Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Essay

Harriet Jacobs, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself - Essay Example It is because in male dominated society, female slaves were the worst sufferers of male lust. Also since women’s financial contribution was equal to their male counterparts’, they were often neglected the allowances which were normally granted to the male slaves. In the narrative, Jacob upholds the fact that the nineteenth century society was, in the first place, very much discriminatory to women. On top of it, slavery would permit the male dominated society to exert their brutal desires over the female slaves to the fullest extent. Such brutal treatment would never hold them accountable. In the narrative, Jacob shows that the evil of slavery puts the despotic males at the control of humanly institutions like motherhood, womanhood, etc. Therefore, the slave-owners not only denied humanity by continuing slavery, but also reached the extent to oppose the most sacred institution of womanhood as well as motherhood. When Jacob says that â€Å"Slavery is terrible for men; bu t it is far more terrible for women†¦Superadded to the burden common to all, they have wrongs, and sufferings, and mortifications peculiarly their own† (Jacobs 23), she refers to a masculine but horrible face of slavery in the context of femininity. In addition to what the slaves, whether they are male and female, suffer from, a female slave has to suffer vehemently from a torrent of emotional anguish first as an object of lust and then as a mother. Different from other slave narratives, Jacob has used the scope to view slavery from a quite different angle. Jacob notes that most of the lave narratives of her era have a common pattern of depicting the graphic details of whipping, physical torturing, etc. Subsequently these narratives uphold a dangerous escape of their slave protagonists to the North. But Jacob depicts a quite different situation for a female slave. She shows that for a female slave, any attempt to escape from the slavery was more of a heart-piercing dilemm a because of their progenies. She could neither endure the torture nor leave their children behind and run away. So, their only way was to submit to their fate. But when other women would let themselves collapse under the crushing torture of slavery, Linda retains her mental strength to oppose Mr. Flint’s desire. Linda’s mental strength is evident in a speech: â€Å"When he told me that I was made for his use, made to obey his command in every thing; that I was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should surrender to his, never before had my puny arm felt half so strong† (Jacobs 46). Indeed, this simple comment of Linda tends to summarize the gist of the whole narrative as well as of the evil of slavery in American society during the early nineteenth century. It can be viewed from different perspectives and angles. As a mother, Linda violently fights against slavery. She wants to save her children from the evil of slavery. She plays hoax on Mr. Flints in ord er to attain freedom for her children, Benny and Elena. She had to spend innumerous sleepless night in the tight attic in which she can hardly stand. But her only pleasure is that she can see her run around her Aunt Martha’s house freely. Indeed, for any male reader, such sacrifice may seem to be something mere, but the pains, sufferings and angst she undergoes during those days of slavery are

Drake Circus Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Drake Circus - Article Example It is managed by Donaldsons LLP which runs over 250 shopping centres throughout Europe (www.drakecircus.com/background). The original Drake Circus shopping centre was a two level centre with open malls constructed in the early 1970s. Initial proposals to redevelop it in the early 1990s failed, but the developers, P&O Estates, tried again in the early part of the 21st century. Plans were drawn up for a much larger centre and having signed up Allders as the first anchor tenant in 2001 and Marks & Spencer in early 2004, work started on demolishing the old centre and the adjoining Charles Cross car park in February 2004. The new building, designed by Chapman Taylor Partnership, has provoked a mixed reception (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Circus). The scheme suffered a setback in January 2005 when Allders went into administration, but other tenants, including Zara, Boots the Chemist, Virgin Megastore and H&M continued to commit to the scheme. New anchor tenants to replace Allders were found in summer 2005 in the guise of Next and Primark. The new development was topped out in June 2005 and the scheme opened, 90% let, on 5 October 2006 (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_Circus). The new car park has five levels, with the first two levels larger than the upper three. It will have dedicated entry and exit ramps which will keep queue times to a minimum. There will be wider spaces, more headroom and much better levels of lighting. Interior finishes will be painted white with good direction signage for both cars and pedestrians. The car park will be well lit, with high levels of visibility for drivers and those on foot and clear signage that will comply with the 'secure by design' standard promoted by the police authority (www.drakecircus.com/background). The whole of Drake Circus shopping centre has been designed, wherever possible in line with the latest disability access regulations, will be wheel-chair friendly with ample provision of lifts, ramps and specially designated parking spaces for blue badge holders. Enhanced facilities for the ambulant disabled will also be provided (www.drakecircus.com/background). The scheme incorporates facilities for the loan of wheelchairs and powered scooters. Car Parking: Drake Circus is a "Pay on Foot" car park - so no more worrying about your time running out and having to dash back to your car! Simply take your ticket when you arrive and keep it with you while you shop. When you're ready to leave simply pay by cash or card at one of the pay stations, located on each car park levels before you return to your car. Technological impact in shopping centre sales: Advances in Information Technology are constantly

Visual Art Analysis Paper Essay Example for Free

Visual Art Analysis Paper Essay Webster’s Dictionary defines Aesthetics as the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic, etc. , as applicable to the fine arts, with a view to establishing the meaning and the validity of critical judgments concerning works of art, and the principles underlying or justifying such judgments or the study of the mind and emotions in relation to the sense of beauty. The Dream of La Malinche is aesthetically pleasing despite the fact that I tend to not be attracted to Surrealism. However this artwork told a story that made me curious to find out who La Malinche really was? My first reaction to this artwork is to notice that the room that she is lying in is dark and shabby with exposed brick and a crack in the wall. Was this woman poor or was she labeled as not deserving better? Is this the aesthetically ugly side of life? Dark walls, broken woman. Yet sprawled on her hip is a beautiful church towering over a village in a fertile valley below. Aesthetically beautiful. Prosperity visible in the village and valley, and poverty in the room that La Malinche lies in. What a contrast! Denis Dutton (Aesthetic Universals), a philosopher identified seven universal traits for human See more: how to write an analysis of a research paper aesthetics. He claimed that technical artistic skills are cultivated and recognized. These skills can be admired. Though people admire art they do not expect it to keep food on their table. But it is expected to follow the rules of composition and to be identified as a certain style. Artwork will always be judged, and with few exceptions art will simulate life. Follow our experiences in life yet with a dramatic flair. Based on these traits La Malinche is beautifully orchestrated and very obviously a combination of a folk story and surrealism. Compared to other works by this artist, this particular painting tells a true story, a meaningful story that has played a part in this artist’s life. Visual Arts 3 Expression At the beginning of the 19th century, artists began to express their feelings through their art rather than through the faces painted on a canvas. The real La Malinche was thought to be a hero by some and a traitor by others. Mother of the Mestizo race and harlot to Cortez the explorer. Mexican artwork of this period tended to combine a woman with fertile land to express fertility to the viewer, so I believe this is some of what the artist was also trying to portray. I also love the symbolism between the mountains painted on her hip versus an actual mountain in Mexico named La Malinche. As I studied about Antonio Ruiz, he was referred to several times as a folk art artist besides being a surrealist. I think this art expresses his love for the history of his people and tells their story more adequately than words can express. I dare to call him a surrealist because I do not see where he is avoiding the unpleasantness of the life by wearing rose colored glasses. I feel that he is expressing the truth of the situation and the beauty that can be found amidst ugliness, accusations and tales. However Woman in World Histories Primary Sources claims the Malinche’s body is the ground supporting an unnamed village and church and her image is to invoke female Aztec deities. The metaphor is the Mexican nation is built on the groundwork of Malinche’s actions. So what expressive qualities does this painting have? The mood language is mysterious. It invokes curiosity. The dynamic state is intense and provoking. The Ideal language would be compassion, courage and fearlessness. Sensation This painting provokes a strong emotion in me. I am not sure that I would label it anger, but I feel a sense of injustice rise up inside me. I understand what the artist was trying to portray in this painting but I also know how I interpret this painting. In my interpretation I want to fight for the dignity of this woman who is treated with obvious disrespect based on the condition of Visual Arts 4 the room in which she lies while a village in a valley appears prosperous. And yet I feel an animosity toward the people who do not recognize the contribution that she made to their society or the number of lives that were probably spared. I feel the history of this story and the artist’s emotions. I feel that the woman in the bed carries a huge load on her shoulders. You can almost feel her despair and have to wonder what heart ache she carries within. Does this prosperous village in the valley sit ignorant of the sacrifices of this fearless woman? This woman instills hope and compassion and a sense of empowerment. It’s like being on an emotional rollercoaster yet the lines of this painting is also like a rollercoaster. The round mountain peaks, the curving roads and the rolling sheets over the woman. The curvy scrolls of the wrought iron bed all encompass this feeling of being on a rollercoaster. Formal Design This painting has been labeled as Surrealism. Surrealism was supposedly born from the Dada Movement. This â€Å"Dada Movement† was a banding together of artists who sought refuge from World War I in Europe. As they banded together they became like our early day protestors. Their art, poetry and music reflected their anti-war cries. After the war people wanted to get away from the intensity of darkness that so many paintings depicted and they wanted something to help them escape the everyday reality. So Surrealism became a way for them to combine dreams and fantasy with some reality. The Principles for all design are Unity, Balance, Dominance, Repetition, Rhythm, Contrast and Theme. There is a unity between the woman living in poverty and the prosperous village. Can there be prosperity without poverty? Or can there be poverty without prosperity? If the prosperous mountain were removed all this art would speak about is poverty. La Malinche would appear as a poor woman on a bed. Would you be curious about her Visual Arts 5 circumstances or would you feel compelled to look away? If La Malinche was removed from the painting you would just have a prosperous village living in a valley. A beautiful fairytale painting. Because the elements of this painting need each other and have unity, this painting has balance. The mountain on La Malinche’s hip gives this painting symmetry. It becomes almost the fulcrum of the painting. Everything balances around the central part of this painting. The mountain, the prosperity takes a dominant position in this painting which could suggest her success in rising above adversity. The rhythm in this painting would be the flow of the village across the sheets, and the flow of the sheets across the woman. There is this continuous theme flowing out from the village. The poverty, the dark room and the woman contrast with the light of the village and it’s prosperity. Each of these principals come together to form the theme of poverty and prosperity. Lightness and Dark. Realism and Surrealism. Technical Properties The Dream of La Malinche is painted on canvas with oils. If skill is truly based on the artists portrayal of his picture, than Ruiz has truly surpassed all other artists in portraying the history and story of this heroic figure. He has an incredible sense of color. And this painting reflects his own personal view on this historical figure. The lightening bolt (or crack in the wall as I call it) has depth to it. This painting does not have the usual bulkiness that you so often see in oil paintings. As an artist Antonio Ruiz is known for his draftsmanship skills. He is considered a great painter of small works and respected for his aesthetic quality. Visual Arts 6 References Dutton, D. , Aesthetic Universals Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Definition of Aesthetics

