A comparison of the heroic figures within Of Mice & Men (John Steinbeck, :: English Literature

A comparison of the heroic figures within Of Mice & Men (John Steinbeck, published 1938) and The Sexton's Hero (Elizabeth Gaskell, 1950s) A comparison of the heroic figures within Of Mice & men and The Sexton's Hero Although both Of Mice & Men (John Steinbeck, published 1938) and The Sexton's Hero (Elizabeth Gaskell, 1950s) contain story lines, & references that emphasise heroism, they are both set in very different locations & time periods, so their only apparent link is heroism. Of Mice & Men is set in California within the 1930's during the time of the depression. During this time many people lived in poverty, struggling to find employment, and had to resort to travelling from ranch to ranch in search of it. Unemployment had risen to 25% in the United States. At this time the 'American dream' that so many had sought after out had become nothing more than a lost dream. The Sexton's Hero is set around 1850. The story has a Christian influence. Of Mice and Men begins in the Californian countryside and then moves into the setting of the Ranch and finally at the end of the story the characters are taken back into the countryside. The Sexton's Hero also features a mix of countryside and village settings. The story begins in the Churchyard and moves into a village in Lancashire, North England. Of Mice and Men is written in the third person and is told chronologically whereas The Sexton's Hero is written in a more recollective, third person form (person at the church yard and then the Sexton remembering). In both Of Mice and Men and The Sexton's hero, there is a singular 'hero' that the story focuses on. Although both characters are both seen as heroes they are very different people, with very little in common. The stereotypical hero that many of us are used to today through watching television and films would be a character like Superman or Spiderman, a person who is typically strong, fearless, brave, and has some sort of special power. They also end up catching the villain and saving the girl. We can see from the example of Gilbert and George that this stereotype of a hero does not always apply to all heroes and that Gilbert and George are not stereotypical heroes, although both do share certain aspects of the stereotypical hero. The theme of heroism is introduced very differently in each story. In Of Mice and Men it is introduced implicitly to the reader. Readers look at the characters and their relationships with others and decide for themselves what a hero is. In The Sexton's Hero the theme of

Master Engravers of Fifteenth Century Germany Essay -- Master of the P

When thinking of early artistic prints, perhaps one of the few things that come to mind would be playing cards. In modernity, playing cards are not really considered â€Å"artistic† items. However, during the earliest days of print, playing cards were the original media made by the printing process. Even before the printing press, Europe had a love of cards and, whether they were actually intended to be used for play or for show, the people wanted to get their hands on them. Because of the wide spread popularity of cards, it is no surprise that this early print media featured elements that are visually present in other printed media, even to this day. Through the influence of printmakers’ works on each other, these men honed their craft and helped develop printing as a proper art form. The Master of the Playing Cards and the Master E.S. of 1466 were both major engravers in Germany during the fifteenth century. Distinct subject matter, technique, and prevalence in their field has marked them as â€Å"Masters† of their art – a label which has outlived any other identifying information about them. This paper discusses the introduction of printing into Europe and the development of the technique under the influence of these two Masters. The Master of the Playing Cards introduced new subject matter and techniques in his cards, which through his pupil, the Master E.S. of 1466, who replicated and altered these learned skills, went on to spread into other areas of printed medium and marked a path of influence for all who would come after them. Markedly one of the most important developments in the history of visual media was that of the printing press. Brought about by German goldsmith, Johannes Gutenberg, in the mid-fifteenth ... .... "Manuscript Sources for the Playing-Card Master's Number Cards." The Art Bulletin 64, no. 4 (1982): 587-600. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3050270 (accessed April 13, 2014). Wright, Harold J.L.. "Some Masters of Engraving: Lecture II: German and Netherlands Engravers (Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century)." Journal of the Royal Society of the Arts 85, no. 4529 (1939): 1079-1095. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41359422 . (accessed May 9, 2014). Wynne, Marjorie G., and A. Hyatt Mayor. "The Art of the Playing Card." The Yale University Library Gazette 47, no. 3 (1973): 137-184. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40859489 (accessed April 14, 2014). van Buren, Anne H. , and Sheila Edmunds. "Playing Cards and Manuscripts: Some Widely Disseminated Fifteenth-Century Model Sheets." The Art Bulletin 56, no. 1 (1974): 12-30. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3049193 (accessed April 13, 2014).

