Massive disappearance

You awoke one day then you find that the world becomes suddenly empty of about 11 million Latinos that comprise at least the area of California. This is the controversial core premise behind the film â€Å"A Day Without a Mexican†. In essence, the film appears to highlight the idea of how America at least is dependent on the workings of this often-abused sector of the society.Directed and co-written by Sergio Arau along with Yareli Arizmendi, the movie emphasizes the stereotyping of Latinos as Mexicans in California, and presumes all of these individuals are illegitimate immigrants. Moreover, the primary message that the film seeks to convey is that many individuals in the society take for granted the contributions brought both by legal and illegal Latino immigrants who work for these people.The range of the contributions of these Latinos covers most—if not all—of the essential endeavors in the society. From being a fruit harvester to being elite executives in a renowned place like California, Latinos play a huge role in the performance of the nation’s economy. This is one of the significant messages underlying the movie which is based on a brief film of the same director.The content of the movie can be summarized in the idea that an unexplained event covers California. That is, people within the state cannot communicate with individuals residing outside California. This is coupled with the disappearance of all the Latinos which heightens the chaos that surrounds the people.Particularly in California, the film depicts the central idea that nobody in the place likes or appreciates Latinos. This feeling is overturned by the sudden events in the movie, specifically the part which shows the disappearance of the Latinos.What the film is essentially attempting to establish is this idea: that, perhaps, the only way for everybody to realize the social worth and individual importance of these Latinos is to make them feel their absence in the society. That way, the disappearance of the Latinos will force these people to do the usual things and important social roles by themselves—which is why Latinos are an important segment of California.The movie narrates this plot by portraying the lives of four individual characters, all of whom share an integral part in their respective professions. A teacher as well as a common housewife, Mary Jo Quintana shares the same effect of the wide disappearance of Latinos with Senator Abercrombie, Louis McClaire, and Lila Rodriguez. In general, the massive disappearance opens up their once-private lives.As experts bring up various theories in an attempt to explain the disappearance of the Latinos, the status of the entirety of California starts to decline. The events led to the depreciation in the cleanliness of the state as garbage mounts in the streets of California and in the economic devastation of the state. This in particular sums up the idea that, indeed, Latinos have an impo rtant role in the continuance and progress not only of California but of America as a whole.

Brand Munchy Essay

1.0 Introduction Munchy’s is a brand for various product foods which is includes wafers, roll wafers and biscuit. Today, Munchy’s has produced more than 70 products which are biscuits, wafers and crackers. Captain Munch Cookies, Lexus Sandwich Crackers, Oat Krunch, Muzic & Nuss Wafer Cubes, Sugar & Lite Cream Crackers, Mini Sandwich Biscuits, Munchini, Yosss & Speed Wafer Sticks, Marie Biscuits and Gigabite Wafer Rolls are the best seller among the products of Munchy’s. Munchy’s is successfully in their branding and become number one wafer producer and number two for producing biscuits in Malaysia. Both Munchy Food Industries Sendiri Berhad (MFI) and Munchy World Marketing Sendiri Berhad (MW) are entities of Munchy’s. The main factory of munchy’s is located at Batu Pahat, Malaysia. There have around 60 countries and over 20 000 retailers in Malaysia is selling Munchy’s products. Besides that, 12 distribution and marketing offices is located in Malaysia , Singapore and Thailand. The mission of Munchy’s is to provide joyful, cheeky and reasonable price of biscuits and snacks for everybody. In 2020, Munchy’s wish to achieve 100 countries is distributing their products to accomplish their vision. Munchy’s believe that they can become a well-known brand with continuously development and improvement in their products. They will continue to work hardly for fun snack dream and be recognized as a brand that makes Malaysia proud. 2.0 SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a strategic tool which is used to analyze the internal and external factors for helping to identify the organization’s goals by determining and overcome obstacles that will be faced (Ahmad Reza Ommani, 2011). SWOT can be divided into internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) and external factors (opportunities and threats). Munchy’s always choose the best ingredients to produce delicious biscuit and wafers. Munchy’s believe that highest quality of biscuit and wafer stick is only can be produced with using the best ingredient. Thus, they are considerate all aspect when choosing supplier of ingredient. Besides that,  they also focus on their brand building by hiring an international adviser to create a unique and well-known brand around the world. Since Munchy’s biscuits are produce in Malaysia, it helps in lowering their production costs. Thus, Munchy’s has become Number 1 brand biscuit in Malaysia in 2008. Furthermore, strength of Munchy’s is focusing on product development continuously by designing product packaging and their brand image to attract more customers to support their product. Munchy’s is just emphasize on the packing of their products and how to make their product more creativity and innovative. This becomes weakness of Munchy’s as they don’t have various with their product and flavor. For example, Nestle Company has various products like milo, coffee, milk, yogurt, ice-cream and others. The value of their products in market can be enhanced with this variety of products as customers range is increased. Besides that, there are some products of Munchy’s which are quite sweets. It is not so suitable for people who have diabetes. Next, there will be Munchy’s opportunities. Munchy’s has joint ventures with retailers such as supermarkets. The benefits of consolidation with retailers are going to get better locations for franchisees. Besides that, Munchy’s also responds to social changes by doing innovation and development to produce healthier lifestyle biscuits such as Oat Krunch. Since the price of Munchy’s biscuits is quite reasonable, financial crises would not have impact on biscuit market. Furthermore, Munchy’s has a very good forecast for the future. In addition, Asians love sweets are also an advantageous to Munchy’s in promote their product.

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 8

Case study - Essay Example The idea behind this consultant report is to suggest methods wherein the company can be made profitable to meet the challenges posed by the current downturn. The recommendations that we as consultants have given can be divided into the following categories as outlined in the subsequent sections. First, the idea is to structure the company along product lines instead of the current structure where each of the verticals would have a separate department instead of along functional lines. The current division is based on functional lines wherein the sales department is separate and the insurance department is separate. The current structure lends itself to unnecessary redundancy and according to the theory (Miles, 1978); division along product lines is any day better than division along functional lines. If the company adopts this method, the divisions would be along verticals instead of the horizontal division currently in place. This movement towards product lines is appropriate because the people in one product line would be motivated more to perform and function rather than people in different functions working separately. This makes eminent business sense as the people in different departments that are current existing can get together and plan for their sales and marketing strategies as a means of achieving their targets. The appropriate theories of leadership that can be applied here are the Theory X and the Theory Y which state that a leader can apply these two competing visions of leadership to get the work done .(Mullins, 2008) As part of the division of the company along vertical product lines, it is necessary to structure the company in such a way that the board members are also structured along the product line strategy and that they operate within the structures prescribed in this management report. This division of the company along product lines makes for eminent business sense and hence they can work for the betterment of the company. According to

Why is bureaucracy's relationship to democracy so conflicted Essay - 1

Why is bureaucracy's relationship to democracy so conflicted - Essay Example There are several laws that are infringed upon by bureaucratic procedures that may be considered high-handed. Both democracy and bureaucracy present unethical properties in the political arrangement. Bureaucracy’s relationship to democracy is so conflicted because of the paradoxical relationship that involves satisfying both the emotional and societal interests. Structural modification has a considerable impact on human interaction and individuality. This is emphasized by George Ritzer, a renowned sociologist who explores the concept of McDonaldization in terms of the cultural context and rational thinking. In his book â€Å"The McDonaldization of society† Ritzer explores how the philosophies of fast-food restaurants define the American culture. In his opinion, McDonalds has a particular pattern of entry into any region that often results in an integrated consumer pattern and the westernization of the culture that is invaded (Ritzer, 1993, 9). The society does not change in a bureaucratic manner as previously suggested by another renowned social theorist, Max Webber. Instead, his theory mostly emphasizes on the repetitive nature of actions by both consumers and McDonald’s workforce. For instance, in terms of service, one is likely to receive the same service in any branch, and the employees are likely to use the same recipe an d perform the same tasks in the preparation of food. In essence, this means that rational systems may create an awkward environment based on bureaucracy. This means that democracy is significantly undermined because of the repetitiveness in actions. There are no alternatives presented to guarantee a bureaucratic environment. According to Ritzer, traditional means of thinking are undermined by the societal concerns promoted by bureaucracy based on social control and productivity. The bureaucracy associated with most decision-making processes mean that there will always be interests that are not satisfied and changes in ideology

Research proosal on ASTHMA Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Proosal on ASTHMA - Research Proposal Example The descriptive-quantitative research methodology will be adopted using the survey questionnaire as the primary data gathering instrument. Parent – respondents will be selected using purposive sampling and will involve a minimum of 200 respondents determined using post-hoc statistical power analysis. Both descriptive and inferential measures will be utilized in the statistical treatment of the data gathered. SPSS Version 17 will be used in the statistical analysis of data. Introduction Background of the Study The comprehensive health reform legislation known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 was signed into law to expand healthcare coverage and cost and enhance the delivery of health care in the United States. Reporting on the feedback from Spanish media, Nix and Adair (2010) articulated that President Barack Obama championed the law to reassure that minorities in the US can avail of access to health care services by way of between coverage opti ons. The PPACA may well one improvement that Mensah and Glover (2007) believe to be possible in the American healthcare setting characterized with a history of pervasive disparities in health status and health care delivery for the last two centuries. Health disparities refer to â€Å"differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions† (National Institutes of Health, as cited in Mensah & Glover, 2007; Pamies & Nsiah-Kumi, 2009). The burden of asthma is an example of disparities in childhood in the US in a general sense (Akinbami & Schoendorf, 2002; Smith, Hatcher-Ross, Wertheimer & Khan, 2005; McDaniel, Paxson & Waldfogel, 2006). While Pamies and Nsiah-Kumi (2009) highlighted the disparities among children of color, Wright and Newman-Giger (2010) focused on Hispanics / Latinos. Of particular concern in this regard is the documented fact that children younger than four years are usually hospitalized because of asthma and that the largest increase in hospitalization trend was among children from 0 to 4 years old (Bigby, 2011; Brooker & Elward, 2010). In the case of children 4 years old and younger, access to healthcare is a matter of parental decision. Compliance and adherence to medication regimen is also largely a parental responsibility. Accordingly, as suggested in Wright and Newman-Giger (2010), there is a need to address how parents’ beliefs and perceptions regarding healthcare play a role in the enhancement of health outcomes of their children, especially those in the 0 to 4 age bracket. Problem Statement As revealed by the Institute of Health (2009), the culture factor in the asthma burden among Hispanic children had been examined from the angle of birth place and lifetime asthma diagnosis, family income and insurance status. Studies have also been undertaken to investigate access to healthcare among cultural minorities from a very general perspective (Edmunds & Coye, 1998; Wright & Newman-Giger, 2010). In the case of asthmatic children four years or younger, however, access to healthcare, as well as compliance and adherence to medical intervention are mediated by their parents or guardians who are mostly relatives. There is a paucity of research which ventured to explore this perspective of disparities in

