Thursday, October 31, 2019

Is the work performance of registered nurses who are actively engaged Research Proposal

Is the work performance of registered nurses who are actively engaged in the leading and managing of their techs (certified nurses assistant) better than those nurses who are partially involved - Research Proposal Example ing and leading other nurses in their role of taking care of patients, and other activities of importance that the institution might be engaged in; and controlling all activities of the nurses including evaluation of their performance in the nursing work as well as performance in departmental subunits. Staffing, as one of the roles of the nursing managers, includes the acquisition of staff on full time and/or part time nursing assistants who act as the ‘eyes and ears of the registered nurses/ nurse managers’. The health institutions can decide to take on board a nurse manager to take on the role of taking charge of the full time nursing assistants and have another taking charge of the part time nursing assistants. At the same time, a nurse manager might be in charge of both the full time and the part time nursing assistants. In both cases, dealing with either category of the nursing assistants has its own challenges which must be tackled differently. This business resear ch report will undertake to explain the differences in the management and performance skills for nurse managers dealing with the full time nursing assistants and those dealing with the part time nursing assistants. The areas that will be addressed by this business report include areas where nursing management is needed; the skills needed for the profession; the differences in management that results from nursing managers taking on either part time or fulltime assistant nurses; the differences in skills required in dealing with either part time or fulltime nursing assistants; and the nature of work performed by the nursing managers. The results yielded by the study conducted included; the existence of differences in management roles as well as skills in managing fulltime and part time nursing assistants; the vast health related field in which the nursing management career has importance and is utilized; and the critical worked performed by the nurse managers which resonates around ad ministration

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Symbolism in Hemingway's Cat in the Rain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Symbolism in Hemingway's Cat in the Rain - Essay Example A knock at the door brings the maid with a cat in her hands which the hotel owner asks her to bring to American wife. This short story of Hemingway clearly illustrates one chapter of marriage life which is enriched through the use of symbolism. The story starts with the beautiful description of the place outside the couple's hotel with the view of the sea and the picturesque panorama that artists cannot resist to paint. After this, Hemingway starts to build the situation where the couples are-"rain dripped from the palm trees (Hemingway 1)," "motor cars are gone (1)," and "empty square (1)"-which are all in contrast to the previously depicted beauty of the place. This description can be seen as Hemingway's illustration of the husband and wife. When they first got married, everything seems to be so well between them. However, they are now faced with the hardship of making their relationship work because of their individual differences which is further portrayed in the succeeding paragraphs. Hemingway's use of cat which is "trying to make herself compact that she would not be dripped on" (2) can be directly linked to the emotional suffering that the woman is going through. It should be noted that like the cat, she is battling the coldness of her husband and is trying to make him understand what she wants.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The future of cloud computing in malaysia

The future of cloud computing in malaysia In this day and age, cloud computing is a hot topic anywhere across the nation and Malaysia is not to be left behind. Therefore, since the effects of cloud computing are said to be enormous, this research study will cover few objectives in order to examine the future of cloud computing in Malaysia through distinguishing the classification or types of cloud computing, analyzing its potentiality, identifying its pros and cons and its security measures. Nonetheless, before the term Cloud computing is further discussed, it is briefly explained as a web-based technology whereby a number of data are hosted and managed through the internet and web to support business process. IT professionals are adapting to this technology in order to get in line with the fast growing new era of technology nowadays. Compared to the previous technology, this advance revolution of cloud computing is claimed to be very much cost and time saving. However, while cloud computing is on the rise there are many questions raised by various companies considering our current use of information technology. They are particularly the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing, its future potentials and risks and whether the organization across the nation should adapt or acquire cloud computing. Recently, as cited by President and CEO of Mimos, Datuk Abdul Wahab Abdullah in The Star Online (Monday July 13, 2009), Cloud computing is the next logical step in ICT (information and communications technology), Further more he stated that With a headstart in our involvement in its research, we will be on par with other countries in cloud computing and Malaysia will be able to reap the benefits as an early adopter. This shows the interest of participation towards the technology of computing in the clouds which has become a hype talks in forums and website among the IT professionals and CEOs anywhere around the globe nowadays. The terms used for this research paper includes SaaS which refer to an acronym for Software as a Service and PaaS which refer to an acronym for Platform as a Service. According to an online journal of Cloud Computing and SOA (http://www.mortengryning.dk/Work/coa.pdf), PaaS is defined as a platform delivered as a service which can run web services and applications, and which is an abstraction from the infrastructure underneath. PaaS if difference from a normal platform in that PaaS does not require knowledge or care about the underlying infrastructures hardware or software. In addition, it stated that cloud services means cloud computing functionality offered such as storage, processing and so forth. In other words, cloud computing is claimed to be able to replace the current IT trend of running software services and applications and utility services as the extra attached services which are executed in the cloud platforms developed by the developer. According to Moore Hebeler(2009) i n the journal Computing in the Clouds cloud applications can be created through two major implementation which are the Amazon Web Service (AWS) and Google Application Engine (GAE). There are few different definitions used for cloud computing or also known as computing in the cloud. In this research paper, the different definitions are explored in order to get better overview of its terms and use as well as to devise a definition use for cloud computing. First, according to an online article on Above the Clouds: A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2009/EECS-2009-28.pdf), Cloud Computing refers to both the applications delivered as services over the Internet and the hardware and systems software in the datacenters that provide those services. The services themselves have long been referred to as Software as a Service (SaaS), so we use that term. The datacenter hardware and software is what we will call a Cloud. Meanwhile, according to an online journal on IBM cloud computing (http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/dw/wes/hipods/Cloudcomputing_wp_final_8Oct.pdf), Cloud computing is a term used to describe both a platform and type of application. A cloud computing platform dynamically provisions, configures, reconfigures, and deprovisions servers as needed. Third, according to an online article on by Rich Trenholm, CNET.co.uk on An introduction to cloud computing (http://asia.cnet.com/,), The cloud represents the Internet: Instead of using software installed on your computer or saving data to your hard drive, youre working and storing stuff on the Web, in cyberspace. Data is kept on servers run by the service youre using, and tasks are performed in your browser using an interface provided by the service. As a summary based on the three different definitions of clouds computing, cloud computing is actually mostly defined in the different sources however similarities among the definition exists. The similarities are critically reviewed in this research topic whereby the cloud computing may bring about major change in our information technology industry. The questions which might arise based on the reviews are in terms of the pros and cons concerning to the risks and security measure that cloud computing can provide to users and organization. This is because as cited earlier, saving all the data and working and storing them on the web or cyberspace can be very time saving whether by individuals or the whole business organization but then this is also depend whether the data are kept on the servers safely or they might also exposed to the hackers and crackers. Hence, for example having to purchase installation software for individual might not be obviously costly, but in a larger unit su ch as an organization with hundreds of staffs, eliminating the cost for installation software and its maintenance would make a great difference in reducing the yearly budgets. Nonetheless, according to another source from an online article on Above the Clouds (http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2009/EECS-2009-28.pdf), a Cloud is made available in a pay-as-you-go manner to the general public, we call it a Public Cloud; the service being sold is Utility Computing. We use the term Private Cloud to refer to internal datacenters of a business or other organization, not made available to the general public. Thus, Cloud Computing is the sum of SaaS and Utility Computing, but does not include Private Clouds. People can be users or providers of SaaS, or users or providers of Utility Computing. In addition, according to an online journal on Cloud computing and SOA (http://www.mortengryning.dk/Work/coa.pdf) utility computing is the broad definition of supplying computing resources as telephoning is supplied while cloud computing is a more specific technological term for a specific supply method of the computing resources. In relation to the technology pay-as- you-go manner term provided in the cloud computing cited earlier, it refers to the use of service of SaaS and PaaS used at that particular time only. Next, there are pros and cons of acquiring cloud computing. Despite the advantages offered by cloud computing, the advantages do exist too which cause organization or companies might refuse to adopt into cloud computing for their particular needs According to an online journal on Cloud Computing To be or Not to be (http://www.mscmalaysia.my/codenavia/portals/msc/images/pdf/rnd_grant/series2/07_Cloud-SS-2009_dr%20simon%20seev1.1.pdf), the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing can be illustrated as the following diagrams of benefits and challenges or issue of cloud computing. Benefits of Cloud Computing According to in the article Inside Cloud Computing, MacVittie (2009) states that cloud computing is the infrastructure and model of deployment that defines whether something is or is not cloud computing. Hence, based on the diagram Benefits of Cloud Computingcited from an online journal on Cloud Computing To be or Not to be (http://www.mscmalaysia.my/), there are eight benefits illustrated with its level of importance. The most important level of benefit is Easy/fast to deploy which indicate the percentage of more than half. This shows that besides offering latest functionality that is fifty percent of the importance level cloud computing can provide, the highest ranking of benefit involve the most time saved to increase productivity and performance of participating organization. For instance in Malaysia, the MIMOS president and chief executive officer, Dato Abdul Wahab Abdullah (http://mis-asia.com), states that the creation of dynamic cloud services from our collaboration has the potential to enrich, even transform, the everyday lives of the general public in Malaysia. Challenges of Cloud Computing Nevertheless, there are many challenges and issues which arise in accordance the cloud computing technology. Hence, to in the article Inside Cloud Computing, MacVittie (2009) states that its a very scary scenario when you consider that shared resources necessary mean shared security risks. Therefore, as illustrated in the diagram Challenges of Cloud computing cited from an online journal on Cloud Computing To be or Not to be (http://www.mscmalaysia.my/), there are nine challenges or issues illustrated with its level of significance. The security shows the most insignificance of nearly seventy five percent. The security of data is essentially important to any organization no matter what their business backgrounds are. For instance, as cloud computing is about keep data on a web based, when it comes to security of data in a country such as in Malaysia, the country wont be able to risk even a little of the confidential data within a country such as citizenship and monetary banking reco rds to be exposed to computer crimes such as hacking. Meanwhile the following table shows another way of contrasting between the advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing through the obstacles and opportunities for Growth of Cloud Computing as quoted in the online journal Cloud Computing To be or Not to be (http://www.mscmalaysia.my) As a summary, there are no exact measure to determine whether cloud computing bring more harm than good in a small or large business organization. According to an online journal (http://www.CloudPlatform/Chappell.pdf), Chappel mentions according cloud computing pros and cons that An organization can investigate the current status quo for and assess whether the control issues for cloud computing are problematic for the intended uses of cloud computing. Also, Chappel states Cloud computing might be an improvement of security instead of a deterioration compared to the current situation. Therefore it is mainly the responsibility of each organization such as HP collaboration with MIMOS in Malaysia that the risks associated with the participating in cloud computing and analyze the level of importance and significance of acquiring cloud computing to improve their companys performance and productivity whether in short or a long term basis not to mention also considering possibility of the r isks of cost and large investments in resources of the organization. Next, in examining the future of cloud computing in Malaysia, as cited in an online journal on Malaysian Government Pushes Cloud Computing (http://mis-asia.com), MIMOS president and chief executive officer, Dato Abdul Wahab Abdullah states The cloud is the next stage in the evolution of the Internet, the means through which everything will be delivered to you as a service, from computing power to business processes to personal interactions, wherever, however, and whenever you need it, he said. This collaboration provides the opportunity to place Malaysia on the cloud computing research community world map. According to the online journal, the MIMOS president and CEO shows positive feedback to support participation in implementing cloud computing. Additionally to the cited journal, MIMOS president and chief executive officer, Dato Abdul Wahab Abdullah mentions I am confident MIMOS and HP will be able to elevate research done in Malaysia to a world-class level. More importantly, the creation of dynamic cloud services from our collaboration has the potential to enrich, even transform, the everyday lives of the general public in Malaysia, he said. MIMOS gets to contribute to world-class research and provide our local research community with a platform to collaborate with the global community, he explained. Then he stated that Malaysia has made major strides in advancing ICT development in the country with the establishment of MSC Malaysia and the ministry of science, technology and innovations emphasis on advanced technology RD and building a knowledge society. Cloud computing is the next step To compile with, on the contrary to the positive feedback by the CEO of MIMOS, an article in STAR newspaper oinline (http://star-techcentral.com) states that security and privacy concerns have been raised over a multimillion-dollar proposal by Los Angeles to tap Google Incs Internet-based services for government e-mail, police records and other confidential data. Also, Cloud computing is the storing of data and computer applications online rather than on individual computers under a companys or government agencys direct control. The shift toward doing more over the Web could make it much easier for hackers to gain access to corporate or government files. As reviewed in earlier on disadvantages of cloud computing, the security issues have always been debated in order to ensure firm security of the organizations data. Hence, the future of cloud computing in Malaysia, should have a firm secure coding as an absolute requirement for cloud computing as a wide variety of application on the network security later in the cloud computing infrastructure. Only then, the risks can be minimized for the stability of its participation in cloud computing. As a conclusion to this research study on The Future of Cloud Computing in Malaysia, cloud computing can have a great influence on the way organization works. As a result, despite the limited scope of this research study, the implications of implementing cloud computing in Malaysia should be put into high consideration as computing in the clouds may cause enormous impact even though it brings a new era of IT technology to people. Furthermore, it is crucial to analyze critically all the possibilities of pros and cons as at times cloud computing might not always meet the organizations expectation. Bibliography 1 Gulrajani, N.G. Bowler, D.B. (February 2009), Software Development in the Cloud, Dr. Dobbs Journal, vol., no. 416, pp. 14,27. 2 (July 2007), http://www.mscmalaysia.my/. Cloud Computing To be or Not to be. Available from: Nanyang Technological University, HPC and Cloud Computing, Sun Microsystems, Inc. Web site: http://www.mscmalaysia.my/codenavia/portals/msc/images/pdf/rnd_grant/series2/07_Cloud-SS-2009_dr%20simon%20seev1.1.pdf [Accessed: June 6, 2009]. 3 Miller (7 March 2008), http://www.informit.com/. Are You Ready for Computing in the Cloud?. Available from:,. Web site: http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1234970 [Accessed: July 27, 2009]. 4 Armbrust, M.A., Fox, A.F. Griffith, R.G. (10 February 2009), http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu. Above the Clouds: A Berkeley View of Cloud Computing. Available from: University of California at Berkeley, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Web site: http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Pubs/TechRpts/2009/EECS-2009-28.html [Accessed: July 21, 2009]. 5 Mertz, M.M. Gryning, M.R. (20 March 2009), http://www.mortengryning.dk/. Cloud Computing and SOA. Available from: University of California at Berkeley, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Web site: http://www.mortengryning.dk/Work/coa.pdf [Accessed: April 19, 2009]. 6 http://star-techcentral.com/. HP, Mimos seeding cloud computing research. Available from: University of California at Berkeley, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Web site: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2009/7/13/corpit/20090713142538sec=corpit [Accessed: July 28, 2009].

