Abortion is a right choice. essays

Abortion is a right choice. essays We live in a nation built on the idea of freedom, freedom of choice and freedom of expression, yet we are not free. After all, different people have different attitudes toward abortion. Like wise, the oppositions of society create constricts for women seeking abortions. They maintain that since the unborn child in the womb is a human life, abortion is a kind of guilt, which deprives of a human right to life. Certainly, they go on to point out that abortion should be banned by the law in order to protect these human lives. Of course, the main questions that everyone must face are which areas of behavior to leave to private choice and which to regulate in the interest of virtuous. However, abortion is a very serious and complex issue. This issue will not just end with laws. Therefore, the fact of the conflict is not being concern of its legal status abortion is still going to exist. Notably, still have women who are going to seek them with the help of men to arrange them. Moreover, wit h the doctors and some not qualified who will still perform them. It cannot be denied, this is reality because before 1973 a lot of women died from illegal abortions. Currently, abortion is legal, however, if histories were to repeat itself, and abortions are considered illegal once again, the results would be appalling. Not only would women turn to insalubrious secretive abortions and self induced abortions, the psychological pain and scars would be considerably more awful than those of a legal abortion. In a word, every woman is permitted to the right of privacy in dealing with her own body if women are to be denied this right, history will repeat itself jeopardizing the lives of millions of women. Formerly, legalizing abortion will guide women to have safe conditions, with qualified doctors and proper care. By the same reason, if abortions were no longer an option, womens health issues would arise. Even though, the government will still be able to ...

Discover Australia essays

Discover Australia essays Canberra's latitude is 149 degrees east and the longtitude is 35 degrees south. The temperatures in Canberra vary considerably from summer to winter. Its freezing during winter seeing as the temperature often drops below zero at night and are usually below 10C in the day. In summer the temperatures are usually mild but can rise above 30C. The annual average rainfall is 632 mm. Canberra vegetation Eucalypt dominated. Canberra has the population of just over 300,000 which includes an aborignal population of about 500-2000 For over 21,000 years the Canberra area has been lived on by the Ngunawal and Walgalu aborignal people, Whilst white people have only occupied the space for about eighty years. The first European settler in the district was Joshua John Moore who established a sheep station called 'Canberry'. It's believed the name Canberry was based on an Aboriginal name for the area Kamberra/Kambery. In 1913 Canberra became the official name for the area. The Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, was declared on 1 January 1911. It became a self-governing territory in 1989. Canberra's main function being Australia's capital territory is government, with the parliament house being situated there. Canberra is growing, and has been ever since it was annouced as Australia's capital teritory. Newcastle's latitude is 149 degrees east and its logitude is 33 degrees south. The average temperature during summer range from 19.5C to 27.2C and during winter from 7.7C to 17.2 C. The average rainfall is 1201mm. Newcastles vegetation is Wet sclerophyll forest. Newcastle has a poplulation of over 300,000 people 500-2000 of them being aboriginal. Prior to the city's founding, the area was occupied by the local aboriginal tribe the Koori. When abundance of coal was found in Newcastle it was quickly set up as a settlement deposits quickly led to Newcastle becoming a shipping and commercia...

Global marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Global marketing - Essay Example This marketing essay, therefore, aims to provide more insight on some of the key elements of global marketing such as the development of the global trade, as well as the growth of the world economy. Moreover, the essay critically assesses the interrelationship that exists between the aforementioned aspects of the global market. According to (Westerfield 2004, pg. 19) global marketing is wider than earlier presumed as it involves the processes of planning, producing, placing and promoting goods and services across international markets. Market globalization has majorly been proliferated by the advancement in information technology as well as the inroads made by the transport industry. In as much as organizations that deal with universal demands such as food and automobiles are some of the most notable institutions that have over time embraced market globalization, the current level of global competition often prompts countless establishments to venture into international markets. This is majorly because organizations that function domestically often face competition from other industry players who have opted to go international. Westerfield further asserts that it is imperative for the administrations of various organizations to be conclusive in carrying market analysis before beginning operations in fresh markets. This is majorly because some of the business approaches that are successful in an economy may not bring forth similar returns in a different market. Apart from making our daily activities more efficient, the advancements in both information technology and transport have opened various global economies to international trade. (Nanda 2011, pg. 108) reaffirms that the establishment of a free and liberal economy is by all standards the first step towards ensuring growth. In as much as the previous generations did not fully embrace it, the practice of international trade has been documented in various histories as demonstrated by the Trans-Atlantic trade

Marketing to teens worldwide via music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing to teens worldwide via music - Essay Example Apart from hiring most successful pop stars as ambassadors, these organizations have also ventured in to partnership with organizations like Twitter, Amazon, Billboard (with Pepsi), Spotify, YouTube, I-tunes (with Coca Cola). Sponsoring talent hunt shows, signing deals with music labels to help launch new artist and brand albums are the major acts that took place in the recent years (Dyson, 2012). This newfound interest towards music to attract teens by these organization and their steps for achievement of these targets are the reason leading to analyses of this situation. It is a general perception that believes that youngsters are our future, and thus proper investments should be made in them so that the society can have a bright and strong future. This notion is usually associated while planning budget and developing strategies for teens by the government. However, in recent times, it seems as if soda brands like Pepsi and Coca-Cola have adopted this strategy to make the future of their company brighter and stronger. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2005–2008 â€Å"teenagers and young adults consume more sugar drinks than other age groups† (NCHS Data Brief, 2011), this data coupled with the soda brand estimated that â€Å"By 2020, one-third of the worlds population, or 2.5 billion people, will be younger than 18. And in the next 10 years, teens in the U.S. will number 31 million† (NCHS Data Brief, 2011). All of this factual data and estimation is enough for these soda brands to target teenagers as their main audience. Recently, Coca-Cola revealed its 2020 vision as per which the company aims to â€Å"increase its revenue to $200 billion and increase its serving to 3 billion by 2020†. All of these endeavours by these giant soda brands to target teens are to achieve its long-term strategic plans of success (Zmuda, 2011). These brands

Online Grading System Essay Example for Free

Online Grading System Essay Introduction Grading System is an exercise in professional judgment on thepart of the teachers. It involves the collection and evaluation of evidence on students’ achievement or performance over a specified period of time. Through this process various types of descriptive information and measures of students’ performance are converted into grades that summarize students’ accomplishments. Online Grading System is a web-based application that can be used to create report cards, class grade list and roll sheet attendance report. It posts the grades of the students online. The students have an account to access their report card. Parents can view and be updated on the performance of their children. While teachers work load can be lessen through computing the grades automatically. Background of the Study Teachers all over the nation have discovered that when they utilize an online grading system, they are able to quickly and easy update, track, and grade student performance in much less time than they ever thought possible. Parents and students also enjoy being able to take part in an online grading system. This is because students and parents can access an online grading system with a password and can track grades and assignments whenever they need to. This helps students become more aware of their grades and also helps parents get involved in their child’s schooling. And as any teacher will tell you, when parents and teachers can work together to help a child succeed, that child has a much better chance of getting the most out of his or her schooling. The other great thing about an online grading system is that it can also be used to create report cards, assignment reports, class grade lists, student GPA, seating charts, roll sheets, attendance reports, and more.

