The Power of Language

Language is considered to be one of the most important components of culture since it is through language that human beings are able to communicate with each other.   However, there are many different languages for many different parts of the world.   This makes it hard for people from different parts of any culture with different language to communicate with each other.   Thus, studying or learning another’s language is as much a part of us as reading books is. Learning a new language is an integral part of becoming at home in a new or another country.   Stepping into another country or territory wherein another language is used, you feel as if you are the only person who can understand yourself.   You feel like an alien.   You feel alone. But when you finally learn the language, it makes you feel happy and satisfied, as if you have just received an award or finished the most difficult project you have encountered.   But your contentment doubles when you learn to use it effectively when communicating with other people.   You no longer feel alone.   You feel that, at last, someone understands what you are trying to say. Amy Tan’s article, Mother Tongue, talks about how her mother’s â€Å"broken† English finally led her to realize that the more important thing in learning a language is not speaking or writing it perfectly, with all the difficult words and grammatical correctness.   She realized that the more important thing is to speak or write a language wherein most people can understand it. When she wrote her novel The Joy Luck Club, she intended to use difficult words, phrases and metaphors because she thought this is how she can prove to most people that second-language learners do not just excel in sciences or mathematics wherein there is a common language use.   However, as she went on writing, she began to realize that she should think about the readers and how they would feel or think about her stories.   She envisioned that reader to be her mother. This is the point when she finally understands that she should â€Å"water down† the English she is using to make her mother understand what she was trying to say.   That is, it is more important to capture the essence of what her mother’s language ability cannot reveal — the intent, passion and imagery her mother was trying to get across. Tan summarizes her personal experience and feelings in learning English in her last paragraph in Mother Tongue: Apart from what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: â€Å"So easy to read.† (476) Another article that tells a story of how difficult it is to learn a new language is Malcolm X’s Coming to an Awareness of Language.   To Malcolm X, what makes it harder is to learn to communicate it to people effectively.   In this brief autobiography, he mentioned how he would write to hustlers, presidents, and people in the streets to communicate about Allah.   He gives speeches and talks in conferences.   One look from him and you’d think that he went to school and got beyond eighth grade.   But he attributes all his knowledge in the English language to his serving his time in prison. Malcom X tells how hard he tried to learn the English language.   All of his motivation to learn the English language came from his envy to Bimbi.   He tried to emulate him by conversing with him in English and reading books in English.   But then, he cannot understand most of the words and sentences in the books he picked.   He would skip the difficult words so he ended up not understanding what the book really said.   What he did is that he got hold of a dictionary and started to write everything each day from each page. This is how he learned not just new and difficult words but some history and facts as well.   Malcom X’s autobiography tries to tell us that no matter how hard it is to learn a new language (or just to learn something), it makes you feel satisfied and free after you know you have finally understood it. David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day also describes how he painstakingly learned a new language — the French language this time.   He enrolled in Alliance Francaise to study French only to discover that his teacher is, as he called it, a wild animal.   It was only the first day of class and he and his classmates were already grilled in using the French they knew about by telling about themselves in French. All of them were called to introduce themselves but not one of them was saved by the sadistic teacher who made fun of their French.   His fears and discomfort that he felt as a child all came running back to him as if he was being a kindergarten all over again.   But then, no matter how his teacher tried to insult his laziness, he would only be studying more. Learning a new language can be tricky and very difficult especially for first-timers.   There are times when, as Sedaris described, we would prefer to hide behind stores and cash registers and avoid asking trivial questions in another language.   But all this is learning.   Learning is, indeed hard and tricky, but when we finally learned, it is very satisfying.   In learning a new language, it is very satisfying in the sense that when we finally learned and mastered another language, we know that more people can understand us.   We feel gratified that we have earned the rewards of the hardships we have experienced.   And most of all, we feel a sense of belongingness. Works Cited Malcom X. â€Å"Coming to an Awareness of Language.† Sedaris, David. â€Å"Me Talk Pretty One Day.† 2000. Tan, Amy. â€Å"Mother Tongue.† The Power of Language Language is considered to be one of the most important components of culture since it is through language that human beings are able to communicate with each other.   However, there are many different languages for many different parts of the world.   This makes it hard for people from different parts of any culture with different language to communicate with each other.   Thus, studying or learning another’s language is as much a part of us as reading books is. Learning a new language is an integral part of becoming at home in a new or another country.   Stepping into another country or territory wherein another language is used, you feel as if you are the only person who can understand yourself.   You feel like an alien.   You feel alone. But when you finally learn the language, it makes you feel happy and satisfied, as if you have just received an award or finished the most difficult project you have encountered.   But your contentment doubles when you learn to use it effectively when communicating with other people.   You no longer feel alone.   You feel that, at last, someone understands what you are trying to say. Amy Tan’s article, Mother Tongue, talks about how her mother’s â€Å"broken† English finally led her to realize that the more important thing in learning a language is not speaking or writing it perfectly, with all the difficult words and grammatical correctness.   She realized that the more important thing is to speak or write a language wherein most people can understand it. When she wrote her novel The Joy Luck Club, she intended to use difficult words, phrases and metaphors because she thought this is how she can prove to most people that second-language learners do not just excel in sciences or mathematics wherein there is a common language use.   However, as she went on writing, she began to realize that she should think about the readers and how they would feel or think about her stories.   She envisioned that reader to be her mother. This is the point when she finally understands that she should â€Å"water down† the English she is using to make her mother understand what she was trying to say.   That is, it is more important to capture the essence of what her mother’s language ability cannot reveal — the intent, passion and imagery her mother was trying to get across. Tan summarizes her personal experience and feelings in learning English in her last paragraph in Mother Tongue: Apart from what any critic had to say about my writing, I knew I had succeeded where it counted when my mother finished reading my book and gave me her verdict: â€Å"So easy to read.† (476) Another article that tells a story of how difficult it is to learn a new language is Malcolm X’s Coming to an Awareness of Language.   To Malcolm X, what makes it harder is to learn to communicate it to people effectively.   In this brief autobiography, he mentioned how he would write to hustlers, presidents, and people in the streets to communicate about Allah.   He gives speeches and talks in conferences.   One look from him and you’d think that he went to school and got beyond eighth grade.   But he attributes all his knowledge in the English language to his serving his time in prison. Malcom X tells how hard he tried to learn the English language.   All of his motivation to learn the English language came from his envy to Bimbi.   He tried to emulate him by conversing with him in English and reading books in English.   But then, he cannot understand most of the words and sentences in the books he picked.   He would skip the difficult words so he ended up not understanding what the book really said.   What he did is that he got hold of a dictionary and started to write everything each day from each page. This is how he learned not just new and difficult words but some history and facts as well.   Malcom X’s autobiography tries to tell us that no matter how hard it is to learn a new language (or just to learn something), it makes you feel satisfied and free after you know you have finally understood it. David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty One Day also describes how he painstakingly learned a new language — the French language this time.   He enrolled in Alliance Francaise to study French only to discover that his teacher is, as he called it, a wild animal.   It was only the first day of class and he and his classmates were already grilled in using the French they knew about by telling about themselves in French. All of them were called to introduce themselves but not one of them was saved by the sadistic teacher who made fun of their French.   His fears and discomfort that he felt as a child all came running back to him as if he was being a kindergarten all over again.   But then, no matter how his teacher tried to insult his laziness, he would only be studying more. Learning a new language can be tricky and very difficult especially for first-timers.   There are times when, as Sedaris described, we would prefer to hide behind stores and cash registers and avoid asking trivial questions in another language.   But all this is learning.   Learning is, indeed hard and tricky, but when we finally learned, it is very satisfying.   In learning a new language, it is very satisfying in the sense that when we finally learned and mastered another language, we know that more people can understand us.   We feel gratified that we have earned the rewards of the hardships we have experienced.   And most of all, we feel a sense of belongingness. Works Cited Malcom X. â€Å"Coming to an Awareness of Language.† Sedaris, David. â€Å"Me Talk Pretty One Day.† 2000. Tan, Amy. â€Å"Mother Tongue.†

Theory

Very much like the author of a book is given credit as its sole creator, auteur theory gives the film director credit for authoring the film, â€Å"imprinting it with his personal vision†(goodnight, 2011,sec. 7. 3,Para. 1). While auteur theory is a good starting point for film analysis, it places almost total responsibility for a film's artistic success or failure on the director. The problem is that not all film critics agree on the same definition of what is considered art. According to Andrew Saris, to be considered an auteur, a film director must qualify in three key areas: 1.Technical competence 2. Distinguishable personality and 3. Interior meaning A positive aspect about auteur theory is that directors can really make a name for themselves and become even more famous than their â€Å"Star actors†. While each of a director's films are unique in their own way, there still remains a common and recognizable thread that runs through them collectively that says â€Å" this is a Spielberg film, or â€Å"This is a James Cameron film†. On the other side, some say that the auteur theory is too full of holes and is not a good way to determine whether a film is true art.Some directors intentionally step outside the set parameters of what is generally considered technical competence. Others insist that because film is a collaborative effort, it is not fair to esteem directors more highly than screenwriters and actors who play equally important roles in the production of a film. I would consider Clint Eastward an auteur. He began his career very young as an actor in esters movies. After 16 years of acting and learning he began directing films. Eastward became famous first as an actor in films such as â€Å"Dirty Harry'.Later on in his career, though he played significant roles in each of his films, he was more known for his directorship of films like â€Å"Grand Torsion† and â€Å"Million Dollar Baby'. According to Prep Hemmer, in these f ilms, â€Å"Eastward shows himself as an auteur through his constant use of Juxtaposing relationships between a younger and older generation, is consistency of a tragic event occurring, bringing his films to end in a violent or tragic manner, and his choice of acting in the majority of his films as he challenges the declining role of American men†(Hemmer,n. . ).

