Monday, September 30, 2019

Case Study on Early Childhood Essay

This study will provide an understanding of a child’s physical, cognitive, and social development. Early childhood is a time of remarkable physical, cognitive, social, as well as emotional development. Infants enter the world with a limited range of skills and abilities. Watching a child develop new motor, cognitive, language and social skills is a source of wonders for parents and caregivers. The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have personal experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand exactly how and why people grow, learn, and change. What happens or doesn’t happen to children in the earliest years of their lives is of critical importance, both to their immediate well-being and to their future. If you received the best start in your earliest years of life, you are more likely to have grown healthy, developed language and learning capacities, or gone to school and led a productive, rewarding life. Let’s take a closer look at early childhood development including the well-being of potential influences around the child. Five year old Madison, a cheerful and clever girl, is one of the most active children I have ever met. She is a member of gymnastics, dancing, and little league softball team. Weighing about thirty five pounds and very lean, she has the energy times three of one child. To determine Madison’s maturity of her motor skill development, I created a test for both her gross motor skills and fine motor skills. To test her development of her gross motor skills, I told her to run up and down the driveway of her yard, which was about 9 feet in length, until she was tired. Madison only ran this length four times before giving up. I determined that her gross motor skills were above average because of her speed, pace, and length of running. To test her fine motor skills, I gave her one sheet of wide ruled paper and told her to copy each sentence: â€Å"My name is Madison. I am five years old. I like to play ball. † Madison showed that she could write these sentences neatly and accurately. I tested her again on her fine motor skills by testing her strength. I rolled a soccer ball to her five times and she kicked it back to me three of those five times. She showed that her strength was average as well. I also asked her parent a series of questions about her physical development: What was Madison’s appetite on a daily basis? What is her energy level before and after school? What is the pattern of her physical growth? Her parent stated that her appetite was normal and that she ate three full meals a day including snacks in between these meals. She then stated that before school her energy level is low being that most children do not like to be woken early in the morning. After school her energy level is fair because she has been active for more than seven hours and attends practice after school. Her parent also explained that Madison’s weight gain is steady but she has gotten taller by two inches. I determined that Madison’s physical development is excellent and well above average of children her age. Not only a period of amazing physical development, early childhood is also a time of extraordinary mental development. Cognitive development combined with memory and thinking continues to emerge throughout childhood. It would be impossible to avoid mentioning the work of Piaget when it comes to childhood cognitive development. According to Piaget’s theory, Madison is automatically in the preoperational stage. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete logic, cannot mentally manipulate information, and are unable to take the point of view of other people. I asked Madison does she like to read and she answered â€Å"yes. † I also asked her does she like to learn and she said â€Å"yes. † To test her cognitive skills, I tested her by giving her a paper with a picture of three balls on it. I told her to circle the biggest one, put a square around the smallest one, and underline the medium size one. She correctly circled the biggest one which was in the middle, followed by the smallest one on the right and the medium one on the left. I gave the same test but with different pictures and in a different order. She missed this question because she assumed that the biggest bear was in the middle because of the first test she took. She failed to understand the perception of size because she focused on what she saw before not noticing the change of appearance. This showed that she used static reasoning believing that the world is unchanging. I asked Madison how many fingers she had and she counted ten. I then raised only four of my fingers on one hand and three on the other. I asked her how many did I have on my and and she stated seven but then told me I was hiding more. As you can see I could not pull a trick on Madison with this test. In children, there is perhaps nothing more amazing than the emergence of language. Early childhood is a sensitive period for language learning. I asked her parent does Madison easily learn words. She stated that Madison learns words everyday and often repeat words that she might have said to other people and to her as well. To test Madison on her social development, I sat a phone, a bottle of water, and a book on a table. I asked her what was the first object and why do we use it. She correctly answered the question saying that the phone was used to call people. Second, she could not tell me what the container was (bottle) but she did say it was water. Last, she correctly stated that the book was used to read about things. I asked her does she play with other kids and she said yes. I then asked her did she have friends and she named two friends. Her parent also stated that Madison talks about her friend all the time and has gotten into trouble for talking too much at school. It shows that Madison is a very sociable child and she will more than likely be successful in anything that she does.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Characteristics of Good Test Questions Essay

Here is the list of characteristics that you should follow when either writing or selecting interpretive exercise questions for use in Stage 2 of any curriculum planning. Examples of these characteristics and why they are important will be discussed in class. Interpretive exercise questions consist of a series of selective response items based on a common set of introductory material. The introductory material may be in the form of written materials, tables, charts, graphs, maps or pictures. These questions are the hardest to write, because you have to find novel introductory material related to your unit of instruction that works and is important. The reason for including this type of question in a unit test is that it gives students practice answering this type of question which is often used on standardized tests in science. Advantages: 1. Measure the ability to interpret the introductory material encountered in everyday situations. 2. Measure more complex learning outcomes than is possible with other forms of selected response items. 3. Minimizes the influence of a students’ lack of needed factual information on measurement of complex learning outcomes. 4. Greater structure than essay test. 5. A question type used in standardized tests. Students need to be familiar with this question type. Limitations: 1. Hard to construct: find materials that are new (novel) but relevant. Usually needs some editing. 2. Heavier demand on students’ reading skill. Keep reading level low, passage brief. In primary grades use more pictorial materials. 3. Cannot measure students’ overall approach to problem solving (doesn’t show work steps). 4. Only test problem-solving ability at the recognition level. Interpretive Exercise Guidelines: 1. Select introductory material that is in harmony with course outcomes. 2. Select introductory material that is appropriate to the curricular experience and reading level of the student. 3. Select introductory material that is new (novel) to the student. 4. Use introductory material that is brief, but meaningful. 5. Revise introductory material for clarity and conciseness for greater value. 6. Construct test items that require analysis and interpretation of the introductory material. 7. Make the number of test items roughly proportional to the length of the introductory material. 8. When constructing the test items use the guidelines given in the writing of selective response items.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Nacirema

The Nacirema change their behavior leading up to December 25th on their approved calendar. They believe that a spirit called â€Å"Christmas† will magically fill themselves and the people around then with joy and caring tendencies. They tell their offspring and little ones that a large man in a red suit with a white beard will break into their homes on the 25th and leave gifts if their behavior is good. If they are bad this man will leave black natural resources, coal.The children are also told to leave cookies for the man, although he is already extremely stout. The adults although supply the children with gifts and not coal, whether the child is good or bad by cultural norms. The women of the homes spend days prepping the home for others to come. They wipe down floors and use a large machine to attempt to remove debris from the soft areas of the floor, although the floor will just collect more dirt and debris over time.Some Nacirema even go knocking on the doors of other Nac irema and when they answer, they sing. The Nacirema dedicate literature, moving pictures, and several items to this spirit. Also, the Nacirema place large amounts of small balls of light and other items on or around their places of rest to honor the spirit. not really fake greed Nacirema is American spelled backwards and refers to, with a degree/pretense of anthropological self-distancing, aspects of the behavior and society of citizens of North America.Studying the Nacirema remains useful and productive for Americans even half a century after Miner first did so because it helps us realize how our behavior may be viewed by other cultures and what that impression will do for our relationship. Also, it helps us realize what parts of our behavior that we may have overlooked that are superficial, unnecessary, or flat out wrong.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Table of content Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Table of content - Essay Example There is also a problem in where one is not in a position to draw up a clear investment plan with limited finances. All these problems emanate from the failure to have a tool where one can account for daily expenditures and income. The end solution, therefore, is to invent a tool that facilitates evaluation of the financial inputs and outputs incurred on a daily basis. To gather the information, academic journals were analyzed. Data collection did entail utilization of a cross-sectional survey, using the questionnaires. Information was also the journals tend to explain some of the challenges and drawbacks that a person may face while budgeting. They also give a clear guideline on the steps to draw an effective budget. Theoretical studies did indicate that the business is subject to undergoing various steps in its operational life. All the steps have different financial demands and unless budgeting is done effectively, it is prone to failure. Personal expenses also stand a gap in the success of a business. Therefore, budgeting of the expenses is equally important. I choose to go with the third option simply because it revolves around developing my own expense report. It directly has to do with my finances that range from my savings, wages, expenses and investments. Everyone ought to have a well-developed Individual Expense Report even if only to keep track of both the in-flow and out-flow of his or her personal finances. It is a good true that can help solve the problem of trying to figure out what you did with your last month’s income and what you can do with the extra cash you still have. Finances are very volatile and if not allocated to a certain area, they tend to disappear with nothing tangible to show for them. Option C to me is the basis of the rest two; reason being that one has to learn their own financial management before they can launch out to writing reports for companies (Option A) or a future business (Option B). One of

