Sales force management

Transactional sales promotion involves the exchange of goods and service at a cost between the seller and buyer. The relational promotion of sales entails the creation of conducive sales environment between the sales promoter and the consumer that attracts the interest of the consumer to use the particular product. The creation of hospitality is very important in sales promotion. In history, the literature of marketing theories has been known to operate on transactional exchange orientation. This has been so in both business- business transactions as well as the consumer to marketer exchange. The theory of classical economics is credited for having led to the development of ‘law of exchange’ by Alderson in 1965. Transactional orientation can further be traced form the development of neoclassical economics which has had formulated assumptions towards maximization of utility and the nature of man in economics. According to research studies, both the relational and transactional marketing strategies have been found to coexist. This means that a consumer may choose on whether to engage a new business relationship with a supplier, try to nourish it and come up with a relationship that is valuable or choose to manage low value- business relationship (Honeycutt, Ford, 2003). However, it is valued to have strong business relationship in any transaction. The ultimate business performance can be achieved through an effective integration of business relationships managements balanced on the framework of transactional economics costs. The interaction of either level is optimized through testing models in the environment, business transaction exchanges, networking and relational governance with a track of its performance. Sales promotion in America is historically not only as old as mankind, but also as old as the art of giving. When a gift is offered to some one, it does not only create a good relationship but also generate a desire for a purchase of the same or similar commodity to offer it as gift to other friends. The art has grown over ages through drastic changes in the media level, personal contact, billboards, and currently the gift sales promotion. The promotional accessories, by the use of branded commodities as well as commercial gifts are the most preferred promotional method currently. This is outweighing the popular traditional means of media broadcast in many ways. People want tangible goods or services brought to their door step. They also want to have an experience on it before purchasing. Therefore, it is good for sales promoters to adjust with quality and give more gifts to consumers as a sales promotion exercise. Some commodities for promotion include biro pens, school bags, mugs, capes and flash drives (USB) which bear the company brand names or promotional tags. Other ways of sales promotion include face to face sales, publicity and media advertisement. Whatever kind of sales promotion if directed to the retailer or wholesaler, then it is referred to as ‘trade sales promotion,’ while when the sales promotion is directed to the consumer, then it is called ‘consumer sales promotion’. The use of reliable packaging method can be a means of attracting consumers in large numbers. This is called ‘price pack deal’ and it is bound to increase sales by more than 25%. Standardized coupons are used in sales promotion. They are either placed on the daily news papers, in phone texts, on the shelf or even as online. When consumers come across these, they tend to be attracted and may end up purchasing the items (Honeycutt, Ford, 2003). Finally, price adjustment strategy also does well in sales promotion. Lowering product price attracts higher demand from consumers.

Emu and Ostrich Eggs Hatch

OSTRICH Did you know? * The Ostrich is the largest living bird in the world. * It is of the Ratite family, which means flightless bird. * The Ostrich is native to Africa, yet thrives in countries all over the world. * Adult males are eight to ten feet in height and weigh 350-400 pounds. * A male Ostrich is called a rooster and a female Ostrich is called a hen. * The male is black with white wing tips and tail plumes. * The female has light brown and grey plumage and is slightly smaller than the male. * This great bird has two toes, all other birds have three or four toes. The Ostrich can run at speeds of up to 40 MPH for sustained times. * An Ostrich will live to be 50 – 75 years old. * Although an ostrich egg is the largest of all eggs, it is the smallest egg in relation to the size of the bird. * The Ostrich egg will weigh 1600 gm and is equivalent to 2 dozen chicken eggs. * An Ostrich Hen can lay 40 -100 eggs per year, averaging about 60 eggs per year. * Ostrich eggs hatch in 42 days. * An Ostrich chick grows one foot taller each month until it is 7-8 months old. * Females sit on eggs by day; males sit on eggs by night. To soft boil a fresh egg would take one hour. To hard boil would take 1 1/2 hours. * Ostrich farming is a viable alternative agriculture industry, with fine quality leather, feathers and gourmet meat as the principal products. EMU Introducing the Emu Emu (pronounced either e-mew or e-moo depending on where you're from) are a large flightless bird native to Australia. These birds, known for their curious nature, have been around since the time of the dinosaurs. Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) are a member of the ratite, which means flightless bird, family. Other ratites include the ostrich, moa, rhea, cassowary, and kiwi, as well as the extinct aepyornis  (click to read more about this bird). Emu are the largest bird on the Australian continent and the second largest in the world. What bird is the largest bird? That would be the emu's cousin the ostrich. Emus eat insects and caterpillars as well as seeds, nuts, shoots, flowers, and small rodents and lizards. They are picky eaters and would rather starve than eat old leaves or grass. They are shy birds that prefer to use their long legs to run than to fight. They are known for their curiosity and have been known to eat nails and bits of tin! Hunters can easily persuade a wild emu to come close by hiding in long grass and waving a colored handkerchief on the end of a stick. Where They Live Today emus live around the world on farms and ranches and in zoos. They can still be found running wild in the western part of Australia where the land is rugged and less-populated. Emus tend to avoid thick forest and desert areas and can live well in temperature extremes from 100? to below zero. They generally live mainly on grassy plains and dry open forests. Before humans came to Australia thousands of years ago, emus wandered all over the country. Emus are frequently on the move from place to place looking for new water and food sources and don't stay in one place for very long. They are able to travel great distances at a fast pace. The only time they're not on the move is when the males are sitting on the eggs and a short time after the chicks are born. After the chicks get old enough the flock begins to move again, though slowly. While emus usually travel in flocks they generally prefer to be alone with little to no need for company and mutual grooming. What They Look Like Some emus have an attractive bluish hue on their mostly feather-less neck. The intensity of the color varies based on the season of the year, changes in surroundings and behavior of nearby birds. When females are getting ready to lay their eggs their head and neck are covered with black feathers. They have two dull brown, hair-like feathers that grow out of each opening in the emu's skin. The feathers are brown but after they shed their feathers, or molting, appear nearly black. They fade to a pale brown as the emu ages (just like humans get grey hair as they get older). The feathers are downy with no stiff vein running through the center like most other birds, which is part of why they're flightless. The feathers towards the base of the spine are longer and are set wide apart, giving it a mop-like appearance. Emus only have tiny wings that are hidden under the feathers and are one-tenth the size of its total body. The emu's short, pointed bill and three-toed feet are brown with a flat bottom that has a broad pad. They typically have golden brown eyes. Making Babies In the summer, when the hen finds a partner they will guard an area of about 30 square kilometers then scoop out a hole in the ground and build a nest. The nest is made of trampled grass in open or lightly covered country. The breeding doesn't take place until cooler months. As the days get cooler and shorter, the males (or cocks) undergo a hormonal change and start to lose their appetites in preparation for sitting on the nest. The pair will mate every day or two and every second or third day the female will lay an egg in the nest. After the seventh egg is laid the male will get broody and will start to sit on the eggs. The male will not sit on a nest until at least five eggs have been laid. While the male emu sits on the eggs he will not eat, drink or even go to the bathroom. He can lose up to 20 pounds during this time, or about one-fifth its weight. They only stand long enough to turn the eggs, which is done about 10 times a day. Over the next eight weeks the male will survive only on accumulated body fat and the morning dew reachable from the nest. Emu eggs are easily identifiable due to their rather large size, about the size of a grapefruit, and greenish-black color. The eggs are not a uniform shade and can range from a light shade of green to almost black. The color of the eggs depends on the hen. A Baby Is Born†¦ After pecking its way out of the shell, a very active 10-inch tall, cream-colored emu chick emerges. They have brown stripes and dark dots on the head. The chicks go through a remarkable color-metamorphosis. As three-month-old chicks they turn an almost solid black color, and then change to a tan, brown and black mixture as they grow. The chick will leave the nest two to three days after hatching. The chicks will be guarded by the male for up to 18 months and he is the one who will teach them what and how to eat. If a male comes across a strange chick wandering, he will most likely adopt it providing it isn't bigger than the chicks already in his care. Interesting Fact: Ratites are the only birds known to hatch identical twins. Two birds actually hatch from the same egg! This is not normal for birds and in the wild the hatchlings would rarely live more than a day or two. In captivity scientists have been able to watch emu identical twins live beyond 18 months. * The Emu is native to Australia and it is believed to have existed almost unchanged for over 80 million years. * Emus grow to approximately 6 feet tall and is the second largest bird in the world. * Emu and ostrich are totally different birds. The only similarity they share is that they are both flightless. The Emu is an omnivore. In the wild its diet consists of grains and seeds and small rodents, reptiles and birds. * Females can lay up to 60 eggs per season. The average egg production for a hen is 30 to 40 eggs. * The eggs are dark green and weigh 1 to 1 1/2 pounds (500 to 780 grams). * The male Emu incubates the eggs 50 to 60 days and then raises the chicks. * An Emu gro ws quickly and reaches its full height in one year. * Emus love water and are excellent swimmers. * Emus grow to approximately 6 feet tall. WRITTEN REPORT IN HEALTH AND SCIENCE Submitted By: Kyryn Aeiou U. Hernaez