The Charater of Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire :: Streetcar Named Desire

The Charater of Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire In 'A Streetcar Named Desire' we focus on three main characters. One of these characters is a lady called Blanche. As the play progresses, we gradually get to know more about Blanche and the type of person she really is in contrast to the type of person that she would like everybody else to think she is. Using four main mediums, symbolism and imagery, Blanche's action when by herself, Blanche's past and her dialogue with others such as Mitch, Stanley and the paperboy, we can draw a number of conclusions about Blanche until the end of Scene Five. Using the fore mentioned mediums we can deter that Blanche is deceptive, egotistical and seductive. The writer, Tennesse Williams uses symbolism and imagery to help convey the idea that Blanche is deceptive, egotistical and seductive. We can clearly discover how deceptive Blanche is by the symbolism that Williams uses throughout the play. One can note how Blanche continually wears white dresses or a red kimono when she is being especially flirtatious, so that she makes people think that she is innocent and pure. In Scene Five Blanche's white dress, a symbol of purity is stained which is symbolic of the fact that Blanche if far from being pure. Blanche's world hinges on illusion and deception as can be seen when Blanche pours her heart out to Stella in scene five, "soft people... have got to be seductive... make a little - temporary magic". Blanche feels that she must trick and deceive in order to survive in a world where she is "fading now!" and her looks are leaving her. We are introduced to Blanche as a "delicate beauty" that "must avoid strong light". Williams, portr ays Blanche as an uncertain character who hides behind the veneer of outer beauty and who when is placed under the spotlight, fails to live up to the person she would like people to think that she is. Williams also provides strong imagery of her as a moth, as she is dressed in white clothes and is fluttering. This imagery of Blanche as a moth is further emphasised when Blanche herself later states, "put on soft colours, the colours of butterfly wings and glow".

