Informative Synthesis free essay sample

Every day our environment is ravaged by emissions, littered on by billions of people, and carelessly treated with unlimited sources. Environmentalists like Bill Mckibben, scholar at Middle berry College and author of the article â€Å"The Challenge to Environmentalism,† believe that â€Å"the relationship between people and the natural world has been largely taken for granted for most of human history† (500). Although environmentalism to some people mean driving less, establishing solar panels, recycling and more; Kate Zernike, reporter for the New York Times and author of â€Å"Green, Greener, Greenest,† informs us about college campus’s taking shortcuts in claiming they’re â€Å"environmentally friendly. † There are environmentalists and deans attempting to make a difference in our environment, but Michael Pollan – a professor of science and environmental journalism at the University of California – asks the question, why bother with trying to cure climate change? Our Environment is an important aspect of human lives, and should be taken care of like our own children. We will write a custom essay sample on Informative Synthesis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Our concepts of environmentalism, the way we conduct ourselves in everyday life, and our battle with climate change and environmentalism economically are all factors of a hazardous home we will soon live in. Environmentalism is considered â€Å"a hollow concept,† argues Zernike, through the purchasing of offsets she believes it’s â€Å"the environmental equivalent of paying someone to eat broccoli so you can keep eating ice cream† (505). Offsets are credits sold by companies, specifically green companies to invest in planting trees or renewable energy. What Zernike means by this is it’s not ethically permissible to give someone money to help the environment while you personally continue to pollute it, especially when that money given to the company doesn’t always go towards funding the struggle for carbon neutrality. Pollan agrees with Zernike’s argument, the infinite cycle of repairing what we’re damaging, keeping us at a standstill for carbon neutrality and climate change for years to come. Pollan knows that â€Å"halfway around the world their lives my evil twin . . . who’s itching to replace every last pound of CO2 I’m trying not to emit† (509). Although Pollan doesn’t argue about offsets, he provides an example of double effect environmentally; that if walking to work increases your appetite and causes you to consume more meat or milk as a result, walking might actually emit more carbon than driving Mckibben on the other hand looks at the more general picture of environmentalism, how humans have had effected the environment we currently live within and around. Mckibben doesn’t disagree with Zernike and Pollan on environmentalism, he believes the relations we have with nature have been taken for granted. Mckibben doesn’t even call environmentalism in that name itself, instead personally renaming as the Global Warming Movement. Mckibben argues that people believe wildness is less important than community. Environmentalists today prioritize building windmills over protecting our wildlife from their blades. These small choices we make will be the difference in how our world will be perceived in the future. After taking into consideration of the billions of people on our planet, we come to realize how large of an impact the way we live has on our world. Our daily life too many environmentalists are considered a virus to earth as a whole. Mckibben argues that â€Å"we had a great effect on particular places around us [such as] our fields and forests† (500). Cutting down forests changes hydrological cycles, environmental patterns, and habitat patterns. Although deforestation is a priority to prevent, Zernike is focusing on changing the concepts of our lives to improve our environment. After claiming that going green is good for a college campus’s public image, Zernike tells us about the efforts students make in revolutionizing the way students learn, consume, and sleep. Although changes such as installing windmills, evolving trash bins to composts, and using biodegradable eating utensils are significant efforts to change the way we live, Michael Pollan argues that this all doesn’t matter. Pollan continues to assess his argument that attempting to cure climate change is irrational, he tells us that â€Å"the ‘big problem’ is nothing more or less than the sum total of countless everyday choices, most made by us, most made by desires, needs, and preferences† (510). Everyone making these innumerable amount of choices against our environment suddenly expects laws and money to take action to fix it, Pollan argues that â€Å"it is no less accurate to say that laws and money cannot do enough, it will also take profound changes in the way we live,† changes that cannot be made by legislation or technology (510). Our economy cannot support replacing our carbon footprint. Pollan argues that we look to our leaders and money to save us from the situation we’ve gotten ourselves into. Cheap energy, which Pollan argues made specialization possible, gave us climate change, The mentality of specialization is causing people to believe and wait for a new technology to emerge and solve our problem of climate change. Kate Zernike explains to us college campuses have begun hiring specialized sustainability coordinators to increase their green rating and environmental efficiency. Although sustainability coordinators have a â€Å"timetable for becoming carbon neutral . . . 12. 5 million was spent to make the buildings within the campus more efficient† (506). Bill Mckibben believes that â€Å"the economy can’t do the job anymore, in part because the excessive consumption is precisely what drives the environmental crisis we find ourselves in† (502). Mckibben also argues that the farmers market is the fastest growing part of the food economy in America, because it provides more economically sensible and healthy food. Whether environmentalists like Bill Mckibben think the concepts of the environmental movement should be changed to the global warming movement, revolutionizing our concepts of living and daily life by going green and making our buildings more efficient like Kate Zernike, and explaining to us how all these attempts to save the world from global warming doesn’t matter like Michael Pollan. In order to combat our problem with climate change we need the cooperation of the billions of people that inhabit our world.

Japanese Colonialism In Korea Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Japanese Colonialism In Korea Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Japanese Colonialism in Korea North and South Korea are nations that while filled with contempt for Japan have used the foundations that Japan laid during the colonial period to further industrialization. Japan's colonization of Korea is critical in underezding what enabled Korea to industrialize in the period since 1961. Japan's program of colonial industrialization is unique in the world. Japan was the only colonizer to locate various heavy industry is in its colonies. By 1945 the industrial plants in Korea accounted for about a quarter of Japan's industrial base. Japan's colonization of Korea was therefore much more comparable to the relationship between England and Ireland then that of European colonization of Asia or Africa. Japan's push to create colonial industry lead Japan to build a vast network of railroads, ports, and a system of hydro-electric dams and heavy industrial plants around the Yalu River in what is now North Korea. The Japanese to facilitate and manage the industrialization of a colony also put in place a strong central government. Although Japan's colonial industrialism in Korea was aimed at advancing Japanese policies and goals and not those of the Korean populace; colonization left Korea with distinct advantages over other developing countries at the end of World War Two. Korea was left with a base for industrializing, a high level of literacy, experience with modern commerce, and close ties to Japan. Japan's colonial heavy industrial plants were located primarily around the Yalu River in North Korea. Because of this the North had an edge in industrialization. For many years the North had the fastest growth rates of the communist countries, and its cities were on par with those of Eastern Europe. It was not until the early 1970's that the South surpassed the North in levels of industrialization. Because most of the heavy industrial plants were either located in North Korea or destroyed by the Korean War the groundwork for industrialization that South Korea received from Japanese colonialism consisted mostly of social changes. During colonialism Korea's populace in increasing numbers moved to cities and became urbanized these new urbanites worked in factories and were used to the organization of modern commerce. The Japanese also let a small number of Koreans develop into a semi-elite. Although this group never held powerful positions many of them were educated in Japanese schools, and became either involved in the military or worked as businessmen, bureaucrats, lawyers, and doctors. This elite provided much of the leadership and framework for post World War Two Korean Government in Korea. They had an intimate knowledge of Japanese companies, language, organizational structure, and government. The Korean elites that emerged after the liberation of 1945 and helped steer Korea's economic policies under Park Chung Hee had an intimate knowledge of Japan. Some of them like Park had been educated in Japanese schools, some had worked for the Japanese, and nearly all of them spoke fluent Japanese. It was this closeness to Japan both geographically and culturally that made it natural for the Koreans to use the Japanese model of industrialization when Japan's economy boomed in the 1960's and 1970's. The leaders of Korea were ambivalent about relying on Japan, on one hand they felt a profound respect for Japan and its successes and on the other a deep hatred for what Japan had done to Korea in the past. But Japan still served as a model for Park Chung Hee who normalized relations with Japan in 1965 and turned to Japan for technology, equipment, and a model for development. Some nationalistic Korean scholars say that Japan's colonialism slowed Korea's growth by exploiting Korea and disturbing its economy. But these views of Korea ignore the fundamental role that Japan's policies of industrial colonialism played in allowing Korea to Industrialize during the 1960's. Japan's colonialism improved infrastructure, urbanized the nation, educated much of the populace, gave the pubic experience with modern commerce, and indoctrinated Korean elites in the Japanese language and culture. It was Korean elites history and close ties with Japan that made them turn naturally to Japan to provide a development model. Japan's legacy of colonialism in Korea is felt not only in the many graves and monuments that attest to Japanese brutality but also

