Writing an Introduction

Do you want your essay to get a good grade? Do you want your essay to be interesting and do you want to hear from your professor or colleague that you have done a good, or perhaps an excellent work? Well, I guess the majority of people like when their work gets fairly appreciated, they feel confidence and pride about their completing a task, achieving a goal and producing a really good piece of writing. But is it an easy task to write a good paper? Well, actually it is, if you know exactly how to do that and what parts of the essay are important and require special attention. Introduction is one of most important parts of the essay. If the reader does not like the introduction, he or she will most likely not read the rest of the paper, or will read it with little attention. Introduction is the part of your essay where you need to catch the attention of your reader together with informing him/her what your paper will be about. In order to meet the requirements mentioned above you need to follow several steps in writing an introduction to your essay. First of all you need to begin with grabbing attention of your audience. There are several ways how you can do that: You can ask questions. If, for instance, you prepare a speech you should ask open-ended questions. Then, you will receive some feedbacks from your audience. Asking such questions is an excellent way to draw attention of the listeners to your topic and make them interact by answering your questions and feel satisfied about being listened to. In preparing the speech this trick in the introduction will provide you with listeners who will be willing to hear the rest of your speech with pleasure. Show some shocking statistics or facts, that will also make your reader be more interested in reading about your topic and will urge to further read your paper. Use quotations from the speeches of famous people, well known movies or books. Keep them short though and make relevant to your topic. Tell a short story or an anecdote. Actually in the case you tell a short story or an anecdote you need to make sure it is short and is relevant to your subject. Starting your paper in such a way can be very effective but once more, you need to be very careful not to make it too long or boring. Dialogue is another means that can be used in catching attention of readers. It is better if the dialogue you decide to use will not have an identity of your speakers. Just try to keep it short, two or three exchanges between your speakers should be enough. Also while writing an introduction please use a verifiable information and by no means try to make thing up, as it can make your reader loose confidence in you and interest in your paper. Do not use new information in your introduction part. the information you use should be well known and easily comprehensible and should by no means be totally new to the reader of your essay. At the end of your introduction put a thesis statement of your essay. You can put it right away, or if you had only a sentence or two in the attention grabber part (the hook). Then, you may add few more sentences that will gradually develop the thesis statement of your paper and finish the introduction part. Good luck in writing effective introductions!

An Exploration Of The American Dream - 1208 Words

An Exploration of The American Dream The American dream is common to all people, yet it is something that everybody sees in diverse ways. The American dream is different for everybody, except they share a proportion of its aspects (Luhrmann et al. 21). The dream is mostly dependent on the setting of where one lives as well as one s social class. Every American dream is to a degree distinctive, yet they all identify with the times that one lives in. Identity is developed through a few different ways in Fitzgerald s Great Gatsby. The word identity refers to a set of individual and behavioral qualities which characterize a person as a member of a particular group (Allitt 14). In view of race, ethnicity, religion, dialect and society, individuals separate themselves from different groups and structure their comprehension as well as pride in who they are. The American Dream along with Identity are two themes which Fitzgerald has focused on in the novel The Great Gatsby. For the book s focal character, the status of Gatsby is autocratic, as well as an ambition (Rubio 2). In his personalities, embracing an ambitious identity would afford him the confidence, integrity, and reason they see as inadequate. Jay Gatsby starts his life recognizing as oppressed destitute–then attempts independently to exemplify an identity which he does not fit. Jay Gatsby, being an American Dream ambassador, has ambitions upon which he plans to capitalize on, and he does in superficial aspects.Show MoreRelated Fitzgeralds Exploration of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby702 Words   |  3 Pages Fitzgeralds Exploration of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is a one of the best stories written during a chaotic period in our nation’s history, The Jazz Age. The Twenties were a time of social experiments, self-indulgence, and dissatisfaction for majority of Americans. Fitzgerald depicts all these characteristics throughout the novel with his interesting themes, settings, and characters. The most elaborate and symbolic character FitzgeraldRead MoreHannah Runyan. Pellegrino. Block 2/3. 2 March 2017. Evolution1481 Words   |  6 PagesHannah Runyan Pellegrino Block 2/3 2 March 2017 Evolution of The American Dream Americans drastically shifted from wanting the basics in life as the ‘American Dream’ to wanting more than they ever thought was attainable; this fueled American spirits after the Great Depression and gave them something to aim for. The term ‘The American Dream’ was coined by historian and author James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book The Epic America. He spoke of â€Å". . . a land in which life should be better and richerRead MoreAmerican Beauty Film Analysis878 Words   |  4 Pagesportrayed American suburbia as a hotbed of dysfunction. Presenting an unprecedented exploration of the darkness plaguing the suburbs whilst offering cliched and satirical images of the physical setting and it’s inhabitants. Suburban life was showcased as being a twisted existence of bleak dreams and repressed ambition. Sam Mendes’ American Beauty released in 1999, is considered by many film critics to be the epitome of Hollywoods suburban movie scene and the cor ruption of the American dream. In thisRead More The Essence of the Human Spirit1004 Words   |  5 Pageslearned: you really can do anything if you work hard and dedicate yourself to it; and, every person has a responsibility to contribute something toward improving the world. She taught me by example. When I was eight, she went to college to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher. Very few things in my life have been more inspirational than watching her, a poor woman with a husband and four children, graduate summa cum laude from college. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Ever sinceRead MoreColumbus - Hero or Condemned? Essay example697 Words   |  3 PagesA great hero from Europe or a man with only himself and his people in mind? Many people believe that he was a hero whose discoveries lead to the possibilities we have in America today, while many other condemn him for the deaths of many Native Americans that occurred to make it possible to live in America today. What would someone like me see in Columbus’ discoveries and enslavements? He introduced the Europeans to new products and ways of financial expansion. Even though Columbus gave us a headRead MoreNational Aeronautics and Space Administration Analysis1315 Words   |  6 PagesIn 1969, millions of Americans watched in rapture as the first human being set foot on the alien landscape of the moon. 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Yet, the new Americans saw themselves as the prime candidates to take over and do as theyRead MoreSpace Exploration Is The Solution For All Of Our Problems1289 Words   |  6 PagesSpace exploration is the solution to all of our problems. Fact. Population control spi ralling out of control? Colonise. Running out of energy? Solar Generators on a dedicated space station. It’s shockingly simple. Yes, the cost of it, and the time it would take to set up, and the resources it would require to take up could be better spent. If we didn’t take massive risks now and again, we would all still be in the Dark Ages. The Apollo Program was a massive expenditure, and it was a massive riskRead MoreThe, White Cloud Worn By Astronauts1406 Words   |  6 Pagesthe reason behind space exploration is a misunderstood concept that is often attributed just to human curiosity and endeavor, leading to the question of whether or not it is worth risking lives for something that seemingly provides no benefit. Regardless of this, the development of the astronaut suit in America has been intricate; consequently, there are high hopes that the suit being developed for deep-space exploration will succeed and that with its completion the dream of today’s soc iety to reachRead MoreGatsby American Dream Essay1363 Words   |  6 Pages The American Dream The great Gatsby is a classic novel in which money is centered around everything. All Jay Gatsby wants to do is live the American dream. Some say Gatsby did live the American dream. Though Gatsby made lots of money and threw tons of parties their was one thing he was missing. The thing Gatsby was missing was a peaceful state of mind and a lover. In this book written by Scott Fitzgerald called The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby finds out the American Dream isn t attainable

