Can feminism be thought of as a theory of law Essay

As a concept, feminism is very much a modern notion within legal circles, which aims to eradicate any prejudice against women’s rights. This in a society strongly founded upon a male-orientated legal system, which historically fails to recognise the social and legal rights of women, and instead focuses upon â€Å"male-orientated theories and ideologies.†1 It is this patriarchy that feminists thrive to eliminate. The essence of patriarchy is emphasised by the Marxist legal theory, developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the 19th Century, which places no emphasis upon gender, and consequently belittles the feminists fight for gender equality. Juxtaposed with the rigid Marxist approach to legal rule is the postmodernist dialect that offers a â€Å"positive method of forcing individuals to confront and change the rigid contexts and structures (including laws) within which they have arbitrarily confined themselves.†2 The ideology of feminism is split into three distinct categories, all of which work towards one common goal of removing gender prejudices: 1) Liberal feminism is grounded in â€Å"classical liberal thinking that individuals should be free to develop their own talents and pursue their own interests. Liberal feminists accept the basic organisation of our society but seek to expand the rights and opportunities of women. Liberal feminists support equal rights and oppose prejudice and discrimination that block the aspirations of women.†3 2) Socialist feminism is an evolution from Marxist conflict theory, essentially made in reaction to the little attention Marx paid to gender. Socialist feminists argue that the â€Å"bourgeois family must be restructured to end ‘domestic slavery’ in favour of some collective means of carrying out housework and child care. The key to this goal, in turn, is a socialist revolution that creates a state-centred economy operating to meet the needs of all. Such a basic transformation of society requires that women and men pursue their personal liberation together, rather than individually, as liberal feminists maintain.†4 3) The third form of feminism is radical feminism. This, as the name suggests is the most extreme version of feminism, it disregards the liberal theory as â€Å"superficial and inadequate,†5 and they claim that even a socialist revolution would not end patriarchy. Radical feminists strive to create a society free from any gender inequality by completely abolishing the cultural notion of gender. To look at these three forms of feminism an observer would be ignorant to discard feminism as having no legal influence, as it is clear to see from these that support for such movements is vast and comes in various forms, all of which attack the same enemy, patriarchy, albeit in differing manners. These differing methods are accentuated by recent developments and movements in society, particularly in the 20th Century these can be clearly highlighted by looking at the actions of the suffragettes in 1910, which illustrate a more active approach to campaigning. As previously mentioned feminist legal theories are a contemporary concept, for this reason a â€Å"radical new methodology in legal theory† is required in order to encompass the new issues raised by feminism as a legal theory. Such a new methodology could be found in the ‘critical legal theory’ method, as it would be able to incorporate feminist views such as the theory that a â€Å"male-orientated appreciation of law emphasises individualism and ‘rights’ at the expense of ‘female’ emphases upon interaction and cooperation.† 6 This approach is however, solely a theoretical one, and as such it does not entirely cover the needs of feminism, insofar as â€Å"feminism is only partially and peripherally concerned with academic theorising,†7 the major part of the work of feminism is to promote the â€Å"dissatisfactions of a wide spectrum of women,† which highlight the general inequality felt by women in regards to legal and social equality. Therefore critical legal studies, instead of acting as a definition, are rather a useful means of indicating the â€Å"explicit and implicit male orientation of law and legal administration and the resulting disadvantage and marginalisation often suffered by women.†8 This has led to the recognition of three fundamental elements which personify a feminist legal theory. â€Å"These are: a) asking the ‘woman question’, i.e. the extent of the presence and recognition of women’s experience in law; b) feminist practical reasoning, meaning a reasoning which proceeds from context and values difference and the experience of the unempowered; and c) consciousness raising, meaning an exploration of the collective experience of women through a sharing of individual experiences.†9 These three elements, outlined above by Katherine T. Bartlett, are designed to act as the source for future feminist legal theory development, particularly in respect of women’s outlook upon law with the intention of improving women’s legal position in the future â€Å"development or redevelopment of law.†10 The legal evolution, or, redevelopment, mentioned above is one in which women strive to see a revolution from an â€Å"inherently ‘male’ legal mindset implicitly discriminating against women because it is framed in terms of male experience which does not necessarily relate to that of women.†11 That is to say, that in numerous situations women are expected to mirror full-time, long-term and unionised male workers, when in reality women digress from this norm insofar as their working patterns tend to be far more interrupted and part-time. From this a clear paradox is produced, as feminists while thriving to be treated as the males equal simultaneously require a variant from this norm in order to account for their differing responsibilities. This attitude is stressed distinctly by the remarks of Joanne Conaghan and Louise Chudleigh, when they say, â€Å"labour law both embodies and conceals the gender division of labour and, by focusing exclusively on the world of paid work, ignores the differing responsibilities [of] †¦ men and women.†12 Such inadequacies within the legal system are numerous and ironically even legal structures that aim to eradicate gender discrimination can be seen to be based upon analogies created from â€Å"irrelevant, and sometimes outdated, male experience.† An unmistakable example of this is the treatment of maternity leave as analogous to the sick leave of their male counterpart. This is coupled by the notion that parenting is predominantly the female’s role, which is highlighted by the â€Å"very limited provisions for paternity leave.† 13 The underlying problem here is that, in order to be treated fairly and without any prejudice women are required to meet a norm set by existing male experiences which by there very nature do not create a balanced equality, and thus â€Å"existing legal standards and concepts disadvantage women†14 as they merely incorporate women into existing male-orientated legal structures, rather than recreating the legal structures so as to be established upon male and female requirements. The above mentioned relationship between female legal theory and critical legal studies creates a clear enhancement, in regards to political knowledge and understanding of feminists legal argument, and consequently for the female legal theory. The noticeable thing to emphasise from this is the â€Å"disadvantaging effect of concealed and frequently unrealised bias in a legal order which has for the most part developed from male rather than female experience,†15 and has therefore produced a rather lopsided legal system in favour of men. This prejudice has now been identified, thanks to the relationship between critical legal studies and feminist legal theory, this identification can be perceived as a significant legal stepping stone towards a legal system that not only incorporates females, but is instead founded upon female and male experiences resulting in an equality which is not merely all encompassing in terms of a male perspective, but rather an equality that is derived f rom the experiences of both genders. Strongly contrasting the accommodating nature of critical legal studies in relation to female legal theories, are those theories of law and society created by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Their creation, Marxism, a derivative of a much older proposition by Immanuel Kant that stated that, â€Å"every thesis has a contrary antithesis†16 and that eventual resolution of these two contradictory perspectives, through revolution, would end up creating an ‘absolute understanding’. This led to Marx placing specific importance upon an economic foundation from which all things within society, both social and political, are merely ‘superstructure.’ It is for this reason that Marxism has been described as being a distinctly materialistic theory. A strong contrast can be seen between the feminist legal theory, which bases its social beliefs at the apex of its legal structure, and the Marxist theory which states that â€Å"social understanding is seen as an ideological perception of the economic relations existing at a given time which will change as the underlying economic relationships alter.†17 Here it is clear that a Marxist approach would place very little emphasis upon the social question of gender inequality, but would instead focus upon an economic foundation with the speculation that if a high enough proportion of society feel a need to increase gender equality then a revolution would take place. For Marxism social revolution appears to be the basis for the theory to develop. It would therefore appear to be a theory that shows little appreciation for social needs, such as those displayed by the female legal theory. For feminists to advance their legal theory through a Marxist approach, the attitude of socialist feminists, as discussed above, would have to be adopted. That is to say that the â€Å"bourgeois family must be restructured to end ‘domestic slavery’ in favour of some collective means of carrying out housework and childcare. The key to this goal, in turn, is a socialist revolution that creates a state-centred economy operating to meet the needs of all. Such a basic transformation of society requires that women and men pursue their personal liberation together, rather than individually, as liberal feminists maintain.†18 This once again highlights the idea of a union between both genders, encompassing experiences from both so as to enable females not only to be incorporated into an existing legal structure but instead to recreate a legal structure based upon the needs and experiences of both genders. A legal theory that promotes the liberating philosophy required in order to create a society able to accept the alterations needed to adequately unify both genders in a legal sense is the ‘postmodern’ legal theory. This theory, commonly portrayed as a â€Å"recipe for relativism,†19 also displays the characteristics needed in order to force â€Å"individuals to confront and change the rigid contexts and structures (including laws) within which they have arbitrarily confined themselves.†20 In this sense it is the ideal method for women to promote and execute the installation of their female legal theory. As it would not only tolerate an amendment in the law to integrate women into existing law, but more than this it would allow them to â€Å"change the rigid contexts and structures† mentioned above, which have prevented the advancement of gender equality within the legal structure. However, postmodernism also raises some problems in relation to feminist jurisprudence. Hilaire Barnett states that â€Å"there must be developed critiques †¦ which reject the universalist, foundationalist, philosophical and political understanding offered by modernism†¦and in its place there exists diversity, plurality, competing rationalities, competing perspectives and uncertainty as to the potentiality of theory.†21 In general, here she is saying that women must resist generalising their condition within society, and instead focus upon the â€Å"multiplicity of subjectivities, identities, which inhere in the individual.†22 Overall, I believe feminism to be undoubtedly ‘fundamental in some way.’ The critical legal theory discussed above shows how society has failed to display mutuality, not only towards women as members of society but towards men and women, through an â€Å"improper discriminatory selectivity, generate alienation and, ultimately, disfunctionality in the working of a legal order.†23 This inequality has led to the recognition of three fundamental elements which personify a feminist legal theory. Resistance is however, met by a Marxist legal theory, which displays very little appreciation of gender issues. However, a feminist theory could be adopted through the Marxist ‘bourgeois’ revolutionary approach, which would see both genders uniting in a revolution to change the pre-adopted norms of society. This idea of changing preconceived rules and laws within society would allow a feminist legal theory to develop, an idea given weight to by the postmodern legal theory, which also places special emphasis upon withdrawing from a united generalisation of women and instead focusing upon them as individuals. Therefore, I would argue that ‘feminism’ can be thought of as a theory of law, albeit not on the same scale as other theories previously mentioned, such as Marxism. But it’s rapid evolution and recent political and legal enhancement within society makes it a theory with considerable weight, and certainly a theory ‘fundamental in some way.’ 1 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 2 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 3 Sociology A Global Introduction – John J. Macionis and Ken Plummer 4 Sociology A Global Introduction – John J. Macionis and Ken Plummer 5 Resisting Patriarchy: The Women’s Movement and Feminism 6 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 7 ‘Dworkin, Which Dworkin? Taking Feminism Seriously’ in P. Fitzpatrick and A. Hunt, eds., Critical Legal Studies (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1987), p.47.) 8 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 9 Katherine T. Bartlett, ‘Feminist Legal Method’ (1970) 103 Harv L Rev, 829 10 Katherine T. Bartlett, ‘Feminist Legal Method’ (1970) 103 Harv L Rev, 829 11 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 12 ‘Women in Confinement: Can Labour Law Deliver the Goods?’ In Critical Legal Studies, p. 133 at p. 137. 13 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 14 ‘Feminist Legal Methods’ (1970) 103 Harv L Rev , p.829 at p.837. 15 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 16 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 17 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 18 Sociology A Global Introduction – John J. Macionis and Ken Plummer 19 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 20 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White 21 H. Barnett, Introduction to Feminist Theory (London: Cavendish Publishers, 1998, p. 180. 22 H. Barnett Introduction to Feminist Jurisprudence, pp. 1179-80 23 Textbook on Jurisprudence – Hilaire McCoubrey and Nigel D. White