Questions For Financial Quiz Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Questions For Financial Quiz - Essay Example The essay "Questions For Financial Quiz" presents a set of questions on a financial theme with the provided information about company's income and balance. One of the tasks in this quiz is to calculate firm’s ROA, ROE, Net Profit Margin, and TIE (Times Interest Earned) ratio for both 1999 and 2000. Also, the following questions are present in this quiz: Some executives, including CEO, are not quite happy with firm’s performance on profitability, especially when they look back last year. However, you believe that the company has improved its profitability during the period. Can you explain why you believe so? Calculate firm’s Current and Quick ratio for both 1999 and 2000. Why do investors want to find out firm’s current and quick ratio before they purchase its stocks? Calculate firm’s Debt ratio for both 1999 and 2000. Use firm’s long-term debt for the calculation. Explain how a firm can save its taxes through depreciation and calculate firm’s EPS and P/E ratio. Some financial analysts argue that Panther Corporation is now highly overvalued in the stock market. They, therefore, recommend selling all the shares if you have any. However, you have a totally different opinion. You believe the stock is greatly undervalued and thus, it may be a good time to buy. Please explain why you believe so? You can assume that Panther Corporation is financially and operationally as good as most of its competitors in the industry. Compute Total Financing Needed. Assume that the plant is operated at full capacity.

Analysis the article by using what you have learned from lectures

Analysis the by using what you have learned from lectures - Article Example Formal power, however, is unlikely to spur such satisfaction as workers feel that they are only being maintained in the workplace because of their contributions. Formal power also does not encourage a corporate culture that is in support of team work and interdependence among workers. When formal power is in use, employees are much more likely to seek different ways of improving their personal skills and seeking to be more capable than their co-workers in order to be noticed. Interdependence in an organizational workforce can be attained through the distribution of resources and skills, and advanced technology that rearranges work functions as is common in assembly lines. Interdependence is also spurred by having similar goals and the rewarding of various teams or groups instead of singular individuals. This will in turn inspire group effectiveness in various functions of an organization. It will also spur the workers to develop a workplace commitment that will inspire the improvement of overall organizational behavior. Organizational behavior is descriptive of the way that workers behave in any given organization. To realize organizational goals like the creation of a corporate culture that inspires constructive organizational behavior, the management has to ensure that individual responsibilities of every worker are managed well and coordinated. Structure is an important tool in this regard as it deals with identifying formal communication channels, and illustrates how different activities conducted by different employees are connected. In the makeup of an organization, any structure that is not well managed is likely to be confronted with discrepancies. Generally, organizations have to compete aggressively in the present global competitive environment to merit organizational commitment from their workers. Even though it has been supposed that there are personal differences among an organization’s workers

Juvenile Court System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Juvenile Court System - Essay Example Most of them have mental health and substance abuse problems and have not committed violent offenses. Historically, the key function of the juvenile court system was to act in the best interests of the child. In particular, young offenders were entitled to counsel, to be silent in interrogations and to face their accusers. However, the recent research indicates that the effectiveness of the juvenile court system has significantly decreased due to its continual transformation into adult court system. The juvenile court is more than a court. In addition to judges, probation officers, social workers, mental health professionals, parents and educators are involved into process. The process of maturity is not easy for children and they should be provides with intervention and protections from society. The mission of the juvenile courts is to become the center of rehabilitation and protection for young offenders (Jacob 2003). Most of the young offenders do not commit the serious crimes, but they still violate the state of federal law which if committed by the adult would constitute the crime (Rubin 1996). For many years, the society is struggling to decrease the level of juvenile criminal activities and is trying to identify what motivates the youth to commit crimes. The juvenile court system was intended to address the underlining causes of criminal activity and take the corrective actions. Advantages of Juvenile Court System The effective intervention strategies have developed and integrated into Juvenile Court System despite of the significant problems presented by the young offenders. From the personal perspective, young offenders experience numerous educational and psychological problems. The emotional and economic factors have the significant impact on their criminal involvement. From the epidemiological perspective, young offenders have high percentage of arrests for serious crimes (especially boys). From social perspective, antisocial juveniles as the participants of the child mental and education programs cause enormous governmental resources. In overall, the existing corrective programs for young individuals are effective. Traditional approaches of Juvenile Court System include psychodynamic, humanistic and behavioral (Borduin 1994). In some judicial districts, antisocial young people are referred to the mental health centers for individual psychotherapy where they can receive the individual counseling from the juvenile court representatives. In the middle 1990s, juvenile courts referred an increasing number of delinquent youth for outpatient family therapy as the part of their probation and this tendency has remained today. Peer and family interventions have proved to be high effective in reducing delinquent behavior as well. The so-called multisystemic therapy is the home-based treatment approach including the commitment to maintaining children at home, time-limiting and goal-orienting treatment plans. Unlike pure family intervention approach of juvenile courts, multisystemic therapy is more effective in addressing and reducing the causal models of delinquent behavior (Borduin 1994). The therapy's purpose is to understand the relation between the identified problems and broader systemic context.