The Return Midnight Chapter 20 Free Essays

Meredith usual y found her parents funny and sil y and dear. They were solemn about al the wrong things like, â€Å"Make sure, honey, that you real y get to know Alaric – before – before – â€Å"Meredith had no doubts about Alaric at al , but he was another of those sil y, dear, gal ant people, who talked al around things without getting to the point. Today, she was surprised to see that there was no cluster of cars around the ancestral home. We will write a custom essay sample on The Return: Midnight Chapter 20 or any similar topic only for you Order Now Maybe people had to stay home to fight it out with their own children. She locked the Acura, conscious of the precious contents given by Isobel, and rang the doorbel . Her parents believed in chain locks. Janet, the housekeeper, looked happy to see her but nervous. Aha, Meredith thought, they have discovered that their dutiful only child has ransacked the attic. Maybe they want the stave back. Maybe I should have left it back at the boardinghouse. But she only realized that things were truly serious when she came into the family room and saw the big La-Z-Boy deluxe lounging chair, her father’s throne: empty. Her father was sitting on the couch, holding her mother, who was sobbing. She had brought the stave with her, and when her mother saw it, she broke into a fresh burst of tears. â€Å"Look,†Meredith said, â€Å"this doesn’t have to be so tragic. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what happened. If you want to tel me about how Grandma and I real y got hurt, that’s your business. But if I was†¦contaminated in some way†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She stopped. She could hardly believe it. Her father was holding out an arm to her, as if the somewhat rank condition of her clothes didn’t matter. She went to him slowly, uncomfortably, and let him hug her regardless of his Armani suit. Her mother had a glass with a few sips left of what looked like Coke in front of her, but Meredith would bet it wasn’t al Coke. â€Å"We’d hoped that this was a place of peace,†her father orated. Every sentence her father spoke was an oration. You got used to it. â€Å"We never dreamed†¦Ã¢â‚¬ And then he stopped. Meredith was stunned. Her father didn’t stop in the middle of an oration. He didn’t pause. And he certainly didn’t cry. â€Å"Dad! Daddy! What is it? Have kids been around here, crazy kids? Did they hurt somebody?† â€Å"We have to tel you the whole story from that time long ago,†her father†¦said. He spoke with such despair that it wasn’t anything like an oration. â€Å"When you were†¦al attacked.† â€Å"By the vampire. Or Grandfather. Or do you know?† Long pause. Then her mother drained the contents of her glass and cal ed, â€Å"Janet, another one, please.† â€Å"Now, Gabriel a – â€Å"her father said, chiding. â€Å"‘Nando – I can’t bear this. The thought that mi hija inocente†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Meredith said, â€Å"Look, I think I can make this easier for you. I already know†¦Well, first, that I had a twin brother.† Her parents looked horrified. They clung together, gasping. â€Å"Who told you?†her father demanded. â€Å"At that boardinghouse, who could know – ?† Calming down time. â€Å"No, no. Dad, I found out – Well, Grandpa talked to me.†That was true enough. He had. Just not about her brother. â€Å"Anyway, that was how I got the stave. But the vampire that hurt us is dead. He was the serial kil er, the one who kil ed Vickie and Sue. His name was Klaus.† â€Å"You thought that there was only one vampire?†her mother got out. She pronounced the word the Hispanic way, which Meredith always found more scary. Vahm-peer. The universe seemed to start moving slowly around Meredith. â€Å"That’s just a guess,†her father said. â€Å"We don’t real y know that there was more than the very strong one.† â€Å"But you know about Klaus – how?† â€Å"We saw him. He was the strong one. He kil ed the security guards at the gate with one blow each. We moved to a new town. We hoped you would never have to know you had a brother.†Her father brushed his eyes. â€Å"Your grandfather spoke to us, right after the attack. But the next day†¦nothing. He couldn’t talk at al .† Her mother put her face in her hands. She only lifted it to cal , â€Å"Janet! Another, por favor!† â€Å"Right away, ma’am.†Meredith looked to the housekeeper’s blue eyes for the solution to this mystery and found nothing – sympathy, but no help. Janet walked away with the empty glass, blond French braid receding. Meredith turned back to her parents, so dark of eye and hair, so olive of skin color. They were huddling together again, eyes on her. â€Å"Mom, Dad, I know that this is real y hard. But I’m going after the kind of people who hurt Grandpa, and Grandma, and my brother. It’s dangerous, but I have to do it.†She dropped into a Taekwondo stance. â€Å"I mean you did have me trained.† â€Å"But against your own family? You could do that?†her mother cried. Meredith sat down. She had reached the end of the memories that she and Stefan had found. â€Å"So Klaus didn’t kil him like Grandmother. He took my brother with him.† â€Å"Cristian,†wailed her mother. â€Å"He was just un bebe. Three years old! That was when we found the two of you†¦and the blood†¦oh, the blood†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her father got up, not to orate, but to put his hand on Meredith’s shoulder. â€Å"We thought it would be easier not to tel you – that you wouldn’t have any memories of what was happening when we came in. And you don’t, do you?† Meredith’s eyes were fil ing with tears. She looked to her mother, trying to silently tel her she couldn’t understand this. â€Å"He was drinking my blood?†she guessed. â€Å"Klaus?† â€Å"No!†cried her father as her mother whispered prayers. â€Å"He was drinking Cristian’s, then.†Meredith was kneeling on the floor now, trying to look up into the face of her mother. â€Å"No!†cried her father again. He choked. â€Å"La sangre!† gasped her mother, covering her eyes. â€Å"The blood!† â€Å"Querida – † her father sobbed, and went to her. â€Å"Dad!†Meredith went after him and shook his arm. â€Å"You’ve ruled out al the possibilities! I don’t understand! Who was drinking blood?† â€Å"You! You!† her mother almost screamed. â€Å"From your own brother! Oh, el aterrorizar!† â€Å"Gabriel a!†moaned her father. Meredith’s mother subsided into weeping. Meredith’s head was whirling. â€Å"I’m not a vampire! I hunt vampires and kil them!† â€Å"He said,†her father whispered hoarsely: â€Å"‘Just see she gets a tablespoon a week. If you want her to live, that is. Try a blood pudding.’He was laughing.† Meredith didn’t need to ask if they had obeyed. At her house, they had blood sausage or pudding at least once a week. She had grown up with it. It was nothing special. â€Å"Why?†she whispered hoarsely now. â€Å"Why didn’t he kil me?† â€Å"I don’t know! We Stilldon’t know! That man with his front al dripping with blood – your blood, your brother’s blood, we didn’t know! And then at the last minute he grabbed for the two of you but you bit his hand to the bone,†her father said. â€Å"He laughed – laughed! – with your teeth clamped in him and your little hands pushing him away, and said, ‘I’l just leave you this one, then, and you can worry about what she wil turn out to be. The boy I’m taking with me.’And then suddenly I seemed to come out of a spel , for I was reaching for you again, ready to fight him for both of you. But I couldn’t! Once I had you, I couldn’t move another inch. And he left the house Stilllaughing – and took your brother, Cristian, with him.