“Language Lies at the Root of That Transformation of the Environment That We Call Civilization.” How Is Language Encouraged in the Montessori Environment Essay Example

â€Å"Language Lies at the Root of That Transformation of the Environment That We Call Civilization.† How Is Language Encouraged in the Montessori Environment Essay Language is a mean of communication, delivering ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized sounds and signs, thus, being the spoken and written language. It is part of the human tendencies to want to communicate with others and this could underlie the emergence of language. Montessori said, â€Å"To talk is the nature of man. † Humans needed language in order to communicate, and soon, the powers that come with language revealed. The evolution of the human language began when communication was done through pictograms and drawings. It then developed into ideograms when pictures began to turn into symbols. Later, these symbols became words, words involved letters, vowels emerged, one symbol came to represent one sound, and an alphabet was created, and then came the alphabet we now use today. And just as language evolved hundreds of thousands of years ago, it also changes with each generation. Unneeded words are dropped and new words come into use. Language rose and continues to rise with the collective intelligence. This also marked the civilisation of mankind. Language differentiates a community from one another but at the time it also unites and binds human being of different races together through a common language. Content Language is the ability to understand speech and a desire to convey one’s feelings and thoughts. It is through communication that human beings are able to cooperate with each other to solve common problems. It is through communication based on written and oral language in particular that each generation has passed on its accumulating wisdom to the next. â€Å"Language, we may say, grow with human thought†. Maria Montessori, The Absorbent Mind, p109) The learning of language is truly the child’s most remarkable intellectual achievement and is amazingly accomplished rapidly in a very short time span. â€Å"By merely living and without any conscious effort the individual absorbs from the environment even a complex cultural like language† (Elizabeth G. Hainstock, The Essential Montessori, pg. 8 1) Based on Montessori’s observation, the various periods of the child’s life show the same stages in the level reached and this applied to all the children throughout the world, this applied to the acquisition of language in the child. We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Language Lies at the Root of That Transformation of the Environment That We Call Civilization.† How Is Language Encouraged in the Montessori Environment specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Language Lies at the Root of That Transformation of the Environment That We Call Civilization.† How Is Language Encouraged in the Montessori Environment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"Language Lies at the Root of That Transformation of the Environment That We Call Civilization.† How Is Language Encouraged in the Montessori Environment specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer She found out that the child is first interested with humans voice, follow by repeating the same syllable, then words are spoken of more than one syllable, then the whole syntax and grammar seem to be grasped, gender and number, case, tense and mood. The child begins this work in the darkness of the subconscious mind, and here it develops and fixes itself permanently. Though it seems as a mystery, the child takes a lot of practices to connect the physical and psychic abilities. Maria Montessori observed that the sensitive period of language is the longest one which is from birth to age 6: 1. Birth age 1: the child is sensitive to sounds; listening and watching and then started with single syllable, imitating sound and pointing to objects in the attempt to communicate. If the child is taught sign language, he may be able to use signs to communicate at the tender age of 10 months, way before he develops speech. 2. Age 1 age 2: the child is sensitive to words; begins using simple words. He responds to simple then complex commands. Understand about 200 words. 3. Age 2 3 and up: the childs vocabulary increases tremendously (from approximately 300 to 1000 words). . Age 4- this is the sensitive time for writing. 5. Age 4 and a half to 5 the child starts to classify words and reading. 6. Age 5 to 6 sensitive to the study of parts of speech and word usage. At the beginning of the child’s sensitive period to language, he explores his surroundings with his tongue and hands, and through these, the child absorbs the qualities of objects in his environment and seeks to act upon it. He wants to know the name of every object that he sees and touches and mimic words said by the adults around him. Montessori concluded that the tongue which man uses for speaking and the hand, which he employs for work, are intimately connected. This sensibility is transitory and once gone it will never return. The language explosive happens and erupts in the child’s powers of expression and it continues well after the age of two. After two and a half years old, which marks the borderline of man’s mental formation, begins a new period in organizing the language and this continues to develop without explosion, learn many new words and perfects his sentence formation. At six years old, a child has learnt to speak correctly according to the rules of his mother tongue. And all these work is done by no one, but the child himself. Research has been made that in comparison with the adults’ ability to learn, the adults need sixty years of hard work to do it where a child does it in three. Therefore, it is particularly important that the adults give assistant where necessary for the development of language in a child, by exposing him to good grammar sentences and wide vocabularies to feed his absorbent mind during this sensitive period. Though a child works effortlessly in the acquisition of language, however, he does need a suitable environment. So, in cases where the child is not spoken to, like the boy of Aveyron, the child does not develop speech. Maria Montessori pointed out that during the Sensitive Period of language, the child must be exposed to language or it will not develop. Montessori â€Å"considered the job of education not to fill the child with the techniques of reading but to free him or self-expression and communication†. Paula Polk Lillard, A Modern Approach, pg. 123) The mind needs language in order to connect thoughts to the environment. Montessori’s methods make full use of the child’s sensitive period of language by creating an environment that aids this development. In the Montessori environment, the child is constantly exposed to information, through formal lessons, conversations and games; preparing him and thus, making it possible for the child to start creative writin g and reading at a young age. The child can freely express himself thus able to grow up happily and confidently. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gettman, David Basic Montessori St Martin’s Press New York, 1987 Paula Polk Lillard Montessori: A Modern Approach Schocken, 1988 Britton, Lesley Montessori Play Learn Vermilion, 1992 Montessori, Maria The Secret Of Childhood Balantine, 1972 Montessori, Maria, The Discovery Of the Child Clio Press Oxford, 200

A Teenagers Challenge Professor Ramos Blog

A Teenagers Challenge As a teenager, learning how to drive a vehicle is one of the most difficult and exciting challenges. Ever since I was younger, I always had a fear about driving a car and the open road. I would always watch my father when he was driving, so that I could learn. But someday I knew that the time would come when I would practice driving and have my own vehicle. When I was seventeen, I made the decision that I wanted to learn how to drive. Likewise, before I could get into the aspects of driving I would have to first get my permit. In order to do so, I had to complete 30 hours in an online drivers ed course named mycaliforniapermit. On this course, it basically taught me about the details of the road. For instance, how to switch lanes, proper speed, and also what specific signs meant. After each chapter, I would take a test and If I did good I would move forward. After two months, I had completed all the requirements of the driver’s ed course. In order to take my permit test, I would have to go to a place that nobody enjoys, the â€Å"DMV.† After forty minutes of waiting in line, I was able to take my permit test. I remember feeling very anxious before the test. Realizing, that if I would get my permit, I could start driving. I took the exam, and got four questions incorrect, at this point I really thought I would fail. Instead, I remained calm and proceeded to answering the last 36 questions correctly. A fter passing the test, I   was excited and now realized that I can begin to practice driving with my father. Moreover, my father drove me with his 2007 blue Ford Explorer to an empty parking lot of Kimberly Elementary. As he had agreed to teach me about the basics of driving a car. First off, we switched seats and he taught me about the basics of the car. For instance, in order to drive I would have to hit the break and then shift the gears. He also told me, â€Å" Only use blinkers when turning, and also to go slowly with the gas pedal until you get used to it.† After the basic fundamentals he told me to drive around the parking lot. It was a very weird feeling at first, because you are moving about two tons of metal with the push of your foot. After driving up and down the parking lot, I began to think that driving is actually not that hard. Suddenly, my father said, â€Å"Now let’s try to park the vehicle.†I remember that I kept parking the vehicle over the line, but after a few tries, my parking was perfect. It made me realize that when you think about something too much, you make mistakes. When you make mistakes, you will only become better at whatever you are trying to accomplish. In addition, after a couple days of practicing in the parking lot my father said it was time to hit the open road. We drove around the city as my dad was like a coach. When I would make a fast turn, he would get mad and tell me â€Å"to make a slower and precise turn.† One day I was driving and I was going 20 mph faster than the posted speed limit. My father got mad, and said â€Å"if you ever speed like this you would automatically fail exam.† Every time he said something I realized that accepting criticism is what makes us smarter. Sometimes we can be self-centered, and that’s where we become cocky. After a few weeks, I was able to drive around the city of Redlands with ease. I made sure I was going the appropriate speed, using my blinkers, keeping space between vehicles, and using my mirrors. Now I would realize that the next thing would be to get my license. Furthermore, after six months of practicing it was now time for me to take my driver’s test. This would mean, I would have to go back to the annoying DMV. It was a cold Friday morning, and my dad was driving me to the DMV. I remember feeling a little nervous that I might fail. My dad told me, â€Å"When you take your test, just remember the practice† After we checked off paperwork with the front desk, I drove the car to the testing lane and waited for the instructor to come. When the instructor came, she said â€Å"turn your car off,†Ã‚   so that she can check the car and also test my knowledge. She asked me to turn my blinkers on, hit the breaks, and also show her arm signals. Finally, she was in the car with me and from that point she told me where to drive. I drove away from the DMV, and everything was going smooth until I had made, one mistake. My instructor told me to make a turn at a turn lane, and I slightly went passed it. My instructor was furious, and s aid, â€Å"DID YOU NOT HEAR ME?† At this point, I realized that I might have just failed the test already. I replied, and said â€Å"I’m sorry I didn’t hear your correctly.† We proceeded to drive, as in my mind I thought that I had failed the test from that point. She then told me to park on the side of the road, and said, â€Å"Ok now back-up in a straight line.† This was probably the most easiest part of the test. After this, we had returned back to the main road and finally back to the DMV.   I was nervous that I might have failed, but she said â€Å"Congratulations† and gave me a paper that said I had passed with 10 errors. I was extremely excited, because I thought I had failed the test after my mistake. Sometimes, when we expect something to be bad, it turns out to be good.   Hence after passing the test, I finally had the feeling of driving a car all by myself. It is one of the best feelings for a teenager the first time hitting the road by yourself. I realized driving was simple now, because of the fact that I had practiced so many times on how to drive with my father. If it wasn’t for my father’s criticism, I would have probably never got my license. As a senior in high-school I was driving back and forth to school, which was one of the greatest feelings. After all, driving can be one of the most difficult challenges for a teenager. Every teen wants the feeling of having their own vehicle. In order to do so, we have to realize that learning how to drive requires patience and dedication. I’m glad that I had passed my driver’s test, and not have to worry about this obstacle anymore. In life, it’s good to make mistakes and accept criticism, because its what makes us better.

