The Effects of Post-Colonialism and Hybridity in a Culture free essay sample

Post-Colonialism is how a culture changes after ideas are dominated by new beliefs on how ways life should be. Hybridity, when talking about post-colonialism, can be described in two different ways. Hybridity can be viewed as a mixture of groups or cultures in which one then compliments the other so that a new group or culture is formed. Either group or culture will then practice with an understanding from both beliefs. In the other view of hybridity it shows the overall loss of identity, or the process of identifying oneself among a different culture. Each of these definitions of hybridity is expressed through the writings of Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace, Robert J. C. Young’s Postcolonialism, and Gandhi. Amitav Ghosh expresses hybridity in The Glass Palace through characters who adapt to the mixture of culture, and to those who experience the loss of their identity because of this mixture. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Post-Colonialism and Hybridity in a Culture or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In Robert J. C. Young’s Postcolonialism, the example of Algerian rai music is described as a hybrid genre. Hybridity can also be seen through the early writings of Gandhi according to the European education system and how it completely evolved from the previous form of education established in India. Each society is forced into an overlapping culture with their dominating colonial power, changing every aspect of their previously known lifestyle, thus having to adapt to the new style of living. When talking about hybridity in the sense of mixture, The Glass Palace shows hybridity through the change of clothing styles. Saya John is normally dressed in the traditional â€Å"longyi† because of his country, but as colonial power it’s imposed on his lifestyle, he then begins to dress in more traditional European clothing. The transformation to the European style of clothing symbolizes his overall transition into a hybrid culture. In Robert J. C. Young’s, Postcolonialism, the example of Algerian rai music is described as a hybrid genre due to the combination of various Spanish, French, and Arabic influences found within the single category of music. He writes, â€Å"rai does not consist of one kind of music that can easily be described in general terms. It has always been mobile and shifting as it changes its functions and locations, its instruments and its audiences† (Young 70). Rai music changed due to the hybrid culture in which it was founded. It became a mix of sounds and phrases from multiple regions, forming an entirely new expression of music. One of the simplest forms of social expression was changed due to the combination of multiple cultures. Both the transformation of clothing styles and development of rai music illustrates the definition of hybridity in the sense of a mixture of two cultures. Views of hybridity can be seen by some aspects of post-colonial like: political structure, economic strategies, and social models of a culture. In Ghosh’s The Glass Palace, Rajkumar, an orphan from Burma, takes on a new economic role due to the combination of his previously known culture with that of the Europeans. Originally, Rajkumar himself served as a source of labor in the teak lumber yards, yet as he gains knowledge with age, he acquires a teak yard of his own using procedures similar to those of the Europeans. He uses the British tactic of maintaining slave labor for economic advancement. The lifestyle that Rajkumar attains is a direct result of colonial rule and power. The British colonizers were able to change the entire economic system of the teak yards, and once Rajkumar was exposed to this, his original ideas about labor were transformed as well. During his confrontation with Uma, Uma states, â€Å"What you and your kind have done is far worse than the worst deeds of the Europeans† (Ghosh 214). Uma’s reference to the slave labor, Rajkumar, has been enforcing in his camps displaying the fact that he has not only blended with the culture of the British, but he has surpassed their traditional actions. This reinstates the other idea of hybridity causing the loss of oneself. Rajkumar is no longer able to identify with his previous Burmese culture, but rather he has transitioned into a European mindset. A similar instance pertaining to the overall loss of oneself can also be seen through Dolly’s character in The Glass Palace. She is originally from Burma, but she spends the majority of her time in India with the Royal family. Due to her location, she encounters a first-hand experience of a lifestyle under colonial domination. She experiences an overall loss of identity with her previously known territory and culture. During her conversation with Uma, she is asked whether she would ever want to return to Burma. She responds by saying, â€Å"Never†¦if I were to return to Burma now, I would be a foreigner-they would call me a kalaa like they do Indiansa trespasser, an outsider from across the sea† (Ghosh 96). Dolly refers to herself as a foreigner when referring to her homeland. By going through a lifestyle under British rule in another country, she has completely lost a sense of who she once was, and is unable to identify with her previously known culture. The idea of Dolly referring to herself as a â€Å"foreigner† within her own homeland displays the loss of herself and her identity which represents the meaning of hybridity. Dolly’s emotions towards herself and her homeland are compared throughout the writings of Gandhi. The elements of hybridity are interpreted through the exploration of Britain’s imperial rule over India. The education system in India had completely evolved in its transition to a post-colonial territory. The traditional form of education in India was transformed into that of the traditional European education, causing both social and political elements of hybridity to form throughout the territory. Gandhi speaks against this transition, stating that â€Å"[they] should have today a free India†¦not as if they were foreigners in their own land†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gandhi 127). Similar to Dolly, many Indians had begun to lose their identity, and felt as though they were foreigners in their own land. There was not a single sense of their previous culture that remained within themselves, or their daily routines. The Glass Palace portrays various pieces of hybridity through each of the characters and their positions in their society and culture. Rajkumar is able to learn positive economic benefits from the combination of British tactics and traditional Burmese standards. However, Uma’s perspective embodies the second definition of hybridity. She believes that Rajkumar has fully transitioned into the European culture, leaving no trace of his previous Burmese identity to be found. And Dolly takes on this perspective for herself, completely losing her previous identity and culture due to the colonial-dominated area she grew up in. Between clothing styles, genres of music, political structures, economic developments, and social models of a culture, hybridity has emerged throughout post-colonial areas, and is still affected the daily lives of the people in societies and cultures today.