Affect of Women in Advertisement Essay

Abstract Due to advertisement clutter in the 21st century customers are exposed to a variety of advertising appeals that aims to influence their attitudes towards a wide range of products and services. Many companies worldwide are using women as an object to attract and influence consumers’ attitudes towa rds the products they sell. Women appear in huge number of advertisement as a sexual object or as attractive decorative model standing nearby a product, even when the sexual image has little relevance to the advertised product. This article looks at Jordan ian male consumers’ attitude towards using women in advertisement. Results reveals four factors tend to influence consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement. Culture, control, and emotion were found to have a significant influence on consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement, while there was no significant influence for women appearance on consumer attitude towards using women in advertisement. In general Jordanian male consumers’ were opposed to exposing, exploiting and objectifying the woman and her body in advertisement. Introduction Research on advertisement featuring sex role focused on how content and imagery affect cognitive responses and attitude toward the advertisement, which in turn affect attitude toward the brand and purchase intention (Jaffe, 1994; Leigh and Whitney, 1987). Attitude toward advertising can be defined in general as learned tendencies to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner to advertising in general (Lutz, 1985; Mackenzie and Lutz, 1989). The link between attitudes, intentions and behavior has been explained primarily by Ajzen (1985, 1988), Ajzen and Fishbein (1980). This theory is based on the assumption that human beings usually behave in a sensible manners where they will take into account information available to them and consider the consequences of their actions. Thus people are expected to act in accordance with their intentions. The personal factor is the attitude toward the behavior, which is the individual‟s positive or negat ive evaluation of performing the behavior of interest. Whereas the social determinant of intention is the person‟s perception of social pressure to perform the behavior under consideration. People generally intend to perform a behavior when they evaluate it positively and belief that important others think they should perform it. Advertisements perceived as contentious will not be effective in capturing the attention of people or changing their attitudes towards the advertised products (Michell and Al-Mossawi, 1995). Based on that, it‟s very essential to choose the appropriate advertisement strategies employed in advertising which range from informational to emotional. Among those designed to stir emotions or rouse particular feelings, we can find fear, humor, warmth, novelty, contrast, animation, music, and sexual arousal. According to Reichert et. al. (2001) sex appeal advertising invokes any message, which, whether as brand information in advertising contexts or as persuasive appeals in marketing contexts, is associated with sexual information. It has long been an accepted belief that this form of advertising is very effective at attention-grabbing, considered by some commentators as a powerful step in reaching one‟s target market, especially in the current clutter of 21st century marketing and communications (Reichert & Lambiase, 2003). Sexual economics theory (SET) is a stimulating theory about sexuality that combines the idea of gender differences in sexual attitudes with social exchange theory, which S precher, (1989) conceptualize as two or more parties that each give up something with the aim of getting back something of greater value. Much research suggests that sex as an end in itself is less valued by women than men (Baummeister et al., 2001). Ther efore, sexual economics theory posits that women possess substantially greater negotiating power than do men in the context of a sexual exchange. Based on this theory, the current study will focus on men and the way women are used to persuade them in adver tisement to influence their attitudes. Using women in advertisement as a sexual appeal has transferred women to a marketing instrument by many firms. Women are used as a material mostly in advertisements (Bayraktar, 2011). In many advertisements, the ideal woman is an object that exists to satisfy men‟s sexual desires. Many researchers have shown that women in advertisements are portrayed as sex objects (Baker, 2005). Advertisers feature provocative images of sexually attractive women in ads (Reichert, 2 002). Sexual appeals in advertisements consist of a variety of elements models. Courtney and Whipple (1983) describes sexuality in advertisements as sexuality in the form of nudity, sexual imagery, innuendo, and double entendre used as an ad object for dif ferent kinds of products. Reichert (2002) reveals that common forms of sexuality in ads includes nudity (dress), physical attractiveness, seductive behavior and interaction, innuendo, and other factors such as setting, context and camera effects. While Lambiase and Reichert (2003) propose that there are five types of sexual content in ads: Nudity, sexual behavior, physical attractiveness, sexual referents, and sexual embeds. Ramirez and Reichert (2000) propose that viewers consider physical characteristics the most sexual in ads and the sub-categories of these characteristics are clothing, attractiveness and body. Table 1 shows the categories of women appearance in advertisements and their meanings in USA. It‟s noteworthy to say that women misrepresentation in advertisement is a world wide phenomenon. In India, for example, Bag and Roy (2010) bring up various reasons behind unaccept ed representation of women in advertisement, such as poverty where still a number of women, particularly young girls with intolerable economic misery compelled to represent themselves in different forms of uncultured version for survival. To the contrary some rich women’s do it as a hobby, just to get mental or psychological satisfaction through modeling, front page sensational attraction in different popular magazines. Globalization is another factor responsible for misrepresentation of women in advertisement. Being attracted to western culture, teenager girls have been adopting western style in their garments and manners and hence, they have been losing their own culture and tradition, social values and moral character. Consumerism, which tries hard to inc rease the consumption of people, is another cause of such unaccepted representation. Much consumption means much economic profit which a group of people highly want. Profit maximization has escalated the introduction of women in a number of advertisements of different companies in television, magazine, T.V., Cinema, Newspaper, Cartoons, painting and even in the Internet to attract customers from different age groups. The different types of women representation in advertisement are presented below. Representation through Television- There is a lot of representation of women in advertisement through T.V. which affect common people and children adversely. It is obvious that visual indecent representation of them has been perverting psychologically all youth. Representation through Newspaper- Newspaper is another source of representation in indecent manner. Readers from almost all age group are intensely influenced while observing and reading those undesirable advertisements. Representation through Magazine- Similar examples will be cited in several advertisements in several reputed magazines where the honor of women have not only been despoiled simultaneously people are being psychologically endangered. But interestingly, by virtue of human instinct, neither presenter nor consumer is realizing its adverse impact. Other forms of Representation- There are other forms of uncultured representation which we can find rarely but have both internal and external effects on common people. Despite fewer in number, such representations are noticed in different sorts of paintings, hoarding hanging or fixed in cities and towns, and even displayed in Internet. Painting of undesirable quality is often displayed in cinema hall for greater publicity. Similarly, a lot of painters draw naked or half naked figures, which may have inner good meaning, but it is a matter of question how many people are finding that inner good meaning and how many are taking those adversely. Research Problem and Significance Very few studies tries to explain the influence of using women in advertisement based on cultural factors. Researchers have either concentrated on or compared dissimilar cultures, such as the U.S and Japan or they have focused on similarities or differences on similar cultur es, such as Great Britain and Australia (Al-Olayan and Karande, 2000). Many researches explain ads by using Hofstede‟s cultural dimensions or Hall‟s high and low typology and other country specific variables. Culture dominates communications, such as langu age, traditions, beliefs and music (Al-Olayan, & Karande, 2000). Therefore, the main motivation behind this article is to identify the influence of using women in advertisement on male consumers‟ attitude in Jordan. This study is conducted in a Muslim country where Shariah (Islamic Law) prohibit the use of sexual appearance or body in a way to attract or convince consumers with company products, brands or services. This study is significant for the reason that there is no any study has been done in this field regarding this issue. Another reason for doing this study is to increase our understanding of the Arab societies, and in this case Jordan. Research Objectives The objectives of this research are: 1) To identify the factors that may affect male Jordanian consumers‟ attitude towards using women in advertisement 2) To examine consumers overall attitude towards using sexy women in advertisement Theoretical Background Culture and Advertisement Marketers need to observe the cultural traits, environments, norms, beliefs, and values of a particular country or region to obtain an understanding of whether their future behaviors will be perceived as ethical (Haque et al., 2010). For example, companies advertising their products or services in different countries should be aware of a country‟s existing norms concerning role portrayals and the way these organizations affect these norms (Gilly, 1988). Clow and Baack (2009) maintained that culture, religion and value system determine the levels of nudity, sexual references, and gender specific issues that are permitted in a country. Several differences have also been recognized across countries for men and women appear in different settings and for different products. Women are more likely to be portrayed in domestic environment as sex objects, while men are more likely to be portrayed being occupied. In Sweden, for example advertisers show men and women in greater variety of nonworking roles than in the U.S.A and Germany and women in Asian countries are less likely to be shown as sex objects (Das, 2000). Since in many Middle Eastern countries, sex and gender issues are taboo subjects, sexual appeals are not used in advertising and even sexually related products are difficult to advertise (Bryant, 1998). Muslim nations tend to reject any kind of nudity and any reference to sexuality and other gender -related issues. Any hint of sexuality or display of the female body is strictly forbidden. In Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, women must be shown in family settings. They cannot be depicted as being carefree or desirable to the opposite sex. Marlin (2008) conduct a study on how culture affects advertisement, he used an advertisement showing a sexy picture for Paris Hilton, the famous model wearing a bikini and asked respondents to writ e their reactions. About 27% had positive reactions, 45% had negative reactions and 28% were indifferent. For this advertisement some respondents were confused whether it is an advertisement for a burger or for a car. The results show that different cultures imply different reactions, some of the comments the respondents wrote were: †¢ Unrealistic, bizarre (German respondent) †¢ It is not about the product, they are selling a lifestyle (Iranian respondent) †¢ Nice, interesting (French respondent) †¢ Too much naked skin (1 Ethiopian and 1 Swedish respondent) †¢ I am discussed, angry and feel fat (Swedish respondent) †¢ Too naked, too unrealistic (Moroccan respondent) †¢ Sexistic (Swedish respondent) †¢ Inappropriate, bad taste (French respondent) †¢ It is totally unnecessary for the object of advertising (Swedish respondent) Muslim countries are not the only ones with restrictive advertising for sex appeals. Many Christian countries such as Ireland, Spain, South Africa, Mexico and the Philippines have similar standards. 