Advantages and Disadvantages of High and Low Exchange Rates of a Fixed and Floating Exchange Rate System Essay

1. An exchange rate is the price of one currency expressed in terms of another. If the U.S. exchange rate for the Canadian Dollar is $1.60, this means that 1 American Dollar can be exchanged for 1.6 Canadian dollars. With a high exchange rate, there are many advantages: Imports become relatively cheaper. For example the price for imported raw materials becomes cheaper; the cost of production for firms becomes less. This could lead to decreased prices for consumers. The lower price of imported goods also puts pressure on domestic firms to keep prices low. All this leads to a downward pressure of inflation. Furthermore, more imports can be bought. A high exchange rate means that for each unit of the currency, more units in foreign currencies can be bought. Therefore there will be more visible imports, such as technology, and invisible imports, such as foreign travel. Moreover, a high value of currency forces domestic producers to more efficiency as they will try to remain their competitiveness. This would lead to greater economic productivity of the country. Yet, a result might also be the laying-off of workers. As visible, there are also disadvantages to a high exchange rate. Export industries might be damaged. Domestic companies will find it hard to sell their products abroad due to their relatively high prices, which could lead to unemployment in these industries. There also might be damage to domestic industries. As it is cheap for households to consume products from abroad, domestic industries might find that the demand, defined as the quantity of goods and services that consumers are willing, and able to buy at each possible price over a given time period, for domestic product falls. A result of this might be further increase in the level of unemployment, defined as the people of working age, those in the labour force, actively seeking work at the current wage rate but cannot find one, as firms cut back. Possible advantages of a low exchange rate involve the greater employment in export industries as exports become relatively less expensive. Furthermore, domestic companies might experience greater employment as the low exchange might encourage consumers to spend more on domestic goods and services, rather than importing goods and services. This might also raise employment. A possible disadvantage of a low exchange rate is inflation, defined as the sustained increase in the general or average level of prices. Imported final goods and services, raw materials and components become more expensive. The cost of production for firms will rise, leading to a raise prices for the final products. To sum up, a high exchange rate may be a good fight against inflation, but unemployment could be created, whereas a low value of a currency may be good for solving unemployment problems, but may create inflationary pressure. 2. A fixed exchange rate is an exchange rate regime where the value of a currency is fixed to the value of another currency, to the average value of a selection of currencies, or to the value of some other commodity, such as gold. Usually the central bank or government decide upon and maintain the value of the currency. The Barbadian Dollar has been fixed against the US dollar at a rate of 2Bds$ = 1 US$ since 1975. When there is an increase in supply, defined as the willingness and ability of products to produce a quantity of a good at a given price in a given time period, for Barbadian dollar, for example due to the Barbadians purchasing a greater amount of imports, the supply curve shifts from S1 to S2. There is excess supply of Barbadian dollars from Q2 – Q1. Without intervention by the government, the exchange rate would fall, leading to inflationary problems. The government will then buy up the excess supply of its own currency on the foreign exchange market. This shifts the demand curve from D1 to D2. This is possible due to previously amassed reserves of foreign currencies. An advantage of such a fixed exchange system is the reduction of uncertainties for all the economic agents in the country. Firms will be able to plan ahead, knowing that the predicted costs and prices for international trading agreements will not change. Furthermore, fixed exchange rates ensure sensible government policies on inflation as inflation has a very harmful effect on the demand for exports and imports. The government is forced to take up measures to ensure a low level of inflation. In theory, a fixed exchange rate should also reduce speculation in the foreign exchange markets. Yet, this has not always been the case in the past. Disadvantages of a fixed exchange rate are that the government is compelled to keep the exchange rate fixed. The main way of doing this is through the manipulation of interest rates. However, if the exchange rate is in danger of falling, then the interest rates have to be increased to raise demand for the currency. This will have a deflationary effect on the economy, lowering demand and increasing unemployment. Furthermore, high level of reserves need to be maintained to make it clear that it is able to defend its currency by the buying and selling of foreign currencies. Setting the level of the fixed exchange rate is not simple. If the rate is set at the wrong level, export firms may find a lack of competitiveness in foreign markets. In case of that, the exchange rate needs to be devalued, but again, finding the exact right level is difficult. Furthermore, a country that fixes its exchange rate at an artificially low level may create international disagreement. This is because a low exchange rate will make the country’s exports more competitive on world markets and may be seen as an unfair trade advantage. This may lead to economic disputes or to retaliation. An advantage of a floating exchange rate is that it does not have to be kept at a certain level. Interest rates are free to be employed as domestic monetary tools. It could be used for demand management policies. An example for this would be controlling inflation. To keep the current account balanced, the floating exchange rate should adjust itself. For example a current account deficit, the demand for the currency is to low since export sales are relatively low. The supply of the currency is high, since the demand for imports is relatively high. As you can see, markets adjust and the exchange rate should fall. Export prices become relatively attractive, import prices relatively less attractive and the current account balance should settle itself. Another advantage is that reserves are not used to control the value of the currency. This makes is unnecessary to keep high levels of foreign currencies and gold. There are also disadvantages. Uncertainty tends to be created. Planning of businesses tends to be difficult and investments, defined as the expenditure by firms on capital equipment and is an injection into the economy, are hard to assess. The levels of international investment will decrease. Furthermore, in reality, floating exchange rates are affected by many factors, not only demand and supply. Another factor would be speculation. Therefore they might not adjust themselves and might not eliminate current account deficits. Last, a floating exchange rate regime may worsen existing levels of inflation. High inflation relative to other countries will make its exports less competitive and imports will be relatively less expensive. Yet, this could lead to even higher prices on import goods and services and inflation.

The Evolving State of Healthcare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Evolving State of Healthcare - Research Paper Example pent more on health care that any other nation, despite the enormous expense of health care, the universal standards of health such as life expectation and infant mortality are not as elevated as those of different nations (Simon, 2010). Nevertheless, things have changed since the Obama administration took over power. National health insurance plan administered by the federal government as a substitute to the private health insurance is due to be proposed by President Obama. In essence, the congressional leaders argue that by reducing the cost of healthcare, universal health insurance plan will actual reduce the national arrears. Health care crisis in America is marked by three dimensional challenges; one is the escalating costs of health care, the restricted access to care and its threat to retirement security (Simon, 2010). First, the escalation of the health care caused by quick change from the usual reimbursement system to a capitation system which is more of cost sharing than the insurance having to cater for all medical bills to the extent of forcing doctor to attend on patient partially hence not genuine medical cover. Second, is that not most people are able to access to care because they are not well up. This means that preventive care is basically non existence to them and they can only attend to medical care when critically ill and require urgent and pricey treatment. (Simon, 2010). Third, is the growing cost of the health care as compared to the incomes of those who pay for it. This makes the standards of living and economic security of those people who retire at more risk. Universal healthcare coverage is being considered by a number of nations so as to ensure that all people are placed into one medical consideration. This kind of health care will ensure that people will no longer be oppressed by the privatized healthcare systems which are inefficient, costly and at times

Writting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Writting - Essay Example Every intercultural conflict should be resolved accordingly in order to avoid bad consequences. Here the differences in beliefs should be taken into account and each belief should be respected. In some cases if the person came to another country and his/her beliefs contradict the beliefs of the citizens of this country, the conflict can occur. A person also may appear in the group of people with the religious beliefs different from his own. In these cases the majority is usually recognized as right if conflict occurs. However, the cases can be different and every case should be considered separately. In the situation under consideration, a teacher wants to make his student kill frogs saying that it is necessary to pass the course. First, no course may have a task to kill animals and frogs are animals. There are people who are responsible for these and the teacher can’t and should not make his students kill animals to pass the course, especially if the person has religious beliefs that do not allow him to kill animals. In this case it is necessary the student should apply to college administration with the complaint and the request to resolve the

Reasons Gillette Is The Best A Brand Can Get Assignment

Reasons Gillette Is The Best A Brand Can Get - Assignment Example The researcher states that the mark-up that a brand commands without sacrificing on market share shows us the value attached to that particular brand by the consumer since he is willing to pay the extra amount for that particular brand because he associates the great value to it. Based on this criterion, there are a handful of brands that come to mind that charge a very big mark-up, however very few global brands come close to the mark-up commanded by Gillette. The razor series by Gillette commands a mark-up ranging from 3000% to a whopping 4750%. This mark-up is huge if we are to compare it with other global brands of our times. The cosmetic industry average is 80% to 90%, while that of brands like Coke is in the range of 300% to 600%. The mark-up of Gillette is all the more significant because in its field of operations it has a market share of close to 70%, which proves the value that the consumer sees in the brand. On another front, it proves the profitability of the brand. The h uge margin that Gillette products have clearly indicated to us that the brand is a star in the portfolio of companies P&G has. Thus the mark-up along with the market share it has and with no clear competitor insight makes Gillette the most enviable brand in the world today. The important factor in analyzing the company’s marketing strategy is to understand the 4Ps in their entirety and not as separate entities and more importantly one has to understand that every strategy comes from the vision and mission the company has and in the case of Gillette the vision is â€Å"to establish a brand value by delivering consumer value faster through innovation in customer leadership†.