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Lawrence v. Texas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lawrence v. Texas - Essay Example Many other reasons were given for declaring the statute illegal, but the second main issue for doing so was the fact that should the â€Å"deviant sex† be taking place between two consenting adults, and not involving minor children, public conduct, and/or prostitution, then it was not for the Court to â€Å"define the meaning of the relationship or to set its boundaries absent injury to a person or abuse of an institution the law protects† (6). The majority went on to say that, for the most part, adults could be trusted to enter into relationships of their own free will, as well as to consent to the type of sexual activity that would take place in them. Though this was a decidedly main issue, it can be said that it goes back to the first main issue, which was that adults, as adults, had a right to do what they wanted in their own homes, free from fear of punishment.  Central to the majority opinion was a previous case, Bowers v. Hardwick, decided in the opposite manne r of Lawrence v. Texas. In Bowers v. Hardwick, the laws were upheld, and sodomy was declared to be an illegal act. The majority of Lawrence v. Texas declared that the reasoning behind the decision made to be flawed, as the Court did not â€Å"appreciate the extent of the liberty at stake† (6). What the Court failed to consider was that, again, the case was about consensual acts private to a relationship, again taking place in the privacy of a home, and not in public view. They also, again, did not involve minors. Therefore, according to the majority opinion.... Though this was a decidedly main issue, it can be said that it goes back to the first main issue, which was that adults, as adults, had a right to do what they wanted in their own homes, free from fear of punishment. Central to the majority opinion was a previous case, Bowers v. Hardwick, decided in the opposite manner of Lawrence v. Texas. In Bowers v. Hardwick, the laws were upheld, and sodomy was declared to be an illegal act. The majority of Lawrence v. Texas declared that the reasoning behind the decision made to be flawed, as the Court did not â€Å"appreciate the extent of the liberty at stake† (6). What the Court failed to consider was that, again, the case was about consensual acts private to a relationship, again taking place in the privacy of a home, and not in public view. They also, again, did not involve minors. Therefore, according to the majority opinion, Bowers v. Hardwick should not have been allowed to uphold the laws in the first place, as individual libert ies were being infringed upon. From the remarks made, it can be concluded that Lawrence v. Texas was simply correcting a wrong, and doing what Bowers v. Hardwick should have done in the first place, which was to declare sodomy the natural act of a relationship, and not something dirty and illegal. There were those on the Supreme Court that disagreed with the majority opinion, chief among them Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas. Their reasoning was separately made in their dissents, with Justice Scalia having the longer of the two. Justice Thomas kept it brief, mainly stating that while he concurred with the fact that the law was â€Å"uncommonly silly† as it was

Service Quality Improvement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Service Quality Improvement - Essay Example According to Sheth & Kellstadt (1992), a normative model of service quality improvement is built on the concept of continuous improvement. The company that I have been working in has been using this kind of approach to address its issues of quality improvement. This is because the key objective of the company is to achieve sustained improvements in its services delivery. Therefore, throughout my career, I have had an opportunity to experience a situation in which this model was applied. Moreover, I have been able to experience some of the benefits of this kind of a model when used to improve service quality as well as some of its shortfalls. This benefits and shorts could form a very good basis for my evaluation in this paper. Normative model of service improvement is divided into stages. The stages include management commitment, employee commitment and participation, employee education and training, communication, assessment and modification, outcomes and targets, and integration (H ernon & Whitman, 2001). These stages are interconnected in an intertwined manner. This means that a stage does not necessarily result to its next stage. However, each stage is independent of the other. The company that I am working in has been undertaking almost all the above stages in its approach to service quality improvement. Some of these stages in service quality improvement have been very conspicuous. This makes them to be easy to identify even to the people who are not top managers. However, some are inconspicuous thus can only be identified by top managers. Sheth & Kellstadt (1992) also identifies this approach of service quality improvement as both multi-disciplinary and requires individuals with different functions in the company. This is because it requires efforts of managers belonging to different disciplines. Moreover, it involves employees with varying roles in the company. In the company I work with, service quality work has not been the work of the marketing department only. In every case that the company has attempted to improve its quality of service, all the departments have been required to play almost equal roles. This is because the company believed that improvement in quality of its services could only come from an improvement in the effectiveness of every department in the company. Benefits of the model to service quality improvements The most essential component of any organization is its management since it controls all the decisions made in the organization in its various operation stages. Use of a normative model for service quality improvement by the organization I work with has enhanced the participation and commitment of the management team to the process of improving quality of services. This is because it has been requiring every manager to show his commitment to the process. Moreover,

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Select a notable quote or phrase, which capture your thoughts about Essay

Select a notable quote or phrase, which capture your thoughts about Architecture - Essay Example For building different setups, we require someone who can comprehend our desired ideas and notions and convert them into our dreamt buildings. Jackie Craven (2011) defines architect as â€Å"An architect is a licensed professional who organizes space. Architects design houses, office buildings, skyscrapers, landscapes, and even entire cities†. Therefore, an architect is a person who is a specialist and has gained expertise at designing and construction. He is the one who can help us in constructing the places that inspire us or are part of our dreams. The buildings that we require in our daily lives can be constructed according to our requirements with the support of an architect. We can observe many beautiful and charming buildings at different places in the world such as Taipei 101 of Taiwan, Shanghai World Financial Center of China, Petronas Twin Towers of Malaysia, The Sears Tower of Chicago, Jin Mao Tower of China, Two International Financial Center of China, Shun Hing Sq uare and Burj Khalifa of UAE (Hasan 2008). The mentioned buildings are architectural wonders and are categorized among the world’s tallest buildings. No one can deny the architectural contribution of the designed buildings as without architectural thoughts, designing and construction, such awesome buildings cannot be constructed. Architects change our dreams to reality.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Factors That Contribute To Depression Among Adults Research Paper

Factors That Contribute To Depression Among Adults - Research Paper Example Everyone gets sad at one time or another. But there are those I have seen get depressed – that feeling of prolonged sadness that is always written on the faces of some people. I have had been depressed in my life too. I have seen people get depressed. When you ask someone why they are depressed, some have their reasons, others do not even know why they are depressed. And the number of those suffering from depressing has been growing all over the world and has even attracted the attention of the World Health Organization. Depression has been a major challenge in the world with people of all ages and both gender suffering from depression at homes, in schools, and at places of work. Long time ago, before scientific explanations could be made, depression was seen to be a punishment from God for something human being did or failed to do. It was therefore not seen as a medical condition but as one with religious connotations. According to a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, depression was most prevalent in persons aged 45 – 64 years. This suggests that depression is most prevalent among older adults hence the need to examine what causes depression in adults. Currently, depression is seen as a major medical condition and studies have shown a rise in the number of depressed citizens all over the world. While cases of depression rise, the factors that contribute to depression have not yet been exhaustively identified making it hard for medical practitioners to efficiently prevent the rising cases. When am depressed sometimes it is because I have lost someone through death, or I am just stressed. Those I see around me getting depressed also have their reasons, some similar to mine, others not. Like I have said before, some of them do not even know why they are depressed. There has been a plethora of opinion articles and studies dedicated to finding out the factors that contribute to depression. Even though the real causes of depression are not known, as most researchers agree, a number of factors have generally been suggested as having an influence on depression among adults. Dr. Carol Miller in her book Nursing for Wellness in Older Adults identifies the factors as demographic factors and psychosocial influences, medical conditions and functional impairments, and effects of medications and alcohol. A number of authors agree with Dr. Miller on these factors. For instance, according to ADAM Medical Encyclopedia, depression may be caused by stressful life events such as death or illness of someone close, divorce, childhood abuse or neglect, and relationship break-ups. Another stressful even related to these factors is loneliness as explained in the article and affects mostly the elderly. These are mostly psychological factors and may greatly impact the levels of depression in adults. One other related factor here is loneliness. Judy Martin in an article in Forbes magazine shows that stress is a major cause of depression at work as stressed employees to do not report their frustrations for fear of being fired at work for complaining. They therefore keep to themselves and depression sets in. As people, especially men, beco me depressed, they tend to hide their depression through alcohol or use of drugs. But it may also be true that in some cases, depression may be caused by alcohol use. As ADAM Medical Encyclopedia explains, men who are depressed are more likely than women to mast the symptoms with alcohol. The author agrees that while this is the case, alcohol use causes depression in adults. This also mirrors the views of Dr. Miller on alcohol as a cause of depression in adults. Medical conditions have also been seen as one of the causes of depress

Monday, September 23, 2019

Business to Business Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business to Business Marketing - Assignment Example The company under question Cloud Creative Solutions Ltd. is found to work more based on the tool of personal selling while reaching the goods and services produced to the customers. Other than focusing on personal selling alone the company can also render focus on a large number of other marketing communication tools while marketing its different services conducted in the marketing sphere. The different marketing communication tools consist of both traditional means and also other sophisticated modes which depend on the use of internet and digital media. Traditional tools of marketing communication consists of advertising activities on a media plane like use of magazines, newspapers and through other visual and audio modes like radio and television. Moreover advertisements made at various places through the use of billboards can also be used by the company. Cloud Creative Solutions can also market the range of services offered through pasting of advertisements on transport vehicles a nd in entertainment venues like cinema houses. Other forms of marketing communication tools used by retail companies are using different forms of signage both inside and outside the store to attract the attention of consumers. Again the company can work to sponsor large number of events like sports, entertainment and other arts and crafts activities to help gain the views of large number of people. This also helps in enhancing the social image of the company to the external world. The company can also focus on the generation of events like trade shows wherein the consumers get the enlarged view of the different products and services marketed by the company from time to time. Cloud Creative Solutions can also create huge customer hype through the rendering of discounts, promotional coupons, bonus and other price and economy packs to the consumers. The company can also engage in the generation of contests and other sweepstakes to encourage the consumers participate in such events in l arge numbers and thereby gain access and knowledge of the services rendered. Thus Cloud Creative Solutions can depend greatly on the above discussed marketing tools rather than depending greatly on public relations and personal selling to market the large sphere of marketing services. These marketing communication tools in total constitute the realm of promotional tools in the marketing activities of the company (Shimp, 2008, p.7-8). While analyzing the above marketing communication tools it can be inferred that the emergence of the internet would effectively help service marketing companies like Cloud Creative Solutions to gain the attention of large number of consumers both in local and international markets. Moreover through the help of internet marketing the companies can present to the customers lucrative websites containing a large array of information pertaining to the different products and services rendered and thus helps the consumers to make effective choices. Again the i nternet is used as an effective marketing communication tool in that it helps in the spreading of marketing messages of the company to users spread along international boundaries in a highly faster mode than that of other traditional marketing tools depending on digital and printed media. Further the use of mobile communication is also considered as an effective mode for marketing communi

