Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Role of Men in Society Has Transformed Immensely

The role of men in society has transformed immensely. According to Dr. Phil, if men want to be successful in their marriage and family life, they have to change and broaden their definition of what it means to be successful as a man. Being a good provider, protector, leader and teacher is a privilege that comes with responsibilities that many men aren't aware of. A Provider Most men believe that being a good provider means supporting a family financially. It means much more than that. A man should also contribute to the emotional, spiritual, physical and mental well-being of his family. In order to do this, he must recognize that there are other currencies, in addition to money, that need to be provided. A Protector This means more than beating up the guy next door if he insults your wife. It means protecting her self-esteem and self-worth as well as your children's. It can also mean protecting your way of life and guarding against any threats to the things that you and your family value. A Leader Instead of waiting for your wife to take the initiative when you are having problems, take the lead. Get in the game and create what you want in your family instead of whining about your family situation. Marriage is not a 50/50 partnership. It's a 100/100 partnership. That means you give 100 percent. And remember, you get what you give. A Teacher What are you teaching those around you — especially your children — with your behavior? It's important to provide a good example for your children, loved ones and community with both words and deeds. Set high standards and teach by doing. The traditional roles of men and women were established to ensure the power of the head of household. Historically speaking, that head of household was always male. But the rapidly developing world has brought about many changes into the traditional roles of both men and women. We have been socialized to expect men to be brave, industrious and domineering, whereas women have been expected to be submissive, timid and nurturing. Nowadays, however, women do not have to rely on their husbands anymore to provide a financial support for the home and in many cases they become breadwinners and head of the home themselves. Thus, these changes have resulted in male losing his image and ego as the dominant gender in society. First of all, it is not possible to talk about the changing role of men without mentioning the transformation that the female role has come through. The contemporary social situation was caused in large degree by women anticipation and making them more â€Å"equal† to men. Females are not forced to stay at home nursing children and making diners, they are free to go to work and pursue a successful career. And even if a woman chances to bear a child, now she is encouraged to return to work as early as possible and in fact reproved if she does not. Therefore, in many cases men are expected to take over the duties of a housewife. Before long, it is men who do the everyday laundry, it is men who prepare children for school and pick them up afterwards, it is men who cook dinners and sew a button onto a worn out shirt. Especially if the woman’s career happens to be more successful and profitable. Hence, the purpose of men as the ‘alpha male', provider and protector within the family unit and the community as a whole, has become obscured and belittled. The vision between roles of men and women became blurred, leaving modern men in state of bewilderment. It is also key to look at the way in which the role of man as strong and masculine has become cliche. On the one hand, the stereotype of a strong, hunky, masculine man straight from the Marlboro advertisements falls into decline. Brutal, strong and ruthless men were long ago vigorously condemned. However, the new type of a man – gentle, sensitive, caring, grooming himself, not being afraid of giving vent to his feelings, a man who, when in need, will put on his shoulders the burden of taking care of house and children – still evokes mixed feelings due to making the impression of being too feminine. There are however opinions that men simply live up to the women’s expectations. The survey carried out last year asked men what it means to be a man in the 21st century, and â€Å"more than half think that society tries to feminize them, turning them into waxed and coiffed metrosexuals, and 52 per cent say that men have to live according to women's rules. † In the 90s the perception of a man was changing more than ever. The androgynous look was desired, and models who displayed womanly characteristics had more jobs than those looking like Brad Pitt. On account of that more and more males were following the trend of metrosexualism. Recently, it has been taken into extremes, where wearing a pink jumper is not perceived gay anymore, but rather as a manifestation of masculinity. Only men who do not show an exaggerated concern for their manliness and feel self-confident are not afraid to see themselves in pink. But it is not only the fashion trend that pushes men to pay more attention to their appearance, getting their nails polished by professional beauticians, or to step into shoes of â€Å"the lady of the house. It is in fact the lack of proper male models to copy. Let’s face it. Schools, places on which the life of every adolescent focuses, are overcrowded with female teachers. Thus, unlike their female peers, and during their formative developmental period, the young males have little opportunity to experience positive male role models. In consequence, when seeking some ideal to conform to boys tend to choose the person that guides them throughout most of their lives, and who unsurprisingly often happens to be the mother. Accordingly, men are desperately needed in all aspects of society to provide the male perspective. The blurred vision between the roles of men and women as well as more tolerant and modern society allowed women to take up jobs which were in the past years reserved only for men, and reversely. Men also go for jobs earmarked for women, such as dancers, hairdressers, even beauticians, and very often happen to be very successful. This does not mean that they are gay or effeminate. This is just another aspect of the evolution of society and meeting the needs of professional tolerance. All in all, the male role has not changed drastically in contemporary society. Looking from the angle of functionality, it is men in who we rest our hopes for holding power and solving everyday life issues. For this reason the majority of population still considers men the only breadwinners even though the reality evolved to the extent that is not necessarily true. Men's behavior has changed, their lifestyles as well, and their roles might also have gone some major transformations. But none of that matters, after all, sensitive, vulnerable women will always need beside them a shoulder to cry on.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Roll of thunder hear my cry

Tailor's novel shows how racism and injustice continues even after when black slavery was ended as it is an unfortunate part of America's history. Cassia experiences racism and injustice in the store at Strawberry since she was treated unfairly since she had to give priority to white people in the queue Just because of the color of her skin. In this essay, it will contain how racism and injustice Is shown when Cassia was at the store, how It affects the reader and the Intentions of the author In this passage.Racial discrimination Is when you are showing abusive behavior towards members of another race, In this case It Is Mr.. Barnett discriminating Cassia. Injustice Is shown throughout the passage as white people were superior to black people as they were segregated by the Jim Crow Laws which gave white people more power over black people. In the passage, Mildred D Taylor shows that racial discrimination still existed during the Great Depression as Cassia was racially abused. For exa mple, â€Å"Whose little Ruggeri Is this! This reveals that Mr.. Barnett Is a racist person as he Is purposely calling classes a â€Å"Ruggeri† which Is offensive to black people. The writers intention to use the word â€Å"Niger† was to show that it was an alternative word to call a black person and how it was used frequently during the Great Depression and the slavery times towards black people. This makes the reader understand the word â€Å"nighÐ’Â « was a word used every day and offensively towards black people during the Great Depression.It was also so common that white people felt it was alright to say â€Å"inning towards a black person since there was no consequences for saying a racist word as black people were inferior. However, even Hough the word â€Å"Niger made Cassia angry since she doesn't understand that white people were superior during the Great Depression but Stacey seems to understand and had to accept this as he is older than Cassia so th erefore, he has experienced more things such as this event but inside him, he retains his anger as he knows the consequences.This creates an effect on the reader as he/she would think this is vile and disgusting so therefore, since Cassia loves making revenge plans, the reader would be eager meaning that he/she will continue reading to find out more. This elapse the reader to understand that even after when black slavery was ended, black people were still continuously discriminated with the word â€Å"Niger† as the Jim Crow Laws kept white people superior to black people. Mildred D Taylor also shows that Injustice still existed during the Great Depression as black people were not allowed to question/speak up for themselves.For example â€Å"This gal your, Hazel? ‘ ‘No sun,' answered the women meekly, stepping hastily away to show she had nothing to do with me†. This shows that black people wasn't allowed to speak up for themselves because of the UK Klux Kla n as they threatened black people. The Jim Crow Laws allowed white people to gain superiority over black people so therefore; If a white person killing a black person, the white person will not be charged meaning that Injustice existed even when slavery was finished so black people lived In fear as Hazel was â€Å"stepping hastily away to show she had nothing to do with† Classes.The writer's Intention was to show that black people wasn't allowed to speak up for themselves so therefore, they still didn't have freedom even after slavery was ended people. This helps the reader to understand that during the Great Depression, black people were muzzled by white people because there was a lot of injustice and racism towards black people which made black people inferior. In the passage, black people were not allowed to touch white people which made black people inferior. For example, â€Å"and tugged on his shirt sleeve to get his attention.He recoiled as if I struck him†. Thi s shows that some white people like Mr.. Barnett didn't like to be touched by black people because he thinks that they are dirty and disgusting as he â€Å"recoiled† when Cassia tried to get his attention. From this, the writer's intention is to show that white people didn't like being in contact with black people as they think they are too superior to them during the Great Depression. The writer also showed that black people was viewed as dirty people so therefore, white people didn't allow black people to touch them.This helps the reader to understand that not only black people was discriminated but they wasn't allowed to touch white people which means they didn't have freedom as they couldn't touch white people and they were treated like filth. The writer also intended too â€Å"recoiled as if I struck him†. This creates an effect n the reader as it gives a better imagery of how Mr.. Barnett reacted when Cassia tried to get his attention. If a black person touched a white person then the black person would be punished and would probably be lynched Just because he touched a white person.This is similar to Emmett Till's case but instead he said â€Å"Bye, baby' to a white female as he was leaving a store but then he was tortured and murdered because of what he said. This shows that black people had no freedom as they could only do certain things towards a white person but instead white people would be able to do anything to them. In the passage, Mildred D Taylor shows that racial discrimination and injustice continued during the Great Depression as black people were treated unfairly. In this case, Mr.. Barnett treated Cassia as an inferior person so he told Cassia to get her â€Å"little black self back over there and wait some more†.This reveals that black people had to be served last in a queue which shows that black people were treated unfairly during the Great Depression as Cassia was forced to wait longer even though she waited for a while. Mr.. Barnett also shows no respect towards black people as he said â€Å"little black self†. The writer's intention is to show that black people was racially discriminated in a shop as they were treated unfairly and had to wait until all the white people was served during the Great Depression.This helps the reader to understand that even black children was racially discriminated during the Great Depression as Cassia had to wait longer until all white people was served but Cassia understands that adults â€Å"ruled things and there was nothing that could be don't about them. † This reveals that Cassia understands things about adults but doesn't understand why white people are superior to white people and also made Cassia upset as she was being so kind to Mr.. Barnett but Mr.. Barnett responded rudely.In conclusion, this passage helps the reader in many ways to understand the theme of racism and injustice such as understanding how life was like being a black per son during the Great Depression, how unfair it was and how they lived in fear such as when Cassia was racially abused by Mr.. Barnett. Injustice and racism is shown throughout the passage as Mr.. Barnett racially discriminates Cassia. The passage also helps the reader to understand the theme of racism and as when Hazel was scared and had to be silenced by Mr.. Barnett.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Administration and Politics Dichotomy