Reflective Essay on Personal Performance

Reflective Essay on Personal Performance OLORUNKEMI ONIKOYIÂ   PORTFOLIO SUMMARY (REFLECTIVE ESSAY) This essay is a reflective account on the progress I have made during the on-going nursing training programme I have embarked upon. The areas I intend to cover include the usefulness of assessment feedback for facilitating growth and for understanding the areas that need to be improved in my learning, the extent of the development of key transferable skills, an overview of meetings with my personal development tutor and issues related to my personal learning. Finally, areas for future development will be identified with a view on how to address them, all of which will go towards improving my personal and indeed professional development. Individuals may spend a lot of time thinking over experiences they have had and things they have to do. However, within nursing it is believed that in order to progress, these thoughts should be turned into guided reflection enabling one to improve them in the future. The essential purpose of reflective practice is to enable the practitioner to access, understand and learn through, his or her lived experiences and, as a consequence, to take ‘congruent action towards developing increasing effectiveness within the context of what is understood as desirable practice’ (Johns 2000, p3). As a mature student with experience of an access course I felt I had developed self-discipline, which is important for effective learning. Throughout this course I have gradually developed strength and confidence in all the transferable skills, such as communication, effective learning, and teamwork and information technology. These skills have been developed through both the coursework and the placement.. I felt confident about my verbal communication whereas I was concerned about my literacy skills which are impeded by my dyslexia. In my case dyslexia results in poor spelling, grammatical errors and difficulties with organising work. It should not affect my understanding of my subject, although it can take me time to absorb what I read. The course has helped me to recognize the importance of all aspects of communication, both verbal and non-verbal, such as body language, touch, facial expression and eye contact. It has shown me how crucial non-verbal communication can be in expressing meaning. During my placement visit at the hospital I put into practice my communication skills which enabled me to interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds. For example, while I was working in the ward with a staff nurse, I observed through facial expression that a patient was in pain. I went over to ask her what the problem was. She told me she was in pain. I immediately reported it to the nurse in charge. After this, I made her comfortable and continued to communicate with the patients. From this scenario I have learnt that good communication skills are important in delivering health care services. Good therapeutic communication can help to relieve patient pain and anxiety. I believe the best way of learning is to become an autonomous learner which in itself requires good communication skills and discipline. During this course, I have developed good time management skills, especially for meeting deadlines in submission of assignments and for combining studying with domestic demands. Initially, accessing the internet and using the electronic searching method was a bit difficult but it became clearer with the help of the IT workshop. It also helped greatly when finding articles needed for annotated bibliography assignment. Having to do presentations is another effective way of learning because it provides an opportunity to research the topic and then teach others. I prepared a research presentation and I knew little about the components that would make the type of presentation successful. I experienced some nervousness because I find it difficult to face an audience and deliver a speech but with the help of the tutor’s feedback I am beginning to wo rk on my fears and confidence by becoming involved in group discussion. My IT skills have improved quite considerably since the beginning of this module. I knew how to use e-mail, Microsoft word and various ways to search for information. The IT sessions have contributed greatly, so much, now have the confidence to use the internet regularly. I have also learnt how to use database and PowerPoint I will continue to build on what I have learnt and improve on it because the technology is updating frequently and it is necessary to keep up with this trend. (See appendix). Carrying out a literature search during an assignment, taught me how to use the search engines using keywords in order to find relevant articles. Carrying out a literature review has given me an insight into what research involves the ways in which research can be carried out and the different methodology that is used. I now understand that academic articles are peer reviewed before being published in reputable journals. Assessment feedback is an important part of learning. It gives the student an awareness of what they can do and what needs to be improved, in both written and practical work Whilst evaluating my feedback sheet on the role and function of health related organization, Module IPH1625, I felt that the mark received was above my expectations which left me feeling positive and motivated to continue the good steady progress. I found the research section of the essay quite challenging and spent many hours preparing my essay. Fortunately the organization that I had picked was of great interest to me as British heart foundation was an organization that dealt and helped people from all walks of life. The fact that this topic was of interest to me made it much easier for me to discuss and write about it with passion, and I could really express how I felt about the issues involved. Through the feedback received, I realized that I had addressed all areas of the marking criteria to an effective lev el. Having not previously shown my work to my module leader, to my surprise the contents of my work was above standard and very well done. My dyslexia is a worry regarding typographical errors which I may not notice. To combat this I used the computers grammatical and spelling checkers as well as showing my essays to my dyslexia tutor who helped me to proof reading. I was thrilled to see that in the feedback given, my grammar, spelling and punctuation was not seen as a problem. It is very motivating to receive this kind of feedback and the self satisfaction left me with a positive feeling which I hoped to maintain. (See appendix) My first learning stage was the novice level which Benner (2001, p20) described as ‘beginners who had no experience or skills to practice in the situation in which they are expected to perform’. At this stage of my learning I had limited knowledge and understanding of patient condition as well as the environment in which care is delivered. This made me anxious and nervous. My culture (which forbids me from addressing an elderly person by name) inhibited my ability to communicate effectively with patients and various members of staff. This problem was due to lack of previous experience in caring for patient and lack of understanding of the situation in which am expected to perform. My knowledge regarding patient’s illness or disease process was lacking. Hence I did not know how to assess or carry out patient admissions or pain assessments. For example, when patients complained of pain I always informed my mentor instead of carrying out a pain assessment to identify factors which may be contributing to the pain. However, I constantly relied on my mentor for guidance. Through advice, feedback on my performances and by observing my mentors and other members of staff, I was able to develop strategies on how to overcome communication problems on my next placement. During this placement I was able to reassure patients, carry out pain assessment, monitor and record vital signs (under clinical supervision) as well as understand their implications for patients’ care. Although I had developed confidence in clinical skills in my first placement, there was an increase in my confidence during my second. There was an increase in learning, however, my skills and knowledge within this domain were still limited. I still relied on general guidelines or instructions given to me by my mentor on how to execute some of the duties delegated to me. As a result I could not use my initiatives to prioritize or plan care appropriately or make sound judgment regarding the care which I was giving to patients. My communication skills also improved as I was able to listen and reassure patients, carry out pain assessments. In the future I hope to ensure effective communication in my daily activities, building on my strengths until I become competent in my communication skills, and able to identify potential problems and difficulties and ways to find solutions to the problem. (See appendix) The advanced beginners’ level was the second level of my learning. As explained by Benner (2001, p22) ‘the advance beginner is one who can demonstrate marginally accepted performance; one who has coped with enough real situations to note the reoccurring meaningful situational components’. In relation to performing at this level, the status quo is that the theory sessions are in the final stages, after which we would move into placement, where yet again I would have the opportunity to relate acquired theoretical knowledge to practice. Personally, I have found that the various placements were the biggest learning curve for me and influenced my learning immensely. I feel that I have performed well, as I have done things that I had never done before such as taking measurements of blood pressure, giving injections, and administrating the correct medication. The biggest impact on me was the learning disability placement. I felt that this is where I really put my communication skills into practice. I found learning disability extremely interesting and at the same time challenging. One of the major challenges I encountered was the aggressive behavior of the patient. I learnt the importance of being patient and to try to understand what is making them angry in order to calm them down. Sometimes medication is needed for this. (See appendix) Meeting with my Personal development tutor (PDT) has been extremely useful; at the first meeting we met as a group which we had an open discussion on learning, teaching approaches and available learning support. My second meeting was one to one and I was able to express the problems I faced with modules in terms of understanding prospective assignments and in selecting textbooks which are user friendly to facilitate introduction to new areas of knowledge. It was also a good opportunity for me to discuss issues encountered during placement, in relation to my experiences, which included difficulties as well. I generally found these meeting to be useful because it was and still is an avenue for me to discuss and analyse both personal and professional development. (See appendix) On reflection I can see that I was able to achieve the above nursing needs of patient due to 12 months of acquired knowledge and experiences. In progressing through the stages of skill acquisition, reflecting enabled me to gain new ideas, insights, understanding of clinical practice and I was able to change and improve my practice as I progressed. This ability is vital for personal and professional development. By reflecting I developed reflective skills such as self-awareness, ability to describe, critically analyze, synthesize and evaluate (Bulman and Schutz 2004, p10). ‘Self improvement builds on awareness’ (Moon 1999, p14). Learning is a lifelong process of discovering what is not known and recognition of learning needs is the basis for further development. NMC code of conduct and the life long learning document requires one to be able to recognize when further learning and development may be required. The NMC’s PREP (2001, p7) requires registered nurses to keep up to date with new development and to go for courses that are relevant to the practice area so as to ‘deliver care based on current evidence, best practice and, where applicable, validate research when it is available (NMC 2002, p5). I would like to continue building on my nursing competency so as to increase my knowledge and skills. Achieving this will be through practice and self-directed learning, as well as through clinical supervision which provides support for the student; this will help me in further development of skills, knowledge and enable me to enhance my understanding in practice area. I will also further my education to degree level. In conclusion, I have critically demonstrated how my learning has evolved from novice to advanced beginner of nursing. I have also planned to continue to maintain my personal and professional development by engaging in regular learning activities and also updating my professional portfolio. Furthermore, I will continue to acquire more knowledge to prepare me to face professional challenges, especially in the area of decision making, and the ability to spot opportunities and utilise them. I have an understanding of and confidence in my chosen profession as adult nurse. I want to see learning as part of me; learning new skills everyday is a lifelong experience. Reflective practice will not only improve the quality of care I give but also enhance my personal and professional development thus helping me to close the gap between theory and practice. REFERENCES Benner, P. (2001). From Novice to Expert. Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice. (commemorative edition). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Bulman, C. Schutz, S. (2004). Reflective Practice in Nursing. (3rd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Johns, P. (2004). Becoming a Reflective Practitioner. (2nd ed.). India: Blackwell Publishing. Moon, J.A. (1999). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development. London: Kogan Page. NMC. (2001). The PREP handbook. London: NMC. NMC. (2002). Code of Professional Conduct. London: NMC. Appendix 1: Use of key transferable skills. Appendix 2: Feedback sheet. Appendix 3: Evidence of learning from practice assessment / skill development in practice. Appendix 4: Copy of meeting with Professional Development Tutor. 1 WORD COUNT =2200

