A critique of published research By Anthony Feiler Essay

A critique of published research By Anthony Feiler - Essay Example The result of the analysis is decisive in a complete comprehension of the article as well as its strengths and weaknesses. The research paper has been identified as crucial in arriving at a conclusion regarding the effectiveness of strategies in support of the children who have difficulty in learning, and those struggle with literacy. The primary strategy proposed in the study is the provision of weekly home visits during the first year of the students in school. Anthony Feiler comes up, through the research investigation undertaken, with evidences for the effectiveness of additional support for the children with difficulties in literacy. The test scores and the views of the participants which have been collected through a series of interviews are used to arrive at such a conclusion. The literacy difficulty in children during the primary years of education poses serious challenges in the learning process as they continue the learning activity and this has been a major issue raised in the research paper by Feiler. The research undertaken in the paper concentrates on the evidences for strong and specific family variables which influence the literacy outcome of children at the early years of their education. The quality of the learning environment as well as the role played by the parents in the learning activity of students has great significance in the learning skills of children and the research investigation by Feiler focuses on the family literacy schemes, especially the strategy occupying the parents as well as children. Ultimately, the research study â€Å"explores the impact of providing additional literacy support at home (with some additional support at school), using a Reception teacher’s and head teacher’s predictions to target children c onsidered to be in need of extra help during their first year at school. There is a particular focus on strategies for working with parents whose engagement with

Ethical Argument Cover Letter Essay Example for Free

Ethical Argument Cover Letter Essay This is my submission for the Ethical Argument writing assignment. I was asked to choose a topic to write and I chose to write about the Ethical Arguments against Abortion. Initially, I had many choices but I landed on this mainly because this is a broad topic as it covers science, religion, and human rights. Since this is a broad topic, it was also difficult to choose which part of abortion is suitable for this argument and which part of abortion I can write without injecting my personal views and opinion. Thus, I decided to write to focus on why abortion is acceptable for the case of life endangerment and why it can’t be accepted in rape cases. The purpose of this essay is to show arguments about the legalization of abortion with regards to life endangerment against rape case. Perhaps, the most difficult part of writing this paper is to weigh objectively the stand of abortion in the two cases given in this essay. However, the parallel or example I gave helped me arrive to the argument I presented. I hope that this writing will meet your requirements and I would be glad to receive some feedbacks from you. Respectfully Yours, Student’s Name Student’s Name Professor’s Name Subject 29 April 2009 Ethical Arguments against Abortion For years, we have heard a lot of arguments against abortion; arguments as to why or why not abortion should be legalized. It seems to be a never-ending debate especially when taken from a pro-life perspective. Arguments against abortion often range from objections based on the USA’s constitution protection of the rights to human life to biblical belief that human life starts at conception. However, more arguments and objections arise when a law justifying abortion for mothers whose lives are endangered because of pregnancy has been approved, whereas others are questioning that if this is permissible, why can’t rape cases be? This essay offers arguments and responses as to why it is morally illegitimate to have abortion in the event of rape, while it is fairly acceptable to commit abortion when the mother’s life is endangered. Let’s look at the rape issue first. One of the fundamental beliefs of person’s rights regarding any system concerning the use of disciplinary force is that is to be applied only against those individuals responsible for the initiation of force. In this situation, the guilty party is the rapist and not the fetus. Moreover, in this case, the law might legally grant its authority to terminate the rapist, since rape is considered as an abominable crime, but not the child, even if the child’s dependence on his mother was the result of the rape. Let me give you a parallel. Imagine that there are two mutually unfriendly people living in the same building during the bombing raids of Hitler in 1940. A bomb is thrown into the building and this causes all possible exits to collapse while destroying all the walls that separate the neighbors. In effect, they are forced to share the same space and work with each other in the hopes to channel themselves out despite a mutual dislike. Does the given scenario justify one of the two unfriendly neighbors killing the other because of the inconvenience caused by the other, even though none of them had really caused it, or wouldn’t it be proper to demand justice from the Nazi air marshal who had originally commanded the bombing raids? Although the bombing and rape are two immensely unlikely scenarios, both are possible and the possible circumstances here are parallel to that of a pregnancy caused by rape. Going to the mother’s life endangerment issue, no individual is really obliged to his or her own life to save another person’s life. Therefore, when it can be proved medically that the mother’s life is in fact significantly endangered by a pregnancy, then, an abortion may be undertaken as a final resort and an only situation where it is possible to support legal abortion and to remain loyal to the individual rights’ principle; however, it is not an ordinary situation. Rather, it is considered an emergency, or a sort of situation as addressed in The Ethics of Emergencies written by Ayn Rand as part of her essay collection â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness†. An emergency is an unchosen, unexpected event, limited in time that creates conditions under which human survival is impossible such as a flood, an earthquake, a fire, a shipwreck. It is only in emergency situations that one should volunteer to help strangers. For instance, a man who values human life and is caught in a shipwreck, should help to save his fellow passengers (though not at the expense of his own life). But this does not mean that after they all reach shore, he should devote his efforts to saving them from poverty, ignorance, neurosis or whatever other troubles they might have. Nor should he spend his life sailing the seven seas in search of shipwreck victims to save. (The Virtue of Selfishness) From this definition alone, the situation of a mother whose life is endangered because of pregnancy is considered as an emergency as long as the mother has no idea that her pregnancy would put her life into danger. However, if from the start, the mother already knew about her medical condition that pregnancy will do her no good, it must be her responsibility to avoid becoming pregnant and must do her best to protect her health. Should she decide to face the risk, aborting the baby must not be done. In addition, Rand writes in her essay that emergencies are always exempted from the rule. They are not the normal state of ethical human relations or of human existence. To say that such extreme action may be allowed in emergencies is simply not to extend the acceptability or tolerability to the realm of human existence as dealt with by the basics or fundamentals of ethics. So, just because abortion may be justified as a final resort in some unexpected circumstances, this does not mean that the general legalization of abortion may be justified, especially with the fact that most cases of abortion occur because a woman has gone through indiscriminate sexual relations and has never wished to bring upon herself the objective consequences of such actions which are the pregnancy and the responsibility and obligation of bringing up a child. Work Cited Rands, Ayn. â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness† 28 December 2008. Glyn Hughes Squashed Philosophers. 29 April 2009. http://www. btinternet. com/~glynhughes/squashed/rand. htm Annotated Bibliography Rands, Ayn. â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness† 28 December 2008. Glyn Hughes Squashed Philosophers. 29 April 2009. http://www. btinternet. com/~glynhughes/squashed/rand. htm Rand’s essay collection â€Å"The Virtue of Selfishness† offers the basic or fundamental social principle of Objectivist ethics that life is simply an end itself, which simply means that every human being is an end himself. This also explains that man must live only for his own self and neither to sacrifice himself for others, nor having others to sacrifice themselves for him. The chapters in this essay collection could be easily included in the ethical argument writing especially when the topic is about sacrificing oneself or sacrificing others for the benefit of the other just like the topic in this argument.

