The Representation of Women and Men in the film Gran Torino Essay Example

The Representation of Women and Men in the film Gran Torino Essay Before current expectations of gender equality, men and women have often had very different perceptions placed upon them due simply to their sex. Women were expected to be compliant, nurturing and passive and societal expectations included marriage and primary responsibility for child rearing. Men were typically expected to be strong, decisive and brave, with the ability to take care of and protect their family. People who did not conform to these stereotypes were often marginalized by society.Films often represent women and men in ways that challenge the traditional gender roles held by our society. One such film, Clint Eastwoods Gran Torino, challenges audiences views about the independence of women and the leadership roles and masculinity associated with men, young and old.In the film we are presented with four main characters; the older male Walt Kowalski who is a strong and dominant man; the young male Thao Vang Lor, a submissive, feeble man; the older woman Grandmother Phong, t he matriarchal leader of the Lor family; and Sue Lor, a free spirited young woman with the courage and will to stand against the aggressive gang culture around her.Eastwood constructs his female characters to embody ideas of social independence and leadership, which challenges traditional values about women in society. Sue Lor and Grandmother Phong, stand up for themselves against their male counterparts in the film when they try to assert their dominance. This can be seen in the scene where Walt confronts Grandmother Phong, attempting to emphasise his dominance by spitting, traditionally a habit associated with strong men. The expectation is for Phong to back down from the show of dominance, but instead she spits an even larger amount than Walt; a direct signal to the audience of Phongs sense of equality.Grandmother Phong is the head of the Lor family and the female equivalent of Walt, as Walt is the head of his family. She is often portrayed sitting in a rocking chair on the Lors veranda, watching the neighbourhood, and chewing beetle juice, a substance chewed by men in Myanmar to show dominance and leadership. These activities are similar to the activities that Walt is revealed to do, such as drinking beer on the porch and chewing beef jerky, and the similarities shown between the two characters directs the audience to not only equate Phong with Walts character, but with the masculinity he displays, and to see female leadership as natural and right.We can see that Eastwood means to portray the females of Gran Torino as intelligent, quick thinking girls who have the courage to stand up to men when Sue is confronted with Spiders gang for the first time.Spider: This is my little cousin, Sue.Smokie: Hey, Sue how old are you, girl?Sue: Mentally, Im way too old for you. Im going inside.Spider: Thats right, go inside while the men talk.Sue: Yeah, thats exactly what Im doing, Fong.Her snappy, sarcastic comments, even when Spider suggests she should listen to men an d leave, which would re-affirm the traditional representation of woman as submissive, illustrates how Sue is intelligent and independent; she doesnt follow the orders of her family and especially not the orders of older men in her household. This female independence shown goes against traditional representation of women as weak and submissive characters that should always follow the orders of men.Female dominance is also seen when Sue is on the streets and is surrounded and threatened by three men. Instead of submitting, Sue fights verbally back at the three attackers, insulting their masculinity and provoking their anger.Tall gang member: This Oriental yummy for me? Dont worry; Ill take good care of her.Sue: Great, another asshole with a fetish for Asian girls. God, it gets so old.Tall gang member: Whats your name, girl?Sue: My name? Its take your crude, overly obvious come-on to every woman who walks past and cram it. Thats my name.From these scenes we are shown a woman who believ es it is her right to be able to walk down the street without being assaulted. This portrayal of women as fighters who can hold themselves against men and are considered to be equal is prevalent in the film, and the idea of strong women challenges a traditional societal view that woman should be submissive to men and that men are the stronger sex who should be the protectors.However, Gran Torino also presents women as vulnerable and unable to protect those that they love when we are presented with Sues encounter with the African American gang, and then the sexual assault