Free Essays on Crucible

John Proctor And Willy Loman: The Tragedies Of Two Common Men Are John Proctor and Willy Loman common men? Are they tragic heroes? Using information from Arthur Miller’s essay, â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man†, both men can be defined as common, and both men can be defined as tragic heroes. Miller’s essay also characterizes the plays â€Å"The Crucible† and â€Å"Death of a Salesman† as tragedies in modern literature. According to Miller, the quality that shapes the image of the common man is one that â€Å"derives from the underlying fear of being displaced, the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world† (Miller, Tragedy of the Common Man). Both John Proctor and Willy Loman share this fear, and both regard their reputations in society very highly. Proctor’s fear of being displaced is evident in the last act when he refuses to sign the confession stating that he practiced witchcraft. Procter declares, â€Å"I have given you my soul; leave me my name!†(Miller, The Crucible, Act IV). This quote implies that Procter values maintaining his chosen image as a good and holy man over his soul, which in his religious society is also regarded very highly. Willy Loman lives in a fantasy world where he believes that he is extremely successful and loved by all. At one point Willy states â€Å"I’m the New England man. I am vital in New England.†(Miller, Death of a Salesman, Act 1). Later in the play Willy refuses a job offered to him by Charley, because he fears that accepting the job will tear him away from his chosen image if being the best, thus categorizing him as a common man by Millers standards. Because John Proctor and Willy Loman regard their reputations and dignity so highly and fear the possibility of these qualities being degraded, they are considered common men. Miller describes that the tragic element in a tragic hero is â€Å"evoked... Free Essays on Crucible Free Essays on Crucible A Major Theme of The Crucible According to the Webster’s Dictionary, a crucible is â€Å"a vessel in which metal is heated to a high temperature and melted for the purposes of casting†. It can also be referred to a situation in which a person has to make a decision that can be critical to his morals and principles. There are many interpretations of the word crucible as there is for the theme of Arthur Miller’s, The Crucible. Closely related to the word â€Å"crucifixion†, The Crucible is about a man put in a crucible situation, who is forced to choose between life and morality, just as Jesus Christ did. Miller interweaved these scenarios to form the main themes of the play – the problem of making the right moral choice and the necessity of sacrifice as a means of redemption. Both of these themes can be abridged to form one main theme, good versus evil. Based on the Salem witch trials of the late 17th century, The Crucible explores the vulnerability of a society and the difficulty of doing ‘good’ in the face of evil and tremendous social pressures. The play is about a town, Salem, Massachusetts, and the hysteria its residents go through because of the witchcraft accusations made by the young girls and countless other people of the region. These accusations, we learn in the novel, are not true and are merely stories to put the blame of someone’s mistakes or wrongdoings to someone else. The accusers are just trying to find scapegoats for their shortcomings. This is where good versus evil takes place. There are numerous â€Å"good† characters in the novel that try to prove that there are no such things as witches, as well as â€Å"bad† who use the trials for their own gain, and the plot revolves around their struggle against each other. One of the many cases where good versus evil is portrayed is through the situation between Elizabeth Proctor and Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams is the niece of Reverend Parris, a renowned preache... Free Essays on Crucible John Proctor And Willy Loman: The Tragedies Of Two Common Men Are John Proctor and Willy Loman common men? Are they tragic heroes? Using information from Arthur Miller’s essay, â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man†, both men can be defined as common, and both men can be defined as tragic heroes. Miller’s essay also characterizes the plays â€Å"The Crucible† and â€Å"Death of a Salesman† as tragedies in modern literature. According to Miller, the quality that shapes the image of the common man is one that â€Å"derives from the underlying fear of being displaced, the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in this world† (Miller, Tragedy of the Common Man). Both John Proctor and Willy Loman share this fear, and both regard their reputations in society very highly. Proctor’s fear of being displaced is evident in the last act when he refuses to sign the confession stating that he practiced witchcraft. Procter declares, â€Å"I have given you my soul; leave me my name!†(Miller, The Crucible, Act IV). This quote implies that Procter values maintaining his chosen image as a good and holy man over his soul, which in his religious society is also regarded very highly. Willy Loman lives in a fantasy world where he believes that he is extremely successful and loved by all. At one point Willy states â€Å"I’m the New England man. I am vital in New England.†(Miller, Death of a Salesman, Act 1). Later in the play Willy refuses a job offered to him by Charley, because he fears that accepting the job will tear him away from his chosen image if being the best, thus categorizing him as a common man by Millers standards. Because John Proctor and Willy Loman regard their reputations and dignity so highly and fear the possibility of these qualities being degraded, they are considered common men. Miller describes that the tragic element in a tragic hero is â€Å"evoked... Free Essays on Crucible The madness of the Salem with trials is explored I great detail. There are many theories as to why the with trials come about, the most popular of which is the girls’ suppressed childhoods. However, there were other factors as well, such as Abigail Williams’ affair with John Proctor, the secret grudges that neighbors held against each other, and the physical and economic differences between the citizens of Salem Village. From a historical viewpooint, it is known that young girls in colonial Massachusetts were given little or no freedom to act like children. They were expected to walk straight, arms by their sides, eyes slightly downcast, and their mouths were to be shut unless otherwise asked to speak. It is not surprising that the girls would find this type of lifestyle very constricting. To rebel against it, they played pranks, such as dancing in the woods, listening to slaves’ magic stories and pretending that other villagers were bewitching them. The crucible starts after the girls in the village have been caught dancing in the woods. As one of them falls sick, rumors start to flu that there is witchcraft gong on in the woods, and that the sick girls is bewitched. Once the girls talk to each other, they become more and more frightened of being accused by saying, ‘I go back to Jesus; I kiss his hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!† Another girl, Betty, continues the cry with, ‘I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!† From here on, the accusations grow and grow until the jails overflow with accused witches. It must have given them and incredible sense of power when the whole town of Salem listened to their words and believed each and every accusation. After all, children were to be seen and not heard in Puritan society, and the new found attention was probably overwhelming. The girls were called before the judges...

A Strange Role Model

When a person has a role model, they look up to that special someone, adoring them, wanting and trying to be everything that person stands for. Little boys look up to Michael Jordan, the sports hero of our time. Little girls look up to models and Barbie, wanting to be beautiful, poised and sophisticated women. Me, I always thought that I had no role model, no one I wanted to be. Then one day my dad and I had a huge argument. Nickay! he always screamed, not yet having mastered the art of talking. Why didnt you wash the dishes last night? He barged into my room. I looked up from my homework and calmly explained that I had so much homework to do that I had fallen asleep. He screamed some more and, angered, I screamed back. He said Id better not let it happen again or I would see what would happen. My father has always been a believer in ruling the household with a firm hand. When he left my room, I thought, boy do I dislike that man and click, it came to me. My influence is my father. This brazen, rough man is my role model for everything I dont want to be. When I grow up, I dont want to be anything like my father. Growing up was hard. When I was smaller, I tried desperately to be Daddys little girl. I wanted him to protect me. I wanted him to buy me a necklace with a charm that said Daddys Little Girl, and one day in return Id give him one that said Number One Father. I wanted to go out for ice cream and talk about different things. Sadly, it never happened. My father was nothing like I dreamed. He made many promises and broke them all. Growing up, I always studied hard and strived to be the best. My father would be proud some days but others, when he was mad, would tell me with a mean face, I dont care how many books you read or study, youll never be smarter than me. This from a security officer with a high school diploma. My father brought me up with a stern hand; I feel children should be allowed to be children, and should be loved, not beaten. Now that Im seventeen my dad doesnt hit me anymore, but he may slap me once in a blue moon. He feels I have no respect and wants to put me in my place. He is the parent and I am the child. Nothing more, nothing less. But in reality, I dont hold any respect for my father. In his house, my dad feels that his way is always right, and tries to enforce his brazen ideas. But somehow I have been able to develop an independent mind and believe in myself. The only thing we have in common is our love of sports. Still, its different. He wants me to run track in the Olympics and, while I love track, I value an education more. Today, I am a strong, independent, black-Hispanic woman. Unlike my father, I love different cultures, new ideas and concepts. I have grown to love classical and some alternative music music that he ridicules. However, I just lock my door and pop in Beethovens Symphony No. 9, or my favorite, Tchaikovskys 1812 Overture. I love Broadway shows and dream of the day my father will take me to see Miss Saigon, which some of my girlfriends have done with their dads. But I am forced to save money to see this play on my own. I love to read and discuss books, something my father would never do with me. So I discuss books with my teachers and my uncle, who is a bookworm. My father feels there is no life beyond the city, but I want to travel and see the world. I have always been fascinated by other cultures, which is why I want to study International Relations. This probably comes from my diverse background. I am Hispanic, but I look African-American and realize how different these two cultures are. My Hispanic friends are open to friendship and are more sentimental than my black friends. Ive lived in Panama (my birthplace), Costa Rica, Hawaii, Texas and now on the East Coast. But my main goal has always been to try to lend a helping hand. It hurts me to see all the troubles in countries like Serbia. I feel a nagging pain to want to help. Graduating from high school and college are my top priorities. I dont ever want to stop being who I have become, because I have grown to like myself. My father and I have come to an understanding leave him alone and he leaves me alone. Lately, he has been proud of my accomplishments. I was in an article in the city newspaper, and he showed it to his friends. It may seem a little late for my father to begin understanding me, but I will give him a chance because someday I would like to be someones role model. fl