Countless stereotypes and negative representations exist

Countless stereotypes and negative representations exist I. Introduction A countless stereotypes and negative representations exist about the Middle East by the Western media. It is known that media is very powerful source that shapes peoples minds and opinions. For some people, media is the only source they acquire their information through, especially when it comes to other cultures and populations. Western media coverage of the Middle East issues, Arab, and Muslim world is clearly a continuous subject. These stereotypes and negative representations have negative associations as Westerns assume that every member of a certain group has the same characteristics. As mentioned by Macdonald (2003), stereotypes homogenize people and put them under the same umbrella which results in biased pictures. While stereotypes can be sometimes positive, still negative stereotypes are much more problematic, causing conflicts. (Macdonald 2003). It seems that Western media is have always been having the tendency to misrepresent Arab Muslim women as Islam came around. As Miladi (2010) said, Western does not know much about neither Islam nor Arab cultures nor traditions. As a result of this lack of knowledge, the Western media tends to represent Arab Muslim women as oppressed, victimized, and have no voice, and this is because of Islam, mainly the veil. In his research paper, Morin (2009) pointed out that the veil is being misrepresented by the Western media since forever; the Western media is fascinated by the veil or the Hijab. The issue of veil and women who wear the veil is a common misunderstood concept in the West. Westerners often think that this is a harsh custom that Islam requires of women. They claim that these women have no freedom or dignity for wearing these veils and that they look like ghosts in this custom. In some old movies, the Islamic custom is portrayed as a way for women to play with identity and her sexuality. But in fact, these veils actuality help protect women. (Posetty, 2006). Stereotypes may take the form of both physical stereotypes and mental stereotypes. The physical stereotypes are usually related to the concept of the veil as women who wear the veil are seen as anti-West and extremists. As for the mental stereotypes which can be very dangerous, it is caused by narrow-minded ideas and false data. Mental stereotyping of Arabs in the Western media includes portrays anti-Western attitudes, extremism and terrorism. In fact, the Westerns have ignored the fact that Islam is a tolerant religion that gave women the right to be educated and the right to participate in political, economical, and social activities in their community. Women were also given the right to vote, the right to inherit property and take charge of their possessions (Miladi, 2010). Perhaps some of these rights are disallowed or denied by Muslim women today not because of Islam, but because of cultural traditions that should not be correlated to Islam. The problem of these negative stereotypes has begun long time ago as it was rooted by the Arab misrepresentation. Stereotyping of Arabs has been dominating the Western media and was highly evoked since the incident of 9/11. All Arabs have been stereotyped as terrorists and extremists. It also started with the theory of The Clash of Civilizations that was written by Samuel P. Huntington in 1997. (Macdonald 2003). In his thesis, Huntington stated that the conflicts between the West and the Middle East will be resulted by the clashes of religions, and cultures, and that there is a new enemy to the Western world that is emerging which is Islam. According to Morin (2009), what also evoked the stereotyping towards Arabs and Muslim world is that the Arab media that is also practicing stereotyping of Westerners as enemies of Islam and Muslims across the world. Somehow through these misconceptions, Western media is always under the impression that Arab women are caged in the Arab world and its culture as well as being oppressed and victimized just because of the way they dress. Because of these images, it is always neglected that there are so many business women in the Arab world and that the rate of education in the Arab world is very high among women who indicates that women are well educated at the Arab World as well as that they are granted almost the same rights of men (Ahmed, 1992). In order to improve the situation in the Western media according to Ahmed (1992), it is the role of mass media to create better understanding about the Arab cultures, religions, and traditions about the Arab Muslim women. In addition, it is the Arab Muslim womens role in political, social, and cultural fields to change these stereotyping that is dominating the mass media. II. Literature Review Since the last couple of decades, the subjects of Islam, the Muslim community and especially Muslim women seem to have dominated the Western media. It started with the excessive coverage of September 11, the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the banning of the veil in Europe, to the terrorist attacks and suicide bombers in the Middle East. These are just a few images to name that the Western societies and countries have been absorbing in their daily lives, eventually forming their attitudes, perceptions and ideas about the Muslim world. It all started with Samuel P. Huntington (1997) â€Å"Clash of Civilizations†, according to Macdonald (2006). It was Huntington who came within reach of this problematic relationship between the East and the West. â€Å"Clash of Civilizations† is a part in his book that is called â€Å"The Rest Vs. The West. (Macdonald, 2006). After the Cold War ended, the desire to search for a new global ideological threat has emerged to replace the collapse of Communism. Since then, it was predicted by the Westerns experts that the Western World is facing a new enemy: Islam. Macdonald (2006). Huntington notion pointed out that Islam has a noticeable contradictory vision and action to the Western ideology, ideas of liberty, and democracy. This phenomenon has been developed and spread into a discourse and got fully attention of the Westerns (United States, the United Kingdom and its allies) perceptions and its relationships towards the world of the Middle East, the Muslims and Islam. As a result of such phenomenon and ideology, the stereotypical idea that Islam and its followers are anti-democracy and anti-Western has become fixed within the minds of the Western society. (Macdonald, 2006). The acts of stereotyping persuade people to respond and behave in the same way that is both negative and prejudiced. The word Arabs is meant to portray a person from the Middle East, it also meant to portray this Arab as terrorist, ignorant, and a person that contradicts with the Western ideologies. In spite of the reality that these persons are from different countries, with varied cultures, attitudes, beliefs, and a diversity of religions, they are typify by one word â€Å" Arabs†. (Cheney, 1986). Several movies have been misrepresenting Arabs men and women through the years. It is has been pointed out by Cheney (1986), that Jack Shaheen, (2003), stated that 900 films done by in the American cinema showed how Arab men women and children shaped as different and threatening. Hollywood films from 1896 until today portraying Arabs as heartless, enemies, cruel, burglars, extremist in their religion, brutal murderers, and abusers of women. (Cheney, 1986). History shows that since the beginning of cinema, Hollywoods movies have been misrepresenting Arab women. Clearly, film makers did not create these images but inherited Europes pre-existing Arab stereotypes. These images have been created long ago; in the 18th and 19th centuries, European artists and writers offered fictional versions of women as bathed and submissive exotic â€Å"objects†. As a result, through the time, the stereotype came to be accepted as valid, becoming a permanent part of European popular culture (Cheney, 1986). In his book â€Å"Reel Bad Arabs†, Shaheen noticed that â€Å"In Arabian Nights fantasies such as The Sheik (1921), Slave Girl (1947), and John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1964), Arab women appear as leering out from thin veils, or as unsatisfied, disposable ‘knick-knacks lounging on ornate cushions, scantily-clad harem maidens with bare midriffs, closeted in the palaces womens quarters and/or on display in slave markets† (Shaheen, 2001:23, cited in Cheney, 1986). The stream continues in the third millennium. In Disneys remake of â€Å"Around the World in Eighty Days† (2004), for example, Arnold Schwarzenegger portrays Prince Hapi, a Mideast sheikh with ‘one hundred or so wives. This means that films continue to show Arab woman as a slave for sex, even though the image of a terrorist dominated after 9/11. A research paper aimed to analyze U.S. and international newspaper articles on Arab and Muslim women from 9/11/01 till 9/11/05, in order to understand how women who wear the veil are represented in western media. It was found that Reporters rarely give women the chance to speak to look beyond the stereotype and get to know Arab women. Whether oppressed, victimized or turned into a superwoman, that woman in the news is more often not caricature of the Arab and Muslim woman in real life. Readers have not yet able to receive a consistent and accurate representation of the diverse personalities, lives and opinions of these women. (Sakr, 2004). Its been always known that TV shows influence Western people perceptions and attitudes towards various issues, especially when it comes to issues related to the Middle East and Arabs. So, most of the misperceptions towards Arab women are caused by the flow of information through TV stations. (Kaufer Al Malki 2009) According to Kaufer Al Malki (2009), on the 28th of September 2009, Oprah Winfrey hosted the â€Å"Goodwill Ambassador for the UNICEF†; the famous Lebanese singer â€Å"Nancy Ajram† on her TV show on CBS station. In that show, Winfrey referred to Lebanon as being â€Å"deeply conservative† and presented a documentary that shows Lebanese women veiled like the Afghani ones and compared these women with Nancys Ajram style and dance moves. With no doubt, Oprahs documentary misrepresented Lebanese women and created misconception in the minds of Western people about Lebanese women who are the most modernized women in the region. In fact, Nancy Ajram style and fashion represent a large segment of Lebanese females. Statistics show that 75% of the Lebanese women are unveiled and have freedom of dress; they have their full education that exceeds that of men with 44 % compared to 40 % of men. The media is fascinated by the portrayal of Arab women and they way they dress. According to Ahmed (1992), when it comes to portraying Muslim woman, the media in the West seems to be attentive and obsessed by the way they dress which is the veil in particular which has resulted in a great number of reactions and debates. These debates shows that the veil is perceived as a sign of cultural difference in the Western world as it differentiate Arab women from Western ones. (Ahmed, 1992). Muslim Arab woman are always badly portrayed as the shapeless and ghost women in their Islamic dress .they are really confusing the western normal people as its not their fault that what they are seeing on TV is that its the fault of the western media. The Negative stereotyping and reactionary reporting have historically symbolized coverage of Islam and Muslims and have been reflected clearly in the theory of Orientalism created by Edward Said in 1978 which states that the East and its populations are considered backward, barbaric and outsiders to Western society. (Posetty, 2008). As a result, it seems that the media helps in creating the image of the Muslim women as the oppressed other, which will lead to imprecise conclusions, stereotypes and misperceptions of these women. (Macdonald,2006). According to the Orientalist theory, when women are portrayed, they are portrayed as being oppressed, exotic, mysterious, and shy. In addition, the Western media have always been portraying Arabs as violent, stupid, and cruel people that treat women as objects and that they are marginalized in their own society, and that the East all alike in their image for the West. (Macdonald,2006). Therefore, when the Western media frames women as sexual slave and oppressed by men as they are abusing their women, beaten, and humiliated, they are being truthful as this is the image that has been always stuck in the Westerns minds. In fact, the West has been stereotyping Arab women since forever, and they didnt change their look for the Arab women till now. Photographs and Frencp9th Century paintings represented Arab women as property, toy of men, submissive and still, dependent on a man who is the only motive for their survival. (kaufer, 2009). Terms such as the veil, the harem, female circumcision helped in the formation of such misconceptions as well as gave the impression to some of the associated images with the oppressed Muslim woman. The problem is that these perceptions have been incorrectly generalized with no differentiation. (Gwinn, 1997). This problem has made it harder for the veiled Muslim women living in the West, as they tend to suffer more from the intolerance from the way they dress, in addition, they are hardly accepted in the Western communities. (Mohanty, 2005). Arab women in immigrant communities and who are living in Western societies, are victims of these negative stereotypes and gender based media representations. As Morin (2009), noted that these women face negative media coverage that is based on cultural misconceptions and the recent political conflicts that have spoiled Arab-Western relations. As a result, Arab women in immigrant communities cannot win the fight for better media recognition while they continue to be viewed inside the limit of traditional Arab-Islamic stereotypes. (Morin, 2009). As Posetty (2008) stated in his article, in the portrayal of Muslim women, attention is frequently focused on the way they dress, with their clothing seen as a symbol of their threatening, alien status. Images of Islamic dress are increasingly used in the media as visual shorthand for dangerous extremism, and Muslims all over Europe are suffering from the consequences of such associations. The main problem as Ahmed (1992) pointed out, is that the act of veiling among Muslim women or the veil itself is often associated with the lack of traditionalism and backwardness that does not fit into the modern society and among Western women who do not need to veil (Ahmed, 1992). This phenomenon suggests that we can reach the other cultural difference and how the West is fascinated with otherness and still continues within the Western media towards the Muslim world (Ahmed, 1992). Ayish (2010) pointed out in his paper that the Western media tends to portray Arab men as aggressive and abusers of women, and that they control women. Media portray that the women is always wearing her veil, staying at home raising children and only obey her husband who she fears. Newspapers studies has showed that Western illustration of Muslim marriage issues is vague and this is because the lack of the knowledge of foreign cultures and religions One could disagree that the major issue is Islamophobia, many Western journalists, unfamiliar with Islam religion, have a tendency to view the faith as cruel, backward and the contradictory of