The Impact of E-Business

An E-Business strategy allows a typical business to take advantage of Internet technology to improve communications and increase productivity. An E-Business utilizes digital media such as email, data conferencing, e-commerce, and B2B to streamline business operations. These are made possible through a network infrastructure like Local Area Networks (LANs), Wireless communication, and the Internet. Customer relationship can be improved due to fast response time and efficient business transactions. Through email, businesses can communicate with their customers instantaneously. This is important for sales, support, and marketing activities. E-commerce websites can also be utilized to sell products and perform business transactions in real-time. Customers can do their shopping online, pay electronically, and have their products delivered the next day. This reduces cost drastically because there are no more physical overheads such as shops, printed brochures and human cashiers. Collaboration with business partners is also strengthened through B2B exchanges. Using this technology, companies can partner with each other buy cheaper products placed directly from suppliers. At the same time, they can integrate and synchronize their individual business operations. One company might handle product design, while others manage procurement, shipping, and marketing. This translates directly to reduced cost and improved business efficiency. E-Business can also increase a company's internal productivity. Using Local Area Networks (LANs) and Intranet, employees can share information faster and more efficient than traditional phone or paper communication. Various services such as email, file transfer, directory services, and knowledge management systems can increase productivity and reduce manual work. Wireless networking can also allow executives to be connected anywhere and anytime, so they can manage their business more effectively. A company can transform to become an E-Business by adopting Internet technology along with certain business considerations and decisions. The main strategy should be aligned with the main goal to reduce cost and increase the company's productivity. The importance of the transition should always be highlighted, emphasizing these two benefits. The reason for this is because most people are resistant to change, especially those related to technology. They view these as a threat to their jobs, to the status quo, and to internal politics. Studies will have to be made that will show the return on investment (ROI) and how it will improve the business as a whole. A transition plan should also be made so that the adoption of the technology would be much easier and not drastic. User education and training is also an important aspect because it helps people understand the benefits they can get from the E-Business. Considerable investments will also have to be made in IT consulting, hardware, and software. IT companies and consultants will be hired for the the initial setup of the system, and training for the users who will comprise the IT department. This department would then have the expertise to continue the transition and implement technology-related changes. Computer hardware such as personal computers and network cables will be purchased and changes in the office layout will be implemented. New guidelines and protocols should be also created in order to maintain system integrity and security. The company will be exposed to new threats such as unauthorized access, viruses, worms, hackers, and spam. Because of this, security procedures such as Intrusion Detection and Disaster Recovery should be implemented. Computer and network policies should also be in place so that these risks will be minimized.

Career Service

Allyssa Snyder Career services 9 am class 1-9-13 Employability skills in an office My paper is going to be focused on the topic how will you use employability skills and in your career. Employability skills are very important in my career because you are around people all the time. If you didn’t have communication in a dental office you wouldn’t get anything done if you didn’t have teamwork in an office you would have to pay more people to do it individually if you don’t solve problems the there will always be problems in the office.Initiative in an office is important so that people can get tasks done faster and shows responsibility and politics. Planning and organization is also needed in an office so that you can schedule appointments and organize where the supplies and office equipment goes in the office. Self-management is how you keep yourself on time, responsible, and in self-control essay writer premium 3d. Learning in an office is important becaus e you learn new things and new techniques and you are never too old to learn new things.Technology is very important and office because you have you are growing every year and you need to keep up with the new technology and office. Communication in an office is important, between the boss and their employees, between the employees and the patient’s. The communication between the boss and their employees is important so that they know what to do in the office and how you want things were on. The communication between the employee and the patient is important so they know what’s wrong what they need. It is also important during scheduling.When you are working in an office you should also be a people person, you don’t want to have a negative attitude around patients. If you have a bad attitude when you are around patients they won’t want back to your office. That is why I think communication is important in an office. Teamwork in an office is common between the dental assistant and the dentist. If there wasn’t teamwork in the office there would be no dental assistants and the dentist would be working alone. It would take longer for the patient to be seen and also the octor would be tired by the end of the day. The dental assistant and dentist work together to examine the patient, do procedures on the patient. The dental assistant handles the paper work and scheduling for the doctor. Problem solving is an important skill to have, when you’re in an office and something happens you have to know how to handle is calmly, quietly and quickly. You don’t want the office to find out what happened and they worry what’s going on. When there is a problem with the insurance company that is when communication skills come in. ou have to know how to talk to them to resolve the problem. If there is a problem with the doctor then you have to remain calm when you talk to him and you have to know how to ask questions and listen to what they say. That’s why problem solving is important in a dental office. Organization and planning is useful in an office. When you are organized you know where things are in the office. You wouldn’t have a problem knowing where charts are, supplies and equipment is. Planning is useful in a office so that you know what the schedule is for the day and what the doctor is doing.Without those two skills the office would be very chaotic. You would not know where anything was or when appointments are. That’s why organization and planning is useful in an office. Self-management is when you are responsible for yourself and you go to work on time, do what your suppose to and take on new commitment. If you don’t make it to work on time or do not show up then the office would be short handed and you would of left then in a tight spot with less employees to see the patients for the day.If you don’t do what your suppose to then that means someone else has to do it, and that is not fair. That’s what you need to have good self- management skills or you would will not make it far in life. There are new techniques and technology that you have to learn. The technology is important so that you can know how to schedule appointment, know how to do the charting and most important emails and phone calls so that you can keep in touch with the employees and the patients.All these skills are important so that you can have a successful career in anything you do. All my examples are in the dental field because that’s the field I am going into. The three most important to my success is communication, so you can ask questions. Team work, not all the stress is not me if we work as a team. The last skill that is important to me is learning, so I know what the office is doing, what technology and also what techniques the doctor uses.

Hamlet as a Critical Study Essay

Why is Hamlet still relevant to our studies regardless of the centuries that have passed since its production? Is it worthy in continuing to be a critical study? The reinterpretation that Shakespeare created of Hamlet was based on a number of previous plays including the 12th century Danish Amleth, both these plays are situated around the main theme of being revenge tragedies. The prime aspect of why Hamlet will continue to be relevant as a critical study is due to the themes that the play is centralised around such as existentialism, corruption and illusion vs. eality. These universal themes engage audiences of any society, even four centuries later, creating a timeless classic. The literary devices utilised within the play, such as the iambic pentameter, antithetical language and word play create an engaging atmosphere which captures the imagination of any audience making it worthy of a critical study. The ambiguity, open ended, and unanswered questions that Shakespeare utilises leaves the audience open to interpretation, thus allowing the play to relate to the specific context to which it is being viewed and studied. This makes it worthy of a critical study as a personal response is erected and the audience is emotionally involved with the play as they find common grounds with the universality of themes and notions presented. This can be seen through differing productions of Hamlet such as Damien Ryans play and Tony Richardsons film, which are directed to sustain an audiences engagement regardless of the context. Shakespeare uses techniques such as metatheatre and a mouse-trap to further engage the audience and reflect on himself respectively as the audience can see that both Shakespeare and Hamlet use the theatricality of the play to withdraw emotion from their selected audience. Through these techniques and thematic concerns, along with the central plot, it is shown why Hamlet is worthy of critical study. Act I Scene V of Hamlet serves as a key scene in the play as it is when Hamlet is commanded by the ghost to revenge his â€Å"foul and most unnatural murder. † In this scene Hamlet is told that Claudius is to blame for the death of his father and the ghost exhorts Hamlet to seek revenge, telling him that Claudius has corrupted Denmark and corrupted Gertrude, having taken her from the pure love of her first marriage and seduced her in the foul lust of their incestuous union. Corruption is exposed within this scene due to the focus that the ghost sets on Gertrude and her domestic affairs rather than the political state that Denmark is undergoing. The ghost has exposed himself to Hamlet for the first and last time as the audience is told, and rather than focusing on the political state of the country as the honourable king would do, the ghost insists on complaining about his beloved Gertrude marrying his brother, the ghost even says â€Å"Let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest†. This represents corruption as the audience would have expectations of the original king to have a higher concentration for the future of his country rather than the scandalous affairs of his widow. An act of corruption is also exposed to the audience when Hamlet learns that Claudius, the machiavellian character, has performed the shocking act of killing a king also known as regicide, the ghost explains Claudius to be â€Å"the serpent which did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown† which presents the contextual view of regicide, as he portrays him in a negative manner. Contextually, the Elizabethans watching the play would have found these acts of treason completely taboo and unacceptable emphasising the density of corruption in the scene and even to this day, such acts of treason have a severe penalty as they are completely deplorable. Through this we can see the significance of the situation and how it relates to any context making it worthy of a critical study. In two contrasting productions of Hamlet, the ghost is presented in two opposing views entirely. In Damian Ryan’s production, the ghost is introduced to the audience in a ripped up, run down trench coat, he is barefoot and wrapped in a rope. The ghost is presented to us as exhausted and weak, contrary to the king that he was before. Damian Ryan choses to portray the ghost in a modest way in comparison to the way he dressed when he was king. The use of these costume and props may serve as a representation of the after life to the audience in explaining that after death, it does not matter whether a man dies a king or a peasant, in the after life all will be the same. The lighting that is used during this scene is spotlight focusing directly on the ghost himself making him the main point of interest yet sometimes it was clearly seen that the light would travel both in front and behind him representing the purgatory state that the ghost was in as he was in a phase of in-between where the ghost had not entirely crossed over yet. Through the lighting this was portrayed to the audience, showing the lighting and film techniques create representations of what idea may be desired to be presented. In contrast to this, in the Tony Richardson adaptation of Hamlet, the ghost is not even seen by the audience. What can be assumed though, is that the ghost appeared in armour as Horatio states â€Å"yes, my lord, he wore his beaver up. † the ghost being presented in armour opposes the ghost in Damian Ryan’s production as in the film, this representation may present the king as a symbol of authority even after his death. We are also told that the ghost is wearing the same armour the king wore during the last battle he fought against Fortinbras, this presents symbolism as the king is shown as a influential character, not presented as weak because of purgatory. Taking into consideration that the king set the play into motion therefore the audience is aware of the influence he carries. A film technique that was used in Tony Richardsons production was the absence of the kings figure. Although the audience was aware of his presence, we are never exposed to him. This raises further ambiguity over the reality of the ghost presenting the idea of illusion and reality. An intricate web of illusions vs reality is also depicted in this scene as the notion of a ghost or apparition appearing to someone was not a complete surprise during the Elizabethan era, but during this context, a spiritual form appearing could mean several distinct ideas. When a ghost appeared, people believed it could either be an angry spirit seeking revenge, a devil in disguise as a trustworthy figure or simply a projection of one’s imagination. However Hamlet seems to be surprised at the sight of his passed father standing before him but why is this? Ambiguity is raised in this scene as the audience questions whether the ghost is Hamlets imagination or the real spirit of King Hamlet reaching out to his son. Due to the Elizabethan audience that the play was originally written for, a religious view must be taken into consideration, the main religions circling at the time were the Protestants, who believed ghosts were a figment of imagination and the Catholics who believed they were real spirits. The ambiguity of this scene is left in question as we know from Horatio, Bernardo and Francisco that the ghost was real and not simply Hamlets imagination because the ghost had appeared to them, in contrast to the ghost being invisible to Hamlets mother later in the play. This all depicts illusion vs reality as the audience is left questioning what is real and what isn’t leaving the unanswered questions open to be interpreted. Therefore, building a personal response to the reality of the ghost, making it worthy of a critical study. A literary device employed by Shakespeare in the scene is the iambic pentameter, throughout the play the audience learns that through the presentation of a characters speech, the interest or the state of mind can be easily depicted by Shakespeare’s device. When a character is speaking in prose, they are completely engaged in the conversation and the rhythmic flow creates a certain interest with both the audience and the character they are conversing with. In this scene, the ghost clearly speaks to Hamlet in prose, this is due to the notion that what the ghost is confiding in Hamlet is clearly important and the use of the iambic pentameter creates a flow of interest so that both the audience, and Hamlet are engaged in what is being spoken. Contrary to this, Hamlet replies in single sentences such as â€Å"Murder! â€Å", although this does not necessarily mean that Hamlet is disinterested, it could present the idea that Hamlet’s mind is too preoccupied with gathering the many thoughts that the ghost has presented. From this literary device, it is clearly illustrated that Hamlet is clearly slightly confused and shocked, trying to process his thoughts. Although the audience is not told this, a personal response would suggest this idea as the ambiguity that is presented. Through this personal response it is clearly shown that Hamlet will continue to be worthy of a critical study. This point in the play can be considered the pivotal event and sets the main plot into notion, also developing the main character of Hamlet as the ambiguity created between the contrasting themes of illusion and reality. It is directly after this scene that Hamlet starts to feign madness in the play and although the audience is well aware of the reality that Hamlet is merely alluding everyone into believing he is mad, the characters in the play start to question his sanity. This shows Hamlet to be an enigmatic character as there is always more to him than the characters in the play can figure out. Hamlet is presented as overly analytical and indecisive during the attempts to avenge the death of his father. Throughout the play, Hamlet is always held back by his consideration of religion, beliefs and the notion of doubt regarding the honesty of the ghost. A view into the mindset of Hamlet is presented though his thoughts and actions as we can see the existentialist character build within him. We see him often think about the afterlife and questioning the quality of someone’s afterlife according to his moment of death, we even see Hamlet contemplate suicide. â€Å"The everlasting had not fix’d his cannon gainst self-slaughter† shows the struggle within Hamlet as he despises his life’s conditions of the moment and wishes he could end it. The character Hamlet is aware of morals and knows that suicide would lead to hell, therefore he would rather live in â€Å"an unweeded garden† rather than suffer the consequences. Another way the audience is exposed to why Hamlet is a person of morals is due to the desire to avenge his father, although this is carried out by a recurring impossibility. Yet, when Hamlet returns from his uncompleted trip to England, we can see the character more determined on Claudius’s death than any other part of the play, he realises he must serve action. Hamlet presents a serious intent to end his inaction and indecisiveness when he proclaims â€Å"O, from this time forth my thoughts be bloody ore be nothing worth† explaining to the audience that his main focus will be revenge on Claudius to avenge his father. Although Hamlet is portrayed as the anti-hero in the play, and the audience create a personal response of frustration at his inaction and over thinking, he is eventually successful in overcoming the in-action and finally seeking what was asked of him by his father. Hamlet becomes aware that the indecisiveness is due to a lack of self determination and starts focusing solely on revenge.

Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde Essay

Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde - Essay Example Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, Chengde It is also the shortest river in the world, only 14.7 kilometers long. There are 11 magnificent temples in the outlying area, standing on the hills in a semi circle. They were usually referred to as the â€Å"Eight Outer Temples† because they were divided into eight sections under the administration of the Beijing-based Harmony and Peace Lamasery- a monastery for lamas. Only seven temples remained intact, including Puren Temple, Temple of Sumeru and Puning Temple. They consist of the largest temple building complex in China. The mountain resort and it outlying temples were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites at the 18th session of the World Heritage Committee in Phuket Thailand, December 12-17, 1994. It is described as a huge complex of temples, palaces, administrative offices and ceremonial buildings and these structures harmoniously blend into the landscape of lakes, pastures and forests. Moreover, they represent a variety of architectural styles and reflect the aesthet ic aspiration of imperial China of that period. I have chosen this site to write about for it has a fascinating architectural diversity, as well as a contrast between well developed bio diversity and a lack of water, deforestation and desertification. It is also very fascinating how after a disaster, a â€Å"heaven† can return to its prior heavenly state with the help of people who give their best to maintain the nature and keep the environment healthy as possible. Furthermore, it was most amazing to learn about the outlying temples and the divinity of the whole area and its uniqueness. Chengde mountain resort is divided into two sections: a palace section and a garden section.  The palace area is situated in the southern part of the resort, which is made up of the Main Palace, Pine-Crane Hall, Pine Soughing Valley and East Palace. The Main Palace consists of the Front Court and the Back Imperial Bedroom. The main hall of the Front Court was the place where all important ce remonies were held during the emperors staying in the mountain resort. The garden section can be further divided into a lake section, plains section, and mountain section. The lake section is on the north of the palace section and covers about 80 hectares; going north, you will get to the plains section where the Qing emperors held banquets and recreational activities. This area is mainly covered with grassland and woods; the mountain section is located in the northwestern part and four-fifths of the Mountain Resort is mountainous, sloping down from the northwest to the southeast. The Kuixing Pavilion is a tourist spot newly that was built upon the foundations of a former, ancient pavilion that had fallen into ruin. It is located atop Banbi Mountain in the south of city, the three main areas of this complex comprise a palace, square and garden zones. The whole architectural style is bright and colorful, and some cultural sights  Ã‚  can still be seen in this beautiful scenic spot. There are also many forest parks in and around Chengde, including Qingchuifeng and Liaoheyuan National Forest Parks, Beidashan Stone Sea Forest Park, and Liuliping Forest Park, etc. The Qingchui Cliff National Park, lying to the east of the city, is a natural park that features with a dramatic, lofty and steep formation called the Danxia Landform. The highlight of the park is the Qingchui Cliff, which is nearly 60 meters (197 feet) high and

Experience education at Babson College Scholarship Essay

Experience education at Babson College - Scholarship Essay Example Coming to the United States from Egypt after the Arab Spring has given me a new outlook in life pertaining to the business community of the Middle East that I have become quite passionate about. While the whole world seems to look at the Middle East, Egypt in particular as a civil war waiting to happen, what I see is a country that is on the verge of a new beginning. With that new beginning comes new opportunities in the business world that one must learn to recognize and utilize in its infancy in order to be ahead of the pack once the economy of Egypt begins to pick up again. I am particularly interested in the way the business sector can help to stabilize the Egyptian currency in the future. Without a stable currency, economic recovery and growth for the country will be next to impossible. Therefore, I have began to envision and predict the kind of economic policies that the Egyptian government might wish to implement in the future. I chose to envision something that has not happen ed yet because economic policies are developed over time through the cooperation of the business sector, actuarians, and various economic professionals whose sole concentration is the prediction of future economic trends. These are the people who become the business movers and shakers of the future. I wish to become one of those people. My passion is to learn all that I can about how to predict these business trends and how to best get on the ground floor with the business plan in order to ensure future success.

The Use of Sociological Research in Public Debate Issues of Social Essay

The Use of Sociological Research in Public Debate Issues of Social Deviance - Essay Example On the other hand are the post modernists, who believed that these events are part of sociological change brought about by different factors, and thus, should not be remorsed but embraced. The two principles are governed by sets of reasons, but what drove them to stand is the information brought about sociological research. Sociological research on teenage pregnancy and co-habitation aims to transmit understanding to the people, in such a way that it would reconcile the traditionalist thought and modernist thought; however, it does not deny the possibility of widening the gap between the two principles. Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of the origins and development of organizations and the relationship of each person to their society. There is known to be an irrevocable relationship of an individual’s experiences to the whereabouts of his society; a person affects society as much as society affects the person (Newman, 2010, p. xxii). This seems to be a chicken-and- egg question, but truth remains that not one sociologist can pin point which affects whom and vice versa because society and people are two nondetachable elements. Sociological research’s use is to examine the problems of the society, the reasons of such problems, and if those problems are still considered problems in the modern world, especially that several factors are present influencing social issues. Plummer (2010, p. 3) sees Sociology as a â€Å"critique and wonderer† who continually thinks and appreciate the â€Å"complex patterns of social life.† Complex, in a sense that people’s social thoughts are evolutionary, and sometimes, more negative perspectives than the positive ones show, described by Plummer (2010, p. 4) as a â€Å"march of humanity’s inhumanity.† As varied as the cultures of people, sociological research respects cultural norms. The studies are helpful in beginning to end bigotry, and begin tolerance in understanding oth er cultures and stresses the importance of eliminating bias, although at times it may be unstoppable. Issues such as teenage pregnancy and cohabitation are two most common social deviants, where both are favorite topics of formal and informal arguments. Teenage Pregnancy and Early Motherhood as a Public Issue There are a number of factors which may contribute to the widespread of early sexual experience among teenagers. An alarming 41,329 girls under age 18 became pregnant in 2008 (Rogers, 2010). This statistical record is already around 3% lower than what the nation made in 2007 but the decrease is not really a significant number to rejoice about because it represents only a small percentage of the total pregnant teens’ population. Adding to the reckless potential of the media is the teenagers’ attitude itself towards sexual activities. In Liscio’s (2011) report, the issue holds a different case, mentioning about the brighter side of teenage pregnancy. Accordin g to the study, teenagers are more likely to â€Å"re-engage themselves at school once the baby is born.† This is probably due to a human’s parental instinct, that is one should have a child of his own, it is obligatory to give him or her brighter future. As education becomes a key of having better job opportunities, teenage parents do their best in academic performance. However, this does not make the issue at least acceptable because it is still an ongoing debate whether teenage pregnancy should be accepted as a part of change or should remain as a social taboo subject to restriction of discussion and adaption. Teenage mothers are forced to turn from single life’s luxury and face the responsibilities of motherhood