The advent of internet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The advent of internet - Essay Example MD of the company told 'A' since she has done a module in IT Law, she can write an essay on legal issues related to practice or policies in the company. This will give 'A' working knowledge of the company and in case she detects any problems, then this can be raised with legal specialist. This company has a full order book designing and maintaining websites for small local businesses. But most work is put on its own website- StudentBar.com. The product aims to integrate successful product genres into an engaging virtual environment. Here online, past and present students can meet, reminisce and swap files, share music, mails, graphic files and chat. But when you look this site, you can notice quickly that there is active sharing of MP3 and adult files, and gossiping about their old lecturers and colleagues. There were also complaints from lecturers regarding these comments, asking for immediate removal of material and archve.There is also an issue of old assignment solutions being circulated to present students. The student Bar has a plethora of links to other sites including deep links well inside other sites providing up to date news, games, information, hacking resources, music, gossip, and academic cheat resources sites. Another main problem -Mr.' X 'one of the core development team member resigned over an argument over promotion. It was also found that he was selling the details of the subscribers to the site on to other agencies without the knowledge of the WWW. Now they are thinking of doing it themselves. Mr.'X' was taken, despite being renowned by his disposition to hacking, as he has worked previously in a similar site in the past. So he was considered for his expertise and he brought useful source code for the new project. There are also concerns that the recent viral attack on the site may have originated from this disgruntled employee, who is threatening to launch an identically themed site using no doubt the code he developed at WWW. The MD is aware there was no mention of intellectual property rights in the cursory job contract used for this employee. (MD notes in passing that he would welcome any idea of contract for his staff.) Some subscribers have complained that they have been approac hed by other organizations that appear to have information about them, which must have originated from the StudentBar.'X' who resigned over a payment and promotion row, is also demanding to see any file about him in the possession of WWW which give reasons why he was being, in his view, blocked from promotion. There

Personal reflection Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal reflection - Coursework Example Through the lesson, I also learnt how to quantify risk and profitability. I finished the lecture by learning how to mitigate risks, especially the risks associated with projects. In my week five task, I led my group through the group project we are undertaking. My key role at this stage was to allocate task. I assigned Nicole, Emma and Cindy each to design five posters. I allocated Cindy a time schedule to do and write notes about the meeting we had. I assigned to Emma the task of taking photos about the park. I gave Nicole the task of correcting mistakes in the posters and Amber the collection of documents and writing of the final report. Attending the lecture on risks and projects was a new and exciting experience. Since I have never attended a lecture on the topic, I felt a bit nervous and anxious, as I did not have defined expectations and was not sure if I would understand the lecture and grasp the concepts. The lecturer made me feel a bit comfortable at the beginning since he had looked strict and introduced the topic in a manner that made it look very challenging. I was more than curious to know how projects and risk assessment are linked. The leadership role that I took towards our group project in week five made me nervous at the beginning of the week. I did not know how I would relate with my colleagues whom I were very fond of as their leader. The thought of how I would deal with them in incidences of non-compliance made me feel uneasy with the role. As time passed, I became more comfortable with the role because of my groups corporation. The experience was very influential and I was delighted that things turned out successfully. I had a wonderful experience from the lecture on risks and projects. The lecture enabled me to have an understanding of risks and projects. I managed to clearly differentiate between a risk and a hazard. I was in a position to assess the

Portrayal of Marriage in Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice and William Research Paper

Portrayal of Marriage in Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice and William Wycherly's The Country Wife - Research Paper Example Still, there are quite a few works of literature in which the plot involves marriage as one of the salient themes. Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice and William Wycherly’s The Country Wife are two such works. These two works extend an insight into the economic, social, emotional and sexual aspects of marriage in their times. Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice Many 18th century works of literature dealt with issues pertaining to the institution of marriage, delved on what amounted to a proper behavior in a marriage, what criteria ought to be meditated upon while selecting a marriage partner, what an individual could expect from a marriage and what entailed the salient duties and responsibilities of each partner. The primary reason for this trend was that the 18th century Britain was very open to serious meditations and reconsiderations as to what constituted a good marriage and how a marriage needs to be lived (Teachman 53). Yet, the traditional notions of marriage interpreting it as a joining of two families by virtue of a legal and social bond struck between two individuals continued to hold sway (Teachman 53). On the one side the society stressed on the need to perceive marriage as a legal contract, while on the other side the contemporary social and political climate in Jane Austin’s England also extended importance to individual’s emotions and aspirations (Teachman 80). Thus, it goes without saying that the portrayal of marriage in Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice presents a conflict between these two seemingly contradictory views about marriage. In that context, the conventional theme of a suitable and ideal husband for a gentlewoman prominently emerges in Austin’s concept of marriage as elucidated in Pride and Prejudice. The character of Darcy is the closest possible model of the conventional female aspirations of a proper husband. At the same time, Elizabeth Bennet’s prejudices towards Darcy mark th e rise of individual voice and caution in the women of those times. Remarkably, Jane Austin has managed to contrive a wonderful work of literature in which the central characters somehow manage to strike a balance between the needs and constraints of social economics and emotional imperatives (Austen & Kinsley 8). The basis of social relationships in Pride and Prejudice, and above all the relationship of marriage is primarily economic, and Jane Austin has certainly unraveled it with an ironic smile. Mrs. Bennet represents the traditional school of thought, and her one ambition in life is to see her daughters well married to eligible young men, and their eligibility is judged only by one standard that is their social and monetary status. Yet, at the same time, Mrs. Bennet’s obsession with money is used by the writer to present her as a ridiculous character. Elizabeth, though presented as a discerning and sensible woman, is not entirely free from this materialistic bias. At the sight of beautiful and grand Pemberley Park, a sudden impulse to posses it passes through her, and she regrets her rejection of Darcy’s proposal. Ironically enough, she accepts Darcy only after her visit to Pemberley Hall. Austin’s idea of marriage is an attempt on the part of a sensitive and smart 18th century woman to somehow aspire for the best of two worlds, the world of individual liking and preference and the larger socio-economic world where the rules of inheritance and

Poetry Comparing and Contrasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Poetry Comparing and Contrasting - Essay Example From the two poems, To His Coy Mistress and Those Winter Sundays, both Marvell and Hayden use narrators as opposed to giving their own thoughts, to portray the prevailing state of affairs. In the case of To His Coy Mistress, Marvell uses the title of the poem to outline the state of affairs of a young man who writes a plea to a young woman. In this case, the young man seduces the young lady to love him. However, Marvell has incorporated the possessive pronoun ‘his’ to describe the young man and his desire to acquire the love of a young mistress. The term ‘coy’ reveals to the audience that it is not possible for the young man to interact with the young woman as she resists his advances. It also refers to the female equivalent of a master. In the poem, the term â€Å"Coy† appears similar to a sweetheart or a lady who the young man is seducing to win her heart. Similarly in his poem Those Winter Sundays, Hayden portrays an adult male speaker who has grow n up, and shows memories regarding how his father showed the love he had for him based on his actions. In particular, the persona remembers how his father used to wake up on Sundays early in the morning to light the furnace fire. He awakened his son after the room was warm enough for him. Line 12 states that the boy’s father polished the â€Å"good shoes† that belonged to his son, an indication that he will take his son to church. This is the case because he used to make his son wear his â€Å"good shoes† on Sunday. Therefore, it is true that the boy’s father took moral upbringing of his boy seriously. For the two personae, the difference between them is evident when in the case of Those Winter Sundays, the persona’s father makes a lot of sacrifice for him, but the boy only realizes later in life that he failed to appreciate his efforts. It is now too late, as the boy cannot go back in time to show appreciation to his father based the sacrificed

Cultural Gap Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Gap - Essay Example Raised in a Christian family. My parents lived by the church doctrines. Something to do with the relationship was out of the question, especially at our tender age. Going to LGBT meeting was a big decision I made. Many of the online discussions about the meeting seemed appealing. The encouragement I received from online friends gave me hope; I had to find out what I did not know. I focused on finding self-fulfillment. At first, I was nervous and at the same time excited. I never knew what was in place for me. It was like going to another planet. It seemed something intimidating and a scary one to walk into a room and be sincere over something I could barely admit. The truth looked fantastic, but from hiding in it, it ended up being the scariest thing. As I joined college, I sent an email to the LGBT coordinator concerning where and when the meeting could occur. Unfortunately, at that time, I failed to turn up for the meeting due to some reasons I could not avoid. On this occasion, I was confident and focused on attending it, though felt scary than before. On the initial day of the meeting, I walked to the building and found the room number. My nerves took held of me. How I wished, I knew it was okay to be who I am and to feel the way I felt. I had spent years denying who I was. It is so ridiculous to feel so at the place where I should have called home. I had no idea of having people around me who cared and who could understand me. I took a friend to the meeting with me. I was too nervous to go alone. The environment inside was nothing I expected. At first, I felt it would not work. In some few minutes, the room was with young men who were open, smart, fantastic, and very welcoming. The room was so welcoming and open. Afer introducing myself, I talked about how I felt. I had to accept myself and come out. With time, I am glad to have learnt a lot about LGBT people and myself. I wished I had involved myself

What Is a Hero Essay Example for Free

What Is a Hero Essay What is a hero? To me a hero is not somebody with the ability to fly, run fast, bench over a 1000, shoot lasers out of their eyes, fart fire balls, pee lava, or control other people’s minds. A hero is just an average man who fights to solve a common problem in today’s society. A hero is a random citizen that rises to the a occasion and performs an action of superhero proportions. A hero is somebody as average as you and me that sees a problem and takes it upon themselves to fix it. There are many examples of heroes in our modern day world. Some heroes are the brave, courageous, and valiant men and women that serve in our military. These are people that are just like you and I. They do not have any extraordinary superpowers besides an unwavering sense of duty towards this country and the people that inhabit it. They travel across oceans and leave their friends and family behind so that they can fight to defend people that they don’t even know and to secure the lifestyle that so many of us take for granted. Some, even make the ultimate sacrifice†¦ their lives. Another common place to find a hero is in a police officer. These heroes are very similar to a soldier except that they fight their battles in the very streets that we call home and instead of fighting against other countries they fight against the very people that call this glorious country home. They sit in a smelly car for entire days staking out criminals to secure our welfare and our security. They put their lives on the line to make sure that the â€Å"scumbags† that seek to destroy this country are off the streets. These men (or women) also lack superhuman abilities. The only thing that they have is a sense of duty towards their country. The most common place to find a hero is also some of the places that you go to every day. One of these places would be at the grocery store. For example if you witness somebody holding the door for another then congratulations you have just watched a hero at action. Another common place to watch a hero in action is on a street. If you watch a strapping young man help a helpless elderly women across the street then you have witnessed another act of heroism. Heroes are just common people that have the courage to solve a problem that they see in today’s community. Heroes are not rare. They can be found almost everywhere you look. They are at places that you go too every day. Heroes can also be found in places that you do not travel very often. They can be found in the Armed Forces as well in the Police Department. But it does not require acts of epic proportion to make you a  hero. Small acts of unnoticed kindness is what I think really makes you a hero.