Global Economies according to Friedman's The World Is Flat Research Paper

Global Economies according to Friedman's The World Is Flat - Research Paper Example This has allowed other growing economies to collaborate irrespective of the geographical distance separating the collaborating countries. Based on the past and current trends in the U.S. economy, Flanders presents that as compared to some of the ten major recessions that have hit the U.S, those that have occurred in the 21st century have been the worst. This is indication that the in the next five years, another heat is likely to have even more serious impacts on the U.S economy. For instance, the 2000-2001 and the 2008-2009 economic downturns have had some huge effects, especially in major areas such as employment, growth, investment and personal disposable income. The rate of employment trend has continued to fall over the years with the invention of more new technologies that replaced human labor. Today, the 85% rate of employed men and women in 1960 has reduced to only 64%. This has also been marked by the reduction in the share of all men and women entering the workforce. Subseq uently, Flander further explains that from the year 2000 to 2009 the average income per household fell by 3.6% and has continued to fall up to date, especially with an increase in the inflation rate. Do you believe China will surpass the U.S. as a world economic power? According to Smith, although the United States, Germany and Japan are the greatest economies in the world, most model projections indicate that China and India will surpass some of these huge economies. For instance, Smith points out that as per the Goldman Sachs model projection, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the U.S will rise to $35.1 trillion from $10.1 trillion whereas that of China is expected to rise from $1.4 trillion to a massive $44.1 trillion. I agree with this idea, especially taking into consideration that during the 2008-2009 economic downturns, whereas the U.S. economy was rapidly shrinking, China’s economy was still growing at a rate of 9% per annum. The recent performance of China’s economy also shows that China is on track towards its long-term goal. For instance, the GDP grew 7.5% in 2001 and accelerated to 8.3% in 2002 and 9.5% in 2003. Moreover, China’s trade links as well as the fact that China is a well known net creditor puts her economy in a good position of becoming one of the strongest economies globally.  China is also known to be a great buyer of the U.S. bonds implying that to some extent it has the capacity to determine the deficit that the U.S. can run considering the fact that the U.S. is among the biggest net debtors (McEachern). Friedman documents that China is the world’s greatest â€Å"offshoring† country to the extent that even the U.S is one of the beneficiaries of the attractive production prices in China. The Chinese education system, with its emphasis on technical areas such as mathematics and sciences, has resulted in a situation where the wages of highly skilled workers in the U.S. are starting to compete again st Chinese workers who can do a similar job at a low price. According to Flanders, one of the latest forecasts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reveals that perhaps by 2016 the economy of China will surpass that of the U.S. The forecast predicts that there is a current wrangle of the budget in Washington. This in turn leads to the emergence of a number of questions

Principles and Practice of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (mental Essay

Principles and Practice of Psychosocial Rehabilitation (mental nursing) - Essay Example It is reported that the rehabilitation unit helped Mr. Brayan to develop living skills such as cognition, using laundry, cooking food etc. Psychosocial Rehabilitation is the process in which the psychiatric patients are trained systematically to bring back them to the active participation in the society. â€Å"Psychiatric rehabilitation aims to improve the functioning and quality of life of individuals with psychiatricdisabilities due to serious mental illnesses†. (Rudnick 2003, p.1). â€Å"The strategies adopted for the management of schizophrenia may differ from one country to other country and may influence motivational readiness for change. For this purpose, rehabilitation approaches like vocational training, employment guidance, cognitive behavioural therapy, and psychosocial methods were included. In addition, issues surrounding gender differences, scarcity of resources, conventional medicine, and importance on family role were also need to be considered for the rehabilitation of patients.† (Review of Literature, p. 2.). The recovery is the objective of the psychosocial rehabilitation. In this case study the Psychosocial Rehabilitation of a patient suffering from Schizophrenia in Shellharbour Hospital Mental Health Rehabilitation Unit is done. The aim of the rehabilitation is to enhance the quality of life of the patient named Brayne, who is a 45 years old male with chronic Paranoid Schizophrenia. Brayne lives alone. His functioning at home was very poor. He was not able to manage his finance and his condition make him vulnerable to the extend of exploitation by other. These conditions often leave him without sufficient money towards the end of each fortnight for basic necessities such as food and transport. He came to rehabilitation in need of help in Shellharbour Hospital to learn many skills like how to use kitchen for cooking, how to use the laundry etc. The case study further explains about the rehabilitation program that is carried out in the Mental

Edgar Allan Poe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Edgar Allan Poe - Essay Example Yet, though the narrative structures are dissimilar and combine with the language to produce distinct atmospheres in the two tales, the settings created by the author demonstrate remarkable similarities of effect. The tale of the House of Usher is told by a narrator who discovers much of the story's substance as the tale unfolds. Nevertheless, he is considered sufficiently trustworthy, as his thoughts are coherent and he feels the mystery of the situation as much as the reader comes to feel it in the earliest moments of the story. The fact that he is so affected by the simple yet strange things in this setting startles him as it intrigues the reader. He considers this fact "unsatisfactory," and that places him in the realms of sanity and garners the trust of the reader. The narrator of "The Tell-tale Heart," from the very beginning, startles the reader with a very abrupt and spastic attitude that gains the immediate mistrust of the reader. The very form of the text is broken by dashes, as the narrator introduces the possibility of his madness in the very first sentence. He goes on to mention "the disease," which further confirms his untrustworthiness. The result of this is that, while the rea der unites his interests with the narrator of "The Fall of the House of Usher," the same reader is inclined to feel no sympathy for the narrator of "The Tell-tale Heart." The tension of the suspense is increased in the former tale and decreased in the latter because of the difference in sympathy levels for the two narrators. A mysterious atmosphere exists in both the tales, though the nature of the mystery and reasons for suspense differ. The language and setting used to create these atmospheres are largely responsible for the existence of these differences. On the one hand, "The Tell-tale Heart" is granted a certain psychological mystery as the uncertainty lies in what actions might proceed from the mind (and body) of the narrator. In contrast with this, the mystery of the House of Usher occurs outside the narrator and any dangers present are almost as likely to happen to him as anyone else. The psychological constitution of the narrator of the Tell-tale heart is revealed through the author's use of the language, as he gives the impression of the narrator's picking motives out of thin air. In fact, he at first declares that there was no object for "the idea" that entered his brain, but soon lights upon the old man's eye and declares unconvincingly, "I think it was his eye! yes, it was this!" (121). Thes e inconsistencies create a kind of concentrated fear in the mind of the reader. It differs from the diffuse fear found in the tale of the house of Usher, as this fear comes from not knowing where danger lies. This fear is reflected in the narrative language used by the author. Apart from the story's beginning in the middle of a solitary wooded area, lacking in all light and sound, the description of the House of Usher itself demonstrates the use of language to create a gothic and eerie atmosphere in which all evil seems possible. It was "an atmosphere which had no affinity with the air of heaven, but which had reeked up from the decayed trees, and the gray wall, and the silent tarn, in the form of an inelastic vapor or gas - dull, sluggish, faintly discernible, and leadenhued" (179). The descriptions call forth images of cold death, with the dreary possibility of spirits lurking within the vaporous substance that suffuses the air

Cyber Strategies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cyber Strategies - Assignment Example Both strategies are formed/ adopted with the aim of maximizing opportunities with respect to limited resources; with an increase in state-sponsored and independent cyber threats, both governments and respective departments have seen the need to lead strong and secure presence in the cyberspace but constrained by the constraints of budget allocation and stricter financial oversights forcing them to acquire transformative ways to acquire, maintain and operate the information technology so as to achieve efficiency, effectiveness and security. Both Strategies are information and technology designed with which detection, alerts and response are convenient to the user. This rules out the duplicative, cumbersome and costly application silos to an end state/ organization; which is cost-effective, agile and convenient as the environment of exchange is rapid and accommodative to changing missions or strategy at an organization level. The strategies perpetuate scientific, technical, industrial and human capabilities in that in order to bar unintended intrusions and ensure security and operations advancement features, they are based on the mastery technology and know-how in areas of cryptology and formal methods, and extensive research and development to catch up with technologically advanced nations/organizations (Jacobs, 2010). They are designed to protect/ secure the information and data of states/organizations and operators of critical infrastructure through robust authentication systems base.