Friday, October 25, 2019

Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin In The Sun Essay -- essays research pap

Conflict in A Raisin in the Sun 	In the play A Raisin in the Sun, the playwright Lorraine Hansberry depicts the life of an impoverished African American family living on the south side of Chicago. The Youngers, living in a small apartment and having dreams larger than the world in which the live, often use verbal abuse as a way to vent their problems. Many times, this verbal abuse leads to unnecessary conflict within the family. The most frequently depicted conflict is that between Walter and his sister Beneatha. Walter wants nothing more than to be a wealthy entrepreneur that can provide for his family, while Beneatha plans to go to medical school and become a doctor. Both characters are opposed to the others’ dreams. This opposition creates serious conflict within the Younger household, and specifically among Walter, Beneatha, and Mama. 	During the course of the play, conflicts between Beneath and her brother Walter are revealed. Walter thinks that his sister should be a mainstream woman and not have great dreams and ambitions for her life. "Who the hell told you you had to be a doctor? If you so crazy ‘bout messing ‘round with sick people - then go be a nurse like other women - or just get married an be quiet" (38). This passage shows that Walter is clearly a chauvinist, and does not believe in his sister’s desire to be a doctor. Similarly, Beneatha does not believe in Walters aspirations of becoming a rich entrepreneur, and thinks he is rather...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

First Language vs Second Language

LEDESMA, JUDIELLE G. TESL ABE 3-1NOVEMBER 12, 2012 A. 1. Differences between First Language and Second Language | First Language| Second Language|Definition| any language other than English that a child was exposed to during early development and continues to be exposed to in the home or community| any language learned after the first language or mother tongue | Basis for learning| universal grammar alone| knowledge of the first language also serves as a basis for learning the second language| Learning Process| children spend several years listening to language, babbling, and using telegraphic speech before they can form sentences| in older learners, learning is more rapid and people are able to form sentences within a shorter period of time;Learning in older learners, learners are able to use more metacognitive processes in their learning. They can consciously analyse and manipulate grammatical structures, and they can explicitly describe how language works. | Practice| learners hav e many chances to practice with native speakers| learners may or may not have the opportunity to practice extensively with native speakers| Acquisition| Almost everyone acquires a first language;happens naturally| not everyone acquires a second language;often requires conscious effort on the part of the learner| 2.Differences Between Second Language and Foreign Language English as a Second Language (ESL or TESL) also refers to specialized approaches to language teaching designed for those whose primary language is not English (Nordquist, English as a Second Language). English as a Second Language corresponds roughly to the Outer Circle described by linguist Braj Kachru in â€Å"Standards, Codification and Sociolinguistic Realism: The English Language in the Outer Circle† (1985). A foreign language is a language that is from a country other than one's native country. Foreign languages are usually learned for the sake of learning about the culture and people who speak it.For ex ample, some people learn ancient Greek for a deeper understanding of the early philosophers from reading their works in their original language. (www. education. brookes. ac. uk/) Foreign language is basically a non-maternal language that you're learning on purpose rather than naturally. Being in a foreign language environment means that the learner will rarely, if ever, have opportunity for exposure to the target language outside of the classroom (Bilash, 2009). 3. Learning and Acquisition Acquisition is the act of getting knowledge unconsciously. Children acquire knowledge from the time they were born in this world. Learning is acquiring or getting knowledge of a subject of a skill by study, experience, or instruction—consciously. (Corder, 2007).Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This is similar to the way they acquire their first language. They get a feel for what is and what isn’t correct. In order to acquire language, the learner needs a source of natural communication. The emphasis is on the text of the communication and not on the form. Young students who are in the process of acquiring English get plenty of â€Å"on the job† practice. They readily acquire the language to communicate with classmates. Language learning, on the other hand, is not communicative. It is the result of direct instruction in the rules of language. And it certainly is not an age-appropriate activity for your young learners.In language learning, students have conscious knowledge of the new language and can talk about that knowledge. They can fill in the blanks on a grammar page. Research has shown, however, that knowing grammar rules does not necessarily result in good speaking or writing. A student who has memorized the rules of the language may be able to succeed on a standardized test of English language but may not be able to speak or write correctly. (Judy Haynes, Language Acquisit ion vs. Language Learning). 4. Second Language Learning and Bilingualism Second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Bilingualism refers to the ability to speak two languages.It may be acquired early by children in regions where most adults speak two languages. Bilingualism  can also refer to the use of two languages in teaching, especially to foster learning in students trying to learn a new language (Concise Encyclopedia). Bilinguals are often broadly de? ned as individuals or groups of people who obtain the knowledge and use of more than one language. However, bilingualism is a complex psychological and socio-cultural linguistic behaviour and has multi-dimensional aspects. There is no agreed-upon de? nition of bilingualism among researchers (Bhatia and Ritchie, 2004). 5. Theory and Practice In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not. Albert Einstein Theory is a set of statements or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena (www. thefreedictionary. com). Practice is the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it (http://oxforddictionaries. com). It is an exercise and application of any task or theory or in other words translation of an idea into action. B. Define the following: 1. Approach -this is the your own personal philosophy of teaching. –  The method used in dealing with or accomplishing(thefreedictionary. com) -Method is the practical of the objective of teaching in the classroom in a variety of audiences and contexts.The objects are related to material, sequencing, teacher-student roles and behaviors, linguistic and subject-matter objectives (www. shvoong. com). 2. Method – An orderly procedure or process; regular manner of doing anything; hence, manner; way; mode; as, a method of teaching languages; a method of improving the mind. -Orderly arrangement, elucidation, development, or classification; clear and lucid exhibition; systematic arrangement peculiar to an individual. -Classification; a mode or system of classifying natural objects according to certain common characteristics; as, the method of Theophrastus; the method of Ray; the Linnaean method (www. brainyquote. com) 3. Design Dick Buchanan offered us his formal definition of Design: â€Å"Design is the human power to conceive, plan, and realize products that serve human beings in the accomplishment of any individual or collective purpose. † This is a formal definition, meaning it is fairly rigorous and also fairly dry. There are other, descriptive definitions that are livelier: â€Å"Design is making things right. † –Ralph Kaplan. â€Å"Design is the glimmer in God's eye. † –Anonymous 4. Procedure – an established or official way of doing something – A fixed, step-by-step sequence of activities or course of action (with definite start and end points) that must be followed in the same order to correctly perform a task. Repetitive procedures are called routines (www. businessdictionary. com)