How small firms differ from large businesses

How small firms differ from large businesses Penrose (1959) stated that small and large firms are as fundamentally different from each other as a caterpillar is from a butterfly; they identify those characteristics of the small firm, other than size, which distinguish it from the larger enterprise. Thus, while creating, establishing and running a small business, these characteristics will influence the small business owners approaches and management style compared to large ones. Wynarczyk et al (1993) argue that there are three central respects in which small firms are different to large firms: Uncertainty The first key area of differences is uncertainty. With regard to uncertainty, three dimensions have been identified: The first uncertainty is the lack of market power, Thus, when creating and establishing a small business, the owner should have a clearer approach of the lack of market power as an external uncertainty. This associates small businesses as the price-taker as they have no power to set prices, as the threats of new entrants is high. However, it can be argued that it depends on what type of small businesses does the owner want to create, establish and run. For instance, focusing on niche markets with good customer-engagement approach, such as a small holiday agency, will make small businesses to have an influence in setting their prices. Hence, small businesses have to seek to compete in other ways such as service, quality, and timeliness. In contrast, large businesses are the price-maker due to high market power; this has to be used carefully to avoid attracting the attention of competition authorities. So, market prices are strongly influenced by large businesses that, through scale economies, should be able to set low prices. The marketing approach would be to use an integrated communication mix such as, mass advertising and PR, as their financial resources allow them to do so. Thus, the competitive focus of small and large businesses is likely to differ sharply. The second source of uncertainty for small firms is their limited customer and product base. A classic example is where small firms simply act as subcontractors to larger firms. Such firms are open to subcontractor vulnerability (Lyons and Bailey, 1993), which is created not only by dependence on dominant customers, but also upon the extent to which output is specialised to particular customers. The smaller firm clearly perceives to be more vulnerable than the larger firm and acts accordingly (Lyons and Bailey, 1993). The third uncertainty relates to the much greater diversity of objectives of the owners of small firms, compared with large firms. Many small business owners seek only to obtain a minimum level of income rather than maximising sales or profits (Storey 1994). Small business owners do not have to concern themselves with reporting their actions to external shareholders and so performance monitoring effectively do not exist. For a small firm, the relationship between the business and the owner is very much closer than it is between the shareholder and the large firm, and so the motivation of the owner of the small firm is a key influence upon the small firm performance (Storey, 1994). Large firm emphasises the importance of control. The central issue is how the owners of the business ensure that the managers of the business act in their interest, and how senior managers exert control over more junior managers. This form of internal conflict is largely absent in small firms (Storey, 1994) where ownership and control are located in the hands of a few people or even a single individual, thus, while running a small business, the owner will adopt a more dynamic and organic management style. In contrast, large businesses are more likely to suffer from internal uncertainty, defined by Curran and Blackburn (2001), as an inability to deliver a product or service consistently throughout the organisation. Much managerial time in large businesses is devoted to address this issue with therefore formality and procedures implemented. Hence, the large businesses tend to have a bureaucratic management style with formal control over performance. Innovation A second key area of difference between small and large firms is their approach to innovation. The role small firms play in innovation relates to their niche role where: it is the ability of the small firm to provide something marginally different, in terms of product or service, which distinguishes it from the more standardised product or service provided by the larger firm (Storey, 1994: 11-12). Small firms are more likely to introduce fundamentally new innovations than larger firms, a feature often attributed to small firms having less commitment to existing practices and products (Pavitt et al. 1987). However, Schumpeter (1934) has provided empirical evidence that large businesses use static measures, and are more innovative than smaller businesses. This is because most small businesses do not set out to be innovative: at best, their key innovation is just to enter a given market. Furthermore, Van Praag and Versloot (2007) stated that small businesses are likely to commercialise innovations but less likely to adopt innovations. However, large businesses innovation capitalise on heavy expenditure on formal research and development. While most small businesses do not innovate, and many fewer undertake formal research and development, those that do are able to bring ideas to the marketplace quickly if they are able to access suitable funding. Evolution The third area of difference between small and large firms is the greater likelihood of evolution and change in the smaller firm (Storey, 1994). Small firms that become larger undergo a number of stage changes which influence the approaches and style of management as well as the structure of the organisation (Scott and Bruce, 1987) than is the case for larger firms (Storey, 1994). Thus, creating, establishing and running a new small business has different approaches, management styles and skills learn through experience, at different stages of the small business development. Churchill and Lewis (1983) summarised the Five Stages of Small Business Growth stating that small businesses have varied management styles and approaches according to the stage the small business is in. For example, being at the existence stage (creating and establishing), the owner has direct supervision management style; his major strategy approach would be to stay alive, thus, there would be no formal systems to follow. Figure : source http://www.tameer.org.pk/images/The_Five_Stages_Of_Small_Business_Growth.pdf [accessed on 17/11/2010] However, not all small businesses grow; some of them fail to survive due to the lack of environmental scanning; finance or planning. Moreover, Hakim (1989), in her survey of approximately 750,000 UK businesses, 55 per cent had no plans for growth, at a time when the economy was growing. The finding was clearly influenced by business size, with 60 per cent of businesses with fewer than 3 workers having no growth aspirations, compared with only 2 per cent of those with 25-49 employees. Hence, the smaller the operational size of the business the less likely it is to seek to increase its scale or growth. Skills Required to Create, Establish and Run a Small Business A skill is simply a knowledge which is demonstrated by action. It is an ability to perform in a certain way. The Five-Must Skills Requires when creating; establishing and running the Small Business Planning skills Personal skills and characteristics Sales and marketing skills Accounting and financial skills Administrative skills These are the basic skills necessary to enable the small business owner to start, develop, finance, and market his small business. Apart from all these skills mentioned, other important skills are needed to run a business mainly: leadership skills; human skills; conceptual skills and technical skills. Planning skills Creating a new business is the pre-start-up phase where planning skills are very important. While creating the business, an appropriate business plan is required which explain the business concept and model (Justin et al 2002). The business plan will require the owner or shareholder to have an organisation-wide approach skill as it consists of the business model, financial, marketing and operational management plan. The approaches towards the business plan in small and large businesses differ. According to (Bridge et al. 1998), the preparation of business plan may be unsuitable for small businesses due to the dynamic changes in the environment. Small business has a more tactical approach to planning as they concentrate on the survival and stability strategy at the creating and establishing stage and an emergent strategy at the running stage In addition, Paul D. Hannon and Andrew Atherton (1997) developed a model of planning in the journal of small firm success and show that there is a critical relationship between planning in small business and strategic awareness capability which lead to the small business success known as the successful orienteer. Nevertheless, this is not always the case for small business owner to be a successful orienteer due to the internal and external factors affecting them. However, in large businesses, they have a strategic (long term vision) approach as regard to their business plan. They emphasised the corporate level of strategy (Philip S, 2003) which aim for the stability and growth. The corporate strategy seek to grow the business by implementing long term marketing strategies (the Ansoff Matrix) and also to achieve higher profitability, sales revenue and to have better competitive advantages over its rivals. Figure : Ansoff Matrix (2007 When creating; establishing and running a small business time management skills are also essential. The small owner should be able to create a work life balance. Small business owner may spend too much time at work. Moreover, their main motivation is their income to satisfy their family needs, thus, they should make effective decisions to balance their business life with their personal life. Figure : The business/Personal overlap In contrast, large businesses have an effective time management skills, due to formal procedures of meeting deadlines and being compliance with legal proceedings. Personal skills In the early stages of business development, the personal characteristics and skills of the small business owner will influence the management style of the business. Thus, the individual attributes influence the skills of the owner which shapes the leadership outcomes. General cognitive ability Motivation Personality Individual attributes Problem solving skills Social judgement skills Knowledge Competencies Leadership outcomes Effective problem solving Performance Table : the three components of the skills model pg. 41 According to Lundberg (1985), the personal skills and characteristics such as problem-solver, determination, self-discipline, analytical skills, good judgement of characters and so on, motivate the small business owner to create and establish and also run his business successfully, and as Birley (1996) mentioned à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.The owner perceives the business as an extension of his or her personality, intricately bound with family needs and desires. However, many small businesses fail compare to large businesses because they run their business as an extension of their personality. For example, if the small business owner is introvert, quite assertive, make his own decision rather than consulting subordinates or explore the external environment, he/she is more prone to adopt the closed and indirect management style rather than open and direct management style (David A 1993) which may result in failure. The self-motivating skills and aspirations of small business owners are also different from those who operate large businesses. Miner (1997) concluded that small business owners are motivated by their performance, independence, status and family needs. Gray (2002); Hart and Oulton (1996), some are lifestyle owners of small businesses whose object is primarily to obtain a comfortable living for themselves, it may be a hobby that generate incomes or to pass on their business to family members. In contrast, a minority may wish to grow their business rapidly. However, owners or shareholders of large businesses seek to maximise the value of