American Jewry Order nov 3

In the United States around 1992, American Jewry came into a process of reformation directing toward a consolidation of the Council of Jewish Federations, the United Jewish Appeal, and the United Israel Appeal into the new broad-based organization that could speak in the name of American Jewry in new ways ( Elazar, http://www. jcpa. org/dje/articles3/rwjintro. htm). Travel and communications advances facilitated the increasing solidity of the Jewish race across the world.With the progress noted, more and more of its people have connections throughout the Jewish world, or at least across long distances within in it. Gradually more individual Jews, their families and communities relied upon resources in other communities, in the form of religious guidance from Israel or whether it is just for encouragement from the American Jewish experience as measures of intensifying Jewish identity. Even with the overabundance of organizations and organizational activities, a majority of the Jewry s eem to be oblivious of them.For most Jews, familiarity of their area community involvements is all they know about structured Jewish life, if that. Nevertheless, an institutional structure has developed and a network of connection more or less involving most of the existing organizations and institutions has been progressing. The Jewish people now have a superior prospect to uphold unity than it has had since the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE. Up to this day, American Jewry remains the primary pioneer in the advancement of world polity.They are committed to nation-building, the development of Israel, relief and rescue of Jewish communities in need, fighting anti-semitism, representing collective Jewish interests in world affairs, mobilization of leadership and activists to undertake these and other functions, governance functions in the world Jewish polity, assuring that there are appropriate bodies for the carrying on of the functions, raising funds to cover the costs of these functions, oversight of the organizations and institutions handling the functions, developing appropriate inter-organizational relations both among the authorities that comprise the world Jewish polity and the local, countrywide, regional, and worldwide arenas (Bubis). The National Jewish Population Survey (NJPS) 2000-01, a $6 million study carried out by The United Jewish Communities, is said to provide the most all-inclusive, trustworthy picture of American Jewry to date. Records show that there are 5. 2 million American Jews. This is 5 percent less than the 5. 5 million counted in the 1990 population study. There 4. 3 million American Jews attend Passover seders and light Chanukah candles.This figure also takes account of those more Jewishly devoted — families who maintain kosher homes, regularly join synagogue meetings, enrolled Jewish schools and go to at least one Jewish society. The percentage of intermarriage is growing, but at a stable rate, with 47 percent of today's Jewish newlyweds marrying non-Jews. The mean Jewish age is 42, in contrast to 35 for Americans in general, and the birthrate was 1. 8, lower than the 1. 9 rate for American women generally. The picture of American Jewry highlighted by the study is multifaceted. On the one hand, the American Jewish population is aging and shrinking, as the birthrate is falling and intermarriage is rising, and most Jews do not take on communal or religious pursuits.On the other hand, a vast majority of American Jews attend a Passover seder and celebrate Chanukah and Jewish education is booming. Jews are more affluent than Americans generally. More 33 percent of Jewish households report an annual income of $75,000 or higher, compared to just 18 percent of U. S. households. The median Jewish household income is $54,000, compared to $42,000 for Americans generally. Speaking about affluence, the world’s richest Jew is Steve Ballmer, a Detroit-born son of a Jewish mother, 43 years old, wh ose worth is an estimated $25 billion. Steve Ballmer was selected president and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corp.on January 13, 2000. In his position as president and CEO, Ballmer is oversees the entire management of Microsoft. It has been said that the outside terrorization, such as pogroms, coped with by Jews over the centuries act as unifying power. Jews needed each other in order to survive in a Jew-hating world. In line with this idea, the elimination of those external threats has become a factor to assimilation. The more accepting the non-Jewish world has become of Jews, the less Jews have felt they need other Jews and the Jewish community for support and the more Jews have become open to giving up their Jewish ways in an effort to blend with the world around them.Thus, the cost of Jewish living exceeded the value of Jewish living for many 20th century American Jews. While Jewish community efforts to lower costs and increase value have attempted to tip the scales in t he other direction, combating the integration of Jews in America, the â€Å"Land of Opportunty†, has been a harsh struggle to win. In an effort to assimilate and minimize threat, the American Jewry of late has developed a system of beliefs wherein it has become a community characterized with an exclusive and normalized behavior that is attributable to a specific people and that is expressed through certain images, symbols, rituals, myths, and other kinds of stories.There developed a sense of pluralism which is defined in their context: having the conviction that more than one religion can instruct truths. To put it strongly, religious pluralism maintains that no specific religion can assert total certainty to teach absolute truth. Within the Jewish population, there is a collective history, a shared expression of prayer and study, a shared Bible and a shared set of rabbinic literature, consequently often providing for Jews of considerably diverse worldviews to nevertheless id entify some level of common ideals and purposes. Reference: 1. Bubis,Gerald B. The Costs of Jewish Involvements and barriers. http. //Judaism. about. com. 2. Elazar, Daniel E. Jerusalem Center for Public AffairsI. http://www. jcpa. org/dje/articles2/futureamerjewry. htm.

Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Property - Essay Example ut of properties, such as the interlinking of rights and responsibilities, the dog-leg boundary at back, not much space for access to The Hollies at the back, lots of trees which are close to buildings, drains are running along rear elevation (wall) of building, the manhole covers are evident, and leaking water in approximate position of line of supply to the adjoining property. Although he is the sole owner of Ivy House, he did have a long-term girlfriend for fifteen (15) years, Miss Chandra, who lived with him in the said house. She gave up her council house tenancy at his request and put all her savings (including money inherited from her mother) into improving the Ivy House updating the standards and making it a valuable property. Mr. Crane has done or paid for basic maintenance ever since but did not introduce improvements to it. When Miss Chandra left him, she didn’t say anything about getting her money back. However, when the word got around that Mr. Crane is thinking of selling the house, he had a â€Å"visit† from her sons intimating that their mother wants a substantial share of the sale proceeds. Another concern of Mr. Crane also is with the present owner of the adjoining house, The Hollies, known as Mr. Johnson. There have been issues over access to the rear, parking and water supply. There is an extract of a deed regarding an easement. Finally, Mr. Crane’s concern is about his friend Mr. Brown. Mr. Crane allowed Mr. Brown to use the basement at Ivy House almost daily and for the last 6 years, for his artwork business. He signed a document at Mr. Brown’s request but is not sure if it means anything. He doesn’t have a copy of the said document. He remembers that he and Mr. Brown were the only ones who signed the said document and that Mr. Brown was to be able to use the basement for ten (10) years but has paid nothing for the arrangements. He wonders whether or not he should tell Mr. Brown that he is selling up as he is concerned of what Mr.