Women And The Workplace English Language Essay

Women And The Workplace English Language Essay In many societies in the whole world women were patronized and viewed as the weaker sex. Women are commonly perceived of not being fit to go to work and because of societal pressure and expectations retreat to a life of raising children and cooking meals at home for their family. This has become a very important issue and the biggest workplace challenges facing women today revolve around gender. Females are earning less than their male counterparts doing the same kind of work or job, encountering with the glass ceiling in the workplace, balancing their families and career, and what will it take to establish a work environment where gender is a non issue, has always been a challenge for them. Objective of this paper In this paper we will try to study the main factors which cause inequality in the workplace between men and women. Most women have difficulty advancing in the corporate world because of the gender differences. There are several factors that lead to the failure of women to be successful. For example, if a man demands his proceeding employees to complete a certain task harshly, almost in a barking manner, each employee will listen to him and will do the work immediately. However, women have to find a different way to place these demands so that she will not seem as harsh or rude. The question is, do they really have to try so hard? Throughout this paper, gender is classified as men or women for convenience. We will try comparing the work of each gender within the workplace and try to find out the differences. We will also try to reason out the challenges that women are facing and find the ways to which they can overcome them, and to examine how the gender roles for women in the workplace have changed or they havent. Literature Review Heilman and Welle (1998) conducted a study whereby the effects of gender diversity initiatives on the perceptions of competence were examined. Carol Gillian wrote, In a Different Voice, where women were struggling to find their place in the corporate World. Two of their biggest challenges involve the glass ceiling that still blocks women at many companies from advancing to their full potential and the formidable task of balancing career, family and personal lives, says Heather Shea in her article. Lahle Wolfe wrote in her book of how Women Can Overcome Challenges in Business and theWorkplace. Methodology Primary Data: The instrument being used here in this paper is the questionnaire. Population: Because of the geographical, time and money constrain, methods of a simple random sampling of a number of people in Delhi which were selected and thus the element of the target population has an equal chance of being selected into the sample. Sample size: A sample size of 30 respondents was taken into account. Secondary Data: Relevant secondary data was gathered from authenticated websites and books. Discussions Each business of corporation involves using gender at the workplace and each individual has their own responsibilities and goals. Even though most people think that the man has the dominant role in the workplace, it is women who do not get full credit and appreciation that she deserve for the work she has done. Even if the women have high recognition in the workplace and has achieved a high level of acceptance, it still seems as if the men won all the glory. The effects of this gender stratification and differences have taken its toll in the corporate world. Most women admit that there is something within themselves that prevents them from advancing to a higher position. However, if the working environment were to be equal then women would feel confident within themselves to take a step up and show the work force what they are all about. The gender diversity was not taken seriously into consideration and most companies have very little knowledge on how to take advantage of it, despit e many efforts to increase diversity of workforce over recent decades, the number of female in the workplace has remained disproportionately low. Although it may not be true for every country, in the USA women now represent approximately half of the working population, while in the UK women constitute just over 50 percent of the total workforce and considerable evidence has been gathered that these women are mostly in the executive level positions. According to leading US research organisation Catalyst, there is a difference between companies that managed to take advantage of gender diversity and those companies that did not. It is therefore very important that organisations should take a closer look at the issue of gender diversity internally within their workforce which will impact the working condition in the workplace. Gender diversity within the workplace was revealed in a study by Heilman and Welle, that gender diversity was a consideration in group member selection increases stereotyping. This gender-role stereotype reflects how peoples perceive the differences in the personality traits and behaviours related to the persons gender. While social change over the past 50 years has been widespread, research has shown that it has not been followed. Although there was a dramatic increase in the number of women participating in the labour force has taken place in the past decade, women have played a secondary role in that work force since the ancient civilization of man. The value of women was and still is viewed as less than that of a man. Traditionally a womens role in society was that of raising children and handling the duties of the household but now most women want and desire careers and their own place in this world. They want to stand on their own two feet, become self-sustaining individuals an d become independent and free of others limits. In todays world, it has become clear that women in all careers are striving to gain equality in the work force. There are many issues that still surround women in the workplace and for a long time women have been at a disadvantage when it came to competing with men. Women were not given the educational opportunities that the men were given and women were stereotyped into certain jobs. For years this discrimination has been fed by gender bias and proven by the fact that women entering the workforce have been paid less than a man for doing the same job. Even though women in the workplace have had the odds stacked against them, they manage to make great contributions towards the organisation that they are working with. Through determination, women have been the driving force in the enactment of laws to protect not only themselves but others in the workplace. These laws are designed not just for protection from gender discrimination but al so protection from discrimination based on marital status, pregnancy, race, disabilities, sexual preference and age. This gives women the ability to break out of the gender roles that were created for them by society long ago. Organisations actually learned from women. In todays workplace women have a unique role that has evolved over the last twenty years. In the past the feminine ability to nurture and to be empathetic were frowned upon or seen as weak. But today, businesses recognize the importance of these softer skills in managing teams, leading, mentoring and developing trust among clients. Today both men and women enter the workplace with a different set of rules. The natural skills that Gillian described in her landmark book, the ability to be empathetic, the ability to listen, the tendency to put people before results were considered negative. In fact, Gillian wrote, Psychologists tended to regard male behaviour as the norm and female behaviour as some kind of deviation from that norm. What Gillian discovered was that men and women played differently as boys and girls. These games led to normative behaviours that transcended into the workplace. What she particularly found was that men were more concerned with rules and women about relation ships. Todays workplace values teams and team work. Teams are built on trust, strong communication, listening, and rapport building. What we have learned over the last 20 years is that bringing women and their unique abilities into the workplace, combined with the male tendency toward competition and results created a longer-lasting and more profitable work environment. Once women stopped trying to be men and instead maximized their strengths, everyone benefited. Lets look at some of the things that have changed in the workplace as a result of a feminine/masculine environment: Teams. There are more teams and teams are the norm. If one cannot work on a team, he/she cannot work in a corporate world. Mentoring and Coaching Programs. Women recognized the need to help other women become successful at work. At first they developed informal mentoring programs for themselves. Now, most companies have mentoring programs or coaching for all new employees. Self-Assessments. Many companies are doing more and more self- assessments to help people learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. Win/Win Leadership. In the past the goal was Win/Lose. In fact the kind of manager who got results regardless of the people he left behind was admired. Today, we search for consensus and opportunities to build relationships through win/win. Most marketing materials target benefits. How can I help youbefore a product is ever sold. Social Consciousness. Many organizations and companies look beyond their products to the impact of that product on the world. Organizations identify these companies. Being environmentally, internationally and socially conscious has become a symbol for the most successful companies. Women have set the pace for a workplace that no longer eats people up, but welcomes them as individuals with a heart, a soul as well as two productive hands. The rules have definitely changed. Work-Related Challenges This is a great time for women in business. There are more opportunities available than ever before, and a high demand for people with leadership, management and marketing skills. At the same time, however, women continue to face challenges in getting ahead, achieving the recognition they deserve, and integrating the career and personal life they most desire. Two of their biggest challenges involve the glass ceiling that still blocks women at many companies from advancing to their full potential and the formidable task of balancing career, family and personal lives , says Heather Shea in the article The Glass Ceiling Those women who can follow a dream or find support within an organization stay long enough. Yet many women reach a point where they feel that nobodys interested in backing or training them. As a result, every 11 seconds, a woman leaves corporate world to start her own business reported The National Foundation for Women Business Owners. The number one reason why, is to pursue their personal dreams. Before making this leap, many of these new entrepreneurs bump up against a glass ceiling in their organization that says, You can advance just this far, but no farther. In fact, too often, instead of cracking over the years, the glass ceiling turn to cement. When women discover they have a harder time than ever moving beyond that ceiling, they ask, Why bother? and move on to create work environments that are more supportive of their goals. Or, these days those who do break through sometimes look around and they dont like what they see which forced them to leave and quit the job. Women need to be realistic about whats holding them back, however. The glass ceiling implies gender issues and these may or may not be the problem. There are other reasons some women dont get promoted. Sometimes, theres a skill they need to learn or a person they need to know, who can help them. There are other reasons women leave companies, too. Maybe theyre not having fun anymore because opportunities are becoming more limited. Whatever the reason, when women feel stuck, its time dust off their skills, look around and reinvent themselves. They need to ask themselves: What is my goal? What excites me? What could I do? What other type of organization might I like to work for? Am I certain I wont run into the same issues there? Do I want to start my own business? If so, they need some self assessment. Starting a company is not right for everyone. Whats the right strategic move? The reality is that while companies are changing, its still going to take more time for the old male-oriented structures to become more woman-friendly. No matter now successful a woman is. Cultural differences remain, and women have to be realistic about how these differences play out in the corporate world. Look closely at how people are treated and promoted within an organisation and Know the gender issues in the environment. Balancing Work and Family. Another major issue for women at work is how to balance work and life. Fortunately, companies are recognizing that part of this balancing-taking care of family matters, including raising children, isnt just a womens issue, but a mans issue, too. Fortune magazine recently ran an issue on fathers at work and the impact that balancing work/family is having on them. Employers also have to deal with the fact that many workers are single parents. This raises many new concerns for women at work. The question for some becomes not only, How do I break through the glass ceiling? But Do I really want to work that hard and make the sacrifices to my family that I need to make in order to break through it? More and more people, including successful and well-known women-and men, are saying, My family comes first. The fact especially that if a single parent and supporter of two young children has definitely influenced the career choices the persons make. It is important for that person to have break fast every morning and dinner at night with his or her children. For a single parent, cancelling major presentations to make sure to show up at the Christmas play or any important event is a common practise in the US. People no longer want to work as a senior executive for a major organization. The strategic move has been to work as a professional speaker with an organization that would give a person more opportunity to be home. From the start, they will have to explain that they will work really hard for an organisation, but whats important also is to spend time with the children. That was a career choice they will have to make. Yes, sometimes making these choices can be career changing, but whats most important is to be true to yourself and your personal priorities. The goal is