Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Day of Compassion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Day of Compassion - Essay Example This made me conclude that although instinct makes us avoid it, "suffering" can be worthwhile if there is a good reason for it, like writing this paper. Why do I have to spend a few minutes writing this essay instead of hanging out with friends Why do I have to spend a day of compassion The answers came quickly: I want to learn more about others and about myself, because this world, although it's beautiful, can get pretty nasty, and if I don't learn about suffering from others, I may not know how to cope with it. I matured a bit that night. I made a simple plan for the next day: look for the homeless guy and give him a gift, spend some time to cheer up Annie whose aunt passed away two weeks ago, listen to Jerry as he usually whines about his problems (I think I have more serious problems, but I resolved to listen and find a way to sympathize with him), and be more sensitive and caring when I meet people having a bad day. I never did this before, so I was partly excited and partly afraid. The next day, I woke up with a terrible headache! I wanted to postpone my plan, but I decided against it, because I realized that if did not tell anyone about how I felt, this could be good for me.

Monday, October 28, 2019

Asian American Stereotypes in Film Essay Example for Free

Asian American Stereotypes in Film Essay Asian Americans only make up a small percent of the American population. Even more significant is that this percentage live mostly on the west and east coasts of mainland United States and Hawaii; leaving the rest of the American population to most likely get their exposures to Asians through television and movies. However the exposure they have receive throughout the history of cinematography has been hardly flattering. Throughout the course of history Asians in film have been portrayed as evil or the yellow peril as described by others. If Asians are not being classified as evil in this picture then they are most likely the comic relief, with their lack of coordination or grasp of the English language. With these common stereotypes in place, it gives a white American viewer a sense or need to destroy this Asian villain or superiority over the comedic character portrayed in the film. In the film Gung Ho filmed in the year 1986, the story is told of the plight of the people working in the region known as the Rust Belt. The group that is the focal point of this story is the relation between Asian men in an American town and the differences they share are played out in this movie. The stereotypes enlisted in this movie are both that of a villainous nature and a comedic relief with some of the characters. Throughout the film it is how the clever, white working class people of this hard working town have to overcome the maniacal working environment these Asian men have. Common stereotypes of the Asian man lay throughout the entire course of the movie, stereotypes that have been portrayed by the film industry of Asian men since its inception. The main stereotype in this movie is that Asian men only care about their jobs and their careers and little else. That the Asian man will go through great sacrifice to get to the top of the business that they work for. From beginning to end, many white families are portrayed in the movie showing that the American people have family values. Yet absent through the whole course of the picture is any Asian man with his family. This signifies that the Asian group does not have time, nor wants to make time to have a family life because they are trying to succeed in business. The Asian boss in the film wanted the results to his liking and little else, whether time with the family was missed or not. Hardly a glimpse of an Asian woman is seen during the movie while the American, and predominantly, white working community always spends time with the family and it is a valued part of their lives. Any slight mention of the Asian characters family was done in conversation without an on-screen appearance by the wife or children. Another stereotype depicted in the film was that every Asian character spoke flawed English. Not one single person through the film had a perfect grasp of the English language. This provides the comical relief in the film as any Asian man at any time could pronounce a word wrong or use the wrong word to the bemusement of the film watchers. The broken English that is used by the Asian characters in this film seem to heighten or display the fact that the Asian characters have visible flaws. The Americans never have to display such flaws, in fact the only part of the movie where an American attempts to spoke Japanese it is completely flawless, without hesitation or pause. A further stereotype that is used in this film is that Asian people make good managers, but are never good leaders. What this tells use is that while a person of Asian descent might know the best possible way to accomplish a goal they will never have the force or strong enough personality to get others to get the goal accomplished. The film has Asian men taking over an American plant and trying to incorporate work ethics that are highly successful over in Japan. Yet the white, working class person refused to adhere to such a strict regime and basically revolts to the ideas. This ultimately leads to the failure and disgrace of the Japanese workers who are unsuccessful in making the plant