Woodrow Wilson’s essay, â€Å"The Study of Administration† (1887), is about the separation of politics and administration in public administration. There is still a lot of debating among politicians and scholars alike whether this dichotomy is practical or not. There are some advantages and disadvantages about this theory. Wilson believed that it was needed to discover what the government could successfully do and how it could be done more efficiently; that the government needed to be reformed. He developed this theory because of increased corruption, urbanization and immigration.Due to these issues, he believed that less qualified people were getting public service jobs, therefore contributing to the increasing inefficiency of public administration. Wilson felt that politics should determine what the government should actually do and be decided by elected representatives. He believed administration should be the ones to put these policies into effect by appointed civil servants. In a euphoric world a political administration dichotomy would provide a solid foundation to a nation. It could even be beneficial in a society that is evolving; such as Administration and Politics Dichotomy 2 ne coming out of a third world status, the fall of a dictatorship, or even the overthrow of communism or socialism. This form of government can work well at a small town environment where there is a town manager to run the day to day operations of the community and a board of alderman (possibly also known as town council) that creates the laws the community operates under. That being said, it is my opinion that in today’s United States of America, separating politics and administration is not something that can be done successfully.Throughout the years politics has become more complicated, which means the line etween them has become very blurry. All levels of the government have come to rely on each other more and more. For example, every day new policies and laws are made or amended, and that means more people on more levels need to be consulted. Life is ever- changing, and so are all of the policies. The major advantage of implementing political administration dichotomy is politicians and administrators would be operating of the same philosophy of doing the right thing and not off of doing what each political party says. It could provide rationale Administration and Politics Dichotomy 3 or insulating the practice of public administration from political interference. A disadvantage of implementing a political administration dichotomy at the national level in a modern industrial nation that was previously run by a democratic government, such as the United States of America, would require having an exclusive relationship between the politicians who create political policies and the public administrators who oversee the administrative processes. This would remove the check and balance system established in the United States Constitution. These checks and balances have become the foundation of law in this country.Wilson’s public administration dichotomy theory would make the governmental life so much simpler. Unfortunately, the world and the people in it are anything but simple. To believe that we could have one group of people make up the policies, and another to put those in to action without those people relying on each other’s opinions and knowledge is absurd. The idea is so simple, but implementing it would be so complicated. The debate about the practicality of this dichotomy had been going on since it was written in 1887, and will probably still Administration and Politics Dichotomy

Adolescents are not in turmoil,not deeply disturbed and not resistant Research Proposal

Adolescents are not in turmoil,not deeply disturbed and not resistant to parental values - Research Proposal Example Adolescence is commonly perceived as that stage of physiological, mental, and emotional development between childhood and adulthood. Generally taken as the â€Å"pre-teen† to â€Å"teen† ages, usually at the onset of puberty until about 18 or 19, the period of adolescent development pertains to a rather diverse range of determinant influences including social, environmental, religious, even cultural factors for the concept to be framed in more definitive terms. In this paper, the context adopted by the American Psychological Association (A.P.A.) in its scientific publication titled â€Å"Developing Adolescents: A reference for Professionals† shall be, likewise, adopted: â€Å"There is no standard age range for defining adolescence. Individuals can begin adolescence earlier than age 10, just as some aspects of adolescent development often continue past the age of 18. Although the upper age boundary is sometimes defined as older than 18 (e.g., age 21 or 25), there is widespread agreement that those in the age range of 10 to 18 should be considered adolescents.† (p. 2) The stage of adolescence is definitely the most exciting period of most everyone’s life. The period of discoveries and learning on your own, the time of exciting encounters and relationships, of heightened interests in new and more exciting things than dolls and matchboxes, it is that time in our lives that almost every adult, if not every adult, would look back to with fondness and great relish. It is the period of our lives when we looked at everything in the world with more intense interest and passion. Child psychologist Gregory Ramey at Dayton Children’s in his Dayton Daily News article titled Adolescent Turmoil writes, â€Å"Teens feel the world so passionately. They live life differently from the rest of us. They experience intense sadness at things that appear trivial and escalate to extreme excitement at seemingly insignificant eventsâ€Å". He continues further, â€Å"They enjoy

Sunday, July 28, 2019

The Preschool I Visited Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Preschool I Visited - Assignment Example Some came in rushing to say good morning while others took their time and politely waited for the others. At 9:05, the teacher called the attention of the children and asked them to go to their proper seats. They started the day with a short prayer led by one of the students. The attendance was checked through a welcoming song wherein names were being mentioned. After the teacher and students greeted each other, they moved on to the morning exercise. Together with a model student, the teacher led the stretching routine. The children obediently followed and performed the exercise drill. By 9:20, they formed a circle and the children took turns in briefly expressing themselves as to how they felt that day. Most of the children were eager to talk to the teacher reminded them that they had to wait for their turn. It proved to be a wonderful start since all of them concluded that they felt happy that morning. At 9:40, they arranged their chairs and the teacher started with the Science les son. The teacher talked about plants and their different parts. They then went outside and the children were asked to draw a plant that they have particularly observed. The kids were ecstatic while going out of the classroom and animatedly talked with each other about the plant that they want to draw. Their drawings were collected at 10: 25 and the teacher asked them to wash their hands for snack time. The children were very excited as they brought out their food. The teacher and volunteer parent went around and assisted the students in opening their snacks. Some of the children went out and played some games while the others contentedly chewed on their sandwiches. At 10:50, the children were asked to settle down and keep their food. Some of them did not go inside immediately so two girls told them to come inside the room. They were also requested to clean their area. Many of them promptly threw their trash.  

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Issues of virtualisation and their impact on computing approaches Dissertation

Issues of virtualisation and their impact on computing approaches - Dissertation Example An investigation of the key characteristics of the implementation of virtualisation and its usefulness for future computation Amrik Singh Samra BSc. ... anagement platform 19 Figure 4: Virtual machine structures (Type I on left, Type II on right) 19 Figure 5: Functions and responsibilities of the VMM 20 Figure 6: The protection rings in the x86 architecture 23 Figure 7: Diagrammatic representation of paravirtualization 28 Figure 8: Illustration of seamless virtualisation in VirtualBox 30 List of tables Table 1: Table of Risks 11 Table 2: Types of VM emulators, their key features and examples 20 Table 3: Levels of abstraction involved in virtualisation technologies 21 Table 4: Key advantages and drawbacks for each level of abstraction 21 Table 5: Comparison of virtualisation types in terms of performance and flexibility 29 Application virtualisation – â€Å"The process of running software from a remote server† (EC-Council, 2010) Break out attack – â€Å"A situation in which criminals will escape from a virtual machine designed for guests in order to launch attacks against the hypervisor, allowing them to gain con trol over the host† (Esforsys, 2009c). High Performance Computing (HPC) – The use of parallel processing for running advanced programs quickly, efficiently and reliably Hypervisor – This is like the kernel or core of a virtualisation platform, also called the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) with access to the host’s physical hardware (VirtualisationAdmin, 2008). Network virtualisation – â€Å"A method of combining the available resources in a network by splitting up the available bandwidth into channels to particular servers or devices in real time† (EC-Council, 2010) Privileged Software Nucleus (PSN) - A miniature resident program in the operating system similar to a kernel (Exforsys, 2009) Run-Time System (RTS) – A piece of software designed to support the execution of a program Sandbox – The secure

