Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments Essays

Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments Essays 109 Introduction Hiring and then deploying people to positions where they can perform effectively is a goal of most organizations, whether domestic or international. Recruitment is defined as searching for and obtaining potential job candidates in sufficient numbers and quality so that the organization can select the most appropriate people to fill its job needs. Selection is the process of gathering information for the purposes of evaluating and deciding who should be employed in particular jobs. It is important to note that recruitment and selection are discrete processes and both processes need to operate effectively if the firm is effectively to manage its staffing process. For example, a firm may have an excellent selection system for evaluating candidates but if there are insufficient candidates to evaluate then this selection system is less than effective. Both processes must operate effectively for optimal staffing decisions to be made. We shall return to this point later in the chapter. Some of the major differences between domestic and international staffing are first that many firms have predispositions with regard to who should hold key positions in headquarters and subsidiaries (i.e. ethnocentric, polycentric, regiocentric and geocentric staffing orientations) and second, the constraints imposed by host governments (e.g. immigration rules with regard to work visas and the common Chapter Objectives The focus of this chapter is on recruitment and selection activities in an international context. We will address the following issues: The myth of the global manager. The debate surrounding expatriate failure. Factors moderating intent to stay or leave the international assignment. Selection criteria for international assignments. Dual career couples. Are female expatriates different? Recruiting and selecting staff for international assignments 5 CHAPTER 31017_05_Ch05_p109-136.qxd 9/7/07 12:15 PM Page 109 requirement in most countries to require evidence as to why local nationals should not be employed rather than hiring foreigners) which can severely limit the firms ability to hire the right candidate. In addition, as Scullion and Collings1 note, most expatriates are recruited internally rather than externally, so the task of persuading managers (particularly if they are primarily working in a domestic environment) to recommend and/or agree to release their best employees for international assignments remains a key issue for international HR managers. In this chapter, we will explore the key issues surrounding international recruitment and selection, with a focus on selection criteria. Implicit in much of the discussion and research about selecting staff for international assignments is that there are common attributes shared by persons who have succeeded in operating in other cultural work environments that is, the so-called global manager. Our discussion on this topic centers around four myths: that there is a universal approach to management; that all people can acquire appropriate behaviors; there are common characteristics shared by global managers; and there are no impediments to global staff mobility. We then consider various factors such as expatriate failure, selection criteria, dual career couples and gender that impact on the multinationals ability to recruit and select high calibre staff for deployment internationally. For convenience, we will use the term multinational throughout this chapter, but it is important to remember that the issues pertain variously to all internationalizing companies regardless of size, industry, stage in internationalization, nationality of origin and geographical diversity. We continue to use the term expatriate to include all three categories: PCNs (parent-country nationals), TCNs (third country nationals) and HCNs (host-country nationals) transferred into headquarters operations, although much of the literature on expatriate selection is focused only on PCNs. Issues in staff selection The myth of the global manager Multinationals depend on being able to develop a pool of international operators from which they can draw as required. Such individuals have been variously labeled international managers or global managers. The concept of a global manager appears to be based on the following myths or assumptions. Myth 1: there is a universal approach to management. The view that there is a universal approach to management persists, despite evidence from research to the contrary, and many multinationals continue to transfer home-based work practices into their foreign operations without adequate consideration as to whether this is an appropriate action. The persistence of a belief in universal management may be evidence of a lingering ethnocentric attitude or perhaps an indicator of inexperience in international operations. However, as we discussed in Chapter 1 in relation to the convergencedivergence debate, work practices have, to a certain extent, converged through the transfer of technology and best practice and this process is supported by the global spread of management education programs that reflect the dominant Western approach to management. Linked to this process is the belief in the power of organizational culture as

Faire les quatre cents coups - French Expression

Faire les quatre cents coups - French Expression Expression: Faire les quatre cents coups Pronunciation: [fehr lay kat(reu) sa(n) coo] Meaning: to raise hell, live a wild life, sow ones wild oats Literal translation: to do the four hundred tricks Register: normal Notes Many expressions cant be translated literally between French and English, but the French expression faire les quatre cents coups is one that makes virtually no sense at all- you cant even guess as to what it means figuratively. It may be partly the definite article les (the) that makes it so difficult, as if there are 400 specific tricks that one must do in order to claim that youve lived a truly wild life. Also, the word coup has numerous meanings- in faire les quatre cents coups, its in the sense of un mauvais coup i.e. a dirty or mean trick. Unfortunately, the title of the Franà §ois Truffauts film Les Quatre Cents Coups was poorly translated as The 400 Blows in English. 400 Tricks would have been a little better, but the best translation would have probably been something more figuratively comparable like Raising Hell or The Wild One. Example   Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul ne va pas luniversità ©; il fait toujours les quatre cents coups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Paul isnt going to college; hes still sowing his wild oats.

