Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The End of Something Analysis of Nick

Prompt: Nick is a typical, male chauvinistic jerk in â€Å"T. E. O. S. † Ernest Hemingway established a tough guy figure with great male chauvinist in the short story The End of Something using parallels and masculine egoism. Nick as the main character in the story casually broke up with his girlfriend over some seemingly unimportant matters during their fishing trip. Nick’s attitude towards Marjorie’s responses regarding fishing skills showed that he is highly uncomfortable with her knowledge on the same level as his.Nick’s masculinity was disappointed by this changing of dominance, and caused him to break up with Marjorie eventually. As a typical Hemingway short story, T. E. O. S. also uses the Iceberg theory, which indicates that the first paragraph was more than a background; it was paralleling the village’s changes with Nick’s dominance degradation. The short story T. O. E . S. starts with an introduction of how the Hortons Bay went from a lumber town to mill ruins.Hemingway cleverly parallels the relationship between Nick and Marjorie with the original Hortons Bay with the place that the woods were shipped to (and the wood being all the fishing skills that Nick taught Marjorie). The decay of Hortons Bay was a symbol of Nick’s decline of dominance in this relationship with his girlfriend. The declination of superiority in the relationship made Nick uncomfortable and less masculine. â€Å"Its open hold covered with canvas and lashed tight, the sails of the schooner filled and it moved out into the open lake, carrying with it everything that had made the mill a mill and Hortons Bay a town. (Hemingway, page 29) The last sentence in the first paragraph of the story indicates that Nick didn’t feel the same in the relationship with Marjorie as how he did before, with all the â€Å"wood† being shipped away and the contrast between how it is know and how it was before. While at the last part of the st ory, Nick repeated the same content â€Å"you know everything† for several times. The use of repetition implies that Nick is upset with the fact that Marjorie now grasps the all the knowledge of fishing that Nick once taught her and is now on the same level as him.Hemingway portrayed this tough guy figure, Nick, with high self-egoism, so when Nick found out that he was gradually losing superiority to his girlfriend and eventually they became equals, he got frustrated and annoyed. It can be told from the scenes where Nick and Marjorie were fishing, they argued on little aspects regarding whether the fish would strike, how to bait should be dealt with and where to drop and Nick would argue to prove that he is the more experienced and fights to reassure his dominance. ‘You know everything’ said Nick †,â€Å"‘I can’t help it. ’ said Nick, ‘You do. You know everything. That’s the trouble. You know you do. ’ †, "I’ve taught you everything. You know you do. What don’t you know, anyway? †(Hemingway, page 34) The failure of establishing himself as a dominating male in this relationship caused Nick’s final breakdown as he started to accuse Marjorie for knowing everything. Hemingway depicted the scene of Nick and his girlfriend Marjorie breaking up over a fishing trip to demonstrate a masculine dominated concept in Nick.The writer portrayed Nick’s frustration over losing the superiority to his girlfriend, as she became just as good a fisher as himself, so as to demonstrate that Nick is a typical male chauvinist who does not accept being equal to a woman. Hemingway paralleled Hortons Bay with Nick and Marjorie’s relationship and used repetition in the end to demonstrate Nick’s frustration, while both strategies helped to establish Nick as the tough guy figure.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Marketing in a Higher Education Institution Essay