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Assessor Award Essay Example for Free

Assessor Award Essay A1 Assessor Award BY fiffi20 7317 Vocational Assessors Award Underpinning Knowledge Requirements QI. The way how I identify and use different types of evidences when carrying out assessments are by reading through all the chosen units assessment reports to have a clear understanding of the criteria/elements which the candidate must meet. The different types of evidences which can be used are, Task Statements, Work Product/ Work Evidences, Observations, Supplementary Evidences, Questionnaires, Professional Discussions and also Witness Statements. Q2. When comparing different types of evidences, I make sure the work product overs either, the Skills and Techniques or the Performance Indicators depends on the NVQ course, this get done on both the mandatory unit as well as the unit the candidate is working on. This is done by me checking the evidence against the Assessment Report and referencing the elements which have been met. Q3. When it comes to me collecting evidence I normally get my candidates to print their evidences in black and white instead of colour to save the cost of their ink cartridge. If possible I would also ask them to print double sided to save paper. I always ask my candidates if they have created any sort of evidence prior to our eeting, that way I could see if the evidence is suitable for the task and if its meets any of the elements on the assessment report if so this saves a lot of time on the candidate behalf if not, I do set my candidates deadlines for them to meet, so that way then can complete to hand over evidences. Q4. If a candidate has completed evidences prior to the assessment process I would ask them to demonstrate how they started and completed the task. I would also have a Professional Discussion with them to cover certain Performance Indicators as well as getting a Witness Statement completed by a person high then he candidate, someone who can confirm that the candidate was able tackle this task. Depends on the unit, I would sometimes also give Questionnaires to them to cover their Knowledge and Understanding. Q5. To develop and agree assessment plans with the candidates I consider all Performance Indicators and Skills and Techniques for each chosen unit, I then advise them on the assessment methods which will be used to collect the evidence and also a date/time of completion is set and agreed by both the candidate and myself. Q6. To assess the performance of my candidate I observe them while they are ackling the work evidence and I also question them this could either be verbal or written. Through this method I can pin point their performance against specific parts of the standard. evelop their competency would be to give them extra training on specific areas which they lack knowledge in and also set them task where I could observe them on that particular training to see whether or not they understood to concept and learnt from the training. I would also question them to confirm they understanding. By doing this I can make sure the candidate will be able to meet the criteria/element. Q8. Diff erent candidate have different needs, some need more training and guidance than others. So when changing assessment procedures all aspect must be considered. For example I have a candidate who is a Personal Assistant for a Head Teacher in a school which I assess in. I show her the Action Plans and Assessment Reports and explain the criteria/element which she must meet, she is able to produce evidence instantly due to IT knowledge and Job role, this candidate need very little training in her Business and Administration course as long as I explain what is required from her and her work products/work evidences. However I then have a candidate who is a receptionist at a medical centre, this candidate has dyslexia and needs a huge amount of training and guidance, especially with her Task Statements. A lot more time must be spent with this candidate and the deadline of evidence must be slightly longer then others. Q9. When collecting evidences must ensure there are no confidentially information which relates to neither the company nor their clients/customers. The evidences must be created by the candidates so that way they are valid and fair. If the candidate does not create the evidence then it is hard to identify whether or not it is air. All evidences must be valid. I must check dates and check the assessment reports. I must speak to the Manager and advise them which type of evidence the candidate will be submitting. QIO. When completing work evidences, the evidence must follow the assessment standard of the CADCentre unit standard booklet. QI 1. To measure existing levels of competence I always question my candidates, this could either be verbal or written. I also get the candidate to perform the task so Im able to observe and Judge their competency level. Q12. To make a valid and reliable assessment of my candidates knowledge I ormally hold a professional discussion with them and also given them questionnaires to complete. Q13. To make a valid and reliable assessment of my candidates performance I get my candidate to produce work evidence to support there claim, to complete a Task Statement and I then type out the Observation which will backup the task which they completed and also to reference the criteria/elements which they successfully matched. collect the work evidence and the Task Statement from the candidate and then I would go through the assessment report and tick off the criteria/elements which they uccessfully met. This is done once IVe collect all evidences towards the relevant unit. This will show that the candidate was capable to meeting the required criteria/ elements. QI 5. To check that the evidence was created by the candidate I always ask them to demonstrate who they created the evidence and also I would take down the file path. The file path is added to the candidates work evidence as well as in my Observations. Q16. To make sure that supporting evidences supplied by other people are reliable I ask the Manager to write out a Witness Statement, I would also speak to the witness egarding the candidates unit, explaining the criteria/elements which they need to cover and will be assed on. The witness must have knowledge and experience in the area which I will assess to allow them to write up the statement otherwise it will not be valid. QI 7. I always tell the candidates that they can use evidences which they previously created towards the chosen unit. For instance an ITQ candidate might have already created a Powerpoint presentation a few weeks ago and as she/he Chose this particular unit, instead of getting them to re-create another resentation we would use the same as long as it met all the relevant criteria/ elements. This saves the candidate a lot of time and effort and fast tracks he collection of the evidence. Q18. The way how I give constructive feedback to my candidates is by after the completion ofa task I would sit down with them and go over the task again. My feedback sheet will state the unit number, the task which the candidate has completed, date of completion, a brief paragraph giving a positive feedback on the task, state any issues which the candidate might have had during the task and also I ention the next stage which they will be moving on to. Q19. The way how I involve my candidates in the planning of assessment , I sit with them and explain all the criteria/elements which they will need to meet, the date of completion must also be agreed by both parties. I would also Judge whether or not the candidate will need extra training times on certain criteria/element to allow them to meet them. Q20. To keep to the data protection act I must store all candidates details safe and secure. Candidate detail must not be shown nor shared with any other candidates or any one outside the CADCentre. Q21. I have a lot of patients and give a lot of my time to my candidates who I feel lack to take part in different in their assessment. Im constantly training them to regain their confidences and knowledge. I also advise them that they can email or call me regarding any questions which they might have. I also give them the option of training them through specific area. IVe noticed that more practice the candidate has the better their understanding is. Q22. I make sure that I treat all my candidates the same, all with the same respect regardless to age, gender, race or beliefs. I train all my candidates equally, however I o sometimes give extra time/training to those who are in need. Q23. To meet the needs to each of my candidate, I assess them on the second initial visit after the signup. I question them verbally to have a clear view of the competency and needs. From that I can Judge which candidate will need extra training. Q24. I always give a feedback to all my candidates after the completion ofa task or even a unit. Again in this I will verbal talk to them as well as write out a feedback sheet. Feedbacks are very important to candidates, they can see their progressions and also identify their weaknesses. Q25. I have always built a good friendly relationship with all my candidates, make them feel at ease to ask questions and get in contact with me at any time regarding any issues which they might have with the course/evidence. Q26. To monitor and review the progress of my candidates I always complete an eight week review which states and identifies how the candidate is progressing, whether its a slow progression or an up to date progress. Deadlines are always set with my candidates and some do meet them and some do go over the deadline. Q27. Candidates are always upgrading their positions within companies. I must ake sure that my knowledge and understand of the course, assessment reports and standards are ofa high level to allow me to assess the candidates. Knowledge in softwares are also very important, as a candidate might chose to complete their NVQ in a specific software such as Access. Access is a database software which not many people know how to use and not many companies use, so to be able to assess and train in Access my knowledge and understand must be high. Q28. To update my existing skills and experience I would take full advantage of any training/course opportunities which may arise. This will enhance my skills, nowledge and also experience. Q29. I would take in consideration any Internal Verifier feedbacks, I would also constantly look at the City and Guilds web site and also sign up for the Newsletters. Q30. To improve my personal development I would again take full advantage of any qualifications and criterias. Q31. To meet my candidates needs in a safe, fair, valid and reliable manner I would take in to account there needs and work in line with the relevant legislations. As I mentioned before I have a candidate who suffers from Dyslexia, with her I need to print the text in a larger font and explain each point to her fully for her to have fully nderstanding of what is required from her. Q32. To recognise and challenge unfair discrimination in assessments I would refer back to the procedure, CADCentre Handbook. Q33. I would liaise with the Internal Verifier and then External Verifier to get advice on meeting candidates special assessment requirements. Q34. To identify and plan for issues of confidentiality and data protection during the assessment process I would either collect the Work Product or if the data is confidential then I would only request the file path. The file path is needed in case he Internal Verifier or External Verifier wanted to go to the company and have a look and the evidence. Q35. The way how I would record, store and pass on assessment decisions to other people within an agreed system would be by recording it on assessment plans and completing a summary of achievement. Q36. I would say to identify and assess things that could influence my own competence, could be an ITQ unit such as (214). By observing another person I could learn new skills on a particular software. Q37. I would liaise with my manager and request training in either a particular course, scheme, FL, CPD and also PTTLS.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Power Resources Theory Analysis