of Sue by the Hmong gang. In both scenarios, Sue is singled out, because of her attitude towards abusive men or her connections to Thao, and is assaulted, verbally and physically, by the gangs.The assault of such a strong woman as Sue, by a gang of males, shows to the audience the idea that woman are physically vulnerable and need to be protected, as they cannot do it themselves. The assault of Sue intends to show t he audience that no matter how emotionally strong a woman is, men can always use physical strength to dominate, therefore acknowledging the notion that women are weak and in need of protection. The idea of vulnerable women reinforces a traditional societys expectations of women in need of protection. The portrayal of Sues loss of strength and power is included in the film as the catalyst for her brother Thao to transform from a weak male character to a stronger one who can be seen as beneficial to society.Men, such as Walt Kowalski, are represented in the film as aggressive, judgmental, crude, forceful characters who dominate; they are the strong leaders who are needed to protect the society they live in. They are presented as essential to society as the women and those with women like qualities and too weak and cannot protect themselves. This is seen when Sue is being assaulted by both the African American and Hmong gang members. Walt, who holds racial prejudice towards Sue and her family, drives by and rescues Sue from the verbal assault from the African American gang, rescuing her from a dangerous situation that she could not have escaped from herself.Walt also warns the gang about the consequences of crossing a man such as himself;Ever notice how you come across somebody once in a while you shouldnt have messed with? Thats me.Walt is also shown as a hero after the sexual assault of Sue and the drive by shooting on the Lors house; he defeated the Hmong gang by sacrificing himself and is killed so that Sue and Thao are protected from the Hmong gang in the future. The act of sacrificing himself to save others invites the audiences to see Walts character as brave, loyal and fiercely protective of Sue and Thao, and these characteristic reflect back upon the representation of men.The threatening warning and the self sacrifice, as well as many other of Walts actions, sets him up as the alpha male of the neighbour hood; the leader and the protector. The assertion of Walt as a leader and a guardian reinforces traditional societal views of males as dominant individuals and invites audiences to relate to Walt as his characterisation supports societys expectations of men.The scene after the birth ritual of the family, when Grandmother Phong is discussing how her daughter should remarry, addresses the idea of men who do not possess strength.Phong: Theres no man in this house, thats why my daughter should remarry. Being a second wife is better than having a woman be the head of the household.Man: What about Thao?Phong: What about him?Man: Hes the man in the house.Phong: Thaos not a man. Look at him in the kitchen, washing dishes like a woman. Even his sister gives him orders and he obeys.Phongs description of Thao doing jobs like a woman is meant as an insult to Thao, illustrating that it is weak and passive to be a sympathetic male character; this characterisation goes against societys traditional views of strong male characters. However, it also shows us that even though Grandmother Phong has assumed the leadership role in her family and her granddaughter Sue is following her lead, she still believes it would be beneficial to have a man as the head of her household; one more stereotypically male than her grandson who practices obedience and submissiveness to the women in his family. This re-affirms the idea that a strong male leader is needed for families to be successful, and it also reaffirms societal views of males.We can see that male characters in the film are represented as both strong, manly leaders of society, such as Walt, and weak, submissive individuals such as Thao, and therefore both reinforce and challenge traditional expectations of men by society.While we see the two older characters of Walt and Grandmother Phong ultimately maintaining their traditional gender roles, we see a caring and self sacrificing side to Walts nature, and a stoic side to grandmother Phong. We also see the two younger characters of Th ao and Sue display gender roles that encompasses both typically male and female characteristics.The film Gran Torino ultimately shows us four characters that, through a tragic series of events, display a range of gender identities that challenge and reinforce the traditional views of society.