I would like to thank my supervisor, Professor Jake Ansell, for all his support and encouragement during this challenging dissertation period. My gratitude also goes out to all academic and support staff of the MSc Marketing and Business Analysis course for what was an educational stimulating academic year. All the knowledge passed on and assistance given formed a solid foundation that was invaluable during the course of working on this dissertation. I would like to also like to take this opportunity to extend my appreciation to my family members, course mates and friends, who acted as pillars of strength by continuously keeping check and giving out words of encouragement during the dissertation phase. ABSTRACT The nature of the rapidly changing Higher Education (HE) industry has forced universities to implement more innovative marketing strategies. In order to remain competitive, there is a need for universities to not only engage in marketing strategies that are relevant to the existing HE context, but also be aware of foreseeable changes that are taking place to enable them to alter their positions and adapt smoothly without being left behind. This study investigates the marketing strategies employed by the College of Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh and the relevance of these strategies in the context of the fast-moving HE industry. Three main areas were studied in the literature review- demands of the industry, current marketing philosophies and practices within the industry and trends that likely to shape the future of the industry. A proper understanding of these areas is important as it used as a comparative yardstick to evaluate the College’s existing strategic position and the direction it is heading towards. Qualitative research was used given the exploratory nature of the study that aimed to uncover thoughts, experiences and ideas of respondents. In-depth interview was used as the main research method as there was a specific need to gather detailed information from select-few respondents based on their job expertise. On a smaller scale, focus group interviews comprising students were also conducted as a complementary research to generate their perception and views regarding the Higher Education Industry. Upon analysis, discussion of the findings was divided into three sections based on their relevance to the research questions and the gaps observed in the literature review. The key findings was that the general philosophy of the College’s marketing is in line with the existing standards expected of the HE, but there is inadequate marketing for undergraduate levels which was brought about by an arguably false interpretation of high demand. The study also shows that there is under-utilization of the role of student ambassador and lack of gender-based marketing, both of which were identified in the literature as important in keeping up with fiercer competition and addressing challenges of the future. In terms of fee structure, high-income household students are expected to pay the largest share of costs because of their ineligibility to apply for most loans and grants. However, they are seen to be willing to pursue HE studies and view it as an investment for a better career. Low and middle-income household students, although are not affected much at undergraduate level, are likely to seek employment after their studies instead of commencing a postgraduate degree. The findings and analysis brought about several recommendations which include focusing on international marketing to increase the level of international students, hence generating higher revenues that could be channelled at funding purposes for postgraduate level to increase participation of low and middle-income household students. Recommendations for strengthening marketing efforts at undergraduate level, tailoring gender-based marketing and efficient utilization of student ambassador schemes were also provided. The study concludes that while the current marketing philosophy fits the existing context (with exception to undergraduate level), a lot can be done to capitalized on emerging trends to ensure that the College is better prepared to deal with the changes of the future. 1.0 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION This Chapter will present the purpose of the research, along with the objectives that are aimed to be achieved. It also brings into attention the relevant research questions that the study seeks to answer. The Introduction Chapter concludes with a structure of report to demonstrate the organization and structural design of this study. 1.1 Purpose of Study The purpose of this study is to analyze the current marketing strategies employed by the University of Edinburgh’s College of Humanities and Social Science and its relevance to the rapidly changing higher education industry, to enhance the knowledge available in existing research and also to set the foundation for further research. Existing research on higher education is vast but there is limited research on contemporary strategies in the fastchanging higher education industry. More importantly, there has been very few studies done on the University of Edinburgh and the Colleges associated with it, in terms of its effectiveness in executing marketing strategies and preparatory measures in dealing with future challenges. The objectives of this research are: 1) To investigate the relevance of marketing strategies adopted by the College of Humanities and Social Science with regards to the existing context of the Higher Education industry. 2) To investigate the competitiveness of marketing strategies employed by the College of Humanities and Social Science with regards to the foreseeable changes to the Higher Education industry. In order to do this, there was need to gain a general understanding on the Higher Education industry and also the transformations that it has witnessed and are likely to face in the recent future. Upon identifying the underlying and emerging factors that are set to affect the marketing strategies undertaken by the College, the study was limited to a focused area of study and the following research questions were derived: 1) Are the general marketing philosophies of the University of Edinburgh in line with contemporary standards expected in the Higher Education industry? 2) To what extent are Student Ambassadors being empowered and utilized as a marketing tool to provide the edge in a competitive student recruitment market? 3) Are there initiatives on gender-based marketing to capitalize on the trend of consistently increasing number of female students in Higher Education? 4) How would a new fee-structure, if implemented, affect marketing strategies in recruiting UK, EU and Overseas students? 1.2 Structure of Report The report is organised as follows: CHAPTER ONE: Reveals the purpose of the study and central issues that are observed. It moves on to identify the research objectives that the study endeavours to appreciate through the assessment of key research questions (previous section). CHAPTER TWO: Provides an overview of the Higher Education industry and explores three main section- demands in higher education, contemporary marketing philosophies and practices of the industry, and the higher education fee structure. Each section is concluded by establishing their relevance to the research questions being posed. CHAPTER THREE: Discusses the methodology used in addressing the research questions. This Chapter establishes the reasons for the selection of methods and techniques used, and highlights the limitations in place. It also provides reasons as to why other methods were not employed. CHAPTER FOUR: Provides findings from the primary research and analysis linking the findings to the literature review. This Chapter is divided into three sections- New-age marketing philosophies of the higher education industry, relationship between tuition fees structure and marketing strategies with regards to recruitment for UK, EU and Non-EU students, and under-utilization of resources to capitalize of emerging trends (student ambassador and gender-based marketing). It also critically discusses the strengths and weakness of the College’s marketing strategies. Recommendations were also provided in this chapter to counter weaknesses that were observed. CHAPTER FIVE: Concludes the study and reiterates the summarized findings, analysis and recommendations of the previous Chapter. Areas for future research and research limitations that could be improved on were also highlighted. Note: In this research, ‘College’ would refer to College of Humanities and Social Science, University of Edinburgh. This is distinct from ‘University’ which would refer to the University of Edinburgh as a whole. Although this study is done in the College, the word ‘University’ will be used in some discussion areas which encompass both the College and the University. 2.0 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW The Literature review will emphasize on three areas: demands for Higher Education, contemporary marketing philosophies and practices of Higher Education, and Higher Education fee structure. A firm comprehension of these areas will provide a good understanding on the current structure of Higher Education and the direction it is heading towards. 2.1 Demands for Higher Education The implementation of effective marketing strategies depends significantly on clear understanding of demands within an industry. This section of the literature review aims to look into the patterns seen in demand, from both local and international perspectives, and how they have evolved over the years. It would seek to review motivations that drive demand for higher education and identify emerging trends that could have an effect on future demands in the higher education industry. Such understandings are vital for institutions in continuing to remain competitive and also in laying the foundations to facilitate possible changes in strategies for the future. Statistical figures show that in 1950, about 50,000 tertiary level students studied in institutions outside their home country (Brickman 1975). Europe and North America were the most popular continents of study destination and a vast majority of the students were from these regions. In terms of Asian students, few studied away from their home countries and for those who did, the majority followed the colonial path with students from India, the Malay Peninsula and Hong Kong heading to the United Kingdom and ones from Indochina preferring an education in France (Cummings and So 1985). Out of a total of 900,000 students who studied abroad in tertiary institutions in 1984, Asian students constituted about 45% of them in 1985. The sharp increase of Asian students was contributed by factors such as increment in income per capita in Asia which made it affordable for them to pursue a degree overseas and also the perception that overseas degrees were viewed as a platform to achieve good employment opportunities. Another contributing factor was the rapid expansion of secondary education in many Asian countries, hence creating more qualified tertiary-level applicants that the local education system could accommodate (Cumming 1984). Over the last decade, developed countries around the world saw a significant increase in demand for tertiary education and there have been a large volume of research in economic literature to assess and analyze the driving forces that brought about this shift. Albert (2000) states that all these studies lead to one major contributing force that has resulted in high demand for higher education; the positive association between level of education and income and career prospects. Testing this hypothesis in the UK context, Greenaway and Haynes (2000) reported that an average earning difference between a graduate and a nongraduate stands at  £410,000 while Skidelski (2000) through a study using a different methodology projects the figure at  £400,000. These figures are supported strongly by the report of UK’s Department of Education and Skill using Labour Force Survey data which estimated a lifetime average differential of  £400,000 as well (Greenaway and Haynes 2003). Therefore, given the similar period in which these studies were done, the UK figures asserts the findings of Albert (2000) whereby there is validity in the perception of association between income and level of education. Another important finding by Albert (2000) is the role of gender in explaining demand, in which women were noted to be relatively more motivated and inclined than men to demand for higher education on the basis that it would enable them to compete on par with men in career advancement opportunities. This is supported by Broecke and Hamed (2008) in which they stated that although women has been historically under-representation in higher education, statistics show that by 1992, they have caught up with men in terms of participation in England and as of 2008, are ahead of men by 7.2%. In a report submitted to the United Nations, Johnson and Vanderpool (2003) found that in the Carribean, the number of women in higher education outnumber that of men, and in some institutions even show 3.2:1 ratio. It is also estimated that the ratio could go up as high as 8:1 in favour of women. In the United States, the participation of women in higher education increased from 43% in 1971 to 56% in 1997 and the gap continues to widen (United States General Accounting Office 2000). In the UK context, the numbers of undergraduate female student applicants over the past 3 years have been consistently placed at 56% compared to male student applicants at 44% (see Appendix 1).This trend is of importance to higher education marketing in terms of weighing the importance of gender in relation to the establishment of target groups. While women may be seen as the ones more inclined to embrace higher education, it also indicates that little focus have to be channelled to them in marketing campaigns as compared to males. In terms of undergraduate students in the UK higher education industry, a significant portion of 88% consists of UK students in 2009/10. This is followed by Non-EU and EU students at 8% and 4% respectively. Figures based solely on undergraduate students enrolled on a full time basis indicate that UK students emerge as the significant front runner with 84% ahead of Non-EU students at 10% and EU students at 6%. As for part-time undergraduate students, UK students are again the majority at 94% followed by Non-EU students at 4% and EU students at 2% (see Appendix 2). Although the pattern across both these modes of study is quite similar, there is a difference in terms of percentage variation between the 2009/10 enrolments compared to the previous academic cycle of 2008/2009. While all full time students regardless of geographical background recorded a positive variation in enrolment, UK and EU part time students recorded a decrease in enrolment by 3% and 7% respectively. Only Non-EU part -time students registered a positive increment from 2008/09 to 2009/10 with an increase of 6% (HESA 2011). Sastry (2004) argues that the number of students obtaining postgraduate courses immediately after their undergraduate studies is expected to rise due to the fact that there has been increasing number of graduates over the years. Therefore, as supported by Hesketh and Knight (1999), postgraduate study is viewed as an option for undergraduates to differentiate themselves from the pool of other graduates seeking employment. Non-EU students make up about 43% of overall full-time postgraduate students in UK in 2009/10. This consists of a significant portion of total postgraduate students and the number has nearly doubled in the past seven years, indicating that this is a recent and emerging trend (HESA 2011). Overall, without taking UK into account, Non-EU students constitute 69% of students at all levels of study (see Appendix 3). This trend has seen the number of Non-EU students increase by almost 200% from 1995 to 2010. Income received by higher education institutions from Non-EU students during this same period has also increased significantly from  £455 million in 1995 to  £2,580 million in 2010 (see Appendix 4). Given that this is now a major market for UK tertiary institutions, there has been a rise in efforts taken to continue reaching prospective students abroad (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka 2006). Important factors that come into play when assessing the ability of the UK higher education to remain   attractive are the standard and reputation of institutions, the expansion of local education system in countries abroad, particularly China and India, and the competitiveness of the UK market as opposed to other study destinations (Ramsden and Brown 2008). Employment opportunities in the UK is also a reason for Non-EU students to take up a postgraduate course as students who have studied in the UK for at least one full academic year would be eligible to apply for a Post-Study Work Visa. Guruz (2009) stated that incentives in the form of research grants and employment opportunities abroad are major forces that are considered by foreign students when choosing a study destination. However, it has to be brought into attention that the current UK Government has tightened visa regulations and the Post-Study Work Visa would be abolished in 2012 (The Guardian 2011). Therefore, the changes in regulation may bring about significant changes to the enrolment of international students in postgraduate courses in the UK. UK students consist of about 45% of the total number of full-time postgraduate students in the region, almost similar to the number of Non-EU students. However, UK students make up 82% of the part-time postgraduate students in 2009/10 (HESA 2011). This is partly due to the fact that the high postgraduate fees require students to work in order to finance themselves. Other contributing reasons include company scholarship and students not wanting to leave their jobs in times of economic turmoil (Jongbloed 2003). EU students make up about 12% of full time postgraduate students, with most of its students coming from the new countries admitted into EU since 2004. However, increasing or perhaps even retaining the current level of enrolment of EU students may be a challenge as projections show that the population of 1830 year olds in EU are set to fall by 14% over the next 20 years. Of the new countries admitted into the EU in 2004, it is projected that their combined population of 18 year olds will decrease by a significant 37%, from 1.5 million in 2007 to 1 million in 2027 (Ramsden and Brown 2008). Reviewing this section shows that there is an increasing number of Non-EU students, particularly Asians, opting to study out of their home countries. Overall, over the years, there are a growing number of students who embark on higher education and one of the major contributors to this is the positive association between level of education and career prospects. The secondary research also reveals that although the majority of undergraduate students come from the UK, most of the postgraduate students in the UK are made up of Non-EU students. The trend of growing number of female students in the higher education industry was also observed. 