Grief and loss and special populations Annotated Bibliography Term Paper

Grief and loss and special populations Annotated Bibliography - Term Paper Example As such, the annotated bibliography presented below contains books and journal articles that include diverse perspectives on healing and providing support for the bereaved. This is a valuable book written by two people belonging to different backgrounds and bringing their diverse perspectives into their book. Susan Zonnebelt-Smeenge, being a clinical psychologist at Pine Rest Mental Health Services in the US and also a registered social worker brings to light the practical aspects of dealing with the loss of a spouse and in overcoming the grief through active and deliberate healing actions. Her husband, Robert C. De Vries teaches church education at Calvin Theological Seminary and conducts seminars for overcoming bereavement and loss. Together, the two authors are able to provide an intimate perspective on how Christian faith and conscious effort from the griever can lead to total overcoming of the grief. This book is aimed at people who have suffered a loss of spouse as well as for people like councilors and pastors who are in the position to help them. This book delves into the realm of how people make sense of death and dying with the aim of determining what spiritual and personal support may be needed by them. The book is aimed at people suffering from the loss of their children or spouses. It is an anthology that covers numerous contexts about grief and loss – ranging from Christianity, Buddhism and Native American concepts of loss and grieving to cyberspace and virtual reality and how it shapes our meaning of life and death. The authors of this book are renowned professors like Gary Cox Bendiksen and Stevenson who has numerous articles and papers on death and bereavement. Their wide experience and research with people who are left behind in case of death of a loved one, makes this book an intimate revelation of the process and means of grieving that are adopted in

Consumer behavious - B2C and B2B Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Consumer behavious - B2C and B2B - Essay Example This paper therefore, shall be focussed on the identification and evaluation of the various dimensions of consumer behaviour and consumer decision making process based on the differences between the B2B and the B2C buying behaviour. Moreover, the paper shall also aim at providing few real life illustrations to demonstrate the major differences between the consumer behaviour in B2B and B2C markets. The paper shall also look into the buying process in the B2C markets. Differences between the Buyer Characteristics of B2B and B2C Customers According to most of the authors, researchers and marketers, the buying behaviour of consumers differs vastly in terms of B2B and B2C markets. The differences can be identified on the ground of various features related to the overall buying behaviour of the targeted customer group. To be precise, the buying behaviour of B2B and B2C consumers largely differs in terms of market structure, buying unit, kind of purchase, nature of the buying process and co mmunication (Dave, 2008). B2B Consumer B2C Consumer Market Structure: The structure of a market refers to the buying capacity of the targeted customers. ... prefer buying in units Kind of Purchase: This particular attribute of the buying behaviour of the targeted customers refers to the reason of purchase. Business or industrial consumers purchase goods or services in order to satisfy their business needs rather than their personal needs In the case of individual customers the reason to purchase a good or service is to satisfy their personal needs or family needs (Pearsoned, 2006) Nature of the Buying Process: The buying decisions of the customers are also considered to be different in the case of a B2B customer and a B2C customer. The buying process is highly formalised and therefore faces major inconvenience as a result of supply failure The buying process is comparatively less formalised and thus creates a minimal amount of inconvenience in the failure of the supply (Pearsoned, 2006) Communication: Communication is the factor which assists the marketer to create an impulse on the targeted customers. In the case of corporate buyers, th e impulse of personal selling is greater than mass media communication In case of the B2C customers, the influence of mass media tends to be much more effective than personal selling (Pearsoned, 2006) Other than these differences the buying behaviour of B2B and B2C customer also varies from several other influences such as the macro and micro environmental fluctuations. For instance, the buying behaviour of a B2B customer in an FMCG company is highly influenced by the fluctuations of the company’s financial stability or other economic trends. Contradictorily, the buying behaviour of a B2C customer does not directly get influenced by the ups and downs of the micro-environment (Barschel, 2007). The differences in the B2B and the B2C consumer buying behaviour can be again identified in the

QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT Coursework

QUANTITATIVE METHODS IN BUSINESS & MANAGEMENT - Coursework Example The  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  (OECD), founded in 1961, is an international economic organization dedicated to the global development. The mission of the OECD is to promote policies that will improve the economic and the social well-being of the people around the world. Initially in 1960, there were 18 European countries along with the United States and Canada, which joined hands to form an organization. Today, there are 34 member countries across the globe, including nationals from America, Europe and Asia-Pacific region. The OECD also works with emerging giants like China, India and Brazil and developing economics in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Caribbean to build a stronger, cleaner and fairer world. This report examines the life expectancy at birth in the OECD countries to see if there exists a difference in the life expectancy at birth between males and females in the OECD countries. Furthermore, this report will also examine whether there is an effect of economic indicators such as inflation rate, unemployment rate and gross domestic product on the life expectancy at birth in the OECD countries. The main hypotheses investigated are: The data are collected from the OECD Statistics database. The data are collected for the year 2011. There are four variables in the dataset; inflation rate, unemployment rate, gross domestic product and life expectancy at birth (total, males and females). All the variables are numerical variables measured on a ratio scale. There are 34 observations in the data. Table 1 summarizes about the data. The average inflation rate in the OECD countries in the year 2011 was 3.12% and vary from the mean by about 1.26%. About half of the OECD country’s inflation rate was above 3.32%. The range of inflation rate was 6.76% with maximum inflation rate being 6.47% for the Turkey and minimum inflation rate being -0.28% for

Ultimate Toronto Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ultimate Toronto - Assignment Example The current option is one that is based on fees that are used to create the right alternatives for those that are a part of the club (Ivey, 2012). This is combined with expectations for pricing changes that can be used. The finances can become an opportunity by changing the budgetary needs and prices to incorporate into the organization for growth and to change the other areas of the company’s needs. The research and development is an opportunity of the company. Currently, there is not a lot of research and development within TUC. However, the social nature and the affiliations with others are leading to more opportunities and changes that are expected with TUC. Promotion opportunities, known pricing and the development in the area have all been looked into and can create new strategies and development in TUC if they are expanded on (Simanis, Hart, 2008). The purchasing in TUC is a weakness. The company has identified ways to promote and change prices. However, the purchasing is still going into the foundational expectations for promotion and development, such as flyers, prints and advertisements. The known strategy for promotions is not combining with the purchasing that is developed for the sustainability and growth of TUC. This is combined with the non – profit status, which limits how much can be purchased or used (Ivey, 2012). The operations offers opportunities if a strategy is developed. Currently, one individual is looking at the strategies and opportunities while combining a promotional team. All other situations are run by volunteers and those that are a part of the teams. The operations need to be reconsidered in terms of being a non – profit. It also needs to be reconsidered strategically with human assets that can contribute to the growth of TUC. The operations then become a weakness that can turn into an opportunity of altered (Loorbach, Bakel,

Effect of video games on children Essay Example for Free

Effect of video games on children Essay Technology had evolved very fast from generation to generation. Young and adults are both into what we call video games and techie gadgets. Nowadays, we can normally see computers, gaming consoles and etc. at home and in schools. Video games are entertaining and effective motivation for children. They engage them to skillful play depending on the game design. There have even been studies with adults showing that experience with video games is related to better surgical skills. Research also suggests that people can learn iconic, spatial, and visual attention skills from video games. Although this fad benefits to all but on the other hand, it also give negative effects especially to those children who are getting addicted to it. Studies show that children’s video game habits are contributing to the risk factors for health, behavior and poor academic performance. It was also reported that girls and boys play for an average of about 5-13 hrs/ week. Some children spend more hours that what is reported. There were negative effects of video games on childrens physical health, including obesity, video-induced seizures. and postural, muscular and skeletal disorders, such as nerve compression, and carpal tunnel syndrome that were documented by the research. However, these effects are not likely to occur for most children. Parents should be most concerned about two things: the amount of time that children play, and the content of the games that they play. The amount of time that the children play lessens the amount of time and focus allotted for his academics. The content of the games that he/she plays leads to increased physiological arousal, increased aggressive thoughts, increased aggressive feelings, increased aggressive behaviors, and decreased pro-social helping. Children must not spend more than one to two hours per day in front of all electronic screens, including TV, DVDs, videos, video games, and computers (The American Academy of Pediatrics, 2004). Regarding content, educational games are likely to have positive effects and violent games are likely to have negative effects. We must limit them from violent games and introduce to them educational games, consoles and etc. The conclusion that Gentile (2004) drew from the accumulated research is that the question of whether video games are good or bad for children is oversimplified. Playing a violent game for hours every day could decrease school performance, increase aggressive behaviors, and improve visual attention skills. Instead, parents should recognize that video games can have powerful effects on children, and should therefore set limits on the amount and content of games their children play. In this way, we can realize the potential benefits while minimizing the potential harms. Source: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0816/is_6_21/ai_n9772319/ Article by: Dr. Douglas Gentile is a developmental psychologist, and is assistant professor of psychology at Iowa State University and the director of research for the National Institute on Media and the Family where he conducts research with children and adults. COPYRIGHT 2004 Pediatrics for Parents, Inc. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