Friday, July 26, 2019

Cancer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Cancer - Essay Example Thyroid hormones are essential for the regulation of blood pressure, heart rate, metabolism and temperature of body, influences nervous system, muscular system and other systems as well. Regulation of the hormone produced by this gland may result in hyperthyroidism (Graves' Disease) or hypothyroidism. Thyroid cancer is considered as an uncommon type of cancer. Thyroid cancer is categorized into four groups encompassing papillary, medullary, follicular and anaplastic thyroid cancers. Lumps or masses grow in thyroid which are benign in ninety-five percent of cases. There is always a propensity that they may spread to other body parts if remain untreated (Web. "Thyroid Cancer", n.d.). Epidemiology The American Cancer Society reveals that around 17,200 cases of thyroid cancer appear each year, this number contributes to 1 percent of all the cancer cases prevalent in United States. Women are considered to be three times more prone to display the symptoms of thyroid cancer as compared to m en. Problems related to thyroid hormone is common in teenagers, adolescents and younger individuals, but thyroid cancer is known to develop at the age of over 50 years (Web. "Thyroid Cancer", n.d.). Worldwide estimations reveal that more than 862,000 individuals diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2003 were alive in 2008 (Web."Thyroid cancer incidence statistics", n.d.). Genetic-associated risk factors: chromosome(s)/gene(s) involved Genes are responsible for the metabolism of the organism, they control the functions of the cells. Cancers initially progress from the normal cells and gradually gain the potential to multiply unusually and ultimately become malignant. These malignant cells proliferate clonally and form tumors which in due course impend to turn metastatic. Cancer, also known as malignant neoplasm, the hallmark characteristic involves uncontrolled proliferation of cells. Under normal conditions cell grow, divide and die, but in cancer cells the defect takes place at the gen e level leading to the formation of an abnormal DNA. As genes are the basic control machine of the cell, alteration of any kind may bring devastating consequences, or malignancy. Autosomal dominance inheritance of mutated gene (only single cope) could lead to thyroid cancer, although its prevalence is only 1 percent. The inheritance of defective gene could be estimated with genetic testing. Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) contributes to 5 percent of thyroid cancers. Genetic conditions playing role in inheritance of MTC are multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) 2A, 2B as well as familial medullary thyroid carcinoma (FMTC). On the other hand, papillary and follicular thyroid cancers contribute to 90 percent of all thyroid cancers (Web. "The Genetics of Thyroid Cancer", 2011). Risk factors other than genetics Risk factors enhances the chance of developing cancer. In most of the cases, thyroid cancers are sporadic. About 10 percent of the thyroid cancers are inherited (5 percent papillary, and follicular, while 25 percent MTC). Other risk factors involve gender (women are more prone), age (2/3 of the cases are reported between 20 and 55 years), while anaplastic thyroid cancer is reported after 60 years of age. Radiation exposure (X-ray treatment to treat tonsillitis), exposure to radioactive iodine in childhood days enhance the chances of papillary and follicular thyroid cancers. Low iodine in diet may also cause thyroid cancer (Web. "Thyroid Cancer- Risk Factors", 2013). Symptoms Typical

Thursday, July 25, 2019

A losed-Loop Theory of Motor Learning Term Paper

A losed-Loop Theory of Motor Learning - Term Paper Example The basic aspects must be executed properly in order to enable one to focus and direct attention to other concerns. As practice continues under proper conditions, certain changes will definitely take place. Learning is conducted through distinctive stages that start with cognitive concepts to automatic performance concepts. 1. Gliding through the ice, where this was the earliest form of ice skating. This was featured in the older types of skates that were made of bones. This allowed the skaters to glide or rather slide over the surface of the ice. The principle in gliding on the bone-made skates was possible due to the larger surface area in contact with the ice, along with the thin film of water between the skates and the ice surface. 2. Cutting into the ice, which is the modern adaptation of ice skates. These skates feature a metallic blade (mostly steel), which would then cut through the ice to a certain depth which therefore aided in motion in traversing through the ice. The sharp edges in the edge of the skates aides in moving through the ice due to the fact that the sharp edges provide low friction in moving through the ice. This method though adopted in modern ice skates, was developed between the thirteenth and fourteenth century by the Dutch. The birth of ice skating dates back to the BC era, three thousand years back. As mentioned earlier, the early forms of skates were made from bones, specifically animal bones dues to the rigidity in the structure. It was later that metal was used to replace animal bones. Animal bones along with leather were used to make skates that were known as ‘schenkel’ by the Dutch, who the early inventors or discoverers were of ice skating. Ice skating then gained major popularity in the United States of America, during the civil war era (Kleim et al. 2002).  

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Lester Electronics Gap Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Lester Electronics Gap Analysis - Essay Example The process of merger is set in motion by Shang-wa CEO John Lin, as he thinks that the merger will give his company a much needed secured future. On the other hand, Lester Electronics CEO Bernard Lester feels that the merger will prevent future revenue losses. These merger plans were initiated by the actions of two other companies, Transnational Electronics and Avral Electronics, who try to take over Shang-wa and Lester Electronics respectively. But, if the merger plans between Lester and Shang-wa gets actualized it will nullify the other two companies take over bid. Along with that advantage, the merger will also create a lot of opportunities and bring in profits. But, even with all the opportunities, there exist some financial issues or threats that will cause the merger to fail. So, the correct decision has to be taken after analyzing the key financial issues, with the involvement of all the key people and departments, including the accounts department and its head Anne Lorale. â €Å"Good decision-making starts from the right place† (Paul & Elder, 2006 In the scenario, the merger of Lester and Shang-wa could spring up many issues particularly in the financial sector. Normally, in times of merger between two companies existing in different countries, the financial issues have to be dealt firstly, to make the merger a success. So, Shang-wa’s balance sheet and incomes statement has to be properly analyzed by Anne Lorale and her team, before going with the merger. As the income statements will clearly gauge the financial performance of a company over a specific period of time, it will surely aid Lester to grasp the financial condition as well as the value of economic assets of Shang wa. From the analysis of the financial statements, it is clear that the merger of Shang wa and Lester would lead to a low debt to equity ratio, increasing the chances of bankruptcy in the long run. The other issue that will arise in

Your pick of this week's news Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Your pick of this week's news - Assignment Example She taught in various places including at Tufts, New England College and the Bread Loaf Writers’ conference. She was good in memorizing and encouraged her students to follow suit. She did her Bachelor’s degree in history and literature and later masters in comparative literature at Radcliffe. Her career began in the late 1950’s after enrolling at a local poetry-writing workshop where she met Ms Sexton who was very influential in her works. This article carries information about the late Maxine Kumin who was an award-winning author and poet. It breaks the news of her demise as well giving further analysis of her legacy. In support of the ideas presented, the article writer has quoted some of the works that Kumin did and their significance. For example, she uses her poem â€Å"Almost Spring, Driving Home, Reciting Hopkins† to demonstrate that she was a star swimmer. Her other works that the newspaper writer cites include; â€Å"How It Is,† â€Å"Highway Hypothesis,† and â€Å"Homecoming.† However, Fox has also mentioned quite a number of her works. Fox has given some information about her background but lacks adequate information as concerns the career path. There is a missing link of what she was up to in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s. The quality of writing is quite impressive but the quotations have occupied a big chunk of the work. Generally, the information provided is relevant tough it wo uld have been enriched further. Fox, Margalit. Maxine Kumin, Pulitzer-Winning Poet with a Naturalist’s Precision, Dies at 88. The New York Times. Web. 8 Feb 2014.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

The Definition of an Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Definition of an Organization - Essay Example The researcher states that goals are specific, measurable and timely targets that each organization has put forward to improve its status quo. In order to realize the mission, vision, and goals, it is vital that all the stakeholders work as a team. The management ensures that every employee understands the goals clearly and that each is working towards their realization. The shared mission, vision, and goal are achieved through monitoring and evaluation. The management has a role of monitoring the performance of every employee in an effort to know whether they are working in the right direction. Any activity that employees engage in must be geared towards the achievement of the organization’s goals. With the shared vision, mission, and goals, an organization is able to avoid confusion and conflicts. It also fosters discipline in the workplace and providing employees with a sense of direction. Through evaluation, goals could be readjusted when it is determined that they are not in line with the mission and vision of an organization. The management may measure the performance of an organization from time to time in order to know whether the goals have been achieved, and make any necessary recommendations. With the shared vision, mission, and goals, many organizations ensure that decision-making process is inclusive in nature. The relevant internal and external stakeholders are included in the decision-making processes. Allowing all the relevant stakeholders to take part in the decision-making processes has been associated with the reduction of conflicts in an organization. In his theory of change, Lewin indicated that lack of inclusiveness in decision-making was the major cause of resistance to change. The stakeholders have a right to know the changes that the management seeks to introduce and their importance. In most cases, resistance to change is caused by the fear of unknown, and vested interests.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Strategy and Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Strategy and Human Resource Management Essay 1. What is the difference between Corporate Strategy (or strategy formulation) and Business Unit Strategy (Strategy Implementation)? The strategy formulation is about making choices, decisions and plans for the organization. Strategy Implementation is about the ways and means to achieve those plans, decisions and choices. How to execute the strategy decisions or plans. Strategy formulation comes before strategy implementation. Strategy formulation talks about business strategy which determine how should the organization compete with others, and corporate strategy which determines where should the organization compete with others. Global strategy which determines where and how should the organization compete with others around the world. Strategy implementation talks about organizational design which determines how should the organization organized and put the formulated strategy into practice, and corporate governance, business ethics, and strategic leadership which determines what type of strategic leadership and corporate governance does the organization need and how to anchor the decision in business ethics. 2.Why is that distinction important for a firm that operates in different product markets? These distinctions can help the firm gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. In every competitive situation the winners are always those firms with better strategy. â€Å"A firm that formulates and implements a strategy that leads to superior performance relative to other competitors in the same industry or the industry average has a competitive advantage.†(Chapter 1 Strategic management) and these advantage could lead firm to success in their business. 3. What role does (or should) HR play in Strategy Formulation? HR people play in a role that clarify future management performance expectations and figure out the methods to achieve the expectations. Furthermore, HR people should help the organization to make right decisions and determine business  missions, plans and resources. Finally, ensure the objectives and action plans fit the business strategy. 4. What role does (or should) HR play in Business Unit Strategy? HR people should play in a role that help the organization to develop the means and methods to achieve the organizational change, developing employment relations, cultural learning, and ensure the execution of strategy. Ultimately, HR helps the organization to increase their ability in business action and changing and finally achieve the goal of gaining and sustaining competitive advantages.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Overview of Brazils macro environment

