Wednesday, July 31, 2019
Wudi
Abby 1/8/13 Global EssayPeriod 7 The Han Emperor Wudi accomplished many things and his life was important to China's history for many reasons. Wudi did many things to improve China's civilization itself. He ruled from 141-87 B. C. Wudi was the sixth emperor of the Han Dynasty. He became emperor when he was 16. He was a very fierce ruler. Wudi lived from 156-87 B. C. In that length of time that he was alive, Wudi did many things. Wudi had many accomplishments. He used his army to expand the empire. He also used his army to capture southern China, Korea, and Vietnam.Wudi sent Zhang Qian to explore the West and the information he brought back about his discoveries led to trade along the silk road. Wudi made Confucianism his religion during his reign. Wudi had harsh, but effective punishments. He also offered gifts of silk, cattle, gold and other items to Western diplomats. So as you can see, Wudi had many accomplishments. Wudi's life was important to China's history. Wudi joined the Yel low River to Chang'an and connected two main centers of trade in china. He created a network of granaries. He enhanced China's civilization in different ways. Wudi constructed the Great Wall, which was a major success.The Great Wall wouldn't be the way it is today if it wasn't for Wudi. He also held the military campaign against Xiongnu. He did much to enhance China's civilization. He expanded territory, and provided means in which economy and trade could flourish. So as you can see, Wudi's life was very important to China's history. So as you can see, Wudi accomplished many things and his life was important to China's history. Some thought highly of Wudi and others did not think he was an effective ruler in the Han Dynasty. Wudi had a lot of ups and downs while ruling in the Han Dynasty. He turned out to be a very successful ruler in many areas.
Double Standard in Marquezââ¬â¢ Chronicle of a Death Foretold Essay
In Columbian society portrayed in the novel Chronicles of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Marquez, there is a significant double standard regarding gender roles. They live in a world where women have to adhere to extreme societal and cultural expectations. Men are encouraged to be experienced in the bedroom for their wedding night but if a woman is not a virgin, she is deemed unfit to marry. Women cannot move up in the social world if they are not married. They are taught to cook and clean and if they wish to move up in class they must marry a man of higher social standards. Women are taught when they are brought up that ââ¬Å"love can be learnedâ⬠(page 35) and that they must marry whoever impresses their family while men can choose whoever they want. If Angela does not follow these rules she will be an outcast from society and will never have the hopes of moving up in class. When she doesnââ¬â¢t adhere to the image of a ââ¬Å"perfect womenâ⬠Santiago Nasar is killed in the name of her honour. The result of these double standards leads directly to the death of Santiago Nasar in Chronicles of A Death Foretold. The idea that for women, love is something that can be taught and they are ââ¬Å"brought up to sufferâ⬠while men can choose whomever they would like especially if they charm their family is a significant unjust double standard that results in the death of Santiago Nasar. Santiago was murdered for supposedly taking Angelaââ¬â¢s virginity. This was cause for his death because not being a virgin deemed you unfit to be married and soiled or impure, she was garbage if she wasnââ¬â¢t a virgin. When Angelaââ¬â¢s future husband found out she wasnââ¬â¢t a virgin he returned her to her family, honour destroyed. Her two brothers took action into their own hands and when Santiago was named as the man who took her virginity he was murdered by the Vicario twins. This is effect of the double standard because Angela did not want to marry Bayardo San Roman but he had charmed his way in by impressing her family. ââ¬Å"Bayardo San Roman hadnââ¬â¢t even tried to court her but had bewitched her family with his charm. â⬠(Page 34). If women had the power to choose who they wanted to marry, as men do, Angela never would have been pressured into marrying Bayardo. She did not love him. ââ¬Å"Angela Vicario only hinted at the inconvenience of a lack of love, but her mother demolished it with a single phrase: Love can be learned too. â⬠(Page 35) If Angela was never going to marry Bayardo he would not have returned her for not being a virgin and she would not have named Santiago as the man who took her virginity and the twins never would have taken the matter into their own hands and committed the murder. If the double standard didnââ¬â¢t exist in their culture Angela would have had the power to say she did not want to marry Bayardo and Santiago would still be alive. Another sexist double standard that exists in the community is the idea that the only way women can make a life for themselves is if they get married. It is impossible for them to move up in class unless they marry a man who has a higher social standing than they do, while men only need to be born into positive circumstances. The perfect woman would be one who could cook, clean and be a mother. She would have to be pure (stay a virgin till her wedding night) and obey what her husband says. Angela says,â⬠The brothers were brought up to be men. The girls were brought up to be married. They knew how to do screen embroidery, sew by machine, weave bone lace, wash and iron, make artificial flowers and fancy candy, and write engagement announcementsâ⬠¦ my mother thought there were no better-reared daughters. ââ¬ËTheyââ¬â¢re perfect,ââ¬â¢ she was frequently heard to say. ââ¬ËAny man will be happy with them because theyââ¬â¢ve been raised to suffer. (Page 34). The perfect man is one who has experience in the bedroom, looks, money and has fulfilled societal expectations. The stress on women to get married in order to succeed in the society is very strong. If women had the same expectations as men being married would not be as much of an obligation. If they had a chance to succeed on their own finding a man to marry would not be a priority. This double standard leads to Santiagoââ¬â¢s death because of the pressure to be the perfect woman in order to get married and advance in life. If there was no such double standard they would have never been married and Santiago would have not been murdered by Angelaââ¬â¢s brothers. The final double standard in Chronicles of a Death Foretold the lack of experience women are expected to have in the bedroom versus the amount men are expected to have. In their society women must be pure and have their virginity until the night of their wedding. ââ¬Å"No one would have thought, nor did anyone say, that Angela Vicario wasnââ¬â¢t a virgin. She hadnââ¬â¢t known any previous fiance and sheââ¬â¢d grown up along with her sisters under the rigor of a mother of iron. Even when it was less than two months before she would be married, Pura Vicario wouldnââ¬â¢t let her go out alone with Bayardo San Roman to see the house where they were going to live, but she and the blind father accompanied her to watch over her honour. â⬠(Page 37). The idea of the importance of virginity is almost being mocked by Marquez, it is so important to protect her virginity that her blind father must accompany her and ââ¬Å"watch over herâ⬠is absurd. Women must have chaperones at all time while men are encouraged to be experienced. The reason Santiago Nasar is killed was to avenge Angelaââ¬â¢s honour when she accuses Santiago for taking her virginity after she is deemed unfit to marry by her fiance. If this one sided prejudice did not exist and it was not a necessity for Angela to be a virgin (as it is not necessary for the man to be a virgin) Angela would not have been returned and need her honour to be avenged. The double standard in this novel is clearly unjust and absurd. Women are pressured into being married to people who they do not love in order to move up in the social classes. Instead of being courted, the man impresses the womanââ¬â¢s family and the woman is taught they must learn to love and grow up to suffer. The idea of virginity is extremely one sided as women need to be virgins and men need to be experienced. If any of these double standards regarding sexuality did not exist in their culture Santiago Nasar would not have been murdered.
Tuesday, July 30, 2019
An Analysis of The Story Of Tom Brennan Essay
In ââ¬Å"The Story Of Tom Brennanâ⬠written by J.à C Burke in a story about destruction, guilt and shame through the story there are allot of up and downs after the crash the family is not the same and tom knows that it will never be the same the story uses destructive power to add some problems to the story to keep it going the crash causes a couple of problems to everyone not just the family the whole community is effected guilt tom and kylie both feel guilty like they were the cause for the crash shame the family lie in shame they feel like there family is bad and the community donââ¬â¢t help that is why they mover because the whole family is looked down upon by the town of Mumbili. The family is affected by destruction in every way the family has changed after the event it has cause the whole community to change fin who was in the crash and her family are affected As well after fin became paraplegic her mum has to change the way she raises her son and fins dreams are crushed after one night so much has happened to the families and friends of the victims in the crash. Tomââ¬â¢s life has changed him and his mum grows further away slowly not talking to each other. Kylies life has changed to she has lost all her friends because they had to move schools. And fin has nothing left and her mother has trouble looking after her it is hard on every one. When the crash happens tom feels like he is the one who has cause the crash he feels guilty in every way he feels like he could have stopped what happened and kylie feels the same way she has the same feeling as tom and they are in the same place both feeling guilty of what happened that night both hiding it and keeping it bottled up inside them that is why they always fight it is because they both feel like they could have done something about it stopped the whole incident from happening fin sought of has the same feeling that if she didnââ¬â¢t get in the car that night nothing would have happened and it would all be the same again but she knows she canââ¬â¢t do anything about it. Daniel is also guilty and knows what he did was wrong he feels guilty because he was the one that was driving the car. Daniel couldnââ¬â¢t even look at Nicole and Lukeââ¬â¢s parents because he knew he took something away from them and he feels guilty about it. The whole family will live in shame for the rest of their life seeing that it was their son that cause the crash they will be in shame because they didnââ¬â¢t stop him they didnââ¬â¢t stop him from drinking Daniel especially affected he will never get over the fact they he killed two people and will always know that there is a family missing something that they love and they will never get that back just cause one person did something they shouldnââ¬â¢t have but was it really Daniels fault he was not the one that made them get in that car and maybe they should have stopped him from driving that night. The whole story is made up by one of these points and they play a big part in the story is none of these3 things happened the story would not have much in it.
