactions. Without Berkeley’s contributions to the development of materialism, psychology would not include the argument of perception. Each individual perceives each instance in a different way; an object I may judge as being a yard away  could be perceived as five yards away for another. David Hume was known for the development of the Rules of Association. He was born in Scotland, in the year 1711 and died in the year of 1776. Hume believed that all similar or simultaneous ideas are somehow associated with one another. He came up with three laws to support his theories: resemblance, contiguity, and cause and effect. Goodwin (2008) summarized Hume as being known for making a distinction between impressions, which resulted from sensation, and ideas, which were faint copies of impressions. The development of psychology as a discipline was greatly impacted by David Hume, without his contributions to the Rules of Association modern day psychology would still be questioning the relationships of thoughts and patterns between one another. Hume’s contributions expanded through more theories outside of the Rules of Association and included sentimentalism, emotivism, ethical expressivism, non-cognitivism, and the error theory. The research and theories he provided played roles in the development in all of the fore listed theories making Hume a philosopher that played great impact in the development of psychology. The nineteenth century brought great advances in science in many areas from steel to electricity but also brought many advances in the science of psychology. In the nineteenth century, Charles Darwin’s theories developed into Darwinism. Sigmund Freud developed the theory of psychoanalysis, which compromised the idea of human beings having rationality and free will. The newly developed theories in the nineteenth century caused an uprising suggesting that we do not 1 / 2  know the universe, whereas, the prior sciences suggested a clear thinking, all-knowing world. The science of Psychology has slowly been in development since the fourth and fifth centuries. Although the science has grown dramatically since the beginning, it still relies on its roots of philosophy. Without the great impact of the world’s best philosophers, the science of psychology would not be what it is today. References: Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (3rd ed. ). : John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Chapters 1 & 2. POWERED BY TCPDF (WWW. TCPDF. ORG).   

What is the biggest problem facing the United States today Essay - 1

What is the biggest problem facing the United States today - Essay Example these changes to the growing economic problems and lack of adequate education in the country; however, these problems are also existent among the elite population which is suggestive of the fact that family trends are drastically changing within the entire population irrespective of their social or educational status. Along with the United States several countries have been experiencing changes in family structure and values, but every other country has introduced family structure policies and laws to help uphold the two-family system. In the case of the US, these changes which could have threatening consequences on the development of children and the future society, are now gaining acceptance among the general public. Issues such as single-parenthood, same-sex marriages and transgender issues are gaining a lot of prominence especially with the rise in government support and policy measures implemented to safeguard the rights of these people. People who are against the changing family structure are blaming the economic situation and the inaccessibility to basic education by the poorer and lower middle-class. However, though these changes are more widely prevalent among these people, changing family trends are also being observed among the wealthy and elite population. Political theorists such as Baron de Montesquieu have always propagated the importance of marriage and also stressing that the father is naturally obliged to take care of his children instead of forcing the responsibility on the mother. He further stressed on the need to uphold laws that favor wedlock which would in turn result in a healthy society. In the modern American society, women who are divorced or are single-parents of children born out of wedlock are now forced to take up employment in order to meet the responsibility of bringing up their kids. Both scientific research and societal facts have always claimed that children growing up in two-parent household have a relatively normal growth

Assighment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Assighment - Essay Example All this will indeed be a challenge for me but utilizing the gained knowledge will help me overcome the challenges and make the store a profit center. Discussion What are the most significant challenges facing you as manager of this store? For me as the manager, the most significant challenges can be enumerated as follows: Low volume of Sales: As the manager of the store, the most important thing for me to keep the store afloat would be the finances. The store cannot operate at a loss and to ensure that it is not at a loss, sales are the most important criteria. The store will have certain fixed overheads and certain variables. Fixed overheads include salaries, electricity, rent, telephone expenses etc. These are the costs the store has to bear even if there is no sale. These components are discounted by the profit which is generated out of sales. In the event of no or low sale, the fixed expenses stand as it is and proves heavy for the store. Variable expenses also are a part of exp enses which are incurred in case of sale. Suppose freight charges for delivery of products etc. So this cost is only incurred if there are sales and is directly proportionate to sales. So in case, there is low sale, my store will have to bear the fixed overheads at least. There needs to be a minimum amount of sale to cover the fixed costs and be at zero profit at least(Berman, 2007). Manpower issue: Since the store is not doing well, the manpower cannot be more due to their costs. The plus point here is that the store has a good blend of experienced and fresh manpower. So to utilize maximum potential from them, the experienced ones should provide some training to the fresh ones and always back them up during sales. The attrition rate also has to come down to save on training time and cost. Branding and Advertising: Since the store once enjoyed loyalty of customers in neighborhood, the goodwill re-building would not be so difficult. I should focus on how I can harness the goodwill al ready built among certain groups of people to attract them to be our customers at the shopping mall and to promise them that the quality of products and services are same irrespective of change of hands of the store. What steps would you take during the first 90 days as manager to address these challenges? In the first 90 days, the steps I would take have been described below: Since the employees include high school and college students, I would harness their contacts to boost my sales. I would plan an incentive for each employee if they give me a minimum amount of business. Example: An employee will be offered x% of the sales value if they give a minimum of x amount of business. Since they are college students, offering only a small amount will be enough to motivate them to bring in business. This will be done keeping in mind the profitability of business. Once we have customers, they can be converted to repeated customers later on through schemes and good service. Specifically aim ed promotion: The store needs to be promoted in such a way that the people who were already loyal customers can connect to the promotion activities and believe that the store is still the same as they liked it even after change of hands. The erstwhile loyal customers will be the first ones whom I would like to be my customers as they will be easy to convince. Once they are back, word-of-mouth will play

Juvenile Delinquency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Juvenile Delinquency - Essay Example These offenses range from status offenses like smoking while young, to property and violent crimes. The high percentage of juvenile offenses is a major concern of the society because, the behavior the youths develop in their adolescence affects their adult life if not corrected in advance. The research work that follows will look at some of the causes of juvenile delinquency, prevention methods, and the history of juvenile justice, that is, the handling of juvenile offenses during the early history days and at present, the statistics of juvenile justice in different countries, and the importance of the study. The History of Juvenile Justice For years, law has successfully defined juvenile and adult offenders by drawing a line at different places as well as different reasons. Juvenile crime policy history through the 20th century is a narration of how the conception of young offenders has been transformed by law. Before the juvenile court era, by the end of 20th century, young offende rs were tried and punished in the same way as adults were. Although the law was greatly influenced by common law of England, different countries had different methods of handling juvenile delinquency cases in the early history days. In Greece and Rome, age made no difference on criminal responsibility (Binder, Geis and Bruce, 2001). The young people accused to law breaking received the same treatment as the adults. According to the Roman law, the Twelve Tables, law breaking of underage children and adults got the same treatment, that is, the treatment given to the adults applied to children (Binder, Geis and Bruce, 2001). In the criminal justice system, juvenile offenders got treated the same way as adults, although they differed in the punishment given. The Roman law considered only the children under the age of seven years to be exempted form criminal liability, but girls from 12 years and boys from 14 years were as adults in regard to crimes. Those in between received judgment ac cording to their capability of distinguishing between right and wrong (Binder, Geis and Bruce, 2001). The English Common Law took judgment of juvenile cases like those of Greece and Rome. Although their law termed children as responsible for any crime right from birth, few children under the age of 7 years faced legal penalties for their crimes (Binder, Geis and Bruce, 2001). The rising crimes in early days of history in the United States led to the formation of institutions to treat the wayward youths who developed anti-social behaviors due to social changes in Europe (Krisberg, 2005). The changes affected almost all the fields of life for the people of Europe, for example, increased population due to urbanization led to increased fees paid by farmers who worked on the farms. The living standard of the farmers dropped leading them to migrate to towns and cities to look for means of survival (Krisberg, 2005). This immigration of these farmers into towns caused an increase in crimes that brought unrest in the towns. To control the effects of this immigration, the town leaders enacted laws to prevent immigration and also invented other laws like the ‘Poor Laws’ as it was their name, to prevent the migrants from obtaining citizenship. Although they tried to discourage migration to