The presidency of Andrew Jackson and the Bank War Research Paper

The presidency of Andrew Jackson and the Bank War - Research Paper Example However, renewal of character could still be possible after the then current charter could expire in the year 1836. Thus to prevent this he rolled out a strategy that was aimed at crippling the bank economically. While acting against the advice of the Congress and cabinet members, President Andrew replaced resistant Secretaries to the Treasury and ordered that federal funds should be deposited into other banks other than the second bank of the United States. Following the president’s directive, the second bank’s president made a countermove in the economy to let people feel the need for the second Bank of America. By so doing, Nicholas Biddle the central bank president created a financial crisis that led to heated debate in the Congress, the press and the public. Businessmen being the most affecting, protested, asking the president and the bank’s management to end the bank war (Rothbard, 510). After people had learned of the dangers of the central bank, there were minimal needs for the renewal of the charter, hence leading to its closer in the year 1836 which was a victory for President Andrew

Business cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business cycle - Essay Example The business cycle occurs in five distinct stages, which include growth, peak, recession, trough, and recovery. Whenever the business cycle is at recession, the business general, economic performance is bad (Elwell 123). In fact, it results to adverse economic elements such as inflation, unemployment, losses to corporation, and decline in investment levels. On the other hand, period of growth and peak are desirable in that they are characterized by strong economic signals such as high employment levels, price stability, profitability of firms, and high investment levels. It is therefore, preferable that the economy operates on growth or peak season. Three key economic variables that characterize a business cycle Economists have unearthed three causes of a business cycle, which include employment, inflation, and interest rates. During trough or recession period, the interest rates are high, which means that the cost of acquiring capital for investing is business is high. This, therefo re, implies that less people are taking up loans for investment. With investment levels low, the unemployment levels in the economy will go down. As such, trends continue to soar; the overall effect is that the economy may go into a trough. In order to revive the economy from such adverse trends, the government usually comes up with expansionary policies such as increasing public expenditure as well as reducing the rate of capital to encourage investment and reduce the unemployment rates. The other factor that characterizes the business cycle includes the issue of inflation. During the times of recession or trough, the economy is characterized by price volatility. The price of goods and services usually go up making life difficult for the majority of households. Whenever, the economy has high prices, the business cycle is affected negatively implying indirect relationship between inflation and business cycle. The other factor that affects business cycle is the issue of productivity. During peak and growth period since the economic cycle, the economy is always characterized by high productivity. Hamilton (119) says that it is important that government of the day and the management of various businesses put in place deliberate measures to ensure productivity through quality education and training, investment in infrastructure, and better government policies that encourage productivity. The good business environment in developed economies such as United States of America examines why their economy is rarely affected by adverse economic cycle such as recession and trough. Characteristics of Recession Economic pundits refer to recession as a period exceeding two quarters in which an economy is grappling with a negative trend in GDP. The major characteristic of recession is a reduction in investment spending. During periods of recession, the interest rates are always high which in turn results to increase in cost of capital (Smiley 221). Increase in cost of capital makes it very expensive to service loans hence less money is available for investment. The other critical characteristic of recession is high unemployment rate. During recession, the level of

