Progreso Financiero Essay

Progreso Financiero faces two critical problems. First, it is falling significantly short of its sales forecasts (Exhibit 4), causing concern for investors and employees of the company. Second, Progreso has not yet identified a clear path to profitability. There are four key drivers to underperformance at Progreso Financiero: poor sales analytics systems, improper human resource management, poor managerial decision making and ineffective compensation incentives. The collective result of these shortcomings is that Progreso’s sales employees are highly unmotivated and ill equipped to help the company realize its sales and profitability goals. In order to be effective, sales executives need to have clear selling objectives and the ability to track their performance against key performance metrics. Much to its detriment, however, Progreso Financiero does not have any systems in place to track conversion pipeline and CPA over time. This has deleterious effects both on management’s ability to accurately forecast overall sales (likely the cause of the huge discrepancy between forecasts and actual sales – see Exhibit 6) and the account executive’s ability to track potential and existing customers throughout the sales-force funnel. Indeed, Progreso Financiero suffers from low lead-to-loan conversion (~14%) as well as low customer retention (~52%), which are key drivers of underperformance in terms of sales volume and customer lifetime value vis-Ã  -vis the company’s acquisition costs. Many of Progreso’s problems can also be attributed to poor HR management. It’s decision to hire its sales managers directly from the groceries in which it sells has created channel issues with its retail partners and has also left it with a sales force that is highly inexperienced. As a result, these employees require significantly more training before they can effectively sell at a level of an experienced sales executive. Progreso’s decision to promote internally to fill its DSM positions is also highly questionable, since these employees have little to no people management experience. As such, they have a difficult time engaging and motivating their direct reports. When Gutierrez does hire outside help, he consistently makes poor decisions. Time and again he promotes individuals with little to no actual sales experience (Cortez, Caviness, Ulloa) to lead his sales team, resulting in a failure of leadership and execution. When he does hire someone with sales experience (Dudley), he choses someone that does not speak Spanish, creating a language communication barrier. The commission-based compensation structure used at Progreso is hurting the company instead of creating incentives for AEs to progressively sell more loans. While a progressive incentive structure is appropriate for Progreso – loan sales are highly contingent on the efforts of its AEs – it has not structured the incentives properly. First, the company has set a minimum threshold of 15 loan sales per month before an AE can receive a baseline commission of $18 per loan, but in 2008 employees are averaging only 7 loans per month. At the same time, employees appear relatively content simply earning the hourly $8 wage, creating an ecosystem in which the utility of the fixed salary outweighs the effort-to-outcome of doubling one’s loan sales output to earn incremental commission. Indeed, the goals are so far out of reach that AEs have given up on achieving them. This has created a principal-agent dilemma whereby the sales force is no longer aligned with the firm to achieve its aggressive sales forecasts. The low morale caused by a misaligned incentive structure is also a likely contributor to the high turnover at Progreso, which in turn impacts overall sales force productivity due to the sales learning curve and training required for each new AE. Finally, Progreso’s decision to enter into the Sears/K-Mart channels was also a strategic mistake. The foot traffic of their target customer at these stores is much lower than that of their target customer in Hispanic grocery stores. Furthermore, these channels already had a product offering in place (with Citibank) and an incentive structure of their own that encouraged Sears employees to refer business to Citibank, not Progreso. Lastly, Progreso’s agreement with Sears forced it to offer its customers a form of payment (gift cards) that limited their spending flexibility and made the offering less attractive overall. While expanding to merchant accounts increased overall volume of sales, it did so at the expense of its sales employees. As shown in Exhibit 1, Progreso’s merchant launch in September 2007 immediately precipitated a decline in its loan per employee ratio, well below the commission threshold level. Previously AEs were able, on average, to reach or surpass 15 loans per month but after the merchant launch, loans per month declined to 7 per month on average. Despite this, Progreso made no change to its commission incentive structure to accommodate for the differences in sales velocity by channel. Progreso faces two key challenges going forward. It must satisfy investors by proving that it can meet its aggressive sales forecasts and it also must outline a clear path towards profitability. Currently Progresso is spending more to acquire a customer (~$177 CPA, Exhibit 3) than it is earning in downstream value from customers acquired (~$100 CLV, Exhibit 2). In order to improve profitability of its customers, Progreso either needs to increase the margins per loan transaction or improve its retention performance. While Progreso could raise the APR and achieve a higher margin, this would to some degree tarnish its brand positioning as a low-cost, low-barrier lending company. Instead, Progreso should continue to build CRM systems that provide a deeper connection with its customers at each stage through the sales pipeline. If, for example, Progreso was able to convert 85% of new customers into repeat customers (instead of 65%), the CLV per customer would then surpass Progreso’s CPA. While Progreso could also aim to lower its acquisition cost, this is not recommended since it would require either shutting down some of its locations or decreasing overall compensation to an already discouraged sales force. Progreso should also redesign its incentive structure. First, it needs to make its commission threshold more achievable in order to align its AEs with company sales goals. To accomplish this it should eliminate the threshold requirement altogether and compensate using commission at all levels of sales (starting at 2% and rising to a 10% maximum). Secondly, it should lower the hourly wage to $6 in order to encourage its employees to earn a higher share of income through commission. In 2008 AEs sold 7 loans on average, meaning that most AEs did not earn any commission. By contrast, in the proposed compensation structure (Exhibit 5), AEs begin earning commission right away but earn a lower base salary. It is expected that this model will improve morale, even though AEs will need to double their loan count because they will have a sense of ownership right away and their incentives will be aligned with Progreso’s. Lastly, Progreso should improve the quality of its sales force by recruiting externally and hiring managers that have relevant sales experience. Every sales employee from top to bottom should be required to speak Spanish in order to improve communication. By improving the compensation structure and hiring an already knowledgeable sales force, Progreso can improve the effectiveness of each AE and actually reach the sales goals it sets for itself.

Talented Tenth

The Talented Tenth by W. E. B. Dubois is a prime illustration of the twentieth century’s evolving opinions and problems. Dubois aids in demonstrating the developing propositions that helped inspire new advancement in the area of revitalizing the black race. The Talented Tenth was a speech intended to identify and explain the role of the ‘talented ten percentile’ of the black race in relation to its evolvement. It helps confirm the situation and its dire need for improvement. Dubois suggests that the black’s way of life could be positively adjusted by constructing a group of blacks composed of the top ten percent of ‘exceptional’ men. These men would be college-educated and would assist in renovating the somber state of the black race. They would aid in leading the blacks to salvation, through illuminating and validating their intellectual capability to whites. Proving this would also include Dubois’s intention to not only educate the blacks, but to enhance their sense of purpose and the character of each individual. Therefore, whites would have been exposed to the blacks competence in life, through Dubois’s ‘talented tenth’. This draft provided an idea that if pursued, an example and goal for black people would be available. The example, the ‘talented tenth’, would positively affect the lives of both whites and black. Therefore, Dubois’s speech was an indispensable document in the twentieth century. The Talented Tenth was a textbook model of the twentieth century on many levels. It clearly identified the problems, methods and suggestions to evolution to a positive way of life for the black race. What the ‘talented tenth’ consisted of and how it would carry the race to a better way of life were also discussed and analyzed in Dubois’s speech. The Talented Tenth compacts the twentieth century’s problems, solutions, ideas, and opinions into a neat package, making it a key literary draft in the history of the America.

