Social Structures essays

Social Structures essays The ideas and concepts presented in the movie Trading Places certainly dealt with the accessibility and inaccessibility of the superstructure of society. The separation of class, of race, and of gender greatly shaped and influenced human society for thousands of years. Only recently through numerous civil rights movements has the barriers of those social structures been broken. Still, traces of those thoughts and notions can still be found in various work places, schools, and even homes. It is important that we make a closer evaluation of those characteristics, and how they relate to the ideas and concepts of Karl Marx and Adam Smith, in the movie Trading Places. Every society is built on an economic base. Said Marx, Society is organized into class structures, aggregates of men who stand in some common relationship favorable or otherwise to the existing from of production. But conflicts always arrive between class between classes whose position is jeopardized and the classes whose position is enhanced. There is no example in history of a ruling class not trying to defend its class rule, or of an exploited class not trying to limit or eliminate the exploitation it suffers. Class struggle is a permanent feature of human society. In fact, Marx noted in the Communist Manifesto, that the history of humankind is the history of class struggles. It can extend to all fields of politics from foreign policy to educational problems and religious conflicts. In Trading Places, the conflicts obviously come between the class of the rich and powerful and the class of the poor and feeble. Of course, present day economic structure (such as one evident in Trading Places) is very different than those in the days of Karl Marx. It is way more complex with innovative technology and a global market. But still, the contemporary economic society still follows the rules described by 17th ...

How to Use the Tiny Word Ne in Italian

How to Use the Tiny Word Ne in Italian â€Å"I have two brothers. How many brothers do you have?† â€Å"I have three brothers.† While the above conversation is perfectly acceptable and constitutes a real interaction, it sounds strange because the two people talking find it necessary to repeat â€Å"brothers† over and over again when they could use a replacement like â€Å"of them†. In Italian, you would do that using the word â€Å"ne† and unlike English, you cant just say I have three or How many do you have?. Like reflexive, indirect and direct object pronouns, tiny  words like â€Å"ne† can drive the Italian language student insane. What’s the real definition? Where do you place it? When do you use it? However, the power in a tiny word like â€Å"ne† is its flexibility and as you have more conversations, it’s easier to recognize how much it helps to smooth out conversations. While you can easily learn the definitions of the pronoun particle â€Å"ne† and where to place it in a sentence, it’s most helpful to start with fixed phrases where you might be more familiar with hearing or using â€Å"ne†. Common Phrases Che ne pensi? - What do you think (about it)?Non ne ho. - I don’t have any (of them).Vattene! - Get away (from me)! Definitions AboutAnySomeOf itFrom itFrom themFrom there It can also replace a prepositional phrase beginning with da or di. For example, â€Å"Ho appena letto quel libro! Che ne pensi? - I just read that book! What did you think (of it)?† Where to Put â€Å"Ne† in a Sentence When it comes to placement, â€Å"ne† typically goes before the conjugated verb. For example: Parliamo di Mario. - We talk about Mario. → Ne parliamo. - We talk about him.Ne avete molti di amici. - You have many friends. → Ne avete molti. - You have many of them.Ho due fratelli. - I have two brothers.  Ã¢â€ â€™ Ne ho due. - I have two of them.Quanti bambini ci sono?! - How many children are there?! → Ce ne sono quattordici! - There are fourteen of them!Hai del caffà ¨? - Do you some coffee? → Sà ¬, ne ho. - Yes, I have it.Hai bisogno di due francobolli. - You need two stamps. → Ce ne vogliono due. - You need two of them. Using â€Å"Ne† in the Past Tense If you use â€Å"ne† in the present perfect  tense (il passato prossimo), you have to make sure that the verb agrees in number and gender with the direct object. Quanti film di Fellini hai visto ? – How many Fellini movies have you seen? → Ne ho visti tre. – I’ve seen four of them.Quante mele avete mangiato? - How many apples did you (all) eat? → Ne abbiamo mangiate sette. - We ate seven (of them). Pronominal Verbs and â€Å"Ne† You may also see â€Å"ne† within other verbs, and these are called pronominal verbs. Here are some examples of those: Andarsene – To leaveVenirsene – To come out of itAverne abbastanza – To have enough of somethingFregarsene di qualcosa – To not care at all about somethingNon poterne pià ¹ – To not be able to do (something) anymore