Evaluation of a multiprofessional community stroke team Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of a multiprofessional community stroke team Essay The study aims to conclusively evaluate how effective it is to employ a specialist community stroke team for the rehabilitation of stroke victims in a community based setting. This is clearly established at within the opening lines of the article. In the summary at the beginning of the article the author claims that the available evidence is inconclusive and his aim is to provide conclusive proof with regards to evidence based practise for the patient. A research article should state its’ aims clearly and should assume the audience has no previous background knowledge (Greenhalg, 2006). The literature reviewed in this article was from a variety of sources such as the Cochrane database and a selection of journal articles. On this basis the authors were able to deduce that previous research carried out provided contradicting reports. For example Roderick et al (2001) as cited by Lincoln et al (2004) found no significant difference in the effectiveness of rehabilitation which had taken place in the home to that which had occurred in a hospital setting. On the contrary Gladman et al (1993) as cited by Lincoln et al (2004) found a significant difference in a small group of younger patients. It was also suggested that there was a shift of focus from mainly hospital based rehabilitation to community based rehabilitation of stroke patients. According to Polger and Thomas (2008) a literature review should provide appropriate background information. That is, it should show the current knowledge level in that area of study. The author appears to have utilised much of his own previous work in the study and some are more than ten years old. This could possibly be an indication that indeed, there is a large gap in knowledge of this subject area. On the other hand it may indicate that the author has done a selective search of the literature. A quantitative approach was utilised in this study and the method used was a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). The articles’ methodology was well documented. According to Sim and Wright (2000) an analytic study attempts to quantify the relationship between two factors, that is, the effect of an intervention or exposure on an outcome. A term used to describe the design randomized controlled trial according to Greenhalgh (2006) is Parallel group comparison. This is when each group receives a different treatment and both are entered into the experiment at the same time. By comparing the groups an analysis is provided. In the Lincoln et al (2004) study Participants were divided into two groups, A and B with the former receiving routine care while the latter received the intervention – rehabilitation with the multi-professional community stroke team. The question posed by the authors could have been answered using a qualitative approach. The question could possible state; Evaluation of a multiprofessional community stroke team: a phenomenological study. SAMPLE Altman (1991) states that a study should have enough participants recruited in order to detect a significant effect if one exists. The sample group consisted of patients referred to the Nottingham Community Stroke Team who had suffered a stroke within the last two years, who were over sixteen years old and needed intervention from more than one multidisciplinary team member. Patients who lived outside the geographical area and/or had been treated by the community stroke team in the preceding two years were excluded. Four hundred and twenty eight patients were randomly selected at the start of the trial and randomly allocated to either Group A or Group B. An error resulted in seven people being recruited twice. This error was corrected by including only the outcome of their initial recruitment when the results were being analyzed. The target population of this study is relatively clearly defined (patients who have had a stroke within last two years, over the age of sixteen, etc ) and lends credence to the external validity of the study (Payton, 1994). According to Sim and Wright (2000) the accessible population is the portion of the target population that is available to the researcher and the sample is then taken from this accessible population. The groups are similar to each other with regards to gender and age distribution; this also increases the validity of the study as this similarity reduces the variables of the study. The overall population was a convenience sample which was then randomized to two groups. Six months after randomization all the patients were sent a letter asking them to consent to being in a study to evaluate the input of a community stroke team. According to Lincoln et al (2004) the consent forms and outcome questionnaires were sent this late so as to reduce bias. It was thought that group A which was receiving routine care would have lower expectations if confronted with the realization that the alternate group may receive superior care. Some would possibly insist on being referred to the specialist community stroke team The Local Research Ethics Committee granted ethical approval for this study to go ahead. This indicates that the value of the research undertaken outweighed any harm that this consenting method may have caused as patients in Group A were still receiving routine care. However, the department of health has issued guidelines which state that participants must be consented and all pertinent information given prior to the start of any study. Data was collected via a questionnaire comprising of the Barthel Index, Extended ADL, General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) and Euroquol. The participants were also asked to rate their knowledge of the expected extent of recovery from their stroke, and their overall satisfaction with the services they received from the community stroke team. The use of a questionnaire for data collection has both negative and positive aspects. Greenhalgh (2006) states that a questionnaire is an instrument used to measure human psychology, so whilst sending the questionnaire via post proves to be cost effective as the alternative would be to hold face to face interviews with the participants as focus groups or individually, it raises concerns about the reliability of the study. This is because the researcher is not present to interpret facial expressions and body language when the participants answer the questions. The alternative of conducting face to face interviews with such a large number of participants would prove to be costly and time consuming. However, according to Oppenheim (2003) long questionnaires are sometimes off putting and may generate low response rates, conducting these questionnaires via the postal service could possibly increase the likelihood of a low response rate. The results were shown as a table and diagram, the Mann-Whitney U-test which was used to compare the groups showed no significant differences on independence in personal or instrumental activities of daily living or on the patients’ mood. There was also no significant difference between the groups in their knowledge with regards to the resources available to assist them in adjusting to life after a stroke. There was also no difference between the two groups with overall satisfaction or in satisfaction with the practical helped received. However, patients in the Community Stroke Team were significantly more satisfied with the emotional care they received. (Lincoln et al, 2004) According to Wright et al (2009) the Mann-Whitney U-test is used when one group from the sample is larger than the other and when both samples are from the same population, as is the case with this study. There was no significant difference in carers’ mood between the two groups. However, the strain on carers of patients seen by the community stroke team was significantly less than that of carers of patients randomized to the routine care group. The carers of patients in the community stroke team group were significantly more satisfied with their knowledge of stroke and had higher overall satisfaction than the carers of those in the routine group. By utilizing the randomized controlled trial design the author lends credence to its validity as this design allows for the eradication of systematic bias. (Sim et al, 2000) This was done through the sampling process of selecting the participants from the target population and randomly allocating them to Group A which received routine care or Group B those in the care of the community stroke team. The collection of data by using a postal questionnaire helps to â€Å"blind† the researcher as he cannot influence the participants’ response. Although some participants did not respond to the questionnaire, others responded with incomplete forms, some died and a few were recruited twice, the author is cognizant of this and incorporates it into his findings. Crombie (2000) states that if the withdrawals and failures to respond can be seen as being consistent between both comparison groups then the results of the research will not be negatively impacted upon. This is because the results show that these failures are random among both groups and not specific to one. However one major fault is the fact that the services received by Group A were not collected due to impracticalities and unreliable recollections of the patients. Critical appraisal is not just an exercise in fault finding, it is the analysis of these faults and the assessment of their potential impact on the research which allows the reader to come to a decision regarding the strength or usefulness of the article being critiqued. In order for the research results to be utilized in clinical practice its’ reliability and validity are essential aspects which need to be covered. (Polger and Thomas, 2008) This article shows a research that was methodically sound and well designed. The sample was representative of the population being examined and attempts were made to minimize bias. The author was aware of the shortfalls of this research and attempted to incorporate this in his findings however, most of the issues identified did not affect the results of the study. The study if repeated would provide comparable results. However, the author states that the study provides evidence supporting the use of a community based stroke team to assist in the rehabilitation of stroke patients because of the increased emotional support for patients and greater satisfaction and reduced strain on carers. This statement would have been better justified on results from a qualitative study as this type of study aims to interpret people’s emotional and psychological response to the intervention or interventions being employed. The results from such a study would be closer to the patients’ and carers true feelings as the methodology behind that study would be different.

Gullivers Travels :: essays research papers

Gulliver’s Travels   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel, Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift addresses many things wrong with the society around him. His portrayal of English society shows how much he saw evil in it. He mainly addressed five issues throughout his book: war, government and politics,economy, society, and mankind as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Lilliputians uncover the idiocracy of war in our society. The Little-Ender and Big-Ender war all started on the debate of which way to break an egg. It didn’t matter that the entire reason of the war was ridiculous--no one knew that reason. They just fought because they knew that they fought long ago, and guessed that it should have been for a good reason.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gulliver himself even showed the absurdity of war when he explained the reasons England would fight to Mistress or the Queen of Brobdingnag. His justifications to fight were simply because the enemy was weaker and they wanted more land. This shows Swift’s sympathy for Ireland at that time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift believed that politics and government were games. The “election'; of “leaping and creeping'; of the Lilliputians was the basis of choosing their government officials. The government was ran with people that could go under or jump over a stick. The entire notion of classes and ranks seemed to be stupid to Swift.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The island of Brobdingnag portrayed Swift’s idea of a perfect society. Everyone was equal, and everyone got an equal share. There were no taxes and everyone got a say in how to deal with problems that arose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Gulliver explained English society to the queen of Brobdingnag, she no longer regarded the little man with wonder. She proclaimed that the crimes of his society were lying and swindling, and the English were horrible vermin. When Gulliver decided to show the queen a wonder of his society, he seemed to further alienate himself because he showed her the destructiveness of his world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift probably knew that having knowledge was power. But the impractical seeking of knowledge was of no use to him. At the Academy, professors would stay inside for years at a time, letting nature outside go to waste. They would ponder different ways to perform simple tasks and looked for answers to questions that hadn’t any. They did not take a thing of nature as God intended it, rather they took it apart and analyzed it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift saw humankind as evil, as portrayed in the life of the Houyhnhms and Yahoos.