UK General Elections Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

UK General Elections - Assignment Example Basically, this is achieved through awarding political freedom to all people as it is the main platform for the masses to express themselves. The values of liberal democracy are reflected in its basic system where continuous efforts are undertaken to see that no group enjoys special privileges in the society. The values of liberal democracy can therefore be found in a society which struggles to develop through talent and merit rather than rank, privilege and status. The values of liberal democracy are also seen in programmes and policies aimed at restricting the Government intervention in political, economic and moral matters of the citizens. To enrich a democracy with these values, the political system is generally supported by a written constitution which clearly defines the powers and responsibilities of the executive, judiciary and legislature (liberal democracy). Presently, the UK general elections are held as per the First Past the Post (FPTP) voting system. It is also known as plurality system, relative majority system or winner- take-all system. In this, a voter votes for a single candidate and the majority vote-getter among all the contesting candidates would be the winner in a particular constituency. For example, in a 1000-voter constituency, a candidate getting 4oo votes would be the winner if the other 3 contesting candidates receive 200 votes each. Though 400 out of 1000 votes is a clear minority, the number is higher than that of any of the other 3 candidates. It indicates that this system is endowed with the flaw of electing candidates / parties with minority vote, as the majority vote is divided among several contestants / parties. This is the most disadvantageous system but unfortunately most of the world democracies have been adopting this system for many years. This has brought embarrassment to the English in several elections including the 1983 general election in which Conservatives bagged 397 seats in the House of Commons with a minority vote (Hallowell, 2002, P 103). This situation has repeated in 2005 general elections too in the UK with the Labour party gaining power with a minority vote. The resulting disadvantage is that, though it is a representative government, majority voice is not heard in legislatures. This system has the capacity to curtail the political freedom of the majority of people, the basic ingredient of the liberal democracy. To put it the other way, the total number of seats gained by a particular party in the general elections would not be proportionate to the total number of votes received by it. 3 The alternative systems Preferential voting system There are some alternative systems too with regard to voting in a democracy. Let us discuss some of them. The preferential voting system is a method in which the voters are asked to express their preference of candidates in order of priority. In this, voters generally cast their votes by ranking the participating candidates in order of their priority. On the voting slip or card, the names of all candidates are printed and empty boxes are provided against each candidate. When there are 5 candidates, a voter provides rankings for all of them indicating 1,2,3,4 and 5 depending on his/her preference. Most

Jacob's Creek in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jacob's Creek in Australia - Essay Example This resulted in many branches of its name, for instance, Jacob’s Creek Centenary Hill Shiraz in Barossa, Jacob’s Creek St Hugo Cabernet Sauvignon in Coonawarra, and Jacob’s Creek Steingarten in Eden Valley.   Jacob’s Creek is Australia’s most known creek and it is mainly in the United Kingdom and other many countries where Jacob’s Creek wine brand is sold. Some of the international drinkers imagine Jacob’s Creek is an entire region though it’s the biggest selling label and almost one million of wine glasses are drunk each day. It is only some kilometers long via the Barossa Range near its peak, Kaiser Stuhl and gurgling down the â€Å"river red gum lined† bed into North Para River. The creek is extremely dry during the vintage time in autumn though Jacob’s Creek name conjures Amazonian of Australian the â€Å"sunshine in a bottle†. Jacob’s Creek has advertising Strategies which mainly involve unique selling proposition, brand image, resonance, emotional, generic and pre-emptive. The unique selling proposition is a strategy which ensures your offering is unique and more valuable from your competitors’ offerings and putting your idea in the minds of target groups to reach customers. Positioning attracts customers by forming a unique and positive identity in the company and its offerings. Jacob’s creek thus utilizes positioning to distinguish its products from others. The world consists of products similar to that of Jacob’s creek but the company makes its products get into advertising overload all through to gain the customer’s attention.