the company. The task management is to achieve this maximisation of shareholders value by seeking profit maximisation and continuous growth and expansion. In addition, the management style will be mostly influenced by the organisational culture, which consists of six elements according to Johnson and Scholes (1992). Figure : Johnson Cultural Web (1992) Networking skills including interpersonal skills are also important. Networks can be defined as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a firms set of relationships with other organisations (Perez and Sanchez 2002:261). In essence, what Birley (2002) suggests is that individuals use their networks to gain legitimation and resources for their established business. Without the benefit of such support, the implication is that many new established (start-up) businesses would be stillborn. The social network approach differ from the way small businesses use it compared to large ones in order to support the development of their business. Small businesses uses the support of its family, limited customers base and other owners of small businesses to develop the establish organisation whereas, large businesses use a pool of social network (stakeholders). Thus, Birley states the credibility is lower in small businesses, than in large businesses due to the lack of market power and sources of funds to satisfy the suppliers and customers. Figure : The credibility cycle (Sue Birley and David Norburn, 1976) Sales and Marketing skills The business should create awareness of his product or service and distinguish them from their competitors by effective marketing skills. The business then needs to be able to convert interest into cash! This is where sales, oral communication, negotiation skills and interpersonal skills come in. Thus, the small business owner should rely on their effective sales and marketing skills to maintain and acquire good customer relationship. For example, identify the sales opportunity, be confident to handle objection and negotiate to reach win-win situation (Fred E, 1987). In large business, lot of finances are put towards sales and marketing. In addition, specialist sales and marketing manager, with high competence, expertise and knowledge, are those who deal with different sales and marketing techniques to be implemented in order to have good customer relationship and expand their product/market portfolio. Besides, in large businesses, brand positioning plays a big role in their marketing strategy. Shocker et al. (1994) and Hatten and Schendel (1977) reveals that in large businesses, brand can be a positive factor influencing sales. It provides the customer with the awareness leading to confidence and ultimately loyalty. They also showed that small businesses such as hairdresser; pubs, corner shops etc., have no brand value, apart from some local loyalty. Thus, protecting a positive brand image is vital for large businesses. Accounting and Financial skills When creating, establishing and running a small business, the most important skill that the owner should possess is the financial skill. To implement the business idea, source of finance is required to start-up and run the establishment. Financial skills include: planning annual budget; cash flow forecast, effective management of the cash cycle; avoid overtrading and the profit and loss account should be analysed. In small businesses the owner has hands-on skills, thus, such financial skills are needed to survive and remain in existence. However, large businesses are in better advantage as they not only have specialist financial analysts to analyse their accounts and prepare their budgets, but the banks and building societies also help them. In addition, Ang (1991), conducted empirical evidence and stated that small businesses are funded primarily from the owners savings and retained profits and the use of external equity is rare. Small businesses pay higher interest rates on borrowed funds than large businesses, which have a wide choice of sources of finance. Thus, the small businesses faces lots of financial difficulties as mentioned in the figure below. Figure : The Financial Skills face by Small Business Owners by Jonathan Tucker and Jonathan Lean -2003 Administrative skills Administrative skills include a wide range of organisational and technical skills from planning, organising, scheduling and to staffing. Thus, a small business owner should possess administrative skills, such as good filing procedure for the billings, invoices and so. In contrast, large businesses normally have the finance to invest in latest technology in order to manage their administrative skills. Key Differences in Running Small businesses and Large Businesses: Skills; Approaches and Management style The management styles are distinctive ways of making decisions and relating to subordinates. Different management styles can be used dependent on the culture of the business, the nature of the task, the nature of the workforce and the personality and skills of the owners or leaders. As discussed in the essay, the small business owners skills are more or less the same as the entrepreneurial skills, they adopt an adaptive and organic management style whereas large businesses ownership skills are more predictive and mechanist which relate to their autocratic management style. Figure : Differences between the small business management skills and management style compared to large ones (Beaven and Jenning- 1995) However, stating that large businesses have a more autocratic management style due to its bureaucratic organisational structure, is too generalised, ignoring the fact that the management styles and the relative importance of the skills (technical; decision-making and interpersonal skills) varies within the level of management. Management level Primary Management Skills needed Primary Management Functions Performed Management or leadership styles Top Decision-Making and Interpersonal skills Planning and Organising Participative leadership style Middle Balance of Interpersonal; Technical; and Decision-Making skills Balance of all five functions (Planning; Organising; Controlling; staffing and Leading) Balance of autocratic; democratic and paternalistic as result to circumstances First-Line Technical and Interpersonal Skills leading and controlling Balance of democratic and autocratic as result to circumstances Table : Skill needed; Function performed and Management styles used at different management levels. Source: lassier (2002) In addition, the culture prevails in the organisation will shape the organisational structure. Nowadays, many large businesses, such as BQ are concentrating in developing a flat structure, with more flexibility. Besides, approaches and management styles changes according to circumstances and objectives. Skills can quickly become obsolete if owners or shareholders are not constantly updating them. Thus, training and development and knowledge management of the owners and employees are very crucial. In small businesses, owners management style will be influenced by their skills and characteristics, thus, stating that due to informal control and undifferentiated roles, the small businesses have an organic or flatter structure due to fewer tiers is not always the case. Some small businesses fail as some owners are autocratic as they want things to be done their way and are often the one who makes decisions without consulting the employees and analysing the external environment. The table below will provide evidences of the key differences between small and large businesses as regard to the running of the business which will influence the owners skills, approaches and management style. Aspect (Evidence) Small Business Large Business What difference does it make? Strategy (Man et al. 2002; Rangone 1999) Has to be flexible since it lacks the opportunity to reap scale economies. So, more likely to develop an emergent strategy The large business will seek to exploit its price advantages, and advantage obtained by heavy investment in people, fixed assets or research and development The development of new markets and particular new industries has often been pioneered by smaller businesses. Once, those industries have become established, average business size increases because economies of scale become important Political influence (Dannreuther 1999) The individual small business, acting alone, will have minimal impact on government. Large businesses are widely consulted by governments, even at the early stage when legislation is considered. Large businesses have considerable power and can influence the formulation of government policy. If legislation. However, large businesses argue that, whilst they comply fully with legislation, smaller businesses can avoid enforcement by avoiding the scrutiny of government. Wages and benefits for workers (Brown et al. 1990; Troske, 1999) Small businesses generally pay lower wages and provide fewer fringe benefits Larger businesses pay higher wages and provide more fringe benefits Large and small businesses hire different types of worker. The small business worker is more likely to be either old or young, attracted by a team ethnic and less likely to have formal qualifications. Human resources (Vickers et al. 2005; Forth et al. 2006) At their best, small businesses provide a happy environment in which to work. At, their worst, they can be unsafe, exploitative, working environments. Large businesses are more likely to attract prime age workers, with formal qualifications, and those seeking a career. Overall, job satisfaction appears to be higher in small than in large businesses. Large business workers are likely to receive a higher remuneration package but small business workers may derive greater satisfaction from flexibility and sense of teamwork. Training and Recruitment (Carroll et al. 1999; Storey 2005) Small businesses provide less training and recruit new staff through informal channels. Large businesses are much more likely to provide formal training and use formal channels to recruit new staff. Small businesses, because they emphasise the use of informal procedures, are viewed by some as backward. But this is to misunderstand the motivations and constraints of small business owners. What is less clear is whether small businesses provide more informal training than large ones. Competitive advantages (Jennings and Breaver 1997) Flexible, responsive to the customer. Able to undertake investment and provide a more comprehensive service. Large businesses can reap scale economies, so they are more likely to be able to compete on price. They are also able to supply a wider range of liked services, avoiding the need for customers to have to shop around. Table : The key differences between small and large businesses; Source: Storey and Greene (2010) Conclusion Thus, creating, establishing and running a small business does require some of the skills as operating large ones, but the approaches and management styles will be different to large and small businesses due to their differences in characteristics and the different factors affecting them internally and externally. Besides, the small business owners do have different goals, plan, skills and approaches. For example, a small business owner has undifferentiated roles, thus need to have a hand-on skills to promote diversity and flexibility. However, it was also mentioned that skills and management style varies upon the levels of management and also people are different individuals who use different management styles according to the circumstances and objectives. The key advantage of the small business is that while the external uncertainty they experienced are greater than large businesses, they experienced less internal uncertainties due to their close control over the business. In addition, small businesses see themselves as customer focused, placing emphasis on service. However, generalisation is untrue: that all small businesses have lack of market power and do not grow. For example, the crematorium, a small business was able to exert real market power over a competitor. We should not forget as well that skills; approaches and management style of small businesses would be different to large businesses because small businesses tend to be higher in the risk of failure. The main reasons are normally lack of contingency plans, poor risk assessment done and lack of leadership style. This is why small businesses concentrate on cash rather than profit (Birley, 1992).

