Women and Culture in the West Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women and Culture in the West - Research Paper Example nce, mathematics, history, philosophy, Latin, Italian, French, Greek and German unlike the majority who preferred the girl child doing worsted work and practicing quadrilles. Their education was his responsibility (Aler, 2008). All these teachings resulted to Florence being intelligent and well educated which in some way shaped her to the nurse she came to be. Since Florence came from a wealthy background she was not expected to work. Her mother most of all deemed it best if she was to get married some day because she assumed that was her destiny. It was after a long emotional battle that tutors were eventually allowed to teach Florence mathematics over home duties. She was taught a number of subjects such as algebra, geometry and arithmetic’s. During her leisure time, Florence spent it tutoring children on this particular topics thus in the process enhancing her knowledge and having a wider scope on mathematics. She enjoyed being of service to others (Aler, 2008). Unlike these present times where people are strongly campaigning for the girl child to have a decent education and a lead a decent life where they are able to fend for themselves and be independent there was once upon a time an era where the English girls had little or no education at all, this was during the nineteenth century. Boys had an advantage over girls in the sense that parents were more willing to take them to private schools and pay more since there was no system of free schools until the 1880s. Girls of all ages had a disadvantage in relation to boys of the same age and level because of the depravity of education knowledge. Governesses taught the girls of the upper –class since they did not go to school at all but the funny part is that these very governesses who are supposed to be the source of enlightenment had no formal training. The objective of this strategy of the upper-class being taught at home was to alienate them from the lower classes as well as to keep them away from the

Ethnic group of elderly people Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethnic group of elderly people - Research Paper Example The research aims to collect data from an ethnic group of elderly people highlighted the cultural patterns among which they were living their life. The methodology employed was participant observation and interview method by the researcher and the mode of research was ethnographic research method. The researcher had to take informed consent and establish rapport with the participants of the study to undertake the research process. The data collected from the researcher showed the type of life spent by the subject in the old home and their values, beliefs and life styles. It was found out that they were strongly attached with each other and had a good sense of belonging with spending their life according to their religious and cultural background. The research gives a valuable insight into the life of elderly people which can be used to study the cultural patterns of this ethnic group. It is expected that the study would prove to be useful for the future researchers as well who would like to study the same topic. The ethnic group chosen for the research is elderly people living in the old homes. The mode of research was participant observation as well as in-depth interviews were also being conducted to obtain additional information about the subjects of the study. The topic chosen for the ethnographic research is the nature of life spent at old homes by elderly people. Also the purpose of the research was to gain significant insights about their life styles as manifested by their appearance, interaction with peers and other things. The reason for the selection of this topic was to conduct research in a significant area that was related to a segment of a society that was generally neglected and needed attention. Therefore, the study was focused on elderly people to understand their issues and concerns that they had about the society and also to make their situation better by making themselves heard by others in the community. As the research tools used to collect data were participant observation method and interview method, it was necessary to establish rapport with the subjects of the study firstly before conducting the actual research. Another ethical consideration was taking consent of the participants to use them as subjects of the study which was enabled by asking them about their willingness to take part in the study. The informed consent was taken from the old home’s management staff to use the residents as the participants of the study. The permission was granted and 15 elderly people were used for the research by asking them individually about their willingness to participate in the research process. The ages of elderly people were from 75- 90 and both men and women were included in the research sample. In order to establish rapport with the participants, an effort was done on making them open up and take part in discussion with the researcher who had to meet them frequently and engage in friendly conversation with the aged people. The researcher asked about their general well-being and showed concern for them which made the elderly take the researcher as a friendly person with whom they could share their personal feelings and thoughts. In order to proceed with the research process, the researcher constantly met with the elderly people for a period of two weeks on regular basis. The researcher spent two to three hours with them daily and observed the type of life they spend in old home. The interviews were taken from the participants occasionally to synthesize with the information taken from the participants’ observation. Main Discussion The research was undertaken on elderly ethnic group by means of interview and participant observation method. The concepts of anthropology applied on this research are ethnicity, culture and race. Ethnicity implies a group of people living in the same