Breaking Down the Brutality in Sports

Breaking Down the Brutality in Sports In attempting to understand and argue whether violence in modern sport has continued to augment over time, it is firstly necessary to grapple with what is understood by the term violence. Olweus (1999) rather narrowly, suggests that violence is the ‘use of physical force’. [1] He defines violence/violent behaviour as ‘aggressive behaviour where the actor or perpetrator uses his or her own body as an object (including a weapon) to inflict (relatively serious) injury or discomfort upon an individual’ (1999:7). However, as the study of violence has continued to expand, so too has its characterisation. The World Report on Violence and Health (WRVH, 2002) states, that violence is the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development, or deprivation. More specifically, v iolence in sports has been defined as ‘behavior which causes harm, occurs outside of the rules of the sport, and is unrelated to the competitive objectives of the sport’ (Terry Jackson, 1985:2). However, despite the fact that it is no easy task to formulate a specific concrete all encompassing understanding of violence what is clear is that there has been a continuous surge in both frequency and seriousness of acts of violence in sports in the modern era (Leonard, 1988). However, it is still problematic to give a definitive answer to such a complex question as, for example, the Australian Government have stated that hard data on the extent of sporting violence is not available, but that the sporting associations have indicated that there has not been an increase in violence over recent years (Wenn, 1989).The difficulty lies in assessing whether or not this level of violence has always been present in sport but appears, because of different influential factors, to be a recent phenomenon that is continuing to increase in today’s world. This essay will look at both player/on pitch violence and spectator violence. During the period before the fall of the Roman Empire, violence in sport was in essence, a fundamental principle in society that far from undermining or offending social norms was actually endorsed and embraced by both athletes and spectators and became very much part of ordinary working society. The famous Historian Josephus described how Titus dealt with his captives from the Jewish Rebellion. The number of those destroyed in contests with wild beasts or with one another or in the flames exceeded 2,500(Grant,1999: 28). This approach was not greeted by shock by the Romans. In fact, violence was so much an integrated part of society and sport that the gladiators upon signing on swore; I undertake to be burnt by fire, to be bound in chains, to be beaten, to die by the sword (Grant, 1999: 45).[2]Furthermore, historically, violence was not only found in sports, but it served as a sport in itself, such as was the case in Ireland in the 19th Century (Conley, 1999). From a Sociological per spective, this approach to sport is indicative of an attitude to life, death, and the sufferings of others which is very different from that which dominates in the contemporary West (Dunning, 2002: 47), as a large part of the West is liberal and democratic and acknowledges the importance of Human Rights and the essential right to life. If arguing that violence in sport today continues to be unambiguously prevalent it is useful to look to the law for empirical evidence. There are numerous professional sports leagues and other governing bodies which police violent activity and provide, what is deemed to be, appropriate punishment. There are a few important cases that indicate the stance taken by the law as it stands vis-à  -vis violent action in sports; in the 1969 case[3]for example, the court held that in this instance it was a case of self-defense. However, more importantly, they acknowledged that there was no difference between sports contests and real-world violence and thus as later highlighted by the McSorley (2000) case, violence in sport is considered a criminal assault if one unjustifiably and intentionally uses force upon another with intent to cause injury. The crime usually involves a threat of harm, coupled with improper contact with the other person. This has enormous consequences in that it indicates that any action deemed to be violent and unnecessary can result in a criminal conviction as it is deemed to be an assault and therefore illegal. However, the question remains; does the introduction and expansion of law on violence in sport mean that violence today is less common or is the law, now, a very necessary tool that must be wielded because the level of violence continues to mount? Research has suggested that the causes of sport violence are provocation by the other team or competition, encouragement by coaches (Reilly, 1995; OBrien and Wolff, 1996), peer pressure, wanting to win, because it is an implicit part of the game (Scher, 1993; Weinstein, et al., 1995; Pilz, 1996), revenge and retaliation, and as the result of role models (Pooley and Golding, 1987). If these findings are accurate this suggests that violence has a high probability of taking place in sport when its use constitutes the difference between winning and losing, as well as when there is weak officiating, sanctions are not severe, so there is no real fear of detrimental penalization, coaches are not willing or able to control their players, or even encourage them to break laws (Clark, 1981). This highlights a big difficulty in that, despite the increase in law and regulatory bodies, violence continues to be a very real problem in sport. Furthermore, a problem lies in the fact that evaluating wh en these causes arise can be virtually impossible: there is no specific way of knowing how coaches react in a dressing room or how players feel before a match. In addition, it has been argued that among males, some are influenced by the macho image in society (Messner, 1992; Messner and Sabo, 1992; Coakley, 1998) and in attempting to be seen as strong and fit and fearless have a tendency to engage in high levels of violence to illustrate their masculinity. A further difficulty in assessing whether violence in sport has actually increased in today’s world is the fact that it is generally acknowledged that â€Å"brutal body contact† is seen as integral to some sports (Smith, 1983).[4] This ‘contact’ essentially conforms to the rules of the sport as already specified, by the relevant regulatory body and is completely legitimate even when the same sort of behaviour outside the sports context is defined as criminal, like for example assault. Athletes, because they have consensually taken part have implicitly accepted the inevitability of rough contact and the likelihood that they will receive a few knocks during the ‘rough and tumble’. They have thus implicitly agreed to the probability of minor injury and even the possibility of serious injury. A good example is that of Stuart Mangan[5]. When the question of whether violence is sport is increasing is posed in light of such a sad case, prima facie, it becomes easier to answer it in the affirmative and not only that, it also becomes possible to argue today that such a standard of violence is actually acceptable to the spectators and not repugnant to the norms of a modern democracy. However, it must be noted that athletes cannot, reasonably be said to have agreed to injuries sustained from physical assaults that violate the written and unwritten rules of the sport. This means that any act of violence cannot ever violate the terms of the specific sport in question which essentially means that today sport and violence has clear parameters that must be adhered to. Another interesting feature that needs examination in order to answer the question comprehensively is this notion of â€Å"Borderline violence† (Smith, 1986) which consists of behaviors that violate the official rules of the sport but remain acceptable to players and fans alike as a ‘legitimate part’ of the game. Such activity —a fight or headbuttin ice hockey or an intentional foul in association football’s penalty zone—is rarely if ever subject to a court hearing and there is increasingly a tendency to be deal with these types of issues by penalties imposed by referees, umpires, or league administrators. A solid example of this occurred in 1997 when the Nevada Commission censured and banned boxer Mike Tyson for biting his opponent(NY Times, 1997). More-extreme rule infractions—those that upset both the formal rules of the sport and also the law of the land—elicit , normally, a harsher formal response, especially when the violen ce results in serious injury. If it is accepted that sport, by its very essence inevitable incorporates a certain level of violence and disharmony it once again becomes more difficult to truly estimate whether violence has become and continues to become more prominent in sport or whether the very existence of sport has meant and continues to mean that violence has always been a part of it. In sport is often equated with pure violence (Atkinson Young, 2008). Elias (1993) suggests that sports grow out of regulated societies where violence in general is reduced (liberal democracies for example) to a minimum because disagreements are resolved politically in the normal way. Sports thus function, in these societies, as a relief-institution, a mimetic battle that allows people to achieve fulfillment and catharsis without acts of violence . . . the infliction of physical injuries or of death upon other human beings. Essentially that sport is an outlet by which to vent anger and frustration. However, since sports are close to violence, it is also in the context of sporting events that violence tends to manifest itself first when society (because of unemployment, poverty, discrimination, etc.) begins to break down. Hooliganism is just one example Elias gives of this phenomenon. This essay will now focus on the aforementioned second type of violence. Sometimes fans do more than complain. Violence by supporters of sports teams dates back to Roman times, when supporters of chariot racing teams were frequently involved in major riots. A notable example of this is the Nika riots of 532 (Weir, 1996). However, it is clear that in the 1960s and 1970s, there was an increase of a dramatic nature in violence committed by sports spectators (Dunning, 1993).[6] Despite the copious amounts of empirical evidence it is not easy to find a simple answer to such a complex and multifaceted question, not least because there is a real failure to distinguish effects across different types of sport (Baumert, Henderson Thompson, 1998; Begg et al, 1996; Jackson et al, 2002; Nixon 1997; Wright and Fitzpatrick, 2006). If one looks to the law and the multifarious number of organisations that exist today to oversee and monitor sport it would be a fair to assume that violence has decreased and will continue to do so in sport. However, if one argues that sport naturally incorporates violence, especially contact sports and that these sports are not banned but in fact avidly supported, encouraged and loved by the athletes themselves and the loyal fans and is a vital outlet to vent anger than it would be a fair assessment to say that violence is on the up. However, this is not such a simplistic topic. No one point can be looked at in isolation. This essay ultima tely argues that, whether or not violence in sport is on the up, currently it has become virtually impossible to answer this question accurately not least because of the very prominent and influential role of the media. The question really becomes whether the heightened public attention and media focus on sports violence reflects not so much an augmentation in the incidence or severity of aggression, but rather greater public concern with moral issues and political discourse?

The Evolution of wall painting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Evolution of wall painting - Essay Example The essay "The Evolution of wall painting" explores the wall painting and the stages of its evolution. In the religious setup, the styles of Frescoes and Mosaics are widely used, narrating the life of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. From them, one can draw a conclusion that, though wall painting changed, it remained the same in different setups. This paper seeks to explore the evolution of wall painting beginning in Paleolithic period to Early Renaissance.During the Paleolithic period, wall painting decoration was either decorated objects or figurines. From about 31, 000 to 12, 000 B.C, there were two main categories of painting, which were either decorated objects or portable pieces. Portable pieces were small figurines, while decorated objects were carved out of stone, clay, and also cave art. Paleolithic art majored itself in different subjects such as animal carvings, hunting scenes, and animals. It was an attempt to gain control over the environment through critical thinking. One can imply that painting was a powerful tool of revealing different ideas and concepts of the society. Wall painting was carried out in different colors, but mostly golden brown was used to reveal the beautiful nature of the painting. The following is an example of a wall painting of the Paleolithic period that depicts animals. The walls were covered with different paintings that revealed different subjects. In most cases, animals were the subject shown through shades of brown, red, black, and yellow.