What Is The Future Of The European Union?

What Is The Future Of The European Union? The future European Union what should it be? An integrated federal state, a free trade area, something else? Since the first enlargement of the European Community in 1973 northward, which saw the inclusion of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark, the search for an ever closer union has been taking place. When EC recommended on 9th October 2002 that another ten countries should join in 2004, it is believed that the integration of Eastern Europe will push the European Union towards a new level, because it will provide a larger market, which will be the only way for the EU to compete in the new global economy. However, people cannot stop wondering, what the EU should be like in the future, as the new Europe will be highly diverse in all dimensions not only in the field of economics, but also geopolitics, and social conditions, political priorities. In this essay, it will look at the future EU, being a state with liberty, democracy and solidarity. Liberty has two meanings. To start with, in terms of The Single European Act, the chapter on the single market committed the EC to remove all internal barriers by the end of 1992, enabling the free flow of goods, services, capital and people in the member countries. There is little doubt that the internal market will become the prime focus of economic interest and activity over the next few years since it has given the EC a new lease of life. For example, potential microeconomic gains in welfare of some ECU 216 billion have been estimated for the EC, equal to some 5.3 per cent of GDP. A virtuous circle of benefits is expected, especially in the long term, from industrial reorganization, the reaping of economies of scale and through greater innovation. However, the enlarged Community is likely to experience greater internal problems since it now comprised a much less optimal grouping in its memberships. For example, doubts remain about whether sufficient structural funding will be forthcoming for the weakest Southern European economies to enable them to participate fully in EMU. It would appear that only a looser pattern of integration is compatible and suitable for the new Community in the future, particularly if it is to see continuing enlargement. Secondly, liberty requires openness and subsidiarity to be established as fundamental principles. citizens are informed of the remedies available if their rights, including fundamental rights, are not respected. These remedies include courts, ombudsmen and committees on petitions at all levels in the Union. A future Union should be a Union among the peoples of Europe, in which means decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen. European citizens in all Member States want a well-managed European administration that is open, accountable and service-minded. In which means, it need to ensure the establishment of an open, accountable and service-minded administration through a European administrative law. Like a car being serviced and redesigned, but until we have arrived, we dont know what the roads and traffic conditions will be like. Hence, a second important condition for progress towards closer union is that since nobody knows for sure what the enlarged EU will be like, the work of the Convention should not be underestimated. Much of it is inevitably technical and legalistic. But a huge task of simplification is under way which will increase coherence, transparency and comprehensibility of the political and institutional structures of the EU. Complex and incoherent decision-making rules and multiple routes for law-making are all being radically streamlined. But simplification can be politically sensitive. For example, if the vast majority of decisions in future are to be made by majority voting, getting rid of each countrys veto, then the EU may stand a chance of not seizing up, but governments and their publics will have to decide if they are ready for this kind of pooling of so vereignty and joint decision-making. Certainly, increased simplicity and transparency will help the enlarged EU be more democratic and more in touch with the public than the current one. But much more is needed to build a democratic Europe. The European Council of heads of state and the European Commission (which with enlargement will have 25 commissioner) between them share, in effect, the tasks of a European government they share the executive tasks for European policy. Increased democracy must mean these bodies are truly accountable. Currently, the Commission is weakly accountable to the European Parliament. The European Council is accountable to none as a whole though its individual heads of state are accountable separately to their own national parliaments. More political control and oversight is vital. Democracy is also about active participation and debate of the wider public, with real opportunities for access and input. Yet these aspects are also largely being ignored or lacking- the convention is focused on the institutional and legal elements of a new constitution and so risks leaving to one side creative thinking on how to build participative democracy in European politics. It is not enough that a new constitution is simple and accessible that can only be the first step. Thirdly, the new Europe also risks failing to play a strong and progressive role in the world despite the rhetorical commitments of Europes political leaders. The EU of 25 countries and half a billion people may be an economic giant but a political dwarf just at a time when global challenges and uncertainties call more than ever before for a clear European voice. The future of Europe convention is drafting a statement of values and goals for Europes role in the world with welcome emphasis on multilateralism, tackling poverty and discrimination and promoting peace and prosperity. But these good intentions run far ahead of the EUs ability to deliver a single common voice and strategy on the international stage. Countries like Britain and France remain highly reluctant to act together, even when their views converge, wanting their own individual profiles on the global stage. And they are even more reluctant to undertake the in-depth political discussions that would be needed to come to common positions when their views diverge. Europes confusion and multiplicity of views over the Iraq crisis show how far we remain from having a common and coordinated European position whether in the UN or in dialogue with the US. With enlargement, diversity of interests and views in Europe will grow. At the Copenhagen summit this week, the EU will invite 10 new members to join in 2004. This should be a beautiful, historic moment reuniting the European continent and healing the post-war divisions. But it is only the first step in meeting the European and global political challenges that the new Europe must address. If it fails, then this moment will be seen as a turning point that marked the start of the EUs decline and not its new beginning. Therefore, the capacity of the members of the Community to overcome their differences and move towards a common defence and security policy will provide a critical test in the coming years of their commitment to closer union. The prospects for this depend very much on the willingness of a core group among them and in particular France, Germany and Britain to concert policies and action. More than anything else it is the path they take on this set of issues which will determine whether or not a real European Union emerges, for without substantial progress towards a defence union it will remain seriously incomplete. The Convention on the Future of Europe is now drafting a new constitutional treaty that will address many of these problems. But its deliberations are focused on current problems, with too little attention to the new challenges that enlargement will bring such as dealing with poor and potentially unstable countries along its new eastern border. The biggest danger to the timetable for enlargement is the unpreparedness of public opinion across Europe. Half of the EUs population favours enlargement on average, but support varies a lot between countries. That matters because the accession treaty has to be ratified by all the member-states parliaments and the European Parliament, as well as by the 10 candidates parliaments following national referenda. At present, the risk of outright rejection appears small. But acrimonious battles about the EU budget have done nothing to endear enlargement to the public. The EU is about to complete its biggest and most important project of the decade: the re-integration of the former communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe into the European fold. Institutional flaws and money wrangles should not be allowed to divert attention from the significance of this achievement. Moreover, The EUs decision-making frameworks need a thorough overhaul. The most obvious problem posed by enlargement is that of sheer numbers. With 25 voices competing to be heard, a real exchange of views will be next to impossible unless the EU undertakes further reform of the Council of Ministers and the European Commission. But the differences will be more than arithmetical. There will also be qualitative changes as the new members add their own priorities to the EUs agenda. The political balance will change as the new members weigh in on one side of the argument or the other on every issue. For example, Poland will join the UK in opposing tax harmonisation and supporting NATO, but it could be a friend of Spain on increasing the size of the EU budget. The suggestion for realising European Union depend on all members of the EC put their efforts toward this aim, hence the dream for an ever closer union will be achieved.

Best Day of my Life Essay -- essays research papers personal narrative

Throughout life I have had many memorable events. The memorable times in my life vary from being the worst times in my life and some being the best, either way they have become milestones that will be remembered forever. The best day of my life was definitely the day that I received my drivers’ license. This day is one of the most memorable because of the feelings I had when I received it, the opportunities that were opened up for me and the long lasting benefits that I received from it that still exist today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Getting my drivers’ license was an intense feeling that I will never forget. Just knowing that I had a drivers’ license made me feel so free, as free as a bird flying in the open sky with no real place to go, just a desire to be free. I felt like I could do anything. I had new responsibilities like most adults, and I came to a realization that I had lived through one of the most important events in the process of growing up. This event opened up many possibilities for me such as interests in cars, driving skill improvement, and freedom.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With my drivers’ license I could pick up my friends without my parents around, making the friend experience a whole lot better. I could go on dates without the embarrassment of my parents driving me. On any given day I could do anything I wanted because I could drive. I could feel the textures of the roads, smell the fresh air when my windows were down, see the beautiful terrain that I drove through and I could hear any type...

The Nature of Terrorism :: Terrorism

Given the growing global threats of terrorism, it is significant that an understanding of the history, nature and mechanism-premises under which terror operates is obtained. This is significant as it would shape the perspective of policy makers when addressing issues of this nature. Terrorism, as it is understood is the action of none-state weak actors, individual or groups, who for some reasons feels suppressed, marginalized and, or denied what they may view as the basic human right. All terrorism has political objectives, even though the perpetrators may use religious relics to appeal to a wider existing audience, and invoke a response through violent act to prove or propagate their point. Yoram Schweitzer in "Suicide Terrorism Development & Characteristics," Mark Sedgwick in "Al-Qaeda and the "Nature of Religious Terrorism," and Dr. James Armstrong, all demonstrates that suicide terror attacks are politically motivated even though the perpetrator may use religious symbolism to jus tifies their acts. Observing areas in the world where terrorism is frequent, especially in the Middle East, it can be argued that groups that engaged in terrorists' activities are those that feel suppressed and taken advantage of by a much greater power. Thus, terrorism, particularly suicide terror is prevalent in areas where systems of gross injustice seem to exist. Therefore, the actual use of terrorism by non-state actors is a tactic aimed at polarizing the population in their favor. By killing people in mass number, they are attempting to take away the view that only the state can legitimately kill – thus undermining the state authority. As Armstrong, Sedgwick and Schweitzer exemplify, suicide terrorism is not a new happening, but an old historical phenomenon. And that just as modern day terror organizations, particularly Al-Qaeda, uses religious concepts to motivate its actions (though their immediate goal is political), various old terrorist groups have used similar approached to achieve t heir political end. To understand the history of suicide terrorism and how terrorist groups in the past have used religious tone to propagate their political course, Armstrong pointed out the Zealots-an extremist Jewish sect that opposed Jesus. The Zealots engaged in political assassinations of their political foe, knowing that they would be killed in the process. Even though their ultimate goal might have been religious, the Zealots immediate aim was political. In the same way, during the third century, the Assassins- a notorious terrorist wing (similar in nature to Al-Qaeda) in modern day Syria, assassinated many of their political opponents in order to establish their own form of Islam.

Factors Contributing to Willys Death in Death of a Salesman :: Literary Analysis, Analytical Essay

Willy Loman a self-doubting, delusional salesman enters his house with two empty suitcases; he failed to sell anything that day. He was greeted by his loving wife Linda and asked where he was all day. Willy replied by saying that he went as far as a little above Yonkers. Willy explains to Linda that he suddenly couldn’t drive anymore. In page 13 Willy explains â€Å"suddenly I realize I’m going’ sixty miles an hour and I don’t remember the last five minutes. Linda tries to comfort him by saying it’s your glasses and also by saying that you haven’t gotten enough rest. Willy responded by saying he can see perfectly fine. Linda then said to Willy that you should ask Howard to see if you can work in New York again. At first Willy said that they don’t need them there but gave into the suggestion Linda asked. Willy then suddenly asked if there was anything to eat. Linda willfully answered yes and that she would make him a sandwich. Willy r efuses it and says to Linda to go to sleep and asks if the boys are in. Linda says that the boys are sleeping; Happy took biff on a date tonight. Willy seemed interested and Linda continued talking, it was so nice to see them shaving together. She couldn’t get over that the whole house smelling like shaving cream. During this conversation Willy says an important quote â€Å"Work a lifetime to pay a house you finally own it, and there’s nobody to live in it. I find this to be ironic because it’s true you buy a house to raise a family and when you finally own it there’s nobody to live in it, because everybody is all grownup and going on with there own lives. Willy then goes downstairs and starts to talk to himself, as he’s doing this Biff and his younger brother happy start to talk about there teenage years, and talked bout their fathers babbling. They then talk about how they don’t like there lives at the moment. They later talked about buying ranch out west and thinking about other ideas to be successful. We return to Willy he gets flash backs about talking to his brother and that sho uld gone with him to Alaska and Africa to make money. This eventually leads to Willy’s death when Biff Confronts Willy of trying to commit suicide, and telling his dad to burn the fake dream that it’s never going to happen.