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins Chapter 9

It's difficult for me to describe the moments that followed. I remember footfalls and shrieking and the servants praying outside their quarters. I remember staying on my knees, yelling out of horror and pity and fear. I remember Mr. Cartwright pulling me back as Mrs. Cartwright sank to her knees and keened loudly, like a wounded animal. I remember seeing the police carriage. I remember Father and Damon wringing their hands and whispering about me, allies in trying to develop the best course for my care. I tried to talk, to tell them I was fine–I was, after all, alive. But I couldn't form the words. At one point, Dr. Janes hooked his arms under my armpits and dragged me to my feet. Slowly, men I didn't know surrounded me and dragged me to the porch of the servants' quarters. There, words were mumbled, and Cordelia was called for. â€Å"I'm †¦ I'm fine,† I said finally, embarrassed that so much attention was being paid to me when Rosalyn was the one who'd been killed. â€Å"Shhh, now, Stefan,† Cordelia said, her leathery face creased with worry. She pressed her hands to my chest and muttered a prayer under her breath, then pulled a tiny vial from the voluminous folds of her skirt. She uncapped it and pressed it to my lips. â€Å"Drink,† she urged as a liquid that tasted like licorice ran down my throat. â€Å"Katherine!† I whimpered. Then I clapped my hand over my own mouth, but not before a startled expression crossed Cordelia's face. Quickly, she dosed me with more of the licorice-scented liquid. I dropped back to the hard steps of the porch, too tired to think anymore. â€Å"His brother is here somewhere,† Cordelia said, sounding as if she were speaking underwater. â€Å"Fetch him.† I heard the sound of footfalls and opened my eyes an instant later to see Damon standing above me. His face was white with shock. â€Å"Will he be okay?† Damon asked, turning to Cordelia. â€Å"I think †¦,† Dr. Janes began. â€Å"He needs rest. Quiet. A dark room,† Cordelia said authoritatively. Damon nodded. â€Å"I'm †¦ Rosalyn †¦ I should have †¦,† I began, even though I didn't know how to finish the sentence. Should have what? Should have gone looking for her far earlier, instead of spending my time kissing Katherine? Should have insisted on escorting her to the party? â€Å"Shhh,† Damon whispered, hoisting me up. I managed to stand, shakily, beside him. From out of nowhere, Father appeared and held my other arm, and I haltingly managed to step off the porch and back to the house. Revelers stood on the grass, holding each other, and Sheriff Forbes called out for the militia to search in the woods. I felt Damon guiding me through the back door of the house and up the stairs before allowing me to collapse on my bed. I fell into the cotton sheets, and then I remember nothing but darkness. The next morning, I awoke to beams of sunlight scattered on the cherrywood floorboards of my bedroom. â€Å"Good morning, brother.† Damon was sitting in the corner in the rocking chair, the one that used to belong to Great-grandfather. Our mother had rocked us in it when we were infants, singing songs to us as we went to sleep. Damon's eyes were red and bloodshot, and I wondered if he'd been sitting like that, watching me, all night. â€Å"Rosalyn's dead?† I voiced it as a question, even though the answer was obvious. â€Å"Yes.† Damon stood up, turning to the crystal pitcher on the walnut dresser. He poured water into a tumbler and held it toward me. I struggled to sit upright. â€Å"No, stay,† Damon commanded with the authority of an army officer. I'd never heard him speak like that before. I fell back against the goose-down pillows and allowed Damon to bring the glass to my lips as if I were an infant. The cool, clear liquid slipped down my throat, and once again, I thought back to last night. â€Å"Did she suffer?† I asked, a painful series of images marching through my brain. While I'd been reciting Shakespeare, Rosalyn must have been planning her grand entrance. She must have been so excited to show off her dress, to have the younger girls gape at her ring, to have the older women take her off to a corner to discuss the particulars of her wedding night. I imagined her dashing across the lawn, then hearing footsteps behind her, only to turn and see flashing white teeth glistening in the moonlight. I shuddered. Damon crossed over to the bed and put his hand on my shoulder. Suddenly the rush of terrifying images stopped. â€Å"Death usually happens in less than a second. That was the case in the war, and I'm sure it was the same for your Rosalyn.† He settled back in his chair and rubbed his temple. â€Å"They think it was a coyote. The war is bringing people east for battle, and they think the animals are following the blood trail.