† Meredith thought. No wonder they didn’t want to hold any kind of celebration on the anniversaries of that day. Her grandmother dead, her grandfather going crazy, her brother lost, and herself – what? No wonder they celebrated her birthday a week early. Meredith tried to stay calm. The world was fal ing to pieces around her but she had to stay calm. Staying calm had kept her alive al her life. Without even having to count, she was breathing out deep, and in through her nostrils, and out through her mouth. Deep, deep, cleansing breaths. Soothing peace throughout her body. Only part of her was hearing her mother: â€Å"We came home early that night because I had a headache – â€Å" â€Å"Sh, querida – â€Å"her father was beginning. â€Å"We got home early,†her mother keened. â€Å"O Virgen Bendecida, what would we have found if we had been late? We would have lost you, too! My baby! My baby with blood on her mouth – â€Å" â€Å"But we got home early enough to save her,†Meredith’s father said huskily, as if trying to wake her mother from a spel . â€Å"Ah, g racias, Princesa Divina, Vigen pura y impoluto†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Her mother couldn’t seem to stop crying. â€Å"Daddy,†Meredith said urgently, aching for her mother but desperately needing information. â€Å"Have you ever seen him again? Or heard about him? My brother, Cristian?† â€Å"Yes,†her father said. â€Å"Oh, yes, we have seen something.† Her mother gasped. â€Å"‘Nando, no!† â€Å"She has to learn the truth sometime,†her father said. He rummaged among some cardboard file folders on the desk. â€Å"Look!†he said to Meredith. â€Å"Look at this.† Meredith stared in utter disbelief. In the Dark Dimension Bonnie shut her eyes. There was a lot of wind at the top of a tal building’s window. That was al her mind had a thought for when she was out of the window and then back into it and the ogre was laughing and Shinichi’s terrible voice saying, â€Å"You don’t real y think we’d let you go without questioning you thoroughly?† Bonnie heard the words without them making sense, and then suddenly they did. Her captors were going to hurt her. They were going to torture her. They were going to take her bravery away. She thought she screamed something at him. Al she knew, though, was that there was a soft explosion of heat behind her, and then – unbelievably – al dressed up in a cloak with badges that made him look like some kind of military prince, there was Damon. Damon. He was so late she’d long ago given up on him. But now he was flashing a there-and-gone bril iant smile at Shinichi, who was staring as if he’d been stricken dumb. And now Damon was saying, â€Å"I’m afraid Ms. McCul ough has another engagement at that moment. But I wil be back to kick your ass – immediately. Move from this room and I’l kil you al , slowly. Thank you for your time and consideration.† And before anyone could even recover from their first shock at his arrival, he and Bonnie were blasting off through the windows. He went, not out of the building backward as if retreating, but straight ahead forward, one hand in front of him, wrapping them both in a black but ethereal bundle of Power. They shattered the two-way mirror in Bonnie’s room and were almost al the way through to the next room before Bonnie’s mind tagged the first â€Å"empty.†Then they were crashing through an elaborate videoset-window – made to let people think they had a view of the outdoors, and flying over someone lying on a bed. Then†¦it was just a series of crashes, as far as Bonnie was concerned. She barely got a glimpse of what was going on in each room. Final y†¦ The crashing stopped. This left Bonnie holding on to Damon koala-style – she wasn’t stupid – and they were very, very high in the air. And mobilizing in front of them, and off to the sides, and as far as Bonnie could see, were women who were also flying, but in little machines that looked like a combination of a motorcycle and a Jet Ski. No wheels, of course. The machines were al gold, which was also the color of each driver’s hair. So the first word Bonnie gasped to her rescuer, after he had blasted a tunnel through the large slave-owner’s building to save her, was, â€Å"Guardians?† â€Å"Indispensable, considering the fact that I didn’t have the first idea where the bad guys might have taken you and I suspected that there might be a time limit. This was actual y the very last of the slave-sel ers we were due to check. We final y†¦lucked out.†For someone who had lucked out, he sounded a little strange. Almost†¦choked up. Water was on Bonnie’s cheeks but it was being flicked away too fast for her to wipe it. Damon was holding her so that she couldn’t see his face, and he was holding her very, very tightly. It real y was Damon. He had cal ed out the cavalry and, despite the city-wide mind-gridlock, he had found her. â€Å"They hurt you, didn’t they, little redbird? I saw†¦I saw your face,†Damon said in his new choked-up voice. Bonnie didn’t know what to say. But suddenly she didn’t mind how hard he squeezed her. She even found herself squeezing back. Suddenly, to her shock, Damon broke her koala-grip and pul ed her up and kissed her on the lips very gently. â€Å"Little redbird! I’m going to go now, and make them pay for what they did to you.† Bonnie heard herself say, â€Å"No, don’t.† â€Å"No?†Damon repeated, bewildered. â€Å"No,†Bonnie said. She needed Damon with her. She didn’t care what happened to Shinichi. There was a sweetness unfolding inside her, but there was also a rushing in her head. It real y was a pity, but in a few moments she would be unconscious. Meanwhile, she had three thoughts in mind and al of them were clear. What she was afraid of was that they would be less clear later, after she had fainted. â€Å"Do you have a star bal ?† â€Å"I have twenty-eight star bal s,†Damon said, and looked at her quizzical y. That wasn’t what Bonnie meant at al ; she meant one to record onto. â€Å"Can you remember three things?†she said to Damon. â€Å"I’d gamble on it.†This time Damon kissed her softly on the forehead. â€Å"First, you ruined my very brave death.† â€Å"We can always go back and you can have another try.†Damon’s voice was less choked now; more his own. â€Å"Second, you left me at that horrible inn for a week – â€Å" As if she could see inside his mind, she saw this slice into him like some kind of wooden sword. He was holding her so tightly that she real y couldn’t breathe. â€Å"I†¦I didn’t mean to. It was real y only four days, but I never should have done it,†he said. â€Å"Third.†Bonnie’s voice dropped to a whisper. â€Å"I don’t think any star bal was ever stolen at al . What never existed can’t be stolen, can it?† She looked at him. Damon was looking back in a way that normal y would have thril ed her. He was obviously, blatantly distressed. But Bonnie was just barely hanging on to consciousness at this point. â€Å"And†¦fourth†¦Ã¢â‚¬ She puzzled out slowly. â€Å"Fourth? You said three things.†Damon smiled, just a little. â€Å"I have to say this – â€Å"She dropped her head down on Damon’s shoulder, gathered al of her energy, and concentrated. Damon loosened his grip a little. He said, â€Å"I can hear a faint murmuring sound in my head. Just tel me normal y. We’re well away from anyone.† Bonnie was insistent. She scrunched her whole tiny body together and then explosively sent out a thought. She could tel that Damon caught it. Fourth, I know the way to the seven legendary kitsune treasures, Bonnie sent to him. That includes the biggest star ball ever made. But if we want it, we have to get to it – fast. Then, feeling that she had contributed enough to the conversation, she fainted. How to cite The Return: Midnight Chapter 20, Essay examples