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay Example for Free

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay Economic †¢ Market analysis by Insight Research predicts that telecommunications-industry revenue will reach $1.2 trillion by the end of next year, and grow by a compounded rate of 5.9 percent to $1.6 trillion by 2010. †¢ Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industrys revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product. †¢ Mobile phones have had a significant impact on telephone networks. Mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber fixed-line subscriptions in many markets. Sales of mobile phones in 2005 totaled 816. 6 million with that figure being almost equally shared amongst the markets of Asia/Pacific (204 m), Western Europe (164 m), CEMEA (Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa) (153.5 m), North America (148 m) and Latin America (102 m) †¢ In terms of new subscriptions over the five years from 1999, Africa has outpaced other markets with 58.2% growth †¢ Size matters in telecom. It is an expensive business; contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to absorb the costs of expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly overnight. Transmission systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years. Big companies that own extensive networks especially local networks that stretch directly into customers homes and businesses are less reliant on interconnecting with other companies to get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller players must pay for interconnect more often to finish the job. For little operators hoping to grow big some day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid technological change and depreciation can be monumental. †¢ During the late 1990s, the telecommunications industry experienced very rapid growth and massive investment in transmission capacity. Eventually this caused supply to significantly exceed demand, resulting in much lower prices for transmission capacity. The excess capacity and additional competition led to either declining revenues or slowing revenue growth, which has led to consolidation within the industry, as many companies merged or left the industry. Socio-Cultural †¢ Telecommunication is an important part of many modern societies. Good telecommunication infrastructure is widely acknowledged as important for economic success in the modern world on micro- and macroeconomic scale. †¢ On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires, this is self-evident in the business of online retailer Amazon.com but even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from superior telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors. In modern Western society, home owners often use their telephone to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladeshs Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote dIvoire coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly variations in cof fee prices and sell at the best price. †¢ On the macroeconomic scale, in 2001, Lars-Hendrik Rà ¶ller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth. Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal. †¢ However from any perspective the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure are undeniable and, for this reason, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. †¢ The September 11 attack reinforces the need for robust, interconnected networks that have a high probability of survival in the event of natural or man-made disaster. That argues for a consolidated base of carriers operating with agreed-upon disaster protocols Technological †¢ The largest sector of the telecommunications industry continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly provide telephone service via wires and cables that connect customers’ premises to central offices maintained by telecommunications companies. The central offices contain switching equipment that routes content to its final destination or to another switching center that determines the most efficient route for the content to take. While voice used to be the main type of data transmitted over the wires, wired telecommunications service now includes the transmission of all types of graphic, video, and electronic data mainly over the Internet. †¢ These new services have been made possible through the use of digital technologies that provide much more efficient use of the telecommunications networks. One major technology breaks digital signals into packets during transmission. Networks of computerized switching equipment, called packet switched networks, route the packets. Packets may take separate paths to their destination and may share the paths with packets from other users. At the destination, the packets are reassembled, and the transmission is complete. Because packet switching considers alternate routes, and allows multiple transmissions to share the same route, it results in a more efficient use of telecommunications capacity as packets are routed along less congested routes. †¢ One way wired carriers are expanding their bandwidth is by replacing copper wires with fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions than tra ditional copper wire lines. In some areas, carriers are extending fiber optic cable to residential customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, high-speed Internet, and conventional telephone communications over a single line. However, the high cost of extending fiber to homes has slowed deployment. In most areas, wired carriers are instead leveraging existing copper lines that connect most residential customers with a central office, to provide digital subscriber lines (DSL) Internet service. Technologies in development will further boost the speeds available through a DSL connection. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers, many of which are subsidiaries of the wired carriers, transmit voice, graphics, data, and Internet access through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signal is transmitted through an antenna into the wire line network. Other wireless services include beeper and paging services. Because wireless devices require no wire line connection, they are popular with customers who need to communicate as they travel residents of areas with inadequate wire line service, and those who simply desire the convenience of portable communications. Increasing numbers of con sumers are choosing to replace their home landlines with wireless phones. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access that should make them competitive with wire line carriers. One technology is called third generation (3G) wireless access. With this technology, wireless carriers plan to sell music, videos, and other exclusive content that can be downloaded and played on phones designed for 3G technologies. Wireless carriers are developing the next generation of technologies that will surpass 3G with even faster data transmission. Another technology is called â€Å"fixed wireless service,† which involves connecting the telephone and/or Internet wiring system in a home or business to an antenna, instead of a telephone line. The replacement of landlines with cellular service should become increasingly common because advances in wireless systems will provide data transmission speeds comparable to broadband landline systems. †¢ Changes in technology and regulation now allow cable television providers to compete directly with telephone companies. An important change has been the rapid increase in two-way communications capacity. Conventional pay television services provided communications only from the distributor to the customer. These services could not provide effective communications from the customer back to other points in the system, due to signal interference and the limited capacity of conventional cable systems. As cable operators implement new technologies to reduce signal interference and increase the capacity of their distribution systems by installing fiber optic cables and improved data compression, some pay television systems now offer two-way telecommunications services, such as video-on-demand and high-speed Internet