Exercises for judges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Exercises for judges - Essay Example Ann rushed to the door and quickly put the alarm off. Little did she know that a man had entered their house and was hidden in one of the closets on the ground floor. The security company called their house and Ann confirmed that all was well there. They continued with what they were doing oblivious of the presence of someone else in the house. Ann went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and left Barnaby in the kitchen. The man in the closet was now watching them through the key hole. As soon as he saw that Ann had left the room, he slowly opened the door to the closet and walked quietly to Barnaby. Barnaby thought that it was Ann who was coming back from the kitchen only to see a stranger. She never even got the time to scream. The stranger got to her and snapped her neck before she could even try and run (Dressler 87). It was so fast that there was neither hardly noise nor commotion from it. He now hid behind the sofa and waited for Ann. When Ann got back to the living room, she was surprised to find Barnaby lying on the floor. She dropped the two glasses of water that she was carrying and they fell on the floor. As she was o her knees, the man behind the sofa got up to attack Ann. She saw him from the corner of her eye and she got up to run. The man was too fast for her and when he got to her, he tried to pin her down. Ann was fighting her like a mad woman, but he was too strong for her. She screamed out so loud and this is when the man started strangling her. Within a few minutes, Ann too was dead (Dressler

Carl Sauer Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Carl Sauer - Essay Example French regional geography is an example of how the various political, cultural, military, historical and economic upheavals of the country are etched on the landscape. Sauer says (Northern Mists) the hundred years war lost ports and ravaged country sides and Napoleon’s wars left bitter memories. Culture and landscape altered after the French revolution. Through colonies, use of tobacco spread and immigration continued unabated. â€Å"Place is crucial to human geographers, therefore, because it is the individuals’ learning context, the arena in which they learn to be humans and then act as such,† Rawling (1996, p.65). Agriculture did not originate in Europe and did not improve much. â€Å"Fields were plowed and planted principally in order to raise grain, which supplied the starch and a good deal of the protein in the diet of the people† Sauer (1981, p. 31). Most grown foods came from colonies. â€Å"Dairying is the foundation of north European husbandry †¦ Fresh and sour milk, curds, butter and cheese provided, together with grain a cheap and sufficiently balanced basic diet,† (ibid, p. 36). There existed a good balance between climate, man, livestock and vegetation. Drwin’s determinism was an immense contribution to cultural geography. Environmental determinism, or Climatic Determinism, indicates physical environment determines culture.