184 While in Canada, France, and Sweden, sexism should be avoided in any advertising directed toward children (Boddewyn, 1991). Based on that, understanding how religious beliefs influence the attitude towards the advertising is of great importance to international advertisers and advertising agency managers in their efforts to improve advertising effectiveness without offending or alienating their target audience. It‟s important to comprehend that Islamic social philosophy is based on the belief that all spheres of life: spiritual, social, political, and economic form an indivisible unity that must be thoroughly imbued with Islamic values. Advertisement and Women in the Muslim world The aim of this section is to give an in-depth understanding on the nature and position of women and advertisement in the Muslim world to help and benefit marketers and the advertising producers in the Muslim world to gain a profound understanding of Muslim values. As a starting point, it‟s important to note that the Holy Quran does not prohibit advertising (Al-Makaty et al., 1996). Some advertisements use religious terminology to reassure consumers of the Islamic integrity of products and services. For example, in a television advertisement, a Saudi Investment ba nk in Egypt had used religious terms to show that it had no unlawful transactions and that all of its financial products Shariah compliant. The use of selected Quranic injunctions and words can enhance the mood of the advertising communication to make it more appealing to Muslim consumers. Luqmani et al. (1989) provide an example of a manufactured water pump that uses a verse from the Quran in advertising. Although it is obviously welcome to keep in mind that the Islamic regulations related to business and marketing, appropriate implementation of precise Islamic terms is crucial. Contrary to this, a business may face unexpected troubles in gaining markets in Muslim populous areas if some how its advertisements create feelings that are inconsistent with religious sensitivities. In such a context, the most potential and contemporary issues in Islamic markets should be carefully introduced, developed, and offered through appropriate advertising and communication messages which meet the commitment of ethics as gu ided in the Islamic Shariah. For example, the Islamic system encourages moderation in living, while prodigality and waste are denounced. Costly promotional efforts and massive commercial advertisements by businesses are considered unnecessary. Producers of advertisements must make sure that their advertising campaign does not overstep any social or legal norms. Little attention has been paid on the exposure of advertisement in the Arab societies. Except from investigations in Saudi Arabian ads, there is only one study that has examined the cross-cultural differences in advertising content in other countries in the Middle East and only one study of the portrayal of Egyptian women in television commercials. Luqmani et al., (1987) study focused only on the influence of Islam on advertising content and regulation in Saudi Arabia while Michell and Al-Mossawi, (1999) study focused on message contentiousness among Gulf Co-operative Council countries, and showed that religious Muslims scored lower in terms of recall and were unfavorable towards contentious advertisements relative to lenient Muslims. The findings suggest that there is a difference in perceived controversial elements in advertisements between a devout and a lenient Muslim. These findings also highlight the importance of matching creative execution and message content to a society‟s socio-cultural environment. Michell and Al-Mossawi claim an offensive advertisement will not be effective in capturing an audience‟s attention or changing his/her attitudes. Both of these studies revealed the importance of understanding the Islamic religion in relation to effective advertising. In particular, Luqmani et al., assert that unconventional advertisements must obtain prior approval from religious authorities. While in Malaysia, Unilever‟s used an ad for Pond‟s skin lightening moisturizer showing a Malay college student using the product for a fairer complexion to attract a boy‟s attention. The ad is deemed offensive to the Muslim ethnic culture (Haque et al., 2010). In addition to the above mentioned facts, the women‟s status is debated among traditional Islamists, reformist Islamists and feminists, secular or Islamic. The traditional Islamists are clear about the male-female differences and insist on the distinct sex roles. They view women as emotional, sentimental and weak humans whose duty is in the household. The traditional Islamists take every verse in the Qur‟an as a source of protection of women and see women as minors that need to be protected by superior men. In return the woman will nurture the family and try to please her father, brother or son, or whoever may be the head of the household. The woman has a responsibility to maintain the honor, reputation and status of the family. Traditionally, a man‟s hon or depends on the extent on the virginity of his sisters, wife and daughters, and widows divorcees‟ sexual continent. 185 The Islamic reformists believe that the inferiority is only in relation to the woman‟s physical strength and weaker autonomy, thus she is capable of participating in all spheres or public and social life. Modern and liberal reformists are trying to accommodate the Islamic rules with the realities of modern times. The feminist view is a secular movement whose aim is to achieve equality for women. The roots of this movement consider the woman as totally subordinated to the man and that the veil is a symbol of this. Advertising in Jordan Jordan‟s media sector has seen significant privatization and liberalization efforts in recent years. Based on official rack rates, research firm Ipsos estimated that the advertisement sector spent some $303m towards publicity in Jordan‟s media, 80% of which was spent on newspapers, followed by TV, radio and magazines. In recent years, Jordan has also seen a spectacular rise in the number of blogs, websites and news portals as sources of news information. The increasing diversification of Jordan‟s media boosted advertising revenues and private initiatives. Recording growth of 30%, 2007 turned out to be yet another outstanding year for Jordan‟s advertising industry. Following nearly a decade of double-digit growth, the Jordanian advertising had some catching up to do with the rest of the region in terms of average expenditure per capita. Since 2000 total ad spend increased from $77m to $303m in 2008, an increase of 260%. The Jordanian telecoms sector was the biggest ad spender in 2008, accounting for around 20% of the market, followed by banking and finance sector (12%), services industry (11%), real estate (8%) and the automotive sector (5%). Research Design In order to measure Jordanian male consumers‟ attitude towards using women in advertisement , male respondents between 18-55 years were selected. The survey instrument included a list of 22 statements from which respondents were asked to indicate their level of personal acceptance on a five-point scale, where 1 means â€Å"Strongly Disagree† and 5 means â€Å"Strongly Agree†. Statements from 1 -17 was designed to measure factors affecting consumers attitude towards using women in advertisement. Most of the statements were adapted from earlier studies, for example (Al Makaty et al. 1996; Nordà ©n 2006; and Baker, C.N. 2005). While statement 18-22 were designed to measure consumers overall attitude towards advertisements. The statements were adapted from earlier studies as well such as (Usman, 2010; and Ashill, 2005). Respondents belonging to different demographic groups in terms of education level, marital status and profession were considered in the study. The sampling frame for the study was male consumers living in west of Amman. For respondents‟ selection, simple random sampling procedure was adopted. Questionnaires were filled by the respondents. The total number of respondents was 450. The responses received were 353 (80.5 per cent). Cronbach alpha reliability analysis was conducted for the items included in the study. The internal consistency – Cronbach alpha value for reliability of the questionnaire was found to be 0.74. All items were well above the 0.70, which was the commonly accepted threshold (Nunnally 1978). Respondent Profile Respondents from different parts of west Amman were asked to fill in the questionnaire. Table 2 depicts a summation of the study‟s respondents‟ demographic information. As per research objectives all the respondents are male consumers. Of the 353 respondents, 79.0 per cent were less than 25 years of age. A larger number of respondents were unmarried (74.4 per cent) the maximum respondents fell into this age group, since youth is the target market and they are the ones who pay maximum attention to the advertisements. Out of the remaining sample, only 2.3 per cent were above 55 years of age. The remaining 29.5 per cent belonged to the age group of 26–55 years of age. The larger number of r espondents was unmarried (74.4 per cent), and this could be attributed to the young age of the respondent. In addition most of them 78.5 percent were with undergraduate education. The maximum respondents in the category „profession‟ belonged to the student group with a major share of 68.2 per cent and the remaining 31.8 per cent included businessmen, executives and others. The overall composition of respondents included in the study was young, unmarried and students.