tolerance. (Ayish, 2010). Morin (2009) stated in his research that stories investigated about Muslim women have shown that Western news reports represents women as the oppressed, mistreated wife, who is obligated to a prearranged marriage by her parents or obligated out of a marriage, and that she is helpless and voiceless in both situations. Another disproportionate as stated by Ayish (2010), Sometimes, the Arab Muslim women is represented as the money hunter, who does not think about who she marries as long as the man she is going to marry is rich enough to indulge her hunger for money. In these situations on the other hand, Arab Muslim men think with different greed, they are sexually deprived and tends to treat women as sexual objects. The men are also harsh and controlling, playing with womens feelings and threats women through oral divorce. Women are thus represented by the Western media as weak and have no rights which permit men to claim superiority (Ayish, 2010). Dominant images of the veiled Muslim woman are always covered in the Western media to present the Muslim woman as a victim as well as being oppressed. (Ahmed, 1992). The veiled of Arab Muslim women has always been misrepresented by the media as it has became a symbol of the oppression of the Muslim woman. This representation as stated by Ahmed (1992), has been highly evoked since the event of the 9/11. As noted in Posetty (2008) research paper, Alison Donnell argues that the September 11 terrorist attacks resulted in media representations of veiling as an object of mystique, exoticism and eroticism and that the veil, or headscarf, is seen as a highly visible sign of a despised difference. The oppression of Muslim women has been regularly used in Western media as suggestive of the barbaric and pre-modern characteristics of Islam. As Helen Watson comments in her article ‘the image of the veiled Muslim woman seems to be one of the most popular Western ways of representing the â€Å"problem of Islam†. (Posetty, 2008). According to Ahmed (1992), the veil has become the typical symbol of womens oppression in Islam, and is perceived as it creates hostility to Westerns. In fact, the Western media has ignored the fact that veiling as a practice existed before the rise of Islam, especially in Syria and Arabia. It was also a custom among Greeks, Romans, Jews and Assyrians, and not only to Islam. At that time, the veiled Arab woman was perceived as respectable and protected. (Ahmed, 1992). However, as Ahmed (1992) pointed out, the veiled woman is usually represented as having denied pleasure, fun, or bodily self-expression. In some of the Western conceptualizations veiling is used as a means of performing femininity self-exploration and play with identity. With these rising and continuous prejudices against Muslims and, especially, Muslim women, it seems to demonstrate that there is still a huge gap, a barrier that appears to prevent a sense, approval and understanding towards the Muslim ‘other. And by ‘the other we mean ‘the oppressed, ‘the traditional-bound, ‘the factory-worker, ‘the poor, etc. (Macdonald,2006). As mentioned before, besides the veil, discussions of the circumcision, polygamy, the sharia (Islamic) law, the harem, forced marriages, etc, are just a few issues that have made this group of women fit into the absolute, homogenous ‘oppressed Muslim woman category. (Macdonald,2006). As noted in Falah Nagel (2005) paper, the problem lies when these visual images tend to portray Muslim women as a stereotypical figure; an oppressed figure suffering from a harsh culture. The veil especially is the major theme that is associated with the limitations and the oppression of Muslim Arab women as it was constantly deployed and replayed again in our visually dominated culture. Falah Nagel (2005) argue that the veil is not only representing the oppressed Muslims and Muslim women world, but also the hidden assumption about the superiority of the West in relation to that world. In this case, the figure of the veiled Muslim woman that is being represented through the media, is tending to represent these women as passive victims, muted, untraditional, and oppressed, which therefore creates a cultural-ideological barrier with the Western women. Thus, the problem is that the danger that is resulted from these representations of veiled Muslim women tends to create a division bet ween Western women (as modern, liberated) and Eastern women (as backward, oppressed), while also ignoring the diversity of practices, views and experiences of these women. As Falah Nagel (2005) pointed out, it seems important that the question on how to communicate with the other who is culturally and traditionally different has become one of the most urgent and immediate agendas within North-South/West-East relations and interactions. What is needed is an understanding of this sense of ‘urgency, ‘gaps and ‘barriers that links to the Westerns knowledge of the ‘veiled Muslim woman (Falah Nagel, 2005). As a result, veiled Muslim women become muted and misrepresented. Another major feature found in the Western media especially in advertising is the imagined perspectives such as the myths and fantasies Western culture has about Islam, the Muslims, and especially, veiled Muslim women. This means that not only misconceptions and misunderstandings towards Muslim women have been continuous in modern times, but it has also became widespread and universal by the advent of modern technology. (Falah Nagel, 2005). Miladi (2010) pointed out in his research paper that modern images of Muslim women in American advertisements, argues that Western advertisers tend to spread stereotypes and the wrong representations of the veil and Muslim women in order to appeal to consumers. As a result, advertisers use certain images of Muslim women that have been historically fixed in the Western mind, such as the harem, the hammas (public baths), the mysterious veiled woman or the oppressed woman living under an oppressive ruler or men and use this to attract consumers. The veil especially is itself is considered as an enormous marketing tool, as marketers often use the veil in order to sell sex. (Miladi, 2010). The use of the oppressed women and the veil in advertisements will make the Western consumers think that by buying the advertised product as well as buying the favors of the mysterious woman behind the veil. (Miladi, 2010). The problem as stated by Miladi (2010), is that Westerners are usually buying certain products for buying these imaginary images of the ‘other. As a result, through the continuous and repetitive collective exposition to the media, a larger collective imagination will continue to be created and produced about this image of the imaginary veiled Muslim woman â€Å"other†. As mentioned by Gwinn (1997), the oppressed veiled Muslim woman in the ads may also be connected to the rising prejudices and debates that surround Muslim women and the veil in the Western world. The oppressed stereotypes of Arab Muslim women as stated by Ahadi (2009), has negative impacts on those women that is very obvious. Stereotypes occur when individuals are classifieds by others as having something in common because they are members of a particular group or category of people. Media stereotyping of women as objects and helpless beings creates very low expectations for societys Arab women. As mentioned by Morin (2009), women living abroad face distinctive discriminations from the Western communities. Western women are always considered as superior to Arab Muslim women especially, the veiled ones. In fact, Arab Muslim women are being oppressed by the negative representations created by the Western media. In addition, these representations may impact on these women psychologically as Western populations perceive the veil as a barrier between them and the veiled women. III. Body Numerous stereotypes and defaming of Arab Muslim women have been controlling the western media. Samuel P. Huntington wrote a theory called Clash of Civilization about Islam has different believes and values that contradict with the Western idea of liberty and democracy, and that Islam is the solo enemy of westerns and the main reason that the world will not going to improve. Islam and Arabs have a way of thinking and believes that is very different than the west has. And that the west see that the road to freedom and democracy of the societies is blocked by the Islam ideologies that block the world from reaching freedom and democracy at its fullest point, from here the stereotyping of Arab Muslim women began. The stereotyping of Arabs in general has taken its fullest load since the incident of 9/11. Westerns have blamed Muslims and Arabs for this tragic incident, and they started to look at them as the main enemies of the west and that if there are any terrorists in the world they are Muslims or Arab Muslims. The westerns have been Arabs have been subjected to discrimination and violence since 9/11, a Muslim girl for example that works in a rental car company was simply fired because she was told that she cannot wear her veil, also a hotel employee stated that he was cursed many times and that people called him Taliban and Osama. Following the September 9/11 attacks on the USA, stereotyping of Muslims, and Muslim women began with such great hatred toward Muslims and Arabs. That the Islam and Muslims are terrorists, thieves, spiteful, merciless, extremist, vicious murderers, and abusers of women. The beginning of the stereotyping of women in the western media was that the women are abused by the Arab men, and they are beaten and they are sex tools for the men, and they abuse them mentally and physically, and that they only please the wishes of men without thinking, and theses are some examples of the way of the western media portrayals of Arab Muslim women. After the attacks of 9/11, the world initiated a campaign against Islam and they started condemning Islam as a religion of violence and terrorists. Surrounded by all these accusation there were people who needed to understand the accuracy of the religion of Islam, to know if it is in fact a religion of terrorism or not?. The overstatements of the media reporting after 9/11 attacks, lead the people to be convinced that the Arabs and Muslims are terrorists and they are cruel and heartless that they want to demolish the west. Hollywood and media personnel are also responsible for making the people believe that the Muslims and Arabs are terrorists. Film creators, and Cinema producers continue to make movies and films that target the Arabs as a terrorists and murderers, they stereotype the Arabs with the 5 Bs, which are Billionaires, Bombers, Belly dancers, Bedouins, and Barbarians. Jack Shaheen made a movie called Reel Bad Arabs demonstrated that the western movies industry are fanatical with portraying Arab women in their movies, and they portray the Arab women from the western point of views, and they didnt change anything during the years of portraying of Arab women, its the same point of view. Jack Shaheen said that the portray in western media of Arab women are mostly as slave girls, a woman wears veil that shows all her body, they are belly dancers that seduce men, barbarian, they are gold diggers, that they are welling to do absolutely anything for the sake of their well being. Jack Shaheen in the part of the western portrayals of Arab women as gold diggers, and barbarians and gypsies is right and I agree with him in this part. Furthermore, the remake of the Disney movie Around the world in 80 days they show Arnold Schwarzenegger as an Arab Sheikh, that have over a 100 wives, that are slaves just for sex. This shows that the Arab men are not pleased with just one woman or wife; they need more from everything, even from women. This part tackles a very important issue which is Shariaa Islamic law, which states that the man has the right to marry 4 wives at the same time, and this believe of marring more than one wife is totally rejected in the western believes and ideologies from the beginning, they dont understand this part from the Islamic law to talk about it or to misrepresent it like this in their movies. Even though they portray Arab women in diverse descriptions, Slave girl, playful, self centered, but after the September 9/11 attacks, the terrorist image was the image that controlled over the mind of the western people and the western media. The TV manipulate the people in a huge way, it affects the attitude, behavior, believes and the opinions of the people. Media people take gain of this point, and the western people are badly informed about Arabs and Arab women, and that their information about Arabs is from movies and TV shows. The image there are consistent in the movies is that the Arabs are terrorists, they take this part and they stereotype Arabs and Arab women without studying them or their culture, they stereotype them in the way they would like the world to see them in it. they have succeeded in making the people when they hear the word Arab or Arab women they think of terrorists, cruel, merciless, barbarians, gypsies, robbers, monsters, beaters of women, use women just for sex, women are slaves. Its widely known from the western media and western image what is the image the Arab have in general, the image that have started by the Arab are Orientalists about Harem of the Arab, Arab dancing, Arab women are locked in doors and they are not allowed to get out except with the permission of her husband, and that the women are substandard than men, they are not allowed to be involved in public issues. These are the idea and images that the western have about the Arab women, in western media and cartoons regrettably. The majority of Arabs are passive to the stereotypes of western media toward them, but for the Arab women the issue is very sensitive. Western media is fanatical about the dress code of Arab women, mostly the Veil of the Arab women. Arab women are portrayed as overweight, loose-fitting women, in their loose dress and their unattractive shaped veil that doesnt show the feature of their body, they portray them even in caricature and some magazine and programs. The concept of the Arab veil for the western was always that the Arab women have the life of suppressed and the victimized, poor, isolated creature politically and culturally that is forcibly is wearing this veil and is being like this. According to Gwinn (1997), he tackled the point that the veil of the Arab women is reflecting in the western media to be the well-known method of representing the Arab women and to represent the dilemma of Islam. The fact is the veil was in the pre Islam era, was the custom of Romans, Jews, and Gr eeks. But after the Islam had spread and the Muslim women started to wear the veil as God said to cover their hair, the west started to stereotype the veil with Islam and Muslim women, and finally terrorists women. The veil of Arab women is distinguished as a threatening to the peace and as a terrorist symbol and its also seen as a alien as declared by Posetty (2008) in his article. The way Arab women dress and the veil is seen in the western media as a symbol of terrorists. Consequently, the Arabs are suffering from the result of these stereotypes all over Europe and the west countries, that make them in a continues threat every minute of everyday due to these portrayals. According to Ahmed (1992), the issue of veiling of women is that the concept is associated to the lack of traditional values and backwardness that doesnt go with the