Nursing Education

The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice provides the educational framework for the preparation of professional nurses. This document describes the outcomes expected of graduates of baccalaureate nursing programs.The Essentials apply to all pre ­licensure and RN completion programs, whether the degree is baccalaureate or graduate entry. Program curricula are designed to prepare students to meet the end  ­of  ­program outcomes delineated under each Essential.BackgroundThe healthcare delivery system has changed dramatically since The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice was endorsed by the American Associate ion of Colleges of Nursing (AACN, 1998). Building a safer healthcare system has become t he focus of all health professions following numerous reports from the Institute of Medicine (IOM, 2000, 2001, 2004), American Hospital Association (2002), Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Kimball & O’Neill, 2002) , the Joint Commission (2002) and other authorities.Nursing has been identified as having the potential for making the biggest impact on a transformation of healthcare delivery to a safer, higher quality, and more cost  ­effective system. Wit h the increasing awareness of the need for change in the healthcare system, the clinical micro systems (small, functional units where care is provided within the larger system) have become an important focus for improving healthcare outcomes (Nelson, Batalden, & Godfrey, 2007).In addition to the concern over healthcare outcomes, the United States and the global market are experiencing a nursing shortage that is expected to intensify as the demand for more and different nursing services grows. Buerhaus, Staiger, and Auerbach (2008) reported that the U.S. may experience a shortage of more than 500,000 registered nurses by the year 2025. Despite annual increases in enrollments in entry  ­level baccalaureate nursing programs since 2001 (Fang, H tut, & Bednash, 2008), these increases are not sufficient to meet the projected demand for nurses.According to Buerhaus et al. (2008), enrollment in nursing programs would have to increase at least 40% annually to replace the nurses expected to leave t he workforce through retirement alone. Addressing the need for an increased number of baccalaureate prepared nurses is critical but not sufficient. Nursing must educate future professionals to deliver patient ­-centered care as members of an inter professional team, emphasizing evidence  ­based practice, quality improvement approaches, and informatics (IOM, 2003b). Nursing education and practice must work together to better align education with practice environments (Joint Commission, 2002, Kimball & O’Neill, 2002;).The environments in which professional nurses practice have become more diverse and more global in nature. Scientific advances, particularly in the areas of genetics and genomics, have had and will continue t o have a growing and significant impact on prevent ion, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases, illnesses, and conditions. The increased prevalence of chronic illness is a result of an increasingly older adult population, environmental threats, lifestyles that increase risk of disease, and enhanced technological and therapeutic interventions that prolong life.Increases in longevity of life have made the older adult the fastest growing segment of the population. In 2003, 12 % of the population was older than 65   years of age. By 2030, this population will increase to 20%, with a large majority older than 80 years of age (He, Sengupta, Velkoff, & DeBarros, 2005). Those older than 65 years of age had almost four times the number of hospitalization days than those younger than 65 years of age (Centers for Disease Control, 2007).Education for the baccalaureate generalist must include content and experiences across the lifespan, including the very young who are especially vulnerable. The p ercentage of the population under 18 years of age is 24.6% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2008). U.S. infant mortality in 2006 ranked 38-th in the world (World Health Organization, 2008). Prevent ion is critical in addressing both acute and chronic conditions across the lifespan. The role of the nurse in prevent ion continues to be of utmost importance. Increasing globalization of healthcare and the diversity of this nation’s population mandates an attention to diversity in order to provide safe, high quality care.The professional nurse practices in a multicultural environment and must possess the skills to provide culturally appropriate care. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2008), the nation's minority population totaled 102 million or 34% of the U.S. population in 2006. Wit h project ions pointing to even greater levels of diversity in the coming years, professional nurses need to demonstrate a sensitivity to and understanding of a variety of cultures to provide high quality car e across settings. Liberal education, including the study of a second language, facilitates the development of an appreciation for diversity. Strong forces influencing the role of nurses include: scientific advances, particularly in the area of genetics and genomics, changing demographics of patient populations,  new care technologies, and patient access to healthcare information.These forces call for new ways of thinking and providing health care. Nursing is uniquely positioned to respond to these major   forces, requiring an increased emphasis on designing and implementing patient- ­centered care, developing partnerships wit h the patient, and a focus on customer service.Nursing EducationIn response to calls for transforming the healthcare system and how healthcare professionals are educated, AACN has maintained an ongoing dialogue wit h a broad representation of stakeholders internal and external to nursing. The dialogue has focused on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes n eeded by nurses to practice effectively within this complex and changing environment. New innovative models of nursing education have emerged, and AACN has taken a leadership role in crafting a preferred vision for nursing education.In 2004, the AACN Board of Directors reaffirmed its posit ion that baccalaureate education is the minimum level required for entry into professional nursing practice in today’s complex healthcare environment. Baccalaureate generalist education, as defined in this document, is the foundation upon which all graduate nursing education builds. The preferred vision for nursing education includes generalist, advanced generalist, and advanced specialty nursing education.Generalist nurse education occurs at a minimum in baccalaureate degree nursing programs. Advanced generalist education occurs in master’s degree nursing programs, including the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL ®), which is an advanced generalist nursing role. Advanced specialty educati on occurs at the doctoral level in Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or research  ­focused degree programs (PhD, DNS, or DNSc). End ­ of ­ program outcomes for the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral nursing programs build on each other.The Discipline of NursingRoles for the baccalaureate generalist nurse are derived from the discipline of nursing. The roles of the baccalaureate generalist include: provider of care,   designer/manager/coordinator of care, and   member of a profession.Nursing generalist practice includes both direct and indirect care for patients, which includes individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations. Nursing practice is built on nursing knowledge, theory, and research. In addition, nursing practice derives knowledge from a wide array of other fields and professions, adapting and applying this knowledge as appropriate to professional practice.In the senior college and university setting, every academic discipline is grounded in discrete inquiry ­-based applications that are distinctive to that discipline. Scientific advances, (particularly in the area of genetics and genomics), changing demographics of patient populations, new care technologies, and patient access to health care information call for new ways of thinking and doing in the provision of health care. The academic setting provides a forum for contemplating physical, psychological, social, cultural, behavioral, ethical, and spiritual problems within and across disciplines.Faculty have a responsibility to facilitate the translation of knowledge from a liberal education base into the practice of nursing. Nursing faculty introduce nursing science and theories, and guide the student in developing an understanding of the discipline of nursing’s dist inctive perspective.

To what extent do trade unions and trade union organisations in Europe Essay

To what extent do trade unions and trade union organisations in Europe constitute a European labour movement - Essay Example In this regard a psychological contract is also formed which states that the employees will give their service and attention to the organization and in return they also expect fair remuneration, proper work environment and sufficient privileges. The objectives and goals of the trade unions are centred on the interest of the employees and the proper enforcement of the labour rights. The trade union helps the employees to negotiate with the employer on the grounds of pay scale and working conditions, to address the need for major changes in the workplace along with major redundancies, to communicate the concerns of the employees to the employer, etc. The trade union also facilitate the addressing of employee grievances and ensures that they are properly mitigated without any internal disputes. It also provides all the necessary legal and financial advices to the employees to help them with their personal interests (People Power, 2014). It also provides the employees with certain facilities on the ground of educational facilities, discounted products and services including insurances. The objectives of the trade union clearly states that it takes care of the upliftment of the workers and prevents any unethical practices on the m. The trade union allows the workers to come under one roof and create a unity that creates a bigger momentum which helps them to take care of their concerns. The trade union was initiated with the advent of the labour movements during the pre-industrial era. The dominant professions in the Britain and Europe were only limited to agriculture, metal works, etc. The workers worked for the land owner or any business man, and they had very little control over their working condition. The highly autocratic behaviour of the employers exerted severe pressure over the employees and their working condition were quite poor along with their pay scale. This as a result pushed the

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 19

Research paper - Essay Example The initial interaction of culture and marketing appears at this level where the language and symbols used must be meaningful to the market in question. It therefore follows that the marketer must use the symbols that are synonymous with the particular culture Bryan, (2013). Marketing does not only involve presenting a product to the consumer, but also entails designing the product to meet the customer’s wants. For a product to satisfy people, its design, style, use and any other marketing activities must be culturally acceptable. Culture features in all marketing activities ranging from promotion, pricing, distribution channels, packaging of products and styling. The interaction between market forces and the culture of the market is responsible for success in marketing. It’s important to note that the way in which human beings satisfy their wants, the amount of a commodity they consume and the way they consume the product is all a function of their culture. Marketers play two roles in a market. They extend all their efforts to satisfying the cultural demands in the market as well as act as agents of change whenever the idea or product marketed is innovative. The usage of a new product in a market is the beginning of change in the people’s traditions making the marketer an agent of change. It’s therefore very crucial for a marketer to study cultural differences between societies and identify the important aspects that he/she should focus on. The influence of culture on a market of commodities can be demonstrated by the examples below, Michael, (2007). According to Brian, culture affects nearly every portion of our lives from birth till death. These effects have very remarkable consequences in the market of products (2013). For example in Chinese culture, it’s considered to be good luck to be born in the â€Å"year of the dragon†. This leads to an increase of birthrates

Women in Chinese society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Women in Chinese society - Essay Example The influence of Chinese women of the Later Empire depended on their knowledge of collective ethos and their ability to appeal to the power of the communities. The changes made by women often could have affected their individual lives or those of their close relatives only indirectly, through the mediation of the institutes of the society. The most significant example is widows who ended their lives for the societal ideals, so that the relatives of such women could have been rewarded3. Even without equality with men, Chinese women occupied a significant place in the ethical system of the country. They could have had influence when they accepted the existing laws. However, sometimes they dared to oppose laws or use them cunningly against more powerful members of the society. Thus, the firstsection of this paper deals with the consequences of acceptance of women’s place in the Chinese social system; the second section is dedicated to the means to empowerment in rare cases of women’s resistance to dominant ethical norms. The title comes from the story of Widow Wu from the section â€Å"Women and the Problems They Create†4 about a woman rewarded for her chastity, hard work, and humble behavior. It is remarkable that this was the supreme spiritual authority that rewarded widow Wu, not the society. The widow was just supported, not given extra money for pleasure; her private life also did not change at all. Still, she had more significant achievement: namely, she reached the ethical ideal which was relevant for the representatives of all genders and social classes. In Chinese society, neither women nor men were treated as independent subjects valuable for their individuality, like it would be in Western countries. It follows from â€Å"Family instructions† that young girls and boys were equally part of territorial and generational unity; they had to be loyal to family and performed irreplaceable