completely efficient. In the end it takes the will of one of the white workers to bring everyone together and incorporate a meld between the two cultures in order to get the job done and everything to turn out successful. Asian men are depicted as not being strong enough to take control of a situation, where as white American has the ability and will constantly use it to save the day for everyone involved in the situation. One finally stereotype that the film has is the simple fact that all people of Asian descent have some knowledge of the martial arts. Scenes in which martial arts were used were placed in the film seemingly at random, and just for the sole purpose of showing that the Asian character knew a form of martial arts. The film did not need to have any martial arts in it, as it was not the main focal point, or even any kind of focal point, in the film. Yet the makers of the film deemed it necessary to show, in fact, these Asian characters do know how to use martial arts to their advantage. The film portrays the Asian men in a negative light by showing that they do not have the will or the ability to take charge in a situation. This is completely different from the image of the American man who can take charge at any time, whether it is revolting against the Asian ideas or saving the day at the end of the film. The white American voice has no problem being heard and enforced, and its strong will might rub off on others in the end. They are portrayed almost as a type of savage or once again as the yellow peril as they were depicted years earlier. The seven-day work schedules and mandatory free overtime seems barbaric to the American workers, as well as the little amount of time spent with the families. Overall, the Asian men in this film seem to be a harsh taskmaster over their American working force. One of the consequences of this film is that it keeps up the stereotype of Asian Americans being the model minority. The Asian Americans have had this definition of themselves because of their strong cultural background, including strong work ethic, keeping them from becoming a problem minority, which many Americans saw the African American community as a problem. Asian Americans docile approach and lacking of any traits of masculinity were seen as positive traits and were widely regarded as no being a threat to the standards and norms White America had created for themselves. All this movie does is further portray that stereotype, as none of the Asian men in this film have any strong masculine qualities. They cannot take charge, they are easily intimidated, and they are never assertive with their beliefs and restrictions giving the impression to the movie viewers that Asian Americans are docile beings and Asian Americans are obstacles easily overcame. Overall, the object of this movie is to entertain the audience sitting at home watching it, laughing at the mishaps and situations that happen along the way. The question is, however, at whos expense does the laughter come? Perpetuating this stereotype only goes to further damage the way Asian Americans are seen by the American public. Also during the time the movie was being made, the yen and the dollar were in competition over which had more value. This movie in a subtle way suggests that American workers can overcome any adversity, while the Asian cast is lucky to have such determined Americans to help them out of their problems. The movie serves to inspire Americans by relying on a stereotype of Asians to show that Asian are weak and Americans are strong, and that they can overcome any challenge they rally behind.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Marketing in a Global Economy Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing BTEC Co

Marketing in a Global Economy Vision. There's a word that hearkens back to the early '80s, at least in current management thinking. Yet despite its presence in the leadership vocabulary for more than two decades, many companies are today struggling to draft the right vision for a hyperactive, global business environment. This paper is intended to offer an overview of some of the aspects of conducting business globally and aims to identify ways in which businesses can tap the gains of this process, while remaining realistic about its potential and its risks. Specific topics will include: 1) technology challenges; 2) gaining a foothold in new markets; and 3) conducting business with different cultures. Finally, real world business examples will be used to amplify the discussion. Technology Challenges No other technological advancement has enhanced global business in the last 10 years like the Internet. The Internet has made accessible foreign marketplaces that for years were expensive and difficult to access. If an organization builds the right site, you can easily attract visitors from around the world. Obviously, however, this site can't be written predominantly in English and marketed with an American spin. If a company from the United States wants to be seen by all, their operations have to reach international consumers. Currently, 63 percent of Fortune 100 Web sites are stuck in the past, i.e., they are only written in English, according to Forrester Research (Internet World, 2001). Going global does not merely mean translating English sites into foreign languages. First and foremost, organizations must think globally and tackle their challenges head-on. Companies are faced with obstacles like ... ...he domestic arena. By following the lead