Oral Motor Therapy Helps Improve Articulation Disorders in Children Thesis

Oral Motor Therapy Helps Improve Articulation Disorders in Children - Thesis Example The application of oral – motor therapies as one of the most effective alternatives for facilitating enhanced speech acquisition/articulation among young children; has been widely proposed as well as debated by researchers and scholars alike. Articulatory disorders in children are often characterized by difficulties in generating accurate sounds with respect to phonemes or other similar speech sounds. The various types of articulation disorders include omissions – wherein certain sounds, often at the end of word, are omitted / dropped e.g., the word dish is often uttered as just di’; substitutions – wherein a sound is replaced/substituted by another sound, e.g., sh in the word dish is spoken as death; distortions: wherein certain additional sounds are added e.g., dish is uttered as a dish; and additions: wherein certain additional sounds are added at the end of the word e.g., dish is uttered as dish. Â  Such a disorder may be caused on account of several reasons, such as hearing loss – where the child has difficulty in accurately hearing certain sounds or oral motor disorders such as apraxia. The existence of phonological or articulatory disorders among children, alternatively referred to as PADs, is characterized by the occurrence of impediments in verbal communication or disorders other than neurological deficits or organic mutilations1. This paper strives to review, analyze and investigate the various studies/researches in the field of speech-language pathology, particularly in relation to articulatory disorders among children; assess the impact and effectiveness of oral motor therapies on improving and facilitating speech production in children; and justify the relevance and credibility of oral motor therapies as an effective means of improving such impairments through a broad study of historical researches conducted in this behalf. Although there exist several pieces of evidence and credible research conducted by promine nt scholars in the field of speech pathology which substantiate the application and effectiveness of oral motor therapy as a credible alternative of enhancing articulation in children suffering from PADs, there does exist, differing views and contradictions which counter such a hypothesis which are contrary to the research presented in this paper and claim otherwise.

Economic Issues For HMOs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economic Issues For HMOs - Essay Example As a representative of Castor, I am responsible for analyzing and providing optimal solution to my employer which generates most favorable utilization, maximizes its profits and simultaneously mitigates risks. Client Profile Constructit has an employee headcount of 1000 staff members, 550 males and 450 females, ranging within ages of 26 to 42 and comprising 60% of married people. Highest number of employees, amounting to 406, has ages between 26 and 30 while 314 are between 31 and 35, being second highest. However, while 53% of males belong to the dominant age bracket of 26 to 30, 43% of women belong to the age group of 31 to 35. 320 of these employees have job description involving rigorous physical tasks while 250 of them only carry out activities requiring moderate physical efforts. 170 males and 210 females have been diagnosed to have no major medical conditions that may contribute to company’s risk profile. However, the fact that 55 men and 36 women are reportedly chain s mokers, can be linked to become cause of respiratory difficulties, being one of the major reasons for taking sick leaves, amongst others including physical injuries, allergies and viruses, digestive problems and neural disorders. Comprising 39% of the total manpower, 198 males and 192 females suffer from obesity and are therefore highly susceptible to conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart-related diseases such as high cholesterol. Analysis of plans The basic measure for checking if an insurance plan is feasible is to ensure a perfect balance between injury liability and insurance cover against it, such that the former doesn’t exceed the latter (Smith, pp. 68). Employees are responsible for paying insurance premiums themselves and Constructit shall not account for any expenses on their behalf. Given data reveals that personnel are only ready to bear an annual insurance premium not exceeding $4,000. The first plan, Castor Standard doesn’t cover preexist ing medical conditions of employees. This plan if implemented is capable of generating cash flows amounting to $3,428 annually for Castor. The costs that shall be incurred under this plan amount to $1,905 and $1,524 relating to inpatient and outpatient services respectively. The second plan, Castor Enhanced provides coverage for preexisting diseases and injuries found amongst employees. The costs incurred under this plan amount to $4,396 while aggregate earnings are $4,428. This large gap is justifiable due to high risks involved under this plan: Castor is responsible for bearing costs pertaining to preexisting conditions as well and therefore is charging premium as compensation for high risks involved. There is a third plan, Castor Enhanced Minor, which is a mere extension and tailored form of second plan with exclusion of few services that have high utilization. This in turn helps in controlling risks by flexibly adjusting each service and computing its sensitivity on costs incurr ed and profits earned. Constructit employees are majorly suffering from obesity and smoking addiction problems and therefore, substantial medical costs are speculated to be incurred in these two areas. Therefore, if two services, substance abuse treatment and obesity treatment, may be removed from Enhanced plan then the company is able to achieve a better balance between earnings ($3,882) and risks or costs incurred ($3,850). As a last resort, if none of the plans seem to be profitable for the company considering the

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business Essay - 1

International Legal and Ethical Issues in Business - Essay Example Likewise, workers are also protected against discrimination (based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or age), harassment, unhealthy/ hazardous working environments, and unfair dismissal. With these rights, come also the responsibilities of the employee. Aside from arriving at work on time and dressing appropriately (which includes wearing suitable safety equipment if required), employees are also expected to show respect to the employer, colleagues and customers, take care of the company’s property, follow reasonable and lawful orders, obey safety rules and not discriminate or harass other people in the workplace. If these obligations are not met by employees, then their employer also has the right to dismiss their employment (Steingold, 2009). On the other hand, the working hours in the US are considerably shorter than in the UK and the rest of the member nation-states of the European Union. It has been noted that the European Working Time Directive sets the maximum length of working week to 48 hours, and a minimum rest period of eleven hours each day. Although the policy applies to all members, in the UK it is still possible to exceed this limit provided that it is the employee who opts for such a condition (Cressey & Jones, 1995). In France, a recent legislation limits the working week to only 35 hours (but options are still available for those who want to exceed). While in the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 allowed for 44-hour work week, which was later reduced to a 40-hour standard in 1950. Despite this law, majority of the American workforce still work more than 40 hours in a week due to the lines of work they have (Mishel, Bernstein, & Boushe, 2003). Challenges in Filing a Formal Complaint If Mary decides to file a formal complaint against her employer on the basis of her somehow ‘insignificant’ situation in the company, then she will face the hardships of proving her case successfully. The burden o f proof is upon her and she needs to provide evidence to back her claims. Although Mary is relived by the fact that the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 guarantees fair treatment towards employees and that violation against this charter is punishable by law, she is still required to substantiate that she is treated in an unfair manner by the management and by her colleague for that matter. Furthermore, Mary needs to prove that the workplace has become a hostile environment for her. In legal terms, a hostile work environment is primarily one of the reasons an employee cannot reasonably perform his or her duties and responsibilities. This is due to certain behaviors by management or co-workers that are considered ‘hostile.’ Nevertheless, the said term is still subject to much debate and substantiation (Cihon & Castagnera, 2008). A boss being rude, one who yells and purposefully annoys is a qualified ground for a hostile work environment -- cause for severe physical st ress and mental anguish on the part of the employee. Certainly, acts of lasciviousness and other forms of sexual harassment are always deemed constituents of a hostile environment. Yet, for Mary’s case these did not occur. She was not discriminated and she was in no way attempted to be