Learning Journal Professional Knowledge

Question: Discuss about the Learning Journal for Professional Knowledge. Answer: In the following assignment, I am going to document my development and learning progress regarding theunit of international and comparative human resource management. The purpose is here to improve my self-awareness regarding professional knowledge, problem solving and decision-making skills and awareness about the political, social as well as the ethical issues. Therefore, the following journal is going to be descriptive, reflective as well as analytical and is going to address my daily experiences, various situations in the work place and my interaction with the people. I would like to inaugurate my reflective journal by elaborating the things I have learnt and among them, what I have found the most interesting. Following that, I would also denote the difficulties those I found unexpected and the aspects, which I have acquired from my experiences. I would like to start from my todays learning experiences. I have learnt about the international human resource management. More specifically, I have learnt about the cultural framework of international HR management. The class has discussed about varied international HR management aspects like management of workplace diversity, international HR activities and manifestation of workplace culture. From the class, I have come to know about the fact that there are a disappointing number of international organizations, who do not abide the obligatory rule of providing equal opportunities to the employees. Most importantly, I have understood that according to the US law of antidiscrimination, US organizations cannot legally discriminate their employees who work on the overseas for the organizations. Further, I have acquired the knowledge from todays class that underutilization of the talents of the female employees, undervaluation of the female employees, lack of antidiscrimination laws an d lack of advancement and development of the women employees are some of the most frequent and sensitive issues. Such issues are some of the predicaments, which make it difficult for pursuing satisfactory workplace diversity. On the other hand, todays class has taught me that the international human resource management fundamentally covers five particular services, which are international taxation, international relocation and orientation, administrative services for expatriates , host-government relations and language translation services. Before the class, I did not have any idea about international relocation services. I have obtained the understanding that arrangement of pre-department training, the responsibility of providing immigration as well as travel details are parts of international relocation. I have also learnt today that information regarding compensation details, housing, shopping, recreation and medical care and the role of finalizing employee compensation details are also some of the vital responsibilities pursued under the international relocation services. Finally, I would like to denote here that I have learnt about all the crucial international challenges, which are prohibiting to pr operly managing talent. Increasing market complexity, currency volatility, extreme competition for talent, workforce diversity and offshore and onshore are some of the crucial challenges. However, I believe that workforce diversity and currency volatility are two most sensitive predicaments for multinationals. However, among the several aspects, which I have learnt from my classes on international human resource management, the most interesting lesson for me has been Hofstedes model of cultural dimension. It has been interesting for me to learn that Geert Hofstede, who has developed Hofstedes model of cultural dimension, established the model by integrating data of more than 72 countries of more than 116,000 employees. In this context, I need to mention the fact that Hofstedes model of cultural dimension depends upon five key aspects, which are power distance, masculinity, individualism or collectivism and uncertainty avoidance. I should contemplate the fact that a model of cultural dimension has a relatively bigger sphere, which includes varied of aspects, which fundamentally belong to four dimension of culture by Geert Hofstede. I need to say that the most helpful as well as interesting aspect learnt from lesson of cultural dimension has been the underpinning about the conventional male or female values. According to the theoretical underpinning of Hofstedes cultural dimension, the aspect of masculinity says that tough values, such as success, money, competition and social status determine or integrate the aspect of masculinity. On the other hand, the tender values like relationship, care and quality of life dominate and integrate the facet of feminine. Nevertheless, it has been difficult for me to accept the fact that Hofstedes model does not prioritize subculture difference and at the same time has only been applied upon some chosen countries. I need to mention that from todays lesson I have also acquired a coherent understanding about the variations in value orientation. As I have now mentioned about the variation in value orientation, I need to mention here that the framework of Kluckhohn and Strodbeck of the differences in the value orientation have identified six value orientations. These are relation to nature, time orientation, basic human nature, activity orientation, relationship between people and space orientation. It has been understood that not all the kinds of value orientations are preferred by a single culture. I have learnt from the framework set by Kluckhohn and Strodbeck that each different culture may consider one or two of the value orientations. It is my understanding that says an international organization should follow all the aforementioned aspects acknowledged by me in order to maintain a properly maintained diversified work culture. Furthermore, I should make account of the fact that both domestic and international activities regarding human resource management service are moderated by cultural environment, multination organi zations extent of reliance on its home country, complexity involved in the program of operating in different countries and the industry to which a particular multinational organization belongs to. It has been identified by me that along with sex discrimination, in most of the multinational organizations, age and racial discrimination are very common. I have come to know the reality that in countries like those that Canada and Australia, racial discrimination against the aboriginal people are found among the multinational countries, whose home countries and domestic market are Canada or Australia. It has been shocking for me to believe such a situation although I should confront that I personally have not encountered any such discrimination in real life. In this respect, one context I need to enlist in my journal. Instead of the fact that I personally have not undergone any such situation of corporate discrimination but father of one of my friends, who belongs to a minority and marginalized section of the society have faced racial and cultural discrimination. According to my friends account, several times in office, his father has been bullied verbally by his colleagues and eve n by the management regarding racial discrimination. Later I came to know that his father has been forced to leave the multinational company where he worked due to extreme level of embarrassment and harassment. I have personally come across a particular incident that have helped me to realize the fact that cultural dimension is not integrated only with the aspects outlined by Geert Hofstede. Gender egalitarianism, Assertiveness, performance orientation and human orientation are some of the other facets, which are potential dimensions of culture. It is true and an acceptable fact that Hofstedes model gives a firmer and more cohesive evaluation of a countrys culture. Nevertheless, I used to travel a lot and while travelling in several places of my home country, I have noticed the fact that people seldom encourage others for being generous, caring and kind to others. I have seen instead of getting help from others, people seldom offer the same help to others and most of the time they do not even acknowledge the help they are provided from others. I believe we are bound to reward or at least encourage those people, who are showing their kindness and honesty to us. I have realized that if we cou ld not reward them or show them the same generosity, we should at least acknowledge their contribution. Through the particular experience and acquisition of knowledge regarding human orientation to be one of the extended dimensions of culture that should be considered, I have realized that cultural aspects of a particular place is determined by human orientation too. However, in this context, I need to mention one thing, which is I should acquire more knowledge regarding the basic responsibilities of the human resource department. It is because I aspire become a part of the human resource department of any particular international organization. At the same time, I desire to maintain a management, where people would work under a properly maintained diversified work culture, after becoming part of a human resource department. Henceforth, I believe that in order to accomplish my dream I need to gather a lot more information about anti-discrimination policies useful for maintaining work place diversity. On the other hand, the lessons I have learnt, have pointed out that Hofstedes model is more recognizable and the globe cultural dimensions are not. It would be essential to judge whether collectivism, assertiveness and human and performance orientation should be considered as the integral dimensions of culture. On the other side, in depth information regarding the impact of globalization on international HRM and emergence of new markets would also be significant for me to know. From my lessons, one of the significant facts I came to know about is that the flow of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) as well as the amount of gross domestic products are increasing with an impressive pace. Therefore, it can be said that in future, business negotiation with the developing countries like Brazil, India and China along with Russia will increase. I believe it is indicative of the fact that the level of workforce diversity will increase in time of doing business in the host country. Considering the situation, I face regarding human orientation and the news about workplace discrimination, as per my cumulated knowledge I would like to say that in future if I become a human resource manager of a multinational company, I would strongly maintain policies regarding anti-discrimination. More precisely, I would try to acknowledge people for their performance and behaviour. At the same time, it would be my responsibility to monitor whether people are showing discriminating attitude towards the employees who either belong to marginalized community or to the aboriginal groups. However, I should admit one truth that the lesson regarding cultural dimension and workplace diversity has changed my previous perceptions. Previously, I used to believe that workplace diversity means gender discrimination. The lesson has opened up my eyes about the fact racial and cultural discriminations are there, which altogether prohibit building a properly diversified workplace culture. It is significant to mention here that in order to turn a situation, which involves verbal bullying to a person or a group of people, I would first consider my theoretical knowledge that I have acquired from the unit lesson. I would consider reviewing the existing anti-discrimination policies and if there were anything not as such, I as a HR executive would try to design anti-discrimination policies regarding racism. In other case, I would abide the existing anti-discrimination policies of the particular organization and would strictly warn those who would be involved in the practice of discrimination. If warning would not work, then strict action against them would be appropriate.

A Call To Arms - Style And Tone Essays - The Sun Also Rises

A Call to Arms - Style and Tone A Call to Arms - Style and Tone "After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain" (332). This last line of the novel gives an understanding of Ernest Hemingway's style and tone. The overall tone of the book is much different than that of The Sun Also Rises. The characters in the book are propelled by outside forces, in this case WWI, where the characters in The Sun Also Rises seemed to have no direction. Frederick's actions are determined by his position until he deserts the army. Floating down the river with barely a hold on a piece of wood his life, he abandons everything except Catherine and lets the river take him to a new life that becomes increasing difficult to understand. Nevertheless, Hemingway's style and tone make A Farewell to Arms one of the great American novels. Critics usually describe Hemingway's style as simple, spare, and journalistic. These are all good words they all apply. Perhaps because of his training as a newspaperman, Hemingway is a master of the declarative, subject-verb-object sentence. His writing has been likened to a boxer's punches-combinations of lefts and rights coming at us without pause. As illustrated on page 145 "She went down the hall. The porter carried the sack. He knew what was in it," one can see that Hemingway's style is to-the-point and easy to understand. The simplicity and the sensory richness flow directly from Hemingway's and his characters' beliefs. The punchy, vivid language has the immediacy of a news bulletin: these are facts, Hemingway is telling us, and they can't be ignored. And just as Frederic Henry comes to distrust abstractions like "patriotism," so does Hemingway distrust them. Instead he seeks the concrete and the tangible. A simple "good" becomes higher praise than another writer's string of decorative adjectives. Hemingway's style changes, too, when it reflects his characters' changing states of mind. Writing from Frederic Henry's point of view, he sometimes uses a modified stream-of-consciousness technique, a method for spilling out on paper the inner thoughts of a character. Usually Henry's thoughts are choppy, staccato, but when he becomes drunk the language does too, as in the passage on page 13, "I had gone to no such place but to the smoke of cafes and nights when the room whirled and you needed to look at the wall to make it stop, nights in bed, drunk, when you knew that that was all there was, and the strange excitement of waking and not knowing who it was with you, and the world all unreal in the dark and so exciting that you must resume again unknowing and not caring in the night, sure that this was all and all and all and not caring." The rhythm, the repetition, have us reeling with Henry. In general, Hemingway's writing is descriptive yet effective in leaving much to the readers interpretation and allowing a different image to form in each readers mind. The simple sentences and incomplete descriptions frees your imagination and inspires each person to develop their own bitter love story.