Does the Christan salvesen's sickness absence management policy meet Essay

Does the Christan salvesen's sickness absence management policy meet its obligations under the DDA' - Essay Example The inter-war years were tough but Salvesen sold a large number of ships and rode out the difficult period. When the post-war whaling boom ended, Salvesen scaled down its involvement and ended its interest. Looking for new growth areas, an experiment with a revolutionary trawler to freeze fish while still at sea led to the purchase of the company's first cold store in Grimsby in 1958, a move that coincided with the birth of the frozen food industry in the UK. The firm's fledgling distribution operations grew as customers requested transport for their frozen produce. The business continued to diversify its operations, moving into food freezing facilities, house building and the offshore oil industry in the early 1970s. Salvesen began to concentrate its activities in the Food Services division, opening cold stores, expanding food processing facilities and winning a major frozen food distribution contract for UK retailer Marks & Spencer. The business grew with the acquisition of Merchants Refrigerating Company in the USA in 1981 and the generator rental company Aggreko in 1984. Aggreko was a success in the 1980s, opening UK depots, growing French operations and expanding into the USA with the acquisition of Electric Rental Systems. ... Salvesen built up its presence in the frozen food sector in mainland Europe with operations in five countries. In 1995 it also acquired a stake in a German industrial logistics business called Wohlfarth. In September 1997 Christian Salvesen decided to concentrate on its core logistics divisions and diverged Aggreko. Since then Christian Salvesen has built up a blue chip client base, developing partnerships with retailers and manufacturers and targeting markets in mainland Europe. In recent years, Salvesen acquired Industrial logistics businesses in Spain, Germany and France. It has since sold both its food and industrial operations in Germany. It is focused on further expansion of its geographic footprint in Europe and developing an integrated European offering of in-market, shared-use networks. Today, Salvesen has operations in seven countries: Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and the UK. Its chosen market segments are Industrial, Food and Consumer products and it specialises in the strategic management of the outsourced supply chain. These operations are supported by advanced, proprietary ICT systems. The DDA Policy: The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) covers all UK businesses. The DDA is a UK parliamentary act of 1995, which makes it unlawful for service provider to discriminate against people in respect of their disabilities in relation to employment, the provision of goods and services, education and transport. It is a civil rights law. Other countries use constitutional, social rights or criminal law to make similar provisions. Employment Discrimination laws seek to prevent discrimination based on race, sex, religion,

Health and saftey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Health and saftey - Essay Example The workers in the farm shall also be seriously exposed to danger if the cracks in the chamber will not be secured. The cattles and sheeps which are positioned in the field will also be endangered once the chamber totally breaks or explodes. The people who will be passing the road near the chamber, which has a distance of 1 mile from the main road, can also be seriously affected by the faulty sewer system. 3. Evaluation of Risks: Since there is a high risk or probability that the condition of the cracks will worsen any time soon, it is deemed best that the appropriate measures should be taken to seal the cracks of the main junction chamber by applying a sealant. In the event that no action is taken to seal the existing cracks in the walls of the chamber, it is expected that the condition of the chamber which can lead to its total breakdown. 4. Implementation: Since sealant fumes are known to cause drowsiness and are known to be heavier than air, toxic and highly inflammable, it is re commended that all persons working in the farm, even the farm animals should be taken to a safer place while repair of the main junction chamber is on-going. ... The application of the sealant must be done immediately in order to prevent the build-up of cracks to worsen. However, this is only a temporary solution. It is highly recommended that a total replacement of the main junction chamber should be implemented so that the solution is long-term. The goal of this precautionary measure is to foster a safe working environment for the workers and shall serve as a protection for the whole community, including the animals, living within the vicinity where the chamber is situated. Establishing a risk assessment plan will result to controlled risks. â€Å"Workers and others have a right to be protected from harm caused by a failure to take reasonable control measures. Accidents and ill health can ruin lives and affect your business if output is lost, machinery is damaged, insurance costs increase or you have to go to court†. Details on risk assessment can be found at the Health and Safety Executive website which can be viewed at . Operation 2 1. Hazards: The maintenance of the grass verge, trees and hedgerows which is adjacent to the highway and within the vicinity of a junior school, should be done regularly as the local police suspects that drug traders have been operating in the area and can be hide-out for criminal activities. 2. Who may be harmed: The students who go to the school within the vicinity can be the potential victims if the grass, trees and hedgerows are not well-kept. The gardener who is tasked to do the clearing and maintenance operation is also seriously at risk since he is the only person tasked to complete the job. He can be exposed to danger if during the operation, he is attacked by a group of drug

Word-of-Mouth to Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Word-of-Mouth to Marketing - Essay Example Today word-of-mouth marketing includes several categories of communication such as buzz, blogs, and viral marketing where Internet communities and other interactive social media are utilised for word-of-mouth marketing. Influencer marketing is another form of word-of-mouth marketing wherein personalities who are believed to be highly influential over the target audience are made use of for promotion of products and services. Word-of-mouth marketing has gained a great deal of importance as a marketing technique due to its effectiveness, which in turn is due to its credibility. This is because word-of-mouth communication is considered to be honest and without any selfish motive. This credibility is what is made use of by marketers who use the technique of the word of mouth. People usually ask other people like their friends, family, colleagues and others, whom they trust, when they decide to purchase something and before they begin to look for what brand or label to buy. Word-of-mouth marketing is actually "giving people a reason to talk about your stuff, and making it easier for that conversation to take place" (Sernovitz, 2006, p.3). As simply put by Sernovitz (2006, p.3), "it is everything you can do to get people talking." People are more often than not buying a product not in response to the marketing campaigns of the product, but in response to what other people may be talking about the product. Research shows that people gather information from marketing materials and then talk the products over with their friends, family or other close associates. Then they make a decision about buying the product in response to what others say about the product (Silverman, 2001, p.6). Hence marketers have realized that the best way to increase sales of their products is by getting the customers to sell them. Word-of-mouth communication is now the focal point of marketing and the most effective method for sales promotion. Another factor that increases the significance of the word of mouth is that we are now in the information age where we are overwhelmed with more information than we can handle. This, in addition to busy schedules, leaves no time for extensive research, investigation and deliberation. Hence traditional advertising is on the decline and the word of mouth has become a necessary time saver (Silverman, 2001, p.10). Impact of the word of mouth in marketing There are several factors that render the word of mouth very powerful and effective. The most significant factor is that the word-of-mouth communication can be very influential and can persuade a prospective buyer to buy a product. Another factor is that the word of mouth communication is based on personal experience and therefore the possibility of expected result is very high. The independent nature of the word-of-mouth communication makes it more credible. Besides, while word-of-mouth communication is custom-made, relevant and complete, it is self-generating and self-breeding, growing exponentially and sometimes explosively (Silverman, 2001, p.37). It has unlimited speed and scope, and is "very inexpensive to stimulate, amplify and sustain" (Silverman, 2001, p.37). Word-of-mouth co