access. Cable companies are also increasing their share of the telephone communications market both through their network of conventional phone lines in some areas and their growing ability to use high-speed Internet access to provide VoIP (voice over Internet protocol). †¢ VoIP is sometimes called Internet telephony, because it uses the Internet to transmit phone calls. While conventional phone networks use packet switching to break up a call onto multiple shared lines between central offices, VoIP extends this process to the phone. A VoIP phone will break the conversation into digital packets and transmit those packets over a high-speed Internet connection. Cable companies are using the technology to offer phone services without building a conventional phone network. Wireline providers’ high-speed Internet connections also can be used for VoIP and cellular phones are being developed that use VoIP to make calls using local wireless Internet connections. All of the major sectors of the telecommunications industry are or will increasingly use VoIP. Demographic †¢ The telecommunications industry offers steady, year-round employment. Overtime sometimes is required, especially during emergencies such as floods or hurricanes when employees may need to report to work with little notice. †¢ Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations account for 1 in 4 telecommunications jobs. Telecommunications line installers and repairers, one of the largest occupations, work in a variety of places, both indoors and outdoors, and in all kinds of weather. Their work involves lifting, climbing, reaching, stooping, crouching, and crawling. They must work in high places such as rooftops and telephone poles, or below ground when working with buried lines. Their jobs bring them into proximity with electrical wires and circuits, so they must take precautions to avoid shocks. These workers must wear safety equipment when entering manholes, and test for the presence of gas before going underground. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, generally work indoors—most often in a telecommunication company’s central office or a customer’s place of business. They may have to stand for long periods; climb ladders; and do some reaching, stooping, and light lifting. Adherence to safety precautions is essential to guard against work injuries such as minor burns and electrical shock. †¢ Most communications equipment operators, such as telephone operators, work at video display terminals in pleasant, well-lighted, air-conditioned surroundings. If the worksite is not well designed, however, operators may experience eye strain and back discomfort. The rapid pace of the job and close supervision may cause stress. Some workplaces have introduced innovative practices among their operators to reduce job-related stress. †¢ The number of disabling injuries in telephone communications, the principal sector of the telecommunications industry, has been well below the average for all industries in past years. †¢ The telecommunications industry offers employment in jobs requiring a variety of skills and training. Many jobs require at least a high school diploma or an associate degree in addition to on-the-job training. Other jobs require particular skills that may take several years of experience to learn completely. For some managerial and professional jobs, employers require a college education. †¢ Due to the rapid introduction of new technologies and services, the telecommunications industry is among the most rapidly changing in the economy. This means workers must keep their job skills up to date. From managers to communications equipment operators, increased knowledge of both computer hardware and software is of paramount importance. Several major companies and the telecommunications unions have created a Web site that provides free training for employees, enabling them to keep their knowledge current and helping them to advance. Telecommunications industry employers now look for workers with knowledge of and skills in computer programming and software design; voice telephone technology, known as telephony; laser and fiber optic technology; wireless technology; and data compression. Political/Legal †¢ Telecommunications Act: Enacted by the U.S. Congress on February 1, 1996, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the laws main purpose was to stimulate competition in the United States telecom sector. †¢ FCC controls the wireless spectrum allocations among the various broadcasters and service providers. This allocation is through a competitive auction at high cost to service providers, which result in an increase of debt burden of these companies, eventually trickling down to consumers. †¢ FCC as a watchdog regulates that there be no monopoly of a single player in the telecom market. Mergers and consolidation among companies is closely watched and evaluated before being allowed Porters 5 Forces Analysis 1. Threat of New Entrants No surprise, in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier-to-entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed costs, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represent a huge barrier to entry. In the US, for instance, fledgling telecom operators must still apply to the Federal Communications Commission to receive regulatory approval and licensing. There is also a finite amount of good radio spectrum that lends itself to mobile voice and data applications. In addition, it is important to remember that solid operating skills and management experience is fairly scarce, making entry even more difficult. 2. Power of Suppliers At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fiber-optic cables, mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. But there are actually a large number of large equipment makers around. Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia, Alcatel, Ericsson, Tellabs are just a few of the supplier names. There are enough vendors, arguably, to dilute bargaining power. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. 3. Power of Buyers With increased choice of telecom products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. Lets face it; telephone and data services do not much vary regardless of which companies are selling them. For the most part, basic services are treated as a commodity. This translates into customers seeking low prices from companies that offer reliable service. At the same time, buyer power can vary somewhat among market segments. Customers can be as small as individual residential users like you or me, or be as big as an ISP like America Online or a large university. While switching costs are relatively low for residential telecom customers, they can get higher for larger business customers, especially those that rely more on customized products and services. 4. Availability of Substitutes Products and services from non-traditional telecom industries pose serious substitution threats. Cable TV and satellite operators now compete for buyers. The cable guys, with their own direct lines into homes, offer broadband Internet services, and satellite links can substitute for high-speed business networking needs. Railways and energy utility companies are laying miles of high-capacity telecom network alongside their own track and pipeline assets. Just as worrying for telecom operators is the Internet: it is becoming a viable vehicle for cut-rate voice calls. Delivered by ISPs not telecom operators Internet telephony could take a big bite out of telecom companies core voice revenues. 5. Competitive Rivalry Competition is cut throat. The wave of industry de-regulation together with the receptive capital markets of the late 1990s paved the way for a rush of new entrants. New technology is prompting a raft of substitute services. Nearly everybody already pays for phone services, so all competitors now must lure customers with lower prices and more exciting services. This tends to drive industry profitability down. In addition to low profits, the telecom industry suffers from high exit barriers, mainly due to its specialized equipment. Networks and billing systems cannot really be used for much else, and their swift obsolescence makes liquidation pretty difficult.

