Monday, September 30, 2019

Mark Antony: Loyal Friend or Cunning Politician Essay

Mark Antony was a cunning, strong-willed, and loyal Roman. He was a devoted friend to Caesar. He looked at life as a game in which he had a significant part to play, and played that part with excellent refinement and skill. Antony was a devoted follower of Julius Caesar. Because he was a good friend, he was willing to be second hand to Caesar, the new king. Whilst Caesar would become the king, the most valuable but least powerful piece in chess, he would become the rook, a semi-valuable, very important piece. He wanted the crown to be given to Caesar so that the political vacuum would be filled and no conflicts would occur. Antony was unsettled by Caesar’s death but mainly sought to use this to his advantage and gain power. He showed how clever and cunning he could be when he convinced the crowd at Caesar’s funeral ceremony to side with him and not with the murderers. The people became excited and rowdy when he teased them about the will, waving it in the air and pretending as if he was not going to read it. Antony took advantage of the public idiocy when he first pretended to respect the conspirators calling them honorable men, and then slowly proving that they were not. He spoke out against them because he wanted power for himself, and unlike Brutus, he was politically ambitious and so believed that if he could take control while the state was in turmoil, he will remain in power. He was alone in making this oration, showing he had the confidence and courage needed to take charge. Rome began to collapse once Caesar was killed, so Antony joined the new government in order to lead the Roman people into a new age of prosperity. He did this partly due to a feeling of responsibility as Caesar’s friend, and also from his own ambitions. Antony was viewed as a threat by all of the conspirators but Brutus. They wanted to kill Antony as well as Caesar because they feared that he would become as powerful as Caesar and possibly a dictator. Brutus persuaded the others not to add to the assassination by saying, â€Å"And for Mark Antony, think not of him: for he can do no more than Caesar’s arm when Caesar’s head is off†(2.1). Brutus underestimated Antony and perceived him as a person who didn’t always take life seriously, couldn’t have a serious nature and  therefore, not a thinker. Brutus continued to argue with Cassius who did not believe him. â€Å"Alas, good Cassius, do not think of him. If he loves Caesar, all that he can do is to himself — take thought and die for Caesar. And that were much he should, for he is given to sports, to wildness, and much company† (2.1). Brutus judged him as being frivolous, and simply liking sport and partying, with a reputation for womanizing. This caused Brutus to see Antony as a pushover and a force that could be molded to their uses. Unfortunately for Brutus and the conspirators he turned out to be quite the orator and the people immediately loved him. Antony’s character was slow to emerge, and it wasn’t until he was forced to show his true potential, that he could he really be judged. He was a character with many hidden traits until he was forced to show his genuine character while trying to take the throne after Caesar’s death. Once he became a leader of Rome, his true character was uncovered.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Government and Ethics Essay

Ethics is the study of what is right and what is wrong. In our daily lives were continuously forced to make simple and important decisions. Ethics help to guide people’s behavior and assist them in coming to conclusions. There is not an exact rule to what is morally correct because some people view things differently but by having a general since of what is ethically appropriate it can help a society function in a civilized manner. The role of government in ethics, and the role of ethics in government are very important concepts in forming that civilized society. In a society there are laws and there are ethics; however there is a considerable difference between the two you cannot have one without the other. Laws are what the government determines right and wrong. Ethics are what the majority of society determines as appropriate. The laws of a society can only state what a person can and cannot do. But they do not cover the in between. Ethics cover the gray areas and indicate what is accepted in a society. Ethics are personal laws they help people make the choice between what is morally right and wrong. Morals help to make a society more civilized and stable. Even though there is a strong distinction between ethics and laws you cannot have one without the other. Laws are not possible without ethics. In the textbook Thinking Critical about Ethical Issues author Ruggiero states, â€Å"The only way for a law to be enacted or repealed is for one or more people to make a decision about right and wrong. That has always been true, whether the lawmaker was the chieftain of a nomadic band or tribe, a king or queen, or a group of elected officials† (Ruggerio, 2008). To determine what is unlawful lawmakers need determine what is moral or immoral. The majority of people in a society determine ethical values. But the idea of majority rule can be very dangerous when determining what is ethically correct. In many cases the majority does not specifically base their decision based on what is morally right or wrong. So in return the majority’s choice is not always perfect, and in many cases can be very ignorant. In a lot of occasions the majority rule often equals mob rule. People often forget to determine what is morally sound for the masses and instead determine what is right for them. Majority rule can also influence lawmakers. Laws are determined by what the masses determine as right or wrong. A good example of when majority rule was not necessarily right is that of slavery. The greater part of society believed that slavery was ethical, and that above all the right to do. And because people thought slavery was right laws portrayed these thoughts. Even though slavery hurt the minority the laws were still in place. Majority rules can infringe on an individuals rights. In many instances the idea of the majority rule needs to be altered to guarantee that the rights of the minority are still being represented. Everyone has obligations whether it is to our family, friends, or employer. Just like individuals the government has obligations to the people that it is serving. In the textbook Thinking Critically about Ethical Issues author Ryan Ruggerio defines obligations as, â€Å"restrictions on our behavior, demands to do something or to avoid doing it† (Ruggerio, 2008). The government is obligated to be fair and just. The laws that are being determined by the officials need to be sure that they are not infringing on others rights. Besides the government as a whole the elected officials have a personal obligation to the citizens that they serve. They need to be sure that they are behaving appropriately. That their decisions are made based on what is good for the community or country that they are making decisions for. Voters put their trust into these individuals, they vote for them based on the thought that they will serve our country in a morally appropriate manner and make ethical decisions that will better us and the world we live in. Obligations can be difficult and sometimes conflicting especially when dealing with moral issues that will affect such a large majority of people. Sometimes when deciding on a law the answer may not be so clear-cut. More than one obligation can exist in any given situation. When obligations are conflicting in governmental situations it is important to analyze the decision in question. The options and consequences must be weighed. It is crucial to look at the situation and the morals that will be involved. What options do lawmakers have when making this important choice? With every moral situation there are options on what different can be taken. The second step is to consider how the choice will affect others. Governmental decisions need to consider how it will affect every individual in the society not just one specific group. Besides make sure the decision is lawful for all it is important to try and understand how the individuals in the society will feel and their thoughts about a given situation. Lawmakers have that obligation to their voters. It is not about doing what is solely right for the government but about doing is ethically correct for everyone. It is important to consider the trickle down affect. If the government makes a certain decision than this may happen, and in return than maybe this. It is crucial to understand the broad consequences as well. And what the longer-term effects will be on the society as a whole. The government has an obligation to the citizens in the society, but I believe the citizens also have an obligation to the government and to each other. In Thinking Critically about Ethical Issues author Ryan Ruggerio states, â€Å"The United Nations’ Declaration of Human Rights contains similar references to rights. It begins, for example, by declaring that â€Å"human rights should be protected by the rule of law† and goes on to say that all human beings â€Å"should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood† (Ruggerio, 2008). Most ethical issues deal with how something makes us feel and fulfilling our personal or humanistic needs and desires. It is crucial for individuals to be informed about the decision or opposition they are taking. This insures that what you are preaching or voting on is something that you truly believe in. In many cases it is about the individual or a group of individuals giving lawmakers the ideas in order to create positive change. Change can happen because of a leader in the community. This idea can be sometimes pose problems. It can be difficult because the majority does not specifically base their decision based on what is morally right or wrong. So in return the majority’s choice is not always perfect, and in many cases can be very ignorant. In a lot of occasions the majority rule often equals mob rule. People often forget to determine what morally sound for the masses and instead determine what is right for them. If you follow the â€Å"mob† you are not thinking for yourself. In return you are not standing up for what you believe is morally correct and you may be following a negative concept or idea. While meeting their obligations governmental officials must write and past laws for the people in the society. When establishing new laws lawmakers need to go a little further and consult the ethical ideas of the society. If they did not have this concept of what is morally correct laws would not have a strong influence on individual behaviors. It would fail to connect with the people in the society in return not hold much weight. Making many laws ignored by the society. In order to form laws we need a sense of what is deemed morally correct by the culture we are creating them for. The first step governmental officials must do when making a decision for the society is to find and be aware of the problem that they are trying to fix. The second step in the decision making process towards a high-quality choice is to analyze the problem and its causes. During this process they must ask questions to find the real root of your problem. In the textbook Applying Psychology author Andrew J. Dubrin states, â€Å"Many decisions prove to be poor decisions because the underlying or true problem was not resolved† (Durbin, 2004). Lawmakers must be able to understand what is going on so that you can properly guide your actions. Once they have fully looked at every aspect of the problem it is important to search for creative alternatives. This is crucial in order for them to make appropriate decision for everyone in the society. Poor decisions are often made when this is not done. With more choices lawmakers will be able to come to a wiser conclusion. Once they have thought of possible choices a decision must be made on the one that best suits the masses. It is imperative to think of the pros and cons of all the alternatives that had previously been thought of. Each one should be thought of with the same amount of deliberation, so that it can be sure that the right choice has been made. Lawmaker’s then implement the decision that has been made. One of the most important steps in lawmaking comes at the end of the decision making process. The final step is to evaluate the decision that has been made. Lawmakers must look at what they have decided and see if the results are what had been expected. If they are not happy with the solution and it is not working properly for the individuals that it was made for than they might have a new problem on their hands and have to start to work through the steps of problem solving again to find a new answer to the issue. Reflection is also a way to evaluate a law decided on so that you officials can strengthen any weaknesses so they will be ready when they are faced with a new problem that needs solving. After laws have been instituted it is important to ensure that the lawmakers are also behaving morally appropriate. We as voters exercise our ethical choices every time we go to the polls and vote for our appointed officials. But what is holding them responsible for behaving in an ethical manner after they have already won an election. After the Watergate Scandal in 1978 the Ethics in Government Act was put into affect. The Ethics in Government Act forced restrictions on finances of government officials and lobbyist. After this act was passed the Office of Government Ethics was established. This agency is a branch of the executive government. It helps to prevent and determine resolutions to problems existing within in this branch of government. The agency puts responsibility on government employees and helps to stop divergence in interests. Within the Office of Government Ethics there is four different subdivisions. Ethics help to guide people’s behavior and assist them in coming to conclusions. There is not an exact rule to what is morally correct because some people view things differently but by having a general since of what is ethically appropriate it can help a society function in a civilized manner. The role of government in ethics, and the role of ethics in government are very important concepts in forming that civilized society. The government as a whole and its elected officials has an obligation to make morally appropriate decisions for every individual in the society.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Domain-Emotional Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Domain-Emotional - Assignment Example reakthroughs achieved via online learning are immense where many students benefit from such programs, including disabled ones as well who find it discomforting to leave the confines of their homes to seek education. However, this doesn’t imply that online learning is free from issues and drawbacks. Amongst many other challenges, the challenge of organization can be deemed as the most pressing one, where the domain where the challenge may be placed is emotional. The issue of organization becomes emotional in the pretext that whenever the aim to organize the course of studies is partaken, major barriers are found in the way which becomes a source for emotional dis-balance (Facoine, 2013). In other words, due to the issues with organizing the course of studies in a compact manner, a lapse of judgment may be experienced over the choice of medium of learning which then becomes emotionally disturbing. An ordinary mind would fail to develop a connection between the challenge of organization and the domain of emotions. Yet, studying the facts and significance of organization for human life may reveal striking implications. Organization is termed as the series of steps or processes which must be taken in order to achieve the goal within the prescribed set of resources (Hatch & Cunnliff 2013). In terms of learning, organization refers to clear understanding of modules, qualifying the course with satisfactory grades and also, coming out with an enhanced vision over the subject by the end of the tenure. To achieve these ends, certain means need to be employed. The issue is, the means which humans use are the conventional ones for instance, combined studies, reaching out to the instructors and team mates to clarify concepts, one-on-one contact with the peers, grouping up to form opinions and discuss issues to see trends amongst those who are sharing the course inputs and outputs and man y other things. However, in the absence of such conventional means to organize the