Media Effects Theory Evaluation

Media Effects Theory Evaluation This chapter consists of two parts. In the first section I will critically review media effects theories and explore relevant theoretical approaches underpinning active audience studies. I will also discuss recent studies exploring media influence, delving into the methodological approaches as well as observing different ways that the media are claimed to have impact on peoples understanding. In particular, I will focus on literatures in areas of risks and health, as well as examining studies utilising creative methods for studying media influence, all which I will relate to my findings chapters. The way in which media influence is contextualised in this research however, should not be misunderstood as trying to prove any direct impact media have on people. Instead, my intention is to offer ways of thinking about media influence and hopefully this would help build a link between my findings and the theoretical body. I will reiterate my stance towards the end of the chapter whilst sit uating my research within literatures of media influence. In the second part of my literature, I will explore research conducted in areas of infant feeding, in particular to studies about breastfeeding and the media. This section will offer variety ways of exploring breastfeeding issues and how studying the media would fit into the social context and problems related to breastfeeding. I will also explore studies conducted in different cultural settings, which hopes to highlight the different ways culture and religion can influence infant feeding practices and their overall understanding of breastfeeding. What I hope to achieve by the end of this chapter is to give an idea of the different directions to studying breastfeeding in the media and defend my approach in this thesis. I then conclude this chapter by positioning my research within the theoretical, methodological and empirical framework that I have explored throughout. Media Effects, active audiences and beyond Review of Media effects theories Early works on media influence are focused on medias effects on human behaviours (ref). The idea that the media has powerful effects on people gained ground during the 1930s, in light of the elites fascist treatment towards society and dictators using the media as propaganda tool in countries like Germany and Russia. Research emphasis at the time was to find out what the media can do to people (ref) and this brought about the first theory of media effects (the hypodemic needle model), envisioned by scholars of the Frankfurt school in 1923 which suggests that media content are injected into audience thoughts and thus would influence their behaviours. Such studies assumed causal link between mass media and mass audience, suggesting that the media has a magic bullet effect that could result to media-inspired mass behavior (for example see works of Cantril et al., 1940; Lasswell 1927 and Lippman, 1922). Researchers at the time sought to link between media representations and mass behavio r, mostly were concerned over the (harmful) effects media has on society. This gave rise to studies supporting strong media effects and sets the parameter for most media research that took place between the 1940s to the 1960s (for example see Bandura and Walters, 1963; Lazarsfeld et al., 1944). It was one of the reasons why media effects studies was popular and gained much importance in the field of media studies at the time. However, hypodemic needle model or magic bullet theory is flawed in so many ways. The word media effects itself put much emphasis and power to the media that followers of hypodemic needle model / magic bullet theory often ignored the fact that audience themselves are active producers of meaning. Media and audience relationship does not exist in void but is involved and influenced by many things, among others, social context, culture and political-economy of a society. Audience consists of individuals who have different social and cultural backgrounds which makes it problematic if not impossible, to conceptualise one mass audience. It is then renders attempts to measure media effects difficult and complex. Researchers tried to improve this link by including additional stages/layers to media effects, such is done by Lazarsfeld and Katz (1955) when they introduced opinion leaders into the process a model which is also known as the two steps flow. What this model argues is that the effects of media on audience are mediated by different key individuals, who tends to be people with most access to the media and are assumed to be more media literate. These are opinion leaders who are sought to explain and diffuse media content to others. Although this model reduces the direct effects, it still simplifies the process involved between media and audience, and more importantly maintains audiences position at the receiving end of this relationship. This does not only sustain the idea that audiences are passive but also renders them incapable of producing their own interpretations. Another social theory which tries to explain media effects was developed by George Gebner in the 1960s, known as the Cultivation theory. The theory proposed that the media has long term effects on audiences, nurturing certain ideas through representations and media discourse. The cultivation theory springs from a large-scale research project called Cultural Indicators, a project that was aimed to explore media processes and track effects (particularly violent programming) on audiences (Miller, 2005, p.  281). A part of the study investigates the relationship between audience attention to media messages and their conceptions of social reality (Morgan, p;70 and Shanahan and Morgan p. 6-7). Findings suggest that exposure to television, over time subtly cultivates audiences perceptions of reality. This cultivation effects are claimed to affect light television viewers as well because the media (television) functions as a tool for socialisation and enculturation process (Gerbner an d Gross, 1976:175). Therefore, the theory suggests that any impact television has on heavy users will also, in time, impact on the entire culture. Gerbner et al (1986:23) later notes that this impact does not necessarily imply a unidirectional process but rather, it is a complex development built through subtle interactions between medium and its publics. Miller (2005:282) reiterates this point by explaining that the impetus of cultivation theory was not to prove specific media effects on behaviours, but to highlight medias overarching influence towards the way people think about the world. Gerbners idea was widely accepted however, similar to the previous media effects theories, it supports the notion that audience is vulnerable and easily manipulated. Cultivation theory asserts power to the media and regards audiences as subjects with limited interpretation, ignoring their social context and ability to generate own meanings. The many limitations of media effects theories have prompted researchers to switch focus. Following cluster of research in media studies question media power and shift emphasis towards studying audiences and their use of the media. Theorists such as Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., Gurevitch, M. (1974) argued for a model that acknowledges audience as powerful receivers. They proposed Uses and Gratification theory which challenged the traditional way of looking at media-audience relationship by asking what people do with the media rather than what the media does to people (Katz, 1959). This approach suggests that people have specific needs and use the media to satisfy them or gain specific gratifications. Blumler and Katz (1974) proposed four broad audience needs that are fulfilled by the media. These include diversions (a form of escapism from everyday life), Personal Relationships (where viewers build communities through conversations about television or how they relate to the characters) , Personal Identity (where audience explore, re-affirm or question their identity in regards to the characters identities) and Surveillance (where the media are referred for information about what is happening elsewhere). These four needs are argued to represent the ways audience establish their relationship with the media. While uses and gratification model provides a useful framework for thinking about audiences relationship with the media, critics question the fundamental structure of this theory. Researchers who are in support of media effects theories for example, questioned the notion of gratification itself, which in a way could be seen as a media effect. It was also argued that this approach focused heavily on audience use of the media, rather than how audiences make meanings of media content. Therefore, uses and gratification theory does not foregrounds itself in the theoretical debate, rather it focuses on the methodological approach of media studies, offering a way of doing media research, as opposed to contextualizing the relationship between media and audience (Littlejohn, 2002; Severin and Tankard, 1997; McQuail 1994). Therefore, studies adopting this approach were more focused on examining audience psychological needs and often overlook the importance of socio-cultural elements of audienc e needs. All the theoretical approaches discussed thus far have only allocated power to either the audience or the media. One of the pioneer works to break away from this over emphasis of unilateral power was established by Stuart Halls through his encoding/decoding model. Hall (1980) argues that media producers encode specific meanings in media text, which is distributed to audiences who will then decode and (re)produce these meanings through their own understanding (Hall, 1980:128). Hall suggests that the media (television) is an iconic sign because it possesses some of the qualities for the object in which they represent (Hall, 1980:131) and the process involved to produce and interpret these iconic signs is known as encoding/decoding. Hall does not just chart a middle ground between audience and the media but also introduced media producers into the equation and their roles in this relationship. Hall argues that producers agendas and assumptions are encoded in media text and that this shapes the preferred meanings of the text, albeit embedded in codes and convention of a particular medium to hide the text own ideological construction. Such meanings limit and guide audience interpretations, although specific frameworks outside the text such as socio-economic frameworks (for example gender, education and ethnicity), do play a role to influence audiences interpretations. Halls approach is in line with the social constructionists, where previous knowledge as well as experience of the media and the subject discussed played an important part to help construct peoples perception. While Halls notion of preferred meanings does not suggest that audience is homogenous, their interpretations will however, be consistent to producers intended idea. However, he suggests that audience can encode preferred meanings in a slightly different manner, in which Hall refers to as the margin of understanding. Halls encoding/decoding model suggests the meaning of a text lies somewhere between the producer and the reader. One of the reasons why encoding/decoding model is significant in media studies is because it balances the relationship between the media and audience, returning some power to the media while maintaining audience as active participants. This approach acknowledges both audience and the media as sites of meaning making. Hall further develops a model for the types of audience decoding. The four identified readings are (1)Dominant when audience recognise and agree with the preferred meaning offered by media text (2)Oppositional when audience understand the preferred meaning but disagree with it because it contradicts to their own set of beliefs and attitudes (3)Negotiated when audience opposes or adapts to the preferred meaning and (4)Aberrant decoding when audience gives meanings deviant to the preferred meaning. Morley however notes that this model is limited because preferred meaning is itself an unclear concept. This is because the model tends to overlap text and producers intention as preferred meaning, when they actually involve different processes and that preferred meaning may not always be embedded in text. It is therefore difficult to conceptualise preferred meaning, one which can be easily confused with something that is agreed by majority of the text audience. Kitzinger (1998) further argues that oppositional reading is sometimes a problematic term because people do not necessarily understand the preferred meaning. In her research she found out that peoples understanding sometimes intersect with pre-existing knowledge and mental pictures of other things, particularly when an issue is new and has not received much media attention. For example, in her research she found that some people do not understand the preferred meanings of HIV media awareness campaign and uses their pre-existing knowledge of AIDS as a way to understand and decode media messages about HIV. Nonetheless, despite limitations to Halls types of audience readings, encoding/decoding model continues to serve as an advantageous model in media studies. Among others, Halls encoding/decoding model has led to an increasing interest to explore media reception and audiences as active participants. A significant body of work developed in the UK focused on audience studies, but positioned within cultural framework (for example see Ang 1985; Morley, 1980; Radway, 1987). The foundations for this body of work is championed by Hall himself at the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (BCCCS) and his colleagues such as David Morley (1980) who explored how people from different (sub)cultures responded to the same media output (the BBC channel current affairs programme Nationwide). His Nationwide Audience Research adopted a semiotic approach to understanding audience responses to media text. Morley compiled audience responses from various different class and social/cultural backgrounds after they watched an episode of the news/current affairs programme Nationwide. Through these interviews, Morley tried to observe whether participan ts obtained a preferred reading from the programme. In a way, Morleys work puts Halls Encoding/Decoding model to the test. From his findings, Morley argues that encoding/decoding model is insufficient because it underestimated the variety of determinants in decoding a reading (Fiske, 1989). Morley argues that people may decode according to Halls audiences decoding positions but this process intersects with sociological demographics such as age, gender and also the context for viewing the programme (Morley, 1980:26; 199299). What this propose is that the meaning of text is interpreted within audiences sociological and cultural framework which may influence their knowledge, prejudices and resistance towards a discourse. Members of a given sub-culture will tend to share a cultural orientation towards decoding messages in particular ways and that their individual readings, whether dominant, negotiated or oppositional are framed by shared cultural formations and practices (1981b, p. 51). This shared cultural interpretation may (or may not) cut across different groups from different economic backgrounds and social class (Morley 1980). In his body of work, audiences are seen to actively consume media for pleasure, reinforcement and identity construction, a framework that focuses on media consumption and the role media play in popular culture. By emphasising that the meaning is not in the text, but in the reading (siapa) it opens up possibilities for audience reception studies and looking at the relationship between media and audience, in relations to other social context. His study was therefore considered one of the major turn around