Illegal Immigration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Illegal Immigration - Essay Example These people who make the entry are known as immigrant (Immigrant Assist, 2012). An immigrant who enters another country without going through the laid down laws therefore becomes an illegal immigrant. In the United States of American and in all legal jurisdictions around the world, illegal acts are offensive and punishable by law. For this reason, the fact that a person is touted as an ‘illegal’ immigrant alone renders the fellow an offender. Presently, there are very strict laws that prescribe various forms of punishments for people who are caught to be illegal immigrants. As a way of fighting against illegal immigration also, there are a lot of restrictions that have been put on people in the country who are not legal residents. Generally, the debate continues as to what should be done to people who are caught to be illegal immigrants. PROPONENTS Proponents of this debate argue on two major reasons why illegal immigrants should not be punished by the law. First, they argue on humanitarian grounds stating that people would generally travel to the United States of America by crook means because of the need to make greener pastures and alleviate themselves from the hardships they face in their countries. From a humanitarian perspectives therefore, these proponents advocate tempering justice with mercy. There also is an argument by the proponents that illegal immigrants contribute largely to the economy of the United States of America through their trade and other economic activities and thus the need to allow their integration into the United States population. In the light of the growing debate, there have been formal studies and research to confirm the quantitative contribution of illegal immigrants to the economy of the United States. For instance the White House Council of Economic Advisors (2007), reports that â€Å"U.S. natives gain an estimated $37 billion a year from immigrants’ participation in the U.S. economy, according to the Pr esident’s Council of Economic Advisors† (Drum Major Institute, 2012). This figure is by no means a small amount of money to the economic growth of the United States. For each illegal immigrant that is expelled from the country therefore, there is a percentage of this amount that is lost to the United States economy. OPPONENTS There are also those who do not agree that illegal immigration should be entertained. In the view of these opponents, illegal immigrants should continue to be sanctioned and expelled from the United States of America. These opponents argue on two major grounds. The first has to do with the argument of security reasons whiles the second has to do with improper national planning policy. First, it is argued that the continuous stay of people whose information cannot be accounted for constitutes a major security threat to the country. Especially as it is becoming clear that the United States is having more and more international enemies, it is always i mportant that authorities in the country can monitor each and every resident and their activities. However, this is not possible if people enter the country illegally or overstay their visa dates. Again, because the country does not have any formal information on illegal immigrants, it becomes very difficult to include them in national planning

Do you believe the greatest leaders are born, not made Essay

Do you believe the greatest leaders are born, not made - Essay Example They should be full of charisma and inspirational to the society. Charisma in a leader is pushed by their ego and enables them to spread their doctrines to the people and be able to convince the society that they are superior to the others. A leader should inspire others on matters that pertain the well being of the society. Moreover, the leader should be self assured in order to make the society he/she is leading believe in them and that they can achieve anything (Truexpression, Para 3-4). Born leaders need to be able to anticipate the needs of the people even before they occur; hence a high level of vision needs to be portrayed. They should approach situations with an open mind and acts as a link to the other leaders in societies. They should be well prepared and hard workers, as they will be the mentors of the younger generations who may onetime become leaders. On the other hand, made leaders occur in several way for instance they may be gained through formal education in educational institutions or from experiences in their life. Other made leaders are gained from given situations that occur at a given time needing them to act and lead others. Most of the attributes of leaders who have little formal education comes from skills they gather as they live in their community. Made leaders mostly encourage teamwork through society they are leading as they believe in the power of unity. Made leaders are also excellent communicators, especially a situation leader who arises in the case of crisis to lead the society (Reeves, Para 5). Made leaders recognize the need to better themselves to be able to gain more insight and lead the community they serve. They recognize they are the servants of the people hence need to learn the needs of the community by building a strong bond with the people. Born leaders mostly learn from their experiences or that of others (Truexpression, Para 9). This makes them eager to better themselves and not repeat the

Virtue and Courage Essay Example for Free

Virtue and Courage Essay What is the first thing that pops up in your mind when you hear this word? Is it a person jumping down a building, someone confronting his enemies, voicing out his opinions or nothing at all? For me, I think of a noble action when I hear this word. Courage was originally a Latin word, â€Å"coraticum†. The root â€Å"cor† means heart and it was added to the suffix, â€Å"age† to fit the English language. Literally, courage means â€Å"an action that comes from the heart†. Courage can be split into two, physical courage and moral courage. â€Å"Physical courage† is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, or threat of death while â€Å"moral courage† is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame or discouragement. The main interpretation of the usage of this word is â€Å"to describe people who have a quality of mind that allows them to face danger without fear†. For many people, risking or sacrificing one’s life for others is the highest example of courage. However, many of us experience courage in everyday life without even realising it. Certain devoted actions made by ordinary people in ordinary situations can be courageous. Courage can be living with a handicapped person, moving on with life after the death of a loved one, or even working hard to pay your monthly bills. In Ancient times, courage was considered to be one of the four essential virtues in life: wisdom, courage, temperance and justice. Courage is one of the most important qualities in a man because without it, he will not be able to show his other virtues. You cannot buy courage or get it from someone else. You can only be inspired by the examples of other people. All in all, courage is not just a gained state of mind as a result of meritorious education, it is a calling of a soul. An integral part of a man’s personality. So whether it is dying for another person or fighting for something good, we should all practise it.