Quantitative Content Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Quantitative Content Analysis - Essay Example The experiment also tests the effect of music on the learning process. It is commonly accepted and proved by research that loud noise impedes concentration and learning. However, some background music might improve the learning process. It is not known what type, genres and loudness are more helpful than others. The effect on different age groups is also unknown (Levy 1999). In one scene, the eye sees a huge number of objects and events that compete for visual attention. Humans rapidly prioritize and focus on critical objects and events and ignore the rest. However, it is not known how people select the most significant objects and events in complex images. Chun (2000) stated that humans use visual context information to find objects in complex scenes. He argued that visual context guides the eyes to select important objects while ignore the rest. In 1967, Yarbus demonstrated that people concentrate on faces and other relevant aspects of scenes. Eyes move more to informative objects within a scene (Loftus & Mackworth (1978), Mackworth & Morandi (1967). Biederman (1982) suggested that context also facilitate recognition of objects within a scene. ... They hypothesized that non changing contextual information guides participants' spatial attention to efficiently find targets. They experimented with identification of targets within old or new visual arrangements. Old arrangements maintained the same spatial configuration of target within its distractors. New arrangements contained changing spatial configuration of target within its distractors. They found that even though participants did not remember repetitions of old configurations, they found targets within old configurations faster than targets within new configurations. They concluded that contextual cueing effect was the reason. Spatial context learning is important because the configurations of different objects are stable with time. Visual context is defined by attributes other than spatial layout such as background knowledge. Background knowledge suggests the presence of some objects more than others and thus gives some objects more attention than others. The presence of one object in relation to another is acquired through experience. Savan, A. (1999) investigated whether Mozart orchestral compositions would improve the co-ordination skills of pupils. To determine the physiological effect of music on participants, she measured blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate in response to different sound stimulus. She found that Mozart compositions stimulated the production of endorphin within the brain, which slowed down the physiological parameters of blood pressure, body temperature, and pulse rate and reduced overall body metabolism and hormone production. She concluded that music improved the coordination of pupils. The experiment tests the hypothesis

Operant Conditioning Essay Example for Free

Operant Conditioning Essay The term operant conditioning is heard all over the psychology world. It is one of the first theories that one is introduced to during their psychology learning years. So, what exactly is this theory? While learning about operant conditioning we must pay attention to two necessities, positive and negative reinforcements. These two play a key role in operant conditioning and behaviors. But which reinforcement method works better? Positive or negative? There are a few aspects to look into when determining which method works the best. Once operant conditioning, positive reinforcement, and negative reinforcement are learned, then it becomes easy for an individual to take the information and shape a behavior. Along with shaping behaviors, the creation of a reinforcement schedule can also be applied to the selected behavior. The Theory of Operant Conditioning Operant Conditioning was created by behaviorist BF Skinner. Operant conditioning occurs through rewards and punishments for behaviors. This creates a link between a behavior and a consequence for that behavior. Skinner had believed that it was not really necessary to look at internal thoughts and motivation in order to explain behavior. Instead we should look only at the external observable causes of human behavior (Cherry, 2005). When we have actions that are followed by reinforcement, they will be strengthened and then more likely to occur again in the future. However, actions that result in punishments or non-desirable consequences will be the opposite. These actions will be weakened and less likely to occur again (Cherry, 2005). An example of operant conditioning would be a young child during potty training. The young boy would receive a cookie along with praise right after he goes potty in the toilet but receives nothing when he goes in his diaper. As a result of this, he learns to go in the toilet and  avoids going in the diaper. Positive and Negative Reinforcement Let us first begin with what a reinforcement is. A reinforcement is any event that strengthens or increases the behavior it follows (Cherry, 2005). Now, there are two types of reinforcements and they are negative reinforcement and positive reinforcement. With positive reinforcement, favorable events or outcomes are presented after the behavior. This is where the behavior is strengthened (Cherry, 2005). This occurs because there is the addition of something new such as praise or an instantaneous reward. An example of this would be little Johnny receiving a dollar right after he cleans his room. On the other hand, with negative reinforcement there is removal of an unfavorable event or outcome after the display of a behavior. This in turn will strengthen the response when something that is looked at as unpleasant is removed (Cherry, 2005). An example for this would be the professor offering to cancel the quiz for week two if everyone turns in their homework for week one. Now as one can see negative reinforcement is different from punishment because in the cases of punishment the behavior decreases. In either one of these cases the behavior of the individual increases. To look at both positive and negative reinforcement, can we decide which one is more favorable or which one will produce a better outcome? It seems as if that would depend on the individual themselves. Not everyone responds or reacts to stimuli in the same way. In an opinion, reaction can be based on personality. For example, a young child could consistently be given the option of money after cleaning their room on their own and still not do it because it is not favorable to them. However, the same child could jump for the opportunity of not having to attend church if all their homework is turned in the week prior. On an individual level, a household can contain one child that responds to positive reinforcement while the other responds to negative reinforcement. The Scenario and Schedule There are two reinforcement schedules, continuous and partial. Continuous reinforcement is reinforcing the behavior every single time it occurs (Cherry, 2005). With partial reinforcement, responses are only reinforced part of the time (Cherry, 2005). There are four schedules with partial  reinforcement, fixed ratio, fixed interval, variable ratio, and variable interval. Fixed ration is reinforcing a behavior after a specific number of responses have occurred. With fixed interval, a behavior is reinforced after a specific period of time has elapsed. Variable ratio involves reinforcing the behavior after an unpredictable number of responses and variable interval is reinforcing the behavior after the unpredictable period of time has elapsed. To better understand these schedules, it would be helpful to apply a selected behavior and first learn how operant conditioning can be applied. As a single parent of two daughters, ages 14 and 11, learning how to apply operant conditioning to shape their behavior, has been very helpful. It was set up for the children to bring home weekly progress reports after a few incidents of missing assignments. If the progress reports were positive with no missing assignments the children were praised on site and each given a dollar per class. If there were any missing assignments in any of their classes, then the children would not receive any money or praise. This is a positive reinforcement choice. The completion of assignments and grades from the children in school increased in order for them to receive a reward. Now, it is time to choose the reinforcement schedule for the scenario just talked about. It is understood that positive reinforcement was used by giving praise and a reward once the desired assignments and grades were met every week. This would be an example of a continuous reinforcement schedule. The desired behavior is reinforced every single time that it happens. With the scenario, every week that goes by with good grades and no missing assignments, the children are rewarded with praise and money. This creates a strong association between the behavior and the response (Cherry, 2005). Conclusion Operant conditioning relies on a fairly simple premise; actions that are followed by reinforcement will be strengthened and more likely to occur again in the future (Cherry, 2005). This can be good or bad behavior. Good behavior was reinforced with the above scenario. However, if you give into the child that kicks and screams every time he wants a candy bar in the store, you are strengthening that negative behavior. Learning occurs with positive and negative reinforcements being key parts to operant conditioning. Both of these help to increase or decrease the likelihood of  the desired behavior. Determining which reinforcement is better, depends on the individual at hand and what their personality will respond to better. With the above scenario the children responded better to positive reinforcement and with the reinforcement schedule, the likelihood that no missing assignments and good grades occur, increases. Operant conditioning is used every day and plays a vital role in the world. By learning about the fundamentals of operant conditioning, shaping behaviors can be easier than ever! Well, not really but hey, Rome was not built in a day. REFERENCE Cherry, K. A. (2005). Operant conditioning. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/introopcond.htm Cherry, K. A. (2005). Schedules of reinforcement. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/behavioralpsychology/a/schedules.htm