Population growth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Population growth - Essay Example (high birth rate) (Keyfitz 1-75). THESIS STATEMENT This paper intends to provide a brief idea about the concept of population growth, along with the merits and demerits of this particular aspect in the Canadian context. POPULATION GROWTH IN CANADA This part of the paper will specifically highlight the rate of population growth that has been observed. With the aid of proper analysis it has been noticed that in the year 2011; 33,476,688 people were listed in the census. This particular figure indicated almost twice the figure as compared to the year 1961 and around 10 times higher as compared to the 1861 Census. Between 2006 and 2011, Canada's population has been estimated to take a leap by 5.9%, which was slightly up as compared to the previous period of 2001 to 2006, when it took a leap by 5.4%. Canada's population growth, which was recorded between the years 2006 and 2011 depicted to be highest among all the G8 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom , United States and The European Union) which are considered to have the largest economies in the world, as compared to the population growth rate in the previous period i.e. (2001 to 2006). ... However, the rate of Ontario's population growth has been seen to slightly decline during the past five years period to 5.7%, it was recorded as the lowest ever decrease in the level since the period between 1981to1986. Between the years 2006 to 2011, highest rate of population growth in Alberta were located. The growth in population was not only observed by Canada but most provinces met with a leap in the population rate between the years 2006-2011. In the entire metropolitan part along with non-metropolitan areas of Canada, large amount of population growth has been observed. The overall population growth was registered as an increase of 7.4 % in the year 2006 (Canada.gc.ca, â€Å"The Canadian Population in 2011: Population Counts and Growth†). Thus, from the above results, it has been learned that the population growth in Canada has been quite high and similarly other G8 countries also had variable amount of growth rate in terms of Population but Canada seemed to have the h ighest amount as compared to other nations. TRENDS OF POPULATION GROWTH IN THE WORLD The concept of population growth can be argued to pose certain problems in the world economy. With every increase in the birth rate when compared with the decreased death rate, the economy of a particular nation may have to face numerous issues pertaining to economic growth. Mostly less developed countries are likely to be effected with high rate in population growth (Haub, â€Å"Fact Sheet: World Population Trends 2012†). A diagram representing the trends of population growth which shows the possibilities of increase in population by the year 2050 has been cited below: Source: (Haub, â€Å"Fact Sheet: World Population Trends 2012†). Less developed

What are environmental benefits of joining European Union Essay

What are environmental benefits of joining European Union - Essay Example Firstly, scholars have noted that the environmental standards that the European Union promotes can potentially save between 50,000 and 150,000 lives in countries that adopt EU standards; due to reduced levels of air pollution alone (Daly, 2012). With such a drastic reduction in death associated with air pollution, the society itself is not only better off and more healthy, they are able to defray a great many expenses that are associated with the long term healthcare of those individuals that suffer from this pollution. Estimates from scholars put the total cost savings that are associated with the above issue at tens of billions of pounds annually. Such a change can clearly be denoted with respect to the vastly positive shift in air purity that was represented within Romania’s air pollution index after European Union inclusion. Additionally, people in rural areas can be connected to municipal waste management systems; thereby reducing the pollution that takes place within the countryside as a result of illegal dumping. The power that this particular requirement has is oftentimes misunderstood or under-stated. However, by standardizing and centralizing the waste management of these nations, the entire ecosystem is preserved from the harm that many smaller and less stringent dumping sites would necessarily reflect (Kingston, 2010). The European Union also promotes a series of new requirements on nature protection; these will help to preserve the natural habitat of many creatures and a great many forest and swamp lands for future generations to enjoy (Bertram & Rehdanz, n.d.). Although such a consideration is oftentimes not the first concern of those individuals that wish to promote a further level of economic growth and independence, it is necessary for the preservation of the nation’s resources to consider the long term impacts that further destruction of

US Airline Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

US Airline Industry - Essay Example Southwest first expanded to the East Coast in 1993, with service to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. In 1994, the company acquired Morris Air, a Salt Lake City, Utah based airline. That same year, Southwest launched several programs to cut costs. A ticket less system reduced travel agents commissions, and Southwest began to use an in-house reservation system. By 1997, Southwest Airlines served cities in all parts of the continental United States. This same year, Southwest formed an alliance with Icelandair. This agreement enabled Southwest passengers to connect from several United States cities to Europe through Icelandairs Baltimore hub. The company completed its first non-stop transcontinental flight in 1998, thus establishing Southwest as a formidable domestic competitor. In this paper potential areas of improvement, and how Southwest Airlines can gain its own advantage in the industry will be discussed. Southwest ranked number one in on-time performance for several years according to [The Department of Transportations Air Travel Consumer Report]" (Goh, 2007, 103). This punctuality can be attributed the companys ticket less system and no-frills approach to air travel. The ticket less system reduces costs for both consumers and Southwest. Travel agents and ticket brokers are eliminated from the ticketing process. This also minimizes the lengthy check-in processes by eliminating physical transactions between customer service representatives and the consumer. All that is required is a reservation number and a form of identification to receive a reusable boarding pass, which enables the customer to board quickly. Southwests no-frill approach reduces preparation time by eliminating the time required for three optional services. The first service to be bypassed is the meal distribution by flight attendants. Southwest does not serve meals on any flight regardless of duration. This severely reduces the time required of planes while sitting

Arguments For And Against Resistance To Change Essay

Arguments For And Against Resistance To Change - Essay Example With evidence of companies failing to change owing to resistance by employees, it is no wonder that organizations invest great time and resources to conduct training and coaching in order to reduce resistance to change. While there are strong arguments that support this view, there are various reasons to prove that managing resistance to change may, in fact, may not be a good idea always. One reason why resistance to change may be productive is that it prevents bad/wrong ideas from being assimilated in the organization. Employee resistance to change allows firms to rethink â€Å"why† they are changing. In other words, it allows leadership to reconsider the business case for change with a critical perspective. If all employees agreed and there was no resistance, clearly management could oversee the ‘downside’ of changing making it unprofitable for the firm in the long run. Furthermore, because resistance to change often comprises of the fear factor (including loss of status, power or even job for employees), it encourages the top management to discover the impact that change would have on the ‘people’. Therefore, resistance to change is essential in the sense that it allows management to develop an open-ended view of change and consider the drawbacks of change. By doing so, managers can then come up with policies and procedures to counter the drawbacks and make change more workable and feasible for employees. Furthermore, the fact that resistance is seen as a â€Å"problem† to change leads management to derive strategies to overcome rather than engage it. Managers may often go at length to reduce the ‘threat’ of resistance and, in doing so, may adopt tactics that may be harmful to the organization. As a result, it is common to find management taking on an overly defensive role in trying to push the change too hard as well as become overly protective of their status in trying to win the argument against disgrun tled employees (Watson, 1982). This occurs because management views resistance to change as a reactive process in which agents possessing power oppose the reactions of other agents (Jermier et al., 1994). This leads them into an evitable trap whereby the management becomes overly concerned with protecting their position and argument rather than listening to what the disgruntled employees have to say. As a result, communication is reduced and the situation evolves into a manager-employee conflict. This stems from the fact that managers may alienate employees who are seen as obstacles rather than resources for change. Consequently, this conflict results in loss of reputation and poor relationships with employees, thereby reducing the morale of employees. Additionally, managing resistance to change often brings with the incorrect assumption that resistance is a one-sided phenomenon. Managers may become overly simplistic to assume that resistance is caused only by the attitudes and beha viors of employees. In fact, many models, such as three dimensional model of change, are based on the inherent assumption that resistance is solely the product of the behavior, emotions and attitudes of the employees (Hayes, 2010). Under this view, managers attempt to see the resistors as irrational and self-centered and consequently, try to block their interference in the change process. Although this true, resistance to change can be attributed partially to the way in which the organization is bringing about change and the behavior of managers in this respect. Therefore, managers who hold this view often ignore the fact that resistance to change is, in fact, feedback and that it must not be blocked or reduced but dealt with

Resume Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Resume - Essay Example Passed the English Language course (first level) held at Al Khaleej Institute (Direct English) under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, General Department of Education in Riyadh with a grade A+ (excellent) and GPA 95% (22/4/2007-6/6/2007) Passed the Communication Disorders Course for Preparing Communication Specialists held at Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh over duration of 60 hours long in one month from 2/5/2010, with a general grade A+ (excellent) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Arabic Calligraphy (Riq’a)† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (24/1/2011-27/1/2011) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Strategy of Concept Maps† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (17/1/2011-20/1/2011) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Behavior Modification† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (10/1/2011-13/1/2011) Completed a training program entitled â€Å"Student Activities’ Guide for Primary Stage† over duration of 8-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (27/12/2010-28/2/2010) Accomplished a training program entitled â€Å"Court and its Applications in Education (2)† over duration of 12-hours long held at the Educational Training Center of the General Department of Education in Riyadh under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (19/12/2010-22/12/2010) Accomplished a

Task 3 Experiment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Task 3 Experiment - Coursework Example Resistance to the salinity levels by seeds is important to ensure plant survival. Soil sanitization degrades the soil. Building up of minerals (Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, Calcium, etc.) in these lands is due to evaporation. The condition is further worsened by over irrigation and excessive evaporation. Though some plants are tolerant to high salinity levels, others have little or no salinity tolerance. A high salt content interferes with the germination of seeds as it prevents roots from osmotic activities. This regulates the amount of nutrients and minerals being taken up by the plant. The Osmotic activities has been said to be partially if not fully, involved in the salt tolerance of certain plants (Neto et al., 2004). According to Bajji, he argues that the ability of the seed bank to remain dormant in high salt levels and germinate immediately after reduction is very significant in plants adapting and colonizing their environment as it ensures life continuity. (Bajji et al., 20 02) Measuring salt into cup on scales. In case the needed weight is less than the scale’s smallest increment, measure about 2 or 4 times that amount, and halve it using a spatula. Put the measured amount in a graduated cylinder. Carefully add the measured salt from the graduated cylinder to a measured volume of distilled water in another graduated cylinder and stir effectively. The main reason is to ensure that the salt is dissolved and evenly distributed throughout the solution. The seedlings including the control test are all stored under similar environmental conditions (Light, temperature and humidity). By varying the concentration of NaCl, one is able to compare the results by seeing how the seedlings are faring. Given that maize is widely grown in different regions with varying saline conditions, it is important we do this in order to understand that plants offer resistance to conditions that are not conducive for their