† â€Å"Coyotes,† I said, my voice tripping on the second syllable. I hadn't heard the word before. It was just one more example of new phrases like killed and a widower that were about to be added to my vocabulary. â€Å"Of course, there are those people, including Father, who think it was the work of demons.† Damon rolled his dark eyes. â€Å"Just what our town Damon rolled his dark eyes. â€Å"Just what our town needs. An epidemic of mass hysteria. And what kills me about that little rumor is that when people are convinced their town is under siege by some demonic force, they're not focusing on the fact that war is ripping apart our country. It's this head-in- the-sand mentality that I simply cannot understand. â€Å" I nodded, not really listening, not able to view Rosalyn's death as part of some sort of argument against the war. As Damon continued to ramble, I lay back and closed my eyes. I visualized Rosalyn's face at the moment I found her. There, in the darkness, she'd looked different. Her eyes had been large and luminescent. As though she'd seen something terrible. As though she'd suffered horribly.

Advertising Statement Essay

Rosser Reeves was the one who invented the term â€Å"USP†. The Unique selling proposition is sometimes referred to as â€Å"product difference.† In rare cases, some products or services have a unique and impressive proposition/benefit. A unique selling proposition is the ultimate proposition because its one that no other competitor can claim. It has to be something that you could also sell from. The concept of a unique selling proposition, or USP, is based on a benefit statement that is both unique to the product and important to the user. The heart of a USP is a proposition, which is a promise that states a specific and unique benefit you will get from using the product. If the product has a special formula, design, or feature, particularly if protected by a patent or copyright, then you are assured that it is truly unique. This is why a USP is frequently marked by the use of an â€Å"only† statement, either outright or implied. There are various methods that c an be used to find a USP as it is demonstrated in advertising strategies and ideas. Strategy in Advertising In advertising, â€Å"strategy† refers to the overall marketing or selling approach. It is the thinking behind the concept/idea. (The thinking behind the thinking, if you like.) Decisions about selling premises are central to the overall advertising strategy. The strategy (or strategic thought) can come from a proposition/benefit of the product, how it used, the market background, the choice of target audience, or any combination thereof. Every strategy should have an element of distinction ( small or large ) from the competition’s strategies, as should the proceeding concept and campaign. All strategies should be written in the form of a strategy statement, also known as â€Å"creative brief†. However, there are several questions we should seek to answer to cover the area of strategic analysis. Competitor, best prospects, and what buying appeals have the greatest leverage. At the corporate level what takes place in the advertising department would be seen as tac tical whilst in the advertising department this would be seen as strategic. * Corporate strategies are concerned with the major functions of the company, and cover finance, human resource management, production, administration, and marketing. * Marketing strategies are concerned with ANSOFF’s matrix and the marketing mix. * Promotional strategies are concerned with the promotional mix options (advertising, sales promotions, PR, publicity, selling, sponsorship, exhibitions). Effective Advertising Advertising that is effective creates the message that best expresses the product-prospect relationship. In addition, the message has to be intrusive enough to battle through the clutter in the contemporary media marketplace. To reach the effectiveness in advertising, a creative strategy should be involved in the process. It has to sell the product effectively by promoting them through smart and well designed advertisement. Creative Brief When forming a strategy from which to create ideas, it needs to be written down in a black and white. This helps to focus and steer the formation of ideas from the onset. When people suggest that an idea is â€Å"off strategy,† they mean that it doesn’t relate back to the defined strategy, and will therefore be much harder to sell the idea to the client. By having a strategy statement at hand, you can keep referring back to it whilst generating ideas from that strategy. It is very hard, even if you are an experienced creative, to produce a great campaign idea (or even a single one shot) without a solid, tight strategy. In short, the better you are briefed, the easier