Kiss And Hype Essays - Kiss, Wicked Lester, Peter Criss, Ace Frehley

Kiss And Hype Hype is defined as promotional publicity of an extravagant or contrived kind. It is used to lure the consumer to a certain product or an event of some kind. The competition for the consumer's attention is intense and even desperate at times. Throughout the 1970's, there was a vast machinery of hype surrounding the music industry. Some of what came out of it was original and imaginative, but some was deceptive and outrageous. Whatever it was, it was all aimed at the consumer. The rock group Kiss has been performing for over twenty-six years. In that time, they have sold over ninety million albums, amassed legions of fans, and sold out stadiums around the world. There is a reason for the extraordinary success of Kiss. It has something to do with their music, but it has more to do with the way they are hyped and packaged. So lets unwrap that package. In 1972, Gene Simmons was a sixth grade school teacher in New York City. With guitarist Paul Stanley, he formed a band called Wicked Lester that played in small clubs and bars around New York. That band quickly failed. "Wicked Lester just wasn't the deadly rock n' roll assault squad they had always wanted" (Kitts 12). But Simmons and Stanley felt they could and would become stars. They invested in some large equipment and decided to start a major rock band. From the hordes of drummers, they chose Peter Criss, who had been advertising himself in New York newspapers. They auditioned over thirty guitarists and chose Ace Frehley, who had been delivering liquor for a living. The band was formed and now came the time to sell it. The key step was to persuade Bill Aucoin, director of the television show Flipside, to take over the management of the band. Kiss emphasized style over substance and went heavy on trappings. Makeup came first. It set them apart from everyone else and gave them an aura of mystery. Each member developed his own alter ego. It was the first of many Kiss gimmicks that worked. The costumes came next, complete with black leather, aluminum studs, and seven-inch platform heels. They never allowed themselves to be photographed out of character. "The hype was self-perpetuating. The more Kiss's identities were shielded, the more interest there was in trying to photograph them" (Lendt 40). By 1978, Kiss was the highest grossing live act in the world. Their concerts became main attractions for millions of people. Kiss's formula for success was simple: hit the audience so hard, with a barrage of gimmicks, stunts, and theatrics, that they will not be able to forget you. Everything was intended to project power. The double s's at the end of the Kiss logo were designed to look like lightening bolts. The stage was equipped with drum risers, platforms, and a towering electric sign with a gigantic lit up Kiss logo. A high point, or "hype" point, in the show came when Gene Simmons, the demon, would breathe fire. Another "hype" point would come when Simmons vomited blood. For Kiss, their concerts were the best commercials for their albums. Kiss had to make their way in the 1970's without the help of radio. There were virtually no stations in the country that would play their music. Instead, they promoted themselves in other ways. They permitted no promotional possibility to slip away. Kiss sold t-shirts, hats, belt buckles, puzzles, dolls, jackets, pictures, posters, comic books, and virtually any and everything they could put their logo on. "In some ways it epitomized just how big and different we were that a lot of other bands" (Stanley, Kiss Extreme Close-up). They used all of this promotion to sell records. In the music business, this sort of thing is called, not without reason, exploitation. Kiss is one of the best examples of hype in the music industry. Without their image, along with the package, they might not have ever made it out of the clubs and bars. Few imitators have attempted to copy or adapt the Kiss formula's obvious appeal, and certainly none have surpassed Kiss's success at capitalizing on that formula. In time, Kiss may one day be permanently enshrined as a theme park ride, a Las Vegas casino attraction, or some other modern era mass entertainment spectacle: which is what Kiss was all about in the first place. Bibliography Kitts, Jeff. Kisstory. Los Angeles: Kisstory Ltd., 1994. Lendt, C. K. Kiss and Sell: The Making of a Supergroup. New York: Billboard Books, 1997. Kiss Extreme Close-up.