2.2 Contemporary Marketing Philosophies and Practices of Higher Education In order to remain relevant in rapidly changing industry, it is important for institutions to keep abreast with current needs of the market and changes that are required of the industry to remain competitive. Therefore, this section of the literature review attempts to assess the paradigm shift of traditional higher education marketing to contemporary strategies required by the industry and also look at key areas that could be fully utilized to enhance the efficiency of higher education marketing campaigns. The marketing of higher education needs to encompass the traditional emphasis on product, place, price and promotion but also include people, process and physical evidence through a service-oriented marketing approach which gives due credence to the value of the intangible and inseparable. In this context, the components of people, process and physical evidence have been altered slightly to represent a more appropriate connotation in regards to the higher education industry. Newman and Jahdi (2009) described people as ‘calibre’ or ‘champions’ whereby such human qualities in an institution would be pivotal in attracting students. This echoes the view held by McGrath (2003) in which a positive correlation between the development of education market and high priority on variables such as managerial competence, role-model associations and performance. The component of process has been defined as ‘capability’, where issues such as communication between the institution and prospective student, relationship marketing and enrolment procedures should be handled efficiently to gain competitive advantage. Newman and Jahdi (2009) further asserts that considerations as small as publicising opening hours for consulting and enrolment purposes as well as offering refreshments could, once combined, prove to be the ‘added value’ that would inevitably enhance the end service that is being marketed. The final component, physical evidence was represented by ‘charisma’, whereby elements such as geographical location, facilities and amenities are taken into account. Factors such as history and heritage of a location and the tradition of graduation ceremonies could provide a sense of identity that students would take pride in being associated with the institution (Roper and Davies 2007). However, Newman and Jahdi (2009) stated that the implementation of marketing mix could potentially lead to adverse consequences as marketing rhetoric may not necessarily always reflect educational reality. They go on to state that although there are indications that higher education marketers have started to take the leap into focusing on people, process and physical evidence, these elements need to be expanded to include contemplation and thoughts of higher education from staff and students as this would be able to minimize the mismatch of the marketing rhetoric and the reality of the environment. Critically, Newman and Jahdi (2009) also argued that knowledge and skills acquired in tertiary educational institutions should not be conveniently marketed as mere commodities that are to be sold as predetermined packages to those who have been targeted. Instead, there should be a genuine attempt to convey that education is a challenging industry that would require effort and planning by students, hence projecting the reality. Evans (2004) holds similar views about the need to craft a marketing effort that is as close to reality as possible, particularly given the context of the current climate whereby effectiveness, quality, competition and evaluation are a matter of public discourse and information are widely available and easily accessed. This is supported by Crosby et al. (1991), in their argument that a false representation in marketing could lead to adverse effects and negatively impact upon the credibility of an institution. Therefore, although not predominantly derived from a moral standpoint, the need to eliminate unsubstantiated benefits and other positive associations with an institution is vital in terms of marketing implications as failure to appreciate this growing issue may cause an institution’s credibility being put to question. Student ambassadors are very much part of UK higher education institutions and they have been known to assist in marketing efforts of their respective universities, predominantly via engagement with prospective students through campus tours. In recent times, student ambassadors have widened their scope of marketing operations and have now extended their services through handling multiple tasks, which include organizing residential summer schools to help prospective students to gain insights into university lifestyle in hope that this would encourage them to take up higher education courses. Another new area embarked by student ambassadors is their participation in mentoring activities, particularly for the disadvantaged youths (Ylonen 2010). These recent expansion in their activities have been encouraged the former Labour government’s initiative to expand participation in higher education for groups that are under-represented through its Aimhigher programme. In analyzing the relationship between higher education decision-making amongst the young and the role played by student ambassadors in this aspect, Gartland and Pacsuzka (2007) found that student ambassadors who are deemed trustworthy by prospective students could play a key role in widening their participation gap as prospects are more likely to consider them as a preferred choice of contact point when making further enquiries, especially if they do not have a family background in higher education. This is supported by Reay et al. (2005) in their argument that information gathered through relationships and networks are taken more seriously compared to ones obtained from official sources such as prospectuses and the Internet. Therefore, student ambassadors can potentially be seen as mediators and their interventions would greatly influence decisions made by prospects. Taylor (2008) argued that one of the challenges faced in institutions is to connect the territories of academia and school environment and hence, the role of a student ambassador fits in well as although they speak from the standpoint of the institution, there is not much difference in the age bracket between both these groups and this would create a more casual and appropriate comfort zone for prospective students to engage in. This finding is particularly relevant to marketers in determining the age group of candidates to be selected as student ambassadors, given that they consist of not only undergraduates but also mature postgraduate students. In a study of an Aimhigher programme in south-east London, Ylonen (2010) found that most student ambassadors had very vague ideas of what they thought their tasks would be like and many of them stated that their expected roles as perceived during training and their actual roles were very different. Although they generally had sound knowledge of higher education lifestyle and its environment, many lacked the thorough knowledge of procedures that occur within an institution, such as financial issues. Coordinators, most of whom are marketing officers within their respective universities, have also noted that many potentially good student ambassadors failed to apply because they did not see themselves to fit into the characteristics set by the coordinators (Terion and Leonard 2007). These weaknesses are of relevance to higher education marketing units as contemporary research suggests that despite having a valuable student capacity in the form of student ambassadors, their potentials are being under-utilized due to administrative and training setbacks. The flaws seen in this system is viewed to be largely due to the fact that there isn’t a national model of the student ambassador scheme to be used as a guideline and all higher education institutions are expected to craft and implement their strategies independently. Although it is important to have flexibility and a certain degree of autonomy, a scheme without guidelines can arguably be go astray and lose its sense of direct ion (Ylonen 2010). Literature in this area of study reveals that in terms of higher education marketing, there should be a focus on service-oriented marketing through an innovation of the extended 4Ps, which would include the elements of ‘calibre’, ‘capability’ and ‘charisma’. Apart from that, it also indicates that the growing importance of the role of student ambassadors have gone large unrecognized. Despite them being available in most universities, there is a lack of effective utilization of these roles. 2.3 Higher Education Fee Structure The future of higher education in the UK has been put into uncertainty by the recent changes in tuition fees policy and many are unsure as to how these changes would impact on demands by students across levels of households. Although the changes have been made effective in England and Wales, the Scottish Government has yet to make an official announcement on this issue. However, a comprehensive review of the changes that have been taking place in the fee-structure and how it has affected the industry as a whole and demand, in particular would enable higher education marketers to prepare for the changes that although unclear, appear to be imminent. The financing of the higher education industry has been a subject of debate for the past five decades and had been given high priority by successive governments, regardless of political inclinations. During this phase, there has been a shift from a fully-funded taxpayer scheme to a ‘cost-sharing’ system, whereby students are required to cover a certain portion of their tuition fees (Dearden et al. 2010). The change of system sparked a wide range of concerns, particularly the reservations that it would lead to a lower level of participation (Connor and Dewson 2001). The introduction of the 1998 Teaching and Higher Education Act was the first significant change made to the higher education financing structure as it marked the unprecedented introduction of tuition fees at a cap of  £1,000 a year for degree courses (Claire and Jonathan 2005). Maintenance grants that were previously offered were reduced   in stages and later eliminated only to be replaced with maintenance loans which were established in 1999 (Christie and Munro 2003). The 2004 Higher Education Act paved way for another significantly policy to be put in place in 2006, which saw the implementation of deferred fees which was applicable to all students, regardless of economic background (Harrison 2011). The new fee had a cap of  £3,000 and universities had the prerogative to decide the amount to charge each student (Dearden et al, 2004; 2005). Fee loans were provided, only to be repaid by students after graduation if they’re earnings were above  £15,000. Apart from that, the 2004 Higher Education Act also reinstalled maintenance grants which were to be distributed to poor students (Harrison 2011). In the year 2006, the value of this grant was significantly increased. As a result of the introduction of tuition fees along with the substitution of maintenance grants with loans, many argued that it would not only lower participation but also be discriminative against students from lower-income households (Dearden et al. 2010). On the contrary, there were also proponents of the new system who claimed that requiring student to contribute to their studies would instil a sense of responsibility in them and hence, at a larger scale, increase efficiency and quality of higher education (Greenaway and Haynes, 2003; Goodman and Kaplan, 2003). Apart from that, the benefits gained by higher education in terms of wages and salary brackets would offset the negative impact caused by the introduction of tuition fees. Another advantage of imposing tuition fees is that only students who are committed on acquiring skills and knowledge would enrol into institutes and not ones who wish to have prolonged ‘laddish’ times, hence in a way addressing the issue of youth unemployment (Lange 1998). It is also interesting to note that in the UK, government spending on higher education continues to grow despite larger share of financial burden being on placed students as shown by 2007 figures whereby  £918m,  £349m and  £564m were spent on maintenance grants, student fee loans and maintenance loans respectively (Dearden et al. 2010). In 2010, another significant policy change was made to the higher education financing structure in England and Wales, whereby the upper tier for tuition fees was increased from  £3,000 to  £9,000 (BBC 2010). While poorer students would be protected by a large number of scholarship and bursaries, students from middle and high-income households would be the group that is most negatively affected (Directgov 2011). Highly successful students who go on to land high paying jobs would also be affected as they would be required to pay loan amounts that are significantly higher than those with average incomes (The Guardian 2010). In the case of Scotland, the Cubie committee was formed in 1999 following the Scottish devolution to look into the higher education financing. The Cubie Report (2000) proposed that an endowment scheme be put in place and through the Education (Graduate Endowment and Student Support) (Scotland) Act 2001, students were required to pay  £2,000 when their annual earnings reached  £10,000. The repayment was later raised from  £2,000 to  £2,289 for students commencing their studies in 2006/07 academic period (The Cubie Report 2000). However in 2007, the government tabled the Graduate Endowment Abolition (Scotland) Bill which aimed at scraping the endowment scheme and the move was approved in 2008, hence restoring free education in Scotland (BBC 2008). Based on the United States context, Kent (1994) studied the relationship between the state’s public spending on higher education and the impact of tuition fee costs on higher education participation. The finding was that $1,000 increase in tuition fees would bring about a 3.7ppt reduction in participation among African Americans. On a wider scale, Kent (1995) found that there was a reduction in participation among Americans in higher education, in which a $1,000 increase in fees resulted in a 2.4 decrease in participation. On assessing a policy made in 1982 which led to financial aids being removed from students with deceased, disabled or retired father, Dynarksi (1999) found that the impact of aid withdrawal led to decrease tertiary participation by 3.6ppt. Supporting this finding is a study done by Seftor and Turner (2002), whom upon analysing the impact of aid withdrawal, found a small impact of reduction in participation by 0.7ppt per $1,000 of aid withdrawn. The UK context of higher education financial constraint on students and its effects on participation can be viewed at two separate phases; the 1998 reforms and the 2006 reforms as described earlier. The 1998 reforms, in terms of grants alone, saw low income students being the most significantly impacted, with participation estimated at 2.3ppt lower than what it would have been without the abolishment grants (Dearden et al. 2010). On the other hand, the increase in loans received by this group resulted in an increase in participation and hence, offset the negative impact brought about by the abolishment of grants. Therefore, there were no significant changes to participation for the lower income group. High income students, however, recorded a reduction of 5.4ppt in participation as even though the abolishment of grants had no impact on them, the increment of tuition fees was a significant impact (Dearden et al. 2010). Study on the 2006 reforms showed that both the lower and higher income groups did not record overall changes in participation (Forsyth and Furlong 2003). Therefore, this section of the literature indicates that despite concerns by many that an increment in tuition fees can be discriminatory towards lower income groups, studies have shown that the negative impact brought by the hike in fees are often outweighed by grants or loan packages. This also brings about serious implications to higher education institutions on deciding the type of financial assistance and the accurate target groups to ensure that participation does not see an unhealthy dip. Such a consequence could be detrimental to the economy of the country as many research seem to suggest that the economic well being of a nation state is directly associated with the level investments spent on education (Barro and Sala-i-Martin, 1995; Bassanini and Scarpenta, 2001).