Relationship between cllage and avant-grade in the 20th century Essay

Relationship between cllage and avant-grade in the 20th century - Essay Example The two-dimensional collages that they developed were implemented using newspaper clippings, colored papers, tobacco wrappers, and wallpapers. After the cubists embraced collage, various other artists and movements joined the train and started recognizing its potential as an aspect of art. In parts of Italy, the futurists received recognition for successfully adopting the use of collage to express the principles of the machine age. In Russia, the constructivists adopted the use of collage in developing posters that announced the Russian Revolution. More recently, neo-Expressionists have integrated certain aspects of collage into primarily painted surfaces (Ryder, 2009, pp.2). For instance, this can be best illustrated in the way Jeff Koon continually interprets aspects of pop culture, just as he designed a balloon twisted into an animal shape and cast in ceramic with a metallic finish. The objective of this paper is to discuss the role of collage in the development and divergence of twentieth century notions of the avant-garde; and determine whether Greenberg is being reductive behind the whole idea of avant-garde. Discussion Initially, the term avant-garde was used to describe â€Å"the foremost part of an army advancing to war.’ Currently it is also used to describe a grouping of artists who perceive itself to be innovative and unique. Others use this French originated term to describe a movement advancing radical social change. More progressively, the term was linked to movements formed to champion art issues. Such groups direct their attention fundamentally more towards developing and diversifying cutting edges of aesthetic experience, and not aggressive social change (Pronko, 2003, pp.1). Fundamentally, the idea of avant-garde is used to describe â€Å"artists, writers, thinkers and theorists† whose contribution in the field of art contradicts mainstream culture systems and frequently has an incisive social or political edge. Most of these g roups of individuals and groups made affirmations regarding vanguard culture in the seminal periods of modernization (Pronko, 2003, pp.2). However, the first authoritative statement issued on the subject of avant-garde was in Clement Greenberg’s essay titled â€Å"Avant-Garde and Kitsch.† This was a New York based art critic whose work still receives a lot of recognition until today. In this piece of work, he argued that vanguard culture over the years had been critical of the mainstream culture, as well as the synthesized mass culture that is attributed to the process of industrialization. To this art critic, these forms of culture admittedly ought to be described as Kitsch; meaning counterfeit and mechanical. Notwithstanding Greenberg’s critical arguments, other quarters have misleadingly suited and misused the term â€Å"avant-garde†, primarily as a marketing strategy to popularize other forms of art such as music and films. Currently, it is not surpri sing to hear people refer to rock superstars and film celebrities as avant-garde. With all this counter arguments, it is important to understand the role played by ancient art forms, particularly the collage, in the development and divergence of the notion of avant-garde as understood in the twentieth century. Schwitters was a well recognized artist in the nineteenth century who developed his first

Performance and Reward Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Performance and Reward Management - Essay Example A good performance strategy entails a good competitive strategy, organizational structure, corporate structure and good human resources processes that include a reward management (Shields 2007). Reward strategy and management Reward strategy means achieving a balance between the human resource strategies, the environment that the organization operates in including the culture, technology and the external environment. It sets out to establish the purpose and intent of the organization on how its policies and processes on rewards meet the objectives of the business (Molander, et al 1994). Companies are increasingly trying to involve employees in the decision making processes and training them so as to attract and maintain them. Reward management involves managing all those rewards that are given to employees due to their contribution towards the growth and development of a company. It also involves identifying the strategies, systems, processes and policies that enable an organization to achieve its objectives by rewarding and attracting people they require by way of motivating them. It aims at meeting the individual, organizations and team performance as per the objectives set out. According to Williams and MacDerine, proper management of the rewards system usually leads to an enhanced employee behavior and well being, a well balanced relationship between life and work and eventually it increases the motivation and performance of the employees (Cornelius, 2001). A good reward system must be able to prioritize reward plans that are in line with the human resource and business strategies. A good reward strategy has four main guiding principles which include equity, constitency, transparency and fairness. The strategy must be fair... Reward strategy means achieving a balance between the human resource strategies, the environment that the organization operates in including the culture, technology and the external environment. It sets out to establish the purpose and intent of the organization on how its policies and processes on rewards meet the objectives of the business (Molander, et al 1994).Companies are increasingly trying to involve employees in the decision making processes and training them so as to attract and maintain them. Reward management involves managing all those rewards that are given to employees due to their contribution towards the growth and development of a company. It also involves identifying the strategies, systems, processes and policies that enable an organization to achieve its objectives by rewarding and attracting people they require by way of motivating them.   It aims at meeting the individual, organizations and team performance as per the objectives set out. According to Williams and MacDerine, proper management of the rewards system usually leads to an enhanced employee behavior and well being, a well balanced relationship between life and work and eventually it increases the motivation and performance of the employees (Cornelius, 2001).  A good reward system must be able to prioritize reward plans that are in line with the human resource and business strategies. People will always feel treated fairly according to how they are paid and depending on the value of their work to the company.

How different was Sparta from other Greek states Essay

How different was Sparta from other Greek states - Essay Example It became one of the most prominent military-based lands in 650 BC. This is where the kingdom of Sparta was based. Sparta was the most skilful land for its well known military warfare. This essay explains the most significant differences of Sparta and other Greek states. Sparta was the prominent state which rose in Lacedaemon. The state was situated far from the coastline unlike other states, which were situated near coastline. The description includes the important factors that led the important states of Greece to rise with a different form of ruling by Sparta. Athens and Sparta were the two strongest states in Greece between 900 BC and 192 BC (Bremmer and Erskine, 2010, p.128). Both the states were located in city of Greece had completely different genres. Spartans came from the descendants of invaders of Dorian and Athens comprised its population from the Ionians. They had completely different life-style structure. Their governing system, educational system, trading methods and military structures differed in many ways. The most important factor which caused the difference between Sparta and other states was the governing system. Spartan government was an oligarchy; their ruling style was military based. They had very strong military base in the entire Greece. Spartan women gave birth to very strong child, they were taught to be tough unlike other states (Salisbury, 2001, p.330). The children were trained to struggle from a very small age so that they can be the strongest in a battle field. Spartan kingdom comprised a population of about 100,000, but the most important factor was all 100,000 had the skill of self defence and they knew how to fight. They cannot be referred as brutal because the entire population including men and women supported the way the government was set-up. For any deformed child or weak child there was no

Article Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Article Review - Essay Example Building unity and a strong team ethic becomes even more difficult when employees are from diverse cultural, racial and ethnic backgrounds. A seasoned manager would then try to answer the question: ‘How can teams be supported more effectively?’ In trying to answer this question, managers will have to look into many areas of the organization, including â€Å"organizational culture, managers and management practices, policies, procedures, work practices, reward systems, resources, task parameters, types of people assigned to teams, etc†. (Bandow, 2001, p.42) While some of these parameters are easy to work on, instilling a sense of trust is a much more challenging task. The concept of structured trust is particularly relevant to creating sound teamwork: â€Å"standardized processes, contracts and other verbal and written agreements can all serve as forms of structured trust, and managers can facilitate teams to help establish trust structures.† (Bandow, 2001, p.42) Bandow goes on to list more questions that managers need to answer as a way of building sound teamwork.

Schoolsand Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Schoolsand Community - Essay Example Members of the congregation use the congregation and synagogue to nurture their souls and connection to God, to educate our children as well as themselves, to cultivate leadership among all congregants, to celebrate our joys, to comfort those among us who are suffering, to serve the community and the world at large, and to promote peace and understanding in everyday actions and overall personnel and professional lives. The great traditions of Judaism are preserved, responding to the current concerns of our community and the world with a plan for a future of sacred engagement for generations to come. Any community needs education in order to provide conformity in belief systems and practices. Socialization provides for a part of the development of focus and meaning within the members of the community on what values are treasured and what is in violation of those values. Specific education also provides an opportunity for the congregation to develop a set of beliefs that supports the o verall well-being of each of the members as they function within the society as productive and supportive members. The mission of the intended program will be to meet some of the needs in the congregation through keeping up on advancement of skills for educators so that the efforts to draw in community members to the congregation can be supported. Two specific and critical areas that are currently in need of solutions to fill the observable gaps in the current structure have been identified. These critical areas are: 1. Enhancing each teacher’s ability and resources for critical thinking, self-reflection and improving teaching methods. 2. Discovering ways to engage new families and new members to join and engage in religious school and synagogue involvement in order to keep the synagogue’s mission of a vibrant community which is based on sharing the lessons from Jewish history. These two concepts have been used to frame the mission of this program so that specific obje ctives and goals could be identified. The following objectives and goals will help to define the process of designing the program towards an overall successful outcome. Objectives 1. To determine the best possible structure through which to educate teachers and mentors within the synagogue so that they can then use that knowledge in the teaching opportunities within the synagogue’s community 2. Determining the factors that need to be assessed on a regular basis in order to define how an assessment program can be developed to support the needs within the educational program. 3. Developing a budget for the educational programs. Goals 1. Keeping teachers educated in current trends in early childhood development and using this knowledge to enhance the education offered at the synagogue to parents and the wider congregation in support of developing Jewish Life educational opportunities. 2. Creating an assessment program in order to determine the success or gaps in the educational programs, maximizing the reflective process in order to fully understand if the programs are on course or need adjustment. 3. Optimize appropriate fund raising opportunities to support the budget. In order to develop a foundation from which to design this program, the following values will help to guide the development of the program. These are the six pillars of faith that support the development of all of the functions within the community, defining the members as a people and supporting their values and belief systems. These are the core values and they represent what the synagogue holds sacred. †¢Torah (â€Å"Teaching†): We nurture meaningful connection to God and to the core ethics and values