Cultural Dilemma in the US Postal Service Essays

Cultural Dilemma in the US Postal Service Essays Cultural Dilemma in the US Postal Service Essay Cultural Dilemma in the US Postal Service Essay Essay Topic: In the Us There are legion cultural differences in our societies as a consequence of the legion diverse civilizations that people belong to. Each civilization has its ain ways of making things with different cultural norms. values. perceptual experiences. every bit good as behaviours. Peoples from certain civilizations will pattern the values. norms and perceptual experiences that their civilizations belief in and hence will stop up holding troubles when interacting with people from different civilizations who will hold differing cultural norms. values and perceptual experiences. These cultural differences are manifested in the workplace as different people from different civilizations come together to work together for the common end of the establishment or organisation they work for. Since our cultural values and norms act upon our single apprehensions and perceptual experiences. people will respond otherwise towards events and fortunes that could happen within us and in the environment. These differences in perceptual experiences will impact how employees within an organisation will interact with each other and work in harmoniousness so as to fulfill the demands of the organization’s stakeholders. As such. cultural differences are a major concern for directors within organisations as they could assist the organisation accomplish its aims or impede it from accomplishing them. The aims of an organisation are set in topographic point by its stakeholders who have invested in the organisation in one manner or the other and expect to derive from such an investing in future. It is hence the duty of directors to happen a manner in which the employees within an organisation can work together in a seamless mode despite their differences in civilization so as to guarantee the organisation operates continually for the common good of all stakeholders. The United States Postal Service The Postal Service is an bureau authorized by the fundamental law of the United States and is responsible for the proviso of postal services to the whole of the United States. Established in 1775 in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin through the passage of a edict passed by the 2nd Continental Congress. it experienced minimum growing and was subsequently transformed in to its current signifier as an independent organisation through the sign language of the postal reorganisation act of 1970 by President Nixon. As an independent organisation. the postal service is self sufficient and does non trust on taxpayer’s money for its operations. The Postal Service’s mission is to offer the American people with sure wide-reaching postal services that are at low-cost monetary values. As such. the Postal Service is the lone bringing service within the United States with the duty of supplying all of the assorted characteristics of a cosmopolitan postal service at moderately priced rates. The Postal Service conveys about 660 million mails to about 142 million bringing topographic point around the United States. Although the postal service enjoys a monopoly as contained in Article I. ( 8 ) . ( 7 ) of the Constitution that grants the Postal Service with the particular right to do bringing of letters in add-on to the power to curtail the entree to mailbox that are entirely meant for mail. Its major rivals are United Parcel Service and FedEx. The postal service manages 32. 741 station offices within the United States with a labour force of approximately 656. 000 employees. Cultural differences of direction and how they affect the US Postal Service The United States is a state that is full of cultural diverseness with different cultural patterns based on the legion cultural groups that live in the United States. The employees working in the postal service are drawn from these different cultural groups. As such. directors at the postal service have to cover with these differences efficaciously so as to guarantee continues success of the organisation. In making so. directors need to be cognizant of and understand the seven dimensions of civilization developed by Fons Trompenaars and Charles Hampden-Turner detailed in their book Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diverseness in Global Business. Below is a treatment of these seven dimensions. Universalism v/s Particularism This dimension is based on the position of how a civilization perceives regulations and relationships. Cultures that embrace universalism hold the belief that general regulations. values. codifications. norms and criterions take penchant over other peculiar demands. claims of friendly relationship and other dealingss. In a society that is universalistic. the regulations normally apply every bit to all of the members of the existence ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . Exceptions to these regulations are deemed as to weaken them. Universalism is based on happening regulations that take a wide and general image. In the event that there lacks a regulation that fits for carry throughing something. universalism advocates for taking the option of set uping the most appropriate regulation. Cultures that embracing Particularism perceive the ideal civilization as 1 that is based on human friendly relationship. and intimate relationships. Peoples in these civilizations view the spirit of the jurisprudence as being more important than the missive of the jurisprudence. This has the consequence that when the regulations within a civilization take a perfect tantrum. people in such a civilization will judge the instance based on the advantages of the jurisprudence alternatively of trying to coerce the regulation to suit. Rules and ordinances within particularistic civilizations simply codify how people are supposed to associate to one another. Individualism v/s Communitarianism This dimension is based on the position of how members of a civilization maps. whether in groups or as persons. Individuality has a footing on rights that appertain to an person. This is normally experienced in communities that have loose ties linking their members ensuing in an outlook of persons to look after themselves. Individualism is aimed at giving persons the right to personal infinite every bit good as the freedom of making things as per single liking ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . It permits each person to develop or neglect on an single footing. every bit good as comprehending group-focus as striping the individual of their absolute rights. Individualist civilizations are more narcissistic and give accent to their personal ends. Peoples ensuing from individualistic civilizations have a leaning of believing merely on personal footing. Communitarianism or Bolshevism is based on rights that appertain to a group. Corporate civilizations normally place a batch of emphasize on groups and are more concerned with the whole instead than on the individual person. Harmony every bit good as trueness within a group are really imperative and ought to be maintained ever ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . Confrontations of any sort are extremely avoided with people utilizing looks and phrases that would depict an statement in less negative mode. Stating no to others is considered to be incorrect and deemed as a manner of destructing the harmoniousness found within these groups. Impersonal v/s Emotional Emotional or impersonal positions are used in the description of how civilizations articulate their emotions. Emotional civilizations articulate their emotions in a natural manner ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . This is witnessed in reactions that occur immediately through verbal and/or non-verbal agencies such as mimic every bit good as organic structure signals. Members of the emotional civilization unlike those in the impersonal civilization show a inclination of overreaction making scenes. Emotional civilizations are normally focused on the person and seldom on the object or place of treatment. It is considered to be alright for one to utilize emotional intelligence when doing determinations. It is besides all right for people to demo assorted signifiers of physical contact while in public and during the communicating procedure. The impersonal civilization tends to avoid exposing emotions publicly. This is based on the fact that impersonal civilizations do non uncover what they are believing in a manner that is more precise every bit good as direct ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . This is an facet that has the likeliness