Sexuality in John Donnes The Flea Essay -- essays research papers

A Reading of John Donne's 'The Flea' It is common to ascribe to Donne the status of archetypal logical poet- a man whose works are tightly crafted, confident, and certain in their application of metaphor and analogy. True enough, Donne’s poem seems to suggest a certain self-security: we see a tight, predictable rhyme scheme, and an ordered structure. There is also arguably a wealth of rhetorical resources - Donne does not shy away from using the lexis of the military (â€Å"triumph’st†), the medical (â€Å"two bloods†¦mingled†) or even the religious (â€Å"cloysterd†, â€Å"sacrilege†). Such a feature that might be read as hinting at Donne’s essential confidence in his ability to create a unified philosophy, to adapt a wide range of discourses, to demonstrate poetic craft. However, I want to suggest that the relations of power and position of sexuality in this small poem are a great deal less certain than such an interpretation might suggest. At the very least, Donne is not simply providing a stylised, easy conclusion but is engaging in a real rhetorical struggle. He chooses to employ exuberant, self-conscious metaphors that often contradict themselves. The conclusion of his poem, Just so much honor, when thou yeeld'st to mee, Will wast, as this flea's death tooke life from thee simultaneously insists on the identification of the flea with the sexual union (i.e. it may be compared to ‘yielding’) and on the impossibility of doing so (referring to the mistress’ counter-argument, where the flea’s death cannot be equated to the death of man and wife). That is, one might translate the meaning of the climax as: ‘this flea’s death did not kill you, and therefore the flea cannot be identified with us, yet this flea rep... ...e taken by â€Å"this flea’s death†. It is noticeable how this ‘triumph’ actually fits rather neatly into Donne’s rhyme, and more importantly how his choice of pronouns (â€Å"thou†¦thyself†¦mee†) alerts us to this line being Donne’s rendering of her speech- his pronouns reflect his own perspective. As indirect speech, the feminine voice is interpreted, defined and staged through the poet’s essentially masculine perspective. This male-ordained self-castration makes the supposedly easy task of assigning gender roles in The Flea a far more complex matter. Donne’s poem hints not at stable patriarchy, but an early modern society questioning and playing with concepts of gender and associated forms of power. There is a straddling of public and private spheres here, yet also a failure to achieve secure identity in either. The Flea points towards a symbolic order in a state of flux.

Where is God When it Hurts?

In this book Yancey is out to find out the root and any likely rationale to pain. He refers to pain as a gift that everybody rejects. However, he views pain as an alarm system that God has provided to us to help us keep to our senses. He discusses pain in term of physical, emotional and spiritual pain and assists us to comprehend why we suffer and how to deal with our own pain and that of others. He does this by answering five important questions as discussed below; Why is there such a thing as pain? Pain is not a later addition, God initiated it soon after Adam and Eve rebelled against Him. Yet, God did not make a mistake by introducing pain as it serves an important role in our body and spiritual health. Pain is crucial to a normal life as without pain our live would be laden with danger and devoid of many basic pleasures. Pain is a vital element of our most fulfilling experiences. Pain and pleasure are entangled as they work closely and are almost inseparable. Hence, despite being unpleasant, pain has some good and useful purposes. Pain and sufferings are there to teach us a lesson when God is displeased with our actions. God uses circumstances to warn and punish us in cases of wrongdoings (Yancey, 2003). Is pain a message from God? Pain and suffering are God’s means of waking up our senses when we have done something wrong. We should not view pain as a punishment but rather as a wake-up call for us to revive our purpose in life. Yancey tells us that when we see problems coming our way we should reexamine our action to see whether they conform to God’s requirements. God uses pain to convey the message that we are doing something the wrong way and to show us thus we need to adjust our course of action. How people respond to suffering? Most of the times, people question God when faced with pain and suffering by asking hard questions that men have always asked for thousands of years. As we encounter pain, we are confronted with feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Majority of the people feel desperate and unable or ill-prepared to deal or handle the situation. However, we should find strength in Jesus. He gives us the grace we need to counter pain and suffering. How can we cope with pain? It is not easy to go through pain even for the greatest human beings. Anyone can break under pressure as Job did. However, we have a perfect example of Jesus Christ who successfully went through pain. Yancey is quick to point out that Jesus Christ is the only head of the church or Congregation that appeared on earth and experienced suffering as we do. We are encouraged by the fact that Jesus understands what we are going through and He knows that we can prevail over pain. Also, when we reflect at how Jesus suffered on the cross, it gives us the courage and power to bear the pain we are suffering. Jesus also left us the church in order we may help each other during times of pain (Yancey, 1996). How Does Faith help? Having faith in Christ is very important when it comes to suffering and pain. For example incase we are sick, we can be healed if only we trust that God is capable of healing us. Faith can make us move a mountain which means we can conquer any kind of pain if we exercise faith in Jesus Christ. So, incase of pain we only need to gather enough faith and this will give us the power to move on. Faith is as a critical quality we must manifest if we are to face the problems ahead of us. We should allow our faith to grow deeper through prayers and bible readings to enable us to face up pain and distress (Gaines, 2007). Personal Application Caregiver need to learn to listen, care and love their patients. Most caregiver no longer show any care for their patients. Pain and agony sometimes lead to discouragement and these people need someone to talk to and who can listen to them. Listening is one form of caring to such individuals. Listening to those in pain can lead to curing of emotional pain. The course of healing is involves a humble and challenging task of generating and presenting a friendly environment where those in pain can reflect on their pain and distress without fear and create in them the confidence that makes them search for new ways to solve their problems. The listener acts as a reflecting mirror to the sufferer. This allows the person to spot his or her feelings which mean that he/she is able to understand her/his problem better and he/she is in a position to starts the process of solving the problem. The patients have many piled up emotions which need to be expressed and listened to by a caring and humble person. Those in pain cannot hear the listener unless the listener first listens to all their pain (Chapman, 2006). We have always asked ourselves, where is God when it hurts? But I think the most appropriate question is where the church is when it hurts? The church must understand its followers and know those who are under pain and to comfort those who are affected. The church should be there for them for example visiting them in hospitals, sharing with them consoling scriptures from the bible and even most importantly listening to them. We need to praise God not only for the good things He does to us but also during hard times. We only seem to praise God in times of joys and happiness but blame him in cases of problems some of which maybe of our own creation.

full metal jacket essays

full metal jacket essays American Society has a past history of negative qualities. These qualities are exposed in the film Full Metal Jacket by Stanley Kubrick. This is seen throughout his Vietnam Film war film. The qualities are seen through the portrayal of violence, sexism, and racism in the film. All of these characteristics are still in American Society today. There still is a constant amount of hate among people in American society. Violence, racism and sexism are all different ways of portraying hate in American society. Violence is portrayed through much of the film. Violence can be seen in many different ways. It could be seen through verbal abuse, drugs or even sex. The film portrays a lot of deaths between soldiers. At one point in the film Pyle the (a main character in the film) shoots his own commanding officer in the chest. He does this because he hated his commanding officer. He felt he was being pushed around and couldnt take anymore of his bad mouthing comments. So in retaliation he killed his own commanding officer. This shows that no one can be trusted not even an army soldier. This violence is commonly seen in American society. A common view of American society is no one can be trusted. After he shoots his commanding officer he takes his own life with the same weapon. This depicts that American society is irrational with decisions. Pyle sensuously took his life because he killed his commanding officer. He knew that he would suffer because of the death that he had caused. So he cowardly took his own life. Sexism is also portrayed throughout the film. In American society women are characterized as a minority. They are seen as lesser people because of their body make and there past roles in American society. In the film the soldiers are told to name their guns. The fire arms were told to be named a female name. The guns are used and abused by the soldiers in the film. They are used for one purpose, and...

Late To early Americans

Late To early Americans I will explain the ultimate five characteristics of an advanced civilization and describe the causes and effect sequence that leads from hunter-gathers, to the development of agriculture, and then the development of advanced civilizations in the Americas.The early South American Societies were the Chavin, Nazca, and the Moche. The Chavin established powerful religious centers and created influential artistic styles. The Nazca and Moche developed extensive irrigation systems for farming and crafted intricate ceramics and textiles and other decorative art.The early Mesoamerican Societies were the Olmec and the Zapotec. The Olmec designed and built pyramids plazas, and monumental sculptures, developed ceremonial centers, ritual ball games, and a ruling class. They also directed a large trade network throughout Mesoamerica. The Zapotec built a magnificent urban center at Monte Alban, developed early forms of hieroglyphic writing and calendar system.The earliest Americans hunted big game and later fished and gathered berries and plants.Map showing the location of the Zapotec Civilizati...They lived in small groups, as they had to move continually in search of food but eventually developed farming and settled down into large communities. They also developed various new skills, including arts and crafts, architecture, and social and political organization, and gradually forged more complex societies.In conclusion advances in the Americas are very obvious but they all created newer things to survive and adapt to their ways of life, culture, and surroundings. The Americans went from small moving groups to complex societies and developed from pyramids and a basic writing system to the development of a new architecture and organizations.