Free Essays on Teenage Violence In Schools

Teenage Violence in Schools Teenage violence in schools has become a tremendous concern to many people. School violence over the past number of years has been increasing and family life, the things that occur in schools and the neighborhoods that the teenagers (that commit the crimes or violent acts) live in are some of the major factors. These are not necessarily the only causes to teenage violence. Family Lifestyle and the behavior of members within the family have been shown to have a direct affect on a teenager’s behavior in school. A child can be influenced very easily by any older person, especially a family member, because he always looks up to that family member. If a person in the family is involved in a criminal activity then the children can be turned on by this and become interested in doing the same thing. If the guardian or parent of a teenager does not punish him for doing something wrong, this can only lead to repetition of the bad behavior. Failure to stop a child from doing something wrong could lead the child to believe that his behavior is acceptable. Also, a child thinks that the people that are supposed to love him don’t even care that he is doing something bad so he will continue to do it. Teenagers also commit acts of violence to get their parents’ attention. If parents ignore what their teenagers are doing, then the teenagers will con tinue to do more negative things just to get their parents to notice them. Another reason why family lifestyle is a cause to teen violence is, if the teenager is abandoned at a young age than there is no one to teach him wrong and right (Kim 82). There are many different situations that can occur in school that can cause teenagers to do violent things. When a student has an argument with other students or a teacher that student may only know how to deal his anger by striking out. Often, teenagers do not know how to talk things out and instead, react violently. If a teen... Free Essays on Teenage Violence In Schools Free Essays on Teenage Violence In Schools Teenage Violence in Schools Teenage violence in schools has become a tremendous concern to many people. School violence over the past number of years has been increasing and family life, the things that occur in schools and the neighborhoods that the teenagers (that commit the crimes or violent acts) live in are some of the major factors. These are not necessarily the only causes to teenage violence. Family Lifestyle and the behavior of members within the family have been shown to have a direct affect on a teenager’s behavior in school. A child can be influenced very easily by any older person, especially a family member, because he always looks up to that family member. If a person in the family is involved in a criminal activity then the children can be turned on by this and become interested in doing the same thing. If the guardian or parent of a teenager does not punish him for doing something wrong, this can only lead to repetition of the bad behavior. Failure to stop a child from doing something wrong could lead the child to believe that his behavior is acceptable. Also, a child thinks that the people that are supposed to love him don’t even care that he is doing something bad so he will continue to do it. Teenagers also commit acts of violence to get their parents’ attention. If parents ignore what their teenagers are doing, then the teenagers will con tinue to do more negative things just to get their parents to notice them. Another reason why family lifestyle is a cause to teen violence is, if the teenager is abandoned at a young age than there is no one to teach him wrong and right (Kim 82). There are many different situations that can occur in school that can cause teenagers to do violent things. When a student has an argument with other students or a teacher that student may only know how to deal his anger by striking out. Often, teenagers do not know how to talk things out and instead, react violently. If a teen...

Corporate involvement in public shool such as snack vending machines Research Paper

Corporate involvement in public shool such as snack vending machines - Research Paper Example For example, before the advent of vending machines, employees used to leave their offices or workstations while students departed from the school’s main buildings in order to go and make a purchase of either cigarettes, snacks, lottery tickets, alcohol, or cologne from the small shops that were located within the vicinity, which were been manned by attendants or shopkeepers. However, with technological advancement and the subsequent development of vending machines, which dispenses such small products mentioned above after customers inset authentic money on the machine, it was no longer viable to establish or even maintain small shops around public places such as school or office compounds. The development of vending machines presented retailers with an opportunity to sell their assorted products at more convenient locations using branded vending machines, and according to Salyers, this has further provided retailers with an opportunity to market themselves in specific target m arkets (28-29). Because of this business interest, corporations have become more involved in the affairs of schools particularly because of their vending machine services, and this presents both negative and positive impact in public schools. Positive impact of the involvement of corporations in public schools

Roanoke Island Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Roanoke Island - Research Paper Example The race for the newly discovered world, comprising of the modern day Americas, began in the later part of the 16th century. England had made numerous attempts to claim land across the Atlantic, long before it even won its conquest over Spain. For instance, in the year 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert laid claim over Newfoundland on behalf of the reigning Queen Elizabeth I. However, Sir Gilbert died before he could establish a colony. In the subsequent year, the Queen commissioned Sir Walter Raleigh to arrogate land in newly discovered North America. Sir Raleigh’s expedition was intended to ensure that England had a colony that would enable it to have a grip on the Americas. The foothold would also make it possible for England to exploit available resources, convert pagans to Christianity, claim territory and institute a base from which to strategically attack Spanish ships. However, as a result of poor associations with the indigenous populace, improper geographical timing of colony establishment and inefficient links with the parent country due to foreign conflicts, the settlers of this original English-American colony were destined to fail. The initiative of colonizing the North American coast was set in motion soon after Queen Elizabeth one gave an official charter to Sir Walter Raleigh to establish a colony in a suitable location. After acquiring formal approval from the Queen in 1584, Sir Raleigh created and funded a scouting expedition with the sole mandate of exploring the American coastline and finding a perfect spot to establish the proposed colony. The scout team, led by Captains Arthur Barlow and Phillip Amadas came back with a positive report of the location, that is, Roanoke Island; a land mass off the shore of contemporary North Carolina. The scouts described the Island with glowing terms, praising it for its fertility and pleasant nature. They also reported that Roanoke was occupied by friendly and loving people. Judging from the enthusiastic report, Raleigh and others decided that the Island’s sheltered and secure shores formed a perfect location to establish England’s maiden colony in this N ew World. In the year 1985, after receiving the Queen's financial support and blessing, the first boatload of colonists set sail for the North American coast (Clark n.pg). The initial 100 men, who went to Roanoke Island primarily comprised of soldiers. The men established a settlement on the northern side of Roanoke Island and immediately built a fort. Since they did not have sufficient supplies, these initial colonists exchanged trinkets and beads to the native populace for food and other basic necessities (Clark n.pg). As winter began and food increasingly became scarce, tension heightened between the locals and the English settlers. The expeditions also deteriorated the original kindness that the Native Americans felt toward the settlers. This is because the colonists regularly abducted tribal leaders with the intent of holding them in exchange for scarce supplies. The English settlers treated the locals with disrespect in spite of the fact that they relied on them for basic supp lies. After suffering such a difficult winter, the supply ships still did not arrive as expected in spring. By this time there was actual conflict between the locals and the settlers. Following the constant war with Native Americans, deprivation of food and becoming impatient waiting for the overdue supplies fleet, the colonists decided to travel back home. The overdue supply ships arrived just two weeks later and found the colony abandoned. The fleet left about 15 men to take care of the English settlement in readiness for the next group or recruits (Kupperman 12-25). After the first failure, Sir Raleigh decided to take another attempt at English settlement in Roanoke. During this second attempt, which took place in 1587, Raleigh chose to mix up the prospective English settlement. The recruits comprised of ninety one men, seventeen women and nine children (Kupperman