Psychology and clinical psychology Essay Example for Free

Psychology and clinical psychology Essay Abnormal psychology and clinical psychology deals with the disorders of mental health. Anxiety disorders, cognitive disorders, depressive disorders, communication disorders, disruptive behavior disorders, mood disorders and personality disorders. All these disorders are abnormal which are reflections of a very serious and concerned situation. Q. 1. What happened to one’s mind when one is woken-up by a strange or scaring noise? Ans: A normal person whose sleep is disturbed by a scary or a strange noise, wakes up with in a disordered mood. First of all a good night sleep is disturbed and mind starts thinking to find out what is wrong in the vicinity and nearly in about less than five minutes, sleepy mood disappears and instead awakens one’s mind to find out what went wrong at that moment. Men seldom feel threatened by scary noises and instead are successful in finding the realities in that situation. This is again dependent on the mental health and physical tiredness of a person as to how one’s mind reacts to these strange noises. However, a common view is that strange noises certainly wake up people from sleep and generally minds search the cause and the place where from the strange noise is heard. Q. 2. How could panic or fear interfere or disrupt with normal decision making or thinking. Ans: Panic leads to anxiety disorder which makes a particular situation to go beyond control. For instance, all of a sudden, a lion enters a home, the owner is in great panic and is out of power in decision making. It takes time to regain normal thinking in order to make a plot to cage lion in home. Some of the symptoms of anxiety are faster heart beat, heavy perspiration, stammering, hands and feet turning cold, extreme discomfort and restlessness. In both the above instances, there is a severe symptom for nervous breakdown or any abnormal disorder which may be either psychological or physical. Q. 3. Does the reaction time differ when one if fully awake and awaken by strange noise or sound? How? A fully awake person immediately researches about the issue and considers necessary steps whereas for a person who awoke from sleep, reacts slowly to the problem. For instance, a brick from a construction apartment falls on a car which is parked nearby, makes a huge sound and car owner reacts immediately and files a case against contractor. The same incident takes place in the middle of the night, car owner awakes from the middle of the sleep and finds car is broken, it takes time to react and to verify the facts of incident. Therefore the reaction time varies between a person who is fully awake and the person who is awakened by strange noise. 4. How does the environment or circumstances affect our behaviors or the way of thinking? Thinking is often lead by environment that a person resides in. Thinking at home is quite relaxed, thinking in office is quite fast, thinking in a situation is quite stressful and thinking in bed is again in a relaxed mood by reading a magazine or a newspaper. The pattern of thinking differs. For instance, behavior and thinking pattern in trains and airplanes is different such that passengers are all seat-belted, relaxed and at times doze off to sleep until destinations are reached. In panic situations, pattern of behavior changes such that yelling in anxiety, scream when in danger and calling out for help and assistance are some of the abnormal behaviors that outbreak among people. 5. Is there any sort of training that you would recommend that would prepare staff mentally who might be sleeping during high cries at the middle of the night (e. g. crisis intervention or crisis management). For instance, military personnel improve their reaction time and decision making through training allowing them to be able to get ready within 5 minutes from sleep and be able to make sound judgment or decisions. How can we compare military person vs. a regular person? Training about crisis management is quite a practical approach to staff. For instance, a burglar enters apartment and is immediately caught by the residents who acted with great courage. The essential technique that can be practiced is to predict crisis and have a pre-designed plots to attack crisis or risk situation. For instance, diffusing an explosive is a technique and requires skill, similarly, to counter-attack any situation, one has to be prepared in advance going by the environment one is placed in. A military person can never afford to be in a relaxed mood whereas an analysis has to be made each time, about the positive threats that creep in from enemy or from any unlawful forces. By and large there is a huge difference between a military person’s sleep and a regular person’s sleep basing on the activity and exercise that varies between the two. A military person is constantly on a low or high degree of stress and tension whereas a regular person carries a minimum risk depending on the regular activity that is being performed as daily chore of office-going. Conclusion Everything is a matter of acceptance as to how one reacts to a situation, whether by self-management or by seeking the guidance and help of other sources. This depends on the status of mind that one has both during the awakening time and sleeping time. The degree of panic is initially high, a person always possesses enough capacity to react to the situation in order to control and handle the issue effectively. References Alan Carr Abnormal Psychology http://books. google. com/books? id=oJEeqztJbCsCpg=PR5lpg=PP1ots=oGW7hdXntJdq=abnormal+psychologyie=ISO-8859-1output=htmlsig=2LkIWZZY7o2cbp7M0bS7JRSpm7M Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach By David H. Barlow, Vincent Mark Durand http://books. google. com/books? id=TFHmCOYKkgcCpg=PR11lpg=PR9dq=abnormal+psychologyie=ISO-8859-1output=htmlsig=hhIEwNgvnRWqpJN2MtNDwdut-GQ