History of the nazi holocaust - take home midterm Essay

History of the nazi holocaust - take home midterm - Essay Example 2. The  Sturmabteilung  (SA) served as the original paramilitary wing for the Nazi party in Germany. This paramilitary wing played a key role in the rise of Hilter and Nazi party into leadership. The main work of the SA was to protect from attack the rallies that were organized by Nazi party. The SA was also tasked with disrupting meetings and rallies that were organized by other political parties that were opposed to Nazi as well as fighting the paramilitary units of the opposing parties. All this actions were key in Nazis ascension to power. 3. Mein Kampf was a book that is believed to have been written by one of Hitler’s scribes through dictation by Hitler. The book forms the manifesto of Hitler. It provides insight of how he plans to rule Germany and how Germans are a superior race compared to others. The proclamation of German as a superior race and his ambition as shown in the book to unite all German speaking states to one great German made the book to be popular among Germans as that made them love and elect Hitler to power. The book ha however, been rebuked in other parts of the word for its racism. 4. The Reichstag fire occurred on February 27th  1933. The Reichstag building was where parliament of Germany was and was therefore was destroyed by fire. The event together with the events following it gave the Nazi government control since most of the other opposing parties which were the communists and social democratic party were executed following the fire. The execution was done since it was suspected that they had started the fire. This provided a real majority for the Nazi party since they now comfortably took control of the government unlike initially where they were not sure of control if the two parties combined. 5. The Anti-Jewish Boycott took place in April 1, 1933, Hitler’s government called on Germans to stop buying from Jewish shops or even visiting professional officers

Pluto or Neptune Essay Example for Free

Pluto or Neptune Essay Dr. Derik Johnson is highly acclaimed for his knowledge and research in physics. He has done a lot of research on the force of gravitation, and has a very conclusive notion in his mind that if sun’s gravitational pull is so great that it can compel a system of 9 planets to rotate around itself, then objects on earth, which is relatively very near to the sun as compared to Pluto or Neptune, should also fall towards sun, and not down towards the centre of the planet. He defies Newtonian theory on gravitational pull. Years of concentrated research on this notion, enable him to make a device, which can reverse the gravitational pull on any object. His joy does not know any limits, on this achievement. This is a device, which has a flat surface and which can be held in ones hand. Once the flat surface is made to face the Sun for 5 minutes, it gathers enough energy to change the gravitational field acting on any body. So, if he points this device to a person walking on road, it would appear to him as if, the person is getting carried upwards. To a common person, this device appears as if it is a round mirror of 5 inches diameter, and nothing else. Dr.Derik’s close friend John Mathew, is a shrewd businessman with acute sense of business opportunities. It was because of this sense of turning innovations into business, that he was a very wealthy man today. As a close friend, he discusses Dr. Derik discusses his invention with John, who perceives a gigantic business opportunity in this device. Now, tons and tons of load can be lifted upwards, with this small device !!!!! No extra energy no extra efforts !!! His shrewd business mind tells him that cranes and lifting devices could be a thing of past, if this invention could be turned into a working, marketable product. Both work together, incessantly, to bring out a commercially viable product, which can make any object move upward, just by pointing towards it. This product creates as storm in the market, and becomes an outright success. It becomes a minting machine for this duo. This run for minting money through this product, did not last long. Barely within a few months of its existence, reports of varied misuse of the product started flowing in and making headlines in the news channels and papers. While it proved very beneficial to the industry which had real time applications, it became a nuisance for others. Mrs. Alice, the head of an NGO, filed a law suit against this company, on behalf of a young girl, Edwina. It so happened that a boy studying with Edwina was madly in love with her, and wanted to marry her. Edwina was in no mood to agree to his proposal, and had been rejecting this boy consistently. So, this boy, uses this device, to shoot a small clip, with her walking above the surface of the earth. Since she was wearing a skirt at that time, the camera was able to shoot her private parts also. This was obviously very embarrassing to Edwina. Her MMS clips started circulating around the campus, then the town and then to the whole world through the internet. Edwina reported this case to Mrs. Alice, who was very upset at knowing her story. She approached the courts, and filed a law suit against the manufacturers, demanding a very heavy penalty in favor of Edwina, and immediate withdrawal of all the products from the market, and closing down the manufacturing unit. The court, decides to withdraw all the products from the market, pay heavy compensation to Edwina, but does not order closing down of the manufacturing unit. Instead, it issues an order that the product could be marketed to genuine customers only, who have to obtain a license to buy this product. The court also orders Dr. Derik to improvise the design in such a way that only a person with very high technical skills can use it. ( Dear customer : the resemblances are as follows : Dr. Derik – Dr. Frankenstein, the product – the monster, Edwina- William who was the victim, John- Henry, and Mrs. Alice- Elizabeth). Reference: 1) Victor Frankenstein, Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, retrieved on 5 january 2008 from : http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Victor_Frankenstein

Causes of the US National Debt

Causes of the US National Debt How big is the US National Debt and history? By definition, the amount of money owed by the federal government to creditors is referred to as the US National Debt. The National debt is categorized into two; public debts and government. Government debts are always on the rise due to the increase in government spending and expenditure, unpaid credits by debtors, decreased taxes among others (Zezza, 2014). The US National Debt has a historical increment due to the rise in debt as a share of the GDP during the recession periods and times of war. A combination of inflation and growth of GDP results in decreased national debt. The national debt of the US, for instance, increased after the World War II to 113 % in the year 1945 (Zezza, 2014). However, this figure later went down in the subsequent thirty-five years. In the past few decades, there have been concerns of how sustainable the fiscal policies of the US National government are based on the rise in costs of medication and the growing number of old people in the US population ( Zezza, 2014). According to Sakbani (2013), the public debt of the US was at $ 14.3 trillion of the overall GDP while the inter-governmental debts were $5.4 trillion. This totals to about 10.6% of the 2015 GDP. Sakbani (2013) further notes that more than 45 % of the US national debt in 2016 was by foreign investors with Japan and China in the lead. Precisely, an analysis of the US national debt reveals that the debt has had a constructive decline since the year 1789 apart from between 1835 and 1836 (Chorafas, 2014). The debt was at the highest level during the first term presidency of Harry Truman which was during and after the Second World War.   After the second world war, there was a notable fall in the national debt in the US. The US national debt was at its lowest point in 1974 under the leadership of Richard Nixon (Sakbani, 2013). However, after 1974, the national debt started appreciating and this has been the trend since then. But it stagnated during Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter’s presidency. In the 1980s there was a tremendous increase in national debt due to Ronald Reagans decision to lower taxes and increase military expenditures. However, in the 1990s the debt went down when a reverse of the 1980s was implemented; increased taxes, and lower military spending. Chorafas (2014) highlights that due to the fina ncial crisis between 2007 and 2008 the public debt went extremely high. There seems to be a surge in national debt during the GW Bush and Obama administrations. Why? There was a considerable rise in national debt between the presidency of George Bush and that of Barrack Obama. This was from $ 5.768 trillion when Bush left office to $ 14.071 trillion 735 days after Obama took office (Skidmore, 2011). This means that the recording of Bush’s national debt was wrong. This is because in his term as the president there was a rise of $ 607 billion yearly hence the overall figure could not be $ 5.768 trillion as indicated in the Treasury records. Skidmore (2011) further explains that during Obama’s era the national debt considerably went high by an average of $ 1.723 trillion yearly. This saw the figure go way up above the debt during Bush’s presidency. However, it is not possible to hold Obama responsible for this increase in debt. This is because the figures flow from the 2009’s budget which Obama never signed. This means that if the right account to Obamas accounts are to be analyzed this should trail down from the fiscal year 2010 and 2011 (Sakbani, 2013). In addition to a sum of $ 225 trillion that was included in the 2009 budget under his signature. A close comparison of Obama’s and Bush’s spending and deficit reveal that Bush was way far than Obama based on managing of the national debt. This argument can be supported by; Bush operated a total budget of 3.283 trillion in deficit spending for his eight fiscal years in office. On the other hand, Obama operated at a spending deficit of $ 2.826 trillion within his first two years in office. This means that while Bush operated at a deficit of $410 billion per annum, Obama operates at more than $1.4 trillion per annum, giving a difference of more than 1 trillion between the two reigns. This analysis explains the current surge between Obamas presidency and Bushs presidency regarding deficit spending. What are the consequences of a large national debt? Is it going to hamper the economic growth as some have claimed? Based on an economic perspective, large national debt affects the economic growth negatively. It is almost impossible for a government or country rather to sustaining a large and growing national debt. Some of the effects come from the side of investors who begin doubting the possibility of the federal government to continue servicing the economy and government spending (Boubekar et al., 2016). There are three major effects of large national debts on a country’s economic growth. First, large debt draws money away from national investments which would earn then government some revenues. This is due to lack of enough money for the government to service effective investments. This would mean that the government is heavily spending, but there are minimal or no revenues being generated hence lack of capital to be reinvested. There will be no growth in the country’s economy. Secondly, large debts negatively influence taxation and spending by the government. This is because when the country is suffering from high national debts, all the attention are focused on what the government can do to continue sustaining itself. This is where the government adjusts. As Boubaker et al. (2016) put it when taxation is high workers and investors are negatively affected by tax increment and can be left with little or no money to reinvest. Also, the tax increment leads to economic downturn from the side of the policymakers and investors. Policymakers find it challenging designing policies on tax spending in an environment where there is an extremely high national debt. The economic growth is normally hard in such a situation based on the fact that there are no sufficient funds to fund any new challenges that arise along the policy-making and policy implementation processes. Is it possible for the US to default on its debt in future? Explain The United States does not have any record of ever defaulting on national debt. If this ever happens the results can be unimaginable. However, there have been cases when the House Republicans have resisted raising the house ceilings urging the Congress house to cut on spending first (Johnson, 2000). It means that there are possibilities of the US failing to honor their national debt shortly. Precisely, the US can default their national debt in two main ways; failure of the Congress to raise the debt ceiling, and is the Government decides that the interests they are charged are way too high and resolve to not paying interests on bond, notes, and Treasury bills. In the first case scenario, failure by the Congress to raise the debt ceiling would mean high interests rate on Treasuries, hence high costs on the consumer loan, mortgages, and other such services (Johnson, 2000).This will then lead to decline in the value of a dollar and finally inability of the government to pay salaries and benefits to their civil servants and retirees. On the other hand, in the second scenario, there would be a disaster as the value of treasuries in all the government’s secondary markets would stagnate or go down hence Treasuries would be sold at discounted prices (Cline, 2013). The government would find it hard to auction their treasuries hence making it hard for them to borrow money and pay bills. The default of US national debt would be extremely disastrous owing to the confidence most investors have on the US markets. Why the Nobel winning economist Paul Krugman is not as alarmed as many others are concerning the high level of US National debt? It is important to note that the overall national debt is usually a combination of all loans acquired by the federal government from various creditors to finance a deficit budget. In taking and utilizing loans, the government usually has a focus on increasing their tax rates for them to finance their current government spending (Zezza, 2014). Paul Kraugman can be said to be less alarmed on the high level of the US national debt due to his argument that there is no need for investors or anybody else to worry about the level of the impeding national debt of the US. In his argument, Kraugman makes several assumptions. Unlike others, Krugman argues that in as much as debt matters there are other things that matter most and that the government needs to spend more to get the US citizens out of the current unemployment trap (Zezza, 2014). This shows that he had no idea what harm the current high national debt has caused the US and the impacts a further increase in government spending will cause the US. References Boubaker, S., Rouatbi, W., & Saffar, W. (2016). The Role of multiple large shareholders in the choice of debt source. Financial Management, 46(1), 241-387. Doi: 10. 1111/fima. 12148 Chorafas, D. N. (2014). Kingdoms of Debt Public Debt Dynamics of Europe and the US, 24-32. DOI: 10. 1016/b978-0-12-420021-0.00002-6 Cline, W. R. (2013). The multiplier, sovereign default Risk, and the US budget: An overview. Public Debt, Global Governance and Economics Dynamism, 276-29. Doi: 10.1007/978-88-470-5331-1-3 Johnson, K. (2000). National Missile Defense 2015: An Unintended Consequence. Doi. 10. 21236/ada432647 Sakbani, M. N. (2013). The Dual Debt Problem in the US and in Europe. International Debt. Doi: 10. 1057/9781137030573.0007 Skidmore, D. N. (2011). The Obama Presidency and the US Foreign Policy: Where is the Multilateralism? International Studies Perspectives, 13(1), 46-53. Doi: 10.1111/mj. 1528-3585.2011.00454.x Zezza, G. (2014). Fiscal and Debt Policies for Sustainable US Growth. Fiscal and Debt Policies for the Future. Doi: 10. 1057/9781137269539.0012