Friday, September 27, 2019

Amazon's Kindle Fire Old and New 4 P's Research Paper

Amazon's Kindle Fire Old and New 4 P's - Research Paper Example With growing urge for portability, it was important that a product that offers the quality of a complete computer in a portable way be introduced and the computer responded to this squarely. Still on the product, the company was tactical to include in its new feature, services that were absent in the ordinary computer or laptop (Institute of Development Studies, 2012). By this, consumers had something new to buy the Kindle Fire to expect. On the factor of placement or place, it would be said that the computer placed itself so strategic by taking total advantage of web 2.0 and new media that it was virtually impossible for any computer and for that matter internet user to be out of place in terms of accessibility to the product. This is because the product was launched directly onto the internet to make online purchases possible. There were therefore no limitations in terms of place or location. The computer also used the power of social media to promote its product as advertisement and publicity of the product was all over the social networks and other digital media (Mangalindan, 2012). This way, users of social media, who are said to be the highest users of the internet, were made to thirst for owning one of the product. Finally, the Kindle Fire came onto the market as the cheapest tablet PC and this was an important competitive advantage as the product was introduced just around the time the world economy was recov ering from global economic shocks and thus consumers preferred value for money in their buying (Ovide, 2012). As the years went by, competition became tougher on the tablet PC market and so it was just right and appropriate that Amazon respond squarely to keep its place on the market for the Kindle Fire. For this reason, a market strategy that was more focused on internal structures and systems rather than external systems was instituted. This internal strategy took its source from

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Post-Communist Countries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Post-Communist Countries - Essay Example According to the essay "Post-Communist Countries" findings, the United States could not intervene knowing how aggressive Russia was and could end up turning on to America. But the U.S president in 2005, George W. Bush, encouraged Mr. Saakashvili to continue with his plans and take heart. Georgian and Russian relations had been on the rocks from the time Russia assisted Ossetia to break away from Georgian rule. This relationship could not be mended since Russia saw Georgia as a threat because Georgia was the only former soviet state willing to stand against Russia in the face of war. The war between these two countries contributed the good relationship that Russia and Georgia have now. Both countries have also experienced good economic balancing due to their ability to produce oil which is an import resource which attracts the west. Countries like the US have also reaped from this peaceful conditions leading to prosperity. Moreover, Poland and the US have also shared good political re lations. In 2007, the US had plans to construct an anti-ballistic missile defense in Poland. However, Russia perceived this as a threat and reacted by testing intercontinental ballistic missile. Irrespective of these countries size, Poland had the highest population density followed by Bulgaria. Ironically, Russia had the least population density something that can be traced to its economic power. From this data, it is evident that countries with the highest population densities suffered economically.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

The whipping by robert hayden Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The whipping by robert hayden - Essay Example Evidently, the author in part aims for the readers to figure how defenseless the boy is that despite his ‘circling’ efforts and the woman’s crippling fat, he does not stand even the feeble chance of being freed from the constant striking of the mad old woman. At this stage, the male child may be imagined to have possessed anxiety and unfairly low levels of self-esteem due to the poignant circumstances of physical and emotional pain that certainly would ring a bell in the future filled with embitterment. On the second half of the narrative, Robert Hayden enters into a dimension in the past that quite explains the reason he establishes focus and interest with the current subject through the boy’s life. Recollecting and pondering on the similarities between this and Robert’s dark encounters of his early youth, he points out how such picture of violence could be devastating especially when executed in a verbal manner or one that sticks to mind more than actual blows do. Mentioning ‘Words could bring, the face that I no longer knew or loved’ somehow indicates that at a later time, the impact which this state of suffering bears on a child can lead to fatal consequences where the oppressed young individual learns to turn all signs of affection for the beloved into hatred.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Unit 2 seminar art and Humanities Research Paper

Unit 2 seminar art and Humanities - Research Paper Example Art is the work of an artist that is based on his intentions of presenting to others certain object, opinion, view point or idea of spending life. Art does not imply similarity of work and following specific guidelines and it could vary from capturing significant to commonplace things. The purpose of art is to give some message to viewer in artist’s own way. It can be in the form of imitating real life things or creating abstract patterns (Bjone, 2007). The painting in the text looks vague and confusing with no clear cut features that could explain what is depicted in the painting. It seems to me that a barren building is being shown with an open door at the end and the impression of darkness is created which looks horrifying and mysterious. It also appears to me as the image of a mountain or a valley at night time. In other words, the work seems to be meaning different things when looked at with different perspective. However, in my opinion, it means chaos, disorder, unrest, mystery and horror. It cannot be stated as a weakness if an art looks different to different people as it depends on the perception of the viewer and approach with which he observes an artwork. Art is in fact an imitation of real life objects and it can take any form in showing its likeness to viewer (Foster,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Negotiating skills and strategies Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Negotiating skills and strategies - Term Paper Example It is argued that negotiation is unavoidable in life since we need something from others in our daily lives and an agreement based on common understanding can be reached through negotiation. Thus, negotiation broadly encompasses the process by which we arrange exchanges of things we want for the things we have. Negotiation can take place between different parties and this process is at times regarded as â€Å"a zero-sum transaction- what one gains, the other loses whereby their approach to the deal is to give less than they receive,† (Kennedy, 2004, p.13). More often than not, people negotiate because they value things differently. The monitory value is seen as very important when people engage in negotiation and these parties often prefer a win-win situation with the aim of reaching an acceptable agreement. However, it is argued that there are naturally gifted negotiators but when it comes to aspects concerning legal practitioners and mediators, it can be noted that negotiato rs are not naturally gifted and this can be observed from the difference between a ‘Master Negotiator’ and a ‘Novice Negotiator’(Noble, 2001). There are different styles of negotiation and there are also many factors that influence the success or failure of a negotiation process. From this assertion, this report seeks to discuss the factors that influence the negotiation process and measures that can be implemented in order to improve negotiation skills. The report will explain in detail the phases involved in the negotiation process through an analysis of the details of the interview that was conducted by the writer. 2.0 Summary of readings and the interview Negotiation is a process that can be divided into three phases namely: the pre bargain phase, bargain phase and the closure phase (Noble, 2001). This first phase is mainly concerned with gathering information that can be used in the negotiation process and is also concerned with establishing a rapport between the two parties involved. The goals and expectations of the negotiation process are set at this stage. Gathering information about the other partner is advantageous in that one will be better positioned to set realistic goals and plan according to the budget that might be available. The second phase in the negotiation process is concerned with the logistics involved and the tactics that can be used by the negotiator to reach a mutual agreement. Resolutions are made at this stage and the third stage is concerned with implementation of the agreement made. This phase also involves documentation of the contents of the agreement. Since this paper is based on negotiating skills and strategy, the writer chose to interview a manager at Kaiser Permanente who oversees many union employees out of interest emanating from

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Personal Development self -managemnt and reflection Assignment

Personal Development self -managemnt and reflection - Assignment Example Section 1 There is a number of skills that one need to posses in order to successfully go through the Higher Education system. One of the most important personal skills that one should have is organizational skills, this skill is very important because it assist an individual to plan wisely and manage time well and bit any deadlines set .Having organization skills illustrates that one has a high level of intellectual ability and thus in a position to undertake a higher education course in any field. Determination is yet another skill that a student pursuing higher education should posses, determination is the zeal to keep on working hard until one achieves his/her goals ,.Determination will enable student to focus on achieving his career goals . Communication skills are needed to promote teamwork and collaboration, leadership skills and research skills ,without communication skills a student may not be in a position to smoothly carry out their business around the university .In moder n world the use of information technology and knowledge in numeracy is a must for any student pursuing higher education more over, a student should have problem solving skills, be in a to improve own learning and performance and should practice self discipline. Individually, I understand that I have some weaknesses in some of the skills mentioned; in particular I have gaps in organizational skills, zeal to improve my own learning and performance and I also have poor communication skills. Section 2 Action Plan for Academic skills needed to be attained Skill Target Action Timescale Success Criteria Recourses Organisational skills Excellent organizational skills Have a workable time table in place Become committed to my school work Time management Practice free and effective communication Listen to others Exercise leadership skills 6 months Neatness and clarity in my work Beating of deadlines Excellent grades Fellow students Lecturers Reading material Improving my own Learning and Perf ormance Excellent all round performance Consultation Teamwork Hard work Commitment Motivation 6 months Improved performance Involvement in most activities Reading material Fellow students Family Lecturers Communication Skills Excellent communication skills Stay focused Listen carefully See the point in other people messages Ask for assistance if needed Practice clarity 4 months Improved teamwork Excellent listening skills Excellent organisational skills Improved performance Reading material Fellow students Lecturers Action plan for the four subjects to be covered during the program Subject Target Action Time Frame Success Criteria Recourses Subject one to four Perform exemplarily in the respective subjects Get the core units Understand the topics Visit libraries and other resource centers Carry out in depth research on the subjects Submit all assignment on time Practice teamwork with class mates and lecturers During the course duration Good performance Good communication skills Libr aries, the internet , Fellow students Lecturers Section 3 Topic 1 Understanding this topic was easy for me, this is due to the exciting lecturer we had, and the lecturer was amusing besides being very knowledgeable. I ensured that I would not miss nay lecturer ,personally ,this topic has assisted me to develop my communication and interpersonal skill due to the high level of involvement

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Hofstede Individualism - Uk vs Can Essay Example for Free