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

The Cultural Insights of Footbinding

The Chinese practiced foot binding for over a thousand years in the Song and T’ang dynasties. Some people found it very cruel, and then some found it fascinating. The ‘Golden Lotuses’ were the art and symbol for the wealth and beauty of ancient China. For any other culture, one would ask what foot binding is? Or, how did foot binding in Ancient China compare to John Fairbank’s text â€Å"Footbinding†? Also, how does the history of ancient China and Fairbank’s text differ and how are they similar? Then, how can foot binding be defended? In this paper, one will be able to understand the cultural significance of foot binding. Foot binding was a mother’s way to prepare her daughter for her future. The mother would start to bind the daughter’s feet between the ages of five and eight, when the feet and bones were still developing. At a young age the daughters were unaware of what their future held, and why their mother put them through so much pain. After the first two years the pain would lessen for the daughters. Constricting the feet to a three inch size was only the beginning of the daughter’s worries. The bound feet required daily care which included; feet being washed and manicured while staying bounded. The mother would be the one who ultimately took care of the daughter and grooming her feet. In Fairbank’s text it says â€Å"When I was seven [said one women to Ida Pruitt], my mother†¦ washed and placed alum on my feet and cut the toenails. She then bent my toes toward the plantar with a binding cloth ten inches wide, doing the right foot first then the left. She†¦ ordered me to walk but when I did the pain proved unbearable. The night †¦ my feet felt on fire and I couldn’t sleep; mother struck me for crying. On the following days, I tried to hide but was forced to walk on my feet †¦ after several months all toes but the big one was pressed against the inner surface†¦ mother would remove the binding and wipe the blood and pus which dripped from my feet. She told me that only the removal of the flesh could my feet become slender†¦. Every two weeks I changed to new shoes. Each new pair was one-two-tenths of an inch smaller than the previous one†¦ In summer my feet smelled offensively because of pus and blood; In winter my feet felt cold because of lack of circulation †¦ four of the toes were curled in like so many dead caterpillars†¦ it took two years it achieve the three inch model†¦ my shanks were thin, my feet became humped, ugly and odoriferous. † (405) Bounding the feet made the daughters less useful in family work, and the daughters would become very dependent on help from others. Once people in China became accustom to the practice of foot binding, the ‘Golden Lotuses’ became an essential part of being able to get a suitable husband. John Fairbank accounts in his text, â€Å"Footbinding† how women in ancient China were represented. Fairbank’s text was the study of ancient China, and the subjection of women during that time. In the text, Fairbank expressed how the women fit into social classes, and how they were not equal to males in the society. The feet being the first symbol of women, marriage followed second. The feet were a prestigious item to a female, and without the bound feet they would not be able to achieve a good marriage. Clearly stated in the following poem, â€Å"Lotus blossoms in shoes most tight, As if she could stand on autumnal waters! Her shoe tips do not peek beyond the skirt, Fearful lest the tiny embroideries be seen. †(404) it becomes clear that the binding of the feet was a sexual fetish for the Chinese man. The bound feet became a sort of chastity to the female, leaving them vulnerable and defenseless. Unlike the chastity belt, the lotus feet could not be unlocked. â€Å"In a society with a cult of female chastity, one primary purpose of foot binding was to limit mobility, radically modifying the means by which females were permitted to become a part of the world at large. Painfully and forcibly reducing a little girl's foot at the precise point in her life when she was expected to begin understanding the Confucian discipline of maintaining a â€Å"mindful body† reinforced her acceptance of the practice. A woman's dependency on her family was made utterly manifest in her disabled feet, and she was fully expected to acquire considerable control over her pain, reflecting the ideals of civility, a mindful body and concealment. One of the primary allures of foot binding lay in its concealment, and to be acceptable a pair of small feet had to be covered by binder, socks and shoes,† Females had to become dependent on her husband when she would move away from her family; thus leaving the male with complete domination in all aspects of the relationship. Throughout research it is apparent that the practice of foot binding was all relatively the same. In both Fairbank’s and in other readings on foot binding, mothers bound their daughter’s feet to prepare them for wealth and marriage. As incomprehensible as foot binding may seem it actually was a way for mothers and daughter to bond. The action of foot binding resulted in deforming their feet thus crippling them from preforming daily duties. It was found by researchers that foot binding could only be defended by people who understood their customs. What is important to a social group is not only survival, but the survival of patterns of behavior which are considered â€Å"right† within the context of the culture. That foot binding was legitimized by scholars and tied to the custom of the patriarchal Chinese family, perpetuating the kinship system, was no adequate stronghold against the forward momentum of history, education, labor opportunities, and capitalist indi vidualism. † One could disagree with the act of foot binding, unless a person dealt with foot binding first hand. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that the act of foot binding significantly declined. One can see foot binding had many similarities and very few differences between Fairbank’s text and other accounts of foot binding. It was a cultural act of royal and upper class mothers, to prepare their daughters for an arranged marriage. Today in China the last surviving practitioners are handicapped by old age and arthritis, and these living ‘Golden Lotuses’ are all that remains of a vanished phenomenon.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Defining the Advantages and Disadvantages Cultural Similarities in the Context of the Recruitment Process The WritePass Journal