your job will be. A poorly defined, vogue, â€Å"wooly† brief is no use to a creative person, nor is highly specific one that restricts the number of ideas. Below are the basic examples of the headings in a creative brief, * Client * Product/service * Product and market background (supposition) * Competition * Business/Advertising Objective (problem to solve) * Media * Target market/Group/Audience * Proposition/Promise/Benefit * Proposition Support Points * Tone of Voice * â€Å"Mandatories† (Inclusions/Exclusions) Media in Advertising The choice of media depends upon the type of product or service being advertised, the target market, and the client’s budget. Each campaign can be in one form of media, or multiple forms. Traditional advertising media includes print, TV, and radio. Non-traditional includes ambient and guerrilla concepts. In addition, there is direct media, and interactive media. In the UK, each type of media is defined by its relation to a hypothetical â€Å"line† that divides the two. Traditional media is â€Å"above the line,† whereas direct marketing and interactive advertising is â€Å"below the line.† Companies that produce work in all the forms are referred to as â€Å"through the line† agencies, or â€Å"full service.† Other divisions within advertising include sales promotion, and business-to-business. Whereas business-to-consumer advertising, once the skill is developed, the same creative process can easily be applied to these other forms of media an d advertising. Positioning All products and companies, as seen by the customer, occupy some kind of ‘position’ in the market whether they intend it or not. This might be, for example, high price-high value, low price-low value, high price-low value, good company-not-so-good company and so on, when compared with comparable competing products and competing organizations. Most modern organizations now attempt to actively influence this position in the market by matching product and corporate benefits with the needs of clearly identified segments. The managers have performed professionally, be integrated to match the identified needs of the target market. Positioning is how the marketer wants the consumer to view its product relative to the competition. Although product differentiation plays a role in creating a product position, product differences account for only part of a product’s position. A positioning strategy also includes the manner in which a product’s factors are combined, ho w they communicated, and who communicates them. The size (and value) of the advertising corporate and brand positioning is crucial to the well-being of any company and so should be left to the agency professional. Copywriting Copywriting is an essential part of the design communication mix, and those of us who do it for a living will tell you that crafting massages and telling stories is a rewarding mental process, even in the business context. You’ll find that being able to generate a response from your audience is a valuable and highly sought-after skill. Copy (or text, or words) used in design is a very particular type of creative writing that requires the inspiration of an artist and the control of a craftsman or craftswoman. In comparison to the rails on which the copywriter runs, the novelist or poet has no limitations. Poetry and storytelling are flights of the imagination, with no client or news editor to bear in mind. Whether the personality of the writer shines through directly or indirectly, this is the purest creative writing – it can take off in any direction, be as fictional as it wants to be, and go wherever it pleases. Writing copy, however, is all about sticking to brief, while paying homage to the creativity and style of the poet and storyteller. Journalists and copywriters are commercial writers, but the essence of the role is completely different. In most cases journalist have to create the story from the scratch, usually by following leads. They will have to research the facts to get to the heart of the matter, discover the different viewpoints and opinions, and bring this material together accurately and coherently. Articles are often written to a tightly defined structure, while features can allow more room for individual expression and the interweaving of the writer’s viewpoint. The message has to be factually correct, balanced, and fair, but the writer is allowed to take a stance, which could reflect that of the newspaper or, in the case of regular column, the writer’s opinion. Copywriting borrows from all other fields of writing in its quest for creative expression, but ther e is no room for your personality in the copy that you write; you are simply a scribe, a hired mouthpiece for your client, and it is the brand’s voice that must come through, loudly and clearly.