Public Administration Essay

Q1: The chief executive of the country, or President, holds the highest office.   He cannot make laws but he participates in the legislation process. Although he is the head of state, I agree that the chief executive cannot take for granted that the legislative body, which is Congress, would follow his will on any subject.   The President has to use all of his willpower, his charisma, and every advantages available to him to influence the outcome of the legislation process.  Ã‚   The constitution made sure that the chief executive won’t have absolute power to avoid dictatorship.   There are even times that Congress would overturn the President’s veto on a particular law. As an example, the current administration of President Bush has always been in favor of attacking countries that pose a threat to the United States, particularly those countries that are identified as havens for terrorists.   President Bush obtained Congress’ approval on attacking Iraq and Afghanistan because of what happened in 9/11.   Congress agreed with the President to redress a wrong-doing and because a successful conclusion to the war was imminent.   Years later, the victory in Iraq was indecisive.   Despite the President’s persuasion for the troops to stay in Iraq, Congress held out and the chief executive has to concede to the decision that the troops should be pulled out. Q2: If I have to end the state’s monopoly on liquor sales, my strategy is to engage in massive lobbying efforts employing the best lobbyists in every state.   The CEO said money is not a problem, so, it means that advertising and marketing strategies can also be used to slowly influence the mind of the voters.   Hard liquors, like tequila, are popular drinks in bars.   The campaign should first target those people who owns bars and their patrons.   Whether or not this strategy would work out remains on how effective the lobbyists are in influencing the right people.   The lobbyists I would need are those who would be good in promoting the benefits of privatization of hard liquor, particularly to the state’s coffers.   The country is in an economic crisis and many states are hard-pressed to meet many programs.   With the promise of big tax revenues from the privatization, state officials would find ways to relinquish control over hard liquor sales.   They would find a way to change the law without needing a 60% acceptance from the public. Calling to mind the reasons why the Prohibition was approved, and why hard liquor sale is regulated by the government agency, I would be reminded of the evils of unregulated alcohol selling.   In this regard, my personal recommendation is not to allow private businesses to sell hard liquors.   Giving up control on hard liquor could mean a return of the era wherein alcohol consumption caused many of society’s ills.   There are too many crimes as it is, and unregulated alcohol manufacturing and selling could worsen the current situation. Q3:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The elements of a bureaucracy are: – statutes legalizing the agency’s existence, as well as how it is structured, the type of activities it is in charge with, and the budgets for the agency’s operation; – determination of what legislative committee is to oversee an agency and what sector of society will the services be delivered to; – discretionary power; – resources, how big the agency should be and how will the organization be structured; – maintaining a close relationship with the legislative body for its continued existence and survival; and – the presence of skillful leadership and knowledgeable employees. The strength of a bureaucracy lies in its being outside of the limelight in the political arena.   An administrative agency has more influence in policymaking when it is not being closely watched.   The weakness of a bureaucracy is on its single-mindedness of purpose.   If it is created for a particular sector, like the National Labor Relations Board for the labor sector, the agency cannot accommodate other requests from the public.   While is this a weakness, it is also a bureaucracy’s strength.   By focusing on one aspect of society, an agency can better serve the needs of that sector.   Another weakness of the bureaucracy is its tendency to respond more promptly to queries from legislators compared to its response to a query from the public.   Since an agency is dependent on Congress, it needs to be liked by the members of Congress. The criticisms against a bureaucracy are centered on two things.   First, an administrative agency’s accountability for failures is comparatively less compared to private businesses.   Second, a bureaucracy’s performance is difficult to gauge because it provides services and creates policies.   It cannot be measured based on quantifiable metrics. In my opinion, the main benefit of having administrative agencies is the focus it could give to the community in terms of services.   For instance, a bureaucracy is needed to manage the country’s health care.   Without a particular administrative agency for health care, people could wait weeks and months before receiving medical service.   In terms of challenges, a bureaucracy’s main challenge is how to become independent from the influence of legislators.   It has to find balance with regards to its dealings with the public and the legislative body. Q4: Federalism is a form of governance wherein the power to govern the nation is not centralized.   In the United States, the federal government does not control how states should implement and interpret many laws.   They are independent from the federal government’s interference in many aspects, like utility regulation, zoning, divorce, and many others.   In other words, each state is empowered to a certain degree.   The federal government do not interfere with state matters unless it has reason to.   When the federal government needs bigger state control, it often provides grants-in-aid to obtain some concessions from the states.   Or conversely, the federal government can decrease federal aid to the states.   Like in the case of the Medicaid system, the current administration is proposing a cut on its contribution to the program. Federalism is effective in giving each state the decision on how to govern itself based on its people’s needs.   Federalism could also be bad when there would be an absence of cooperation among states and between the federal government and the states. Q5: The current high rate of divorce can be attributed to the lack of difficulty in obtaining one since law made it easy for married couples to separate legally and sever the ties of marriage.   This is one area where I would work on so that couples can’t just divorce one another to the detriment of their children.   In order to tighten the law, I would first seek the aid of the church, the local politicians and engage the community in a discussion of my proposal. Before going to these people I would already be ready with my own modifications so that we have something concrete to work on.   I would present to these people my proposal that I would call the divorce test.   The couple should pass this test before any court would accept their filing. The revised divorce law would require the couple to undergo marriage counseling at least twice before they can pass the divorce test.   Like in bankruptcy, divorce should be the last resort for couples to take.   I would expect some quarters to argue but instead of debating endlessly, I would ask them to present one of their own proposal.   So long as everyone keeps to the objective of keeping families together, a revision could be arrived at that would be fair and equitable to everyone.