Change Junctures in the Change Management Process

Change Junctures in the Change Management Process Critical change junctures in the change management process at Spectrum sun-Glass Company Introduction In the simulation undertaken, I am the Director of Product Innovation under the unit handling Research and Development for a company called Spectrum sun-glass Harvard (2012). I am very passionate about sustainability and would be very like the company to offer green products to its clients. At a recent company retreat, I tried sharing the discussion I had had with the Vice President of our biggest retail customer, Bigmart; in which he had intimated that Bigmart was about to require all their suppliers to, go through the Green Certification process. As I proceeded, most of my colleagues were displeased; with the Chief Finance Officer, Paul DArcy and the Vice President for Operations Luke Filer, coming out very strongly, against my proposal. I however received support from the Vice President (VP) of Sales and Marketing, Leslie Harris and Vice President (VP) for Human Resources, Mary Gopinath. As a compromise, the CEO appointed me as the head of a team from the different departments to develop a plan that is acceptable to all. As I lacked any formal authority, I had to rely on my personal credibility which was quite high at this point. 2.0 Section 1: 1st decision: Hosting a town-hall meeting in week 25 and the reasoning behind. To start with, I undertook a range of decisions to raise my personal credibility and increase awareness. For instance, in week 0-24, I had private interviews with colleagues (particularly those opposed to the initiative), I received support from a consultant, and I received the CEOs support, to mention but a few. However, the decision that most advanced my change management process, was the town hall meeting that I held in week 25. This town hall meeting alone moved the following individuals from the awareness to the trial stage: Andrew Chen, Walt James, Bob Ingram, Yao Li, Mark Robert, Anne Thompson, Louise Crysh and Dianne Mcnatt. The reasoning behind this decision was informed by Robert Ciadini as quoted in Cliffe, S (2013) who says that ; if one intends to persuade people, one needs to appeal to six human responses namely; people will follow through with commitments that they have made publicly, people will do things that they see people similar to them do, when people are uncert ain about certain things, they tend to look towards experts and other possible sources of information, people are more likely to accept proposals from someone that they like, people tend to respond positively to people who have helped them in the past and people value things whose supply is limited. The town hall meeting was therefore a perfect lever for me to use, as it enabled people to accept my proposal, if other people in the group were to accept. Secondly, it enabled colleagues to make a public commitment to my proposed change, than say, in the private interviews. In addition, the town hall meeting was a perfect opportunity for me to share my extensive knowledge on the issue of sustainability and why it is important for our company and future growth. In the face of uncertainty, my colleagues were then more likely to defer to me and agree to my proposal. Looking back, at the levers that I used, I should also have continued with personal interviews, particularly with the key opp onents of my plan. This strategy of co-opting antagonists is well elaborated in Pfeffer, J (2010), as a way of winning over opponents and giving them a stake in the process of change. Personally, this could also have involved making concessions to the CFO and the VP-Operations in private, so that they start to own a part of the plan. 3.0 Section 2: How I would implement the change action above in practice In practice, I would seek to utilize the levers provided in a concurrent fashion. Whereas, in the simulation, I could only hold a town hall meeting, for instance; I would in practice, seek to complement this with a public statement of support from the CEO. I would also look at having the consultants report delivered during the townhall meeting. In addition to these formal avenues for influencing my colleagues, I would seek out opportunities to help out colleagues. In this way, I would create an obligation on their part to reciprocate. This would therefore ensure that when they are called upon to support my proposal, they would feel conflicted, not to support it. Similarly, I would try to make every effort to get myself liked by colleagues, in very casual settings. This liking would them make it more likely, that they would support my proposal. I would focus less on the means, and focus more on the end. That is, I would be extremely flexible with the levers and concentrate more on the goal of having management agree to Spectrum-sun glass making green products. I would also seek to appreciate the arguments of my colleagues, in Finance and operations. To allay their fears about the financial and operational challenges of the new proposal, I would invite their contributions on how these can be addressed. I would be willing to accept these suggestions as it helps me attain my overall goal-albeit with certain changes. In addition to the personal interviews and town halls, I would also look-out and encourage opportunities for my colleagues to air their views and even reservations about my proposal. This would help me to understand the main issues that my opponents value and would then enable me to respond appropriately. 