Monday, July 29, 2019
Financial Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Financial Reporting - Essay Example Also, there is the problem that no one individual or corporation has full ownership of the earth, so it would be very difficult to account for. Even if some accountants did factor use of the earth into the accounts, there would likely be many more that would not do this. Accountants do have the expertise required because they understand how assets depreciate and also how to balance the economic equation of assets equals liabilities plus equity. If such a system was put in place to allow accountants to value the earth, then it may be possible to do. The major problem is trying to get everyone to agree on what should be accounted for. The accounting profession is suited perfectly to control such measurement functions but the problem is deciding on what those functions are. Because they are many things that cannot be measured, it is very difficult for accountants to include such functions on the balance sheet. The difference between accounting for financial and physical objects is that one type can be measured on a scale while the other is more ambiguous. Financial objects have value because we give values that can be assigned to specific objects. For example, for an investment that loses money, it is easy to track that flow because we can compare the end result with the start value. The difficulty with accounting for physical objects is that often there is no ways to place value on them and also it may be hard to find a starting value in some instances. Activity 2 In this cartoon, the difference between the two companies could not be more remarkable. While Company A has three legs on its chair (social, financial, and environmental), Company B only has only leg (financial). This illustration shows perfectly why companies must be well-balanced when it comes to business operations. Company A understands that in order to be successful in the business world, there is more goals than just simply making a profit. I think that it is important to note that in this picture the financial leg of the chair is the middle one. In other words, it is the cornerstone of the company or the part that is the basis for everything else. The other two legs, social and environmental, provide solid support to the company, which is obviously very successful from a financial point of view. While success may be put down only to the financials, it cannot be understated the value of having good social and environmental responsibility for a firm. These measures often can't be valued, so it is difficult to try and judge success. I feel that it is also important to mention that the chair would not likely stand without the financial leg. All three legs are needed to support the chair, and this shows that companies must concentrate on many different facets of business in order to be successful over the long run. Company B only has one led, financial, and as a result the company is having difficulty maintaining balance. Although this leg is important for making the chair stand , there are no other supports. Company B has placed all of its eggs in the financial basket and has paid the price for doing so. By neglecting other aspects of business, such as social and environmental, the company is taking a huge risk. While it may be able to stay balanced initially, it is inevitable that the chair will take a fall because the company has focused all of its efforts on simple money making.
Sunday, July 28, 2019
Marketing assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2
Marketing assignment - Essay Example In my case, I relate value proposition to Starbucks coffee. Starbucks is the largest coffee house company in the world and has its headquarters in Seattle, Washington D.C and many outlets all over the world. Starbucks sells among other drinks, coffee. My critical selection process of Starbucks coffee is dependent on its mode of preparation, the energy content of the Starbucks coffee drink, the chemical content, the taste, colour, environment, standard of quality, smell, availability of the drink, and the refreshing nature of the Starbucks coffee. Apart from other external factors that may affect my choice for Starbucks coffee like climate, my selection of Starbucks coffee relies on its mode of preparation. Indeed, the preparation of Starbucks coffee takes place in real time and I can actually from the preparation process on how I can prepare my own cup of coffee at home. The mode of preparation is fast and clean thus enticing me to buy. In addition, Starbucks coffee is highly nutritious for my health and thus relevant to my use. More so, although Starbucks coffee has some elements of caffeine, the levels are quite low and suitable for my consumption. Indeed, the caffeine in Starbucks coffee serves my alertness and relaxation thus motivating to buy. Furthermore, Starbucks coffee has a sweet taste that is unique in all its outlets. Actually, all Starbucks outlets sells universal brand of coffee and hence its originality that drives me to purchase. At the same time, the colour of Starbucks coffee is also unique and there are no chances of fake products. Moreover, the price of Starbucks coffee is also a motivator since it is affordable to me and hence my cause to buy. I take Starbucks coffee in the most relaxing and quite environment. All Starbucks outlets situate at quite environments that equally plays some cool music in the background. With such an offer, I find myself buying it most frequently. It is worth noting that
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Overcoming Barriers to Credit Availability for SMEs Dissertation
Overcoming Barriers to Credit Availability for SMEs - Dissertation Example Introduction and Relation to Previous Research Availability of finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been a topic of research among academicians since it impacts the economy of a nation (Beck and Demirguc-Kunt,2006; OECD,2004). One of the perennial problems faced by SMEs is the access to capital (Scholz,2007).There has been extensive research on why SMEs find it difficult to obtain funding, why transparent SMEs stand better chance of finance availability than opaque SMEs, how financing differs from traditional SMEs to innovative SMEs and what SMEs can do to improve their chances of obtaining finances, given that they function in a regulated environment. This topic is of interest since access to financing has been identified in many business surveys as one of the most significant obstacles to the survival and growth of SMEs (OECD,2004).It will be of value to understand what are the barriers that exist in financing of SMEs and what can be done both by financial Institutions and SMEs to overcome the same. Barriers to SME Financing According to OECD (2006) reasons identified for SMEs inability to procure finances especially in comparison with larger firms usually include: ï⠧ Incomplete range of financial products and services ï⠧ Regulatory rigidities or gaps in the legal framework ï⠧ Lack of information on both the bankââ¬â¢s and the SMEââ¬â¢s side. Banks may avoid providing financing to certain types of SMEs, in particular, start ups and very young firms that typically lack sufficient collateral.
Friday, July 26, 2019
Objectives Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Objectives Assignment - Essay Example 1. As a result of screening and educating the vulnerable persons and people with pre diabetes, 50% of the Native Americans will adapt to a healthy lifestyle changes, thereby reducing the new incidents of diabetes according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (Affective) 2. As a result of facilitating and encouraging the individuals with family history of diabetes and obese individuals for regular, moderate physical activity, Native Americans will be able to reduce new incidents of diabetes by 50% according to the American Diabetes Association (Klein et al, 259). (Psychomotor) 3. As a result of early detection and professional treatments, American Indians can prevent 70% of the incidents of diabetic retinopathy and diabetic related renal failure according to the National Health Institute. (Cognitive) 4. As a result of increasing the availability and the accessibility of professional health care services, Native Americans will be able to prevent complications of diabetes by 50 percent according to the findings of the National Health Institute. (Cognitive) 5. According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) American Indians will be able to prevent more than 50% of the new incidents of diabetes as a result of reducing body weight and maintaining healthy weight throughout the life. (Psychomotor) 6. According to the American Diabetes Association due to introduction and implementation of national policies related to dietary and lifestyle changes, Native Americans can effectively reduce new incidents of diabetes by 30% (Klein et al, 260). (Cognitive) 7. Considering the findings of the vast number of researches conducted on American Indians for 30 years, American Natives will be able to reduce new incidents by 25% as a result of consumption of low fat and low caloric diet (Yancy et al, 769). (Psychomotor) 8. As a result of the awareness programs
Thursday, July 25, 2019
Fashion and Utopia-Ann-Sofie Back Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Fashion and Utopia-Ann-Sofie Back - Essay Example The essay "Fashion and Utopia-Ann-Sofie Back" analyzes the concept of the fashion by Ann-Sofie Back. The concept of fashion in Paris is no longer popular and this has essentially given rise to a genre of anti-fashion, which refers to the beginning of something new. The relationship between the ââ¬Å"fashion-creator and imitatorâ⬠is undergoing change and instead of the common people on the street following the designs of haute couture, the pattern is almost the reverse, fashion flows from the street to the ââ¬Å"salons of haute coutureâ⬠where the adoption and imitation take place. The public follows the fashion trend, which flows, from the characteristics defined by their sub-cultures. The avant-garde essence of fashion comes form the notion of ââ¬Å"fashion beyond fashionâ⬠which creates fashion out of non-fashionable components. From 1980s onwards the period of fashion creators are coming to an end and the designers favor something, which lie outside the traditio nal fashion trends. This also implies that fashion no more creates or enhance the divide between economic classes or age groups and genders. In fact, ââ¬Å"nothing could be more out of date than to clothe oneself as ââ¬Å"womanâ⬠, as ââ¬Å"manâ⬠or as ââ¬Å"ladyâ⬠. This avant-garde fashion is innovative and anti-idealistic in nature, which looks forward to give new shape to beauty and perfection. The modern avant-garde derives the basics from the old one especially in terms of going against the classical definition of fashion, popularized as haute couture.
Dred Scott v.s. Sanford 1856 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Dred Scott v.s. Sanford 1856 - Essay Example Dred Scott v. Sanford was a case in which Dred Scott a slave born in Virginia between 1795 and 1800 sues an heir of the estate which owned him for freedom for himself, his wife, and children (Library of Congress n. p.). Purchased by John Emerson a major in the United States Army, as ââ¬Å"chattelâ⬠or ââ¬Å"personal propertyâ⬠Scott accompanied and traveled with Emerson extensively. However not all the states in the Union recognized and allowed slavery at that time; several states outlawed the practice of slavery passing ordinances and laws prohibiting its practice within their territorial boundaries (Library of Congress n. p.). One such state was Missouri, the ââ¬Å"Missouri Compromise of 1820â⬠forbid the importation of slaves within their territory and ultimately had a provision for the emancipation of slaves born in Missouri (Moore and Brown n. p.). With the passing of the bill by the House of Representatives in 1819, but failing to be ratified by the Senate the bill incited angry discussions between and within the northern and southern states. With Missouri identified as a, ââ¬Å"free stateâ⬠there was unequal representation, therefore the states condoning slavery found themselves at a disadvantage when it came to voting power. Over a 12 year period Emerson relocated his family and slaves throughout various regions of the United States settling in free and slave states (Library of Congress n. p.).