The Changing Role Of The Teaching Assistant Education Essay

The Changing Role Of The Teaching Assistant Education Essay A brief history into the changing role of the teaching assistant. Due to the governments 2003 initiative to change the staffing structure within schools, the role of the Teaching Assistant has changed significantly in recent years (Pugh, J. 2007) and has, in turn, led to numerous publications and studies concerning the effectiveness of these changes on childrens learning. Historically, teaching assistants, or auxiliaries as they were sometimes formerly known, were non teaching adults who helped qualified teachers by carrying out day to day preparatory and administrative tasks and providing pastoral care to children. (Clayton. 1993) However, in 1998, the Local Government Chronicle published a summary of a Green Paper, (1998), in which they outlined proposals for employing a greater number of support staff 20,000 by the year 2002 in order to provide more support for teachers. The summary also announced the governments suggestions for a more effective use of, and better training for, teaching assistants and other school support staff which, along with a subsequent OfSTED review (2002a, p6) declared the need for training that would, match any proposed structure of qualifications and to facilitate career progression. Working as a teaching assistant thus became a career and so began the real debate about the role of the teaching assistant. During a UNISON conference on Building a World Class Education Service Estelle Morris stated that: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦teaching assistants have a vital role to play in our classrooms (Morris, 2002, cited in Unison, p.2) But what does that role entail? As with many job titles within the working environment, the title teaching assistant is often interpreted in a variety of ways but one common theme I have encountered, when questioning educational staff, is that all teaching assistants are facilitators of learning and therefore are essential elements in the promotion of learning for children. How the facilitation is carried out, however, is less clear and open to individual interpretation by both employers and employees. The ability of an individual to enhance a pupils learning experience depends on many factors and will often be decided by the environment in which they are employed. Through personal experiences I am convinced that a school which values the contributions of its support staff will provide professional development opportunities and will, therefore, create a valuable resource that will support children, teachers and the school itself. Supporting teaching and learning A teaching assistants role is to support the learning of all children. In order to do this they, like any educator, need to have a good understanding of how children learn. In the book, Teaching and Learning in the Early Years, Whitebread (2008, chapter 1) discusses Piagets ideas that children need to feel and hold control over their learning. Whitebread continues by exploring Vygotsys claims that it is the role of the adult to provide opportunities for social interaction and to support the child in moving out of their comfort zone or level of actual development and towards their potential via their zone of proximal development. To do this, a teaching assistant must understand how to promote curiosity amongst children while providing opportunities for discussion and exploration. With current class sizes in the region of up to 30 pupils, a class teacher will often be unable to engage in this vital aspect of developing childrens learning and so it is essential that supporting adults ar e equipped with the skills to scaffold learning and to provide opportunities for them to develop the language needed to be able to discuss and explain their ideas. (Bruner 1983, cited in Peabody Journal of Education, pp 64-66) Just recently I was fortunate to be part of an initiative to promote reading amongst a group of reluctant male readers who had, for unknown reasons, formulated an opinion that reading was a chore to be undertaken with animosity and only when instructed to do so. My role was that of the enabling adult as described by Chambers (1991). By providing them with an opportunity to share and discuss each others reading experiences I was able to, over the course of only a week, unleash in them a willingness and enjoyment of reading. The outcome of this quickly became apparent in their understanding of written text. The children also began writing with enthusiasm, using their own knowledge and experiences; as a result, they are in control of their own learning. The children feel empowered by the fact that they are directly responsible for the progress that they are making and continue to enjoy our weekly discussions about their reading and progress. The children mentioned do not have special educational needs, as is often the case for pupils being supported by a teaching assistant. Children with SEN require a higher level of support and this has, historically, been provided by teaching assistants. (Alborz et al, 2009a) This has previously been an area for debate with The Daily Telegraph (2009) publishing an article claiming that research shows that, Pupils make less progress in classrooms where schools employ more teaching assistants. This article states that teaching assistants often support lower attaining pupils, resulting in them being less supported by a qualified teacher and to them making limited progress. The article does not, however, take into account the training of the teaching assistants. While reviewing the impact of workforce remodeling, a report by OfSTED (2004) stated that when a teaching assistant is appointed to work with carefully chosen pupils and is provided with the training to do so effectively, the pupil s make significant progress. This is, of course, as well as the obvious benefits of providing the teacher with more time to focus on other pupils. Having worked alongside several teaching assistants employed to support children with SEN I have witnessed the immeasurable benefit to the pupil and the class as a whole. The teaching assistants enabled the pupils to be included in a mainstream classroom and access the curriculum, while allowing the class teacher to support the majority of the pupils. Their support involved the re-enforcing of the whole class teaching, giving the pupil the confidence to participate in class discussions, simplification of vocabulary, offering praise and encouragement and feedback on the completed task. Following the lesson, the teaching assistant also provided the teacher with assessment and monitoring feedback to enable assessment of and for learning. This assessment has become a vital aspect of the role of the teaching assistant and supports the teacher and pupil by enabling differentiation and personalised learning to become every day practice. (OfSTED, 2002b) Guidance published by the NFER (2002, cited in DfES, 2005, p.22) found that when teachers and teaching assistants work together the results are a more effective level of teaching and learning. An example of this is a scenario I have experienced recently where a teaching assistant supported the learning of the majority of the class while the class teacher focused on the children with SEN. As a result of the teacher and teaching assistant having spent time working together to plan the lesson, the teaching assistant was able to support the learning objectives and assist pupils in their achievement of them. Teaching assistants can also, when included in the planning of a lesson, actively participate in the delivery of the lesson providing an alternative viewpoint or by playing a character in role. One such example was provided by my colleague who, upon realising that many of the pupils within the class had misunderstood a key concept, pretended to be confused and raised a hand to ask for clarification. As a result, pupils developed a clearer understanding of the lesson and therefore, the teaching assistant had played an important role in developing their learning. By implementing a mixture of all of these approaches and with effective training and guidance, teaching assistants can provide invaluable support for all children within any lesson. Teaching assistants also support behaviour management within classes and can provide an alternative level of perception within the classroom. In daily Literacy lessons, I have observed a teaching assistant supporting a pupil with ADHD and have no doubt that without her presence, the class teacher would have to spend a large proportion of the lesson settling the child and addressing low level distractions. Personal experience has shown me that children with emotional and / or behavioural difficulties are often more responsive towards a teaching assistant with whom they can forge a positive adult / child relationship. This can contribute towards the social and emotional wellbeing of the child as outlined by Alborz et al. (2009b). Supporting the teacher and the school Besides the opportunity to support childrens learning during lesson time, teaching assistants continue to carry out a multitude of administrative tasks in order to support the class teacher and the school as a whole. The National Agreement, (ATL et al. 2003, p.2), implemented as part of the governments workforce remodelling initiative, states that teachers should not spend their time carrying out administrative responsibilities that do not make full use of their skills and expertise but that these tasks should be carried out by support staff. The agreement outlines twenty-one tasks that teaching staff should not be required to carry out including the preparation of classroom resources, photocopying, the collection of monies for educational visit and the preparation and setting up of displays. These tasks must also, therefore, be considered the responsibility of the teaching assistant. Each and every one of the administrative tasks has an impact on the educational environment and ther efore contributes towards supporting the development of childrens learning. In practice, however, the need for teaching assistants to be more involved in the delivery of lessons surely means that they too will have less time for carrying out administrative duties which in turn might relay these duties back into the hands of the teachers. In my experience, teaching assistants often offer unconditional support for the school in which they are employed. Many carry out duties beyond their working hours attending extracurricular events and regularly being at the forefront of fund raising activities. They frequently are able to provide a connection between local communities and their schools as they often live in close proximity to their workplace. This is a non essential yet valuable part of their role as it enables teaching staff to be aware of local issues and provides a link between parents and schools. (Lipsett, 2008) In summary, the role of the teaching assistant is a developing one, consisting of providing emotional support for pupils in their care and using knowledge and skills to assist in the development of childrens learning while maintaining an excellent level of support for both the teacher and the school community.