point in the history of media studies. According to David Morley: Before Messages can have effects on audiences, they must be decoded. Effects is thus a shorthand, and inadequate, way of marking the point where audiences read and make sense of messages. (Morley 1978, p125 (emphasis added) He later adds Of course, there will always be individual private readings, but we need to investigate the extent to which these individual readings are patterned into cultural structures and clusters (Morley 1980) Researchers continued to explore reception studies and studying audience became a popular trend for media researchers in the 1990s. Expanding Morleys approach which looks at how people from different cultural backgrounds interpret representations in media, researchers were interested to explore peoples personal and socio-cultural context as an integral part for understanding the rich range of meanings decoded and understood by media audience. On the whole, these studies adopted a culturalist perspective and are concerned with exploring audience active choices, consumptions and interpretations of media materials. Such research emphasizes audience interpretations of the text based on their individual cultural background and life experiences. In essence, the meaning of a text is not inherent within the text itself, but is created within different processes involved in the relationship between the text and the reader. For example, Katz and Liebel (1985) conducted a cross-cultural study on television soap Dallas in Japan, Israel and Russia. They concluded that various ethnic groups differed in their interpretation of foreign television programme, in which they referred to as critical distance. From the research, Liebes (1988:281) suggested that different groups perceive selectively towards what they watch and that this played a part in the forms of retelling and the talk they generate about a television program. A basic acceptance of the meaning of a specific text tends to occur when audience share traits and cultural background, which then may lead to the text being interpreted in similar ways. Culture has an interpretative function for the members of a group which share that particular culture. Nonetheless, expressions of culture-resultant behaviour are modified by the individuals personality, upbringing and life-experience to a considerable degree. Developments in cross-cultural audience studies have deepened our understanding of media reception in different cultures and the different relationship audiences have with the media. This process plays a role in the development of other issues for example, production of identity and popular culture. Audience use existing cultural frameworks to (re)construct meaning from a media text, thus it is through audience interpretations that we are able to gain more comprehension towards the culture to which that audience belongs (Gauntlett). This new approach for looking at media-audiences relationship was coined New Audience Research (Ang 1996, Morley 1990, etc). Researchers such as Curran et. al. (1996) saw this as a revolutionary rethink of the dispersion of power within the media-audience relationship, while scholars such as Fiske (1987) proclaim power of the audience. As Fiske commented on Morleys Nationwide Study: Its value for us lies in its shift away of emphasis away from the textual and ideological construction of the subjects to socially and historically situated people. It reminds us that actual people in actual situations watch and enjoy actual television programmes. (Fiske 1989, p63) Indeed Fiske, ever enthusiastic of Morleys research, said that it established ethnographic research as a legitimate tool to understand audiences (Fiske 1989). The focus on human beings in their social settings seems to a contemporary reader to be quite an obvious component of audience research. The influential academic journal Screen began to take up the idea that the audience was made up of more meaning than that disseminated by the text (Fiske 1989). This led to a generation of media and cultural studies protagonists who turned their focus away from semiotic analysis of the text and the individual and tried to focus on the social background of the audiences and how they decode the text itself. Their work appeared from the early 70s to the mid 80s and mostly conducted qualitative field work on small groups from targeted socioeconomic backgrounds (Nightingale 1996). The idea of the audience being able to make their own readings and the move away from semiotics was given a more pluralistic (Morley 1990) element by cultural studies writer John Fiske. Fiske was influenced heavily by the French polymath Michel de Certeau (Underwood, 2008), who advocated that people were continuously trying to undermine the dominant culture by creating tactics of resistance within everyday life. Fiske incorporated this into the idea of the active audience (Fiske 1989, pp 62-83), believing that audiences constantly tried to find new meanings inside media and that it was programmes that were made by industry, not text. Fiske maintained that: Texts are the product of their readers. So a programme becomes a text at the moment of reading. (Fiske 1989, p 14) And that: Texts are the site of conflictà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦between production and reception. (Fiske 1989, p14). From this freedom of meaning and conflict, audiences are capable of creating all sorts of resistance readings to the preferred dominant culture, constantly changing it in the process as elites try to catch up and encircle the masses into its fold once more. Fiske (1990) takes the example of jeans as fashion items they produce jeans and we alter them to look more trendy, so they react again. Creating a cycle of resistance by the active audiences/consumers and the dominant classes. Fiske continues, maintaining that there is no such thing as a homogenised audience, but rather a collection of pluralised audiences that are created from a multiplicity of backgrounds. Fiske maintained that this multiplicity of meaning amounts to a semiotic democracy (Fiske 1989, p95) where people are culturally competent enough to not need media experts to help them. This goes much further, it could be argued, than Morley, as Fiske seems to be saying that the actual meaning of any programme could be completely different, not just oppositional, negotiated, or dominant. Fiskes argument causes problems for many media researchers as it means that they are almost incapable of discovering how audiences think and behave. Indeed, Fiske often cites the fact that 80-90 per cent of all advertising strategies fail to succeed in bringing in an increase in sales (Fiske 1990), which has led to many people to question the usefulness of New Audience Research. First, there seems to be a great deal of backtracking and shifting over how much meaning should be assigned by the audience and how much on the text amongst its protagonists with disagreements as to how far audiences were interpreting texts through their social backgrounds with Nightingale (1996) pointing out that many later research studies backtracked into textual analysis. Morley (1990) decided to distanc e himself from Fiskes ideas of a semiotic democracy despite the latters praise of his Nationwide study. In his article printed in Curran et al (1990), he criticises the lack of power in Fiskes beliefs, stating that it had become too disseminated and lacked ideology. He also commented on the fact that reading texts is not the same as changing the text itself. Morley (ibid) himself had an argument with his contemporary James Curran, who questions the novelty of New Audience Research and therefore how much it had to add to the discourse. For instance, he cited work completed by a large number of media effects researchers from the 1940s and 1950s, who studied reception analysis whilst taking into account sociological backgrounds. For New Audience researchers, he argues: year AD starts with textual analysis (ibid p266) in the cultural/literary effects tradition and ignores what went before it. Of Fiske he argues that his ideas were old pluralism re-heated (ibid p267) that simply played into the hands of neo-liberal America, that wanted to deny any sort of hegemonic power in the media. Nightingale (1996) takes this further and comments that news and current affairs programmes and the ideology politics that surrounded them were dropped soon after the Nationwide study for more identity-orientated politics within soap operas making the research f ar more populist. The fact that the research turned the idea of power and ideology away from the media itself is something that Nightingale and many others criticise. Even Morley (1990) acknowledged that it is very well to rip ones jeans as a sign of resistance; however this is at best a micro-political move of resistance and not one that makes people think twice about buying designer jeans. Despite these valid criticisms, this essay still maintains that New Audience Research still was revolutionary as it helped a discourse that was very much removed from focusing on the audience as individuals able to make a resistance or re-interpret the media in any way. Morley (cited in Curran et al, 1990) replied to Currans argument by saying that he criticised the new research with the gift of hindsight given to him by new audience researchs work, and that none of the previous authors whose work focused on the audience would have been brought to light if it was not for new audience research raising the audience as an issue once again. In this way, a once marginalised area of research reasserted itself into the mainstream. It was, as Morley (1980) said a paradigm shift in every sense of the word. Sympathy, too, has to be given to Fiske for his pluralistic vision of semiotics. It could be argued that he was merely taking Halls original challenge to its logical conclusion that it cou ld be hypothesised that Audiences could actually hold a great deal of power. Curran (1990), Nightingale (1996), Eco (1974 cited in Nightingale 1996)) and others all agree that Fiske through his ideas on the active audience and plurality of meaning brought the idea of semiotics to a new generation of researchers, especially in America. Nightingale (1996, p 58) goes further and argues that New Audience Research was the point where sociology and semiotics meet in a globally unifying approach to the study of mass communications. Nightingale herself argues that despite the shortcomings, the new wave of Audience research was indeed paradigm shift and created a profound reorientation in cultural studies (ibid, p 60). Her reasoning for this was that studies such as Morleys Nationwide forced researchers to look beyond the passivity of audiences, beyond psychology and/or effects and root the debate within political and sociological discourse. It allowed researchers to look beyond the mass and see the inherent stratification in society (ibid, p 69). Furthermore, the emphasis on ethnography and qualitative research helped to bridge the gap between researcher and subject (ibid, p 68). In this way researchers now had to acknowledge this dimension of the audience as a major factor in audience research. In conclusion, despite new audience researchs critics saying that that it dissolves the meaning of the text, is not anything new, and individualises and pluralises audience research to a point to where meaning almost evaporates (Curran p 260), the concept behind it has still proved to be revolutionary. First, it took the discourse of audience studies away from the pessimistic and almost patronising beliefs of Marxists, Leavisites and media affects theorists that saw the audience as a single, passive mass. Instead it made them into active forces of meaning as Hall maintained. As Morley discovered in his experiment, they did not have to agree with the way mass media encoded the text, they could take various meanings from it depending on a host of background factors. They were an active audience, according to Fiske, who could resist the hegemony of media and create their own readings. It has had a lasting effect on audience research globally, whilst the discourse has moved on, the soci al, cultural and economic etc background of an audience is seen as a major component of audience studies research (Jensen et al, 1991). Active audience studies New Influence Research The evolution of media studies reviewed thus far reveals the distinctions, if not contradictions to the approaches between media effects research and studies exploring active audiences / reception studies. Kitzinger (2004:24) notes that the polarity between these two media scholarships has split media researchers into two sides, moreover with the existing geographical and cultural borders between which historically underpins media studies framework. Studies emphasising media effects and media power over audiences are more popular in the United States, whereas researchers in the Western Europe are more interested with the way audience use and meanings of media messages. At some point, this gap continues to widen as researchers focused on the difference, rather than finding a way to bridge media effects and audience studies (Morley, 1998). Nonetheless, a group of scholars have attempted to revitalise Halls encoding/decoding theory and try to (re)connect reception studies with media effects studies (for example see reception work conducted by the Glasgow Media Unit, Kitzinger, 2004; and Miller et. al., 1998). These studies revive the approach of Morleys Nationwide research and differentiate themselves from the over-emphasis of audience power in most active audience studies. This approach, also referred as the new influence research acknowledges that the media has some influence towards people and that the focus is to identify what and how audiences interact with these influences. Kitzinger (2002:276) asserts that the new influence studies has little connection with the hypodemic needle theory and that exploring into the ways audiences interpret media messages will help reveal ways in which media effects actually operates. The new influence research therefore acknowledges some media effects on audiences by theorizing way s in which audience interpret media representations and construct meanings. Although the impetus of new influence research is to bridge the gap between two major approaches of media research, most empirical work do not necessarily concern to find a link between media and behaviour in any context. In fact studies consistently fail to find a link between these two (Barker and Petley, 1996; Norris et. Al, 1999), and any research hoping to prove such link is doomed to failure (Gauntlett, 1998). On the other hand, the new influence research embraces the different ways audience may interpret what they see/hear/read in the media and acknowledges the limits of these interpretations, as well as the possibilities for shared mainstream interpretation particularly when dealing with repetitive and relatively closed text (Kitzinger, 1999; Livingstone, 1999). What this suggests is that although people can individually respond actively to the media, their predisposed collective needs, beliefs and interests may influence their response. Media reporting of health and perception of risks Seale (220:25) argues that the ways in which audience understand health issues is complex and involves a process of selecting and constructing unique composition of different health stories through media usage and experience. This process, or intertextual experience as he describes it, should not be overlooked in studies of media and health as audience are not only exposed to a single health story, but interactions of various different health issues across different media. As a result, audience understanding of a particular health issue may (or may not) overlap or influenced by their interpretation of other health stories in the media. Seale therefore believes that when analysing any forms of media