Hofstede Individualism Uk vs Can Essay There are many vast differences among the numerous cultural value systems, as most â€Å"value systems are rooted strongly in history and appear to be resistant to change† (De Mooij, 2003). However, if a culture has a significant influence on the development of another nation’s culture, is it surprising that those same values could very well transfer over? In the newer developed culture that adopted traits of a â€Å"mother† nation, is it not plausible for such aspects as advertisement and communication strategies to hold potential for applicability to both cultures alike? As Canada is a part of United Kingdom’s Commonwealth, it is a logical assumption that they inherited cultural traits and attributes commonly associated with those from the UK. Invoking the question whether they have they lost these cultural notions over their years of independence? According to Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (Hofstede, 2001) individualism is an apparent cultural characteristic that both the United Kingdom and Canada still presently share. An international communicator could make a reasonable presumption that advertisement and communication strategies from the United Kingdom, being a mother nation to Canada, can be successfully utilized in Canada. In spite of this, there are little resources available to support such an acclamation. For such reason, the objective of this paper is to identify cultural attributes shared between the United Kingdom and Canada. Thus engaging the question What significant features in respective Crimestoppers campaigns, reflect cultural similarities of both Canada and United Kingdom? Purpose This research report will aim to establish significant comparable characteristics of Canada and United Kingdom’s national resemblance over Hofstede’s cultural individualism. Therefore, analyzing of adverts from both  countries’ Crimestoppers programs, assessing over the traits epitomized through Geert Hofstede’s individualism/collectivism cultural dimension and criteria of the high/low-context culture. This will give insight of cultural comparable characteristics from the adverts, which bares practical relevance for international communicators planning advertisements in both or each of the respective countries. The combination of distinguishing major similar characteristics evident in such adverts, and weighing them with the attributes stated in Hofstede’s dimensions of Canada and United Kingdom can act as a pertinent source for future cross-culture comparisons. 2|Page Theoretical Framework Culture typically holds a fuzzy perception, which makes effective marketing and advertising communication difficult in adapting to a foreign or international target market’s cultural values. For communication practitioners to assess their strategy’s affect on another cultural market there needs to be a basis in which they can conduct such evaluation. Such a basis for cross-examining countries does exist and is held in the highest regard for cultural comparison. The basis for said desire, is in Geert Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions: Power Distance (PDI), Individualism versus Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS), Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) and Long-term versus Short-term orientation (LTO). These dimensions are used by many in the subject of cross-cultural communications; one individual in particular whose cross-cultural theories are deeply rooted from these 5 dimensions is Marieke de Mooij. As exclaimed by de Mooij (2003) â€Å"Countries can now be compared by means of dimensional scales and culture†¦in particular Hofstede’s (1991, 2001) dimensions of national culture are useful because of availability of country scores for a large number of countries† and the characteristics these dimensions implicate. Geert Hofstede’s 5-dimension model plays such a significant role in this research paper as it is from here that the main basis of the cultural connection concept originates. As one can see, Individualism – of the IDV cultural dimension – is where the United Kingdom and Canada excel the most (see Figure 2, Appendix). Thus, that dimension is most applicable in crossculturally comparing the two nation’s programs to determine dominant characteristics in their similarities. In accordance with Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimension country scores, United Kingdom and  Canada rank relatively high in Individualism of the IDV dimension – with scores of 89 and 80 respectively – making it a top dimension to match the two. There are several factors pertaining to individualism that define an individualist’s ideals versus that of a collectivist. Four noteworthy merits of importance to individualistic ideals are privacy, individual initiative, culpability, and independence (de Mooij, 2010). Several researchers’ works have associated these aspects reflecting traits commonly found with individualism favouring nations. To list ac couple of said researchers: Lamoreaux and Morling (2012), Zandpour (1994), Albers-Miller and Gelb (1996), de Mooij herself (1998), and Dahl (2004). While the four aforementioned factors are a good basis, another criterion is needed to compare Individualism of United Kingdom and Canada in order to gain a valuable insight into potential for cross culture communication strategies. This category compliments Hofstede’s individualistic and collectivistic culture dimension, and is another worthy measure in classifying a nation’s different depiction on individualism and collectivism. The vast difference between individualistic and collectivistic cultures is in the low/high-context communication methods (de Mooij, 2010). Through advertisements in these individualistic cultures, the public expects a personal and direct approach. Edward Hall developed a theory on high/low context, which compliments Hofstede’s individualism/collectivism framework (Hillebrand, 2007) while Dahl’s (2004) work supports the elements of Hofstede’s dimensions and Hall’s low context alike. Hall’s theory coincides with concepts from de Mooij over cross culture comparing of a low-context culture. low-context culture concepts are defined in three areas, being straightforward verbal communication, their directives and emphasis on use of personal pronouns. These concepts hold relevance as Canada and United Kingdom carry labels as individualistic nations by Hofstede therefore low-context in nature and analyzing their respective adverts through the individualistic trait and concepts of low-context messages, will reveal which characteristics are significant in defining them as culturally comparable. Methodology The methodology used for this paper is in a qualitative analysis of a few commercial adverts. In order to distinguish characteristics shared by United Kingdom and Canada, I decided to observe citizen participation programs functioning in both regions – â€Å"Crimestoppers†. Two television adverts from each nation were selected; one set being more of a Lesson form of advertisement, and another being a more Drama style of advertisement. The targets for each of the respective Crimestoppers ads are aimed for the public of densely populated and urban areas – Toronto, Canada and London, England. To determine similarities the two commercials from each country analyze the verbal and visual elements displayed throughout the adverts. The verbal and visual elements examined and evaluated for their cultural similarities, through the criteria deriving from Hofstede, Dahl, de Mooij and Hall’s theories. The characteristics of Hofstede’s individualism cultural dimension and Hall’s (1990) concepts in the low-context culture supported by de Mooij (2003, 2010) and Dahl (2004) establish a better understanding of which characteristics are dominant in making United Kingdom and Canada culturally similar. The operationalizing of these concepts are by analyzing the four commercials – two ads for each respective country – where in the assessment criteria stems from the aforementioned theories of Hofstede, Hall and de Mooij. The four criteria of the individualism dimension used are: 1. Privacy 2. Individual initiative 3. Culpability 4. Independence With the remaining three precedents of the low-context category being: 1. Straightforward approach 2. Directives 3. Personal pronouns The operationalizing of these seven aspects is over each of the four commercials, formulating the criteria for assessing the Crimestoppers adverts’ visual and verbal elements in a ta ble form (see Table 1.1 Table 1.2, in Results). The table lists each of the criterions under the two categories – individualism and lowcontext – and uses a rating system and an example box as the columns to assess the measure for each Crimestoppers video. The rating system uses a scale from 1-5, 1 representing the lowest presence in ads and 5 representing the strongest presence. The example column is where quick examples and points of each of the aspects from the Crimestoppers commercial, to better support the rating. There are two tables each comparing one Canadian video to one UK video, to highlight which cultural criteria dominantly depicts similarity between the two nations. The four Crimestoppers adverts that are used are titled and followed by a brief description below: 1. (CAN) Toronto Crimestoppers – Anonymous i. The beginning depicts a man robbing a convenient store with a hooded sweater and a gun. He then holds up the clerk when he realizes that the clerk is wearing a ski mask. Upon panicking, he realizes the witness inside the store, the old lady at the door when trying to exit, the child in the house looking out the window and the family in the car driving by are all wearing skie  masks. This is then pursued by the text â€Å"You stay anonymous†¦criminals don’t† before the Crimestoppers logo appears. 2. (UK) Don’t let them get away with it – Drink driving i. A man facing addresses the audience about ever witnessing a drink driver and doing nothing about it. Scene changes to the man in the background of a bar witnessing another man chugging down beer while confessing that he has witnessed a man enjoying too many drinks. Then states â€Å"somebody should of stopped him from driving home†¦I could of, but didn’t†. This is followed by the man stating that is was now only a matter of time, as the drunk driver gets in his car and his the man talking. Then closing wrapping up the video with the text â€Å"Drink drivers†¦ don’t let them get away with it† and the Crimestoppers logo and ad sponsors. 3. (CAN) Call Taker Taking Anonymous Phone TIP – Toronto Crimestoppers i. The video begins immediately with the operator on the phone with an anonymous tipper. Ensures the individual that the call is completely anonymous and not recorded. She then proceeds to ask questions about the tip about bullying in school, such as location, who is involved, description, recent activities. Then closes with informing the caller that if the information does lead to any arrest or conviction, that they can be eligible for a reward for up to $2,000 and gives them information about a case number that they may call and  follow up on. 4. (UK) What happens when I call Crimestoppers? i. Opening text  with â€Å"Your say†. This is followed by character sketch of a person calling on the phone before opening the scene of the phone operator greeting the caller. The caller nervous about giving information and asking for confirmation of anonymity. The operator then ensures him of anonymity, no call recording. call display, no court appearance or statement and that all she need is the information. Caller says that he had seen who stabbed an individual but was still reluctant to give information. She consoles him and really lets him know that it is completely anonymous and that she is not the police. He then confides in her who the stabber was, then rushes off the phone. The queues the closing text â€Å"this could have be your call† and â€Å"all the information has now been passed on anonymously to the relevant police force†. The first two videos are the more Drama oriented adverts and the following two are more Lesson styled videos, informing and teaching the viewer of how the system work. The criteria for the analysis deduced from the concepts and theories of Hofstede, Hall (1990), De Mooij (2010) and Dahl (2004) can make the depiction the values of Hofstede’s IDV dimension are apparent in the individualism of United Kingdom and Canada alike. These theories will determine whether the evaluation implies a similar relation between the cultural   natures, depicted between the adverts of the two nations’ Crimestoppers programs. As a result, the findings from the concepts will prove or disprove Expectation 1 (see Figure 1- Conceptual Framework). Consequently revealing the ability of the results to determine the validity of Expectation 2 (see Figure 1). Results The analysis of all four videos over the seven concepts of the Individualism and Lowcontext factors, proved to be successful. What was beneficial from the data analysis is that it did produce an insight to the dominant characteristics that both United Kingdom and Canada similarly portrayed in their respective Crimestoppers commercials. The four adverts are identifiable in de Mooij’s basic advertising forms as the first two commercials were Drama forms of advertising, as the both boasted interplay  between two characters to create a story in representation of the Crimestoppers program. The prominent aspects of the individualism and low-context cultures properly reflect Hofstede’s high individualistic ranking of Canada and the UK. As depicted in the analysis results from Table 1.1 and 1.2 (see below,) the prominent aspects unearthed were the Culpability and Privacy cultural aspect of an individualistic cultures, as well as through the Straightforward approach as sociated with the low-context culture. The Culpability aspect was found to be a dominant criterion of individualism across all four of the videos with a total rating of 8 for both Canada and United Kingdom. In the â€Å"Toronto Crimestoppers – Anonymous† video analyzed in Table 1.1, it was portrayed that all potential witnesses were wearing ski masks and that they ranged from very young to the elderly. This implied the ease and lack of risk for yourself in simply reporting what information you could. In the â€Å"Don’t let them get away with it – Drink driving† commercial, guilty conscious was created in their efforts to describe just how little effort you had to put into a prevention measure. Also, that in doing something, one could prevent someone from losing their life, as the speaker in the video could of prevented his own death by simply giving Crimestoppers a call. Moreover, in the third video â€Å"Call Taker Taking Anonymous Phone TIP – Toronto Crimestoppers†, analyzed in Table 1.2, it is severely emphasized by the call operator that there is no association, no having to go to court or give a statement, tied into your efforts. Finally, in the last advert, â€Å"What happens when I call Crimestoppers?† You hear the conversation between the call operator and a paranoid youth, who reluctant at first and still feeling at risk still provided information of a stabbing. The Straightforwardness has been found to be the leading feat of low-context criteria across the four Crimestoppers adverts with ratings of 8 for United Kingdom and Canada alike. The blunt approach is displayed in the 1st commercial as an armed suspect instantly enters the scene, yet throughout the whole commercial all witnesses are so evidently portrayed as hidden, protected, and anonymous should they wish to share any information. In the 2nd Crimestoppers advertisement the audience is instantly engaged in a â€Å"Have you allowed this happen?† scenario created with the speaker questioning the  viewer if they acted as he did which ultimately lead to his death. The 3rd and 4th ad, while being from Canada and UK respectively, both have the same depiction of the straightforward approach as in the first words involve â€Å"Crimestoppers† and they go on to highlight the significance of anonymity, low risk and ease for the information to be provided. Table 1.1 shows that the Privacy feat received low ratings out of the first two Crimestoppers advertisements yet they received a 5 in the rating each make the total for both nations a rating of 6. As the second two commercials were Lesson forms of advertisements, particularly of the sub-category of Demonstration as both commercials had â€Å"a presenter demonstrate how the product works† de Mooij (2010). Over this set I found the Privacy feature to be a distinguishable characteristic of individualism, as both Crimestoppers commercials depicted strong symbols of privacy with the emphasis on one’s personal space is not compromised, and in no way threatened. Table 1.2 states evidence observed in 3rd and 4th adverts of the operators giving such statements as â€Å"We are not recording anything†, â€Å"don’t need any information about you† and â€Å"won’t even tell the police it was a man or woman who called†. Below are the results from the analysis of the four Crimestoppers adverts for encouragement of participation programs. Table 1.1 – (1 Lowest presence – 5 Strong presence) Canadian Crimestoppers #1 Toronto Crimestoppers – Anonymous Rating (1-5) Individualistic Features Privacy 1 No depiction of individualistic privacy 1 The aspect of not having to come to a station, or have to have authorities entering.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Definition Of The Four Factors Of Production Commerce Essay