3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers

3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers 3 Examples of Misplaced Modifiers By Mark Nichol n each of the following examples, placement of a phrase obfuscates the sentence’s narrative flow. Discussion and a revision follow each sentence. 1. Ultimately, it isn’t the strongest or the smartest companies that survive and prosper, but those that successfully adapt to change. Because â€Å"survive and prosper† applies to both the point and the counterpoint, it is best located at the end of the sentence; otherwise, the phrases ending in â€Å"that survive and prosper† and â€Å"that successfully adapt to change† appear to be distinct, whereas the second phrase, as part of the larger phrase beginning with but, is subordinate to the main clause: â€Å"Ultimately, it isn’t the strongest or the smartest companies, but those that successfully adapt to change, that survive and prosper.† 2. Anthony Ervin made history in the men’s 50-meter freestyle by becoming the oldest swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal at age thirty-five. This sentence states that of all the individual Olympic gold medalists in swimming who were thirty-five, Ervin was the oldest, but to correctly associate the age with Ervin alone, rather than with all thirty-five-year-old swimmers, the phrase â€Å"at age thirty-five† must be adjacent to Ervin’s name, preferably as an introductory phrase: â€Å"At age thirty-five, Anthony Ervin made history in the men’s 50-meter freestyle by becoming the oldest swimmer to win an individual Olympic gold medal.’ 3. Nevertheless, Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been perpetuating the myth that the movie has an anti-Semitic message since at least 2008. The sentence could be misread to suggest that the myth is that the movie acquired a particular message in a specific year. To clarify that the year refers simply to the advent of the notion itself and is not integral to the notion, it should be placed near the head of the sentence: â€Å"Nevertheless, since 2008, Neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been perpetuating the myth that the movie has an anti-Semitic message.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Synonyms for â€Å"Leader†10 Types of Transitions10 Writing Exercises to Tighten Your Writing

How Will E-Books Affect The Future of Learning Essay

How Will E-Books Affect The Future of Learning - Essay Example The questions would pertain to its impact on the publishers, its impact on the level of reading, the life span of a particular piece of work and various other questions which come to mind naturally. With transition from existing form of book reading to the digital means, there is a need for preserving the large amount of text that is being written over centuries that pertains to the cultural values, the pre historic times, stages of mankind’s progress to modern day and all other important pieces of writing. Such factors must be taken into account and proper working and bodies should be constituted to ensure no work of literature and history is lost in pursuit of modern trends and transition. It’s possible impact on the artists, poets, and other literature associated personnel must be taken into account since transition in that domain may not be as easy, as it might appear in the context of science and technology. A salient feature of electronic reading is in form of the dictionaries, nearly all electronic reading devices come up with dictionaries. In past, the readers had to carry separate book in form of dictionary for purpose of finding their meanings. Dictionaries come in form of softwares which are mere few mega bytes in space. The new form of book readings makes reading far easy. It enables the access to any book online without waiting to go to the stores which might be away from a particular station. Websites like Amazon and few others are the foundation brick towards it since they are the world’s largest online books domains .large amount of customers ranging in millions are registered over the website, which speaks of the popularity and increase in trend of e book reading. Electronic books will be available on the mobile phones, special electronic reading devices, laptops, and other gadgets, hence the domain of reading and its access becomes broad and would spread at a faster rate compared to the conventional form of reading that ex isted in past(Adams & Hamm, 2005). The large amount of hand held devices specifically made for online book reading are promoting this trend further. With gadgets like I-pad and Amazon Kindle easily available in market and having staggeringly positive outcomes from its sales, one can predict the future to be purely dominated by electronic books. The e-books will have an advantage over the conventional form of books in many aspects, which not only includes the price, but also the spacing consideration, the ease of access, and various other features. A small but intriguing feature of the e books is the illumination independence. While reading the conventional hard form of book requires illumination in the background, the electronic books can be read even in absence of light in the background since the source of electronic book, which are mostly the handheld devices and e-readers, provide light in itself. The electronic book concept gives rise to the virtual institutes and that we alrea dy see being implemented across the world in various forms of data bases and online learning centers. It will wash out the limits defined by boundaries and will enable any piece of work to be read and accessed by a person sitting in other corner of the world million miles in distance. Electronic books

Analyst Management Summary Report of Vodafone UK Essay

Analyst Management Summary Report of Vodafone UK - Essay Example Such a thorough assessment and comparative study with one of its peers, namely France Telecom-Orange, would enable one to recommend whether or not to make an investment of ?1Million in the stocks of Vodafone. Company Profile Vodafone is a global telecommunication company, operating in above 30 nations across the world and with more than 404 million customers (Vodafone, 2012). The company is listed in the London Stock Exchange and has 49,180.6 million shares outstanding (Bloomberg, 2012). ... Additionally, the company had been continuously giving out dividends to its shareholders since the last four years. Financial Ratio Analysis The liquidity position of an organization can be evaluated with the assistance of its current ratio and quick ratio. These ratios establish the organization’s capacity to meet its short-term liabilities. The current ratio can be determined as the ratio of the current assets to the current liabilities of the company, while the quick ratio is computed by dividing the quick assets by the current liabilities. It should be noted that the quick asset of an organization cosist of its cash, receivables and short term marketable investments (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2010). The liquidity ratios of Vodafone are as follows: Year Mar-11 Mar-12 Current Ratio 0.63 0.83 Quick Ratio 0.61 0.81 The analysis of a company’s capability to generate cost-effective sales by means of its resources can be assessed by means of its profitability ratios. These ratio s include the gross profit margin, the net profit margin as well as the returns on equity and assets of the company. The gross profit margin of a firm is the ratio of its gross profit to revenue, while net profit margin is the ratio of net profit to revenue. Then again, the return on equity (ROE) of a company is the value of net income as a percentage of total shareholders’ equity while the return on asset is the value of net income as a percentage of its total assets (Brigham & Ehrhardt, 2010). The profitability ratios of Vodafone are as follows: Year Mar-11 Mar-12 Gross Profit Margin 32.84% 32.04% Net Profit Margin 17.37% 14.99% Return on Equity 9.10% 9.04% Return on Asset 5.27% 4.98% The solvency position of a company can be determined by means of

Herman Melville's Billy Budd and Bartleby; Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Essay

Herman Melville's Billy Budd and Bartleby; Mark Twain's Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins - Essay Example It’s name means the Atheist and it is the French ship that engages the â€Å"Bellipotent† after Billy’s death. It’s shot leads to the death of Captain Vere, removing the guiding spirit of the â€Å"Bellipotent† which has been corrupted by adherence to tradition. These lines are spoken by Claggart after Billy’s soup spills and leaks across the master-at-arms’ path. They reveal Claggart’s singular attention on Billy, if not his animosity toward him, and indicate the reason why Claggart hates Billy as much as he does. The Dansker says this to Billy after the incident with the gold guineas, warning him that the after-guardsman is working for Claggart to try to implicate Billy in a mutiny scheme. If Billy were smart, he would have gone directly to the authorities about the incident, but, in keeping with his personality and understanding, he keeps quiet. Billy Budd says these words just before he is hoisted up into the rigging as his execution. The phrase is echoed by all the men on the ship and demonstrates Billy’s continued loyalty to the Captain as well as his respect for the rule of law that the Captain upheld in executing Billy. The significance of the brick wall is its ability to personify the character of Bartleby. Like a brick wall, he is described as having very little personality of his own, which makes him ideal for his role as a scrivener. However, he also proves to be equally as unmovable, as uncommunicative and progressively less useful as a brick wall. This was a friend of Judge Driscoll who died at about the same time as Percy Driscoll. Toward the end of the story, Roxy reveals that he was the father of her son, the man most people have known as ‘Tom’ through most of his life. This is Roxy’s real son who is switched with the baby Thomas a Becket Driscoll, the son of Roxy’s owner to be raised as a white man. He is the spoiled and rotten main character who abuses his ‘slave’, the true heir. They are both involved in the case

Identify the main issues in the new multilateral agenda and explain Essay

Identify the main issues in the new multilateral agenda and explain how the interests of developed countries differ from those o - Essay Example Multilateral trade entails agreements among several nations on the quantity, price and tariffs of the trade (Keet, 2000). Multilateralism enables nations to solve complex global problems especially on issues that entail the use of force. Barfield (2001) is of the opinion that multilateral rules should promote greater transparency and consistency through minimising the distortions caused by the discriminatory practices of some nations. The agreements should also provide legal security in dispute resolution and increase equity in market access among the member nations. The agreements should also consider the interests of the developing countries such as the need of harmonized trading systems that eliminate a lot of bureaucracies (Kulovesi, 2011). The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created in January 1995 can be termed as the biggest reform in multilateral trade since the end of the 2nd World War. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was established in 1947 and arranged 8 w orld rounds. At the Tokyo round, 102 GATT participating countries resolved to cut custom duties by a third in the major industrial markets thus bring the custom duties to about 4.7 percent compared with a high of 40 percent at the inception of GATT in 1947 (Schott, 2000). However, the recessions of early 1980s forced many countries in North America and Europe to start bilateral agreements with competitors and enhance the subsidies in order to remain competitive. WTO was founded on the principles of non-discrimination of the foreign and local companies, transparency in trade negotiations, reciprocity in concessions and differential treatment since developing countries could require favourable treatment and positive discrimination (Blackhurst 1998). There are numerous reasons why WTO was created to replace GATT. GATT only covered trade on merchandised goods unlike WTO that includes trade in intellectual property and services (Barfield, 2001). GATT only entailed set rules and instructi ons that had no institutional foundation unlike, WTO which is a permanent institution with a fully recognised secretariat. The member countries wanted a new multilateral trade system with faster dispute resolution unlike old GATT system (Blackhurst 1998). The GATT agreements and provisions were subject to the discretion and willingness of the member countries in the implementation thus many countries declined in implementing certain provisions for own reasons, unlike the WTO guidelines that are compulsory and permanent. Agricultural products, textiles and services were exempt from GATT regulations and some member countries administered anti-dumping duties and voluntary export restrains that led to trade distortions (Keet, 2000). There are numerous challenges facing the WTO such as the labour standards. Labour organisations have asserted that WTO guidelines permit the exploitation of labour and ultimate destruction of the environment. According to Mitchell (2005), the WTO standards u ndermine the country regulations that are designed to conserve the environment and ensure the health and safety of its citizens. The major controversy is whether WTO is the right institution to enforce the global labour standards especially in developing countries whose economic production is labour-intensive. Although WTO indicated that it would work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) since 1996, it seems to

Early Modernism and Art Nouveau - A Comparison Essay

Early Modernism and Art Nouveau - A Comparison - Essay Example The essay "Early Modernism and Art Nouveau - A Comparison" compares two movements of art and architect. Architecture is on such sphere of human activity that though discernibly has utilitarian objectives, also tends to be a pivotal medium of human expression. Architecture is also an art form whose scope and nature is directly susceptible to the times in which it is placed, responding pragmatically and aesthetically to the raw materials in vogue and the primary social and artistic concerns of the generation of which it tends to be a product of. Taking architecture in the context of time, early Modernism and Art Nouveau happen to be two important movements in the sphere of art and architecture. In an academic perspective, it will be immensely enlightening to dissect the essentials of these two art movements in a comparative context. Within the realm of architecture, early Modernism was primarily associated with the simplification of form. It primarily relied for the accrual of ornament al appeal, on the theme and structure of the intended structure. Early Modernism initiated its nascent reverberations during the start of the twentieth century. It was directly influenced by the times of its genesis in the sense that it attempted to respond to the ensuing modernization of society and the accompanying technological developments. It would not be wrong to say that early Modernism tried to reconcile the principles of architecture to the two aforementioned trends. Early modernism borrowed themes from varied architectural styles.