Overview of Brazils macro environment Being one of the members of the Big Four BRIC countries, Brazil experienced the economic downturn and bust and has been hampered by excessive indebtedness and high inflation in the past. Since 1990s, Brazil has implemented numerous policies with government and authorities support to launch the reform. Brazils economies started to growth rapidly after policies and stabilization plan were implemented. Moreover, the ongoing sound marco-economic and social policies have extended the period of stability, growth and social gains (WorldBank, 2010). Thus, the continuous development of its interior for hosting the World Cup and Olympic Games in 2014 and 2016 respectively can pursue industrial and agricultural growth. With the vast natural resources, labor pool and trading opportunities to other foreign countries therefore significantly increased in Brazil and more foreign investors were attracted. Nowadays, it has become a regional leader with leading economic power of South America that is one of the first in the area to begin an economic recovery (InvestorPlace, 2010). Overview of Brazils macro-environment In this section, it is going to overview Brazils macro environment by applying PEST analysis and the few aspects are being discussed as follow. PEST Analysis PEST analysis is analyzing the external environment which is analyzing the factors of Marco-environment. It includes Political factors, Economic factors, Sociological factors and the Technological factors (Jobber, D., 2004). Political Factors Refer to Figure 2.1, Brazil has the stable political climate which under the leadership of the communist party. The legal system of it is based on the Roman Codes (CIA, 2010). Brazil has 26 administrative divisions and the government is divided into executive branch, legislative branch and judicial branch (CIA, 2010). In addition, it perceived the corruption problem as ranked 75th position out of 180 nations of the transparency Internationals 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index (Transparency, 2010). In addition, Brazil involved within the free trade agreement that is signed by the United States, Central America and Dominican Republic which benefited Brazil for trading opportunities (BusyTrade, 2010). Furthermore, it launched the Growth Acceleration Plan in 2007 to develop and steady the economic growth (WorldBank, 2010) Being one of the emerging economies in the world, Brazils economy is growing at a moderate but steady level with continuous growing GDP. Refer to Figure 2.2 which is figured out that the GDP of Brazil is constant growth during 2000 to 2007 significantly.and maintained the sustainable growth to 2008. From Figure 2.3, Brazil weathered the global financial downturn with relatively minor impacts.  The country was one of the last to fall  into recession in 2008 and among the first to resume growth in 2009. With the large growth in agricultural, manufacturing and mining, it ranked highest among the South American countries with the strong position in the global economy (Tradingeconomics, 2010). Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the worlds tenth largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power parity (PPP), according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. It has large and developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool. Thus, the expanding of its presence in international financial and commodities markets can help Brazils economic keep on growth Refer to Figure 2.4, the interest rate in Brazil is kept on declining as to attract more foreign direct investment. The government lowered down the interest rate, in consequence, to lower the inflation rate. From Figure 2.4, Brazil suffered serious inflation rate in 2008. However, it declined during 2009. The latest inflation rate is 4.6% in July of 2010 which means the prices measured against the standard purchasing power is still high. According to Figure 2.6, about currency convertibility, Brazil allows its currency to adjust in value in foreign exchange markets so long as the fluctuations in value. From Table 2.7, the mid-year population is 201,103 thousands and ranked 5 out of 238 countries (CIA, 2010). Brazil was one of the largest population countries in the world. The growth rate of 2010 is 1.2 which was lower than 1995 and 2005. The nationality of Brazil was Brazilians (CIA, 2010) and the religions were mainly Roman Catholic (CIA, 2010). The languages of Brazilians were Portuguese (CIA, 2010). From Figure 2.8, Brazil does not suffer from aging problem. And the birth rate was maintained from 2009 that 18.43% in Figure 2.9 (UNICEF, 2010). Together with longer life expectancy with the index of life expecting at birth in 2008 is around 71.99 years old as maintained (UNICEF, 2009). The labour force is 101.7 million in 2009 that ranked 6th out of 228 countries (CIA, 2010). The unemployment rate is kept on dropping in these 2 years as refer to Figure 2.10. The role of female and male are vary by social classes (EveryCulture, 2010). Most of the Brazilian women had jobs outside home and employed in low-skill or low paying jobs (EveryCulture, 2010). It meant that there was no gender equality in that society. Source: Tradingeconomics, 2010 Despite the poverty ratio is decreasing as refer to Figure 2.11, Brazils inequality levels remains among the highest in the world. Many people still live in poverty with social exclusion is quantitatively and qualitatively pronounced and structurally ingrained (WorldBank, 2010). Technology Factors Brazil is a leader in science and technology in South America and in some fields as a global leader. About the technological research is largely carried out in Brazil which is mainly supported by government. Furthermore, the Brazilian information technology market is the largest in Latin America and the spending on IT product and services is expected to increase positively. Together with the expending economy lifting millions into middle class for whom computers are no longer beyond reach. Brazils IT services market is expected to continue to grow strongly in 2010, with total spending of around US$9.4bn as the economy continues to bounce back from recession. For a developing market, the percentage of Brazil IT market revenues generated by services is high at around 38%, which corresponds more to developed market levels. Brazil government supported the technology development by providing the funding as it was the leader of science and technology development in South America. Refer to Figure 2.12, Brazils research and development is keen on innovation of technology infrastructure. Ideological Factors Brazilians had the strong national ideology that they called their land as the racial democracy (EveryCulture, 2010). They were seldom judge on the black and white people but classified racially depend on the social classes (EveryCulture, 2010). As a result, it meant that Brazilians were having heavy concepts on the social classes. Brazils Trade, Investment and Migration Pattern Brazil is in Group 4 which is the nearly new industrialised economies with the average growth rate in pass decades (Thompson, G., 1998). Agricultural was playing an important role in Brazil. However, Brazil is turning from agricultural to industrialization. Agricultural should be a critical role to Brazil (Balassa, B., 1998). As a result, in order to develop the economics, Brazil needed to import the industrialization subsidiaries such as machinery and equipment. By the trade theory, the comparative advantage of the nation is determined by factor endowments (Thompson, G., 1998). During the process of industrialization, the structure of comparative advantage shifts from simple, labor-intensive product to sophisticated capital and technology-intensive product (Thompson, G., 1998). As a result, Brazil as the latecomer industrialization (Thompson, G., 1998) begins to import the products from the advanced nations such as United States. The following are the indicators of imports and exports by values. From Figure 3.1, Brazils value of exports and imports is sustainable growth during 2007 to 2008. As the brought down by weaker economic activity and lower global commodity prices drive the total exports fell by 22.7% (in US dollar terms) and imports by 26% as economic recession (CIA, 2010). Furthermore, Brazils export major commodities are transport equipment, iron ore, soybeans, footwear, coffee, autos is ranked 26th when compare to the universal. And import major commodities are machinery, electrical and transport equipment, chemical products, oil, automotive parts, and electronics (CIA, 2010). Investment pattern In Latin America, Brazil is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) as Brazil is open to and encourages foreign investment. Only generate the domestic savings is not sufficient for sustainable long-term growth in Brazil (Investorplace, 2010), thus must continue to attract FDI. Together with the legislation promoting public-private partnerships and infrastructure development program known as the Growth Acceleration Program can boost Brazils economic. From Figure 3.2, the foreign direct investment climate was not stable during 2002 to 2009. There are undulated changes during 2007 to 2009 because of low labour cost and rich natural resources, hence, many foreign direct investments were attracted to invest in Brazil. For many foreign direct investors, the most attraction point was the growing local market and policies that encourage the foreign investment (Hubpages, 2010). The largest single source of the foreign investment in Brazil was the United States, then Germany, Japan as follow (Hubpages, 2010). Moreover, the biggest foreign direct investment activities were invested in manufacturing (Hubpages, 2010). In 2014 and 2016, it is going to held World Cup and Olympics encourage the investment through tourism sector (InvestBrazil, 2010). Migration pattern As economic growth, Brazilian started to move to urban to have a better living environment. There were two factors driven the movement, push and pull factors (Thompson, G., 1998). Push factor was Brazilian to avoid poverty and poor living standard. Pull factor was Brazilian to improve the living environment. As a result, there is now 88% of population is classified as urban (CIA, 2010). Only a few percent were still living near the coast. The net migration rate was -0.09 migrants/1,000 population (CIA, 2010). Relationship between Brazil and the international environment Political Factors In 1990, Brazils government has radically changed the framework conditions for industrial development accompanied by technology and industrial policy programs. Moreover, Brazil is gradually opening the market to foreign competitors that remarked few regulations on trade