School and Society- assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

School and Society- assignment - Essay Example e and size of the American society and its level of diversity, education has a broad role to play in addressing vital issues such as the levels of education in the ethnic and underprivileged sections of the society. It is next to impossible to do so without understanding the ramifications of the range of social and administrative measures in the aid of education, adopted by the American society from time to time. Q 1. Describe the perspectives of liberal and vocational education in the development of the comprehensive high schools. Provide examples of how each has helped to shape the role of education in the United States. How do they continue to impact contemporary education? Ans. Considering the rapid changes being unleashed in the 21st century and the basic societal issues, challenges and opportunities that the students have to contend with in an American and a global context, it is important to seriously meditate on the ingredients of the curriculum that will enable the students to lead a positive, productive and meaningful life. Thus it is imperative to expose the students to a wide range of disciplines (U.S. Newswire 1). In that sense, liberal education has played a groundbreaking role in the development of comprehensive high schools in the US. The augmenting need for increasing pragmatism in the 21st century America cannot dilute the importance of traditional liberal education in the schools. However, one cannot underestimate the need for vocational education in schools. Vocational education in tandem with liberal education prepares the individuals to be productive leaders and workers who adhere to a sound ethical background. The signing of the Voc ational Education Act by President Lyndon Johnson gave way to the most comprehensive vocational education program in the history of America. Q2. Compare the major educational recommendations of James B. Conant with those advocated by Mark Van Doren in the article â€Å"Education for All†, assessing their relative