Colonialism and Morality in The Moonstone and The Man Who Would Be King

Colonialism and Morality in The Moonstone and The Man Who Would Be King Let us presuppose to begin with that the cursed jewel is an impossibility and the powers of the Moonstone or any other gem for that matter only exist on an atomic level ( i.e. the energies which bind such objects together and make them what they are). Additionally it should be considered that no such object is the means by which a being exerts powers and no such object consciously exerts powers itself. Notions of the cursed or powerful jewel can be seen as a bi-product of what Said terms â€Å"Orientalism.† Said describes â€Å"The Orient† as â€Å"almost a European invention,† a place of â€Å"exotic beings and remarkable experiences.† (Ashcroft et al ed. p.87) This hypothesis adequately compliments Wilkie Collins’ characterisation of the eponymous jewel in The Moonstone and the moral pattern the author forms around its adventures. In the Nineteenth Century the jewel was the ultimate exotic object, Collins describes the Moonstone as â€Å"a yellow diamond- a famous gem in the native annals of India,† (Collins p.33) and clearly credits influence to the Koh-i-Noor in his preface to the novel. Collins builds upon the alien nature of such an object utilising the perceived mysticism of the Orient linking the jewel to a â€Å"four handed Indian God† (Collins p.33) [Said’s â€Å"exotic being† ?] and superstition, the notion of the jewel â€Å"feeling the influence of the deity who adorned it† (Collins p.33) [â€Å"remarkable experiences† to Said?]. Collins rapidly develops the exotic object into the cursed object primarily to create a long involving tale with a successfully satisfying denouement. the novel is, of course foremost a detective story; how memorable or lengthy a tale would it have been if the... ...---------------------------------------------- Controlling of persons. Tolerated Peachy Carnahan (book). (Pseudo-looting in Imperialism. name of the crown?) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Innocent appreciation Good Imperialism. Franklin Blake, Rachel Verrinder, Mr of native culture. Murthwaite, Narrator of The Man Who Would Be King (Kipling?) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography Collins, Wilkie The Moonstone London: Penguin 1966 Kipling, Rudyard The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories London: Granada 1975 The Post-Colonial Studies Reader e. Ashcroft, Griffith, Tiffin, London: Routledge 1995 The Man Who Would Be King dir. John Huston 1975