Defining the Advantages and Disadvantages Cultural Similarities in the Context of the Recruitment Process Introduction Defining the Advantages and Disadvantages Cultural Similarities in the Context of the Recruitment Process ). This literature review will contribute to informing current knowledge on advantages and disadvantages of cultural similarities within the candidate evaluation process. Questions addressed will include: does cultural matching really matter in the hiring process, and is it worthwhile dismissing a highly skilled and innovative candidate for not satisfying the criteria around cultural fit. Defining the context of this area of research Culture is increasingly becoming the peripheral for occupational sorting. This has been driven by the popular view that organisations with employees that fully embrace the culture find it easy to navigate through tough economic times (Cubik 2013). Contrary to the popular view, does cultural matching really matter in the hiring process? Is it worthwhile dismissing a highly skilled and innovative candidate for not satisfying the criteria around cultural fit? Exploring this topic is important considering the recent ‘skill gap’ crippling engineering firms. In the UK, there is currently a shortfall in most areas of graduate recruitment. According to the Confederation of British Industry, the national shortage in graduate recruitment in many areas especially engineering sector may put a brake on economic recovery (Paton 2014). Tens of thousands of engineers are retiring without graduates to replace them (Osborne 2013). Many organisations across the globe are yet to put in place means to measuring cultural fit in their recruitment and selection process (Cubik 2014).   It is time to re-examine the advantages and disadvantages of such cultural matching. Such an objective assessment will act as a wakeup call for managers and HR professionals to critically review their recruitment processes and ascertain whether conformity to mainstream organisational culture gives the best outcome. Past literature has provided a useful case study which considers elite professional service firms. It was suggested that an often untested hypothesis within this field is how similarities which exist culturally and can be reflected in shared experiences, preferences, individual characteristics or even presentation of self (Bourdieu, 1984). Additionally, that these cultural similarities which are at interplay between employers and those applying for jobs are crucial in determining the employers hiring decision. It is posed that hiring as a process has many more intricacies than just a basic recognition and sorting of skills; rather, a complex process exists which incorporates the cultural matching  of potential employees between those who apply for jobs, those who evaluate and the companies who hire them. Past literature indicates that employers seek out those perspective employees who are competent and importantly seem to possess cultural similarities. It was uncovered that culture similarities were of upmost concern to employers, often overriding concerns solely surrounding productivity (Rivera, 2012). Considerations relating to the advantages and disadvantages of the cultural role in determining how employers hire Processes are evident which are interpersonal in nature and apparent in evaluating cultural similarities to determine candidate evaluation. These processes empirically demonstrate how cultural similarities predict hiring within the workforce. The process of hiring an employee is a very influential and powerful determinant in influencing outcomes of the labour market. The protocol for hiring practice is a mechanism which can be the cornerstone in facilitating employment opportunities for some, while disabling for others. Hiring is crucial in order to prosper or excel in most occupations and advance in income brackets, therefore, considering the intricacies of hiring are important to understand social closure or opposing economic stratification (Elliot and Smith, 2004). The hiring process between employers and employees is typically interpreted as a matching process which exists to filter organisational characteristics, with the job requirements, and perceived skill of the job candidate (Tilly Tilly, 1998). Previous literature has summarised how employers’ hiring decisions as based on: evaluating the potential employee on what has been described as human capital, for example their hard or soft skills and attributes; secondly their potential for social capital, represented by their social connections; and finally in evaluating their demographic characteristics (Pager Shepherd, 2008). Moreover, research is recognising that gaps exist in our current knowledge on the processes of hiring. It should be noted that when human capital, social capital, demographic traits are all accounted for in understanding how employers hire, there remains unexplained variance. Consequently, investigating how employers carry out their decision making is an area wh ich needs to be informed in the literature (Heckman and Siegelman, 1993). Much of this unexplained variance could be implicated in methodological and data limitations. A majority of the existing literature in this area is quantitative in nature and places focus on the type of individuals in the application process or comparisons between pre and post hiring, leaving the decision making process unexplained (Fernandez Fernandez, 2006). Furthermore, constraints are evident in keeping to assessing what is easy to access or observe by using information which is quite often extracted from records of employment. Thus it is clear that in order to fully understand the hiring process, decision-making is an important factor to investigate, to distinguish between how employers evaluate, make comparisons and select new employees. By further investigating this decision making process it is hoped that more subtle factors will be revealed to explain employers’ decisions in relation to the outcomes of hiring (Gross, 2009). The Role of Culture Previous investigations into how the employer selects employees have predominantly focused on individual characteristics, the organisational context, or factors within the institution (Pager Shepherd, 2008). Perhaps, however this process of employment incorporates more than the context of candidates, or companies and recruitment should be recognised as an interpersonal process. Overall, within most industries the main components of an interview for a job are key determinants of success or failure in hiring. Job candidates create impressions of themselves within the interview situation and this impacts upon the likelihood of them getting hired, it has even been posed that this carries more weight than their qualification achievements (Graves Powell, 1995). However even with this knowledge, within the literature focus often reflects pre or post factors regards hiring. Therefore it is apparent that focus should be placed on interpreting the dimensions which represent the interpersonal nature of the recruitment process (Roscigno, 2007;  Stainback et al., 2010). Within a micro-social setting existing literature describes dynamics which are interpersonal and has concluded that similarities are one of the most substantial indicators in determining how an individual is evaluated and how desirable they are to an employer (Byrne, 1971) and this has been confirmed within an interview setting (Huffcutt, 2011). Research in this area has previously examined gender or race similarities, and in addition similarities in tastes, life experiences, leisure activities, or self-presentation which can greatly impact interpersonal attraction and therefore stratification (Lareau and Weininger, 2003;  Wimmer Lewis, 2010). Upon a first meeting, typically people seek out shared commonalities which could be in knowledge, an experience, or personal interests (Gigone Hastie, 1993). It is through uncovering these similarities that people connect emotionally and this then facilitates a trusting and comforting environment, creating excitement, and building bonds bet ween individuals (Collins, 2004;  DiMaggio, 1987; Erickson 1996). Within psychology there is a well-known hypothesis which poses similarity creates attraction (Byrne, 1971) and similarly within sociology what is known as the ‘homophily’ principle (Lazarsfeld Merton, 1954) also infers that similarities culturally promote attraction. However, it should be noted that having similar cultural identities equates to more than simply having shared interests. It is posed that cultural identity importantly determines our evaluation strategy (DiMaggio, 1987;  Lamont Molnar, 2002). Past literature,  (Weber, 1946), concluded that having the same interest in things like leisure pursuits, or similar experiences, presentation style, and other life factors create membership within certain groups and are fundamental in determining an individual being included in a desirable opportunity. Very specifically, Weber indicated that lifestyle factors are cornerstone in estimating status within group reproduction and social closure. In weighing up the advantages and disadvantages of hiring and the role culture plays, even if this is unconscious, cultural similarities may be greatly at play during the evaluation process and be a determinant of rewards. A classic study in this research area was based on interviews in a college between counsellors and students within the community (Erickson Schultz, 1981). It was reported that similarities which were established within this relationship were the most crucial determinants in shaping the councillors view about a student’s potential and future success. Even within the presence of co-membership, the most important indicator seemed to be perceived similarities in experience. Moving on form this, more recent literature (Lamont, 2009)  implicated that within academia research proposals were favoured for academic fellowships when the proposal was similar to the interests of that particular scholar who was evaluating the applicant. These types of selection bias ha ve many important implications, are inclusive of access to resources as well as social rewards, and also in predicting long term trajectories within an educational, social or economic setting (DiMaggio Mohr, 1985). Much literature is apparent which has been based on examining culture with stratification and this is disproportionate due to its focus on the educational setting (Stevens, Armstrong Arum, 2008). Apparent limitations are evident in examining cultural similarities post-graduation. An important area of research clearly appears to be to determine outcomes for students who have gained similar qualifications in the process of applying for jobs within the labour market. A good example to illustrate this phenomenon could be to further investigate the hiring process within the power of stratifying through shared cultural similarities. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of cultural similarities could further be explained by assessing if students gain financial reward through cultural similarities and this would be recognised through the attainment of a desirable job and matching salary. Useful research would investigate the advantages of cultural similarities and if this translat es economically (Bourdieu, 1986) within the labour force, this hypothesis has been neglected within empirical literature (Bills, 2003). Furthermore it is known that the qualities upon which we make our assessments are generally not context specific (Lamont, 1992), therefore it cannot be representative that culture similarities are identical, perhaps in both a classroom and interview situation. Within cultural research there has been a lack of systematic assessment in relation to hiring, and in contrast to this those who academically assess hiring may have previously under-theorised the role of culture. Overall a majority of hiring research in a sociological setting has examined the process of employers evaluating their prospective employees’ hard skills and specifically cognitive skills. Whereas those papers that have explored non-cognitive skills will most likely focus on things that will impact upon productivity and include soft skills (Farkas, 2003). A disadvantage in this field of research is how cultural contexts and lifestyle have been classed as non-productive entities and therefore under studied in an empirical setting (Tilly Tilly, 1998). On the other hand, an advantage in this particular area of research has been that investigations which have examined the employment process, have recognised that similarities are an important predictor of candidate employment however, this research has previously been limited by focusing on gender or ethnicity (Gorman, 2005). This may be explained partly by limited data on informative information as it is not always an easy task to capture similarities on underlying tastes or lifestyle factors, and if this information has been obtained then it is somewhat difficult to quantify (Stevens, 2008). Moreover, within empirical literature it is common to use similarities which are demographic in nature when estimating shared culture. It should be clear that both culture and a set structure are mutually reinforcing entities, whereas an individual’s gender or ethnicity can greatly impact their cultural identity (Sewell, 1992; Swidler, 1986). It would be advantageous to examine the varia tion represented by individual values, experience or beliefs and common behaviour among unique demographic culture (Lamont Small, 2008). Thus, in order to gain a true and reflective picture of a cultural hiring prospective, research must consider demographics as well as cultural similarities and life experiences between those who are hiring and potential employees (Turco, 2010). Research exists which has made the assumption that gender and ethnic similarities override any other shared common experiences. These ethnic and gender similarities should be recognised as being greatly influential attributes in determining interpersonal attraction and likelihood of a positive evaluation. Continuing research in this area has confirmed  a hypothesis which was outlined by Tajfel and Turner’s (1986)  suggesting that in and out group preferences can vary. Importantly, more current literature has revealed that demographics can moderate preferences in a within group setting (Ely, 1995). When examining the hiring process, gender and ethnic similarities between those hiring and potential job candidates have produced inconsistencies in effect (Huffcutt, 2011). Conclusion To clarify, previous literature efforts should be made to investigate a range of similarities which incorporate more than gender and ethnicity with their impact on the labour market (Castilla, 2011).  The current literature review has presented a review of the literature in this area and it can be concluded that it would be advantageous to assess the relationships between interpersonal characteristics and how people are evaluated based on their shared cultural attributes. From the current literature it can be perceived that shared characteristics are important in a variety of contexts however it is also clear that identifying cultural similarities in the context of employment success would be an especially useful and important piece of research. In psychology it has been shown that between those who perceive themselves as similar, this can actually impact and control the effects of attraction and similarity. Subjectively believing that an individual shares similarities with you on multiple dimensions within a unique context may be a crucial determinant in dis-entangling our understanding of interpersonal attraction (Tajfel and Turner, 1986). Subjective impressions of perceived similarities may be most influential within an interaction which is personalised, run over an increased duration of time and based on identifying additional information to what is visible (Montoya, Horton Kirchner 2008), this is apt in the setting of a job interview. Previous literature has indicated that having perceived similarities are possibly more important than true similarities on the overall decision within the employment process (Graves Powell, 1995). Shared culture is imperative to consider if we want to fully understand how perceived similarities operate (Lamont Molnar, 2002). In spite of this information and within sociological research the process of hiring has usually overseen shared culture in determining how employers are influenced. Some literature does exist which recognises the importance of cultural similarities and has been seen in a qualitative study by Neckerman Kirschenman (1991). Here, in relation to urban employers it was hypothesised that cultural similarities predict employers’ decisions. DiMaggio (1992) was responsible for labelling recruitment as a ‘cultural matching’ process. In spite of knowing that cultural similarities are influential predictors of job success (Turco, 2010), cultural factors have typically been excluded or overlooked and deemed as not productive or observable in past research (Pager, Western Bonikowski, 2009). A number of authors have emphasised the importance conformity to mainstream organizational culture when making hiring decisions. For example, in their study on the impact of organisational culture on human resource practices, Omotayo Anthonia (2013) argued that the congruence between individual values and organisational culture was crucial in the recruitment and selection process. They argued that it helped reduce absenteeism and turnover, and that it increased employee morale and satisfaction leading to increased productivity and better performance. In a similar vein, Silverthorne (2004) argues that employees who are better fit to the organisational culture are more likely to experience higher job satisfaction and become more committed to the organisation. However, to some extent these arguments are debatable; it is not necessarily true that cultural matching in recruitment and selection leads to the best outcome. There is a greater tendency for HR managers to hire people that they think are similar to them rather than hiring those who are objectively good at their job (Booth, 2002). A phenomenal candidate who would have taken the company to another level can be missed out just because he/she could not satisfy the criteria around cultural fit (Marcel et al., 2013). Moreover, a considerable amount of bias in talent acquisition may result when invoking cultural matching. What is the likelihood of missing out on innovative perspectives is an important consideration for future research (Marcel et al., 2013). For the purpose of this literature review, systematic and empirical literature has been presented to understand the advantages and disadvantages of cultural characteristics in determining job success. References Blau, P. M., Duncan, O. D. (1967). The American occupational structure. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Harvard University Press. Byrne, D. E. (1971). The attraction paradigm (Vol. 11). Academic Pr. Collins, R. (2004). Interaction ritual chains. Princeton university press. DiMaggio, P. (1987). Classification in art. American sociological review, 440-455. DiMaggio, P., Mohr, J. (1985). Cultural capital, educational attainment, and marital selection. American journal of sociology, 1231-1261. Elliott, J. R., Smith, R. A. (2004). Race, gender, and workplace power. American Sociological Review, 69(3), 365-386. Ely, R. J. (1995). The power in demography: Womens social constructions of gender identity at work. Academy of Management journal, 38(3), 589-634. Erickson, B. H. (1996). Culture, class, and connections. American journal of Sociology, 217-251. Erickson, F., Shultz, J. (1982). The counselor as gatekeeper: Social interaction in interviews. New York: Academic Press. Farkas, G. (2003). Cognitive skills and noncognitive traits and behaviors in stratification processes. Annual Review of Sociology, 541-562. Fernandez, R. M., Fernandez-Mateo, I. (2006). Networks, race, and hiring. American Sociological Review, 71(1), 42-71. Gigone, D., Hastie, R. (1993). The common knowledge effect: Information sharing and group judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(5), 959. Gorman, E. H. (2005). Gender stereotypes, same-gender preferences, and organizational variation in the hiring of women: Evidence from law firms. American Sociological Review, 70(4), 702-728. Graves, L. M., Powell, G. N. (1995). The effect of sex similarity on recruitersevaluations of actual applicants: a test of the similarity†attraction paradigm. Personnel Psychology, 48(1), 85-98. Gross, N. (2009). A pragmatist theory of social mechanisms. American Sociological Review, 74(3), 358-379. Heckman, J. J., Siegelman, P. (1993). The Urban Institute audit studies: Their methods and findings. Huffcutt, A. I. (2011). An empirical review of the employment interview construct literature. International Journal of Selection and Assessment, 19(1), 62-81. Kotter, E. H. and Heskett, O. K..(1992). ‘Culture: The Missing Concept in Organizational Studies’. Administrative Science Quarterly, 4(2), 229-240. Lamont, M. (1992). Money, morals, and manners: The culture of the French and the American upper-middle class. University of Chicago Press. Lamont, M., Molnr, V. (2002). The study of boundaries in the social sciences. Annual review of sociology, 167-195. Lamont, M., Small, M. L. (2008). How culture matters: Enriching our understanding of poverty. The colors of poverty: Why racial and ethnic disparities persist, 76-102. Langfeldt, L. (2011). How Professors Think: Inside the Curious World of Academic Judgment. International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, 25(1), 92-95. Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods: Class, race, and family life. Univ of California Press. Lareau, A., Weininger, E. B. (2003). Cultural capital in educational research: A critical assessment. Theory and society, 32(5-6), 567-606. Madu, B.C.(2012). ‘Organizational culture as a drive of competitive advantage’. Journal of Academic and Business Ethics, Vol. 5, pp. 1-9. Marcel, M.F., Roeske, J., and Parrilla, R.(2013).Bias and cultural competence in recruitment and selection. Multicultural Forum on Workforce Diversity, Language Culture Worldwide, LLC. Martins, E. C., and Terblanche, F.(2003). ‘Building Organizational Culture that Stimulates Creativity and Innovation’. European Journal of Innovation and Management, Vol. 1(1), pp.30-43. Montoya, R. M., Horton, R. S., Kirchner, J. (2008). Is actual similarity necessary for attraction? A meta-analysis of actual and perceived similarity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 25(6), 889-922. Neckerman, K. M., Kirschenman, J. (1991). Hiring strategies, racial bias, and inner-city workers. Social Problems, 433-447. Oliver, P.(2003)Writing Up Your Thesis. Oaks, CA. Sage Publications. Omotayo, O. and Anthonia, A.(2013). ‘Impact of organizational culture on human resource practices: a study of selected Nigerian private universities’. Journal of Competitiveness, vol.5, No. 4, pp. 115-133. Osborne, A.(2013). Shortage of engineers is hurting Britain, says James Dyson. The Telegraph. [viewed on 4th July 2014] available from telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/industry/engineering/10287555/Shortage-of-engineers-is-hurting-Britain-says-James-Dyson.html Pager, D., Shepherd, H. (2008). The sociology of discrimination: Racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets. Annual review of sociology, 34, 181. Pager, D., Western, B., Bonikowski, B. (2009). Discrimination in a Low-Wage Labor Market A Field Experiment. American Sociological Review, 74(5), 777-799. Partington, D. E.(2002).Essential Skills for Management Research: Oaks, CA:Sage Publications, ISBN 07619 70088. Paton, G.(2014). STEM Awards: business facing major skills shortage. The Telegraph. [viewed on 4th July 2014] available from telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10696388/STEM-Awards-businesses-facing-major-skills-shortage.html Rivera, L. A. (2012). Hiring as cultural matching the case of elite professional service firms. American Sociological Review, 77(6), 999-1022. Roscigno, V. J. (2007). The face of discrimination: How race and gender impact work and home lives. Rowman Littlefield Publishers. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., and Thornhill, A.(2012).Research Methods for Business Students.(Sixth Edition), New Jersey, FT Prentice Hall. Schneider, B. and Smith, D. B.(2004). ‘Personality and Organizational Culture’. In: B. Scheneider D. B. Smith (Eds.), Personality and Organization. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Sewell Jr, W. H. (1992). A theory of structure: Duality, agency, and transformation. American journal of sociology, 1-29. Sheridan, J.E.(1992). ‘Organizational culture and employee retention’. The Academy of Management Journal, vol. 35 (5), pp.1036-1056. Stainback, K., Tomaskovic-Devey, D., Skaggs, S. (2010). Organizational approaches to inequality: Inertia, relative power, and environments. Sociology, 36(1), 225. Stevens, M. L., Armstrong, E. A., Arum, R. (2008). Sieve, incubator, temple, hub: Empirical and theoretical advances in the sociology of higher education. Annu. Rev. Sociol, 34, 127-151. Swidler, A. (1986). Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. American sociological review, 273-286. Tilly, C., Tilly, C. (1998). Work under capitalism (p. p205). Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Turco, C. J. (2010). Cultural Foundations of Tokenism Evidence from the Leveraged Buyout Industry. American sociological review, 75(6), 894-913. Watt, B., Busine, M. and Wienker, E.(2005).Recruiting for culture fit: are you getting values from your selection activities. Australia, Development Dimensions International Inc. Weber, M. (1946). Class, status, party (pp. 180-95). na. Wilson, J.(2010).Essentials of Business Research, Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Wimmer, A., Lewis, K. (2010). Beyond and Below Racial Homophily: ERG Models of a Friendship Network Documented on Facebook1. American Journal of Sociology, 116(2), 583-642.