Monday, July 29, 2019

Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon's Essay of Love Sir Francis Bacon was a famous English essayist, lawyer, philosopher and statesman who had a major influence on the philosophy of science. In his time Bacon wrote sixty different essays. He devoted himself to writing and scientific work. His experiences make him an expert on the topic of love. Francis Bacon's essay Of Love is an essay about love. The purpose of the essay is to explain love and the affects It has on all kinds of people.The essay Informs the redder that no matter what type of person you are love will have an effect on you, There Is no escaping It. Bacon states, â€Å"For there was never proud man thought so absurdly well of himself, as the lover doth of the person loved; and theretore it was well said, that it is impossible to love, and to be wise. † The translation of this statement is that love makes us do crazy things. Bacon's intended audience to his essay is everyone who has been in love or contemplated about being in love. No one type of audience is excluded from this essay because love affects everyone.The author assumes that we all know what love is but he wants us to understand that love, whether contemplated by persons with strong characters r weak characters, love has the power to affect both, The example 3acon uses Is Marcus Antonius who Is described as voluptuous and Inordinate, meamng given to excess. He also uses the example of Appius Claudius who Is described as austere and wise These two men are very different in character, but that does not matter. Love is going to affect them in one way or another.Bacon states, â€Å"Love can find entrance, not only into an open heart, but also into a heart well fortified, if watch be not well kept. † Bacon's point of view is directly stated in the essay. It says, â€Å"By how much the more, en ought to beware of this passion, which loseth not only other things, but itself! † What Bacon is trying to say is that mankind needs to be aware of the powers of love. The key problem that Bacon addresses Is that people may think that because they possess certain characterlstlcs that love cannot affect them or they think they have some sort of control over It.Bacon wants his readers to understand that love Is does not respect character. No matter who you are or who you think you are love will affect you one way or another throughout your lifetime. The thesis of the essay is stated learly in the first sentence of the first paragraph. Bacon states, â€Å"You may observe, that amongst all the great and worthy persons (whereof the memory remaineth, either ancient of recent) there is not one, that hath been transported to the mad degree of love: which shows that great spirits, and great business, do keep out this weak passion. One key passage In the essay states. â€Å"This passion hath his floods, In very times of weakness: which are great prosperity, and great adversity; though this latter hath been less observed: both which times k indle love, and make It more ervent, and therefore show it to be the child ot folly. Bacon tries to explain here that love affects whether in good or bad times. Bacon also wants his reader to understand to keep love in its place instead of letting it rule other aspects of life.The essay's example of this is the key passage, â€Å"They do best, who if thy cannot but admit love, of life; for if it check once with business, it troubleth men's fortunes, and maketh men, that they can no ways be true to their own ends. † There was no point in this essay that I could predict its organization. The organization is confusing because of he difficulty of the language. Bacon's essay is written in the form of one big paragraph, so there are no signals to new sections of the essay. Bacon speaks on the same topic throughout the entire essay.He uses descriptions of other people's experiences as evidence as well as to support the thesis. Bacon's tone in the essay is preachy. It is like that of a sermon because he uses examples for you to follow. If you cannot control your love or passions then keep love in its place. Dont let your love effect or control the aspects of life that it doesnt need to effect. The sentences and the vocabulary are very difficult. Words like, austere and reciproque are used. These are obviously not everyday used words.Understanding the vocabulary makes understanding the entire essay easy. The key word that is recurred throughout the entire essay is the word love. Before the essay even begins a side note that Bacon has is, â€Å"The stage is more beholding to love, that the life of man. For as to the stage, love is ever matter of comedies, and now and then of tragedies; but in life it doth much mischief; sometimes like a siren, sometimes like fury. Here, Bacon is trying to get across that love goes through many different stages in life.Bacon states in the last sentence of the essay, â€Å"Nuptial love maketh mankind; friendly love perfecteth it; but wanton love corrupteth, and embaseth it. † Here Bacon is trying to get across to his reader's that the love between a man and a woman make mankind, the love of friends perfects mankind, but immoral and cruel love corrupt mankind. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and13 of the Bible states, â€Å"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. † And because love is all these things Bacon wants his readers to understand there is no escaping love. Love is all around us, no matter who you are love, affects us all. After reading this essay my opinion is the same as Bacon's. I do believe there is no escaping love. It asnt until researching Bacon a little bi t that I found that my interpretation of this essay was wrong.Bacon preferred masculine friendship to heterosexual love, he states â€Å"although nuptial love maketh mankind, friendly love perfecteth it. † His essay on heterosexual love is a critique of the â€Å"weak passion. † He is speaking of love between men when he says â€Å"a crowd is not company and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love,† and â€Å"If a man have not a friend, he may quit the stage. † This comes from his essay â€Å"Of Friendship. â€Å" Francis Bacon Francis Bacon’s Philosophy of Science In 1620, Francis Bacon; the philosopher and creator of Empiricism made a great contribution in defining the course of modern science by a breakthrough in process of scientific reasoning and method. Bacon did not propose an actual philosophy of science rather a method of developing philosophy. He demanded science based on induction. While being the first in the philosophy of science, Bacon discovered that Aristotle methods taught scientists nothing about the universe.The contributions Bacon made to the philosophy of science impacted the involvement of psychology today. Bacon was greatly influenced by the Renaissance period and made an impact in the modern era of knowledge (Ochulor, 2011). Francis Bacon believed that empiricists gathered important information, but had little idea on how to use their knowledge. Bacon made many contributions to the history of the philosophy of science, but the biggest was the idea of experimental science. He b elieved research could be used to test real world observations. According to Bacon, science should include no theories, no hypotheses, no mathematics, and no deductions but should involve only the facts of observation† (Esper, 1964). Bacon had little trust in rationalism due to its emphasis on words, and he distrusted mathematics because of its emphasis on symbols. He trusted only the direct observation and recording of nature. With Bacon being a radical empiricist, he stated the ultimate authority in science was to be empirical observation. Positivism was later the name of Bacon’s approach to science.Bacon advocated the theory of dual truth; truth of reason and truth of revelation. Bacon referred reason to revelation as the source of philosophical and scientific reasoning which can lead one to believe him as a rationalist but more of an empiricist. â€Å"For Francis Bacon, it is only through the concept of experimentation and observation that one can arrive at true kn owledge† (Ochulor, 2011). The idea of the inductive method was brought into modern science and philosophy and believed it was the surest way to knowledge. Francis Bacon had many contributions to modern science, but he had many weaknesses to follow.The major weakness Francis Bacon had was the lack of hypothesis. Throughout history one knows in order to prove something in science is to have a hypothesis. Bacon suggested, â€Å"One may look at facts and the hypothesis would suggest itself† (Ochulor, 2011). Although Francis Bacon’s life was not without controversy, he remained a leading thinker in philosophy and was well versed in the field of scientific methodology. Bacon as well as other Empiricists believed that the mind was a blank slate and that all knowledge and ideas developed though the senses and through experiences.Francis Bacon used the idea of inductive reasoning to develop the idea that science prospers through observation and experience. This included t he study of the mind. The study of science and the study of the mind came about through Francis Bacon’s efforts as well as others that influence Psychology today. References Esper, E. A. (1964). A history of psychology. Philadelphia: Saunders. Ochulor, C. , & Metuonu, I. (2011). Francis Bacon's Qualification as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Canadian Social Science, 7(6), 258-263. doi:10. 3968/j. css. 1923669720110706. 207 Francis Bacon Francis Bacon’s Philosophy of Science In 1620, Francis Bacon; the philosopher and creator of Empiricism made a great contribution in defining the course of modern science by a breakthrough in process of scientific reasoning and method. Bacon did not propose an actual philosophy of science rather a method of developing philosophy. He demanded science based on induction. While being the first in the philosophy of science, Bacon discovered that Aristotle methods taught scientists nothing about the universe.The contributions Bacon made to the philosophy of science impacted the involvement of psychology today. Bacon was greatly influenced by the Renaissance period and made an impact in the modern era of knowledge (Ochulor, 2011). Francis Bacon believed that empiricists gathered important information, but had little idea on how to use their knowledge. Bacon made many contributions to the history of the philosophy of science, but the biggest was the idea of experimental science. He b elieved research could be used to test real world observations. According to Bacon, science should include no theories, no hypotheses, no mathematics, and no deductions but should involve only the facts of observation† (Esper, 1964). Bacon had little trust in rationalism due to its emphasis on words, and he distrusted mathematics because of its emphasis on symbols. He trusted only the direct observation and recording of nature. With Bacon being a radical empiricist, he stated the ultimate authority in science was to be empirical observation. Positivism was later the name of Bacon’s approach to science.Bacon advocated the theory of dual truth; truth of reason and truth of revelation. Bacon referred reason to revelation as the source of philosophical and scientific reasoning which can lead one to believe him as a rationalist but more of an empiricist. â€Å"For Francis Bacon, it is only through the concept of experimentation and observation that one can arrive at true kn owledge† (Ochulor, 2011). The idea of the inductive method was brought into modern science and philosophy and believed it was the surest way to knowledge. Francis Bacon had many contributions to modern science, but he had many weaknesses to follow.The major weakness Francis Bacon had was the lack of hypothesis. Throughout history one knows in order to prove something in science is to have a hypothesis. Bacon suggested, â€Å"One may look at facts and the hypothesis would suggest itself† (Ochulor, 2011). Although Francis Bacon’s life was not without controversy, he remained a leading thinker in philosophy and was well versed in the field of scientific methodology. Bacon as well as other Empiricists believed that the mind was a blank slate and that all knowledge and ideas developed though the senses and through experiences.Francis Bacon used the idea of inductive reasoning to develop the idea that science prospers through observation and experience. This included t he study of the mind. The study of science and the study of the mind came about through Francis Bacon’s efforts as well as others that influence Psychology today. References Esper, E. A. (1964). A history of psychology. Philadelphia: Saunders. Ochulor, C. , & Metuonu, I. (2011). Francis Bacon's Qualification as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Canadian Social Science, 7(6), 258-263. doi:10. 3968/j. css. 1923669720110706. 207