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Essay

1)Explain the motivation problem with the hourly-paid employees in this organization in terms of the content models of motivation. What are the other things that the human resources manager is referring to in speaking of things besides money, conditions, and fringe benefits that are needed to motivate employees? The first theory that is briefly presented is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. After which, this is linked to the needs of Tom, Rajina, and Harry. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Perhaps, the most famous theory of satisfaction and motivation was developed by Abraham Maslow (1954 in Loop, 1994). Maslow believed that employees would be satisfied with their jobs at any given point in time if certain needs were met. Maslow believed that there are five major types of needs and these needs are hierarchical – that is, lower level needs must be satisfied before an employee will be concerned with the next level of needs. Basic biological needs. Maslow thought that an individual first seeks to satisfy basic biological needs for food, air, water, and shelter. An individual who does not have a job, is homeless, and is on the verge of starvation will be satisfied with any job as long as it provides for these basic needs. When asked how well they enjoy their job, people at this level might reply, â€Å"I can’t complain, it pays the bills. † Safety needs. After the basic biological needs have been met, a job that merely provides food and shelter will no longer be satisfying. Employees then become concerned about meeting their safety needs. That is, they may work in an unsafe coal mine to earn money to ensure their family’s survival, but once their family has food and shelter, they will remain satisfied with their jobs only if their workplace is safe. Safety needs have been explained to include psychological as well as physical safety. Psychological safety – often referred to as job security – can certainly affect job satisfaction. For example, public sector employees often list job security as a main benefit to their jobs – a benefit so strong that they will stay in lower paying public sector jobs rather than take higher paying, yet less secure, jobs in the private sector. Social needs. Once these first two need levels have been met, employees will remain satisfied with their jobs only when their social needs have been met. Social needs involve working with others, developing friendships, and feeling needed. Organizations attempt to satisfy their employees’ social needs in a variety of ways. Company cafeterias provide workers the place and opportunity to socialize and meet other employees, company picnics allow families to meet one another, and company sports programs such as bowling teams and softball games provide opportunities for employees to play together in a neutral environment. Ego needs. When social needs have been satisfied, employees concentrate next on meeting their ego needs. These are needs for recognition and success, and an organization can help to satisfy them through praise, salary increases, and publicity. Ego needs can be satisfied in many ways. For example, many organizations use furniture to help satisfy ego needs. The higher the employee’s position, the better his office furniture. Self-actualization needs. Even when employees have friends, have earned awards, and are making a relatively high salary, they may not be completely satisfied with their jobs because their self-actualization needs may have not been satisfied yet. These needs are the fifth and final level of Maslow’s needs hierarchy. Self-actualization may be best defined by the US Army’s recruiting slogan, â€Å"be the best that you can be. † An employee striving for self-actualization wants to reach her potential in every task. Thus, employees who have worked within the same machine for 20 years may become dissatisfied with their jobs. They have accomplished all that they can with that particular machine and now search for a new challenge. If none is available, they may become dissatisfied (Knoop, 1994). In the case study, it has been pointed out that Tom does not seem to be simply motivated by money alone, suggesting that he has probably gone beyond the basic biological needs. There should be effort on the part of his supervisor to look for esteem or self-actualization needs, perhaps. One option is for his job to be enriched. This is also true in the case of Rajina who does have loyalty to the company, but is not too assertive. She may be asked to engage in activities that will increase her self-esteem. Finally, Tom is easily motivated by monetary rewards, and may be rewarded and motivated by these. Still another theory is the two factor theory of Herzberg. Two-factor Theory Still another needs theory, which reduces the number of needs to two, was developed by Herzberg. He believed that job-related factors can de divided into two categories, motivators and hygiene factors – thus the name two-factor theory. Hygiene factors are those job-related elements that results from but do not involve the job itself. For example, pay and benefits are consequences of work but do not involve the work itself. Similarly, making new friends may result from going to work, but it is also not directly involved with the tasks and duties of the job. Motivators are job elements that do concern actual tasks and duties. Examples of motivators would be the level of job responsibility, the amount of job control, and the interest that the work holds for the employee. Herzberg believed that hygiene factors are necessary but not sufficient for job satisfaction and motivation. That is, if a hygiene factors is not present at an adequate level (e. g. the pay is too low), the employee will be dissatisfied. But if all hygiene factors are represented adequately, the employee’s level of satisfaction will only be neutral. Only the presence of both motivators and hygiene factors can bring job satisfaction and motivation. Herzberg’s theory is one of those theories that makes sense but has not received strong support from research. In general, researchers have criticized the theory because of the methods used to develop the two factors as well as the fact that few research studies have replicated the findings obtained by Herzberg and his colleagues (Knoop, 1994). McClelland’s Needs Theory The final needs theory was developed by McClelland (1961 in Knoop, 1994) and suggests that differences between individuals stem from the relationship between a job and each employee’s level of job satisfaction or motivation. McClelland believed that employees differ in their needs for achievement, affiliation, and power. Employees who have a strong need for achievement desire jobs that are challenging and over which they have some control, whereas employees who have minimal achievement needs are more satisfied when jobs involve little challenge and have high probability of success. In contrast, employees who have a strong need for affiliation prefer working with and helping other people. These types of employees are found more often in people-oriented service jobs than in management or administration (Smither & Lindgren, 1978). Finally, employees who have a strong need for power have a desire to influence others rather than simply be successful. Research has shown that employees who have a strong need for power and achievement make the best managers (Stahl, 1983) and that employees who are motivated most by their affiliation needs will probably make the worst managers. It is apparent from both theories that Tom, Rajina and Harry may have need for hygiene factors to increase their productivity. This means that management must offer motivators to retain them or to motivate them to work more. 2)Building on the response to Question 1, explain the motivation of the hourly-paid employees in this company in terms of the process models of motivation. Based on the information provided by the confidential interviews, what would you guess are some of the expectancies, valences, and