Comparison of Vietnamese and English Language: Idioms

Comparison of Vietnamese and English Language: Idioms Abstract Language is a system of communication of a nation. Every nation has their own historical, civilized, cultural, climatic characteristics, so every nation has their own language. However, different nations have similarities and differences in expressing their ideas. Studying similarities and differences between idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese is liable to help the researcher to affirm that. Moreover, making some comparisons is a good way to memorize English idioms of comparison effectively and enjoyably. Hence, translation skill can be improved thanks to more knowledge about idioms. In addition, making comparisons between English and Vietnamese idioms can help the researcher to understand more about cultures of both of countries since similarities and differences in culture reflect coincidences and dissimilarities in ways of thinking and looking at the world of English and Vietnamese people. Idioms of comparison in Vietnamese and English:  A Contrastive Analysis Introduction Idioms of comparison are applied frequently in literature and in daily life. It serves as a tool to make the language more graphic. However, every language has differences in ways of expressing the same idea using idioms of comparison. The goal of the study is to discover some common types of comparison used in English and Vietnamese idioms. In addition, the study chiefly aims at finding out some similarities and differences between comparison idioms in both English and Vietnamese. Because there are so many comparison idioms in both languages, it is impossible to include all of them in the study. The study can just explore comparison idiomatic expressions which play an important part in the purpose of the study. Theoretical Framework Theoretical background of idioms in English Definition of idioms in English The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines idioms as: A group of words whose meaning is different from the meanings of the individual words (Hornby, 2006, p.740). The viewpoint is supported in A Dictionary of Linguistics Phonetics. The author regards an idiom as a term used in grammar and lexicography to refer to a sequence of words which us semantically and often syntactically restricted, so that they function as a single unit (Crystal, 1985, p.225). According to A Dictionary of Linguistics, an idiom is any expression peculiar to a language, conveying a distinct meaning, not necessarily explicable by, occasionally even contrary to, the general accepted grammatical rules (Pei Gaynor, 1954, p.95). Feature of English idioms When mentioning semantic features of idioms, we had better focus on the figurative meaning of idioms. It is the most important characteristic of idioms to know whether an expression is an idiom or not. According to Collins Cobuild English Language Dictionary: A idiom is a group of words which, when they are used together in a particular combination, has a different meaning from the one they would have if you took the meaning of the individual words in the group. (Sinclair, 1987, p.718) Smiley Goldtein (1998) also suggest that idioms are certainly more than the sums of their parts (p.76). That means the meaning of components of an idiom is different from the meaning of the whole idiom. That we can guess the meaning of an idiom or not depends on open or closed classes. As Yong and Peng (2007) suggest: In open class combinations, individual components are freely recombination and are used in a common literal sense. As co-occurrence of individual components is expected of this class of combinations, both their meaning and structures are predictable amenable to analysis. (p.178) For instance, we can guess the meaning of the idiom turn over a new leaf. Turn over means to make something change position so that the other side is facing towards the outside or the top and a new leaf is a leaf which is more beautiful, more perfect. Therefore, the meaning of the idioms can be guessed as to change your way of life to become a better, more responsible person. However, in close class combinations, we cannot guess the meaning of idioms. That is because they are characterized by semantic opaqueness, syntactic restrictions and structural stability (Yong Peng, 2007, p.178). For example, the idioms spread oneself too thin or for the birds. Idioms have a fixed form that usually cannot be changed (Heacock, 2003, p.ix). However, Heacock (2003) also claims: Not all fixed phrases are idioms. For example, close your eyes is a common fixed phrase, but not an idiom because each word in it is used in its standard meaning. The phrase keep your skirt is an idiom, however, because the phrase does not mean do not take off your skirt it means stay calm. (p.ix) Idioms can be divided into six different forms or structures: + Idioms located at noun entries such as in addition to', for the birdsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + Idioms located at verb entries such as look forward to, take off, hear aboutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + Idioms located at adjectival entries such as in short, hot under the collarà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + Idioms located at adverbial entries such as once again, worse off à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + Idioms located at pronominal entries such as give it up, come to nothingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ + Idioms located at numeral entries such as give a hundred percent, one by oneà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Its really important to know that modifying any components and functional words can lose the idiomatic meaning (Yong Peng, 2007). Theoretical background of idioms in Vietnamese Definition of idioms in Vietnamese According to Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « Ä ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™n Thà  nh Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ và   Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t Nam: Thà  nh ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ Tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng Vià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t là   nhà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ng tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £p tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹nh cà ³ cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥u trà ºc tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « hoà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·c cà ¢u nhÆ °ng hoà  n toà  n thuà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢c phà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡m trà ¹ cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥p tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ «, Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c mà £ hà ³a hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §u hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ u cà ³ tà ­nh chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t cà ¡ch Ä‘ià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡u nghà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ thuà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­t, và   chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ° là  m mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t thà  nh phà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §n trong cà ¢u nà ³i. (Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n, 2010, p.5) As Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n (2007) has noted in his book, thà  nh ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ là   tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­p hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £p tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹nh Ä‘Ã £ quen dà ¹ng mà   nghÄ ©a cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §a nà ³ thÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ng khà ´ng thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £i thà ­ch Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t cà ¡ch Ä‘Æ ¡n già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £n bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ±ng nghÄ ©a cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §a cà ¡c tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ « tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡o nà ªn nà ³ (p. 8). Features of Vietnamese idioms Idioms are characterized by figurative and metaphorical meanings. Therefore, its too difficult to comprehend although we know the meanings of all their components. For example, là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥y thà ºng à ºp voi, gà   Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã†â€™ gà   cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c tà ¡c, Ä‘i guà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœc trong bà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ngà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Especially idioms are originated from fairy tales, folk talesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦such as ba que xà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  là ¡, thà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ±ng chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t cà £i thà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ±ng khià ªng, nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £ nhÆ ° chà ºa Chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢m, sÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­ Hà   Ä Ãƒ ´ngà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n, Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n Phan, 2009). Idioms usually consist of more than 3 components whose counterpoint, alliteration and rhyme are combined with each other in many different ways. There are some idioms of comparison such as nà ³ng nhÆ ° là ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­a, khà ³c nhÆ ° mÆ °a, nhanh nhÆ ° chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºpà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Also, there are some idioms which are created according to counterpoint, alliteration such as tai to mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·t là ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºn, mià ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ng hà ¹m gan sà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©a, cà ¹ng hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i cà ¹ng thuyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n, ong bÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºm là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £ lÆ ¡ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Besides, some idioms are originally spoken words in everyday speech which are usually used again and again for a long time and then develop figurative meanings to become idioms, for instance chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §i và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  rà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ «ng, theo voi hà ­t bà £ mà ­a, nÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºc chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £y chà ¡Ã‚ »- trÃ…Â ©ng, Ä‘i guà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ Ëœc trong bà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥ngà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n et al, 2009). Theoretical background of English idioms of comparison At first, we should find out the definition of idioms of comparison which are also called similes. There are a lot of definitions of simile. According to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, simile is a word or phrase that compares sth to sth else, using the words like or as, for example a face like a mask or as white as snow; the use of such words and phrases (Hornby, 2006, p.1369). An idiom of comparison is also defined as: the comparison of two nouns with different meanings, using the words like or as to make the connection. Friendship is like ice cream, fear moved like lighting, and leaves feel as slippery as fish are examples of similes. (Tucker, 2002, p.41) There is also a similar but shorter definition in The Challenge of Effective Speaking: A simile is a direct comparison of dissimilar things using the word like or as (Verderber, Verderber Sellnow, 2008, p.197). The meanings of similes are figurative. Take the simile as tall as a tree as an example. When you say: Minh is as stubborn as a mule, you mean Minh is so stubborn, not Minh is as stubborn as a mule. Therefore, the simile as stubborn as a mule is considered figurative. Learners can sometimes be confused between similes and metaphors but they are really different: A metaphor, like a simile, is a comparison between two essentially unlike things. In contrast to a simile, however, where an explicit comparison is made (The eye is like a lamp for the body), the metaphor makes an implicit comparison (The eye is lamp of the body). (Robert H. Stein 15) Huff (2004) asserts that the only difference between simile and metaphor is that metaphor does not use the words like or as to make the comparison (p.98). In other words, two distinctly different things in a simile are connected by like or as while a metaphor is an implied but in many ways even more direct than comparison because the reader is expected to identify the comparison without the word like or as (Osborne, 1997, p.124). However, because similes merely join two disparate ideas or images, they are generally less fertile than metaphors, which can evoke additional and fresh shades of meaning (Ehrenhaft, 2008, p.145). Theoretical background of Vietnamese idioms of comparison In Vietnamese, there are 2 kinds of idioms of comparison: one employs the word nhÆ °, tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ±a, tà  y, bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ±ng, tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ±a nhÆ ° or cÃ…Â ©ng nhÆ ° and one doesnt. Based on similarities of characteristics of 2 things, 2 phenomena, 2 actions, the Vietnamese create a large number of idioms which use A to name or to modify B. Eg: Mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·t trà ¡i xoan: oval-shaped face. Star: a famous and talented person (usually in art, sport, culture). (Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n, 2010) The other kind of idioms of comparison includes the word bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ±ng, tà  y, tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ±a, sà ¡nh, nhÆ ° or cÃ…Â ©ng nhÆ ° which divides an idiom into 2 parts. Both of parts can be a noun, verb, phrase or clause. The second part whose function is predicating and complementing the first part is counted from comparative word. Eg: In the idiom tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i tà  y Ä‘Ã ¬nh, tà  y Ä‘Ã ¬nh is the complement of the noun tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢i. In the idiom chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡y nhÆ ° bay, nhÆ ° bay is the complement of the verb chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡y. (Nguyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦n, 2010) A contrastive analysis of comparison idioms in English and Vietnamese Quantity comparison There are about 700 idioms of comparison in English, for example, as warm as sunbeam, to follow like a shadow, to work like a Trojan,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ There are a similarity in the number of idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese. Some examples of Vietnamese idioms of comparison are là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡nh nhÆ ° tià ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n, xanh nhÆ ° tà  u là ¡Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Similarities of idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese Although the culture of two nations is