not to choose work or family. Its to balance and integrate both worlds successfully. Whatever choices ones make, women have experienced that the whole notion of You can have it all in work and life doesnt p lay out quite like they thought it would be. Working mothers, who are actively involved in their families and careers are exhausted. On that note, when balancing work and life, a women have to take care of herself first. Overall, the job market is changing, and more women and men are openly expressing how important balancing work and life is to them. But this is not discouraging because, organizations now adays are discovering that in order to maintain top talent, they have to be family-friendly. Women Role In Society How the society defines a gender is what is the womans role in society is. Men and women are by no means equal. There are always going to be certain attributes of each gender that the other gender cannot duplicate. This does mean that the one is better than the other. Even though we are seeing more and more women succeeding in life than men, our society still defines a woman as unequal. Society has set men and women apart by labeling them. It is common for men to be seen as strong and women to be seen as weak. The society thinks that women cannot do jobs like men do or doesnt fit for them to be; such as firefighters, security force and especially the role of leading a society like a headman, etc and if they do these jobs, the society looks at these women in a negative side because these jobs are masculine and women are not supposed to do these jobs. Furthermore, society defines a woman as a sensitive person; however in order to obtain these jobs, you have to be aggressive and tough a nd a woman is not like that. The gender wage gap is a very objective representation of an accepted form of male dominance, whether it is fair or not. In business, men have always been in control. Now, women are fighting for equality in the workplace. However, our society wants a woman to be a house wife, to just stay home and take care of children. Why should they? They have the right to make their own decisions. If a woman is interested in a job and meets the qualifications that employer requires, she should be considered eligible for that job. The point is that men have treated women as subordinates throughout history because that is what they have been taught by the culture: that women are not equal to men. When it comes to sexuality, the culture still does not defines women as equal. Women should be allowed to do whatever they desire in their heart, just like any men do. I see no reason other than ignorance that woman should be aware of in order to change the societys perception . Challenges For Women At Home And To Overcome Them. If women are going to achieve balance in their lives and be able to have a career and a meaningful life outside of work, they will only achieve it with the good support around them, especially that of their partners. Many men are changing quite considerably around these issues. They are reassessing whether work is the be-all and end-all of everything. They have often learnt it the hard way after a relationship break-up because in the greatest majority of break-ups it is the woman who leaves. She leaves because her needs werent given sufficient weight in the relationship. There are also many young men today who saw their baby boomer fathers make absolute commitments to their jobs only to be retrenched in the later part of their lives by the companies to whom they had given their all. They have learnt from that work isnt everything.These men are much more team players with their women. They understand they are in a partnership and want to work on the work/family balance challenge toge ther, taking their individual and respective needs into consideration. There are, however, still men around with 1950s masculinity, especially in a country like ours, they are happy for their women to work if they can manage it around all their other commitments at home. They expect their working wives to do everything that their stay-at-home mothers did. They expect to have, outside of work, the freedom that their fathers had to do whatever they wanted to do because theyve worked hard all week. Their work is real work. They are the breadwinners. The work their women do is not real. It provides grocery money or school shoe money. When their women get overwhelmed by the responsibility of looking after everyone and everything, these men offer no support except to tell their wives that they will have to leave their job if they cant cope.Many women do because relationships are important to women. But there are other ways around this. Women have to learn how to have those important conversations with the men about teamwork, partnerships and helping one anot her achieve their respective dreams. Challenges For Women In TheWorkplace And To Overcome Them. Women business owners and working women face certain challenges and obstacles that men do not. Working women who have children experience even more demands on time, energy and resources, and women face gender discrimination in business and on the job. But women are not less successful than men, in fact, statistics show that women are starting businesses at more than twice the rate of all other businesses. Women are resourceful, and able to succeed, despite many challenges. Here are ways that women are overcoming the challenges facing women in business. Finding the Right Work-Life Balance For Busy Working Women. Many women struggle with finding better ways to balance work and life and often this guilt comes from outside sources like pressure from husbands, family, and friends. Some women opt to spend more time with their families, while others, like billionaire and super entrepreneur Marilyn Carlson Nelson believe that women should not feel guilty about having a passion for work. Overcoming Gender Discrimination against Women in Business. Gender lines are drawn early, and exclusions for women continue throughout adulthood. Not only are women discriminated against in private businesses, but also by the Federal government. Gender bias begins in elementary school continuing on into college. Even though more women hold higher degrees than men, they are still passed over for jobs that go to less-educated and less-qualified males, and they also receive less compensation than men for the same job. Womens Business Issues and Political Challenges. There are laws that protect women, and laws that hurt women in the workplace and it is important for women to consider how far they have come in legislative changes and how far they have to go. Job Fields and Industries Women in Business Are Dominating. Women do face many challenges including discrimination and are often paid less than men for doing the same job. But there are some industries where women are competing and even dominate. Knowing where women are succeeding can help them decide areas to grow their business and identify obstacles in male-dominated industries. Government Challenges and Resources for Women The Government offers many programs and resources to help business women. But the government is also one of the worse offenders when it comes to discriminating against women in regards to awarding federal contracts. Knowing the resources available to women, this can help them compete better in both the private sector and for Government contracts. Finding Inspiration and Support From Other Business Women on Fire In addition to having a mentor, many women find reading the success stories, tips, and advice from other women who are already successful in business helpful and inspiring. Women in business feature profiles of famous business women, as well as small businesses owned by successful women entrepreneurs, and working moms to encourage you on your own path to success. Analysis of Primary Data From the Primary data collected it is found that 40% of the respondents says that the workplace are changing and there are no gender inequality or women discrimination now in the present workplace. But a different view of the majority of 60% of the respondents admits that Gender inequality still exist now a days. The followings are the different opinions by the respondents during the interview with them. Ritas friend, Jenny Briganza, left her office because Sam Gera, barely a month old in the organization bagged a promotion over her. She quit her job because nobody from her company often made her feel uncomfortable around him. Archita Nayar, an executive with a Delhi based MNC is on the verge of quitting her job. The reason: Her boss recently pulled her cheeks while congratulating her for meeting her monthly targets. Ramakanth Misra, a legal advisor says, In todays world being clueless about your legal rights is not cool, it is like roaming around in a war zone without a shield. As per the Indian legal system women are not helpless at all. They can battle almost any problem under the sun as long as you are aware of their rights. Kamal Mehta, an advocate says, The problem with most women in our society is that they are not aware of their legal rights despite being educated and holding a number of degrees. Atul Gupta, social worker says, Women in our country have ample rights but have been brought up in such a way that they feel scared to raise their voice against injustice. They feel timid to fight back in this male dominated society. Only a handful of them have the guts to file a report or complain. Shalini Jain, HR Manager says, Women feel insecure only because they are ignorant of the power and protection that the Indian Legal System offers them. A number of women suffer at their workplace. Whether it is the corporate world or a small retail outlet, most women have complaints about their bosss inappropriate behaviour. Workplace woes can be sorted out provided you know what to do. Garima Khanna, call centre executive says, I was going crazy at my new office when a group of rowdy boys would corner me whenever they could and bombard sleazy jokes. My boss would never take this seriously. I then made a complaint in writing to the HR (Human Resource) Manager in my organization and immediate action was taken against the lot. Razia Khan, Senior Associate in an MNC says, It was my second job and as per my faith, I had always cover my head with a scarf. My team leader started calling me Taliban just because I was a Muslim. Initially, I ignored his remarks but the teasing continued. I soon realized that his comments were targeted in a communal way. I reported the matter to the ombudsperson in my office and an investigation was carried out in which my Team Leader was found guilty of harassment. Mira Nandi, executive in an event management firm says, I went through a very hard time when my boss hit on me big time. Hed merrily walk past and slap my back or pinch me publicly. I reported sexual harassment and he was fired. Seema Ahuja, a Lawyer says, The Supreme Court says that any act that has a sexual overtone/nature and causes you o feel uncomfortable amounts to sexual harassment. All you need to do is file a written complaint against such behavior to the HR department of your organization and take a receipt for it. There should be a person designated (a woman) to look into these issues as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court as your employer is bound by the law to provide a safe and conductive work environment to all the employees. Another common type of harassment at the workplace is gender bias. If the boss tends to have a soft corner for the male species and treats women like dirt and is even paying women a lesser salary as compared with the male colleagues for the same post and same amount of work done by a women, its high time you read the Equal Remuneration Act to the boss,says Liviana, a Lawyer. Kavita Bishnoi, corporate counselor says, The Equal Remuneration Act is applicable to all employees including those in the private and informal sectors. It states that employees of both genders doing the same or similar work of the same value be paid equal remuneration in cash and kind. Angita Choudhary, trainer in an MNC says, I was infuriated when my boss gave me a call one week after my delivery and said that she was going to fire me because I had not told her that I was planning a baby at the time of joining the organization. It is often difficult to deal with an unsympathetic boss. But even she cant do much about the Maternity Benefits Act. According to the Act a woman is entitled to payment during her maternity leave at the rate at which she was working prior to the leave period. The maximum period of maternity leave you are entitled to is 12 weeks, which can be taken either before or after the delivery. In case of a miscarriage or abortion, you are entitled to six weeks of paid leave. You can only apply for maternity leave if you have worked with the organization for a period of at least 80 days. It is prohibited to employ female employees during the six weeks after a delivery, miscarriage or termination of pregnancy. Conclusion In todays world, stereotypical views about womens suffrage, educational expectations and athletic abilities have all advanced over the years. In many aspects of our society, women are now expected to compete with their male counterparts. Currently, it is not uncommon to hear of a women CEO or Vice President in businesses or even a women politician. Women have now emerged from laundry rooms and kitchens across the country and changed the demographics of the worlds workforce. The best way to safeguard their own interests is to know all about the rights. Sitting with a legal counselor and get to know about it in a few hours is a good way to know all about the rights. Knowledge is power and if Women can make that extra effort to be aware of their rights, this will surely make their future secure at the workplace. After all, it is a choice to work in a healthy atmosphere conducive to growth or take the filth in the name of ignorance and live with it forever. Suggestions This new age mantra is only to remind all the divas that accessing their rights on time shows their smartness and capability of handling themselves. They need to stop feeling sorry for themselves and get rid of the Im the victim sign and fight back. Bibliography Books: In A Different Voice by Carol Gillian How Women Can Overcome Challenges in Business and The Workplace Women in Business Organization: ByJoan Curtis Websites: Articles Women in the Workplace (http://ezinearticles.com/?Women-in-the- Workplaceid=777543) Challenges for Women Leaders (http://womenleadingthefuture.com/blog/challenges-women-leaders-0)