Should Gay Marriages Be Legalized Essay Example for Free

Should Gay Marriages Be Legalized Essay With the world going through a state of change, the society across all countries have begun to change their mindset. We have witnessed the different kinds of changes through new inventions and ideologies; some for the better and others for the worse. Today, gay marriage also known as a union of the same biological sex, is one of the most controversial ideas presented. In this essay, the topic about legalizing gay marriages will be discussed such as how gay marriages are a negative repercussion to the society by defining ‘marriage’ in the eyes of the law and addressing concerns about the legalization of gay marriage. There will also be an argument of why gay marriages should be legalized by redefining marriage from an unbiased point of view and providing supporting evidences that gay marriage is of no difference from same-sex marriage. First of all, what is marriage? The law has defined marriage as the formal union of a man and a woman by which they become husband and wife. Many believe that legalizing gay marriage would weaken the definition and respect for the institution of marriage. According to the U. S.  Census Bureau, the divorce rate of first marriage is around 50 percent; second marriages are at 60 to 67 percent and third marriages are at 73 to 74 percent. (Gini, 2012) With divorce rates higher than they have ever been, critics argue that allowing homosexuals to marry would only contribute to an ever-crumbling institution. Thus, it is believed that legalizing gay marriage would increase the number of joke or non-serious marriages. Secondly, it is believed that legalizing gay marriage would affect every nations future as it leads to a lower birth rates and psychology disorders. The traditional family which consists of a man, a woman, and a child has always been the building block of every society. By legalizing gay marriage, research has shown that same-sex marriage would eliminate the incentive for procreation that is implicit in defining marriage as a male-female union as there is definite evidence of at least a correlation between same-sex marriage and low birth and fertility rates, both in the U. S. and abroad. (Sprigg, n. d. Apart from that, it is believed that gay marriage would also result in more children being raised in same-sex households which are not an optimum environment because both a Mother and a Father are essential figures for any child’s upbringing. Studies have shown that girls who are raised apart from their fathers are reportedly at higher risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. † (Ellis, 2003) â€Å"Children without a mother are deprived of the emotional security and unique advice that mothers provide. (Stacey Bublarz, 2001) If children were exposed to an alternative lifestyle since birth, they are more likely to experiment and date people of the same gender. This could be a vicious cycle of the human beings that our world will not be able to afford. Thirdly, there is an infringement of gay rights on religious liberty since homosexuality is considered sinful by most religions. According to a statement from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope John Paul II, marriage was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman. (Ratzinger, 2003) This has proven that legalizing gay marriage would be incompatible with the beliefs and traditions of many religions. Thus, by demanding the majority of the religious population to accept a relationship which is against their religion, it is not only deemed as offensive but also, morally and ethically corrupted. With all the cons mentioned above, I am sure one would be swayed to oppose to the idea of legalization of gay marriage. Having that said, I believe gay marriage can also be perceived from a different light such that one would think twice before opposing and even learn to accept the legalization of gay marriage. First of all, I would like to re-define marriage from an unbiased point of view: Marriage is a celebration of the unconditional, life-long commitment between two individuals. For better or for worse, they are always ready to share all of life, to love, to cherish and engage in the fullest of communication, the deepest of understanding, and the strongest of personal loyalty and trust. Since marriage only involves two individuals who are deeply in love, should it matter that the couple is of the same sex? Should it matter that the couple does not fit into what the society used to be? Should it matter since this form of marriage isnt hurting the society or anyone at all? If the answers to my questions have been a consistent no, then why should we stop the legalization of gay marriage? Since young, most people have been taught to cherish freedom, encourage differences and never discriminate against other races, then why cant we stop discriminating homosexuals too and accept them for whom they are by legalizing gay marriage? People have to understand that homosexuals are humans too and we are all given the same equal rights. As Hilary Clinton have stated, gays and lesbians are our colleagues, our teachers, our soldiers, our friends, our loved ones and they are full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship — that includes marriage. (Clinton, 2013) No doubt that it is difficult for discriminations to be omitted in any society in the world but no government should be the one discriminating. As such, by legalizing gay marriage, it will be killing two birds with one stone since it allows both the government to set a good role model for its people and also, the homosexuals to have their very own freedom to love and to make their own decisions. Secondly, marriage does not only revolve around pro-creation. If marriage is only about reproduction, does it mean that infertile couples would not be allowed to marry too? Since the ability or desire to create offspring has never been a criterion for marriage, why should we allow pro-creation to obstruct the love of two individuals? George Washington, often referred to as the Father of Our Country, did not have children with his wife Martha Custis, and neither did four other married US presidents. (Talbot, 2010) Since marriages between a man and a woman do not necessarily end in offspring due to physical problems or personal choice, we should not hold on to the concept of procreation as essential to the marriage bond. Hence, pro-creation should never be a reason why we should not legalize gay marriage. Additionally, gay marriage will make it easier for people to adopt children. However, people worries over issues such as confusion amongst children about gender roles and expectations of society which would consequently lead to psychological disorders and increase in social problems if gay marriage had been legalized. They are worried about how schools are going to teach their children the difference between â€Å"same-sex marriage and opposite-sex marriage. In my opinion, there is no difference and instead, children should always be taught how to embrace all kinds of love since love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, as preached in the bible. Studies have also found that children of gay fathers were as well-adjusted as those adopted by heterosexual parents, (Gatrell Bos, 2010) and children of lesbian mothers were rated higher than children of heterosexual parents in social and academic competence and had fewer social problems. (Farr et al. , 2010) This has shown that, on the contrary, gay marriage would provide an environment that is just as good or even more conducive for children. As such, this unduly worries of legalization of gay marriage are truly redundant. Lastly, despite the fact that gay marriage is considered sinful by most religions, there has been an increase of religious organizations voicing their support for marriage equality. Parrella (2004a) mentioned Marriage offers us the ideal human setting for us to surrender our own self-importance and discover, through intimacy with another, the real heart and center of the universe in God—whether one uses the word God or not. This unconditional giving of ones self is at the core of a sacramental marriage in the Catholic tradition. . This has shown that it stays true even if a person is a homosexual as this sacramental understanding of marriage can also be applied to two individuals of the same gender. Moreover, a gay or lesbian orientation is not up to ones choice or decision but it is simply the way an individual is. Since all that matters to God is what is in the hearts and souls that God has given to us and that we seek to give to one another (Parrella, 2004b), it is only fair for us to give homosexuals their freedom to express themselves by legalizing gay marriages. In conclusion, although the legalization of gay marriages will lead to negative impacts on the society, it does not justify denying a person his equal rights just based on his/her sexual orientation. Moreover, recent statistics have shown that support for the legalization of gay marriages has risen dramatically in the past decade as younger generation with more accepting views are replacing older generation in the population. This can be seen by using data from 98 national surveys conducted between 2004 and 2011, â€Å"75% of the growth has come from people changing their minds. † (Lewis Hatalsky, 2013). Ultimately, marriage is the celebration of lifelong commitment between two individuals, regardless of gender. Hence, gay marriages should be legalized.