different, ways of thinking and looking at the world of English and Vietnamese is somehow similar. Hence, both Vietnamese and English express ideas and concepts in the same way. In fact, a large number of Vietnamese idioms of comparison are similar with English idioms of comparison in terms of both concept and image to express. English idioms Vietnamese idioms As black as coal Ä en nhÆ ° than As black as crow Ä en nhÆ ° quà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡ As black as ink Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœi Ä‘en nhÆ ° mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ±c As sweet as sugar Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ t nhÆ ° Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ng As black as soot Ä en nhÆ ° bà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å" hà ³ng As brief as a dream Ngà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯n nhÆ ° mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥c mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢ng As bright as day Sà ¡ng nhÆ ° ban ngà  y As brilliant as stars Sà ¡ng nhÆ ° sao As changeable as the weather Hay thay Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢i nhÆ ° thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i tià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As cold as ice Là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡nh nhÆ ° băng As cheerful as a lark Vui nhÆ ° sà ¡o As cunning as a fox Xà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £o quyà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡t nhÆ ° cà ¡o As dark as midnight Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœi nhÆ ° nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­a Ä‘Ã ªm As dumb as a an oyster Cà ¢m nhÆ ° hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n As fair as a rose Xinh nhÆ ° hoa As fast as a hare Nhanh nhÆ ° thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  As fat as a pig Mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­p nhÆ ° heo As fierce as a tiger Dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ nhÆ ° cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ p As firm as rock Và ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ng nhÆ ° Ä‘Ã ¡ As fleet as the wind Nhanh nhÆ ° già ³ As fresh a rose TÆ °Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ¡i nhÆ ° hoa As gay as a lark Vui nhÆ ° sà ¡o As gruff as a bear Hà ¡Ã‚ »-n nhÆ ° gà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥u As good (valuable) as gold Quà ½ nhÆ ° và  ng As green as a leaf Xanh nhÆ ° tà  u là ¡ As heavy as an elephant Nà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·ng nhÆ ° voi As hard as a stone Cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©ng nhÆ ° Ä‘Ã ¡ As heavy as lead Nà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·ng nhÆ ° chà ¬ As hot as fire Nà ³ng nhÆ ° là ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­a As keen as a razor Sà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯c nhÆ ° dao cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡o As light as down Nhà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¹ tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ±a là ´ng hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å"ng As light as a feather Nhà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¹ tÆ °a là ´ng hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å"ng As mum as an oyster Cà ¢m nhÆ ° hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n As pretty as a picture Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¹p nhÆ ° tranh As quick as lightning Nhanh nhÆ ° à ¡nh sà ¡ng As quick as a flash Nhanh nhÆ ° chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºp As red as blood Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  nhÆ ° mà ¡u As red as a beetroot Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  nhÆ ° gà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥c As sharp as a razor Sà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯c nhÆ ° dao cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡o As silly as a calf Ngu nhÆ ° bà ² As sour as vinegar Chua nhÆ ° già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥m As stink as a polecat Hà ´i nhÆ ° chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å"n As swift as lightning Nhanh nhÆ ° chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºp As smooth as velvet Mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹n nhÆ ° nhung As slow as a snail Chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­m nhÆ ° sà ªn As swift as an arrow Nhanh nhÆ ° tà ªn bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯n As steady as rock Cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©ng nhÆ ° Ä‘Ã ¡ As timid as a rabbit/ hare Nhà ¡t nhÆ ° thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ As thick as ants Ä Ãƒ ´ng nhÆ ° kià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n As transparent as glass Trong suà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœt nhÆ ° thà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §y tinh As yellow as saffron Và  ng nhÆ ° nghà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ As wet as a drowned mouse Æ ¯Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºt nhÆ ° chuà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t là ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t As white as snow Trà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯ng nhÆ ° tuyà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As white as a sheet NhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥y trà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯ng Like father like son Cha nà  o con nà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥y To fight like cat and dog NhÆ ° chà ³ và ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºi mà ¨o To stick like a leech Bà ¡m dai nhÆ ° Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ °a To stick like glue Dà ­nh nhÆ ° keo To cry like a baby Khà ³c nhÆ ° Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ©a trà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ » To follow like a shadow Theo nhÆ ° hà ¬nh và ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºi bà ³ng To swim like fish BÆ ¡i nhÆ ° cà ¡ Differences of idioms of comparison in English and Vietnamese The same content but different images to express Images of idiomatic comparisons in twp nations are different result from differences in culture. Vietnam has the cultural tradition of the wet rice production. Therefore, animals have a strong attachment to Vietnamese daily life. Thats why Vietnamese idioms of comparison consist of images related to buffaloes which are an animal familiar with rice production agriculture. Buffaloes pull ploughs, work very hard everyday to help farmers in their farming. As a result, wanting to mention strength, people often refer to buffaloes. In fact, to talk about someone very strong, the Vietnamese have the idiom khà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ e nhÆ ° trà ¢u while the English have the idiom as strong as a horse. Thats because English people prefer horses to buffaloes. Horses can not only pull ploughs but also transport and entertain. They are really energetic and strong enough to help people in life. In spite of that, it doesnt mean that English people dont consider buffaloes strong animals or Vietnamese people dont regard horses as strong animals. That results just from the difference in culture. Also, dragons are a kind of animal which is very close in fertile imagination of Vietnamese people. Because of that, the image as a dragon appear in the Vietnamese idiom of comparison ăn nhÆ ° rà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å"ng cuà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœn to talk about eating large quantities of food while the image of a horse is used in the idiom to eat like a horse. Lamp, butter are so familiar with English life while sweet potatoes, pig are familiar with Vietnamese life, as a result there are differences in images to express their ideas of gentleness and fatness: English idioms Vietnamese idioms As gentle as a lamp Hià ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n nhÆ ° cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ § khoai As fat as butter Bà ©o nhÆ ° là ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £n Besides, the differences in the ways of thinking and observing the world make differences in the images of idiomatic comparisons. Take some following examples to illustrate that: English idioms Vietnamese idioms As easy as ABC Dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ nhÆ ° trà ¡Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ bà  n tay As easy as pie Dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ nhÆ ° trà ¡Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ bà  n tay As easy as anything Dà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ nhÆ ° trà ¡Ã‚ »Ã… ¸ bà  n tay As smooth as butter MÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £t nhÆ ° nhung As pale as a ghost Xanh nhÆ ° tà  u là ¡ As lazy as a lizard LÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i nhÆ ° hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §i As soft as wax Mà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ m nhÆ ° bà ºn As merry as a cricket Vui nhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As cheerful as the birds Vui nhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As glad as a fly Vui nhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As happy as a child Vui nhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As happy as a clam Vui nhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As dark as midnight Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœi nhÆ ° Ä‘Ã ªm ba mÆ °Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ¡i As black as midnight Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœi nhÆ ° Ä‘Ã ªm 30 As dark as midnight Tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœi nhÆ ° hÃ…Â © nà ºt As close as herrings Chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·t nhÆ ° nà ªm As soundly as a log (Ngà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ §) say nhÆ ° chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t As cold as marble Là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡nh nhÆ ° tià ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n As dry as a biscuit Khà ´ nhÆ ° ngà ³i As red as lipstick Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  nhÆ ° gà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥c As thin as finger Gà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ §y nhÆ ° bà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢ xÆ °Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ¡ng khà ´ As weak as a kitten Yà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿u nhÆ ° sà ªn As weak as a baby Yà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿u nhÆ ° sà ªn As black as a stack of black cats Ä en nhÆ ° cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t nhà   chà ¡y As black as the ace of spades Ä en nhÆ ° cà º sà ºng As round as a barrel Trà ²n nhÆ ° quà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ £ bà ³ng As old as the hills XÆ °a nhÆ ° trà ¡i Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t As hot as mustard Cay nhÆ ° à ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºt Like hot cake Ä Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯t nhÆ ° tà ´m tÆ °Ãƒâ€ Ã‚ ¡i As silent as the dead Im là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·ng nhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  As silent as the grave Im là ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·ng nhÆ ° tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  What is more, the differences in human make differences between English and Vietnamese idioms. For example, in Vietnam, there is the idiom ghen nhÆ ° Hoà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡n ThÆ ° to refer to a person who is dreadfully jealous. However, in English, the idiom as jealous as Othello is used to talk about a ones jealousy. Another example is sÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºng nhÆ ° tià ªn and as happy as a king. Indeed, Vietnamese people consider a fairy the happiest one while English people consider a king the happiest one. The same components but the dissimilar content Every so often, some images of comparison can appear in both Vietnamese and English idioms but the meaning of the two whole idioms are quite different. Thats because the meaning of components differs in culture. Indeed, using the idiom rà µ nhÆ ° ban ngà  y, the Vietnamese want to indicate a event which has nothing fishy. Meanwhile English people use the idiom as bright as day to describe a light room. Besides, when the weather is fine and sunny with good natural light, English people say: Its as bright as day. Besides, wanting to compliment someone on his or her beauty of eyes, Vietnamese people say: Mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯t cà ´ sà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯c nhÆ ° dao cà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡o. Still, English people use the idiom as sharp as a razor to refer to ones brainpower. What is more, whilst Vietnamese people apply the idiom chà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯c nhÆ ° Ä‘inh Ä‘Ã ³ng cà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â€ž ¢t to something steady, as hard as nails in English idiom means a person who is quite strict. Also, when Vietnamese people say: Nà ³ tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœt nhÆ ° và  ng, they mean its worth buying the object because of its good quality. In contrast, as good as gold cannot be used to compliment an object. In other words, English people never say: Its as good as gold but The person is as good as gold. The person can be an assiduous and submissive child or a well-behaved adult. Pedagogical Implications for Teaching English Idioms of comparison Learning English idioms is one of steps so as to help learners master English. English idioms of comparison are frequently used in daily life. Therefore, teachers should help their students learn idioms most effectively. Firstly, its advisable for teachers to raise students awareness of similarities and differences between Vietnamese and English idioms of comparison. When teachers teach their students a certain English idiom of comparison, they should let them guess the Vietnamese idiom which is equivalent to that idiom, making a comparison and explain why they are similar or different. Its really useful for them to have a long-term memory about that idiom of comparison. Secondly, idioms of comparison as well as other idioms are taught and practiced in classroom but students rarely apply them to their daily speech. Thats why teachers should encourage students to use idioms of comparison in their daily life as frequently as possible. Learners will memorize idioms better if idioms of comparison are put into communicative contexts. Dont make them learn by heart. Thirdly, teachers should draw students attention to idioms of comparison which are most useful and most frequent. As there are so many idioms of comparison in English culture, about 700, students arent liable to memorize and apply all of them in their daily life. Students should be taught to know what idioms of comparison they should learn. Conclusion There are both similarities and differences between English and Vietnamese idioms of comparison. The same or different image can bear resemblance in the meaning of English and Vietnamese idioms of comparison. In addition, there are some idioms of comparison which have the same components but the meaning are quite different. Great as have the researcher made an attempt to do the research, there are some restrictions on the research out of the limited time and other unexpected factors. The researcher hopes that the research will a useful material for learners and teachers to learn or teach most effectively.

