Saturday, August 31, 2019

A Study Of The Predictive Effect Of Pre-Service Teacher Essay

ABSTRACT: This paper aims to examine the relationship between the personal knowledge management (PKM) competency of pre-service teachers and their instructional design skills. Supporting the sustainable development of teachers as professionals in the knowledge society is a critical issue in teacher education. This study attempts to identify an empirical model and a curriculum framework for nurturing pre-service teachers’ PKM competency. Dorsey (2000) PKM skills were adopted for constructing the theoretical framework and the survey instrument. A quasi-experimental research design was used to collect data from pre-service teachers from Hong Kong’s largest teacher education institution. A structural equation model was applied to explore the predictive power of PKM competency on their instructional design. Results show that a four-factor PKM competency model, which consists of retrieving, analyzing, organizing and collaborative skills, was identified as a predictor of instructional d esign. Use of PKM tools, e-learning activities and collaborative action research for developing pre-service teacher PKM competency are recommended to teaching education institute. Keywords: Personal knowledge management, Pre-service teacher, Teacher education Introduction Rapid advances in technology and communications have greatly accelerated the emergence of information. The increases in the amounts and formats of information available do not automatically make learners more informed or knowledgeable, if a learner cannot manage and meld the accumulation of  information through their daily experience and study to construct knowledge in a systematic fashion. This competency is referred by most literatures (Frand & Hixon, 1999; Dorsey, 2000; Wright, 2005) as personal knowledge management (PKM) competency. Developing learners with PKM competency is not simply a lifelong education issue, it is also an important teacher education issue in terms of sustaining a competitive human capital in the knowledge economy. Teacher development is viewed as an ongoing lifelong learning process as teachers strive to learn how to teach learner to learn how to learn (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). The recent education reforms in Hong Kong (Education Commission, 2000) addressed this lifelong education issue by proposing a learning to learn slogan in the policy document. The policy suggests that teachers should develop student learning competence for acquiring knowledge through various methods. To develop students with knowledge acquisition skills, teachers should also be equipped with the competency for knowledge acquisition. However, since publication of the policy paper entitled Information Technology for Learning in a New Era Five-year Strategy that launched IT in education in Hong Kong (EMB, 1998), the Education Bureau has not addressed this issue in any teacher professional development policy documents. Recent calls for consultation on e-learning from the Education Bureau likewise generated additional demand for developing teacher information literacy capable of supporting student learning (EMB, 2004). If the government and teacher education institutions really want to develop competent teachers for the knowledge society, they may consider injecting the elements of personal knowledge management (PKM) into the teacher education curriculum for developing pre-service teachers’ teaching competency. However, little studies on teacher education were attempted to examine the effect of PKM on teacher learning and discussed the possibilities of injecting the element of PKM model into teacher education curriculum. This study aims to construct an empirical model for examining the predictive effect of pre-service teachers’ PKM competency on their instructional design skills and to discuss a personal knowledge management curriculum framework for teacher education institutions. Literature Review A review of the literature related to knowledge management suggests that the development of personal knowledge management (PKM) could be a means of enhancing pre-service teacher professional competency in managing personal knowledge for coping with the acceleration of emerging information. Frand & Hixon (1999) define PKM as a conceptual framework to organize and integrate important information such that it becomes part of an individual’s personal knowledge base. Dorsey (2000) emphasizes the importance of injecting PKM into an educational framework for undergraduate education in order to bridge the gap between general education and other subject disciplines. PKM could serve as a framework for integrating general education and majors and as an approach to technology integration initiatives throughout the curriculum. PKM provides learners with both a common language and a common understanding of the intellectual and practical processes necessary for the acquisition of information and its subsequent transformation into knowledge. The significance of exploring PKM may contribute to human cognitive capabilities (Sheridan, 2008). Scholars tend to conceptualize PKM as a set of information skills (Frand & Hixon, 1999; Avery et al, 2001), though there is no standard definition or model for PKM. After Frand & Hixon (1999) outlined five PKM techniques as searching, classifying, storing distributing, evaluating and integrating skills, Dorsey and colleagues (Avery et al, 2001) broadened the Frand & Hixon PKM framework well beyond its formulation. Central to PKM, as clarified by Dorsey, are seven information skills which when exercised together are integral to effective knowledge work. These seven PKM skills are retrieving, evaluating, organizing, analyzing, presenting and securing information and collaboration for creating knowledge. Recently, Pettenati and Cigognini (2009) grouped PKM skills under three intertwined macro-competence categories: creation, organization and sharing. PKM can also be conceptualized as an intertwined macro-competency. Wright (2005) proposes a PKM model that links distinctive types of problem-solving  activities with specific cognitive andmetacognitive, information, social and learning competencies. As a learning competency, PKM enables learners to apply a set of learning skills that are essential to lifelong learning for information processing, knowledge application and decision-making. As a cognitive and metacognitve competency, it enables learners to apply complex thinking skills to solve problems. It is knowledge concerning the learner’s own cognitive processes or anything related to them (Flavell, 1976, p232). As an information competency, it enables learners to link technology tools with a set of information skills, thus providing an intentionality that moves the focus from the technology more directly to the information. As a social competency, its underlying principles include enabling learners to understand others’ ideas, develop and follow through on shared practices, build win-win relationships, and resolve conflicts. PKM integrates human cognitive and metacognitive competency (Sheridan, 2008), social competency (Wright, 2005; Pettenati & Cigognini, 2009) and informational competency (Tsui, 2002). Wright (2007) has developed a PKM Planning Guide for developing knowledge worker PKM competency. The guide is based on his research findings that the four interrelated competencies are activated in order to plan PKM training. The training process encourages participants to reflect on their knowledge activities and focus on areas for improvement. If learners know how to control this process, they can internalize information into personal knowledge, creating a foundation for effective learning. Utilizing PKM for acquiring knowledge refers to a collection of information management processes that an individual learner needs to carry out in order to gather, classify, store, search, and retrieve information in his daily activities (Tsui, 2002; Grundspenkis, 2007). In teacher education, knowledge acquisition focuses on the process how teacher apply PKM to support their day-to-day teaching and learning activities: instructional design. Instructional design is closely related to PKM which is also one of the major learning tasks for pre-service teachers. Instructional design is a process that involves determining the current status and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and creating instructional  and learning strategies to facilitate teaching and learning. There are a wide range of instructional design models, many of them based on the ADDIE model (Seels & Glasgow, 1998; Molenda, M., 2003; Strickland, A.W. 2006) which includes the following phases: analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. This acronym stands for the 5 phases contained in the model. Knowledge acquisition for instructional design is conceptualized as identifying learner entry skills, formulating instructional objectives, test and design specifications, creating instructional or training materials, making recommendations and preparing a project report for lesson implementation. As instructional design is one of the key components of teacher professional competence, and helps to implement a new curriculum in the information age of the 21st century, exploring the predictive relationships of PKM competency on knowledge acquisition for instructional design becomes key to the development of teacher education. Research Methodology It appears that PKM competency can expand individuals’ knowledge and enhance their learning competency (Davenport, 1997, p146 ; Frand & Hixon, 1999). It provides learners with a targeted, reflective and adaptable cognitive framework for inquiry and problem solving. In this study, knowledge acquisition will be conceptualized as the knowledge required for carrying out instructional design. This study attempts to answer the following research questions: 1. What is the empirical factor structure of PKM competency for pre-service teachers? 2. Is there any relationship between the PKM competency of pre-service teachers and their knowledge acquisition for instructional design? This study adopted Dorsey (2000) PKM skills to conceptualize PKM as a competency for acquiring knowledge (see figure 1). A quasi-experimental research design was used in this study to determine the relationship between PKM skills and knowledge acquisition for instructional design. The exogenous variables were pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their PKM skills. The endogenous variable is knowledge acquisition for instructional design. A  self-response quantitative questionnaire was devised to collect data from the pre-service teachers of Hong Kong’s largest teacher education institution. Figure 1: Theoretical Framework Of The Study The operationalized definitions of Dorsey (2000) PKM skills are as follows: 1. Retrieving skill is the ability of learners to retrieve information from relational databases, electronic library databases, websites, threaded discussion groups, recorded chats, and moderated andunmoderated lists. 2. Evaluating skill is the ability to make judgments on both the quality and relevance of information to be retrieved, organized, and analyzed. 3. Organizing skill is the ability to make the information one’s own by applying ordering and connecting principles that relate new information to old information. 4. Collaborating skill is the ability  to understand others’ ideas, develop and follow through on shared practices, build win-win relationships, and resolve conflicts between these underlying principles. 5. Analyzing skill is the ability to extract meaning from data and convert information into knowledge. 6. Presenting skill is the ability to familiarize with the work of communications specialists, graphic designers, and editors. 7. Securing skill is the ability to develop and implement practices that help to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and actual existence of information. This study adopted ADDIE instructional design model to conceptualize instructional design as a multiple competencies that involves analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of a lesson (Molenda, 2003; Strickland, 2006). The acronym ADDIE stands for the 5 phases contained in the model. Pre-service teachers’ learning on instructional design is conceptualized by the knowledge and experiences they come across in the 5 phases of ADDIE model including analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. The learning outcomes include know how to analyse learner characteristics and task to be learned and identify learner entry skills; to design learning objectives and choose an instructional approach; to develop instructional or training materials; implement the lesson and deliver the instructional materials; and to evaluate the lesson plan and recommend the materials achieved the desired goals. The teaching experience that they had gained include determining the current state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and creating some instructional and learning strategies to facilitate teaching and learning. Instructional design is operationalized to the knowledge for: identifying learner entry skills; formulating instructional obJectives, test and designs specifications; creating instructional or training materials; and making recommendations and preparing a project report for lesson implementation (Seels & Glasgow, 1998; Molenda, M., 2003; Strickland, A.W. 2006). The questionnaire was based on a number of scales constructed to measure the variables of PKM skills and instructional design. In order to develop valid items for these scales, the researcher conducted a content analysis on the PKM literature of Dorsey (2000), Skyrme (1999). Hyams (2000), and on the instruction design literature of Seels & Glasgow (1998), Molenda, M. (2003); and Strickland, A.W. (2006). The questionnaire consists of two sections. Section 1 was used to measure the effectiveness of knowledge acquisition for instructional design based on 4 items. Section 2 contains 21 items designed to measure the teachers’ perceptions of their seven PKM skills. Likert 6 point scales were used in both sections to measure the variables. Likert scales are commonly used in attitudinal research. The Likert scale assumes that the difference between answering ‘agree strongly, and ‘agree’ is the same as between answering ‘agree’ and ‘neither agree n or disagree’ (Likert 1932, quoted in Gay, 1992). The data was collected directly from target subjects using the questionnaire. 225 pre-service teachers responded to the survey. Data was collected directly from them by means of the questionnaire. The subjects in the study were pre-service teachers from Hong Kong’s largest teacher education institution. Random sampling was used to collect data from the population. Exploratory factor analysis was carried out on variables using principal factor axis analysis to confirm the constructed validity of the tools (see table 1). The study is interested in a theoretical solution uncontaminated by unique and error variability and is designed with a framework on the basis of underlying constructs that are expected to produce sources on the observed variables. Principal axis factor (PAF) analysis, which aims to reveal the underlying factors that produce the correlation or correlations among a set of indicators with the assumption of an implicit underlying factor model, was applied separately to the items from the learning processes and learning outcomes. Promax rotation, a method of oblique rotation which assumes that the resulting factors are correlated with one other, was applied to extract the factors. An eigenvalue greater than one was used to determine the appropriate number of factors for the factor solutions. A Structural Equation Model (SEM) was then applied to  examine the factor structures and the paths among the variables, using Lisrel 8.3 (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1999). SEM is a collection of statistical techniques that allows the examination of a set of relationships between exogenous variables and endogenous variables. Findings The results of exploratory factor analysis, presented in Table 1, clearly suggest a four- factor structure for exogenous variables that are both empirically feasible and theoretically acceptable. An eigenvaluegreater than one was used to determine the appropriate number of factors for the factor analysis solution. Items were extracted with factor loadings greater than 0.6 across and within factors. The numbers of factor solutions extracted from a Promax rotation theoretically afforded the most meaningful interpretation. The process used to identify and label the factors that emerged was based on examining the derivation of the highest loading items on each of the factors. The reliability coefficients of the scales ranged from 0.792-0.821, which was judged adequate for this study. The results of descriptive statistics show that the scale means of all the variables are higher than 4.27 within the 6 point-scale, reflecting the participants’ tendency to slightly agree with all the items. The reliability coefficient (Alphas) of the scale for instructional design is 0.854, its scale mean is 4.33 (sd = 0.691).