India Under Nehru View

India has always been considered as a mysterious world with wide variety of interesting traditional values that was created all along the history line of India, from the big and complex things like philosophy schools of India to the daily’s things like the lamp in Diwali festival. So what has made India the way it is now with the blooming yet mysterious beauty from the richness in its culture? Well, here is a saying from the former Minister of India – Sir JAWAHARLAL NEHRU – to show the idea of Indian personality or India in general: She was like some ancient palimpsest on which layer upon layer of thought and reverie had been inscribed, and yet no succeeding layer had completely hidden or erased what had been written previously. All of these had existed in our conscious or subconscious selves, though we may not have been aware of them. And they have gone to build up the complex mysterious personality of India. † The meaning of this saying is that Nehru want ed to imply the idea of a complex yet so unified India in which everything from culture, living style to artistic structures was created in an unending process of both preservation and evolution at the same time.The way the Indian created their flourished culture has deeply showed the Indian personality who always try to maintain the traditional beauty in the evolution progress. They had built up the whole Indian culture based on the traditional values from thousands years ago without once trying to get rid of the old fundamental values of their grand and grand fathers, yet they known how to achieved the new things and balanced them between the old and the new so that now we can trace back the trail of the thousands years old civilizations through everything in Indian people’s daily life.After thousands years, India culture has now become richer in range wise and structure wise. We can see the richness in cultural values and the Indian has done a good job in advancing the Ind ia culture to be so flourished and full of colors from the very traditional base of their ancestors culture. The most common thing that people tend to think about India personality or India in general is that the life of Indian people is very rich in religious activities and it had played a big role in their life, also in their mind we can clearly see the strong affects of traditional value like Vedas or Upanishad.If we look inside those old literatures closely, we can find innumerable of evidences that can prove the uniquely richness in traditional values and also it can show the two paralleled processes of preserving and advancing, which is the personality of India that Nehru had stated. Here is some piece of my mind about Indian literature along the history to prove the statement of Sir. Jawaharlal Nehru. In every branch or various sections of literature from fiction, drama, biography, poetry, drama, novels, short stories and literary criticism, Indian literature has a tremendous variety to offer.Nearly every major Indian language has a rich tradition of literature. The earliest works of Indian literature were orally transmitted. Sanskrit literature begins with the Vedas collections of sacred hymns dating to the period 1500–1200 BCE. Those earliest works like the Vedas or Upanishads were composed to be sung or recited and were transmitted for many generations before being written down. Since almost all of the earliest works of ancient India literature were all orally transmitted so we can’t find the exactly time of those brilliant works in the timeline of India history.The earliest records of a text may be later by several centuries than the date of its composition. After this time from around 200 BC to around 11 AD, Sanskrit literature went through a secular phase. A major development during the secular period was the introduction of drama, with the early dramas set in historical epic tales. During the first through fifth centuries, South Ind ia's literature was primarily secular and written in Tamil, not Sanskrit, with the main topics being war and love.Following this period was a time of change for southern literature, with the tradition changing to bhakti (devotional) literature that in subsequent centuries eventually spread northward. All in all, the giant India literature was big in size and contents, and the number of literature works of India is like stars in the sky along the timeline of India history. This has shown how big and complex of the Indian literature. There was such a wide variety in types and styles of composing, from poems to verses, oral literature to written works but we can still see the unity in them with the main theme and color being India traditional mind and soul.Since the religious and Vedic culture had such tremendous impact on Indian culture and I must say those traditional elements were deeply engraved in every Indian people’s mind, so it’s no surprising to know that the maj or topic of Indian literature is about religious deities and philosophy. And much more later the ancient period of oral literature, the tradition of picking the idea from stories or myths in Vedas or the great Mahabharata to compose bhakti poems and literatures was very noticeable.This tradition was slowed down since the domination of British in India, which had bring major changes in the styles and topics of literature. It seemed like with the invasion of British culture or the Western in general, India’s literature had faced big challenge to preserve the traditional colors in their works yet somehow the India factor was still strongly presented. So we can conclude that along the timeline of India’s history, never once the traditional culture had failed to exist in every literature work, with time went by India literature was advanced bit by bit, yet it still maintained the main flow of tradition culture.It was indeed diversity in unity. The history of Indian literatu re dated back to 1500AD or more since the existence of the first ever literature work of India, which name was Rig Veda – the first and most important part of the famous Vedas. Rig Veda was composed in Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism. The Sanskrit word veda â€Å"knowledge, wisdom† is derived from the root vid- â€Å"to know†, that’s why the scholars called the Vedas the sacred books of knowledge.The Vedas can be considered an encyclopedia of ancient India and it gave many tips about how the life of ancient people would be like. With it giant length, it’s such an amazing thing to know that the Vedas were actually orally transmitted through centuries. And along with the Vedas, other ancient literatures were also preserved by oral way. This is why the literary tradition in India is primarily oral literature in vernacular languages. It was in the 6th century that an extensive written literature appeared.Through such a long period of time, the oral literature of ancient India has been successfully passed down to the next generations by using rhythmic recitation and thus the whole giant walls of text that we know nowadays are almost exactly the same to the one from approximately one thousands and five hundreds years before Christ. This has show how strong and effective of the preservation progress of Indian, they didn’t just let all the literatures to be in vain because of having no writing system to store it, ancient Indian had found a way by using oral literature to preserve the world’s longest literature work that is totally unbelievable!The Vedas were the all time topic for other writers to compose their own works that related to it like Puranas and Itihasas which explained myths in the Vedas to the mass Indian. From the original Vedas to the vast number of many branches that were expanded through years to explain or improve all the know ledge of Vedas. We can clearly see the broadening of the Vedas and its branches by many writers. They did not just make a whole new literature works out of nowhere but they based their works on the root of Vedas and its knowledge then added their own creativeness.The main themes of Indian literature were mostly about religious stories or myths with Brahmanism deities (and later Hinduism). Many epics dealt with Vedas stories and they always contained the spirit of Vedas’ principles. Noticeable evidences that we can find in India literature about this characteristic are Mahabharata, Ramayana from the early Sanskrit literatures and many Bhakti poems in the medieval period. Mahabharata and Ramayana are the longest literatures size wise in the world, those epics were the all time favorite of every Indian people.Mahabharata itself was an improved version of the originally 8,800 verses literature named Jaya which was composed by Krsna Dvaipayana Vyasa, later this version was enlarge d to 24,000 verses namely Bharata by Vaisampayana and then it became the giant version Mahabharata version which was written by Ugrasravas with up to 100,000 verses. This enlargement of the Mahabharata epic has shown that Indian literature had undergone many improvements through years and those advances had somehow made Indian literature become rich in content and complex in structure.Not only the expand of old literatures since the Vedic age, the tradition of Bhakti is also very noticeable in term of the common theme about deities. Bhakti (or a personal devotion to a god) usually was composed in poems to show their respectful attitude to a god. Many of the Bhakti poems told stories or just shown Indian’s praising to their gods from Vedas or epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana. That’s why Indian literature was so big in size and varied in style. On another note, we can find many translated versions of the epics or myths in a wide variety of languages all over India.For an example, Jagannath Das wrote an Oriya version of the Bhagavata and Tuncattu Eruttacchan, the so-called father of Malayalam literature, wrote recensions of traditional literature. Much traditional Indian literature is derived in theme and form not only from Sanskrit literature but from the Buddhist and Jain texts written in the Pali language and the other Prakrits (medieval dialects of Sanskrit). This has shown how effective of the persevering process in India since many literature works were not only available in its original language but also in many more languages.This process had somehow helped spread the traditional values to all other areas in India and maybe other places out side of India too. So, all we can conclude here is that in term of preserving and advancing of the traditional values, Indian has maintained their own colorful literature and culture through many obstacles in history. I must say Indian was worth being called the ocean of knowledge and mysterious myths! After being through many centuries of improving and preserving, Indian literature has grown giant with such a wide variety of themes and styles, yet it still possessed the unity in variety.And to top of it all, through analyzing Indian literature to prove my point of view of Sir Nehru’s saying, I’ve realized that India has such a unique charm that no other country can possess, that is the ability of keeping the thousands years old traditional culture’s values and indigenous spirit in every aspect of Indian’s daily life without any cracks even though many new things were accepted in the culture during the history’s timeline. No wonder, Indian literature and Indian culture in general had such an attracting charm to everyone who ever had a chance to know about it.