Explore the extent to which personality traits explain student preferences for specific learning approaches and teaching modalities The WritePass Journal

Explore the extent to which personality traits explain student preferences for specific learning approaches and teaching modalities Review of the Literature Explore the extent to which personality traits explain student preferences for specific learning approaches and teaching modalities Review of the Literature  1.1 Introduction1.2 Learning Approaches1.3 Personality Teaching ModalitiesBibliographyRelated Review of the Literature   1.1 Introduction To learn more about education and to be able to improve the system to best provide for the individual needs of its learners, this study aims to investigate the link between an individual’s personality and their preferred learning style and teaching modality. There is a shortage of current research on how a student’s personality influences their learning style and preferred teaching modality. There is however, a large body of research that analyses the relationship between personality and learning. Curry (1983) describes learning as a future focused process that involves adaptation of constructs to bring about a change in an individual’s cognitive, practical, affective, social or moral skills which can be observable as a change in behaviour. The learning approach of an individual reflects the way in which they go about the process of learning with regard to their chosen setting, their internal goals, treatment of information, and desire to succeed. Understanding the motives for these individual differences in ways of learning and how this may apply to disparities in achievement has always been a concern for those studying educational practice. Teaching modalities refer to the way in which information is delivered to the student, and the learning environment that is created by the teacher. Higher Education employs several teaching modalities, including traditional lectures, small tutorial groups and one-to-one mentoring. Teaching modalities can vary as a product of the subject being taught, assessment criteria, and the individual preferences of lecturers, who may emphasise more theoretical or more practical approaches, or a combination of the two (Chamorro-Premuzic, Furnham Lewis, 2007; Chamorro-Premuzic, Furnam, Dissout Heaven, 2005). Despite this large scope for variability, there is little research into students’ preferences for different teaching modalities, especially into what factors contribute to these preferences. Fielder (1993) suggested that for the most effective teaching, a variety of approaches to teaching should be recruited in order to appeal to the different learning styles and personalities of the students. This hypothesis is supported by a study showing that a variety of teaching modalities was beneficial in engaging more individual learning styles (Dunn Dunn, 1979). Whilst there has been debate surrounding whether there is a scientific basis for learning styles (Curry, 1983; Pashler et al., 2009), this evidence appears to highlight their relevance to teaching. The large variation in teaching style, learning approach and academic performance poses several questions. Does student personality and their preferred learning approach account for preference of certain teaching modalities? What is the relationship between personality and an individual’s learning approach? It is therefore important to ask, are certain learning approaches suited to specific teaching modalities? The following hypotheses will be tested to investigate the relationship between student personality, preferred learning approach and preferred teaching modality (a) There is a significant relationship between certain personality characteristics and learning approaches. OR Is there a relationship between student personality traits and preferred learning approach? (b) There is a significant relationship between student personality traits and their preferred teaching modality. OR Is there a relationship between student personality traits and their preferred teaching modality? (c) There is a significant relationship between students’ preferred learning approaches and their preferences for teaching modalities OR Is there a relationship between students’ preferred learning approaches and their preferred teaching modality? 1.2 Learning Approaches Recent research has emphasised the important contribution of students’ learning approaches as determinants of how much knowledge they acquire, and how this translates into academic performance (Duff, 2003; Duff, Boyle, Dunleavy, 2004). In a series of investigations, Biggs (1987, 1992) conceptualised three major learning approaches to classify the way students approach their learning. These were classified as ‘deep’ surface’ and ‘achieving’. A deep approach to learning is characterised by intrinsic motivation, engagement with subject matter, and the desire to learn more detail and thoroughly understand the subject. Deep learners will aim to make the content of a lesson meaningful and develop a thorough understanding. Conversely, students who adopt a surface approach to learning show less interest in the task, avoid any challenging activities, and aim to pass exams rather than enhance their understanding. These students tend to receive informati on superficially and memorise isolated and unrelated facts (Biggs Tang, 2007). The achieving approach to learning is characterised by goal-oriented study strategies; based on competition between other students and ego enhancement. This approach lends to students that are motivated by the desire to achieve the top grades regardless of whether they find interest in the task at hand (Biggs, 1987; 1988). Biggs (1987) further divided each of the ‘deep’, ‘surface’ and ‘achieving’ approaches into ‘motive ‘ and ‘strategy’ as student goals may differ from the ways that these students go about achieving them. Previous research shows support for a direct relationship between student personality characteristics and student’s learning approaches (Zhang, 2003; Disth, 2003;). Zhang (2003) indicated that there are positive relationships between extraversion and surface learning, and between agreeableness and surface learning. This finding is supported in a study by Duff et al. (2004), who demonstrated a positive relationship between extraversion and a deep learning approach.   Additionally, individuals with conscientious and open personalities have been shown desire to develop deep learning strategies (Zhang, 2003) and those showing strong openness to experience have shown less propensity to being surface learners. Literature has examined several models of learning styles and proposed criticisms of such tools that purport to measure learning styles. One such tool is the Kolb Experiential Learning Model (ELM) (Kolb, 1976). Kolb’s ELM has received criticism that it is neither valid nor reliable, which has detrimental implications for education that could be if employed (Bergsteiner, Avery Neumann, 2010; Geiger, Boyle Pinto, 1993). However, an alternative model, the Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ) (Honey Mumford, 1992) has shown good test-retest reliability. Critics have suggested limitations to the LSQ, suggesting that the tool is useful for those students already interested in a particular career choice and would not be reliable enough for students attending non-vocational courses (Reynolds, 1997). Although there has been a debate as to the scientific basis of learning styles (Curry, 1983, Pashler et al., 2009), studies in the literature have provided irrefutable evidence that learning approaches and personality traits are strongly related. It may also be possible to infer that learning approaches have a distinctive value in explaining human behaviour, as learning is such a pervasive feature of being. This is supported by research from Busato, Prins, Elshout and Hamaker (2000), who assert that a learning styles inventory has a diagnostic value for identifying both strengths and weaknesses in the individual study behaviour of students. The present study will explore the extent to which personality and learning styles influence preferred teaching modalities. 1.3 Personality   The discovery of the â€Å"big five personality traits† can be interpreted as one of the major accomplishments of psychology in the twentieth century. These traits are agreeableness, conscientiousness, culture, emotional stability (versus neuroticism) and extraversion (Goldberg, 1990). Tokar (1995) proposed that the five-factor model is the one of the most â€Å"prominent and heuristic models of personality structure†. Several studies support Tokar’s view finding that the personality traits of the big five model accounts for a large amount of the variability in personality (Goldberg, 1993; Taylor McDonald, 1999). McCrae and Costa (1995a) acknowledge that personality has many other dimensions, proposing their ‘Model of Person,’ which uses the term ‘characteristic adaptation’ to explain personality traits that are not fundamental characteristics described by the big factor five. These characteristics adaptations are proposed to develop over time and are influenced by environment and experience, yet mediated by personality traits. These include characteristics such as habits and attitudes. The learning approach construct may well be one of such characteristic adaptation. This has been emphasised by a large research base into personality and how it is influences by a variety of variables. These include intellectual satisfaction, student self-esteem, teachers’ perceptions of their control over their students, teaching effectiveness and course type (Lieberman, Stroup-Bernham, Peel, 1998; McCaffrey, 1996; Parker, 1997; Rimmer, 1997). Additionally the role and influence of thinking styles has been addressed (Zhang Huang, 2001; Zhang, 2000a; Zhang 2000b). This emphasises the many possible influences that may be at work on the development of one’s learning approach. The work of Costa McCrae (1985-1992) has been successful in accommodating the big five personality constructs already assessed by Biggs (1987) and Eysenck (1975). They investigated the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and found that it was able to reliably assess the five personality dimensions. Other research into this inventory showed that it provided both good internal validity (Holden; 1994; Furnham 1996) and external validity using Holland’s (1994) Self Directed Search (Tokar Swanson, 1995; Fuller, Holland Johnson, 1999). This is all suggestive that these five predominant characteristics are reliable, replicable and representative of distinct traits. Neuroticism (N) at the extreme end of the scale may be characterised by anxiety nervousness and emotional lability. Individuals high on the N scale tend to have a pessimistic outlook and experience negative feelings that include emotional instability, guilt, embarrassment, and low self-esteem. The extraversion (E) subscale tends to be associated with the sociable and assertive individuals who prefer to work in a team with other people. Openness to Experience (O) is characterised by preference for variety, openness to change and variety, active imagination and independence of judgement. Additionally, people who score high on the O scale tend to be less conservative and traditional, however they also value and respect other people’s beliefs and conventions. Individuals scoring high on the culture (C) scale are characterised as being strong-willed, responsive and trustworthy with a strong sense of purpose. They also tend to be focused on task and goal outcome and are achievement oriented (Goldberg, 1990). Murray-Harvey (1994) observed that some descriptions of learning approaches are best formulated in terms of individual personality. For example, Shabolt (1978) demonstrated that those showing introverted or neurotic personality traits performed in conditions of structured teaching than when exposed to unstructured teaching methods. Eysenck (1978) also noted that personality and learning are closely linked, finding that extroverts tend to socialise during learning