Friday, August 30, 2019

Honesty In Advertising? Insanity!

Advertising is surely the most common art we see today. We have to go out of our way to see offensive movies or works of fine art, but advertising images are everywhere. We see them whether we want to or not, on billboards as we drive to work, on the walls of stores when we shop, in magazines and newspapers, on television, and on the products we use. We even get them in the mail. Everything gets advertised. Advertising industry is the biggest one today. But what is happening inside of advertising world? â€Å"The characters in this film do not depict people with real mental illness.Mental illness is a serious disease that affects millions of people. † Thus begins †Crazy People†, schizophrenic comedy that is very funny when it's a satire on modern advertising. Film talks about two types of nut cases: ones that are committed to institutions and the others who think they are normal and live on the other side of the wall. There are some targets of satire throughout a f ilm. First, this is the job itself and way of living of admen. †Let's face it, Steve,† says Emory Leeson, main character of the film to his associate, †you and I lie for a living. † Emory is a Madison Avenue burned-out adman suffering a breakdown.His wife has walked out of their suburban house, taking the furniture with her. Emory is suffering from writer's block. †Novelists have writer's block,† screams his partner, Steve. †All you do is write little slogans to go with the pictures. † (Canby) In a manic burst of energy, Emory creates a dozen new ad campaigns for everything from Volvo (†Boxy but good†) to United Airlines (†Most of our passengers get there alive†). He calls it †truth in advertising. † Actually, the ads are not so much truthful as they are crass. But Leeson feels they will tap into the everyday mindset of the common man.This is funny stuff, but Emory’s boss doesn't think so. Ste ve gently carts him away to a private mental hospital. Another target of satirizing is the advertising itself. Whether it is truthful or dishonest, consumer †eats† catchy slogans. You can say the right thing about a product and nobody will listen. You've got to say it in such a way that people will feel it in their gut. Because if they don't feel it, nothing will happen. Emory's †truthful† campaigns somehow reach all of the national magazines and appear on television, where they become instant hits. Leeson’s instincts are proven to be correct.People love them and sales zoom. But his boss and his crew can't grasp this â€Å"truth† concept. So they ask Emory to come back. He agrees to do more ads only if his friends – his fellow asylum inmates – can help. Soon the asylum turns into a productive business center. They are energized and inspired by Emery, who unwittingly wins back his former company's interest after an accidental truthf ul ad campaign makes headlines. One more satirized point, which depicts clearly that there are no big differences between admen and clients of mental hospitals at all, is that both of them making their job very well.Moreover, advertising ideas of insane people turn out to be more effective. Using the theme of sanity and insanity, film achieves the satire in comical situations, which articulate erected issues of modern advertising. â€Å"Crazy People† is equivalent to those commercials that pretend to be sending themselves up. Its upside-down ad campaigns wouldn't rate a smile in a college humor magazine, at least in part because they knowingly celebrate the system they are supposed to be satirizing.The concept is high but fraudulent. Interesting, that the director of film, Tony Bill said in interview he is counting on the controversy that is sure to be stirred up over †Crazy People† because of the fact that all the advertising in the film was used without permissi on or consultation. (Babbis) Conclusively, one trend in advertising, around no doubt for years that has become particularly shameless of late is to say exactly the opposite of what a company or product actually does.The implication is that nowadays people will accept anything you tell them. Pioneer of advertising Leo Burnett said, †Regardless of the moral issue, dishonesty in advertising has proved very unprofitable. † But perhaps everybody knows, consumers and advertisers alike, that anything anyone says doesn't matter any more. Finally, I think film accomplished with its goal and if it was ridiculing modern advertising, †Crazy people† have done it in a very funny and humorous way.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Daddy by Sylvia Plath

The poem â€Å"Daddy† by Sylvia Plath paints a great picture of a daughter and her Nazi father, but this poem is more than just that. It symbolizes the relationship that they once had, and how it has affected her throughout her whole life. This poem also shows a very generalized depiction of how women see men who have treated them not so greatly. Although Sylvia’s father was German, he was not a Nazi, which is how she depicted him in her poem â€Å"Daddy,† She imagines her father as an ordinary man when she states: â€Å"You stand at the blackboard, daddy, in the picture I have of you. A cleft in you chin instead of your foot but no less a devil for that, no not any less the black man who bit my pretty red heart in two, I was ten when they buried you. At twenty I tried to die and get back, back, back to you.† This â€Å"ordinary man,† in her eyes, has turned into a devil that broke her heart. He treated her poorly, or so that this is impression that we get when she tells us that she was treated like a â€Å"Jew in Dachau.† Having a father figure in one’s life is very important in how that person grows up, and in what type of person they become, as they grow older. Sylvia’s father had a great deal influence in her life, both for the good and the bad. But, she has always been scared of her father by the way he treated her. This may have been one of the biggest reasons why she was suicidal, and why many people considered her crazy. You can tell that Sylvia very much has had a love-hate relationship with her father throughout her whole life, and we can tell that she has always wanted to love her father. But, her relationship and her memories of her father all seem to go downhill, even after he had died. In writing this poem, Sylvia may be trying to dismiss her memories of her father, and finally let go of the fact that he is dead. She is clearly not over her father’s death at the time this poem was written, which was twenty-two years after the event. Sylvia attempts to show that her relationship with her father was a love-hate relationship many times in this poem. To prove the hate side of the relationship, she states â€Å"Daddy, I have had to kill you. You died before I had time,† in the first stanza, in the eleventh stanza, â€Å"No less a devil for that, no not any less the black man who bit my pretty red heart in two,† and in the last stanza, â€Å"Daddy, daddy, you bastard, I’m through.† To prove that she loved her father she states, â€Å"I used to pray to recover you† in the third stanza, and â€Å"At twenty I tried to die and get back, back, back to you† in the twelfth stanza. Many people say that they have a love-hate relationship with someone close to them, but I think it is rare if it ever reaches the severity of Sylvia’s relationship with her father. We see many different events of Sylvia’s relationship with her father in this poem, and although he died when she was eight, she seems to remember much of that time in her life. This could mean two things, either she is blowing her relationship with her father way out of proportion, or this relationship really was terrible. Either way, she is putting the issue on a pedestal, and letting it affect her much more than it should. Most suicidal people tend to think that the issue that they are dealing with is not worth living with. Life is precious, whether we believe it or not. No issue should affect us so greatly that we do not want to live life anymore. I am not trying to mock, but I honestly feel that people who are suicidal are just trying to get attention, but that’s a different topic for a different paper. On another note, this poem assumes that all Germans were people who hated Jews, and were Nazis. She writes, â€Å"I thought every German was you.† Sylvia has made the same mistake that many people have made since before World War II. Not all Germans were Nazis, just as all Russian soldiers in the Red Army were not considered Communist, although Russia was a communist country at the time. That is one assumption that this poem makes that is false. Emotions are what drive us to sanity's edge and the effects are far greater than what you would expect out of mere feelings. Unfortunately, Sylvia Plath committed suicide not long after this poem has been written. This poem shows her feelings regarding that of her father throughout her life, and we can only hope that she and her father are in a much more peaceful state now.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Governance and Public Policy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Governance and Public Policy - Case Study Example This will be vital in constructing low income houses for the purpose of incorporating different races in the region. Good governance and public policing are a requirement in order to draw plans for housing which concentrate on the interests of all citizens regardless of race (Reinke 27). Good governance will ensure quality services and appropriate taxation that will benefit the city inhabitants. The principles of good governance will direct proper leadership hence initiation of public policies that are fundamental to the community (Reinke 29). These principles guide the commission in ensuring construction of structures that serve all races that reside in the city. Good governance will enhance proper spending of funds for the housing plans. The commission will have a responsibility of monitoring various budgets and plans for the project. This principle will guide various strategies that affect the community in terms of low income housing that incorporate diversity (Reinke 31). Good governance ensures effectiveness in conducting functions plus roles (Reinke 35). It ensures concise decisions in matters that relate management. Proper housing plan will be successful if these principles are in