Movie Essays - Filming the Epic of Gilgamesh :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Filming the Epic of Gilgamesh In order to undertake a project of this epic magnitude, one must first consider the many differing ways the film could take hold. The Epic of Gilgamesh is an age old story whose main attractions will be it's originality and antiquity. To cash in properly on Gilgamesh we must focus on bringing out the idea of Gilgamesh predating similar stories, casting actors who will capture the characters' mannerisms while still being easy to relate to, and using optimal special effects to combat the preconceived notions an audience may have about movies of this kind (thanks to the likes of Kevin Sorbo and Steve Reeves). Primarily the idea is to keep Gilgamesh pure. Naturally, after seeing my Hamlet, moviegoers will have ideas about what to expect from the introduction of a pre-classical work into main stream theater. Likely viewers and critics alike will be expecting an updating, or out and out displacement of the sequence of events in time. However, while we certainly cannot go line for line with the text, we must keep Gilgamesh loyal to the original tablets, and as close to Sumerian dress, language, and culture as we can simulate. To preserve the storytelling style of the epic's author(s), I plan to employ a narrator to guide the action. A recognizable, intelligent, regal, and yet not overpowering voice should be chosen. This voice should give an air of importance to the narration without being so enthralling that the action is missed. I plan to seek out such Englishmen as Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian Mckellan, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and John Geilgud, and to offer them the opportunity of auditioning for this essential role. The selected actor's voice will begin and end the film, while covering breaks in the action and explaining confusing sections of the story. The casting of the actual blocking actors is a bit more problematic. Gilgamesh himself is the most challenging character to play in this work. Gilgamesh should be strong (without evoking images of Kull the Conqueror, or Conan the Barbarian), and youngish, but with a weathered look to imply warriors traits. The actor must present the narcissistic nihilism of the early Gilgamesh and, later on, display the more humbled, post-anagnorosis Gilgamesh. For this range of whimsical egotism, to brooding, driven force, we should rely on the talents of Mel Gibson. Gibson gives a full range of acting abilities while looking weathered, and charming at the same time.