Changes In The Representation Of Women In Advertising Essay

Changes In The Representation Of Women In Advertising Essay Advertisements are one of the most cultural factors which mould and reflect society. They are a ubiquitous and inevitable part of everyones life: even if we do not read a newspaper or watch television, the images posted over our urban surrounding are inescapable. The advertisement translates these statements to us as human statements: they are given a humanly symbolic exchange value. (Wiliamson, 1976) Many theorists believe that perceived gender roles form the bases for the development of gender identity and thus it is vital to study the theories used to enforce these gender stereotypes and their shifts. Eaglys social role theory implies that gender roles based on stereotypes have been developed due to sexual division of labour and societal expectations. Eagly (1987) differentiates among the common and age scopes of gender-stereotyped features. The common character is categorized by elements, such as nurturance and emotional expressiveness, mostly linked with household activities, and thus, with women. The age role is categorized by characteristics such as hostility and sovereignty, mostly linked with communal activities, and thus, with men. Gender roles strongly influence behaviour when cultures support gender stereotypes and build up strong expectations based on those stereotypes (Eagly 1987). According to Deaux and Lewis gender stereotypes differ on four dimensions: traits, rol e behaviors, physical characteristics, and occupations (Deaux and Lewis 1983). This work is further developed by Berm who stated that Gender stereotypes are implanted through childhood socialization and are reinforced in adulthood. This thought is supported by Berms Gender schema theory, which presents the idea that children learn how their cultures define the roles of both women and men and then internalize the knowledge acquired as gender schema. (bem 1993) Feminist legal theory is based on the belief that the law is instrumental in womens historical subordination. There are two elements of the feminist legal theory. First, feminist jurisprudence aims to explain the ways in which the law played a role in womens former subordinate status and in the latter, feminist legal theory is dedicated to changing womens status through a reworking of the law and its approach to gender. According to Gunther women in television adverts prior to 1970s were not shown to be in paid work, and when they were, they would be stereotypical jobs such as a nurse or personal assistant. Housewife culture declined after the 1950s, but it was still common during the 1960s and 1970s (Gunther, 1995 :34). Content analysis of advertising in television during the 1970s provided strong evidence of the existence of stereotyping. All adverts which featured women showed three quarters were for kitchen and bathroom products. Men were viewed with powerful authoritative roles and provided the dependable voice-over (Ibid: 35) Research in the late 1970s and early 1980s reinforced a continuation of these trends, with men shown at work and women as housewives and mothers at home. Nonetheless, it became more common for men to be shown at home as well, in the role of husband or father, and the range of womens occupations increased (ibid : 36, 37). This is reminiscent of the Social Learning Theory. During the late 1970s women in advertising played a central focus on beauty, cleanliness, family and pleasing others. In the 1980s TV advertising started to conceptualize the idea of the busy working women by offering solutions to the working woman, who was assumed, would still perform household tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Pg 55Through the early 1990s, a study was conducted of 500 prime-time TV ads in the UK, by Cumber batch (reported in Strinati, 1995: 86),and it was deduced that advertiser had seemingly become vary of many years advertisers were reluctant to do anything different from the conservative stereotypical gender roles until in the 1970s and 1980s feminists took the protest to roads. Pg 55 Television audience are bombarded with images and slogans through advertisements. In 2000 Nielsen Media Research and Radio Advertising Bureau survey concluded that the average U.S. household, watched more than seven hours of television per day (Albarran, 2000). Audience subconsciously memorize slogans and absorb images without questioning them. This is known as the cultivation effect (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorieli (1980)) .The effect of this exposure produces cultivation, or teaching of a common worldview, common roles and common values. (Gerbner, Gross, Morgan Signorieli, 1980, p.10). In order to understand the change in female stereotypes we must apply a semiotic analysis to the advertisements in the contrasting time frames.Williamson (1978) stated that semiotics studies looks at any system of signs whether the substance is verbal, visual or a complex mixture of both. (Semiotics and Ideology (n.d) para.2). Ideology is the meaning made necessary by the conditions of society while helping to perpetuate those conditions. (Williamson (1978) p.13). We must first discuss intersubjectivity, (OSullivan, Hartley, Saunders, Montgomery, Fiske, (1994) p.157 158) As the audience In order to understand advertisements we must learn how to read them. It is vital to deconstruct them by the use of encoding and decoding. Encoding is performed by the transmitter of the advertisement message and decoding is a process accomplished by the receiving audience. The visual message is the most important element of a television advert because through it, its semiotic system of codes and co nventions it attracts potential buyers of the product. Most female personal care products target consumers by offering them an idealized reader-image (McCracken (1992 p.20). Thus television advertisements attract the audience by selling them visions of how they would like to see themselves. The codes and conventions on the advert have been transgressed by Dove which as a brand has taken a sharp turn away from traditional conventional ideologies of female perceptions. Advertisements must take into account not only the inherent qualities and attributes of the products they are trying to sell, but also the way in which they can make those properties mean something to usà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The components of advertisements are variable and not necessarily part of one language or social discourse. Advertisements rather provide a structure which is capable of transforming the language of objects into that of people, and vice versa. Judith Williamson, Decoding Advertisements, 1978, p.12 (flake doc) According to Gerbner; common media learning has increased television viewing is associated with more stereotypical views, especially of gender (Allan Scott, 1996). Gerbner et al (1980) argued that for frequent heavy viewers, television virtually subsumes and monopolizes other sources of information, ideas and consciousness. Furthermore, the frequent viewers perceive the world as television depictions . (Gerbner, et al., 1980). Dove old advert The advertisements of the early 1960s begin with a male voice over. This man narrates the advert and his claims of Dove being new and revolutionary and this is reinforced through female narration. This can be said to be reflective of male patriarchy dominant at during the late 1950s and early 1960.The key word in the advert is new and is repeated, in each case before the brand name. The readers eye is drawn simultaneously to the models eyes and face, and the text onscreen. The Advert emphasized as the brand name and thus the text anchors the connotative meaning of the product but new is the first word you read. Cosmetics advertisers aim to reduce competition by conveying that their products are the newest product with the latest technological advances. Emphasis in adverts is placed on the new key property of the product. For example, Dove creams and cleanses your skin and boasts that other products only cleanse and dry ; here, there is a strong implication of criticism of other brand s and products and this encourages women to be critical of themselves and their peers in using wearing of out-of-date brands that do not embody the latest key properties or technology. The beginning of the advert contains a picture of the products packaging; this is what the audience is to look for when buying the product. The image of the dove represents Greek connotations of Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love thus representing traditional female beauty and characteristics. Next the audiences see a perfectly