inequities of the hourly-paid employees of this company? How do these compare to those of Pat (the Director of Manufacturing and Operations)? Based on Vroom’s expectancy theory, Tom, Rajina and Harry have varying valences, expectancies and instrumentality. For example, in the case of Tom, values inspiration and motivation – which are intangibles. However, he is not motivated because he does not receive this from the company. He also does not believe that exerting more effort at work would allow him to receive such inspiration. In the case of Rajina, she has a high need for esteem, which she does not experience because she does not know to advertise her efforts to colleagues. Recognition is what may be given to her to compensate for her efforts and loyalty. There is no direct link from her perspective, of exerting more effort at work, and receiving such recognition as reward. Finally, Tom puts great premium on monetary rewards and benefits. However, based on the perceptions of hourly paid employees in general, there is no significant difference between those who work hard and those who contribute little. A compensation and bonus scheme reflective of relative contribution must be established to motivate employees like him. Based on these information, how can management leverage on the motivation of employees to enable them to attain higher productivity? Individual differences theory postulates that some variability in job satisfaction is due to an individual’s personal tendency across situations to enjoy what she does. Thus, certain types of people will generally be satisfied and motivated regardless of the type of job they hold (Weaver, 1978). The idea also makes intuitive sense. We all know that people who constantly complain and whine about every job they have, and we also know people who are motivated and enthusiastic about every job or task. First, we should be aware of the fact that there are several factors that affect our hourly paid employees’ satisfaction. Apart from money and fringe benefits that motivate employees like Harry, personality is another factor to consider. Whether the consistency in job satisfaction is due to genetic or environmental factors, there appears to be a series of personality variables that are related to job satisfaction. That is, certain types of personalities are associated with the tendency to be satisfied or dissatisfied with one’s job. Judge et al. (1998) have hypothesized that these personality variables are related and involve people’s outlook on life (affectivity), view of their self-worth (self-esteem), ability to master their environment (self-efficacy), and ability to control their environment (external vs. internal locus of control). People prone to be satisfied with their jobs have high self-esteem, high self-efficacy, high positive affectivity, and an internal locus of control. Research supporting this view has come from Judge et al. 1998), who found a significant correlation between a combination of these four variables and job satisfaction, and from Garske (1990), who found that employees with high self-esteem are more satisfied with their jobs than are employees low in self-esteem. Results consistent with the core evaluation theory were reported by Dubin and Champoux (1977), who found that some people are happier in their jobs than people without this focus. Moreover, the degree to which they are satisfied with their lives is also another determinant of their motivation on the job. Judge et al. 1998), Judge and Watanabe (1993), and Tait et al. (1989) have theorized not only that job satisfaction is consistent across time but that the extent to which a person is satisfied with all aspects of her life (e. g. marriage, friends, job, family, geographic location) is as well. Furthermore, people who are satisfied with their jobs tend to be satisfied with life. These researchers found support for their theory, as their data indicate that job satisfaction is significantly correlated with life satisfaction. Thus, people happy in life tend to be happy in their jobs and vice versa. Individual differences theories postulate that some employees are more predisposed to being motivated than others. Such things as genetics and affectivity are involved in the extent to which some people tend to always be satisfied with their jobs and others always dissatisfied. However, rather than genetics and affectivity, self-esteem, need for achievement, and intrinsic motivation tendency are the individual differences most related to work motivation. To be able to address hourly employees’ intangible needs, there must be much effort on management’s part to increase employees’ self-esteem. These may not be too applicable for Harry who seems to be more motivated by basic needs, i. e. money and fringe benefits. There are various ways of carrying this out, as follows: Employees who can attend workshops or sensitivity groups in which they are given insights into their strengths. It is thought that these insights raise self-esteem by showing the employee that he has several strengths and is a good person. Management also ought to provide hourly paid employees with experience on success. With this approach, an employee is given a task so easy that he will almost certainly succeed. It is thought that this success increases self-esteem, which should increase performance, then further increase self-esteem, then further increase performance, and so on. This method is based loosely on the principle of self-fulfilling prophecy, which states that an individual will perform as well or as poorly as he expects to perform. In other words, if he believes he is intelligent, he should do well on tests. If he believes he is dumb, he should do poorly. So if an employee believes he will always fail, the only way to break the vicious cycle is to ensure that he performs well on a task (Knoop, 1994). Particularly in the case of Tom, management has to think of ways to motivate him to achieve. Employees who have a strong need for achievement desire and are motivated by jobs that are challenging and over which they have some control, whereas employees who have minimal achievement needs are more satisfied when their work involves little challenge. Employees who have a high need for achievement ate not risk takers and tend to set goals that are challenging enough to be interesting but low enough to be attainable. Employees with a high need for achievement need recognition and want their achievements to be noticed. To increase motivation, goal setting should be used. This is particularly applicable in Tom’s and Rajina’s case who do not seem to perform well without adequate supervision. With goal setting, each employee is given a goal, which might be a particular quality level, a certain quantity of output, or a combination of the two. For goal setting to be most successful, the goals themselves should possess certain qualities. First, they should be concrete and specific. Setting more specific subgoals can also improve performance (Klawsky, 1990). Second, a properly set goal is high but reasonable (Locke & Latham, 1990). To increase the effectiveness of goal setting, feedback should be provided to the employee on his progress in reaching his goal (Locke & Latham, 1990). Feedback can include verbally telling an employee how he is doing, placing a chart on a wall, or displaying a certain color of light when the employee’s work pace will result in goal attainment and a different color of light when the pace is too slow to reach the goal. Feedback increases performance best when it is positive and informational rather than negative and controlling. Another set of theories hypothesizes that workers are motivated when they are rewarded for their behavior. As a result, organizations offer incentives for a wide variety of employee behaviors, including working overtime or on weekends, making suggestions, referring applicants, staying with the company (length of service awards), coming to work (attendance bonuses), not getting into accidents, and performing at a high level (Henderson, 1997).