The Removal of the Compulsory Retirement Age Essay Example for Free

The Removal of the Compulsory Retirement Age Essay However, our superannuation system is in a transition phase, and some the details of the changes are contained in the table below: Age regulations and qualifications governing superannuation and social security systems 55| Age to which superannuation entitlements are compulsorily preserved. From age 55, preserved superannuation becomes available upon retirement. For people aged 55 to 60 years, Regulations under the  Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993  (SIS regulations) define retirement as permanent withdrawal from the workforce. A phased increase in the superannuation preservation age to 60 is to begin in 2015 and will affect people born after 30 June 1960. By 2025, people born after June 1964 will be subject to a preservation age of 60 years. | | People aged 55 years and over can access a range of social security pensions and benefits depending on their circumstances, e. g. Disability Support Pension, Newstart Allowance, Carer Pension and Widow Allowance. From September 1997, superannuation assets of those aged 55 and over were taken into account under the income and assets tests after 9 months on income support (pending legislation). 60| Under SIS Regulations, after age 60, retirement may be taken to have occurred upon cessation of a period of gainful employment even if the person intends to re-enter gainful employment. Current qualifying age for Mature Age Allowance. | 61| Womens current qualifying age for age pension. The age pension age for women is being slowly increased to 65 over the next 17 years (reaching 65 years in July 2013). | 65| Mens qualifying age for age pension. | 70| From 1 July 1997 people were allowed to continue to contribute to a regulated superannuation fund up to age 70, provided they are gainfully employed for at least 10 hours per week over the year. | http://wiki. answers. com/Q/What_is_the_workplace_compulsory_retirement_age_Australia http://www. alrc. gov. au/publications/2-recruitment-and-employment-law/compulsory-retirement Most people retire at 55 years or over. According to the  Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average age Australians intend to retire is 63 for men and 61 for women. Compulsory retirement at 65 was made unlawful in South Australia in 1993. It is against the law to dismiss staff because of their age unless there is an occupational reason to be a certain age. Most staff cant be forced to retire because of age except: * judges and magistrates must retire at 70 * Australian Defence Force personnel must retire at 65. The average retirement age is likely to increase as we have an ageing population. More workers will move into retirement age and fewer will enter the labour market. As a result, there will be a shortage of workers. Governments and many employers are already trying to encourage workers to stay on longer by offering assistance to older staff and options like  phased retirement. You can retain your staff past retirement age by offering  phased retirement or flexible working conditions. http://www. eoc. sa. gov. au/eo-business/employers/staffing/dismissing-retrenching-and-retiring-staff/retiring-staff/when-do-staf The likelihood of being retired increased with age. For those aged 45-49 years, just 5% were retired, compared to 16% of 55-59 year olds, 68% of 65-69 year olds and 87% of those aged 70 years and over. In 2010-11, 63% of men aged 45 years and over were in the labour force, 33% had retired, and 3% were not in the labour force but had not yet retired. In contrast, 50% of women aged 45 years and over were in the labour force, 39% had retired and the remaining 5% were not in the labour force but had not yet retired. The average age at retirement from the labour force for people aged 45 years and over in 2010-11 was 53. years (57. 9 years for men and 49. 6 years for women). Of the 1. 4 million men who had retired from the labour force: 27% had retired aged less than 55 years; 53% had retired aged 55-64 years; and 20% had retired aged 65 years and over. The 1. 8 million women who had retired from the labour force had retired on average at a younger age than men. The ages at which women retirees had retired from the labour force were as foll ows: 57% had retired aged less than 55 years; 35% had retired aged 55-64 years; and % had retired aged 65 years and over. Of the 2. 2 million retired people who had worked in the last 20 years, 94% had held a full-time job at some stage. For nearly three-quarters (72%) of those who held a full-time job, their last job held prior to retirement was full-time. The remainder worked part-time before retiring. http://www. abs. gov. au/ausstats/[emailprotected] nsf/Latestproducts/6238. 0Main%20Features1July%202010%20to%20June%202011? opendocument;amp;tabname=Summary;amp;prodno=6238. 0;amp;issue=July%202010%20to%20June%202011;amp;num=;amp;view= ttp://jobsearch. about. com/b/2013/03/08/too-old-to-get-hired. htm In advanced and developing economies, ageing populations and low birth rates are emphasising the need for retaining and sustaining competent older workers. This paper examines human resource and governmental policy and practice implications from the contradictory accounts directed tow ards those workers aged over 44 years, who are usually classi? ed as ‘older workers’. It focuses on a key and paradoxical impediment in the workforce retention of these workers. Using Australia as a case study, this paper argues that policies and practices to retain and sustain workers aged 45 or more need to de-emphasise the term ‘older workers’ and reconsider how human resource management and government policies, as well as practices by workers themselves, might pursue longer and more productive working lives for employees aged over 45. It seeks to elaborate the paradox of the (under)valuing of older workers’ contributions and provides direction for retaining and supporting the ongoing employability of these workers. It concludes by proposing that government, industry bodies and sector councils that seek to change employer attitudes will likely require a dual process comprising both engagement with older workers and a balanced appraisal of their worth. Alone, subsidies and/or mandation may well serve to entrench age bias without measures to redress that bias through a systematic appraisal of their current and potential contributions. In addition, to support this transformation of bias and sustain their employability, older workers will likely need to exercise greater agency in their work and learning. Quite consistently across international and national surveys, a pattern emerges of employers and managers holding older workers in low esteem which appears quite entrenched. Indeed, managers’ assessments of older workers are consistently negative, seemingly irrespective of appraisals of their actual performance (Rosen and Jerdee 1988). The evidence from studies across Europe and North America commonly report that employers are far more likely to fund the training of the young and well educated, rather than older workers (Brunello 2001; Brunello and Medio 2001; Giraud 2002). Truly, some northern European countries adopt more positive attitudes towards and claim a strong sense of obligation to older workers as exercised through a set of national policies and practices (Bishop 1997; Smith and Billett 2003). Yet, it is noteworthy that elsewhere the ways in which employers distribute and fund developmental opportunities for their employees, is resistant to legislated (Giraud 2002) and mandated measures (Bishop 1997). Instead, the privileging of youth (and perhaps never more so than when they become a scarce commodity within ageing populations) is that which shapes employers’ decisionmaking about the distribution of sponsored workplace-based opportunities for learning. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 1251This suggests that government intervention by pressing or subsidising employers to employ older workers will not be suf? cient, unless the attitude of employers can in some way be transformed. Australian studies of attitudes towards older workers report similar ? ndings to those reported elsewhere. One study concluded that ‘regardless of the perceived more positive qualities of older workers , employers appear to prefer to recruit employees in the younger age groups for most employee categories’ with ‘minimal interest in recruiting anyone over 45 years for any job and no preference for anyone 56 years or older’ (Steinberg, Donald, Najman and Skerman 1996, p. 157). Despite the increasing recognition of the looming labour shortage at that time and following it, such attitudes appear to have been slow to change. Yet, such attitudes are quite potent. Taylor and Walker (1998, p. 44) concluded that ‘workplace perceptions about older workers (and different groups of older workers) may directly in? uence not only their prospects for gaining employment but also their prospects for development and advancement within an organisation’. A 2003 guide by the Business Council of Australia (BCA) identi? ed numerous ‘readily accepted negative stereot ypes of mature-age workers’, including their lacking motivation and enthusiasm, being close-minded, more susceptible to injury and illness, having outdated skills, less capable, unwilling to take on new training or challenges, risk averse and having less potential for development (p. 2). Yet, the issues raised by the BCA (2003) pose dif? culties in generalising about employer attitudes and practices. In a telephone survey of some 1000 enterprises in the business services sector, which included computer, legal, accounting and employment services, Bittman, Flick and Rice (2001) found no clear pattern of negative attitudes towards employing older workers. They claimed (p. vii) that ‘despite [employers’] reputation for favouring younger, risk-taking innovators, the study revealed a preference for a diverse workforce of intelligent, reliable, team workers with industry rather than computing experience’. However, Gringart, Helmes and Speelman (2005) claim the methodology used in that study did not allow respondents to systematically stereotype workers on the basis of age. Moreover, the business service sector may well be one of those better disposed to employing and supporting older workers than many others, as its work may be more age tolerant than others. Across a range of industries, a survey of 8000 Australian employers found the most proactive recruitment for mature age workers was in the ? ance sector (47% of ? rms), compared with only 32% in information technologies and 24% in telecommunications (Deare 2006). This kind of difference indicates that employer attitudes are not uniform in their application or intensity, across industry sectors. For instance, in their 2001 study, Gringart and Helmes found that older female jobseekers were discriminated against more than males. Yet, 4 years later, the researchers (Gringart et al. 2005) found no signi? cant gender difference. They concluded rather baldly that the sample of 128 ‘hiring decision makers’ in businesses of up to 50 employees was generally unlikely to hire older workers. These studies indicate that employer attitude is central not only to recruiting and retaining older workers, but also in advancing support for maintaining their employability through opportunities to further develop and apply more widely the knowledge they have learnt. Indeed, Howell, Buttigieg and Webber (2006, p. ) concluded that senior management’s support for diversity and effective utilisation of older workers as part of the retail workforce resulted in age-positive practices by those managers who supervise older workers. Nonetheless, in its own way, this kind of endorsement indicates, ? rstly, the importance of attitudes being premised on the basis of informed accounts of performance and not age bias and, secondly, that these attitudes can change. 