Ink Painting - Lingnan School of Painting Essay

Ink Painting - Lingnan School of Painting - Essay Example The paper "Ink Painting - Lingnan School of Painting" analyzes how the Lingnan School of Painting contributed to the innovations of the traditional Chinese ink painting, and how it influenced the traditional Chinese ink painting; what were the dissatisfactions articulated by the emerging Lingnan School; how the Lingnan style distinguished itself, in both their underlying philosophy and the art through which they expressed it; and in what direction(s) has the Lingnan school led, in its influence on Chinese ink painting. There were a number of defining characteristics of traditional Chinese ink painting, prior to the emergence of the Lingnan School. These defining characteristic might be arranged into the categories. With respect to the audience, traditional Chinese ink paintings were not created for common people or for a mass audience, but were generally privately-commissioned and intended for an elite audience only. Because the usual form of the painting included calligraphy and poe try, as well as painting and signets, it was done by educated scholars, for whom it was their esoteric passion. As such, the traditional Chinese ink paintings were often too lofty to comprehend. For this reason, they had a limited appeal, though very beautiful. The painter was, in a mystic way, the subject of his/her own painting, whether the apparent subject was landscape, flowers, or animals. The painting expressed the sentiment of the painter, but it was more intimate than that. The painting expressed the personality.... It can be understood that all painting, by artists, should develop their skills. Traditional Chinese ink painting was understood to be more profound than this. The painter painted and developed intellectually and spiritually. It was about the deepest aspects of being and the sensitivity of consciousness 5. Landscape paintings, for example, were lovely and set a mood. More than that, they communicated the emotion that the scholar-poet-painter experienced in that environment. Beyond that, the mountain or waterfall or other landscape setting shown, revealed the personality of the painter, for those who understood how to read the clues. It was not merely a painting for an audience, but it was an opportunity for the painter to reflect and develop personality and spirit. It was this painted high being-ness that the elite audience of traditional Chinese ink painting was looking for and paying for. In appreciating a painting, then, the audience appreciated Spirit and Consciousness. It was co nceptual, rather than visual 6. The subject of traditional Chinese ink painting was always painted in an abstract manner. From the 10th century to the 20th, it was thought that realism somehow cheapened the aesthetics of a painting. So, Chinese traditional ink painting was always expressionist, and not realist, and eventually even the selected subject itself was abstract. For example, a favorite subject of traditional Chinese ink painting, by the nineteenth century, was Taoist and Buddhist teachings. It is no wonder that the subjects of the paintings, for 800 years, were considered by later painters to be aloof from worldly affairs 7. The subjects painted were human figures, landscapes, flowers and birds. These three categories, however, are more

National incident based reporting system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

National incident based reporting system - Essay Example This paper identifies the current challenges of crime reporting as the lack of harmonization on the usage of crime reporting programs used in various states in U.S. It is important to note that some cities have failed to incorporate NIBRS into their crime prevention and detection system. It also addresses the technological opportunity presented by NIBRS in crime reporting technology and its advantages over the UCR. The paper makes some basic recommendation for effective crime reporting system. First, it recommend the need to involve the community and ordinary citizens in the system since they are the one affected by crime and it might be more effective if they know exactly the significance of correctly reporting a crime incident. Secondly, it calls for the crime reporting system to be more alert so as to adapt to the changing society so as to capture immerging new forms of crimes in our society. A crime is an act that violates a political or moral rule. Presently, an act that was considered a crime some years back might no longer be a crime in today's society. It is also true that what a certain community considers to be an antisocial act might mean nothing to another community. Statistical crime rate will directly be affected as culture and political environment changes. This in turn determines the allocation of resources for the enforcement of such laws and also influences public opinion. Public perception of a crime is affected if there are changes in the way the crime data are collected. (Hart, 1961) Law enforcing agencies before used to employ awkward way of crime reporting to know whether crime is increasing or not such as counting the number of people in the people and this made crime data analysis very difficult. Until early 18th century, the data collection on crime incidences was insignificant. (Blythe, 1992) The governments of all nations all over the world have been looking forward to minimizing the occurrence of crime in the society. The incidences of crimes are usually identified by location, gender, nature and race by these crime reporting programs. This has really helped the government in allocating resources by allocating more resources in the areas more prone to crimes to reduce them. The crime incidences reporting have helped the Federal state to plan and redirect resources in fighting crimes since the UCR began its operations according to the data collected by USA government. According to the FBI (2006), there is an overall reduction in crime incidences ranging from violent to simple assaults for the past ten years. Statement of the problem Many crimes that happen every day goes unreported in the UCR crime reporting program. NIBRS in the other hand, as an improvement of UCR, has its own limitations. One, there is no enough resources needed to capture all the crime incidences. This in turn has lead to its failure in giving a proper picture of crime to the law enforcement agencies for it to strategies effective ways of fighting crimes. This has been contributed by failure of some cities to introduce the NIBRS in their systems and lack of harmonization in crime prevention system strategies and partnership between cities. This paper is an effort to address

The Use of Computers In Psychological Diagnosis Term Paper

The Use of Computers In Psychological Diagnosis - Term Paper Example Psychology has a lot of dimensions and there are different types of psychology present. This paper discusses the use of computers in the abnormal psychology. Abnormal psychology The term abnormal psychology can be defined as a branch or type of psychology that studies the behavior patterns of humans that are unusual, the unusual thoughts and emotions that humans possess that may or may not be causing them to be having a mental disorder. The abnormal psychology tends to consist of various reasons for different types of behaviors. The different behaviors observed in the individuals are due to the situations they have undergone and therefore need to undergo a psychological treatment. The medical professionals that come under this category are the psychotherapists, the counselor, and the clinical psychologists that cater towards the unusual and abnormal psychology behavior of the individual (Barlow and Mark, 2004). Intelligence testing The intelligence testing of an individual tends to f ocus upon the level of the functionality of the intellectual aspects of the individual and this is conducted by carrying out various tests for assessing the intelligence level of the individual. There are computerized tests given to the individuals for their intelligence testing and computerized results are obtained for the tests so that an immediate analysis can be given about the intelligence level of the person (Fernald, 2008). All individuals are at different levels of intelligence and according to their level the intelligence tests are conducted for them on computers. Neurobiological diagnosis Schizophrenia is one of the main diseases that are faced by humans and a neurobiological diagnosis is usually conducted for the... The discussion above depicts that computers are highly vital and an essential element in the field of psychology. Abnormal psychology deals with the unusual behaviors of the individuals such as them having fear or having mood disorders like depression and other such factors. Computers play an important role in the treatment of patients of psychological disorder and also it helps towards the maintenance and evaluation of historical records for longer time periods. Computers can store a large amount of data and results that have been obtained for different types of patients and this makes it easy to refer back to any particular case when in time of need. The assessment results obtained can be categorized as valid and reliable as the age of science has advanced drastically and made things to be conducted systematically, efficiently, and effectively. This report makes a conclusion that the use of computers is the assessment procedures of psychology tend to be reliable and have valid assessments to a large extent as everything has been tested before it has been finally implemented for the individuals. Computer technology has advanced to a very large extent and many aspects in the medical informatics as well as in the field of psychology cannot progress further without the use of computers. Computer use is a necessity in the psychological field and with advancement in science it has proves to give reliable and valid results. It has been analyzed by researchers that computer can analyze results in a systematic way and at a sophisticated level as well.

Communications Analysis of two interviews Essay

Communications Analysis of two interviews - Essay Example Besides, there was another Loan officer that interrupted out discussion quite frequently during the interview. Although I did not express it, yet somewhere deep inside me, I had mixed feelings about this attitude of Bill Cook and his staff. Opening and Closing: In the beginning, Bill Cook welcomed me into his room with a big smile on his face. We wished each other and shook hands. He himself took my coat and pulled back a chair for me. He asked me if I would like to have something to drink first. Despite his professionalism and nice tone of speech, I remained quite intimidated throughout the interview. By the time we were done with the interview, we shook hands with each other once again, and I thanked him for his time, attention and consideration. Relationship Dimensions: I felt quite nervous throughout the interview. Bill Cook was a stranger to me. We had never seen each other before the interview. In order to get the maximum response to my questions, I had to make my questions eas ily perceivable for Bill Cook. This demanded development of a comfort level with a person, who was an altogether stranger to me, though I managed to develop it sufficiently well. However, there was so much to ask that I felt constant nervousness. I had to ask Bill Cook why women Loan Officers could not be seen at any of the Land Bank branches. This and several other questions like this were indeed, quite personal, yet they were extremely important, so could not be missed. The nervousness kept me from becoming over confident and I conducted the interview in a prudent manner. At the end of the interview, the atmosphere was calm and relaxed and we had both enjoyed the discussion. Listening: Bill cook was a little preoccupied and seemed to be in a hurry from the speed of his response to my questions. Besides, his attention was being constantly sapped by the flooding phone calls and the interruption of the Loan officer, yet he managed to hear me good enough to deliver to the point answer s. In order to make my self heard well, I made use of the aggressive listening approach, and from the results, I can tell that the selection was right. Nonverbal communication: I was dressed in a business black suit and blazer and Bill Cook had worn khaki’s and a striped polo shirt. Bill Cook made good use of body language in conveying his points to me. He particularly emphasized upon the use of hands and eyes while making the speech. He maintained a constant and uninterrupted eye contact with me. I could not stand that, and would occasionally look down in an attempt to hide my nervousness and intimidation that had occupied me throughout the interview. Bill Cook tried to explain with hands, which made more comfortable and facilitated while making the speech. A hand shake was a good symbol of nonverbal greeting both before and after the interview. Reflection on the interview: Overall, the interview went extremely fine. I do believe that I could somehow, not get the entire trut h from Bill Cook regarding the lack of women’s representation in the job. Perhaps, I should have pressed him harder on the subject, though it was not entirely possible because Bill Cook seemed to be in too much a hurry to let me play with words. Still, I got sufficient information from Bill Cook to content my concerns. I chose to interview Bill Cook because he is quite experienced in Loan banking. I wanted to learn about banking and wanted to know why women did not participate in it in any branch of the