Sir Richard Branson

The purpose of this paper is to describe the personality of Sir Richard Branson as well as applying the roles of social perception and attribution. Sir Branson is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of the Virgin brand started in the 1970’s. Virgin is one of Great Britain’s most respected brands and consists of ventures in travel and tourism, leisure and pleasure, social and environmental, media and telecommunications, finance and money, health, and shopping. As a youth, Sir Branson was introduced to many factors which shaped his adult personality. According to Nelson & Quick (2008), â€Å"family, culture, education, and other environmental forces shape personality. † Sir Branson’s personality was strongly influenced by his family environment. His mother encouraged him and his sisters to work hard and overcome adversity by continually setting physical challenges between the siblings. These competitions surely enhanced Branson’s drive to compete and triumph in sporting activities. His entrepreneur success can be contributed to the early introduction of entrepreneurship by his mother and Aunt Clare. Sir Branson’s was influenced by a loving family which modeled traits such as teamwork, cohesion, and support. During my childhood, children were taught to stay in a child’s place and speak only when spoken to. Branson was encouraged to speak as a child and his opinions were valued. This helped to build self-esteem and confidence to communicate outside his social group. In my opinion, Branson’s psychological type derived from the Type Theory Preferences and Descriptions is Extraversion, Intuition, Feeling, and Perceiving (ENFP). Nelson & Quick (2008) described a person who is categorized as ENFP to be: Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Make connections between events and information very quickly, and confidently proceed based on the patterns they see. Want a lot of affirmation from others, and readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on the ability to improvise and their verbal fluency. (p. 95) While reading Sir Branson’s case, I created the perception that Branson is intelligent, creative, loyal, family oriented, friendly, and confident yet arrogant. My perception is strongly affected by my characteristics as the perceiver. I truly believe that anyone can be successful if he or she works hard. If an individual is working hard and not obtaining the projected level of success, he or she needs to change the situation. Not necessary the plan or approach, but the situation in which he or she is operating in (city, state, company, community). The manner in which Branson organized his schedule to allow for family time influences my opinion and I created the image of him as a family man. Although this is important it doesn’t necessarily confirm that Branson is a true family man. The situation that Branson is introduced to me has an overwhelming affect on my perception. I am reading an article full of positive factors about Branson. How could my perception be anything other than positive? This perception may be the same or totally different had this been a face to face encounter. Three elements of the barriers to social perception are involved in my assessment. First, I used selective perception by relating my view of family orientation to Branson. I narrowed my perception to the qualities which supported my viewpoint. Next, I created the perception that Branson is intelligent, because he is successful. I have created a stereotype that all successful entrepreneurs must be intelligent. The article offered information that Branson’s academic record was terrible and he did not finish high school. I failed to consider this information because of his success. Lastly, the first impression error allowed me to read the article and create the perception that this is the true Branson without any future research or consideration. Sir Branson performance and success is due to internal attributions. He accepted his weaknesses and built on his strengths. The values instilled by his mother formed a sound foundation to build on. He is not focused on external attributions of things he has no control over. He continues to expand his empire by giving others opportunities to develop their ideas into business ventures that he supports (Nelson & Quick, 2008, p. 115). He uses his internal attributions to counter the startup problems and unforeseen battles which don’t seem to bother him. Sir Branson is perceived to be a well-rounded person. His personality, which drives his success and current business philosophy, mirrors his childhood development. During his childhood, his opinion was valued and now he is open to the opinions and ideas of his advisory team. His mother and Aunt Clara were very entrepreneurial developing several different ways to make money and now Branson invites creativity and backs the new business ventures of others. He developed his sense of competition and now challenges industries which he feels are not serving the public. An individual’s personality is strongly influenced by his or her environment as proven by Sir Richard Branson. References Nelson, D. L. , & Quick, J. C. (2008). Organizational behavior: Science, the real world, and you (6th Ed. ). Mason, OH: South-Western. Sir Richard Branson Assignment 4: Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Mysherri Rhodes Instructor: Bess White Bus 520: Leadership and Organization February 25, 2012 Describe Branson’s leadership style in terms of the leadership models addressed in Chapters 10 and 11 and evaluate the likely effectiveness of that style in the U. S. today. Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group Ltd. , has created a multi-billion dollar enterprise, which includes: airlines, records, bridal wear, holidays, vodka, cars, bank accounts, mobile phones, cosmetics, condoms and gyms (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).The Virgin Group is a globally recognized brand that has approximately 50,000 employees and earns more than $20 billion in sales annually (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson is known to be one of the greatest entrepreneurs and with that consumers can expect more unique creations from Sir Richard Branson (Boje & Smith, 2012). In order for a business to acquire and maintain such exponential growth, a company must have an effective leader.According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson is a genuine strategist who thinks outside the box and he has achieved many great things despite some setbacks throughout the years. Branson anticipates future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities. He develops others to be leaders or better leaders; that’s what makes him a transformational leader (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson, has a philosophy that is centered on finding people with strong communication and teamwork skills that can be integrated into Virgin Group culture.Once the proper employees are hired, Virgin Group continues the employee’s professional development, allowing the company to promote existing employees. Branson’s philosophy enables him to develop new leaders, which are able to foresee the company’s future and embrace new visions. Hellriegel & Slocum (2 011), also say that transformational leaders are risk takers and welcome new opportunities. Sir Richard Branson states that it is impossible to run a business without taking risks, and he is no stranger to doing so (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Branson publicly admits to three tremendous setbacks: a) the launch of a portable MP3 player (the Virgin Pulse) was crushed by the Apple iPod and lost over $20 million; b) against top management advice, Branson held on to Virgin’s Megastore retail outlets far too long, costing the group financially when the megastores were finally sold; c) Branson created Virgin Cola as an attempt to enter the United Kingdom’s Coca-Cola territory, but Coca-Cola crushed that effort.The Virgin Group has experienced its fair share of failures but that has never stopped Branson from looking for new opportunities. Because of these attributes, Branson is a great transformational leader and is a perfect fit in today’s world. The world is constantl y evolving from the old into the new, and this constant change creates the need for companies to adapt accordingly. Based on constant change a company must be able to adapt accordingly. Transformational leadership is such a great asset to today’s world because its leaders are true visionaries.For instance, to his colleagues Branson is known as Dr. Yes because he finds it hard to say no to new ideas and proposals. Being open to new ideas and proposals sets Virgin Groups apart from other companies because they are never afraid to try venture into new areas. Virgin Group prides itself on doing things in an innovative way while aspiring to provide quality services (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Visionaries are key to the evolution of today’s world and are important to the generations of the future.Recommend a different leadership style (or combination of styles) that would make Branson an even more effective leader. Transformational and transactional leadership are two of th e most popular approaches to leading a businesses (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s keen sense of transformational leadership is great for Virgin Group but could be more effective when combined other leadership styles such as transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is considered a great second style to work in synergy with transformational leadership.Transactional leadership focuses on the interaction and motivation that occur between a leader and his or her followers (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s states, â€Å"If you find people who are good at motivating others and getting the best out of people, they are the ones you want. There are plenty of so-called experts, but not as many motivators of people† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344). Branson’s belief in motivating his employees demonstrates his belief in transactional leadership and is an incontestable method ensuring that Virgin Group uses the correct leadership path.Motivating employ ees is a great way to initiate great leadership but here are some other components of transactional leadership that should be considered: a) transactional leadership provides contingent rewards, which includes leaders setting measurable goals to obtain that are clear and concise; b) it exhibits active management by monitoring work performance of employees and enforcing rules to prevent mistakes; c) it emphasizes that enforced rules are not to be broken and unacceptable performance will result in corrective actions (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Determine how Branson would develop and lead a global team working on a major project (e. g. , space tourism) Americans have witnessed the continuous development of the world for decades and Sir Richard Branson has been a part of American history. Branson has continued to push the envelope year after year, and is familiar with the leadership styles that are necessary for leading a global team working on a major project. Branson spoke out, statin g that carbon damaging the world is what is causing global warming.As a result, Branson recently pledged to give as much as $3 billion over the next ten years to tackle global warming. The funding for the global warming project will be given from Branson’s personal revenue from his airlines and rail company (Hellriegell & Slocume, 2011). Branson’s states: â€Å"We must not be the generation responsible for irreversibly damaging the environment† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). In order for Branson to develop and lead a global team for global warming, he must use the core components associated with transformational leadership.According Hellriegel & Slocum (2011; p 330), â€Å"the core components are individual consideration: refer to the leaders to anticipate the followers’ needs, perform as a mentor, and listen to the followers’ needs†. Next, Branson needs to intellectually stimulate his team by encouraging them to think outside the box and to n ot be afraid to take a risk. Then there are inspirational motivations, which is a concept pertaining to leaders creating a vision for the employees to follow.Last but not least is idealized influence which refers to the leader acting in a charismatic way to uplift employees and inspire them (Kirkpartrick & Locke, 1996). Branson has stated on numerous occasions that he treats his employees like human beings, which allows him to anticipate his employees’ needs. Branson also feels that an entrepreneur will only succeed if he or she is surrounded by good people and are able to listen to their advice. Because Branson is open to advice he has innately displayed individual consideration.As a leader Branson has always provided attention to the employee’s needs for growth, encouraged individuals to embrace creativity, and placed an emphasis on innovation. Early in Branson’s career he developed a habit of actively reading emails from his employees. Once the email are read , he then responds to employees’ concerns and ideas personally. There has been instances where employees have presented innovative ideas for the company’s future that Branson has implemented, which demonstrates an intellectual stimulation outcome and encourages this behavior in the future.As I stated above, Branson has a vision that involves improving global warming. Branson’s plan to address the problem is by setting up a carbon war room to strategize reducing the carbon output of companies without damaging the company’s profitability. Setting a vision and creating a plan is a great method for providing inspirational motives for individuals. Historically, Branson is well known for his ability to inspire his team, which results in an ideal work environment. Discuss how you can incorporate some of Branson’s leadership qualities into your role at work or school.Sir Richard Branson is an extraordinary individual and worthy of businesses mimicking his leadership style. Branson’s leadership styles includes, but are not limited to: honing in on one’s ability to become a true visionary, taking risk, and providing quality. Branson states that he listens to all new ideals and proposals but ultimately makes decisions based on his intuition (Branson, 2012). One could practice becoming a visionary into their work or school environment by taking an in depth look at a new ideas or roposals and trusting their intuition. Implementing an environment for visionaries allows individuals to bring forth ideas that other individuals may have difficulty visualizing. This method also encourages individuals to speak up and voice their opinions. The next quality that a leader must possess is risk taking. It is impossible for a business to run without taking risks. â€Å"Virgin would not be the company it is today if risks had not been taken† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344).In order for a manager to be successful there has to be some degree of risk taking and one could start by thinking out of the box (Hanna & Klein, 2011). This could take place by setting aside time for the team to meet, discuss, and implement new ideas that involve more risk. Another one of Branson’s attributes for leadership is to provide quality service to his clientele. According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson prides himself on his ability to provide quality services to consumers in areas where other companies may not.As a manager, one could raise the bar through implementing higher standards for quality service. This could, as a result, increase the clientele and loyalty to the company. References Boje, D. , & Smith, R. (2010). Re-storying and visualizing the changing entrepreneurial identities of Bill Gates and Richard Branson. Culture & Organization, 16(4), 307-331. doi:10. 