manicured female hand , this continues to reinforce female notions of beauty. Once the product is unpackaged the bar of soap is curvy, this could questionably parallel the unpack aging of the female body which like the soap is also curvy. The words completely new are draw upon the eyes of the audience eye drawn and this point is reinforced by the narrative. The audience is introduced to the product by a male voice over. A Female voice over refers to the cleaning of the product cleaning, a subtle reference to the position of women in the home, filling of bar may also be representative of cooking. She continues to talk about cleansing, the product cleans and creams and this is repeated and is reinforced to the audience. The male voice then reinforces the positives of the products; his commentary is similar to that of a scientists new discovery. Its can be argued that the mode in the advert acts as a guinea pig for the experimental use of the product, it is her purpose to serve the male voice over. We are only able to view the models face, and towards the end of the advert her makeup changes as if she were ready to go out, for a date perhaps, and in this transformation she is rewarded by an anonymous male, whose hand we see as he caresses her cheek continuing to reinforce the previous Aphrodite notions beauty and love and desire to please in a patriarchal society and fulfil beauty expectations. The ad consists of a visual subject which in this case is the soap and an object, the soap bar, while subconsciously portraying the subject as the women and the object as her Female curves. This reinforces traditional gender stereotypes as the objects beauty is acknowledged by male presence. I will now introduce and analyze recent Dove television adverts according to semiotics. I am looking to see how the representation of women is conveyed and to see if the operation of patriarchy is apparent. I suspect that I will be able to deduce that all of these adverts operate patriarchy through similar ideologies presented through, images and articles in magazine about their products. The advert then shows the ordinary women having fun at photo shoot. In the new television advert the models are relaxed and it appears as if they are chatting to their girlfriends. The self-touching conveys the impression of narcissism, admiring ones own body and displaying it to others. Furthermore, in the firming body products campaign we are first introduced to the model via an audition we see real women, wearing ordinary clothing, jeans and simple tops and not glamorous silk gowns. They are all different shapes, sizes and ethnicities. The larger women unconventionally and ironically are wearing lower cut blouses. Next the audience views the women using of products in ordinary household environments. The use of a female voice portrays societal liberisation of women and her voice has a relaxed jovial tone as she refers to size 8 women. The female voice of dove, implies that size 8 women note real women but merely fictional supermodels. She refers to large hips and pear shape, this healthy fruit are Dove a promoting a healthier fuller figure. Women are in white lingerie this mirrors the color of the dove which is free and liberated. A twenty first century interpretation of the dove may be interpreted as the present greater liberation, peace and freedom which is reinforced in Doves new ad campaign. During the photo shoot there is a male voice present in the background. He wears black perhaps because he not as free and liberated as women and is confined to the antiquity of black which contrasts the free soaring spirit of Dove. In comparison to the 1960s ad, the earlier is more informative about the product where as the new advert, focuss on the self in comparison to the prior which focuss on the product. In the new advert the narrator only names the products and reinforces that their tested on real women The absence of obvious sex appeal in this ad displaces the use of the product as a method of attracting the male. Instead the womans focus is on attaining for herself the advertised qualities embodied other women shown. The ad uses empowerment to sell the product because the majority of women in their late thirties or early forties who are considering firming products are likely to have already attracted a male. It is the qualities embodied by real women that the ad is making desirable, and then attainable through the product itself. Dove claim they have changed all this by revoloutionalizing societal perceptions of beauty. By presenting real women in their lingerie the brand expresses the societal liberation of female freedom and sexuality. Women in their campaign are not presented with traditional sexual connotations as vixens; hour glass body shapes, long hair, large bust, instead the women in the 21st century ad campaign are perfectly flawed. This campaign broke stereotypical rules and took beauty taboos head on. The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty (CFRB) textually reveals that CFRB employs feminist signs to reference a key binary resistance in feminist politics discussing liberation and oppression; in the presentation of an ideology of real beauty. This message promotes Dove as a mechanism of change to the view of societal perceptions of limiting and unattainable female beauty, a position influential feminists support in mainstream media and through corporate partnership. This analysis suggests that real beauty is a new stereotype within the dominant ideology of female beauty; the attributes of thin, young, and blonde are replaced by many shapes, sizes, colours and ages, yet the real women are presented to arouse public dialogue about their physical beauty while promoting Dove and its products; resulting in sexual objectification of their image. Also as the definition of real beauty embraces self-esteem, CFRB produces a demanding, oppressive beauty stereotype for female consumption than the do minant stereotype which emphasizes only physical standards. Ultimately, CFRB support the patriarchal view of female identity as a consumer through the ideological consumption of real beauty and fiscal consumption of Dove products. This analysis provides a history of the relationships between feminists women in advertising, and the assembly of beauty advertising to observe the construction structure of CFRB. In earlier decades the aim for women was to attract a man and be in a loving relationship. The focus has shifted, however, and the goal now is to be slim, attractive, and happy, regardless of lifestyle, and whether or not an individual is in a successful relationship or not. It is through inter-subjectivity that cultural identity is affirmed. Just as advertising influences culture, so too does it reflect trends and cultural values. Advertising in womens products represents a utopian view of the world and sells the product by selling stereotypical aspirations to attain the lifestyles or the looks represented in their texts. Henceforth, Margaret Duffy claimed that advertising, Popular academics have seen it as anti-humanistic, a creator of unnecessary needs and desires. (Duffy as cited by Manca and Manca, 1994, p.5). Unlike big clothing brands like Gucci or Prada for example, self care products cannot be identified by displaying the brand name in the actual cream or soap bar but instea d, advertisements such as this encourage women to look critically at each others physical appearance and gossip about how other women look. The old dove advert exemplifies elements of both the social learning and the gender schema theory. As we are socialized into our gender roles females traditionally have been concerned about their appearance and focuses on trying to please the opposite sex. This is reiterated by doves ad campaign buy the males reassuring hand of the womans soft beautiful skin. This social acceptance is reinforced by the gender schema theory which describes women as gentile creatures. Thus these two work hand in hand in a repetitive cycle. In contrast to this contemporary dove advertisements are influenced by feminist legal theory. The female voice over mirrors social power acquired by women in the early 20th century and after WWII. This is made even more apparent by the partly dressed models that break traditional gender stereotypes of beautiful pin up women as they appear in all shapes and sizes. FLAKE intro the second ad Chocolate seems more decadent than other confectionery because we have been sold this myth. The audience treats the signifiers in advertisements as though they are truths rather than our own constructions, which are enabled by refined publicity teams. This tendency to accept signs stems advertising has signified a cultural