English-language films Essay

?I saw this quote in Mr. Laxman Gnawali’s laptop and I copied it right away, I don’t know but I liked that line very much. The quote was written on the wall of some park the place was really clean and that picture showed that it was really nice clean with lots of trees. After searching it in the internet I found it that it was the attribute to those who lost their lives in the war. We were talking about the teaching training session. We were told that we can achieve the next level in our career but we need to concentrate and do the session delivery seriously. There the quote was quite related because we had the freedom to be a teacher trainer but we have to be more responsible and develop certain habit, there with the freedom comes the responsibility. Looking at the history of freedom one can always see war as the synonyma for the freedom. The first thing that comes in our mind when we talk about freedom is war and quarrels. This phrase is mostly used by the people to show gratitude towards those who have lost their life in wars. There are so many articles and books written on them or about them. Shiv Khera have written a book â€Å"freedom is not Free† and there are mny other people who have talked about it and this is the phrase I think will be talked in coming future or as long as the existence of the human beings. Freedoms are rights of individuals, according to Webster it’s a state in which somebody is able to act and live as he or she chooses, without being subject to any, or to any undue, restraints and restrictions. As our country is democratic country and we proudly say that we are free, we have every freedom to do whatever we like to but in the beginning we fought for our freedom, can we still be fighting. In the beginning we fought for our freedom, with the birtishers, we fought with them not for the freedom but to keep our country free. We fought for the democracy from the Rana rulers and then we fought for the cruel royal rule and we achieve the freedom but the question remains that we have been fighting within ourselves. Now we have the ability to exercise free will and make choices independently of any external determining force, but are we truly free. I think we are still fighting within ourselves for the freedom we dream of. History has been our eyewitness that whenever we fought we fought to rule and not for the development or growth and we are still doing that. First we had MAHISHPAL than came GOPALA DYNESTYR and KIRAT after that many other than the most influential SHAH now we have politicians ruling still to rule not to develop. If I talk about the freedom realting with our history than it will never finish. Historians believe we’re not free, but on the other hand I just say we have our rights and restrains. Because completely unrestricted freedom of action would make peaceful human existence impossible, some restraints on freedom of action are necessary and inevitable. But, we do have to recognize that basic limitation, to make our life safe. We the people have to turn over some of our rights so that our country performs right and many say that the government is in our business but if they weren’t all chaos would occur. But, Freedom becomes a cost, a cost of just giving up some rights in return to be a great nation. But, some cost could become a concern. In the declaration of independence, Thomas Jefferson have clearly stated the difficulties and problems that America has to face on the process. The very recent and clear example abo;ut freedom is not free is our own country’s fight against the maost. We faced difficulties than one can imagine but ultimately we overcame with all the difficulties we faced. In the process of freedom government has to include all the armies of moist as well. There comes the pay for freedom. We had to go through traumas which many of the nation have been through but that trauma was from our own people to their own family. India, the biggest country with large population, which is emerging ijn every field in this modern time, have faced problems. They were colonized by British people and treated in the most cruel behave that one could ever treat to another human being in their own country but they fought for their freedom and have lost so many lives but at last they are free. The payment that they paid for the freedom are the lives, the great politicians and enthusiastic youths, there county were divided into parts and there is still fight among those country. Though they got the freedom they are still paying for it, that is why freedom is not free. America the land of opportunity, was not free and with the help of many freedom fighters they declare the independence. Instead of freedom they call it independent, as everyone knows in America most of the people are from different countries, the native people, the red Indians have actually lost their identity in order to be independent or free. the country have faced so many difficulties and still facing but it is the free country everyone says and believed that but they have the most criminal records and most frustration within their country. The fragmented society, self-centered individual, loss of culture and focus point of terrorism are the payment USA is paying with. Every country have their own struggle and history of freedom and the kinds pf payment they are paying as the freedom is not free. All the great people in this world has paid one or the other way for the freedom they fought for. Countries have faced the war and loss of the youngsters but the individual who are the great influential for that event lost their family ,loved once, and their own life as well. Hitler’s life story also suggest that freedom is not free. he hated zuse and to free himself from them he committed the crime which no human can forget and he is the most cruel person in this world. He could not face the failure and to make himself free from the thought of failure he continued doing the things which kept him free from that thought and the payment for the freedom of his thought is being cruel and called murderer and be alone in all his life. However his murder is still have no actual evidence but he was killed because he was becoming cruel and threat for many people so in the quest of freedom to free the abuse and feeling of failure he paid it with his life. Mahatma Gandhi, India call him their BAPU, was hated by his son because he had no time to spend with the family as he was in great mission to free his country from the Birtish. He freed his fellow country but the payment was his own children, he was killed by the very young person as people saw that his generosity is causing the country into many countries. He was free from all the material things and loved by all the people but to gain this freedom to loved by everyone with his life. The four martyrs, who was killed by rana rulers for their freedom speech also shows that whatever our country have got is not free. in whatever way we are enjoying or complaining about is actually the payment that those martyrs paid. They were from well known and educated family but in the quest to free the country from the ranas they paid their life and we got freedom. Being anyone as human is not free from all the responsibilities and rules that we need to follow. As a baby you are free to cry over anything but the payment is most of the time people don’t understand what your problem is. As a student you are allowed to make noise or make wrong choice but the payment is later on you have to fail in your exam and in your life. As a social worker you have the freedom to help others and take their pain as your own and the payment you have to pay is your time, for you and for your family, as an engineer, your freedom is to use any model but the payment is you have to be responsible for the lives of the people who will stay there, as writer you are free to write anything but the payment is no one will write about you, as the teacher you have the freedom to conduct your classroom as you wanted but the payment is you have to be the model all the time, you cannot make any mistake if you do you have to deal with all the consequences that might occur or the payment is your time and effort. When you see some advertisement on television about the free scheme, we always need to buy something with it because nothing is free, not even the water, the air. Freedom is actually the metaphor for all the responsibilities that comes with freedom. When one becomes the minister or join the politics, like in our country everyone blames them to be the negative one, you are free to be the politician but the payment is you won’t be trusted. When I first started to teach I don’t have any freedom to chose what I do in the classroom, so I was just following whatever the teacher told me to do and there no one expected anything from me so I was free from the responsibility and the payment I was paying is getting the low pay. As I developed the teaching learning skill and given the full responsibility of the class, I had the freedom to do any kind of things in the classroom and make it my own and include everything I have learnt but the payment is time and the continuous work load and no self time. Likewise with the PGDE course we had the freedom to garnish ourselves and the payment is all the criteria that was set for us to be what we were trained to be. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE, even the quote is controversial because when freedom is not free than why would one use these words and if it is used why it is mostly related with the people who have done so much for the betterment of the human being?

The Art of Slow Reading

The art of slow reading Patrick Kingsley If you’re reading this article in print, chances are you’ll only get through half of what I’ve written. And if you’re reading this online, you might not even finish a fifth. These are the two findings from two recent research projects, which both suggest that many of us no longer have the concentration to read articles through to their conclusion. The problem doesn’t just stop there: academics report that we are becoming less attentive book-readers, too. So are we getting stupider?Is that what this is about? Sort of. According to The Shallows, a new book by technology sage Nicholas Carr, our hyperactive online habits are damaging the mental faculties we need to process and understand lengthy textual information. Round-the-clock news feeds leave us hyperlinking from one article to the next – without necessarily engaging fully with any of the content; our reading is frequently interrupted by the ping of the latest email; and we are now absorbing short bursts of words on Twitter and Facebook more regularly than longer texts.Because of the internet, we have become very good at collecting a wide range of information, but we are also gradually forgetting how to sit back, contemplate, and relate all these facts to each other. Still reading? You’re probably in a dwindling minority. But no matter: a literary revolution is at hand. First we had slow food, then slow travel. Now, those campaigns are joined by a slow-reading movement – a disparate bunch of academics and intellectuals who want us to take our time while reading, and re-reading.They ask us to switch off our computers every so often and rediscover both the joy of personal engagement with printed texts, and the ability to process them fully. Lancelot Fletcher, the first present-day author to popularise the term â€Å"slow reading†, argues that slow reading is not so much about unleashing the reader’s cr eativity, as uncovering the author’s. And while Fletcher used the term initially as an academic tool, slow reading has since become a more wide-ranging concept.Slow reading, like slow food, is now, at root, a localist idea which can help connect a reader to his neighbourhood. Slow reading is a community event restoring connections between ideas and people. The continuity of relationships through reading is experienced when we borrow books from friends; when we read long stories to our kids until they fall asleep. But our era’s technological diarrhea is bringing more and more slow readers to the fore. Keith Thomas, the Oxford history professor, is one such reader.He doesn’t see himself as part of a wider slow community, but has nevertheless recently written about his bewilderment at the hasty reading techniques in contemporary academia. â€Å"I don’t think using a search engine to find certain key words in a text is a substitute for reading it properly,â €  he says. â€Å"You don’t get a proper sense of the work, or understand its context. † â€Å"The words of the writer,† suggests sage Nicholas Carr, â€Å"act as a catalyst in the mind of the reader, inspiring new insights, associations, and perceptions. And, perhaps even more significantly, it is only through slow reading that great literature can be cultivated in the future. As Carr writes, â€Å"the very existence of the attentive, critical reader provides the spur for the writer’s work. It gives the author the confidence to explore new forms of expression, to blaze difficult and demanding paths of thought, to venture into uncharted and sometimes hazardous territory. † The internet is probably part of the problem. It accustoms us to new ways of reading and looking and consuming. It fragments our attention span in a way that’s not ideal if you want to read.The real issue with the internet may be that it erodes, slowly, one’s se nse of self, one’s capacity for the kind of pleasure in isolation that reading has, since printed books became common, been standard. What’s to be done, then? Most slow readers realise that total rejection of the web is extremely unrealistic, but many felt that temporary isolation from technology was the answer. Some people have advocated turning their computer off for one day a week. But, given the pace at which most of us live, do we even have time? Some people think the iPad might just be the answer.It’s pleasant and fun, and doesn’t remind people of work. But, for the true slow reader, there’s simply no substitute for particular aspects of the paper book: the binding of a book captures an experience or idea at a particular space and time. And even the act of storing a book is a pleasure. Personally, I’m not sure I could ever go offline for long. Even while writing this article I was flicking constantly between sites, skimming too often, absorbing too little; internet reading has become too ingrained in my daily life for me to change.I read essays and articles not in hard copy but as PDFs, and I’m more comfortable churning through lots of news features from several outlets than just a few from a single print source. I suspect that many readers are in a similar position. But if, like me, you just occasionally want to read more slowly, help is at hand. You can download a computer application called Freedom, which allows you to read in peace by cutting off your internet connection. Or if you want to remove adverts and other distractions from your screen, you could always download offline reader Instapaper for your iPhone. If you’re still reading, that is.