Dont Mistake Legibility for Communication Analysis

Dont Mistake Legibility for Communication Analysis CRITICAL STUDY IN ART DESIGN DONT MISTAKE LEGIBILITY FOR COMMUNICATION David Carson | Discuss It is the art director, graphic designer and surfer David Carson (b. 1954) who stated during his 2013 TED Talk, Dont mistake legibility for communication. Since making this statement, designers have had to rethink what it means to communicate; especially when attempting to interact and engage with their target audience. However, is Carsons statement true? As it can be argued that legibility is the basis for something to not only be readable but also understood and therefore communicated. Conversely, if communication is the goal then the aim is more than just making something legible. Therefore, this discussion will explore and present arguments for and against the statement Carson made, define and explain the terms legibility and communication, and to document the social and historical context behind Carsons statement to establish whether it was valid or not. To begin, when something is being communicated it can be received by the audience visually, verbally, nonverbally or in its written form. The field of a Graphic Designer is visual communication as they attempt to incorporate, or least infer these elements through their designs. For that reason, visual communication or more specifically, production in print, will be the focus for this discussion as that is what Carsons statement pertains to. In regards to Carsons statement, the word legibility is mentioned. This word can be simply defined as how recognisable individual letterforms are (Tselentis, J et al. 2012 p. 324). In a segment of Carsons 2003 Design And Discovery TED Talk, he presents the following image with his statement: Carson then goes on to say the following about his image (Figure 2) and gives his opinion about the statement in regards to legibility and communication, where he states, I like this [image] for a couple of reasons. If youve had any design courses, they would teach you cant read this. I think you eventually can and, more importantly, I think its true. Dont mistake legibility for communication. Just because somethings legible doesnt mean it communicates. More importantly, it doesnt mean it communicates the right thing (Carson 2003). As Carson suggests (2003) the primary goal of the designer is to communicate a message. However (in his own words) more importantly, it is to communicate the right thing. The question to then be considered is to ask what communication is in the first place? John DiMarco (b. 1963) in his book Digital Design For Print and Web (2010) explains that communication is a process, in which, . requires a sender (the designer), a message (information or an effort to persuade), a medium (the delivery platform), and a receiver of that message (the audience). Here, it can be understood that during the communication process it is the designers job to send a message. DiMarco (2010) then states that, the goals of such messages are to inform, to persuade, to educate, or to entertain.ÂÂ   The designer having a communication goal in mind then uses the message and medium to reach their audience. Bearing this all in mind, we are then left to ask why is communicating the right thing so important to Carson? In the 2007 Helvetica documentary, Carson states, Dont confuse, legibility with communication. And just because somethings legible, doesnt mean it communicates, and more importantly doesnt mean it communicates the right thing. And vice versa. If something is a very important message, and its said in a boring, nondescript way, then the message can be lost (Carson 2007). The goal for Carson then seems to be that is must communicate the right thing otherwise known as effective communication. The message cannot be lost through the medium. Which would then leads to the message not being received by the anticipated audience. Nevertheless, what is effective communication and how does it differ from regular communication? The difference seems to lie in the way something is communicated. It can be argued, (as Carson seems to) therefore, that this is just as important, if not more important than the content of the message itself. This point is noted by Art Director and Graphic Designer Kaitlyn Wells (b. 1988) who suggests (2011) to communicate does not mean the designer has to send a message which is merely legible. As for Wells, legibility in itself does not equate to communicating effectively. In her blog post Dont Mistake Legibility for Communication Wells writes, Just because you can read it, doesnt mean it is communicating the intended message. David Carson is famous for his crazy typography and his ability to connect emotion, design and key messages in an effective, impactful way.ÂÂ   Some of it is legible, some of it is not, but all of it delivers a message (Wells 2011). Here, Wells makes the distinction between legibility and effective communication, noting how important it is to make sure that the audience actually receives the message through the emotion behind it and not just the content of the message itself. For Carson, it is not sufficient for something to merely be legible, as it is only one of the potential tools that can be used to achieve the end goal of communicating a message. Carson seems to be able to attract his intended audience in such a way that he not only gets his message across but manages to emotionally connect and engage with them as well. In The Emotion Thesaurus (2012)Ackerman and Puglisi state that the sole reason people pick up a printed production is . to have an emotional experience. They read to connectIt can be argued that this is the same communication goal of Carson too. This can be further demonstrated through some examples of Carsons designs in the Ray Gun publication (1992) which Carson was the art director of: According to DiMarco (2011), after Carson was appointed Art Director for the Ray Gun publication its circulation tripled, emphasising the effectiveness of Carsons designs. DiMarco then states that the magazine was created as an anti-glossy, anti-establishment manifesto that became a synonym of rock roll, rebellion and alternative spirit. This was the audience that Carson was attempting to reach. Therefore, the layout design needed to not only reflect this but to find a way to effectively communicate and connect with his audience as well. In Carsons TED Talk he speaks about the following car garages (see figure 6): Here Carson points out that the two car garage doors displayed (see Figure 6) are both legible and communicate the same message. However, the way the message is communicated is different. As it can be seen that the garage to the left is legible and the message is clear NO PARKING. Stylistically the way that this message has been presented would likely be seen as generic, informative and neutral. Conversely, it could be argued that the garage to the right gives the reader a different feel as the message would likely be interpreted in a different manner to the garage on the left. As the garage to rights with its NO PARKING message has a bold and humanistic style which seems to give it a different tone to the intended viewer. Although it could be argued that this is unintentional the feeling seems to persist nevertheless. The underlining of the same NO PARKING message seems to emphasise the gravity of what is being communicated. All of these stylistic elements add to the way the message is intended to be received by transmitting through the text the emotion of the message. Moreover, other examples of text being written in capitals tend to convey the emotion of anger and often transmits the message of somebody shouting; which in both cases demands that the message being communicated is to be taken seriously as it has been delivered in a direct and effective manner. Carson (2003) himself then goes on to explain about the garage doors in the following way, Im a big believer in the emotion of design, and the message thats sent before somebody begins to read, before they get the rest of the information. That area of design interests me the most. These are a couple of garage doors painted identical, situated next to each other. So, heres the first door. You know, you get the message. You know, its pretty clear. Take a look at the second door and see if theres any different message. O.K, which one would you park in front of? Same colour, same message, same words. The only thing thats different is the expression that the individual door-owner here put into the piece and, again, which is the psycho-killer here? Yet it doesnt say that; it doesnt need to say that. I would probably park in front of the other one (Carson 2003). For Carsons own designs, it seems his focus is on the way he communicates his message. Carson appears to designs his layouts intuitively to create a visceral reaction and response. His designs must connect with his audience emotionally for them to be effective and even if the content of the message cannot do this alone then the way the message has been designed will help the communication process of achieving Carsons communication goal. This can be seen in his designs for The Book Of Probes by Marshall McLuhan. Whilst it may seem that Carsons statement cannot be refuted there have been those that have done so. One example of someone that has vehemently disapproved Carsons methodology, is design writer Joe Clark. In his article titled Illegible David Carson cannot communicate originally published in the Globe and Mail (1995), Clark writes that, Typography is supposed to be invisible. If the intended reader actually notices the typography and graphic design on a page, then youve failed as a designer. The goal of communication is achieved only when typography does not distract (Clark 1995). This line of thinking was influenced from Beatrice Wardes (b. 1900) lecture titled, The Crystal Goblet, or Why Printing Should Be Invisible (1930). Both Clark and Wardes focus is on the content of the message and that the legibility of the message detracts from what is trying to be communicated. Otherwise, the message can be distorted where the information that is trying to be communicated is not what was originally intended. DiMarco (2011) notes how Carson, broke the rules in every way. including negative leading, overlapping, layering, and creating absurd compositional layouts, such as backwards text settings and columns of texts that bled off the page or aligned or overlapped each other. This can be seen in below (figure 8). In Noah Reads article (2009) in regards to Wardes lecture he notes that, Warde asserts that the purpose of written text is thought transference and any type that does anything to distract from that goal is a failure in its purpose. Type is there to illuminate the thoughts and ideas contained in the written word (Read 2009). Here, Read highlights how Warde deems anything that detracts from the content of the message to be a failure in its purpose. In relation to Carson, this would be a failure in his attempt to communicate with his audience. For Warde, the text used in the message should only be implemented to aid the content and the content alone. However, as mentioned earlier, Carson has demonstrated that he arranges the type to effectively communicate rather than to merely share the content alone. For Clark, in his article he rebuked the Ray Gun publication by noting that, Every single typesetting rule of thumb you could possibly come up with has been broken in Ray Guns brief history: Overlapping blocks of copy; light text against dark backgrounds; dark text against dark backgrounds; running text across pages, including stories that are read horizontally across columns (just hop over the gutter between them); deliberately running photos upside-down (Clark 1995). For Clark it seems as if he felt Carsons, Dont mistake legibility, for communication statement was taken to the extreme where because both the message was legible and the audience could misinterpret its intended point too through the way it was designed; then for Clark surely the communication and intended message failed, as the design was illegible in its content and missed the mark in its execution. However, this assertion of Clarks is subjective at best and judging by the sales of the Ray Gun magazine it is presumptive at worse because as mentioned before the publication sold many copies to those prior to Cason design. Additional to this point, it was the philosopher and Professor Marshall McLuhan (b. 1911) who wrote in his book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man (1964) that, the medium is the message. By this, he meant that it is the form of the medium, not the content of the message or even the message itself that is most important. An example, which could argue how Carson supports this theory is where he employs a similar idea into one of his articles for the Ray Gun magazine publication where he uses the Zapf Dingbat typeface. In regards to Carson using the Zapf Dingbat typeface, he states in an interview with Design Boom (2014) that it was one of his favourite briefs. During the interview he shares, We had a new writer from a much bigger music mag, and I was really excited to read this article when it came in. but I was really disappointed to find it was like sooo many others: the writer had been given 10 minutes before the performer went on stage to do his entire interview, and as such he reported the typical stuff like what the singer was wearing, what was in the room etc. boring stuff Id read so many times before. I started going through my fonts, finding nothing that felt right, then came across dingbat. Which would have been the last one on my very extensive list, as its known by the designers name zapf dingbats. Im sure I chuckled a bit, then thought, well, why not? It was a really boring article. So the entire article was set in zapf dingbat (Design Boom 2014). This exemplifies that for Carson communicating his work was more than using words alone but even the piece itself could be communicated through the medium rather than with merely the content. Especially if the content served no purpose in taking the reader on an emotional journey It could be inferred that the purpose the Zapf Dingbat that was to do precisely that to bring excitement, joy and humour to what would have been a boring, dull tedious article. David Carsons statement (2003) Dont mistake legibility for communication is both challenging and thought-provoking. As stated beforehand, not all designers would agree with Carsons evaluation of effective communication. As Carsons statement seems paradoxical at first but when understood in its proper context it appears to be congruent when seen in light of his work. However, when compared with traditional teachings and lectures as to how typography in publications should be treated, it can be argued that the designer could fail in making his or her work both illegible and even worse this may lead to the message of the designer not communicating its desired effect too. Nonetheless, to confine communication to only being something that can be achieved through legibility in content only takes away from what effective communication can be. Taking this into consideration, despite his critics and given his numerous supporters, it is still justifiable to argue that Carson has made a salient point in the Graphic Design world; as it is still relevant today as it was when he first stated it. Consequently, it can be strongly argued that it renders Carson statement, Dont mistake legibility for communication as valid. Reference List Books Tselentis, J., Haley, A., Poulin R., Seddon T., Leonidas G., and Saltz I. (2012) Typography, Referenced: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to the Language, History, and Practice of Typography. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers. DiMarco, J. (2010) Digital Design for Print and Web: An Introduction to Theory, Principles, and Techniques. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Ackerman A., and Puglisi B. (2012) The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writers Guide To Character Expression. Seattle: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Websites Wells, K. (2011) Dont Mistake Legibility For Communication. Available at: http://www.stokefire.com/2011/06/dont-mistake-legibility-for-communication/ (Accessed: 15 December 2016) Clark, J. (2011) Illegible David Carson cannot not communicate. Available at: http://joeclark.org/design/davidcarson.html (Accessed: 13 February 2017) DiMarco, D (2011) David Carson. Available at: http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed: 12 February 2017) Noah, R (2009) Graphic Design Theory: The Crystal Goblet. Available at: https://noahread.net/blog/graphic-design-theory-the-crystal-goblet (Accessed: 12 February 2017) Design Boom (2014) Interview with Graphic Designer David Carson. Available at: http://www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-david-carson-09-22-2013/ (Accessed: 12 February 2017) TED Talks Carson, D. (2003) David Carson: Design and discovery. Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_carson_on_design (Accessed: 21 November 2015) DVD Helvetica (2007) Directed by Gary Hustwit [DVD]. London: Plexi Film. Image List Figure 1 : David Carson: (2004) Design Indaba Speaker [Profile Picture]. Available from: http://www.designindaba.com/profiles/david-carson (Accessed: 3 December 2016) Figure 2. Dont mistake legibility for communication: Thomas, C. (2013) Legibility Vs Communication in Design David Carsons point of view. [Ted Talk]. Available from: https://postmodernmovieposter.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/legibility-vs-communication-in-design-david-carsons-point-of-view/ (Accessed: November 26 2016) Figure 3. Communication Process: Bowers, J. (2006) A Communication Model. Available from: http://www.jerf.org/writings/communicationEthics/node4.html (Accessed: February 12 2017) Figure 4. Cold Sweat. Carson, D. (1989) David Carson. Available from: http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/ (Accessed: February 12 2017) Figure 5. Ray Gun magazine designs. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from: http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed: February 12 2017) Figure 6. NO PARKING: Thomas, C. (2013) Legibility Vs Communication in Design David Carsons point of view. [Ted Talk]. Available from: https://postmodernmovieposter.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/legibility-vs-communication-in-design-david-carsons-point-of-view/ (Accessed: November 26 2016) Figure 7. Book Of Probes. Carson, D. (2002) David Carson. Available from: http://www.davidcarsondesign.com/ (Accessed: February 12 2017) Figure 8. Breaking The Rules. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from: http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed: February 12 2017) Figure 9. Breaking The Rules 2. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from: http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed: February 12 2017) Figure 10. Dingbat. DiMarco, J. (2011) David Carson. Available from: http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed: February 12 2017) Bibliography Books Meggs, P (2011) Meggs History of Graphic Design. 5th edn. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons, Inc. Kunz, W. (2004) Typography: Formation and Transformation: Introduction to Typographic Process. Salenstein: Braun Publisher. Lupton, E (2010) Thinking With Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors, and Students. 2nd edn. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. Craig J., Bevington W., and Koral Scala I. (2006) Designing with Type: The Essential Guide to Typography. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications Inc. Tselentis, J., Haley, A., Poulin R., Seddon T., Leonidas G., and Saltz I. (2012) Typography, Referenced: A Comprehensive Visual Guide to the Language, History, and Practice of Typography. Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers. Armstrong, H. (2009) Graphic Design Theory: Readings from the Field. New York: Princeton Architectural Press. DiMarco, J. (2010) Digital Design for Print and Web: An Introduction to Theory, Principles, and Techniques. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Ackerman A., and Puglisi B. (2012) The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writers Guide To Character Expression. Seattle: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Websites Bradley, S. (2010) Legibility And Readability In Typographic Design. Available at: http://vanseodesign.com/web-design/legible-readable-typography/ (Accessed: 30 November 2015) Thomas, C. (2013) Legibility Vs Communication in Design David Carsons point of view. Available at: https://postmodernmovieposter.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/legibility-vs-communication-in-design-david-carsons-point-of-view/ (Accessed: November 26 2016) Clark, J. (2011) Illegible David Carson cannot not communicate. Available at: http://joeclark.org/design/davidcarson.html (Accessed: 13 February 2017) Wells, K. (2011) Dont Mistake Legibility For Communication. Available at: http://www.stokefire.com/2011/06/dont-mistake-legibility-for-communication/ (Accessed: 15 December 2016) DiMarco, D (2011) David Carson. Available at: http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/PublicationDesign/DigitalTimes/Davidi-Carson.html (Accessed: 12 February 2017) Noah, R (2009) Graphic Design Theory: The Crystal Goblet. Available at: https://noahread.net/blog/graphic-design-theory-the-crystal-goblet (Accessed: 12 February 2017) Design Boom (2014) Interview with Graphic Designer David Carson. Available at: http://www.designboom.com/design/interview-with-graphic-designer-david-carson-09-22-2013/ (Accessed: 12 February 2017) Lynda Adams, S. (2014) Foundations of Graphic Design History. Available at: http://www.lynda.com/Design-Color-tutorials/American-corporate-identity/166781/363080-4.html (Accessed: 24 November 2015) Saltz, I. (2013) Foundations of Typography. Available at: http://www.lynda.com/Design-Typography-tutorials/Foundations-Typography/106698-2.html (Accessed: 29 December 2015) YouTube Carson, D. (2012) David Carson: David Carson Techniques in Design. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1pQTuJfUi8 (Accessed: 21 November 2015) Puschak, E. (2015) Atemporality: Our Relationship To History Has Changed. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAv5EKvRrco (Accessed: 02 January 2017) TED Talks Carson, D. (2003) David Carson: Design and discovery. Available at: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_carson_on_design (Accessed: 21 November 2015) DVD Helvetica (2007) Directed by Gary Hustwit [DVD]. London: Plexi Film.