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
Chemistry of Hazardous Materials Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Chemistry of Hazardous Materials - Case Study Example The characteristics of the hazardous substance in the four containers are determined through NFPA system. The system gives the procedure of identifying the relative levels of the three hazards; chemical reactivity, health, and flammability (Meyer, 2010). The HazMat team experiences several hazardous situations. The puncture tank may contain flammable fumes or chemicals thus it is hazardous because it may result in combustion. The corrosive materials can also negatively affect members of the HazMat team the fumes can cause skin irritation, and respiratory tract infection and inflammation. Strong oxidizing substances have the ability to corrode and thus if not handled properly can burn the skin tissues. Strong acids and bases also show corrosive characteristics and may burn the skin. All the three substances engage in chemical reactions that can produce dangerous substances, like hazardous fumes that cause respiratory tract irritation (Meyer, 2010). A lot of restraint should be exercis ed at the accident scene. Only members of the HazMat team should be allowed to access the site with the punctured tank and the three other tanks containing hazardous materials (Meyer, 2010). The members of the team must wear full protective gear. The gas masks are aimed are preventing the inhalation of dangerous fumes or hazardous chemicals. The reflectors jackets prevent skin contact with the hazardous materials. The other individuals who wish or want to access the accident scene must be told to wear adequate personal protective types of equipment. The protective types of equipment include; eyeglasses, gas masks, reflector or dust coats, gloves, and safety boots. The eyeglass minimizes eye irritation, through minimizing the contact between the eye and hazardous fumes. The reflector clothing reduces corrosion by hindering contact between the skin and the hazardous substances.
Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Commercially Available Firewalls Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Commercially Available Firewalls - Essay Example Application-Layer Firewall, is the type of firewall that can address the vulnerabilities faced by NBK bank, since once the Application-Layer Firewall is installed, it will safeguard the bankââ¬â¢s data, since this type of firewall prevent all unwanted outside traffic from reaching protected machines (Venkatesulu & Kumar, 2012). This type of firewall works towards monitoring all browser traffic, or all telnet traffic, and intercepts or blocks the packets that do not match the set data traffic rules, since they are considered to be intrusive (Venkatesulu & Kumar, 2012). To enhance the effective operation of the firewall once it is installed, fellow workers are supposed to understand that firewall does not protect the computers from all sort of harm, and thus should observe the following set of procedures: Avoid the use of any unauthorized connections such as Modems or wireless connection, since firewall does not protect against traffic or software that does not come through it (Venkatesulu & Kumar).
Monday, July 22, 2019
Weaknesses of modern democracy Essay Example for Free
Weaknesses of modern democracy Essay ââ¬Å"Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those others that have been tried from time to time.â⬠These are the words used by Sir Winston Churchill while he was expressing his resolve with democracy. Democracy is the dominant form of government in the world with the exception of a few countries. In Sir Winstonââ¬â¢s statement, the phrase, ââ¬Å"except all those others that have been tried from time to timeâ⬠however, shows that despite being a weak form of government, itââ¬â¢s relatively the best form of governance in history1. Weaknesses of modern democracy span from the fundamental to contemporary ones as this paper illustrates. The biggest problem with modern democratically elected governments is the sluggish manner in which they conduct their business2. This is detrimental to any governmentââ¬â¢s role in deliberating on key policies. Any policy making exercise by any government should be marked by strong decisiveness. Modern democratic governments have adopted compromise in the place of decisiveness2. In circumstances where long term solutions are needed, short term solutions are made leaving problems unsolved and very sensitive to future discussions. On part of the governed, unfulfilled promises lead to disillusionment eventually resulting to numerous and sporadic government changes thus overhauls and patching of critical government programs and key policies1. A good example of sluggishness in government policing is the destitute nature of the United States economy2. Slowness in dealing with the huge public debt and recession, have drastically reduced the strength of the economy. With the congress locked in ideological partisan politics, important decisions on the economy have been unforthcoming. On the other hand, China (without democracy and very decisive) has a strong economy growing with an above average growth rate2. The original definition of democracy is; a government whereby people determine on the way they are governed mostly through elected representatives1. Democracy is guided by the core principle of majority rule2. However, today the minority as well might have their way provided there is enough money to bribe the electorate. Such governments end up spending extravagantly so as to achieve all campaign promises1. Excessive spending leads to accumulation of huge public debts, as seen in the European Union and in the USA. To settle these debts, governments end up borrowing more money and imposing huge taxes. These end up reducing an economyââ¬â¢s competitiveness and reducing critical investment within a country2. Another weakness in democracy is the accession of incompetent leaders to office. Most citizens in countries with modern democracy belong to a gullible bourgeois class1. An intelligent charismatic leader with self interests can easily deceive such masses to get into office. Once in office such leaders end up forgetting their promises in pursuit of personal gains2. In modern democracy, most voters do not vote due to an obligatory purpose as required in democracy but due to persuasion by candidates1. Due to the equality principle applied in democracy, this phenomenon is dangerous since not all people are intelligent enough to understand all proposed promises by candidates2. Another demerit of modern democracy is the huge cost incurred. A lot of resources and time are used and foregone in electing governments and formulating laws democratically1. Elections waste a lot of money that could instead be used for economic constructive purposes. Elected politicians also waste a lot of public money in seminars and unnecessary retreats2. It is important to note that, despite democracy having a lot of demerits; it has a lot of benefits compared to all other forms of governance ever tried so far. Only in democracy can citizens be assured of essential human rights and freedoms. It is also the only form of government that citizens can determine how and by how much to be ruled. Bibliography 1. Gupta, Tusha. ââ¬Å"What are the advantages and disadvantages of democracy?â⬠Preserve articles, May 16, 2012, http://www.preservearticles.com/2012051632245/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-democracy.html. 2. Hearnes, James. ââ¬Å"The weaknesses of Democracyâ⬠WordPress, July 18, 2012, http://jameshearne.wordpress.com/2012/07/18/the-weaknesses-of-democracy/ View as multi-pages
Sunday, July 21, 2019
The Turnover Culture In The Hotel Industry
The Turnover Culture In The Hotel Industry Part B Abstract It is revealed that high labor turnover is a major global problem in hotel industry. The human resource management in the hotel industry is facing challenge about retaining employees and minimizes the turnover. Therefore, it is worth to investigate about the human resource management in the hotel industry. The purpose of this study is to explore the labor turnover in hotel industry, and its associated the factors affecting the labor turnover and how to manage the labor turnover. The labor turnover in hotel industry is influenced by the work related factors, external factors and external factors. According to some statistics, the cost of labor turnover in hotel industry is very high. Moreover, some retention strategy are propose to overcome the labor turnover are discussed including training, employee motivation and employee recognition. Section 1 : Introduction Reason for choice of topic The tourism industry is the leading industry in many countries. Hong Kong tourism industry contributing $162.8 billion or 10.8% of gross domestic product in 2009(http://www.gov.hk/en/residents/, http://www.tourism.gov.hk/textonly/english/statistics/statistics_perform.html ) and Thailand tourism industry generate 6.5% of gross domestic product in 2008 (http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism.asp). Accommodation is an essential element of tourism service and it is vital to the quality of the tourist experience, as it constitutes a major part of consumption. This study is to investigate the labor turnover in the hotel organization. It is general known that the hospitality industry has a major challenge about the labor turnover and staff stability rates. These problems are usually occur in the front-line staff as it is related to a lot of unfavorable working conditions in hotel, such as the long working hours, unstable working schedule and lack of promotion opportunities. Therefore, many people are not willing to enter to the hotel industry or some people have work for many years in hotel industry but shift to another industry because of those unfavorable working conditions. Besides, the human resource management in the hotel industry are facing some serious problems about retaining the employees and recruits the right people to fill in the right job. Therefore, it is worthwhile to investigate the factors that cause the front-line employees to quit the job. In addition, to discuss what the human resource management can do to retain the st aff and manage the labor turnover in the hotel organization. Another reason for choosing this topic to study is the authors want to become the human resource manager in a hotel. Therefore, it is vital that the author have a clear understanding of what challenges that the human resource management are facing and to use the specific approach to overcome those problems. 1.2 Academic objectives of dissertation This paper aims to achieve the followings objectives: To find out what is the meaning of labor turnover and have an overview of the turnover culture in the hotel industry To discuss the factors that influence labor turnover in hotel industry. To explain the cost of labor turnover in hotel industry. To find out what the human resource management can do to managing the labor turnover. Outline of sections In section 1, the author talked about her reason for choice this topic and the major objectives through this project. In section 2, the authors explained the concepts of labor turnover briefly and provide an overview of the turnover culture in the hotel industry. In section 3, the author would explain the factors influence the turnover in the hotel industry and have an understanding of the cost of labor turnover. It could help to show the labor turnover is a serious problem within the industry. Moreover, in section 4, the author wants to make others understand how to manage the labor turnover in the hotel industry. Finally in section 5, would be the summary and conclusion about this project. Section 2: Literature review 2.1 What is labor turnover? According to Price (1977, p.15) the term turnover is defined as the ratio of the number of organization members who have left during the period being considered divided by the average number of people in that organization during the period and also each time a position is vacated, a new employee must be hired and trained. This replacement cycle is known as turnover (Woods, 1995, p. 345). Labor turnover refers to the movement of employees in and out of a business. Labor turnover affects both workers and firms: workers may need to learn new job-specific skills, whilst firms incur the costs of hiring and training new workers (Brown et. al., 2009). The new workers may be more highly motivated and more highly skilled. Hence, turnover may enhance firm performance. However, high labor turnover causes problems for the firm as it is costly, lowers productivity and morale. Labor turnover can be divided into two main types: voluntary, where the employees leave of their own free will, and involuntary, where the employer decides that employment should terminate. Retirement can fall into either category (Boella, 2000). Most often the voluntary turnover arises where