How Hr Impacts a Company Performance Essay

Human Capital is the most important resource for an organisation to succeed. The quality of the human resource and the work performance directly impact an organisation’s performance. Thus, human resource management plays an important role to ensure the efficiency in an organisation’s daily operations via efficient recruitment, training and development, and staff retention. Besides, efficient human resource management may create competitive advantage to an organisation. There are various theories explained how human resource management impacts an organisation’s performance. This essay focuses on two theories – Reinforcement Theory and Resource-Based Theory. 2. 0 Reinforcement Theory and the Implementation Reinforcement theory was proposed by BF Skinner and his associates. It focuses of shaping human behaviour by controlling the consequences of the behaviour. In reinforcement theory a combination of rewards and/or punishments is used to reinforce desired behaviour or extinguish unwanted behaviour. It has similar base as â€Å"law of effect† where it states that individual behaviour leads to different consequences. Thus if a behaviour leads to positive consequences, the individual tends to repeat the same behaviour in the future. On the other hand, if a behaviour leads to negative consequences, the individual will try to change their behaviour to avoid the unpleasant consequences. For example, employees may obey the company’s rules and regulation as they may fear of disobedience leads will lead to punishment. On the other hand, employees try to meet the target set at work as they may be rewarded. Thus, in order to change employee behavior, the consequences of the behavior must be changed. For example, an employee who is frequently late to work, may be motivated to report to work on time (change of behavior) by changing the consequences of being late. Behavior modification consists of 4 methods: 2. 0. 1Positive and Negative Reinforcement This implies to remove negative behaviour of the employees by giving positive consequences to the employees. For example, a company could establish a reward system to the sales team, when certain target has been achieved, sales person would receive additional incentives. Both positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement encourage certain behaviour to be happened or repeated. The more spontaneous the reward is given, the greater the reinforcement value it has. 2. 0. 2 Punishment This implies to decrease the probability of undesirable actions by enforcing some punishments or negative consequences to the employees. For example, salary deduction for employees those do not report to work punctually. 2. 0. 3 Extinction The objective of extinction is to reduce the unwanted behaviour. If an employee gets praised for the promptness of his job completion for certain period of time, but receives no praise subsequently, his desirable behaviours may diminish. Thus, managers have to continue to offer positive consequences to avoid unwanted extinction of behaviour. 2. 1 Reinforcement Theory impacts on organisation’s performance The core objective of Reinforcement Theory in Human Resource Management is to change the employees’ behaviour. Increase the possibility of positive behaviour and reduce the chances of negative behaviour. Organisation performance will be boosted if there is drastic change in employees’ behaviour from negative to positive. Besides, it also ensures the positive behaviour to be maintained as a norm in an organisation. New joiners may follow the company good norms which will past through generation by generation. Below are some of the examples how Reinforcement Theory impacts an organisation’s performance: 2. 1. 1 Attendance and punctuality improvements Positive reinforcement and punishment towards employees’ punctuality may improve the punctuality to work. For example some companies provide extra allowance to employees who adheres the punctuality to work and salary deductions for those who is late to work. This may motivates employees to arrive on time. This cultivates a culture where time management is important in the organisation. Hence, the discipline of the organisation gets improved which also leads to work efficiency. Sales result improvements Positive Reinforcement for instance Incentive given to the sales department may motivate the sales persons work towards to achieve the sales target. Sales persons may change their working style by making more cold-calling, increase the efficiency in time management by visiting more customers. As a result, it may increase the company’s revenue. Productivity improvements Performance appraisal system can be used in the implementation of reinforcement theory. For example, KPIs set for employees according to the organisation’s visions and goals. This serves as the key performance measurement for the employees. Employees work towards the KPIs in order to receive good appraisal, and expected