The Wedding Planner Essay -- Literary Analysis

Chaucer’s tale of courtly love may have been written in the fourteenth century, but the growth of love that occurs in the story is still a concept that can be seen in the twenty-first century. The script for The Wedding Planner, a 2001 romantic comedy, contains the following lines, said by father to daughter about the development of love in his arranged marriage: â€Å"I appreciated her. Then the appreciation grew to respect. Respect grew to like. Then like grew to love.† While Troilus fell head-over-heels in love with Criseyde, his beloved needed some time and persuasion to warm up to his affection. The processing of his wooing, her dancing around the potential for a relationship, and each of them coming to terms with his or her own feelings is exemplary of the journey from complete strangers to lovers in â€Å"heaven’s grace.† For Criseyde, appreciation really did grow to respect and then to like and, finally, to love. The full impact of the emotion that the lovers share is felt in Book III. By that point, Troilus has successfully wooed his sweetheart, and she has realized, wisely according to Chaucer, that â€Å"though he was not self-confident or tough,/ Nor tried to fool her with some fine address,† she loved him (Book III, stanza 13). Troilus spent two books playing a game with Criseyde and her uncle, Pandarus. He has written her letters and showed off in armor and paraded like a peacock all while being terrified that he was going to be unsuccessful in gaining Criseyde’s attention. In Book I, the reader is granted an insight into Troilus’ later fear of rejection, an insight that Criseyde is never privy to. Troilus has never been in love. In fact, he has scorned love, denied its worth in front of all his soldiers. When a man under his ... ...ore afraid† and Troilus â€Å"seem[s] inspired† (Book III, stanza 69). This is the true manifestation of courtly love; the man, the lover, motivated by a beloved, doting woman. On this journey from doubt to trust and from cynicism to confidence, both Troilus and Criseyde reach an ultimate bliss in one another. For a man who did not believe in love and for a woman who did not need a man, the journey was challenging and filled with resistance. The remarkable aspect of courtly love is that it defies expectations. With proper, unrelenting, and sincere wooing, as Troilus demonstrates, a champion can be won. Criseyde grew to love and lean on Troilus, and Troilus grew to believe in love. And all it took was 127 pages and two books to get there. Chaucer never said the journey would be short – or easy – just that it would â€Å"bring them to [the] heaven of grace† (Book I, stanza 6).