4.0 Section 3: 2nd decision/Juncture: Building a coalition of support in week 43 and the reasoning behind In week 43, I sought to build a coalition of supporters among the staff, as a way of trying to move the organization from the awareness to the movement stage of the change process. Not only did this decision, have no effect on the organization; it also resulted in a loss of my credibility as some staff were not enthusiastic about the idea. In making this decision, my assumption had been that there was then sufficient interest, in my proposal, among the team. In fact, this result (the failure to build a coalition of support) could be explained by the various theories about organizational culture. For example, Chatman, J, Eunyoung Cha, S (2003) posit that organizational culture is very powerful as it energizes and rallies employees around common perceived goals or objectives. The lack of interest by the employees of Spectrum sun-glass in joining a coalition of support could therefore be partially explained by the culture of the organization. This view is supported by, Goffee, R, Jone s, G (1996) who explains that organizations can be grouped on the basis of their cultures, as follows: Networked Organizations-in which there is a lot of informality, cliques and limited commitment to company goals, Mercenary Organizations,-in which decisions are made by top management and enforced swiftly throughout the organization, Fragmented organizations-in which there is limited solidarity and collaboration across departments and communal organizations, in which there is a lot of socializing at work and solidarity. Based on the above metric, I would classify Spectrum sun-glass as a Fragmented company where there is limited solidarity and collaboration across departments. Alternatively; and as explained by Prof Tim Morris in his lecture on leading through culture; company cultures can be assessed on five dimensions, namely; whether it has a single or multiple cultures, whether decision making is low or high consensus, whether there is an internal or client focus, whether the pe rformance orientation is high or low and whether there is internal cooperation or competition. Based on the above criteria; I would rate Spectrum sun-glass as having a single culture, high consensus decision making, client focus, a high performance orientation and internal competition. With the above information and in retrospect; I should not have sought to create a coalition in such an organizational culture, at the time I did. Instead, I should have concentrated on enabling change through consolidating and relying on my personal credibility, communicating my proposal and making the necessary emotional connection and training. 5.0 How I would implement the change action above in practice In practice, I would start by analyzing the existing organizational culture. I would then craft a very convincing slogan to motivate my colleagues to adopt my approach. For instance, Go Green, More Profits, and More Pay. To further promote interest in my proposal, I would create a sense of urgency, by making the slogan action oriented, Goffee, et al, (1996). As this is a fragmented and mercenary organization, I would also try to organize dialogues on my proposal in informal settings; like lunch, parties and so on. As these parties are enjoyable for those who attend, this tends to increase my likability and the social dynamic within the group. It would also be critical for me to create a place of psychological safety to ask questions about my proposal, to receive honest feedback, to discuss any reservations and errors of approach openly. In this way, I would reinforce the solidarity of the group and its ability to socialize Chatman, et al (2003). 6.0 Conclusion In the end, I was able through the use of the various levers to have eighteen adopters by week 56. This translated into a change efficiency ratio of 0.32, which is high. My change leadership skills (the mishaps, notwithstanding) ensured that I was able to convince a critical mass of managers to adopt the initiative on sustainability. This significantly improved the financial prospects of the company and my professional prospects. Bibliography Chatman, J, Eunyoung Cha, S 2003, Leading by Leveraging Culture, California Management Review, 45, 4, pp. 20-34, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 17 January 2017. Cliffe, S 2013, The Uses (and Abuses) of Influence, Harvard Business Review, 91, 7/8, pp. 76-81, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 17 January 2017. Goffee, R, Jones, G 1996, What Holds the Modern Company Together?, Harvard Business Review, 74, 6, pp. 133-148, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 17 January 2017 Harvard (2012) Change management simulation: Power and influence. Available at: http://forio.com/simulate/harvard/change-management/simulation/index.html#introduction (Accessed: 17 January 2017). Pfeffer, J 2010, Power Play, Harvard Business Review, 88, 7/8, pp. 84-92, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 17 January 2017 Tim Morris (2016) Lecture Slide on Leading through Culture, Available at: https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/access/content/group/1ed98592-bb15-4079-ad29 b1e4e73be816/Document%20Library/Lecture%20Slides/LF16%2010.1%20Organisational%20Culture.pdf (Accessed: 18 January 2017).