Marele Days Novel, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender...

Witty, wryly humorous and fast-paced, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender is a thriller with a twist which brilliantly evokes the sleaze below the surface of the citys glittering faade. Is this what the novel is about? Marele Days novel, The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender explores a large scope of issues related to crime and mystery writing. The use of simple language, symbolism, clever wit and a certain sense of satirical mockery all contribute to composing this witty, wryly humorous and fast paced novel. Through the way in which Day portrays the protagonist, Claudia Valentine, she challenges the stereotypes and ideas set in the readers minds, in relation to gender issues. Day also succeeds to ruthlessly unmask†¦show more content†¦She shows a female character doing what previously only men had done; directly committing herself to the criminal underworld, walking dangerous streets at night, boldly trespassing into perilous areas and defending herself- all the things that only men would do in conventional versions of the genre. On the very first page, Day introduces this concept of ironic mockery by creating confusion as to the gender of the character. A tough voice that fills the requirements of hard-boiled school men is established, and only after turning the page does the reader realize that the terribly hung-over narrator is a female private-eye and the blonde in the bed is a good-looking male. The novel is set in Sydney. Day represents the city form two different views. One is Claudias safe, sheltered Sydneyof innocent childhood, Cars sat in the sun silently absorbing the heat, reminding me of childhood summers. Days at the beach and before you went home all the doors of the car would be flung open and the heat that rushed out nearly knocked you over. The reader soon discovers it to simply be a faade that blinds us from seeing the seedy, savage and corrupted undertones of a world which very few are aware of. This other side is associated with Harry Lavender, who is slowly infiltrating all of society like cancer slowly invades a healthy human body. On several occasions Claudia reinforces theShow MoreRelatedModule a Clemmance - Distinctive Voices Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender1687 Words   |  7 Pagesvoices are created in ‘The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender’ and in ONE other related text of your own choosing. As language lies at the core of communication, composers are given the opportunity to use and manipulate written language through the vehicle of distinctive voicesshaping meaning and understanding of the wider world and people within a text. A great range of language techniques are used in my prescribed text, the novel ‘The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender’ by Marele Day and my related textRead MoreCrime Fiction Essay1872 Words   |  8 Pagesthe genre of crime writing covers a wide diversity of texts, these texts all engage with investigating a crime and associated social and moral issues. Evaluate this statement. Although the crime-writing genre consists of a wide array of subgenres and hybrids, these texts all focus on a criminal investigation using this as a platform/vehicle to explore and comment on the values and the social context in which it was composed. In doing so, crime fiction texts do not just tell a crime story; they make