Environmental Scanning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Environmental Scanning - Essay Example Of all efforts, which are aimed at improving processes in an organisation, it is the alignment of the organisation with its environment that is the single most important to an organisation's success. Therefore, in an effort to align an organisation with its environment, it is very important that an organisation carries out environmental scanning and scenario planning. According to (Saxby, Parker, Nitse, & Dishman, 2002) environmental scanning is quite an involving process, which requires strategic planning, and the involvement of heavy resources to execute. Environmental scanning for any given business involves acquiring and using information surrounding key organizational events, market trends and other important trends as well as external relationships between an organisation and its partners, shareholders, as well as the customers (Aguillar, 1967). Environmental scanning is important in that the knowledge an organisation acquires from carrying out the process enables the organisation to carry out strategic planning especially in regard to how the organisation should respond to future challenges, respond to competitor activity as well as respond to the market environment. This is very important to any organisation considering that for an organisation long term planning is as important as the short term planning. Therefore failing to carry out a thorough environmental scanning is likely to result into loss of business for the company or in some cases losing out on market shares. Environmental scanning is important in that it positions the organisation to foresee future threats; an environmental scanning helps the organisation to identify future opportunities occasioned by political, economical as well as social factors. Unless the organisation is able to identify what the future holds for the company, it is very unlikely that such an organisation would continue satisfying its customers. Lack of proper environmental scanning results into loss of market share something, which can adversely affect organizational expansion and extension plans. Therefore environmental scanning should be carried in such a way so as to enable an organisation to face the future with certainty as well as plan the possible scenarios and course of action incase things do not work according to plan. Environmental scanning involves several steps, which include undirected viewing, conditioned viewing, enacting as well as searching (Kohn, 2005). Environment requires the correct analysis of the industry, which the organisation belongs to. Therefore viewing involves actual observation of the organisation activities, noting any difficult or challenging situations, which seem detrimental to the organizational success. Viewing enables an organisation to take note of environmental factors or issues, which require be looking at and resolved. Viewing is the right step, which results, into identification of environmental issues, which are a threat to the organisation, or on the other hand, viewing generates information or insight into opportunities in the market which if further analysed can present the organisation with greater avenues for growth. Undirected viewing according to (Aguillar, 1967) involves a situation whereby an organisation fails to invest the necessary

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Thea Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Thea - Essay Example During this era, Hollywood or cinema was becoming an imperative part in the development of the fashion industry. Cinema became the mode of shifting attention from the sorrowful scenario generated due to war. Hollywood actresses played crucial roles in determining the fashion statements of the year. Uche Okonkwo in the renowned book; â€Å"Luxury Fashion Branding: Trends, Tactics, Techniques† mentioned, â€Å"This led to the increase of the style and fashion influences of Hollywood actresses like Marilyn Monroe, Liza Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot† (Okonkwo 30). THESIS STATEMENT This essay intends to focus on the influence the costumes of the movies in 1940s had on the general fashion of the era. Moreover, keeping in view the two prominent actresses who were extremely popular in that generation in Hollywood, Audrey Hepburn and Katherine Hepburn, the essay focuses on the stylistics and fashion statement of these two divas on the society as a whole. FASHION OF HOLLYWOOD IN 1940s To understand the fashion and style of Hollywood films during 1940s, it is essential to study the nature of film produced during the era and the characteristics and features of those films particularly. Film Noir is a product of these decades, but 1940s and 50s observed the increase of Hollywood musicals as well. The decade viewed a mix feeling of emotion and maturity in the films. With the disappearing of the war generated distress among people, it was a suitable time for the people to celebrate a new beginning and reunite. Depressing activities of war time started eradicating slowly during this decade. In its place, action, adventure and fun began to take priority for the subject of the movies. Taking the opportunity, Hollywood started focusing on entertainment, making it a component for profitable film making. This kind of fun, adventure and family dramas did involve a considerable amount of scope for fashion and decorative settings. People were significantly m otivated towards following the decoration appearing on the film sets and the hair style, shoes and bags along with jewelleries worn or used by their dream man or woman on the silver screen. ROLE OF ACTRESSES IN DETERMINING THE FASHION STATEMENT OF 1940S: A CLOSE STUDY OF STYLISTICS OF AUDREY HEPBURN AND KATHERINE HEPBURN The movies of 1940s did give birth to a number of new actors and actresses in Hollywood films. The emergence of such new talents brought with it a combination of new tastes and new faces which positively altered the meaning of cinema. It also expanded cinema totally from a very conventional form. The spectacular aspects depicted in the films started to get apparent through the costumes and fashion statements of the heroines. It would be unfair to take the name of one of the timeless beauties of Hollywood when fashion statement and its depiction in cinema become the topic for discussion. Audrey Hepburn made a stunning performance in the film ‘Roman Holiday†™ in the year 1953. As regards to her fashion statement, it is quite necessary to mention that Audrey Hepburn has made her space in the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame. The appeal and style with which she carried all her apparel added an extra attraction to them. Actually, 1940s witnessed the huge addition of women into the film industry. Thus, the pioneers like Hepburn had to take the extra care of maintaining the dignity and respect of women appearing on screen as icons of independent American

Monday, August 26, 2019

Evolution of marketing strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Evolution of marketing strategy - Case Study Example By selling a product via targeting the customers' desires (emotions), H-D was able to capture people from all walks of life. From top executives to blue-collar workers, a diverse group of people bought into the lifestyle and sense of belonging to an elite group that H-D had created. This occurred because H-D staff members from all various positions, departments, and socioeconomic status were involved in the company's decision making regarding the changes. Vedpuriswar (2003) reports, "By 1986, H-D had regained 25% of the US motorcycle market'it went public on the New York Stock Exchange'From 1988 t0 1995, annual shipments'more than doubled. Although H-D generated more than $1.3 billion revenues in 1995, it spent less than less than $2 million in advertising'In H-D achieved its 18th consecutive year of growth, outselling all other manufacturers in the heavyweight category for the third straight year'" H-D had the right idea when it focused on people being the greatest competitive advantage. By focusing on four marketing objectives, H-D was able to capture both beginners and those who had already fallen in love with its products. After much research, it was able to gear its motorcycles, pricing, advertising, and all other aspects to enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts. H-D used the same the same research and customized approach to target the international market by keeping motorcycle production below demand. The freedom and liberty of America was the symbol that H-D used to sell its products. The image that the company sold was the niche that made it successful above its competitors. With products ranging from motorcycles to clothing to financing, H-D's marketing mix was advertised in that many found surprising. The company wanted to get the general public's attention. H-D also combined forces with other companies such as Ford to create limited edition of vehicles. Hence, the community of customers that H-D built is from all walks of life. Membership, with purchase of a motorcycle, allowed customers to attend unique activities and functions (at local, regional, national, and international levels), which allowed them to share their love of riding and to Last Name 3 belong to a special community of those who share the same interests. Brand loyalty was the result of all this research and hard work and it proved to be extremely successful. The brand and licensing was sold to various companies in the United Stated and other countries. Eighty licenses covered eighteen product categories worldwide. The H-D brand can be found on cafes, dolls, children's wear, toys, etc. As with anything in life, with the pros are the cons; with the advantages there are usually disadvantages. A disadvantage was that H-D listened to their customers so well and created such a desire that they could not keep up with the demand at the current level of production. Some executives are concerned that the H-D brand, which exemplifies ruggedness and masculinity, may be disastrous as it goes into a category that does not live up to this hardcore image and value. They feel that the company may have ventured into territories that it had no business in dealing with which may have led to devastating

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Business process management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business process management - Essay Example If the book is available the book is handed over to the borrower and the exact time is recorded. After recording the time, in the local system the status of the book will be upgraded to â€Å"checked out†. Now the borrower can enjoy full access of the book. In case the book has already been lent and offers to hold the book has been made to the borrower, it is up to the borrower to wait for the period normally a week until the book is returned or to decline it. When the offer is made it is the borrower’s decision to decline immediately or to decline after one week. In both cases the final decision that reaches the system is the cancelation of the order. The cancellation of request is processed and the decision is communicated to the customer. On the other hand after the offer of holding book has been sent the book is put on hold. This is the case due to the fulfillment certain predetermined factors. The hold on the book will be placed for a specific time period mostly tw o weeks. During this time period the customer needs to take custody of the book. However if variable feedbacks are communicated to the customer by the librarian, the decision made will be based on concrete evidence. Once the book is available the borrower will cooperate with the librarian and the regular formalities will the completed successfully. An appropriate Business Modeling Notion example is a Flow Chart.