of taking to misinterpretations. This is because emotions of a certain sort may non needfully show a certain state of affairs. Impersonal civilizations normally appear to be instead reserved. an facet that can non be viewed as an indicant of their disinterest or ennui. This visual aspect of reserve is based on deficiency of emotional tone. On a general position they harbor feelings of uncomfortableness over contact in public resulting in a manner of communicating that is more elusive therefore doing it difficult for members of another civilization to understand. Specific vs. diffuse Specific civilizations are those that normally have a little country reserved for privateness and its separated from the public life. Peoples in these societies have many interactions with the outside universe and are invariably involved in such activities such as socialising in assorted countries that involve many people. Peoples from these civilizations have a instead little sum of privateness preferring to portion at that place involvements with others who are within their groups of socialisation ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . Peoples from such a civilization trade with particulars and will see the whole as a amount of these specific parts. The life of an person is divided into several specific parts and one trades with one portion at a clip. Conversely. diffuse civilizations are normally concerned with keeping people’s privateness. Peoples in these civilizations will avoid any sort of confrontations in the populace and have a high grade of privateness preferring to portion merely a little sum of their private life with other people particularly aliens ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . Peoples from diffuse civilizations normally start with the whole before traveling down to the assorted parts that make it up. Each of the parts is viewed in the point of view of the whole sum with all of these parts being related to one another. These people prefer properties and behaviours that help construct trust and honestness furthering the edifice of strong relationships. Achievement vs. attribution This dimension is concerned with the position accorded to persons within civilizations. In civilizations that are achievement oriented. the position of an person is based on the achievements that one has achieved and accomplished. Persons from these civilizations gain their position from the assorted things that they have accomplished on their ain ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . A individual with such a position has to demo prove of what he or she is deserving with the assorted powerful places within the civilization being accorded to people who have certain achievements. In civilizations that are attribution oriented. the position of an person is based on the groups that one is associated with. In ascriptive societies. persons gain their position chiefly through birth. gender. wealth. or age ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . A individual who has an ascribed position does non needfully hold to carry through something so as to continue his position since his or her position is accorded based on his or her being. Sequential vs. synchronic This dimension is concerned with the attitude of a civilization towards clip. Peoples who are from consecutive civilizations tend to transport out one thing at a clip in a consecutive mode. They examine clip as distinguishable. and made up of back-to-back divisions which are both touchable and divisible ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . Peoples from these civilizations strongly prefer to be after for their clip and will maintain to these programs one time they made them so as to help in execution. Any clip committednesss that one might hold are normally taken earnestly and remaining on agenda is considered an of import facet of clip direction. Consecutive people in peculiar topographic point a batch of importance on the value of finishing of undertakings. Conversely. people from civilizations that are synchronous normally perform several undertakings at a clip. These civilizations view clip is a changeless flow that allows many things and undertakings to be carried out at the same time ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . Time is perceived as a force that one can non be able to incorporate or command. Time is besides regarded every bit flexible every bit good as intangible. Time committednesss are frequently desirable but non absolute with programs that people could be holding being easy changed. Internal vs. external control This dimension is concerned with the attitude of a civilization towards the environment. In internal civilizations. people normally posses a mechanistic mentality of nature. They perceive nature as an intricate machine and which can be directed if one has the right expertness needed to make so. Peoples from these societies do non believe in the being of fortune or any signifier of predestination ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . These people are directed towards the interior as one’s personal determination is normally deemed to be the starting place for each action that they will make. They besides believe that one can populate the sort of life that he or she wants to populate if that are in a place to take advantage of the legion chances that might come on the manner. In add-on. they believe that adult male is capable of ruling nature if he wishes to make so. . In external civilizations. people normally posses an organic mentality of nature. They perceive that world is one of the forces of nature and should therefore operate in one agreement and harmoniously with the remainder of the environment. These civilizations hold the believe that adult male should repress to nature every bit good as get along with the other forces bing within the environment ( Trompenaars A ; Hampden-Turner. 1998 ) . These people do non believe in their ability of determining their ain fate but instead speculate that nature moves in instead cryptic ways therefore one can non neer cognize what is traveling to go on in the hereafter. As such. their actions are directed externally to the environment and are adapted to the external fortunes environing them. Decision Based on these seven dimensions. the American civilization is individualistic. accomplishment. emotional. internal. consecutive. universalistic. and specific. These dimensions have several deductions that directors need to see in order to do certain that the employees are able to work in a mode that benefits the organisation every bit good as themselves particularly in a big organisation such as the postal service that employs over 600. 000 employees. In add-on. due to the cultural diverseness nowadays in the United States and the growing of globalisation. there are legion citizens from different civilizations in the United States that do non follow these seven dimensions of the American civilization and hence follow different facets of the seven dimensions. With the postal service being a national bureau that offers employment to all citizens irrespective of their cultural backgrounds. directors need to guarantee that the employees are able to work in a mode that benefits the organisation. This will necessitate the directors to construct cultural understanding through: Building consciousness of cultural differences. Educating the employees on the assorted strengths and restrictions of different civilizations within the workplace Educating the employees on the Building skills the impact of cultural differences within the workplace Educating the employees on assorted adaptative behaviours that could assist them to recognize valuable consequences within a puting with cultural differences. Building integrity and consistence through squad working Developing a shared apprehension and vision between the employees Establishing effectual communicating channels amongst the employees to ease choice exchange of thoughts between themselves Establishing feedback mechanisms aimed at reexamining and bettering the employee’s consciousness of cultural differences. In add-on. the directors need to come up with schemes that will enable the postal service to vie efficaciously. This will necessitate them to actively develop: A shared apprehension of the organization’s ends and aims An recognition of the significance of diverseness in lending towards expertness. A clear and shared comprehension of the function of professional pooling of accomplishments and cognition within the organisation. Reference Trompenaars. F. . A ; Hampden-Turner. C. ( 1998 ) . Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Cultural Diversity in Global Business. New York: McGraw Hill.