Blitzkrieg Essay -- essays research papers

BLITZKRIEG (LIGHTNING WAR) In the first phase of World War II in Europe, Germany sought to avoid a long war. Germany's strategy was to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on a new military tactic called the "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons (such as tanks, planes, and artillery) along a narrow front. These forces would drive a breach in enemy defenses, permitting armored tank divisions to penetrate rapidly and roam freely behind enemy lines, causing shock and disorganization among the enemy defenses. German air power prevented the enemy from adequately resupplying or redeploying forces and thereby from sending reinforcements to seal breaches in the front. German forces could in turn encircle opposing troops and force surrender. Germany successfully used the Blitzkrieg tactic against Poland (attacked in September 1939), Denmar k (April 1940), Norway (April 1940), Belgium (May 1940), the Netherlands (May 1940), Luxembourg (May 1940), France (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941), and Greece (April 1941). Germany did not defeat Great Britain, which was protected from German ground attack by the English Channel and the Royal Navy. Despite the continuing war with Great Britain, German forces invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. At first, the German Blitzkrieg seemed to succeed. Soviet forces were driven back more than 600 miles to the gates of Moscow, with staggering losses. In December 1941, Hitler unilaterally declared war on the United States, which consequently added its tremendous economic and military power to the coalition arrayed against him. A second German offensive against the Soviet Union in 1942 brought German forces in the east to the shores of the Volga River and the city of Stalingrad. However, the Soviet Union launched a counteroffensive in November 1942, trapping and destroying an entire German army at Stalingrad. Germany proved u... ...Germany). Despite the birth of the United Nations, the world remained politically unstable and only slowly recovered from the incalculable physical and moral devastation wrought by the largest and most costly war in history. Soldiers and civilians both had suffered in bombings that had wiped out entire cities. Modern methods of warfare–together with the attempt of Germany to exterminate entire religious and ethnic groups (particularly the Jews)–famines, and epidemics, had brought death to tens of millions and made as many more homeless. The suffering and degradation of the war's victims were of proportions that passed the understanding of those who had been spared. The conventions of warfare had been violated on a large scale (see war crimes), and warfare itself was revolutionized by the development and use of nuclear weapons. Political consequences included the reduction of Britain and France to powers of lesser rank, the emergence of the Common Market (see European Economic Community; European Union), the independence of many former colonies in Asia and Africa, and, perhaps most important, the beginning of the cold war between the Western powers and the Communist-bloc nations.

The Tempest, a Brave New World; or just a sad goodbye? Essay -- essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Through the years there has been much debate as to whether Shakespeare’s The Tempest is an Allegory to European colonization and colonial life, or if it is his â€Å"farewell to the stage† with a complete overview of the stage and a compilation of all of his characters into a few, in which the playwright himself being presented as Prospero. Is The Tempest an allegory to European colonization, or is it Shakespeare, presenting his formal farewell to the stage?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many believe that Shakespeare, personified his character into Prospero, because Prospero ultimately created the entire plot of the play with his magic, which he obtained shortly after being marooned on the island. Because The Tempest was one of only two of Shakespeare’s works that were entirely original, one could see why this would be the easiest position to take; after all, Prospero basically writes the play himself, by creating a complicated plot to regain his dukedom from which he was usurped. He also controls every character in the play, some with loving relationships, some with just the opposite. â€Å"Watching† Prospero create and work through the play, is almost like watching the playwright write the play, from start to finish. His extremely manipulative control over all characters in the play, and his delicate and sometimes hard to understand strategy in â€Å"capturing† the king is symbolized in the end in which Miranda and Ferdinand are revealed playing chess. Because of this, his dukedom is surrendered back to him, for which matter he also surrenders his magic in order to fit in with the world which he is about to rejoin after twelve years. This play very much does show the magic and ability to create anything in the world of theatre, even a barren theatre like the Globe, before the wonders of technology could create special effects and realistic scenery. This is ironic because the vivid descriptions that the characters give of the island, whether good or bad, are not achievable through primitive scenery as there was in Shakespeare’s day, so therefore are left up to the audience for interpretation. For instance: Adr: Though this island be desert†¦ Uninhabitable and almost inaccessible†¦ The air breathes upon us here the most Seb: As if it had lungs, and rotten ones Ant: Or as if t’were perfumed by a fen Gon: How lush and lusty the grass looks, How G... ... They then created all of the colonies, which became the states we know today. This particular scene illustrates this very well. In October of 1996, the archaeologists on Jamestown Island discovered a ring with the signet of William Strachey, a man who wrote a letter to a woman in England in 1610 concerning the islands off the coast of Bermuda. It is believed that this letter may have made it into the hands of Shakespeare, from which he acquired very descriptive information about the islands, and the colonization of them. It described the English treatment of natives, and a shipwreck that Strachey was in that marooned him there. (Andrews 1) In this letter, he described in detail a similar shipwreck, as well as an island almost identical to the one Shakespeare chose to maroon his characters on in the play. (Andrews 1) In conclusion, one can clearly see, that although Shakespeare may have used the Tempest as his farewell in a sense, and used it to describe himself as Prospero, the evidence supports the claim much more strongly that he was simply creating a magical, mystical, allusion to the European colonization of the 15th century, and that he did so in an almost satirical manner.