Study sources E and F and the site at Quarry bank mill. :: essays research papers

I am studying how useful sources E and F are in arriving at an accurate explanation of how apprentices were treated at Quarry Bank Mill in the early 1840s. Source E was written by Robert Hyde Greg in 1843, 7 years after the incident happened. Robert H. Greg was the son of Samuel Greg, he was the original owner of Quarry Bank Mill. By 1836, which was when the Esther Price ran away, Robert H. Greg had inherited the mill. Source F was written in 1838, by a man called John Doherty. He was a campaigner for reducing children?s hours of employment in cotton mills. Doherty had also been in prison for organising pickets. The magistrate was a close friend of Samuel Greg, because of this John Doherty campaigned many times to close down and taint the reputation of Quarry Bank Mill. Both sources E and F are accounts of Esther Price?s escape from Quarry Bank Mill to Liverpool at end of August 1836 with her friend Lucy Garner. Esther Price had asked to go to Liverpool during Wakes week, a holiday week when the factory was shut, but she was refused. She had two reasons for running away, she had heard that her father was ill and wanted to visit him. The other reason was to collect her birth certificate to prove that she was actually older than her indenture said so that she could get a paid job earlier as apprentices were not paid. An indenture was the contract that an apprentice signed to say that the child would work for Mr. Greg for a set amount of years, normally seven, and that if they broke any of the rules of that contract the boss had permission to punish them. In source E it says that Esther price and her friend Lucy Garner ran away from the apprentice house on Saturday night. Lucy came back 5 days later on Thursday and Esther came back 5 days after that on Tuesday. When the girls came back, they were each put into solitary confinement. Lucy Garner did not have her windows boarded up. However Esther Prices did, Robert H. Greg said it was also ?partly to prevent her escape.? It says in source E Robert H. Greg wanted to punish them by cutting off the girls? hair, but his sister sally Greg and Mrs Shawcross, the former superintendent argued against this.

The World Trade Organization Where It’s Been and Where’s It’s Going? Es

The World Trade Organization Where It’s Been and Where’s It’s Going? Even dating back to times of Aristotle there has always been some form of trade and along with trade came rules and regulations. In the time of Aristotle trading took place on a smaller scale and between people much like bartering. In the modern world trade is what makes the world function on a broader and larger scale. We have become globalized as a world and we now are engaged in free trade, among many countries. There still needs to be regulations for each individual country and for trade in general. For the past century the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) has been the one to deal with issues that would arise, between countries. The GATT wrote rules and regulations on things that were acceptable and not acceptable in the trade arena. Then about a decade ago at the Uruguay Round, the GATT was meeting and decided that there needed to be another organization to meet the needs and enforced the articles written by GATT. This is way the World Trade Organization cam e about. The WTO has come under both praise and criticism for the work that they do, these ideas will be further discussed in the pages to come. They have had issues brought to their table that have no doubt been hard, but they must try to please all parties involved using the articles of GATT. Pleasing all parties is impossible since the WTO must follow those regulations, therefore they cannot make all parties content. Today and in future, cases will continue to be brought to their table, where they are expected to give the best response based on the articles, but also on research and past cases. Countries have battled amongst each other as how to solve a problem such as The... ...ppen in the push for globalization and the fight against it. The WTO will have to become stronger players in world markets in order to help things truly progress. BIBLIOGRAPHY Diao, Xinshen, Terry Roe, and Agapi Somwaru. â€Å"Developing Country Interests in Agricultural Reforms Under the World Trade Organization.† American Journal of Agricultural Economics, v.84, no.3. (August 2003): 782-790. Wallach, Lori. Global Trade Watch. Whose Trade Organization? Public Citizen 1999, 19. Irwin, Douglas. Free Trade Under Fire. Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002. Josling, Tim. â€Å"Key Issues in the World Trade Organization Negotiations on Agriculture.† American Journal of Agricultural Economics, v.85, no.3. (August 2003): 663-667 Working Group on the WTO/MAI. â€Å"A Citizen’s Guide to the World Trade Organization† (July 1999): 1-28

Looking for Answers in Looking for Richard Essay -- Looking for Richar

Looking for Answers in Looking for Richard  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   Al Pacino's "Looking for Richard" is an unusual film. It is a documentary about the complexities of Shakespeare, the performing of the play Richard III, and the ignorance of the average American regarding Shakespeare. The unusual nature of the film - it's similar to a filmed Cliff-notes version of the text - provokes wildly different reactions from film buffs, critics, and Shakespeare purists. A perusal of five different reviews of the film show such variant descriptors that range from Mary Brennan's comment that the documentary is "decidedly narcissistic" to Edwin Jahiel's comment that the film is an "original, mesmerizing exploration." The rather wide incongruity between the reviews leads to an interesting juxtaposition of its critiques, as we examine the reasons "Looking for Richard" incites such strong responses from its proponents and detractors. A summarized look at each of the reviews reveals the wide range among the criticisms. The first review, by Mary Brennan and posted on the Film.Com web site, is generally positive, despite the aforementioned quotation that the documentary is "decidedly narcissistic." Brennan found herself enjoying the film despite herself, enjoying the "extraordinarily riveting" way the film dissected Shakespeare. However, every endorsement of the film is subsequently balanced by a disparaging remark about it. Brennan calls some of the rehearsals "thoroughly entertaining," then says that the endless scenes of Pacino "mugging into the camera... rapidly lose their charm." Still, she seems to enjoy the film despite its perceived weaknesses. Al Pacino's posturing is "exasperating but likable," and the whole package is enjoyable. Brennan seems to... ...r those like me, however, who enjoy Shakespeare but perhaps do not grasp it as well as we hope to on the first couple of readings, it worked ideally. Works Cited Brennan, Mary. Film.com. Internet. On Line. 1996. URL: http://www.film.com/reviews/index.jhtml?review_url=/film-review/1996/9006/15/default-review.html Dre. Girls on Film. Internet. On-line. 1996. URL: http://www.girlson.com/film/navigation/index.html Jahiel, Edwin. Rec.arts.movies.review. Internet. On-line. 1996. URL: http://reviews.imdb.com/Reviews/65/6541 Renshaw, Scott. Rec.arts.movies.review. Internet. On-line. 1996. URL: http://reviews.imdb.com/Reviews/61/6195 Schwartzbaum, Lisa. "Great Shakes." Entertainment Weekly. 1 November 1996. http://www.ew.com Zimmer, A. Syracuse Times Online. Internet. On-line. 1996. URL: http://newtimes.rway.com/films/richard.htm      