Service Provisions for the Homeless in Britain

Service Provisions for the Homeless in Britain Social welfare, democracy and government Set out below is an evaluation of how social welfare, democracy, and government relates to the issue of service provision to avert or solve homelessness in Britain. There are, as will be examined, various causes for homelessness, and therefore differing levels of service provision to help the homeless in Britain. The post-war welfare state had supposed to have made homelessness an almost negligible problem, so social welfare, democracy and government carried on operating without thinking the issue was serious, even though services were available when needed. However, homelessness had never gone away and various factors outlined below explain how the issue became more important on the social welfare policy, democratic and governmental agendas, and service provision was in increasing demand. Whilst social welfare policies, democracy, and government may not directly cause homelessness, they can arguably have a great deal of influence over how it is tackled, and the level of services pro vided and who provides those services. Some cases of homelessness are easier to tackle or resolve than other cases, depending on the initial causes of homelessness. Social welfare, democracy, and government are factors that combine or act singularly to affect the levels of and the permanence of the service provisions to prevent homelessness and to those that are already homeless. Social welfare, democracy, and government hold the key to finding homes for the homeless, and providing the service provision to ensure people remain housed. The main foundation of social welfare policies in modern Britain was the welfare state as established during the Labour governments of 1945 to 1951, which was intended to make poverty, social exclusion, and homelessness disappear from British society. The welfare state legally defined which organisations are obliged to provide services, namely government departments, local authorities, and voluntary or non-governmental groups (Jones Lowe, 2002 p. 1). The rationale of the welfare state was inspired by the Beveridge Report and the Labour party’s own ideological outlook, which was to eradicate poverty and social exclusion to make Britain a fairer country. As part of its plans it gave local authorities the powers, and the funds to provide council housing on a greater scale than previously to every body that needed it (Lacy, 2006 p. 8). At the end of the Second World War the main cause of homelessness was actually the number of houses that had been destroyed by bombing during the war (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p.11). The government did its best to solve the housing shortage with a large construction programme of council houses. The provision of council houses was intended to provide people with affordable housing when they could not afford private rents or to buy their own houses, and it was the responsibility of all local authorities to provide council housing using money provided by the government (Moran, 2005 p. 14). The welfare state was intended to reduce poverty through the payment of unemployment benefit, supplementary benefit, rent rebates, and Family Allowance. These benefits were supposed to keep people above the bread line, to provide them with a minimum standard of living, and were primarily benefits or services provided by the Department of Social Security. However, it was hoped that government economic policy would reduce the need for people to claim benefits in the first place, or the need for services to keep them housed. Almost full employment, adequate levels of social security benefits, and the increased availability of council houses were significant factors in preventing homelessness, although service providers were always needed to ensure that people got help when they needed it (Jones Lowe, 2002 p. 189). Rent rebates and government attempts to control private sector rents were intended to keep families on low incomes in their homes. The main responsibility for controlling pri vate sector rents was the government’s whilst rent rebate was administered by local authorities on behalf of the government. The main public perceptions about the provision of services to the homeless until the late 1960s, was that social welfare measures such as social security benefits, rent rebates, and rent controls had seen the problem all but cease to exist. Although service provision by government departments, local authorities, and non-governmental organisations had continued to operate, and even expand (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 p. 137). However for those people that knew more about the provision of services for the homeless, it was clear that social welfare policies had not been capable of completely resolving the problem. People that understood social welfare and housing policies also knew that homelessness was linked to inadequate housing and unemployment. Unemployment meant that some people fell behind with their rent or mortgage payments, eventually leading to their eviction or the re-possession of their homes. There were and are voluntary organisations such as Shelter, Crisis, and the Citizens Advice Bureaux which provided advice services to prevent people becoming homeless (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 pp. 28-9). The public perception that homelessness was no longer a meaningful or measurable social and economic problem was changed by the film ‘Cathy come home’ and the launch of a charity dedicated to solving the problem of homelessness and intent on influencing public opinion and government policies, Shelter. Unlike existing charities that helped homeless people such as the Salvation Army, Shelter only existed to tackle the issue of homelessness and it believed that being an active pressure group was the best way to alter or influence public opinion, as well as attempt to change social welfare policies. In other words Shelter wished to offer greater levels of service provision than government departments and local authorities did at that time. In the late 1960s the government had not changed its social welfare policies to have any extra detrimental affects on the problem of homelessness. Instead Shelter was demonstrating that in some individual cases that social welfare policies had proved incapable of preventing homelessness or keeping up with social, economic, and political changes. At this time government departments and local authorities were the predominant service providers for the homeless, or the potentially homeless (Coxall, Robbins, Leach, 2003 p. 381). The 1960s after all were a decade when social, economic, and political changes were starting to become apparent, these changes which had consequences for social welfare policies in general, and that had an impact on the service provision for the homeless. Social changes included it being easier to get divorced, a rise in the number of births outside marriage, a rise in the number of lone parents, increasing crime levels, and the growth of illegal drugs taking. All these social changes would change the ways families lived in Britain; the break down of family relationships has arguably had a greater impact on the problem of homelessness than any changes to social welfare and housing policies. That is although the consequences were unplanned and inadvertent, yet they had to be responded to by the providers of services to homeless people (Jones et al, 2004 p. 294). Shelter and Crisis, amongst others, have argued that social welfare policies are administered in ways that make it harder for government agencies and local authorities to help people that are already homeless, compared to helping people that are already housed. People that are homeless are often only able to claim lower rates of social security benefits, and also find it harder to gain employment or find somewhere permanent to live (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 70). Social welfare policies have been altered, most notably by the Conservative governments between 1979 and 1997 and by the New Labour governments since 1997. In terms of social welfare the Conservatives had wanted to reduce the size of the social security budget, as well as reducing the size of the public sector, the former being a task in which it failed (Eatwell Wright, 2003 p. 287). In fact, under the Conservatives the budget for social security expenditure actually increased due to the economic policies that was pursued l eading to high unemployment, and increased levels of service provision for the homeless. In contrast to the Conservatives, New Labour claimed that it would use social welfare policies to make service provision more responsive to their users actual needs, for example asking the homeless what they wanted from their service providers (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 pp 415-16). There are also ways in which democracy in Britain can be related to the problem of service provision for the homeless and the potentially homeless, and also related to the political, social, and economic factors that influence and affect levels of homelessness. In a liberal democracy such as Britain, the political, social, and economic policies used in relation to service provision such as towards homeless people can be shaped by the relative importance that the electorate, attach to each individual issue. In many respects the service provision for the homeless has not become one of the major electoral issues that can dominate political debates, and that can ultimately determine which political party wins or loses the next general election. Despite not being one of the main political issues, the provision of services for the homeless is certainly an issue that is on the political agenda in Britain, and it is an issue that will undoubtedly stay there. That the provision of services fo r the homeless remains upon the political agenda in Britain has to be attributed to the efforts of pressure groups or charities like Shelter, Crisis, and the Big Issue. Indeed the efforts of these groups have managed to maintain publicity about the problem of homelessness as well as providing some very useful services themselves. These groups believe that their publicity campaigns will not only influence public opinion, their publicity campaigns will hopefully influence social welfare and housing policies to make service provision effectively serve the needs of the homeless. However these organisations are also important service providers for homeless people, giving advice, advocacy services, training, and emergency accommodation. Some members of the electorate do not regard homelessness as being a separate issue from social welfare policy, as far as they are concerned the government should have the appropriate policies to provide services to the homeless. After all that is what peo ple pay their taxes for (Malin, Wilmot, Manthorpe, 2003 p. 51). Pressure groups or charities that publicly campaign for and in support of the homeless view the tackling of prejudices against the people that are homeless as an important part of their objectives of service provision for the homeless. Shelter and the Big Issue act as advocates for those people that are homeless as they are disenfranchised by virtue of not having a home address, and therefore being unable to register their names on to the electoral register. Without the advocacy and media contacts of such pressure groups and charities, the homeless would have very little influence upon democracy, as they cannot vote for or against any political party because of its policies and objectives in relation to the issue of homelessness. Political parties will not necessarily feel the need to adjust their social welfare and housing policies to help certain groups like the homeless, especially if these people are formally and legally unable to participate in the democratic electoral processes at all (Jones et al, 2004 p. 294). However political parties have not been able to ignore the problem of homelessness, even if they have attempted to resolve the issues surrounding homelessness with varying degrees of enthusiasms (Jones, 1999 p. 176). However, although the homeless may be disenfranchised that does not mean that the homeless do not contribute towards liberal democracy in Britain. The work of charities and pressure groups helps the homeless to voice their opinions in public, and those groups actively promote the interests of the homeless. Shelter and the Big Issue hope to sway public opinion, as well as influencing the incumbent government’s social welfare and housing policies to assist the homeless as much as possible. In a liberal democracy like Britain, public opinion can influence government policies as well as governments attempting to shape public opinion in order to gain electoral advantages or support. The way in which democracy operates mean that political parties, pressure groups, and the media compete with each other to shape public opinion. In return the public often regard some issues as being more important than other issues. For instance, the state of the National Health Service, education, law and order, besides the state of the economy are often the most important issues during general election campaigns. The responsibility for service provision for the homeless goes across government departments, and the measures needed have to compete for funding with other policy areas such as health, education, and defence. Political parties naturally adopt the policy stances that fit in with their ideological beliefs, yet maximise their chances of electoral success. Once governments are elected they have to decide who provides public services and the extent of the services that are provided (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 pp. 48-50). In Britain the government has an important part to play in dealing with the problem of homelessness, even if the government has not caused those problems in the first place. For the government to effectively manage and reduce the problem of homelessness it helps for the government to understand the various causes of people losing their homes (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p.70). The majority of causes for people being homeless are social or economic rather than political. The government can prevent some people from becoming homeless by adopting social welfare and housing policies. The majority of causes for people becoming homeless are social or economic, rather than political. The government can prevent some people becoming homeless by adopting social welfare and housing policies, although the government cannot prevent the social circumstances that potentially lead to homelessness. The government is not in a position to prevent the break up of family units that make men and young people pa rticularly vulnerable to becoming homelessness. Men actually are the group most likely to face homelessness in the wake of relationships breaking up. Women have a higher chance of keeping their homes when relationships end. Other s factors that contribute to the problem of homelessness are related to crime, or more specifically those people that serve prison sentences and then have nowhere to live after they have been released. People with drug addictions, alcoholics, and those with mental health problems all have an increased risk of becoming homeless during their lives. These people have been helped by groups like Shelter, Crisis, and the Big Issue that provide services to get their lives back on track (Jones et al, 2004, p. 294). Although governments in Britain may not be able to prevent the circumstances or factors that make people become homeless, governments are in a position to help people find homes to live in. Governments are the key decision makers when it comes down to deciding upon the s w and housing policies that are the main ways of preventing people from losing their homes. Government policies can make it easier, or alternatively make it harder for people to stay in their homes or find new accommodation when it is required. For instance, the Thatcher government’s decision to sell off council houses was very popular with existent council house tenants, one million of whom went on to buy their homes from their local authorities. The selling off of council houses might not have been so detrimental to efforts to keep people housed if the local authorities had been allowed to build replacement houses in the same quantity. Selling off council houses made it harder to find affordable accommodatio n to rent, whilst the local authorities had a declining number of homes to provide housing for those that wanted it (Moran, 2005, p.28). Even if such a high volume of council houses had not been sold off, new homes construction has lagged behind the demand for homes to rent or buy. In turn the shortage of houses to rent or buy continues to make rents and mortgages even higher and less affordable for many people. Both Conservative and New Labour have refused to intervene to lower house prices or rents to allow more people to find a home (Fisher, Denver, Benyon, 2003 p.291). However New Labour has launched a programme to increase both the actual capacity and the quality of hostels and temporary accommodation with a budget of  £90 million. That programme allows non-governmental organisations to improve the quality of the services that they provide to the homeless (Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, 2005 p. 8). However, it would be wrong to assume that British governments do nothing to prevent the problem of homelessness growing. The government has to decide which services are provided to the homeless. Local authorities or Registered Social Landlords are still responsible for housing many people and New Labour has been expanded the amount of new construction that can undertake (Seldon Kavanagh, 2005 p. 70). The main way in which the government helps to prevent the problem of homelessness increasing is through the social security system. Individuals and families in receipt of social security benefit or low income are generally entitled to housing benefit, which means that they have all or at least a high percentage of their rent paid for by the relevant local authority (Jones, 1999, p.176). Local authorities administer the housing benefit system and are then fully refunded by the government via the Department for Work and Pensions. Housing benefits pays out a great deal of money each year t o prevent people being evicted and subsequently homeless, it provides a service for millions of people (Jones, 1999, p. 176). Despite been means tested, housing benefit is still one of the biggest amounts of expenditure on the social security budget (Whitaker’s 2007 p. 450). For instance, in the financial year 2002 –03 the government spent over  £11 billion on housing benefit which, demonstrates the importance attached to preventing homelessness through the services provided by the Department of Work and Pensions in conjunction with local authorities (Department for Work and Pensions, 2003 p.32). Bibliography Coxall B, Robins L Leach R (2003) Contemporary British Politics 4th edition, Palgrave, Basingstoke Department for Work and Pensions, (2003) Departmental Report 2003, The Stationary Office, London Eatwell R Wright A, (2003) Contemporary Political Ideologies 2nd Edition, Continuum, London Fisher J, Denver D, Benyon J, (2003) Central Debates in British Politics, Longman, London Jones B, (1999) issues in British Politics Today, Manchester University Press, Manchester Jones B, Kavanagh D, Moran M, Norton P, (2004) Politics UK, 5th edition, Pearson Longman, London Jones M and Lowe R (2002) From Beveridge to Blair – The first fifty years of Britain’s Welfare State 1948-98, Manchester University Press Manchester and New York Lacey R, (2006) Great Tales from English History, the Battle of the Boyne to DNA, 1689 – 1953, Little Brown, London Malin N, Wilmot S, Manthorpe J, (2003) Key Concepts and Debates in Health and Social Policy, Open University Press Buckingham and Philadelphia Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005) Sustainable Communities: settled homes; changing lives, Crown Copyright, London Moran M, (2005) Politic and Governance in the UK, Palgrave, Basingstoke Seldon A Kavanagh D, (2005) The Blair Effect 2001 – 5, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Whitaker’s, (2007) Whitaker’s Almanack 2007 – today’s world in one volume, A C Black, London