1252 S. Billett et al. Such change in attitudes would n eed to be broadly applied across decision-making in businesses. For instance, the BCA (2003, p. 8) claimed that voluntary retirement is often seen as a workforce management tool, but that such policies are often based on age alone, and that consideration is not given to the employees’ skill and experience pro? les. The depth and pervasiveness of the employer discrimination against older workers are illustrated further in the BCA’s (2003, p. 11) ? ndings which suggest that recruitment agencies may actually practise ‘ageism’ when shortlisting applicants for their clients, a claim denied by the agencies (Hovenden 2004). Certainly, some of these agencies promote mature age employment through their websites. One of them commissioned a report on the implications of the ageing population in the Australian workforce that described ageism as ‘a particularly insidious form of discrimination’ (Jorgensen 2004, p. 13). Recommending that employers needed to confront their own prejudices, Jorgensen also suggested (p. 13) that ‘policy approaches that deal with ageism also need to be carefully framed so as not to stigmatise older workers, isolate younger workers or impose obligations on older workers who simply do not have the health or desire to continue in full time or part time employment’. It follows from here that in the current social and ? nancial environments, speci? c and targeted policies and sustained initiatives are likely to be required to change attitudes about older workers’ occupational capacities and employability across their working lives. However, these initiatives will need to overcome a range of societal and workplace barriers for the maximum retention of and full utilisation of these workers’ capacities. Key barriers here include a societal preference of privileging youth over age across countries with advanced industrial economies. This preference manifests itself in workplace practices of not only favouring the employment of younger workers, but also directing far more resources towards their development than older workers, among other groups (Brunello 2001; Brunello and Medio 2001). These preferences seem powerful and enduring. Even evidence suggesting that older workers are as capable as other workers and have the very attributes employers claim to value, seemingly fail to change management’s views, i. e. f those who employ and make decisions about workers’ advancement and access to development opportunities. Some might argue that this preference will change as older workers become an increasingly common element of the workforce and a necessity for employers. Countering such a claim is the prospect that a scarcity of younger people may well lead to greater enterprise competition for and sponsorship of younger and well-educated workers and more intense resourcing of these workers and away from o lder workers. Moreover, despite the growing presence of older workers in the Australian workforce over the last 20 years, little appears to have changed in terms of employer preference or workplace responses to their growing participation. Salient here is the comparison of older workers with women workers. Despite their increasing participation in the workforce, women workers across a range of national workforces have struggled to secure worthwhile work conditions, despite legislative arrangements associated with equal opportunity (Cavanagh 2008). Therefore, unless signi? ant changes occur in both the attitudes towards and Australian employers’ practices, older workers may well increasingly struggle to secure worthwhile work, and opportunities for the development and advancement required to retain them in socially and economically vital work and improve their effectiveness in that work. Indeed, there are potentially strong negative consequences here. Consequences of negative employer attitu des and practices There are both personal and societal costs of employer attitudes and practices that discriminate unreasonably against older workers. These costs include the limits in range of The International Journal of Human Resource Management 1253employment options for these workers and dif? culties becoming employed. Indeed, a consequence of policies designed to promote a deregulated and ? exible labour market is the growing distinction between ‘core sector jobs’ (‘good’ jobs that require high skills, offer decent wages and provide bene? ts such as support for training and development) and ‘peripheral sector jobs’ (‘dead end’ jobs that require few skills, offer poor wages and few bene? s, as well as little in the way of job security) (Kossen and Pedersen 2008, p. 5). Given such a bifurcation, the great risk is that older workers will be seen as only being employable in the peripheral sectors. This may well be particularly true for the range of options that are available for many older workers. Challenging the notion of meritocracy in the labour market, Kossen and Pedersen ( 2008, p. 6) cite research indicating that older workers who have been excluded from employment ‘experience far greater dif? culty in rejoining the core orkforce’. The point here is that older workers may have greater dif? culty securing worthwhile work when they re-enter the workforce. Indeed, the negative attitudes that older workers experience may well contribute to the widespread ‘culture’ of early retirement in Australia (Encel 2003) in which workforce participation by those over 55 is considerably lower than in many other OECD countries (ABS 2007) as these workers fail to ? nd meaningful employment, and withdraw from the labour market. A recruiting agency (Adage, n. d. 1) concluded that mature age workers are more likely to ‘experience the compounding effect of being out of the workforce resulting in being seen as less employable’. Another agency reported that nearly three-quarters of 2000 baby boomers surveyed believed that it is nearly i mpossible to get a job after age 45 (Brinsden 2007). The studies cited above, along with a range of other research ? ndings (see OECD 2006a, 2006b; Syed 2006; Kossen and Pedersen 2008) con? rm that age prejudice is alive and well in Australian workplaces, and likely play out most heavily on those who are currently out of employment. Consequently, a priority for policy is to ? nd ways of supporting unemployed older workers’ re-employment, and in worthwhile work, and ? nding ways of praising their worth that can transform the attitudes of their employers. Yet, others suggest that factors other than age alone play key roles in decision-making, particularly that such decisions are based on a business case, not on ageism. In an Equal Opportunity Commission seminar, Ranzijn (2005, p. 1) argued that ‘in general, age discrimination is not a function of a negative attitude towards older workers, but based on an implicit cost/bene? analysis’. The OECD (2006a, 2006b, p. 10) also noted that a dif? culty for employers with older workers is ‘wages and non-wage labour costs that rise more steeply with age than productivity’ and also that there are ‘shorter expected pay-back periods on investments in the training of older workers as well as their lower average educational attainmentâ€℠¢. Perhaps, because of such imperatives, Encel (2003, p. 4) warned that age discrimination is ‘commonly covert and evasive and easily masked’. Similarly, Bittman et al. (2001, p. 6) reported to an Australian House of Representatives inquiry into older workers’ unemployment that the latter were consistently advised that they were ‘over quali? ed for lower positions and under quali? ed for higher positions’. Whatever the reasons advanced by employers for not retaining or employing mature age workers, Ranzijn (2005, p. 8) pointed out that the changing demographics of the workforce will inevitably mean that employers will have to resort to older workers in order to maintain productivity, a point also made by the OECD (2006b) based on a multi-nation survey. However, such a pragmatic and expedient premise may not be the best one to proceed with. Despite becoming increasingly essential for the production of goods and services, older workers will continue to be seen as ‘last resort workers’: at the bottom of employers’ preferred kind of workers (Quintrell 2000). Employees categorised in this way will often be a low priority for employer-sponsored development opportunities and support in the 1254 S. Billett et al. workplace (Billett and Smith 2003) of the kinds required to retain them and further develop their capacities. Hence, even if the government supports the re-employment of older workers, it is likely that within the workplaces the opportunities are still likely to be shaped by a cultural preference where youth is championed and privileged, and where age is seen as a natural decline (Giddens 1997). Therefore, older workers cannot be con? dent of being afforded the kinds of employer support required to maintain their workplace competence and successfully negotiate work transitions. Moreover, given the privileging of youth, it is unlikely that older workers will make demands for employer-funded training, lest they reinforce the sentiment of being a liability. Analogously, Church (2004) refers to disabled workers who have particular needs for support, yet are strategic and cautious in their demands for workplace support, including that from their co-workers, lest they be seen as liabilities in cost-conscious work environments. Nevertheless, the widely held view among employers that older workers are less able and in? xible, and offer limited return on developmental opportunities is questioned by data arising from informants with direct experience of these workers. McIntosh (2001), for instance, notes that enterprises actually employing older workers value their contributions in quite distinct ways: survey responses of nearly 400 American employers and human resource development managers characterised older workers as: (a) being ? exible and open to change, (b) ha ving up-to-date skills, (c) interested in learning new tasks and (d) willing to take on challenging tasks. Furthermore, 68% of the respondents concluded that training older workers costs less or the same as training their younger counterparts; 57% reported that age does not affect the amount of time required to train an employee (14% disagreed) and 49% believed that older workers grasp new concepts as well as younger workers (18% disagreed). In all, this survey portrays older workers as ideal employees, which confounds the sentiment behind practices that distribute employer-funded support away from these workers. The exercise of this sentiment may also re? ect the contradictory and confusing discourse that many older workers experience and try to understand in the workplace: they are essential to maintain the production of goods and services, yet discriminated against in terms of the opportunities afforded them. Despite the suggestion in the survey reported by McIntosh (2001), few studies effectively describe the reaction and role of older workers to the changing nature of work processes. Indeed, McNair, Flynn, Owen, Humphreys and Wood? ld (2004) claim their surveys indicate that most workers reported not being given assistance to negotiate new work roles and new work as their work life transforms. Hence, this reinforces not only the lack of support, but also the need for and apparent success of these workers being able to independently develop their capacities. Consequently, policies and practices by government, industry bodies and industry sector interests may have to interweave both suppor t for older workers’ re-employment or continuing employment, with processes that also attempt to transform the views and perspectives of employers. Yet, sitting in here also is the need to develop and support these workers’ capacities to be agentic learners, i. e. in line with their own interests and intentions (Billett and vanWoerkom 2006). Direct subsidies may well indeed reinforce the perspective that positions older workers as being de? cient and worthy of societally incurred subsidies, and places employers as being only able to employ and promote the interests of these workers when such subsidies are available. It would then seem that policies and practices are needed to both engage employers with older workers and promote their worth to employers in a way which incrementally in? ences their decision-making. It is these kinds of engagement and development that will be required to both overcome and transform well-entrenched preferences. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 1255All of the above points to the importance of identifying what has to be done to effectively retain older workers and develop their employability. Added here is the prospect that the fewer available younger workers will be in high demand and, as such, are unlikely to select low-status occupations such as aged care. Hence, and as noted, a key consideration for approaches to improving policy and practice for older workers is shifting employer attitudes towards a more positive accounting of the capabilities and potentialities of these workers. Policy reform is needed to respond to engage and inform to secure such a shift. Therefore, it is helpful to identify what has been done to bring about such changes, policy wise. References Adage (n. d), ‘Why Adage Targets Mature Professionals,’ www. adage. com. au Ainsworth, S. (2001), ‘The Discursive Construction of the Older Worker Identity: A Re? ction on Process and Methods,’ Tamara: The Journal of Critical Postmodern Science, 1, 4, 29–46. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2004), ‘Paid Work: Mature Age Workers,’ Australian Social Trends, series, catalogue no. 4102. 0, June 15, Canberra, ABS. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2007), ‘Skilling Mature Age Australians for Work,’ Year Book Australia, ca talogue no. 1301. 0, February 7, Canberra, ABS. Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008), ‘Population Projections – a Tool for Examining Population Ageing,’ Australian Social Trends series, catalogue no. 4102. 