to receive a better rewards and compensation. Organisation’s performance relies on the achievement of the KPIs. If the most of the KPIs can be met from bottom to top, the organisation’s has higher chance to achieve its visions and goals. Summary of Reinforcement Theory Reinforcement theory focuses on what will the consequences happens to the individual after some actions has been taken. This theory argues that the internal state and the reasons of the actions of the individuals can be ignored as human tends to exhibit their behaviours base on the result of the behaviour. Reinforcement theory does not focus on the causes of individual’s behaviour. As a result, it may shows lack of empathic and less human in a sense if we ignore the cause of the behaviour of an individual. For example, if an employee always late in work, the manager could have understand the reason behind and decide whether salary deduction to be enforced for this employee. Nevertheless, in terms of organisational management, Reinforcement Theory serves as a very direct way to control the employees’ behaviour by understanding the needs and fears of the employees. Employees may tend to adhere to the rules and regulations as they look forward for the positive consequences (reward or praise), and avoiding negative actions as they are fearful of negative consequences (punishments). As a result, company performance will be enhanced if the employees show positive behaviour more frequent. 3. 0 Resource-Based Theory and the Implementation Resource-Based Theory argues that human resources is a subset of an organisation to enable them to achieve competitive advantage and business sustainability. Valuable and niche resources leads to an organisation’s competitive advantage. Moreover, the firm has to be able to protect against the resource turnover in order to sustain the competitive advantage for longer period of time. The source of Resource-Based Theory dates back to 1967, Selznick proposed the term organisation’s distinctive competence. Later in 1959, Penrose, puts forward the â€Å"Theory of the Dynamic Growth of the Firm† and defined an organisation’s achieve distinctive competence through the distribution and the use of resources. This concept later became the basis of resource-based theory. In 1984, Wernerfelt who lead the mainstream strategic management, proposed a resource-based idea that the â€Å"internal† organisational resources and the â€Å"external† commodity markets together form a complementary strategy. In an industry, if an organisation has the internal distinctive resource of value, rarity, inimitability and non-substitutability (Barney, 1991), it is able to increase the quality of goods and services. Which also enable the organisation to create competitive advantage and to sustain the competitive advantage. There are two main criteria in resource-based theory: resource diversity and resource immobility (Barney, 1991). 3. 0. 1 Resource diversity This refers to the human resource expertise are niche and specialise in the market, which leads to create the competitive advantage for an organisation. This is important for organisation which the business is emphasis on innovation, consultancy, creativity and etc. For example, If an organisation is trying to develop a new innovative product, it requires resources with specialise knowledge and expertise to achieve the goal. If those resources are niche in the market and other competitors cannot duplicate the product easily, it creates competitive advantage to the organisation. To ensure resource diversity, important effort requires in recruiting quality and competent employees, provide training and development to the existing employees in order to achieve resource diversity. Resource immobility This refers to how easy the resource turnover from one oganisation to another. It is important for an organisation to retain productive human resources in order to ensure the organisation operates smoothly and to sustain the competitive advantage. In order to ensure the resource immobility, it requires efficient staff retention program, clear and achievable career path, career advancement opportunity, good benefit and compensation policy. 3. 1 Resource-Based Theory impacts on organisation’s performance The implementation of resource-based theory is able to improve an organisation’s performance as below: Increase Work Efficiency Work efficiency can be achieved if the employees are proficient in their role. It creates higher chance to prone to errors and finally it increases the company’s performance in various areas. 3. 1. 2 Create Professional Image to the Organisation Employees with high competency in job creates professional image to the organisation. This is important to increase the good will and brand name of the organisation. Besides, for those businesses mainly providing professional services to the clients requires employees with highly competency in order to create the competitive advantage among the competitors.