The Street Lawyer

RUNNING HEAD: THE STREET LAWYER The Street Lawyer Social Work 3040-01I Apr. 30, 2008 SUMMARY John Grisham’s The Street Lawyer tells the story of Michael Brock a married wealthy attorney who has it all. Michael, a graduate of Yale University, works at Drake & Sweeny, one of the top and well respected firms in Washington D. C. While there he is making the money and rushing relentlessly to the top of Drake & Sweeny. He is only one step away from an early partnership. Until one rainy winter afternoon at Drake & Sweeny. An angry homeless man who only wants to be called â€Å"Mister† holds Michael and eight other lawyers hostage in an office at Drake & Sweeny. â€Å"Mister† demands the tax records be brought to him. After the tax records arrive he orders Michael to tell him what each lawyer including Michael has made in earnings for the year and how much of their money is donated to charities and the homeless. After several hours the hostage stand off is over leaving one man dead and another reborn. Mister† is shot in the head by a sniper policeman as he opens the office door to receive the soup he wants delivered from a local shelter. â€Å"Mister’s† blood and bodily fluids cover Michael’s entire face since he is standing directly behind him. The police escort Michael to a small gym in the building where doctors examine him and he is able to shower. After his shower Michael returns home. The next morning he returns to work at Drake & Sweeny. After reading an article in the Post he learns more about â€Å"Mister† whose real name is DeVon Hardy. After paying a visit to Mordecia Green the director of the 14th Street Legal Clinic, where â€Å"Mister† was a client, Michael begins to rethink his career as an anti-trust lawyer for Drake & Sweeny and his life as well. Leaving Drake & Sweeny to become a street lawyer would have profound affect on his home life and marriage as well. After telling his wife he will take a job with less money and no benefits the couple separate and eventually file for divorce. Michael moves to a smaller apartment on the rough side of Washington D. C. nd begins working at the 14th Street Legal Law Clinic with Mordeci Green. While working there Michael is harboring a dark secret: a confidential file. A confidential file from the law offices of Drake & Sweeny which contains information about the illegal eviction of â€Å"Misterâ€Å" and the other homeless people. Now Drake & Sweeny know their file is missing and want it returned immediately no matter what. Even if it means Michael losing his lic ense to practice law. His former partners have become his enemies and Michael is now the most dangerous man on the streets of Washington D. C. EXAMINATION Populations-at risk are the homeless in John Grisham’s The Street Lawyer and the environment that which they live in are considered the social environment. Populations-at risk are defined as populations or groups of people who share some identifiable characteristics that places them at greater risk of social and economic deprivation and oppression than the general mainstream of society. The social environment involves the conditions, circumstances, and human interactions that encompasses human beings. People are dependent upon effective interactions with their environment in order to survive and thrive. The social environment includes the actual physical setting that society provides. This involves the type of home a person lives in, the type of work that is done, the amount of money available, and the laws and social rules by which people live. â€Å"Mister† and the other homeless who were illegal evicted from their makeshift apartments are to considered members of a social environment. In reference to the social environment the actual physical setting that society provided to the homeless were homeless shelters. But once the homeless shelters do not begin to taken in borders because they are over crowded the homeless are forced into the streets in hopes of finding a safe and warm place to stay for the night. Sleeping on park benches and makeshift warehouses are the only means of shelter available to them. Even if they are working at a job the wages are usually not enough to provide adequate shelter. Society tends to blame the homeless for their choice of life and for being homeless. But at times it not the fault of the homeless but the fault of the government. For example a working middle class family loses their home to foreclosure because of lay-offs and budget cuts at their jobs. With being laid off both lose their pension and benefits that came along with their jobs. Even if both parents would find another job paying minimum wage it would not be enough to pay the $1000. 00 monthly mortgage and other expenses. Therefore, those individuals cannot be held at fault for becoming homeless the fault lies with the budget cuts made by the federal government to their jobs. At other times the fault lies with the individual themselves for becoming homeless. For example a woman works as a nurse in a hospital becomes addicted to prescription drugs and is later fired from her job because of stealing the prescription drugs to which is addicted to. Since the prescription drugs are no longer available to her she becomes addicted to crack/cocaine because it is accessible to her. She files for unemployment until she can find another job but her unemployment checks are going to support her habit instead of paying her monthly rent. She is evicted and thrown into the streets where and begins prostitution to support her habit. Receiving a â€Å"fix† has become her main priority in life. In that particular situation the individual is the blame for their choice to become homeless. ELUDICATION John Grisham’s characters Michael Brock and Mordecia Green worked not only as attorneys for the homeless but also as social workers too. Throughout The Street Lawyer Michael and Mordecia counseled each individual to gain a knowledge of what their lives were before they became homeless and why they have become homeless. Most lawyers would not take the time find out if whether or not their client had a place to sleep or food to eat the night before. Many lawyers would not offer their services free of charge. Michael and Mordecia worked as lawyers as well as social workers. Each day Michael and Mordecia traveled to a local homeless shelter to interview potential clients and help them with whatever they needed. Most of their clients were generally homeless people or individuals who were laid off from their job recently. The two helped these individuals fill out government forms, obtain job applications, and sometimes a rehab center for those who were addicted to drugs and alcohol. At times some clients could not be helped but Michael and Mordecia provided their counseling service as a means of help. Some individuals only needed some to talk to about what was going on in their life at that time. He wants his readers to see the similarities between social workers and attorneys. His examples with Michael and Mordecia with their clients express key elements in the career of a social worker. EVALUATION/CONCLUSION The Street Lawyer by John Grisham conveys its readers to the unknown world of homelessness and the cause. He wants his readers to see the cruel dark side of humanity and how society views homelessness. By having the story take place in Washington D. C. , the capitol of the United States, a place where many would not believe crack houses are a block away from the White House. Homeless women, men, and children are forced to seek shelter anywhere when all the shelters in the city are full. These same people are usually victims of layoffs and budget cuts by Congress. Grisham wants his readers to see the reality of homelessness and that it can happen to anyone. One’s whole perspective on their life can change in an instance because of one individual or many. He gives thorough examples throughout his book about the day and life of a homeless person and their family. The struggles they face day to day not knowing if he or she will have something to eat or a place to sleep by night fall. He contributes to the study of social work by having his main characters act as counselors to the homeless, employment agencies and location of rehabs for those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. The Street Lawyer is a learning tool in the world of social work for those who want to gain a better understanding of what a social worker does on a daily bases. One who enjoys helping others and making a difference in someone else’s life will definitely enjoy reading this book. After reading this book I now have a better understanding of homelessness and I will eventually use this book as learning tool while furthering my education in the study of social work. â€Å"