American Women Essay Example for Free

American Women Essay The American society was such a fragmented society in its early days of independence that various sectors of the society have had to free themselves through the hard way. The racial segregation between the blacks of the south and the whites of the north took a long time to resolve, and the solution came only by the war between the two regions when the one mighty Abraham Lincoln intervened. After racism, gender equality took the center stage. The American men could not envisage a situation where their women counterparts could vote alongside them, but with the upcoming of powerful women like Elizabeth Cady Sturton and Susan B Anthony with no exception to Alice Paul in the late 19th Century saw the fight get a notch higher. Actually the centre problem was the Amendment of section nineteen which will have allowed the women of the bigger empire. In this paper we are going to peruse through the whole process of the fight until the actual inception. The history of the women’s suffrage movement can be traced back in 1848. In this year a small women’s Right convention met at Seneca Falls in New York. These ladies were here to initiate their public outcry for equal rights with men . They wanted to be given equal opportunities as men to attend college, to make doctors and lawyers as their men counterpart. Pegged to this they demanded the right to vote, which according to them will open doors for all of the above. Alice Paul, the biggest name in the fight for women’s suffrage, entered battle seven decades after the inception of the fight. She herself had a test of the battle back in England where she had gone to attend her studies but unfortunately her later years ended in jail. She immediately flew back to the states only to find that the fight was underway. The entrance of Alice Paul in the bigger fight saw the battle reenergized and take an even rigorous pace. It is important to note that the first time the women’s suffrage amendment was presented to congress was in 1878 but unfortunately the congress did not give it any vote. In the next four decades the unrelenting women kept presenting it to the congress, all this time the bill yielding no luck. By this time the older generation of women suffragist had gone but the support among the American population had not gone. When Alice Paul and his party (National Women’s Party) gained strength, some states of the United States had already mandated voting for their women. Infact, in 1916 Montana became the first state to elect a woman, Jeannette Rankin ,to the congress. However, the congress was not in any way prepared to pass the suffrage amendment bill. With the congress having a negative attitude towards the bill (perceived as a gender biases) Alice Paul and some other leaders like Harriet Sturton thought to get the attention of the president and the congress. Their first strategy was to organize parades in the major cities, and New York and Washington were the most targeted. Suffragists in thousands and wearing white robes marched along the streets of New York. Some groups of the suffragist rode on horse back carrying banners flying high, but this could not change the mind of the president (then President Wilson). Therefore, another move was looming-picketing was to begin at White House. No sooner had picketing begin than was Alice Paul thrown in jail. She spent almost six weeks in and when she was released any move to stop picketers bore nothing. The exaggerated stories on the newspaper only helped to anger suffragists even more and helped more women join the movement. The mistreatments of the arrested suffragists, including forced feeding for those in prison hospital deterred not the free suffragists. These women were so courageous and that’s why in one of the president’s speeches to the public Paul courageously stood up and asked â€Å"How about votes for women? †(Doris, 1918) She could only be manhandled and led away for custody mistreatment. Still during the mistreatments one of them cried out and said â€Å"It was Alice Paul, the strongest weapon left with which to continue our battle†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Doris, 1918). Therefore, it was evident that these women were not going to let up soon, not until their demand was attended to. On January 9th 1918 President Wilson officially declared his long awaited support for the women’s suffrage movement. The events that followed saw a speedy move to pass the suffrage amendment bill, first beginning with the Susan B Anthony Amendment, which was to give suffrage to all American women citizens. Hardly a year later on August 26th, 1920 the amendment was verified in Tennessee, becoming the 36th state to do so. With this the Nineteenth amendment was officially introduced into the American constitution. For Alice Paul and her colleuges the first part of the battle had been won, next was the Equal rights Amendment which was to protect and guarantee women protection against discrimination. Eight decades down the line the battle still continues but the war can be said to be more than won. The approach and the strategies employed by Alice Paul and her friends can be said to intellectual. Their demonstrations never involved violence infact when she was asked if at all she threw stones herself she strongly resisted,-â€Å"No, indeed. I never did and I never shall. I think such deeds belong to rioters and women are seldom rioters† (Doris, 1918). I personally like this attitude in Alice Paul. The contemporary U. S politics is characterized by powerful women politicians like Madeline Albright, Condoleezza Rice, Jendayi Frazier and many others. I am of the opinion that these politicians should be made to understand that any political ovation they do enjoy today was fought for by the more powerful women like Alice Paul and Anthony B, who came before them. They should also realize that U. S politics make a big difference in the whole world: there is no nation in the world where women have been given a high profile than in the U. S, save for the fact that the empire hasn’t produced any woman president. All these, courtesy of suffragist women movement. We now turn our attention to the movie, evidently acted by young Americans who were actually touched and directly affected by the acts of the suffragist movement. Iron Jawed angels was acted in 2004 and it narrates the suffrage movement of the early 20th century. Having received its filming in Virginia under the production of HBO films in 2004, it is said to have received a standing ovation at the Sundance. The play focuses on the two defiant and powerful women in the history of the United States, first Alice Paul, whom Hillary Swank acts, and Lucy Burns acted by Frances O’Connor. In essence the movie attempts to explain to bring out how these activists formed a more radical wing from the conservative and older main stream wing. In the real sense the movie is a clear show that actually women are not objects but complete characters just like their counterpart men. The play also acknowledges the fact that although these women had different backgrounds but they are united in their common goal of women’s suffrage movement. The play continues to Harvey the fact that in this country dominated by male chauvinism, it was no easy go as the women of this radical wing clash with their conservative counterparts and also a divided public opinion. It is also extra hard given the male dominated leadership of the country led by president Woodrow Wilson (acted as Bob Gunton) himself. The actors also bring out the idea that along the way in the course of the fight sacrifices are looming with many of the activists being thrown in jail and going a step further ton strike on food. These lead to forced feeding by the hospital nurses. This forced feeding wins them a name, Iron Jawed Angels: the title of the play. These ladies have a strong will which actually sees them realize their dream one fine day in 1920. By the time the movie was being cast in 2004 it was clocking 84 good years since the end of the suffrage movement. Many in this generation had not experienced the reality of the bitterness of living without accessing the necessary human rights enjoyed by any member of the society. To an eighteen year old American girl in college it is just a common right for her to access to . I tend to feel the real bitterness this young woman engages when the plain truth dawns on her that actually it isn’t any other opportunity for her to attend her college tutorial classes alongside male counterpart, who also ought to realize the opportunity was mistakenly meant for them alone about close to ninety years ago. Needless to add, the movie is real timely to these somehow ignorant population of the whole truth behind the struggle for equal rights among the men and women of the great empire. Asking me to scoop out my view of the accuracy and effectiveness of the movie to the contemporary American society, I Imagine the American college lady who has just been watching this actors in the theatre. The pain of the hard swallowed saliva drips along her saliva as it comes to her realization that she is their as a result of a sacrifice made by somebody else.The play is this effective and accurate! References: Stevens, Doris. Jailed for freedom: American Women win the vote. 1920. Ed. Carol O’Hare Troutdale: Newsage Press, 1995. Graham, Sally Hunter. Woodrow Wilson, Alice Paul, and the Woman Suffrage Movement: Political Science Quarterly 98 (1983-84):665-79. http://www. gutenberg. org/etext/3604 http://iron-jawed-angels. com/ http://movies. go. com/iron-jawed-angels/d776839/drama