Is NAFTA That Great? :: Essays Papers

Before I get into the details of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that took effect on January 1, 1994 I want to call attention to what it is that makes this an interesting topic to me. On that date I was only eleven and was completely oblivious to what the agreement incorporated. My entire family comes from a Mexican heritage so NAFTA was definitely a topic of conversation at the dinner table. All I really understood was that its implementation would hopefully stimulate the Mexican economy and improve its trade relationship with the United States and the rest of the World. Well now I am twenty-one and in the ten years since NAFTA has been implement I have heard relatively nothing about the benefits of the agreement. Therefore, I began to wonder why is it that I have heard nothing? In this research paper, I plan to not only help people better understand what NAFTA was trying to accomplish but also evaluate its overall effects. Did NAFTA accomplish what it said it would or has it accomplished nothing in the last ten years? Overview of NAFTA Three of the main issues that I would like to talk about later in this paper have to do with the peso crisis, the political turmoil that happened in 1994, and the many problems that exist on the US-Mexico borders. However, before I dive into those three areas I would first like to give an overview of NAFTA itself and its â€Å"effects.† I put effects in quotations because as I researched the agreement I quickly found out that many of the things that NAFTA claimed to accomplish either would have happened regardless or did not really happen at all. The North American Free Trade Agreement, as mentioned earlier, was implemented on January 1, 1994. Its main goal was to basically phase out almost all of the restrictions on trade and investment flows between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. What is important to mention is that NAFTA mainly concentrated on the US-Mexico problem seeing that the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement had been implement a couple years before NAFTA was introduced.

My Asl Experience

September 10th, 1994 was my first day of 6th grade. This was also the first day that I came in contact with the Deaf world. During recess, my friend Elizabeth brought out a new girl by the name of Megan Leschly. She was deaf, and her interpreter, Ms. Rosener, did not go out to recess to help her communicate. This was the day I started to learn sign language. From 6th grade to 8th grade Megan went to public school with me and all of our group of friends. We celebrated everything together, even Ms. Rosener went to her going away party we threw at my parents house.In those 3 years I saw a lot of deaf culture, and I can now see the negative side of things. Her mother (who adopted her) didn’t know sign very well, and her brothers and sisters knew the alphabet at most. Going to her house I got to see first hand the flashing lights when the phone rang, or the door bell rang, always having closed captioned on the television, getting to use the TTY operators when I called (I think they got annoyed with me a lot, because I always forgot to say, â€Å"Go ahead† at the end of my statements) and unfortunately the cold side of a family that didn’t make many other attempts to reach out to her.So looking back now, I understand why she went away to high school. The first time I’d seen Megan since 8th grade was last summer. Our mutual friend, Maria had kept in better contact with her over the years than I have, so it was natural for Maria to invite Megan to her baby shower. Megan and I talked a little bit, but not much. Just enough to realize she was moving from San Diego to Colorado to live with her sister. I was bummed, seeing I didn’t even know she was in town, much less in the same neighborhood as I was!With the magic of face book, I saw that she had moved back to town in March and we met up for coffee just to catch up on a million years. The first time we met for coffee was at Starbucks in La Jolla. (Middle ground, since she’s livin g in Carmel Mountain area now, and I’m in Pacific Beach) She brought her son, River, so I could meet him a little more. He is very shy, and clings to her like flies on poop. I told her I was taking a sign language class, and she said my sign was very good as it was but was happy that she peaked my interest in it.We talked about her mom, (who was also my 8th grade math teacher) and how she moved to Oregon with her new husband. She told me how after 8th grade she went to Model Secondary School for the Deaf. She loved the fact that she was able to learn freely. There was no barriers, which is what lead her to apply, and get accepted into Gallaudet. She graduated from Gallaudet in 2006 with a degree in Social Work and Communication Studies. Her senior year she ended up getting pregnant and hasn’t spoken to the father since graduation.I learned that she is planning on staying in San Diego because she has an excellent job at Purple Communications as a San Diego Center Superv isor. It was nice talking with Megan because I didn’t have to feel nervous about talking to a total stranger, and when I had questions about signs I felt comfortable enough to ask. I asked about raising her son, who is hearing, and she feels that she is lucky in the fact that she is a deaf mother. She can and has communicated with him from such a younger age, than many hearing parents do.She said younger children can sign before they can speak words, so she feels very grateful in that sense. That meeting at Starbucks was probably a good, solid two hours. Enough for me to drink 3 coffees and River to finish his coloring book, run around and get fidgety. I know River loves dogs, so I invited them to the San Diego Humane Walk with Henry (my Cocker Spaniel) and I. The morning of the Walk, Henry and I met River and Megan at Mission Bay around 8am.This was a good time, because we weren’t busy talking about each other or catching up. We were talking about the people at the ev ent, and I got a lot of finger spelling in trying to spell all the dog breeds names that I knew. During the walk we even met another deaf man, whose name I want to say is Gabe (I’m horrible with names), but his Boston Terriers name was definitely Pixie. Gabe and Megan talked for half a second about dogs, and what a nice day it turned out to be. We separated ways around 10am when all the raffles and the Walk was over.It is interesting to see that after learning in class, how Gallaudet teaches a lot of finger spelling and not true ASL, I see it in Megan. I would never point it out, but it was just a very interesting thing to take note of. Over all, I’m glad we had this assignment, though I would never look at Megan and think about talking to her was for a school paper. This class, made me more comfortable and more up to par with speaking with her than my jumbled up 8th grade sign language mess. From me to you, I sincerely thank you.