of other successful companies and avoiding the stumbling blocks mentioned in this discussion, organizations can take advantage of prospective untapped worldwide business. References Baran, S. (2001, April 01). A small, small world. Internet World. Bhatia, R. (2001, May/June). Economy lodging demands spur new markets around the globe. Franchising World. Vol. 33, Issue 4. Demers, J. (Jul/Aug 2001). Exploring new markets. CMA Management, , Vol. 75 Issue 5. Des Moines Business Record. (2001, February 5). It’s a small world. Parker, B. (1996). Evolution and Revolution: from International Business to Globalization. Handbook of Organization Studies, Sage: London. Yip, G. (1995). Total Global Strategy: Managing For Worldwide Competitive Advantage, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Choice of University and Choice of Course in Australia Essay

After the Bradley report which was written following the review of higher education system in 2008, the Australian government has introduced many policies and financial assistance for this demographic in hope of increasing the participation rates to 20 per cent by 2020 (Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations, 2008, p. xiv). However, despite steady increases in overall tertiary participation, the inequalities still remain. People with low socio-economic status are not as successful in applying or gaining access to more prestigious institutions as those with medium or high socio-economic status are (James, 2007, p. ). It is not only participation at university level that is affected with this imbalance. Significant social differences can be seen across different universities as well as different fields of study (Reay et al. 2001, p. 858). Study by Ferguson and Simpson (2011) has found, and James (2007) agrees, that students with low socio-economic background are n ot so successful in gaining entry into the courses with more competitive entry requirements like medicine, law or architecture. These students were more concentrated in courses such as education, nursing, IT and business (James, 2007, p. 7). James (2007, p. 7) believes that the same is true for the high demand universities, where low socio-economic status students hold a share of only 11 per cent of all places. These differences can be somewhat accredited to the geographical location of these more prestigious universities as they are mainly situated in the metropolitan areas. However, there are other factors that contribute to this imbalance more so. Some experts believe that students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds may not aspire to attend these universities believing that it is not an achievable goal, or they may not perform academically well enough for more competitive courses. Other studies indicate that it is in fact the psychological factors which create socioeconomic imbalances in higher education participation. This paper will look at rates of participation, aspirations, ability and psychological factors and their affect on the decision making process of low socio-economic status students when it comes to higher education. It will argue that there is enough supporting evidence to conclude that this demographic does not have a lot of impact on university participation, choice of university or choice of course. While overall higher education participation rates have improved, socio-economically disadvantaged people are least represented group in Australian higher education. James (2007, p. 2) states that ‘social class is the single most reliable predictor of the likelihood that individuals will participate in higher education at some stage in their lives’. Undergraduate Applications, Offers and Acceptances Report from the Department of Education, Employment and Work Relations, states that in 2011, 18. 6 per cent of all applicants were from low socio-economic backgrounds, compared to 30. 6 per cent of applicants from high socio-economic group (DEEWR, 2011, p. 15). It also reports that even though applications by low socio-economic status applicants were up by 3. 4 per cent they were less likely to result in an offer. Low socio-economic status applicants had an offer rate of 79. per cent compared to 83. 5 per cent for applications from high socio-economic status applicants (DEEWR, 2011, p. 15). Even though the rates for applications and offers to higher education for low socio-economic demographic have slightly increased, according to DEEWR (2011), this demographic continues to be the least represented at university level. One of the reasons that could explain the current higher education participation numbers by people from low socio-ec onomic background is aspiration. It has to be considered as one of the principal issues in student’s decision making process. According to the English dictionary, to aspire, it means to have a strong desire to achieve something. Consequently, to attend university, an individual needs to aspire to do so. Bowden and Doughney (2010), in their study of secondary students in the western suburbs of Melbourne, have found that those with lower socio-economic status have fewer aspirations to attend university. Instead, they aspire to attend a vocational training institution or gain employment. Difference in spirations among different demographics is mainly influenced by individual’s social systems, such as class, ethnicity, gender, customs and religion (Bowden & Doughney, 2010, p. 119). Furthermore, in his research for the Department of Education, Science and Training, James