Linear Technology Essay

1. Describe Linear Technologies payout policy. Linear Technology announced its first dividend on October 13, 1992 in order to portray Linear Technology as a less risky firm than other technology companies that did not pay dividends and to gain access to new investors interested in earning income in addition to investing in growth. Linear Technology initially planned to begin with a relatively low dividend of $0.05 per share which amounted to a 15% earnings payout ratio – mindful of the fact that investors abhorred firms that reduced or stopped their dividend payment schedule. Beginning more conservatively than their original estimates, Linear Technology began with a $0.00625 dividend per share. Linear Technology has steadily increased it’s dividend per share increasing the payout approximately every four quarters by $0.00125. This pattern was maintained from Q2 1993 to Q3 2000. Beginning in Q4 2000, Linear Technology began increasing its dividend per share by a new pattern of $0.01 increases per four quarters. The current dividend per share is $0.05 during Q3 2003. Its current dividend yield of 1% is relatively higher than the average dividend yield rate for Information Technology firms in the S&P 500, around 0.3%. 2. What are Linear’s financing needs? Should Linear return cash to tis shareholders? What are the tax consequences of keeping cash inside the firm? Linear Technology’s financing needs are to optimize its cash flow, investments, and cash balances in order to maximize its shareholder values. Linear’s cash balance in March 2003 stood at around $1.5 billion, which was being conservatively invested in short-term debt securities. The cash flow from these investments, the interest income, was around $52 million. Due to the tax cuts implemented by the Bush administration, the tax rate on dividends and capital gains were greatly reduced. The dividend tax rate dropped from an approximate 38% and the capital gains tax dropped from an approximate 20%. More important that the magnitude of the tax cuts, however, is that the capital gains tax was equalized with the dividends tax. When the dividends tax is higher than the capital gains tax, the optimal dividend  policy is to pay no dividends. In this situation, the firm will use share repurchases instead in order to take advantage of tax savings. Before the tax cuts, the firm has less incentive to raise funds for dividend payouts due to the higher tax rate on dividends and the negative effect on shareholders. However, with the equalized tax rate of 15%, the firm is no longer discouraged from raising dividends. 3. IF Linear were to pay out its entire cash balance as a special dividend, what would be the effect on value? On the share price? On earnings? On earnings per share? What if Linear repurchased shares instead? Assume a 3% rate of interest. 4. Why do firms pay dividends? Why has the rate of dividend initiations changed over time? Firms pay dividends for several reasons despite the MM proposition that characterizes dividend policy as irrelevant. One main reason for dividend policy is based on the manager’s belief that investors prefer stable dividends with sustained growth. This kind of dividend signals to the investor the firm has reached a steady state growth i.e. a mature market position. A company usually only begins to consider releasing dividends once it has established regular and predictable operations cash flows. However, dividends can also act as a negative signal telling investors that the firm’s growth rate is slowing. Increasing the dividend can, on one hand, signal the manager’s perspective for future growth and optimism over future cash flows; on the other hand, increasing the dividend can also signal a lack of investment opportunities. The use of dividend payouts has steadily decreased over the last 30 years. This trend is in part related to the changes in dividend tax rate , however, I believe the majority of this trend or trends can be attributed to changes in investor preferences. The dividend payout decision is ultimately chosen by a manager, whose main objective is to satisfy shareholder preferences.

Money as a form of motivation in the work place

Money as a form of motivation in the work place Motivation is described as the forces that account for the stimulation, assortment, course and continuance of behavior[1]. This then means that quite a number of things can motivate people as motivation is goal oriented behavior.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Money as a form of motivation in the work place specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More People tend to do things for the rewards they will receive at the end of the task or at the end of a period of time. Money, at the work place is one of the things that get people to work harder. This then shows that money can and is used as a motivational factor in the work place so that employees can strive to give their best and their all at the end of the day. Nowadays, people tend to look at how much they are going to get paid rather than job satisfaction, hence in this light money becomes a motivational force for the workplace and for the employees. In short, money makes peop le wake up in the morning to go to work, sit behind a desk for eight or more hours and go back home tired at the end of the day ready to repeat the whole process again the following day. When workers are money motivated, they will carry out their duties effectively, efficiently and thoroughly so that they can make as much money as possible in the shortest time possible. According to management study guide, Motivation is very important in an organization as it improves the level of efficiency of employees which in turn leads to an increase in productivity, reducing the cost of operations and improving overall efficiency. Motivation in the work place also leads to achievement of organizational goals. Organizational goals are achieved when co-ordination and cooperation take place at the same time which can effectively be achieved through money motivation[2]. Motivation plays a big role when it comes to survival of organizations. If the way to fully motivate employees is to offer them m oney then organizations will offer their employees money so as to motivate them fully in their work therefore improving the organization as a whole. Employers need to also appreciate what inspires employees within the environment of their work and the responsibility that they perform.[3] There are theories of motivation of employees that are linked to money in one way or another. Different researchers came up with different theories explaining the needs of workers:Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to Abraham Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy Theory (1983), â€Å"Employees have five levels of needs: physiological, safety, social, ego and self-actualizing. Physiological needs are important as they sustain human life and one cannot survive without them. They are; food, water, warmth, shelter, sleep, medicine and education. Safety needs are the needs to be free of physical danger, fear of losing a job, property, and protection against emotional harm. Social needs include the need to belong and acceptance from others not forgetting the need for affection and friendship. Ego/esteem needs include satisfaction of power, prestige status and self confidence while self actualization is the drive to become â€Å"what one is capable of becoming, it includes growth, achieving one’s potential and self fulfillment†[4]. (Maslow 1943) Maslow insisted that for one to move on successfully to the next level, the wishes at the lower level have to be completely achieved and fulfilled so as to be motivated by the higher needs level. In simple terms, for example, one would not be motivated by social status before he has achieved security or one would not be motivated by safety before he can afford the basic needs, food, shelter, clothing, education, medication, water and sleep. This shows that individuals have to work hard to get enough money so as to satisfy their needs and the needs of their dependants fully. In such a scenario, an employee would be motivated by the money he receives at the end of the work period as then would the employee be able to fulfill his needs therefore proving Maslow’s hierarchy needs theory. According to Shah, and Professor Shah; and Vroom in reference to Vroom’s Valence x Expectancy theory: employee effort will lead to performance which will lead to rewards. The theory focuses on three things: efforts and performance relationship, performance and reward relationship, rewards and personal goal relationship[5]. The theory states that the force of inclination to behave in a certain way depends on the strength of anticipation that the act will be followed by a specific result and on the allure of that result to the individual. In simple terms, valence x expectancy theory states that an employee can be motivated to work harder when their belief is that hard work will result in awarene ss of individual targets in form of some prize; the prize in this case being money.