A Report on the Economic Recovery in Britain in the 1930s

A report on the economic recovery in Britain in the 1930s In the 1930s Britain’s workers was experiencing signs of affluence. All this extra money was due to the living standard going up by 15 percent. This meant the money didn’t come from wages being increased but the cost of living decreased. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) The affluence also came from the gross domestic product rate. In 1922 to 1938 the rate rose to the average of 2. 1 percent per annum. The rates were a lot better than the years before the war which were at 1. 1 percent in 1900 to 1913.However, growth rates were very similar to the rates of the second half of the nineteenth century; this rate was at 2 percent in the 1856 to 1899. In the 1930s, the rate grew faster than the 1920s as between 1932 and 1937 the rate nearly rose to 4 percent per annum. This mean that Britain held her place and held on her own in the thirties which meant Britain picked herself up compared to the twenties when she lost her pl ace. Housing Act The housing boom was just one of the ways that the affluence affected Britain. The housing act was also evidence of the affluence which could be seen for it.By 1939 one in three families were living in houses which were built since 1929. Between both wars a massive four million houses were built. However, nearly half of the houses were built by private developments. The private developments were growing mainly in the south east. All the houses were built with a new standard of living, even the other half of the houses built, which were council houses. The council houses were put up for rent. As all houses had a new standard of living, the fitments included baths, hot water and proper kitchen. Particularly in the private sector, the houses came to form the new suburbs.Each home would also have a garden of a decent size and quality. Motor Vehicles Motor vehicles were just one of the industries which led the way. This was even included in a new range of industries that emerged and played an important part in the growth of Britain. In fact in 1924 USA was the world’s main manufacturer by a wide margin. France was Europe’s largest producer with 145,000 vehicles, leaving Britain trailing along second with the 116,000 vehicles being produced. However, by 1937 British production had tripled to 379,000 and Britain took the lead in Europe, followed by Germany with 277,000.Oxford (Morris) and Birmingham (Austin) were the main manufacturing centres. Electrical engineering Electrical engineering grew at between 4 and 5 percent per annum throughout the inter-war period. Electrical engineering was just another new industry for Britain. In the 1930s electricity consumption increased by 70 percent per head. This was fire to the creation of the central electricity board in 1926 and the national grid. Both of these electricity supplies gave a boost to the industry. Britain and France led Europe and USA wasn’t far behind.Examples of the incre ase of consumption were that in 1919 there were 730,000 consumers and then in 1938 the number of consumers grew to nine million. Other developments grew and reflected the fact that more and more people were spending money, which meant they had money. Most towns would have their own Woolworths and Marks and Spencer’s and new magazines like ‘Woman’s Own’ in 1932. These new magazines appeared which included features on clothes and consumer durables. Wireless industry Wireless manufacturers created the British Broadcasting Corporation which is now known as the BBC in 1922.This was to provide programs that would encourage people to buy their products and spend. The BBC became part of the government charter which then started to be financed by a license fee in 1927. The BBC broadcasted to most areas of Britain but they were focused in Daventry in a radio station in 1925. By 1938 around 2 million radios were sold each year. This was known as wireless. The price h ad decreased from ? 30 in 1920 to around ? 7. Other electrical goods which found a mass market were vacuum cleaners and electric irons. Entertainment The cinema took the entertainment industry by a storm. In 1934 there were 4300 cinemas in Britain. 0 million people per week were attending the films on through the weeks. Audiences were huge, some cinemas were able to seat 1000 people, and some were as big as 4000 seats. The larger cinemas were based in Glasgow and Croydon. The four biggest companies which controlled the marker by the 1930s were Gaumont-British, the Associated British Picture Corporation, Odeon and Granda. Even though there was a British industry, American films were preferred. This was because Hollywood had already dominated the world’s film industry and audience surveys usually showed that American films were preferred.Even the unemployed could afford to go to the cinema as the tickets were so cheap. 80 percent of the unemployed youth of Liverpool and Glasgow went to the cinema at least once a week. An unemployed Londoner told a researcher in 1932, â€Å"The pictures (cinema) are my first choice because they make you think for a little while that life is alright†. At least 14 percent of British industrial production in 1924 had been accounted for by these new industries. This proportion increased to 20 percent by 1935. The proportion of the staple industries in the same period had decreased from 37 percent to 28 percent.