Monday, October 21, 2019

cable essays

cable essays Road Runner is a software program that works for cable. The first commercial broadband online service was delivered to customers through a broadband fiber coaxial cable network in 1996. After 15 months after these initial launches, Time Warner Inc. and MediaOne announced their intention to create the nations largest broadband online business. What Road Runner delivers is blazing speed (one megabit per second), integrates compelling multimedia programming with the latest communication tools, email, chat listings and personal home pages. It also combines simple navigation features, top of brand programming, easy to use help and member services, news and entertainment. Basically Road Runner offers its customers a unique online experience that enables them to enjoy the full potential of the broadband environment. There are many ways to connect to the Internet but very few actually hold there one to cable. Some of the more popular methods are listed here: POTS (plain old telephone systems) ADSL (asymmetrical digital subscriber lines) ISDN (integrated services digital network) DBS (direct broadcast satellite POTS are the standard telephone services that most homes use for computer Internet access. This system is generally limited to 52 Kbps. The information is carried out through copper wires in analog voice data. ADSL uses filters that separate phone lines into three frequency channels. One channel carries the telephone signal; another channel of a higher frequency allows upstream transfers. The remaining portion of the band is used to carry information downstream. Even though this has prototypes it still is largely untested. The cost of this technology is also high and keeping this from being a real option. ISDN is a digital telephone service that uses existing copper telephone wiring. ISDN works by d ...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