The Nature Versus Nurture Debate Psychology Essay

The Nature Versus Nurture Debate Psychology Essay The present studies have come to conclude that nature and nurture are inextricable. Both nature and nurture a reciprocal complement to do all the work of determining development. It is extremely unlikely that there are no human being without genetic material to shape the growth and cell differentiation before conception. This means that genetic effects are not only pervasive but necessary. However, it is hard to describe that all process of genetic modification is dominated by genetic influences. Because, environmental factors are inextricably relative with shaping organization as well as affect organization to survive. Both reciprocal genetic and environmental factors influence on individual heritability as well as cognitive ability (Bouchard McGue, 1998). In human behavioral perspective, multifactorial human traits and psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia are good evidences to explain the relationship the genetic with the environmental sources. A parent which have undergone disrupt family function are highly prone to their child to have the risk of developing antisocial traits. The reason is that the parents genes bring out environmental risks, and these risks contribute to a child to expose to risky environments either directly or indirectly. In other words, their offspring genes that were genetic-environment correlated may cause a psychological characteristic to rise and a nurtured environment for that characteristic to develop further (Bouchard McGue, 1998). Behavioral scientist can be understand most psychiatric disorders using this approach, but it will require more psychosocial researches that manifest close correlation between both genetic-environment and human traits through the multidisciplinary association and, particularly for geneticists and psychosocial researchers (Bouchard McGue). Recent most psychologists tend to accept the idea that nature and nurture can act mutually and both of them influence on heritability. However, in the beginning of nature-nurture concept, Francis Galton carried his thesis that intellectual ability is largely genetically rather than environmentally determined and that the parents genius transmit their offspring was the result of a natural superiority through his book, Hereditary Genius (1869) (Mcleod, 2007). By an examination of a large group of eminent people in different fields, Galton attempted to survey their relatives in order to reveal their relatives how many of them were superior for enough stars. He calculated the rate of eminent people in various degrees of similarity to the initial famous people. These findings were showed human breeding were able to manipulate to produce superior people as well as eliminating or excluding biologically inferior people were necessary for improve quality of the human race. His thesis has unassailable weaknesses that his findings were overly influenced by the British practice of primogeniture and by his inclusion of People  who can define  Well-thought-of  as geniuses (Rothenberg, 2005).His researches were limited to comparing offspring from different families, largely due to a lack of available data.  Furthermore, his hypothesis of direct hereditary transmission of eminent genius was over interpretation; because that hereditary genius was close not a matter of certainties but possibilities of a judge. Even in the biologically superior society that he hoped for, consequences could not be expected with certainty for individual cases. It is also possible that he had already exposed the lack of accuracy study due to Galtons lack of interest in natural history. Nevertheless, he was a first pioneer who not only defines the modern conception of the nature-nurture dichotomy but established both the theoretical and statistical science foundations of beh avior genetics, and promoted the idea and potential value of intelligence testing (Fancher, 2009). In the present Rothenberg study (2005), he verified the still-influential statistical studies of Frances Galton on the inheritance of genius as well as surveyed the family background factors in order to evaluate empirically the hypothesis  of  hereditary transmission of genius or creativity. He collected family background occupational data from the group of 435 Nobel laureates were engaged in natural science fields such as chemistry, physics, medicine and physiology from 1901 through 2003. These for same parent-offspring occupations were compared with a matching group of 548 eminent people with noncreative occupations and also with 560 outstanding non prize winners for general population occupation. The study revealed that both family back ground genetic and environment factor are less likely to influence Nobel laureates in the natural sciences. Instead of direct inheritance of creativity from their parents, the effort and desires of the parent influences on Nobel laureates motiv ation to achieve creative accomplishment in their science filed (Rothenberg, 2005). The limitation of Rothenbergs study is based on similarity criteria between parent and offspring behavior, of behavioral genetics rather than on a gene-transmission approach. For all that, his thesis is seems to obviously controverts the Galtons idea of direct hereditary transmission of eminent. Rothenbergs study takes into account for derived from a wide cultural and ethnic range as well as from the extended time period of the 20th and 21th centuries, his findings is more reliable then Galtons and weight in an idea that a genius or talent is born when the  relationship  between nature with nurture is reciprocal. This concept of interaction between nature and nurture can be adjusted and useful in the daily life. From relationship parents with their problematic children, as change parents idea, they can be found a breakthrough. Parents complain of raising their difficult children who are self-absorbed, rebellious, inattentive, and violent. They could not understand their children as well as struggle to find an effective solution to their problematic children. The parents have tried to find a proper solution for handle their hard to handle children from many researches and books, but they could not find it. The approach  stance on  nature-nurture will suggests a possible solution to parents who have been suffering from their problem children Parents should know why their children are hard to handle before solve the problem. Babies come into world with unique traits in physical makeup. Even in the fetus period, babies can expose individual differences in the workings of their motor systems and in specific sensory perceptions (Inal YÄ ±dÄ ±z, 2012). Some babies are born with overly sensitive and over reactive or under sensitive and under active. When give a stimulus to them, overly sensitive babies may be taking in and decoding information in a certain sense, otherwise, another may have undergone difficulty with comprehending information through that sense (Inal YÄ ±dÄ ±z). If a child with over sensitive receives a fearful stimulus, he or she may rapidly increase rigid traits to become a problem child. Many children who have suffered that experiences can make a vast difference according to their parents how to relative to them. After analysis and understand their childrens natural characteristics, parent are able to solve their problem through three ways. First of all, it is important that their parents have made an effort to read their childrens physical makeup and signals as well as to support them learn new ways to cope. Secondly, Parents give the right sense of security to their children. When their children are aggressive and overwhelmed, parents console them by using gentle gesture and comfortable verbalizing for they will be comfort themselves by their feelings. Lastly, parents gradually show them how to take charge of their own environment. A child with fixed temperamental characteristics can be significantly adjusted his or her behavior and personality by early caregiving experiences (Slatcher Trentacosta, 2012). In a nutshell, when parents are trying to recognize their childrens personality and traits as well as set their behavior for their childrens temper, their children can remove a tag as dif ficult children of themselves. During the second half of the 20th century, there has made steady progress on the effects of nature, nurture, and developmental processes. Therefore, we are able to understand many of the mechanisms of human gene, behavior, multifactorial human traits and psychiatric disorders (Rutter, 2002). Nature and nurture are not only indivisible but also reciprocal each other. Parents natural specific characteristics such as or genius and creative traits can be influence on their offspring. However, environmental factor also need to fulfill a complete condition. In the front head, genetic and psychosocial research are forecasting to find more strong gene-environment correlations and interactions through the multidisciplinary association studies. Similarly, other fields without direct relative of psychological study will be also expected to lead them developing  their research ideas and  also  to help with funding applications.