Females In The Canadian Workplace Essay -- essays research papers

Running Head:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  WORKPLACE ROLES OF MEN AND WOMEN COMPARED IN TODAY’S SOCIETY   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Work Place Roles Of Men and Women Compared in Today’s Society Submitted by: Steven Kopac Submitted to: Pierro Student #: 2321040 Seminar Time: Tuesday @ 11:30-12:30 Course: Sociology 1F90 Brock University Date: Thursday February 8, 2001 Work Place Roles Of Men and Women Compared in Today’s Society   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Rosy cheeked and bright eyed, she would know how to darn a stocking and mend her own dress...command a regiment of pots and kettles and be a lady when required.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This statement raises an interesting view on how women have been socially constructed with regard to their place in the work force. Does this also mean that men have been constructed toward a different position in the workplace? Although women have progressed, as far as occupational status is concerned, patriarchy still persists in our modern society. The subject area that will be focussed upon in this paper is the social construction of gender. The purpose of my paper is to explore how the social construction of gender has produced inequalities among men and women at work. The direction this paper will take is to discuss the differences of status, wealth and power between men and women in the work place. The sociological theory that I will apply is gender as a sociological construction. The key element of this theory is sex dimorphism where traits are conceptualized as typically male and typically female normative patterns and these as cultural norms (Hale, 1995) .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reskin (1993) stated that employers’ preferences for male workers, economic pressures, size of labour supply, gender-role socialization and workers’ values were some of the reasons why women and men are segregated in the workplace. Reskin concluded that there are many social and economic forces that increase and decrease sex segregation in the work force (Reskin,1993). The only way to decrease, better yet, to vanquish sex segregation in the workplace is for society to become â€Å"gender blind†. If society became â€Å"gender blind† differences in the workplace such a... ...emp, Alice Abel. (1994). Women’s Work: Degraded and Devaluated. Engelwood Cliffs, N.J. Prentice-Hall.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Lowe, Graham S. (1999). Labour Markets, Inequality, and the Future of Work. In Curtis, James, Edwards Grabb and Neil Guppy (Eds.), Social Inequality in Canada: Patterns, problems and policies. (pp 113-128). Scarborough, ON. Prentice Hall.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mackie, M. (1990). The Fundamentals of Gender Socialization. The Sociology of Gender, 1, 5-22.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reskin, B. (1993). Sex Segregation In The Workplace. Annual Review of Sociology, 19, 241-270.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rich, A. (1992). Taking Women Students Seriously. The Sociology of Gender, 1, 1-5.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Richardson, John G. & Simpson, Carl H. (1990). Children, Gender and Social Structure: An Analysis of Content of Letters To Santa Claus. Child Development, 53, (429-436).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Statistics Canada. (1998c). Earnings of Men and Women, 1996. Ottawa: Ministry of Industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Statistics Canada. (1999a). Earnings of Men and Women, 1998. Ottawa: Ministry of Industry. Cat. No. 13-217-XPB.

grendelbeo Epic of Beowulf Essay - Beowulf from Grendels Perspective :: Epic Beowulf essays

Beowulf from Grendel's Perspective One night, as Grendel was sleeping soundly in his home in the swamplands, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of music. The music angered Grendel because he had been up late the night before entertaining his monster friends and was in need of his beauty rest. So he headed out the front door and headed to see what the commotion is all about. ] Upon arrival at the mead hall, Grendel notices the door is much to small for him to enter through it easily. This does not make him happy because it happens everywhere he goes in the little human towns. So he squeezes his shoulders through the small opening and manages to ask the man at the nearest table what was going on. The man, being exhausted from his own celebrations, was to tired to even notice the beast standing over him. Monsters of Grendel's type are not used to be ignored and see it as disrespectful and so do not like to be ignored. Which is why Grendel pulled his head from the doorway and reached his claw in to snatch up unsuspecting man. Everyone else in the room was too busy to even notice the man being lifted from his place behind his drink. With the first man out of the way, Grendel decided to try a different approach. Again, scrunching himself down partway through the door, Grendel looked for someone to tell him what was going on. He cleared his throat an d said with a rough, gravelly voice, "Excuse me!" No one noticed. So he said it louder, "Excuse me!" A few heads turned. After a number of astonished gasps, more turned to see. Detecting he was now the center of attention, Grendel asked what they were all doing making so much noise so late at night. The men only stared at him. So he asked more simply and slowly, not knowing if they were intelligent or not, "What are you doing?" The only response this time was an echoed "Get him!" This surprised Grendel because they seemed to say it in unison. He jumped slightly and hit his head on the doorway. He stood up and rubbed his head and knocked over a horse and its cart with his foot.

Law of Diminishing Returns :: essays papers

Law of Diminishing Returns The Law of diminishing returns is a key one in economics. It is used to explain many of the ways the economy works and changes. It is a relatively simple idea; spending and investing more and more in a product where one of the factors of production remains the same means the enterprise will eventually run out of steam. The returns will begin to diminish in the long run. If more fertilizer and better machinery are used on an acre of farmland, the yield will increase for a while but then begin to slow and become flat. A farmer can only get so much out of the land, and the more the farmer works, the harder it gets. The economic reason for diminishing returns of capital is as follows: When the capital stock is low, there are many workers for each machine, and the benefits of increasing capital further are great; but when the capital stock is high, workers already have plenty of capital to work with, and little benefit is to be gained from expanding capital further. For example, in a s ecretarial pool in which there are many more secretaries than computer terminals, each terminal is constantly being utilized and secretaries must waste time waiting for a free terminal. In this situation, the benefit in terms of increased output of adding extra terminals is high. However, if there are already as many terminals as secretaries, so that terminals are often idle and there is no waiting for a terminal to become available, little additional output can be obtained by adding yet another terminal. Another application for this law is in Athletics, for runners, their investment is the time and energy put into training and the yield is hopefully improved fitness. Early in their running careers or early in the training program a couple of weeks of regular training would be rewarded with a considerable increase in fitness. Having achieved a very fit state though, two weeks of regular training will achieve a barely perceptible increase in fitness.