!0 Tips for Excelling at a Job Interview

1. Be prepared. Try to find out enough information about the employer, the company and the position you are applying for. Going into an interview not knowing anything will be an unpleasant surprise for you 2. Be on time for the interview. This shows the employer that you are serious, dedicated and you’re punctuality is on point. This will make the employer have more interest in you 3. Make sure that you’re resume is believable an up to date. Include previous experiences in any type of work field.Extreme lies on you’re resume will be obvious and will ruin you’re chances of even getting the job. 4. Show confidence and try not to show signs of nervousness. Proving that you can compose yourself I a well manner under pressure is a great characteristic which will give the employer positive thoughts about you. 5. Don’t act like a know-it-all because no one knows it all. If you act like you know everything, this will make the employer feel like you can cause many conflicts in the workplace.If you don’t know how to answer a question, don’t make things up to sound good; most likely you will sound dumb. Just ask for a clearer explanation on the question and try your best to answer it. 6. When the employer is trying to speak, don’t cut them off. Try using your listening skills more than speaking to make yourself seen attentive and focused. This may be your interview but whatever the interviewer has to say to you is way more important than you blabbering away. 7. Have respect and show manners.Don’t chew gum or any type of food like substance during the interview. That can be very distracting and rude to the interviewer. 8. Refrain from trying to suck up to your interviewer. You don’t know them that well yet, nor do they know you well. Being too extravagant in an interview is never flattering and rather more annoying, pushy and desperate. They will most definitely not think you are the best fit for the job. 9. Keep eye contact with your interviewer to show the connection and interest in what you want to accomplish in the interview.This will also show that you actually care and make the interviewer believe that you are an alert and observant employee. 10. Please be sure to be yourself! Acting like somebody you’re not will get you little to nowhere if you get the job. When you are working, you won’t want to constantly act like something you’re not. To prevent that from happening, from the jump-start, show your true colors and personality. You’ll be surprised, many people will like you more if you be true to yourself.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Briefing paper on population aging to inform the new intake of Public Essay

Briefing paper on population aging to inform the new intake of Public Health Officers in Department - Essay Example There are mainly two demographic factors that determined the rate and pace of population aging. These are decline in fertility rate and the decline in mortality rate at older ages. As the rate of both fertility and mortality has declined significantly in the last decade and is expected to show more significant pattern in this century, so the process of population aging maintain the stability concerning the population growth. However, the process of population aging is getting more speed and significance by the fall in morality rate more than the fall in fertility rate. Since the fall in fertility actually prevents the birth of new allies in the earth and the fall in mortality rate of the older persons actually increasing their relative size, so this process ultimately leads to an increase in share of older persons in the world population. This process has continued since 1950 and results in decrease in mortality rate with an increasing pace even for the very old (more than 85 years) population, especially in the context of female population. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, by 2016, the number old population of New South Wales (65 years and more) is projected to outgrow the number of its child population (0-14 years). The Bureau has estimated that share of older population will increase to 20% of the total population of NSW by the end of 2023. We have shown the trend of percentage share of the child group (0-14 years), aged group (65 to 84 years) and more aged group (85 and above) in the total growth of population in case of NSW by the figure-1. However, there may be another factor that has some effect on the aging of the population. This is the consequence of migration. Process of immigration generally reduces the population aging since mainly the younger persons are the immigrants. But on the other hand, the process of emigration tends to

Friday, October 18, 2019

Starbucks Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Starbucks Case Study - Essay Example The location for the first store was, in Seattle in the â€Å"touristy Pikes Place Market†. The name of the store was Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice. The setting of the store was to quote the website â€Å"modest, hand-built nautical fixtures†. On one wall was filled with whole bean coffees while another had shelves of coffee products. Peet owned a store called Peet’s Coffee and Tea. It was in this store that Peet thought of how these three would-be founders of how to brew the coffee beans in a manner that brought out their flavour (Thompson and Gamble 1997). In the beginning, according to the official company website, the method of brewing this coffee was the European way. This method was chosen because it brought out the full flavour of the beans. In addition, the name of the company was drawn from a character in the Moby Dick who loved coffee. The company logo was in continuance of this romantic ideal which was a two-tailed mermaid encircled by the companyâ⠂¬â„¢s name (Thompson and Gamble 1997). Between 1982 and 1985, the company hired Howard Schultz as head of marketing and overseeing retail stores. By then, the company had four stores within Seattle. After a while of experience, a lot of a challenges, as well as, resistance from the top management, Schultz quit to form his own company called â€Å"II Giornale†. This was the company that in 1987 purchased Starbucks and by 1992 had established 161 stores. It was after 1992 that the company went public in a highly successful initial Public Offering (Thompson and Gamble 1997). Starbucks Culture as per Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Hofstede a Dutch social psychologist came up with four dimensions, which were later reversed upward to six (Piepenburg 2011). In his opinion, these dimensions influence human thinking, organizations and institutions in a certain, predictable manner (Piepenburg 2011). These dimensions are power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/colle ctivism, and masculinity/femininity. According to Hofstede, the first dimension is Power Distance Index (PDI). In this dimension, the main focus is on how a society or organization is stratified. Equality or inequality is the major reference point of this dimension (Piepenburg 2011). Going back to the Starbucks, there is a difference in terms of the Power Distance. Under the original founding partners, the company did not seem to hold the employees in high esteem. A case in point was the request for the extension of healthcare to part time workers, which had been turned down. Under Schultz, the company took a different path. This involved extending the coverage to all employees working 20 or more hours, and it was similar to the coverage extended to the fulltime employees (Thompson and Gamble 1997).This was mainly driven by Schultz’s humble background and the desire to not let others go through what his father had to endure. Another dimension is Uncertainty Avoidance Index (U AI). This dimension is defined as the extent to which people within a culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations (Thomson and Baden-Fuller 2010).Accordingly Uncertainty Avoidance Index is higher in countries that citizens are more emotional and motivated by inner nervous energy (Thomson and Baden-Fuller 2010). In this case, the UAI in the United States was lower than it was in France when Starbucks was making a foray into this country. This indicates that the general French conservative citizens preferred their traditional coffee houses to the

Career Assessment for Life Achievement Assignment

Career Assessment for Life Achievement - Assignment Example The most helpful one was the skills profiler. Its results are based on the inputs given by the respondents on the different categories of skills needed in the workplace. It specifically lists the occupation best suited to your personality and interests. Personally, the least helpful assessment was the interest inventory. The test requires you to choose between two occupations without considering one’s capacity to do it – merely based on whether or not the person wants to do the job or not. I assume there are several people who judge their career path based only on their interests but not on skills. They need to consider that many occasions arise in the workplace when skills play the more vital role than interests. A worker may be asked to do a job outside his specified interests but he needs to do it anyway because it’s part of his job. Significant or not, these tools give us quite accurate assessments regarding our personality, interests, skills, and values. The reports are based on our responses, so we can consider these as a hypothesis, not merely guesses. For instance, in my case, the composite score lists cost estimator and credit analyst as one of my top careers. These are interesting jobs for me because I have never tried them yet. Probably, if given the chance, I might also excel in these fields. Other websites allow us to learn more about how these personalities can aid in choosing the right career. By being an introvert, I understand that my stimulation comes from within myself, not from external sources (â€Å"Information about Personality Types†, personalitypage.com).

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Event Sponsorship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Event Sponsorship - Essay Example The sponsorship should take into consideration the continuous funding of the event and the value and goals that should be met. Commercialisations of events have led to the compromise of values in event managements and have led to failure in some events. The project proposal aims at evaluating the challenges faced by event managers in handling sponsorship. It also aims at coming up with better strategies to improve sponsorship. Event management is a task that has a long history. Today, various events are held. The events range from games, festivals, concerts, meetings to political rallies. Up to these days, events remain an important part of people's culture and help social development of people. For their success, these events need to be managed. In managing events, sponsorship is very important. It should be noted that managing events is expensive and needs funds. Sponsorship of an event is not just as way of raising funds for the events, but it also entails marketing. The finding of sponsors, choice of sponsors and managing marketing and commercials should be an integral part of event management. Sponsors are important in event management. Good management of sponsors is lacking in event management. It should be noted that events are very important elements to people's culture. A successful event should send the required message or meet the desired goals (Allen, Bowdin, 2006, pp123). It should be noted that there are different categories of sponsors. Some sponsors are not motivated by business while others are motivated by business and aim at marketing their products. In managing sponsors, some event management conflict over the amount allocated to a certain sponsor and the recognition of the sponsor as a sponsor to an event. Poor management of sponsor could explain the conflict in events and the inability to sustain a sponsor for a long time. Lack of good sponsorship management also leads to failure of some events. Research Question Which and how important is the role of sponsorship in an event management context Aim and objectives Managing a sustainable fund is a principle element of event management. Sponsors are the main sources of funding to an event and they should be well managed. The management of sponsorship should ensure a sustainable fund and at the same time maintain the integrity of the event (Cornwell, Amis, 2005). The research will establish the problem encountered in managing sponsorships and come up with a better way of managing the sponsors. The project will also establish things which people managing events can do to ensure sustainable fund for events. Literature review Events are an integral part of communities. In the early days, every community had its own events and activities. The events were great opportunities for social development and development of cultures. It was also a great opportunity for interaction, communication and development of leaders (Berkowitz, 2008). In the past, the major activity had either cultural or religious base and involved people from a given geographical region. Although cultural and religious events remain important today, events have taken different perspectives including people from various cultures and large geographical regions. Small events are not involving and their management is simple;