some employees leave to escape negative work environment factors and other are pulled away from the organization by more attractive opportunities and Cheng and Brown (1998) stated that people quit their job for many reasons, but most reasons are not related to management. In recent study, the involuntary turnover can applied to those employees have a poor performance or have did some serious mistakes then the organization would encourage them to quit than fire them. 2.2 The turnover culture in the hotel industry Everyone knows that the hotel industry is a highly labor-intensive industry but the high labor turnover is a serious problem within the industry all around the world. Some theorists such as Mobley (1977), Price (1977), Price and Mueller (1986) identified a range of other variables such as pay, communication, social integration, reutilization, role overload, promotional opportunity, training, supervisor and co-worker support, and distributive justice as having a significant impact upon turnover. According to the research Griffith University, the primary reason for managerial and operational turnover was voluntary resignation, followed by an internal transfer. Performance related terminations were very low. The main motivating factors for executives, managerial and supervisory staff to change jobs, within the hotel industry, were better career opportunities and better working hours. Changing jobs outside the industry was primarily motivated by higher salaries, working hours and better career opportunities. The data suggests that higher wages and better working hours are the major drivers for managerial employees to leave. Similarly, operational staff seek better wages, better working hours and improved career opportunities. In the pervious years, a small among of staff in hotel industry will stay for longer than five years but the voluntary turnover is gradually increase compared with the last decades. According to Kennedy and Berger (1994, p. 58) they stated that, in the hospitality industry, the highest turnover occurred during the first 4 weeks (in employment). The cause of turnover is often poor human resource decisions and the unmet expectations of newcomers. 2.3 Factors affecting employee intent to leave in the hotel industry There are many factors affecting employee turnover. According to a widely accepted though, employees usually quit their jobs because of lack of wages. However, many studies show that there are also many complex factors affecting employee turnover other than wage, such as the management of the company, economics, and psychology. In the following section, some factors affecting employee turnover are discussed. 2.3.1 Work Related Factors The work related factors are other factors that will influence the labor turnover in the hotel industry. The following section will mainly focus on the job satisfaction, pay, working environment, work performance, promotion opportunities and the organization commitment how to influence the labor turnover. 2.3.1.1 Job Satisfaction Job satisfaction is containing the satisfaction with pay, satisfaction with the work itself, satisfaction with the supervision, satisfaction with the promotion opportunities (Khatri et. al., 2003). According to Davis (1981), job satisfaction can be defined as pleasantness or unpleasantness of employees while working. In addition, Oshagbemi (2000) has defined job satisfaction as individuals positive emotional reaction to particular job. The term job satisfaction is considered an attribute that exists as the equity of a variety of desired and non-desired job-related experiences. It is also defines as the degree of fit between the features of a job and employees expectations. In addition, there are researchers who view that job satisfaction is a result of both employees expectations and aspirations and their existing status (Clark Oswald, 1996). When the employees with a lack of job satisfaction they will be quitting the job, and the basic reason is that they expect to have a more sati sfying job. On the other hand, if the employees have a high job satisfaction, the organization will be fewer labor turnovers. Price and Mueller (1981) stated that job satisfaction has an indirect influence on turnover through its direct influence on formation of intent to leave. Another study stated that employees with higher degree of trust would have higher levels of job satisfaction in the hospitality industry (Gill, 2008). 2.3.1.1.1 Pay According to the past study, the average annual wages of hotel are very low compare with the other industries such as the IT technology and education industry. A low starting salary is found in the frontline department in the hotel industry such as the housekeeping, Food and Beverage and front office. It was shown that dissatisfaction with pay is among the significant factors responsible for turnover (Pavesic and Brymer, 1990; Pizam and Ellis, 1999). Pay is received by the staff and money is equivalent to staffs effort to provide service. The salary, compensation and fringe benefit received by the staff are also the pay. Therefore, if the pay is increase, it can reduce the labor turnover. The relationship between pay and job satisfaction has received considerable attention (Churchill, FordWalker, 1974; Lawler, 1995). The pay was the most important job attribute contributing to job satisfaction in the Hong Kong hotel industry. Therefore, higher pay is significantly related to greater job satisfaction. The staff will be more satisfied with their job when the actual pay is more than the expected pay. The other situation that causes the staff to be more likely to leave their organization is that when they perceive that they are receiving lower salary but they know the other people elsewhere are offered better pay. Therefore, offering higher wages than competing organization will enable the organization to retain some talented worker. 2.3.1.1.2 The work itself The work itself is a critical dimension in employee job satisfaction (Luthans, 1992; Lawler, 1995; Qu, Ryan Chu, 2001; Groot Van Den Brink, 1999) and Glisson and Durick (1988) considered the worker and the nature of the work itself as two important factors affecting job satisfaction. The internal satisfactory factors are related to the work itself, such as: feeling of achievement, feeling of independence, self-esteem, feeling of control and other similar feelings obtained from work. And the external satisfactory factors such as: receiving praise from the boss, good relationships with colleagues, good working environment, high salary, good welfare and utilities. There is a relationship between job satisfaction and stress. Barsky, Thoresen, Warren and Kaplan(2004) argued that high level of work stress will be decrease the job satisfaction and finally leaving the organization because workers feel their job duties are difficult to fulfill. Price (1977) divided job stress into four types: lack of resources to perform, the amount of workload, the clarity of the role obligations and the role conflict. Those job stresses will also make the employees intent to quit the organization. 2.3.1.1.3 The supervision Supervision, being one of the dimensions of job satisfaction (Rust et al., 1996), is defined from the employee-centeredness perspective, it is manifested in ways such as checking to see how well the subordinate is doing, providing advice and assistance to the individual, and communicating with the worker on a personal as well as an official level (Luthans, 1992, pp. 121-122). Some information show that, satisfaction with supervisor will influence job satisfaction positively and finally decrease the labor turnover. If the supervisor provide more concern and social support to the employees, they will be more satisfy and the turnover will be decrease. 2.3.1.1.4 The promotion opportunities Price (2001) stated that promotion opportunities are the potential degree of movement to a higher level status within an organization. The promotion opportunities are also the important category to define the employees are satisfy or dissatisfy, because promotion opportunities are usually associated with increase the salary. However, the result show that hotel sector are lack of promotion opportunities rather than not having enough fair promotion policy (Iverson and Derry. 1997). Due to the hotel industry are lack of promotion opportunities, it will reduce the chance to retain the talented employees in the organization. When employees suffering from unfair treatment, they will change their job attitude immediately and may quit in long run (Vigoda, 2000). 2.3.1.2 The Organization Commitment According to Pennstate (2006), organizational commitment is the relative strength of an employees attachment or involvement with the organization where he or she is employed. Organizational commitment is important because committed employees are less likely to leave for another job and are more likely to perform at higher levels. There are three dimensions of organizational commitment, which are affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment. Turnover literature has consistently found a strong relationship between turnover and organizational commitment, indicating that employees with low commitment are likely to withdraw from the organization. Alternatively, a positive relationship has been found between organizational commitment and career progress or internal promotions indicating that promoted employees are more likely to exhibit higher organizational commitment. 2.3.1.3 Work Performance Employees work performance is another factor affecting labor turnover. According to a study conducted by Jewell and Siegal (2003), it was found that the employees having high performance were not willing to leave their jobs. At this point of view, if the employees having low performance leave their jobs for any reasons, labor turnover is not an important matter for the company. On the other hand, if the employees have a high job performance. Low wages, exclusion from prizes, unsuitable jobs are also among the reasons causing low performance and high employee turnover. 2.3.1.4 Personal Reason Some employees also leave their jobs because of personal reasons. A principal reason that employees leave their jobs is lack of incentives (Pizam and Ellis, 1999). Employees may simply want recognition or an opportunity in advance. For example, The Ritz Carlton Company has reduced employee turnover by focusing on quality recruitment, providing better training and orientation, establishing realistic career opportunities and creating long-term incentive and reward systems. 2.3.2 Demographic Factor Most voluntary turnover models include demographic variables such as age, gender, race, tenure, marital status, number of dependents, and educational experience. However, this paper only focuses on the level of education, gender, marital status and age. 2.3.2.1 Level of Education One of the major challenges of the hospitality industry is the retention of highly educated employees. We define highly educated staff as employees who have followed a higher education program at a bachelors or masters level successfully ( Deery and Shaw, 1999). Carbery et al. (2003) noted that those more highly educated managers or non-managers are more likely to intent to make a turnover decision. One research study by (Blomme et. al., 2010), it shows that among alumni of the Hotel School The Hague who are working worldwide has shown that within 6 years after graduation about 70% of all graduates from the hotel school The Hague leave the organization in which they are working. The more highly educated staff will be less easily satisfied with their jobs than those staff with lower education level because the highly educated staff have higher expectations in job status and salary and they may not be willing to join or stay in the hotel industry. In addition, the external labor market s will provide many opportunities for those highly educated people to satisfy their high expectation on financial benefit. (Wong, Siu Tseng, 1999) 2.3.2.2 Gender Some study noted that, the female and male have their particular behavior that would influence the labor turnover. According to a study conducted by(Doherty and Manfredi,2001:62), it was found that women workers leave their jobs more than men workers, because the roles of women have to taking care of children, having baby in a society and doing house work. In addition, Hersch and Stratton (1997) stated that women, especially married women, spend more time engaged in household activities and are substantially more prepared to quit their job for a family-related reason than men . Some women workers also do not want to return to their jobs after having baby. On the other hand, the study conducted by Tang and Talpade (1999), it stated that males tended to have higher satisfaction with pay than females, whereas females tended to have higher satisfaction with co-workers than males. Its means that women tend to rate social needs as more important than men such as working with people and being helpful to other. Men tend to consider pay more important than do women. Women often begin their careers with much lower expectations than men do and they are willing to take career risks and change employers to do so. Finally, women workers usually work at the entry level jobs in hotel and accordingly get less pay than their men co-workers. According to a study conducted by Iverson (2000) in the USA, it was found that women managers in hotel got very less wages than men managers whether in the beginning or top of their careers. In a similar study, it was found that men workers got more wages than women workers got (Burgess, 2000). It was also found that in order to balance the wage differences among men and women workers, basic and routine job were given to women workers than men workers. 