America the land of opportunity Essay Example

America the land of opportunity Essay Example America the land of opportunity Paper America the land of opportunity Paper The progressive era, being known for reform of political corruption, health laws, and labor laws all came with the suffering of thousands. Many of these reforms were at the torment of the immigrants that came to America in search of a better life. In â€Å"The Jungle† by Upton Sinclair, we are brought to the pain and distress of the progressive era through Jurgis and his family. Through this family we are taken to Packingtown in Chicago to view the effects of progressivism on the nations industries and immigrant families. In Sinclair’s, â€Å"The Jungle† we are shown the progressive era’s effects on immigrants and their families which lead to the creation of many laws we have today. Immigrant families came to America in search of new opportunities through the idea that America was a place to prosper-possibly become wealthy-and provide a better life for their families. â€Å"It was Jonas who suggested that they all go to America, where a friend of his had gotten rich. He would work for his part, and the women would work, and some of the children, doubtless- they would live somehow. †(Sinclair 22) Every Immigrant who came to America believed that America was the land of opportunity. Between the years nineteen hundred and nineteen hundred and twenty, over fourteen million Immigrants had come to America to make their lives better. Upon arriving in the United States many of the immigrants had a dream that the money would begin to flow in and their dreams would come true. Besides the opportunity to make money most of the Immigrants fled their old lives to escape the shortage of land, and political and religious persecution in hopes that America could free them from all of troubles of their homeland. â€Å"†¦Employment for thousands upon thousands of men, of opportunity and freedom, of life and love and joy. When they came away, arm in arm, Jurgis was saying, ’tomorrow I shall go there and get a job! ’†(Sinclair 29) Many had dreams of finding great jobs as soon as arriving in America. This dream was quickly destroyed when future workers began looking for jobs. True getting jobs were not impossible but for Immigrants these jobs that they were able to acquire were not great jobs. They were jobs that required little skill and much more focused on stamina. These backbreaking jobs were tough and did not let up. Without the labor laws and help from the American Federation of Labor (AFL)-and many of its subsidiaries (i. e. UMWA, IWW, NCL)-that we have today-limiting the amount we work and a set minimum wage-many of the immigrants worked twelve hour days, seven days a week for a mere twelve dollars and fifty cents a week. That’s a fourteen-cent hourly wage. This is shown in Jurgis’ family for which in order for them to get a house and possibly get married, Jurgis’ wife, Ona, has to also get a job. The immigrant women were also a major part of the workforce in the immigrant factories. Along with taking care of children women would work in sewing factories for a small six to seven dollar weekly wage for the same amount of hours that a man would work. These sewing factories were just as dangerous as any other factory with over crowded shops, filled machines that would often injure and possibly kill these ladies. Many of these ladies when they became pregnant, quite possibly, would have to return to work only a week after giving birth in order to retain their jobs. â€Å"This was more cruel yet for Ona, who ought to have stayed home and nursed him, the doctor said, for her own health as well as the baby’s; but Ona had to go to work. †(Sinclair 107) In The Jungle, Ona becomes pregnant and does return to work only a week, leaving her with a fragile body that has not completely healed. She loses her job and goes into the last resort of prostitution which many of progressive ladies resorted to in order to beat the capitalistic society that they thought their dreams were made of. The result of the women suffrage and forced prostitution in the early nineteen hundreds led to the creation of the New York State Factory Investigation Commission (FIC) setting the standard for factories to limit hours that women could work in the factories and make safer working conditions. The FIC not only helped out the women at the turn of the century but also made the lives of many children better. The children before the time of the FIC also had many hardships to deal with. Although being illegal for children under the age of sixteen to work many families in order to survive in the industrial jungle of America. Immigrant families often lied about their children’s age to get them out of schools and into the workplace. â€Å"The law made no difference except that it forced people to lie about the ages of their children. †(Sinclair 68) This was often necessary for families to put their children through the industrial monster of big business in order to possibly have a chance at their own American dream of opportunities. The children often worked in the same hazardous places that the adult men and women would work. The conditions of these factories were grotesque. Fertilizer plants were unsafe with many of the workers possibly falling into the machines and would end up themselves part of the fertilizer. When Sinclair wrote The Jungle, he said that he was writing the novel to touch the American heart but in society actually reading his novel he hit their stomachs more than anything. Through Sinclair’s muckraking tactics in exposing the unethical ways of the meat packing industry he showed how â€Å"meat so spoiled it could not be used for anything else†(133) it would be used to make sausage and how the rat problem was so bad that when they died from poisoned bread â€Å"the rats and the poisoned bread along with the meat would be put in the hoppers together. †(135) After the publication of Sinclair’s all to real novel, the American public as well as the government would take part in investigating the meat packing industry. Directly related to the stories told in The Jungle, President Roosevelt declared the Meat Inspection Act which made the department of agriculture responsible for inspecting and labeling meat. One of the main reasons that there was corruption any way throughout these industries is the fact that they relied on a capitalistic way of business. Capitalism was the way the businesses worked in which the companies would reap all of the profits while only paying the workers the bare minimum. The business controlled the economy and through social Darwinism or â€Å"survival of the fittest† the only people making any money were the business owners. Sinclair often refers to his trust in socialism and dislike of capitalism as a way of lowering the impact of social Darwinism and bring the economy back to the government and the government back to the people. The debate of the capitalistic ways of the companies lead to many violent strikes that lead to distress between companies and its workers. Through the fighting and suffering of the early century immigrants of the progressive era we now have many laws and regulations that we all take for granted today. Sinclair through his writings in The Jungle has showed us that through the lives of Immigrant families what we may have had to live with if they did not go through the turmoil of capitalistic big business. The laws and regulations set as a result of the suffrage in the progressive era and Sinclair’s muckraking make our lives much more enjoyable and healthier. Just imagine without the changes of early nineteenth century progressivism we to could be working eighty- four hour work- weeks and having diseased rats and meat for dinner. Bibliography : Bibliography 1. Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle. New York: Bantam, 1906 2. Faragher, John. Out of Many: A History of American People. 3rd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001