Saturday, August 24, 2019

RFID is increasingly used in logistics. Discuss its advantages and Essay - 1

RFID is increasingly used in logistics. Discuss its advantages and disadvantages from a global perspective - Essay Example 285-303) highlighted cost reduction in non-calibrated tools by implemented RFID solutions. Calibrated tools are vital for quality production and require constant tracking for most advantageous labor efficiency and productivity. The RFID solution will track the calibrated tools and reduce cost significantly. The study also concludes the calculation of a net present value analysis as compared to do-nothing scenario, , by deploying the RFID technology, the cost saving figures were approximately $ 60,000. By implementing RFID, other areas can also be integrated to save more cost and produce efficiency. Therefore, RFID integration in specialized manufacturing is beneficial in terms of cost, efficiency and tracking. Moreover, asset management systems that are integrated to Enterprise resource planning (ERP) will be useful when integrated to RFID technology. The objective of asset management systems is to locate accurate assets, specifically at the exact time, and present information about each, along with its status. In order to carry out processes in asset management systems, a tag is attached to each asset, which allows the transmission of information, by frequency identification to the reader. After receiving the data, the reader sends it to the inventory management system for tracking the location via the production facility (Jones et al. 285-303; Jones et al. 285-303). 2 Automated Manufacturing and Logistics Control The other dimension of RFID is passive RFID that is implemented in automated manufacturing and logistics control. The passive RFID technology is beneficial for any business process requiring fast flow of items. Moreover, passive RFID systems transmits energy entirely from the reader devices called transponders which are relatively inexpensive, making them the ideal choice and easy to apply for manufacturing and logistics control systems. Likewise, these transponders are easy to fix on the object for identification. Furthermore, RFID technology facili tates real time object visibility with high accuracy providing organizations to continuously identify and locate all items with real time data management (Keskilammi, Sydanheimo and Kivikoski 769-774). 3 Real World Examples In order to gain a better idea, some real world examples will illustrate the operations and processes that are facilitated by RFID in organizations. This section will describe some real world examples of implementing RFID for improving the efficiency of production in a department for packing integrated circuit. Liu and Chen conducted a study in 2009 for improving production efficiency in an integrated-circuit packaging house by implementing RFID technology. The integration with electronic framework, RFID technology, and ERP system was implemented along with Oracle AIM. The system reflected two modules named as electronic receiving modules and inventory transaction module respectively. The conclusion and results highlighted the implementation of electronic receivi ng module is utilized to enhance accept / check operation issues, operations associated with stock-in-record processing and document hauling operations. On the other hand, inventory transaction form is capable to handle demands for entry information related to accounting, transaction form request related to inventory, transaction records and processing replacement. By implementing RFID

Friday, August 23, 2019

Duke Ellingon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Duke Ellingon - Essay Example Despite James playing operatic arias and Daisy favoring parlor songs, many people believe that Duke’s musical talents, though not his primary source of ambition, were etched in his DNA, having been decided for him before he was even born. Duke’s first love was baseball. While his parents encouraged his athletic abilities, they also stimulated his musical side, knowing that the talent was there, but just needed to be mined. At the ripe of age seven, Duke began receiving piano lessons from Marietta Clinkscales. Daisy wanted Duke to be a well-rounded young gentleman, so she also made sure that, alongside his piano lessons, he would be taught manners and elegance. As a result of his refined behavior, grace, and the classy way that he dressed, Duke’s friends gave him the affectionate nickname Duke with the belief that a young boy so noble deserved a title. Growing up, Duke dedicated a balanced amount of time to his piano lessons and to baseball. When he entered high s chool, Duke got his first job selling peanuts at baseball games. Around the same time, his personal love for music began to develop into what would become one of the greatest legacies in American music history. At the age of fifteen, while working another job as a soda jerk, Duke penned his first composition, â€Å"Soda Fountain Rag.† Duke had yet to learn to read and write music, so this composition was created entirely by ear. â€Å"I would play the ‘Soda Fountain Rag’ as a one-step, two-step, waltz, tango, and fox trot. Listeners never knew it was the same piece. I was established as having my own repertoire† (Ellington 112). Even at a young age, Duke knew how to manipulate his musical talent, a characteristic that would only become more intense as he learned to harness this talent. Surprisingly, Duke found that he enjoyed writing music more than playing the piano. He would often skip his piano lessons to sneak into a poolroom to listen to other pianists. During those many journeys, though, Duke finally discovered the love of piano that his mother had tried to instill in him. Duke would watch and listen to some of the big names in ragtime piano, including Doc Perry, Harvey Brooks, and Claude Hopkins. The more he listened to these great musicians, the easier Duke found to imitate their music. Duke took hold of this desire and set out to become the musician that he continues to be remem bered as today. Duke’s formal musical training began soon after his newfound discovery. His high school music teacher gave him private lessons in harmony, and pianist and band leader Doc Perry taught Duke how to read sheet music and present a style of professionalism. With the advice from other well-known pianists, such as Fats Waller and Sidney Bechet, Duke began playing ragtime piano is clubs and cafes throughout Washington, D.C., becoming so attached to his music that he even turned down a scholarship to the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn. Just three months prior to graduating from high school, Duke dropped out of school, ready to take his talent to professional levels, wanting to share his music with the world. Duke put together his first music group in 1917, and they were known as The Duke’s Serenaders. The group played in Washington, D.C. and in many cities of Virginia, performing for embassy parties and private society balls. The success of The Duke’s Serena ders was uncommon in those times given the racial division of society. The social acceptance that was abundant wherever Duke and his musicians played speaks, entertaining African-American and white audiences, speaks loudly of how revered Duke was becoming. Despite his racial background, people of all races were anxious to hear the great Duke behind his piano.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Admissions Essay Essay Example for Free

Admissions Essay Essay There have been several people with prominent impacts on my life, but why focus only on the people who have influenced me? Let us broaden the scope to include all worldly matter. Then I make no hesitation in stating that my canine companion, Toby, has been my greatest influence. Toby, a vivacious miniature schnauzer, is at a well-ripened age of eleven. He is not the same dog he was when he was younger. He sleeps about 18 hours a day and it is impractical to take a nap on the couch with him, because his snoring is loud enough to be fooled with the reverberation of my dad after a long day of golf. However, just before 5 o’clock in the afternoon, only the gray hairs scattering Toby’s black coat give away his old age. It is around this time every day that Toby begins his racket of letting you know that it is getting â€Å"close† to his dinnertime of 6 o’clock. Toby’s daily reminders guide me to take a stand against the common adolescent breakfast fast. They are also a source of accountability in my quest to keep a positive outlook on all things that I encounter in my life. See more: Satirical essay about drugs While Toby may be an ordinary dog, he and I share something that I have never had with another human. Toby and I communicate better than any two humans do. To a third party, it seems as though I am carrying on a conversation with a non-responsive dog therefore essentially speaking back and forth to myself. However, I assure you that Toby responds back in his own way. What makes our communication so superior is Toby’s masterful ability to express himself non-verbally. This allows me to open up to him and not have to worry about him responding with insensitive or uninsightful utterances. I have learned through Toby that when a person goes to another human to talk they would rather that the person speak less and listen more. I have also found my canine companion to be dependable. He is at my feet when I need him on a cold night to do the job my comforter is supposed to do. After having one of â€Å"those† days I can count on him to be there when I walk through the door and not running to the corner. I use this example of dependability and apply it to my daily life by being there for others as  Toby has been there for me. It may, to some, be a bit silly to consider a dog influential, but these people must not have had the privilege of owning one of man’s very own best friends. I like to think that if our world had more children with dogs like my Toby, it would also have more children learning the core values that aid in responsibility and kindness.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The cruel treatment Essay Example for Free

The cruel treatment Essay Miss Havisham, her dream is rather alarming as she wants too seek revenge on all male sex the reason for this is because of the cruel treatment she received from her fian. Since that day she has been wearing the same bridal clothing and has not removed anything out or out of place in her home. She lives her life vicariously through Estella whom she adopted and is used to break every males heart. She invites males from when they are young so slowly there hearts may be broken, eventually her dream also fails as many know about her plans and they tend to ignore her. Well, I thought I overheard Miss Havisham answer- only it seemed so unlikely- Well, you can break his heart.' (Pg. 59) Another instance of foreshadowing, this is the first point in the story when the reader can see Miss Havishams plot with Estella. Further on her plans come to an end as Estella is married to Drummel who is a cold hearted man and now she is beaten and treated the same as his animals as drummel states in the novel also Estella says he whips his horses, in comparison Im spared. Now Estella ends back at Satis house alone just like Miss Havisham, neither the two have succeeded in there dreams. Abel Magwitch, who is at first a gruesome prisoner that escapes on the marshes where he meets pip. for he gave me a look that I did not understand, and it all passed in a moment. But if he had looked at me for an hour, or a day, I could not have remembered his face ever afterwards, as having been more attentive. (Pg. 37) Pip is talking about his convict after the soldiers catch him. This passage is important to the story because it foreshadows all that is to come. Pip could not interpret what the convict felt for him. He was sent down to Australia where he made a fortune by farming but after all that time he still risked his life and came back to England so he can be pips benefactor, because of the favour pip had done him. Pip does not know who his benefactor is as he couldnt even imagine it would be Magwitch. Yes, Pip, dear boy, Ive made a gentleman on you! (Pg. 315) Magwitch tells Pip this the first night he comes to his house. It reveals that Magwitch is his benefactor and this one statement totally changes Pips outlook on his good fortune. His dream comes to an end as he is sophisticated and does not realise that he is a convict, the novel ends where he began it as a convict, no improvements has been made in his life also. All the characters did not go far with there dreams as they too hasty into doing things, firstly pip with all the money he has he squanders it all, Miss Havisham relies on Estella when she is married and beaten and Magwitch who is an escaped convict doesnt realise that pip cannot become a gentleman as Magwitch himself is not a noble person. All three characters inhabit imperfection in their own personalities and are ruined matters beyond their control. Pip tries to become a gentleman when his benefactor is not a nobleman and his origin is a blacksmith, Miss Havisham adopts Estella to take her revenge through Estella and Magwitch is trying to be pips father which he can never be, none realise and are expecting too much of themselves. All characters are linked in this way that they could try to use any means to make there dreams come true but it will not work as somewhere at some point there will be a tun over as they are imperfect in some ways. All their dreams are unreal and because of this they act unusually and behave the way they shouldnt. Their expectations are far too great for them too control over and from this they fail into fulfilling their dreams and aspirations. This novel is a mirror image of dickens and from this he wanted for the middle and upper classes to understand the lifes of the working class people and also children along with the difficulties and hardship they had to go through.