International Student Essay Example for Free

International Student Essay Nowadays , Education play an important role in our life . However , there are some countries which have poor education , poor teaching and learning strategies . Actually , Those students will go to higher education institutions country . It calls ‘’ International Students ‘’ . More importantly , United Kingdom is the most famous about education . The term ‘’ international students ‘’ is taken here to mean those students who have been educated in a national education system outside the UK and who on the whole are likely to be non-native speakers of English . There is a real story in the UK ‘’ Nicos Story’’ http://www.economicsnetwork. ac. uk/showcase/bamford_international Nicos was a postgraduate student at the Business School. He was diligent and conscientious and achieved good marks on his MA programme. He was expected to gain an overall distinction grade. He had excellent English language skills. An excerpt from Nicos email: I really wanted to finish my dissertation by September so that I would not have to go back to London again, but I broke down, I suddenly felt that I could not do it. I was going crazy and could not write a word anymore. I would stand in front of the computer for hours just writing a paragraph. So on Sunday I left and came to Greece. Today I went to the airport for the flight back, so that I could see you in the morning but as soon as I had to leave my parents and go to the boarding gate, I freezed and panicked. I could not picture myself alone again in the same places for even an hour. The last few days I have started feeling a human being again. I can talk with people and they are people who care about me, I go out with friends for coffee and I want to cry. The first morning I woke up, I started crying because my mother had washed my bag, someone had done something for me. Common diffiuculties for International students. According to this story , there are clearly challenges for international students studying at higher education institutions in the UK . As University City London adds that major problems for International students They go on to say that culture shock . ‘’ As well as having to cope with a new institution and educational environment, international students are having to adjust to a different national culture with often unfamiliar social customs and conventions. They may become very homesick. Where English is not the first language, having to converse with strangers all the time in a foreign language is a strain. Some women students come from cultures where they have had a sheltered life and spent little time on their own or in the company of males outside their family. They may be vulnerable in certain social situations or upset by conventions that they do not understand ‘’. Secondly , ‘’ Students for whom English is a second language may struggle with their courses, International students are often under considerable pressure to succeed academically and their expectations of themselves may be unrealistic. The transition to a different educational system and new approaches to study is often more challenging than to home students. For example, students from abroad are sometimes unaccustomed to active learning situations, such as participating in discussion and working on a team project. They may have had a much more formal relationship with their teachers and thus be less inclined than home students to seek help from their personal tutors ‘’ Thirdly, ‘’ The number of students experiencing financial difficulties has increased significantly in recent years and is likely to continue doing so. Some students are more or less permanently hard up; others create short-term difficulties for themselves by managing their money badly . It is expensive to come to university ‘’. More exactly , According to J. K Bamford ( 2008 ) ,’’ The first of the these challenges concerns English language ability, or rather consideration of the fact that many international students are non-native speakers of English. This has two aspects to it. Firstly, there is a minimum language requirement for entry for all overseas students and secondly, even if students have more than met this entry requirement they may not be familiar with technical terminology for a specialist subject area. For some students who have only just met the criterion for language, studying in English particularly at Masters level can prove onerous and stressful. In this case study this aspect of language ability , that is those students who had just met the language entry requirement, covered half of the students and the levels of independent study required at a very early stage of the course caused a lot of stress. Secondly, there are those that are confident in their language ability and who feel that language support classes do not meet their needs as the classes are too generic and what they are seeking is further explanation of specialised terminology, little time is spent in addressing the more specialist support required by these students. As a consequence, there is frustration expressed by these students as lecturers can mistake their lack of knowledge regarding technical or even political or cultural terminology as the students having difficulties with language, which is not the case. In addition the students have different levels of English, which can hinder the educational experience of the whole group. One student commented in a focus group that there are some people who come from different backgrounds I dont know enough about how people are taught in China but we have different levels of English and different backgrounds some people just receive and not give. Not speaking up in class can also make it difficult for tutors to gain a clear picture of the levels of English language ability and the understanding of the students. ’’ The second issue is that of the social and cultural adjustments of the students. Volet and Ang (1998) comment that tertiary institutions have a social responsibility to design learning  environments which foster students developments on intercultural adaptability (1998:21) While students did not feel that a lack of social and cultural knowledge of the UK had affected their ability to study, there was a feeling that lecturers should incorporate the knowledge of the students native cultures into their class discussion as this could benefit everyone. Class contribution can also be a traumatic experience but this can be facilitated by tutors who make the students feel more comfortable in discussing subjects with other students that they dont know. The importance of class interaction for overseas students is reinforced by Jackson (2003) who comments on the necessity for building a considerable rapport with the group. This rapport is seen as one of the most effective learning and teaching techniques for overseas students. As De Vita (2001) observes, different discourse styles create tensions that affect a students performance. Groupwork may also be an issue and the cultural diversity of groups requires students to use intercultural skills which require training. Understanding the International Student Experience. Moreover , Catherine Montgomery ( 2010 )has written a clear, small study of international students at one UK university, how they network and how they change. Its value lies in the depth of insight into student thinking. She has not drawn her conclusions from a one-off survey, which is the main research tool used to study international students. In surveys of students from non-English-speaking backgrounds, the prior assumptions of the researcher define the issues and pre-set the potential for discovery, the voices of the students are muted and anything different or unexpected is screened out in advance. In contrast, after a tour through part of the literature, Montgomery uses participant observation of the daily lives of seven networked students from China, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Italy and the Netherlands over a period of six months. The resulting picture challenges conventional thinking about international students. International students are often typecast as slow learners with poor English, limited class-participation skills, inability to think critically and a dodgy approach to referencing. In short, they are in learning deficit if not social deficit. It is no wonder they are studying abroad, goes the thinking, because their home systems are of a poor standard. They badly need our help. Montgomery turns all of this on its head. Her students are mature, curious and quick to respond and to learn. They are high achievers and a couple are truly exceptional within their milieu. After an initial period of academic adjustment, they learn to intervene and they power past the locals. They are conspicuously better motivated, focused and more aware of the benefits of higher education. These students are studying in an English-speaking country not because its culture is intrinsically superior but because English is the global language of business, professions and knowledge. They do not need to abandon the educational backgrounds and cultural identities that they brought to the UK, but they are eager to layer new learning and new identities on top. The effects of being a foreign student ‘’ Usually becoming a foreign student in order to study in another city can change your life in many aspects. Living in a city far away from home can bring many consequences and effects which almost always change a student’s form of life. When I became a foreign student, many things changed or had to change. You do not live with your family, so usually you have to learn how to live in harmony with others, how to do things by yourself, how to move to other places, etc. Being a foreign makes you learn a lot of things, but at the beginning it can be somewhat difficult, as it happened to me. That is why the purpose of this paper is to discuss the three main effects of being a foreign student. The main effect and the one that affects you most is the fact that you do not live with your parents and in your house, which means that you will not enjoy its commodities. It was so good when your mom cooked for you, and when the house maid used to make your bed. Your dad took you to school, and when classes finished, you returned to your room and made yourself completely comfortable. But becoming a foreign student implies that you will live in a dormitory or that you will rent an apartment . Usually you have to take care of dirty dishes, messy rooms, and cooking. This means you have to learn many new things, like how to cook several dishes. In a few words, you have to learn how to be independent. Another effect is that you have to find your way around the city, so you have to know the main parts of the city. If you have a car, it may be easier to explore the city. You can just get lost and see where each street takes you, and then find a way back home. But if you don’t have a car, you need to learn how to get around by walking, in buses, or with taxis. For this you may find out about bus routes or find out how much costs to use taxis, and in this way you can plan the time it will take you to get from your house to school, for example. This will force you to plan your time better, and maybe you will have less available time along the day. This may decrease the time you have to make homework or to hang out with your friends, for example. But over time, you learn how to plan your activities in a better way. A foreign student may also find himself feeling somewhat lonely, since arriving in a new city means you don’t know anyone. You may be lucky if another friend from your city comes with, but usually you are alone. It is important to start meeting people and making friends. In this way it will be much easier to get used to being a foreign student. You will have new people with who to hang with, with whom to go to parties. Besides you won’t have to be quiet all the time in classes like when you don’t know someone. Sometimes friends can also help you in a lot of situations, like when you have problems about running out of money, when you need to go to your house quickly but you don’t have a car, or when you need to get something that is not easily found. But most of all, with friends you can have a great time and learn a lot of things. Leaving your house and going to another city to study is an experience in your life that cannot be compared to any other experience in your life. You learn how to be independent, and you get to meet tons of people. It may be somewhat difficult to live without your parents and in another city, but this makes you learn how to live your life better and how to appreciate what you have, like your parents and your belongings. Besides, you get to appreciate the things you achieve during your life because you learn that your goals are not achieved easily, but that they cost a lot of work and effort. In conclusion, being a foreign student is great! ‘’