periods, are easily distracted from academic work and find concentration more difficult. Eysenck (1978) also postulated that those showing the neuroticism trait tend to let nerves interfere with their work. Furnham (1992) expanded this work, using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) (Eysenck Eysenck, 1975; 1991) and the Learning Styles Questionnaire (Honey Mumford, 1992). Findings revealed that all elements of learning style were related to at least one of the elements of the personality traits, suggesting an inext ricable link between the two. Furthering this hypothesis, Jackson and Lawtey-Jones (1996) found evidence for a reversal of the relationship, finding that whilst learning styles could be fully explained by personality scales, additionally, all learning styles correlated significantly with at least one personality trait. Furnham (1992) however, suggested that an individual’s learning approach may be interpreted as a derivative of personality rather than a separate entity. Findings from Zhang (2003) strongly suggest reason for further research into the field of personality and learning, finding that the two are related, but are individual constructs (reporting a quarter overlap), whereas Duff et. al. (2004) report an even greater relationship between learning approaches and personality traits. Duff (2004) and Zhang (2003) reported similar associations between openness and a deep approach to learning and neuroticism and surface approach. Extroverts were proposed to adopt a surface approach (Zhang, 2003), however Duff et al. (2004) found that agreeableness purported a surface approach. Furthering this, one may deduce that learning approaches act as indirect influences of personality traits on learning success. This may be highlighted by some personality traits being more strongly related to some learning approaches than others. These mediating factors may be identified through the consideration of how an individual may adapt their behaviour to suit their personality. For example, the surface approach, which accounts for a potential of failure and comparison with others, is related to neuroticism, and openness, which is associated with curiosity, imagination, and intellectual values, is related to the deep approach. Again, the personality trait of conscientiousness is reflected in the thorough nature of the deep approach. Other research highlights that it is a variety of personality traits that are associated with each learning approach and that there is not a single distinct contributing trait per approach (Diseth, 2003). There are arguments to suggest a dubious link between personality traits and learning approaches, with belief that it cannot be modelled (Zhang Sternberg, 2006) due to the dubious nature of learning approaches. Despite this resistance, others authors have found evidence and argument that the learning approach concept is associated strongly with personality (Furnham, 1992; Gelade 2002; Jackson and Lawty-Jones, 1996). Messick (1994) proposed that learning approaches, when in conjunction with other influence and constructs can be seen to provide a metaphorical bridge between cognition and personality. This implies that learning approaches can act as mediators in bringing learning material to the individual and making it relevant. The connection between personality and learning approach has been under investigation for many years (Jung 1921; Myers Briggs, 1962), which highlights the importance that has been placed on the understanding of this construct. Information on the relationship between personality and learning approaches allows for insight into the motivations and strategies that may be used by individuals when learning from a very young age. This will be especially useful for those personality traits that show persist throughout life, and will enable tailoring of education and learning advice appropriately. Additionally, it is important to know if personality and learning approaches are distinct psychological constructs and if so whether these can account for students’ teaching preferences. This is important as teaching methods are a strong influence on students’ learning and, in turn, their academic performance. Teaching Modalities Fischer Fischer (1979) define teaching style as a â€Å"pervasive way of approaching learners that might be consistent with several methods of teaching†. Conversely, Conti (1989) argued that teaching style is less pervasive, suggesting that it a construct of the personal characteristics and qualities of the teacher and remains consistent in various situations. Knowles (1970) emphasised the importance of teaching style on the learning experience, asserting that â€Å"the behaviour of the teacher influences the character of the learning climate more than any other single factor†. Teaching itself has been suggested to consist of an instructor’s personal behaviour and the media used to transmit or retrieve data to or from the learner (Gregorc, 1982). The success of teaching style and the accomplishment this data transmission and retrieval may depend largely on matching. Matching is defined in terms of a compatibility of the environment and the interactive effects of the person (Hunt 1979). Early studies carried in the US such as that by Simon (1987) aimed to determine the relationship between students’ preferred learning approaches and their preferred teaching styles of college tutors. He administered the Cranfield Learning styles inventory to 4,000 students. His studies revealed that students indicated a preference for fewer lectures and a more hands on experience. Students showed preference for less faculty directed learning and more student independence, also preferring peer and instructor affiliation. Implications from this study were that instructors should decrease the number of lectures in favour for an increase direct experience where students become more involved in the course and programme direction. One of the strongest measures of learning success is academic achievement (Zimmerman, 1990), therefore the success of learning approaches and teaching modalities may be assessed through individual performance. Personality type has been shown to be a predictor of academic performance, with those with conscientious personality types achieving academic success across a range of subjects (Busato et al. 2000). Additionally, Lieberman, Stroup-Benham and Peel (1998) found that conscientiousness, agreeableness and extraversion correlated with intellectual satisfaction at medical school. When considering this relationship, it is important to consider the influences that personality type has on learning approach and how much this may contribute to the outcome of academic success. There have been many further studies relating to personality and academic achievement, which as discussed above is likely mediated through learning style, however there is an absence of research investigating the infl uence of teaching modalities. Current studies pertaining to academic achievement, learning approaches and teaching modalities found that students whose preferred learning approaches matched with their teacher’s preferred teaching modality received higher grades than those whose did not match (Mathews 1995; Rains, 1978; Hunter 1979). This highlights the importance of matching and concordance between student and teacher. This is supported by research suggesting that teaching modalities and students’ learning approaches interact to affect student learning (Saracho, 1990; Saracho Spodek, 1994; Taylor, 1994; Wentura, 1985). The current research base would be greatly improved by further investigation into the relationship between learning approaches and students’ preferred teaching styles, especially how these are both mediated by the individual student’s personality. Recent research carried out by Furnham (1996) begins to explore this avenue. 221 students took the Neo Five-Factor Personality Inventory, were assessed on their learning approaches and also their preferred teaching modalities. Personality trait correlated with learning approach, and both of these individually had an effect on preference for certain teaching modalities. The study employed Marton and Saljo’s (1976) strategy to assess teaching modalities and covered students’ approaches, styles, motivations and study methods (Entwistle Ramsden, 1983; Entwistle, 1997). Conclusions were that emotional stability, agreeableness, and deep learning approaches were associated with preference for interactive teaching and lessons. These personality traits were also negatively related learning via a surface approach. Findings showed that those with a preference for interactive teaching were likely to have a personality which combined emotional stability and agreeableness, and these students would prefer a deep learning approach. Bibliography Bergsteiner, H., Avery, G. C., Neuman, R. (2010) Kolb’s experiential learning model: critique from a modelling perspective. Studies in Continuing Education, 32 (1), 29-46. Biggs, J. B. (1988) Assessing students approach to learning. Australian Psychologist, 23 (2), 197-206. Biggs, J. B. 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Critique of an article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique of an article - Essay Example The article covers various aspects of astrocyte functioning in association with experimental basis on hippocampus cultures, cell cultures and imaging techniques. Interesting observations have been elaborated with regard to the calcium waves phenomenon and consequences of release of glutamate. Back in 1894, Rudolf Virchow referred to astrocytes as "glia", meaning "glue", as they were believed to be holding the neuronal elements together. Astrocytes: neuron ratio is approximately 10:1 and despite the larger number of astrocytes, it was neurons that were considered to perform the primary function of the nervous system. The increase in intracellular Ca[2+] level led to release of glutamate which in turn helped in modulating synapses to allow the conduction of the nerve impulse. The article, which spans over 14 pages, indeed provides a thorough, detailed insight in the working of astrocytes. It commences with a short description of the previously built information regarding astrocytes, and gradually gravitates towards the new findings regarding the functioning of astrocytes ... rding the functioning of astrocytes due to elevated intracellular calcium level as a result of various neurotransmitters like GABA, ATP, and glutamate. It has been brought forward that a calcium elevation in astrocytes is both necessary and sufficient to modulate synaptic transmission and to activate ionotropic glutamate receptors on hippocampal neurons. It is also supplemented by pictures, which are extremely useful for the comprehension of this thesis. The authors have no doubt done a good job in writing up this article. Not only has the information been provided with a systematic and methodical approach, it has been made sure that each conclusion that has been concurred has a factual experimental basis, which is mandatory and extremely impressive, especially as figurative data has been imparted. Though the material has been extrapolated and unnecessarily lengthened a few times due to repetition of certain clauses that could have been avoided, overall it provides all the essential information that a student would require. What has been most intriguing is the function of astrocytes as vasomodulators, ie, as intermediary regulators of blood flow and experimental basis showing that application of neurotransmitters like norepinephrine, acetylecholine can mobilize astrocytic calcium, suggesting extrinsic axon pathways can also act on astrocytes to regulate the calcium. The basis for bi-directional glutamate-mediated signalling between astrocytes and neurons is unclear and the concept of neuroligands is enlightening. The various experiments employed to support the notion that glutamate is the neurotransmitter mediating astrocyte-neuron signaling are satisfactory, however the fact that the researchers have gone one step further to explore the action of other