scepticism which in return has acted as the signifier for a new system of parody in advertisement which humours the system of unconscious connotations whilst achieving the goal of selling the product within the same system of denotations and connotations which it ridicules. The Cadburys Flake television advertisements of the 1970s and 80s depict young, beautiful white women in romantic dreamscapes, i.e. the poppy field, the Victorian-style bathroom, content in their independence, yet eroticised by the sexual relationship they share with their phallic chocolate bars The advert begins with the flake girls licking her lips, she then holds up the erected chocolate bar which becomes the central focal point for the audience. We are given time to read the name of the chocolate which then is followed by music. As the music proceeds the flake girl begins to unwrap the bar and slowly and places it in her mouth not taking a bite this may be interpreted to mirror the sexual acts. The girl presents traditional beauty appearance, her makeup draws attention to her eyes and lips her straight hair also represents phallic images and traditional beauty connotations similar to that in the Dove adverts of 1960s presenting the beauty of Aphrodite. She places the chocolate seductively in her mouth and as the sun shines behind her she enters into her sexual fantasy a beach with a back horse. This stallion may be representative of a man, strong, learn and being lead by a strong female from the 1960s. She finally smiles as she enjoys the creamy chocolate. Most prominent in this advert is the female voice over, this being representative of political change. . These images appeal to the consumer, who makes connections between the visual subject, the chocolate and the visual object the chocolate bar in contrast to the subconscious subject sex and the subconscious object the lack of the male penis. The substitution of the chocolate bar for phallic images is all the more erotic when the audience is exposed to close-up images of white females rouge stained or gloss-laden lips wrapping themselves around the brown bar. The attributes of the chocolate; its distinctive shape and texture are connoted into a meaning of sexual desire and satisfaction. These myths then become the Flakes identity. Flake has removed the idea of the Flake girl who traditionally has sensually nibbled the chocolate bar since 1959. The new campaign aims to focus on the beauty and delicacy of the Flake bar, as opposed to the Flake girl succumbing to the mouth watering chocolate. The ad features Russian model Yulia Lobova and 200 metres of yellow fabric. The fabric twirls around the model as a yellow dress in an analogy of the Flake bar. For the past seven months the UK Cadbury team have been working on creating a new campaign that helps give Flake a fresh, contemporary approach, said Phil Rumbol, UK marketing director at Cadbury. We wanted to focus on the beauty of the product rather than just the sensuality of eating it we consider Flake to be a truly unique product and its still going strong in its 90th year. The signifiers in the new advert are the colours purple and yellow from which the audience picks up on the significant code and recognises the brand. The floating women in the luxurious material signify the beauty and luxury of the brand and product. The material unwraps a woman where s previously it was the ale phallic. This advertisement can be used for a global audience, the lacking of language ad simple images sounds and colours relates to a wider audience. The models makeup is also subtle in comparison to previous flake girls. The traditional beauty and enhancement of eyes and lips is not as apparent. Flake old advert- influenced by feminist legal theory and like women rebels against the societal perception and position of women. This is exemplified by the female voiceover. Ironically this advertisement presents another female stereotype of the sexual women and not a home maker. This is a stereotype which was not taught during the early 1960s however female presence in society was seeing a change, perhaps Cadbury were attempting to create a new stereotype or perhaps trying to break traditional conventions and set new set new social learning theoretical perspectives. New ad- Cadbury has once again created a new stereotype but this time of not gender but of pleasure , presenting their chocolate not with sexual connotations. However Cadbury still use a female who is lost in some form of desire however this advert focuses on the chocolate rather than its The desirable indulgence in this ad is the chocolate itself rather than the subconscious portrayal of a phallic image. The fantasy is constant however the nature of the new adverts emphasizes on the changes of gender stereotypical roles in comparison to the old one. CONCLUSION Having explored the ideals of femininity in television advertisements we can argue that they are revealed to be carefully constructed in their layout, choice of colour, packaging and the product itself, text, language used, and which model has been photographed to represent the brands ideology through the codes and conventions it adheres to. In some adverts consumption of the product is implied to lead to being loved, cared for and protected by a man and this is portrayed as highly desirable in the case of dove. In contrast the new campaign shows a female empowered to stand alone without masculine approval, and to consume the product as a luxury for herself, not to make her more attractive to a man. Flake In conclusion the advertising has evolved from traditional notions of female stereotypes alternative to that of dove to minimalist advertising which is based on consumers socially acquired knowledge for e.g it will be commonly known for all the audiences the colours of flakes packaging similarly to this the logo of dove and the colours of the packaging. Even though gender stereotypical roles in adverts have tremendously evolved since 1960s while performing the semiotics of both the adverts an interesting pattern of similarity lead to decipher a rare connection between the new dove ad and the old flake ad. In the dove new ad the confidence of women to be comfortable with their appearance no matter how they look without male dominance and the confidence of the flake girl in the old advert to have her own fantasy where she leads the masculine horse figure shows power and dominance portrayed by both then dove women and the flake girls. It could be argued that Cadbury has been ahead of times in modern portrayal of gender stereotyping however it still follows the traditional pattern to gender stereotyping showing a stereotypically beautiful white Russian model while Dove has broken this convention and introduced a new form of gender stereotypical role. Creating new stereotypes. In addition, many television adverts carry an implication of women being confident, successful and strong. From closer study it becomes clearer that this masks the operation of patriarchy which uses representations of women in adverts to suppress the empowerment and independence of women in real life. Again Dove differs here from other advertising campaigns by showing positive images of women who do not conform to the unattainable ideal standard of beauty shown in other ads and Cadbury create a new implication of female empowerment. However such implications were evident in adverts during the 1960s. It is obvious that advertising plays a major part in creating and maintaining the consumer culture in which we live. It can be argued that if the public had greater awareness to the negative images in the mass media in reference to women, they would be able to distinguish between their actual needs and those created by factors such as peer pressure, advertising, and low self-confidence. Cash Pruzinsky (1990, p.51) stated two perspectives which form our appearance, one from the inside and one from the outside. The relationship between these perspectives is central when discussing self-esteem and body image, but it is our physical appearance which provides advertisements with their material. Despite this it is our feelings about how we look from the inside and our insecurities which enable adverts to work. Fiske says, An advert is only the inter textual circulation of its meanings, a set of unfinished meanings in process. Texts are not signifying objects but agents, instances and reso urces of popular culture. (1991, p.124 125) It is only when being read or viewed and its meaning interpreted by individuals that the advert becomes whole and performs the function of selling a product. Without human interaction an advertisement can only be looked at as a manifestation of the world surrounding it.