Critique of Psychoanalytic Literacy Criticism Research Paper

Critique of Psychoanalytic Literacy Criticism - Research Paper Example In psychoanalytic criticism, the intention of the analyst is the overall background of the author and how it might have speculatively influenced the work of the same author. It also identifies the fact that the difference between these subjects of psychological and psychoanalytic criticisms is broadly similar and could be addressed by three main facts about this form of analysis. The facts are to do with the unconscious mental process of an individual. This includes the fact that human behavior is being motivated by own sexuality and the norm that are associated with sexuality in different cultures shaping or repressing the desire of these individuals. In Freud’s original argument, the process of dreaming is controlled by the sub-conscious mind and cannot be manifested in the wake status of an individual. However, according to Lacan, one of the proponents and developers of the psychoanalytic criticism, the sub-conscious mind can be manifested in the wake status. This can be derived from the comments that individuals joke with or the slips of the tongue or other unintended actions like puns. The works by Lacan further developed the concept of psyc hoanalytic criticisms that has evolved over time to be employed in different forms of art. The concept of psychoanalytic literary criticism is the psychoanalysis of the author or a particular interesting character is a given work. Just like other forms of literary criticism, psychoanalytic criticism can results to important clues to the something baffling symbols actions and setting s of literary work. Early psychoanalytic literary criticism most of the time treat the text as if it were a kind of a dream. That is; the text inhibits its original content beyond obvious content. It is worth noting that this process of changing the text is regarded as dream work and is characterized by concentration and displacement. Critics consider language and symbolism of a text to reverse the process of the dream and instead

Identify the main issues in the new multilateral agenda and explain Essay

Identify the main issues in the new multilateral agenda and explain how the interests of developed countries differ from those o - Essay Example Multilateral trade entails agreements among several nations on the quantity, price and tariffs of the trade (Keet, 2000). Multilateralism enables nations to solve complex global problems especially on issues that entail the use of force. Barfield (2001) is of the opinion that multilateral rules should promote greater transparency and consistency through minimising the distortions caused by the discriminatory practices of some nations. The agreements should also provide legal security in dispute resolution and increase equity in market access among the member nations. The agreements should also consider the interests of the developing countries such as the need of harmonized trading systems that eliminate a lot of bureaucracies (Kulovesi, 2011). The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was created in January 1995 can be termed as the biggest reform in multilateral trade since the end of the 2nd World War. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was established in 1947 and arranged 8 w orld rounds. At the Tokyo round, 102 GATT participating countries resolved to cut custom duties by a third in the major industrial markets thus bring the custom duties to about 4.7 percent compared with a high of 40 percent at the inception of GATT in 1947 (Schott, 2000). However, the recessions of early 1980s forced many countries in North America and Europe to start bilateral agreements with competitors and enhance the subsidies in order to remain competitive. WTO was founded on the principles of non-discrimination of the foreign and local companies, transparency in trade negotiations, reciprocity in concessions and differential treatment since developing countries could require favourable treatment and positive discrimination (Blackhurst 1998). There are numerous reasons why WTO was created to replace GATT. GATT only covered trade on merchandised goods unlike WTO that includes trade in intellectual property and services (Barfield, 2001). GATT only entailed set rules and instructi ons that had no institutional foundation unlike, WTO which is a permanent institution with a fully recognised secretariat. The member countries wanted a new multilateral trade system with faster dispute resolution unlike old GATT system (Blackhurst 1998). The GATT agreements and provisions were subject to the discretion and willingness of the member countries in the implementation thus many countries declined in implementing certain provisions for own reasons, unlike the WTO guidelines that are compulsory and permanent. Agricultural products, textiles and services were exempt from GATT regulations and some member countries administered anti-dumping duties and voluntary export restrains that led to trade distortions (Keet, 2000). There are numerous challenges facing the WTO such as the labour standards. Labour organisations have asserted that WTO guidelines permit the exploitation of labour and ultimate destruction of the environment. According to Mitchell (2005), the WTO standards u ndermine the country regulations that are designed to conserve the environment and ensure the health and safety of its citizens. The major controversy is whether WTO is the right institution to enforce the global labour standards especially in developing countries whose economic production is labour-intensive. Although WTO indicated that it would work with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) since 1996, it seems to

Critique of Psychoanalytic Literacy Criticism Research Paper

Critique of Psychoanalytic Literacy Criticism - Research Paper Example In psychoanalytic criticism, the intention of the analyst is the overall background of the author and how it might have speculatively influenced the work of the same author. It also identifies the fact that the difference between these subjects of psychological and psychoanalytic criticisms is broadly similar and could be addressed by three main facts about this form of analysis. The facts are to do with the unconscious mental process of an individual. This includes the fact that human behavior is being motivated by own sexuality and the norm that are associated with sexuality in different cultures shaping or repressing the desire of these individuals. In Freud’s original argument, the process of dreaming is controlled by the sub-conscious mind and cannot be manifested in the wake status of an individual. However, according to Lacan, one of the proponents and developers of the psychoanalytic criticism, the sub-conscious mind can be manifested in the wake status. This can be derived from the comments that individuals joke with or the slips of the tongue or other unintended actions like puns. The works by Lacan further developed the concept of psyc hoanalytic criticisms that has evolved over time to be employed in different forms of art. The concept of psychoanalytic literary criticism is the psychoanalysis of the author or a particular interesting character is a given work. Just like other forms of literary criticism, psychoanalytic criticism can results to important clues to the something baffling symbols actions and setting s of literary work. Early psychoanalytic literary criticism most of the time treat the text as if it were a kind of a dream. That is; the text inhibits its original content beyond obvious content. It is worth noting that this process of changing the text is regarded as dream work and is characterized by concentration and displacement. Critics consider language and symbolism of a text to reverse the process of the dream and instead

Comparing Caste Systems Essay Example for Free

Comparing Caste Systems Essay Compare the caste system to other systems of social inequality devised by early and classical civilizations, including slavery. †¢ A Patriarchy is a society in which the role of men is placed above the role of women. -The post classical era had many patriarchal societies, because of the changes of the roles of men and women. -Patriarchal societies include: China, Egypt, Mesopotomia, and India. -In China, the men had public authority. But, during the Shang Dynasty, women started to gain some rights. -In Egypt, the men had the authority over the public. Egypt’s society was not as bad as some were, though. Women still had many rights. Example: Queen Hatshepsut. -In Mesopotamia, Hammurabi’s Law Code gave men a higher status than women. The men decided the jobs that each family member did and arranged the marriages. The women still had power and were able to influence the kings and people with important power. -In India, The Lawbook of Manu said that women should be treated with respect and honor. But, they were still controlled by either their fathers or husbands. Their main role in society was to have children and maintain the household. †¢ The Caste System was based on the ideals of Varnas that brought their patriarchal system of life to India. -The Caste System and Hinduism go hand in hand. -In this system, women were below men, but there were also groups. -Classes: Brahmin-priests and scholars Kshatriyas-warriors and ruling class Vaishayas-farmers and businessmen Shudras-servants Untouchables-not even represented -The class you were born in was the class you stayed in for your entire life. -The priests and warriors had a more unstable life than the workers and merchants did. -The Sutte went along with the ideals of the Caste System. It said that when a ruler died, his wife must die too. Also, as the views of women changed, it went better along with those new views. †¢ Religious Inequalities: -Priests were at a higher authority and standing in society, because their job was the most important. -Many religions used a social hierarchy to organize their community and hold people to a code of conduct and activity. -Examples: Hinduism, Confucianism, Mandate of Heaven, and Pharaohs. †¢ Political Inequalties: -Many classical societies developed inequalities due to political and/or governmental divisions of society. -Politics defined the roles and status of classical civilizations. -These were stemmed from the rise of a government and stratification based on government. -Social mobility existed, because one could improve their wealth or education. -More opposition, because people felt more repressed by the government. -Examples: Rome, Egypt, and Japan †¢ Slavery: -Slavery was not very popular during this time period; however it was used by the river based societies because they were agriculturally developed. -Slaves were used on farms, because farms required a lot of labor, and slaves were cheap or free. -Slaves had no freedom and had no respect. -Slaves were in the worst and lowest class. -Civilizations that used slavery were: Rome, Egypt, China, India (untouchables), and a small part of Africa. †¢ Economic Inequality: -Many classical societies used economic status as a means of placing people into classes. -Class distinction was based upon accumulation of wealth and monopoly on agricultural or specialized production. -Jobs were another form of societal groupings. -Examples: India, China, Egypt, Japan, and Mesopotamia