The aims and Proposed plan of work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The aims and Proposed plan of work - Essay Example Proposed plan of work, including its relationship to previous work, with key references. Please avoid excessive use of technical terms, however if unavoidable provide a glossary of terms as indicated in section 4.5. (Please only use the space provided below – no more than 1,000 words and written for a non specialist audience. References may be attached on a separate sheet): To achieve the aims of this thesis, the researcher conducted an analysis of three relevant arbitration laws: the new Saudi Arbitration Law 2012; the former Saudi Arbitration Law 1983; and, the English Arbitration Act 1996 (attached). The researcher is of the opinion that this will establish a clear framework by which the research questions can be addressed since these are the main legal sources of both Saudi and English arbitration jurisdictions. The structure of this study follows a logical approach, beginning with the legal basis of arbitration as represented in the arbitration agreement. It is followed b y the discussion of the arbitral tribunal, which oversees the arbitral process, issues arbitral decision and decide on the arbitral award. Finally, a section will be devoted to third and last stage in the process, which is the outcome of the arbitral process: the arbitral award and its enforcement. The supervisory team suggested to begin the study with the discussion and analysis of the Qualifications of Arbitrator. The reason for this is that the arbitrator qualifications constitute the fundamental framework that outlines the limitations of freedom for parties to arbitration in the selection of arbitral tribunal. Presently, the arbitration agreement is being analyzed and examined. This will include the validity and scope of arbitration agreement, which is expected to shed light on the extent of freedom of parties to arbitration in terms of drafting an arbitration agreement to resolve either standing disputes between them or those that may arise in the future. The next section will concentrate on the extent of freedom of arbitration parties and the arbitral tribunal regarding the selection of procedural rules and substantive law under: 1) SAL 2012; 2) Sharia, as it is considered the applicable law in Saudi; and, 3) under the EAA 1996. In addition, key issues will also be analyzed including the controversial application of the Sharia law such the concepts of Riba and the loss of future profits, in addition to the extent of differences in the viewpoints within Sharia in case one or both of arbitration parties are religiously neutral. The third section will be devoted to the discussion of the arbitral tribunal. This will undertaken by analyzing three important factors: duties, powers and jurisdictions of the arbitral tribunal. Again, this will be carried out in the context of Sharia and SAL 2012, and in comparison with the EAA 1996 and the case laws in the UK. The final stage (PhD) will include the role of national courts and their impact on the success of the ar bitral process. This will be divided into three sections. The first section will analytically and critically examine the role of national courts in the arbitral process in the commencement of and during the arbitral process under the two Saudi and English jurisdictions. Second section will deal with the concept of arbitral award and

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Gender Inequality In The Workforce In Canadian Society Research Paper

Gender Inequality In The Workforce In Canadian Society - Research Paper Example Road map This paper is mainly going to discuss the reasons as to why gender inequality is still prevalent in the Canadian workforce. The discussion will give various indicators of gender inequality in the Canadian workforce. Under each indicator, the paper is going to discuss the most probable reasons as to why the indicators are still common in the Canadian workforce. The discussion is also going to show some the factors that are believed to be the highest contributors of gender inequality in the Canadian workforce. Discussion The most common indicator of gender inequality in the workforce in Canadian society is labor compensation. When a research was carried out in Canada to discover the payment that women were given in comparison to their male counterparts with the same amount of experience. It was discovered that their salaries were at least 15% less than what their male counterparts of the same work level earn. This is something that is believed to be very common with a good number of employers in Canada. One thing that is believed to be leading to the inequality in the payment of human labor in Canada is the fact that women are not aware of the fact that they are being paid less in comparison with their male counterparts of the same job level. When people are employed the payment terms are always exclusive and the details are always held secretly by themselves and the company. Some organizations even have policies that make it illegal for employees to discuss wages with each other.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Community organizing for health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Community organizing for health - Essay Example The chapter on scale of measuring perception on control equally emphasizes the role of communal participation for a common course. People tend to have internal conflicts regarding how to act towards physiological occurences.Besides, the organization is subject to conflicting ideas and pressure to yield expected results and this requires confidence. In other words, people must have control over their thoughts, emotions and physical reactions in response to community health and welfare prospects. The validity and reliability of the scales to be used for such measurement needs extensive scrutiny. Individual perception on control translates to corporation among members of the community and yields desirable results. On policy Bingo, the author emphasizes need to protect private information despite the need for community involvement in health related issues. Setting limits on extent of disclosure must be respected and form a critical part of community health practices (Minkler, 2012). Besi des, organization and execution of laid down plan must observe socio-economic diversity that exists in the society. It is therefore critical to underscore the idea of privacy versus achievement of set goals.A critical evaluation of this book explores the increasing campaign on friendly social policies when it comes to community health and welfare. In my opinion, pursuit of the Frerian organizing codes is of unchallenged significance. Community constitutes different ethnic and racial diversity which must be captured while making decisions.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Discuss the impact of globalisation on the international hotel Essay

Discuss the impact of globalisation on the international hotel industry - Essay Example Everyone related with business tries to make an effort at gaining possible new markets internationally but at a risk worth taking. No company would like to grow beyond means and afford losses be it for a single month, no matter. Trying to go global and market at the international level is one risk which has to be taken with the bosses and shareholders being very calculated as there is a potential chance of falling back to the old ways the business carried out before it went global. There are certain risks and issues when an organization tries to go the international way as it has to take a global stance by becoming worldwide. The goal of international business is basically to create important value by taking care of its products and services or other items in a hard line approach whereby the business attached with it continuously prospers and grows beyond means for the better. No company can afford a business doing the opposite of it, extracting losses for all and sundry and thus pushing the business to the wall. The international business of a particular company will then remain only a dream and the shareholde rs will hardly hope for a miracle to change their business. Domestic businesses are so much easier to understand and thus run. (Rusher, 1996) International businesses change the course of working methodologies in an instant fashion. The hotel industry is no such exception to this dictum. Without a doubt, the hotel industry of the world is a booming market. Such is the related state of affairs that it is taught as a separate discipline in different curriculums of the world. The future growth is predicted by the industry gurus and they know it best when it comes to gain an understanding of the hotel industry and more than that providing luxurious service to the guests globally. The future of the hotel industry or we might want to rephrase it as the hotel development