Self Confidence And Leadership

Self Confidence And Leadership Purpose The purpose of this study is to test empirically whether a relationship exists between self confidence and leadership, with self efficacy as a mediator. This effect is studied with respect to gender differences among the sample population. Design/methodology/approach An online questionnaire was administered to students of XLRI, Jamshedpur. The questionnaire measured the students on various parameters like self confidence, self efficacy, and leadership quality. Gender differences were also recorded for the same. Findings There is a significant relation between self confidence and leadership of an individual, with self efficacy fully mediating this relationship. Also, it was seen that gender plays an important role in defining the leadership among management students. Research limitations/implications Only management students of a B-school were taken as sample. Also, this study administered a structured questionnaire with cross-sectional design. Future research is required on various other parameters that effect leadership quality of an individual. Practical implications The research is carried on management students. Hence, it is expected to act as a guide for organisations in determining the effectiveness of future managers with respect to co-relation between levels of self confidence and their display of leadership behaviour. Originality/value This paper studies the direct effect of self confidence and indirect effect through self efficacy on leadership quality among students of a B-school and how gender differences affects this relationship model. This model, though earlier studied in parts will now be researched upon in totality. Keywords Self confidence, Self efficacy, Leadership, Gender, XLRI, Jamshedpur, India Paper type Research Paper Introduction Leadership has become an important determinant managerial ability. Leadership has been defined as the ability to execute, organize, communicate, motivate and inspire. Several approaches have been proposed for the assessment of leadership ability. These range from specific theories of leadership, such as trait theory, to specific kinds of leadership, such as transformational leadership, to specific dimensions, such as goal setting. However, lately, the best assessment of leadership is on the ability to inspire others through positive exemplary behaviour and through empathetic communication. As such the best description of leadership ability might comprise ability to: Exercise discipline over oneself, demonstrate clarity of thought of life, and possess a well rounded worldview and philosophy on life that combines personal mastery and public interdependence in a benign, non-manipulative way. Display compassion from others point of view, and to truly empathize with others and know their motivations, concerns and preconceptions. Communicate effectively on the basis of an accurate assessment of others perspective and their various levels of drives and motivation. That is, to construct the most appropriate message, and encode and deliver it through language and otherwise in the best way possible so that the recipient has thorough understanding of the idea being communicated. Draw from ones clarity of thought powers of empathy and freedom from vanity so as to assess the situation around him accurately, and to draw a vision of a lofty but attainable future which he considers to be desirable and beneficial to the largest number of people. To inspire large numbers of people towards a common, highly meaningful and motivating goal; guiding and showing them how it is achievable, while facilitating communication at every stage To maintain utmost consideration for, and a personal bond with, the people for and with whom he is working in the process elevating them and making leaders out of them in turn. The above characteristics what a leader is supposed to achieve. However these characteristics are difficult to measure over a short period of time, so alternative methods are use. One such method has been used in this study. Organizations are constantly on the lookout for executives who display these behaviours. As such they are constantly on the lookout for methods which can help predict the leadership abilities of prospective members of the organization. Self confidence is one such measure of leadership abilities (Kaplan, 1986; Popper and Mayseless, 2007). It is considered to be one of the fundamental building blocks of leadership ability and indispensible to leadership success. A person with a high level of faith in himself or herself is likely to be a better executor and motivator. Only a high degree of self confidence can enable a person to make the effort and the choices that go into developing leadership ability. A related trait that is crucial to leadership is self efficacy. The ability to handle adverse situations by taking charge of situations has been found to be determinant of leadership in situations requiring change. This is important because ability to lead positively, empathetically and ethically while facing tough competitive situations requires a belief that one can successfully negotiate such situations without compromising. Furthermore, gender has been an area of focus in study of leadership styles. Studies have pointed out that gender is related to leadership style and performance on various leadership dimensions. Given that leadership abilities of women are expected to draw from somewhat different strengths than men, it can be expected to affect the relationship between self confidence, self efficacy and leadership. Hence we see that there is a need to study the mediating role of self-efficacy in the relationship between self confidence and leadership. Furthermore, given the significant differences found in leadership parameters of men and women, it is important to see how the strength of the relationship between self confidence and leadership abilities is affected by gender. Hence in this study, we seek to study the mediation effect of self-efficacy on the relationship between self confidence and leadership with gender as the moderating variable. Research background and hypotheses Efforts to pinpoint the influences on leadership skills have focussed, for the greater part of the twentieth century, on individual factors such as personality traits and behavioural attributes. In a 1948 literature review, over a 100 studies on trait approach were reviewed and it was found that traits like interpersonal skills, initiative, intelligence and integrity were consistent with leadership capabilities (Daft, 2005). Studies on individual traits have included research on various traits such as honesty, interpersonal skills, initiative etc. Studies have also talked about traits like self-confidence and self-efficacy in relation to leadership (Popper and Mayseless, 2007; Hautala, 2005). This study carries forward these ideas while also attempting to add to knowledge of leadership by studying factors which lead to leadership as well as the way in which other factors moderate this relationship. Self-confidence Self-confidence is a personality trait. One of the most widely accepted definitions of it comes through the Trait Theory of Leadership wherein it is considered one of the most important personality traits used to identify potential leaders (Daft, 2005). If we were to take a more contemporary definition of self-confidence, Merriam-Webster Online defines it as confidence in oneself and in ones powers and abilities. Although there is no singular definition of self-confidence as a construct, a lot of research has been done on the subject and various authors have defined it in different ways. For instance, the reasons for development of self-confidence in an individual have been identified by various authors. Self-confidence may result from a persons belief in whether he or she can performs a task a belief derived from whether or not they succeeded in performing the task in the past (Burns, 1993). On the other hand, self-confidence has also been said to develop in two phases. First, you examine whether you are capable of handling, or have adequate information about, a task and then based on this analysis you decide whether you can handle the task in the present context or situation (Koriat et al, 1980). Self-confidence has most often been linked with the concept of self-efficacy and the two terms are often used interchangeably. Apart from gaining experiential knowledge, a persons self-confidence may also increase through appropriate motivational mechanisms or through reinforcement behaviours (Bandura, 1977). The components of self-confidence have also been studied and they can be divided into internal and external components, ranging from self-love for the former to assertiveness for the latter (Lindenfield, 1995). There are also certain general behavioural indications, which have been linked to self-confidence as components or attributes, viz. a persons air of assurance and the fact that his entry or exit from a space is considered to be of note (Goleman, 1998) In an analysis of self-confidence as a concept, we can find those attributes, which are most representative of self-confidence as a stand-alone concept. These attributes include belief in positive achievements, persistence and self-awareness all of which our questionnaire attempted to capture (White, 2009). Personal characteristics such as willingness to take initiative, effectiveness, self-esteem etc. have also been variously linked to self-confidence (Kacmar and Young, 1998; Pool and Sewell, 2007). Self-confidence measures have, for the most part, continued to measure the attributes mentioned above. However, some new scales to measure it have been developed in recent years, mostly for use in specific professions. The Self-confidence Attitude Attribute Scale was developed to measure the ability of students as well as the amount of work they are willing to perform in order to succeed (Nokelainen et al, 2007). A new measure, the Perceived Self-confidence Scale was also developed for n urses in order to gauge the correlation between willingness to take up managed care and perceived self-confidence (Hayes, 2003) Self-efficacy Self-efficacy is also a construct related to personality and was first developed as part of a study on behavioural change (Bandura, 1977). It was initially defined in terms of an element which helps in development of learning abilities, especially for social or cognitive skills. The concept gained currency over the years and may now be defined as the conviction that one can act in accordance with certain predetermined norms and that such actions will lead to the successful achievement of objectives (Ormrod, 1999). It can also be defined as the belief that our actions can have a modifying effect on the environment and, hence, bring about changes or achieve goals (Steinberg, 1998). Elsewhere self-efficacy, especially among students has been examined and has been described as being capable of imagining oneself achieving a goal completely or as far as one desired to achieve it (Smalley, 1998). It has also been described as, simultaneously, an influence on and a result of socio-cultural n orms and ethnic background (Pajares, 2002). As mentioned above, a similarity of concepts has often led to self-efficacy being used interchangeably with self-confidence. This is also true in the case of efficacy, self-esteem and self-concept. Efforts to distinguish efficacy from self-efficacy have focussed on the fact that efficacy represents actual ability whereas self-efficacy represents a belief in ones ability to accomplish a goal in a designated manner (Sue et al, 2005). The sources which lead to self-efficacy as well as the factors which impact it have been divided under four broad headings learning derived from experiencing something in the past; learning from or comparing oneself with others; persuasion from social relations or even institutions and finally, our reactions to the physiological changes within us during specific situations (Bandura, 1977). Self-efficacy also has certain consequences on behaviour. For example it leads to greater effort and increased focus on ach ievement of goals (Schunk, 1990). It may also make one more competent in generating enthusiasm and motivation for a task (Gonzalez et al, 1990). On the other hand, low self-efficacy could also lead to the reverse, i.e. low competence due to lack of belief in oneself (Pajares, 2002). Self-efficacy, apart from being linked to the above-mentioned constructs (with which it is frequently interchanged), also has an impact on the way we think and act, our thought patterns and behaviour (Bandura, 1977). In order to define self-efficacy or to apply it to their research, theorists and researchers began to devise new ways to describe and measure the construct of self-efficacy. Initially self-efficacy was primarily measured on the General Self-Efficacy Scale (Scherer et al, 1982). However, more recently, apart from the universally accepted scales such as the Generalised Self-Efficacy Scale (Jerusalem and Schwarzer, 1995), other scales have been developed, such as the Scale of Perceived Social S elf-Efficacy (Betz and Smith, 2000). The latter was developed to measure self-efficacy expectations in the context of actions taken or behaviour demonstrated in social situations. There were six sub-factors to self-efficacy, in this scale, and they included performance in public situations as well as social assertiveness. These scales have also been modified according to the needs of the research (Matsushima and Shiomi, 2003). Leadership Leadership has been identified in various forms over the years. It has alternately been considered a combination of traits, of behaviours, of contingency actions etc. It can be defined as the process by which an individual encourages others, or works with others, to achieve certain shared goals (Chemers, 2002). Over time this definition has become more expansive and now includes the interrelationship between the leader and his followers. Leadership as a construct has evolved over time and this evolution can be divided into six broad types of leadership theories (Daft, 2005). The Great Man Theory of leadership defined it as inherent ability which set apart one man from the rest and he was recognised as a leader while the Trait Theory, which was in currency for nearly half a century, tried to identify those traits which can be influencers or predictors of leadership ability (Robbins, 2008). Other theories have included study of leadership behaviours, leaderships impact on followers, le adership actions to be taken in emergency, interrelationship between leadership and change etc. (Yukl, 1981). ). Leadership or leadership quality (which has been used as a construct in our survey and our research) has also been defined in terms of the people orientation and task orientation of individuals (Hemphill and Coons, 1957; Likert, 1979; Blake and Mouton, 1985). The reasons for leadership definitions being focussed on these two dimensions are the importance of both to the organisation as well as the fact that the presence of both, in an effective leader, is necessary. Irrespective of whether the two orientations are displayed simultaneously or at different situations, it is clear that extensive research has determined them to be present in successful and admired leaders (Fleishman and Harris, 1962). The various constructs which have been related to leadership over time include emotional intelligence and social intelligence (Goleman and Boyatzis, 2008), integrity and self-con fidence (Trait Theory) and other more elusive constructs such as charisma (Influence Theories). There has been a great deal of empirical evidence over the years to