2.3.2.3 Marital Status According to Pizam and Ellis (1999), it stated that marital status could influence labor turnover. Those married employees are most concerned with the balance between their work and family life. Hom and Griffeth (1995),stated that married employees will not want to have a voluntary turnover. Because they have many concerns about the financial needs for their family. If they cannot afford the long and unstable working hours, they will tend to give up the job. However, this issue mostly occurs on women. Therefore, they will have more time for family life and take care of their child. On the other side, the unmarried employees will consider factors related to their jobs such as promotion opportunities and organization commitment more than those married employees (Wong, Siu Tsang, 1999). Therefore, they are less satisfied with their job than married employees. 2.3.2.4 Age In recent study, Hartman and Yrle (1996) points out that the Generation Y employee mostly creates the labor turnover in hospitality industry. In addition, the study conducted by Iverson and Deery (1997), it stated that younger employees have a higher propensity to leave than older employees. The problem was arisen in this decade; as the employees born in the baby boomer are retire gradually. The baby boomer is anyone born between 1946 and 1964. They have been through periods of war; therefore have less opportunity in education institutions. They tend to demand more stability in their workplace, and they are very loyalty to their employees. On the other hand, the Generation Y employee who was born between the years 1979 and 1994, they can adapt the changes easily and seek a higher standard of life therefore, they consider more about their interest in the work. Furthermore, they usually change their job, as they want to gain more experience and make their life more diversity. 2.3.3 External Factors The external factors are the factors that we cannot control and very difficult to predict. Some of these factors include political shifts, legislation, new or modified regulations, global economic conditions, technology changes and major mining disasters. In some study, the hotel industry is quite easily influenced by the global economic conditions. The economic situation could predict most of the labor turnover within the industry. Therefore, the unemployment rate affects the employees perception on job satisfaction. If the economic is down turn, the employees who perceive a high level of job dissatisfaction, they may still stay in organization because they dont want to lose their current job and also the job market is a lack of opportunities for them to get a better job. On the other hand, if the economic condition have improve, the employees will leave the organization immediately to find a better job. Therefore, it may create the high level of labor turnover when the economic have improved. In the later part of the literature will focus on how to manage the labor turnover in order to minimize the labor turnover within the hotel industry. 2.4 The cost of labor turnover In the previous section, some of the critical factors that affect the labor turnover are discussed. The following section will focus on the cost of labor turnover and its impact. Labor turnover is a significant cost to hotel and it may be the most significant factor affecting hotel profitability, service quality and skills training. (Davidson et. al., 2009). The cause of labor turnover is multidimensional, such as low morale, low productivity, low standard of performance and absenteeism. According to the statistics from TTF Australia(2006), the annual cost of replacing managerial employees was $109,909 per hotel and the annual cost of replacing operational employees was $9,591 per employee. The total annual cost of turnover ($49M) equates to 19.5% of 64 surveyed hotels total payroll costs ($250M). Another study stated that the Marriott Corporation alone estimated that each 1% increase in its employee turnover rate, costs the company between $5 and $15 million in lost revenues (Schlesinger and Heskett, 1991).Therefore, the cost of labor turnover is very high. Labour turnover is not only a significant tangible dollar cost but also an intangible or hidden cost associated with loss of skills, inefficiency and replacement costs (Lashley Chaplain, 1999). The direct impact of labor turnover will cause financial suffering such as administrative cost and Lashley (1999) refers to lost investment in training and lost staff expertise as particular examples of turnover costs and opportunity costs. For the indirect impacts caused by high labor turnover are lack of manpower, poor quality of service and low morale of employees and also if turnover increases, service quality may decline as it takes time and resources to back fill departing employees, especially at busy hotels (Lynn, 2002). Labour is a significant cost and the leakage of human capital through unnecessary turnover is an element of critical importance to bottom line performance. A number of HRM practices have been suggested as potential solutions for turnover, such as investment in training, offering organisational support, adopting innovative recruitment and selection processes, offering better career opportunities (Cheng Brown, 1998; Forrier Sels, 2003; Hinkin Tracey, 2000; Walsh Taylor, 2007; Walters Raybould, 2007) and adopting measures to increase job satisfaction and commitment. 2.5 How to manage the labor turnover in the hotel industry? High staff turnover is the common problem in hotel industry, it is also a major factor affecting workplace efficiency, productivity, and hotel cost structure. Labor turnover represents a challenge for contemporary HRM strategies and practices. Therefore, in this section, it will turn to focus on how to manage the labor turnover from the human resources perspective. In the previous section, the cost of labor turnover in the hotel is discussed. The total annual cost of turnover ($49M) equates to 19.5% of 64 surveyed hotels total payroll costs ($250M). The turnover cost are very high, thus the awareness of the importance of employees staying with an organization is evident. Hinkin and Tracey (2000) advocate that hospitality executives who understand the value of human capital and adopt organizational policies and management practices in pursuit of employee retention will outperform the competition. Effectively designed and well implemented employee retention programs that increase employee tenure more than pay for themselves through reduced turnover costs and increased productivity (Hinkin and Tracey, 2000). According to 2500 supervisors, managers and executives within this sector, the top five most important aspects a company can provide to retain their people are as follows: communication, Leadership, Career path, development and understanding aspirations and helping the individual towards achieving them.(Baum ,2006) This shows that, the employee are highly concern for this five elements to determine their job satisfaction. Therefore, when HRM design for a retention scheme, they can consider those five elements before their decision. 2.5.1 Training In organizations where employees receive the proper training needed to assume greater responsibilities, turnover rates are generally lower. Several studies show that training activities are correlated with productivity and retention (Delery and Doty, 1996; Huselid, 1995; Kallenberg and Moody, 1994; MacDuffie, 1995; Shaw et al., 1998; Terpstra and Rozell, 1993; US Department of Labor, 1993, Walsh and Taylor, 2007; Youndt et al., 1996). Staff is a unique asset in the company. Therefore, many hotel have invest a huge number of money per year for staff development. Because they realize that provide training to their employees would enhance the organization produtivity and improve their job performance. For the long-term purpose, training can solve the problem of high labor turnover in a hotel. Moreover, the hotel industry are now have a general shortage of the middle management staff. Therefore, the training should be around to develop and train new management personnel. For example, in 2004 Shangri-La Hotel Resorts Shangri-La Academy was born, this is a full-time facility that handles internal training for progression up the ranks. In addition, the Intercontinental Hotel Group also launched an in-house training center in order to groom their high potential employees to take on managerial positions within their company. Those measures of the Shangri-La Hotel and the Intercontinental Hotel Group is to do the retention of their employees and confront the trend of shortage of experienced staff and try to minimize the labor turnover. 2.5.2 Motivate the employee Staff motivation is as vital to success as any skill or personal attribute and its also plays a key role in staff retention. Motivation is the process by which a persons efforts are energized, directed, and sustained toward attaining a goal.(Stephen Coulter, 2006:482) . Staff motivation is a key element in retaining staff and help them increase the job satisfaction thus the labor turnover rate may be decrease. It is essential for the management of hotels to develop efficient HRM polices and practices that enable them to motivate competent employees who can contribute to the achievement of their objectives. This requires employees at different levels of management and at different stages in their career in order to maintain high morale and high performance (Enz and Siguaw, 2000). If hotel managers can satisfy their employees, it will help them to improve customer satisfaction in the long run and retain them. (Tsaur and Lin, 2004). 2.5.3 Employee recognition, rewards and compensation Numerous studies have addressed the impact of employee compensation, rewards and recognition on turnover and retention. If the hotel manager gives more recognition, rewards and compensation to their employees, it can minimize the turnover. Several research studies found that highly competitive wage systems promote employee commitment and thus results in the attraction and retention of a superior workforce (Becker and Huselid, 1999; Guthrie, 2001; Shaw et al., 1998). Shaw et al.s (1998) study further noted that employees will remain with an organization as long as it serves their self-interest to do so better than the alternatives available to them elsewhere. The study also found that companies providing incentive plans to employees are more likely to experience lower turnover rates among non-managerial employees. Milman (2003) concluded that the most significant retention predictors included intrinsic fulfillment and working conditions rather than monetary rewards. Similarly, the study by Walsh and Taylor (2007) revealed that although compensation and work-life balance are important, it is the absence of opportunity for professional growth and development that affects management retention and turnover (Walsh andTaylor, 2007). Section 3: Summary and Conclusions Labor turnover refers to the movement of employees in and out of a business. Labor turnover may enhance firm performance but high labor turnover causes problems for the firm such as lowers productivity and morale. Labor turnover can be divided into two main types: voluntary and involuntary. High labor turnover is a serious problem within the industry all around the world. A range of other variables such as pay, communication, social integration, reutilization, role overload, promotional opportunity, training, supervisor and co-worker support, and distributive justice as having a significant impact upon turnover. The reasons of labor turnover in hotel industry can be classified as work related factors, demographic factors and external factors. For the work related factors, job satisfaction can be defined as pleasantness or unpleasantness of employees while working. It is containing the satisfaction with pay, satisfaction with the work itself, satisfaction with the supervision, satisfaction with the promotion opportunities When the employees with a lack of job satisfaction they will be quitting the job. On the other hand, if the employees have a high job satisfaction, the organization will be fewer labor turnovers.