The Cobb-Douglas Production Function for South Africa Essay -- South A

Introduction For every firm to produce goods it needs inputs such as capital and labour. Mankiw (2005) refers to capital set of tools that workers use in the process of production e.g. Machineries such as computers whereas labour refers to the hours that employee invest working. Production function refers to the output of a firm, an industry or an entire economy for all combination of inputs (Banaeian and Zangeneh, 2001).Economists use production function to precise the relationship between labour and capital and according to Mankiw (2005). Production functions reveal the available technology for transforming labour and capital into output. Tang (2008) highlighted the fact that theory of productivity was proposed by Knut Wicksell in 1851 which contributed a lot towards the works of Charles Cobb and Paul Douglas. Cobb-Douglas production function was developed by Cobb and Douglas in 1928 which is a fundamental function even now in both Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. The Cobb-Douglas production function is normally utilized by economists in the direction of explaining the correlation between contributions of resources involved in production such as labour, capital and technology.Cobb-Douglas production function and constant elasticity of substitution functions are playing a significant role for analysis in economics. Cobb-Douglas production function is still universally used toward the analysis of productivity and growth (Felipe and Adams, 2005). Felipe and Adam accepted as true that Paul Douglas is one of the economists who deserved a Novel Price for his marvelous works. Cobb and Douglas suggested that elasticity of substitution between capital and labour should be constant or equals to one even though they did not specify ... ....worldbank.gov. (2011). Data on Gross Domestic Product and Total employment of South Africa. World Bank. http://www.southafricanreservebank.co.za. (2011). Data on Fixed Capital Stock of South Africa. South African Reserve Bank Mankiw, NG. (1995). â€Å"The Growth of the Nations†. Brookings paper of economics activities. pp 275-326 Mankiw, NG. (2005). Macroeconomics, International edition. Worth Publishers: New York Mankiw, N.G (2013) Principle of Macroeconomics 7th edition. Congage Learning: United States of America Romer, P.M. (1986). Increasing returns and long run growth. Journal of political economy Vol 94. Pp 1002-37 Romer, P.M. (1990). Capital, Labour and productivity. Journal of political economy Vol. 98, No 5: university of Chicago. Pp 339341 Solow, R.M (1956). A contribution to the theory of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics. Pp 65-94

Ageism In Playboy :: essays research papers

Ageism in Playboy Definitions: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Content analysis is the process of picking apart and closely observing a subject matter. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ageism is the discrimination of people based on their age. Hypothesis: That I will find no women over the age 30 pictured in an issue of Playboy Magazine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this paper I plan to prove that the hypothesis stated above is true because in society youth is considered a both beautiful and desirable quality to posses. Because Playboy Magazine is a popular magazine aimed at male readers, and because this magazine uses both youth and beauty to sell itself, it could be concluded that men desire female images that manifest beauty in youth. I chose to look at Playboy because Playboy’s interest is to sell magazines that satisfy the desires of males. Why does Playboy satisfy the desires of males? It is because in their magazines women between the ages of 18 and 29 are featured nude displaying the youth that their bodies posses. I chose to test this hypothesis by looking at Playboy’s 1997 January issue and reading the descriptions of the models such as their height, weight, bust, hips, and most importantly age. This particular issue happened to have all models in the running for Playmate of the Year so I had 12 sub jects to observe. If this hypothesis holds true, then the real underlying question will surface: What makes youth beautiful? My hypothesis was proven true to a certain point. As I thumbed through the twelve models in the running for Playmate of the year, as I suspected, none of the models were over the age of 30. The oldest of the 12 models was age 26. However, my hypothesis stated that I would not find any women in an entire issue of Playboy, not just the models. On page 51 of the 1997 January issue was and interview featuring Whoopi Goldberg. There was not one, not two, but three photographs of the 41-year-old actress. In this entire issue of Playboy, there was a woman over the age of 30; thus my hypothesis was proven wrong. However, I still conclude that ageism still existed in this issue of Playboy Magazine. Why? The answer is because no models over the age of 30 had been chosen to appear nude in this issue. I believe it is because Playboy wants to portray youth as beautiful to its selected reader. The firm bodies and youthful smiles of women under the age of thirty is what Playboy’s editors con sider beautiful.

The Handmaids Tale :: Handmaids Tale Essays

The Handmaids Tale In Margaret Atwoods novel, "The Handmaids Tale", the birth rate in the United States had dropped so low that extremists decided to take matters into their own hands by killing off the government, taking over themselves, and reducing the womens role in society to that of a silent birthing machine. One handmaid describes what happened and how it came about as she, too, is forced to comply with the new order. Before the new order, known as the Sons of Jacob, took over, women had a lot to be afraid of. They had freedom to do whatever they wanted, but this freedom was severely inhibited by maniacs who could strike at any time. Women followed rules to keep them out of danger, but they were not enforced. "I remember the rules, rules that were never spelled out but that every woman knew; dont open your door to a stranger, even if he is the police. Make him slide his ID under the door. Dont stop on the road to help a motorist pretending to be in trouble. Keep the locks on and keep going. If anyone whistles, dont turn to look. Dont go into a laundromat, by yourself, at night . .. Women were not protected then."(p. 24) Nobody believed it could happen to them. When the Sons of Jacob took over and began to take away their freedom, they accepted it. They were afraid and the Sons gave them some security. Because they accepted the first few laws, it was hard to refuse to not go along with the ones that followed. When the women were finally stripped of their identities, they felt as though they had deserved it because they had done nothing to try and save any of their other rights. "We looked at one anothers faces and saw dismay, and a certain shame, as if wed been caught doing something we shouldnt. Its outrageous one woman said, but without belief. What was it about this that made us feel we deserved it?"(p. 166) The Sons used this insecurity to round up the women and place them in institutions where they would be "safe". Once they had them within their

The Ways We Lie Argument Essay

Lies have been around for as long as people have been. We all lie, whether it is to protect someone we love of to cover up something we don’t want others to know about, it is still lying, and we all do it everyday. Lying has become the new normal for our modern society, so much so, that some of us have lost our morals completely. It is just so much easier and quicker to just lie to someone than to tell the truth, and now you can never tell who is lying to you or who is telling the truth.People use to have morals about lying and many people would feel bad about it and teach their children to never lie, but now in today’s society they just pop out of our mouths like they're nothing. We will never stop lying because it’s easier to live a lie than it is to tell the truth, because the truth might come with consequences, but so does lying. Most of the time it is easier to tell a lie than it is to tell the truth and there is no way that we will ever completely eliminate lying from our society, because it does make our lives so much easier.Sometimes though lying can come with consequences, and it can backfire when someone discovers that you lied. Lying can cause a situation to become worse than it would have been if the truth had been told. Take James Frey for an example. He wrote an autobiography called A Million Little Pieces and the book was featured on Oprah and put on her book club list. After a while it was discovered that parts of his autobiography were not real and he was humiliated on a national level.If he had told the truth then his book could have still been published, but as a fictional story, and he could have still been a successful author and had a bestselling book. You should always be careful with the lies you tell and who you tell them to because there’s always a chance that someone will find out and then you would be in trouble. We have become a gullible nation where we will believe that most of the stuff that is told to us is the truth.Think about the magazine’s that we read. If we read an article that says that a famous actress is pregnant then we automatically believe it. We believe it because it is in a local or national magazine, and we think that no one would try to lie to that many people at once. As children we are taught to not question the things that adults tell us. We are suppose to just believe what they tell us and we are not to question our parents or our teachers.As we grow older and wiser though, we learn that our parents and teachers lie just like everyone else and that not everyone tells the truth. Even the presidents lie, like Bill Clinton when he tried to hide his affair with another woman. Because of his life he was impeached by the House of Representatives and he lost the trust of an entire nation with one lie. As we grow we learn that our lives can affect other people and maybe even hurt them, and most of all that lying can cause people to lose their trust in us.We wil l never be able to eliminate lying from our society because it makes our lives easier; it is just easier to tell a lie. We will always want to hide things from our friends, and parents and add those little things to our stories that make our lives sound better and more interesting. It is a little scary how use to lying that we have become and how easily that we will believe these lies. We will always want to lie or even need to lie and it will always be there.