suggest that leadership is affected by self-confidence (Bass, 1985; Popper, 2004 etc.) and also by self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977; Paglis and Green, 2002 etc.). Various measures have been developed over the years to capture the elusive and ever-changing construct of leadership. Some of the scales developed in the last decade included the Revised Self-leadership Scale (Houghton and Neck, 2002), revisions to existing scales on Leadership Scale for Sport and Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire (Nazarudin et al, 2009), etc. Self-confidence and Leadership From the literature which was reviewed, it was clear that self-confidence was an important part of an individuals personality and, hence, should be an important factor in the development of leadership in him. But, first it needed to be proved that personality has an effect on development of leadership or on demonstration of leadership behaviour. The study of relationship between leadership and personality has found significant interdependence between the two, with self-confidence being an important element of a leaders personality (Hautala, 2005). In one such study personality was divided into four clusters and it was proved that certain types of personality demonstrated greater leadership behaviour (Church and Waclawski, 1998). However, in order to relate the constructs of self-confidence and leadership, more research has been conducted, both empirical and conceptual. While studying transformational leadership through a survey feedback session, it was discovered that one of the important personality components, for those who scored high on leadership was self-confidence (Bass and Riggio, 2006). Similarly a study on the building-blocks of leadership development, has also shown that self-confidence was the most evident variable when it came to determining ability to lead others (Popper and Mayseless, 2007). When it comes to leadership in a business environment, there is ample research to suggest that business leadership is also dependent, to a great extent, on self-confidence. For instance, there has been research on managerial self-confidence and organisational change. The study attempts to formulate a new concept of self-confidence, which can lead to better managerial performance in terms of leading an orga nisation towards change (Bowman, 1999). The current economic environment requires a new set of business leaders with new ideas and a confident leader as well as earning confidence through respect is an important means of achieving success (Darling and Nurmi, 1995). A profiling tool on public sector managers had also discovered a lack of leadership confidence among them, which affected their ability to provide inspiration and support to subordinates and colleagues (Women in Management Review, 2007). Entrepreneurship can intuitively be considered a direct firm of leadership and studies have demonstrated that among MBA students (our sample), higher self-confidence can be statistically correlated with higher levels of entrepreneurship-orientation (Koh, 1996; Turker and Selcuk, 2009). A study on communication in groups has also shown how self-confidence is essential for improved communication (Education + Training Journal, 1960). For prospective managers it, therefore, becomes necessary to develop self-confidence as a means to developing leadership and even communication skills. Self-confidence and self-efficacy As mentioned earlier, self-confidence and self-efficacy are often used interchangeably, primarily due to the similarity of the constructs, which are both dependent on a sense of self-belief. While self-confidence is the belief in ones abilities, self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of performing a certain task in an expected manner. Studies on either of these constructs tend to focus on the other as well. In a conceptual study on use of these constructs for therapy, self-confidence was advocated for the common man whereas self-efficacy was recommended for use in (Ulmer, 1998). The study felt that self-efficacy had more empirical support as a construct and, hence, self-confidence could be considered a sort of sub-set of self-efficacy, whereby, higher self-confidence would imply higher self-efficacy. The relationship between the two, with self-efficacy playing an important mediating role between self-confidence and effective performance, has also been empirically validated b y another study (Orpen, 1999). Not only are the two concepts interrelated but they can also be used a substitutes for each other for example self-efficacy can be seen as a private form of shoring up faith in oneself, while self-confidence can be seen as the external image we need to present to society in order to succeed It has been suggested that self-confidence can be either a trait or something that is specific to certain situations (Pool and Sewell, 2007). There have also been attempts to redefine these personality traits as contextual concepts so that it would easier to measure them and also to work towards developing them in individuals. It would also be easier to map the exact relation between the two, i.e. how the increase in one leads to increase in the other (Pool and Sewell, 2007). Most attempts at measuring one or the other have culminated in both being measured as a factor of the other. Confidence has been included as one of the six dimensions on the Occupational Self- efficacy Scale (Pethe et al, 1999). Similarly, a study on the Israeli military used the construct of self-confidence as a combination of 3 variables, one of which was self efficacy (Popper et al, 2004). Variants of the constructs have also been found to be related to each other. For example, Social Self-efficacy has been proved to have a high correlation with Social Confidence (Betz and Smith, 2000). Thus, we may say that an increase in self-confidence or high levels of self-confidence is mirrored by correspondingly high levels of self-efficacy. Self-efficacy and leadership It has been seen that high level of self efficacy makes a person better suited for leadership role than a person with a low level of self efficacy. Through the Social Learning Theory, it was demonstrated that leadership development increases with high levels of self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977). Leadership involves being committed to the organisation you work for and self-efficacy at the workplace plays an important role in increasing this commitment (Rastogi and Rathi, 2009). A construct called Leadership Self-Efficacy (LSE) was also designed and the relationship, between LSE and an increase in leadership behaviours, was empirically validated (Green and Paglis, 2002). Studies have not only related individual self-efficacy and leadership but have also shown how increase in a leaders self-efficacy, so far as it pertains to his leadership abilities and job performance, have a positive effect on self-efficacy of the team or group that is being led (Sanchez and Villanueva, 2007). Self-effica cy is also necessary for achievement of stated objectives and the construct has been found meaningful for developing better performances in an organisational setting (Appelbaum and Hare, 1996). Other research has also tried to establish a correlation between self-efficacy at work and the personal traits which can be considered essential for leadership (Schyns and Sczesny, 2010). Career success which could be defined as being able to reach a level of influential leadership is also positively affected by self-efficacy (Ballout, 2009). There has also been an interest in transformational leadership and its relation to self-efficacy for leaders, both male and female (Sanders and Schyns, 2005). For those working in expatriate roles or leading global organisations, self-efficacy has been found to be an important criterion for success (Ang and Dyne, 2006). Self-efficacy also leads to greater job involvement, a prerequisite for effective leadership (Lin et al, 2009). The ability to lead new companies or begin a new venture has been found to be positively affected by high self-efficacy (Alvarez et al, 2006). Self-confidence, self-efficacy and leadership Based on the discussion above, we can say that there is a positive relationship between self-confidence and leadership, self-confidence and self-efficacy and self-efficacy and leadership. But in order to study the relationship between self-confidence and leadership, with self-efficacy as a mediator, further research was involved. The Social Learning Theory was one of the first in establishing a correlation between these three constructs since it showed self-confidence to be an important element of self-efficacy while also establishing its relation with leadership development (Bandura, 1977). Any comprehensive study of leadership as a concept tends to include self-confidence and self-efficacy as two of the most important factors in possessing or developing leadership skills (Conger et al, 1988). Self-confidence and self-efficacy have also been found to influence the thought patterns or actions which lead to leadership development (Popper, 2004). Both self-efficacy and self-efficacy ha ve been shown to have an impact on a persons job capabilities and, hence, ultimately his leadership capabilities as well (Pool and Sewell, 2007). Self-confidence and self-efficacy have also been independently correlated to entrepreneurial leadership abilities and, considering the correlation between the two constructs, one can say that an increase in one would lead to an increase in the other and finally to an increase in leadership abilities (Turker et al, 2008; Alvarez et al, 2006). Attempts to develop future leaders have also shown that increasing self-efficacy and motivating employees to have greater self-confidence are integral to the process (Popper and Lipshitz, 1993). From empirical and theoretical research, the two constructs of self-confidence and self-efficacy have been shown to be related conceptually, since both are dependent on self-belief to a great extent. If we posit that self-confidence has a positive correlation with leadership, then an increase in one should lead to a corresponding increase in the other. However, since self-confidence is related to self-efficacy and self-efficacy is related to leadership, any increase in self-confidence will lead to increase in self-efficacy, which in turn would increase leadership ability. Genders Moderating Role on the Model The definition of gender includes the practices, beliefs and norms, internalised by men and women, with reference to their roles in society. Thus, gender influences individual decision making according to societal expectations. As a sociological entity, it also affects the development of personality and, hence, of traits such as self-confidence and self-efficacy. There has been significant research on how gender affects leadership. The possibility of women attaining leadership roles has been studied with reference to whether a glass ceiling exists and how evaluation of (and by) either gender tends to have an element of bias (Weyer, 2007). There is research to suggest that the types of roles or leadership positions offered to women are often significantly different compared to men (Lantz and Maryland, 2008). The differences in leadership orientation or style, between men and women, have also been studied to identify the varying ways in which they handle change and transformation (Yane z and Moreno, 2008). Leadership effectiveness has been analysed to show that gender differences exist (Chow, 2005). Not only does gender affect leadership but it also has an impact on various abilities and competencies which affect leadership. Studies have shown that women tend to score higher on emotional intelligence, which is generally identified with leadership (Bauch and Rucinski, 2006). There is also a significant difference in the extent to which men and women possess these success-predicting attributes (Hopkins and Bilimoria, 2008). In a study, which is of particular interest to this research, entrepreneurship skills (linked to leadership in the discussion above) were found to be influenced by levels of self-confidence. The self-confidence levels for men and women were qualitatively proved to be different, hampering women in their quest for leadership development and success. Thus, we can say that gender has an influence on the relationship between self-confidence and leader ship. Based on the discussion above, the following hypotheses are proposed: H1. Self-confidence has an impact on leadership quality. H2. Self-confidence has a positive impact on self-efficacy. H3. Self-efficacy has an impact on leadership quality. H4. Self-confidence has an impact on leadership quality by increasing self- efficacy. H5. Gender has an impact on the relationship between self-confidence and leadership quality. Research Model Self-Confidence Self Efficacy Leadership Gender Methods Sample The survey was administered to management students of XLRI of batch 2008-10 and 2009-11. There are total 420 students (294 males and 126 females), out of which 68.03% of the students chose to participate. The response consisted of 127 males and 73 females. Using stratified sampling, 102 males and 58 females were chosen using random number generator. The average age of the sample is around 25 years. The questionnaire was a self-administered questionnaire and it was sent to students using internet. Measure The constructs used here were measured using Likert and Likert-type scale with different range used for different constructs. Leadership quality It is measured using 5-point Likert type scale developed by. A sample item is The more challenging a task is, the more I enjoy it. Self confidence it is measured using 5-point Likert scale developed by Sherer et als (1982). A sample item is I avoid facing difficulties. Self efficacy it is measured on a 4-point Likert type scale using Schwarzer and Jerusalems General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale (Schwarzer and Jerusalems, 2010). A sample item is If I am in trouble, I can usually think of a solution. Also, gender has been used as a moderator which is a dichotomous variable asking if the respondent is a male or a female. Analysis For the analysis, different methods have been used for different purposes. For measuring the reliability of various constructs the Cronbachs alpha has to be calculated for all the constructs defined in the model. For proving H1, H2 and H3 we are using linear regression model to find out the significance of relationship between the constructs of Self confidence, self-efficacy and Leadership Quality. In order to evaluate the effect of mediator we use the mediator model with multiple regression analysis or MRA which consists of four sequential steps to find out the significance of mediation and the effect of mediation. This analysis supports H4. For evaluating the effect of gender as the moderator, we first do regression analysis between the predictor and the consequent while including only the male gender in the analysis and then we do the same analysis using the female gender. This is done to find out whether gender has a significant role to play on how self-confidence affects leaders hip quality in a person. We use SPSS software to carry out our analysis. Results Reliability: In order to test the consistency of a construct, Cronbachs alpha is calculated. Following are the results for the same. According to some professionals, as rule of thumb, if value of alpha is 0.7 or higher, the construct is considered as reliable. Construct Cronbach alpha Reliability Leadership Quality 0.847 Yes Self Confidence 0.681 Yes Self Efficacy 0.889 Yes Effect of Self confidence on Leadership Quality: This