Prada Case Analysis Essay

â€Å"FINANCE† Course â€Å"PRADA: TO IPO OR NOT TO IPO: THAT IS THE QUESTION, AGAIN† case analysis Brief summary of the case with the emphasis on managerial problems that Prada faces. Prada currently requires a significant amount of capital both to re-finance debt that is maturing in the next six to twelve months and to finance its intended growth into the Asian (especially Chinese) markets. Since financial markets are aware of Prada’s pressing need to raise capital, it is important for the board of directors to develop a credible strategy for raising the necessary capital of at least â‚ ¬1 billion. Although the press has been suggesting that Prada will do an initial public offering, the company has tried this several times in the past with no success, mainly because of bad timing (9/11, the SARS outbreak, and the ongoing global financial crisis and European sovereign debt crisis). The board has approached Guido Santini of the investment bank Grupo Capo Milano to come up with a number of credible alternatives and a strategy for raising the needed capital. 1. What is the current and future outlook for the luxury goods segment over the next couple of years? How should Prada position itself to prosper in this market? Luxury goods segment proved to be resilient to the economic crises and had consistently grown from 1994 till 2010.The luxury industry grew approximately by 2% per year until 2007, and by 1% per year from 2007 to 2010.  Beginning from 2010, the global luxury goods market started a new growth phase driven by emerging markets. This was a significant change as growth was usually driven by the developed markets, especially the US. Prada needs to support a global portfolio of leading luxury brand. Following the series of acquisitions and consistent with its attempt to become one of the top global brands Prada consistently worked on expanding its global footprint by opening and running its own stores around the world. 2. What should be Prada’s priorities in determining the best way to raise capital now? What are Prada’s priorities in evaluating different ways of raising the funds it requires? How do these relate to Prada’s strategy? I choose IPO over Debt and Strategic partnership. Compare to issuing debt, an IPO will not add any more burden to the company’s balance sheet, which for Prada, was already showed a sign of insolvency and over leveraged. Another issue is that no firms in this industry have ever raised  money in US bond market. Although â€Å"dim sum bond† – a Chinese Yuan denominated bonds issued in Hong Kong could be the best alternative to this situation, however, the short life and the exchange risk it involved are its most disadvantages. How about sale some portion of the firm to the private equity firms to raise capital? For this deal, it seems that they will not only offer a sizeable premium to the family, but also to offer some important positions on the board too. But, compare to IPO, it will not increase Prada’s publicity through this method. And also, an IPO in Hong Kong will give the company more opportunity to expand their Asia market, especially in China and Japan. Choosing a Strategic Partnership would be just like giving that huge potential profit away. 3. What are the different sources of capital that Prada should consider? Should there be a preference for debt versus equity? Should there be a preference for raising capital in one country relative to another? Should there be a preference regarding the types of investors? How would these influence the attractiveness of the different available sources of capital for Prada? Equity IPO in HK 1.higher valuation than listed in Europe 2. aim to the Asia market 1.HK market has lower liquidity (page 7. Sect. 2) 3.potential tax problem HKDR 1. listed in Milan but also can be bought and sold by investors in HK. 2.help future negotiation in China 3. may have lower valuation than IPO in HK 4. higher cost than IPO Strategic partnership 1.current price for PE transaction is attractive 2.higher premium 1. higher cost than other alternatives 3. may cause partially loss of control of the corporation Debt Traditional corporate bond 1. easily priced 2 2. further potential financial problem 3. higher leverage ratio 4. How would you recommend the board of directors proceed? One of the best solutions for Prada to solve this problem is to raise capital in the stock market, which we could refer as IPO. Given the current market conditions, listing in Hong Kong might appears to be the best choice after all.

Areas of learning and development Essay

1.1 Explain each of the areas of learning and development and how these are interdependent There are seven areas of learning and development set out by the EYFS, each are important and interconnects there are three prime and four specific areas. The prime are the main area of development from birth to 2 years and important for firing children’s curiosity and enthusiasm and helping them to form relationships. The prime areas are: Personal, Social and emotional development Physical development Communication and language The four specific areas compliments and supports the prime areas from 2-5 years, but the prime are the foundation for successful learning. The specific areas are: Literacy Mathematics Understanding the world Expressive arts and design The EYFS learning and development (Page226 in children and young people is workforce). Educational programme must involve activities and experiences for children in the following aspects: Aspects of personal, social and emotional development involves helping children to develop a positive sense of themselves and others; forming positive relationship and develop respect for others; to develop social skills and learn to manage their feelings; to understand appropriate behaviours in groups; and to have confidence in their abilities. Aspects of physical development involves providing opportunities for young children to be active and interactive; and to develop their co-ordination control, and movement. Children must also be help to understand the importance of physical activity and to make healthy choices in relation to food. Aspects of communication and language development involves giving children Opportunities to experience a rich language environment, to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves and to speak and listen in a range of situations. Aspects of literacy development involves encouraging children to link sounds and letters and to begin to read and write. Children must be given access to a wide range of reading materials. Aspects of mathematics development involves helping children to solve problems and to thinking logically, use everyday language  to talk about size weight; recognise create and describe patterns; explore characteristics of objects and shapes and measures. Understanding the world development involves helping children to gain an understanding of the world around them ; knowing about similarities and differences between themselves and others, and among facilities communities and tradition, recognise that a range of technology is used in places such as homes and schools. Expressive arts and design development involves increasing their interest in creativity, representing their own ideas, thoughts and feelings through design and technology, art, music, dance, role play and stories. The EYFS describes the seven areas of learning separately but it is important to recognise their interdependence. This means that good quality activities will cover more than one area of development and neglecting one area of development is likely to create difficulties later.(e.g) Personal, social and emotional development is like a treat throughout all area if this area is not well supported, children will find it hard to concentrate, play alongside others or make progress in other areas. 1.2 Describe the documented outcomes for children that form part of the relevant early years framework. To be able to measure that each child has the access to a quality early years education regardless of where they live, circumstances or family background the EYFS designed a series of outcomes to document each area of learning. These are called the Early Learning Goals, this is targets for children to meet throughout their early years and at the end of the reception year. These goals are important as they form the building blocks for children’s later education. It is important that practitioners recognise that may of the Early Learning Goals are also associated with children’s development and so while it is reasonable to expect children to meet them at the end of the reception year, they are not meant to be used as outcomes in nurseries or pre-school. It is also worth nothing that some children will for a variety of reasons not meet all of the Early Learning Goals as they may have specific health or learning difficulties or because they are simply young than their peers. 1.3 Explain how the documented outcomes are assessed and recorded The purpose and aim of the EYFS is to help young children achieve the five every child matters outcomes. There are four themes that underpin all the guidance A unique child Positive relationship Enabling environments Learning and development This guidance support each child’s learning and development and help practitioners to support children’s learning development, by closely matching what they provide to child’s current needs. An on-going formative assessment is at the heart of effective early years practice. In my setting we constantly observe our key children as they act and interact in their play. We then plan activities through these observations and things learnt from parents about what the chid do at home. Using examples of the development columns â€Å"unique child† the observation is assess to see what the child can do and what the next step is to help their development pathway. This recorded through observation sheets (long-incident and planned) also weekly planning, summative assessment and monthly learning journal sheet given to parents to see what the child does at home. This cycle is continually throughout the child’s time in the nursery and makes up their learning journal that goes with them to reception. 2.1 Use different sources to plan work for an individual child or group While playing outside I notice that one of my key children had an interest in collecting cocus and putting them in the back of his car. 2.2 Engage effectively with children to encourage the child’s participation and involvement in planning their own learning and development activities. The ways in which ‘a child engage with other, people and their environment – playing and exploring, active learning and creating and thinking critically –underpin learning and development across all areas and support the child to remain an effective and motivated learner. From observation 2.1 I planned an activity to help child A to learn how to count by doing a nature walle around the nursery to collect cocus. Counting them at the end to see how many each child collected. 2.3 Support the planning cycle for children learning and development. The EYFS is very clear, that observation must form the basis of planning for individual children there are two specific legal requirements in this respect which are found in welfare requirement relating to the organisation of the setting. Providers must carry out sensitive observational assessments in order to plan to meet the children’s individual needs. Providers must plan and provide experierices which are appropriate to each child’s stage of development as they progress towards the early learning goals. It is important that plans reflects children’s interests and needs. Observe and collect information. Record what you know and see about children’s strengths, interest, capabilities and cultures. Question Analyse- Interpret and make meaning of information collected and evidence documented. link evidence to learning development. Outcomes Plan, Act and Do Design learning experiences and learning environments. Discuss learning and next steps with children’s families and other professionals. The planning cycle is used to support assessments for learning which is designed to discover what children know and understood, based on what they make, write draw, say and do. 3.1 Explain how practitioners promote children’s learning within the relevant early years framework. The EYFS emphasise a personal approach to learning, this is because all children develop at their own rate and in different ways. In my setting we observe each child and make observations so that we can see patterns of the child’s interests as well as to see how they are developing. This allows us to analyse whether the child is within their age and stage of development. As such this enables us to plan appropriately for the child, seeing whether they are within the developmental pathway. This allows us to work in partnership with parents giving them the opportunity to be apart of weekly planning, assessments and giving their input. 4.2 Explain the importance of engaging with a child to support sustained shared thinking. The importance of engaging with children is that it  enhances the child’s learning encounter encouraging, helping them to learn new words extended conversations and helps children to extended conversation to develop their own ideas, while chatting to them to promote their development. Sustained share thinking helps children to reach conclusions and explore concepts at a deeper level. During this period, children are also processing information more effectively and often make connections with things that they have already learnt. This â€Å"joining up† of ideas and concepts is extremely valuable. Children have to be extremely interested in an activity or something that has occurred to sustained shared thinking. We also have to be ready to follow up on things that children find fascinating or intergrading. Recognising the potential for sustained shared thinking is therefore essential.