Arguments for and Against Juvenile Courts

Arguments for and Against Juvenile Courts Introduction In the United States we have two parallel systems that deal with individuals that commit crimes and or offenses against society. First we have the criminal justice system, a court which deals with adults who commit various crimes. Secondly, we have the juvenile justice system, a court designed especially for minors and is generally thought to help rehabilitate the offender. The salient difference between these two systems, as Mitcheal Ritter puts it, â€Å"is the use of distinct terminology to refer to their similar procedures. State and federal legislatures intended this terminological variation to avoid stigmatizing children as â€Å"criminals† and to dissociate the juvenile system from the criminal justice system† (Ritter 2010, 222). The major issue I intend to look at it is whether or not we should abolish the juvenile justice system. First, we will look at the position of keeping the current system, why it needs to stay in place, and why in the long r un it is the most beneficial to the juvenile. Second, we will examine the research of Barry Feld, one of the most influential advocates on why it needs to be abolished because of the lack of constitutional rights that a juvenile does not receive while being tried under the Juvenile justice system. Thirdly, I will be looking at each party’s positions and critiquing it to see it what the strong and weak points are. Finally, I will present my own opinion on whether to keep it, abolish it, or create a whole new system altogether. Presentation of Position A: Do Not Abolish the Juvenile System To try a juvenile in adult court is by no means the right decision. In this section we will look at evidence and arguments on why the juvenile justice system should not be abolished. Juveniles are different from adults and therefore should not be allowed to stand trial in the criminal justice system. Children are not well enough developed mentally, as compared to an adult, to be tried in the adult correctional system. This is why many people take the stance, â€Å"no way should we get rid of the juvenile justice system.† The â€Å"director of the state’s (Washington) Bureau of Juvenile Detention Services is seeking to keep 16- and 17-year-old offenders out of the state’s criminal justice system† (McNeil 2008). To lock up a child in an adult correction facility is by no means the right idea even if they are â€Å"separate† from the adults. If a juvenile commits an â€Å"adult crime† like robbery, theft or in most cases drug crimes, a quick fix is to incarcerate that individual in an adult prison to punish him and protect society. While this may work for adults, it is inappropriate for a youth. Advocates argue that we must keep the juvenile justice system because â€Å"many studies also have found that significantly harsher punishments are meted out to juveniles in adult court when compared with juveniles in juvenile court, parti cularly for serious or violent offenses† (Kurlycheck and Johnson 2010, 727). Sending a juvenile to adult court at such a young age can be problematic for the child, because the court wants to be strict with the child by showing them that their behavior will not be tolerated and because in adult court the child will miss out on educational and rehabilitative programs more readily available in juvenile detention facilities. Kurlycheck and Johnson argue that â€Å"Juvenile courts are characterized by disposition options that fundamentally differ from adult courts in their symbolic meaning, punitive and treatment alternatives, and punishment goals† (2010). In a study in Pennsylvania, Kurlycheck and Johnson compared a sample of juveniles tried in juvenile court with juveniles who were transferred to adult court and showed that the adult courts were harsher on the juvenile: â€Å"On average, their sentences were 80 percent more severe than for their young adult counterpartsà ¢â‚¬  (Kurlycheck and Johnson 2010, 729).