and investment from foreign countries, thus creating an environment that requires international competitiveness and thereby forces companies to attain international levels of quality and efficiency (BrazilGov, 2010). There are a number of implications that Brazil is implementing to control the Foreign exchange rate of currency with the policies and action programs. Moreover, the presence of legal and regulatory trading protection for foreign investor doing business in Brazil. As refer to Figure 4.1, Brazil was ranked 73th out of the 183 best practice economies countries (IFC, 2010). Together with foreign direct investment and government support that has mobilized a significantly large amount of capital to upgrade the infrastructure of interior (FloridaBrazil, 2010). Economical Factors Despite the economic crisis, Brazils GDP showed continued growth through 2007-2008 while other regional countries GDP declined (Worldbank, 2010). In addition, the steady growth with strong consumer spending and job creation that stability of living forming a healthy economy, hence, Brazil certainly attract the foreign investors to catch up the business opportunity (Obelisk, 2010). Brazil with large growing in agricultural, manufacturing and mining, thus, Brazil is keen on performing its potential to being emerging market. As a result, Brazil ranks among the 10th richest nations of the world by GDP and has maintained the lowest external debt when compared to other regional countries (SloanCenter, 2010). Sociological Factors Brazil is one of the countries that has the largest population of the world with around 102 million labor force that ranked as 6th when comparing to the world as shown in Figure (CIA, 2010). Ideological Factors Brazilians had strong sense of national ideology that proud of their countrys natural resources and diverse culture (EveryCulture, 2010). Besides, Brazilians are welcome the foreigners to travel and invest in such robust emerging market (FloridaBrazil, 2010). Foreign Relations Brazil is a community leader in Linter American with collective security efforts in economic cooperation of Western Hemisphere (BrazilGov, 2010). Moreover, as a member of Organization of American States and Inter American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance that can figure out that Brazil has potential to expand relations with its neighbors (BrazilGov, 2010). In addition, Brazil is a founding member of the Latin American Integration Association and Union of South American Nations that has been a leader of G-20 group of nations (BrazilGov, 2010). In 2009, Brazil not only became a creditor country that trading with United States, Western Europe, and Japan, but also China is a growing market for Brazilian exports. Characteristics and Challenges of macro-environmental factors towards the trade, investment and migration patterns of emerging markets Main drivers for doing business in Brazil Brazil is the 5th largest economy with population of 198 million. Many local companies are undervalued and in need of restructuring, capital and technology Growth potential and consumer market Broad industrial base and infrastructure, and a diversified economy Creativity and flexibility of labor force, coupled with its competitive cost basis Abundant agricultural, mineral and energy resources and potential Established transportation networks (railways, highways, ports) and distribution channels in most industrialized areas Privatization in late stages and follow-on transactions still in development Inflation under control in the last 10 years Increasing globalization and international trade, with Government policies favoring exports Foreign investors are eligible for most available fiscal incentives Goodwill generally tax deductible New regulations favoring minority shareholders Improvement in local capital and debt markets Main Challenges of doing Deals in Brazil Complex tax and employee related regulatory environment, with high taxes and social charges on payroll, sales and income Multiple taxes with fast changing legislation affecting business plans and increasing risks of contingencies Economic environment still considered volatile as compared to more stable economies Fast-changing business conditions Lack of local financing coupled with high real interest rates Quality of historical financial information affected by fluctuations in exchange rates and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles differences Complex transfer pricing and foreign capital registration rules Difficulties in reorganizing companies quickly, including high costs for employee terminations Important cultural peculiarities, including a different perception of the due diligence process Sometimes the  ³know-who ´ is more important than the know-how in the local market Considerable bureaucratic rules and regulations for certain businesses and industries High demand for investments in the distribution channels and infrastructure Semi-skilled and unskilled labor in certain developing areas Social extremes with unequal distribution of wealth a significant portion of the Population not participating in the consumer market Justification of selection of Brazil There are many reasons of choosing Vietnam and going to identify its economic future as emerging market. First, Brazil has strong commitment that has made significant progress in developing a sustainable investment market over the last decade and rightly deserves its reputation as the leader among emerging economies in this regard. These achievements can proofed that foreign investors are tend to doing business in Brazil as refer to Figure 6.1, 6.2. Second, the evolution of a sustainable investment market by Brazil has led other emerging markets to focus on the same issues and goals. Third, Brazil has strong business case that importance of sustainability in business and investment in Brazil that provide stable political climate and facilitated rules and regulations that maintained the economy steady growth. Finally, Brazil demonstrated impressive courage, determination, flexibility, and creativity in sustainable future. Together with Brazils stable economic and political environment that liberal investment and governments commitment to economic reform can direct Brazil being success. In order entering into Brazil, 4P is playing an important role to guide the investors as refer to Figure 7.1. Product Product is a key element in the overall marketing offering. (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). From Figure 7.2, there are three levels of products which are core benefits, actual product and augmented product. In order to evaluate the product element in Brazil, it is important to understand their lifestyle, habit and their consumption behaviour. Nowadays, Brazilian demand more IT products such as mobile phone, computers and software. Moreover, as Brazilian are becoming more wealthy, the demand of housing and transportation are increasing (Laposte, 2010). Most Brazilian including the low-income population is loyal to brands. Those people with the upper-middle classes are pay attention on the quality and the value-added services such as the warranty or after-sales services. They will not reject the foreign goods although they have the national pride (Laposte, 2010). As a result, based on the three levels of product, in order to design the product to enter into Brazil, it is recommended that import the convenience, shopping and specialty products to satisfy both low and high income group. For the low income group, the core benefit of the product should be high quality commodities with low price such as toothpaste. For the high income group, the core benefit of the product should be strong brand preference such as luxury goods. Price Price is the amount of money charged for a product or services (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). As there is a wide gap of rich and poor in Brazil, the price setting should based on the target segment which is the segmented pricing. Segment pricing is selling products or services at two or more prices which difference in price not differences in costs (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). If the target segment is the low-middle class, the price setting should be lower. If the target segment is the high-middle class, the price can be higher as they are less price-sensitive. Place (Distribution Channel) Marketing channel is a set of independent organization that help make the product or service available for use or consumption by the consumer or business user (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). When enter into Brazil, producers cannot sell the goods directly to the final users. As a result, the intermediaries are playing the important role to bring the products to the markets. In Brazil, supermarket is becoming more important for the distribution channel as it made 80% of sales (Laposte, 2010). There are several large local wholesalers and retailers in Brazil. When entering into Brazil, it can choose the major wholesaler as the intermediaries to help bringing the foreign products to Brazilian. Promotion Promotion mix is the specific mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing that a company uses to persuasively communicate customer value and build customer relationships. (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). In order to make the effective promotion in Brazil, it is going to discuss on the media environment in Brazil. Television has the lowest average Advertising Index in the world (Anonymous, 2006). However, it was the most effective promotion tools to Brazilian. Refer to Table 7.1, TVs penetration is 97.4% which was dominant. Brazilian watched television over five hours per day. As a result, the promotion should mainly focus on television which has a high coverage. Moreover, there is another new opportunity to promote in Brazil which is direct e-marketing such as telemarketing, e-mail etc. These can be used as the promotional tactics but not to maintain the relationship between the customers and companies (Laposte, 2010). The most effective way of the promotion strategy should be the pull strategy which spends a lot on advertising to create customers demand on products (Armstrong, G. Kotler, P., 2007). In addition, the promotional message on advertising should be reflecting Brazils culture such as Brazilian is enthusiasm. Conclusion Brazil has steadily improved macroeconomic stability, building up foreign reserves, reducing its debt profile by shifting its debt burden toward real denominated and domestically held instruments, adhering to an inflation target, and committing to fiscal responsibility. Brazils potential can be maintained and sustained in future of development.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