Definition Of The Four Factors Of Production Commerce Essay Natural Resources sometimes called land consists of all the gifts of nature. This includes mineral deposits, water, arable land, vegetation, natural forests, marine resources, the atmosphere, sunshine and animal life. They are a fixed supply. If we want more of them, their availability cannot be increased. It is possible to exploit some of the resources, for example, minerals. Once the minerals are used, they cannot be replaced. Labour is defined as the exercise of human mental and physical effort in the production of goods and services, where humans are rewarded in the form of an income. The quality of labour is depends on the size of the population and the portion that is able and willing to work. The quality of labour, which is described by the skill, knowledge and health of the workers, is important. Capital is made up of manufactured resources, such as machines, tools and buildings which are used in the production of other goods and services. It is those tangible things that are used to produce other things. These resources do not have an unlimited life. Entrepreneurship is the availability of natural resources, labour and capital is not sufficient to ensure economic success. These factors of production have to be organised by people who see opportunity and are willing to take risks to producing the goods, believing that they will be sold. These people are called entrepreneurs. They are the driving force behind the production. They are the innovators, the initiators, who take initiative. They believe that their ideas will make a profit. 2.1 The Four Factors of Production in the Economy 2.1.1 Natural Resources To improve the use natural resources we can implement regulations to protect the natural resources like forests which will increase tourism; encourage farming to grow vegetables and fruit; the investment to improve the technology to mine minerals; and find ways to improve the usage of our natural resources. 2.1.2 Labour The labour regulations restrict entrepreneurship, enable government sponsor, enable employment, regulate minimum wage, maintain standards of working conditions, and ensure safety conditions. 2.1.3 Capital We can encourage foreign investment, investments in infrastructure to enhance production easier, for example road maintenance and encourage of loans for new businesses. 2.1.4 Entrepreneurship To encourage entrepreneurship the change can start in schools whereby economics can be introduced as part of the curriculum, encourage businesses to have open days for students to learn how the business works, develop and have tools that enhance entrepreneurship. 2.2 The Four Factors of Production in our Organisation 2.2.1 Natural Resources For the organisation, there are no natural resources that are used. 2.2.2 Labour Employing individuals who have the qualifications, the mental effort, knowledge and brain power, to fit the organisations culture and values will enhance the business. Training will empower and enhance the employees to do their job effectively. BankSeta assists in improving and up-skilling employees in the financial sector. It is important to taking care of the well-being of the employees for example, having a canteen for employees where the food is easily accessible and safe and time to go and buy lunch and to ensure employees get the relevant training so that they are efficient in their job. There are two types of physical energies in the organisation Sales and Admin. Sales bring in the business so the Admin can do their job. The organisation is reliant on clients for the business to grow. Admin run the day-to-day admin and they are dependant on the external energy. 2.2.3 Capital In the previous premises, the parking was not easily accessible, the building could not accommodate all the employees, there were not enough working stations and the technology was not up to standard. In the new building the technology and software have been upgraded. The organisation needs to ensure that the systems are suitable for the Banking sector. Suitable working stations are installed, which will enhance the well-being and working environment of the employees. The building and meeting rooms have been built to enhance the clientele and interaction with clients. The building projects the organisations values and culture. The organisations brand and reputation has been built on RMB and it continues to build its reputation through its client services. 2.2.4 Entrepreneurship The organisation encourages innovations. There is an innovations blog where employees can submit their ideas to management where all ideas are taking in consideration. The organisation is flat structured and open plan Managers are open to their employees and provide constant feedback. Employees are empowered and encouraged to take control of their own development. Employees live and believe in the organisations values and culture. The organisation is developing self sustaining systems. The organisation is current implementing the care and growth model which is focused on caring and growing the employees as individuals. 3. The South Africa Foreign Trade (Imports and Exports) In this section of the assignment, I refer to the Trade Report October 2009 submitted. The basic indicators section indicates the trade per capita which is the estimated trade of goods and services over the last three years based on the population. The GDP is measured in nominal terms and with market exchange rates. The trade-to-GDP ratio is the estimated trade of goods and services over the last three years based on the GDP. The real GDP are exports and import of goods and services of data at constant prices. The ranks in the world trade of merchandise and services are defined as members as individual traders and as one trader. In my opinion the percentage drop from 2007-2008 was from the Wall Street financial fall in 2008, which affected the percentage drop from 2007-2008 of exporting of goods and services. As we had the FICA and KYC regulations in place, this protected us. The percentage drop from 2007-2008 of importing of goods and services, in my opinion, reflected the fact that the importers were being cautious and they were concerned that the locals wouldnt ha ve the funds to buy goods and services. Consumer spending per household decreased. The merchandise trade is broken up into three sections Agricultural products, Fuels and mining product and Manufactures. In my opinion the percentage drop from 2007-2008 of merchandise exports was caused by the financial fall of Wall Street. The merchandise imports percentage from 2007-2008 stayed constant. For South Africa, I feel that we have not been as affected as much as other countries. The country felt the recession in 2009. Exporting and Importing of: Agriculture which consists of raw materials and foods such as vegetables, fruit, maize, sugar. In my opinion we export the best grade of our food and sell the rest to the locals. This increases the production of GDP and the economy. We should increase our export of agriculture. We import fewer foods and products into the country. Fuels and mining products which consists of other minerals, fuel and ores and non-ferrous metals. In my opinion we should not export that much. This should decrease. We should rather increase our skills and knowledge so that we can export the end product. This would increase our GDP and the economy. For example, gold: we export most of our raw gold and import the end product because we do not have the skills and knowledge to make the jewellery. The constant decrease and increase of fuel prices affects the economy and people spend. The percentage of imports, in my opinion, is acceptable as this keeps the balance of the economic production levels. Manufactures which refers to steel, iron, chemicals, other semi-manufactures, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, clothing and other consumer goods. In my opinion the percentage of exports should decrease as the country should use these materials to build the economy of the country. In building the status of our country, this would increase our economic growth. For example, building houses. The exporting keeps our foreign exchange inline with other countries. If the exporting decreases, the importing will decrease. In some instances, it is better to import the parts to be assembled locally than to import the end product. For example, in the Operations, Implementation Management and Sustainability, the lecturer gave an example of a company who saved on overall costs by importing the parts and assembling it locally instead of importing the end product. South Africa has very innovative people and we should start believing in what we have. When government or investors do not see th e potential of the innovative ideas, the innovators end up selling their ideas to other countries and end up importing the end product. We should spend more time in investing in these innovative ideas as this will increase our economic growth. Commercial Services Trade, which refers to construction, finance, computer, insurance, communication, cultural and recreational services, information, other businesses, royalties and other fees. In my opinion the percentage of exports and imports indicates that there is a lack of interest, interaction and investment in South Africa from other countries. Transportation in my opinion the percentage of exports is acceptable. The percentage of imports indicates that we lack the skills and knowledge to sustain our transportation. Travel the percentage of exports indicates that locals prefer to travel to other countries instead of our own. We should improve our tourism locally to encourage the locals and foreigners to explore South Africa. This country has so much to offer. Other commercial services in my opinion the percentage is acceptable. We are losing people who have the skills and knowledge in industries like medicine, engineering, technology and construction to other countries. We should be retaining these skills to build a better country. We should be investing in developing in our people, empowering them so that they have pride in themselves and are proud of their country, so they can make it a better place to live. 4. The Banking Sector, Organisation, Department and I The organisation forms part of the banking sector. The banking sector is linked to economic growth through enhancing the access to financial services, and increasing competitiveness of domestic financial markets both of which reduce the costs of financing. The basic role that the banking sector plays in the process of transferring savings to borrowers is risk sharing, providing liquidity, information and improving efficiency. If the financial markets are well developed, they improve the availability of funds to support borrowers and channel the funds to where the rates of returns are higher. Positive effects like this can increase the economic growth by larger capital accumulation with lower cost of financing and increased efficiency. But in some countries, the financial markets are not developed and market failures exist everywhere. By improving the access to financial services and the efficiency of financial go-between, which can reduce the cost of financing the banking sector, stimulates capital accumulation and economic growth. The role of money replaced the barter system. Each person could trade whatever he or she produced for one common thing. Money means a set of common prices can be established. Money is a medium of exchange between individuals and a way to distribute the ownership in society. It is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. Money is used for everyday spending and saving for the future. Saving money for future use is to ensure that the values of the savings do not decrease but increase overtime by through investments and earning of interest. Money helps our economy to work more smoothly, it has three key roles: A medium of exchange A unit of account or a standard of value A store of value for future use The characteristics of money: Durable Not easily produced by people Relatively scarce Not too scarce Easily transported Divisible The organisation needs to ensure that their products are inline with their competitors and maintain the supply of money and borrowing from clients. The Learning Solutions (LS) Department is in the process of becoming a self-sustaining system. We are working well together and have the same focus and goals. At our yearly meeting, we discuss the past year what we have accomplished, what obstacles we came across, how we can improve, what changes we would like to see and what our focus and goals will be for the coming year. We had looked at the functions of the Human Resources (HR) department and determined that there were common areas and functions that the HR department had. The LS department was a closed system and had no interconnections with them. The HR department have three subsystems namely, People Development, Administration and New Recruits. The overlapping of work areas are the new recruits and the people development. Changes needed to be made. The changes that HR department made: Administration is an open and closed system, they have confidential information that should not be shared with other employees (salaries and medical aid) and the employees submit general administration / queries New Recruits is an open and closed system, they too have confidential information that should not be shared with other employees (agreements between the Bank and employee) and information about the new recruits will be shared with the LS department People Development is an open and closed system, they have a good relationship with all the managers and know where employee development is required and this information will be shared with the LS department The changes that the LS department made: Develop a open relationship with the New Recruits team Develop a open relationship with the People Development team In making these changes we are enabling the growth of knowledge and empowerment in the employees. The employees are enabled to be efficient at their job. In being efficient and knowledgeable, they will enhance the growth of our clients and their investments which will assist the growth of the economy. Each individual contributes to the economy. How can I contribute to the economy? I need to understand my financial status and increase my wealth. I need to determine what money I save and invest for the future and invest in my country. I need to sustain my knowledge and personal growth. I need to be aware of the countrys financial status. I need to balance my needs with the available resources. 5. Inflation Consumer Habits and Behaviour The definition of inflation is the rise in prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time. When price levels rise, the unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. It is an erosion of the purchasing power of money. Inflation occurs when the price increase of goods and services are recorded over a period of time. The general price level is measured by the Consumer Price Index. As the price levels rise, the consumer habits and behaviour are affected. Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how and where people do or do not buy goods and services. It is about understanding the consumers buying decision-making process in an attempt to understand peoples wants. Habitual patterns of spending that consumers have over a period of time are the best thing that can happen to a brand. For this to happen there are two conditions that need to satisfy the consumer the brand in question must fall into a product category that elicits a low level of involvement from the consumer when considering purchasing the product and the consumer becomes a satisfied customer when buying the product the brand should deliver on what was promised. For the brand to be a part of the consumers habit, the critical requirement is the delivery of value on the first purchase. Inflation occurs when the demand for goods and services increase and the supply remains unchanged or the increase of cost of production which pushes up the price level. How does this affect the consumer? It is dependant on the affordability of the consumer. For example, in the beginning of the year 2008 I bought 6 chocolate muffins at Woolworths for R10.99. In 2009, the costs had increased to R24.99 for the same product. Due to the price increase, I no longer buy the chocolate muffins. 6. Microeconomics and Macroeconomics Microeconomics is the study of how household and organisations make decision to allocate limited resources. It examines the behaviour affect of the supply and demand of the goods and services which determines the prices which in turn determine the supply and demand of the goods and services. Macroeconomics deals with the performance, structure and behaviour of the entire world. It looks at indicators such as GDP, unemployment rates, price indexes to understand the whole economy functions. If the micro and macro economical performance was sustainably improved, the changes to the consumer behaviour would be: For Micro: Our environment would be more stable There would be overall well-being and enjoyment in individuals, less stress Depending on the individuals mindset, there would be more investment and spending The wealth of individuals would grow Decrease in crime Decrease in immigration of individuals Increase of skilled individuals Downfall is that there would be overspending and more debt For Macro: The economy would be more liquid There would be a growth in external investors The country would be more productive and innovative Increase of tourism Increase of entrepreneurship and resources Increase of the well being of the country Decrease of poverty 7. Conclusion Each one of us on an individual level has an affect on the economy, which affects the organisation, which affects the country. If the organisation wants to grow they need to have good leadership skills and delivery of goods and services. In my opinion the improvement of the economy starts with oneself. I have a good understanding of my own finances and how I can increase my wealth. I have realised that I need to improve my understanding of my organisation and how it affects the economy of the country. I need to improve my understanding of the economy of the country.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

My Metaphor Essay -- Essays Papers

My Metaphor Essay Metaphor is the language of poetry, emotion, and a part of everyday life. Without metaphor one could not verbally express deep emotions. Therefore, it is one of our most important threads of language. We could say that it is like the prime component of our DNA. I've once heard someone say that metaphor was the beautiful language of the gods and angels only to be expressed by poets and musicians. I say it is a gift the gods have given to us so that we could express our everyday emotional lives. I believe that poetry is the language of our dreams. When we try to write a poem we are trying to manifest or conjure up deep-seeded feelings like we do when we dream. Sigmund Freud theorized that this is what dreaming actually is. To Freud, dreams are metaphors for our deep feelings and thoughts. For instance, sometimes when we dream the imagery comes to us in bits and pieces that make it undecipherable to comprehend. When we wake up and try to understand our dreams it's like putting together a puzzle. This is what metaphor does for poetry and (of course) for our language. Metaphors work to conceal meanings to express the very meaning being expressed. For example, in the poem called "Pitcher" Robert Frances uses metaphor to compare pitching with poetry. "His art is eccentricity, his aim - How not to hit the mark he seems to aim at," is describing what a poet tries to do when he or she writes poetry. Robert is stating how a poets art is unique and how a poet â€Å"veils† his w ord meanings with the usage of metaphor. Yet, words must not be too unexplainable. It must be almost unexplainable. Robert Francis goes on to say, "Not to, yet still, still to communicate - Making the batter understand too late," as if to make the... ... lighting an obscure world - Of things that would never be quite expressed, - Where you yourself were never quite yourself - And did not want nor have to be." Metaphor is the obscure moon that lights our obscure world. Our emotions would never be quite expressed without the usage of metaphor. Our lives would be quite boring without being able to express ourselves thoroughly. Metaphor makes our lives a little easier to bear when we can describe our feelings and thoughts to our fellow man. I cannot remember who told me that metaphor was the language of the gods and angels. I can tell you that I remembered it and found it to be important. I still have to disagree about the part where only the gods and angels use metaphorical language. However, I do believe that it is a gift from the gods and angels given to us to express ourselves. Obviously without it we would be lost. My Metaphor Essay -- Essays Papers My Metaphor Essay Metaphor is the language of poetry, emotion, and a part of everyday life. Without metaphor one could not verbally express deep emotions. Therefore, it is one of our most important threads of language. We could say that it is like the prime component of our DNA. I've once heard someone say that metaphor was the beautiful language of the gods and angels only to be expressed by poets and musicians. I say it is a gift the gods have given to us so that we could express our everyday emotional lives. I believe that poetry is the language of our dreams. When we try to write a poem we are trying to manifest or conjure up deep-seeded feelings like we do when we dream. Sigmund Freud theorized that this is what dreaming actually is. To Freud, dreams are metaphors for our deep feelings and thoughts. For instance, sometimes when we dream the imagery comes to us in bits and pieces that make it undecipherable to comprehend. When we wake up and try to understand our dreams it's like putting together a puzzle. This is what metaphor does for poetry and (of course) for our language. Metaphors work to conceal meanings to express the very meaning being expressed. For example, in the poem called "Pitcher" Robert Frances uses metaphor to compare pitching with poetry. "His art is eccentricity, his aim - How not to hit the mark he seems to aim at," is describing what a poet tries to do when he or she writes poetry. Robert is stating how a poets art is unique and how a poet â€Å"veils† his w ord meanings with the usage of metaphor. Yet, words must not be too unexplainable. It must be almost unexplainable. Robert Francis goes on to say, "Not to, yet still, still to communicate - Making the batter understand too late," as if to make the... ... lighting an obscure world - Of things that would never be quite expressed, - Where you yourself were never quite yourself - And did not want nor have to be." Metaphor is the obscure moon that lights our obscure world. Our emotions would never be quite expressed without the usage of metaphor. Our lives would be quite boring without being able to express ourselves thoroughly. Metaphor makes our lives a little easier to bear when we can describe our feelings and thoughts to our fellow man. I cannot remember who told me that metaphor was the language of the gods and angels. I can tell you that I remembered it and found it to be important. I still have to disagree about the part where only the gods and angels use metaphorical language. However, I do believe that it is a gift from the gods and angels given to us to express ourselves. Obviously without it we would be lost.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Powerful Satire in Chaucers Canterbury Tales Essay -- Canterbury Tal

Powerful Satire in The Canterbury Tales If one theme can be considered overriding or defining throughout Medieval European society, it would most likely be the concept of social class structure. During this early historical period in Europe, most of society was divided into three classes or 'estates:' the workers, the nobles, and the clerics. By Chaucer's time, however, the powerful estate structure had begun to wear down. Weaknesses in the system became apparent, as many people, such as Chaucer himself, seemed to no longer belong to any one of the three estates. Wealthy merchants sometimes had more power and influence than poor noblemen, but the merchants technically remained mere workers or peasants. Even Chaucer, who was given the title of Esquire en Service, the lowest ranking of the noble class, was never truly considered a nobleman because he wasn't born into his title. With social structure failing the society and putting pressures on the already fractured classes, it isn't surprising that authors of the time such a s Chaucer began to make commentary on the estates in their works. Driven by his own feelings of class isolation, and his observations of the ludicrous behavior of the other classes, Chaucer clearly intended his work, The Canterbury Tales, to be a satire upon the estates. Central to understanding Chaucer's work is, one can see, coming to an understanding of Chaucer himself. Unlike modern works of fiction, which frequently lack any real sense of meaning beyond simple entertainment, Chaucer works a number of social critiques into The Canterbury Tales. His motivation is relatively clear: the social issues he chooses to address were the issues that largely shaped his life. "Chaucer and some of his peers were... ...trates an enlightened commentary on the three estates. By humorously satirizing the societies faults with pilgrim's such as the Summoner or the Pardoner, and applauding the positive influences on society, the true representatives of the three estates, the Knight, the Parson, and the Ploughman, Chaucer makes a bold and lasting statement on his society. Works Cited Benson, Larry D. The Riverside Chaucer. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987. Brewer, Derek. Writers and their Background: Geoffrey Chaucer. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1975. Cooper, Helen. Oxford Guides to Chaucer: The Canterbury Tales. Great Britain: Oxford University Press, 1989. Kellogg, Alfred L. Chaucer, Langland, Arthur: Essays in Middle English Literature. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1972. Strohm, Paul. Social Chaucer. England: Harvard University Press, 1989. Â  

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Effects of Antidepressants on Physical and Psychological Symptoms of Depression :: Nursing

This article informs about a study that makes the connection between psycholgogical and physical symptoms of depression, and it highlights new possibilities of treating physical complaints separately. It is a known fact that mostly unexplainable physical symptoms appear in depressed patients, and often they are the signals that indicate to physicians the presence of an affective disorder. These symptoms are most commonly: fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, nausea and back pain. In this research, 601 patients undergoing different therapies for their depression were chosen randomly to participate. Patients in this investigation were put through a longitudinal experiment to see how the symptoms of their depression, as well as their physical symptoms were altered with antidepressants. They were periodically asked to fill out a survey to assess their depression, psychological symptoms, and their quality of life. The experiments lasted 9 months, and the patients received these different antidepressants: paroxetine, fluoxetine, and sertraline. Almost half of the patients presented all common physical symptoms, and few developed new symptoms during the study. Although the physical symptoms had greatly improved in the first month of medication, they soon plateaued and ceased to improve, while the psychological symptoms such as mood and well-being continued to improve.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the end of this experiment, scientist learned that although the depression symptoms of patients almost disappeared, the physical symptoms, mostly the ones involving pain, had not continued to improve since the plateau in the first month of therapy.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Computer Security Measures Essay

The Problem and Its Scope The Internet and computer networking means that there is a need for new security measures to reduce the threats and challenges inherent from these new technologies and software applications and network devices. Information, network equipments, transmission media, computer systems, and servers are subject to threats. â€Å"Yet the use of information and communication technologies has increased the incidents of computer abuse.† Computer security involves safeguarding computing resources, ensuring data integrity, limiting access to authorized users, and maintaining data confidentiality. Effective computer security therefore involves taking physical security measures (to ensure hardware and media are not stolen or damaged), minimizing the risk and implications of error, failure or loss (for example by developing a resilient back-up strategy), appropriate user authentication (for example by employing strong pass wording), and possibly the encryption of sensitive files. We live in a world where â€Å"information wants to be free† and in which people are getting used to having access to whatever information they want anytime, anywhere and from a wider range of computing devices. Unfortunately, in terms of the security and control of the resources to which computers permit access, this can prove quite a problem. Indeed, many users unfortunately often view security and control measures as inhibitors to effective computer use. The student’s awareness about computer security measures can be a big help to them to acquire some knowledge about protection of their digital asset. In this sense, the students acquire knew knowledge on how to use computer security measures in order to protect all the data stored in their computer system. Because of the computers evolution, the researchers want to share the implications on how important the computer security measures, so that the respondents will be able to know on how to handle some cases in the future. Globally, the most used computer security measures are Anti-virus programs are the most frequently used tools to protect computer systems, and they must be upgraded regularly to protect against any new viruses. Firewall  is different from anti-virus software, which simply verifies that a file is virus free. You can also add an anti-spy ware program. Spy ware is a small program downloaded onto your computer via the internet, usually with your approval, to collect information. Anti-spy ware operates a lot like an anti-virus program, but its role is to prevent malicious spy ware (or malware) from sneaking onto your computer and transmitting your personal data. Firewall intercepts and controls traffic between networks with differing levels of trust. It is part of the network perimeter defense of an organization and should enforce a network security policy. By Cheswick’s and Bellovin’s definition, it provides an audit trail. A firewall is a good place to support strong user authentication as well as private or confidential communications between firewalls. As pointed out by Chapman and Zwicky [2] , firewalls are an excellent place to focus security decisions and to enforce a netw ork security policy. They are able to efficiently log internet work activity, and limit the exposure of an organization. The exposure to attack is called the â€Å"zone of risk.† If an organization is connected to the Internet without a firewall, every host on the private network can directly access any resource on the Internet. Or to put it as a security officer might, every host on the Internet can attack every host on the pri vate network. In the Philippines, some of the businesses are employing security products, such as intrusion detection system and firewalls, and other internal controls which are meant to safeguard, physically and logically, all servers and information systems, including the data stored in the systems. In Davao City, many colleges’ offers IT courses and one of these schools is the Holy Cross of Davao College. Some computer security measures used in some colleges are anti-virus, firewall, ad ware, spy ware and etc. This help to secure data from viruses, unauthorized a ccess, hardware failure and hardware theft. Rationale of the Study The term Information Technology is the area of managing technology and spans wide variety of areas that include computer software, information systems, computer hardware, programming languages but are not limited to things such as processes, and data constructs. In short, anything renders data,  information or perceived knowledge in any visual format whatsoever, via any multimedia distribution mechanism, is considered part of the Information Technology (IT) domain. Computer security is to prevent or detect unauthorized actions by users of the system. The protection of data stored in your computer system. The protection of data (information security) is the most important. The protection of networks is important to prevent loss of server resources as well as to protect the network from being used for illegal purposes. The objective of this study is to know the level of awareness and utilization of all first year BSIT students in terms of computer viruses, unauthorized access, and hardware failure and hardware theft. Theories and Concept This study was anchored on the concept of Dynamic awareness theory (DAT) offers an alternative to explaining the creation of awareness in distributed work groups. DAT highlights the important role of users and social practices in awareness creation. The theory further points to the dynamic nature of awareness creation: Awareness emerges over time and depreciates when not being actively attended to by the users. A person’s awareness is not a static state which can be arbitrarily turned on and off. It is rather a slow build-up of information about his surroundings (Kai Riemer, Russel Haines, 2008).  This theory of awareness is use to conceptualize each individual of their daily awareness about what happen in their community, because awareness requires active maintenance because it diminishes over time. Independent variable Dependent variable Figure 1. Conceptual Framework Showing the Variables of the Study The response of the first year BSIT students in the level of awareness and utilization about computer security measures in terms of Virus, Unauthorized Access, Hardware Failure and Hardware Theft depends with the experiences  they encountered in their system in which it is the basis of the reasons for the awareness of the students. Statement of the Problems 1. What is the level of awareness of the respondents about computer security measures against the following threats: a.Virus b.Unauthorized access c.Hardware failure d.Hardware theft 2. What is the level of utilization of the respondents on computer security measures? 3. What is the most practiced computer security measure by the respondents? 4. What is the least practiced computer security measure by the respondents? 5. Is there a significant difference between the level of awareness and utilization of the computer security measures by the respondents? Method The researches conduct this type of research in order to obtain certain information about the computer security measures. The researchers used descriptive assessment method in order to meet the objective of the study. To gather data, the researchers use these procedures in order to analyze the data that has been collected. Research Design In order to determine the level of awareness and utilization about computer security measures, the descriptive assessment method of research is used. This is used by the researches because the objective of this study is to determine the level of awareness and utilization within the first year BSIT students without affecting them in any way. Descriptive research design exhibits specific subject and as precursor to more quantitative studies. The actual survey is conducted during the second semester of the year 2011-2012. The procedure used is carefully, analyzed in order to obtain accurate information. Research Environment The researchers conducted a research to a certain private school. The Holy Cross of Davao College is located at Sta. Avenue Davao City. The respondents of this research are all first year BSIT students. Respondents of the Study To achieve the desire information, all first year BSIT students of Holy Cross of Davao College were the participants of the study. They were chosen because they are not more knowledgeable compared to the higher years. The selected numbers of respondents were expected to give their honest answers. Research Instruments In this study, the researches use questionnaire as research instrument. It is most common instrument or tool of research for obtaining data beyond the physical reach of the observer.  Part I of the questionnaire is the level of awareness of all first year BSIT students towards computer security measures in terms of Viruses, Unauthorized access, Hardware Failure and Hardware Theft. Part II of the questionnaire is the level of utilization of all first year BSIT students towards computer security measures in terms of Viruses, Unauthorized access, Hardware Failure and Hardware Theft. Data Gathering Procedures In gathering data procedure, first the researchers conceptualized what study to conduct and arrived to a research title â€Å"Level of Awareness and Utilization of All First Year BSIT students about Computer Security Measures†. The research title was approved by the research adviser with the panel of examiners. After the approval of the title, a questionnaire was established to answer the research study was validated. Data Analysis The following statistical tools were employed to answer pertinent problems of the study, as follows: Frequency Count: This tool was used to count the number of items of the respondents who are aware and unaware about the computer security measures and its utilization. Weighted Mean: The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The notion of weighted mean plays a role in descriptive statistics and also occurs in a more general form in several other areas of mathematics.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Off Job and on Job Analysis Essay

Introduction of Topic The subject study is aimed to investigate an issue i. e. â€Å"Comparative Analysis of on-job & off-job training effects on employee performance† for this I have select to method of training off job training and two moderate variables environment and trainers which control on employee performance. On job training and off job training variable are conducted as comparative variable while other variable conducted as moderate variables. In general the organizations are using performance appraisals in order to appraise their employees and to assess their annual performance. Performance Appraisals have become a management craze over the past decade whereby every organization seems to think that by faithfully adhering to this practice, people within the organization will grow and develop in the company image. Nothing could be further from reality. Experience has proved to me that since those who are carrying out the assessment are usually poorly trained, poorly prepared and with an ‘ I am your boss so I must be more effective than you’ attitude. The result is often than not highly subjective and of very little value to either the organization or to assess. Every human resource manager knows that through training they can improve the skills or performance of employees or work force. But I want to clear which training method is most beneficial for work force. So that human resource manger would provide that training method which is most suitable for improve the performance of employees. For this purpose I conduct my research and comparative analysis that which training method is efficient and which factor influence more on performance of an employee. Problem Statement: Comparative Analysis of on-job & off-job training effects on employee performance Objective Statement: From side to side training can get better the skills or achievement of employees. My objective of conduct a comparative research is to find out efficient method of training to enhance or improve the skill of employee. Introduction to Variables: Dependent variable: Performance of Employee Independent Variables: On job training, Off job training Moderate Variables: Environment, Trainers Chapter 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE. Training on the job has become a major source of skill buildup for workers in the last two decades due to the rapid pace of technological change. Studies by Bishop (1994) and Bartle and Lichtenburg (1987), among others, establish that a well-trained workforce provides returns to employers in the form of higher productivity and better flexibility to technological change. Hence, there is a strong incentive for employers to sponsor training for their workforce. However, employers also need to think with the possibility that workers may quit before employers can fully realize the benefits of the training that was provided. For nearly three decades since Becker (1964) classified training as general training (training that builds skills transferable to other firms) or specific training (training that builds firm-specific skills), researchers have assumed that employers would be more willing to sponsor specific training as opposite to general training that could be used elsewhere. However, many recent experimental studies have failed to provide any evidence for this idea. Instead, experimental research has consistently found that most employer-sponsored training does, in fact, provide employees with skills that are transferable to other employers (i.e. , that most employer-sponsored training should be classified as general training). Studies by Barron, Berger and Black (1999), Lowenstein and Splatter (1999), Booth and Bryan (2002) find, that most or all the training that is sponsored by employers result in workers acquiring general skills that can be used at other firms. Such recent findings have sparked a changed interest in the following question: do workers who acquire transferable skills from employer-sponsored training continue working in the same job or do they seek better returns for their newly acquired skills from other  employers? While this question has been explored in many recent studies, most of this research (possibly due to the nature of the survey data available) has focused on younger workers or a cross-section of workers. In doing this, workers who are in the middle of their careers – a subset of workers who enjoy a considerable benefit from training – have been overlooked; it is well-understood that the type of training undergone by young workers is considerably different from the re-training of mid-career workers. De Grip and Van Loo (2002) detail the various ways, in which a workers skill may degrade over the course of a career, necessitating corrective on-the-job training is often essential to maintaining worker productivity. In this context, it could be reasonably expected that the nature of training mid-career employees receive would take fundamentally different forms than training for the labor force at large. Also, workers tend to be highly mobile between jobs early in their careers; Topel and Ward (1992), for example, show that a typical worker holds seven different jobs during the first 10 years of his/her career, with the rate of job mobility then declining significantly. Hence, employers may be more willing to sponsor general training for such workers, believing that they would be more likely to experience the rewards of this training due to the decreased job mobility at this stage of the worker’s career. Effective training programmers’ require the dedicated support of top management (Motwani, Frahm et al. 1994). Such organizations provide training mapped to employee and organizational needs (Mann, 1997), and provide this at the proper time. Yet, not all companies place the same emphasis on, or show the same commitment to employee training (Roberts and McDonald, 1995; Hughey and Mussnug, 1997). Some companies work hard to recruit the best people and yet spend relatively little effort to retain them once hired (Cappelli, 2000). There is evidence to show that benefits follow to organizations that are committed to employee training (Wills, 1994). Organizations that place a high value on training give resources to the management of the training process. They devote time to ensuring that employees get the training programmers’ that is most appropriate for them given their existing IT skill sets (Eighteen, 1999). Such firms are most successful at maximizing the effectiveness of their training programs (Huang, 2001). Organizations that commit effort and finances to training programmers’ and employee development do so with the  objective of a pay-off in terms of increased skill-sets, increased motivation, increased knowledge transfer (Pate, Martin et al. , 2000), more positive psychological and organizational dynamics, as well as a measurable aggressive edge. The use of training courses future outstrips what is known of their usefulness (Foxon, 1989; Schonewille, 2001). Mann (1996) maintains that despite heavy investment in training, organizations can frequently fail to evaluate adequately the value or success of their training programmes. Organizations that devote considerable resources to training also understand the value of evaluating the training process (Motswana, Frahm et al. , 1994; Mann, 1996). Such evaluation is a key phase in any proposed training and development process (Al-Khayyat and Elgamal, 1997). While such appraisal is desirable in principle it is difficult in practice (Morris, 1984). Even those companies who do carry out evaluations often use measures later considered ineffective (Schonewille, 2001). The most common metric of evaluation is trainee perceptions . Such assessments are random, informal, and unstructured evaluations of training programmers, which tend to be post training appraisals rather than approaching the evaluation of training programmers from their design stages (James and Rolfe, 2000). Many forms of training exist ( Switzer and Kleiner, 1996; Huang, 2001). The range of training techniques has been expanded by the application of technology in its â€Å"hard† (for example through computing technology) and â€Å"soft† (for example through instructional design) (Sadler-Smith, Down et al. , 2000). In relation to IT training, many methodologies for the approach to and delivery of training can be used: forms of training include instructor console training in a classroom situation, stand-alone terminals with remote instruction, computer based training (CBT) without instructor, hypermedia training (a computer based method of non-sequential reading and writing, a technique with which chunks of information can be arranged and rearranged according to an individual’s needs, previous knowledge, and curiosities (Higginbotham-Wheat, 1992; Murray, 1998)), self-paced training using a variety of delivery methods (Compeau, 1995), distance learning (whether by videoconferencing, email, or other method). Learning networks, simulations, groupware communication, use of mentors or coaches, job rotation, management games, role playing and behavior modeling (Williams, 2001), or Internet based training. While many new training approaches based on new technology  exist, these modern training methods have been subjected to comparatively little empirical or critical study (Sadler-Smith, Down et al. , 2000). The literature suggests that that some of the most effective training techniques are not new, but are merely the application of old-fashioned common sense to the assessment of training needs (Switzer and Kleiner, 1996; Sadler-Smith, Down et al. , 2000; Smith, 2002). Sadler-Smith et al. (2000) believe that flexibility of delivery is a fundamental issue for smaller firms, to which open/distance/technology-based learning may present a workable solution; however, the modernity of some delivery methods may in itself lead to assumption of applicability and efficiency. Bostrom at all (1988) argue that the delivery method can directly influence the effectiveness of, and the benefits accrued from training. Read and Kleiner (1996) present the most commonly used training methods across non-industry specific U. S Companies. They found that the top ten training methods used in business, listed in order from highest to lowest use, were: videotapes, lectures, one-on-one instruction, role plays, games/simulation, case studies, slides, computer-based training, audio tapes, and films. In a survey carried out by 450 respondents, Mathews et al. (2001) studied the incidence of training delivery methods across non-industry specific organizations in the U.K. , Portugal, and Finland within the context of benefits accrued. They found that training methods most commonly used tended to be traditional, with little impact evident of more HITECH methods. Traditional methods included external short courses, internal lectures and seminars, issuing of training manuals and materials to be self-taught, using training videos, short demonstrations, and the delegation of training responsibilities to training consultants. This study found that in-house participative seminars were the preferred training delivery method in the UK, whereas external short courses were the preferred method in Finland and Portugal. Impersonal methods such as training videos, and internet or Computer-based training, were viewed across the UK, Finland, and Portugal as poor methods. In contrast, highly personal methods of training such as participative courses and seminars were viewed as the most effective and highly regarded methods. From a company perspective, training and development of company employees are essential for organizational operation, and organizational development. From an employee perspective, these same factors are both vital and critical for skill development and for career advancement. Retention of employees, and the retention of valued skill sets, is important for continued business achievements (Mak and Sockel, 1999). The successful retention of employees leads to knowledge conservation within the organization (Cappelli, 2000). Employee turnover may lead to a loss of human resources weakening competitive positions. At a company level, mechanisms that allow for and promote knowledge transfer amongst employees can help minimize the effect of the loss of skilled staff to other companies (Cappelli, 2000). Training employees leads to increased employee satisfaction, facilitates the updating of skills, leads to an increased sense of belonging and benefit, increased employee commitment to the organization (Bushardt, Fretwell et al. , 1994), and strengthens the organization’s competitiveness (Hughey and Mussnug, 1997; Burden and Proctor, 2000). Job-related training increases an employee’s ability to perform job-related tasks. Job satisfaction is an important motivator for employee performance and is negatively related to turnover (Mak and Sockel, 1999). Company commitment to the training needs of its employees positively influences employee satisfaction, leading to an increase in employee motivation and an increase in retention (Mak and Sockel, 1999; Ranft and Lord, 2000). Such commitment culminates in employee exposure to quality job-related training, leading to better employee morale, an increased sense of employee achievement and accomplishment (Elizur, 1996), and ultimately to an increase in organizational competitiveness. Whilst company commitment to training for its employees positively affects retention and leads to desirable outputs, there are many different categories and types of training (Switzer and Kleiner, 1996; Huang, 2001; Mathews, Ueno et al. , 2001). To have positive results, organizational commitment to training must tie closely to appropriate effective training methods and training delivery mechanisms. In terms of training methodologies, what may be appropriate for one company (or employee) may not be for another. This paper describes a descriptive study, which assesses the impact of training on employee retention, and examines the relationship between organizational commitment to training and benefits accrued. Results of the study demonstrate that organizational attitudes and provision for training relate positively to employee expectations and requirements. Findings indicate that well-engineered training initiatives lead to increased organizational strength, job-related employee competencies, and job satisfaction. The study finds that training helps in retaining knowledge within the organization, but may not help in retaining employees. The main method of training delivery is by instructor-led formal sessions, followed by self-training and workshops. Findings show that more modern methods such as web-based and computer based training are not pervasive. Almost one third of respondents believe that training received has not helped to reduce job-related stress. More than one quarter of respondents indicate that their organization does not structure training based on employee feedback on requirements. There are many cases where the training needs of employees have not been sufficiently addressed and cases where organizations have not evaluated the quality or effectiveness of training programmers, making return on investment hard to measure. To succeed, an organization must create an environment that not only attracts people to join and give their best every day, but one that also strives to retain existing staff. The retention of talented experienced, productive and knowledgeable employees can be a source of competitive advantage for companies (King, 1997; Cheng and Brown, 1998; Roepke, Agarwal et al. , 2000). The maintenance of employees provides staff stability, which aids organizational knowledge retention (Cappelli, 2000), offers the opportunity to raise quality standards through continuous improvement practices (Motwani, Frahm et al. , 1994) and facilitates the achievement of more reliable customer care (Rowley and Purcell, 2001). It is important for employers to identify and to understand their employees’ viewpoints on what the employees consider to be the most important aspects of their jobs, if employees are to be more content (Ventakesh, 1999; Mulder, 2001). While staff retention in general is important, the