Historical Development The American Dream History Essay

Historical Development The American Dream History Essay The idea of the American dream was evident long before its coinage. However, the idea of the American dream could be traced chronologically, from the discovery of America, especially the Northern part or the Promised Land4 to the modern age. According to Robert E. Spiller, in Literary History of the United States, the idea of the American dream was associated with America. As a state of mind, America has existed long before its discovery.5 Europeans began to come up with all sorts of hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the new and largely unexplored continent. Many of these dreams focused on owing lands and establishing prosperous business and religious freedom. For them, the American dream was the dream of an Earthly Paradise. The Earthly Paradise was strongly believed to be the land of great opportunities. It was a great dream that dominated Europeans imaginations: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦from the time of the first settlement, America was seen from European eyes as a land of boundless opportunities, a place where man, after centuries of poverty, misery, and corruption could have a second chance to fulfill, in reality, his mythic yearnings for a return to paradise.6 The idea of the American dream was as old as the American continent. Europeans were influenced by the Greeks and Classics writings. During the sixteenth century, an English saint and humanist, Sir Thomas More (1478-1535) identified America with Platos Utopia. In his book Utopia (1516), More represented the idea of the heavenly paradise to an attainable paradise. In the nineteenth century, the idea of Utopia changed into an actual paradise. Because of the influence of the French and Industrial Revolutions, the earthly paradise was attainable.7 With the possibility of such a land, the American dream was an attitude of hope and spiritual faith erected to fulfill human wishes, desires, and dreams in the New World. Thousands of European immigrants had moved to the New World to fulfill the versions of the American dream. The New World was a hope of a new life away from frustration and the sense of inferiority. 8 The American dream dealt with the idea of bettering one selfs economy by which one hoped the New World would provide abundant opportunities for ones prosperity and success. The dream was of rising from poverty to fame and fortune i.e. from rags-to-riches.9 Furthermore, it was the dream of a perfect government that would provide immigrants full and equal opportunities. They would go to the New World to set up new religious and political communities, hopefully, based on their ideas.10 The idea of the American dream had developed. It represented the dream of individual success of that of the American Adam whose labors and posterity that one day would cause great change in the New World.11 According to R. W. B. Lewis, the American Adam was: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a radically new personality, the hero of the new adventure: an individual emancipated from history, happily bereft of ancestry, untouched and undefiled by the usual inheritance of family and race, an individual standing alone, self-reliant and self-propelling, ready to confront whatever awaited him with the aid of his own unique and inherent resource.12 This signified the secular dimension of the American dream, which was associated with social success. With the rise of industrialism and the growth of the economic environment and the rapid advance of science and technology in the nineteenth century, America changed from an agricultural into an industrial and a capitalistic country. The idea of the American dream was to achieve economic independence, especially to have a vocation and own a home in order to be happy. This economic development led to class distinctions and created special privileges for certain classes. It was the pursuit of money rather than of happiness. With the development of new knowledge of Darwinian Theory, American people believed in the struggle for existence and the survival of the fittest. To become wealthy, one needed to fulfill his or her dreams by all means, even if the fulfillment was by illegal ways. This dilemma corrupted the principles of freedom and equality of opportunity, and caused great doubt tow ard the American dream as a whole, and engaged more severely against other human beings. 13 A concept often brought into connection with the American dream was the symbol of Melting Pot. The idea of Melting Pot was used in the eighteenth and ninetieth centuries, the metaphor of a Crucible was used to describe the fusion of different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures.14 It was used together with the concepts of the United States as an ideal republic and a city upon a Hill. It was a metaphor for the idealized process of immigration and colonization by which different nationalities and races were to blend into a new, virtuous community, and it was connected to Utopian vision of the emergence of an American new man.15 It was first used in American Literature, as a concept of immigrants melting into the receiving culture, was found in the writings of J. Hector John de Crevecoeur. In his Letters from an American Farmer (1782), Crevecoeur referred to the problem of the American Nationality that appeared after the Revolutionary Era and the Declaration of Independence. He wrote: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a man whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch, whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of different nationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men, [new in part, because of that] strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country. He is an American who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudice and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government he obeys, and the new rank he holdsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The Americans were once scattered all over Europe; here they are incorporated into one of the finest systems of population which has ever appeared.16 In 1908, a play by Israel Zangwill named Melting Pot, was first performed in Washington, D. C., where the immigrant protagonist declared: Understanding that America is Gods Crucible, the great Melting-Pot, where all the races of Europe are melting and re-forming! [into a new identity] Here you stand, good folk, think I, when I see them at Ellis Island, here you stand in your fifty grounds, your fifty languages, and histories, and your fifties blood hatred and rivalries. But you wont be long like that, brothers, for these are the fires of God youve come to-these are fires of God. A fig for your feuds, and Vendettas! German and French manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ into the crucible with you all! God is making the American.17 However, the play was soon criticized as unrealistic; because melting and reforming into new American Adam appeared to be heresy that implied that all sides had to give up their culture completely to create a new one. The conflict was that many social classes and groups were excluded from the participation in the earthly life.18 Nevertheless, since the whites (Anglo-Saxon Protestants) were the predominant group in the British Colonies, other cultures and identities were perceived as inferior or even unwanted. African-Americans and Native American Indians were enslaved; Catholic Irish and Southern European immigrants were discriminated against for centureies.19 People from different cultural backgrounds often wrongly interpreted the concept of melting pot as the peaceful living together with people from other ethnic groups. But in reality, ethnic groups or minorities in America were not equal to the white people. African- Americans and Native American Indians were denied civil rights.20 Gradually, the meaning of the melting pot had changed. In response to the criticism of the concept of melting pot, Horace Kallen developed the concept of cultural pluralism in 1915. This concept incorporated that different ethnic groups could keep their cultures and that people would mutually enrich their culture. 21 Multiculturalists asserted that cultural differences within society were valuable, and should be preserved. They proposed the alternative metaphor of the mosaic or salad bowl-different cultures mixed, but remained distinct.22 The question was what, then, is the American, this new man? He is neither European nor the descendant of a European.23 The conflict was between the dreams of the white European Americans, who came to the New World to fulfill their dreams as new men, and the dreams of the other minorities, especially, the black African, who came by force. Like many other minorities, Africans were obliged to abandon their rights of sharing or participating in the American life. According to the assumption that Man was part of the universe, man had the power to improve his own nature by improving his environment through science and education.24 Merle Curti in his The Growth of American Thought affirmed mans natural rights of life, liberty, and prosperity, which were accessible to everyone without discrimination. In order to be a normal American citizen, one should naturally practice these rights. These natural rights could not be alienated from the state, and if the state did violate the natural law of the universe by alienating these rights, then man could and should resort to revolution.25 This basic fact encouraged many people in the United States of America, especially African-Americans to take action and revolt against the injustice. By the turn of the twentieth century, the American dream was described as a nightmare. In the Two World Wars, the dream had begun to lose its glitter. Americans, whites and blacks became disillusioned by the idea of making the world safe for democracy [which] had proved to be blasphemy.26 They believed that they were fighting for a better world, for a world of peace and corporation, for a real and immediate Utopia. Americans had suffered psychological and mental pressures, and the image of death made men lose stability and lose faith in the American dream of establishing a perfect world. Instead, they became neurotic, frustrated, and disappointed; Gertrude Stein described the new youth as a lost generation, because their lives became meaningless, pointless, and agonizing ones. 27 The reason behind the confrontation of dreams, was the misery and suffering caused by the crisis that happened in the first half of the twentieth century. One of the most eventual and memorable decades in American history was, the Great Depression of the 1930s that changed American life, and prepared the country for a post-war era, characterized by pessimism and despair.28 Thus, the American dream of the modern age had been shrouded by doubt and pessimism, as economics faltered and opportunities diminished. The dream became a record of unfulfilled promises and dashed hopes.29 Yet, Americans had consistently, flavored their dreams with dashed skepticism. From the very beginning, this was true, Sir Thomas More was as skeptical as any other man about the promises he entitled in Utopia. When he wrote it, he was playing with an idea.30 This showed that the American dream was first an idea. Then, it was said that the American dream had served as a justification for those who had exploited a virgin country, and it had been the chief argument of those who had tried to equalize all men before the law.31 Consequently, people came to anticipate a generous and friendly New World rather than a lavish heaven.32 The American dream was not the product of a solitary thinker, but evolved from the hearts and burdened souls of millions who came to this nation. To make their dreams come true, James Truslow Adams insisted on the principle of working together, no longer merely to build bigger, but to build better. And that referred to all citizens of the United States whether they were black or white.33 After World War II, the American dream was portrayed as a military power.34 The United States of America became the most powerful nation. The 1950s was the period of American preeminence as a military and economic power that revived the dream after the Great Depression of the 1930s. America was marked by a self-conscious sense of its place in the world. The twentieth century was the American Century, the post-war era was certainly the time when citizens of the United States began to believe that it was, in fact, their century, and that theirs was the greatest country in the world. With the Americans belief of their responsibility for winning World War II, it provided them with self-confidence about the world. 35 Frederick R. Karl characterized the period: as a time of growth, development, progress, enlightenment, and achievement of goals; as a renaissance of sort and essential to what helped turn the country into a superpower under a benign, grinning, ex-hero of a persistence. The general argument is that man and woman who experienced the depression returned from World War II to rebuild the country. This generation accordingly, is a treasure, for not only did it , revitalize the country domestically, it helped make the United States the beacon of the World, offering financial aid, food, and military muscle wherever required.36 Americans had always had a faith in the new. Critics saw the American dream as a clever political and economic marketing strategy. They wanted people to get away from selfishness, individualism, and materialism, and to return to community spirit and social responsibility.37 The meaning of the American dream had changed over the course of history. The American dream simply indicated the ability, the practice, and the participation in the society and economy, for everyone to achieve prosperity. According to the American dream, this included the opportunity for ones children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. It was the opportunity to make individual choice without the prior restrictions that limited people, according to their class, caste, religion, race, or ethnicity.38 1:2The African-American Experience In the United States of America, the African-Americans experience was unique. It was marked by slavery, segregation, and injustice. It made the quest for the American dream; that was of freedom, equality, and happiness, an essential pursuit.39 It is important to shed light on the African-American struggle in the United States of America. Unlike most of other minorities, the African- Americans were captured in Africa, taken from their homes and lands by force and sent to a strange new land. They were brought chained and enslaved as a result of colonialism.40 In the early colonial days, Black Africans had many opportunities to secure their freedom by escaping or buying themselves out of slavery, and once free, they had a good chance to make their success in the New World. The life of Anthony Johnson41 illustrated the possibility of the blacks early dreams, in the early period of European colonization in American North. He was known as Antonio, a Negro. Johnson was enslaved in 1621, when he was sold to the English Jamestown; he worked with Bennett family (a white family) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ who commended him for his hard labor and known servicesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He secured his freedom, got married to a freed-slave named Mary and baptized his children. As a freeman, Johnson dreamed of establishing his own farm in Virginia, of 250 acres raising tobacco and