Power Resources Theory Analysis Paul Pierson stated, albeit thought provoking, that the world of affluent democracies, the welfare states is at the centre of political discussion and social conflict (2001, p. 1). In many European welfare states the recent economic downturn has led to thousands of people demonstrating against cut to social programmes, wages and pensions. There has also been demonstration and protest in Greece, Spain and Portugal nations hits particularly hard by the crisis which started happening after European banks lost billions of dollars they had invested in the US subprime mortgage market which collapsed back in 2008. Recently, in France and the United Kingdom, there has been widespread social unrest as a result of government efforts to introduce significant changes to social policy. In fact in Britain, the parliaments passage of the bills to cut government spending in education have provoked sharp conflict and mass demonstration by the students. Historically, the welfare states which first emerged in England was founded through voluntary contribution before the allowance system was devised and so unemployment relief was funded by involuntary contributions commonly known as taxes. At the dawn of the new era, which is often refers to as the golden age (the post world period from 1945-1975) there has been major expansion of social programmes across the world of affluent democracies. During this period, all seems well. The people to be benefited from social programmes were few and the taxpayers available to finance them are available. Therefore taxpayers money is enough to maintain the welfare states and thus provides significant benefit to the few in needs of social cover. As welfare programme expanded, the numbers changed. The new politics of the welfares state is to be dominated by reforms; this period often called the era of austerity began in the mid 1970s. The welfares state, as espoused above, thrives on the taxes paid by the working class. The welfare system is a complex of government-funded programs including pensions, health-care subsidies, transfer payments and unemployment insurance (Manzi 2010, p. 32). According to Power Resource Theory (PRT), the generosity of the welfare state is a function of its working class (Rothstein, Samanni Teorell, 2010). The welfare system represents the majority of government spending in most modern, advanced nation (Manzi 2010, p. 32). Closely associated with the work of Walter Korpi, the power resource theory places emphasis on comparative and quantitative studies of the relationship between social policy and labour movement (OConnor Olsen 1998, p. 3). It thus enables the ordering of the welfare states of Scandinavia, Western Europe and North America according to the salient characteristics and their impact on social inequality (Ibid, p. 3). This short piece will explain how the power resource th eory of the welfare state explains the differences in European welfare states. The paper is organised in four parts. The first part, which is this section, is the introduction. The second section explains the power resources theory of the  welfare state. Scholars have attempted to explain the waves of reforms that have led to dramatic increase in government spending particularly from the late 1950s to the mid 1970s. This section focuses on the power resource theory device, among others, to explain this development. The third section is an examination of how the power resource theory explains the differences in the coordinated social policy of Western European countries. Beginning after the golden age, there has been a tremendous increase and improvement of the social programmes of Western European countries. These countries are today, the hallmark of European welfare states. The last section concludes the paper. 2.0 Power Resource Theory of the Welfare State The contemporary studies of the modern welfare state came of age in the 1970s (Myles and Quadagno 2002, p. 34). Across the industrialised nations, there were outpourings of competing theoretical accounts of the origins, development, character and impacts of modern welfare states (OConnor Olsen 1998, p. 3). One of the major theories that stand-out during this period was the power resource theory which highlights the differences in the welfare states on the basis of certain characteristics that many of these other theories tend to ignore. Power resource theory essentially posits that working-class mobilization is a critical determinant of the public provision of social welfare or, more specifically, the extents to which public welfare system redistribute income and labor-markets risks (Pontusson and Kwon 2006, p. 1). As a reaction to the dominant structural functionalist approach, associated with the work of pre eminent macro sociologist Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons, that the idea of welfare state follow from a functional logic of modernisation and industrialisation and that of Marxist-Leninist schools that the welfare state should be understood as a merely functional requisite for the reproduction of capitalist exploitation; the power resource theory puts forward two important issues. According to Rothstein, Samanni, and Teorell power resource scholars were the first to point out the variation in things like coverage, extension and generosity among existing welfare states and that variation needed to be explained (2010, p. 6-7) Second, citing (Korpi, 1974, 1983) power resource theorists introduced the important of political mobilisation based on social class as an explanation for this variation (Rothstein, Samanni, and Teorell 2010, p. 7). The power resource approach focuses not only on the direct but also on the indirect consequences of power, indirect consequences mediated through various alternative strategies and actions available to holder of power resources (OConnor and Olsen 1998, p. vii).Workers Union is argued to be the key to the ability of workers to assert their interests in politics. Therefore, Power resource theorist maintained that without politics there was nothing compelling rich nations to commit resources to the development of a welfare state (OConnor and Olsen 1998, p. 7). Although recent arguments by power resource theorists are been informed by the partisan effects of the displacement of trade unions by left parties, the extents of the effectiveness of working-class mobilization has much more impact in effecting government policies. According to Myles and Quadagno (2002, p.38) power resource theory and a plethora of later studies in this tradition (Korpi  1989; Palme  1990; KangasÃ⠀šÃ‚  1991; among many others) supported the conclusion that major differences in welfare state spending and entitlements among the capitalist democracies could be explained by the relative success of left parties, particularly Social Democratic parties, aligned with strong trade unions in shaping the democratic class struggle. Essentially, power resource theory indicates that the working class union is a very important tool that effect government policies towards development of social programmes. The workers union are therefore seen as the driver of the extents to which social justice is grounded in the state, this union is the underpinning active actor that tends to keep the welfare state. In this sense, labour union could be argued as the most organise voice for average citizens on essential matters. They played an absolutely essential role in constructing the system of social provisions that has developed into the welfare state system. As OConnor and Olsen (1998, p. 11) note, the distribution of power resources between collectives or classes and the changes in this distribution are of crucial importance for societal processes and social change. Therefore, this approach assumes bounded rationality in the sense that actors not only attempt to do as well as they can under the structural position in which t hey find themselves, but also to change the structures to their long term advantage (OConnor and Olsen 1998, p. vii). Despite that class and class conflict constitute the central role of Marxs work, Marxism tended to ignore or depreciate the role of workers in the creation of social programmes and largely fails to acknowledge significant variation in the growth and development of these welfare states (Ibid 1998, p. 7). In the light of above, the strength of organise labour is an important factor towards the creation and effectiveness of a welfare state. Democratic struggles is related to the pattern of struggles between competing interest in the state, that is to say public provision of social welfare is the object of democratic class struggle. Therefore, the balance of power between the classes, particular between the employers and economically well endowed categories and employees relying primarily on labor power is a major determinant of the extent of public welfare provision and also the extent to which public welfare provision redistributes risks and income (Korpi, 2006). This is why Huber and Stephens (2001, p. 1) submit that the dominant government in the welfare state that a given country had will determine the extents of its generosity, the structure of its transfer payments, and the type and volume of services it offered. However, this is not to say that the structure of decision making i n such government does not influence the development of the welfare states. 3.0 How the power resource theory explains the differences in the coordinated social policy of Western European countries. It is inevitable to ignore the fact that the decline in social union will have consequential effect on social provisions in the welfare state. This decline or the strength of the labour unions varies from state to state within the European Union. It might be tempting to attempt at comparing the labour unions of these wealthy European states, however the fact is that the capacity of the labour union in each of these state to pressurise the government in effecting improved social programmes varies in degree. This variation is directly related to the number of labour union, since the number of organise labour will implicates government income receive from taxation. For instance, the German labour union will be stronger because of their population strength compare to that of Switzerland more so national labour unions are influenced by the ideals of the party in power. In the social-democratic welfare states for instance, the citizen criterion predominate whereas, the liberal welfare stat e is characterized by a strong emphasis on mean-tested programs, and the conservative welfare state is distinguish by its variety of class and status-based social insurance schemes (OConnor Olsen 1998, p. 13). In this regard, the working class are instrumental to, and are the base of the welfare state thus power resource approach explains the extents of the effect of trade unions on effecting government policies. It also explains labour strength as influenced by the favorability of the nature of party in government. Therefore, the differences in the coordinated social policy of Western European countries is a consequence of the extent to which the labour unions of each of these countries can push for social programs which abinitio defines the welfare state. This is to define power as an attributes (capacity or means) of actors (individual or collectivities) which enable them to reward or punish other actors (Korpi 1998, p.42). Particularly, in this case, where power is conceived as a relational concept between the labour union and government, the attributes of actors become power resources only among two or more interdependent actors who have at least some interests in the attribute of the other actors (Ibid, p.42).Certainly, workers combined to fight for their rights particularly on issues which rank top of the union priority list today such as better wages, shorter hours, safe working conditions and the right to bargain collectively. The capacity and willingness of the masses to protest has the potential to influence the nature of the welfare state. The extent to which mass protest is used as a weapon by the labour union will determine the extent to which the government will initiate social security programmes. This may be argue as something of a clash between citizenship and capitalism which has meant that social issue is increasingly overtaking the importance of market economy this 21st century. Protest doesnt has to be violent but the people must leave their work, factories, schools, homes etc to facilitate mass protests relegating to the background such factors like business (trade) that capitalism thrives on. However, it must also be stated that mass protest is illegal in all the countries of the world. It is illegal in the sense that the people needs a permit to organize protest and laws guiding the issuance of permits varies from countries to countries even within the European Union. Although some states a re more relaxed in issuing permits than the other, all in all, it is illegal to stage a rally without a permit, even with a permit, it is illegal to use a mega phone in some cases. The changes in the population composition from largely dominated by working class to that dominated by retiree has meant increase in social and welfare payments by the state. In essence, the number of taxpaying citizen has decrease significantly over the last three decades in most, if not all Western European countries. In this light, population composition has direct effect on the nature of the labour movement. In the context of power resource theory, the composition of the population will have effects of power classes. In a situation where the population of these countries are ageing particularly those of Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, the degree at which the labour union can effectively influence social policy is significantly affected. An ageing population will create a likely situation of large number of economically well endowed and at the same time large number of retiree who will rely on pensions. Situation such as this will lead to an increase social spending and reduce tax payers. In fact this has caused mass protests in France recently when the government increased the retirement age so as to reduce the spending on social programmes such as pension. It is part of the fallout of recent financial crisis, and moreover most of these countries are running a deficit budgets since they are spending more than they could afford to maintain the welfare state. Therefore, there is the need for these countries to cut back on social spending. This variation will create differences in the welfare state, as tax payers are going down in ageing populations, hence ageing populations in these country are creating new social risks that are not well addressed by existing social programmes. Increasingly, therefore, social programmes reforms are been linked to austerity measures. Although, most of these countries have been seen to be cutting on social programmes, what is particularly striking is how resilience the welfare state has been after this period of austerity and protest. Espen Andersen drew attention to welfare state variable capacity to reduce peoples reliance upon the market through the provision of public alternatives which allow them to maintain a normal and socially acceptable standard of living (Korpi 1998, p. 12). Korpi seeks to explain this scenario as decommodification or protection from the total dependent on the labour market for surviva which highlight the distinction between weak and strong welfare states (Ibid, p. 12). 4.0 Conclusion The trend nowadays is that most of the European nations are increasingly reducing the reliance of the people on social programmes. Although, most government will agree that there is a need for government to support the people which they serve, the issue however is around the level of support that welfare state is going to provide to protect the individuals. The whole welfare model should be based on getting people that relies on the welfare state back to work and not to leave them excluded from mainstream society. The dependant of more people depends on welfare state transfers and fewer people paying taxes to support the welfare state, budget deficit ballooned and government moved to control and then reduced deficits by cutting entitlements (Huber and Stephens 2001, p. 2). Paul Pierson (2001) has argued that the new politics of the welfare state will be dominated by reforms. This is the case now. Several of these countries are increasingly reforming the welfare state so as to meet with the reality on ground, a reality of low number of tax payers compare to the number of people that relies on the social benefits. Birth rate and life expectancy varies in these countries and this variation will create differences in the welfare state, as tax payers are going down and the populations are ageing. The welfare state is been reforming while at the same time these state are aiming to drive down their budget deficits so as to have a sustainable welfare state.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Critical and Significant Accounting Policies