Women in the Epic of Beowulf and in Other Anglo-Saxon Poems Essay

The Women in Beowulf and in Other Anglo-Saxon Poems      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Are women in these poems active equals of the men? Or are they passive victims of the men? The roles of the women in Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poems are not always stereotyped ones of passive homemaker and childbearer and peaceweaver, but sometimes ones giving freedom of choice, range of activity, and room for personal growth and development. Beowulf makes reference to Ingeld and his wife and the coming Heathobard feud: in that hot passion his love for peace-weaver, his wife, will cool (2065-66) This is a rare passage, for Anglo-Saxon poetry rarely mentions romantic feelings toward women. In fact, one’s marital status wasn’t even considered significant. For example, with the hero himself the poet never mentions whether he is married or not, likewise with most characters in the poem. Because this is a poem about the heroic deeds of men, Hildeburh excepted, the feeling between man-and-woman is downplayed, and the feeling among warriors is emphasized. Remember that the poem opens with Scyld Scefing, who came motherless to rule the Danes: than those at his start who set him adrift  when only a child, friendless and cold,  lone on the waves. (44-46) Scyld’s motherlessness perhaps tells the reader that the heroic, superhuman, violent deeds about to transpire are perhaps not all that compatible with women and womanly qualities like passivity, gentleness, compassion. It is a predominantly masculine, rough and tough narrative which would only be detracted from by the presence of many women. Chickering says that women in the poem had â€Å"all the dignity and standing they commanded in Tacitus’ day,† when they were greatly respe... ...im (in the case of Hild). And the language in reference to the women seems to be respectful, non demeaning. Some women have stereotyped roles of passive homemaker and childbearer and peaceweaver, but others, particularly royalty, have freedom of choice, range of activity, and room for personal growth and development. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, Michael, translator. The Earliest English Poems. New York: Penguin Books, 1991. Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A dual-Language Edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Overing, Gillian R. â€Å"The Women of Beowulf; A context for Interpretation.† In The Beowulf Reader, edited by Peter S. Baker. New York: Garland Publishing, 2000. Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A dual-Language Edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977. Tacitus: The Annals of Imperial Rome, translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin, 1996.