The role of Human Resources with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) The WritePass Journal

The role of Human Resources with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Introduction The role of Human Resources with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) IntroductionHR’s contribution to The Humphrey’s broader objective of CSRReward and CompensationEmployee selectionTraining and developmentOrganisational structureRelated Introduction The report aim to address the current case and to look at how Human Resources Department of the Humphrey Group can contribute to the organisation’s wide objective of Corporate Social Responsibility. Brief definition of Corporate Social Responsibility will be shown and how CSR focused corporations behave will then be explained. As a final point, the report will clarify how the HR department of the Humphrey Group can add to implementing and promoting the company’s CSR morals and goals. Referring to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), it stated that â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is the continuing commitment by business to contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce, their families and the local community and society at large† (World Business Council for Sustainable Development, 1999) Differently to some businesses whose main focus is to maximise financial target in a short term, CSR focused corporation takes in account of financial responsibility, environmental and even social when conveying business strategies. CSR focused corporation continues to perform socially in a professional and responsible way with company’s stakeholders, which includes; employees, investors, suppliers, local community, consumers, competitors and even with the environment that the business is operating in. HR’s contribution to The Humphrey’s broader objective of CSR Human Resource Department is aware of the worries voiced out by the Board of Directors concerning the compensation ethics in the company and the neediness of slotting in CSR in the company’s main scheme, likewise the importance of HR manager’s critical role in developing, implementing and promoting CSR practices must be passed forward to the Board of Directors, so they recognise this. HRM can add to the company’s wide objectives of CSR in various ways: Reward and Compensation Human Resource Manager should judgmentally review the company’s present incentive schemes and financial compensations. As packages that exclusively focus on making short-term financial profits are most likely to delay the progress of CSR, while this focus on generating sustainable value for the company in a long-run. As a substitute, CSR practises will need to be incorporated in the company’s incentive scheme. As it is understood that â€Å"if CSR is built into incentive systems – salary packages and targets that determine whether the manager receives a pay raise, promotion, etc. – the firm is likelier to motivate greater CSR alignment† (Coro Strandberg Consulting, 2009: p.16). For planning and designing new reward systems, HR can work together with the Board of Directors. According to Jensen and Murphy (1990:p.141) â€Å"cash compensation should be structured to provide big rewards for outstanding performance and meaningful penalties for poor performance†. Therefore, a clear and reasonable financial reward should be created and added to the company’s policies and practices in order to be fair. On the other hand, Frey and Osterloh (2005:p.106) discuss and argue that â€Å"high-powered incentive compensation, even if optimally designed, aggravates the problems in the corporate sector. Pay for performance gives managers and directors incentives to manipulate performance criteria and to resort to fraudulent accounts to the disadvantage of the long-term interests of the firm†. IBM, Enron and even Xerox are some examples of high business scandals. From these cases, it’s proven that company’s crimes aren’t ignored but are dealt with legally as they damage the business’s reputation in a long-run. Alternatively, HRM should encourage non-financial incentives for employees, taking in consideration of award programmes, promotions, e.t.c. this can likewise be positive in been familiar with worker’s contribution and achievements in the company. Employees can also be rewarded by HRM for helping out in the local community, particularly if they kee p the company’s moral and CSR goals in action. Employee selection Selecting workers is one of HR’s roles; this should be drawn to the Board of Director’s attention because HR should contribute to the company’s wider objective of CSR by participating in the ‘board selection process’. This is reinforced by Beatty et al., 2004: p.266 who claims that â€Å"actively involving the HR community in the board selection process, as with any other effective selection process, might yield substantial improvement in the quality, capability, and ethics of board members†. Therefore, involving the HR will make sure that obedience is in place with the company’s standards and CSR practice at the board level. HR can make sure that CSR’s aim and objectives are supported at management and non-management level. HR should do this by collecting and drawing up ‘employee codes of conduct’ requesting them all to be faithful with the company’s ethics and put in place disciplinary for misusers, such as; fraudulent in the organisation. It’s been said that â€Å"employees are the most neglected though most important stakeholders of the organization for conducting CSR activities† (Sharma et al., 2009:p.208). Moreover, Schoemaker, Nijhof and Jonker (2006) agree with the statement. They had to say, employees are â€Å"the everyday human representatives of the organisation and the primary carriers of the organisational values, thus representing the organisation’s identity† (Schoemaker et al., 2006:p.2). Therefore, HR will make sure that employees are inspired and involved with implementing CSR’s values to the company’s strategies. During job induction, HR will make sure that the company’s CSR aim and objectives are well structured and clear to understand. This is to make the new workers feel that they are working in a well cultured firm that takes account a lot of responsibilities, internally and externally. HR experts can add CSR values unto job adverts and even on the company’s main website so keep this informed. Training and development Furthermore, HR can give training about company’s CSR values along with the right interactive principles of the company by using different methods to reach out to its workers. The staff meetings, company’s website, e-mail, newsletters around the organisation, e.t.c. can all be used to carry out this area affectively. HR will make sure that the training programme is for both existing and new employees. This way, new workers will get full information of the company’s aims and objectives, morals and CSR aims in a long run for the company. Organisational structure With the saying of Coro Strandberg Consulting, 2009: p.17. That states that through â€Å"role modelling, building awareness and generating desire (what is in it for me?) and conviction, developing knowledge and ability and reinforcement through incentive programs†, HR experts can have an effect on the behavioural change in these areas and also working with the Board of Directors to encourage the business culture will help in highlighting CSR’s values and goals. Plenty of sources shows that â€Å"firms’ corporate social performance (CSP) is related positively to their reputation and to their attractiveness as employers† (Turban and Greening, 1996:p.658). So the company should recruits brilliant applicants that take and/or want to take CSR values well in the company’s culture. This will give positivity to the company and its staff in a long run. To find out how employees are performing with CSR, HR can carry out questionnaires maybe once a month, asking questions that will generate more awareness of CSR to the workers. Alongside, HR will make sure that â€Å"appropriate behaviors get appraised, appreciated as well as rewarded† (Sharma, 2009:p.210) in the company. In the organisation, HR plays a vital role in making sure the aim and objectives of CSR is implemented in the company at different levels. The Board of Directors and senior level manager will have to recognise HR’s part in the organisation and enable them to take part in CSR development. Having strong CSR in place will provide great competitive advantage for the company with its competitors. And this can only be done if all departments work together for CSR values, i.e. from Board of Directors, senior level managers, HR and all other employees because one of the important gain from CSR is â€Å"a positive impact on employee morale, motivation, commitment, loyalty, training, recruitment and turnover† (Kramar, 2004). References The World Business Council for Sustainable Development. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility: Meeting Changing Expectations’, 1 March 1999, wbcsd.org/templates/TemplateWBCSD5/layout.asp?type=pMenuId=MTE0OQ (Accessed 4/04/2011) Coro Strandberg Consulting (2009) Report for Industry Canada: Corporate Social Responsibility. ic.gc.ca/eic/site/csr-rse.nsf/vwapj/CSR_and_HR_Management1.pdf/%24file/CSR_and_HR_Management1.pdf (Accessed 4/04/2011) Jensen, M. and Murphy, K. (1990) CEO incentives: it’s not how much you pay, but how. Harvard Business Review, 68(3), pp.138-152 Beatty, R., Ewing, J. and Tharp, C. (2004) HR’s role in corporate governance: present and prospective. Human Resource Management, Fall 2003, Vol.42 (3), pp.257-269 Turban, D. and Greening, D. (1996) Corporate Social Performance and Organisational Attractiveness to Prospective Employees. Academy of Management Journal. Vol.40 (3), pp.658-672 Frey, B. and Osterloh, M. (2005) Yes Managers Should be Paid Like Bureaucrats. Journal of Management Inquiry, 14(1), pp.96-111 Schoemaker, M. Nijhof, A. and Jonker, J. (2006) Human Value Management. 10th Annual Conference by the Reputation Institute May 2006, New York, US reputationinstitute.com/members/nyc06/Schoemaker.pdf (Accessed 5/04/2011) Sharma, S., Sharma J. and Devi, A. (2009) Corporate Social Responsibility: The Key Role of Human Resource Management. Business Intelligence Journal. Vol.2(1), pp.205-213 Kramar, R. (2004) Corporate social responsibility†¦ a challenge for HR? HR Magazine humanresourcesmagazine.com.au/articles/22/0c01d922.asp