Development of the ECCE Sector in Ireland
Development of the ECCE Sector in Ireland Anne-Marie Keegan Historical development the role of the government of the ECCE sector in Ireland from the 1960ââ¬â¢s up to and including the present day. I am going to explain the historical development of the ECCE sector in Ireland from the 1960ââ¬â¢s up to and including the present day. I will also cover the following points: Historical development of the ECCE. Equal opportunity legislation. Historical development of the ECCE. Over the past 50 years Ireland has changed completely regarding the government, childcare and its families. Ireland conventionally had a laissez-faire policy approach with regarding the children. Laissez-faire meansâ⬠the policy of leaving things to take their own course, without interfering. A laissez-faire attitude to life (Oxford dictionaries, 2014). The government have now come up with the idea of funding a free preschool year; this was aimed at families that could not afford to send their children to preschool, so therefore this is an advantage for the children aged 3-4 years as they are getting the education they need. As seen in the 1960ââ¬â¢s it was quite a tradition for the men to work on the likes of farms and for the women to stay at home and mind their children. The women were not allowed in the work place in the 1960ââ¬â¢s. All of this change so much during the ââ¬ËCeltic Tigerââ¬â¢. Nowadays you would rarely see as tradition was before, a housewife and a working father. This has also changed family structure over the past 60 years. Whereas nowadays it would be more natural for children to be raised by a one parent family or even step parents. Also now divorce has become more acceptance than before in the 1960ââ¬â¢s where it would have been frown upon. Childcare has been more about mothers than fathers, whereas now the childcare settings are trying to introduce the fathers into this setting as part of diversity. From this setting there are more groups which have been set up to help the children like the following: special needs assistant, childcare committees and after school groups which is a one on one session. Equal opportunity legislation During the past 50 years there has been a major change to equal opportunity in Ireland. The government has brought in the employment equality act 1998. This is based on the 9 grounds of discrimination, which are: Gender Family status Marital status Age Disability Sexual orientation Religion Race Membership of the traveller community. So from the above 9 grounds the childcare setting will abide by these for example there will be no judgement on the children who attend the crà ¨che for example their race or even religion. So I think that the government had the right idea bringing in this legislation as in the 1960ââ¬â¢s they would have discriminated against many people, but now its quite right and fair how people are been treated. There are many different types of discrimination for example: ââ¬Å"Direct Discrimination: Happens where a person is treated less favourably specifically on one of the nine discriminatory grounds. Indirect Discrimination: Happens where there is less favourable treatment in effect e.g. where people are refused a service or employment not explicitly on account of a discriminatory reason but because of a practice or requirement which they find harder to satisfy ââ¬â residentââ¬â¢s association for example. Discrimination by Association: Happens where a person associated with another person is treated less favourably because of that association.â⬠(Equal at work) Other important legislation which the government have brought in regarding the ecce setting is: White paper on early childhood education. Ready to learn (1999) Q2. Discuss two pieces of statutory legislation that the ECCE settings must adhere to protect the welfare of children. I will discuss the following two: 1. Equal Opportunity Act (2000) This act is based on the 9 grounds of discrimination, which are as follows: Marital Status Family Status Race Religion Age Disability Sexual Orientation Gender Membership of the Traveller Community The above 9 grounds of discrimination allow for everybody to receive the same opportunityââ¬â¢s, without been discriminated for example their sexuality or nationality. My understanding of this act is that everyone is entitled to be treated with the same amount of respect as any other person. It also promotes equality and diversity, which is an excellent thing. Childcare Act 1991. From my understanding of this that it has the best interests of the child at heart. It also has high quality standards, for example, the childcare setting should be fully staffed to the national ratios and also to the space provided. The act has now been implemented and basic rights of the children should be met. There has been great measures been met daily to protect children from danger, for example, ââ¬Å"no one waits until a child has been burned by fire or run down by a car to teach them about fires and road safety. ââ¬Å" Donohue and Gaynor. Q3. Discuss and evaluate the children first guidelines for the protection and welfare of children in Ireland. Discuss: This Act came about in 2011, by the minister for children and youth affairs, Ms. Frances Fitzgerald TD. The guidance itââ¬â¢s self-deals with recognising, reporting and the management of child safety concerns. It sets out a number of key points in relation to the protection of children. Some of the key points are the safety and welfare of children, childrenââ¬â¢s wellbeing, saver lives for children and also the reporting of concerns and co-operation with statutory bodies. Children first is national guidance that promotes the protection of children from abuse and neglect. It also states what organisations need to do to keep children safe, and what the general public should do if they have a query about a childââ¬â¢s safety and welfare. The guidelines are set out specifically for the HSE social workers, Gardaà and other forms of professionals working with suspected abuse and neglect. Itââ¬â¢s very important that the different agencies share the information that they have as, as it is in the best interest of the children, which is what the guidance is all about to ensure better outcomes in the future. Anybody can read the childrenââ¬â¢s first document, but it is especially for the HSE social workers, Gardaà and children first staff working directly with the children for example teachers, the health sector and clubs. All organisations have responsibilities, including the likes of schools, Government Departments, public sector agencies, funded organisations and health services. They all have the responsibility to safeguard the children by: Raising awareness within the organisation about potential risks to childrens safety and welfare. Promoting the general welfare, health, development and safety of children. Adopting and consistently applying a safe and clearly defined method of recruiting and selecting staff and volunteers. Developing effective procedures for responding to accidents and complaints. If organisations have concerns for children they should contact the HSE as they will deal with them effectively. Children first was first published in 1999. The principle and substance of the document (2011) are unchanged. The guidance has been updated to reflect new policy, legislation and organisation (HSE, HIQA, DoCYA). The document reflects the ongoing of bullying as a feature of abuse. The guidance will make children safer as the guidance is made fit for purpose. If the public need information on this guidance they can get it in each Garda station, general practioner, primary schools and secondary schools as one hard copy has been provided. People can also get their information off the following sites: www.dcya.ie and www.hse.ie . Evaluation: From reading about the Children First National Guidance 2011, I myself have come up with the following conclusion. It focuses on the child needs, which is quite important. The child is always the Centre, meaning the child always comes first in any of the situations which occur. A person apply to work in the childcare sector, now needs to be fully garda vetted as to the childââ¬â¢s protection is the main priority. The guidance is focused on a saver life for the children and all agencies working together to achieve this. Q4. Outline two pieces of social policy one national and one international. Discuss the impact on the wellbeing of children and families. International: UN Convention. This policy consists of 54 different articles regarding to the rights of a child. It basically gives everyone under the age of 18 the following rights: The right to a name. The right to an education. The right to know their rights and responsibilities. The right to clean water. The right to live and develop. The right to be safe from harm and neglect. The right to privacy. The right to heath care. The right to a nationality. The right to be treated equally and fairly. So as you can see from the above points, the UN Convention is all about focusing on the rights of the child. A from some of the articles which I will mention below, they focus on the wellbeing of the children and their families. Article 2 All children have these rights, no matter who they are, where they live, what their parents do, what language they speak, what their religion is, whether they are a boy or girl, what their culture is, whether they have a disability, whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis. I think this article explains itself really as not one person should feel any different, and everyone should be treated the same so that the families and their children all feel the same and no different from other people. Article 7 You have the right to a name, and this should be officially recognised by the government. You have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country). This means that all is welcome in to a country without feeling left out. Article 9 You have the right to live with your parent(s), unless it is bad for you. You have the right to live with a family who cares for you. All children and their families have the right to live a happy life of their own without any interference from others. This is necessary for their wellbeing. Article 11 You have the right to be protected from kidnapping. All children should be safe from any kind of kidnapping no matter where they live. Article 12 You have the right to give your opinion, and for adults to listen and take it seriously. I really like this article a lot as I believe that if each and every child spoke out about their problems, that it could save lives in later years. It would definitely create a bond with the child and their parents, which is great for both of their wellbeingââ¬â¢s. Article 13 You have the right to find out things and share what you think with others, by talking, drawing, and writing or in any other way unless it harms or offends other people. All children and adults are and should be allowed to express their feelings in whichever way they like, as itââ¬â¢s not a good idea to hold it all inside, As said above its alright unless it harms or offends others. Article 14 You have the right to choose your own religion and beliefs. Your parents should help you decide what is right and wrong, and what is best for you. I believe that everyone should choose their own religion, as there is too much fighting over what religion people are. People should feel safe in which religion they wish to choose, as it is their own choice and they should not be bullied into it. Article 17 You have the right to get information that is important to your well-being, from radio, newspaper, books, computers and other sources. Adults should make sure that the information you are getting is not harmful, and help you find and understand the information you need. Article 20 You have the right to special care and help if you cannot live with your parents. This is necessary in some situations, and sometimes it is for the wellbeing of the child. So therefore it is alright. Article 21 You have the right to care and protection if you were adopted or are in foster care. Article 23 You have the right to special education and care if you have a disability, as well as all the rights in this Convention, so that you can live a full life. I really agree with this article as I believe no matter what all children even with a disability should be entitled to a fair education. An everyone should be treated the same. Article 26 You have the right to help from the government if you are poor or in need. This is very well needed, as some families need help and have nowhere to get it from. This could cause the child to get bullied in school and could lead to low self-esteem, which is not good for their