0, June 15, Canberra, ABS. Australian National Training Authority (2004), Increasing the Vocational Education and Training Participation and Achievement of Older Workers: Ideas for Action, Brisbane: ANTA. Billett, S. (2010), Promoting and Supporting Lifelong Employability for Singapore’s Workers Aged 45 and Over, Singapore: Institute for Adult Learning. Billett, S. , and Smith, A. (2003), ‘Compliance, Engagement and Commitment: Increasing Employer Expenditure in Training,’ Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 53, 3, 251–269. Billett, S. , and vanWoerkom, M. (2006), ‘Older Workers and Learning Through Work: The Need for Agency and Critical Re? ction,’ in Promoting Lifelong Learning for Older Workers – an International Overview, eds. T. Tikkanen and B. Nyhan, Cedefop Reference Series 65. Luxembourg: EUR-OP, pp. 177–189. Bishop, J. H. (1997), ‘What We know About Employer Provided Training: A Review of the Literature,’ Research in Labour E conomics, 16, 19–87. Bittman, M. , Flick, M. , and Rice, J. (2001), ‘The Recruitment of Older Australian Workers: A Survey of Employers in a High Growth Industry,’ UNSW, Report for Department of Family and Community Services, Social Policy Research Centre, Sydney. Brinsden, C. 2007), ‘Mature-age Workers Pessimistic Over Future,’ The Australian, 9 July, online. Brunello, G. (2001), ‘On the Complementarity Between Education and Training in Europe,’ IZA discussion paper 309, Forschungsinstituit zur Zukunft der Arbeit- IZA, Institute for the Study of Labour, Zurich. Brunello, G. , and Medio, A. (2001), ‘An Explanation of International Differences in Education and Workplace Training,’ European Economic Review, 45, 2, 307–322. Business Council of Australia (2003), Age Can Work: A Business Guide for Supporting Older Workers, Melbourne: BCA. Cavanagh, J. (2008), ‘Women Auxiliary Workers’ Learning and Discovering â€Å"Self† Through Work,’ in Emerging Perspectives of Learning Through Work, eds. S. Billett, C. Harties and A. Etela? pelto, Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishing, BV, pp. 67–82. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 1259Church, K. (2004), ‘Dancing Lessons: A Choreography of Disability in Corporate Culture,’ Paper presented at the WALL Annual Meeting, Toronto. Colebatch, T. (2009), ‘Retirement by 70 a Fading Hope for Many,’ The Age, 25 February, online. Deare, S. (2006), ‘IT and Telecomms Inactive on Mature Workers,’ ZDNet Australia. www. zdnet. com. au/news/business/soa/IT-and-telecomms-inactive-on-mature-workers/0,139023166, 139251015,00. htm Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (2008), ‘Outcome 8: Workforce Participation,’ DEEWR Budget Statements – Outcomes and Performance. www. deewr. gov. au/ deewr/Publications/Budget Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (2005), Workforce Tomorrow, Canberra: DEWR. Dymock, D. , Billett, S. , Martin, G. , and Johnson, G. 2009), ‘Retaining and Sustaining the Competence of Older Workers: An Australian Perspective,’ Paper presented at the conference, Lifelong learning revisited: What next? June 24–26, Stirling University, Scotland. Encel, S. (2003), ‘Age Can Work: The Case for Older Australians Staying in the Workforce,’ A report to the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Business Council of A ustralia, Sydney. Giddens, A. (1997), Sociology (3rd ed. ), Cambridge: Polity Press. Giraud, O. (2002), â€Å"Firms† Further Training Practices and Social Exclusion: Can Industrial Relations Systems Provide Greater Equality? Theoretical and Empirical Evidence from Germany and France,’ in Education, Training and Employment Dynamics: Transitional Labour Markets in the European Union, eds. K. Schoman and P. J. Connell, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, pp. 300–303. Gringart, E. , Helmes, E. , and Speelman, C. (2005), ‘Exploring Attitudes Toward Older Workers Among Australian Employers: An Empirical Study,’ Journal of Aging and Social Policy, 17, 3, 85–103. Hovenden, D. (2004), ‘Fishy Memories on Ageing Workforce Crisis,’ Human Resources Magazine. www. humanresourcesmagazine. com. au/articles/15/0c019a15. asp Howell, S. Buttigieg, D. , and Webber, W. (2006), ‘Management Attitudes to Older Workers in the Retail Sector,’ Monash Business Review, 2, 3, 1–10. Jorgensen, B. (2004), The Ageing Population: Implications for the Australian Workforce, Sydney: Hudson Global Resources and Human Capital Solutions. Kossen, C. , and Pedersen, C. (2008), ‘Older Workers in Australia: The Myths, the Realities and the Battle over Workforce â€Å"Flexibility†,’ Journal of Management and Organization, 14, 1, 73–84. McIntosh, B. (2001),An Employer’s Guide to Older Workers: How to Win Them Back and Convince Them to Stay. ww. doleta. gov/Seniors/other_docs/EmplGuide. pdf McNair, S. , Flynn, M. , Owen, L. , Humphreys, C. , and Wood? eld, S. (2004),Changing Work in Later Life: A Study of Job Transitions, London: University of Surrey, Centre for Research into the Older Workforce. Naegele, G. , and Walker, A. (2006), A Guide to Good Practice in Age Management, Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Naughtin, G. (2008), ‘Social Inclusion and Older People,’ in Social Inclusion Down Under: Symposium Proceedings, Brotherhood of St. Laurence. www. sl. org. au/naughtin_symposium_ paper_26Jun08. pdf Neville, I. (2008), ‘The Australian Labour Market: Challenges and Resp onses,’ Seminar presentation, Canberra, Labour Supply and Skills Branch, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. www. gemspl. com. au/bipartite2008/Proceedings/ Ivan%20Neville%20Presp. pdf NSW Labor (2008), ‘Supporting Older Workers,’ 9 July, NSW Labor. www. nswalp. com/blog/358/ supporting-older-workers Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2006a), ‘Live Longer, Work Longer: A Synthesis Report,’ Summary. Paris: OECD. www. oecd. org/els/employment/olderworkers. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2006b), Live Longer, Work Longer: A Synthesis Report, Paris: OECD. Price, R. , and Colley, L. (2007), ‘Assessing HR Strategies for Retaining an Aging Workforce,’ in 15th International Employment Relations Association Conference: Working Lives, Working Choices, July, 9–13, Canterbury, England. Queensland Government (2008), Experience Pays Pack, Brisbane: Department of Employment and Industrial Relations. 260 S. Billett et al. Quintrell, M. (2000), ‘Older and Wiser; or Just at the End of the Line? ’ Westminster Studies in Education, 23, 19–31. Ranzijn, R. (2005), ‘Discrimination Against the Older Worker: Psychology and Economics,’ Paper presented at seminar, ‘Of Working Age,’ May, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney. Rolland, L. (2007), ‘Ageing and Work in 2030: In or Out of Our Hands? ’ Paper prepared for forum, ‘Ageing 2030 – Creating the future,’ Sydney, NSW Government. Rosen, B. , and Jerdee, T. H. 1988), ‘Managing Older Workers’ Careers,’Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 6, 37–74. Smith, A. , and Billett, S. (2003), Enhancing Employers’ Expenditure on Training, Adelaide: National Centre for Vocational Education Research. Steinberg, M. , Donald, K. , Najman, J. , and Skerman, H. (1996), ‘Attitudes of Employees and Employers Towards Older Workers in a Climate of Anti-Discrimination,’Australian Journal on Ageing, 15, 4, 154–158. Syed, J. (2006), ‘Older Workers in Australia: A Policy Perspective,’ Journal of Economic and Social Policy, 1, 11, 21–43. Taylor, P. , and Walker, A. (1998), ‘Employers and Older Workers: Attitudes and Employment Practices,’ Ageing and society, 18, 641–658. The Treasury (2010), ‘Australia to 2050: Future Challenges,’ (Intergenerational Report), Canberra, Australian Government. Tikkanen, T. (1997, May), ‘Consequences of Unemployment on Professional Competency,’ Paper presented at the Nordic Conference on Adult Education, Trondheim, Norway. Tikkanen, T. , Lahn, L. , Ward, P. , and Lyng, K. (2002), Working Life Changes and Training of Older Workers, Trondheim: Vox. an Dijk, T. A. (2008), Discourse and Power, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Victorian Government (2005), ‘The Ageing Workforce,’ The State of Working Victoria Project, Information Paper No. 4, Melbourne. Weller, S. (2007), ‘Discrimination, Labour Markets and the Labour Market Prospects of Older Workers: What Can a Legal Case Teach Us? ’ Work, Employment and Society, 21, 417â⠂¬â€œ437. Wooden, M. , VandenHeuvel, A. , and Cully, M. (2001), Barriers to Training for Older Workers and Possible Policy Solutions, Adelaide: DETYA/NILS, Flinders University The International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 22, No. 6, March 2011, 1248–1261 Employees. Theyre the one thing that businesses everywhere have a need for. And not just employees, but employees who are honest, responsible, dependable, loyal, focused, organized and mature. Is this too much to ask? U. S. employers spends millions of man hours each year placing ads, prescreening and interviewing candidates, and hiring and training workers, only to find that many of the employees they hire work for them for just a ew months only to decide they dont want to just be a clerk anymore or feel something betters come along as they work their way up the corporate ladder. So where can businesses find a dependable, steady workforce that has no plans to move up and out? A workforce dedicated to the job at hand and that takes pride in its work? Who will cost them less to hire, train and maintain? The answer? Older workers. Below are twelve reasons why hiring older workers can he lp you maintain a reliable, dedicated workforce and provide a significant cost savings for both the short and long term. . Dedicated  workers produce higher quality work, which can result in a significant cost savings for you. Stories abound of highly committed older workers finding others potentially costly mistakes regarding everything from misspelling of client names to pricing errors and accounting mistakes. 2. Punctuality  seems to be a given for older workers. Most of them look forward to going to work each day, so theyre likely to arrive on time and be ready to work. 3. Honesty  is common among older workers, whose values as a group include personal integrity and a devotion to the truth. 4. Detail-oriented, focused and attentive  workers add an intangible value that rubs off on all employees and can save your business thousands of dollars. One business owner I know once told me that one of his older workers saved his company more than $50,000 on one large mailing job. The 75-year-old clerical worker recognized that all the ZIP codes were off by one digit. Neither the owners mailing house nor his degreed and highly paid marketing manager had noticed it. 5. Good listeners  make great employees because theyre easier to trainolder employees only have to be told once what to do. 6. Pride in a job well done  has become an increasingly rare commodity among younger employees. Younger workers want to put in their time at work and leave, while older employees are more willingly to stay later to get a job done because of their sense of pride in the final product. 7. Organizational skills  among older workers mean employers who hire them are less likely to be a part of this startling statistic: More than a million man hours are lost each year simply due to workplace disorganization. 8. Efficiency and the confidence  to share their recommendations and ideas make older workers ideal employees. Their years of experience in the workplace give them a superior understanding of how jobs can be done more efficiently, which saves companies money. Their confidence, built up through the years, means they wont hesitate to share their ideas with management. 9. Maturity  comes from years of life and work experience and makes for workers who get less rattled when problems occur. 10. Setting an example  for other employees is an intangible value many business owners appreciate. Older workers make excellent mentors and role models, which makes training other employees less difficult. 11. Communication skillsknowing when and how to communicateevolve through years of experience. Older workers understand workplace politics and know how to diplomatically convey their ideas to the boss. 12. Reduced labor costs  are a huge benefit when hiring older workers. Most already have insurance plans from prior employers or have an additional source of income and are willing to take a little less to get the job they want. They understand that working for a company can be about much more than just collecting a paycheck. Any business owner whos hesitant to hire an older worker should consider these twelve benefits. Older workers unique skills and valuesand the potential savings to your company in time and moneymake hiring them a simple matter of rethinking the costs of high turnover in a more youthful workforce vs. the benefits of experience and mature standards older workers bring to the mix. You simply do not have the time or resources to deal with high employee turnover. The next time you need to make a hiring decision, you should seriously consider older workers: Their contribution to your company could positively impact your bottom line for years to come. Stephen Bastien isa business consultant and an expert on leadership and managing employees. Hes the author of  Yes, One Person Can Make a Difference  and  Born to Be. Having started several successful businesses, his current venture, Bastien Financial Publications, provides businesses with the latest developments on fast-growing and distressed companies nationwide through his daily newsletters. Visit his site  for more information on his financial publications, books or consulting services. Read more:  http://www. entrepreneur. com/article/167500#ixzz2QXXcMEQO