Critical and Significant Accounting Policies After Enrons scandal, accounting world underwent dramatic changes. Lots of acts were proposed or released. On May 10, 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission (which is SEC) proposed a document, that Disclosure in Managements Discussion and Analysis about the Application of Critical Accounting Policies. One year later, SEC released final rule No.72, Interpretation: Commission Guidance Regarding Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. First one introduces the framework for critical accounting policies; second one describes how to actually interpret critical accounting policies in the section off Managements Discussion and Analysis (MDA). However, even till now, people are still in confusion of the differences between those accounting policies: critical accounting policies or estimates and significant accounting policies, a way to actually and precisely disclose these two. In a more efficient way, I will go through the definition of these two accounting policies first. After that, I will introduce the intent of these two, why we use them. The last but not least, I will use a 10-K form from Apple Inc. to make an example, how we present their contents and formats appropriately. Definitions In the accounting standard codification, Financial Accounting Standards Board (which is FASB) has a definition to significant accounting policies, which is Accounting principles and methods are judged by the appropriate circumstances to present fairly financial position, according to GAAP make financial statement. (Codification, 235-10-05-3) This is very general presentation of financial statement. While, in contrast to significant accounting policies, the critical accounting policies and estimates are defined by SEC, which is Critical accounting built on assumption about uncertain matters, including period and affect Companys financial condition (SEC, 2002). It is very obvious, that just from the definition of latter: the critical accounting policies and estimates describe only uncertainties of future changes that also have material impacts. The Differences of Disclosure Intent The information of significant accounting policies is important and essential for entities financial statement users. The significant accounting policies and estimates, which is vital part of the entities financial statements, disclose fairly financial position, etc. (Codification, 235-10-50-1). Meanwhile, they are a major component of the financial statements as well. They interpret what accounting policies the entity is currently adopting. FASB also states that, the significant accounting policies can affect entitys financial position, and can be used for making economic decisions (Codification, 235-10-05-4). Because of Enron scandal, Securities and Exchange Commission intends to give more information of the entity to investors. The quality of corporate disclosures needs to be improved. I believe the intent of critical accounting policies is to disclose the accounting policies needed management judgments and estimations with the uncertainties. The critical accounting policies are the vital components in note of the managements discussion and analysis. SECs FR-60 interpreted as followed: Financial position may imply precisions, continuities and certainties that can be rapid changed in the financial status and operating environment. Thus, even general accepted accounting principles (GAAP) maybe more or less fail to present important information if it is not appropriate accompanied or clear analytic disclosed to facilitate an investors understanding of the companys financial condition, and the possible changes in the operating condition (SEC, 2001). According to above information, we should be aware of that, not only the definitions are different, but also the intents of using these two accounting policies are substantially distinct from each other. FASBs purpose of significant accounting policies cannot be served for SECs critical accounting policies and vice versa. Contents Presentation The significant accounting policies defined by FASB for the applications of accounting principles and methods have a wide range of general description. In contrast of that, critical accounting policies and estimates that proposed by SEC only estimate some of the substantially uncertain and material accounting policies. FASB specifies the disclosure of significant accounting policies should identify the accounting principles and the methods that will materially affect the financial position, and results in different operations, or cash flow. They include judgments, whether principle appropriate between revenue and asset cost during current or future period (Codification, 235-10-50-3). In this paper, I used Apple annual report as an example. In the Form 10-K/A of Apple Inc. (filed in Jan 25, 2010) include presentation and preparation, fair value measurements, financial instruments, inventories, property plant and equipment, asset retirement obligations, goodwill, foreign currency translation and remeasurement, revenue recognition, shipping costs, allowance for doubtful account, warranty expense, software development cost, income taxes, stock-based compensation, advertising costs, earnings per common share, comprehensive income, segment information. For example, Apple disclosed inventories item at (LCM) lower the of cost, or market, calculated with FIFO (first-in, first-out) method. In recognition item, the Company recognizes revenue when delivery has occurred or any persuasive evidence of an agreement exists. Moreover, in revenue recognition item, for multiple-element arrangements which may include tangible products that contain software that is essential to the ta ngible products functionality and undelivered software elements that relate to the tangible products essential software, the Company allocates revenue to all deliverables based on their selling prices (Form 10K/A, 2009). Before application, there are requirements that the critical accounting estimates should meet: at the made time of accounting estimates, the uncertain assumption; another is, any kinds of estimates used during current period and changes made in the estimate should impact the financial condition materially. There three elements that are involved in the accounting estimation: the first is to understand the accounting estimates; the second is to give a clearer comprehending to the financial condition for normal investors; the third is to disclose management discussed development (SEC, 2002). Furthermore, the critical accounting policies and estimates should be as the supplements of notes of financial statements, but not duplicate any related information that already presented. The critical accounting polices disclosure should provide relevance information deeply (SEC, 2003). From the secs intention, accountants should take strongly responsibility for the risk of estimates and changes. Moreover, accountants should be able to explain how they came out with the results and estimates. If last year a bank made a lot of relative new loans, so the report would look good. But if many of those borrowers later failed to pay, then this years report would look very bad. So for the next year, the bank management will be required to estimate how many borrowers would fail to pay, maybe a percentage, and put it in the notes of MDA. In the last years Form 10-K/A of Apple Inc. the critical accounting policies and estimates are related to inventory valuation and inventory purchase commitments, revenue recognition, income taxes, valuation of marketable securities, warranty costs, allowance for doubtful accounts along with the legal and other contingencies. In the section of inventory valuation, Apple Inc. emphasize the critical accounting estimate as followà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã… ¡ The Company must order components for its products and build inventory in advance of product shipments. The Company records a write-down for inventories of components and products, including third-party products held for resale, which have become obsolete or are in excess of anticipated demand or net realizable value. The Company records accruals for estimated cancellation fees related to component orders that have been cancelled or are expected to be cancelled. Consistent with industry practice, the Company acquires components through a combination of purchase orders, supplier contracts, and open orders based on projected demand information. These commitments typically cover the Companys requirements for periods ranging from 30 to 150 days. (Form 10K/A, 2009à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° The inventory item that disclosed in the significant accounting policies is very straightforward and simple, like lower cost or market cost. However, here the company estimates the future inventory by forecasting, and later, if the consumers or markets demand changed, which is unpredicted, the company would write-down the records, when it needed. Also, in revenue recognition section analyzes the possible reductions to revenueà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã… ¡ Management was making estimates based on historical experience. If a greater proportion of customers redeem the incentives other than estimated, the Company would record credits to revenue, which would have a decrease on revenue.à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã‹â€ Form 10K/A, 2009à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ° Although, the revenue reduction is estimated by historical records, the future market condition may change, for example, the incremental price protection obligations incur. The additional reduction to revenue would be resulted in. Additionally, the company gave an estimation of unspecified software upgrade revenue: if the Companys ESP for the software upgrade rights related to iPhone would have been fluctuated either higher or lower, the Companys net sales of year 2009, would have decreased or increased up to $50 million as compared to that of last year (Form 10K/A, 2009). Furthermore, compare with just one sentence in significant accounting policies, the allowance for doubtful accounts section in the critical accounting and estimates presents the very detailed information. Besides the historical experience, the company also considers about the future economic environment, the financial condition. If there is a deterioration of financial condition, the company will have to adjust the allowance accounts, which means the adjustments are going to be made. The formats The formats of two accounting policies are significant different, because one is by FASB, and another is by SEC. The significant accounting policies are disclosed in the notes of the financial statement of item 8 in form 10-K. Under FASB codification: the disclosure format of significant accounting policies is in a summary of significant accounting policies at the very beginning of the notes of the financial statements (Codification, 235-10-50-6). Normally, there is a boilerplate of the disclosure for the significant accounting policies. Compare to the boilerplate formatted significant accounting policies, the critical accounting policies and estimates are normally presented in plain language. The disclosure format should be clear, that the investor could understand easily (SEC, 2002). With a different disclosure place, the critical accounting policies and estimates are only disclosed in MDA. Conclusion After studying both accounting policies, I find out the significant accounting policies and critical accounting policies and estimates are substantially generated by separate individuals with different disclosure purposes. Furthermore, as the supplementary of significant accounting policies, critical accounting policies and estimates normally describe some needed adjustments, if the future economic environment and customers or market financial conditions change. Post Enron period, SECs has taken a very clear-cut stand, for fear of more accounting scandals, by providing more contents about how the uncertainties, assumption, approximation and estimation would affect the companys financial statement in critical accounting policies.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Good Sports Equal Aggressive Men? Essay -- Article Review