Research Strategy Justification Of Methodology Psychology Essay

Research Strategy Justification Of Methodology Psychology Essay The following chapter initially provides a brief insight by discussing few research approaches and philosophies, which were considered during the literature review. The second section of the chapter will compare different research methodologies. Different opinions from writers are presented and critically compared to provide the reader with sound knowledge about quantitative, qualitative and mixed methodologies. This is followed by the justification of the specific methodology, which will be used in-order to investigate the specific case study. In the middle part of the chapter, research strategy, research design, the sample size of the research, rejected methods and procedures will be discussed followed by the selection of specific research method to collect information from the FLMs in focus group and HR manager is discussed in-detail. The next part of the research is to discuss how to ensure validity of data. Validity and reliability of data is very essential of any research. Data collected from multiple sources can be cross-referenced to ensure the research is valid. At the end of the chapter limitation of the research will be discussed followed by ethical issues, which will be considered during the extensive research. 3.2 Research Philosophies In the following section different research approaches and philosophies are discussed which were considered during the detail literature review. First of the approach considered was the epistemological approach which is a part of philosophy that asks questions such as what can we know? or what can we be sure of? and questions such as How do we get beyond opinions and data to the real facts and knowledge?. The realistic objectivity is based around what is know about the HR function in the specific case study, its strategy, formal structure and systems that managers have to work within and what could be considered as constants. The subjective entities of the conceptual framework i.e capacity development, mentoring, support and coaching mechanism, overall involvement in the policy and procedures formulation and handling difficult issues related to grievance disciplinary and sickness absenteeism policies that are not easy to measure and are not fixed or constant. They can only be fully understood through interpretivist means as this part of the conceptual framework assumes that reality isnt always observable and in this instance that is very much dependant on the human relationships between HR advisors, FLMs and managed staff. Using the approach HR and devolution of role to FLM can be implemented in the specific case study and different stakeholders can interpret the actual HR role and responsibilities that it contains, in different ways i.e. it is more subjective by nature. 3.3 Comparison between Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method According to (Denzin, Norman K. Lincoln, Yvonna S. (Eds.). (2005) in social sciences quantitative research is often contrasted with qualitative research which is the examination, analysis and interpretation of observations for the purpose of discovering underlying meanings and patterns of relationships. The qualitative research doesnt involve mathematical models although, it has been argued again and again that the two go hand in hand. Some writers always argue that there was a disagreement about the proper place of qualitative versus quantitative research. The new method of qualitative research evolved to address the perceived problems with reliability and imprecise modes of data analysis. Both the research methodologies have a different assumption about the world. According to (Taylor Bogdan, 1984) Quantitative research is based on a positivist philosophy, which assumes that there are social facts with an objective reality apart from the beliefs of individuals. Qualitative resear ch is rooted in a phenomenological paradigm, which holds that reality is socially constructed through individual or collective definitions of the situation. The second major comparison between both the approaches was done perfectly by (Richard Cook, 2003) where the writers explains that quantitative study portrays a world of variables and static states whereas qualitative study describes people acting in events or a program. The writer gave an example of how director tells using hiring interviews to encourage staff to actively sell services or an informant tells about the political battles that led to the legislation governing sales. The writer further argues that differences presented between qualitative and quantitative studies having different descriptive strengths. The quantitative study assesses the magnitude of relationships more precisely. One can say rather clearly that 61% of the variance in student learning is explained. The qualitative study concludes with more ambiguous statements like strong leadership is necessary, but not sufficient for excellence. The author further highlights the issues of approach regarding these research methodologies where the quantitative researcher typically employs experimental or correlational designs to reduce error, bias, and other noise that keeps one from clearly perceiving social facts. The prototypical qualitative study is the ethnography, which helps the reader understand the definitions of the situation of those, studied. The author investigate the issue of purpose regarding the research methodologies where quantitative research seeks to explain the causes of changes in social facts, primarily through objective measurement and quantitative analysis. Qualitative research is more concerned with understanding the issue and viewpoints. (Lindlof, T. R., Taylor, B. C. 2002) emphasis that quantitative study persuades by de-emphasizing individual judgment and stressing the use of established procedures. While the lang uage of hypothesis testing is avoided, the impression is given that the whole study is a disciplined exploration of a pre-existing conceptual framework where is qualitative study there is less attention is given to describing procedures and how individual judgment is disciplined in the qualitative study. The study is presented as frankly exploratory. The strategy is one of comparing pairs of agencies known to be different in order to discover what might explain those differences. The search is not described as strongly controlled by pre-existing theory. There is no preliminary model. Instead, reference to past research is incorporated into the presentation of findings. Quantitative research designs are characterized by the assumption that data, evidence, and rational considerations shape knowledge (Horna, 1994). Qualitative research designs are those that are associated with interpretative approaches, from the informants point of view, rather than ethically measuring discrete, observable behavior (Jones, 1997). Neither quantitative, nor qualitative method, however, is superior over the other, for each has its own strengths and weaknesses, especially when considered in relation to a particular problem. (Halfpenny, 1994) however, mentions that there is some polarity between the two methods; where quantitative approach is described as hard, objective and rigorous; the other is considered to be soft, subjective and speculative. At the same time, many researchers have shown that both the approaches may complement each other (Burgess, 1984) and may be integrated in the practice of social research. Mixed methods research has thus come of age (Creswell, 2002). The most widely used term given to the concept, encompassing use of more than one method employed within one piece of research, is triangulation between methods (Creswell 2002). Whilst not arguing for a hierarchy of research methods, this third way, the mixed methodology, provides even greater strengths to the researcher, and may enhance both the quality and the perception by others, of the research. The study involved both secondary as well as primary research and concurrent triangulation approach can be adopted. It is useful as a model when a researcher uses two different methods in an attempt to confirm, cross-validate, or corroborate findings within a single study (Creswell, 2002). Creswell also emphasizes that this model generally uses separate quantitative and qualitative methods as a means to offset the weaknesses inherent within one method with the strengths of the other method. 3.4 Research Strategy: Justification of Methodology The study is an effort to explore the barriers preventing successful devolvement of Human Resource Management to First Line Manager in specific case study (in Pakistan Textile Industry). The research will provide analogy by comparing the views and experiences of FLMs against the HR Manager to identify the key barrier that are preventing successful devolvement of Human Resource Management to the Front Line Manager. The study also provides a constructive conclusion on the impact of devolved Human Resource on the FLMs and the organisation itself. The methodology, which will be employed, in this research will draw the existing knowledge, utilising the conceptual model and the most crucial is the researchers experience working in this textile industry will be very useful. Still there will be questions which will still need more detail answers so open semi structure interview will be used that will be directed towards the FLMs (See Appendix B:I for semi-structure interview). After the data is collected from FLMs, the semi-structure interview will be conducted (asking the same set of questions) with the HR manager to compare the views and experiences so that we can identify the key barriers that are preventing successful devolution of human resources responsibilities to the FLMs (See Appendix B:I). This approach will collect information qualitative in nature, rather than any numerical collection of data or explanation based on the attributes of the graph or source of data. As reinforced by (Guba, E. G., Lincoln, Y. S. 2005) Qualitative research is often used for policy and current working procedures since it can answer certain important questions more efficiently and effectively than quantitative approaches. Qualitative approaches have the advantage of allowing for more diversity in responses as well as the capacity to adapt to new developments or issues during the research process itself so it would be more suitable to use in the research project to investigate the current problem. So qualitative methodology would be more suitable as reinforced by (Richard Cook, 2003) where author highlights the difference between two methodologies where the quantitative researcher typically employs experimental or correlational designs to reduce error, bias, and other noise that keeps one f rom clearly perceiving social facts. The prototypical qualitative study is the ethnography, which helps the reader understand the definitions of the situation of those, studied. The qualitative study is more concerned with the understanding of the issues and viewpoints of the people and issues related to them. The study is based on the specific case study (in Pakistan Textile Industry). According to (Fisher, 2007), case study approach will enable a holistic account of the subject, which will help to investigate and explore relationships between the experiences of FLMs against the HR Manager. The study will try to answer the questions whether the expectation from different stakeholders was expectable and justifiable? What are issues related to the devolution of HR responsibilities to FLMs? Did both the main stakeholder agreed or disagreed on the key barriers to the successful devolvement of HR responsibilities to FLMs? Were key players able to carry out their duties due to these barriers? What were the underlying reasons if there are any key barriers to the successful devolution of HR responsibilities. This is particularly the case for understanding how and why certain outcomes were achieved (not just what was achieved) but also answering important questions about the functions and procedures of HR and their relationship with the FLMs. Also to explore the impact on FLMs being able to take HR role effectively, and identifying the key barriers in the overall devolvement of HR. This will be achieved by using semi-structure interviews from the FLMs. These types of research can be expensive and time-consuming to conduct, many fields of research employ qualitative techniques that have been specifically developed to provide more succinct, cost-efficient and timely results. For this research, a specific case study is used which provide a single case holistic approach. The research is focused on investigating the barriers preventing successful devolvement of Human Resource Management to First Line Manager in specific case study (in Pakistan Textile Industry). The other major reason of using the specific case study is, that we can collect multiple views from different stakeholders, which are involved in the organisation. The multiple views from different FLMs and HR manager can give a detailed insight about the organisation and allow the researcher to understand fully the issues related to the research topic. The research focus on the FLMs only not the staff and would like to investigate the barriers to the effective HR devolvement . One more key benefit of using the case study is that it provides easy approach to the FLMs to get their opinion and then to broaden the knowledge after the semi-structure interviews then involve the experiences of HR manager with the semi-structure interview to understand the underlying key issues and barriers that are effecting the overall successful devolution process. The main drawback with a single case study is that it doesnt allow any sort of comparison or critical evaluation of responses from other research case. This can be limited if the research wants to draw conclusion from another case study. 