Selecting The Most Suitable Procurement Route Construction Essay

Selecting The Most Suitable Procurement Route Construction Essay Understand that due to the terrible weather and severe storm, a significant damage was happened to Cinnamon Grand hotels. As a result, the hotel management board requested for advice on selecting an appropriate procurement route after deciding to reconstruct the destroyed buildings. There are a few procurement routes could be selected amongst traditional procurement route and non-traditional procurement routes which includes Design and Build, Management Contracting and Construction Management. In general, Traditional method is more favored by public project because it satisfies public accountability, Design and Build method is more for inexperienced client who desire cost certainty and fast track projects, Management Contracting method is usually adopted by experienced client who does not take cost certainty as their priority, similar to Construction Management. Selecting an appropriate procurement route will directly benefit the client in many perspectives, such as time saving, cost saving, risk avoidance, quality control, price competition and so on. Provided information states that you do not have an in-house executive to advise the reconstruction; you will obtain a financial assistance of estimated 120 million; you intend to re-open the business latest by 28th February 2015. Thurs, the most important issues which you are highly concerned are risk allocation, price certainty and project duration. Two points each will be allocated to the most suitable procurement route. Besides, you are also concerned about site control, quality control, complexity and heritage. One point will be allocated to the most suitable procurement route. Table 1 shows the matrix for making decision on how to select a suitable procurement route. Table 1: Matrix of selecting the most suitable procurement route Traditional Procurement Design and Build Management Contracting Construction Management Risk Allocation à ¡Ã‚ µÃ†â€™ 1 2 Price Certainty à ¡Ã‚ µÃ¢â‚¬ ¡ 2 2 Project Duration à ¡Ã‚ ¶Ã…“ 1 2 1 1 Site Control à ¡Ã‚ µÃ‹â€  1 1 Quality Control à ¡Ã‚ µÃ¢â‚¬ ° 1 1 1 Complexity à ¡Ã‚ ¶Ã‚   1 1 Total 6 7 3 3 2. Factors Affecting the Selection of Procurement Route 2.1 Risk Allocation Risks can be classified as design risks and construction risks. It is crucial for you to know much risk it can bear and how to pass the risks to the contractor; especially in this case, you do not have a team of specialists who are capable of advising on the design nor the reconstruction. Amongst all the procurement routes, Design and Build method will allow you to pass almost all the design and construction risks to the contractor, at a price. Traditional procurement method distributes risks to both insured consultant and contractor equally, while Management Contracting and Construction Management have a disadvantage of retaining most of the risks to employer. Therefore, Design and Build and Traditional methods are most suitable for Cinnamon Grand to minimise risks à ¡Ã‚ µÃ†â€™. 2.2 Price Certainty Price certainty is always a prior concern in private projects, because preventing overrunning budget plays a big part for private client. It has been highlighted in the key issues by Cinnamon Grand saying price certainty is most important. Traditional method provides a high level of price certainty because it relied on competitive tender, usually the Contactor with the lowest tender price will be accepted, although sometimes negotiation happens. Other advantages of Traditional method are competitive fairness, which means all tenderers prices will be based on same design drawings issued by Consultant, and a relatively low tender preparation cost comparing to the rest methods. Design and Build method also ensures a firm cost as most contracts will be let on a lump sum basis, it is also unlikely to have design changes, because contractors responsibilities of both design and construction will increase the buildability and minimise the variation. Management Contracting and Construction Ma nagement are at disadvantage as the actual project cost will only be know when all the work packages have been let. In order to make the price competitive, the best way of obtaining price certainty is through Traditional method or Design and Build method à ¡Ã‚ µÃ¢â‚¬ ¡. 2.3 Project Duration Time is essence for those who want quick return on the investment, especially for private client. There are two ways to avoid project delays, one is to start project as early as possible, the other is to end project as early as possible. As I know that the date of commencement is on 1st March 2014 and the date of completion is on 28th February 2015, which means the time for construction is really crucial. Fortunately, the decision has been made in August 2012, giving us one and a half year head start on doing whatever necessary preparation works, for example, to carry out brief, design and competition. The late worksite handover date seems to be suitable to use Traditional method, however, under certain circumstances of any variation order incurred, Contractor reserve the right to claim extension of time, this will affect the crucial construction period and cause project delays. Therefore, even though Traditional method allows design works can be start early, it still has a medium risk of project delays because the design responsibility does not lie with Contractor. Same applies to Management Contracting and Construction Management as well. Although Management Contracting and Construction Management allow design and construction works to be carried out concurrently, Management Contracting takes more time on selecting a management input and then subcontractors, and Construction Management makes you have to deal with many subcontractors and no single subcontractor is solely responsible for the date of completion. So since there is a long preparation period from August 2012 to March 2014, I suggest that Competitive Design and Build (two-stage tendering) method will be best suitable to meet the time requirement à ¡Ã‚ ¶Ã…“, not only because it avoids delay to the commencement date, but also ensures the completion date with buildability and single point of contract and responsibility. 2.4 Site Control In order to provide a good service while the construction is going on, work site must be well managed in every perspective including safety, planning, noise and etc. The advantage of Management Contracting and Construction Management methods is having a shorter communication line between you and subcontractors, so that to ensure a faster response to decisions. On the other hand, Traditional and Design and Build method do not have control of subcontractors, because there is no contractual relationship between you and subcontractors. Thus, Management Contracting and Construction Management methods will be best suitable to control work site à ¡Ã‚ µÃ‹â€ . However, it is still possible for other procurement methods to keep the work site well managed by improving the contract requirements and specifications. 2.5 Quality Control Traditional method has a low quality risk because most of the design works are done by insured Consultants who working directly for you. Management Contracting and Construction Management methods also have a low quality risk because a close link will be established between you, Consultants and Contractors, to allow buildibility. Even though when under certain circumstances, design quality may be compromised duo to pressure from employer. Design and Build method has a relatively high quality risk because the whole design and build process is solely undertaken by Contractor, which may slightly affects the quality level. All above mentioned procumbent methods except Design and Build method are suitable to enhance quality control and heritage à ¡Ã‚ µÃ¢â‚¬ °. Even so, the possible affected quality using Design and Build method also depends on how experienced the employer is and how accurate is the requirements stated in the contracts document. So I think it will not be a difficult task for such an experienced client in renovation of buildings like Cinnamon Grand. 2.6 Complexity Projects complexity can be identified by the types of physical services involved, the number of sub-contractors, resources in term of labour, plant and materials, the level of technology and the uniqueness of project activities (Songer and Molenaar, 1997). Traditional method and Design and Build method are more suitable for simple or medium-scaled buildings like this particular project, while Management Contracting and Construction Management methods cater for larger and more complex buildings. Considering all types of complexities mentioned, the core concept still revolves around time and cost as the primary purpose is to re-open the hotel business to make money. And the construction period for phase two is only one month time. So I suggest that in order to encourage time saving, Design and Build method should be selected à ¡Ã‚ ¶Ã‚   rather than Traditional methods, because all construction works will be conducted by Contractor alone while Traditional method has different specialists doing high technology multimedia facilities and air conditioning system. 3. Recommendations There is no single procumbent method suitable for all kinds of projects, advantages and disadvantages can only be determined according to clients concerns and priorities. Therefore, by referring to the result formulated in Table 1, I suggest that the most suitable procurement route should be Competitive Design and Build.

Eric Fischl: A Journey Through His Life. Essay -- Art

The beauty of art really is in the eye of the beholder. Art is a diverse as the people who create it. Some of the most famous art comes from some of the least expected places and people but, their journey is what seems to make it incredible. From the suburbs of Long Island, New York to Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco during the Hippie movement in the 1960’s brought about one of the most influential, internationally acclaimed artists, Eric Fischl. This paper will go through his dysfunctional upbringing, his art education and teaching, his many accomplishments and how he became one of the most famous figurative artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Eric Fischl was born in 1948 in New York City. His own biography states â€Å"Fischl’s suburban upbringing provided him with a backdrop of alcoholism and a country club culture obsessed with image over content.†(Eric Fischl: Biography) In an interview with Fischl, when asked about his upbringing and he states â€Å"I grew up in an upper, middle class, American family in the suburbs of long island. My father was a salesman and went to the city every day. My mother was a housewife who had a severe drinking problem and so the family was in a dysfunctional state when I was growing up.†(Davis) Although he dropped out of high school and lived the hippie lifestyle for a while he eventually moved to Arizona and attended college in Phoenix. (Davis) In 1972, Fischl went back to California to attend the California Institute for the Arts from which he earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Two years later he ended up in Halifax, Nova Scotia teaching painting at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. After just a year, in 1975, he had his first show at Dalhousie Art Gallery. Three years la... ...Print. Fischl, Eric. Bad Boy. 1981. Eric Fischl: Early Paintings. Eric Fischl Studios, 2010. Web. 23 Mar. 2012. . Fischl, Eric. Krefeld Project: Bathroom Scene 2. 2003. Eric Fischl: Krefeld Project. Eric Fischl Studios, 2010. Web. 23 May 2012. . Fischl, Eric. The Bed, the Chair, Jetlag. 2000. Eric Fischl: The Bed, the Chair... Eric Fischl Studios, 2010. Web. 23 May 2012. . HUGHES, ROBERT. "Art: Discontents of the White Tribe." Editorial. TIME 30 May 1988. Time Magazine. Time, 30 May 1988. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . Louise Blouin Media. "In the Studio: Eric Fischl." Art+Auction 11 Jan.