Work Family Issue

Work Family Issue Introduction The most important asset of an organization is its workforce; the organization would therefore ensure that it fulfills the needs of the workers to enable that they work effectively for the benefit of the organization. On the other hand, the most important factor that affects productivity of the workers is their motivation. Generally, highly motivated workers would have high productivity.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Work Family Issue specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, if a company were able to effectively motivate the workers while giving them the necessary incentives, the workers would be loyal to the company, while employee turnover would reduce drastically. Organizations therefore having policies that facilitate the working of the employees, rather than to control their actions, as happy employees would be able to function effectively (Halpern Murphy, 2005, p. 68) Different org anizations have different methods of motivating their employees to enhance productivity. Some organizations have a scheme ensuring that the high performing employees are rewarded (reward based performance appraisal) while denying some of the benefits to the employees who fail to meet their set targets (Grote, 1996, p. 348). In addition, companies have ensured implementation of policies, which not only consider employee who works in the company, but take a holistic approach that takes into consideration the employee as an individual who faces different other pressures related to his/her personal and domestic life (Hacket, 1998). Most organizations therefore have a family work policy that caters for the needs of employees and ensures that there is no conflict between the employees’ job and their family needs or requirements. This policy does not only target employees who have children but also employees who do not have children (Rosenbloom, 2005, p. 423). Even the US government considers the policy vital in the productivity of employees such that it allocates a certain amount of money in its annual budget to cater for family work policy of different states (Washington family leave coalition, 2010, p. 1). The work family policies of governments vary from giving cash incentive to the parents who have children, provision of care to the children or allocating leave allowance to the parents of the children in question (Lewis, 2009).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Theory Motivation and morale of the employees undoubtedly affects their productivity. These two lead to increased job satisfaction and loyalty of the employees. Organizations therefore take the issue of motivation of the employees very seriously. There are many different theories that are used to explain the motivation of individuals. These theories include: Jeremy Bentham ’s â€Å"the carrot and stick† motivation theory Abraham Maslow’s â€Å"need hierarchy† motivation theory Douglas McGregor â€Å"theory X and theory Y† motivation theory Vroom’s â€Å"Valence x Expectancy† motivation Theory However, the mostly widely accepted motivation theory is the Maslow’s â€Å"need hierarchy† motivation theory. This theory was put forward by Abraham Maslow, a psychologist, who was of the perception that the needs of individuals form a hierarchy, ascending from the lowest to the highest. Maslow was of the view that when a set of needs is satisfied, it stops being a motivator to the individual. According to this theory, the needs of individuals are as follows Physiological needs Generally, every person will primarily seek to satisfy basic needs, which are normally vital for human life sustenance; they include food, water, shelter, clothing, education, and healthcare. Maslow was of the perception that , until these needs are met, no other motivation factors can be effective (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). Organizations therefore ensure that these needs are met to enable the employees to function effectively. Organizations would therefore provide housing, education, and healthcare to both the employee and members of his/her family. Security or safety needs Following the satisfaction of physiological needs, a person will seek to be secure physically, psychologically and emotionally. In this case, a person needs â€Å"to be free of physical danger and loosing a job, food or shelter† and protection against any emotional harm (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). Organizations would therefore try to take several measures to ensure that the job of the employees is secure to enable them to be fully motivated. Social needs This refers to the social needs of acceptance, affection, and friendship (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). To facilitate this, organizations ensure that they involve the employees and members of their families in various social functions some of which may not be work related to make the employees and their families have a sense of belonging to the organization.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Work Family Issue specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Esteem needs This refers to the need to be held in high esteem by both themselves and other people. This need usually arises after the person has satisfied the need to belong. This need produces satisfaction, prestige status, and self-confidence, all of which are very important to employees (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). Organizations usually have put in place measures that ensure employees who perform better are promoted to increase their self-esteem and enable them to have better productivity. Need for self-actualization According to Maslow, this is the highest need, and it refers to the internal drive, which makes one to achieve full potential a nd self-fulfillment and aspire to become what one is destined to be (Shah Shah, n.d., part 3). This is the most important aspect that ensures the productivity of employees. All the measures that are taken by the company are to enable self-actualization of the employees, which would make them to have productivity at their best possible levels for the benefit of the organization and the employees themselves. Most managers ensure that motivation of employees is intrinsic as opposed to being extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation comes from within the person and is therefore stronger. The managers generally provide conditions that ensure employees motivate themselves. Extrinsic motivation is the motivation where the managers try to motivate the employees through different mechanisms and is generally not as strong as intrinsic motivation, as it is difficult to know what motivates each individual (Employee Motivation in the Workplace: Different Types of Motivation Theories Part 3, 2009) Literat ure There has been a general argument by many experts involved in the field of management that companies need to put in place family responsive programs to enable them retain and attract highly qualified employees for competitive advantage building. Work family conflict has been shown by research to lead into decreased productivity of the employees, loss of work time, absenteeism, job dissatisfaction, and poor morale.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, work family conflict may also lead to other family related issues such as poor parenting and depression (Brush, 1993; O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 80). Hence, tensions between work and home life increases stress and are generally bad to the employer, employees, and their families (Kolb, Williams Frohlinger, 2009). Most people used to believe that family work issues are mainly a problem that mainly concerns women. However, organizations are slowly starting to realize that work family issues are not only concerned with the women in their staff, but it also involves men. These organizations have therefore put in place programs that would help in the reduction of work family stress to ensure optimal productivity of their employees (Worell, 2001, p. 1183). There are usually several work/family conflicts that have been shown to affect the work/family life of the employees of an organization. One such conflict is the time-based conflict, which occurs when the time pr essures required to fulfill a certain role make it impossible for a person to fulfill another role. These roles are mainly between work and family. Time-based conflict occurs mostly if the number of hours an employee is required to work in an organization to have good productivity are so many such that they deny the employee time to cater for the family related issues. Another type of conflict is the strain-based conflict, referring to a conflict in which stress of a certain role performed by the employee affects the performance of duties in another field. This strain is most common in professions that require an individual to perform several different tasks. An example is in the field of academia where lecturers engage in teaching, research, service and sometimes even private consultation i.e. private practice. This leads to the creation of family stress in the particular employee’s family. The last type of conflict is the behavior-based conflict, which occurs when the behav iors supposed to be exhibited while performing a certain role conflict with the behaviors of another role performed by the same individual. A good example of the occurrence of behavior-based conflict is when an employee works from home. The focus and energy that the employee requires in order to accomplish the work expectations is liable to conflict with the demand for attention from the children and/or spouses (Williams Alliger 1991, from: O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p, 80). Models of work family issues To determine how work/family issues affect employees, different models and perspectives can be used. The models used mainly focus on the following Job type characteristics: this mainly concerns the flexibility of the job and personal control of the employee. Individual characteristics: this concerns the level of commitment and satisfaction towards the roles of parenting or the work, which the individual performs. Quantitative factors: this is mainly concerned with the time, which an individual spends catering to wok related issues, or time that he has to meet parenting or household needs (O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 81). However, various scholars have suggested that time demands does not primarily predict the work family stress. The role of strain and work family issues have been explained to be as a result of a person being overly committed to one role while neglecting the other, hence leading to the strain in the neglected field. Greater commitment in the specific field makes the individual dedicate most of the time to the specific field hence making him/her to have less time for the performance of other roles, leading to poor performance of the neglected role (O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 81). In most situations, the neglect is mainly in the family roles of the employees hence leading to the strain by the members of the family. The rational method clearly explains work/family related stress. According to this model, employees ma y spend many hours in meetings or at their work place to the detriment of the family roles that the employee must perform. The greater investment result in stress is one field. This type of stress is most common in women employees who are in high control positions, as they are unable to meet their domestic obligations (O’Laughlin Bischoff, 2005, p. 81). This paper will discuss work family issues of the employees of Microsoft, the global leader in computer software development. The company has among the most flexible employment opportunities available to its employees, making the company to be ranked among the 100 best employers by the Fortune magazine (Erb, 2011). The employees can work from home, design their own offices, schedule their own leaves, and have access to unlimited broadband connection if they live within the campus of the company. The company considers the work family issues a very important aspect, which ultimately determines the productivity of its employees. This paper will consider work family issues of the employees of both genders so as to get a clear picture of the work family issues of