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Not sure Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Not sure - Essay Example Bargaining for love is equivalent to trade. It is difficult to give a clean chit to Hamlet by analyzing the various phases of his relationship and professed love to Ophelia. Funeral oration (the incident at the grave of Ophelia) cannot be the true index of love. Heart is the real domain of love and not the logic and reasoning of the head. The more intense is the reasoning, more doubts it creates about genuinely. A lover is not like the lawyer trying to argue a false case. For example, the content and language of his letter to Ophelia that Polonius reads before the king and queen doesn’t sound creditworthy. Hamlet’s love looks like the flight of imagination, the dew of the morning that will melt facing the truth of sunshine. The warning by her brother Laertes that Hamlet’s love is a passing phase seems correct. If it is true love, should it change often as it happens in the case of Hamlet? True love is not situational. Will an individual feign madness to bitterly hurt his love? That situation could be the necessity of Shakespeare to give intelligent twist to the plot of the drama. But Hamlet doesn’t do justice to the cause of true love. Yet, he gives proof about his love in the above letter by claiming, â€Å" To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia ... Doubt thou the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move, doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love." (II, 2) But this looks like the calculated overflow of the feelings. In the later part of the play his love diminishes and the reason given is that the brother and father of Ophelia are studying his moves for his objective to oppose the fructification of love. In such a situation an individual needs to be more firm. The opposition from the side of a girl in the situation like the one in which Ophelia was placed was but normal. When firm display of love was required, Hamlet backtracked. Professing love, when the going is good is not the indication of true love. Adverse circumstances are the testing times. Hamlet’s bitter speech in a harsh tone when he states, â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery!† and then accusing Ophelia, and all women, of the crimes of his mother guilty of, go against his professed love. Can an individual who truly loves, can hurl accusations, insult and berate to the extent which Hamlet does? One, who is against the entire women-folk, cannot love a girl from the bottom of one’s heart. He should have found ways and means to keep the lines of communication with her. Even in the graveyard incident mentioned above, silence on the part of Hamlet on that occasion would have said much about his love than the virulent words defending his love. His contradictory pronouncements of "I did love you once" (III.i.114) and "I loved you not" (III.i.117) do nothing more than further verify Hamlet's lack of control over his own mind, which establishes one of his innate flaws. Hamlet’s misadventures in love are due to his psychological problems. His women characters are like the barometers to indicate how women were treated during the Elizabethan era. Women had no private emotional world of their own, as they were unimportant to men. Take the example of Polonius who was the domineering father who decisively interferes in the emotional world of his daughter and she is not allowed to talk to the man she loves. He argues: â€Å"Marry, well bethought 'Tis told me he hath very oft of late Given private time to you, and you yourself

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Literature review on Wind power Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

On Wind power - Literature review Example ; (3) the power in the wind is proportional to the density of the air (Park, 1982). According to history, the practical use of wind power began with the Egyptians around 2800 BC when slaves were made to row overseas using sails which were further employed in lifting water and operating grain-grinding stones even to within the period when Persians built panemones or vertical-shaft windmills in 700 AD. Some other civilizations of the Middle East followed the same tradition whereas the Crusaders of the West are believed to have improved the windmill concept that led the Dutch to put up propeller-type windmills structured with horizontal shafts or axes of propulsion. Technical developments continued during the Middle Ages and comparative studies show aspects of similarity among windmills founded in British colonies, New England, and Holland which altogether bore significant impact in the construction of the widely known ‘American Farm Windmill’ which was invented by Daniel H alliday who, in the mid-19th century, thought of creating a multi-bladed (Panemone Bladed Rotor Wind Energy Harvester with 8 Airfoils) windmill. At the turn of the century, wind-produced electricity as well as wind-charger technology became popular, especially to the farmers of the Great Plains who necessitated up to 1,000 Watts of DC-power in their mechanically run farming tasks. Eventually, a number of countries in Europe were inspired to create wind generators of enormous size and both the French and the Germans attempted to conduct feasibility experimentation on 100-kW and 300-kW wind generator units in the 50s and the 60s. Through the years, the continuous process of harnessing wind power made possible not only D. Halliday’s multi-bladed craft but even the succeeding advancements in the iron water-pump industry which heightened the demand for wind-powered deep well pumps in the past. While the energy derived from the wind had been discovered with other chief potentials a s in heating houses and barns, running sawmills and washing machines, several Midwest farmers who already possessed gasoline or kerosene generators to charge batteries still sought the aid of wind power in minimizing troubles with wear-and-tear generators and in reducing costs of fuels used. Such capacities, however, depend upon the quantities of wind power in acquisition. In his findings, P.C. Putnam illustrates a method to approximate the amount of power which can be extracted from the wind and the means to locate wind power with considerations to the periodic fluctuations in wind power as well as its reliability and short-term predictability. The author regards the concepts of kinetics hereafter necessarily pointing out that, like the kinetic energy of any particle, the kinetic energy of the wind may be computed via half of its mass multiplied by the square of the wind velocity and in terms of the volume V of air passing over an area A per unit time, the wind’s kinetic ene rgy equals the product between wind density and (1/2)*AV 3. This is nevertheless

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Comrades 1917-1945 and Reds 1947-1953 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comrades 1917-1945 and Reds 1947-1953 - Essay Example The anticommunist forces started fighting the newly formed government as they were against the ideologies adopted by leaders in the country (Johnson, 2003). Though the anti communist forces failed to overthrow the newly formed government from power, the fight ensued for a long time as the anticommunist forces received support from both west and the other part of the world. Following the death of the communist government leader, Vladimir Lenin in 1924, Joseph Staling quickly rose to power to occupy the vacant position left by Lenin. After immediately taking control of the new government, staling came up with an extensive operation which came to be known as â€Å"Great Purge.† This operation was to strengthen the rule of the new communist government in Russia (Agostino, 2011). It mainly targeted anti communist fighters who were against the rule of the newly formed government. The operation saw many people in Russia getting arrested, and others sent to prison. In late 1920s, the world faced greatest economic downturn as a result of the great depression. This incidence led to increased support for the Soviet Union from the west. It was the same time Stalin had begun implementation of the first of the Soviet Union five year economic development plan. Majority of leaders in United States opted to ignore the reports of the widespread damage that came as a result of the new government of Russia policy of collectivization (Wiener, 2012). This made United State president support a new deal that could lead to a series of sweeping reforms. In his attempt to appease Russia leaders, the United State president went ahead and publicly announced recognition of Soviet Union by American government. As European leaders went on to appease Hitler, Germany was busy preparing for war. This made Stalin sign a non aggression pact with Berlin with an aim of buying more

Detail the Renaissance, and Baroque Periods of Art in Europe Literature review - 1

Detail the Renaissance, and Baroque Periods of Art in Europe - Literature review Example The term â€Å"renaissance† stands for â€Å"rebirth†; it describes a period in history when the classical values of Greece and Rome were reborn. According to Aigret & Kloss (2005), renaissance art is reported to have emerged in the nation of Italy; this was in the late 13th and early 14th centuries (Kloss, 2013). It is noteworthy that the Renaissance art period is generally categorized into three main periods; these are the early Renaissance, high Renaissance, and Northern Renaissance. Several characteristics describe the art in the Renaissance period (Kloss, 2013). In addition to being very naturalistic and individualistic in nature, the art of the Renaissance placed a great emphasis on perspective In addition to this, Aigret & Kloss (2005) purport that the art of the Renaissance was typified by intricate formal displays as well as a unique tendency towards emotional expression (Adams, 2001). Artists in this period, for instance in Flanders, wanted their audience to r eact emotionally to their work in order to derive inspiration or encouragement from the artwork. Renaissance art was also very realistic in nature and made expansive use of light and shadow for purposes of creating an appearance of depth (Kloss, 2013). According to Aigret & Kloss (2005), the art period described as the Renaissance occurred at a time in history when Europe was characterized by an increased level of prosperity and political stability. In addition to this, this time in history was typified by the emergent of new technology and knowledge, for instance, the establishment of new methodologies of astronomy and the creation of the printing press (Adams, 2001). The Renaissance art period in Europe is a time in history when literature and philosophy gained an increased level of preeminence.   