Diagram Common Financial Statements Research Paper

Diagram Common Financial Statements - Research Paper Example Organizing financial statements this way lessens the bias that can arise when analyzing companies of different sizes. It also permits for the analysis of a firm over various times, revealing, for instance, what percentage of the sales is the cost of goods sold and how that particular value has changed with time. For example, a common-size balance sheet will report all of the balance sheet amounts as a percentage of the "Total Assets" amount. If Cash was $80,000 and Total Assets were $1,000,000 then Cash will appear as 8% and Total Assets will appear as 100%. If the Current Assets were to be $3,500,000 they will seem to be 35%. If Current Liabilities were given as $1,800,000 then on the common-size statement show it as 18%. By having all of the balance sheet amounts as a percentage of Total Assets, you can compare your company's current asset percentage (and all other line items) to your industry's percentage or to any other company's percentages. It will not matter if the other firm was smaller or larger than your company, since all totals are in percentages of theTotal Assets. This brings the name "common-size." A common-size income statement will display all of the income statement sums as a percentage of net sales. ... Horizontal analysis is a process in fundamental analysis whereby an analyst associates line items or ratios in a company's fiscal statements over a given period of time. In this process, the analyst will use his preference when selecting a particular timeline; nevertheless, the choice is often centered on the investing time horizon under deliberation. In this scenario, when revenues increase by let’s say 10 percent this quarter, horizontal analysis must have been used. Horizontal analysis can be employed in any item that is in the company’s fiscals. This analysis is crucial in relating the performances of several companies (Bragg, 2007). Horizontal analysis is also used when converting the balance sheets and the available income statements the desired change statements. Horizontal analysis bears a resemblance to vertical analysis in the sense that it also converts financial statements balances into percentages. However, instead of computing financial statement amounts i nto percentages of the total assets, or gross sales, it converts the percentage changing income stamen balances and balance sheet numbers from a given period to the next one (Albrecht, 2009). Horizontal analysis can be carried out on ratios such as price earnings ratio, earning per share, dividend payout among others. This analysis can be performed in one of the below methods, that is, Percentage Comparison and Absolute Comparison. Absolute Comparison involves performing horizontal analysis in making comparisons in the the absolute currency aggregates of some pieces over the given period of time. For instance, cash in hand at the closure of an accounting period

Influence of interest groups on president Obamas administration Research Paper

Influence of interest groups on president Obamas administration - Research Paper Example Center for American Progress recommends the government to develop guided pathways to success that will help the higher education system to develop a formidable and attainable success path that will lead students to successful careers (Klein, 2014). The established success pathway will allow the federal government to resolve the longstanding problem that has befallen the American postsecondary education system thereby enabling a clear success path that will enable students to identify their potential and eventually their suitable careers to venture. Under the recommendations made by the center for American progress, students ought to begin in a limited number of meta- majors, which entails a set of courses that the student should complete in order to meet academic requirements across a range of programs and disciplines. The move will assist students to complete a specific major while following a highly structured degree plan. The proposed recommendation from the Center for American pr ogress addresses the tightly structured programs that student undertake within the semester thereby imposing flexibility to the students , which helps the students to access a wide range of courses offered during the semester with ease and under their discretion. The recommendation from the lobby group offers room to the effective use of technology that will enable trainers to pin point reluctant students who do not complete their assignments or attend lecture classes thereby allowing the trainers to intervene before the situation gets out of control.