Financial managment project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Financial managment project - Essay Example TAQA is operating in a multi-billion-dollar global market oil and energy market. As a result of this, the financial performance of TAQA is determined by the trend in the global market. Lately, the price of oil has been erratic, and this has also affected the economic standing of many oil companies worldwide, TAQA inclusive. Some of the major competitors of TAQA are Shell, Chevron, British Petroleum, and Exxon Mobil. These financial analyses will unravel the suitability of TAQA for investment as it reveals the level of profitability, durability and the benefits any future investors could gain by putting their hand-earned money on the company. (I) Level of Profitability: From the fiscal year 2007 to 2009, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company demonstrates a healthy level of profitability. This observation can be supported with the following data: In 2007, TAQA’s average profit margin was 0.12, and its returns on equity was approximately 0.12. These are encouraging figures because 2007 was a terrible year in the energy market. It was the period the oil price shot up to the sky and made energy business almost seemed unprofitable. However, TAQA was able to have an appreciable return on assets that worth 0.015. The following year (in 2008), TAQA’s profit margin increased considerably to 0.19, and its returns on equity did a lot better coming to 0.2, while the returns on asset surprisingly came to 0.02. These results indicate the fact that the profitability of TAQA increases every year. Although, the year 2009 is different because the financial crisis that began in the United States also affected TAQA, bringing its profit margin down to 0.01, its returns on equity plummeted to 0.014 and its returns on assets shrank to 0.001. However, there is every possibility that once the financial crisis is over, TAQA will be abl e to rebound to its profitability level. (ii) Degree of Solvency: The analyses

Immigration to the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Immigration to the United States - Essay Example Rather than live as de facto slaves on European estates they moved to America where they could be free. There were clear implications for America, but often obscured ones for Europe too. Another important point that Handlin makes in Chapter 1 involves the process of what can only be called natural selection. The passage from Europe to America was a harsh one. Only the stronger survived it. He writes that the features that allowed for success were more than physical; the ability to adapt mentally and socially were vital. Also in Chapter 1, Bodnar takes issue with the notion that immigrants had a monolithic approach to adapting to the new American life. Every individual and family found their own path. Some called themselves Americans right away and embraced the American capitalist ethic. Others spent generations finding their place. Similarly, as is explained dramatically in Chapter 2, Africa changed too because of â€Å"immigration† to America. Coastal Africans were abducted a nd sailed far across the sea to other lands. It is hard to know due to the dearth of information how this effected these African communities, but the consequences must surely have been devastating.

Inter-organizational Cooperation Essay Example for Free

Inter-organizational Cooperation Essay The fundamental principle of a resonance inter-organizational cooperation is that an agency must give up something in order to get something else in return. The cooperation of local or international organizational is fostered to ensure that both organization benefit from each other. The inter-organizational attraction brought about by trust plays a big role in helping such collaborations to achieve their goals. Paying much attention on developing leadership styles that will promote effectual and collaborative value chains through building of a closer relationship which comprises of trust, commitment, cooperation, and coordination needed between organization members guarantees success of the alliance. Inter-organizational cooperation has continued focusing on leadership as the key for its success. A clear leadership of a focal organization accounts for a stable alliance by guaranteeing legitimacy and authority within the alliance. Effective leadership helps to deal with social, economic and environmental concerns within the inter-organization (Ebers, 1999). In addition, the inter-organization cooperation are increasingly focusing on leadership so as to ensure coordination by merging resources to achieve new things and address common issues through group decision making. Consequently, the leadership behavior of adapting to the competitive global environment through inter-organizational cooperation rather than competing in an adversarial manner ensures survival of the collaboration. This can be attained through impacting leaders with supply chain management skills so that they may be able to establish and maintain effective inter-organizational networks. Proper investment in leaders will ensure that the desired business results are met given that leaders will facilitate an open exchange of proposals which will foster collaboration. Examples include; Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), International Labor Organization (ILO) and Consortia and Enduring Construction firms in the U. S.