Performance Appraisal System Impact on Employees Apollo Tyres

Performance Appraisal System Impact on Employees Apollo Tyres 1.1 Introduction According to Mayo, 2000, Human resources management is an important function of a firm because the machines can be easily directed, repaired and utilised but employees are living beings with emotions and prejudices and cannot be easily directed, repaired and utilised. In 20th century the theoretical as well as practical aspects of the Human resources management got a scientific dimension, the consistent efforts of the management to improve the performance of the firm has resulted in the performance evaluation of human resources or employees. The employees are the building blocks of a firm and the defective block will deform the entire firm so it is the responsibility of the management to shape these building blocks according to the needs. The performance appraisal system is not new concept it has an age old history to tell but the modern appraisal system has evolved in the mid of 20th century. The performance appraisal system, which integrates many departments of the firm, is aimed at the enhancement of performance of the employees. The employees who are not scoring in the performance appraisal period are required to undergo training and skill development programme. The performance appraisal was believed to be a motivation factor but in practise many studies have shown that it is not always act as a motivational factor but sometimes has de-motivational effects on the appraised. The system which formulates the rules and regulations to motivate the employees to perform better in the next appraisal period can be called as a best suited system for that particular firm because there is no optimum method or procedure to be followed in a performance appraisal system in a firm. (Nishad, 2005) The motivation and de-motivation factors may be present in the same performance appraisal system. The appraisal may be motivational to some employees meanwhile it is de-motivating for others. The combined effect is a general thing in all appraisal system but the proportion of motivation to de-motivation factors should be high otherwise the entire objective of the Performance appraisal will be failed. (Seong and Lewis, 2009) There are many factors which affect the result of performance appraisal the main factor is the appraisal procedure and the evaluation criteria, the next important factors are social, cultural, economical and political aspects of the employees. The social and cultural aspects are known as permanent factors which cannot be nullified so it becomes the duty of the employer to plan a PA system which suits the socio-cultural aspects of the employees in addition to the due consideration for the political as well as the economics factors. (Nishad, 2005) 1.2 Background and justification of the study 1.2.1 Background of the Study Apollo Tyres Ltd is a multinational company having many divisions all around the world. It is a private sector company with limited liability. The performance track of ATL has attracted many foreign firms to initiate joint venture with this company in UK, US and African continent. The performance of this company and the varied product categories it offers to the customers are the key for its success. (Company profile, 2010) Apollo Tyres Ltd is emerging as a global tyre manufactures and it finds its strength in the availability of materials and labour at a lower price than its competitors. The annual revenue for 2009 financial year was 1.2 Billion USD. The main source of income is form the domestic production; recently the firm has acquired many other international firms such as the Dunlop Tyres in 2006 and VBBV of Netherlands as well as the Russias largest tyre manufacturing company Amtel-Vredestein NV. ATL has a direct market strategy and has 2500 showroom all over the world; majority of it are in India. There are 4000 dealerships India and more than 100 dealers internationally. (Company profile, 2010 and Stanley, 2009) The globalisation has brought many challenges to ATL as new multinational companies have entered the health care sector in India. ATL has coped with challenges with diversified product plan and for that it has invested billion of Indian Rupee, as a result the company has major market share in India. It is a matter of credit that around 10% of Tyre Products available all over world belong to ATL because of the export activities of the company. The company is so successful because of the work force it got. (Company profile, 2009) The workers are being provided by good facilities such as good working environment, good salary, flexible time schedule and holiday and festive allowancesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. The Management has already providing them a contributory pension fund and insurance scheme for the employees. The educational scholar ships and education facility up to high school for the children of employees are provided by the company itself, apart from the residential facility. (Company profile, 2010 and Stanley, 2009) The annual report from financial year 2006 to 2009 has proved that the productivity has been getting decreased year by year. In 2006 it was 2.6% decrease and in 2009 it has reached the alarming 18% decrease. The management has a performance appraisal system since 1971 and counselling programme as well as skill development programmes are provided for the underperformed employees. Still the productivity graph records a downward growth. And this proposed study indents to find out the effectiveness and impact of the appraisal system on the employees and the productivity. (Stanley, 2009) 1.2.2 Justification of the study Every organisation around the world has vision and mission, whatever the philosophy behind the vision and mission there will be a common factor in the philosophy improved performance. The improved performance might bring profit to the organisation. The overall development of the organisation may be one side of the improved performance of the firm. the improved performance means the enhanced performance of the its various departments such as Human resources management, financial management, production and operations management, sales management, marketing management, customer care managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. In all of these departments the human factor is a matter of serious consideration. The right people for the right job make all the differences. (Taylor, 2001) All the firms have some or other method to measure and analyse the performance of it. The analysis of this performance and the actions plans to be taken to improve the performance are of great importance of every firm. To manage the performance appraisal of its employees the firms have a separate appraisal department under the human resources department. The functions of appraisal department are integrated with other department such as financial department to coordinate the appraisal rewards and punishments, if any. (Qureshi, 2005) The performance appraisal is a complicated disciple of study because the appraisal result might not be the intended and assumed motivation of the employees. The studies have revealed that in many firms around world the appraisal process and remedial measures have resulted in the declined performance of the employees indicating the de-motivational effect of the appraisal system. (Nishad, 2005) The appraisal methods and criteria should be defined particularly for each firm because the appraisal results and the impact of the employees are very much depended on the external internal factor of the firm. The external factors such as socio-cultural traits of the employees, the economic and political situation of the geographical location of the firmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. The internal factors mean the nature of the jobs, the leisure and pleasure in the job, the working conditions, organisational cultureà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. (Nishad, 2005) The appraisal theories when applied to the Asian countries the result may be devastating because the western appraisal theories have a great limitation in the Asian countries because of the social and cultural difference of the Asian people. So it is imperative to analyse the appraisal system on the basis of local factor which influence the management and the organisational behaviour of the employees. (Taylor, 2001and Nishad, 2005) In the proposed study, ATL- Kalamassery, in the Kerala state, India, is taken because the political and the economical situations of the state. The Kerala is world famous for the various political ideologies such as communism and socialism. The economic backwardness of the state is also factor to take this unit of ATL for the study. According to Taylor (2001) the social- cultural traits of the employees in India are very much different from the western countries. The social behaviour of Indians is sometimes unacceptable social etiquettes for westerners. The social bond and relations are different from that of the western countries. The proposed study would like to analyse the impact of the factors in the appraisal system and how far the appraisal system of ATL can manage its employees in the improvement of performance. 1.2.3 Literature Review Performance appraisal has a long history it emerged with the civilisation. When the people are interacting to each other in an orderly fashion then it may require some laws to govern the conduct of the people in the group. This preliminary law formation is called grundnorm which means the base norm, and these base norms were designed to control the conduct and also the distributed duties. The distribution of duties include various works; later on when these works required efficiency then performance of the individual and the groups were began to analyse. So it can be said that the performance appraisal was there in the primitive societies and in the course of time the application and the method of evaluation has been changed a lot. (Rajeev, 2000) According to Mayo, (2000), in the modern world, where everything is measured in time, the performance evaluation has great importance. The performance of each member of a group is important for the purpose of performance evaluation. After the industrial revolution new management theories came in to being and many of them went in to oblivion, those survived gave emphasis on the evaluation of the performance on the basis of scientific criteria. The industrial world tries to motivate its man power so that better performance can be obtained from each of the employees. The motivational aspect of the performance appraisal has been subject for deep rooted debates which are based on the many disciplines of study such as psychology, anthropology, sociologyetc. The complexity of the subject matter indicates the intricacies involved in the performance appraisal process and its impact on the employees. (Nishad, 2005) The motivational theories such as Vrooms expectancy theory and hygiene theory suggest that the employees are not motivated by giving them better facilities or salary but there is a mental dimension such as appreciation, recognition, career growth etc. The modern appraisal theory which is based on these concepts where as the classical theory of performance appraisal only support the deterrent method, that is, the employees who are performing well will be paid better and those who are not will be sacked. This approach has many loop holes such as the mental strain during the appraisal period the employees have and the lack of loyalty from the part of the employees and it was proved to be ineffective in motivating the employees. (Rajeev, 2000) The modern approach, meanwhile, support more over a lenient approach towards the employees. The basic philosophy is to understand the basic problem in the underperformance of the employees. The root cause may not be related to the employment or it may be related of some physiological problems, whatever it may the manager or the supervisor who is in charge of the appraisal process is responsible to understand it. The counselling process is designed to understand the problems and give suggestions to solve the problems of the employees. The training and improvement programmes are also conducted in many modern industries to increase the performance level of the employees. (Rajeev, 2000) The performance appraisal is usually begins with the formulation of the criteria on which each and every employee will be analysed. The criteria formation is very complex and will be unique according to the nature of employment as well as the philosophy of the management. The criteria then communicated to the employees and a time period will be given to them to opine about the criteria and after the evaluation of the suggestions from the various sources the management may change the criteria or stick on with it. The appraisal process will start and the each employee will be informed about the appraisal period. The appraisal result will be published publically and remedial measures will be taken thereafter. The remedial measures include the training and improvement programme and even the removal of the underperformance form the employment. (North, 2006) The problem with the performance appraisal begins when the employees are instructed to undergo the remedial measures. According to Nishad (2005), the social and cultural factors of the employees as well as the political strength are important factors that dictate the appraisal process. Unlike the western world in Asian countries the political strength of the employees unions is much stronger and the labour laws are much lenient to support the employees. The appraisal system in the Asian countries shall not follow the procedures of the western firms. The motivational factors and the de-motivational factors are different and contradictory in western and eastern world. The factors which motivate a westerner may a factor for de-motivation in Asian countries. According to Taylor (2001), the social-cultural aspects of the employees have significant effect on the appraisal system in the Asian countries. The trade unionism and the political inclination of these unions are other factors which will affect the appraisal system adversely. The behavioural pattern of the employees have to be analysed before the formulating the appraisal strategy. The political philosophy of the political parties in Kerala varies from leftist ideology to the rightist capitalism. The political parties strongly support one or the other political ideologies; communism and socialism are the major philosophies which are being followed in the state for more than a century. The trade unions of the state are affiliated to anyone of the political parties and the trade unions enjoys the protection of labour laws of the land. (Ashok, 2007) Situation in the ATL is not different from the political situation of the state. The political parties have a great influence on the trade unions and the lives of the employees. Every employee in the ATL is affiliated to any one of the political parties. This is basically a survival strategy for the employees as well as the trade unions. (Ashok, 2007) The collective bargaining of the trade unions and the threat of strikes hampered the growth of many industries in the state. The current situation in the firm is also same and the management have to discuss and reach in a consensus to implement any change in work schedule or in bonus or in the salary. The strength of the management is in the bargaining power and that of the trade unions is in the unity and threat to strike. (Uppal, 2009) The performance appraisal system of any industry is under the scrutiny of the trade unions, the performance criteria should be passed by the trade union so that it can be smoothly run. The remedial measures are also supervised by the trade unions and any action which will be a potential threat will be strongly resisted by the unions. (Uppal, 2009) 1.2.4 Aim The present study aims to analyse the Performance Appraisal System of the Apollo Tyres Ltd and the motivating as well as the de-motivating effects of the appraisal system on the basis of the socio-cultural and politico-economical situations and to suggest the strategies and procedures to improve the performance of the employees. 