Mkt 310 Exam 2 Study Guide

MKT 310 : Exam 2 Study Guide BOOK Ch. 5 : International Trade Theory An Overview of Trade Theory: * The Benefits of Trade – Some international trade is beneficial, exchange products you can produce at a low cost for some products you cannot produce at all * Free Trade – The absence of government barriers to the free flow of goods and services between countries. * International trade allows a country to specialize in the manufacture and export of products it can produce most efficiently while importing products that can be produced more efficiently in other countries. Climate and natural resources explain why Ghana exports cocoa, and Saudi Arabia exports oil * Product Life-Cycle Theory – Early in their life cycles, most new products are produced in and exported from the country in which they were developed. As the product becomes accepted internationally, production begins to start in other countries. Thus suggesting that the product may ultimately be exported bac k to the country of its original innovation. New Trade Theory – Theory that sometimes countries specialize in the production and export of particular products not because of underlying differences in factor endowments, but because in certain industries the world market can support only a limited number of firms. Mercantilism: * Mercantilism – Originated in England, An economic philosophy advocating that countries should simultaneously encourage exports and discourage imports. It was in the countries best interest to maintain a trade surplus, to export more than it imported. Also advocated government intervention to achieve a surplus in the balance of trade. Zero-Sum Game – A situation in which an economic gain by one country results in an economic loss by another. The flaw with Mercantilism is that it is viewed as a Zero-Sum Game. * Critics think China is pursuing a neo-mercantilist society, deliberately keeping its currency value low against the U. S. dollar in order to sell more goods to the U. S. , thus creating a surplus and foreign exchange reserves. Absolute Advantage: * Absolute Advantage – A country has an absolute advantage in the production of a product when it is more efficient than any other country in producing it. According to Smith countries should specialize in the production of goods for which they have an absolute advantage and then trade these for goods produced by other countries. (Countries should never produce goods at home that it can buy at a lower cost from other countries. Comparative Advantage: * Comparative Advantage – It makes sense for a country to specialize in the production of those goods that it produces most efficiently and to buy the goods that it produces less efficiently from other countries, even if this means buying goods from other countries that it could produce more efficiently itself. Basic Message of Comparative Trade – Potential world production is greater with unrestricted free trade than it is with restricted free trade. * Immobile Resources – Resources do not always shift easily from on activity to another, some friction is involved. Belief that a country will produce less of some goods but more of others, however not everyone has the skills and knowledge to produce the greater good, thus some people may lose their jobs. * Diminishing Returns – When more units of a resource are required to produce each additional unit.First not all resources are of the same quality, and different goods use resources in different proportions. * Constant Returns to Specialization – The units of resources required to produce a good are assumed to remain constant no matter where one is on a country’s production possibility frontier. * Dynamic Effects and Economic Growth – Opening an economy to trade, might increase a countries stock of resources as increased suppliers of labor and capital from abroad become available for use within th e country, and free trade might increase the efficiency with which a country uses its resources. When a rich country(U. S. ) enters in free trade with a poor country(China) the lower prices that U. S. consumers pay for goods imported from China may not be enough to produce a net gain for the U. S. economy if the dynamic effect of free trade is to lower real wage rates in the U. S. * Evidence for the Link between Trade and Growth – Countries that adopt a more open stance toward international trade enjoy higher growth rates than those that close their economies to trade. Heckscher-Ohlin Theory: Comparative advantage arises from differences in national factor endowment, and by factor endowment they meant the extent to which a country is endowed with such resources as land, labor, and capital.. The Heckscher-Ohlin Theory predicts that countries will export those goods that make intensive use of factors that are locally abundant, while importing goods that make intensive use of fa ctors that are locally scarce. * The Leontief Paradox – Since U. S. was relatively abundant in capital compared to other nations, the U. S. would export capital intensive goods and import labor-intensive ones. However he found that the U.S. exports were less capital intensive than the imports. The Product Life-Cycle Theory: * Most new products were initially produced in the U. S. and sold in the U. S. markets first, the wealth and size of the U. S. can them strong incentives to develop new consumer products. , in addition the high cost of U. S. labor gave U. S. firms an incentive to develop cost-savings process innovations. These expensive goods are only appealing to the wealthy of other nations, thus there isn’t that much overall global interest, so no other countries feel it is necessary to start producing the product as well. New Trade Theory: The ability of firms to attain economies of scale might have important implications for international trade. * Economies of Scale – Unit cost reductions associated with a large scale of output * New Trade Theory makes 2 important points: * 1) Through its impact on economies of scale, trade can increase the variety of goods available to consumers and decrease the average costs of those goods. * 2) In those industries where the output required to attain economies of scale represents a significant proportion of total world demand, the global market may be able to support only a small number of enterprises. First-Mover’s Advantage are the economic and strategic advantages that accrue to early entrants into an industry. The ability to capture scale economies ahead of later entrants, and thus benefit from a lower cost structure, is an important first mover’s advantage. * Implications of New Trade Theory – generates for government intervention and strategic trade policy, a nation may befit from trade even if they do not differ in resource endowments or technology, trade allows a nati on to specialize in the production of certain products—attaining scales of economy and lowering cost.National Competitive Advantage: Porter’s Diamond * Porter theorizes that 4 broad attributes of a nation shape the environment in which local firms compete, and these attributes promote or impede the creation of competitve advantage. These attributes are†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ * Factor Endowments – A nations’ position in factors of production such as skilled labor or the infrastructure necessary to compete in a given industry (Advanced factors are the most significant competitive advantage. ) * Demand Conditions – the nature of home demand for the indutry’s product or service. Relating and Supporting Industries – the presence or absence of supplier industries and related industries that are internationally competitive. * Firm strategy, Structure, and Rivalry – The conditions governing how companies are created, organized, and managed and the nature of domestic rivalry. * He argues that firms are most likely to succeed in nindustries or industry segments where the diamond is most favorable.. The diamond is a mutually reinforcing system – meaning the effect of one attribute is contingent on the state of others. ———————————————— Ch. 6 : The Political Economy of International Trade Instruments of Trade Policy: * Tariffs – A tariff is a tax levied on imports (or exports. ) In most cases tariffs are placed on imports to protect domestic producers from foreign competition by raising the price of imported goods. Tariffs also produce revenue for the government. The government and the domestic producers gain from having tariffs, whereas the consumers lose. * 2 conclusions can be made about tariffs: First, tariffs are pro-producer and anti-consumer.Second, import tariffs reduce the overall efficiency of the world economy. (Tariffs encourage domestic products to be sold at home when they could be more efficiently sold in the global market. ) * Export tariffs raise money for the government, and they reduce exports from a sector, often for political reasons. * 2 Types of Tariffs: * Specific Tariffs – Levied as a fixed charge for each unit of a good imported (ex. $3 per barrel of oil) * Ad Valorem Tariffs – Levied as a proportion of the value of imported goods. Subsidies – A subsidy is a government payment to a domestic producer. By lowering production costs, subsidies help domestic producers in 2 ways: 1) competing against foreign imports and 2) gaining export markets. * Agriculture is the largest beneficiary of subsidies. * Non-Agriculture subsidy ex. Money given to Boeing and Airbus * The main gains from subsidies accrue to domestic producers, whose international competiveness is increased as a result. * Subsidies protect the inefficient and promote excess prod uction. Import Quotas and Voluntary Export Restraints – An import quota is a direct restriction on the quantity of some good that may be imported into a country * Tariff Rate Quota – The process of applying a lower tariff rate to imports within the quota than those over the quota. * Voluntary Export Restraint – A quota on trade imposed by the exporting country, typically at the request of the importing country’s government. Ex. Limitation on auto exports to the U. S. enforced by the Japanese automobile producers. * Quota Rent – The extra profit producers make when supply is artificially limited by an import quota. Local Content Requirements – A requirement that some specific fraction of a good be produced domestically. Ex. Buy America Act specifies that government agencies must give preference to American products when putting contracts for equipment out to bid unless the foreign products have a significant price advantage. * Administrative Policies * Administrative Trade Policies – Bureaucratic rules designed to make it difficult for imports to enter a country, as it has been argues that the Japanese are masters of this trade barrier. * Antidumping Policies Dumping – Selling goods in a foreign market at below their costs of production or below their â€Å"free† market value. Ex. 2 South Korean manufacturers of semiconductors were accused of selling microchips in the U. S. market at below their cost of production. * Anti-Dumping Policies – Policies designed to punish foreign firms that engage in dumping and thus protect domestic producers from unfair foreign competition. * Countervailing Duties – Antidumping duties. Political Arguments for Intervention: * Protecting Jobs and Industries – Tariffs placed on steel in 2002 by G.W. Bush were supposed to do this. * National Security – Protect the area of technological advancement, and the defense industries. * Retaliation â₠¬â€œ Use threat to intervene in trade policy as a bargaining tool to help open foreign markets and force trading partners to â€Å"play by the rules. † Ex. U. S. has used threat of punitive trade sanctions to try and get the Chinese government to enforce its intellectual property laws – China cost Microsoft hundreds of millions of dollars per year in lost sales revenues. * Protecting Consumers – Ex.Many countries decided to ban imports of American beef after one case of Mad Cow Disease was found. * Furthering Foreign Policies Objectives – Governments sometimes use trade policy to further support their foreign policy objectives. * Helms-Burton Act – This act allows American to sue foreign firms that use property in Cuba confiscated from them after the 1959 revolution. * DAmato Act – Act passed in 1996, similar to the Helms-Burton Act, but this one is aimed at Libya and Iran. * Protecting Human Rights – Ex.Debate over many years on whet her to grant the â€Å"Most Favorable Nation† to China — this is controversial bc many think China doesn’t regard human rights per the Tiananmen Square Massacre. * Protecting the Environment – Strong relation between income levels and environmental pollution/degradation. Ex. Carbon Emissions Tariff, etc. Economic Arguments for Intervention: * The Infant Industry Argument – New industries in developing countries must be temporarily protected from international competition to help them reach a position where they can compete on world markets with the firms of developed nations. Skepticism because protection of manufacturing from foreign competition does no good unless the protection helps make the industry efficient. Second, the infant industry argument relies on an assumption that firms are unable to make efficient long term investments by borrowing money from the domestic or international capital market. * Strategic Trade Policy – A Governme nt policy aimed at improving the competitive position of a domestic industry or domestic firm in the world market. It is argued that by appropriate actions, a government can help raise national income if it can somehow ensure that the firm(s) that gain first-movers advantage within an industry are domestic rather than foreign enterprises. * The second component of the strategic trade policy is that it might pay a government to intervene in an industry by helping domestic firms overcome the barriers to entry created by foreign firms that have already reaped the benefits of first-movers advantage. Development of the World Trading System , GATT, WTO: (Look in PPT slides for this info. )