Royal Mail Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Royal Mail Literature Review - Essay Example This paper covers the theoretical concepts of the strategic processes implemented by Royal Mail that include its internal and external analysis. The review covers a wide variety of different sources to locate various types of information about the company. Furthermore, a detailed research has been done on the management of the company that includes the management of its workforce and the future targets that are desired to achieve. Organization Overview Royal Mail is one of the biggest postal and courier service company in United Kingdom. It has various subsidiaries which include Royal Mail, Post Office and Parcel-force all over the globe. The company also offers various services which include postal mail services, parcel delivery systems and general logistics systems through their subsidiaries. It mainly focuses on the deliveries of letters and packages to different parts of the world by all the regions in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail has nearly 113,000 post boxes and 14,300 post o ffice branches all over the country which collects letters, packages and parcels from many different businesses (Boxall & Purcell, 2003). These letters and packages are further processed through 70 mail centers, 8 regional distribution centers and 3,000 delivery offices that are located in different parts of the country (Goddard & Melville, 2004). Royal Mail is indeed one of the most successful organizations in United Kingdom and holds a unique place in the global market. Internal Analysis Royal Mail is one of the oldest courier service companies that is controlled by the government of United Kingdom. As far as its internal analysis is concerned, the core strategies that are implemented by this organization are listed below: Pricing Strategy The strategies of Royal are based upon customer centric approach and appropriate managerial implications are considered when they are implementing their own strategies. This organization strictly works on the principle that since the needs of th e customers vary with time therefore they should adapt to these changes that can benefit them in both the short and the long run (Barney & Clark, 2007). Similarly the customers should also believe that the products and services offered by this organization are value added and that they are meant for the targeted customers only. As far as the pricing strategy of this organization is concerned it mostly focuses to offer their services at lower rates that can be afforded by customers of every class. Although there are many pricing schemes that can be implemented by the organizations such as premium pricing, competitive pricing and discount pricing. However, in the initial stage when this company was launched they adapted the premium pricing as the product was new in the market and the customers were also responding quite well. But as the company grew older the company focused on discount pricing and after that competitive pricing options were also introduced because new competitors wer e entering into the market. Later they also implemented zonal pricing in order to obtain a competitive advantage in both the short and the long run. Marketing Strategy The marketing of Royal Mail is very proactive and that is the reason why they are able to implement different marketing strategies effectively. These strategies are usually created by the decision makers of the company. It is

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Strategic analysis of the case, fisher and paykel healthcare Research Paper

Strategic analysis of the case, fisher and paykel healthcare - Research Paper Example This paper is a strategic analysis of the case of Fisher and Paykel Healthcare. The paper begins with an introduction of the company, its products and the industry in which it operates. As the paper proceeds it unfolds the external environment analysis which examines political/legal, economic, socio-cultural, global and technological factors. The most promising findings of this scrutiny were that aging and obesity has fuelled demand for healthcare products in major economies of the world which has created growth prospects for FPH. The industry environment analysis unfolds that the industry is in the phase of growth and offers great market potential across global markets. But all the market attractiveness is accompanied with high cost of research and development, patents and licensing, and huge marketing and distribution expenses which creates implicit barriers for new entrants. The demand for healthcare has inflated in the past 2 decades with the growing awareness of health issues in US and other global markets, which will serve as a driver of investment in research and development and medical devices production. The internal and external analysis of the company reveals the FPH strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This analysis bears implications for FPH, consequently it leads to a proposal of growth, price leadership and innovation led differentiation strategies which leverage the FPH core competencies and capabilities, for future market expansion and penetration for all its product categories. Introduction of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare The company was established in 1934 by Mr. Paykel in New Zealand. It started as an imported of electronics from USA. Later in 1977 a separate division was established to support the humidification business at F&P and finally by 2001 the company split up into two separate identities for electronics and healthcare business named as: Fisher & Paykel Appliances, FPA, and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, FPH. FPH business deals in humidification systems, OSA products and technologies, and neo-natal care. The FPH is attributed to innovative developments in healthcare products. The company’s business intent revolves around patient value and comfort. FPH is looking forward to penetrate the market through a whole array of new products; non invasive ventilation, oxygen therapy, laparoscopic surgery, and humidity therapy. External Analysis: Industry The healthcare industry is characterised with two major segments one which deals with outpatient care through provision of healthcare equipment, it deals with the ultimate consumers/patients; and the other segments deals with technological innovations in those healthcare equipments. The FPH business and operations lie in the later segment; for innovation and development of healthcare technology. The industry is in the phase of growth and offers great market potential across global markets. But all the market attractiveness is accompanied with high cost of research and development, patents and licensing, and huge marketing and distribution expenses which creates implicit barriers for new entrants. The demand for healthcare has inflated in the past 2 decades with the growing awareness of health issues in US and other global markets, which will serve as a driver of investment in research and development and medical devices production. Macro Environment Analysis The macro environment analysis is the examination of FPH’s external factors that might influence and manipulate the eff ectiveness and efficacy capabilities of business operations (Balogun, 2001). These factors are external forces that lie beyond the scope of an organisation’s control, which are illustrated below: 1. Economic Factors: The economic conditions vary across the globe. These are influenced by the business activity

Royal Mail Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Royal Mail Literature Review - Essay Example This paper covers the theoretical concepts of the strategic processes implemented by Royal Mail that include its internal and external analysis. The review covers a wide variety of different sources to locate various types of information about the company. Furthermore, a detailed research has been done on the management of the company that includes the management of its workforce and the future targets that are desired to achieve. Organization Overview Royal Mail is one of the biggest postal and courier service company in United Kingdom. It has various subsidiaries which include Royal Mail, Post Office and Parcel-force all over the globe. The company also offers various services which include postal mail services, parcel delivery systems and general logistics systems through their subsidiaries. It mainly focuses on the deliveries of letters and packages to different parts of the world by all the regions in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail has nearly 113,000 post boxes and 14,300 post o ffice branches all over the country which collects letters, packages and parcels from many different businesses (Boxall & Purcell, 2003). These letters and packages are further processed through 70 mail centers, 8 regional distribution centers and 3,000 delivery offices that are located in different parts of the country (Goddard & Melville, 2004). Royal Mail is indeed one of the most successful organizations in United Kingdom and holds a unique place in the global market. Internal Analysis Royal Mail is one of the oldest courier service companies that is controlled by the government of United Kingdom. As far as its internal analysis is concerned, the core strategies that are implemented by this organization are listed below: Pricing Strategy The strategies of Royal are based upon customer centric approach and appropriate managerial implications are considered when they are implementing their own strategies. This organization strictly works on the principle that since the needs of th e customers vary with time therefore they should adapt to these changes that can benefit them in both the short and the long run (Barney & Clark, 2007). Similarly the customers should also believe that the products and services offered by this organization are value added and that they are meant for the targeted customers only. As far as the pricing strategy of this organization is concerned it mostly focuses to offer their services at lower rates that can be afforded by customers of every class. Although there are many pricing schemes that can be implemented by the organizations such as premium pricing, competitive pricing and discount pricing. However, in the initial stage when this company was launched they adapted the premium pricing as the product was new in the market and the customers were also responding quite well. But as the company grew older the company focused on discount pricing and after that competitive pricing options were also introduced because new competitors wer e entering into the market. Later they also implemented zonal pricing in order to obtain a competitive advantage in both the short and the long run. Marketing Strategy The marketing of Royal Mail is very proactive and that is the reason why they are able to implement different marketing strategies effectively. These strategies are usually created by the decision makers of the company. It is

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Importance to the performance of the business Essay Example for Free