cornà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Eventually, his farm was burned, and he was killed, because the colonial legal system had begun to preserve the rights of the whites and deprive blacks of theirs. This period illustrated the fact the era of chattel Slavery had begun. Many Black Africans came to this land having dreams to fulfill. But, many forces spoiled these dreams. The dream of owning a land and successful business for the blacks was limited or weakened by the time and by the force of the law of the Black Codes 42 that was enacted by Virginia, in 1667. Black people had been enslaved with the change of economic conditions. The blacks were denied the opportunity to own land, because they were Negroes and by consequences aliens.43 These Codes made slavery a permanent condition inherited through the mother and defined slaves as property. Such slave Codes robbed the African-American slaves of their freedom and the power of their will. Nevertheless, freedom was always in the mind of the enslaved and how to gain that freedom was the essential question.44 In the New World; African-American slaves were forced to give up their African past and cultivated themselves to being slaves under the white master domination. They were prevented from bringing over their social relations and institutions. These slaves ate what was given to them, not what they wanted, and dressed the clothes that were given to them. In addition, these slaves were treated without any regard or consideration to physical welfare and human dignity.45 In the American South, African-American slaves were described as property. Masters learned to treat their slaves as property. Frederick Douglass, one of the most eloquent speakers against slavery in America, captured the essence of slavery in 1846: Slavery in the United States is the granting of the power by which one man exercises and enforces a right of property in the body and soul of another. The condition of slave is simply that of a brute beast. He is a piece of the master; who claims him[her] to be his property. He is spoken of, thought of, and threaten as property. His own good, his conscience, his intellect, his affection, are all set aside by the master. The will and the wishes of the master are the law of the slave. He is as much a piece of property as a horse. If he is fed, he is fed, because he is property. If he is clothed, it is with a view to the increase of his values as property.46 According to this definition of slavery, an African-American slave was the individual whose movement and activities were under the control of the Whites. Thus, he/she could not leave the controller or the employer without an explicit permission; otherwise, he/she could be punished.47 During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the use of slave labor was cheaper than indentured labor. Slavery was different from one colony to another. On the Eastern Coast and American North, the climate was not supporting extensive farming, slavery, there, tended to be farming slavery, with a few slaves living and working side by side with small farmers or craftsmen. Whereas in the South, the fertile land and warm climates made large-scale cultivation possible, plantation slavery developed. Large numbers of slaves lived and worked on far distances from their owners.48 Another reason for slavery spread was the shortage of indentured servants, which led to resort and to enslave African Americans.49 This meant slavery was essentially an economic institution from which the American nation benefited. More slave labor meant a large measure of prosperity. Many American historians believed that the growth of American economy was not because of slavery. But, Eric Williams, a Caribbean Scholar, charged that black slavery was the engine of that propelled American rise to global economic dominance. In his Capitalism and Slavery, Eric Williams maintained that early Europeans conquest and settlement of the New World depended upon the enslavement of millions of black slaves, who helped amass the capital that financed the industrial revolution. Americas economic progress, he insisted, came at the expense of the black slave, whose labor built the foundation of capitalism.50 In spite of the African-Americans participation in constructing the foundation of this nation, slavery was identified with dark skin.51 By late seventeenth century; slavery and servitude were closely identified with race. White indentured services were limited, voluntary, and had no racial components, whereas, slavery was involuntary, perpetual, and racially defined.52 Hence, indentured servants could be free and had the right to purchase their own freedom or buy completing their period of indenture. At the time of obtaining their freedom, they would pursuit their dreams of property and prosperity. While the African-American slaves did not enjoy these rights and protections.53 Instead, African-American slaves were controlled by the laws of Black Codes. On one hand, race was one of the obstacles that prevented African-Americans from achieving their dreams. On the other hand, the worst condition that African-American slaves had to live under, was the constant threat of sale.54 The African- American slaves family stability and security faced severe challenges. Masters, rather than parents, had legal authority over African-American slaves children and the possibility of forcible separation through sale hung over every family. The Southern plantation owners did not care, whether a slave to be sold off had family members, he/she had to leave behind or not. All mattered was that masters encouraged slavery. As masters questioned the humanity of such slaves, they argued that African- American slaves did not mind being sold since they lacked the ability to form stable family life.55 As for African-American women, they were included in the horrible system of slavery. They were persecuted, subjected to the worse kinds of oppression and exploitation. Not only, because being black women had to endure the horror of slavery and living in a racial and sick society. But as women, they witnessed their physical image being defamed and became the object of the white masters lust. As Black African-American, women had to endure the threat and practice of sexual exploitation, and as mothers, they witnessed their children torn from their breasts and sold into slavery.56 One of the ex-slaves, Jennie Hill explained the outlook of the Black African-Americans humanity according to the whites view point: [White] people think that slaves had no feelings, that they bore their children as animals, bear their young and that there were no heart-breaks when the children were torn from their parents or the mother taken from her brood to toil for a master in another state. But, that isnt so.57 For a white woman, providing home was an essential thing to possess. But, for an African-American woman, it was a dream. Black African-American woman had scantly the opportunity to regain her freedom and her own children.58 During slavery, Black African-American women were exploited in two main sectors of economy: in the fields (with full employment), and in the household. Black African-American women were stretched physically, emotionally, and spiritually to the utmost in the slave plantation, as they were forced to labor like men in the fields. Also they had substantial domestic roles. They raised whites children and created a decent and warm home environment for the white American family, while their dream of family unit was uncertain. 59 The Black African-American slaves had no right to live proper family unit. They had no rights which the master was obliged to respect. The master found it cheaper to overwork a slave and to replace him [or her] when died, rather take care of him [or her] when lived.60 The Black African-American slaves were deprived of living their own lives, denied the right of literacy, education, and could not retract, in inevitably distorted ways, the values, morals, and attitudes of the new civilization of which they gradually became a part.61 White Americans believed that the Black African-American slaves were brutal, barbaric, savage, who would present a real danger to the safety, prosperity, and security of the United States.62 Thus, it was in the system of slavery that the genesis of racism was to be found. According to Eric Williams, slavery was not born of racism, rather, racism was the consequence of slavery.63 White Americans fastened onto differences in physical appearance to develop the myth, that African-American slaves were subhuman and deserved to be enslaved. To enhance the Black African-America slaves inferiority, white Americans deliberately used religion to reinforce slavery as well. To support their institutions, the whites relied heavily on the Biblical story, in which Noahs curse of his son Ham (especially, the fourth son, Canaan), who said in the ninth chapter of Genesis: a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.64 This story justified the color of the Black African-American slaves. By the Nineteenth century, many historians agreed to the belief that the Black African-American slaves were the descendants of Ham was a primary justification for slavery among Southern Christians. In other words, the Bible was used to teach the Black African-American slaves a divine, God-given justification for their condition as slaves.65 Hence, white Americans became convinced of white superiority and black inferiority. It was the beginning of hatred and racial discrimination.66 White Americans taught the Black African-American slaves how to despise their African heritage, identity, and culture. They strove to include their own value system into the African-Americans outlook. They believed in Africans inferiority that paralleled self-hatred.67 In general, there were five steps in molding the character of strict discipline, a sense of his [her] inferiority, belief in the whites superiority power, acceptance of the whites standers, and finally, a deep sense of his [her] own helplessness and dependence.68 These facts emphasized the flourishing of the white American culture and completely ignoring of the Black African-American slaves culture. The Euro-Americans were the first who immigrated to the New World by their own free will in search of individual opportunity; their European culture was superior. However, the ignorance diminished the real fact of the importance of the African heritage, not only for the Black African-American slaves, but to mankind.69 For centuries, the Black African-American slaves were ignorant about their own culture and identity. They lacked knowledge, they were illiterates. They were described as people [, who] were no more capable of learning than were animals.70 This indicated that Black African-American slaves were victims and white Americans were victimizers. They were oppressed by the power of the whites. So, they were unable to find a hope to transform their life from slavery into freedom.71 1:3The Declaration of Independence We hold these truths to be self-evidence, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.72 With the setting of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776, the most important document in the American history and self-perception, slavery as a moral, human, and economic system challenged the basic principles of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness, and proved to be the first great institution that tested the equality doctrine.73 The Declaration of Independence marked not only the independence of the thirteen colonies from Great Britain, it also laid the foundation of womens rights and of struggles for ending slavery: After the American colonies secured their independence from Great Britain, [the] black[s] hoped that the same leaders who had yearned for their own freedom would end slavery.74 The Declaration of Independence rested not upon particular grievances, but upon a broad base of individual liberty that could command general support throughout America.75 It served a purpose far beyond that of a public notice of separation. Its ideas inspired mass fervor for the American cause, for it instilled among ordinary folk a sense of their importance, inspiring them to struggle for personal freedom, self-government, and a dignified place in society.76 The United States of America started to shape itself as the Empire of Liberty and Prosperity, as a new entity, Black African-American slaves continued to play a significant role. Despite the continuation of violence against Black African-American slaves, who challenged the long standing tradition of racial discrimination and oppression in the South, the ex-slave and free-black people stepped forward into a new identity, a new reality, and a new sense of agency in public life. Many Black African-American slaves fought in the war of Independence, and they took to the heart assertion of the right of individual freedom that was so a part of the American Colonial and Revolutionary eras.77 Hence, the Declaration of Independence, as Jim Cullen, a historical critic thought it was not only an important document that shaped the way of Americans lives, but it à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was born and lived the character of the American dream.78 This dream was profound, eloquent, and unequivocal expression of the dignity and worth of all human personality. In his A Struggle for Power, Theodore Draper, a historian summarized the revolutionary era as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a struggle for power -between the power the British wanted to exercise over the Americans and the power the American wished to exercise over themselves.79 This fact suggested the most important question of Slavery. The Declaration of Independence made Americans want nothing more than freedom and to assume a separate and equal station among the power of the earth, Great Britin.80 The problem was, however, that the founding fathers (Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and George Washington, etc.,) of the nation defined freedom in terms of its opposite: Slavery. When they used the term Slavery, however, they were not referring to a peculiar institution, whereby many of the founding fathers themselves brought and sold Black African-American slaves as property. They referred to what they felt Great Britain was doing to their lives and livelihood.81 The unself-conscious comparison between freedom and slavery made other people in the United States call for their freedom as well. A British essayist, Samuel Jonson in 1775, asked, but How we [white people] hear the loudest yelp for liberty among drivers of Negroes?82 This paradoxical state made the founding fathers fear that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the attainment of their dream could encourage others to pursuit theirs.83 And this was true, because the success of the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence, gave Americans the opportunity to give legal form to their political ideals as expressed in the Declaration of Independence, and to remedy some of their grievance through state constitution. Americans were accustomed to live under written constitutions that they took them for granted.84 Therefore, the Black African-Americans experience with the American dream in the United States started with the announcement of the Declaration of Independence. Yet, the founding fathers never thought about women, slaves, and Natives as having equal rights like white Americans (Anglo-Saxon American descents), or did not even recognize them as human beings. Thus, the Declaration of Independence was not the subject to change disagreement, because its content never changed.85