The Problems And Solution Of Hacking Computer Science Essay

The Problems And Solution Of Hacking Computer Science Essay Its crystal clear that hacking is one of the famous topics that the daily 80 million user of the World Wide Web search for, as whenever you type the word hacking on any search engine about 165,000,000 results appear only in a about 0.08 of a second. The English word hacking means re-configuring of a system to work in ways not served by the owner, which is probably illegal. Hacking doesnt only stop on hacking another computer, or someones account on social networks, however it can be hacking banks, websites, companies, etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. . The biggest problem is that people do and cant be stopped by either government or IT companies is that people hack software and things without them knowing as a lot of people daily download software, music, movies, and games for free from random websites and its now considered a normal thing to do. On the other hand, what people dont know is that NOTHING FOR FREE, although these random websites give the people software and music for free, but when you click DOWNLOAD the owner of the website will easily know your IP Address and based on it he can hack your computer check your private files, take software, photos and a lot of things which will make for the owner of the personal computer a lot of problems in the future. Simply hackers seek to gain unauthorized access to computers to steal what we have stored on our computers, such as credit card numbers, bank account details, address books or other personal, financial or business information. The problem is how to make people stop hacking? Criterion B: The IT background of Hacking: Hacking is a very complicated method of accessing someones personal computer in an illegal method. There are 4 types to access those computer first Port Scanners second Malicious Programs third Vulnerability Scanners last but not least Password cracking. Computer cracking can involve port scanners. Port scans have some uses, as they test your firewall security and they scan random blocks of internet addresses once they find unprotected one. the malicious hacker may decide to enter your PC. Hackers use viruses such as Trojan horses and root kits, viruses, and worms to invade systems. Trojan horses they are designed to appear as a game or video but while downloading videos or games it automatically download Trojans which allow the hacker to gain access of the computer. A rootkit is a piece of software that can be installed in a similar way to a Trojan and hidden on the computer without the knowledge of the owner. Attackers may be able to access information, monitor the actions of the o wner, modify programs, or perform other functions on the computer without being detected. A virus is a program that continuously makes a lot of viruses and spreads copies of itself to all the programs and software and the computers in the same network. A worm is also a self-replicating program, it can spread copies of itself to other computers. It may carry random viruses as Trojans and much more, which allows the hacker to ruin the security of the computer and the anti-virus so he can enter the pc easily. The hacker will make note of the site, return at a later time, and hack into the network to search for vulnerabilities. A password cracking program guesses users passwords, whereas a sniffer program watches information passing through the Internet. The aim of using these computer hacking programs is to obtain usernames and passwords for unauthorized access. Criterion C: The impact of Hacking: Hacking effects can be categorized into three types; effects on individuals, organizations, economy and effects on countries. The most important issue to recognize is that victims are the only ones who feel the threat and effects of hacking attacks, and our duty is to inform other people about the danger of hacking to be cautious and alert which helps in preventing hacking attacks from happening. Based on some banks they state that there some people whom their individual information was sold and was used for bad purposes, and when they focused on the psychology of those people after they are hacked, they found out that they will always have the fear of being watched when they accesses internet , as their privacy has been penetrated. According to researches credit card details and passwords can be stolen causing financial damage to individuals added to that computer systems can be hacked causing the machine to stop working which will make people stop using e-banking. Companies and org anizations arent safe too as Hacking caused and still causing till the moment bankruptcy to plenty of companies, thats because companies are being hacked plenty of times which leads to the loss of customer confidence or belief in the security capabilities of the company. One of the big problems is that some companies hire hackers to hack competitor systems to steal precious information. Last but not least, some countries train hackers to hack other countries systems to damage their economy or to know their security news. Criterion D: Solution to the problem arising from Hacking: How to make people stop hacking? This is the first thing comes to anyones mind when he thinks of solutions for people to stop hacking. First countries should be role models for their citizens by stopping hacking other countries systems or at least dont make it so clear that they do it. Then they can make advertisements everywhere to encourage people to put Firewalls to prevent access to their computer from the outside, so that only those that they give permission to can connect to their system from the Internet. Effective and secure firewalls also ensure outbound control, watching for and preventing a Trojan, spyware or any other program from communicating out of their computer, unless they provide permission. Governments should encourage people to counter password cracking or sniffing, change Use complex passwords and make sure to change them on a regular basis, and operating system and other software should be patched as soon as updates are released. Maintaining the most recent ver sions of software and operating systems will help block hackers from getting through any vulnerability. All their computers should be running the most recent version of an anti-virus program. The program should be set for automatic updates to ensure the latest virus, worm and Trojan definitions. After doing so some hackers will give up so at least 60% will stop and the rest will be threatened by serious legal punishments.

A Violent Illumination Of Salvation :: essays research papers fc

A Violent Illumination of Salvation Flannery O'Connor uses violence to return characters to reality and prepare them to accept their moment of grace. The New Encyclopedia Britannica defines grace as the "spontaneous, unmerited gift of the divine or the divine influence operating in man for his regeneration and sanctification" (401). At any cost, a soul must find salvation. O'Connor states, "In my own stories I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace" (qtd.in Bain 407). Dorothy Walters, Associate Professor of English at Wichita State University, believes O'Connor's single theme is the battle between God and the devil "dueling for the human soul in the ancient clash" (105). The illumination of salvation through violent means is essential because "both O'Connor and her God are ironists [unyielding] . . . her heros are willful characters who must be humbled in learning that the will of God must prevail" (Master-pieces 497). O'Connor portrays two varieties of sinners who possess either excessive pride or aggressive evil traits. The price of redemption is high. O'Connor violently shocks her characters, illuminates their shortcomings, and prepares them for redemption as seen in: "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "Revelation," "The River," and "The Lame Shall Enter First." Walters reasons, "The instruction of pride through lessons of humility is, in each story, the means by which the soul is prepared for its necessary illumination by the Holy Spirit" (73). The grandmother in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and Rudy Turpin in "Revelation" is each convinced that she is a lady of elevated status. When threatened by superior beings, their self-imposed facades fall. Inherent human weaknesses are not tolerated and the faulty soul is damned or violently returned to reality (Walters 72). In The Habit of Being, O'Connor emphasizes: "My devil has a name . . . His name is Lucifer, he's a fallen angel, his sin is pride, and his aim is destruction of the Divine plan" (456). The grandmother is extremely prideful and identifies herself as a "lady" as O'Connor reveals in the clothing description: The children's mother still had on slacks . . . but the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress . . . trimmed with lace . . . In case of an accident, any one seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady. (A Good 11) When the grandmother's trivial scheming causes the family to leave the paved

Essay example --

Grace Stafford Mr. Tappy English 1-2 9 December 2013 The Darkness of Ambition President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wife Eleanor Roosevelt once said, â€Å"Ambition is pitiless. Any merit that it cannot use it finds despicable.† Ambition can be an emotion that can drive people to madness and this character flaw is seen in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. Macbeth is about a Scottish Thane that decides to kill the King of Scotland to get the crown. This murder starts a chain of evil acts by Macbeth because he doesn’t know how to handle his ambition. By the end of the play the reader learns that ambition was really Macbeth’s downfall. In the renowned play Macbeth, Macbeth’s character flaw of ambition causes him to self destruct over anything else. At the very beginning of the play Macbeth is already starting to be overtaken by his yearning for power. Macbeth’s ambition starts to blind him when three witches tell him that he will be Thane of Cawdor and King. The reader can see his desire for power begin to grow and blind him in this quote, â€Å"This supernatural soliciting Cannot be ill, cannot be good. If ill, Why hath it given me earnest of success, Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor,† (Act I.Scene III.134-137). This quote explains how Macbeth thinks how could killing the King be bad or good? If anything the witches say is bad then why am I Thane of Cawdor? If he wanted to do the right thing he wouldn’t even think about killing King Duncan. Ambition is already starting to show as his flaw. Later into the act, Macbeth’s lust for power comes into full swing when he decides that he will kill Duncan. This lust blinds him to what he really should do. The audience can see this greed in this quote, â€Å"If it wer... ...eactions of ambition such as lying, cheating, and stealing to get ahead. Everyone has flaws but very few peoples’ flaws end in their destruction. This ,however, is not the case in Macbeth. The main character, Macbeth, uses his flaw of ambition and ends up getting killed for it. His ambition starts out small such as just thinking of the idea of killing Duncan but then turns into to actually killing him. After that, he kills his friends,innocent women and children, and he brings pain and suffering unto his country. However, in the end he is finally able to see that he has been blinded and he hasn’t taken the right path. Like when Eleanor Roosevelt once said, â€Å"Ambition is pitiless. Any merit that it cannot use it finds despicable.† Ambition doesn’t pity anyone and it devours every good aspect of people. Macbeth is a famous example of what ambition can do to a person.

Brave New World Essay -- Literary Analysis, Aldous Huxley

Brave New World written by Aldous Huxley and Nineteen Eighty- Four written by George Orwell reveal characters of the future world that have lost freedom due to the loss of valued qualities. Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne, and Helmholtz Watson compare to the characters in Nineteen Eighty- Four who were ruled under Big Brother. Bernard, Lenina, and Helmholtz disclose the loss of valued traits such as, responsibility, respect, individuality, and the capability of true love. In the future society Bernard, Lenina, and Helmholtz live in, they lack normal responsibilities. Consequences are unheard of. In Nineteen Eighty- Four Winston and other characters had certain responsibilities. They had to attend work and have children which were their â€Å"duties† but, they did not have to worry about normal responsibilities. They simply had no freedom to do as they please. In Brave New World they used a drug called Soma to escape on their â€Å"holiday.† It became a necessity for them. Lenina always sang, â€Å"A gramme is better than a damn† (Huxley 78). They did not know how to function without their escape drug. Society was dependent on Soma, â€Å"The holiday it gave was perfect and, if the morning after was disagreeable, it was so, not intrinsically, but only by comparison with the joys of the holiday. The remedy was to make the holiday continuous† (103). The characters in Brave New World were responsible for their happiness. They did not ever worry about dealing with any kind of consequences for their actions. They simply did as they pleased and took Soma to fix any type of problem. When John does not follow Lenina back to her room after the day they spent together she begins to tear, â€Å"Drying her eyes, Lenina walked across the roof to the lift. On her way dow... ...Still wearing her shoes and socks, and her rakishly titled round white cap, she advanced towards him. â€Å"Darling. Darling! If only you’d said so before!† (131). Lenina was dying to have sex with John. It was the only way she could express her feelings. She did not love John the way he loved her. Lenina was convinced it was the same because, she did not understand what true love was. Due to the lack of freedom and independence the characters in Brave New World do not have valued qualities. Bernard Marx, Lenina Crowne, and Helmholtz Watson lack many qualities that make one human. In Nineteen Eighty- Four society was ruled under a close watch. They also lacked important valued qualities. Bernard, Lenina, and Helmholtz reveal the loss of valued traits such as, responsibility, respect, individuality, and the capability of true love throughout the novel.