Collective Security Essay -- History, Greek

One of the most confusing and internationally argued topics that gathers so much debate from professors to journalist, journalist, to politicians, and politicians to generals, is known as collective security. The idea of collective security has been around for centuries dating back to the time of the Greeks, however the credit for creating the idea of modern collective security belongs to Woodrow Wilson who coined the theory a couple of years before the beginning of World War I. The theory basically forms the concept that each nations security no longer depends on it having to defend itself against attacks but rather use the joint security of other nations to deter any signs of aggression that can cause any instability among nations. It follows the Balance of Power Theory, but instead of using force to solve any indifferences to use any and all political actions before it gets out of hand and that no other member is more important than the other: all for one, and one for all (1). â€Å"â€Å"My conception of the League of Nations is just this, that it shall operate as the organized moral force of men throughout the world and that whenever or wherever wrong and aggression are planned or contemplated, this searching light of conscience will be turned upon them† (2) In an ideal world, the concept of collective security would be adopted since it would be beneficial for every nation. However, this is not an ideal world, and the theory has been highly criticized from start to finish. Many believe that if a threat were to occur from outside the party than the theory would be useless, (3) as that state is not bounded by any rules and obligations. Another problem consistent with the theory of collective theory is that not every nation may be... ...generality of the system (12), it creates the depiction of the group as a global security institution to be enduring and nonbiased. These seven fundamental aspects are the key to creating a safer world without the fears of terrorism, civil wars or even a world war constantly on our minds. As time goes on, new and old threats are clashing in a subtler yet more public way. Today we are facing the threat of terrorism, civil wars, genocide and nuclear wars. As stated earlier, if a threat where to occur from outside a member then the theory of collective security would be useless, terrorism is one of those outside threats. Nations are no longer dealing with another political party to discuss and resolve issues with but rather a small-scale size of people who are fighting for something they consider a just cause, whether it be the ETA, Al-Qaeda, or the Taliban.

Bedouins

The term ‘Bedu'in the Arabic language refers to one who lives out in the open, in the desert. The Arabic word ‘Badawiyin'is a generic name for a desert-dweller and the English word ‘Bedouin’ is the derived from this. In ancient times, most people settled near rivers but the Bedouin people  preferred to live in the open desert. Bedouins mainly live in the Arabian and Syrian deserts, the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and the Sahara Desert of North Africa.There are Bedouin communities in many countries, including Egypt, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq in the Middle East and Morocco, Sudan, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya in North Africa. Altogether, the Bedouin population numbers about 4 million. The Bedouins are seen as Arab culture’s purest representatives and the Bedouins continue to be hailed by other Arabs as â€Å"ideal† Arabs, especially because of their rich oral poetic tradition, their herding lifestyle and their traditional co de of honour.The Egyptians refer to the Bedouins as ‘Arab', but Bedouins are distinct from other Arab’s because of their extensive kinship networks, which provide them with community support and the basic necessities for survival. Such networks have traditionally served to ensure safety of families and to protect their property. The term ‘A'raab' has been synonymous with the  term ‘nomad' since the beginning of Islam. The Bedouins are recognized by their (nomadic) lifestyles, special language, social structures and culture. Only few Bedouins live as their forefathers did in camel- and goat hair tents, raising livestock, hunting and raiding.Their numbers are decreasing and nowadays there are approx. only 5% of Bedouins still live as pastoral nomads in all of the Middle East. Some Bedouins of Sinai are still half-nomads. Bedouins have different facial features by which they can be distinguished from other Egyptians and also they generally dress differently. The Bedouin men wear long ‘djellabaya' and a ‘smagg' (red white draped headcover) or ‘aymemma' (white headcover) or a white small headdress, sometimes held in place by an ‘agall' (a black cord).The Bedouin women usually wear brightly coloured long dresses but when they go outside they dress in an ‘abaya' (a thin, long black coat sometimes covered with shiny embroidery) and they will always cover their head and hair when they leave their house  with a  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœtarha' (a black, thin  shawl). Traditionally a woman's face was hidden behind a highly decorated ‘burqa'ah' but this is now only seen with the older generations. The younger generations cover their face simply with their ‘tarha' (shawl).The Bedouins have a rich culture and their own Arabic ‘Bedawi’ language, which has different dialects depending on the area where they live. In former days they emphasised on the strong belief in its tribal superiority, in return to the tribal security – the support to survive in a hostile environment. ‘The Bedouin' is aristocratic and they tend to perceive the Arabian nation as the noblest of all nations, purity of blood, way of life and above all noble ancestry. They often trace their lineage back to the times of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and beyond.The first converts to Islam came from the Bedouin tribes and therefore (Sunni) Islam is embedded and deeply rooted in the Bedouin culture. Prayer is an integral part of Bedouin life. As there are no formal mosques in the desert, they pray were they are, facing the Ka’aba in Mecca and performing the ritual washing, preferably with water but if not available they ‘wash’ with sand instead. ‘The Bedouin' is generally open-minded and interested in what is going on in his close and far surroundings since this kind of knowledge has always been a vital tool of survival.At the same time, the Bedouins are quite suspicious and alert keep ing a low profile about their personal background. Modern Arab states have a strong tendency to regulate their Nomadic lifestyle and modern society has made the traditional Bedouin lifestyle less attractive, since it is demanding and often dangerous, so many Bedouins have settled in urban areas and continue to do so. The Bedouin people are faced with challenges in their lifestyle, as their traditional Islamic, tribal culture has begun to mix with western practices.Men are more likely to adjust and interact with the modern cultures, but women are bound by honour and tradition to stay within the family dwelling and therefore lack opportunity for advancement. Today unemployment amongst Bedouin people is very high. Only few obtain a high school degree and even fewer graduate from college. However, for most people the word Bedouin still conjures up a much richer and more mysterious and romantic  image.. THE ORGANIZATION OF BEDOUINS SOCIETY Until today the ‘clan organization' is t he basis of the Bedouin society.Every ‘Bayt' (tent) represents a family and the connected families form a clan (‘Aela'). All  members of the same clan consider each other as of one blood (‘Dam') and the spirit of the clan demands unconditional loyalty to fellow clansmen. A number of kindred clans form a tribe (‘Qabilah') with its own land. The clan is represented by an elder or the eldest, choosen by its members, who is powerful but has no absolute authority. In major affairs he must consult with the tribal leader: The ‘Shaykh'.In most of the Bedouin tribes, the leaders (Shaykhs) are picked for their wisdom and judgment. In others, such as the Allegat and the small Hamada tribe, leadership passes from father to eldest son. You could say, that the Bedouin is a born democrat who meets his ‘Shaykh' with respect but on equal base†¦ The ‘Quabilah'  is a union of extended families  and is the major family unit. It is a kinship structure of several generations that encompasses a wide network of blood relations descended through the male line.In the past, the ‘Quabilah'  provided its members with economic security and protection (land, labour and water are tribal property), but today with the loss of the Bedouin’s traditional livelihoods, the ‘Quabilah' is less able to fulfil all these functions but it still serves as a major source of identity,  psycho-social support and social status. The ‘Bayt' and the ‘Aela' are the basic social and economic unit of the Bedouin society, but the leaders of these units generally form a council of elders, directed by the head of the ‘Quabilah'.The smallest family unit of parents and children and the tribe are closely bound by extensive mutual commitments and obligations, such as ‘Hamula', the bringing of gifts. This social network of the Bedouins is underpinned and maintained by a deeply ingrained system of values and expectations that govern the behaviour and the relationships of the members. In practice, age, religious piety, and personal characteristics such as generosity and hospitality, set some men above others in the organization of the group. The ‘Shaykh' traditionally exercises authority over the allocation of pasture and the arbitration of disputes.His position is usually derived from his own astute reading of the majority opinion. He generally has no power to enforce a decision and therefore has to rely on his moral authority and the concurrence of the community with his point of view. In a  sense, the Bedouins form a number of ‘nations. ‘ That is, groups of families are united by common ancestry and by shared territorial allegiance. The exploitation and defence of their common territorial area is effected through a universally accepted system of leadership.For centuries, these â€Å"nations† of Bedouin tribes and their leaders operated in the ecologically and politically shi fting landscapes of the Middle East and North Africa. Only in the course of the twentieth century has their traditional flexibility and mobility been checked. Factors foreign to their universe have damaged the territorial mainstay of their societies, necessitating the adoption of new bases of identification with their ‘nations' and its leaders. THE KEY VALUES The key values of the Bedouin society are harmony, kinship solidarity, honour  and hierarchy.The Bedouins emphasize cooperation, adaption, accommodation and family cohesion. Individuals are expected to show loyalty and responsibility to the collective, to place its good above their own and to follow the rules and commands of those above them in hierarchy. The Bedouins have a collective attitude to just about everything: work, money, family, feuds; you name it and the Bedouins will take a collective position because of their highly developed sense of community and tribal loyalties. Family comes first, second and third; f or them blood is definitely thicker than water.Their strict code of honour dictates proper behaviour for all members, men, women (see:   MARRIAGE AND FAMILY   ) and  children and to live according to its (many) rules, like a healthy person always stands up  to greet an older person, they  always greet all  starting with the person on their right  hand and moving on against the hands of the clock to the rest, they always start serving the person on their right hand first  (even if this is a child) and then the rest moving against the hands of the clock, etc. Breaking any of these rules means  real trouble.The (semi)nomadic lifestyle  is demanding and that's why the  children are expected to assume a considerable amount of responsibility in order to help their families survive. Although modernization has changed their lifestyle somewhat, emphasis is placed on teaching children to carry on traditional ways of life and the advancement of modern technology is so far not considered important to children’s education. ‘The' Bedouin people are known to be very polite and honest. They prefer not to say bad things or be the bearer of bad news. MARRIAGE Marriage for Bedouins has both religious and social significance.From  an  Islamic perspective, marriage legalizes sexual relations and provides the framework for procreation. From a social perspective, it brings together not only the bride and groom but also their families. Women  are protected in the Bedouin code of honour. A man who is not closely related to a woman is not allowed to touch her in any way, not even so much as to brush his fingers against hers while handing her something. To do so is to dishonour her. Likewise, in some tribes, if a woman brings dishonour to herself, she shames her family because honour is held not by individuals but by the whole family.The loss of a woman's honour, her ‘ird', is extremely serious amongst the Bedouins. Bedouin men and women en joy the freedom of choosing their partner. Nevertheless,parents can put sufficient pressure on their children to arrange their marriage. If there is no father to speak for the girl/woman, a brother or other male relative will speak for her. If a male from the family doesn’t agree with the choice of a spouse for his daughter, sister or even cousin, he is able to stop the wedding according to Bedouin Law.There is an engagement period for about a year or more, during which the Bedouin boy/man can visit the girl/woman at her family (and most rarely they will be alone) where they can talk, share views and expectations and get to know each other. If the engagement  does not work out, the ending of the engagement should be done in a way, that there is no shame or blemish on the other (family). Therefore pressure from parents or family should be handled very careful and tactful. BEDOUIN FAMILY he three-generation extended family is the ideal domestic unit.Although this group, avera ging between nine and eleven persons, may sleep in  more than one tent or in more than one house, its meals are generally taken together. The newly formed nuclear family of husband and wife tends to remain with the larger domestic unit until it has sufficient manpower and a large enough income (herd) to survive on its own. On occasion, a combination of brothers or patrilineal cousins will join forces to form a single domestic unit. Children and infants are raised by the extended family unit.Parents, older siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all take part in the rearing of the young. By the age of 6 or 7, the child begins to take on simple household tasks and soon thereafter becomes a full working member of the family. Adolescence is hardly recognized; by the early teens, at the age of 16 or 17, the individual is accepted as a full  member of Bedouin society. The Bedouins are patrilineal. Their names consist of a personal name, the father's name,  the agnatic gra ndfather's name and the great grandfather's name.Women retain their name and father's family name unchanged  after marriage. There are distinctive terms for kin on the mother's side and kin on the father's side. All terms indicate the sex of the person designated. The smallest residential unit (‘Bayt') is named after its senior male resident. However, unlike settled peoples,  most Bedouins are also members of larger patrilineal descent groups which are linked by agnation to form even larger lineages and sometimes even tribal confederations. RELIGION AND TRADITIONSThe Bedouins (and Muslims in general) variously believe in ‘Jinn' (the presence of spirits), some playful and others malevolent, that interfere in the life of humans. ‘Hasset' (the envious, evil  eye) is also very real to the Bedouins and children are believed to be particularly vulnerable. For this reason, they often had protective amulets attached to their clothing or hung around their necks. In Is lam the existence of ogresses and monstrous super naturals is postulated, known as ‘Maleika Al Ard' (Kings of the Earth) and Bedouins believe they are sometimes met by lone travellers in the desert.There is no formal clergy in Islam and no centre of ‘priests'. Every Muslim has its own direct relationship with Allah. Bedouin societies have no formal religious specialists. They traditionally arrange for religious specialists, called ‘Shaykh' or ‘Sjeikh', from adjacent settled regions to spend several months a year with them to teach the young to read the Qur’an. A rural or settled religious specialist that Bedouins seek out for curative and preventative measures is called a ‘Gatib'. This is not the same as the ‘Hakim', which is a Bedouin doctor/healer is, who specializes in herbal and traditional healing. ) In addition many Bedouins tend to have ceremonies and rituals including elaborate celebrations of weddings, ritual naming of newborn infa nts and the circumcision of children (boys universally, girls frequently but this is less common nowadays because in the mosque is preached that this is in contradiction with the teachings of the holy Qur'an). According to Islam  Bedouins ritually slaughter a goat or a sheep when a child is born.Bedouins call this ‘Foo-ela' and their family is invited to eat the prepared meat together. Bedouins of southern Sinai who are influenced by Sufism (Islamic mysticism) also celebrate the Prophet's birthday and carry out ‘pilgrimages' to the tombs of (local) saints. They only  worship Allah and these journey's are more important to consolidate the ties to the tribe and the tombs serve as a meeting place. Death and traditions Islamic tradition dictates the practices associated with death. The body is buried as soon as possible and always within 24 hours.Among some Bedouin groups, an effort is made to bury the dead in one place (‘Maghebr'), although often it is impossible to reach it within the strict time limit imposed by Islamic practices. Funeral rites are very simple and Bedouins mark their graves with exeptional simplicity, placing an ordinary stone (or unmarked board) at the head of the grave, where family regularly place a fresh leaf of a palm tree. When they visit the graves, they take off their shoes and say a prayer, after which they sit around the graves and eat fruit.Children playing around the cemetery always get a (sweet) treat from the visitors. Healing HOT SAND BATH They put their selves in the sand when theyfeel pain in their bones or the whole body, to let the sand lick the pain and bad fluids out of the body CAMEL MILK The Bedouins take camel as their friend. They have Camel Milk to cure diseases like Hepatitis C, stomach pain, sexual disability, digestion and immunresistancy. Half il bar are herbs from the desert cleaning the kidneys Handal is a kind of fruit from the desert we put for some time under your heel. It helps against r heumatism.