In sporting activity participation and televised sports, there is a noticeable difference between male and female interest and involvement. In the article Center of Attention: The Gender of Sports Media Michael A. Messner discusses the issues that involve all aspects of sports strictly being a man’s affair. Messner expresses ideas that men are not only the forefront of sports participation, but sports media as well. A point is made in the article about the leaders in sports being those who are the most aggressive. This point is the reasoning behind why men are the superior figures in sports. The aggressiveness of men causes there to be more interest into male sporting activity which makes men a dominant figure in sports. Messner uses the idea â€Å"Aggressive players get the prize; nice guys finish last† (480). The athletes who show the most aggression, are more likely to be acknowledged than those viewed as being weak or soft. Aggressiveness has been associated with toughness and physicality as if one balances the others. To be considered aggressive in professional sports means to not be afraid to get physical with opposing players, having a very large competitive streak, assertiveness, and being fearless. No matter how many times it is denied, men are the ones who are the most aggressive. There is a natural factor that falls into the aggression of men, that there is a shortage of in women. Societal influence has the most affect on the differences of men and women. Men being superior in not only sports but all aspects of live hadn’t just one day been set in stone as Messner makes it out to be. He doesn’t include the reasoning necessary to explain how sports became male dominant. The article Becoming Members of society: Learning... ...port; both played by men. Aggression doesn’t always explain the large difference in male and female sporting activity. Author Micheal A. Messner does have a point that male aggression does affect the response of an audience but it is only valid for sports that involved the need to be aggressive. Still, there is clearly more engaging aspects of male sporting events than women sports. Works Cited Messner, Michael A. â€Å"Center of Attention: The Gender of Sports Media.† Rereading America: Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo. Et al. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 477-487. Print. Devor, Aaron H. â€Å"Becoming Members of Society: Learning the social Meanings of Gender.† Rereading America: Cultural Context for Critical Thinking and Writing. Ed. Gary Colombo. Et al. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 424-431. Print.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Essay on the Setting in Shakespeares The Tempest -- Tempest essays

Importance of Setting in The Tempest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Shakespeare’s enchanted island in The Tempest is a restorative pastoral setting, a place where ‘no man was his own’ and a place that offers endless possibilities to the people that arrive on it’s shores. Although the actual location of the island is not known, the worlds of Seneca aptly describe it’s significance to the play – it represents the ‘bounds of things, the remotest shores of the world’. On the boundary of reality, the island partakes of both the natural and supernatural both the imaginative and the real. It allows the exploration of both man’s potential and his limitations, his capacity for reform through art and his affinity for political and social realities. It is constructing this opposition between art and reality and in giving Shakespeare’s romance the freedom to explore mankind free from the concerns of everyday life that the setting of The Tempest is crucial to it’s overall dramatic design.    The only scene in the play that does not take place on the island is the opening tempest scene. It is in itself an important use of setting. It hints at the fact that the characters social assumptions will capitulate when exposed to adversity – we have the boatswain apparently inappropriately comment none aboard the ship that ‘I love more than myself’. In fact, quite the reverse is true. In the court scene we are presented with the characters Antonio and Sebastian who are interested in political gain despite the predicament in which they find themselves. In this respect the setting functions to present the idea that our social conditioning transcends time and place. The inference is that if political clambering can take place on an enchanted island in the middle of now... ...gic and music.    The contrast between the representative characters and the magic art of the island does not resolve itself, rather, it leaves the audience in what Russ McDonald called a â€Å"marginal condition between expectation and understanding, affirmation and skepticism, comedy and tragedy†. The setting functions to present the worlds of both art and reality in order to affirm the transcendent human desire for power and order, as well as affirm the world of art as a means of dealing with reality.    Bibliography/ Works Cited    Meller, A., Moon, G.T. Literary Shakespeare (1993) Sydney: Canon Publications    Lecture on â€Å"The Tempest† (1988)   C. Holmes    Shakespeare, W. The Tempest. Ed. Sutherland, J.R. (1990)    Mikhail M. Morozor, (1989)â€Å"The Individualization of Shakespeare’s Characters through Imagery†, Shakespeare Survey.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Business Management Study Guide