Causes of Crime

The causes of crime are usually physical abnormalities, psychological disorders, social and economic factors, broken windows, income and education. By the twenty-first century criminologists looked to a wide range of factors to explain why a person would commit crimes. These included biological, psychological, social, and economic factors. Usually a combination of these factors is behind a person who commits a crime. Reasons for committing a crime include greed, anger, jealously, revenge, or pride. Criminologists focused on the physical characteristics and sanity of an individual. They believed it was â€Å"predetermined† or that people had no control over whether they would lead a life of crime. For example, criminologists believed people with smaller heads, sloping foreheads, large jaws and ears, and certain heights and weights had a greater chance to be criminals. As late as the 1950s researchers continued to investigate the relationship of body types to crime. Aside from biological traits indicating a natural tendency toward criminal activity by some individuals, Lombroso and other early twentieth century researchers also reasoned that criminal behavior could be a direct result of psychological disorders. They believed these mental disorders could be diagnosed and possibly cured. If this was true, then criminal activity could be considered a disease and the offender could be â€Å"cured† through psychiatric treatment. In addition to studying the biological and psychological causes of criminal behavior, others looked toward society in general for possible causes. In the early 1900s researchers believed social changes occurring in the United States, such as an industrial economy replacing the earlier agricultural economy and the growth of cities, as well as the steady flow of immigrants from eastern Europe affected crime levels. In the 1990s a new idea spread through the criminal justice field concerning the influence of a person's social environment on crime rates. The idea was that general disorder in the neighborhood leads to increased antisocial behavior and eventually to serious crime. For most of the twentieth century, police primarily reacted to serious crimes such as rape, murder, and robbery often with little overall success in curbing crime rates. So, the thinking went, if authorities eliminated disorder, then serious crimes would drop. Disorder creates fear among citizens of unsafe streets; they avoid public areas allowing criminals to gain a foothold. The neighborhood goes into a downward spiral because as crime increases, then disorder increases further. Another theory from 1930s criminologists was that unemployment could be a major cause of crime. Society teaches that persistence and hard work lead to personal financial rewards; however, educational opportunities are often limited to those who can afford to attend college. People who do not receive higher education or college degrees are often forced to take lower paying jobs. Some attempt to achieve material success through illegal means; in this sense social forces can lead a person into crime. The belief that education plays an enormous role in deterring crime led to educational programs and job training in prisons. Education and job training not only provide a way to find a job and make a legal living, but potentially places the person into a better social environment once he or she is back in society. Criminologists believe a good job creates social and personal attachments to a person's community that in turn influence whether or not to commit a crime. A person is less likely to commit a crime, even if there will be substantial rewards, if he or she is tied to the community and is respected by its members.

Learning from Failure Essay

Everyone strives for perfection, for most people failure is not an option. However, the reality is that failure is an unpleasant fact, each day, a person fails in his or her tasks, decisions and ideas and organizations fail in their strategies and policies. In this highly competitive and achievement oriented society, a failure in any aspect of a person’s life is construed negatively and stereotyped as a sign of weakness. Failures are indeed negative occurrences that involve the inability to carry out the desired objective or goal of the individual or organization (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005). Failures can be either large scale or small scale, and it can have far-reaching effects than mere criticisms. Small-scale failures are normal consequences of the individual’s actions and decisions form day to day, for example, not being able to come to work on time is a failure on the part of the employee. Being tardy is a negative behavior and failing to be punctual can directly affect the work performance of the individual; however, such tardiness can also have dire effects on the organization. Chronic tardiness results to missed hours of work per week and probably lesser output for the department or unit and the organization as a whole. Such a failure can be dissected and analyzed as a personal failure, but it has varied implications for the organization’s policies and performance. On the other hand, large-scale failures are highly sensationalized and have the potential to lessen the competitiveness and the trust that people have on their organizations (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). F or example, Martha Stewart’s failure and fiasco in her business enterprise have led to criticisms and stigma and for that time, sales of Martha Stewart’s products were very low. Organizational failures are often not highlighted as a basis for learning; instead, it is covered-up and undisclosed to the public. Learning from failure is not a popular concept in the American reality. Failures have a negative connotation and it is not a thing that is shared to most people. Likewise, organizations steer from the issue of failure and find immediate solutions to such failures and problems without considering the possible learning that the failure brings (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). For example, mass resignations of pilots in an airline company spell disaster, and the most likely action for the company is to reduce flights. Learning from failure dictates that the airline company should look into the reasons of the pilots for leaving the airline. The result of the survey would be used as basis to institute changes in their policies in order to address the concerns of the pilots and to prevent mass resignations in the future. Organizations however, try very hard to keep their failures from becoming public since it would not be good for their business but making failures public communicates that the organization is willing to accept their mistakes and further commit to the improvement of their policies and procedures to prevent and minimize the occurrence of mistakes (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005). Large-scale failures that reach the consciousness of the public become common knowledge and these are used as a learning tool for other individuals and organizations.   The stock market scandals have resulted to clearer and stricter guidelines in the stock market. Thus, failures are not entirely negative; instead, it has the potential for driving new information and concepts and in the development of better policies and guidelines for all. Learning is a process that occurs throughout life, and failures play an important role in facilitating learning. Without mistakes and failure, an individual would not be able to learn what is right and acceptable from what is wrong and unacceptable. Failure is as essential to life as learning; one cannot exist without the other. Learning does not occur in a vacuum, it utilizes whatever information, and knowledge is on hand. However, the best kind of learning is said to come from failures and mistakes as it provides concrete basis for differentiating what is positive and good from what is negative and bad (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). At an individual level, workers sent on a training workshop to learn new skills in the operation of new equipments would only have a working knowledge of the new equipment. Actual operation of the equipment would test the knowledge of the worker and the amount of learning that he has gained from the training workshop. A failure on the part of the worker would lead to the inefficient use of the equipment, and identifying one’s mistakes and source of failure would result to more learning. At this point the worker can now identify which of his actions had resulted to the mistake and which actions would control for the effects of the mistake and what behaviors he should do to prevent the mistake from recurring. In terms of organizational learning, failures are also a rich source of information that could be used to improve and strengthen the strategies that they already have in place (Cannon & Edmondson, 2005). It is important for organizations to learn from their failures as it is a factual occurrence that reflect the true state of the organization (Carmeli & Sheaffer, 2008). For example, a miscommunication between departments can bring about significant problems and difficulties in the conduct of the organizations’ activities. The most likely reaction is for the department heads and managers to resolve the problems brought about by miscommunication, but if the organization wants to apply the concept of learning from failures, they should b able to identify the source of the miscommunication and in what channels the miscommunication occurred, then the organization should look into the communication patterns of the organization and take the necessary steps to ensure that the communication systems would be corrected to prevent miscommunications in the future. Even though learning from failures has been found to be a useful tool for increasing the efficiency of organizations and in cultivating a positive culture, one that is open to experimentation and failure, not many organizations have embraced the concept and continue to disregard the learning that could be had from failures (Nevis,   DiBella & Gould, 1995). In a discussion of why organizations fail to learn from failures, it was pointed out that organizations fail to utilize failures as rich sources of information because of the lack of critical thinking skills that would identify failures as an opportunity for growth (Carmeli & Sheaffer, 2008). Additionally, organizations does not take into account and monitor for failure, instead it is systematically removed and not dwelled upon. Another reason for not being able to learn from failures is the human tendency to reduce the effect or to cover-up the incidence of a failure. Even without undue pressure, individuals have the tendency to downplay failures and mistakes and for most to find excuses and blame the failure on the system, and other individuals (Carmeli & Sheaffer, 2008). It is important to recognize that failures present a learning opportunity for organizations and even for one’s personal life, and although it takes courage and a more open and willing perspective, it is not impossible to attain. References Cannon, M. & Edmondson, A. (2005). Failing to learn and learning to fail (intelligently): How organizations put failure to work to innovate and improve. Long Range Planning, 38, 299-319 Carmeli, A., & Sheaffer, Z. (2008). How learning leadership and organizational learning from failures enhance perceived organizational capacity to adapt to the task environment. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 44:468. Nevis, E. C., DiBella, A.J., & Gould, J.M. (1995). Understanding organizations as learning systems. Sloan Management Review, 36, 73-85.