Baseline Report Anger Management as a Behavioral

They are on the floor in front of his bed and if he accidental kicks one over it will be in my carpet. The bathroom is attached to his room, less than eight feet away. He took out doughnuts from a drawer in his captain's bed, which was open and I could see all kinds of snacks in there (no food is allowed in the bedroom) and was watching TV without a care in the world. Clean clothes that were placed on a table in his room on Sunday were still not put away, soda cans were lying on the floor and the playpen for the dog smelled like urine.I went off, telling him that â€Å"l can't do this anymore; you don't help me take care of the house and tot even yourself. You are lazy, stupid, and hateful, you don't clean up after yourself or even clean yourself and I feel like I am losing control. † I start to cry, continue screaming, waving my hands and he just looks at me like a deer caught in head lights and occasionally throws some curse words my way. Slam his door and go sit on the couc h to calm down. He doesn't come out of his room until I go upstairs and we avoid each other the rest of the day.Intensity a 3 and lasted 9 minutes. Thursday 11/13 (7:15-726 a. M. ) Milk is left out all night again and ice cream is melted all over my counter again. Constant occurrence despite putting up signs in bright yellow and orange in the kitchen to put away food in the freezer or refrigerator when finished with it. I have addressed this more times than I can count over the last three years. I went into his room, turned on the light and began to ask him if he was just stupid or if he was doing these things deliberately to tick me off. He said he wasn't trying to tick me off but just forgot.Then he said, â€Å"Here we go again, another lovely day. † I started screaming that I don't plan to have days like this, I don't want to have days like this but when you keep owing stupid things that tick me off, we will have days like this. † He told me to â€Å"shut the upâ₠¬  which made me angrier and then I told him that I wish he would go live in a home because he's driving me crazy. Then he said he was sorry, that he didn't mean it but it happens all the time and am so tired of dealing with the insanity of his progressing dementia and physical problems on top of his bipolar disorder.Unfortunately, I tell him that when I am having a tantrum, which I do realize is very unfair since he did not ask for any of these diagnoses. I pray for strength, I pray for understanding, pray for patience all of the time. Intensity was a (2) and the tantrum lasted 11 minutes. Friday 1 1/14 There Were Zero TA entrust in the observation period. Michael got up at a reasonable time, ate breakfast, took his meds, did the dishes and cleaned the kitty litter and managed to be considerate and helpful. I was very grateful today for the peace. Saturday 11/15 p. M. I yelled at Michael to get out of bed and help walk the dogs. I had been calling him since 3:45, letting him know that he needed to get dressed to help. I screamed at him to get out of bed and move his butt and help me. I said, â€Å"You stay in bed all day without a care in the world and need some alp. You did no chores today and need you to get up, get dressed and stop pretending that you are my child. I am sick of having to ask you every day for help when you know what needs to get done. NOW GET UP!! † He did get up begrudgingly, as if was annoying him. Intensity was a (2) and the tantrum lasted 5 minutes.Saturday 11/15 (6:40-7:20 p. M. ) I was in a great deal of pain from the car accident on Monday, November 1 20th and Michael came in asking me what was making for dinner. Was lying on the couch with an icepack on my shoulder and a heating pad on my back. I told him that he loud have to fix himself something tonight because was so sore from getting a chiropractic adjustment. He started to complain that there was nothing to eat (there was plenty to eat, just nothing he wanted to make). All this time he did not come out to ask me if I wanted or needed anything so I threw a full blown tantrum.I started screaming at him, â€Å"Are you stupid, do you not see the heating pad and ice pack? Do you not realize was in a car accident and could have been killed? Can't you do something for me for once? † My voice rose to the level that I believe the people down the block could have heard me. I got myself Off the couch and actually got in his face (l would like to believe it was the pain killers I was on but I have reacted like this in the past when I was over tired or not feeling good) and continued to scream how useless he was and that he needed to find another place to live.He just looks at me and goes â€Å"blah, blah, blah, I'm not going anywhere,† and then I accelerate into psycho mode telling him that can't take the fact that when I am sick he will do nothing for me but the rest of the time do everything for him. I am not rational at this moment because i f I was, I would realize that am wasting my breath. The more he acts like he doesn't care that look like a lunatic, waving my arms and distorting my face into something scary, the more I realize it is hopeless and start to cry.He went back to his room to brood and I go feeling more exhausted and with a pounding headache go back to my heating pad and ice pack and fume. Second time was five minutes with an intensity of 2 Sunday 11/16 wage out for breakfast at Waffle House before going to church. There are no expectations on Sunday, except for him to accompany me to breakfast and church, which he does willingly without incident. He is always good on Sundays, which makes me believe he knows what he is doing. We come home, read the paper, and have a nice meal around 3:00, he goes in his room and I either go visiting or have visitors and the day is quiet. It's amazing.Monday†¦.. 11/17 7:30-7:52 a. M. Starting my week off, come downstairs only to find all the lunch meat out on the cou nter, the mayonnaise left open and out on the counter with several dishes, crumbs everywhere and the coffee machine was left on all night. From the kitchen I yell, â€Å"Michael, get in here now! † No response from him. I yell again, â€Å"Michael get up and get in here right now! † He yells back, â€Å"What did I do now? Can't you just leave me the alone? ‘ To which really start screaming, â€Å"Can't I just have one day, just one (forgetting that I had yesterday), what the heck is wrong with you, are you trying to drive me crazy? I start putting stuff away and throwing stuff away, deliberately making as much noise as possible because am now waist deep in a tantrum. Am throwing my hands up scream at how stupid he is and that he doesn't care about money or how hard I work, that he just is passive aggressive because he is sick and has no one else to take it out on. I could actually record these tantrums and just hit play because the words are always the same wh en am at a level (intensity) 3. He starts telling me to â€Å"go myself and in turn become louder and more insulting myself.The only reason this tantrum ends is because I have to get ready for work and want to get out of the house and away from him as quick as possible. Still, I managed to rant for twenty-two minutes before finally crying and breaking down. Intensity-3, Minutes 22 Tuesday 11/18 Everything was quiet today. Michael got up and we both apologized to each other about last night. After a really bad tantrum both of us realize that things have gotten out of intro and both of us try harder to get along. Zero tantrums today.