1080/14759551003769250 Branson, R. (2012). Sir Audcity. Inc, 34(9), 72-73. Hanna, J. , & Klein, D. S. (2011). Sir Richard Branson: Great Brands, V irgin Brands, Branson Brands.Smart Business Orange County, 6(5), 10-11. Hellriegel, D. , & Slocum, J. W. , Jr. (2011). Organizational Behavior 13th ed. ). Mason, OH: Cengage (Learning) Kirkpatrick, S. A. , & Locke, E. A. (1996). Direct and Indirect Effects of Three Core Charismatic Leadership Components on Performance and Attitudes. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 81(1), 36-51. Sadeghi, A. , & Pihie, Z. (2012). Transformational Leadership and Its Predictive Effects on Leadership Effectiveness. International Journal Of Business & Social Science, 3(7), 186-197. Sir Richard Branson Assignment 4: Sir Richard Branson, Chairman, Virgin Group, Ltd. Case Study Mysherri Rhodes Instructor: Bess White Bus 520: Leadership and Organization February 25, 2012 Describe Branson’s leadership style in terms of the leadership models addressed in Chapters 10 and 11 and evaluate the likely effectiveness of that style in the U. S. today. Sir Richard Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group Ltd. , has created a multi-billion dollar enterprise, which includes: airlines, records, bridal wear, holidays, vodka, cars, bank accounts, mobile phones, cosmetics, condoms and gyms (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).The Virgin Group is a globally recognized brand that has approximately 50,000 employees and earns more than $20 billion in sales annually (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson is known to be one of the greatest entrepreneurs and with that consumers can expect more unique creations from Sir Richard Branson (Boje & Smith, 2012). In order for a business to acquire and maintain such exponential growth, a company must have an effective leader.According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson is a genuine strategist who thinks outside the box and he has achieved many great things despite some setbacks throughout the years. Branson anticipates future trends, inspiring followers to understand and embrace a new vision of possibilities. He develops others to be leaders or better leaders; that’s what makes him a transformational leader (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Sir Richard Branson, has a philosophy that is centered on finding people with strong communication and teamwork skills that can be integrated into Virgin Group culture.Once the proper employees are hired, Virgin Group continues the employee’s professional development, allowing the company to promote existing employees. Branson’s philosophy enables him to develop new leaders, which are able to foresee the company’s future and embrace new visions. Hellriegel & Slocum (2 011), also say that transformational leaders are risk takers and welcome new opportunities. Sir Richard Branson states that it is impossible to run a business without taking risks, and he is no stranger to doing so (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Branson publicly admits to three tremendous setbacks: a) the launch of a portable MP3 player (the Virgin Pulse) was crushed by the Apple iPod and lost over $20 million; b) against top management advice, Branson held on to Virgin’s Megastore retail outlets far too long, costing the group financially when the megastores were finally sold; c) Branson created Virgin Cola as an attempt to enter the United Kingdom’s Coca-Cola territory, but Coca-Cola crushed that effort.The Virgin Group has experienced its fair share of failures but that has never stopped Branson from looking for new opportunities. Because of these attributes, Branson is a great transformational leader and is a perfect fit in today’s world. The world is constantl y evolving from the old into the new, and this constant change creates the need for companies to adapt accordingly. Based on constant change a company must be able to adapt accordingly. Transformational leadership is such a great asset to today’s world because its leaders are true visionaries.For instance, to his colleagues Branson is known as Dr. Yes because he finds it hard to say no to new ideas and proposals. Being open to new ideas and proposals sets Virgin Groups apart from other companies because they are never afraid to try venture into new areas. Virgin Group prides itself on doing things in an innovative way while aspiring to provide quality services (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). Visionaries are key to the evolution of today’s world and are important to the generations of the future.Recommend a different leadership style (or combination of styles) that would make Branson an even more effective leader. Transformational and transactional leadership are two of th e most popular approaches to leading a businesses (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s keen sense of transformational leadership is great for Virgin Group but could be more effective when combined other leadership styles such as transactional leadership. Transactional leadership is considered a great second style to work in synergy with transformational leadership.Transactional leadership focuses on the interaction and motivation that occur between a leader and his or her followers (Sadeghi & Pihie, 2012). Branson’s states, â€Å"If you find people who are good at motivating others and getting the best out of people, they are the ones you want. There are plenty of so-called experts, but not as many motivators of people† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344). Branson’s belief in motivating his employees demonstrates his belief in transactional leadership and is an incontestable method ensuring that Virgin Group uses the correct leadership path.Motivating employ ees is a great way to initiate great leadership but here are some other components of transactional leadership that should be considered: a) transactional leadership provides contingent rewards, which includes leaders setting measurable goals to obtain that are clear and concise; b) it exhibits active management by monitoring work performance of employees and enforcing rules to prevent mistakes; c) it emphasizes that enforced rules are not to be broken and unacceptable performance will result in corrective actions (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011).Determine how Branson would develop and lead a global team working on a major project (e. g. , space tourism) Americans have witnessed the continuous development of the world for decades and Sir Richard Branson has been a part of American history. Branson has continued to push the envelope year after year, and is familiar with the leadership styles that are necessary for leading a global team working on a major project. Branson spoke out, statin g that carbon damaging the world is what is causing global warming.As a result, Branson recently pledged to give as much as $3 billion over the next ten years to tackle global warming. The funding for the global warming project will be given from Branson’s personal revenue from his airlines and rail company (Hellriegell & Slocume, 2011). Branson’s states: â€Å"We must not be the generation responsible for irreversibly damaging the environment† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011). In order for Branson to develop and lead a global team for global warming, he must use the core components associated with transformational leadership.According Hellriegel & Slocum (2011; p 330), â€Å"the core components are individual consideration: refer to the leaders to anticipate the followers’ needs, perform as a mentor, and listen to the followers’ needs†. Next, Branson needs to intellectually stimulate his team by encouraging them to think outside the box and to n ot be afraid to take a risk. Then there are inspirational motivations, which is a concept pertaining to leaders creating a vision for the employees to follow.Last but not least is idealized influence which refers to the leader acting in a charismatic way to uplift employees and inspire them (Kirkpartrick & Locke, 1996). Branson has stated on numerous occasions that he treats his employees like human beings, which allows him to anticipate his employees’ needs. Branson also feels that an entrepreneur will only succeed if he or she is surrounded by good people and are able to listen to their advice. Because Branson is open to advice he has innately displayed individual consideration.As a leader Branson has always provided attention to the employee’s needs for growth, encouraged individuals to embrace creativity, and placed an emphasis on innovation. Early in Branson’s career he developed a habit of actively reading emails from his employees. Once the email are read , he then responds to employees’ concerns and ideas personally. There has been instances where employees have presented innovative ideas for the company’s future that Branson has implemented, which demonstrates an intellectual stimulation outcome and encourages this behavior in the future.As I stated above, Branson has a vision that involves improving global warming. Branson’s plan to address the problem is by setting up a carbon war room to strategize reducing the carbon output of companies without damaging the company’s profitability. Setting a vision and creating a plan is a great method for providing inspirational motives for individuals. Historically, Branson is well known for his ability to inspire his team, which results in an ideal work environment. Discuss how you can incorporate some of Branson’s leadership qualities into your role at work or school.Sir Richard Branson is an extraordinary individual and worthy of businesses mimicking his leadership style. Branson’s leadership styles includes, but are not limited to: honing in on one’s ability to become a true visionary, taking risk, and providing quality. Branson states that he listens to all new ideals and proposals but ultimately makes decisions based on his intuition (Branson, 2012). One could practice becoming a visionary into their work or school environment by taking an in depth look at a new ideas or roposals and trusting their intuition. Implementing an environment for visionaries allows individuals to bring forth ideas that other individuals may have difficulty visualizing. This method also encourages individuals to speak up and voice their opinions. The next quality that a leader must possess is risk taking. It is impossible for a business to run without taking risks. â€Å"Virgin would not be the company it is today if risks had not been taken† (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2011; p 344).In order for a manager to be successful there has to be some degree of risk taking and one could start by thinking out of the box (Hanna & Klein, 2011). This could take place by setting aside time for the team to meet, discuss, and implement new ideas that involve more risk. Another one of Branson’s attributes for leadership is to provide quality service to his clientele. According to Hellriegel & Slocum (2011), Branson prides himself on his ability to provide quality services to consumers in areas where other companies may not.As a manager, one could raise the bar through implementing higher standards for quality service. This could, as a result, increase the clientele and loyalty to the company. References Boje, D. , & Smith, R. (2010). Re-storying and visualizing the changing entrepreneurial identities of Bill Gates and Richard Branson. Culture & Organization, 16(4), 307-331. doi:10. 1080/14759551003769250 Branson, R. (2012). Sir Audcity. Inc, 34(9), 72-73. Hanna, J. , & Klein, D. S. (2011). Sir Richard Branson: Great Brands, V irgin Brands, Branson Brands.Smart Business Orange County, 6(5), 10-11. Hellriegel, D. , & Slocum, J. W. , Jr. (2011). Organizational Behavior 13th ed. ). Mason, OH: Cengage (Learning) Kirkpatrick, S. A. , & Locke, E. A. (1996). Direct and Indirect Effects of Three Core Charismatic Leadership Components on Performance and Attitudes. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 81(1), 36-51. Sadeghi, A. , & Pihie, Z. (2012). Transformational Leadership and Its Predictive Effects on Leadership Effectiveness. International Journal Of Business & Social Science, 3(7), 186-197.