Sample Test-Chapter 15Student: ___________________________________________________________________________ 1. An organization expands its private Internet to connect with customers, suppliers, and other partners. This expansion is called its A. intranet B. extranet C. private net D. website E. domain 2. Effective communication begins with A. speaking. B. listening. C. the message. D. two people. E. breaking through noise. 3. When you want your reader to take a logical action, you should lay out your ideas in writing by A. most important to least important. B. least controversial to most controversial. C. egative to positive. D. positive to negative. E. least important to most important. 4. The study of the meaning of words is called A. lexicography. B. rhetoric. C. semantics. D. morphology. E. cartology. 5. Denise and Florence are talking on their cell phones. After Denise reads her a phone number, Florence repeats the number back to Denise. This is an example of A. feedback. B. encoding. C. decoding. D. medium selection. E. noise. 6. A manager needs to communicate about a routine situation with someone she knows whose physical location is not far from her office. Generally, which of the following should the manager use? A. videoconferencing B. telephone C. e-mail D. face-to-face meeting E. newsletter 7. Jason tells Giorgio his cell phone number, and Giorgio nods. Jason then asks Giorgio to repeat back to him the phone number he just gave him. Jason is trying to avoid a(n) __________ barrier. A. encoding B. decoding C. medium D. feedback E. receiver 8. An announcement of the company-sponsored picnic travels from the employees' social committee to the other employees through email. This communication is __________ and _______. A. external; informal B. horizontal; informal C. vertical; informal D. vertical; formal E. external; formal 9. Which of the following is a personal barrier to communication? A. poor speaking skills B. lack of trustworthiness C. differing frames of reference D. judging others' messages E. All of the above are personal barriers to communication. 10. Generally, people comprehend about __________ of a typical verbal message. A. 10% B. 35% C. 50% D. 75% E. 90% 11. The drawbacks of using e-mail include which of the following? A. employees can communicate when they are not at company sites B. reduces use of paper C. information overload D. reduced costs of distributing information to employees E. increased teamwork 12. The device that indicates how official communications should be routed is called the A. organization chart. B. organizational culture. C. organizational profile. D. grapevine. E. lateral hierarchy. 13. Top executives at XYZ Company want to let lower level managers know that XYZ is going to be acquired by ABC, Inc. How should they communicate this? (Assume that all of the choices are possible. ) A. send a memo to all managers B. send an e-mail to all managers C. call a meeting of managers D. post a notice on all bulletin boards E. schedule a conference phone call 14. The introduction to a business speech should A. lways contain at least one joke. B. consist of 20 – 30% of the total speaking time. C. get right to the point. D. contain significant details of the presentation. E. always contain an unrelated story to catch the interest of the audience. 15. A female professor uses sports analogies in illustrating her lectures to a group of male students. She is said to be A. a feminist. B. genderflexing. C. copping out. D. miscommunicating. E. ingratiating. 16. XYZ Corporation communicates its revised mission statement to all employees. This is an example of A. external communication. B. downward communication. C. upward communication. D. orizontal communication. E. informal communication. 17. Of the following, which medium is the richest? A. bulletin board B. telephone C. e-mail D. letters E. videoconferencing 18. The type of communication channel that develops outside the organizational structure and does not follow the chain of command is called a(n) __________ communication channel. A. vertical B. horizontal C. external D. formal E. informal 19. According to the textbook, MBWA stands for A. management by wandering around. B. management by walking about. C. management by wishing a lot. D. management by wandering afar. E. management by working afield. 20. Do you actually listen when they're talking? This is most likely a test of which personal barrier that contributes to communication? A. tendency to judge others' messages B. variable skills in communicating effectively C. inability to listen with understanding D. faulty listening skills E. stereotypes and prejudices 21. Compared to women, men tend to A. give more tactful feedback. B. praise more. C. be indirect when they don't know something. D. indicate a lack of certainty about something. E. make apologies. 22. Salvador speaks English as a second language, and sometimes has difficulty coming up with the exact word to express an idea. Salvador is facing a(n) __________ barrier. A. encoding B. decoding C. medium D. feedback E. receiver 23. Which of the following is a â€Å"don't† toward better nonverbal communication skills? A. maintain eye contact B. look away from the speaker C. lean toward the speaker D. speak in a quiet, reassuring tone E. smile and show animation 24. Speed reading works well for material that is A. unfamiliar. B. easy. C. dense. D. complicated. E. All of the above. 25. A study conducted by AT and Stanford University found that the top predictor of success and professional upward mobility was A. writing ability. B. nterpersonal skills. C. public speaking ability. D. intelligence. E. integrity.Sample Test-Chapter 15Key 1. (p. 486) An organization expands its private Internet to connect with customers, suppliers, and other partners. This expansion is called its A. intranet B. extranet C. private net D. website E. domain AACSB: 3 BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Kinicki – Chapter 15 #106 Learning Objective: 4 2. (p. 469) Effective communication begins with A. speaking. B. listening. C. the message. D. two people. E. breaking through noise. Effective communication begins with listening: paying attention to the words being spoken. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #60 Learning Objective: 1 3. (p. 492) When you want your reader to take a logical action, you should lay out your ideas in writing by A. most important to least important. B. least controversial to most controversial. C. negative to positive. D. positive to negative. E. least important to most important. This is a good strategy when the action you want your reader to take is logical and not highly political. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #121 Learning Objective: 5 4. (p. 75) The study of the meaning of words is called A. lexicography. B. rhetoric. C. semantics. D. morphology. E. cartology. AACSB: 3 BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Kinicki – Chapter 15 #80 Learning Objective: 2 5. (p. 471) Denise and Florence are talking on their cell phones. After Denise reads her a phone number, Florence repeats the number back to Denise. This is an example of A. feedback. B. encoding. C. decoding. D. medium selection. E. noise. Feedback is when the receiver (Florence) expresses his or her reaction to the sender's (Denise) message (the phone number). AACSB: 3 BT: Application Difficulty: Hard Kinicki – Chapter 15 #64 Learning Objective: 1 6. (p. 473) A manager needs to communicate about a routine situation with someone she knows whose physical location is not far from her office. Generally, which of the following should the manager use? A. videoconferencing B. telephone C. e-mail D. face-to-face meeting E. newsletter Lean media is generally best for routine situations. In order from high to low media richness: face-to-face presence, video-conferences, telephone, personal written media, impersonal written media. E-mail would be the best media to use since the manager knows the person and the situation is outine. AACSB: 3 BT: Application Difficulty: Hard Kinicki – Chapter 15 #71 Learning Objective: 1 7. (p. 475) Jason tells Giorgio his cell phone number, and Giorgio nods. Jason then asks Giorgio to repeat back to him the phone number he just gave him. Jason is trying to avoid a(n) __________ barrier. A. encoding B. decoding C. medium D. feedback E. receiver A feedback barrier is when the recipient doesn't respond enough. Jason wants Giorgio to repeat the number to be sure he heard it correctly. AACSB: 3 BT: Application Difficulty: Hard Kinicki – Chapter 15 #77 Learning Objective: 2 8. p. 484) An announcement of the company-sponsored picnic travels from the employees' social committee to the other employees through email. This communication is __________ and _______. A. external; informal B. horizontal; informal C. vertical; informal D. vertical; formal E. external; formal Informal communication channels develop outside the formal structure and do not follow the chain of command. In this case the announcement came from the social committee and was sent to other employees internally outside the formal structure of the company. AACSB: 3 BT: Application Difficulty: Hard Kinicki – Chapter 15 #99 Learning Objective: 3 9. (p. 477) Which of the following is a personal barrier to communication? A. poor speaking skills B. lack of trustworthiness C. differing frames of reference D. judging others' messages E. All of the above are personal barriers to communication. The choices in the question all refer to personal barriers to communication. AACSB: 3 BT: Communication Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #82 Learning Objective: 2 10. (p. 490) Generally, people comprehend about __________ of a typical verbal message. A. 10% B. 35% C. 50% D. 75% E. 90% Generally, people comprehend only about 35% of a typical verbal message, experts say. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #115 Learning Objective: 5 11. (p. 486) The drawbacks of using e-mail include which of the following? A. employees can communicate when they are not at company sites B. reduces use of paper C. information overload D. reduced costs of distributing information to employees E. increased teamwork AACSB: 3 BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Kinicki – Chapter 15 #108 Learning Objective: 4 12. (p. 482) The device that indicates how official communications should be routed is called the A. rganization chart. B. organizational culture. C. organizational profile. D. grapevine. E. lateral hierarchy. The organizational chart indicates how official communications—memos, letters, reports, announcements—are supposed to be routed. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #94 Learning Objective: 3 13. (p. 473) Top executives at XYZ Company want to let lower level managers know that XYZ is going to be acquired by ABC, Inc. How should they communicate this? (Assume that all of the choices are possible. ) A. send a memo to all managers B. send an e-mail to all managers C. all a meeting of managers D. post a notice on all bulletin boards E. schedule a conference phone call This is a nonroutine, unusual event that requires the richest type of communication such as a face-to-face meeting. AACSB: 3 BT: Application Difficulty: Hard Kinicki – Chapter 15 #72 Learning Objective: 1 14. (p. 493) The introduction to a business speech should A. always contain at least one joke. B. consist of 20 – 30% of the total speaking time. C. get right to the point. D. contain significant details of the presentation. E. always contain an unrelated story to catch the interest of the audience. Because everything in your speech should be relevant, try to go right to the point. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #124 Learning Objective: 5 15. (p. 480) A female professor uses sports analogies in illustrating her lectures to a group of male students. She is said to be A. a feminist. B. genderflexing. C. copping out. D. miscommunicating. E. ingratiating. Genderflexing refers to temporarily using communication behaviors typical of the other gender to increase the potential for influence. For example, a female manager might use sports analogies to motivate a group of males. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #92 Learning Objective: 2 16. (p. 483) XYZ Corporation communicates its revised mission statement to all employees. This is an example of A. external communication. B. downward communication. C. upward communication. D. horizontal communication. E. informal communication. Downward communication flows from a higher level to a lower level. AACSB: 3 BT: Application Difficulty: Hard Kinicki – Chapter 15 #97 Learning Objective: 3 17. (p. 473) Of the following, which medium is the richest? A. bulletin board B. telephone C. -mail D. letters E. videoconferencing In order from high to low media richness: face-to-face presence, video-conferences, telephone, personal written media, impersonal written media. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #69 Learning Objective: 1 18. (p. 484) The type of communication channel that develops outside the organizational structure and does not follow the chain of command is called a(n) __________ communication channel. A. vertical B. horizontal C. external D. formal E. informal AACSB: 3 BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Kinicki – Chapter 15 #100 Learning Objective: 3 19. (p. 484) According to the textbook, MBWA stands for A. management by wandering around. B. management by walking about. C. management by wishing a lot. D. management by wandering afar. E. management by working afield. AACSB: 3 BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Kinicki – Chapter 15 #103 Learning Objective: 3 20. (p. 477) Do you actually listen when they're talking? This is most likely a test of which personal barrier that contributes to communication? A. tendency to judge others' messages B. variable skills in communicating effectively C. inability to listen with understanding D. faulty listening skills E. stereotypes and prejudices Faulty listening skills includes thinking about what you are going to say when the other person is talking as well as mostly talking about yourself. The test for this barrier is asking yourself, â€Å"Do you actually listen when they're talking? † AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #83 Learning Objective: 2 21. (p. 480) Compared to women, men tend to A. give more tactful feedback. B. praise more. C. be indirect when they don't know something. D. indicate a lack of certainty about something. E. make apologies. AACSB: 3 BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Kinicki – Chapter 15 #90 Learning Objective: 2 22. (p. 475) Salvador speaks English as a second language, and sometimes has difficulty coming up with the exact word to express an idea. Salvador is facing a(n) __________ barrier. A. encoding B. decoding C. medium D. feedback E. receiver An encoding barrier is when the message is not expressed correctly. If English is not your first language, then you may have difficulty expressing exactly what you mean to say. AACSB: 3 BT: Application Difficulty: Hard Kinicki – Chapter 15 #76 Learning Objective: 2 23. (p. 80) Which of the following is a â€Å"don't† toward better nonverbal communication skills? A. maintain eye contact B. look away from the speaker C. lean toward the speaker D. speak in a quiet, reassuring tone E. smile and show animation AACSB: 3 BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Kinicki – Chapter 15 #88 L earning Objective: 2 24. (p. 491) Speed reading works well for material that is A. unfamiliar. B. easy. C. dense. D. complicated. E. All of the above. Psychologists have found that speed reading or skimming may work well with easy or familiar reading material, but it can lead to problems with dense or unfamiliar material. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #119 Learning Objective: 5 25. (p. 493) A study conducted by AT&T and Stanford University found that the top predictor of success and professional upward mobility was A. writing ability. B. interpersonal skills. C. public speaking ability. D. intelligence. E. integrity. A study conducted by AT & T and Stanford University found that the top predictor of success and professional upward mobility is how much you enjoy public speaking and how effective you are at it. AACSB: 3 BT: Comprehension Difficulty: Moderate Kinicki – Chapter 15 #123 Learning Objective: 5