Monday, July 22, 2019

Antibiotic Sensitivity Lab Essay Example for Free

Antibiotic Sensitivity Lab Essay Why is it an important feature of antimicrobial agents? Selective toxicity is the ability of a chemical or drug to kill a microorganism without harming its host. Selective toxicity is important to microbial agents because it enables these agents to inhibit or kill a microorganism by interacting with microbial functions or structures different from those of the host thereby showing little or no effect to the host. B. What are broad and narrow spectrum antimicrobials? What are the pros and cons of each? Broad spectrum antimicrobials are drugs that are effective against a wide variety of both gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Narrow spectrum antimicrobials are effective only against gram negative bacteria. Pros and cons of each: Narrow spectrum microbial is normally better to use because they cause less damage to the bodys normal flora. They are less likely to cause drugs resistant strains of microorganisms because they are specific in nature and are less likely to cause super infection by opportunistic microorganisms like yeast infections. The main disadvantages are that Narrow spectrum microbial sometimes is more prone to allergic reaction to the host. Broad spectrum antimicrobials on the other hand also have their own advantages in that they are able to deal with more than one kind of bacteria and as such one does not have to use drugs indiscriminately reducing chances of allergic reactions and drug toxicity. The main disadvantage is that they cause more harm to the bodys normal flora. C. What is direct selection? Direct selection is the selection of antibiotic-resistant normal floras in an individual whenever this individual is given an antibiotic. This process is normally accelerated significantly by either improper use or the overuse of antibiotics. D. What is the difference between an antibiotic and an antimicrobial chemical? Antibiotics are substances that are produced as metabolic products of one Microorganism which are able to inhibit or kill other microorganisms. Antimicrobial chemicals are chemicals that are synthesized in a laboratory and can be used therapeutically on microorganisms. E. What is the mode of action for each of the following: a. acitracin: works by inhibiting peptidoglycan synthesis in actively dividing bacteria which normally results in osmotic lysis. b. nystatin: exerts its antifungal activity by binding to ergosterol found in fungal cell membranes. Binding to ergosterol causes the formation of pores in the membrane. Potassium and other cellular constituents leak from the pores causing cell death. c. tetracycline: exert their bacteriostatic effect by inhibiting protein synthesis in bacteria. This antibiotic prevents transfer-RNA (tRNA) molecules from binding to the 30S subunit of bacterial ribosomes. . ciprofloxin: Contains agents that inhibit one or more enzymes in the DNA synthesis pathway F. Describe three mechanisms by which microbes might become resistant to the action of an antimicrobial drug? Microbes may become resistant by producing enzymes that will detoxify or inactivate the antibiotic such as penicillinase and other beta-lactamases. Microbes may also alter the target site in the bacterium to reduce or block binding of the antibiotic in the process producing a slightly altered ribosomal subunit that still functions but to which the drug cant bind. Microbes may also prevent the transport of the antimicrobial agent into the bacterium thereby producing an altered cytoplasmic membrane or outer membrane. G. Why do you think neglecting to finish a prescribed course of antibiotics might contribute to the rise of antibiotic resistance? If you dont finish the medication, all the bacteria causing the infection may not be killed. Then, the infection could come back in that same place or even show up somewhere else. When the bacteria are undertreated, some of them may have enough time to have these mistakes occur in their DNA. Then, when they multiply, you get a bunch of bacteria that no longer respond to the antibiotics. H. What is a tube dilution test? How is it used to determine susceptibility? Tube dilution test is one of the tests that can be used to tell which antimicrobial agent is most likely to combat a specific pathogen. This test is conducted by preparing a series of culture tubes where each tube contains a liquid medium and a different concentration of an antimicrobial agent. These tubes are then inoculated with the test organism and then incubated. After the incubation they are examined for growth.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Human Resource management and Personnel management