3.5 Research Strategy for the Specific Case Study The following section will discuss the strategy and analysis process that has been formulated and will be used in the research. The analysis process describes the basic elements of data analysis and interpretation and its fluid. First of the research is based on a specific case study which will provide a holistic account of the issues related. The case study approach will allow to understand the overall situation and have a sound knowledge how these entities interact with each other and their relationship. To gain detail understanding of all the issues around the devolvement of HR this can only be achieved using semi-structured interviews and qualitative questionnaires due to time constraints and the limited access time to FLMs working for the case study. The research is not looking to compare the individual FLMs against each other or compare different departments against each other. The main focus of the study is to consider FLMs as a single entity or element and identify and explor e the barrier in the overall devolvement process. Then HR Manager will be asked about the key barriers that are affecting the devolution of HR responsibilities to FLMs. These difference of experiences and opinion will be compared and contrasted to find the problem. The good analysis of data depends completely on understanding the data that has been gathered and having in-depth knowledge about the issues related to the problem that is being investigated. During the qualitative analysis the data gathered should be studied in-detail and also any noticeable impression should be recorded which can be further investigated from different focus groups of FLMs. The focus should be on the quality of data because sometimes information provided doesnt add any meaning or value. The process of detailed evaluation and analysis will lead to what you want to find out. This will identify few key questions that you want your analysis of the research to answer. This will be noted and help to decide how to begin. The key questions can change but the focus will be maintained. In this approach the focus will be to analyze how individuals or focused group responded to the open ended questions. This stage will be crucial because all the responses will be collected in o rder to identify the consistency and differences. The data from each question will be put together. Then the researcher will explore the connection and relationships between questions and their responses collected. During different research various methods are used to categorize information such as coding the data or indexing the data. To bring the real meaning to the data collected different key themes or pattern will be organized based on ideas, concepts, behaviours, interactions or key phrases. Then organisation into coherent categories will be summarized and bring meaning to the text. This process can be very time consuming and labour intensive depending on the amount of data that will be collected. The process has to be thorough and the data collected will be re-read multiple times to identify the coherent categories or key themes. The key themes will get the focus of the study and areas that need further investigation. In the research using the preconceived themes or categorie s, you read through the text and find the themes or issues that recur in the data. This approach allows the categories to emerge from the data. These categories or key themes are defined after you have worked with the data or as result of working with data. The initial list of categories can change as you work with the data and investigate further. This is an iterative process and some new themes can emerge or different subcategories can emerge to get the focus. As you are organizing the data into different key themes and categories either by the questions you will begin to see the key pattern and connections both within and between the key themes. Assessing the relative importance of different themes will be crucial for the analysis of data. To identify which categories appear to be more important, you can count the number of times particular themes comes up, or the number of unique respondents who refer to certain themes. These count can provide a very rough estimation of relative importance of key themes. Also during the analysis of data you can find that two or more themes that can occur together consistently in the data. When one theme is found the other appears automatically. It can be cause and effect relationship or create sequence through time. For example, respondents may link that the barriers to successful devolution to HR are because of certain reason whereas another focus group repeat the same shows the cause effect relationshi p. These connections if identified are important to look for, because they can explain why something is happening and helps to identify the problem and better understanding of the underlying issues. Then the researcher should ask himself how do things relate with each other? What are the key themes and what relationship they have with each other? What can be other factors that may contribute? Then they key themes and connections will explain the findings. The researcher will avoid to get side tracked by the details and the rich description in the data and focus on the important issues and key relationships that are being investigated in the research. The interpretation of data will take place provide meaning and significance to the analysis of data. The good place to initiate is to develop a list of key points or important findings that will be discovered as a result of categorisation of key themes and sorting the data. Then the next phase of analysis of data is to stand back and th ink about what you have learned. What are the major lessons? What new things that have been learnt due to the process? In the final part of the analysis development of an outline presenting the results and writing the final report. The report can include quotes or descriptive examples to illustrates the points and bring the data to real existence. The length and format of the report will depend on the target audience. Sometimes to support the description of the information different diagrams with boxes and arrows can fit all the pieces together. By creating models may reveal gaps in your investigation and connection that remain unclear. These areas can be investigated for further study. 3.6 Selection of Research Methods In-order to investigate the study; research methods, which will be used, are as follows for Initially semi-structured interviews with focus groups of FLMs will be conducted. The semi-structure interviews via a series of three focus group (4 FLMs in each focus group. Total 12 FLMs). Each semi-structure interview with each of the focus group is designed to last for 90 minutes and will take place on 24/1/2012, 26/01/2012, 30/1/2012 FLMs are selected from different departments with wide range of experiences and different level of qualifications. 3 out 12 FLMs have university qualification whereas the remaining FLMs have basic college qualification. The semi-structure interview will be conducted at the premises of the Specific case study. During the semi-structure interview the key areas that need further explanation will be highlighted and asked from different focus group to get their opinion. Also opinion from the HR Manager will be collected as well. The themes needing further explanation telephonic interviews and emails will be used To compare and contrast the view, semi-structure interview will be conducted with the HR Manager. The same set of questions related to key themes will be asked from the HR Manager to present the finding (took place 08/02/2012). The Interview with the HR Manager is designed to last not more than 2 hours. Open Ended questions will be asked at the start of the investigation phase so that participants can feel relax. Documentation related to case study HR policies and structures will be reviewed. FLM job role will be reviewed to find out what they prefer to do Different authors and writes agree in the literature that using semi-structure interview would allow in the future to investigate more areas as they gather probing replies. This was reinforced by (Maxwell and Farquharson, 2007) semi- structure interview offer consistency in lines of enquiry with the ability to offer opportunities for further probing responses. The methods have been deployed in different researches and have earned credibility in different qualitative research. To ensure credibility of the research and data which is collected, is verified using different multiple methods and sources are used. These multiple methods will allow triangulating of the facts, which have been gathered. In the study the data from the previous chapter in the literature review will be compared against the focus group (FLMs) semi-structure interview data and further consolidated and checked during semi structure interview with HR managers responses. This will ensure all facts gathered are authent ic and valid. In-order to receive a detail feedback from the semi-structure interviews open-ended questions will be used rather than closed ended. Also using focused group will encourage all the participants to think about different emerging themes discussed and it will build on relevant themes. To follow up on different themes and issues raised during the focus group, will be investigated further with the senior HR manager. The interview will be based on issues surrounding devolved HR, and what have arisen from the interviews with FLMs. 3.7 Research Design Procedures. The aim of the study is to explore the barriers preventing successful devolvement of Human Resource Management to First Line Manager in specific case study (in Pakistan Textile Industry), which shouldnt be ignored while designing the open-ended question for semi-structure interviews. The questions were considered from a range of themes relating to the conceptual model, which was formed out of literature review. The semi-structure interviews via a series of three focus group (4 FLMs in each focus group. Total 12 FLMs). These Front Line Managers comes from different departments from the same case study. To break the barrier between the researcher and the focus group, initially during the semi-structure broad questions about the specific case study HR functions, its polices and structures will be asked and what issues they think are the barrier to successful devolvement of HR responsibilities to the FLMs. These broad and generic questions will make respondents comfortable and encourage them to engage with the overall research process. After the initial engagement then the second set of questions will be more focused around specific hard and soft elements of HR. The information collected from the FLMs focus group and themes emerging will be further investigated, compared by conducting semi-structure interview with the HR manager. The interview questions from HR manager will be the same set of questions so that experiences from all stakeholders can be compared against each other. This would be a very important opportunity to fill any gaps and press the HR managers to answer all those queries in-detail. 3.8 Rejected Approaches The following section of the study will provide the reasoning and justifications why different research approaches were rejected. The section will briefly highlight the reasons of the rejection and why a specific approach was not deemed appropriate to be used in the research for the specific case study. At the initial stages of the research, all different types of research methods as identified in both Saunders (2009) and Fisher (2007) were critical evaluated and considered but they were rejected due to certain reasons. Ground Theory was not a viable option and it was rejected because it attempts to theorise peoples subjective understanding of their world, and researchers look for these themes in interviews and observations (Fisher, 2007). According to (Glaser Strauss, 1967 and Strauss Corbin, 1990), the theory is developed inductively from a corpus of data. According to the authors if done well, this means that the resulting theory at least fits one dataset perfectly. It works in a reverse fashion as compared to traditional research and it appears at the start that its in contradiction to the scientific methods. Rather than begin with a hypothesis, the first step is data collection, through a variety of methods. From the data collected, the key points are marked with a series of codes, which are extracted from the text. The Ground Theory believe that academic understanding only arises from what the research itself tells us i.e. it is emerging theory and not based on theories chosen in-advance of the research established. This approach is not appropriate for the research for the specific case study as in the study there is a research question with set aim and objectives to be achieved and the approach will not be appropriate to be used. Whereas Action Research was rejected simply because of its explicit focus on actions, learning by doing things or a group of people identify a problems and do something to resolve it and in particular it promotes the change process, that was not the purpose of this research. The Experiment research method was rejected; as they are more align towards scientific objective studies or scientific invention. The Experiment Research is a scientific approach, which manipulates one or more variables, controls and measures any change in other variables. The approach is not suitable for the current specific case study, as it doesnt have relations with the variables or scientific objective studies. Whereas Survey Research method needs a much larger sample size. Also the research would require the use of questionnaires that would be central to being deployed, neither of which were considered appropriate because the researcher didnt want those being interviewed to be aware of any detail of what they would be asked other than them knowing that the research was in relation to HR devolvement only. The main aim of the research was to get the real answers and positions, which they didnt think would be possible with these approaches. The other two rejected methods Ethnograp hy and Archival Research were deemed to be too costly and time consuming and were not considered appropriate for research within the resources available. 3.9 Ensuring Validity, and Reliability Validity and reliability of data is very essential of any research. Data collected from multiple sources can be cross-referenced to ensure the research is valid. In the study to ensure that reliability and validity of the data collected using semi-structured interview will be further validated by structure interviews. So for this case study, the literature review has been used to highlight the major theme for open-ended questions for the qualitative semi-structure interviews. Then the outcomes from these focus group semi-structure interviews will have emerging areas and queries, which need further explanation. This can be done by designing structure interview, which are directed towards the HR senior manager who will provide further explanation. By verifying the data collected from the research it will enable the researcher to discover whether the qualitative data collected from the focus groups is telling them what they think is correct or need further explanation. 3.11 Limitation of Research This study has some limitation. There is less number of respondents available for carrying out the research. The sample size of the study is small. The time is another factors which is the limitation to carry out details research. 3.12 A consideration of any ethical or professional issues raised by your proposals. In the project choosing participants with various experiences increases the possibility of shedding light on the research question from a variety of aspects. So it would be very beneficial to involve staff member who have more experience, which can provide insight to the problems faced by textile industry. The other major professional issue, which is raised due to the research project, is the aspect of interpretation of text, which will be gathered during the interview process. According to (Patton, 1990) the text can involve multiple meanings and the researchers interpretation is influenced by his or her personal history. Since the researcher is often the one who collects the data as well as the one who performs the analysis, the question of the researchers qualifications, training and experiences is important. During the research perform a balancing act with interpretation of data. On one hand, it is impossible and undesirable for the researcher not to add a particular perspective to the phenomena under study. On the other hand, the researcher must let the text talk and not impute meaning that is not there. These issues will be considered while carrying out the research process. 3.13 SUMMARY This chapter presents a helicopter view of the research methodology used for the completion of this study. The chapter further elaborates research approach and strategy undertaken for the completion of this project. The study also highlights different data collection method used for the conduction of the research. Further more, this section also describes the analysis methodology for descriptive and qualitative research technique. Finally, the chapter also describes the limitations of the research. The next chapter will be Presentation analysis, which will present the finding of the research. Different questions will be asked in-order to investigate the problem further and the chapter will give insight to the problems and challenges faced by the industry.