Evolution of Computers :: essays research papers fc

How many inventions in your lifetime can you think of that have changed everything in our society today? Computers have taken over today’s society. From everyday tasks to moving satellites in space, PCs have revolutionized almost everything in our society. Computers weren’t always this complicated though, and were around a long time before anyone even knew what the word â€Å"computer† meant. The Abacus was the first known machine developed to help perform mathematical equations. From what researchers have discovered it was invented around 500 to 600 BC in an area around China or Egypt. This early tool was used to perform addition and subtraction and can still be found used in some of today’s Middle Eastern cultures. In 650 AD the Hindus invented a written symbol for zero. Before this no true written calculations could be made, making this one of the most essential inventions to help computers. In 830 AD the first mathematics textbook was invented by a man named Mohammed Ibn Musa Abu Djefar. The subject of this textbook he wrote was â€Å"Al Gebr We'l Mukabala† which in today’s society is known as â€Å"Algebra† (History of Computers). So what does all of this have to do with computers? Well without numbers computers wouldn’t exist or have any reason to exist. The whole point of a computer is to perform mathematical computations. Computers weren’t the first to do these mathematical calculations though. In 1623 AD Wilhelm Schickard invented â€Å"The Calculating Clock† which would perform operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. In the year 1801 Jacquard Loom devised a punch card system with a power loom and an automatic card reader. Later that century in 1890 Herman Hollerith invented a census calculator that put each person’s information on a punch card and sent it through an electrical/mechanical tabulating machine. This sped up the process from about 7 years to 2 years making this a very efficient method of performing a census, which in turn helped spread it around the world (History of Computers). Jump to the year 1937 when John V. Atanasoff invented the first electronic computer. This computer and others below, unless otherwise stated, were made using vacuum tubes, â€Å"an electronic device in which conduction by electrons takes place through a vacuum within a sealed glass or metal container and which has various uses based on the controlled flow of electrons† (Dictionary.com). From 1941 to 1954 the governments of various countries started developing different computers for different purposes (Sandiego 1).

The Leaching Requirement During Irrigation Essay -- Soil Reclamation A

The Leaching Requirement During Irrigation The leaching of soluble salts from the plant rooting zone is a pivotal concern when irrigating cropland. Irrigation water is used to maintain crop productivity, so drought conditions need not occur to induce irrigation measures. Irrigation simply provides supplemental precipitation that may not be achieved through natural processes, i.e. rainfall. Basically, leaching is described as passing additional water through a medium to remove unwanted materials. This is usually achieved through two types of ponding. Additional water is pumped onto the soil surface and allowed to accumulate until surface ponding occurs. There are two mechanisms that perform this duty, continuous or intermittent ponding. Intermittent ponding, applying the excess water in intervals, is more favorable for milder climates where evaporation rates are low (NATO, 1994). Continuous ponding, applying all the water at once, may not be appropriate given geographical, climatic, or user-related constraints. Salts accumulate in the soil profile over time, therefore, leaching may serve as a form of soil â€Å"reclamation†. Normally, leaching curves are developed to determine the amount of water that may be actually required to reduce the initial soil salinity by a certain percentage (NATO, 1994). Although rainfall and the present soil already have saline concentrations, additional salts are added to the soil via irrigation water. Moisture is then extracted by the processes of evaporation and transpiration, and the salts begin to precipitate. Now, the salt balance of the soil profile changes: excessive salt concentrations are introduced without having adequate outlets. If located it the plant’s root zone, ... ... Sustainability, Vimieo, Portugal. Rhoades, J.D., J. Loveday (1990) Salinity in Irrigated Agriculture: Irrigation of Agricultural Crops, Agronomy #30, pp. 1107-1103. Schwab, G.O., D.O. Fangmeier, W.J. Elliot, and R.K. Frevert (1993) Soil and Water Conservation Engineering. John Wiley and Sons, Inc. New York pp 395 United States Salinity Laboratory Staff, Richards, L.A. (ed) (1954) Diagnosis and Improvement of Saline and Alkali Soils, Agriculture handbook No. 60, United States Department of Agriculture pp 37 & 38. Water Quality Technical Committee of the Irrigation & Drainage Division of American Society of Civil Engineers (1990) ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering Practice #71, Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management, pp243-247. Woodard, Guy O. (1969) Sprinkler Irrigation, Sprinkler Irrigation Association Editor’s Press, Maryland pp 125.