the employees. In addition, the paper will also consider the employees in different ranks within the organization as they are usually exposed to different working condition. Method To get a clear understanding of family work issues, questionnaires that were posted in the company website regarding the same were analyzed. The questionnaires were answered by employees in all the ranks of the company. An analysis of a sample that contained 200 employees, 100 of who were female was made. The employees questioned ranged in rank from the software programmers to the people who were involved in the management affairs of the company. The analysis of the results was clustered into two; gender of the employee and the rank of the employee in the organization, as this would give a clear picture of the work family issues. In addition, the respondents included both the employees who were living in the company’s quarters and those who were living outside the company quarters. Nevertheless, all the respondents asked the questionnaires were either married or parents as these are the people who are mainly affected by family work issues. The following questionnaires were posed to the employees of Microsoft via the company website. Have you ever been absent from work due to family related issues? Do you think that your job is affecting your parenting or family related issues? Does your spouse complain that you are spending too much time working from the office? Have you ever worked from home? If yes how often do you work from home? What reasons made you work from home? Do you prefer working from home? Does working from home affect your parenting abilities? Does your spouse complain you are neglecting your parenting or family roles due to working from home? Have you ever worked while you were on a family holiday? If yes was it due to pressur es on work which you knew was awaiting you or were you doing it simply because you loved the work? Have you ever requested leave to attend to family matters? If yes, were you granted the leave or not? Which company practice do you think takes into consideration the work family issues of the employees? Has the company ever involved you and your family in its social activities? How many hours do you have to engage in family or private matters? Does your boss complain that your family issues are interfering so much with your work? Does your work hinder you from performing certain family issues, which in your opinion are very necessary? Does more time to spend with your family enable you to perform your duties effectively or does it hinder you from performing you duties and produce the desired results? In your opinion, do work family issues affect your productivity? Do you think the company is doing enough to address the work family issues of the employees? If yes, does the knowledge th at the company caters for your work family issues give you motivation in your work? Do you think that having a family work policy is a privilege to the employees or do you think it is a right, which the employer must grant the employee? Results The results were presented in two different parts. The first part of the results showed work family issues based on gender of the employees whereas the second part of the results was on family work issues based on the position of employees in the company. Similar answers were clustered into one group and an analysis of the results was made based on the answers, which were most common among the employees of the company. Effects of family work issues on productivity Most of the respondents were of the view that family issues affect their productivity. In fact, almost all the respondents had missed a few days of work to attend to family issues. The employees who were mostly affected by family issues were women as they were generally considered to have the highest responsibility in catering for children. Single parents faced the most work/family related stress. The ability of the company to cater for their family issues in the employees working time made most of the employees feel motivated and loyal to the company. Most of the respondents praised the flexibility of working hours that the company offers, with the ability to work remotely from home being wide regarded as a factor that made many employees to have high productivity. However, the ability to work from home made spouses or children of most respondents to complain that they were spending less time with their family. This was made even worse by the fact that, in some cases, employees were transferring work from their office to home, making them to work even during family times. The tendency of the company to evaluate the performance of employees based on their output rather than time spent behind their desks was regarded by most of the respondents as the practice that made the employees to have time to cater for family issues. Hence, most of the employees were able to attend to family issues, which they regarded as important provided that they could create time to complete their office work. Work/family policy a right or a privilege Most of employees were of the view that the company ought to have a work family policy. The policy was not necessary a privilege to the employees. However, certain features of the work family policy enabled employees to cater for their individual needs and to have better job satisfaction. In fact, almost all the respondents were of the view that the work family policy affects their loyalty to the company. The good work family policy of the company was a motivating factor to the employees just like higher pay or recognition for achievements of the employees. Work/ family issues and employee position The position of employees was regarded as the factor that increased work/family related stress. Workers who were gen erally in higher management positions were generally under more work related stress due to the higher responsibility associated with the positions. Employee who faced the most work related stress were women who were in higher management positions. Single parents who had children in their teenage years faced the highest work/related stress, as they had to juggle between parenting responsibilities and job responsibilities bestowed upon them due to their position. Discussion The results underpin the importance of work family issues for employees and the human resource managers of most organizations. Work family issues are mainly significant if the employees of a company are mostly married or have children. Microsoft was initially a company that was mainly made up of employees who were in their twenties. However, there has been a general shift in the average age of employees of the company. Most of the employees of the company are now in their thirties. This facilitated the company to b e responsive to the family work issues, as most employees in this age group have children or are married (Work-life balance newsletter, 2004, p. 4). In addition, the company does not judge the work of the employees based on the time they spend in the office i.e. the employees do work by the clock. The flexibility of the working of Microsoft enables the employees of the company to manage their work to fit their individual needs. Employees can therefore create their own working patterns. In addition, employees are given the flexibility of scheduling their own appointments to a time which best suits them (DTI, 2004, p.14). Thus, employees are able to schedule their own time to cater for family or personal issues without having to ask for formal permission or undergo the long bureaucratic process of asking for leave, which is present in most companies. The knowledge that the company caters for the work family issues of the employees makes most of the employees to be motivated and hence enabling them to perform at their very best. Among the most important aspects that help in motivation of the employees was the fulfillment of their needs. By fulfilling some of the needs of the employees the company was able motivate the employees and have them performing at their very best. The factor that mostly catered work/family issues of the employees was the flexibility in the working hours of the employees. The company generally uses its work family policy to intrinsically motivate the employees and therefore ensure that they have high productivity. Conclusion It is obvious that most of the employees in companies involved in highly specialized activities are usually at the stage in their life where family issues affect them to a very high extent. Work family issues significant affect the productivity of the employees. Human resource managers of various organizations have come to this realization and have therefore ensured that the company puts in place policies that cater fo r the work family issues of the employees to prevent the employees working under undue stress, which may be created by either of the two. Family work policy is regarded by most of the employees as a factor, which largely influences their decision to work in a certain company. Companies that have good family work policies are able to have their employees working at their highest productivity level are also able to retain the employees. References Anon. (2004). Creating solutions for work-life balance. Work-life balance newsletter. Retrieved from dol.govt.nz/PDFs/WLB%20newsletter%200403.pdf. Anon. (2009). Employee Motivation in the Workplace: Different Types of Motivation Theories Part 3. Compensation today. Retrieved from http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2009/07/different-types-of-motivation-theories.html. Brush, C. C. (1993). Attitudes toward work-family issues: the human resource professional perspective. Review of business. Retrieved from allbusiness.com/human-resources/4164 91-1.html. DTI. (2004). Fathers-to-be and antenatal appointments a good practice guide. Department of trade and industry. Retrieved from: berr.gov.uk/files/file20795.pdf Erb, G. (2011). 7 Northwest companies listed among Fortunes 100 best employers. Buget sound business journal. Retrieved from: bizjournals.com/seattle/blog/2011/01/northwest-companies-named-best-employers.html. Grote, R. C. (1996). The complete guide to performance appraisal. NY: AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=spAY7_nLHcwCpg=PA348dq=reward+based+appraisalhl=enei=itFYTYCFMsyW4gaD5uyEBwsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepageq=reward%20based%20appraisalf=false Hackett, G. (1998). Balance work, family issues to boost productivity. Portland Business Journal. Retrieved from: bizjournals.com/portland/stories/1998/03/30/focus12.html Halpern, D. F. Murphy, S. E. (2005). From work-family balance to work-family interaction: changing the metaphor. New Jersey : Elsevier. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?id=tZ3dcdryT7ICprintsec=frontcoverdq=work+family+balancehl=enei=muhYTcPxGMiHhQe8vrTiDAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=1ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepageqf=false. Kolb, D. M., Williams, J. Frohlinger, C. (2009). Negotiating work family issues. Womens media. Retrieved from womensmedia.com/balance/113-negotiating-work-family-issues.html. Lewis, J. (2009). Work-family balance, gender and policy. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?id=Rn0_2ofBpBYCprintsec=frontcoverdq=importance+of+work+family+policysource=blots=diLz4EUeHksig=cwOi2iJF8FwMSRddc82gnoHnZbMhl=enei=YuFYTZ3ZIo22hAeFs7GcDAsa=Xoi=book_resultct=resultresnum=10ved=0CFQQ6AEwCQ#v=onepageq=importance%20of%20work%20family%20policyf=false O’laughlin, E. M. Bischoff, L. G. (2005). Balancing Parenthood and Academia: Work/Family Stress as Influenced by Gender and Tenure Status. Journal of Family Issues, 26; 79. Retrieved from http: //web.bgu.ac.il/NR/rdonlyres/D5BB74A3-0AB5-4237-AA1D-E0039B0547EF/34691/BalancingParenthoodandAcademiaworkfamilystressasin.pdf. Rosenbloom, J. S. (2005). The handbook of employee benefits: design, funding, and administration. NY: McGraw-Hill Professional. Shah, K shah, P. J. (n.d.). Theories of Motivation. Lay networks. Retrieved from: laynetworks.com/Theories-of-Motivation.html. Washington family leave coalition. (2010). Work/Family Issues in Congress. Washington. Retrieved from policyarchive.org/handle/10207/bitstreams/95815.pdf. Worell, J. (2001). Encyclopedia of women and gender: sex similarities and differences and the impact of society on gender, Volume 1. London: Elsevier.