Sudden Death Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sudden Death - Case Study Example The human rights mechanisms of the United Nations have addressed the issue of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in a range of ways. From the various discussions and considerations of the United Nations human rights mechanism, it is clear that lesbian, gay men, bisexuals, etc. have the right to non-discrimination and that they have the right to equality before the law. (Ian Martin, 2006)1 The present study focused on the issue of a man who is identified as bisexual is found dead in his apartment and has not been seen by his neighbors for the past five months. He was dead for the past six weeks. At the inquest, it came to light that he was not known to anybody, only a friends number was found, when contacted revealed that he had no family, was bisexual and was feared of being infected with HIV+. Same sex couples do not enjoy the same rights and protections as opposite sex couples, and consequently suffer from discrimination and disadvantage in access to social protection schemes, such as health care and pensions. In the labour market, a majority of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people continue to hide their sexual orientation or to endure harassment out of fear of losing their job. In a book published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2003, Jordi Estivill explains that "social exclusion may be understood as an accumulation of confluent processes with successive ruptures arising from the heart of the economy, politics and society, which gradually distances and places persons, groups, communities and territories in a position of inferiority in relation to centres of power, resources and prevailing values". People can be socially excluded as a result of many different, and sometimes compounding, factors. While young Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgend er people are at risk of being discriminated and excluded because of their sexual orientation. The exclusion experienced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people results mostly from the discrimination they face in all spheres of life, a discrimination which hampers their ability to have and access equal rights, and to participate fully in society. For one of the main characteristics of the social exclusion of LGBT people is their invisibility and marginalisation, or in more political terms, the lack of recognition of LGBT people as full members of a community and as citizens. (Judit Takacs 2006:5-11) 2 Social exclusion is a shorthand term for what can happen when people suffer from a combination of linked problems, such as unemployment, poor skills, low incomes, poor housing, high crime environments, bad health and family breakdown. The issue of social exclusion is multi-dimensional and one form of exclusion will often lead to another. Social exclusion leads to poor self est eem, which is implicated in HIV risk taking. A study shows that groups primarily affected by HIV in UK are those who are marginalized or socially excluded by the society. 3 Social disorganization may be the cause for the death of person. According to Strain theory of Cohen Cloward & Ohlin Agnew, when individuals cannot obtain goals, hey experience strain or pressure. Under certain conditions, they are likely to respond to this strain through crime. The strains leading to crime, however, may not only be linked to goal blockage but also to the presentation of noxious stimuli and the taking away of valued stimuli. Crime is a more

Advertising and Promotion In Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Advertising and Promotion In Business - Essay Example However, in order to attain such a position and image, effective advertising and promotion is essential. This is because; advertising means, a set of information or potential message communicated to the customers in order to improve its rankings and popularity in the market among others. By doing so, the level of awareness of the customers over the features and benefits of the products might get enhanced resulting in amplification of their reliability and consistency over the brand. For example: in classic advertising procedure, a specific problem is presented in front of the customers along with a solution to resolve the problem. This encourages the customers to purchase such type of product or services that may amplify the profitability and uniqueness of the brand or organization in the market1. Thus, advertising or marketing is recognised as a process of communicating the features and advantages of the product or services to its potential customers in order to improve the total sa le and revenue of the organization. However, in this process, the sender or the communicator presents the message to the receiver. He encodes the message and then decodes it and attains value information as presented below. By doing so, the level of relationship with the customers also gets enhanced resulting in amplification of the brand value and market share of the organization in the market among others. Due to these reasons, promotion and advertising is considered as holistic approaches of marketing. Â  