Succubus Shadows Chapter 20

I woke up in my own bed and found Mei sitting beside it. Not even Nurse Ratched could have startled me that much. Mei was flipping through a magazine and glanced up, appearing bored. â€Å"Oh. You're awake. Finally.† She stood up. â€Å"What†¦what happened?† I asked, blinking at the light pouring in through my window. I was kind of surprised she hadn't shut the curtains. She didn't really strike me as a fun-in-the-sun person. â€Å"You don't remember?† Her disinterested expression sharpened. â€Å"Jerome said it would all come back to you. If it hasn't†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I sat up, drawing my knees to my body. â€Å"No, no. I remember†¦I remember what happened at Erik's. I remember†¦the Oneroi.† Saying the word made me shudder. â€Å"But what happened after that? How long have I been asleep?† â€Å"Three days,† she said flatly. â€Å"What?† I stared at her, my mouth agape. If Mei was the joking type, I would have expected the punch line now. â€Å"I don't†¦I mean, it went so fast. And I didn't dream.† She crooked me a smile. â€Å"Seems like you'd want that. And heavy sleep heals you faster.† The smile changed to a grimace. â€Å"Not that waiting by your bedside for three days has really felt that fast. Jerome made me keep all your friends away. That was fun.† â€Å"Did you just use sarcasm?† â€Å"I'm leaving,† she said, back to her all business self. â€Å"I've done what Jerome asked.† â€Å"Wait! What happened to Seth and Erik? Are they okay?† â€Å"Fine,† she said. I waited for her to vanish, but it didn't come. She peered at me curiously. â€Å"It shouldn't have worked, you know.† â€Å"What shouldn't have?† â€Å"That ritual. There is no way that human could have found you. Not among all those other souls.† The Oneroi had said the same thing, and thinking back to the storm of color and disorder, I could understand their reasoning. â€Å"We†¦we love each other.† I wasn't sure I had the right to those words, but they came out anyway. Mei rolled her eyes. â€Å"That means nothing. Human love – no matter what all your songs and chick flicks tell you – isn't enough. It shouldn't have worked.† I didn't know what to say. â€Å"Well†¦I guess it did.† â€Å"Jerome knew it would too,† she mused, a small frown wrinkling her brow. Her gaze hardened on me. â€Å"Did you? Do you know how it happened?† â€Å"What?† I squeaked. â€Å"No! I don't understand any of this.† I expected her to deny this and question me further. Instead her frown only deepened, and I realized I was no longer of use in solving this dilemma to her. She vanished. The instant she disappeared, Roman came bursting into my room. â€Å"She's gone?† he asked. If he was nearby, he would have felt her signature go away. â€Å"Have you been hanging out the whole time?† I asked. He sat down in the chair she'd been in. â€Å"Jerome ordered her not to let anyone come near you.† â€Å"You could have taken her,† I said, attempting a joke. â€Å"Not without causing a whole lot of trouble.† He frowned, eyes troubled with thought. â€Å"Although, I would have revealed myself if I'd needed to if that†¦thing that came out of the gate had tried to take on Carter and Jerome.† I shuddered at the memory. â€Å"I didn't even know there were monsters like that in the – wait. How could you have helped them? Were you†¦were you in the circle?† I'd assumed he'd been watching from the sides. â€Å"Of course.† He said no more, and the way he spoke implied that it had been a ridiculous question for me to ask in the first place. â€Å"Are you crazy?† I exclaimed. â€Å"You weren't just letting yourself get trapped. If you were discovered by Mei – even any of the dream creatures – you'd be fucked. They would have turned you in too.† â€Å"There was no choice,† Roman said. â€Å"I had to be there, in case you needed me.† â€Å"It was too big a risk,† I countered, my voice faltering this time. â€Å"If there'd been a fight, Jerome and Carter would have had no reason to defend you. And while that Morphean might have been afraid to hurt them, you would have been fair game.† â€Å"I told you, it doesn't matter. I had to be there for you.† His eyes, those eyes that were so like the sea I'd grown up with, held such earnestness and affection that I had to look away. I couldn't believe he'd risked what he had for me. Why? He had no reason to care about me after what I'd done to him, yet it was clear he still wanted me. The night I'd been captured seemed like a lifetime ago, but its events came back to me in perfect detail: his lips, his hands†¦ â€Å"I wish you wanted to kill me again,† I muttered. â€Å"It was easier.† He rested his hand on mine, its warmth spreading through me. â€Å"Nothing about your life is ever easy.† I looked back up at him. â€Å"That's for damn sure. But I don't know†¦I don't know if I can do this†¦by which I mean, well, you know.† â€Å"You don't have to do anything,† he said. â€Å"We'll just keep going on like we have. Roommates. We'll see where things go. If they change, they change. If not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shrugged. â€Å"So it goes.† â€Å"Did I mention that it was easier when you wanted to kill me? I'm not sure how I feel about you being so reasonable.† â€Å"Yeah, well, maybe I just feel sorry for you right now after everything that happened. Maybe I'll change my mind in a little while.† He squeezed my hand. â€Å"Was it†¦was it awful?† I looked away again. â€Å"Yes. Beyond awful. It's hard to explain. They showed me every nightmare I could have, every fear made flesh. Some of the things they showed me had already happened – and were almost as bad as the nightmares. I couldn't tell what was reality anymore. They showed me you guys†¦but it wasn't always real. I doubted everything: who I was, what I felt†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I swallowed back tears, glad I had averted my eyes. â€Å"Hey,† he said softly, reaching out to tip my chin and make me look back at him. â€Å"It's over. You're safe. We'll help you get better – I'll help. I won't let anything happen to you.† Again, his feelings for me made me uncomfortable and confused. Was it a lingering effect of the Oneroi? No, I decided a moment later. This was the kind of situation that would confuse anyone. My heart was still tangled up in Seth, someone I knew I should let go, but who had found me against impossible odds. And here was Roman, someone I could be with a bit more easily – well, kind of – and who had risked his life for me. Could I move on with him? I didn't know. But I could try. I found his hand again and squeezed it. â€Å"Thank you.† He leaned toward me, and I think we might have kissed, but the ringing of my cell phone jolted us out of any romantic spell. I pulled my hand from his and grabbed the phone from my side table. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Miss Kincaid,† came the kind, familiar voice. â€Å"It is a pleasure to speak with you again.† â€Å"Erik! Oh, I'm so happy it's you. I wanted to thank you – â€Å" â€Å"There's nothing to thank me for. I would gladly do it again.† â€Å"Well, then, I'm still thanking you anyway.† Roman, realizing this had nothing to do with him, got up and wandered off – but not before giving me one more fond look. â€Å"As you wish,† said Erik. â€Å"Are you feeling better?† â€Å"More or less. Certainly better in body. And I think the rest will come.† I wished that with my body's healing, I could also forget all the horrible things I'd seen. That wouldn't happen, though, and I felt no need to trouble him with my problems. â€Å"I'm glad,† he said. â€Å"Very glad.† Silence fell, and a suspicious feeling nudged its way into my brain. I'd assumed he was simply calling to check up on me, but something now told me there was more. â€Å"Miss Kincaid,† he said at last. â€Å"I'm sure you don't want to talk about what happened†¦.† â€Å"I – well.† I hesitated. I knew Erik. He wouldn't bring this up without a good reason. â€Å"Is there something we should talk about?† Now it was his turn to hesitate. â€Å"You thank me†¦but to be truthful, what we did shouldn't have worked. I didn't expect it to.† Mei's comments came back to me, as did the other conversations I'd witnessed via the dreams. â€Å"Nobody seemed to.† â€Å"Mr. Jerome did.† â€Å"Where is this going?† â€Å"I don't know how it worked. Mr. Mortensen should not have found your soul.† I loved Erik and hated the irritation in my voice. â€Å"I keep hearing that over and over, but obviously he did. Maybe it should have been impossible, but after what I went through? I don't care how it happened.† â€Å"I would imagine not, but still†¦still, I can't help but wonder at this. Would you mind telling me what it was like when he found you?† That was one part of the ordeal I didn't mind recounting, largely because it had had a happy ending. Of course, the logistics of explaining it weren't so easy. I did my best to describe what it was like being adrift in the dream world and how Seth had seemed to call to me. Erik listened patiently and then asked if I'd tell him about my contract with Hell and how I'd sold my soul. That was a little harder to tell, not to mention a bizarre question. The Oneroi had shown me so many versions of what had happened with Kyriakos and me, and while some had been true and some false, they'd all been horrible. Still, sensing something big might be going on here, I haltingly recounted the whole experience: how I'd cheated on Kyriakos with his best friend, infidelity that was later discovered. It was the sorrow from that that had driven Kyriakos into suicidal grief, which in turn drove me to sign a contract with Hell. I'd sold my soul and become a succubus, in exchange for everyone I knew – including Kyriakos – to forget me and the awful things I'd done. â€Å"Tell me the terms one more time,† said Erik. â€Å"It was that everyone I knew back then would forget me and forget what happened – family, friends, and especially my husband.† My voice choked a little. â€Å"It worked. I came back later, and no one knew me. Not even a glimmer of familiarity.† â€Å"There was nothing else in the contract?† â€Å"No. An imp I know looked it over recently and verified it.† â€Å"Oh?† This caught Erik's interest. â€Å"Why would he do that?† â€Å"She. As a favor. The imp who'd brokered my sale was the one who worked with Nyx and kept messing with Seth. Hugh said when an imp shows that much interest, there's something wrong with a contract. So Kristin – this other imp – looked at my contract.† She hadn't been very happy about doing that. If she'd been caught snooping in Hell's records, there would have been some very, very bad consequences. Her gratitude over me hooking her up with her boss had overpowered her fear. â€Å"She told me it was airtight. Everything was like it was supposed to be. No errors.† More silence. This conversation was starting to make me uneasy. â€Å"Did this imp – Niphon? – end up doing anything to Mr. Mortensen?† â€Å"Not so much†¦I mean, it was part of what led us to breaking up†¦.† I paused to collect myself. â€Å"But there were a lot of other factors that caused that too.† â€Å"Has Niphon been back?† â€Å"No, but there has been this succubus.† With everything else, I'd forgotten about Simone. â€Å"She was impersonating me. Kept trying to seduce Seth†¦but it didn't work. I think Jerome sent her packing, but I'm not sure.† Again, Erik took a long time in responding. Finally, he sighed. â€Å"Thank you, Miss Kincaid. You've given me much to think about. I apologize if I've brought up painful memories. And I'm very happy you're feeling better.† â€Å"Thanks,† I said. â€Å"And thanks again for your help.† We disconnected, and I wandered out to the living room. Roman was in the kitchen, plating up some grilled cheese sandwiches. â€Å"Hungry?† he asked. â€Å"Starving,† I said. He handed me a plate, along with a cup of coffee, and I smiled. â€Å"Thanks. Not sure what I did to deserve this.† â€Å"You don't have to do anything. Besides, I had extra. Wanted a big meal before going to work.† â€Å"Before – what?† The grin he gave me indicated he'd been dying to deliver this news. â€Å"I got a job.† â€Å"You did not.† â€Å"I did. Went back to the school I used to teach at. They had a couple openings, so I'm doing a few classes.† I was dumbfounded. After all my badgering, Roman had sought gainful employment – in his specialty, no less: linguistics. â€Å"Does this mean you're going to pay rent now?† â€Å"Let's not get carried away, love.† He grabbed a plate of his own, and we ate in the living room while the cats watched hopefully for leftovers. Seeing Godiva, I felt a frown coming on. The dream. The man in the dream. The Oneroi had said it was Seth†¦but that was impossible. I lifted my eyes up to Roman, wondering if I could rekindle the love I'd once had. If there was any man in any dream, he would be a better candidate. â€Å"You talked to Erik for a while,† Roman said, noting my scrutiny. â€Å"He's weirded out by my rescue. He says it shouldn't have worked.† â€Å"Yeah, I heard that too.† Between bites, I recounted the conversation, including Erik's interest in Seth and my contract. â€Å"I don't see what the big deal is,† I concluded. â€Å"Seth and I still have feelings for each other – feelings we're trying to get past.† In that moment when our souls had met, though, separating from him had been the last thing I wanted. â€Å"Maybe that was enough. Maybe people don't have faith in the power of love.† â€Å"Maybe,† said Roman. But he looked thoughtful now too. A knock at the door interrupted further conversation. I felt no immortal signature and hoped it wasn't my neighbor trolling for more sex. He'd mercifully left me alone so far. But no, it wasn't Gavin. It was Maddie. And she was crying. I asked no questions. When friends are in trouble, you take care of them first. I pulled her right inside and led her to the couch, immediately putting my arms around her. â€Å"What's wrong?† I asked finally. â€Å"What happened?† She couldn't speak right away. Her sobs were too great, and she was choking on her own tears. Something nudged my arm. It was Roman handing me a box of tissues. I shot him a grateful look and gave some to Maddie. At long last, she gasped out, â€Å"It's Seth.† My heart stopped. For a moment, a hundred awful scenarios flew through my mind. Seth hit by a car. Seth struck by some deadly disease. I clutched her arm, so tightly that I realized my nails were digging into her. I relaxed my grip as best I could. â€Å"What happened?† I demanded. â€Å"Is he okay?† â€Å"He ended it.† Her crying renewed. â€Å"He broke the engagement and told me it was over.† She buried her face against my shoulder, and I stroked her absentmindedly as my brain tried hard to really comprehend her words. I must have misheard. â€Å"He couldn't have,† I said, my voice as cracked as hers. â€Å"He†¦he loves you.† She lifted her head and looked at me with mournful, glittering eyes. â€Å"He said he didn't love me the way he should – that he didn't love me the way I deserved. He said it'd be wrong to make me marry him, that we weren't meant to spend our lives together.† She took a tissue and wiped her nose, then her eyes grew wide with desperation. â€Å"What does that mean, Georgina? Why would he say he's making me marry him? I want to. I don't understand.† I looked over her and met Roman's eyes. We couldn't speak the way greater immortals could, but enough messages passed between us. Seth hadn't forced her to get engaged, no, but he'd done it out of guilt, guilt for cheating on her and continually being drawn to me when he believed it was better for us to stay apart. â€Å"He said he loved me,† Maddie continued. â€Å"But that I needed someone who loved me more – someone I was the world to. He said he'd only hurt me worse if we went on. How could it hurt worse?† The tears grew worse. She pulled away and buried her face in her hands. â€Å"It can't hurt worse than this. I want to die.† â€Å"No!† I said, drawing her back to me. â€Å"Don't say that. Don't ever say that!† â€Å"Georgina,† warned Roman softly. I realized I was shaking Maddie and immediately stopped. â€Å"Listen to me,† I said, turning her face toward mine. â€Å"You are an amazing person. You are one of the best people I know. You'll get over this†¦I swear it. I won't let you go through it alone, okay? And you deserve the best. If it's not him, then you'll get someone better.† The next words were hard for me. I should have rejoiced at this news. I wouldn't have to watch them together. I also had a feeling that I was somehow involved in this. What had she said? That Seth said she deserved to be someone's world? He'd told me I was his. In one of the dreams, he'd said that to her, but I now knew that was a lie. Still, I couldn't help it when I said, â€Å"And maybe†¦maybe if you guys talk more, you'll understand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The sobs abated – just a little – as she gave me a puzzled look. â€Å"That's the thing. I can't.† â€Å"It may seem that way, but he's not totally unreasonable.† Why the hell was I playing devil's advocate here? Because Maddie was my friend, and I couldn't stand to see her hurting – and because I had also had my heart broken too many times. â€Å"Wait a couple days, then find him and see if you can have a, I don't know, productive dialogue. Maybe you can fix things.† Ugh. â€Å"Maybe you'll at least understand†¦understand his decision.† She shook her head. â€Å"But I can't find him. No one can. Georgina, he's disappeared.†