Master harold and the boys essays

Master harold and the boys essays Racist Attitudes and Their Influences in Master Harold ... and the boys We have all heard the saying that the rich keep getting richer while the poor keep getting poorer. This somewhat describes South Africa in the 1950s. During this time in Africa, the white people kept getting more powerful while the black population kept getting weaker. South Africas apartheid system gave powerful odds to the whites and created a racist society. In Master Harold ... and the boys, a book set around the 1950s and during the apartheid system, the racist attitudes from the apartheid system and Hallys parents affected how Hally treated Sam and Willie, who are black and work for Hallys mother. These attitudes over-shadowed the good relationship Sam and Hally had built through most of Hallys childhood. Apartheid was a system that deliberately set out to humiliate black people, even to the point of relegating them to separate benches, entails the danger of habitual indifference to the everyday detail that shape black and white relationship and finally, perverts them. (Durbach 69). South Africa passed laws and acts making the black peoples lives degrading and ensured the white superiority. Four laws were passed in 1950 which included the Population Registration Act, Group Areas Act, the Amendment to the Immorality Act, and the suppression of the Communism Act. These laws did several things including classified people by color, governed areas for living according to race and controlled ownership of property, prohibited sexual contact across racial lines, and removed due process of laws for blacks. (Durbach 69). Apartheid was used in South Africa because the whites, while a minority in the population, wanted to be in control of the government and society. The way anything that is smaller in size, and therefore weaker, is able to get power is through intimidation. The whites made themselves...