Human Resource at Mcdonald’s Essay

I. Introduction In today’s intensely competitive and global marketplace, having a highly committed or competent workforce is one of the most critical factors in maintaining a competitive advantage (Millmore et al., 2007). Therefore, in a growing number of organizations, strategic human resources management (SHRM) is now viewed as a source of competitive advantage. Strategic human resource management is designed to help companies meet the needs of their employees while promoting company goals. As an important aspect of strategic human resource management is employee development, organisations have to consider employees may want or need and what the company can reasonably supply (Baker, 2009a; Tarique and Schuler, 2010). This research paper tries to discuss how organisations achieve this mission. We will discuss about two very important aspects of SHRM, strategic international HRM (SIHRM) and employment relationship. Although these two fields will be analysed separately, we can see the link bet ween them when we apply them to the case McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). In each section, we will discuss about the theories and models relating to each of those aspects and how these theories showed up in McDonalds’. II. McDonalds’ and Strategic International HRM II.1. Literature review of SIHRM and its frameworks The main trend of recent studies on changes in the business environment is the growth of internalisation, for example Ferenbach and Pinney (2012); Hitt et al. (2012); and Zain and Kassim (2012). As businesses become more and more global, SIHRM plays an important role in the development and success of multi-national corporations (MNCs) (Festing et al., 2012; Smale et al., 2012; and Stahl et al., 2012). According to Briscoe (2012) international human resource management (IHRM) can be defined as set of managerial tools for managing organizational human resources at international level to achieve organizational objectives and competitive advantage over competitors, both domestic and international. IHRM, therefore, includes typical HRM functions such as recruitment, selection, training and development, performance appraisal and rewards and punishment done at international level and additional activities such as global management skills, expatriate management and so on (Millmore et al., 20 07). Milliman et al. (1991) developed a SIHRM framework based theory of â€Å"fit and flexibility†. The concept of â€Å"IHRM fit† included external and internal side. External IHRM fit indicated the MNCs’ capability to deal with the cross-national environment, which includes the social, legal, political and cultural factors of diversified foreign countries where they operate. On the other hand, internal IHRM fit stressed on the management ability to ensure appropriate control and co-ordination between corporate and foreign subsidiaries. In addition to â€Å"fit† concept, â€Å"flexible† was also important as it specified the organisational capability to smoothly implement changes and adapt to diverse circumstances. Zheng (2013) commented on the framework that in today’s open global environment in which information and knowledge is transferred freely and quickly, an integration of fit between internal HRM and external functions is required and sho uld not be treated as two separate functions. The SIHRM framework of Schuler et al. (1993) seems to implement this point (Figure 1). The framework constituted of two major elements: inter-unit linkages and internal operations. Inter-unit linkages showed the MNC’s ability to differentiate its operating units thorough the world while, at the same time, keep them well coordinated and controlled. Internal operations indicated the fit between each unit’s confines of its local environment, laws, politics, culture, economy and society and its own strategic objectives given by the corporation. Schuler et al. (1993) framework’s limitation is to ignore the role of human-beings (managers and staff) which is widely considered as a very important constituent of SIHRM (for example Briscoe et al., 2012; Shi and Handfield, 2012; and Sanchez-Arias et al., 2013). The SIHRM framework of Taylor et al. (1996) stressed on how smoothly top managers can transfer the parent company’s SIHRM orientation to affiliate’s HR M system, then to impart organisational values and top managers’ belief to specific employees within the affiliate (Figure 2). Although Taylor’s model (1996) can complement the limitation of Schuler’s framework (1993), we still need a more detailed and practical model to apply in the real business world. This is the point at which the framework for global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) comes in handy. In the next section, we will discuss about the framework in details and in the case of Mc Donalds’ (Figure 3). II.2. The framework for global talent management and the case of McDonald’s a.Global Talent Challenges for McDonalds’ The major driver of global talent challenges for McDonalds’ is the globalisation. Although globalisation enables firms to employ workers in the developing economies of the world at much lower wages than is possible in the developed economies of the world (Wise and Covarrubias, 2012), it also leads to increasing competition in fast food industry (Asif et al., 2011; Gupta, 2012; and Royle, 2012). In such circumstance, global competitive advantage is only for those multinational firms that succeed in locating and relocating its workforce over the world, adapting to local differences, learn continuously, and transfer knowledge more effectively than their competitors do (Molinsky, 2013; Steers et al., 2013). Therefore, human recourse becomes more and more important in maintaining competitive advantage at MNCs. In addition, as McDonalds’, like other MNCs, expand its business into many other countries, its consumers continue to have very different buying patterns from region to region. The organisation therefore must have a talent management strategy in place that continually assesses whether employees have the ability to address the particular needs of a diverse customer base (Podsiadlowskia et al., 2013). In 2011, Manpower Group conducted research among nearly 25,000 companies across 39 different countries and territories, which shed light on that 32% of American companies were looking for foreign workers, higher than any other area (that number of the whole world was 24%). This raises the demand for workers with competencies and motivation considerably high, especially for American companies. While the demand was getting higher, the foreign labour supply for MNCs was not so abundant. The research of Manpower (2011) showed that 74% of American employers (among 5,820 surveyed companies) found it difficult in recruiting foreign labours. In addition, Pearson (2012) believed that high employee turnover is a threat for today’s businesses. These issues made the labor market more competitive for employers, especially operates in an industry whose the rate of employee turnover is as high as fast food industry (Harris, 2012). For McDonald’s and other fast food restaurant, there is another specific obstacle. According to Sharma and Kiran (2012), employees nowadays do not only look for organisations offering high wage but also those â€Å"whose philosophies and operating practices match with their own principles†. This might create an issue for McDonalds’ to compete in recruiting best talents as fast food restaurants usually have bad reputation of causing ethical healthy issues such as obesity (Fraser et al., 2012; Jeffery and Utter, 2012). Tarique and Schuler (2010) summarised global talent challenges as too little needed talent and too much unneeded talent, or rather â€Å"the needed talent is available in the wrong place†. b.McDonalds’ Human Resource Actions to Address Global Talent Challenges Talent management initiatives can only be effectively successful when linked to the strategies of the organization. Since 2005, McDonald’s global workforce strategy has been designed to be aligned with and support the execution of its business objective, which is â€Å"to become everyone’s favorite place and way to eat† (Harkins et al., 2005). Interestingly, the global talent management practice initiated by McDonalds’ nearly ten years ago was very similar to the Tarique and and Schuler’s framework (2010). Prior to 2001, McDonald’s developed its performance assessment system comprised of six â€Å"performance drivers† (Figure 4) on which managers and staffs’ annual performance will be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it (Goldsmith et al., 2009). However, when it was rolled out globally in 2003, it was clear that certain elements of the new system re-design were not suited for the foreign cultures and legal structures that existed in certain countries. As a result, all of its affiliate and franchising stores were given flexible to make certain changes to adapt local requirements. This manager’s initiative reflected the â€Å"fit and flexible† concept of Milliman et al. (1991) as discussed in the last section. In 2003, McDonalds’ introduced its Global Talent Review Process of which main purpose is to train and develop next generation of leaders and managers and in 2006, the organisation added a more in-depth analysis of who needs development moves to enhance their experience and a process that facilitates this movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The initiative allowed potential leaders of next generation to move more freely to various organizational departments in order to realise development job opportunities with support of their peers and develop their own talents (Brown and Lent, 2012). With the intention of attracting and retaining high-performing talents, The McDonald’s Leadership Institute and the Global Leadership Development Program were introduced in 2006 (McDonald’s, 2013). The Institute was a virtual community that provides a culture of learning and development and to which anyone from any geographic location can accessed. The Global Leadership Development Program focused on preparing participants for broader leadership responsibilities and building a strong peer network that will support these individuals in developing their leadership path. The qualitative impacts of these initiatives were managers and staffs became much more aware of the strengths and talent gaps in each area, so they can recognise their own development needs and develop their talents more effectively. In addition, as the number of cross-organizational movement increased, organisation had better selections for all tasks. Schuler et al. (2010) pointed out several barriers of talent management to which McDonalds’ and other MNCs should pay attention. First, managers at all levels rather spend time on their own pressing tasks than on talent management programs. Second, organizational structures might inhibit collaboration and the sharing of knowledge across boundaries. Finally, HR departments might be short of â€Å"the respect of other executives whose cooperation is needed to implement appropriate HR actions† and might not be able to deal with the global talent challenges. III. McDonalds’ and Employment Relationship III.1. Literature review of employment relationship and new ERM model In last section, we discussed how important talent management is for McDonalds’ to maintain its competitive advantage in today’s widely open business. Although McDonald’s already has a quite complete talent management program, the organisation should be noticed that its workforce strategy could not be successful without great employment relationship. Gospel and Palmer (1993:3) define employment relationship as â€Å"an economic, social and political relationship in which employees provide manual and mental labour in exchange for rewards allotted by employers.