Impact of Globalization in Africa Essay

Globalization is the global interconnectedness of economic activities. It is characterized by new technologies, new structures, new economies and new cultures. All these are structured around global financial flows that are based of computer simulations and speculations. The resulting global economy is very turbulent due to non-linear feedbacks and it is easily influenced by political events and influential analysts’ projections. These is seen when there is instability in the stock markets in certain countries like the United States of America. The instability affects all other stock markets in the world. But is globalization global? The global economy sees some areas as invaluable and politically irrelevant and often such areas are excluded from this global economy. The idea of globalization was conceived by leading capitalist countries, global financial institutions (World Bank, International Monetary fund (IMF) and World Trade Organization (WTO)) and transnational co-operat ions. The minds behind this idea of globalization thought that this was one way of improving the livelihoods everybody in the globe but as we shall see later on, the models used to come up with globalization had major loop holes. Global information communications and new technologies have played a big role facilitating globalization. This is through the computers, Internet and mobile phones. This has made business transactions easy such that by the click of a button, a lot of money circulates around the globe. New innovations have resulted in increased productivity and competition. These technological advances have lowered the costs of transport and communication. Computers have made it possible to handle large amounts of data in a short time and information storage and retrieval has been made very easy. On a positive note, the new technologies have in one way or another helped in growth of economics  through sharing of ideas. On the other hand, these advances in technology have led to homogenization of cultures. Globalization has increased the profits and productivity of multinational corporations. With free trade rules, some few people, the global elite has become richer and others who are the majority have become poorer. The free trade rules has enabled multinational companies invest their money in emerging economies and removing their money once they speculate that that economy is not doing well. This has wrecked the economies of many countries. Another issue is that this big multinationals have swallowed the small companies leading to losses of jobs. Capra, 2002, in his book ‘hidden connections’ says that most of these multi national companies always try to evade taxes and benefit from subsidies. As a result, their products are cheap and this outcompetes the local companies, which can result in more job losses. But on the other hand, globalization can become a scapegoat for failed national policies. Embezzlement and mismanagement of public resources and corruption deeply rooted in some countries should not be blamed on globalization. In any case, a government should be able to provide the needs of its people. According to the 2002 report on the international forum on globalization, the free trade rules set by the World trade organization consolidate power to a small corporate elite. Globalization has erased political and economic boundaries such that power has shifted from the people and communities to financial speculators, global corporations and leading capitalist countries. As a result, currency markets have made governments unable to control their economic policies because it is this markets that determine the values of national currency. According to Capra 2002, large economies are able to absorb these turbulences but for developing countries, this is a big problem. This financial crisis has led to developing countries to seek for aid and as a result, they have sunk to end less debts. It is important to note that aid is basically a tool for manipulating developing countries. It is important to note that in globalization, capital is global while  labour is local. This means that the globalized capital has the economic power leaving labour disintegrated. Labour itself can be divided into professionals and unskilled workers. Globalization seems to favour the professional laborers while the unskilled laborers can be fired anytime. This has led to social inequality and polarization. Many jobs nowadays are on contract basis and forming labor organizations to bargain for better working conditions is not easy because of fear of loosing jobs. People working in multinational companies operating in their countries fear bargaining for better terms of employment because they fear loosing jobs as the company can move to another country. As a result, people have to put up with poor working conditions and wages. Increased trade as a result of free trade by the World Trade organization has led to increased pollution of the environments. Trade has also resulted to introduction of invasive alien species to new environments. From the ecological perspective, trade, which has increased in the recent past, is the major route in which invasive alien species are introduced to new environments. According to the Convention for Biodiversity, invasive alien species are the major causes for the loss of biodiversity. The environmental impacts are heavily felt in the countries in the south. The free market idea by the World Trade Organization has resulted in constant search for access to natural resources, and this has led to so much pressure on the Earth’s limited natural resources. Another bit is the destruction of the environment, which has led to floods, droughts and other catastrophes. Increased shipping has lead to pollution of waterways. Globalization has also favored monoculture to enhance a nation’s competitiveness in the global market. This has put more pressure on the limited natural resources and use of chemicals to enhance production, which further exacerbates the problem of pollution. Globalization has also penetrated into power and politics. Most of these multinational companies and lobby groups normally finance political candidates in countries of interest  so that if the person gets into power, he/ she may create favorable conditions for their activities. So in