1.2.5 Hypothesis (A) Null hypothesis H0 Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is depended on the social, cultural, political and economic environment of the firm and the employees (B) Alternative Hyposthesis H1: Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is NOT depended on the social and Cultural environment of the firm and the employees H2: Impact of a performance appraisal system on the employees is NOT depended on the political and economic environment of the firm and the employees The null hypothesis is statistical hypothesis that is tested for possible rejection under the assumption that it is true (usually those observations are the result of chance). The concept was introduced by R.  A.  Fisher (Gonick and Smith, 2006) In this proposed study, the null hypothesis considers the independent variables such as social, cultural, political and economic factors of the environment in which the firm operates. The null hypothesis is assumed to be trued based on the various secondary data. The alternative hypothesis is divided in to two part one with the factors such social and cultural factors and the second one is political and economic factors. According to Malhotra (2008), the social and cultural factors cannot be separated as it is has strong influence on each other. The social factor is formed based on the cultural factor and the cultural is nurtured and propagated through social circumstances. According to Cumbler (2003), The political philosophy is always related with the economy of the country, the political affiliation is more over has direct influence on the economy of the people. It is noteworthy that the communism and other labourer favoured philosophies are flourishing the third world countries because of the poor economic conditions. Once these countries become developed nations the leftist philosophies will cease to exist in course of time. 1.2.6 Primary Objectives of the Study 1. To analyse the performance appraisal system in general and particularly in the Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL) 2. To understand analyse the significance of the performance appraisal system in achieving the goals and objectives of a firm 3. To study and analyse the transition of performance appraisal from conventional to modern and the major factors influenced the transition 4. To understand the motivating and de-motivating effect of the appraisal system on the employees in general and particularly in the ATL 5. To analyse effect of social and cultural factors and political and economical factors of the employees on the appraisal system in general and particularly in the ATL. 1.2.7 Research Questions To fulfil the primary objective of the study the following research questions are proposed Performance Appraisal its meaning and definitions What are the significance of performance evaluation system in accomplishing the organisational objective and goals? What are the differences in the modern as well as in the conventional appraisal system? What is the relation between the motivation of the employee and appraisal system? How do the socio-cultural and politico-economical factors of the employee affect the Appraisal System in a firm? Does the performance appraisal system in the Apollo Tyres Ltd have a motivational effect on the employees? What are the strategies that the ATL follows in the appraisal process to enhance the performance of the employees in the particular socio-cultural and politico-economical background? 2. Research method and Approach 2.1 Introduction The research method and approach is devised to study and understand Performance Appraisal System in the Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL). The study involves the opinion of the employees and the management on the present appraisal system in ATL. The interview method will be used to understand the management side of story on the Performance Appraisal system in the ATL. The questionnaire method is used to understand the employee side story. The literature reviews are depended to make a frame work on the theoretical concept of the study. Various statistical methods will be used to analyse the data and it will be explained on the basis of relevant literature. The span of the research will be six months. In the month of March, 2010 the study will be commenced and the final report will be submitted in September, 2010. 2.2 Research Methodology of the study The research methodology of the study is designed to understand the Performance Appraisal System in the ATL and the impact of present system on the employees. According to Kothari, (2002) the research method suitable for a study where the relevant literatures as well as the primary data are used the two research methods are generally used such as the exploratory methods and the constructive methods. The constructive methods are used when the subject matter of the research needs some frame of reference to handle the entire research results. For example, in international marketing research, sometimes, the cultural traits of customers have to be taken the basis or frame of reference of the study because this trait will affect all the research questions under study. 2.2.1 Exploratory research methods Exploratory research methods are wildly used in the secondary data accumulation. In this present study the literature review will be used to understand and to formulate the theoretical frame work of the entire study. The history of the appraisal system, the relevance of the appraisal system, the motivational as well as the de-motivational aspects of the PA system, the social and cultural factors as well as the political and economic factors will be extensively studied through relevant literature. The relevant sources will be explored to understand the subject matter of the study deeply thus exploratory research methods. (Kothari, 2002) 2.2.2 Constructive Research Methods Constructive research methods are used when the research result cannot be generalised due the influence of dominant factors in the study. (Kothari, 2002) In the present study the performance appraisal system is analysed based on the social and cultural aspect of the employees. The political and economical aspects are also considered for the study because all these factors have a dominant effect on the study. In other words, without taking these factors under consideration the research will be completed. The geographical location of the unit under study is in the Kerala state, India, which is an economically backward place and the political philosophies, such communism and socialism have formidable impact on the people living there. The social and cultural factors are different from the western world and the social bonds and family cohesions are very important aspects this culture. The social interaction and etiquettes are different from that of the western world so the theories applicable in the western world no longer stand good in these situations. So it is mandatory for this study to form a frame work on these factors to analyse th e subject matter of the research. 2.2.3 Questionnaire and interview method Interview and questionnaire methods are generally used to collect the data first hand (Kothari, 2002). In this study these methods are preferred to get the information on the appraisal system of ATL and the impact of such system on the employees. The questionnaires will be used to get the opinions of the employees on the performance appraisal system as well as the appraisal rewards and the methods of the PA system. According to Saunders et al., 2003 the open end interviews are useful to gather data in a larger perspective. The open end interview questions and the answers to it will give the interviewer the opportunity to ask other relevant questions to the interviewee based on the previous answer and can get more details from the interviewer. The interview questions are open end in nature and the questions will be asked to the officials of ATL. According to the answers of these officials other related questions will be asked to get more comprehensive view on the subject. This method is used to interview the officials only because there are very few in number. The questionnaire will be distributed to the employees and the responses will be collected back within one month of distribution. This method is adopted because in this unit there are 2100 employees and interviewing all them will not be possible due to time constrain. 2.3 Method of Study The proposed study requires both primary data as well as the secondary data to meet the objectives of the study. The method of study thus designed to collect the primary as well as the secondary data. The primary data will be collected from the management staffs and from the employees. The secondary data will be collected by referring books, Articles, the e-journals and paper journals, web sitesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc. 2.4 Primary data collections methods Primary data will be collected from the employees and the managers of the ATL directly. The employees will be distributed the self-structured close end questionnaire to be answered and 2 weeks time will be given to them to fill it and return. Managerial staff will be interview with open end interview questions. According to Saunders et al., 2003, the open end questions are very apt for interviewing a small sample in a study it also very effective because the open end questions will provide enough opportunity to ask more questions based on the answer for the previous questions and clarify the doubts on the statements if any. 2.5 Secondary Data collection methods The secondary data collection is highly recommended information gathering process in any research work. The researcher should be diligent enough to select apt resources and updated information. In management subjects the data collection should be done through updated resources and latest editions books, articles and journals because new concept and theories and its applications are emerging day by day and it is the responsibility of the researcher to find out the up dated information for his research work. (Kumar, 2005) The secondary data collection method includes access to the relevant and updated books, journals and articles. The website will be extensively used if the authenticities of the sites are known. The university library and online facility will be extensively used for this research. The data regarding the company profile will be gathered though company website and referring the ISO manual of ATL and the annual report which is available in the web site of ATL. 2.6 Method of Data analysis In the proposed study the primary data as well as the secondary data will be used to reach a conclusion and the recommendations. The primary data will be analysed with various statistical tools such as chi square test, ANOVA à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦etc and the variance analysis will be done to understand the impact of the statement with the literature review. Both the primary and secondary data will be simultaneously used to interpret the results of the research. 2.7 Scope, Ethics and Limitation of the Study Scope The proposed study is on the performance appraisal system and the impact of it on the employees. The scope of the research includes the analysis of the various factors such as the social-cultural aspects and the political-economic factors of the environment in which the Apollo Tyres Limited is operating. The social and cultural aspect of the employees will be analysed and the suitable strategy for the appraisal system will be studied. The political and economic situation of the employees will be analysed and the performance appraisal approach of the management will be studied based on these factors. The scope of the research will be on the formulation appraisal strategy which will be suitable under the various research variables. The motivational and the de-motivational impact of the appraisal system will be analysed based on the four above mentioned aspects of the employees. Ethics According to Kothari (2002), a research study will provide accurate results and will provide a valid conclusion if it has followed a research ethics. In this proposed study the permission to do the research is obtained from the management of Apollo Tyres Limited, Kalamassery Unit, Kerala state, India. The survey among the employees of the ATL will be conducted confidentially. The questionnaire will not contain any whereabouts of the employees only the service, age, gender and positions. It will not ask for any personal details such as the address, name or any name of unique post. The research will seek the written permission from the management for the interview of the Management staffs so the evidence of opinion can be adduced in the Dissertation. Relevant literature will be collected and analysed to gather the knowledge base on the subject matter so that the research should have a through theoretical support. Limitations Short span of time is problem in the research as the time period is limited to three months. The data collection and the analysis of the primary data will be done with maximum speed and there is a chance the responses of the employees is not 100% true to the fact. The literature available on the performance appraisal is numerous and reading the relevant one requires great time. The limited time may limit the number of literature that can be analysed by the researcher. The data will be gathered through research aid wing of Indian Management Association (IMA). The representative of IMA will be hired for the purpose of the data collection; the knowledge limit of the person on the research objective may prove to be a problem in translating the questionnaire to the employees. The cooperation from the part of the employees and other management staff is essential for the success of the research. The research will suffer if there is limited cooperation from the staffs of the Apollo Tyres Limited. 2..8 Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion The trade unionism and the political inclination of these unions are other factors which will affect the appraisal system adversely. The behavioural pattern of the employees have to be analysed before the formulating the appraisal strategy. The political philosophy of the political parties in Kerala varies from leftist ideology to the rightist capitalism. The political parties strongly support one or the other political ideologies; communism and socialism are the major philosophies which are being followed in the state for more than a century. The trade unions of the state are affiliated to anyone of the political parties and the trade unions enjoys the protection of labour laws of the land. Situation in the ATL is not different from the political situation of the state. The political parties have a great influence on the trade unions and the lives of the employees. Every employee in the ATL is affiliated to any one of the political parties. This is basically a survival strategy for the employees as well as the trade unions. The collective bargaining of the trade unions and the threat of strikes hampered the growth of many industries in the state. The current situation in the firm is also same and the management have to discuss and