† Rose (2004) clarified that rewards can be not only economic but also social and psychological. Millmore et al. (2007) believed that psychological reward is an indispensable part in employment relationship. They went on to define two key strategic concepts that were labour – management partnership and psychological contract. According to Millmore et al. (2007), key values of a successful labour – management partnership included share of goals, culture, knowledge, effort and information. Armstrong (1996) discussed that the labour – management partnership initiated when employees provide skill and effort to employers and the employers provide the employee with a salary in return. However, the employment relationship can also be expressed in terms of a psychological contract defined by Rousseau (1994, cited by Millmore, 2007:448) as â€Å"the understanding people have regarding the commitments made between themselves and their organisations†. Noe (1999, p. 290) states, â€Å"a psychological contract is the expectation that employers and employees have about each other†. According to CIPD (2006), psychological contract breach occurs when employees believe that the organization has failed to deliver its promises or obligations. There were many research works about psychological contract and its importance in employment relationship, for example Robinson and Morrison (2000); Coyle-Shapiro and Kessler (2000); Guest and Conway (2002); Turnley et al. (2003); Conway and Briner (2005). These works however did not point out a model that is practical and easy to apply and measure in the workplace. In addition, because of globalisation and today’s fast changing business environment, the needs of organizations and workers’ expectations changed significantly (Burke and Ng, 2006). Therefore, the traditional psychological contract might not work as well as it had been. Besides, most of the research in the past has emphasised the employee, while it should be on both employees and employers’ perspectives (Baker, 2009a). Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship that enables corporations to attract good staff and retaining talented employees in toda y’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition. In such a business environment the traditional perspective on employment relationship such as that of Gospel and Palmer (1993) might not work. According to Baker (2009a), the new employment relationship model must base on the workers’ needs with organisational outcomes. He then provided core attributes of the model including flexible environment, customer-focus, focus on performance, project-based work, human spirit and work, loyalty, learning and development and open information. In next section, we will discuss about these core attributes with the illustration of McDonalds’. III.2. McDonald’s and the application of new employment relationship model The first aspect of the relationship is flexible employment which defined by Baker (2009a) as organisation policy to encourage workers to work for other units or departments. In 2006, McDonalds’ conducted an in-depth analysis of which staffs could be potential leaders and managers, what skills and experience they needs, to which units they should be moved to get these skills and knowledge, and how to facilitate the movement (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The implementation of flexible employment strategies can create opportunities for workers to develop their career beyond the confines of their specific specialization. Kappia et al. (2007) proved these career development opportunities could be more motivating than monetary rewards. The concept of customer-focus, which becomes more and more important in business techniques (Bharadwaj et al., 2012; Idris, 2012; Kanti, 2012), is the second attributes of new employment relationship model (ERM). The concept of customer-focus places empl oyees in the â€Å"unique position of answering to two bosses†, the organisation and the customer (Baker, 2002). Baker (2009b) believed that a successful customer-focused strategy depend on managers and workers’ good communication with external sources such as local communities and culture. Related to the case of McDonald’s, its customer-focused â€Å"Plan to Win† relies on local talent to develop a deep connection between McDonald’s and the local communities in which it operates (Goldsmith et al., 2009). According to Baker (2009a), the concept of focus-on-performance suggests that customers should focus on the achievements of their job and the way they achieve them instead of job specifications. Organisations, on the other side, should link rewards and benefits with performance rather than organisational policies and rules. Moreover, new ERM suggests that an effective â€Å"multidimensional performance system† promotes workers to contribute beyond their regular task while organisations can utilise and reward workers for these non-job contributions (Baker, 2009b). Since 2001, McDonald’s redesign its performance measurement system with six â€Å"performance drivers† for which employees ‘be measured not just on the â€Å"what† of their accomplishments but also on â€Å"how† they accomplished it’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009). The system also enable top managers to signal the importance of needed culture change in which employees are encouraged to be more innovative and contribute more than merely doing their regular tasks. The fourth aspect of new ERM is project-based work. As business environment is increasingly uncertain and unstable, project-based work gains more interest from both corporations and employees (Watson, 2012). This initiative includes several forms such as temporary and fixed term contracts, outsourcing, flexible time, part-time working, overtime, job rotation, or functional mobility, which provides job flexibility (Peirà ³ et al., 2002) The project-based work is also widely applied in McDonalds’ as the senior managers often depend on peers’ assessment in providing employees development job opportunities (Goldsmith et al., 2009). With the increase in market competition and dynamic work environment, many employees are suffering from work overload that could seriously affect the organisational performance (Altaf and Awan, 2011) and many researchers believes that workplace spirituality is one way to deal with this problem (Karakas, 2010). Baker (2009a) also mentioned human spirit and work as a function of new ERM. The effectiveness of the workplace spirituality on work performace, however, is still criticised by several researches and hypothesis tests, for example Bell et al. (2012) and Weitz (2012). There is also no evidence that this concept has ever been applied at McDonalds’. Another aspect of new ERM doubted to be effective and not applied at McDonalds’ is open information. Loyalty and commitment, on the other hand, has no doubt to be a so important attribute of new ERM. According to Baker (2009b), these aspects should come from both sides. Employees’ loyalty is to enhance organisational outcome rather than processes, while organisational commitment is to improve employees’ personal objectives and development. McDonald’s has paid significant attention to its employees for years. McDonald’s has its Commitment Survey to assesses employee satisfaction with the support and recognition they receive, the extent to which their skills are utilized and developed, the degree of their empowerment, working condition and their compensation (Goldsmith et al., 2009). A manager’s scores on the Commitment Survey are one of many important factors considered in assess employees’ effectiveness and potential for advancement. Much related to this aspect is learning and development. As discussed in last section, McDonalds’ initiated its The Leadership at McDonald’s Program, which aimed at identifying developing high potential talent, in 2004 (Goldsmith et al., 2009). Having been accessed as qualified candidates of the program, employees will be granted for many individual learning opportunities. First, each participant will have a coach to discuss progress against objectives and receive objective feedback and developmental coaching throughout the program. They also have opportunities to work closely with McDonald’s high potential peers throughout the program and with talented management peers from other companies/industries as part of the Thunderbird Program in order to build strong internal and external peer networks ( Goldsmith et al., 2009). The application of these attributes brought McDonalds’ several positive signs. As of mid-2006, 34% of the 104 graduates of the LAMP Program have been promoted while only 4% of the them have left the company for other opportunities. It is a key objective of the program for its participants to know they are highly regarded and that the company will continue to invest in their ongoing development. The program also made itself a strong brand identity and equity within the organization and more and more employees want to join the program (Goldsmith et al., 2009). IV. Conclusion As SHRM becomes more and more important for organisations, it is critical for managers to understand not only its related theories and concepts but also discover and invent the most practical models for which they can apply to their organisation. As businesses become more and more global SIHRM and the model of global talent management of Tarique and Schuler (2010) plays an important role in the development and success of MNCs. Even when organisations already have a quite complete talent management program, they should notice that its workforce strategy could not be successful without good employment relationship. Baker (2009a) believed that there is a need to develop a new concept of employment relationship in today’s business environment of volatility, uncertainty, and global competition and he introduced the new ERM. The case of McDonalds’ (Goldsmith et al., 2009) has shed the light on how practically successful these models could be when appropriately and effectively applying in an organisation. This is, however, just the beginning of these relatively young models and the question of whether these models can create sustainable competitive advantage will need more academic and practical researches in the future.