The Writing of Stephen King Essay -- Literature, Writers

Steven King has long been known as one of the greatest authors of all time. He has been labeled "the King of Horror" and won many awards including the Medal of Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, 6 Bram Stoker awards, 6 Horror Guild awards, 5 Locus Awards, 3 World Fantasy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004), the 1996 O. Henry award, a Hugo Award in 1982 for the non-fiction Danse Macabre. He was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003 by the Horror Writers' Association and, controversially, a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation in 2003. Upon giving the Medal to King the National Book Foundation said, But to every comment there is always a critc that has something negative to say, like Harold Bloom for instance who stated, Another critic, from norwaywrites.com, wrote in a similar sense talking about how Kings works are to the point of being unpublishable. He states, My senior Creative Writing professor in college, a National Book Award winning author, brought into us during a lecture on basic prose and readability a chapter excerpt from Stephen King's newest book at the time, Cell, and without telling us who wrote it asked us to read it and discuss. None of us had read the book yet, because apparently a college education is enough to scare people away from second rate penny stock fiction. We hated it. We marked it up, took it apart, rewrote it, and more or less declared it unpublishable before our professor informed us that it was in the New York Times Bestseller list and had already made more money than all of our college loans combined. He also states that his writings are atrocious and that "the Uncle Scrooge-esque money vault that he s... ...s he commits. This fact is only reinforced when Norton discovers Andy's bible in the safe. On the inside of the cover Andy writes, "Dear Warden, you were right. Salvation lay within. Andy Dufresne." As Norton opens the bible to the book of Exodus it is revealed that the bible had held Andy's rock hammer. The book of Exodus lends itself to Andy's own freeing of himself and the truth as Moses freed himself and the slaves. King implements a certain belief in a holy spirit so that it brings into the book that not necessarily everything is in our hands. By using this and the previously mentioned reference to blasphemies, King relates the story back to the reader. He shows that the main character is not someone out of the ordinary but a normal average person. This is what makes his horror novels scary and his other novels almost real, as mentioned in the opening paragraphs.

English Language Learning Essay example -- Education, Gujarati Familie

The overall aim of this research is to explore historical and contemporary discourses of social policies of identity, assimilation, multiculturalism and sense of belonging in relationship to the ‘practices of the everyday’ (Lewis 2004) and to explore how the individuals make sense of their world through and by their experiences and practices of it. I will particularly focus on the area of language learning as a part of identity formation to find out how participants are involved in the act of making their language learning possible in spite of all the challenges. By this I mean not to reveal what 'really' happens, but rather to analyse participant's accounts in relation to the political discourses surrounding language, assimilation and community cohesion. Duke (2002: 42) argues taking a qualitative route in relation to researching social policy is essential when trying to 'delve into parts of the policy process which quantitative methods cannot reach. They have the pot ential to explore innovation, originality, complexity, interactions, conflicts and contradictions'. This research is, therefore, an attempt to find answers to the problems and predicaments related to English language learning under different political agenda and to demonstrate how these varying determinants had an effect on the process of language learning and identity formation of Gujarati women in the diaspora. THE CONTEXT OF RESEARCH: It is important to contextualise the process of identity formation of Gujarati women with what was happening in Britain in regard to race relation at both the time of their arrival and the various stages of settlement since. The 1970s was a period when many Gujarati families arrived in the UK as refugees or economic migrants... ...r levels of ability In English for refugees and other migrants to the U. K. by linking language ability with employment potential (DFES Publications,2010). Thus on one hand, the government is stressing the importance of English language learning, on the other hand, the funding for the programmes that provide language training is being cut. There is no doubt that how the migrant women learnt/learn English is shaped by these policies which had/have direct impact on their learning. This research aims to highlight the discrepancies in the policy doctrines and their implementation by comparing the impact of the policies on the process of English language learning of Gujarati women under different political regimes. It focuses on how identities are shaped as an outcome of the political agenda by the qualitative study of the learning journeys of Gujarati women in London.

Analysis of the Crucible, page 41-42. Essay -- Essay on The Crucible

Analysis of the Crucible, page 41-42. The influential feeling throughout this extract, is the one sided effort to enjoy the time that they are spending over the meal. These efforts coming from John Proctor. One can gather the reasons for this cold shoulder shown to John by Elizabeth, is down to the broken trust, by John when having a love affair with Abigail earlier in the play. There are many emotions in the extract that show this feeling quite visibly, that can be explored. John shows great effort to show a keen interest in the meal provided by Elizabeth and other aspects of their day-to-day lives. Firstly when John hears the food is rabbit he quickly jumps in saying, 'Oh is it! In Jonathans trap.' This is his way to share a common ground, and to interact in their married life. There is also more evidence of John trying to make civilized conversation, with a slight humorous slant, 'This farm's a continent when you go foot by foot droppin' seeds in it.' It's also noticeable that he is looking to impress Elizabeth, trying to achieve this by showing off the work he had covered that day. However it is clear that he has failed in his plan to either put a smile to her face or to impress her in any way as she answers very blandly to these comments, with short unenthusiastic responses like, 'It must be.' This idea of Elizabeth's small dry, lifeless manner of speech does not just relate to the quotation, above but to the whole pattern of her speech in the extract. This of course being the opposite to John's efforts, and subtle hints of his humour. Clear evidence of this is shown when John tries the first time to impress or as he puts it 'please' his wife, 'If the crop is good I'll buy George Jacob's heife... ...burning desire in all men? In Abigail, he may wish he could delete this, but his passion was always there. John's appetite for stimulation can be found in Act 1 page 17. Where John and Abigail are speaking of the controversy that occurred in the woods; Abigail goes on to say, 'Oh posh, we were dancin' in the woods,' as she says this, she is said to be confidently, closing in on John. John's smile widens, as he replies, 'Ah, you're wicked yet aren't y'!' So it is clear that he is enjoying this little witty exchange, something that he doesn't seem to be attaining from Elizabeth. This links in with the preliminary thought of the one sided effort to the current relationship, that John is only showing. However from what has been shown previously, is that Elizabeth would show a keener interest, but is ensnared in her dissatisfaction and lack of trust in John.