Human Resource management and Personnel management Human resource management is one of the modern methods, which is improved from personnel management with the inclusion of modern strategic techniques. HRM is a traditional system for management and it can be widely used in many organizations, HRM treats human resource as an intellectual capital or human capital for an organization and it is mainly focused and give to the human resource whereas personnel management treats human resources as same as the other resources of organization such as machine, money and material, etc. personnel management is mainly task oriented. Some of the characteristics difference lies among the personnel management and HRM is given in below tabular format. Personnel management is inflexible and it follows the top down approach whereas HRM is flexible and use bottom up approach. In HRM, the organization structure should be organic and it has long term perspectives whereas, in PM the organization should be mechanic and concentrated on short term perspective. HRM provide greater flexibility with employees, whereas PM are very strict and inflexible with the human resource and they follows the strict rules and regulation of an organization. HRM is reactive but personnel management was proactive in nature. Therefore for any Successful organization, HRM is very essential strategic method than the PM to manage and utilize the manpower in an optimum level (Bratton and Gold, 1999). HRM is one of the parts in an organization task, which describes how much manpower is needed and how should they be engaged with the activities, how they effectively used and managed. Human resource management is mainly integrated with all other company management process.HRM process can be illustrated below: As a Vodafone company manager, I will suggest the Head of the Department to recruit Human resource manager/specialist to manage the valuable human manpower in an effective and efficient way, which wills helps to improve our organization performance and productivity. 1 (b) HR Manager Roles Activities Vodafone HR Manager Role Vodafone main goal is to add the more value to the company compare to their competitors and to improve employee performance. The HR manager role is a function of four variables: motivation, ability, situational contingencies and role perception (McShane, 1995). The responsibilities of HR Manager are to manage the human capital/manpower and assess their performance and rewarding their workers. As a Manager, I suggest some of the roles of HR manager and it can be illustrated in below figure. Strategic Role Administrative Role Operational and employee advocate Administrative Role: This role mainly concentrates on employee data processing and record keeping, maintaining employee database and retrieving process. With the help of modern technology and outsourcing method, Vodafone human resource process has been computerized. This is reduce the cost, workforce and improve the efficiency, time and number of employees. (Robert John, 2008). Operational and employee advocate role: Human Resource manager can also be called as Morale Officer as they mainly concern with crisis management, even though HR main role is to solve the human resource problems. Human resource manger should be assisting with operating manager in order to perform his/her operating role in tactical nature. This role is mainly to identify the business policies and program to be implemented (Robert John, 2008, P10-14). Strategic Role: HR mangers are mainly concentrating on the organization realities and dealing with the future needs which include performance, rewarding and workforce planning strategic. This role can also known as contributing at the table (Robert John, 2008, P10-14), because HR are contributing to the strategic decision that is very much useful for organization success. Some of the characteristic difference between Strategic role and Operating role are given in the below tabular format. HR Activities: The main HR activities is to gain best contribution from the manpower of the company, this can be attained by the way of treating the human resource or manpower. Their activities can be affected by the external environment factor (i.e. PESTEL Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal) and HR managers should have capability to handle these environmental changes. As I manager, I have consider that the below mentioned activities are the major activities of HR Manager. Recruitment Selection: It is one of the HR managers main activities to analyze and identify the human resource requirement for an organization, this analyze will helps to fulfill the job vacancy by placing the right person at the right time and at the right place. HR Development: One of the activities of HR manager is mainly helps to improve the employee performance, productivity and ability by providing effective training. Performance Management: This will gather the detailed information of the employees behaviour while working with superior/coworkers, his/her performance, punctuality, and contribution to organization goals. This monitoring process will helps the managers in order to motivate or improve the employees by giving effective training and awareness. Rewarding: It is mainly based on the employees performance and they are compensated by announcing their promotion, rising the incentives and pay, etc. Employee relationship: The main objective of these activities is to ensure and maintain the strong and effective relationship among the high level and low level employees. This is very essential in order to update, communicate and develop the organization HR policies, rules, procedures. As a manger, they mentioned roles and activities are very important and should be carried out effectively in order to improve the organization as well as employee productivity to achieve the overall organization goal. 1 (c) HR Models There are different types of HR model available for Human resource management and are listed below: Harvard Framework Matching Model Linear Strategy Model Ten C Model Triarchic Model Competitive advantage Model Narrow Broad Perspective Business Process Model Guest Model The above mentioned Model are basically categorized into two HARD and SOFT Model. As a Vodafone Manager, I preferred two models namely Harvard Framework Model and Guest Model. This can evaluated below: Harvard Framework Model: This model is developed by Beer et al (1984) and this model can also be referred as Soft HRM Model. Te traditional framework of Harvard model mainly consists of six major components and it can be illustrated in below figure: (Michael, 2006, p4-7) Harvard framework model details description is given in below tabular format (Michael, 2006, p4-7) In this Harvard Framework model, HRM policies, rules, practices and procedures are mainly based on the organization vision, mission, objectives, strategic and goals (Srinivas, 2005, P2-6). Human resource policies and practices are affected by business internal and external factors. This mainly rely on employer-employee relationship and it mainly considers the interest of their stakeholders and analyzing how the stakeholders interest is associated with the Vodafones Objectives and this can mainly inclined by two important factors like stakeholders interest and situational factors. Harvard model helps Vodafone HR manager in plan their business strategy and propose two important approaches which are given below: HRM policies are defined by considering the stake holders interest and environmental factors (i.e. good fit between HR Policies and organization environment). Objectives of HRM policies are to achieve 4Cs: Competence, Commitment, Congruence and Cost effectiveness technique. Guests model: Guest Model is developed by David Guest for Human Resource Management, which includes some articles and exercise that can be used by the organization context. This consists of six components and it can be listed below: HRM strategy Set of HRM policies Set of HRM outcomes Organization Behavioural outcomes Performance outcomes Financial outcomes This model has granted close links between business strategies (such as Differentiation, Focus and Cost) and HRM strategy. The main objectives of this HRM practices should be planned to lead to Human Resource Management Outcomes of High manpower commitment, high quality, highly flexible employees. Employees commitment is mainly considered as a very important HRM Outcomes. This model helps to improve the behavioural outcomes such as increased effort, involvement, and cooperation and organization citizenship. According to this HRM Model, Superior performance and behavioural outcomes can be achieved only after the achievement of three major HRM Outcomes Quality, Flexibility and Commitment. Guest Models Suggests that: Only when a coherent strategy, directed towards these four policy goals, fully integrated into business strategy and fully sponsored by line management at all levels is applied, will the high productivity and related outcomes sought by industry be achieved (Guest, 1990, p.3 78). And also he added that, HRM policies are not only concentrating with selection and providing training, it can also anticipated achieving HRM policy goals. This model is mainly concentrating on individual needs than the collective workforce. Some of the HRM practices of this Guest HRM model are selection rewards, job design, involvement and appraisals. Task2 (a) Human resource planning is the main process of reviewing requirement of the human resources in the organization. The need of employees in the organization are the important factors of human resource planning , in which areas we need them ,what are the skills do we need from them, how long and when does the employees are needed. Recruiting right number of people in the right time and at the right place is the very important factor of human resource planning. A framework that helps to develop organizational skills as well as employees personal, knowledge and the abilities are said to be the Human Resource Development. Vodafone Recruitment in Vodafone takes place in two ways external recruitment and internal recruitment. Internal recruitment is nothing but promoting the skilled people to the important posts in the Company or assigning project those are on bench. External recruiting is recruiting people from outside externally by giving advertisements. In this stage initially they will identify the necessity of the people and what are the positions that are to be filled. While giving the adverts along with the job title they describe the position of the job, responsibilities and its role in the company, details of benefits and salary given to them, whether job is on a contract or permanent. The advertisement has to be given in a very attractive way to attract the applicants to apply for the job that should also contain the application receiving final date. Vodafone Company after receiving the applications conducts a written exam for them. Written exam may have reasoning, verbal, aptitude and also technical questions. These are the questions to check the basic skills and knowledge of the applicant. This exam time is around one hour. This is one of the best way to select the skilled people among the numerous numbers of people. After the completion of written exam the candidates will be short listed and called for an interview. In Vodafone Company sometimes there may be two kinds of interviews conducted i.e., personal interview and technical interview. Technical interview will be conducted to know the technical skills of the candidate. This is one of the important round if the candidate applied for a post belongs to technical background. He will be posed the questions which are related to the job and asked if they have any relevent experience. Personal interview is the last stage. Apart from this sometimes telephonic interview is also conducted. This interview is held to know why he is applying for this particular position, why he has chosen particularly this company, what all the things he knows about the Vodafone Company. Also to test whether he suits for that particular position he have applied for and he will be able to fulfil all the responsibilities of that postion. (b) The same recruitment process the Vodafone is still following but with some changes. Now the company is going to recruit the people from university campuses. It is one of the best procedures for them to recruit the freshers and they can shape them into areas they are looking for or required. Earlier in the written test there were no negative marks for the wrong answers because applicant sometimes may just try the luck and selects one of the options to answer the question so it will become difficult to understand the skills of them. So, if there are negative marks for wrong answers then they only try to answer the questions if they know the answers exactly. Now the Vodafone company conducting group discussions as well. This will take around 30minutes. A particular topic is given to the members and they will be asked to discuss about the topic for certain specific time period. To test the candidate leadership qualities group discussions are conducted . Also once they come into into the company they will have to work in a team. So, to examine how good they are performing in a team the group discussions are very important. In todays world the job is not constant and the members around us may change. Candidate has to work and get along with different types of the people and in the different kind of environment. So Group discussions are most important in this way. There are not many changes in the process of recruitment but only a little change gives very good results. (c) Vodafone Company follows some of the selection practices and procedures. In these panel members, Hr managers, Company managers have some responsibilities in the selection and the recruitment process. In selecting a member , the company manager is responsible. He should make sure that all the members are involved in the process of recruitment. He should be up to date with the selection framework and the policies of council. He has to inform to the Hr managers that there is a vacancy to be filled. The legal frame work which means while selecting a member into the company there should not be any discrimination. Discrimination in grounds of caste, religion, gender, disability, or race is unlawful. There is direct discrimination as well as indirect discrimination. Direct discrimination which means when a particular person is favoured less than all the others. Indirect discrimination which means it occurs when the particular group may cause disadvantage to the position. There is a positive discrimination as well such as guarantee jobs only for disabled employees, taking interviews only for the people those who are not short listed etc. (d) Selection is a very important process in any organization because if the process of selection is not good and the proper skilled people are not recruited which will affect the profits of the company. Hiring process of Vodafone is very good because of which it is one of the leading mobile company in the world. The selection procedure has to be in such a way that the member selected should be suitable for the position. They spend lot of money by the company during selection process. So, there must not be any kind of delays while conducting them and they must be organized in a well planned manner. Hr department is the responsible for filling a job in any organization. They will inform to their supervisors and the line managers to fill the position stating the rules and regulations for that particular position. Task3 (a) Reward Management and Performance appraisals are very important for Vodafone employees to improve their performance, which is the key for company performance. It will help them to identify their faults and area for improvement, and to take necessary action to achieve them. As the company performance is depends on the employee performance, it is very important to monitor the employees performance and reward to motivate them to perform better. 360 degree feedback is the method, which provides an opportunity for every employee to receive their performance feedback, which collected from co-workers, supervisors, customers, manager and also from other discipline staffs. It is very famous now a day, as it is one of the accurate assessment method than others. Because the feedback received from one person is less effective than feedback received from many people and areas. Ratings are much more accurate as it taken from various people and it is purely depends on the employee performance. This 360 degree feedback helps the employees to measure themselves and helps to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and also areas for improvement. Normally employee gives feedback by filling the questionnaire model. It is a motivational element and which has been accepted by many organization and its participants. This feedback also helps both the employees as well the organization depending on the feedback received. Rewards are awarded to employees according to their performance rating and it was awarded on regular basis in Vodafone Company. This system also helps Vodafone to express their views in achieving companys success. Employment feedback and customer feedback both are the very important things in any organization. Employee performance can be assessed from co-employees, supervisors, managers, customers feedback that, how the candidate performed during the period of time. These may include his/her achievements, career plan, skills, problems, areas for improvement, etc. Some employees are directly talk and interact with the clients, so the clients feedback are also sometime important to reward the employee. Not only them, all other employees are also important to discuss with their future plans and the strategies. The organization must provide solutions for negative feedback, which raised from employees. This strategy also helps the organization to provide best service for their customers. Well performed employees are rewarded annual appraisal with next level promotion, pay rise or instant prizes, etc., which will encourage the employee as well as motivate others to perform enthusiastically. Also appraisal system enables the employee to see in which area he/she needs to improve in order to step u p his/her career which also simultaneously improve organization performance. Therefore, the organization is also able to identify and provide necessary training for their employees for their career development. (b) Exit procedure will take place when an employee is resigned or layoff his job. Once the employee decides to leave the organization, he/she must provide written resignation letter his/her department manager for approval and also it facilitates department manager to plan for the future workload or new recruitment well in advance. Then it is department managers responsibility to forward that resignation letter to HR department. HR looks every option to avoid resignation as the new recruitment is not cost effective. If no way, then HR confirms and sends a letter to candidate with last employment date according to accepted notice period. During the notice period the candidate must work or handover the remaining task to someone as directed by his/her supervisor. When an employee leaves the organization, he/she must be treated equally. Different exit methods are followed my different companies, but these are mainly to know the reason why he/she wants to leave the company whether is it a personal reason or due to non-satisfaction such as company rules, salary or any other reasons. The main important reason for exit interview is to update or correct the internal management errors within the organization. HR is responsible for arranging exit interview for that employee. HR department is got some responsibilities as well in exit procedure. To gather the information of the employee they will send a questionnaire to employee that includes what is the reason the employee is leaving the organization and get feedback from him/her. Exit interview will be conducted to collect the information from the candidate who may be useful to improve the organization growth by rectifying management problems, if any. While recruiting, majority of the organization has the contract with its employees. The employee needs to sign on bond paper mentioning that he/she will work for that organization for certain duration without taking any other job outside the organization. In this case, the exit procedure may be totally differs, as the employee breaching his conditions he/she may be liable to pay for notice period or compensation if he/she decides to leave the organization during contract tenure. (c) Redundancy takes place when the taskforce is reduced or reorganized due to the changes in business environment such as recession, relocation, downturn workload etc. The selection criteria for redundancy are mainly helpful for an organization, when it needs to dismiss number of employees from the pool of employees. In this case, the criteria of selection had been clearly set and defined in the organization policy, which applicable to every employee of the organization. The representatives of the employees also must have to agree with these criteria. Redundancy must be approved by the employer and HR must inform to their all group of employees with reason for redundancy. Management must look every option to avoid redundancy, as the recruitment is very expensive now days. If any group of the employees were performing the same work then, there will a chance for inter changeability of the work. The selection criteria for redundancy must follow the combinations of individual Performance, Q ualifications, skills, time records and attendance, flexibility, capability, special skills, disciplinary record, length of service, etc and every employee of the organization must be treated equally. Selection of employee must be as fair selection. Some of the criterias might raise some problems like disability grounds, sex, religion, maternity grounds, race, trade unions and other legal issues. Therefore the organization must have the clear policies and making procedures for fair redundancy selection.