Occupational Therapy Essays - Computer Keyboards, Keyboard Layout

Occupational Therapy Essays - Computer Keyboards, Keyboard Layout Occupational Therapy We are a group of occupational therapists and a new client has come to our office with the following case history: Don is a 63 year-old amateur poet. He has several of his poems published in the local newspaper but has not yet been accepted by any literary journals. Three months ago, Don had a cerebellar cerebrovascular accident that has given him significant fine motor control limitations. He is not able to hold a pencil or a pen, and when one is taped in his hand, he can not produce recognizable printing. He is able to reach a range of nearly 5 feet from side to side but cannot pick up a 1-inch cube from the table. When asked to use a keyboard, he is as likely to strike two keys away from the target as the key he is aiming for. He is able to put his finger reliably into a square that is 2 inches on a side wherever it is located within his reach. He is not able to accurately place his finger into a square that is 1.5 inches on a side, however, unless it is located directly in front of him (Anson, 1997, p. 104). Don is frustrated by his condition and needs some assistance to continue his writing. We used the decision tree to evaluate which computer adaptation would be best for Don. We determined that Don has physical limitations to the computer but has full range of the keyboard. Due to his trouble targeting specific keys, it would be increasingly difficult to simultaneously press more than one key at once. The client has frequent accidental keystrokes because of the size of the small keys. His inability to strike a single key on demand led us to expanded range of motion. Having assessed that Don could strike larger keys accurately; we reached the alternative of expanded keyboards. Upon researching expanded keyboards, we found a great variety in what each keyboard offered. The 32 key layout with 2.5- inch keys did not provide an adequate selection for Dons writing needs. Most of the standard expanded keyboards with 128 keys only have 1.5-inch keys. Some examples are Key Largo and Unicorn Expanded keyboards. Key Largo is an expanded keyboard, which works through Discover KENX. It is useful for one with coordination problems. Unicorn Expanded keyboard established the standard 128 key expanded keyboard design. We had the opportunity (in A.T. lab) to try and compare the different expanded keyboards. We appreciated that a client with difficulty reaching small keys would find these keyboards more beneficial. All keyboards require an encoder, which interprets the key. When pressed it converts it to a keyboard code, that the computer could understand. Some computers come with a built in encoder and some without. These keyboards with encoders can be connected directly to the keyboard port of the computer. Therefore no internal adaptation is needed for the computer and it doesnt interfere with any software in the computer. This is beneficial because it can be used with any operating system and software the client may need. A disadvantage to this is that the keyboard codes are not readily adaptable. This means that the keyboard layout is fixed and cant be changed by the clinician. Another consideration is that this keyboard can not be connected simultaneously with the standard keyboard. Since plugging and unplugging the keyboard is not recommended, this option is better suited for a client who would be the sole user of the computer. Expanded keyboards that do not have the built in encoder, require an external device that would interpret the codes to the computer. Although this keyboard has the disadvantage of an external device, it offers flexibility in the keyboard layout and allows for various overlays that change the layout. An example of the latter is the Key Largo keyboard mentioned above. The problem with 1.5-inch keys is the clients inability to accurately reach a key of that size unless the keyboard is positioned right in front of him. An option would be to position the client in front of the computer with the keyboard mounted close enough for him to access. Although this alternative was a possibility we preferred to find

Swift's A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Swift's A Modest Proposal - Essay Example At the time of this pamphlet’s writing, Ireland was not an independent country and was much poorer than England. Ireland was a place which was wholly dependent upon England politically, economically and militarily. According to Swift, Ireland was an over populated and poor country full of beggars, lack of food storage, heavy taxes and with no right to handle their own country affairs as England uses to control the legislature of Ireland. Majority of the people who were born over there were Roman Catholics and they use to work as labors of agriculture or tenant farmers. The owners of the land known as landlords were paid at a rate which was not affordable by the workers from the lands production. These landlords were usually Protestants and were considered to be the ruling class. Majority of them were not the natives of Ireland by birth nor did they use to live over there permanently. If some labors lost the job they were doing, there position in a job was soon taken over by the other people who are poor living there. Ireland, at that time had the same level of starvation as it can be seen in today’s third world countries along with no social security system. Swift’s Modest Proposal’s beginning is based upon the real poverty of the people living in Ireland. Swift presented this pamphlet in a sympathetic manner but provided the facts and details which showed that there is a surplus that is an excessive number of children who cannot be fed. He mentioned about selling children for slavery as a possibility of living but is against this as nobody will ever buy children who are younger than twelve years of age rather than being against for this possibility due to its cruelty and wrongness. This gives the meaning that children cannot be fed for a long time period as their parents are too poor and children themselves are too weak and small for doing any work. Soon after this Swift went off the point and claimed

Study of Reflective Practice and Continuous Learning Research Paper

Study of Reflective Practice and Continuous Learning - Research Paper Example On the other hand, half a century later, David Schon (1983; 1987) introduced his concept of reflective practice emphasizing the importance of context and experiential knowledge for continuous improvement. The integration of ideas from these two theorists is evident in current reflective practice literature. â€Å"As is often the case, the answer is not ‘either/or’ of Dewey and Schon but ‘both/and’† (York-Barr et al., 2006, p. 5). Reflective practice is borne out of the basic premise that changes in an organization starts within each individual. It is regarded as a â€Å"meaningful and effective professional development strategy† (Osterman and Kottkamp, 2004, p. 1). Although the goal remains synonymous (the development of individual competencies leading to improved organizational performance), reflective practice offers an alternative approach to traditional professional development approaches. The emergence of reflective practice in the educational setting, as discussed by Osterman and Kottkamp (2004), was a response to the failure of educational reforms to effectively address the need of academically and socially preparing students to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. The independent studies done by Fulla and Hargreaves (1996); and Ingersoll (2003) reveal that â€Å"for many teachers working conditions are still characterized by overload, isolation, exclusion from decisions about thei r work, and a lack of meaningful professional development opportunities† (as cited in Osterman and Kottkamp, 2004, p. 4). Educators on a daily basis â€Å"routinely juggle multiple tasks, process information on many levels, manage a continual stream of interruptions, and make on-the-spot decisions to meet the changing needs and demands in the teaching environment† (York-Barr et al., 2006, p. 2). Though teachers are guided by their knowledge, a significant margin of uncertainty accompanies their