Ovania Case Analysis

Ovania Chemical Corporation, a producer of specialty chemicals, is taking the initiative to modernize. The modernization will include redesigning jobs performed by employees. The most critical job the company is evaluating for redesign is the position of the System Analyzer. This position is critical to operations because the system analyzer is responsible for monitoring all of the chemical components used in the production of goods. Ovania is looking to automate this position which will require system analyzers to have more technical skills. Overall, the changes the company is implementing will change the tasks, duties, and responsibilities of this position by more than 70 percent. The company anticipates that the transition to this new system will be a two year process. Ovania has already developed a committee to design the potential skill set that they feel will be needed to perform the system analyzer job and testing to evaluate that skill set was developed. Recruiting new applicants for the newly designed position was done internally and externally, with emphasis on recruiting from within the organization, as well as current system analyzers who were willing to retrain, prior to the two year implementation, for their positions. Prescreening for skills and experience were not considered as part of the application process in order to encourage a more diverse pool of applicants. Concern were raised, however, that some protected classes may find the position objectionable based on some of the requirements, such as entering treatment tanks to read gauges because the work is quite dirty. Applicants would be considered based on their performance on aptitude and ability tests. Testing would only take place for skills which the company felt it could not reasonably train an applicant for prior to the two year implementation date. The cutoff score for testing was decided upon and after testing the company has narrowed the pool of applicants to twenty, however he testing itself has been problematic for the organization, because the position is new and no validity or normative data exists to base the testing on. The key issue facing Ovania is the validity of the testing procedure for the new position. Because no prior data exists, Ovania needs to be certain that the criteria selected for testing is actually valid for the position of system analyst. How does a company such as Ovania conduct a job analysis for a position that does not exist yet? By looking at the current position requirements (duties and tasks) as well as the current job description, Ovania can develop guidelines for the new position. While this position will be different from the current job requirements, some of the areas included in the current job analysis will be valid for the new position as well. Any new skills and responsibilities the company anticipates may be required could be researched based on analysis already conducted within the industry for similar jobs. Leaving room for additional requirements and noting that the analysis methods may change as the position develops will also be key, however primary responsibilities and skill sets for applicants should be established based in research specific to the industry and based on similar positions. Did Ovania choose content-valid selection criteria? What other predictors may be useful? Selection criteria used by Ovania is content valid for this position, as it samples the knowledge and skill necessary to perform the job. Ovania may also benefit from learning about applicants previous performance in related positions and physical ability testing for this position. Given the technical nature and level of responsibility required for this position, prior job performance data will be valuable in assessing capability of the applicant. Why not hire someone fully trained now? Ovania has decided that it is willing to train any skills it deems reasonable to be acquired prior to the two year implementation date. The advantage of this approach is that the selected applicant will be trained ccording to the development of the position over that time and will be familiar with the company environment. The disadvantage is the cost of that training to Ovania should the applicant decide to leave or not work out in this position. Should the concern about women getting down into the dirty treatment tanks have been a selection issue? How might you include this factor in a selection battery? The issue of getting in the dirty treatment tanks should not be considered for just female applicants, but should be addressed with all applicants for the position as it is a required part of the position for anyone chosen for the job. This should be part of the developed job description and all applicants selected to be interviewed should be five the description for the position and emphasis made that checking the gauges in the treatment tanks is a mandatory requirement. They should have full understanding that if they are not willing to perform this part of the job they will not be considered for the position as it is necessary to the safety of the plant operations.

Greek Relief essays

Greek Relief essays In general, art is meant to convey the sentiments of a time, and it is obvious that these two pieces are trying to illustrate the epitome of femininity, as designated by Greek community. Both are relief about a woman and both are made at about same time period in 5th century B.C. Marble grave stele of a little girl with doves describes a girl holding two doves saying farewell too them. One can see the sorrow in her eyes as she looks down at the bird saying farewell. Second relief marble relief with a dancing maenad shows a maenad almost in hypnotic status. We also see sorrow in her eyes as she looks down at the floor dancing to some music. Both pictures involve women and both of them are looking down in sorrow. I think the marble grave stele of a little girl with doves main theme could be that it was hard as a girl to live to happily and to the fullest due to the society ¡Ã‚ ¯s view on women. Similarly, in marble relief with a dancing maenad, the main theme could be that bein g a women, doing whatever men wanted them to do, women in general was not satisfied of their status in society. In one word, I believe both statues ¡Ã‚ ¯ main theme is the unfairness and injustice toward women in those times. Marble Grave Stele of a little girl with doves is most likely a symbolic relief. The girl in the relief is holding the doves so dearly not wanting to let them go, but sad because she has no other choice. In ancient Greece, women were not allowed to participate in or even watch the Olympic Games, as the participants did not wear clothes. They did not have voting rights, and only left home to perform religious duties. Olympic Games ceremony closes with the release of doves, symbolizing the spirit of the games. The doves in relief probably have the same meaning as the spirit of the games. The relief tries to show how a woman had to give up attending and competing in Olympics because she was a woman and felt so sorrow. ...

Animal Experimentation essays

Animal Experimentation essays The United States government should come up with alternatives to animal experimentation. The use of animals in research, testing, and education is an issue of increasing concern to the American public. An increasing number of adults and teenagers are concerned about the welfare of laboratory animals. Animal testing, or vivisection, is the testing of cosmetics, drugs, household products and many other everyday items on animals. Vivisection literally means cutting alive. And that is exactly what happens. Every second, of every day, of every year, an animal dies in research labs in the United States. That means that while you have been reading this, about 30 defenseless animals have died in a laboratory (Harris). It is impossible to know the exact number of animals that have died in the name of science. This is due partly to the fact that some scientists refuse to disclose the details of their experiments. However, using the facts that are available, it is estimated that academic researchers in America alone use between 17 and 22 million animals per year. The cosmetics industry uses about a million more animals (Coleman). Animal experimentation is said to be necessary for the welfare and health of humans. This is simply not true. Animal experiments mislead doctors and the general public. Diseases such as cancer, which are artificially induced in laboratory animals, have no relationship to the diseases that affect humans, because these diseases are largely caused by lifestyle and pollution (Vivisection). Many people that are not familiar with the issue of animal experimentation are concerned that if we dont experiment on animals we will be forced to experiment on humans. Isnt this already the case? When we take a new drug, we are part of an experiment, because we differ from the animals on which the drug was tested. Drugs, which have minor or no side effects on animals, have ca ...