Importance to the performance of the business Essay Identify aspects of the business training and development programme and explain its importance to the performance of the business? What is training? Training is the acquisition of a body of knowledge and skills, which can be applied to a particular job. Training includes all forms of planned learning experiences and activities designed to make positive changes to performance in a job. The benefits of training There are number of major benefits that flow from training: It increases productivity of workers within a business. It helps achieve the businesses objectivities by having more knowledge within the business. Improved efficiency results from saving from material costs due to reduced wastage, improved delivery performance, improved delivery performance, reliability and range of products or services to customers. At Haydon this means less wasted teaching time lessons starting on time lessons planned and run efficiently. Creates a more flexible work force. At Haydon this could help when a teacher is off sick and another teacher has the ability to teach another subject for example an Ict teacher who can also teach economics. If effective should improve the competitiveness of an organisation. As well as improving its productivity and service to customers. At Haydon this means improved student grades. Retaining staff, surveys have shown that training costs less in the long run than recruiting full trained workers from outside the organisation. Recruited, fully trained employees tend to leave much sooner than employees the organisation has trained itself. Haydon should try to train staff already at the school to do jobs rather than hire some one from outside. Improves image of a business. As it will be able to keep staff and have well trained staff where parents will want their children to go to school.l Training adds to competitiveness In a knowledge economy training development take on a greater importance than ever before. The company that trains and develops its staff is best placed to have better educated students and therefore gain competitive advantage. What is development? Development approaches the individual and his or her motivation from a different angle from that of training. While training is typically concerned with enabling the employee to contribute to meeting the objectives of Haydon better, personal development is more concerned with enabling individuals to develop themselves in the way that best suits individual needs. The two will come together. By helping individuals to develop themselves, they will be more inclined and better able to contribute to helping Haydon meet its objectives. Why adopt training and development? Haydon other organisations organise training and development programmes for many reasons. Training and development programmes may be introduced to: Motivate employees and increase job satisfaction, thereby reducing absentees and student leaning Establish the most effective and efficient working methods in order to maximise the education of students and remain competitive The resources needed for Haydon training can generate significant costs. It is important that training needs are correctly identified and the required standard of skill is established. The training programme needs to be administered efficiently and evaluated, so the results achieved by the Haydon teachers that have received training should be compared with the standard of performance it was hoped to achieve How does a business know if training is needed? The business could ask the employees to see if they need or want any training. When filling a vacancy they could use the job description to find skills and knowledge required for the job. Also look at the performance of the school e.g. exam results Induction training Induction is the process of introducing new employees to their place of works new surroundings and the people they will be working with. Induction also provides information to help new employees start work and generally fit in. This induction programme enables Haydon to introduce new employees to the business and tell them about the many achievements and procedures it has produced over the years. The induction programme is supposed to make the new employee feel more aware of the different functions of the business as a whole, so they can know what the business is about instead of the specific job he/she has to take on in the future. The induction usually contains information about the organisations policies and objectives, future career opportunities Pay, training and fringe benefits Health and safety, the requirements of the job. Good induction programmes can successfully balance the amount of information that needs to be conveyed with the length of time, so employees can maintain t heir concentration. In house training courses This is where employers run courses inside their own organisation the courses might be held in an office or in a smart training centre owned by the business. The main benefits of in house training are: They are cheap to run Course content is made to suit the business Examples can be related to the business work Everyone knows each other. External Training courses These are more expensive because they include fairly luxurious accommodation in lavish surroundings and the guest speakers are highly paid. This means employers have to think very seriously about the value of the courses to the business. Mentoring Mentoring involves a trainee being paired with a more experienced employee. The trainee carries out the job but uses the mentor to discuss problems that may occur and how best to solve them. Often trainee teachers work with a mentor who is responsible for their early training and development. The student teacher will watch the mentor teach before starting his/her own teaching. The mentor will then give an ongoing guidance to the student teacher on how best to improve his/her performance and the trainee will take any problems and difficulties he/she is facing to the mentor to seek advice. Coaching This is rather similar to mentoring but the difference is that the coaching involves helping the young employee to acquire high quality skills in a number of specific management areas. These skills include communication with staff, budgeting, how to appraise and how to carry out disciplinary procedures. Vocational Courses These provide training in job related skills for example office skills: the QCA (Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) took over the role of the NCVQ (National council for Vocational Qualifications, set standards for workplace competences which can be assessed both in the workplace and at college by examining bodies such as Edexcel, OCR and AQA. Job Rotation Is giving staff a range of jobs in rotation, which widened their experiences and increases their skills Job enlargement Is where staff is given extra tasks to do this gives management a better idea of the employees true capacity and ability. Job enrichment Adding more interesting and difficult tasks to the job to motivate and tro see how capable they are. Types of training at Haydon Induction Training The induction training takes place in July, which can be up to 3 weeks long this will include Assessment Reports Behaviour management Child protection Special needs Being a form tutor Administration Health and safety Contracts Classes Syllabus Courses Training days All employees have to attend this as it is where school issues are disused and they are trained on things like equal opportunities within the school. The 1996 Educational Act legally requires these training days. Specialised Courses Some courses which Haydon have done are: Use of fire extinguishers: a specialised trainer came in to school to train the staff how to use them. Man handling courses: is for staff looking after disabled students so they no how to look after the student and what they are and arent allowed to do. Web design: this needed to be taught because of the new syllabus this was run by miss Boorman. Mentoring Every newly qualified teacher has a mentor at Haydon within the same subject the mentor has to do weekly meetings to review progress, observe their teaching skills and give feed back, and need to be their for support and motivation. On the Job training This is when a trainee at Haydon will work along side a qualified employer and observe teachers to gain experience. This means the trainee acquires their training st the school. This is known as job shadowing. External Training Haydons staff have gone on courses such as first aid which are done out side the business. Haydon also have to do external training for changes in the syllabus for example how to mark the coursework. I have shown why Haydon should train its employees and how it can be identified. Ive shown different types of training used how Haydon benefits from it and how the employees benefit from it.

Monday, October 14, 2019

The Historical Portrayal in Forrest Gump

The Historical Portrayal in Forrest Gump Forrest Gump is a famous 1994 American comedy-drama film based on the novel written by Winston Groom; directed by Robert Zemeckis. The story depicts the life of a simple Alabama man Forest Gump who travels around the world, meets historical figures and influences and participates in important historical events of the second half of the 20th century. The film Forrest Gump is about a simple mans journey through complicated times. Exciting, deep and kind film narrates from the behalf of the protagonist Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a harmless imbecile man (his level of IQ is 75) with a noble and an open heart, the story of his extraordinary life. The plot begins with the childhood of the hero and ends up as he sends his own son to school. During the life, Forrest overcomes many difficulties, and always sees only positive side of events. During the film he takes part in major events of American history of the second half of 20th century, and unconsciously influences on popular culture of the United States. From an ordinary man he turns into a well-known tennis player, war hero, a successful businessman. He becomes a billionaire, but remains as unsophisticated, weak-minded and kind. Forrest reaches success in everything, and he loves the girl, who was his friend in childhood, but reciprocity comes too late. The main character, a native of the southern state (and as it is understood a patriarchal and conservative) of Alabama, actually travels across America in the 50s and 80s, turning out one way or another, becomes a witness of historic events in the life of the nation, almost climbing into the frames of newsreels that depict well-known political figures from the era of John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan and popular singers from Elvis Presley to John Lennon. The film Forrest Gump is not historical film, its more drama and melodrama, but it shows the close connection of Forrest with real historical characters and his participation in historical events. The film shows all the significant events of the period between the 1950s and the 1980s and introduces them to the main character. The film does not distort the real events, but contributes to the public understanding of the issues it presents. This feature film helps viewers learn more about the historical events of the second half of the 20th century, so it is difficult to overestimate its value. Forrest Gump is a look at the past approximately thirty years of U.S. history. The fact that the problems of America 1960 1980, including, for example, drug abuse and the war in Vietnam, are shown through the eyes of simple-minded Forrest, exculpates American society for this it is said by the magazine columnist of Time, Richard Corliss, Julie Grace and Marta Smildzhis in their joint review of the film (Corliss 1994). Nevertheless, Forrest stands out as a character in a highly sentimental Hollywood cinema, where the most important historical and social problems are often presented as elements of fairy tales with a happy end (Corliss 1994). According to Peter Travers from Rolling Stone, in the image of Forrest there are gathered the best national character features of Americans honesty, courage and fidelity (Travers 2000). The Russian critic Andrei Shemyakin considers film to be a parable about the American national character on the fracture of his fate (Gordinier 1995), and Rita Kempley from Washington Post believes that in Forrest Gump there is shown a destruction of the national character (Kempley 1994). It is easy to notice that Forrests life is very conservative, while his girlfriend Jenny embodies the counterculture she is involved in anti-war marches, uses drugs, and is sexually promiscuous. Jenny is a shadow of Forrest (Guthmann 1995). According to Roger Ebert, her reunion with Forrest Gump at the end of the film represents the dream of American society uniting (Ebert 1994). At the same time Gumps coproducer Steven Tisch mentioned: I dont think the film was a catalyst for a trend of any kind. I dont think this film is about conservative or liberal values, or even American values. The film is about human values (Gordinier 1995). Forrest Gump is a wonderful person, honest and brave, but with one peculiarity he is moronic. And the combination of an outstanding personality with a limited imagination allows him to enjoy life, not to justify himself. This opened an enormous sense for many of his followers. Being completely devoid of egoism, Forrest receives of a lot of luck in return from the life. His girlfriend Jenny, by contrast, lives in constant issueless search. The main stereotype that was changed in the film is that it is possible to live the whole life full of difficulties, reach success and remain open and kind. Forrest Gump simply goes his own way. He saves his fellow soldiers, and becomes a hero of Vietnam; he is the best player and national champion in a game of table tennis in Japan. He changes the lives of several people and creates a multi-million dollar business; he keeps his word given to the deceased friend. He even teaches Elvis Presley to dance. And thus, he remains a simple and open person. His phrase: My momma always said, Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what youre gonna get became very famous (Forest Gump 1994). The film addresses different social issues of American life. It mostly represents the middle class and life of ordinary people; it depicts the race problems, showing how black people fought for their rights. It also touches gender issues, showing that Jenny lived in the hostel for girls and Forest couldnt visit her. Politics is also one of the topics that were briefly covered in the film while showing real episodes of lives of such people as John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Baines Johnson and Richard Milhous Nixon. There are shown such popular singers as Elvis Presley and John Lennon. The issues of nationality, cultural norms, people on the margins of society and other are also mentioned in the film. Forrest Gump is considered to be one of the kindest and touching films of world cinema, even though it is drama. The director Robert Zemeckis demonstrated in this film the entirely new approach to presenting the material, driving the narrative on behalf of a mentally retarded man, and showing life through his eyes. Surprisingly, but life through the eyes of Forrest Gump is not terrible and hopeless, as we used to think it is. The life of Forrest Gump suddenly becomes very simple, understandable, but at the same time, deep in meaning and rich with interesting events. It is the simplicity of Forrest Gumps vital principles and his immediate perception of complex life events that causes the effect of stunning ease the perception of this film. The film is not historical, but it shows the connection of the protagonist with real historical characters and his participation in historical events. The film contributes to the public understanding of the issues it presents, and makes a great impa ct on its intended audience. Film realistically, without distorting shows the problems of America 1960 1980, and therefore it is very valuable and is still considered one of the best films of American cinema.