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Comic Books are not Trash :: miscellaneous

Comic Books are not Trash Comic books are cheap entertainment that trash the minds of our children. How often have I earned this. And I’ve disagreed with it every single time. If people were willing to go beyond that old stereotype, they would see that comic books are not that much different from other books. The thing is, as for many books, to choose wisely the ones we let our children read. Thus, you will see that comic books aren’t so bad. First, let us all remember that the authors, regardless of what type of writing they do, can always influence the minds of their young (and not so young) readers. After all, if you look at the storybooks written a few decades (and more) ago, you will find that a lot of them were sexist. For example, it was always the prince who saved Snow White, Cinderella and all the other princesses. Even if that is less true now, there are still some books that can negatively influence children. So if it is true that some comic books are sexist or violent, it is also true that some of them are, to put it simply, fine. It would be wrong to accuse all comic books of prejudice and violence, like it would be wrong to do the same with novels. In the same line of thought, one of the great things about books is that they can teach you a lot of things, whether it is about deep things or facts that you did not know; they broaden your horizon. Well, that is also true of some comic books. And it is not so surprising, when you think about it. For example, I had never heard of the country of Tanzania before I read a comic book in which that was the birth place of one of the main characters. As for more deep, philosophical things, even though it is less obvious, that can also be found. In a particular comic book title (but also in many others) the main subject in the stories is no understanding those who are born different from us. It can easily be related to racism. Thus, comic books, like books, can teach us great lessons. On a different note, it has often been said that literature is a form of art and that the writer is an artist and should be looked upon as such. Comic Books are not Trash :: miscellaneous Comic Books are not Trash Comic books are cheap entertainment that trash the minds of our children. How often have I earned this. And I’ve disagreed with it every single time. If people were willing to go beyond that old stereotype, they would see that comic books are not that much different from other books. The thing is, as for many books, to choose wisely the ones we let our children read. Thus, you will see that comic books aren’t so bad. First, let us all remember that the authors, regardless of what type of writing they do, can always influence the minds of their young (and not so young) readers. After all, if you look at the storybooks written a few decades (and more) ago, you will find that a lot of them were sexist. For example, it was always the prince who saved Snow White, Cinderella and all the other princesses. Even if that is less true now, there are still some books that can negatively influence children. So if it is true that some comic books are sexist or violent, it is also true that some of them are, to put it simply, fine. It would be wrong to accuse all comic books of prejudice and violence, like it would be wrong to do the same with novels. In the same line of thought, one of the great things about books is that they can teach you a lot of things, whether it is about deep things or facts that you did not know; they broaden your horizon. Well, that is also true of some comic books. And it is not so surprising, when you think about it. For example, I had never heard of the country of Tanzania before I read a comic book in which that was the birth place of one of the main characters. As for more deep, philosophical things, even though it is less obvious, that can also be found. In a particular comic book title (but also in many others) the main subject in the stories is no understanding those who are born different from us. It can easily be related to racism. Thus, comic books, like books, can teach us great lessons. On a different note, it has often been said that literature is a form of art and that the writer is an artist and should be looked upon as such.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Resource Allocation: An Economic Problem :: essays papers

Resource Allocation: An Economic Problem Selected Issue and Background The issue, which I have chosen to investigate, is the allocation of resources, which are primarily money, by a local authority, namely the City of Westminster Council. The reason why this allocation of resources has become an economic problem is because money is a finite resource, so therefore there is scarcity and the council have to make choices as to how to allocate the resources they have been given. This type of resource allocation is different to that faced by a private company as they have the opportunity to expand and increase their resources, whereas local authorities often do not have the ability to increase their resources overall, rather than deflecting resources from one need to another. The Westminster council has to allocate money to various departments from this general fund. This money has to be allotted to the various departments, which require funding such as Education, Environment and Leisure, Finance, Housing, Planning and Transportation and Social services. Not only does the council have to simply allocate resources to the various departments, but it also has to judge how much of the allocation, education for example it chooses to spend on using its own staff and facilities to produce a service, rather than contracting out other companies to provide the work for them. Up until a point the department can use its existing funded facilities such as administration and technology to produce a service such as transportation and planning. An example of this may be how road maintenance is carried out. For many small roads the local authority transport department may be able to re-surface roads for a very small cost, for example  £1,000 per 10m. This is very efficient for the local authority as much of the capital; labour, land and enterprise are already in place. However for bridges for example the local authority lacks the equipment, i.e. capital and labour to provide the service to repair them. In this case it would no longer be efficient to acquire the necessary labour and capital to repair the bridge. This might work out at  £10,000 per meter. At this point the choice appears whether to contract out the repair of the bridge to a private company who have the capital and labour to provide this service more efficiently, or to acquire the necessary resources to perform the task themselves.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