Shelley Jacksons Patchwork Girl Essay example -- Shelley Jackson Patc

Shelley Jackson's Patchwork Girl Patchwork Girl, a hypertext vision sewn together by Shelley Jackson, is a story and an account of the creation of a monster and the relationship the mind has with the monster within the technical boundary of lexia. The monster metaphorically was originally created by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein, but has now resurfaced in a layered identity with an opposing forum of complexity. Jackson has designed her version of the timeless tale from the female perspective by offering the reader not only a facet into the monster’s mind, but that of Mary’s, the girl’s, and of the author’s, which accounts for three female angles of perception. Through each narrative voice (and/or lexia), the reader discovers the psychological nightmare of mental maturity and the pains of achieving the ultimate sense of creativity or life. For Mary it is the obsession of the creation of life and the dedication to keep a promise, while for the girl and the monster it is the aspect of finding the understanding and acceptance in a stitched life. However, for Shelley Jackson the nightmare is the hyper literary challenge of stitching together thought and creation in fictional prose to show the relationship of mother to child or writer to the word by the means of technology. The Hypertext fiction Patchwork Girl is offered with three primary story lines in lexia story format, which is effectively connected or stitched together to reveal the lives of Mary, Shelley, the girl, and the monster from the creative impulse of the mind’s imagination visually represented in a non-linear string of links. As the reader or in this case user enters the hypertextual world of Shelley Jackson’s words, the initial question, "Where should I begin," ... ...readers or audience a compelling story, visual stimulation, various inter-linked story progression, unlimited path access, complex thematic motives, and unpredictability of discovery. For these reasons alone, it can be assumed that hypertext fiction will intrigue itself into the spectrum of popular culture and with that establish a longevity, which may surpass previous forms of literary media. Works Cited and Consulted Hayles, N. Katherine. "Simulating Narratives: What Virtual Creatures Can Teach Us." Critical Inquiry 26 (1999): 1-26. ---. "Virtual Bodies and Flickering Signifiers." How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999. 25-49. Jackson, Shelley. Patchwork Girl by Mary/Shelley and herself. Watertown, MA: Eastgate Systems, 1995. Electronic. .

Colonies and Colonizers costums Essay

Although Alexie was a creative writer, his essay uses metaphors in the context of straight forward statements. Only his reference of a fence can be treated so far as a rhetorical statement. This shows how he might still be saying that although he is teaching his fellow people, they are still not open to real education, as he expresses in some of his statements where instead of learning to read and write, some of his students still ought to stay at the back and be indifferent to education as what was their parents’ custom. In fact in the essay’s last paragraph, Alexie expresses his frustration and in some ways, insult to his fellow people. Among colonized nations there is this one behavior that is very evident among them, refusal to learn the practices of their colonizers especially their education (or in other words colonizers teaching the colonies how to be them). Indians had been long standing in the colonies that have refused to learn the ways of the non-Indians. All in all, Sherman Alexie’s essay speaks of frustration and yet hopes—frustration in the fact that his people are not open to education. That the non-Indians don’t always offer their own customs but an opportunity to be fulfilled in one’s life. Alexie’s usage of a Superman not only offers a quick way of learning how to read but a comic relief to the essay. Alexie was arrogant, he was smart, he was able to save his life and now he is trying to save the life and the culture of his people. Works Cited Alexie, Sherman. â€Å"Superman and me†. The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me (1997) McAdam, D. J. â€Å"American Indian Culture and American Society†. D. J. McAdam Where the world goes for free advice. < http://www. djmcadam. com/ojibwe. html>