health or well-being. So yes the government should help out. Article 27 You have the right to food, clothing, and a safe place to live and to have your basic needs met. You should not be disadvantaged so that you canââ¬â¢t do many of the things other kids can do. Again this is similar to the above article. Article 29 Your education should help you use and develop your talents and abilities. It should also help you learn to live peacefully, protect the environment and respect other people. If this is done the right way without the child been forced to develop their skills, the child will be amazing at their talent. This will give them a huge confidence boost and make them happy. Article 33 You have the right to protection from harmful drugs and from the drug trade. Each and every child is entitled to live a drug free life; this should not be forced upon them in anyway. Article 34 You have the right to be free from sexual abuse. Article 42 You have the right to know your rights! Adults should know about these rights and help you learn about them, too. All adults should explain the rights of a child to their children, as its good for the adult to learn them too. Articles 43 to 54 These articles explain how governments and international organisations like UNICEF will work to ensure children are protected with their rights. The above articles (italic only) were cited on: http://www.oco.ie/education-and-human-rights/un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child.html So from reading the above and finding out about them, I have learned that the UN Convention is definitely well and truly needed for the safety and well-being of the child and also their families. An each and every person is entitled to these no matter what their circumstances are. An also itââ¬â¢s good that the government will help out those who are in need. People dont actually realise this, but this is actually saving some peoples lifeââ¬â¢s knowing that there is help out there, in which is excellent for their health and well-being in a way. National Constitution of Ireland The constitution is a document in which recognises and declares that the people living in Ireland have certain fundamental rights. These are natural human rights and are protected by the constitution. Not every fundamental right which we have is set out by the constitution, only the rights which are specifically stated in the constitution. Fundamental rights can be limited or even restricted by the oireachtas on the grounds, for example, public order or for the common good. Some of the main constitution rights are: Equality before the law Right to life Freedom of expression Freedom of association Bodily integrity Trial by jury The right to privacy The right to earn a livelihood Freedom to travel The rights of the family All of the above are in relation to the wellbeing of children and their families as they were made to give or make their lives happier. The constitution is all about giving children and their families their basic rights, as one of the above rights is, ââ¬Å"right to lifeâ⬠, every single human should be entitled to this and live it in which way they possibly feel like, without any interference from others. The constitution was made so that everyone including children and their families can live a life of their own, without and interference and to which happiness they would like. This increases their confidence knowing that they have these rights. It was also set up for their protection for example, no person can working the childcare sector without being garda vetted first. This is needed as you need to feel save leave your children a childcare setting, and also the child needs to feel safe and secure. So to sum all of this up the constitution has an extremely important part in a childââ¬â¢s and familyââ¬â¢s health and wellbeing. It is there to help all, an people need to know and learn more about their rights. References Oxford dictionaries. (2014). ââ¬Ëoxford dictionariesââ¬â¢. Oxford university press. UK. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/laissez-faire [assessed 20/02/2014]. Equal at work. ââ¬ËEquality legislation-a summaryââ¬â¢. Ireland: equal at work. Cited on: www.dublinpact.ie/word/equalitylegislation-irl.docââ¬Å½. Accessed on: 21/02/2104. The Ombudsman for children (2110). UN Convention on the rights of the child. The Ombudsman for children. Ireland. Cited on:http://www.oco.ie/education-and-human-rights/un-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child.html accessed on: 25/02/2014. Donohue,J and Gaynor, f. (2011). EDUCATION AND CARE 4TH EDITION in the early years. Spain. Gill and McMillan. Page 162. Word count: 2735. Anne-Marie KeeganPage 1 Development of the ECCE Sector in Ireland Development of the ECCE Sector in Ireland Contents (Jump to) Introduction Historical development of the ECCE sector in Ireland Provisions for ECCE ECCE Scheme DAI Child benefit welfare Public Health Nurses Health Equal opportunity legislation and mention at least three items of legislation and relevant to children Show how you maintain a quality ECCE environment that complies with relevant regulations and standards. First aid Behaviour management Sà olta Conclusion Bibliography Introduction This report will research and discuss the historical development of the ECCE sector in Ireland with relation to the Child Care Act 1991, equal opportunity act and more legislation that set up the grounds in developing the ecce sector. Next it will look at two ECCE provisions set up by the state such as public health nurses and child benefit. Then it will have a look at one health and welfare provision set up by the state. Then it will have a look at the equal opportunity legislation with legislation and policy that affect children in the ECCE sector. Lastly it will show how to maintain a quality ECCE environment that complies with current ECCE regulation and standers with relation to the pre-school regulations and the equal opportunity act. Historical development of the ECCE sector in Ireland In early Ireland most childcare was done at home by the mother or the grandparents. This is because the father in the family main role was to provide for the family and the mothers main role was a home carer. Only a limited few mothers worked outside the home. From the 1960-1990 Ireland was changing immensely with Ireland opening up to European and international ideas and technology base economy urbanizing Ireland causing families to move to cities and towns away from their extended family. More women were joining the workforce by the 1990s because the Celtic tiger, this made advocate support services to start such as Early Childhood Ireland. The Child Care Act 1991 and preschool regulations started the improvement of childcare in Ireland. The 1991 act gave the HSE the duty to promote the welfare of the child but this act was largely unregulated because an inspection system wasnââ¬â¢t established until 1997. The preschool regulation act improved the structure and the process of ch ildcare in Ireland and also set up an inspection system. In 2000 the government came in with the equal Opportunities Childcare Programme for a national development plan was established to improve the quality of childcare and also increased participation. In September 2007 the updated pre-school regulations 2006 came into effect, these regulation gave the childcare practitioners very specific requirements on how their childcare service should be ran such as child to adult ratio, suitable nutritious foods, and register for the children and many more regulations. These are set to improve the quality of all ECCE sectors. The ECCE set up a scheme called the free year programme. This programme is set up to give children a pre-school year to get them ready for primary school and give them the first learning experiences and becomes the start of their social and learning development Provisions for ECCE ECCE Scheme The Early Childhood Care and Education scheme gives parents the choice to put their children into a free year of early childhood care an education if they are aged between 3 years and 3 months and 4 years and 6 months on the first of September in which the service starts. Exceptions can be made if a child is verified as having a special need making a later starting date acceptable. The normal pattern for the free pre-school year is three hours a day over a 38 week period, if you go over these three hours you will be charged extra. Children over the age limit due to special needs might be able to be exempt from the age limit on the ECCE scheme if parents write to the Department of Children and Youth Affairs asking for an exemption from the age limit .Children with a disability are allowed to spread their free year programme over a two year period if they would benefit from this. There is no charge for parents availing this service. The state capitation fee pays these childcare service s to provide the ECCE hours. Parents might be asked to pay for extra activities but these have to be optional and there must be other appropriate activities set up for the children not taking part. DAI The dyslexia association of Ireland (DAI) was founded in 1972 to work with and for people that are affected by dyslexia. The DAI provides information, offers suitable support services and help in representing and raising awareness about dyslexia. Their vision is for a society that is dyslexia friendly where they are able to reach their maximum potential. Everyone with dyslexia has appropriate support and identification to achieve their maximum potential in all aspects in life. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects reading and spelling skills with around 10% of Ireland affected. There are a lot of services the DAI provide such as information services through every form of communication. They have an assessment service that has a team of educational psychologists that work with children young people and adults. They also have other services like tuition for both adults and children who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. For people with dyslexia the dyslexia associatio n website has every single bit of information that someone with dyslexia would need even putting a feature on their page so people with dyslexia who struggle reading black on white can change the background colour of the page to make is easier for them to read Child benefit welfare Parents or guardians can claim child benefit for a child under the age of 16 or under 18 if that child is in a youth reach programme, full time education or has a disability. Child benefit is not eligible for children age 18 of over because in the eyes of the law they are now an adult Child benefit for twins is paid at one and half of the monthly rate for each individual child, other multiple births is double the rate. To apply for child benefit you need to apply within the first month of your childs birth. The month you became guardian of the child or the month you family came to live in Ireland. To keep on child benefit after age 16 for a child with a disability you have to apply a month before the childs 16th birthday. For children in full time education child benefit will continue until the month of June stop and resume that September when they start back at education. EU citizens living in Ireland can claim child benefit even if your child is not in the country, but if he is living in an EU country where regulations apply you should claim for family benefit that you are entitled to there. The child benefit monthly rate is â⠬140 per child it increased by â⠬5 in January of 2015 Public Health Nurses Health Public Health Nurses are usually based in a towns local health centre and they are each assigned to different places and geographical areas all over Ireland. These public health nurses are employed by the health service executive to provide the community with a range of health care services. These services are provided in a range of different places such as community centres, day care centres, schools, health centres and in peoples homes they provide basic nursing care, advice and assistance to all their patients. For terminally ill patients they can provide weekend nursing and twilight nursing. Sometimes public health nurses sometimes visit mothers and their new-born babies. They also visit primary schools in arrangements with the school health services. Public health nurses keep a register for old people and people with a disability and visit them in some areas in Ireland. For people in Ireland with communication difficulties or disorders public health nurses can provide a speech a nd language therapy. Equal opportunity legislation and mention at least three items of legislation and relevant to children The main principles behind the equal status acts are that