The Motivation To Choose Entrepreneurship Role Business Essay

The Motivation To Choose Entrepreneurship Role Business Essay There are varying definitions of entrepreneurship (e.g., Kirzner, 1973; Schumpter, 1934; Stevenson et al., 1989; Vesper, 1996) which portray the common feature of entrepreneurship as the act of creating a new venture (Gartner, 1985). Entrepreneurship can be regarded as the process of creating value by integrating the resources for exploiting an available opportunity. From this, it can be derived that an entrepreneur is someone who perceives an opportunity and creates an organization to pursue it (Bygrave Hofer, 1991, p 14). Timmons, (1994) has identified three crucial driving forces of entrepreneurship, which include (i) the entrepreneur or founder, (ii) the recognition of opportunity and (iii) the resources needed to found the firm. The process of entrepreneurship is complicated with the existence of various other factors such as risk, chaos, information asymmetries, resource scarcity, uncertainties, paradoxes and confusion. Successful entrepreneurship can be developed only when al l the three components are arranged in a proper fit. An entrepreneur has to face the challenge of manipulating and influencing the factors affecting the process of entrepreneurship so that he can improve the chances of success of the venture. Since opportunities seldom wait, right timing of the recognition of the opportunity becomes critically important for any entrepreneur. Literature has identified a number of factors influencing the process of entrepreneurship, which include creativity, optimism, information search, alertness, social networking and prior knowledge. Based upon the presence of some of these personal traits and by adapting to the circumstances, entrepreneurs are able to work their ways to recognizing profitable ventures and convert them into operable business ventures. However, the question remains as to which are the ones out of these factors motivate people to become entrepreneurs. The objective of the study was to examine the relative impact different motivational factors acting upon people in different age groups to take up entrepreneurial activity. 1.1 Motivation and Entrepreneurship The topic of motivation in the entrepreneurship can be addressed from an organizational psychological perspective. Campbell et al have developed a framework, which has identified the theories of motivation to progress from static, content-oriented theories to dynamic process-oriented ones. Content theories describe specific traits within individuals that initiate, direct, sustain and stop entrepreneurial behavior. Process theories on the other hand explain the ways in which behavior is initiated, directed, sustained and stopped. There are other situational and environmental factors, which influence any entrepreneurial activity. Previous research have attempted to identify these situational and environmental factors such as job displacement, previous work experience, availability of various resources, and governmental influences acting on the entrepreneurial activities of individuals. However, empirical studies on contextual factors were unable to find greater nexus between explanatory power and predictive ability (Kruegar, Reily, Carsrud, 2000). Many of the recent entrepreneurship models are process-oriented cognitive models. They mainly focus on attitudes and beliefs of individuals and the ways in which they can act on predicting intentions and behaviors. Cognitive processes often lead to all human endeavors, especially complex ones such as new venture initiation. Humans are characterized to categorize the possible future outcomes to decide on most desirable ones. They further analyze whether it is feasible to pursue attaining these desired outcomes. It is not reasonable to expect people to pursue those outcomes, which they perceive to be undesirable or unfeasible. Therefore, the perceptions of the people become an important motivational factor with respect to their entrepreneurial choices. It is found that many cognitive models explaining the motivation to choose a new entrepreneurial activity is based on Vrooms, (1964) expectancy framework. These models use different terminologies and they are built on different theoretical bases. However, the commonality among these models can be identified with Vrooms expectancy model. The Vroom model postulates that an individual can be expected to choose among alternative behaviors by considering the one, which will lead to the most desirable outcome for him. Motivation is conceptualized as the product of expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Vrooms (1964) expectancy model forms the common base for a number of process-oriented explanations connected with entrepreneurial motivation. Current process models are grounded on the basic conception that an individuals entrepreneurial intentions to choose a particular activity are predicted by the questions (i) is entrepreneurship is desirable to him to lead to provide the desired outc omes and (ii) is entrepreneurship is feasible for him to decide whether he possesses the required qualities to become a successful entrepreneur. 1.2 Current Process Models of Entrepreneurial Motivation Baumol, (1990) suggested the role of reward structure in motivating entrepreneurial activity. Reward structure as an economic perspective for the initiation of a new venture is based on the usefulness, utility or desirability of an entrepreneurial career. Campbells (1992) decision model makes a comparison of the expected net present benefits of entrepreneurship and the expected gains from a possible employment opportunity. On the same lines, Praag Cramer, (2001) advocated that people choose entrepreneurship if they expect the rewards of such entrepreneurship would surpass the wages earned by them out of employment. Levesque, Shephard, Douglas, (2002) examined the selection of the course of action between employment and entrepreneurship in the form of self-employment in the context of a utility-maximizing model, which tends to change based on the age of the individual denoting the stage of life. The common thread among these economic models is the explicit consideration of the role of risk in choosing to become an entrepreneur. Other recent research is based on an organizational psychological framework conducted by Bird, (1988). This work suggests the importance of entrepreneurial intentions as a precursor to new venture creation stressing the need to develop a behavioral, process-oriented model of entrepreneurship. 1.3 Purpose of the Study Problem Statement There are a number of motivational factors, which influence the entrepreneurial intentions of the individuals. Extensive attitudinal research has investigated the topic of the role of different attitudinal factors because these factors have been considered as the better explanatory factors for choosing entrepreneurial activities than demographic and personality variations. Most of these studies base their findings on attitudinal factors which have an influence on confidence, enthusiasm, inclination and aspiration towards choosing entrepreneurship (Aronson, Wilson, Akert, 2005; Beugelsdijk Noorderhaven, 2004; Henderson Robertson, 2000). Some studies have examined the influence of attitude towards entrepreneurial aspiration (Krueger et al 2000). There is a void to be filled in the demographic area of research for example, the influence of age and educational qualifications on the choice of entrepreneurship has not been studied extensively. In this context, the current study will at tempt to examine the relative influence of age factor on individuals choosing to become entrepreneur. With the average age expectancy going up and the availability of resources in the hands of baby boomers, the chances of individuals becoming entrepreneurs at their middle ages cannot be ruled out. Therefore, a study of the influence of age factor on entrepreneurial decisions become important and they cannot be considered out of place. The findings of the research is expected to reveal the attitudinal and other motivational factors influencing the entrepreneurial decisions among individuals in different age groups, which can be used as a guiding factor in addressing different issues in becoming an entrepreneur in the middle age. By engaging the quantitative research method of survey through a well-constructed questionnaire, the study has focused on the examination of the entrepreneurial choice among aspiring individuals in two different age groups. The study will also present an analytical review of the available literature on the topic. For a comprehensive presentation, the paper is structured to have different chapters. The introductory chapter gives an insight into the topic under study. Chapter 2 will present a review of the relevant literature to extend the knowledge of the readers on the subject of entrepreneurial opportunity recognition process. Chapter 3 deals with the aims and objectives of the study followed by chapter 4 detailing the research methodology. Chapter 5 includes the findings of the research and a detailed discussion on the findings and some concluding remarks are presented in chapter 6.

Anne Tylers classic novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Essay

Anne Tyler's classic novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant In Anne Tyler's classic novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the reader experiences a variety of conflicts between parent and child, one of the most apparent being that between Pearl Tull and her eldest son, Cody. These two characters never seem to see eye to eye, as Pearl prefers to see only the negative aspects of her children. Cody never truly relates to Pearl and her manic ways. As the conflict unfolds between Pearl and Cody, the deeper meaning of the story is revealed; there is never a perfect family, but nonetheless, theirs is a family. As the first child, Cody is expected to excel and be the ideal son. He establishes a rebellious personality once his younger brother Ezra is born. Because of this brotherly competition, he and Pearl never really get along. Whether or not they even truly loved each other is an idea to be questioned. Pearl doesn't like the idea that Cody might, for once in his life, be better than Ezra. The reader sees this in chapter 2, when Pearl insists that Ezra try to shoot ... Anne Tyler's classic novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant Essay Anne Tyler's classic novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant In Anne Tyler's classic novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, the reader experiences a variety of conflicts between parent and child, one of the most apparent being that between Pearl Tull and her eldest son, Cody. These two characters never seem to see eye to eye, as Pearl prefers to see only the negative aspects of her children. Cody never truly relates to Pearl and her manic ways. As the conflict unfolds between Pearl and Cody, the deeper meaning of the story is revealed; there is never a perfect family, but nonetheless, theirs is a family. As the first child, Cody is expected to excel and be the ideal son. He establishes a rebellious personality once his younger brother Ezra is born. Because of this brotherly competition, he and Pearl never really get along. Whether or not they even truly loved each other is an idea to be questioned. Pearl doesn't like the idea that Cody might, for once in his life, be better than Ezra. The reader sees this in chapter 2, when Pearl insists that Ezra try to shoot ...