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Money as a form of motivation in the work place specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Rewards can either be positive or negative, the more positive the reward the higher the level of motivation of the employee goes, while the more negative the reward, the less the level of motivation for the employee. In this sense money is seen as the positive reward, encouraging the employee to work harder and more effectively as the results of the employee’s hard work are positive, generating money for the employee, while loss of income is looked as the negative reward. Frederick Herzberg’s two-factor theory states that certain aspects in the work place result in job satisfaction but when these aspects are abolished they lead to dissatisfaction.[6] In his theory Herzberg states that intrinsic factors are re lated to job satisfaction, while extrinsic aspects are related to dissatisfaction. He based this theory on the question: â€Å"what do people want from their Jobs? he carried out a research and concluded that removing dissatisfying characteristics from a job does not necessarily make the job satisfying.† He claims that certain aspects when present in the work place make employees more motivated to work but when these aspects are absent, there is less motivation in the work place. In this scenario money bonuses can be seen as the aspect that brings more motivation to the work place and when there is absence of money there is less motivation amongst the employees. For example, if employees are told they will be paid extra money to come to work during public holidays and weekends, majority of the employees will show up as they are expecting a bonus which is in form of a sum of money at the end of the day. In this way money acts as a motivator to the employees who would give up t heir weekends and holidays with the aim of receiving a certain amount of money. Herzberg pointed out that there are two types of peoples needs: hygiene factors create dissatisfaction when they are missing and create satisfaction when they are there , employees often tend to take existence of these factors for granted for example; salary, working conditions, or job security. Motivators; contribute to satisfaction for example recognition in the work place, promotion, responsibility just to mention but a few. To achieve high motivation and employee output, motivation and hygiene factors must be used together[7]. In reference to Jeremy Bentham’s the carrot and stick approach, individuals are driven by their own self-interest and they are motivated by the desire to avoid pain at all costs and achieve maximum pleasure at the lowest possible cost. â€Å"An employee will work only if the reward is attractive and big enough or if the punishment is sufficiently horrible.†Adverti sing Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The carrot in this theory refers to the rewards while the stick refers to the punishment, in simpler terms employers use the system of rewards and punishment to induce certain behavior traits in their employees. In majority of motivational theories, some kind of ‘carrot’ are recognized and awarded to individuals in this case money, or some form of financial bonuses like a paid vacation, a company car that one does not have to fuel are used as motivational aspects for employees to keep working hard so that they can enjoy the financial rewards at the end of the day. The issue with the carrot approach is that more often than not, individuals get the reward, in spite of their performance levels. The stick on the other hand refers to the punishments accorded to individuals who do not perform their duties well. In the form of fear; fear of loss of job, loss of income, reduction of a bonus, demotion or some other form of consequence has, is, and will still continue being an ef fective way of motivation among employees. The thought of loosing ones job and not having a steady income creates fear in the employees who work hard to keep their jobs and secure their income. The stick approach results in poor quality work, defensive behavior from the employees and it is not the best way to use when it comes to motivation of employees. Through the stick approach employees tend to fear and work because they have no other choice and they want to keep their jobs and get income at the end of the day. In using the carrot and stick approach to influence motivation among employees one ought to be careful so that the rewards, money and the penalties that is, loss of employment balance out. In this way an employer will have a peaceful working environment for his employees and himself. Money offers and financial bonuses should be attractive enough and sufficient enough for the employee needs so that they can work hard not only for their benefit but for the benefit of the em ployer and organization at large[8]. According to B.F. Skinner he uses the term operant conditioning to illustrate the effects of the outcomes of a specific character trait on the future repetition of the particular behavior. â€Å"There are four kinds of operant conditioning: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment and extinction. Positive and negative reinforcement fortify behavior while on the other hand punishment and extinction deteriorate behavior.† Positive reinforcement encourages behavior in that it offers rewards after certain good behaviors are observed for example; if your work is outstanding one gets an extra bonus and perhaps a promotion. Negative reinforcement on removes a stress factor as a result of good behavior. For example, economic sanctions being lifted from a country due to an improvement on their corruption levels. Extinction refers to getting no reward for something one has done. For example: if one is not getting paid for overtime, they stop working over time. Punishment is where one has to pay for their behaviors, for example; not getting paid the day one comes into work late[9]. In this case of operant conditioning money can be seen as positive and negative reinforcement. This means that the rewards an employee gets for working hard are in form of money either a bonus, or an increase in salary the more the money, the higher the level of motivation among employees . Punishment and extinction in this case can be looked at as loss of work, loss of a steady income and this will lower motivation levels among the employees. People have witnessed workers striking around the world due to payment issues that have arisen from delayed wages, salary arrears, more taxes, or minimum wages. Employee strikes have become a common site mostly due to the financial situations. When employees refuse to work and strike or go on a go, retirements benefits corporate offer this attractive package to employees increasing their motiv ation in their work. Bibliography An, ‘Theories of motivation’, Analytictech , 2003, Retrieved from analytictech.com/mb021/motivation.htm An, ‘Importance of motivation’, Management study guide, 2001, Retrieved from managementsudyguide.com/importance_of_motivation.htm Bentham, J., Jeremy Bentham: Life, Influence and Perspectives on his thought, Routledge, New York, 1993. Biehler, R. Snowman, J., Psychology Applied to Teaching, 12th ed, Houghton Mifflin, New York, 1997. Knights, D Willmott, H, Organizational behavior and management, London, Thomson Learning, 2007. Maslow, A H, ‘A theory of human motivation,’ Psychological Review, vol. 25, 1943, pp. 370-396. Shah. K Shah, J P, Vroom,V. H. work and motivation, Laynetworks, 2000, Retrieved from http://laynetworks.com/theories-of-motivation.html Ukwuoma, B, Muanya, C Olayinka C, ‘Health workers suspend strike, govt to pay 50% arrears’, 2000, Retrieved from http://news.onlinenigeria.c om/templates/?a=6107z=12 Vroom, V.H. Work and Motivation, Krieger Publishing Company, Manhattan,1982, pp. 48. ‘Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East Africa’, World Socialist 2010, Retrieved from wsws.org/articles/2010/wrks-j16.shtml Footnotes R Biehler J Snowman, Psychology Applied to Teaching, 12th ed. Houghton Mifflin, New York, 1997, 399. Management study guide: importance of motivation V h Vroom, Work and Motivation, Krieger Publishing Company, Manhattan, 1982, pp. 48. A Maslow, ‘A theory of human motivation,’ Psychological Review, vol. 25, 1943, pp. 370-396. K Shah J Shah, Vroom,V. H. work and motivation, Laynetworks, 2000, Retrieved from http://laynetworks.com/theories-of-motivation.html D Knights H Willmott, Organizational behavior and management, London, Thomson Learning, 2007, 83. D Knights H Willmott, Organizational behavior and management, London, Thomson Learning, 2007, 104. J Bentham, Jeremy Bentham: Life, Influence and Perspectives on h is thought, Routledge, New York, 1993, 65. An, ‘Theories of motivation’, Analytictech.com, 2003, Retrieved from analytictech.com/mb021/motivation.htm ‘Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East Africa’, World Socialist, 16th July 2010, viewed on wsws.org/articles/2010/wrks-j16.shtml ‘Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East Africa’, World Socialist, 16th July 2010, viewed on wsws.org/articles/2010/wrks-j16.shtml ‘Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East Africa’, World Socialist, 2010, Retrieved from wsws.org/articles/2010/wrks-j16.shtml A H Maslow, ‘A theory of human motivation,’ Psychological Review, vol. 25, 1943, pp. 370-396. ‘Workers Struggles: Europe, Middle East Africa’, World Socialist, 2010, Retrieved from wsws.org/articles/2010/wrks-j16.shtml B Ukwuoma, C Muanya C Olayinka, ‘Health workers suspend strike, govt to pay 50% arrears’, 2000, Retrieved from http://news.onlinenigeria.com/templa tes/?a=6107z=12