has found that there is a strong relationship between parental education levels and young people’s educational aspirations (DES T, 2002, p. 51). Bowden and Doughney’s study results are consistent with James’ findings, as well as Bourdieu’s concept of ‘cultural capital’, which Harker et al. (cited in Webb et al. 002, p. 22) defined as ‘culturally valued taste and consumption pattern’. Therefore, it can be said that those who come from low socio-economic background are at a disadvantage when it comes to entering higher education due to the fact that they were not brought up with the idea of attending university. Academic achievement or student’s ability is seen as another important factor that needs to be considered when studying inequalities in higher education. This is because in Australia, university enrolment process relies heavily on individual’s academic achievement. Student’s academic record is seen as a main way of entry into the university and acquiring all the benefits that come with having a degree. Teese (cited in Ferguson & Simpson, 2011, p. 33) proposed that almost half of low socio-economic status students obtain scores in the lowest academic bands and that only small number of these students receives high academic scores. Ferguson and Simpson conclude that this is due to fewer resources, such as educational, cultural, social and financial, that are available for this group of students, rather than lack of ability. Cardak and Ryan (2009) have come to the similar conclusion. They have found that academic scores of low socio-economic status students are lower due to the fact that their early educational achievements are also lower in comparison to the more advantaged students and their achievements (Cardak & Ryan, 2009, p. 444). Both Ferguson and Simpson’s and Cardak and Ryan’s studies agree that students with same ability and same academic scores have the same likelihood of attending university regardless of their socio-economic status. They also agree that the quality of academic results rises with the status. Thus, as they don’t have access to as many resources as their more privileged peers, low socio-economic status students are at a disadvantage when it comes to securing a place at university. Although aspirations and academic ability are very important factors in higher education inequality, it could be said that the psychological factors have most of the influence on person’s decision to attend university. Students from low socio-economic background are more conscious of the existence of barriers to their entering higher education (Harris, 2005, p. 4) and are not likely to encounter diverse influences that might persuade them to participate in higher education (DEST, 2002, p. 50). James believes that students from this demographic are more likely to be doubtful about their academic ability and achievement and they would possibly be lacking financial support (DEST, 2002, p. 50). He also states that they have less confidence in parental support and a stronger interest in earning an income as soon as they leave school. ‘The perceptions and beliefs held by people with low socio-economic status can all be regarded as habitus, which is described as ‘embodied predispositions that are learned early in the life of a young person’ (Harris, 2005, p. 4). As they lack role models, it is very difficult for these young people to see university participation as something that is relevant to them or something they could achieve (Harris, 2005, p. ). In their UK based study of working class secondary students, Reay et al. (2001, p. 865) have found that this group of students were choosing universities where they were most likely to fit in, as they felt more comfortable attending such university and where they could find ‘intellectual and social peers’. Psychological factors play an important role in the decision making process due to the emotio ns attached to them. Low socio-economic status students seem to have a lot more to consider when deciding on their higher education pathway. As the evidence would suggest, students from low socio-economic background, have very little impact on university participation, choice of university or choice of course at present time. According to the government reports, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are highly under-represented at university level. Thus, higher education in Australia is far from being level playing field for some demographics. The most current review of higher education shows that the participation rates at university in general, as well as different courses and institutions are considerably lower for those ith low socio-economic status. The difference between low and high socio-economic status groups is quite significant, despite the government’s efforts to improve these numbers by implementing new policies and strategies. As discussed in this paper, the reasons for inequality are varied and complex. However, most of the researchers agree that it is the family attitudes that are at the core of t he problem. These attitudes have enormous influence on student’s decision making process. However, there is always a possibility for change. Australian universities, in conjunction with schools and government’s help, need to focus on developing new social networks and transforming set beliefs of disadvantaged students. These changes could be achieved through the use of early interventions and positive role models during middle schooling. Only with successful attitude changes will the higher