D. H. Lawrence Essay -- Biography Biographies Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is a divided issue whether D. H. Lawrence is to be considered a friend or a foe to the feminist movement. On one hand, he advocates an egalitarian man-woman relationship, on the other, his notion of equality seems rather subject to qualification. His reference to the ideal monogamous partnership as "phallic marriage" (Spilka 7) is certainly a cue that must be taken up. Why is marriage "phallic" unless the phallus is privileged in the expression of sexuality? (de Beauvoir 205) The idealisation of gender relationships leads to an essentialisation of gender, which is itself at the source of patriarchal domination. Is Lawrence really a liberator of sex, or only of patriarchal sex? Does he grant more independence to the women in his novels than his predecessors or just a little more freedom within the confines of established expectations? The answers to these will be that Lawrence is not a raving misogynist (as has been suggested), but is certainly a long way from perfectly enlightened.    Rupert Birkin, the Lawrentian leading male of Women in Love, extols a philosophy of "star-equilibrium" in which the partners of a love relationship remain separate and individual, not blurred into one another, but together in knowledge of their difference. (WIL 230)    "Why not leave the other being free, why try to melt, or absorb, or merge? One might abandon oneself utterly to the moments, but not to any other being." (WIL 269) These "moments" are where one falls out of personal concern and into the rhythm of the organic universe. "Because of his belief in the life-force, he has generally been called a 'vitalist.' But 'organicist' would come much closer to the mark, since the goal of life, for Lawrence... ...over. London: Mandrake Press, Ltd., 1996. _ _ _. Letters to Bertrand Russell. Ed. Harry T. Moore. New York: Gotham Book Mart, 1948. _ _ _. Women in Love. Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions, Ltd., 1996. Millett, Kate. Sexual Politics. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1970. Ross, Charles L. Women in Love: a Novel of Mythic Realism. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1991. Spilka, Mark. The Love Ethic of D. H. Lawrence. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1955. Tuma, Keith, ed. Anthology of Twentieth-Century British & Irish Poetry. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.          1[1] "The ordinary Englishman of the educated class goes to a woman now to masterbate [sic] himself. Because he is not going for discovery or new connection or progression, but only to repeat upon himself a known reaction." (Letters 33)

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Charles Dickens create his characters Essay

Charles Dickens is a great writer who has been successful throughout his life. He has written many novels for all age groups which consist of ‘Great Expectations’ (1860-61) and ‘Hard Times’. Dickens techniques of writing were much noticed by readers, especially his ways of creating characters. There are a number of ways to how dickens would create his characters, he places them in revealing or appropriate settings and describes their physical appearance. He also, allows them to speak so that we hear their vocabulary and tone of voice. His characters actions and movements are well described because he shows how other characters react to them. To understand dickens techniques more clearly, I will be investigating two characters, Abel Magwitch of ‘Great Expectations’ and Thomas Gradgrind of ‘Hard Times’. ‘Great Expectations’ is about a young orphan named Philip Pirrip, known as Pip. The novel has been set in the Kent Marshes. Pip lives with his shrewish sister and her husband, the simply, kindly, blacksmith Joe Gargery. Chapter one of this novel opens in the country churchyard where Pip is terrified by the appearance of Magwitch, an escaped prison convict who threatens him with awful vengeance unless some food and file for his fetters are obtained smartly. Pip manages to hide some of his own supper, steals more food from the pantry, and after an encounter with a different younger convict, he finds the original one and leaves him filing off his irons. The setting of ‘Great Expectations’ is in the Kent Marshes. Pips first meeting with Magwitch was in the nearby churchyard. â€Å"At such a time I found out for certain, that this bleak place overgrown with nettles was the churchyard†. Dickens uses the adjective ‘bleak’ which also means ‘bare’ and ‘dreary’ this suggests that the churchyard is a place that doesn’t get many visitors. Also ‘overgrown with nettles’ implies to us that the churchyard isn’t cared for, it contains sharp and unpleasant plants which doesn’t attract visitors. Therefore, we can understand why Magwitch chose to hideout at the churchyard, it is a good place for a convict to hide. Dickens also uses the adjective ‘raw’ which also supports the idea of an unattractive churchyard. The synonyms for the word raw are chilly and damp; these two words strongly describe the churchyard as an isolated area. ‘Raw’ is a harsh and cold word. The reader may also consider the churchyard as a boring and timid place because dickens has used ‘low leaden line of river’. This describes the river as a heavy, dark and foreboding line cutting across the churchyard. Dickens has deliberately described the churchyard as a boring place with these negative adjectives in order to make the reader believe that it has no visitors. Once again this implies that the churchyard is a good hideout for Magwitch. By now, it is noticeable that the setting in ‘Great Expectations’ reflects Magwitch’s character because Dickens also describes the churchyard ‘with scattered cattle’ which suggests an unpleasant place that is not taken care of very much. The term ‘savage lair from which the wind was rushing’ is a metaphor which is an implicit comparison. It is the application of a word or phrase to somebody or something that is not meant literally, but to make a comparison. The same way, this metaphor brings the wind out to life and impersonates it as a wild animal by using the noun ‘lair’. A ‘lair’ is a den or hiding place where predators would hide from preys, this relates back to Magwitch whom is hiding just like a predator and preys out to poor little orphan Pip. Dickens creates a negative impression of Magwitch by the way he describes him because he uses terms such as ‘A man’. Straight away this puts a mysterious thought to the readers mind. At this point the reader is busy building up an image of Magwitch in their minds. Dickens also describes Magwitch in ‘coarse grey’ uniform, this gives the reader a full image in their minds of Magwitch as a prison convict, which builds up the negative impression. The adjective ‘coarse’ is a synonym for ‘rough’ and ‘harsh’ which allows the reader to consider Magwitch as an untidy and messy person. In order to make it sound more obvious that Magwitch is an escaped convict Dickens uses terms such as ‘iron on legs’. This suggests to us that Magwitch has shackles on his legs which bring the reader to certainty that Magwitch is an escaped convict. He is a bad man; Dickens has also mentioned that Magwitch is not wearing a hat. This implies that Magwitch is no gentleman, he is not well bred and he doesn’t have a decent background. Dickens describes Magwitch through a list of injuries he faces. ‘soaked in water’, ‘smothered in mud’, ‘lamed by stones’, ‘cut by flints’, ‘stung by nettles’ and ‘torn by briars’. Dickens has listed all these injuries to show how Magwitch has been through a lot. He has travelled tough which suggests that he was very determined to get out of prison. It also suggests that Magwitch is a strong and fearful man who is able to resist a lot, he is a frightening man. â€Å"Old rag tied around his head†. From this we can understand that Magwitch is trying to hide his injury or as a disguise. We can understand that Dickens has done a clever job with creating a negative impression of Magwitch. Dickens has deliberately used the name Magwitch which also creates a negative impression because it contains the word ‘witch’. This symbolises ‘evil’ and ‘fear’. Dickens has used exclamation marks to illustrate shouting. â€Å"Tell us your name! Said the man†. From this technique we can understand that Magwitch was a very temperamental and violent man. â€Å"Pint out the place†, this suggests that his accent is also different. Dialect has been used which is when a characters speech is often grammatically incorrect. In Magwitch’s case, his use of dialect suggests to us that he has lack of education. We can understand that he may have been on the prison ship for a long time. Magwitch is also very violent as he speaks. He threatens Pip in a way to show readers that he is the villain of this novel. Also, we can realise that Dickens has made Magwitch’s speech short with shuddering sentences. This implies that Magwitch is afraid of being caught; he is shortening his sentence to hurry up the conversation and get back into hiding. Dickens has also used imperatives, â€Å"You get me a file†. Imperatives are performed by a character to give orders; they are used to express a command or request. Magwitch has used his power advantage. Dickens has also used strong language which reflects Magwitch’s character once again, ‘uncouth and coarse’. Magwitch’s actions are very violent and threatening. While threatening little Pip he tends to keep looking over his shoulder. This implies that he is nervous and afraid of getting caught. The violence side of Magwitch is exposed when he turns Pip upside down and shakes him. By now, the reader is afraid of Magwitch, and he is definitely the villain of this novel. However, the reader may also feel pity for Magwitch from the way he limps and shivers. This explains how Dickens was able to create two sides of the character Magwitch, this way the reader is able to feel some sympathy but, they are also afraid of him because he is a criminal and he is relying on the help of a child. Magwitch tries to be evil, but between that he shows his vulnerable side. Dickens uses adjectives such as ‘ravenously’. The purpose of this is to give the reader an image of a wild animal in their minds. Dickens is comparing Magwitch with a wild animal to once again remind the reader that Magwitch is uneducated and deprived. Magwitch used his gaze to overpower Pip. This suggests that Dickens was able to write in a way to show who’s in power. Also, Magwitch tilts Pip over a grave to frighten him and show power. However, we can understand from the novel that Magwitch is also afraid of the graves as he creeps over them.