Types of Work-Based Learning Activities :: Education School Educational Papers

Types of Work-Based Learning Activities Work-based learning programs come in many forms and sizes. They may be designed exclusively for students at the secondary or postsecondary level or for students at both levels. Work-based learning programs may be schoolwide, districtwide, regional, or statewide, or they may be based on a combination of local and statewide implementation and oversight. Michigan's school-to-work system, for example, is designed and implemented by state and local personnel who work collaboratively to establish partnerships of employers, schools, labor organizations, parents, students, and community members to meet their local community needs by offering one or more occupational learning and career exposure activities (Ingham Intermediate School District [ISD] 1995a). The following forms of work-based learning are part of the occupational learning component of Michigan's work-based learning system (Ingham ISD 1995a, 1995b): - Contracted Instruction--career and technical education instruction and support services provided to students by a business, industry, or private educational agency through formal written agreements with public education agencies - Cooperative Education--programs combining classroom instruction with employment (part- time jobs during the school year or periods of study and employment alternating on a full-year, semester, or parallel basis) - School-to-Apprenticeship--work-based programs in which employers, employer associations, or employers and unions establish programs allowing high school students to participate in registered apprenticeships while completing their high school graduation requirements - Registered Apprenticeship--conventional apprenticeship programs registered with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training - Career Exploration--programs involving job shadowing and/or worksite mentors); - Service Learning--programs combining meaningful community service with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility - Career Internships--programs in which students spend time in a business, industry, or other organization to gain insight and direct experience - Career Academies--schools typically organized around a single employer or consortium of employers in an industry, and designed to increase awareness of career opportunities within particular occupational areas and teach the basic, life, and employment skills required for jobs or further training - School-Based Enterprises--programs in which groups of students produce goods or services for sale Another possible form of work-based education is work-based tech prep, which Bragg (1995) distinguishes from traditional tech prep programs on the basis of the higher visibility of employers. In work-based tech prep models, employers help develop formal plans linking students' school-based and work-based learning directly to their career goals, they provide formal work-based experiences, and they sponsor mentors and coaches.

Irrepresive Individuals :: essays research papers

The Irrepressible Individual in the Works of Shirley Jackson Throughout her life, Shirley Jackson struggled with a conflict between her dogged individuality and society's requirement that she adhere to its norms and standards. Jackson saw a second level of human nature, an inner identity lurking beneath the one which outwardly conforms with society's expectations. Society's repression of her individuality haunted Jackson in her personal life and expressed itself in her writing through the opposition of two levels of reality, one magical and one mundane, but both equally real. All of the various dichotomies that make up Jackson's double-sided reality can be traced to the hidden human nature, the repressed individual she saw within each of us. From an early age, Jackson did not feel completely comfortable in the society around her. She preferred to sit in her room and write poetry rather than play with the other children in her neighborhood (Oppenheimer 16). Alone in her room, Jackson explored the magical worlds, the alter-egos which her family did not understand. "I will not tolerate having these other worlds called imaginary," she insisted (Oppenheimer 21). Jackson did not satisfy her mother, a wealthy socialite who wanted her daughter to be beautiful and popular and was disturbed by her talk of "other worlds." Relations between Jackson and her mother were tense throughout her life, paralleling the conflict between Jackson and the society in which she found no place for herself. "I will not tolerate having these other worlds called imaginary" -Shirley Jackson Jackson's mother wrote to her once that "you were always a wilful child" (Oppenheimer 14). This careless statement captures Jackson's stubborn assertion of her individuality, as well as her mother's disapproval. Jackson's obesity particularly troubled her mother, who suggestively sent her corsets even after she was married (Oppenheimer 14). Being overweight symbolized Jackson's rebellion against her mother and the standards of fashionable society. Her obesity demonstrates the connection Jackson made between her unique individuality and the "freakish and abnormal, the 'grotesque and arabesque'" (Sullivan n. pag.). The abnormal second reality Jackson contemplated in the seclusion of her room was to her supremely ironic. Jackson rarely ends her stories with a resolution of the plot; instead, a dramatic incident or revelation serves to illustrate the irony she sees in the world. In her most famous short story, "The Lottery," Jackson takes pains to describe a village of hard-working, upstanding Americans.

Old Growth Forest Essay

Question: a strong opponent of logging old growth forests Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I am Leeson, and today I am going to talk about whether we should log the old growth forests. Firstly, what are old growth forests? Old growth forests are those where the overstore is in the late mature growth stage with the presence of relatively large old trees, many containing hollows and often with the presence of dieback or dead branches in the crown. They are so important to the human life, as they are like the climate change mitigation. Also, a lot of animals can only live in old growth forests, just like fish can only live in water. In Victoria, we know old growth forests to be â€Å"Forests which contain significant amount of its oldest growth stage in the upper stratum. † What does this mean? It means these forests are historically, culturally, ecologically significant and valuable. Therefore, we human have no reason to log any of the old growth forest. Firstly, the old growth forests mitigate the climate change. Old-growth forests store large amounts of carbon in wood, humus, and peat, they are an important part of carbon sequestration and its impacts on climate change and climate change mitigation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in its 2007 report: â€Å"In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield of timber, fibre or energy from the forest, will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit. As we know, the climate problem is one of the most serious problems that human are facing to, if we keep logging the old growth forests for human living while we are polluting the environment for human development, we will not have a nice future to be with. So stop logging the old growth forest! Secondly, old growth forests are the only home for a lot of animals. Image if I drive a bulldozer through in your home, how would this make you feel? Where would you go? The ecologically value and significance of old- growth-forests is they can do something that other forests cannot do: they act as the home of various forms of wildlife. Without old growth forests, where would they live? The report from Bureau of Rural Sciences from Australian Government said: â€Å"A number of wildlife species are reliant on these types of forest because of the range of nesting hollows and greater structural complexity they have in comparison with forests in earlier stages of development. Obviously logging the old growth forests indicates killing plenty of wildlife, and it is not humane at all! That’s why we shouldn’t log the old growth forests. In conclusion, the old growth forests are acting a important role in nature, not only do they house various forms of wildlife, but they also store more carbon then they emit, so that to mitigate the climate change. Hence, we should not log the old growth forest, for any human use. Thank you!