education participation numbers improve for this particular demographic. References Bowden, MP & Doughney, J 2010, ‘Socio-economic status, cultural diversity and the aspirations of secondary students in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia’, High Education, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 115-129, SpringerLink, viewed 2 October 2012. Cardak, BA & Ryan, C 2009, ‘Participation in higher education in Australia: equity and access’, Economic Record, vol. 85, no. 4, pp. 433-448, Wiley Online Library 2012 Full Collection, viewed 25 September 2012. Centre for the Study of Higher Education 2008, ‘Partici pation and Equity: A Review of the participation in higher education of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and Indigenous people’, Universities Australia and the Centre for the Study of Higher Education (CSHE), University of Melbourne, viewed 4 October 2012, <http://www. niversitiesaustralia. edu. au/resources/271/290> Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations 2008, ‘Review of Australian higher education – Executive summary’ report prepared by D Bradley, H Noonan & B Scales, Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), Canberra, pp. xi-xviii, viewed 25 September 2012, <http://www. innovation. gov. au/HigherEducation/Documents/Review/PDF/Hig

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Compare the use of motivation theories at Center Parcs Essay

I will be researching different job types in Center Parks so I can see the different management styles of each sector and I shall be looking at the motivational factors within the organisation. Three different job roles at Center Parcs and what theorist is involved. The first job I will be looking at is a Water sports Instructor, they’re looking for somebody who can windsurf, use a dinghy, a powerboat, a kayak and is confident in abseiling, rock climbing and playing football. You will be asked to instruct people in all of the above, first-aid is a must as you will be working with activities which could all pose a significant risk to health including activities including deep, cold water. They also expect that you maintain a professional attitude at all times, despite the customers getting on your nerves. Staff will be given free day passes to the park, I think this is typical of Mayo as people like to feel like the part of the team, this also meets their social needs at work. If they’re working in a team then you have a good chance to get your ideas across to other team members for them to take action on your ideas, suggestions and opinions. The second job I will be looking at is a food and beverage assistant, they require that you maintain a professional attitude at all times, they state that your duties are table services, preparing the restaurant to a set standard, taking orders, bar duties and you must serve drinks from the bar, serving meals, cleaning and tidying up at the end of your shift. You will be handling a lot of cash through your shifts, they expect you to be honest about it and full training will be given to work with cash in hand. You must ensure that all the guests are happy with their stay and their meals. The theorist behind this would in fact be Taylor, this is driven by money as you’re handling quite a lot of money. As with this you’re typically paid by every table you clean, take orders from and hours behind the bar (as one of my friends mention, she got paid by every table she cleaned and took orders from). Taylor also comes into play as you get a bonus at the end of the month and a t ypical bonus at the end of the year (around Christmas time) and  this makes employees strive to do as much as they can as it is a performance related bonus. The last job I will be looking at is a Lifeguard, they’re looking for somebody to assist in the â€Å"smooth running of the subtropical swimming paradise† by guarding the inside and outside of the pool areas, the lifeguard must maintain a high standard of hygiene in order to offer the best services to holiday guests. They also request that you maintain a professional and a reliable attitude at all times and to put the safety of their swimmers first. The motivational theory behind this job would be Herzberg as being a lifeguard can bring some sense of achievement, this proves that you are qualified to take care of people, watch them and possibly save their lives when the time comes. A high hygiene standard is required for this and this can be an achievement in itself as if you get through this shows you have nearly impeccable hygiene. Conclusion I think Center Parcs has chosen different rewards, for example different bonuses and different objectives to obtain these bonuses and different material bonuses such as free day passes and unlimited use of services and stations around the park, because it scales with the difficulty of the job. For example, anybody can be a beverage assistant but it takes a lot of qualifications and knowhow to become a life guard and since lifeguards are scarce and they’re offering really competitive pay and bonuses to compete with other companies that want life guards. It’s the same with Water sports instructors as they have to be highly skilled in all forms of water sports, it takes a lot of time to get that much knowledge of water sports so it’s a difficult job to do as you need to remember everything. I agree that this is one of the best policies to have as the bonuses and rewards scale with the harder jobs. The harder the job, the better the rewards.