retention of IT employees is vital for business success (Mak and Sockel, 1999; MacDonald, Gabriel et al. , 2000). understanding IT leaders recognize that the greatest impediments to success are often related to people rather than to information, technology, and systems (Roepke, Agarwal et al. , 2000). Considering the high costs associated with replacing IT staff and their experience, it makes sense for companies to invest in mechanisms designed to keep IT staff longer (Mak and Sockel, 1999; Moore, 2000). One such staff retention mechanism is the use of employee training programmes for existing members of staff (Mulder, 2001). The use of such programmes in recent times by employers may have more to do with securing employee commitment in uncertain times than about transforming skill levels (Hallier and Butts, 1999). As such, for some organizations the key objective of training is to increase employee commitment to the organization and to create a culture that underlines the value of long-term employment. Mak and Sockel (1999) found that most employees consider career development a priority motivational tool; and once motivated, they are more likely to be devoted to their job and the company’s retention rate should improve. As such, management commitment to the development of the employee can significantly affect retention, even in situations where economic incentives such as incremental salary increases do not (Ranft and Lord, 2000). Specific training initiatives have specific goals. These include the improvement of employee job performance, employee development (Burden and Proctor, 2000), the development of skills, knowledge, and attitudes (Al-Khayyat and Elgamal, 1997), and a means of achieving a competitive edge (Hughey and Mussnug, 1997; Hallier and Butts, 2000). Given the fast obsolescence of IT specific skills there is a repeated need to provide opportunities for employees to update their technical skill sets. The failure to provide such training increase the chance of failure and such companies may pay more in the long run (Auer, 1995). Organizations must respond to demands for change while at the same time realizing that advances in technology and knowledge are rendering many traditional employee skills obsolete, while simultaneously developing needs for new ones (Read and Kleiner, 1996). It is this continuous risk of knowledge obsolescence that makes training and retraining necessary, not only for individual growth but also for organizational growth (Read and Kleiner, 1996). Within the IT sector, training can be considered to encompass organized, structured, formal events and sessions offered to IT employees as a company initiative. This paper does not consider on-the-job daily experiences to be classed as formal training, although such experiences can aid the development of skills related to job functions (Sadler-Smith, Down et al. , 2000; Smallbone, Supri et al. , 2000). The beginning of the modern concern about skills and economic competitiveness in the United States came perhaps with the government report, A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983), which documented the poor academic performance of U. S. students compared to those of major competitor nations. Studies such as Baumol, Blackman, and Wolff (1989) focused attention on the long-run and comparative performance of the U. S. economy. Piore and Sabel (1984), Cohen and Zysman (1987), and others drew attention to the importance of production work to an economy and to the fact that work organization and employee skills influenced the competitiveness of manufacturing firms and their ability to adapt to changing markets. Dertouzos, Lester, Solow, and the Industrial Productivity (1989) developed these views into an argument about declining U. S. competitiveness that became almost a standard for future studies. The work organization and management structures of U. S. firms rely too much on outdated scientific management approaches. They are hierarchical, based on narrow job titles and unskilled workers, and, as a result, are not as flexible in adjusting to changing markets as the competitor firms in other countries. The more flexible techniques of Japanese management in particular demand higher skills from the labor force. Other studies soon pounced on the connection between skills, productivity, and economic performance. Both America’s Choice (1990) and the Office of Technology Assessment’s report (1990) argued that higher levels of skills in the workforce were necessary in order to develop the new, more productive systems of work organization and compete successfully with other nations. With these reports as a backdrop, the Secretary of Labor’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) was established in 1990 to identify the skills that the workplace was demanding. In its various reports, the Commission has argued forcefully that new types of organizations and new arrangements for organizing work—employee empowerment, teams, and new work technologies—require new skills and a higher level of existing skills from workers. Furthermore, the skills that are required are at least in part general work skills that translate across employers and industries. Both employers and individual workers are seen as benefiting from those higher skills (SCANS, 1992). Arguments like these have in large measure been responsible for a new thrust in public policy toward raising skill levels, especially through schooling. The National Goals for Education, for example, is an effort to raise educational standards in the country at least in part to improve competitiveness. The list of skills identified by SCANS as reasonably generic to the U. S. economy has been used to drive the curriculum in high schools and in training programs such as the Job Corps and those funded by the Job Training Partnership. The School-to-Work Opportunities Act, passed by Congress to establish school-to-work change programs like youth apprenticeships, is also designed to raise work-related skills. Given the speed with which these arguments have moved forward, it is indeed surprising to find so little experiential research that examines the relationship between skills, worker productivity, and economic performance. It is not obvious, in the absence of empirical evidence; those higher levels of skills will necessarily lead to better economic performance. Unless jobs require or allow workers to make use of higher skills, for example, one should not expect performance to improve when skills increase. Further, jobs that require higher levels of skills now than in the past still may not tax the skills that employees already have. In assembly jobs, for example, the initial skill requirements are so low that they could rise substantially and still be within the set that virtually all workers possess. Loewenstein and Spletzer (1999), Booth and Bryan (2002) find, that most or all the training that is sponsored by employers result in workers acquiring general skills that can be used at other firms. Such recent findings have sparked a renewed interest in the following question: do workers who acquire transferable skills from employer-sponsored training continue working in the same job or do they seek better returns for their newly acquired skills from other employers? While this question has been explored in many recent studies, most of this research (possibly due to the nature of the survey data available) has focused on younger workers or a cross-section of workers. Finally, where skills are in shortage, the relevant skills may be job-specific ones that are typically seen as being the responsibility of the employer to provide. Perhaps the main reason for the lack of research on skills and performance is the difficulty in obtaining direct measures of an employee’s skill. What are typically available are aggregate measures of the amount of education and training workers receive. These are the inputs that should produce skill and that are related to indirect measures of performance. The body of research on the economic returns on education is particularly wide and may have some relevance for these questions. Human capital research clearly finds that employees with more education earn more, suggesting that the skills they have are valued in the market. Whether education is simply a alternate or screen for some other desirable characteristic, such as resolve, is a complicating factor in the argument. The fact that the return on education appears to be rising over the past decade—rising rapidly for college graduates and falling sharply for high school dropouts— suggests that such education is increasingly valuable in the labor market (cf. Levy & Murnane, 1992). The fact that both initial and further education and training earn a higher return suggests that some of the skills associated with education are increasingly valuable (see Tuijnman, 1992, for references to research in Colombia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and the United States). But for which specific skills is the return being earned? Research on the relationship between vocational course work and subsequent job performance may shed some light on this question. Vocational education programs typically provide training for specific occupations, and research on the labor market outcomes for students in these programs can help in understanding the effects of general or vocational skills on the economy. Altonji (1992) found that students who took more vocational courses earned higher wages, other things being equal. Other studies find that enrollment in vocational education programs improves participants’ labor market experience but only for those who find jobs in the field for which they received training (e. g. , Campbell, Eliot, Laughlin, & Suesy, 1987). High school students who participate in vocationally oriented programs like workstudy and co-op substitute on-the-job training for academic classes, andstudies suggest that they do not necessarily do better in the labor market than those who did not participate in such programs (Bishop, Blakemore, & Low, 1985). Hollenbeck (cited in Stern, Stone, Finkelstein, Latting, & Martinez, 1993) found that students enrolled in occupationally based technical training following high school did better in the labor market than did those who pursued a baccalaureate program. It is difficult to draw reliable conclusions from these studies about the skills needed to improve economic performance (Berryman, 1994; Stern & Tuijnman, in press). The fact that vocational skills pay off when graduates find jobs in their field of training but not otherwise may indicate, for example, that the programs help simply by giving access to a well-paying job market. In one of the few studies that attempts to sort out the source of higher wages, Grubb (1991) concludes that the return on a two-year college degree comes mainly from access to better paying occupations than are available to non-degree workers and not from obtaining higher paying jobs within the same occupation. The latter measures the extent to which education produces higher performance for the economy as a whole. The complication noted above about interpreting evidence on returns from education is that education may function as a screen for some other desirable characteristic, such as persistence, that covaries with educational attainment and drives success. One way around this problem is to examine individuals’ skills directly, as opposed to their educational attainment. Bishop’s (1991) comparison of workers’ wages with their scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery is one example of this approach. (Al-Khayyat and Elgamal, 1997) He finds that higher competencies were not associated with higher starting wages. Basic academic competencies such as mathematical ability actually received a negative premium from the labor market while vocational skills such as typing speed earned a considerable premium. , (Hughey and Mussnug, 1997; Hallier and Butts, 2000). These competencies were related, however, to performance on the job as measured by the reports of supervisors. SCANS conducted its own, although indirect, test of the relationship between skills and performance by examining the current wages for a sample of jobs and the SCANS competencies associated with them (SCANS, 1992, p. 9). Not surprisingly, it was found that jobs requiring higher skills pay more. As noted above, however, it is not clear what to conclude from this. It does not indicate, for example, that workers with higher skills perform better in the same job or that the economy would be better off if skills levels rose. A second complication about interpreting evidence from the economic returns on skills as measured by wages is that such skills raise wages in two ways. The first is by providing access to higher paying occupations, and the second is by helping improve performance within occupations. The policy interest associated with the arguments above is mainly with the second relationship. While jobs in medicine, for example, require higher skills and pay individuals more, the economy as a whole cannot grow by making more and more people into doctors. Even for individuals, the gains from expanding access to higher wage occupations face the well-known fallacy of composition. If the supply of workers with the skills needed to fill a particular job rose, the wages associated with that job would fall, as would its desirability. Performance and wages can grow, however, if all workers become more productive at their current jobs. An alternative approach, therefore, is to examine the relationship between skills and job performance within one’s current job, using actual job productivity measures for the estimates. Most of these studies come from personnel psychology where they form the basis of attempts to validate selection procedures (see, e. g. , American Psychological Association, American Educational Research Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education [Joint Committee], 1985). Studies of skills that might generalize across settings concentrate mainly on academic material of the kind associated with classroom instruction. Academic skills as measured by aptitude tests can be reasonably good predictors of job performance (cf. Barrett & Depinet, 1991). The best known of these tests is the General Abilities Test Battery (GATB), which is used extensively by the employment service. The cognitive composite scale from GATB measures traditional academic skills such as verbal and numeric skill. It is related to job performance at roughly the same level as vocational skills, which correlate at levels between . 20 and . 30 (see National Research Council, 1989). Academic performance as measured by grades in school, however, is a substantially worse predictor of job performance (cf. Hunter & Hunter, 1984; Schmitt, Goodling, Noe, & Kirsch, 1984). Other studies use organizational performance measures to examine the relationship with skills. Bartel and Lichtenberg (1987) find, for example, that the rate of innovation is higher in industries that have more educated workers. Cohen and Levinthal (1990) also find that firms that have made a greater investment in learning experience greater innovations. Overall, the results surveyed above suggest that job performance—and ultimately economic performance—might be improved by raising academic skills in the workforce as a whole. 2 With respect to the policy arguments above, however, it is not clear which skills are the important ones for performance or whether new work systems are creating higher demands for skills. SCANS essentially performed a job analysis for the economy as a whole, producing a set of basic skills that are said to generalize across virtually all jobs in the workplace. While all job analyses are somewhat subjective, the SCANS skills are similar to those generated by other widely used job analyses such as the Position Analysis Questionnaire (McCormick & Jeanneret, 1988). SCANS identified two categories of these general skills: foundation skills associated with traditional academic education and interpersonal skills, and workplace competencies, which are more practical and vocational, applying skills to a workplace context.