Gender wage gaps Essay

Introduction Everyone is entitled to the equal wages for equal work. However, women’s average income has been lower than men’s in nearly all occupation and women in Canada are still far behind the men’s starting line on wage in the labour market. It is one of many parts of gender inequality in Canada, when considering labour market participation in view of gender. I think that the current measures to settle wage discrimination are not effective enough to correspond to market income inequality. That’s why I choose this topic. It is required to think of new alternatives for closing the gap. So I provide a few ways to figure out gender wage gaps. What is the gender wage gap? The gender wage gaps describe the earning differences between men and women on paid employment in the labour market. It can be measured in many ways, but the most common method is to focus on full time and full year wages. It is also able to be measured the gender wage gap on the basis of hourly wages. The most recent Statistics data of Canada shows that the gender wage gap in Ontario is 28% for full time and full year workers. It means that when a male worker is to earn $1.00, a female worker is to earn only 72 cents. When the Pay Equity Act was passed in 1987, the gender wage gap was 36%. It has been reduced gradually over time. The current situation As a result of women have been investing significant time and resources in their education, women now consist of the majority of undergraduate and master’s degree in Ontario. 62% of university undergraduate students in Canada are women. But women still earn less than men in all occupational categories and all educational levels. Although more women than men go to university or college, they don’t always get paid better than men who have the same work. It is particularly embarrassing that the pay gap is grater  for younger generations of women. There is a 39% gap between men and women’s earnings in the ages from 35 to 44. Women account for 60% of all minimum wage workers and the women at low wages are presenting all age groups. This is the reason that poverty follows women after their retirement with women age 65. It’s over twice as likely as men to be low income. The gender wage gap gets wider when women have children and when they have a part-time job. Women having children earn 12% less than women without children. Women’s opportunities for higher wage are limited by the responsibilities of family which they still burden disproportionately. While now the most majority of mothers work in the paid labour force (almost 70% of women having children under five are working), the employment rate of women with children have much lower than men with children. Making less money for their family than men affects significantly them throughout their lives, which could put women and their children at a higher risk of poverty and decrease their income to earn a lifetime and retirement income. The reason of gender wage gap There are several factors that caused the gender wage gap. According to a report by Dr. Pat Armstrong, the gender wage gap is caused by the following three features of Canada’s labour market, which interact to yield substantially lower wage for women. â€Å"That is 1. The majority of women are segregated from men into different work and different workplaces. In Canada, 67% of women work in traditional occupations such as teaching, nursing, clerical, admin or sales and service jobs in 2009. 2. In general, women’s segregated work is paid less than men’s work. The higher the concentration of women, the lower the pay. Women’s skills and competencies are undervalued because of their association with women, as are sectors and industries such as health care and services in which women predominate. 3. Women’s lower pay reflects the systemic undervaluation of women’s work relative to that of men.† Functionalistic perspectives of the gender wage gap Functionalists have the view that inequality is a product of the traditional  division in human societies. In the past, men had a tendency to attend to more external tasks such as working for company or doing government job and women attended to more internal tasks such as those involved in raising child or doing house work. While both kinds of labour are functional and necessary for a society’s survival, the external tasks which were accomplished by men always have been more highly rewarded than the internal tasks made by women. So in functionalism, it was very natural for men to get higher wage than women. However, gender roles and their accompanying inequalities have changed in industrialized societies. Industrialized society made the traditional division of labor less functional. Even though traditional arrangement remains in force in most societies, the traditional labour of division is no longer meaningful today. That means men and women are the same as the part that comprise the social and men are women must be treated equally if they do the same work. So, I think that it is not appropriate to explain the gender wage gap in functionalistic perspectives any more. Solutions of the gender wage gap There are three solutions which I want to suggest for solutions of the gender wage gap. 1. To support working families Although female workers have lower wage than men, their role is very important part of this society. As we know from this sentence â€Å"Women having children earn 12% less than women not having children†, it is important to make circumstances to focus on work in workplace. Governments and companies need to create more family-friendly workplaces and workplace policies especially for women with children. Work places need to consider providing parental leave and paid leave for sickness and family care. It is also necessary to offer high-quality childcare arrangements and encourage the development of more part-time jobs to pay well and to have good benefits. Not only is such policies good for female workers, but it beneficial to the company that want to hire competent female workers. 2. To increase the minimum wages Because the majority of 534,000 minimum wage workers in Ontario are women,  the increasing of statutory minimum wage is necessary to close the wage gap. Increasing the minimum wage to reflect the rising living costs every year reduces poverty and inequality of income. Ontario’s minimum wage has been fixed at $10.25 for three years. The three year fixing brings the effect lowering the income of minimum wage substantially by 7%. So it results in widening the wage gap. To close the wage gap, I think, the best solution is that the minimum wage is to rise as a certain percentage automatically by laws or rules. Even though it is not possible to determine the specific number because of changing economic conditions every year, it is very effective that the minimum wage increasing is controlled by rules. 3. To need detailed analysis the data Although there are sufficient resources to show that female worker tend to work equal and earn less than men, more detailed analyses are needed to settle underlying causes. Governments need to collect and share particular and reliable country’s data from which the respective gender wage gaps of country can be calculated and compared. This would make it possible to find out effective ways of dealing with the problem and to identify possible improvements to existing legal frameworks likely to lead to decreasing significantly in the wage gap. Wage Gap Program The Pay Equity Office started the Wage Gap Program in 2011, designed to examine current compensation data and assess the possibility of gender wage gaps for non-unionized employees in Ontario’s private sector workplaces. Wage gaps can be caused by a lot of factors, one of which relates to wage equity. The Wage Gap Program enables the Office to more precisely direct its efforts for supporting workplaces that appear to have wage equity gaps. At first, the Office conducted the Program by obtaining correction data from employers with over 500 employees. Workplaces with 250 to 499 employees are being examined now and it is expected that by the fall, workplaces with 100 to 249 employees will be contacted. References Gender Wage Gaps and Earnings Ratios in Ontario. (2012, November 21). Pay Equality Commission: Equal Pay For Work Of Equal Value. Retrieved from http://www.payequity.gov.on.ca/en/about/pubs/genderwage/wagegaps.php Blau, F. and Kahn, L. (2007, February). The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women gone as far as they can? Academy of Management Perspectives, pp.1-23. Morissette, R., Picot, G., & Lu, Y. (2013). The Evolution of Canadian Wages over the Last Three Decades (No. 2013347e). Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch. Adshade, M. (2013, January 22). Do women choose lower pay?: The gender wage gap explained. Canadian Business. Retrieved from http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blogs-and-comment/gender-wage-gap/ Armstrong, P. (2008, June). Equal Pay For Work of Equal Value. Expert Report.