Black Supremacy Essay -- essays research papers fc

Black Supremacy Throughout history, white anglo-saxons have been notorious for mistreating all races other than it's own. Malcolm X felt "the white man had been actually nothing but a piratical opportunist who used Faustian machinations to make his own Christianity his initial wedge in criminal conquests"(563). The earth is burdened by the white man! That is the true meaning of what Malcolm X is stating; the words Faustian machinations, meaning evil plotting, implies the whole white population is out for the blood of other races. Many members of the black race are adopting the idea of Afrocentricity; some call it black pride, I call it black supremacy. Afrocentricists are supporting their ideas with religion and the need for liberation. The liberation of the black man is needed! Molefi Asante describes "the Afrocentric awareness [as] the total commitment to African liberation anywhere any everywhere by a consistent determined effort to repair any psychic, economic, physical, or cultural damage done to Africans"(50). Liberation from what...the white race? Molefi's statement is completely ludicrous; the first copy of his book with this statement was printed in 1988, in my opinion blacks were fairly liberated in 1988. Now the second part of his statement, repair what damage? Any psychic damage which has been thrust upon the black race has not occurred for quite some time: slavery...not in my lifetime nor separate bathrooms were in my lifetime. And I am not about to feel sorry about what happened before my time. Economic damage is not the white man's fault either. In this day anyone can do whatever he/she likes. The truth to the economic matter is that many of the "oppressed" races feel they now deserve a free ride. Absolutely no physical damage has occurred in my lifetime. As for as cultural damage, cultures evolve, they do not get damaged. Clearly all liberation of the black man has already occurred, therefore, there is know further need for reimbursement. The white race is evil! Further, the Afrocentric cause attempts to use religion to denounce the white race as heathens; according the Yakub myth, "the colour black...is the primal colour; other colours, consequently, are merely shades of black, except for white, which is the absence... ...d are calling it liberation. No, the human race will never learn from history; we will just repeat it. The main question is will their ever be racial harmony in the world? I just don't know. "We shall have our manhood. We shall have it or the earth will be leveled by our attempts to gain it." --Eldridge Cleaver Works Cited Asante, Molefi. Afrocentricity. Trenton: Africa WP, 1992. Cleaver, Eldridge. Soul on Ice. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968. Davies, Alan. Infected Christianity: A Study of Modern Racism. Montreal: Mcgill-Queen's UP, 1988. Perry, Bruce, ed. Malcolm X: The Last Speeches. New York: Pathfinder, 1989. X, Malcolm. "Learning to Read." rpt. in Rereading America. ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. Boston: Bedford Books, 1992.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases Essays -- Climate Change Environme

Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases The concentration of the atmosphere's main greenhouse gases specifically, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor, have increased significantly during the industrial age. These high concentrations are predicted to continue in the atmosphere for thousands of years to come. This increase in specially carbon dioxide, increases the infrared energy taken in by the atmosphere, and warming the earth's surface. The Global mean temperature over the past 150 years has risen between 0.3 degrees C and 0.6 degrees C. Climate changes that have been predicted are based on the continual rise in Green House Gases. These changes include changes in: increase in mean surface air temperature, increase in global mean rates of precipitation and evaporation, rising sea level, and changes in the biosphere. There are many causes to the rise in Green House Gases in the atmosphere. The rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is largely related to the combustion of fossil fuels and cement production (Hansen). The increase in methane is do to rice cultivation, animal husbandry, biomass burning, and landfills (Kattenberg). Nitrous oxide is on the rise because of industrial sources like adipic acid and nitric acid production (Kattenberg). Other gases not mentioned above that have a small impact on the Green House Gas proposed problem, is CFC-11 and CFC-12, these Gases are know to the public as being a big source of warming, although catalyzing decomposition of stratospheric ozone, they do not pose a great threat. Since the public was notified of these compounds in refrigerants, spray propellants, and foam blowing; the atmospheric concentrations have decreased greatly (Prather). .. ...the past 160,000 years." Nature, 345, 1990. Charlson, R. J. "Climate forcing by anthropogenic aerosols." Science 255, 1992. Douglas B. C. Global sea level rise, J. geophys. Res., 96 (C4), 6981-6992, 1991. Hansen, J. E. (1998). Climate forcings in the industrial era. Livermore: Willams Press. Kattenberg, A. (1996). Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Krabill. W. "Rapid thinning of parts of the southern Greenland ice sheet." Science 283, 1999. Peixoto, J. P., and A. H. Oort (1992). Physics of Climate. New York: American Institute of Physics. Prather, M. P. "The ozone layer: The road not taken." Nature 381, 1996. Wang, W. C. "Inadequacy of affective CO2 as a proxy in simulating the greenhouse effect of other radiatively active gases." Nature 350, 1991.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Vergil as the Greatest of all Latin Poets

Vergil is generally acknowledged as the greatest of all Latin poets. He was famous in his own lifetime and was the first poet in the history of Latin literature to be the subject of lectures given by a contemporary teacher. There seemed to be a great deal of interest in him and on his rare appearances in Rome he was pointed out in the streets as if he were a celebrity. However, in his private life he was know to be very shy and preferred the quiet countryside to the pandemonium of Rome. He was born as Publius Vergilius Maro in Andes, a small village, near Mantua (Mantova), Italy on October 15, 70 BC. He had two brothers; Silo, who died in his childhood, and Flaccus, who lived to be a young man. Vergil's father, a potter and cattle farmer, worked hard to provide his son with an Aristocratic education. After he completed his studies in Cremona and Milan, Vergil went to Rome to study law and rhetoric at Epidius' academy. It was in Rome that he met Gaius Maecenas, a Roman statesman and patron of the arts, who saw Vergil's promise of greatness and sponsored his education. In addition he developed a friendship with Octavian, who later became Emperor Augustus. While in Rome, he studied alongside many prominent poets including Gaius Cornelius Gallus, Horace, and Lucius Varius Rufus. After leaving Rome, Vergil went to Naples to study under Siro. Here, he studied philosophy and also became a member of a group of Epicurean thinkers outside Naples. This group gathered in Campania, at a retreat known as â€Å"the Garden†, under the leadership of Siro, Vergil's teacher and friend. Originally, Vergil wanted to study law but he gave up after pleading only one court case and devoted himself to philosophy and literature. He spent most of his life in the countryside of Campania, but kept a house on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, which was given to him by his friend and patron Maecenas. He wrote three major works in his lifetime. Early in his career he wrote the Ecologues, a book of 10 pastoral poems. This was followed by the Georgics, a didactic poem on farm life. His last and greatest work was the Aeneid, a mythological epic poem describing the seven-year wanderings of the hero Aeneas. Vergil's first major work was composed between 42 and 37 BC. This was a ten book pastoral poem know as the Eclogues or Bucolic. It was modeled on the Idylls of Theocritus, an Alexandrian poet. Vergil's emphasis is on graceful rhymes and the description of a romantic setting in northern Italy, but he also added many realistic details such as, his father's eviction from his farm due to political seizure. The most famous of The Ecolouges, The fourth celebrates the birth of a child who is destined to usher in a new Golden Age of peace and goodwill. Critics have made definite connections between Vergil's fictional characters and real people. Some have suggested that the divine birth refers to Mark Anthony, or possibly Vergil's friend Octavian, who became Augustus, Rome's first emperor. Still others see this divine birth as a reference to the birth of Christ. His next major work was the Georgics, or Art of Husbandry, which was written from 36 to 29 BC. It is a four-book poem that described the life of a farmer. Its inspiration is said to come from the Greek poet Hesiod's Works and Days. Vergil's position as the leading poet of the age was confirmed with the Georgics publication. The poem deals with planting, caring for orchards and vineyards, stock management, and beekeeping. However, the main emphasis is on the values of Roman life, particularly the work ethic. The poem was designed to be universal in scope with the topics of war, peace, death and resurrection concluding each book. Vergil devoted his last ten years to the composition of the Aeneid. This is his last and, by far, best known work. It was written between the years of 30 to 19 BC in twelve books. Modeled after Homer's epics, the Iliad and the Odessey, the Aeneid is a mythological epic describing the seven-year wanderings of the Roman hero Aeneas, from the fall of Troy to his military victory in Italy. Aeneas, while central to the story, is more symbolic than realistic. His character exists to tell the story of the founding of Rome and to personify the Roman values of duty and responsibility. In the story, Aeneas escaped from Troy carrying his father on his shoulders and leading his young son Ascanius by the hand. He brought together a fleet of Trojans and sailed the eastern Mediterranean Sea to Thrace, Crete, Epirus, and Sicily before being shipwrecked on the coast of Africa. Here Dido, the queen of Carthage, fell in love with Aeneas. The two began to live together as husband and wife and Aeneas intended to make Carthage his home. Jupiter, king of the gods, warned Aeneas that he must leave Dido in order to continue on his destined mission to found Rome. In despair, Dido killed herself when Aeneas departed for Italy. After landing at the mouth of the Tiber River in Italy, Aeneas killed Turnus, the king of the Rutulians, in a war for the hand of Lavinia, who was the princess of Latium. According to Vergil, the Romans were direct descendents of Ascanius, the founder of Alba Longa, the mother city of Rome. The Aeneid is usually considered the first great literary epic, unlike the Iliad, which in essence is a work of oral poetry. The Aeneid was written as a deliberate attempt to glorify Rome at the request of Augustus Ceasar. The historical elements are especially prominent in books five through eight, the central portion of the poem. The Aeneid became a classic in its own day. All of Rome, particularly the royal family, followed the progress of the epic. Vergil would read aloud from rough drafts of the Aeneid to Augustus, his sister, Octavia, and Maecenas. As he refined his work during his later years, the poet led a comfortable life, devoting himself to historical research. In 19 BC, Vergil set out on a trip to Greece and Asia with the intention of revising his masterpiece. In Athens, he met Augustus and unfortunately became very ill during his stay in Greece. Augustus escorted his friend back to Brundisium, Italy, where he died before his epic could be revised to his satisfaction. To prevent the Aeneid from being read in rough form, Vergil left instructions that it be destroyed. Augustus, realizing the value of this work, intervened before this request could be carried out and assigned two of Vergil's poet friends, Varius Rufus and Plotius Tucca, to edit the manuscript for publication. The work was completed near the end of 18 BC. It achieved immediate acceptance throughout the Mediterranean as the definitive Roman epic. On his deathbed, Vergil immortalized himself with a short epitaph, which his friends inscribed above his grave. It ends with this line: â€Å"I sang of pastures, farms and rulers†. This became a touching summary of his three great works.