International Business The WritePass Journal

International Business Abstract International Business ) Also, as the industrial progress and the continuous economic growth of China continues, the standards of living of the huge Chinese population also continues to increase which only translates to increased purchasing power and increased demands for amenities. In particular, the entertainment spending of middle class Chinese people would create an explosive growth opportunity for the amusement industry. Social Factors Social factors should also be assessed before any investment venture. China has a huge population in the middle aged segment. Currently the population segment in the range of 15 and 64 represents the majority in China. (Banister et.al, 2010) A significant number of Chinese people are still in their twenties and middle age which is the target population for the theme parks. Also, traditionally Chinese are a nuclear family and hence theme parks are usually visited as a family. Also the huge population of China implies that the aging population does not create an economic stagnation as retiring workforce is rapidly replaced by skilled workers. (Banister et.al, 2010) Technological Factors China is a technologically advanced economy and hence there is immense scope for innovation in the amusement market. Even in the local amusement market there is a constant surge of innovative amusement themes and new facilities to entertain the public. There would be no dearth of talent and lack of scope for the application of technology into the development of the theme parks. Only last year an international ‘Theme parks expansion Summit’ was organized in the country and several new technologically innovative solutions were disclosed. For instance, Nanotron technologies, one of the main sponsors of the conference introduced the ‘Child Loss Protection System‘(CLOPS) and spoke about its introduction into the Chinese Theme parks, while another company, Dynamic Motion Rides, introduced the 4D simulation effects into the Theme parks. (Blooloop, 2011)   So the Chinese theme park industry is a technologically thriving and competitive industry. SWOT analysis Strengths Financial Might Disney has a powerful financial base and there fore could invest significantly for innovative attractions and features in the proposed Theme park. Disney already has a dedicated channel in China which it could utilize for marketing purposes. Already the company has proposed to invest as much as $3.8 billion for setting up its Shanghai theme park. (Rapoza, 2012). Disney’s huge experience (almost 80 years) in the entertainment industry is one of it’s main plus points. (De Groote, 2008) Brand Recognition Disney is a well established brand across the world. Even in China Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck characters are well known among the public. Disney could capitalize on its brand value to attract public to its theme park. For a new entrant into the Chinese market, Disney’s brand recognition would definitely ease the difficulties which any new and unrecognized brand would face.   One other advantage for Disney is the qualified and educated workforce that it employs. Disney also has a variety of attractions and thematic features that would help bring more people into the theme parks. (De Groote, 2008) Opportunities Globalization and the easing of barriers of entry in many countries provide Disney the ideal opportunity for expansion and with its financial muscle Disney can easily carve a niche market for its amusement parks in the global arena. Since China has already given the green signal and allowed Disney to enter the market it is the ideal time for the company to establish itself and gain a significant share of the growing Chinese amusement industry. Its diversified products and established brand power give it a clear advantage compared to any other international entrant into China. Weaknesses Disney is known to suffer from management problems. Its international diversification has furthered its management woes. Managing over 1, 37,000 employees across the world is not an easy job and it leads to communication problems and administrative bottlenecks. (De Groote, 2008) With the proposed expansion in China there will be a significant addition to the workforce which would complicate the management still further. Corporate officers are frequently shuffled across which also contributes to management difficulties.   Chinese customers though they are huge in numbers and willing to pay could not be expected to spend as much as American customers would.   The increasing fixed costs which directly relates with expansion and the increasing operating costs due to its large workforce imply that Disney has to spend considerably with any new venture. Furthermore, in the case of Disneyland in Paris the French government contributed over a billion dollars to help out Disney during the initial struggling phase. The same could not be expected from the Chinese government if Disney ventures alone. (De Groote, 2008)   Its main threats are from a growing number of Chinese theme parks that are more culturally oriented and cater to the tastes of the local population. Disney has to modify its themes to make them appealing to the cultural tastes of the Chinese people. The Chinese currency value fluctuation is one other major issue to be considered. Strategic Entry Entry into the Chinese market involves huge amounts of investment. As already indicated, Disney plans to invest as much as $3.8 billion into the Chinese venture. Though Disney has the financial might to bear the expenses by itself it would be a prudent risk management strategy to involve a large number of outside participants to cover the initial investment costs. In fact, Disney employed such a strategy when it entered the European market. The Saudi Prince Alwaleed owned 10% of the company stocks while the 50.2% were owned by others while Disney itself owned 39.8% of the stocks. (De Groote, 2008) In the case of Disney in Japan it was a Licensing agreement between Walt Disney and Oriental Land Corporation of Japan with Disney getting 7% of the sale proceeds in exchange for transfer of technical and managerial knowledge. (Misawa, 2005) Unlike the retain industry or the energy industry , the Chinese government is not opening up for a 100% FDI in the entertainment industry and has so fa r only agreed to a joint venture. This is however, a welcome opportunity for Disney as not only the cost is shared but also a joint venture with the State owned ‘Shanghai Shendi Group’   would definitely guarantee the government support and remove any possible administrative hurdles that would otherwise hamper any new business investment in a foreign land. (Bloomberg, 2010) With risk sharing also divided between the two, Disney can look forward to capitalizing on the great market prospects that China promises. Disney’s entry into the blooming Chinese amusement park industry with the government backing (as a joint venture) would be an ideal entry strategy for the Company.    Conclusion Walt Disney is a well diversified amusement company with global presence.   China is a blooming market and the global economic engine. With the theme park business in both the US and Europe already saturated, and a dwindling number of visitors affecting the profits, it is an opportunistic moment for Disney to enter China, the economic powerhouse of the world. As indicated by both the PEST analysis as well as the SWOT study, Disney is well poised for a successful venture into china. Since 100% FDI is not permitted in the Chinese entertainment industry, the proposed joint venture with the Chinese State owned firm, is a good entry strategy for Disney in China. Such an approach shares the investment costs, promotes equal interests in the operation and removes any possible administrative hindrances as well as contributes to equal risk sharing. The prevailing climate of political stability, economic viability and significant growth prospects that China offers and the comparative economic stagnation in US and Europe, offer strong economic reasons for Disney to venture into China which holds great possibilities for future business growth. References Bloomberg (2010), Walt Disney signs joint venture to build first mainland China Theme Park, viewed march 28th 2012, bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-05/disney-signs-joint-venture-contract-with-shanghai-for-first-park-in-china.html com, (2011), China Theme Park Expansion Summit : A Shanghai Success, viewed Ma 28th 2012, blooloop.com/Article/China-Theme-Park-Expansion-Summit-a-Shanghai-Success/287 Lam Hing Kok, (2009), Walt Disney employees training participation and its effect of employees’ intrinsic motivation, job satisfaction and affective commitment. Viewed March 26th 27th 2012, http://libproject.hkbu.edu.hk/trsimage/hp/06018661.pdf Frank Holmes, (2011) Four Examples of China’s amazing growth, viewed March 27th 2012, http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-04-14/markets/30026243_1_chinese-government-china-last-year-gdp-growth Judith Banister, David E. Bloom, and Larry Rosenberg, (2010), Population Aging and Economic Growth in China, PGDA Working paper no 53. Kennet Rapoza, (2012), Shanghai Disneyland driving foreign investment into the city, viewed March 28th 2012, forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2012/03/21/shanghai-disneyland-driving-foreign-investment-into-city/ Mitsura Misawa, 2005, Tokyo Disneyland, Licensing vs. Join Venture, University of Hong Kong, Harvard Business Online Patrick De Groote, (2008), Globalization of Commercial Theme Parks Case: The Walt Disney Company, Agroinform Publishing House, Budapest. Viewed March 28th 2012, http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/104660/2/2_Parick%20Globalisation_Apstract.pdf Steven Hill, (2011), China’s tentative steps towards democracy, viewed March 27th 2012, guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jan/19/china-barack-obama cn (2009). Disney: five theme parks in a different operating condition. Viewed November 4, 2009, smgbb.cn/zixun/shishi/2009-11-04/342208.html Nick Edwards, (2012), China FDI fall puts potential policy response in focus, viewed March 27th 2012 , reuters.com/article/2012/03/15/uk-china-economy-fdi-idUKBRE82E05S20120315 Invest in China, (2012), Statistics about utilization of Foreign investment in China from Jan to Dec 2012, viewed Mar 28th 2012, fdi.gov.cn/pub/FDI_EN/Statistics/FDIStatistics/StatisticsofForeignInvestment/t20120119_140572.htm Xiaojun Cui, (Nov 2009), In depth analysis of PC industry in China, International Journal of Business and Management, Vol 4, no 11,

Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 12

Assignment - Essay Example Also, he has not sharply brought the impression that the large mushroom of white smoke is not cloud, but smoke. Irrespective of the type of camera used, the focus of the image is clear. The photographer clearly aims and focuses on the tallest tower under fire attack. Other buildings surrounded by the tower are an addition to indicate the extent of damage brought about by the great explosion. The shallow depth of field used leaves every element out of focus except the buildings under attack, as well as the messy environment created by the impact. The purpose for using a shallow depth of field is to keep the viewer’s focus on the main subject (the tower), and to bring about a sense of mystery over where the event occurred. Additionally, crafting a monochromatic tone brings about a vintage feeling which further reminds the viewer that it is an historical event. When it comes to matters concerning the framing of the shot, the photographer intends to guide the viewer’s roaming eyes from the tower of focus, to the buildings surrounding it. The photojournalist also seeks to show the viewer the surrounding environments and buildings that have been literary blanketed by the mushroom of smoke coming from the tower. This adds extra interest on the picture. In the second picture, the photographer seeks to create an impression of a war-tone environment where there are casualties of war. He focuses on the dark, often unmentioned effects of war. The soldier pictured, is the subject of focus. The object he is trying to hold with his two hands, is probably a war victim, who might be a fellow soldier, or innocent non-combatants. The object that relays an impression of war includes the full combat outfit worn by the person under focus. The photo has an extremely sharp contrast which creates a blurring effect. The point of interest in this photo is the soldier. To distinguish them from other elements captured, the photographer captured a photo with a shallow depth of field,

Legal Based Analysis of The Leveson Inquiry Essay

Legal Based Analysis of The Leveson Inquiry - Essay Example By extension, this inquiry serves as the starting point within which a framework for regulating the media can be based and then modalities developed to handle any malpractices within the press. Although the inquiry started with a narrow area of scope, it soon snowballed into an enigma revolving around media ethics or its absence within journalism. Journalism and press are synonymous with each given their close association. It follows then that when either of them is brought into disrepute, then automatically the other one is also adversely affected. In the case of Lord Justice Leveson inquiry, a lot of dirt was dug out with regards to the rot within the British press. This rot was evidently brought by tabloid journalist s hungry for recognition at the expense of high ethical standards that have existed within British Press. On the sides, the police and the politicians turned a deaf ear to the declining ethical standards all the while assuming casual demeanour. A close scrutiny of Lor d Leveson’s inquiry1 reveals a tinge of mediocre and serious issues that affect the society at large. In large parts of the report, the matters being focussed are less serious like tabloid journalism. However, this does not in any way let the mainstream press of the hook since the rulings and recommendations will affect all forms of press across the board. One of the concerns about the report is that, it tries to compare and handle journalism like other professions like medicine or engineering. This is partly because every profession has got different ethical standards to observe and these standards are not directly transferable to other professions. To say the least, there is very little articulation about the new technologies of communication which is very similar to journalism. Take for instance someone who is blogging or posting information on the internet is more or less a reporter. There appears to be thin line between mainstream journalism and tabloids which is the foc al point of the report. First off, the mess and decline of the ethical standards within the British Press have been largely caused by tabloids and exacerbated by both politicians and police. The latter two have failed to act swift and nip the problem at the bud which has led to them being caught up and entangled within this elaborate web of decay. As a way of affirming the guilty of the tabloids and their insensibility to the reality of the matter, both the politicians and police have been apt in siding and backing up the findings of the report. However, their swift move does not exonerate them from their shortcomings and failure which they have propagated within the past couple of years. It would seem seldom sensible to act fast to mop up the rot since much of the ethical practices carried by the parties adversely mentioned in the inquiry are outlawed within the law. Some of these unlawful undertakings include; phone tapping, harassment among other equally heinous acts within the p ublic domain. Of interest in all these subtle crimes within the press and reporting sphere is the fact that despite the existence of legislations outlawing such activities, they happen unabated by the law. One of the most astounding recommendations of by the report is to replace the