Principles of Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Principles of Economics - Essay Example At ceteris peribus, an increase in the prices of alcohol will cause a fall in the quantity demanded and consumed of a product (Becker, 2001). This would help mitigate the economic impacts of over consumption of alcohol. However, the economists must put into consideration the fact that the demand curve of alcohol is normally inelastic given the fact that it is addictive. They therefore have to realize that an increase in the tax level may lead to a small decline in the quantity of the product consumed. The second option that can be pursued by an economist is moral persuasion. In this case, economists will prefer explaining the marginal cost and marginal benefits of consuming alcohol. In this case, the marginal cost will be higher than the marginal benefits hence economists will promote campaigns against the use of alcohol (Frank & Bernanke, 2007). They will therefore influence the enactment of legislation to bar teenagers from using alcohol; limit the number of drinking hours among ot her measures that reduce the consumption level. When some drugs are prescribed for use, they will influence the demand and supply of other products. For instance, the demand for products used in the manufacture of a drug will increase if the quantity of the drug prescribed has been increased. ... The elasticity of the two curves will determine the effectiveness of the policies formulated to regulate the performance of the economy. A shift in the supply curve will lead to a change in the new equilibrium point. If the demand curve were inelastic, a huge shift in the supply curve would result into relatively small changes in the equilibrium price (Boyes & Melvin, 2008). Elasticity of the demand curve will therefore influence the economic impact of the shift in the supply curve. For instance, a shift in the supply curve would only result in an increase in the equilibrium price if the demand curve were perfectly inelastic. Policymakers will therefore determine the effectiveness of their decisions when considering the steepness of the demand curve (Frank & Bernanke, 2007). Similarly, the elasticity of the supply curve will influence the net effect of a shift in the demand curve. Where the supply is inelastic, a shift in the demand curve will cause little or no change in the equilib rium quantity because even with an increased demand, suppliers will not be able to expand the quantities supplied. Prices will therefore increase but the quantity supplied will remain relatively constant. The elasticity of either the demand and supply curves are normally important when formulating policies aimed at influencing economic performance i.e. the government can increase the taxes imposed on goods with inelastic demand because this would not significantly affect the amount of the good consumed (Becker, 2001). For an increasing cost industry, entry of a new firm will result in an increase in the unit cost of production. When a firm enters the market, it will cause the prices of the resources used in

Art History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 12

Art History - Essay Example The pieces of art portray the intersection between the cultural history of the artists and the immediate societies, the respective histories, medium, as well as the specific geographical locations. The Ajanta art, for instance, portrays the Indian culture before 1200. This art was started in the 2nd century B.C. It was nevertheless given up in by the 7th century A.D. This art is a product of its context considering that pieces of art, in this case, have been considered the finest instances of Indian art based the Buddhist religious art. Buddhism as a religion was a very important part of the Indian culture during that time. It was thus essential for the religion and its values to be presented in a visual way (Kleiner 433). In light of the religious importance, the art shows figures of Buddha as well as a depiction of the Jataka tales. Using carvings was particularly a great way of ensuring that the message portrayed could last for a very long time and be passed from one generation to another. A useful example of the Ajanta art is painting of Padmapani as shown in fig.1. Another example of art is the Fresco Painting from the Romanesque Europe created during the early Medieval Europe. The method used to produce this art was mural painting, which involved the use wet lime plaster. Water was used for the pigment in merging with the plaster. Upon setting the plaster, the painting was then integrated to the wall. This type of art is attributed to the later Byzantine period (Kleiner 409). It depicts a lot regarding the mobility of techniques and styles of art. A good example is the Chora Monastery restoration and decoration, which depicts the Byzantine artists’ great skills and versatility. The context in which the art was created was religious since a cycle of Life of the Virgin as well as Christ’s Infancy and Ministry of are shown. These religious incidences