everyone equally has the right to live and participate in societyââ¬â¢s services without being discriminated against. The people who provide these public services cannot discriminate against the nine grounds of discrimination that are: Race Religion Age Gender Sexuality Disabilities Travelling community Marital status The civil partnership ground In relation to a child care setting all these grounds have to be followed, for example. A member of the travelling community has to be allowed to use all ECCE services and that child cannot be bullied or discriminated against in that service because of the family they come from where they live. A childcare worker has to treat that child the same as any other in their service Another example is for children with a disability such as a child in a wheel chair. Public services must have the facilities to be able to cater for the childââ¬â¢s needs such as wheel care ramps and elevators so the child can freely move around the building Another example is sex; a young boy cannot be discriminated against if he wants to do an activity such as ballet. Just because the majority of people who do ballet are female does not mean the young child should be discriminated against and also girls who want to do activities such as a physically sport such as rugby, this childââ¬â¢s decisions should be respected Show how you maintain a quality ECCE environment that complies with relevant regulations and standards. The preschool regulations are set to improve the standards in child care and to ensure the health, welfare and safety of pre-school children in promoting their development First aid In a childcare building there should always be a first aid box in the building. Should also be a person who has a qualification in first aid in the building at all times. On days outside the building with the children a first aid box should be brought along and the person with the first aid qualification should also come along with the children. This is to make sure if anything happened the child the child-minder is able to help the child. This links with the pre-school regulations 2006 regulation 6 Behaviour management In the 2006 pre-school regulations it clearly states in regulation 9 that: ââ¬Å"A person carrying on a pre-school service shall ensure that no corporal punishment is inflicted on a pre-school child attending the serviceâ⬠(Anon., 2008) Therefore in the childcare setting every child should be respected there should be no practices that are neglectful emotionally or physically harmful, intimidating, degrading or disrespectful. Sà olta Sà olta is the national quality framework for early childhood education, sà olta is made to asses, define and support the improvement of the quality of practice in all ECCE sectors with children in their service ages 0-6 years. The16 standards give all childcare practitionersââ¬â¢ a vision to apply to all aspects of the ECCE practice; some examples of these are standards are: Each child in the service has the right to make their own choices and decisions and all their own choices made should be respected, this is stated in the 4th standards of Sà olta Each child is allowed to take their own initiate in the activities that they do giving them the appropriately level of independence and support in the child problem solving, this is stated in the 1st standard of Sà olta These 12 standards give early childhood and care practitioners a standard of quality in which all sectors of the ECCE must apply in their services. Conclusion In this report it has looked at the historical development of the ECCE sector in Ireland talking about the roles of the family before the Celtic tiger, the childcare act 1991 the pre-school regulations 1996 and 2006, the equal opportunity act 2000 and the ECCE scheme 2010. The report then looks at two state provisions set up by the state, talking about the ECCE scheme set up to help people in disadvantaged and disabled children in Ireland, and the DAI (Dyslexia association of Ireland) set up to help and give people with dyslexia the information needed. Next the report looks at one health and welfare provision state up by the state that are, child benefit for welfare, set up to help parents with children in full time education or children with disabilities and public health nurses as health, set up to provide the community with range of health care services. The report then has a look at the equal opportunity legislation and mentions three items of policy and legislation that are rele vant to children in the ECCE sector. Lastly, the report shows you how to maintain a quality ECCE setting with relevant regulations and standards talking about sà olta and the preschool rights. Bibliography Anon., 2008. northtipperarychild.ie. [Online] Available at: http://www.northtipperarychildcare.ie/docs/Guideline-on-Developing-a-Behaviour-Management-Policy-for-pre-school-services.pdf [Accessed 29 5 2015]. Anon., 2015. [Online] Available at: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/social_welfare/social_welfare_payments/social_welfare_payments_to_families_and_children/child_benefit.html [Accessed 29 may 2015]. Anon., n.d. gillmacmillan.ie. [Online] Available at: http://www.gillmacmillan.ie/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/058/Early_Care_and_Education_Practice_-_Look_Inside_Sample.pdf [Accessed 29 may 2015]. Anon., n.d. siolta.ie. [Online] Available at: http://siolta.ie/ [Accessed 1 june 2015]. Anon., n.d. www.hse.ie. [Online] Available at: http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/LHO/CavanMonaghan/Public_Health_Nurse/ [Accessed 30 may 2015]. dyslexia.ie, n.d. www.dyslexia.ie. [Online] Available at: http://www.dyslexia.ie/
Saturday, July 20, 2019
A Kinder Reader Essay -- Essays Papers
A Kinder Reader When one thinks of stories that improve us as human beings, Aesopââ¬â¢s Fables comes to mind, not the dark, dank, heroinââ¬âlaced world of Mohsin Hamidââ¬â¢s Moth Smoke. But, reading is like fashion, and one manââ¬â¢s cherished plaid pants are another manââ¬â¢s horror. Not all fiction can directly dole out moral advice, such as Jane Austenââ¬â¢s warnings about the dangers of hasty judgment in Pride and Prejudice, but almost all fiction can proffer tales that at the very least expand our range of vision. Moth Smoke brings us, its intended American audience, into the foreign world of modern day Pakistan. The protagonist, Daru, is recently unemployed, in love with his best friendââ¬â¢s wife and cultivating a small heroin addiction. Hamid puts the readers front and center of this foreign world by making them the judges of Daru. To step out of your surroundings, even if only for 245 pages, changes you, makes you unable to step back into the exact mold of a form er self you left behind. Your borders have shifted, been expanded, even if only by a fraction. Terry Eagleton brings these ideas to light in his book, Literary Theory, when he extrapolates on what it means to become a ââ¬Å"betterâ⬠personââ¬âa transformation in which, liberal humanists would argue, literature plays a part.1 At first glance Moth Smoke appears to be a novel left out of the running for this transformative seal of approval. How can a reader be morally transformed by a story that does not teach one how to ââ¬Å"love thy neighborâ⬠but rather the finer details of how to roll a joint while driving? But, after only a few pages Moth Smoke becomes a crash course in moral complexity, throwing readers headââ¬âfirst into uncomfortable situations and then forcing them to make a... ...y sympathetic. So the box is wide. The crime is violent and despicable: the needless killing of a boy. So the box is long. And the defense invokes a grand conspiracy, corruption, which is particularly resonant these days. So the box is tallâ⬠(38). Professor Superbââ¬â¢s dimensions of the box serve as a tangible example of the judgment the reader must make. In each direction, on every axis of the box is a different, but equally valid, moral decision to be made. Transformative literature such as Moth Smoke forces its readers to expand their empathy in order to make such decisions with clarity and conviction. Notes 1. Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1983). 2. All references in the text are to Mohsin Hamid, Moth Smoke (New York: Picador USA, 2000). 3. Eagleton, 210. 4. Eagleton, 208. 5. Eagleton, 208.
Friday, July 19, 2019
heros without faces Essay -- essays research papers
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS Throughout school, many students come in contact with the picture of the six marines raising the American flag in the battle of Iwo Jima. The students also know this picture as a statue that was made to honor all of those that were lost in this tragic battle. James Bradley wanted to change how people looked at this picture or statue. He wanted to give each marine a name to go along with the hand or face that is seen in the picture. James, when writing the book, makes each chapter the next stage in each of the six men lives. James Bradley begins the book by giving the reader the background of each of men. The men, oddly enough, represent how America was before World War II started. There is the farmer, Franklin Sousley, the rancher, Harlon Block, the mill worker, Rene Gagnon, the Native American, Ira Hayes, the immigrant, Mike Strank, and the serious small towner, Jack Bradley, which when placed together form a cross-section of America. After outlining all the marinesââ¬â¢ history, James Bradley, then goes into why America is in the war in the pacific with Japan. He also goes into father detail as to why the six men joined the marines. Along with the six marines, James explains what characteristics in this war make it different, such as amphibious warfare. This is the method where Marine Corps troops go ashore onto Pacific islands from ships to assault the enemy (Webster Dictionary). Another important fact that he brings up, is why the battle of Iwo J...
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Revenge and Release in High School Lexicography :: Education Teaching Lexicography Essays
Revenge and Release in High School Lexicography Eighteenth Century British literature can be a hard sell for high school students: excepting Gulliverââ¬â¢s Travels, it seems they would rather chew through the ossified gum underneath their desks than the periodââ¬â¢s personal essays and heroic couplets. Given their general reaction to the century, studying Dr. Johnsonââ¬â¢s lexicography would not seem a sure-fire plan for pedagogical fireworks. Nevertheless, it was; I had underestimated the emotional potential of high school lexicography. Simply reading portions of Johnsonââ¬â¢s A Dictionary of the English Language did not ignite my studentsââ¬â¢ interest, but reading his entries with the prospect of writing their own caused a few mental sparks. It was, however, the process of defining and sharing these words--their words and their world--that brought literary ignition amidst a seemingly inflammable century. Why? There are peripheral reasons which I will discuss, but the central fuel was the emotional element of lexi cography, the potential for revenge and release. Our crucial first step was acquaintance with "the Great Lexicographer" (Dixon 220). We needed the invigoration of knowing the man, and his friend Boswell introduced us. In our textââ¬â¢s excerpt from his The Life of Samuel Johnson, the passage which ingratiated Johnson with students was his initial joke at the biographerââ¬â¢s expense: for with that quickness of wit for which he was so remarkable, he seized the expression "come from Scotland," which I used in the sense of being of that country: and, as if I had said that I had come away from it, or left, retorted, "That, Sir, I find, is what a very great many of your countrymen cannot help." (578) Perhaps Johnsonââ¬â¢s cockiness or Boswellââ¬â¢s reaction--"This stroke stunned me a good deal; and when we had sat down, I felt myself not a little embarrassed, and apprehensive of what might come next" (578)--resonated with the studentsââ¬â¢ experience. Either way, reading and discussing this passage coalesced the 18th C. parlor and the 20th C. locker room, instilling some respect and preconditioning recognition of Johnsonââ¬â¢s witty agenda. Analysis of Johnsonââ¬â¢s preface to A Dictionary of the English Language deepened their relationship with the lexicographer. We appreciated his sarcasm in contrasting his labor with that of other scholars and artists: Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries . . . doomed only to remove rubbish and clear obstructions from the paths through which learning and genius press forward to conquest and glory, without bestowing a smile on the humble drudge that facilitates their progress.
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