Are the commercial promises made about digital media just hype to Essay

Are the commercial promises made about digital media just hype to cloud our vision about the digital divide Explain in the context of your profession - Essay Example The global village feeling is not shared by everyone, and despite the convergence of digital media and falling costs, the divide remains. The question this blog considers is whether the commercial promises made about digital media are therefore just hype to cloud our vision about the digital divide. The reality is that while someone can have the latest technologies and access to the far corners of the world, the person living next door may still have no such concept of this form of ‘global community’ as envisaged by Daniel Boorstin (1978) in ‘The Republic of Technology’. The two will have very different concepts and experiences of community life and its boundaries, and this is what also characterises the digital divide. For example, the first person may conduct business in the comfort of his or her own home, internationally and without even seeing the customers in person, whereas the neighbour would have to physically travel to do the same although the customers may be met in person. This could equally be applied to personal, social, cultural, political, and other engagements but they still illustrate two very different sets of experiences for each neighbour. Between geographically apart societies, the digital divide would be even greater. Let alone ne w digital media, according to the UN, over half of the world still lives â€Å"more than two hours away from a telephone† (Flew, 2008). Thus, some people are in the slow and fast lanes of the information superhighway, but many are nowhere near any needed telecommunications infrastructure. Technological development has also always been taking place although the rapid pace and convergence phenomena are recent. They are all designed to make certain tasks easier for us and most do benefit us leading to the progress of society. But the extent to which the digital media revolution has penetrated into everyone’s homes and lives (or not) sustains the digital divide and

Designing a Formative Classroom Assessment Essay

Designing a Formative Classroom Assessment - Essay Example This paper provides a comprehensive formative classroom assessment for English language learners in grade 3. The English language learners targeted with this classroom assessment are students in grade 3. On most occasions, English language learners in this class have difficulty in comprehending lessons taught in English. It is because of this that the task chosen for the purposes of this assessment will be presented in very simple and easily understood English. In this assessment, the students will be required to read a short essay and make sense out of the text. However, before the students are given a text to read, they will be asked to guess the storyline of the story book after having seen the cover page of the book (Gottlieb, 2006). The assessment will also make use of VoiceThread that is a web-based assessment tool found in VoiceThread.com. There are countless reasons why this web-based assessment tool may be the most useful for English language learners. One of the reasons is that it allows it users to create conversations, documents, snapshots, videos and diagrams and share them with others; especially students. It is suitable for English language learners because the conversation voices and videos can be captured with utter clarity thereby helping these students note pronunciations in English and learn the difference of similar words when used in different contexts (Gottlieb, 2006). Another important aspect of this assessment tool is the inclusion of pictures and diagrams which can be helpful in illustrating written documents for English language learners. For this reason, the tool will be invaluable in making the students further understand the short essay chosen for the purposes of this