The Courteous Conjunction That

The Courteous Conjunction That The Courteous Conjunction That The Courteous Conjunction That By Mark Nichol That is an innocuous little word, but it is often a linchpin of comprehension, making the difference between understanding and confusion. Take, for instance, its insertion or omission as a conjunction following verbs such as believe, ensure, and indicate. In the sentence â€Å"The seizure of the port will ensure command of the sea and free lines of communication,† a conjunction after ensure would make no sense; the sentence clearly states that an action will guarantee two results. However, a rewriting of the sentence changes the game. Here, it is correct to insert that: â€Å"The seizure of the port will ensure that we maintain command of the sea and free lines of communication.† (It’s not required, but it is recommended for a more smoothly flowing sentence.) Sometimes, though, the omission of the optional that is not so optional; withholding it can hinder comprehension. For example, in the sentence â€Å"I hope to ensure that his arrival does not affect our plans,† withholding that after ensure might deceive the reader into thinking that the sentence consists of the simple statement â€Å"I hope to ensure his arrival,† but he or she must then must shift gears to absorb an extended phrase that expresses a purpose. In this case, it’s almost an obligation to the writer to insert that after ensure: The reader’s train of thought is interrupted when he or she continues past the putative predicate. Insertion of that after ensure will guarantee that the reader is not derailed. Likewise, while reading the sentence â€Å"She glared at him, unable to believe what she had heard was coming from a friend she had trusted,† the reader might believe that the sentence consists only of the statement â€Å"She glared at him, unable to believe what she had heard.† To clarify that additional information is coming, it’s best to include that after believe: â€Å"She glared at him, unable to believe that what she had heard was coming from a friend she had trusted.† This assistance isn’t always essential; the sentence â€Å"I believe intervention is the wiser course† would not be initially misinterpreted as a sentence that might end at intervention. However, as a courtesy to your readers, consider always including the optional conjunction. What if you started to read a sentence beginning with â€Å"He pointed his chin to indicate the chair to his left†? You might expect that clause to be self-contained. But if the statement continues â€Å"had been left vacant for her,† you’d probably wish that indicate had been followed by that to signal that more is to come. Such details distinguish competent writing from commendable writing. 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 Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"Deck the HallsPreposition Review #1: Chance of vs. Chance for

Celebrating new year becomes pop-cultrual celebrity Essay

Celebrating new year becomes pop-cultrual celebrity - Essay Example New Year has now become a worldwide celebration with so much anticipation and expectations put in line to mark the day (Mercer, 26). People all around the world start counting down the New Year day before the clock ticks midnight. They will count all through the last sixty seconds and cheer when the New Year begins. People will tend to hug, jump and wish their friends a â€Å"Happy and prosperous New Year and sing along various songs designed for such a day. New Year is a historical celebration that has become a pop cultural celebration in almost all nations in the world that comprises of so many memories and resolutions taking place on this material day (Mercer, 44). This paper discusses how New Year has become a pop cultural celebration in the world through wide the influence from internet and social media. Celebrations of the New Year has not started recently, the first celebration is dated back to 2000 B.C in Mesopotamia (Mercer, 48). It was marked on mid-March and was celebrated during the time of the vernal equinox. Various ancient cultures also tied a varied of other dates to the seasons. The Egyptian, Persians and Phoenicians made history by celebrating the New Year eve with the fall equinox and on the other hand the Greeks decided to celebrate it during the winter solstice. As stated before, calendars used by various countries determine when the New Year celebrations take place. In the early Roman calendar, New Year was on March date one. Their calendar had just ten months with March being the first month. The calendar was not as the same with what is used today since some month like September and December were the seventh and tenth months respectively. It was during the first celebrations of New Year in Rome that the month of January joined the calendar. The month was not in existence until 700 B.C during the rule of Numa