a way, these companies and lobby  groups control a country’s economy. Rise of globalized criminal gangs is another problem that stems out of globalization. Boosted by easy communication networks, criminals have found it easy to conduct their businesses. Recently, a drug cartel involving Mexicans, Kenyans and the Dutch was uncovered and this is a classic example of criminal gangs operating on a global scale. WAY OUT. With Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) press release of 2010 estimating that 925 million around the globe are undernourished, something must be wrong somewhere. As already noted, globalization is to blame social inequalities which can be seen from the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Borrowing from title of the first annual World Social Forum held in Porto Alegre in Brazil, another world is possible. First, change should first start with the ruling elite. With the help of international nongovernmental organizations there should be a power transformation from the global elite to the human society. These global elites together with World Bank, IMF and World Trade Organization should be more transparent in decision-making. In is also very important to include various non-governmental organizations representing interests of social justice, human rights environmental interests and democracy in the decisionmaking processes. Most of the countries affected by globalization are developing countries and most of these countries have very huge debts. It seems impossible for these developing countries to put tight rules on international organizations in order to protect the local companies. But with the help on lobby groups, it is possible for government to remove subsidies and exemptions offered to these multinational corporations. These multinational corporations should also be held responsible for any wrongdoing like destruction of the environment. Cancellation of debts will help developing countries grow economically but these countries too should have leaders who are accountable to the citizens. On that note, corruption and lobbying should be dealt with at every level. This is to ensure fair competition of business deals. It is important to empower workers so that they can bargain for better working conditions. National governments can also protect their people by defining working conditions to investors setting up enterprises in the country. Finally, it is important we practice ecological sustainability. Proper waste disposal, use of alternative fuel sources (scientifically proven to be sustainable), efficient and ecofriendly technologies, sustainable farming practices and strict environmental practices are some of the ways of making the world sustainable. The most important part of sustainability is educating everybody on the importance of conserving the environment so it’s important to take environmental movements deep down to the grass roots. Remember, it starts with me and you and the future generations will be thanking all of us. REFERENCES A better world is possible: Alternatives to Economic globalization Report summary 2002 International forum on Globalization. Capra fritjof, 2002. The hidden connections Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations: Economic and Social Development report, September 2010 http://anticap.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/what-globalization-paradox/ (Website I downloaded the cover picture).

Effects of non-verbal communication across cultures Research Paper

Effects of non-verbal communication across cultures - Research Paper Example The ability for one to exchange ideas with another, understand one another’s opinions, and solve problems is highly dependent on the effectiveness of the communication process (Agliati, Anolli, and Vescovo, 2006). According to Kirch (1979), verbal communication refers to the message content, arrangement and choice of words while communicating nonverbally addresses the message sent using body language. Non-Verbal Communication across Cultures The most common of all forms of non-verbal communication is facial expression (Levine and Adelman, 1993). Nevertheless, interpretation of the different facial expressions across cultures is quite hard. Lists of expressions exist with respect to situations, for instance; those that indicate happiness, fear, sadness and anger. This makes it hard for one to identify what expression is being conveyed and for what reason. Carey (1998) reports that â€Å"facial expressions are the most obvious ones that can be quite misleading, because most are pretty good at covering a lie† (350). ... A suitable example is the United States where eye contact and a firm handshake are considered a basic type of nonverbal communication whereas French people toss while looking at each other’s eyes as a symbol of respect and politeness. However, Kirch (1979) argues that other countries or rather other cultures consider avoiding eye contact as a sign of respect, for instance Africa, some parts of Asia and Latin America. Another common form of nonverbal communication used by people on a daily basis is body gesture (Carey, 1998). Good examples of using body gestures include greeting people using visual signals when initiating a presentation, and beckoning to a waiter instinctively. For instance, in a U.S bar, people walk over to the counter to get their bills while in Thailand, people snap their fingers to get their bills from the waiters in charge. In addition, Thai people greet each other by putting their hands together while in the U.S and with many Christians, people put their hands together while paying respect to the Lord God. In some cultures, bidding someone farewell is done by waving hands while in others it is done by embracing each other (Carey, 1998). Furthermore, people in other cultures hug and touch each other more. Habitats of Northern European countries do not fancy this type of bodily contact as compared to residents of southern countries. Some cultures have limited body contact between sexes to relatives only. Bulgarians nod their heads to signify rejection of a prevailing situation while other people in other cultures nod their heads to signify compliance (Carey, 1998). Culture and Nonverbal Communication The way in which people across different cultures communicate is greatly affected by the variations in