Beloved herself Essay

Introduction Toni Morrison is famed for her portrayal of African American life in her vivid novels, especially her portrayal of African American women and their place and position within society. Morrison was herself born in a working class family but worked hard and attended Howard University and then Cornell University. Although she faced discrimination and sexism throughout her early life, she overcame the obstacles and went on to become a successful editor before writing her first novel in 1970, The Bluest Eye. All of Morrison’s later novels earned her praise and a place within a white-dominated literary world. She used her influence to advance fellow African American writers, but it was Beloved that she became best known for. The novel, which is set in rural Ohio following the Civil War, contains multiple stories, voices, and shifts in time. The narrative swings back and forth in time to reveal the disturbing and complicated maternal experiences of Sethe, now a former slave living with her mother-in-law Baby Suggs and daughter Denver in a farmhouse on the outskirts of Cincinnati. While much of the novel takes place in this 1873 post-war setting, the past lies at the devastating core of the novel and impacts the present with vicious intensity. Indeed, as critic Valerie Smith points out, â€Å"The characters have been so profoundly affected by the experience of slavery that time cannot separate them from its horrors or undo its effects† (345). Certainly, this is the case for Sethe and Paul D, a former Sweet Home slave who comes to live with Sethe and Denver in Ohio after the war. Having endured unspeakable horrors during slavery, both find the past a constant, threatening presence in their lives. To a significant extent, Beloved embodies the past and serves as a disrupting force in the present. Moreover, with her multiple incarnations, Beloved also represents the complex, multi-layered treatment given to maternal experience in the novel. The first and most obvious level of the maternal in Beloved consists of the social and historical realities that lie beneath the text. Morrison acknowledges that the actual story of Margaret Garner of Ohio provides the historical substance of Beloved (qtd. in Naylor 206). According to various accounts, Garner, like Sethe, attempted to kill her children rather return them to slavery (Lerner 60-63). She succeeded in killing one child, whom Morrison transforms into the figure of Beloved herself. According to Morrison, â€Å"I just imagined the life of a dead girl which was the girl that Margaret Garner killed, the baby girl that she killed† (qtd. in Naylor 208). With Garner’s story then becoming Sethe’s, Morrison depicts both the cruel realities of motherhood under slavery and the interiority of such maternal experience. In this process, she exposes the â€Å"the silences in the generic first-person slave narratives† and crosses â€Å"the boundaries between fiction and history† (Grewal 156) Mothering, although about loving, caretaking, nurturing, and teaching, has the primary function of protection that stems from the request to survive. The survival includes that of self and of offspring, who will ensure the existence of future generations of families. Because survival of self is a necessary phase of survival of the offspring, with it come characteristics seemingly unmotherly. Although mothers are stereotypically viewed as soft, selfless, and abounding with patience, in fact, they have the capacity to be selfish, angry, and cruel in the process of being protective of their children. Mothers work to maintain life, or what they regard as right in terms of their definitions of life, regardless of the morality of their actions. And who determines the morality? Mothers are expected to be authoritative in their realm and are charged with the protection, at all costs, of the children of which they are the source or guardian. However, most of them don’t have certain rights or power to make the rules in society to carry out the protection. Therefore it is interesting to examine the social construction of mothering, both for mothers that chose motherhood, and for those upon whom motherhood was imposed; the dismantling of mothering stereotypes; and the way racial tragedies, culture, and survival define a mother’s role. Part of the issue, then, is that we place modern day standards on women from other eras. Another issue is raised as well. It is the question as to what determines how a mother will do her job. The answer includes nature and nurture, as well as, perhaps, the division of essentialism and social constructionism. According to essentialism, a mother has born qualities, nature determined, that manipulate her thought process and her decision-making process. Yet, these born qualities co-exist with environmental factors. Morrison therefore identifies de-essentializing critical strategies that still give a place to the slavery problem but revise the direction of this criticism. Nevertheless, the essentialist versus social constructionist theory still remains inherent to issues of motherhood. Eyer notes that â€Å"bonding is described as a maternal instinct†¦ designed to ensure survival† (69). Yet even the notion of maternal instinct can be questioned, especially if this mean it is to question biological determinism. Once again the issue of essentialism in motherhood is directly related to the social construction of what it is to be a â€Å"Good Mother† (Eyer 69). But who defines motherhood, survival and bonding? Is it possible that physical survival can be worse than death? Is it possible that the mother-child bond, so tightly fused, requires mothers to question the norm of the time, of the societal conditions? To protect may be interpreted as kill, as in Sethe’s case. Do these mothers have the obligation, whether essentialist or socially constructed mothers, to determine what is appropriate mothering in their situations? Perhaps these mothering characters absorb the language of biological determinism and actually use their biological differences as the source of their power, the source of their decisions and choices. The focus of this thesis, then, is the breakdown of the stereotype of mother as a result of racial and cultural oppressions in the most extreme circumstances, or after these extreme circumstances, illustrating that the cultures themselves are not always supportive of mothers and their inherent roles in society. The thesis also focuses on the crucial mothering characters in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, as well as offers relevant theoretical background that provides important perspectives on mothering in racial and cultural contexts. Morrison presents mothers who are very willing to be soft and hard, loving and cruel, moral and amoral for the sake of future generations. In Beloved, the crucial mothers are Sethe’s mother, Sethe, Baby Suggs, and Denver. Ella and Nan, though briefly addressed, are not considered central, as their mothering or othermothering capacities are demonstrated in a limited manner. The thesis would argue further, based upon the actions of Sethe that the socially constructed mother may refuse to act in full accordance with essentialism, for the purpose to do what they feel right, rather than the rules and morality based on social definitions. A lot of sources have been examined throughout this literary research study. A brief literature review on these sources is presented further. Deborah White in Ar’n’t I a Woman? attempts the mythology of the Southern mammy and other myths and challenges a richer, more multifaceted picture of the lives of African American women in slavery. Drawing on historical proof, including slave narratives and the diaries and autobiographies, in addition to the modern scholarship on the African American family, the author examines slave women’s routine, livelihood, female networks, and family roles. She finds power and ingenuity, but denies that female slaves played a dominant role in their families. Toni Morrison and Motherhood, by Andrea O’Reilly, offer a critical reading of motherhood and mothering complexly depicted in Beloved. The author intimately scrutinizes Morrison’s text and interviews as well as other appraisal of Morrison and feminism to theorize Black women’s daily experiences, which have been basically ignored by white feminists. Angelyn Mitchell in The Freedom to Remember studies current literary revisions of slavery in the United States by African American women writers. She claims that the modern studies have examined these works only from the perspective of victimization. Author transforms the conceptualization of these accounts in Beloved, focusing on the theme of freedom, not slavery, defining it as â€Å"liberatory narrative. † The Freedom to Remember shows how the liberatory narrative serves to emancipate its readers from the heritage of slavery in American culture: by facilitating a deeper dialogue of the problem and by making them new-fangled through elucidation and questioning. In the Toni Morrison’s Developing Class Consciousness, Doreatha Mbalia followed the growing of Morrison’s consciousness from her examination of racism in her early fiction, to her growing understanding of the nature of capitalism and the necessity for collective struggle in and Beloved. Diane Eyer in Motherguilt: How Our Culture Blames Mothers for What’s Wrong with Society, is convinced that the pseudo scientific conception of maternal â€Å"bond† is one of the ways the rules of mothering have been revised to restrain mothers’ interests in such possessions as work for income outside the home. Eyer is disturbed with the political and subjective twists that scientific investigation is given when attitudes about maternal nature and the principles of motherhood are questioned. Jan Furman in Toni Morrison’s Fiction, traces the persistent characters, subjects, and settings that represent Morrison’s literary vision and strike a well-known chords for Morrison’s readers. Showing that novelist sturdily supports the thought that the artist must beget and interpret culture, Furman discloses the Morrison ‘s contribution to the development and restatement of the American literary tenets through her depiction of the Black woman experience. As well, Furman scrutinizes Morrison’s distress with the threat of gender and racial stereotyping and with her appreciation for those who defy such boundaries. Pointing to the Morrison ‘s astonishing portrayals of human pain, survival, and triumph, Furman moves ahead of literary analysis to enlighten what she argues to be the crucial achievement of Morrison’s narrative: the presentation of the pathway to emotional independence and spiritual freedom. Trudier Harris in Fiction and Folklore: The Novels of Toni Morrison, shows how Morrison’s previous novels reveal interest to the folkloric elements in the form of narrator as storyteller; in the use of folk tales, funny stories, false notions, and other kinds of traditions; and in the emphasis on such â€Å"verbal† features as music. Jacqueline Jones’s tremendous study Labor of Love. Labor of Sorrow: Black Women, takes us far into the insinuations of the extensive social distinctions between the African American and the white experiences and practices in America. Jones’s book gets rid of several nasty stereotypes and obstinate myths, it is free of the bigotry and racism it portrays, and it shows old facts in new ways. This thesis has been divided into 5 parts, introduction, main body and conclusion. Main body is dived into three chapters. The first part explores the social construction of slavery motherhood. Theoretical background to the mothering aspects of Morrison’s novel is presented here briefly. Certain generalized assumptions are made about motherhood, mothering and othermothering. Although they cannot be accurate definitions for all mothers or all situations, they perhaps indicate the relation between essentialism and constructionism, in the identification of motherhood. This part looks at mothering under pressure and threat. The second part examines the roles and representations of motherhood in the novel, and Sethe’s role as a mother in particular. The role of breasts and breastmilk images are discussed and considered as a bond between mother and a child. Then, thesis, especially in terms of Sethe, distinguishes how mothers’ reactions to situations, though seemingly â€Å"animalistic† are, in fact, logically thought out, using human reasoning. If, according to society, the essential aspects of mothering are to be loving, caring, and nurturing, then it is through circumstances that a mother must determine how she can best be all these things, doing what is â€Å"best† for her child or children. In the third part, thesis is focused on the breakdown of the stereotype of mother as a result of racial and cultural oppressions in the most extreme circumstances, or in the aftermath of these extreme circumstances, illustrating that the cultures themselves are not always supportive of mothers and their inherent roles in society. The character of Baby Suggs has also been analyzed here thoroughly, showing how a destreotyping of black womanhood can contribute to a de-essentialized image of slavery. The thesis concludes, that the socially constructed mother who rejects the essential aspects of motherhood in order to do what she feels is â€Å"right,† rather than what is expected by society as a human mother. Thus, one must ascertain with respect to these culturally diverse mothers whether the essential aspects of being a mother transcend the socially constructed aspects of motherhood or not. Their desire and ultimate goal is still keeping their children and themselves alive. Indeed, the interpretation of mothering for each of the mothers makes the difference. Each woman identifies herself as a mother or othermother includes motherhood into her personal identity. A mother creates identity, or, if she does not create it, she nurtures it so that it may bloom and grow of its own accord. Considering social constructionism, this creation becomes exceedingly evident in the mothers and daughters in the novel, as well as in reality.