Monday, September 16, 2019

An Examination of Bias in Focus on the Family’s Website Essay

Part of the problem with criticizing religion is the fact that any attempt to criticize yields a label of bigotry. In other words, if you question or criticize a religious movement the response is that the person putting forth the criticism is an anti-Semite or anti-Christian. While in many cases, this is true, but in other cases, that is simply not the case. But, because of the emotional attachment to religious beliefs – particularly the beliefs of individuals who hold strong fundamentalist beliefs – any attempt to question is met with anger. This is even when the issue being questioned is something that is pure opinion open to debate and not a fact that is set in stone. Dr. James Dobson, the head of the Evangelical group Focus on the Family, is hardly an unintelligent man. He is a published author and charismatic leader of a large denomination of conservative Christian groups. While there will be those who are dismissive of Christian conservative merely because they are, well, Christian conservatives, is childish. Criticism about political or sociological issues derived from bias and opinion, however, is fair game for debate. One such issue of contention on the website involves the assertion that homosexuality can be â€Å"cured. † To this regard, the website states: Homosexuality is more likely to be related to one or more of the following: (1) confusion of role models seen in parents, including, but not limited to, a dominant mother and a weak or absent father; (2) serious family dysfunction that wounds and damages the child; (3) early sexual abuse; (4) the influence of an older homosexual during a critical period of adolescence; (5) conscious choice and cultivation; and/or (6) homosexual experimentation, such as mutual masturbatory activity, by boys in early adolescence. How do these and other forces interplay in individual circumstances? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone knows. An Examination of Bias in Focus on the Family’s Website Page 2 On the other hand, I am certain that homosexuality does not result from irresistible genetic influences, as some would have us believe. (Dobson) To say these statements are biased and agenda driven would be an understatement. While Dobson is entitled to his opinions, the operative word here is opinion. The statements made in that excerpt are presented as fact when, in reality, there is no empirical proof that they are factual. Instead, the statements are presented to provide circular logic credibility to a socio-political agenda. Now, it is well within Dobson’s right to present his side of the issue. However, it is not a balanced examination of the issue and it contradicts a wealth of psychiatric and sociological study on the issue. Because of this, there is a great deal of intellectual dishonesty in these statements of homosexuality. A more proper examination would present Dobson’s opinion while acknowledging there are other opinions on the matter from professional fields, include a quote from a peer reviewed journal on the subject and then provide a link to a website that provides an alternate point of view. This does not mean that Dobson should abandon his beliefs nor should Focus on the Family retract their statements, but the organization would be far better served presenting an unbiased look at the subject and avoid presenting opinion as fact. Bibliography Focus on the Family. (2007) http://listen. family. org/daily/A000000198. cfm Dobson, James. (2006) â€Å"Do You Believe Homosexuality is Inherited. † Retrieved 4 February 2007. http://family. custhelp. com/ cgi-bin/family. cfg/php/enduser/std_alp. php? p_sid=6n4Jcohi

Sunday, September 15, 2019

The poem Beowulf, edited by Daniel Donoghue and translated by Seamus Heaney, is a masterful piece of poetry

The poem Beowulf, edited by Daniel Donoghue and translated by Seamus Heaney, is a masterful piece of poetry. By looking at the roles that women played back in Anglo-Saxon times, one can get a better understanding into the function of Grendel's mother in the poem. By examining specific examples of other women in this time frame to Grendel's mother it helps to compare the differences from the expected behavior. In one of her essays, Jane Chance investigates some of the possible meanings behind the importance of Grendel's mother and her societal acceptance. Many people still debate the actual function of Grendel's mother, but in previously written words of Jane Chance some answers may be found. Jane Chance, one of the many people who have examined the poem Beowulf, wrote an essay that provided an explanation of the important role played by the women in Beowulf. She states: â€Å"The role of women in Beowulf primarily depends upon ‘peace making' either biologically through her marital ties with foreign kings as a peace-pledge or mother of sons, or socially and psycho-logically as a cup passing and peace-weaving queen within a hall† (p. 156). Chance also goes on to establish how each of the women in the poem are used to prove her point about their symbolic presence. The women of pagan history, mostly notably the queen, portray a symbolic gesture of peace in the form of bringing the mead cup to the men of the hall. Chance believes that as the mead cup is passed around, the people who drink from the cup are tied together. This is a symbol of weaving men and families together. The Beowulf poet also mentions that the women's role is to create a â€Å"peace-pledge between nations† (2017). The standard practice to perform this was to give away daughters, or sisters in arranged marriages to order to bring strong ties with neighbouring or feuding families. Hildeburh, wife of the Frisian king Finn, sister of the Dane Hnaef (249), was given in marriage to fuse both the Danes and the Frisianes together. Freawaru is betrothed to Ingeld for this same reason; to renew alliances within families and countries. A line from Beowulf proves this point, â€Å"The friend of the Shieldings favors her betrothal: the guardian of the kingdom sees good in it and hopes this woman will heal old wounds and grievous feuds† (2026-2029). The expected role of women in this era was to provide harmony and become the symbol of peace in the hearts of men. Women also had an important responsibility to speak for her people during events; a prominent speech was the one that Wealtheow gives to the hall after the death of Grendel. She gives of blessings to the warriors, and speaks of her own children and their importance to the future as the next of kin: Take delight in this torque, dear Beowulf, wear it for luck and wear also this mail from our people's armory: may you prosper in them! Be acclaimed for strength, for kindly guidance to these two boys, and your bounty will be sure. You have won renown: you are known to all men far and near, now and forever. Your sway is wide as the wind's home, as the sea around cliffs. And so, my prince, I wish you a lifetime's luck and blessings to enjoy this treasure. Treat my sons with tender care, be strong and kind. Here each comrade is true to the other, loyal to Lord, loving in spirit. (1216-1229) Wealtheow ‘s responsibility is that of a mediator to make everyone happy and yet ensure that she and her people survive. In comparing the women and their purpose in society to the events concerning Grendle's mother, one can see a female does not usually take action but Grendel's mother does despite her gender. Feeling â€Å"grief-racked and ravenous, desperate for revenge† (1278) Grendle's mother goes on the attack in order to redeem her son who was killed. In doing this she consequently exhibits more masculine traits than other women of the time. She displays quite a different reaction than the one that Hildeburh gave when she lost not only her brother but her son as well. Hildeburh did exactly what was expected of her at the time. She mourned and â€Å"Then Hidleburh ordered her own / son's body be burnt with Hnaef's, / the flesh of his bones to sputter and blaze / beside his uncle's. The women wailed / and sang keens† (1115-1119). Comparatively Grendel's mother does not have a problem in reacting to the wrongs she felt that were done to her: â€Å"monstrous hell-bride; brooded on her wrongs† (1259). Unlike the women of the time she fights her own battles: â€Å"she has taken up the feud because of last night when you killed Grendel† (1333). This is the main difference between the women of the time and Grendel's mother since dealing with grudges was typically a job left up to that of the males in the family. Chance also believes that women's expected place in society at that time was one of non-aggression and they become the ones to make the peace as opposed to men who fight. Chance goes on to explain, â€Å"the idea is stressed that a kinwoman or mother must passively accept and not actively avenge the loss of her son† (p.157-158). Females do not usually take action other than in a peaceful or symbolic sense in this Anglo-Saxon time period. Though Grendel's mother proceeds like a man by acting out her revenge she is referred to in the poem as a: â€Å"ghastly dam† (2120) reflecting that she is still seen as a lady in that time period: Her onslaught was less only by as much as an amazon warrior's strength is less than an armed man's when the hefted sword, its hammered edge and gleaming blade slathered in blood, razes the sturdy boar-ridge off a helmet. Then in the hall, hard-honed swords were grabbed from the bench, many a broad shield lifted and braced; there was little though of helmets or woven mail when they woke in terror. The hell-dam was in a panic, desperate to get out, in mortal terror the moment she was found. She had pounced and taken one of the retainers in a tight hold, then headed for the fen. (1282-1295) These lines from the poem help to show that even though some of the actions taken by Grendel's mother are masculine by nature, she does have some female traits. These traits include not being as strong as the men and fleeing or not staying to put up a fight once confronted. Women stereotypically were seen as being fearful of danger once it has been provoked. The function of Grendel's mother in the poem seems to be quite different from the function that the monsters of Grendel and the Dragon play. She seems to be a symbol of the blood feuds and displays an unwillingness to act as the peace-pledge, which was the normal female role after an injustice. In her essay Jane Chance states: â€Å"As a monstrous mother and queen she perverts a role more important socially and symbolically than that of Grendel† (p. 167). The devoted mother or the feminine side of Grendel's mother comes out in her anger and her sense of loss at the killing of her son. But Grendel's mother's actions are not accepted by the people of this time, as a result there is a conflict between her actions and her purpose. Chance writes about how the poet wishes to â€Å"stress this specific inversion of the Anglo-Saxon ideal of women as both monstrous and masculine† (p. 155). As Grendel's mother changes roles between mother and vengeance seeker through the story one might think that the poet is against women from acting in the same manor as Grendel's mother. By making Grendel's mother feminine but also powerful and ruthless she is then referred to as a â€Å"swamp thing from hell, the tarn-hag in all her terrible strength† (1518-1519) and â€Å"hell-dam†(1292). Grendel's mother seems to be desiring revenge over peace and her contemporaries viewed this as horrible, since women are the symbols of peace, as explained by Chance. The essay written by Jane Chance looks at the women and the roles that they played in that time period and then comparing their behavior to Grendel's mother's ever changing role as mother to vengeance seeker. It also evaluates the function that Grendel's mother occupies in the poem. Grendel's mother in the poem seems to have the most challenging role in the poem itself. She does not seem to agree with the view of women in the time period that the poem was written. By exploring the differences of behavior in Beowulf one can see that Grendel's mother is an important addition to the poem.