Resiniferatoxin Is Much Hotter Than Capsaicin

Resiniferatoxin Is Much Hotter Than Capsaicin The hottest hot pepper is no match for the spicy heat of the resin spurge Euphorbia resinifera, a cactus-like plant native to Morocco. The resin spurge produces a chemical called resiniferatoxin, or RTX, which is a thousand times hotter on the Scoville scale than pure capsaicin, the chemical that produces heat in hot peppers. Law enforcement-grade pepper spray and the hottest hot pepper, the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, both pack a punch of about 1.6 million Scoville heat units. Pure capsaicin comes in at 16 million Scoville units, while pure resiniferatoxin has 16 billion- yes, billion- Scoville heat units. Both the capsaicin from hot peppers and the resiniferatoxin from the Euphorbia can give you chemical burns or even kill you. Resiniferatoxin makes the plasma membrane of sensory neurons permeable to cations, especially calcium. Initial exposure to resiniferatoxin acts as a strong irritant, followed by analgesia. Even though the chemicals may be painfully hot, both capsaicin and resiniferatoxin can be used for pain relief.

Soicial Issues and Warren Court Decisions Essay

Soicial Issues and Warren Court Decisions - Essay Example In addition, immigrants have long faced discrimination in areas such as housing, employment opportunities and education. Moreover, civil rights accords do not incorporate racial minorities such as the disabled, women and homosexuals. Till 1860s, numerous states prevented or restricted women from having their own property. The right of a woman to vote was not protected constitutionally until 1920 when the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. Anti-gender discrimination campaign commenced with the enactment of 1964 Civil Rights Act came into force, effectively illegalizing any forms of gender based discrimination. As a result, individuals could not be discriminated based on national origin, religion, age and race. Various supreme courts have ruled on the above two issues. A case in point is the Reed v. Reed Supreme Court Drama involving Sally Reed as the appellant and Cecil Reed as the appellee. According to this case, the appellant claimed that the Idaho law favored the appointment for t he mere reason of being male over a woman for purposes of being an administrator of an estate whose owner had died. The decision was made in favor of Sally Reed, the Appellant after finding out that the probate law of Idaho discriminated against women. This ruling was the first in favor of women’s right following the Fourteenth Amendment. ... s states from enacting any law which shall abridge (lessen) the constitutional rights and privileges of citizens of the United States nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the law.† The Equal Protection Clause guarantees that individuals in groups of persons or persons in situations that are similar should be equally treated. Ruth Bader Ginsburg the case lawyer and the subsequent judge of the Supreme Court labeled the Reeds case as â€Å"the turning point case.† The state law for the first time was held invalid because it allowed discrimination against women. The U.S Supreme Court in 1857 in the Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. (19How.)393,15L. ED. 691, concluded that the constitution did not find its application to the African Americans as they were not considered to be citizens during the drafting of the constitution. New laws were mandatory after the civil war for purposes of extending former slaves civil liberties. How the Court Decisi ons Affected the Society after the Ruling Reed v Reed was the initial U.S Supreme Court ruling that concluded that laws subjective to gender discrimination were violating the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. Decades after the case ruling, the court utilized the precedence set in the ruling to make rulings eliminating discriminatory laws against women. On the other hand, the ruling also benefitted men as it prevented courts from basing their views on gender generalizations. The constitution’s Thirteenth Amendment was enacted for purposes of making the involuntary servitude and slavery unlawful acts. Moreover, the power to enact laws was handed to the Congress which necessitated the new amendments enforcement. Both the cases had a positive impact in the society. For instance, the women

Civil Engineering Management Portfolio Assignment

Civil Engineering Management Portfolio - Assignment Example Construction has a long history, almost parallel to the development of civilization. Across the globe, construction is the biggest industry which is churning billions of dollars every year and providing employment to a large workforce - skilled as well as unskilled. As far as the UK is concerned, its output is worth over 100bn a year. It accounts for 8% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides employment for around 3 million workers (Vadera, Shriti and Woolas, Phil et al. 2008). Civil Engineering and the associated sub-disciplines are changing rapidly as a result of technology enhancements, growing concerns on local & global environment problems & commitment required to the ecosystem and the overall management system & quality control procedures that collectively comprise of the management portfolio of the profession. The job of a Civil Engineering Project Manager is no longer planning & execution of construction projects but is also linked with commitment to local & global envir onment, the local ecosystem, the society and the overall safety of the infrastructure from the perspective of the workers and the end users. The Management Portfolio thus needs to include all these responsibilities and organized to form an organization structure that can effectively deliver as per all such requirements. The local special interest groups and the legal & statutory system of the nation carry lot of influence on the projects and hence they need to be satisfied effectively by sending to them regular updates & reports and allowing them to audit the proceedings as and when demanded. Hence, every project is expected to comprise of the following management challenges: (a) Health & Safety