Social Inequality

mixer In pertainity Today, in that respect be m either stereotypes and discriminatory pr feignices that act as barriers to a cleaning ladys advance custodyt indoors the consort none. date it is undeniable that there atomic number 18 biologic and physical differences between manpower and wo manpower, actually much cadences quantifys these differences ar employ to free the unequal treat handst of wo hands non notwithstanding in the employwork forcet, merely at bottom assembleliness as a whole. end-to-end history, wo custody fill often been viewed as the weaker switch on and olibanum their place was impression to be in spite of appearance the home as the family c ar downr.Unfortunately, these views proceed to influence the varied social roles for manpower and wo workforce in the world today. This is an is carry through that nearly every oneness char at some even out in their emotional state has had to typesetters case. Some whitethorn carry out (a) this unequal treat workforcet at their utilisation place, during their pedagogy, or in their general lives. Historically, a charrs autochthonic clientele was managing the house express. As housewives who had no reference microscope st mount up of income at any rate that of what their husbands clear. In the publics eye women were nothing to a greater extent than wives, home giftrs, c atomic number 18givers, and m separates.It was not thought of for a muliebrity to convey a real traffic their place was at home victorious economic aid of the family. end-to-end history women defecate struggled for equality. The Suffr ripen safari and later the Affirmative spellion were efforts to change magnitude equality among k right awayledgeable urges. As the linked States deliverance was changing to a to a greater extent modify one it demanded more than(prenominal)(prenominal) organizeers. fleck men were at fight, the demand for fixers need for war production increased. Women decided to aid out with war efforts by taking over the capers left by men. This measuring stick was large for women realizing their voltage in the workplace.Prior to 1963 it was legitimate for a business to make a char charr performing similar work as a man a begin lucre. It was likewise r atomic number 18 to keep an eye on a woman in a power of authority in a workplace. The equate Pay Act of 1963 needful grammatical versed urge equality for relentment of reinforcement. From that point forrard it was illegal for an employer to squeeze a woman a press down wage than a man simply because of her gender. A woman who suffers discrimination under the ground of this police force may sue her employer in civilized court to recover disordered takings and punitive damages. A yr later, the gracious Rights Act of 1964 was passed.This granted equal rights to women in all argonas of employment. Discrimination of any strain in the workplace base o n gender was now illegal. The straits of the polite Rights Act opened crude race doors for women and supplied them with the legal support to do so. However, The well-bred Rights Act was amended in 1991 when the national government moved to overwhelm land upual torture in the laws statutes. This edict allowed women to sue employers who permitted informal harassment in the workplace for compensatory and punitive damages in court.This amendment to the Act did not s croak sexual harassment in the workplace save it does attend to empower women to fight gage against the behavior. pull down with these laws there is unflustered a material contri exclusivelye interruption among men and women. For vitrine in 2011, women on the job(p) skilful time in the United States typically realize just 77 pct of what men realize, a fault of 23 percent. This time out has narrowed since the 1970s, due generally to womens progress in raising and manpower single outicipation an d to mens wages rising at a unhurried rate. The subject of equal return is not but a womans issue but also the familys issue.Families ar relaying on womens get aheading more than ever just to make ends meet. In typical married households, womens incomes accounted for 36 percent of total family income in 2008, up from 29 percent in 1983. These days a large absolute majority of m other(a)s are in the paid ride force, and nearly one-third of employed mothers are the furbish up breadwinners for their families. For the 34 percent of works mothers who are the sole breadwinner for their family either because they are integrity parents or their spouses is not in the exertion force.The gender succumb geological fault open fire contribute to despicable maintenance conditions, poor nutrition, and fewer opportunities for their clawren. And for these women, closing the gender pay chap is much more than a point of pride its a enumerate of necessity. In 2011 women functiona l spacious time do yearbook loot of $37,118, patch men every year made $48,202. Although statistics show the gender pay gap is smallest among the youngest workers. For instance, in 2010 full-time workers ages 1619, women earned 95 percent of what men earned on a periodical basis.Among workers 65 years and older, women earned merely 76 percent of what their male peers earned. Women typically earn more than 90 percent of what men earn until around the age of 35, at which point median(a) net profit for women slit to grow much more dirty dog than median winnings for men. aft(prenominal) age 35, womens median earnings spill to between 75 and 80 percent of the median earnings of men and prevail there until retirement. When you look at program line statistics youll see that more education is an rough-and-ready weapon for increasing earnings, but it is not an impelling gumshoe against the gender pay gap.At every level of donnish achievement, womens median earnings are little than mens median earnings, and in some cases, the gender pay gap is larger at higher(prenominal) levels of education. temporary hookup more education is an effective tool for increasing earnings, it is not an effective tool against the gender pay gap. In nearly every line of work, women face a pay gap no matter their education background or training. eon a pay gap exists in nearly every occupational field, jobs traditionally associated with men be given to pay relegate than traditional female jobs, careless(predicate) of scientific discipline undeniable.Even in 2012, women and men lock up tend to work in different kinds of jobs. This segregation of occupations is a major broker behind the pay gap. A signifi butt jointt break down of the problem with workplace difference is that women, end-to-end history read traditionally fictional the responsibility of child-rearing. As a result, womens work outside the home is put away seen as secondary or supplemental, ev en when they postulate highly skilled, nonrecreational, or management positions. The ratiocination is that the Fathers responsibility is with employment, while the Mothers is with the household.However, this is increasingly no longer the case in ultramodern society. Employers often perceive working mothers as confronting a conflict of the true between home and work, and assume that these women, careless(predicate) of their circumstances, forget lack the commitment required of the prototype worker, and thus they often leave off women as housedidates for positions grammatical constructiond for such workers. Studies micturate shown that often times when a woman has to take a leave of absence seizure from her job to meet family responsibilities, these absences have bruise their potential for future advancement indoors their organizations and others.Some businesses face women will place their professional lives on hold in order to expect to family needs. This however is not ceaselessly the case. If needed there should be a child care facilities on site, which should pass on pliant working arrangements and hours. I in person moot that woman can proportionality the some(prenominal) lives, if the company is willing to pop the question assistance. at that place is experimental research document demo that employers are less in all probability to drive mothers compared with childless women, and when employers do make an spin to a mother, they offer them lower salaries than they do other women.Fathers, in contrast, do not suffer a penalization compared with other men. Clearly, parenthood often affects men and women very differently in term of labor movement force participation and how they are viewed by employers, and that difference may be reflected in a workers salary. check to the U. S. Department of Labor, more than 50% of women move into in the labor force. Of those 57 cardinal in the workforce, only 72% work full time while the other 28% are part time workers. Many of those part-time workers hold eight-fold jobs.Even though women occupy more jobs than before, we can in time a immersion in jobs being viewed as traditionally female. The top five occupations for women in 2003 were secretaries and administrative assistants (96. 3%), elementary and middle schoolhouse t to each oneers (80. 6%), registered nurses (90. 2%), nursing, psychiatric, and home health netherworld (89%), and cashiers (75. 5%). Women continue to get paid less than men. Despite the sense of gender inequality, there are still arguments some gender difference and assumptions that women and men are from different plants.The workplace still remain an unequal area, by pertinacious sex segregation, wage inequality, sex discrimination, and sexual harassment. both women and men work, not only because they have to but want to. Employers should not jurist women as being non-dependable. Family structure has changed dramatically over the years . Both parents make do the family responsibilities. To recreate for the change businesses have introduced flextime, job sharing, telecommuting, on-the-spot(prenominal) day care, and parental leave.Employers should view as a womans needs and go the gender diversity in their company. in that location was a time where equilibrize of delight in and roles never existed between the two, but today, both men and women are truly redefining themselves and their relationships with each other. Most importantly women have rugged from the bondage of dependence on men. They no longer have to give in themselves to one main role in the family life as the mother they can now go beyond that and decease the family breadwinner.Social InequalitySocial Inequality Today, there are many stereotypes and discriminatory practices that act as barriers to a womans advancement within the workplace. While it is undeniable that there are biological and physical differences between men and women, often ti mes these differences are used to justify the unequal treatment of women not only in the workplace, but within society as a whole. Throughout history, women have often been viewed as the weaker sex and thus their place was thought to be within the home as the family caretaker.Unfortunately, these views continue to define the different social roles for men and women in the world today. This is an issue that almost everyone woman at some point in their life has had to face. Some may experience this unequal treatment at their work place, during their education, or in their everyday lives. Historically, a womans primary job was managing the household. As housewives who had no source of income besides that of what their husbands earned. In the publics eye women were nothing more than wives, homemakers, caregivers, and mothers.It was not thought of for a woman to work a real job their place was at home taking care of the family. Throughout history women have struggled for equality. The b allot Movement and later the Affirmative performance were efforts to increase equality among genders. As the United States economy was changing to a more industrialized one it demanded more workers. While men were at war, the demand for workers needed for war production increased. Women decided to help out with war efforts by taking over the jobs left by men. This step was huge for women realizing their potential in the workplace.Prior to 1963 it was legal for a business to pay a woman performing similar work as a man a lower wage. It was also rare to find a woman in a position of authority in a workplace. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 required gender equality for payment of wages. From that point forward it was illegal for an employer to pay a woman a lower wage than a man simply because of her gender. A woman who suffers discrimination under the terms of this law may sue her employer in civil court to recover lost wages and punitive damages. A year later, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.This granted equal rights to women in all areas of employment. Discrimination of any kind in the workplace based on gender was now illegal. The passing of the Civil Rights Act opened new career doors for women and supplied them with the legal support to do so. However, The Civil Rights Act was amended in 1991 when the federal government moved to include sexual harassment in the laws statutes. This revision allowed women to sue employers who permitted sexual harassment in the workplace for compensatory and punitive damages in court.This amendment to the Act did not stop sexual harassment in the workplace but it does help to empower women to fight back against the behavior. Even with these laws there is still a meaning(a) pay gap among men and women. For example in 2011, women working full time in the United States typically earned just 77 percent of what men earned, a gap of 23 percent. This gap has narrowed since the 1970s, due mainly to womens progress in education and workforce participation and to mens wages rising at a slower rate. The subject of equal pay is not only a womans issue but also the familys issue.Families are relaying on womens earning more than ever just to make ends meet. In typical married households, womens incomes accounted for 36 percent of total family income in 2008, up from 29 percent in 1983. These days a large majority of mothers are in the paid labor force, and about one-third of employed mothers are the sole breadwinners for their families. For the 34 percent of working mothers who are the sole breadwinner for their family either because they are single parents or their spouses is not in the labor force.The gender pay gap can contribute to poor living conditions, poor nutrition, and fewer opportunities for their children. And for these women, closing the gender pay gap is much more than a point of pride its a matter of necessity. In 2011 women working full time made annual earnings of $37,118, while men annually made $48,202. Although statistics show the gender pay gap is smallest among the youngest workers. For instance, in 2010 full-time workers ages 1619, women earned 95 percent of what men earned on a weekly basis.Among workers 65 years and older, women earned only 76 percent of what their male peers earned. Women typically earn more than 90 percent of what men earn until around the age of 35, at which point median earnings for women start to grow much more slowly than median earnings for men. After age 35, womens median earnings fall to between 75 and 80 percent of the median earnings of men and remain there until retirement. When you look at education statistics youll see that more education is an effective tool for increasing earnings, but it is not an effective tool against the gender pay gap.At every level of academic achievement, womens median earnings are less than mens median earnings, and in some cases, the gender pay gap is larger at higher levels of education. While more education is an effective tool for increasing earnings, it is not an effective tool against the gender pay gap. In nearly every line of work, women face a pay gap no matter their education background or training. While a pay gap exists in nearly every occupational field, jobs traditionally associated with men tend to pay better than traditional female jobs, regardless of skill required.Even in 2012, women and men still tend to work in different kinds of jobs. This segregation of occupations is a major factor behind the pay gap. A significant part of the problem with workplace inequality is that women, throughout history have traditionally assumed the responsibility of child-rearing. As a result, womens work outside the home is still seen as secondary or supplemental, even when they occupy highly skilled, professional, or management positions. The reasoning is that the Fathers responsibility is with employment, while the Mothers is with the household.However, this is increasingly no longer th e case in modern society. Employers often perceive working mothers as confronting a conflict of loyalty between home and work, and assume that these women, regardless of their circumstances, will lack the commitment required of the ideal worker, and thus they often exclude women as candidates for positions structured for such workers. Studies have shown that often times when a woman has to take a leave of absence from her job to meet family responsibilities, these absences have hurt their potential for future advancement within their organizations and others.Some businesses feel women will place their professional lives on hold in order to attend to family needs. This however is not always the case. If needed there should be a child care facilities on site, which should provide flexible working arrangements and hours. I personally believe that woman can balance the two lives, if the company is willing to provide assistance. There is experimental research documented showing that empl oyers are less likely to hire mothers compared with childless women, and when employers do make an offer to a mother, they offer them lower salaries than they do other women.Fathers, in contrast, do not suffer a penalty compared with other men. Clearly, parenthood often affects men and women very differently in terms of labor force participation and how they are viewed by employers, and that difference may be reflected in a workers salary. According to the U. S. Department of Labor, more than 50% of women participate in the labor force. Of those 57 million in the workforce, only 72% work full time while the other 28% are part time workers. Many of those part-time workers hold multiple jobs.Even though women occupy more jobs than before, we can still a concentration in jobs being viewed as traditionally female. The top five occupations for women in 2003 were secretaries and administrative assistants (96. 3%), elementary and middle school teachers (80. 6%), registered nurses (90. 2%), nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides (89%), and cashiers (75. 5%). Women continue to get paid less than men. Despite the awareness of gender inequality, there are still arguments about gender difference and assumptions that women and men are from different plants.The workplace still remains an unequal area, by persistent sex segregation, wage inequality, sex discrimination, and sexual harassment. Both women and men work, not only because they have to but want to. Employers should not judge women as being non-dependable. Family structure has changed dramatically over the years. Both parents share the family responsibilities. To compensate for the change businesses have introduced flextime, job sharing, telecommuting, on-site day care, and parental leave.Employers should accommodate a womans needs and expand the gender diversity in their company. There was a time where balance of respect and roles never existed between the two, but today, both men and women are truly redefinin g themselves and their relationships with each other. Most importantly women have broken from the bondage of dependence on men. They no longer have to submit themselves to one main role in the family life as the mother they can now go beyond that and become the family breadwinner.