My Alert Case Essay

Was the first to see the business opportunity in the mobile alerts. The idea was already working well in another channel (Internet). The mobile phone market was growing very quickly. They offered a wide range and tailor-made services. Besides as MyAlert will be the first in the market, the technology investment could became a strength and turn it in an entry barrier, thing that actually happened. For these reasons we can assert that MyAlert was a good business idea. Which is the competitive advantage of MyAlert when it is launched? How the competitive advantage and business model evolves? Why? Is it sustainable? The competitive advantage of MyAlert at the begging was its own technological platform (MAGO). The platform was Valuable because was the core of the business also it was Inimitable, Rareness and Original due to they developed it from the scratch and was the first in the market specifically designed for its business model. Content Production Design & Packaging 1- Corporate Customers Distribution Sales 2- Other Customers Provision of Infrastructure (Mobile Operators) Looking at the value chain of MyAlet we can see highlight in red their core activity, their platform allowed them to distribute the content throw the network to the final customers, the key was that the platform has a great scalability able to distribute data throw different technology enablers (GMS, GPRS†¦) From the beginning they realized that text alerts could be used to provide customized services for corporate partners exploiting new business opportunities and here we can see a new competitive advantage because the company was able to introduce their investors into its own value chain getting content and a solid customer portfolio. This is a win win situation, the investors provide contents and the MyAlert provides them a new innovative service for them increasing the company revenues as well as turn over for the shareholders, this business model provides feedback itself being able to maintain it in the long run. After the merger MyAlert, which started providing data services for the mobile industry, changed its product portfolio and business model providing technology and mobile marketing services. Thanks to MAGO platform MyAlert was far superior technologically than Buongiorno!. On the other hand appeared a new product â€Å"consumer services† (ring tones, logos†¦) the new company had to adapt its business model including consumer services which soon produced benefits. Also they were able to keep creating new business models as â€Å"Digital Marketing Project†. As we have seen MyAlert is a good example of how a company is able to adapt and survive in a really dynamic environment what changes pretty fast, adapting and creating new business models and investing in technology in order to keep its leading position. Is the merge with Buongiorno! a must or just a good idea? Definitely the merge was a MUST, MyAlert had become a world leader and to keep this status they needed to remain this position in every market, soon they realized that it was impossible to achieve through organic growth. The economical environment was unstable due to the dot com crisis, investors become more demanding looking for positives results in the short term, competitors started to appear and revenues from advertising and m-commerce were reduced due to the economic crisis. All this factors push to Mr. Jorge and his team to look for a similar company with the same goal to join forces and survive in the long term, and this is how they found Buongiorno! And merge in order to keep growing in a very competitive dynamic market.