“The Other Side of Eden” by Brody

â€Å"The Other Side of Eden is directly based in Brody’s experience when he lived and leaned from Aboriginal Elders. Actually the book touches the question of American Aboriginal cultures and provides new anthropological perspectives to them. The author discusses the Canadian Aboriginal cultures such as Gitxsan, Dunne-za and Inuit. Brody challenges general anthropological assumptions concerning hunter-gathers societies. The book is divided into six chapters headed: language, creation, time, words, gods, and mind.The author tries to counter the idea that Aboriginal hunter-gatherers are not nomadic and provides evidence of their being agricultural culture. It is interesting to notice that Brody’s style of writing is highly figurative and has strong relation to his previous works on the same topic. The book is written from legal transcripts, from field notes and from the memory of the past years. The book is written for academy to honor the memory of lives shared by Brod y. (Brody 2000)It is necessary to mention that in his book the author employs new approach aimed at deconstructing the â€Å"hunter-gatherer trope†. Therefore the author collected and revisited field notes as well as historical documents. The legal transcripts are brought from the ethnographical link. It is known that Brody conducted original researches to find more evidence for the book. Brody calls for recognition respect of â€Å"hunter-gatherer societies† in his book as they preserve their land compared with the â€Å"agriculturalist transformations†. (Brody 2000)While many authors tend to limit the political associations suggested by ancestors of Aboriginal cultures in USA and to maintain the ecological integrity, Brody makes an attempt to overcome those limits. It is apparent that he is not interested in natural ecology, because he strongly deconstructs the myth tat â€Å"indigenous systems that existed before contact were maladaptive to their various env ironments†. He provides the evidence that those Aboriginal cultures are unable to successfully adapt to economic development as well as natural resource development – they wouldn’t understand why and how to use oil and gas, for example.Nevertheless, the book has some negative moments. For example, Brody appeared to be unsuccessful in explaining nomadic and sedentary economic systems. Therefore it is possible to suggest that the author demonstrate a certain limit in his researching and writing from â€Å"outside one's own culture†. (Brody 2000) The author prefers to use the first person in his telling as if he is sitting nearby and leads the original conversation. However, the author is invisible hand in the book and his narrative moves readers further.It is noted that â€Å"the Other Side of Eden† is likely to be work-narrative or travel-narrative of his life and of interfaces with Aboriginal Elders. The author definitely challenges modern ideas and provides evidence that Aboriginal peoples weren’t historically wasters, because according to author â€Å"nothing is wasted†. The author convincingly demonstrates that problems of modern environment don’t result from actions of sedentary â€Å"hunter-gatherers societies†.The reason of those problems is globalization of agriculturalism which is considered nomadic and destructs environmental processes. (Brody 2000) In conclusion it is necessary to provide personal evaluation of the book. It is necessary to note that â€Å"The Other Side of Eden† is a real challenge to anthropological classification of so-called â€Å"hunter-gatherer†. The writing of the author seems authoritative, though Brody is respected by academics. In principle the book is worth for scholars and critics as well as for students and artists.Brody’s evidence provided in the book has strong and weak point. The strength of the boo is that author is not afraid of implem enting new assumptions and ideas and he is ready to counter existed stereotypes, whereas the weak moment is that author appears to be unable to provide proper explanation of some economic systems. Therefore the book undergoes both approval and critique. (Brody 2000) References Brody, H. (2000). The Other Side of Eden: Hunters, Farmers, and the Shaping of the World. Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre.