Cross Dressing

Cross dressing is considered one of society’s abnormal ideas because of stereotypical gender roles. Stereotypical gender roles are stated as, biological females are feminine and biological males are masculine. Cross dressing does not represent the gender specific roles; in which men and women are suppose to follow. The idea of men and women acting and dressing like their opposite sex is unacceptable to the reality that they face. The movie The Bird Cage supports the idea that society’s stereotypical views on cross dressing remains unchanged. Society is not understanding of what is considered different from the normal. The stereotype that men are masculine and women are feminine is not the reality of gender versus sex. In â€Å"Sexual Mythologies† by Brian Pronger, he states that â€Å"Sex is a physiological distinction that is drawn between male and female, whereas gender is a cultural distinction that divides power between men and women. † (226) This represents the misconception that men are masculine and women are feminine. In reality gender is developed by cultural influence, and sex is genetic. In the movie The Bird Cage, Albert is born a male, but chooses to become feminine, therefore suggesting that men do not have to be masculine just because genetics say so. Cross dressing is defined as men who dress feminine and women who dress masculine, although society reacts more to men dressing as women as opposed to women dressing as men. Women dressing as men can be considered a â€Å"tomboy† which is common in society, whereas men dressing as women would be considered â€Å"homosexual or transsexual. † Why is it that women can wear men’s clothing, but men cannot wear women’s clothing? Society sees dresses as a representation of femininity and men are suppose to be masculine, and therefore men cannot wear dresses. Although pants are originally worn only by men, but because of changes in time; pants are considered unisexual. For instance, a woman walking down the street in pants; people probably do not even notice that she is wearing pants. But if a man walks down the street in a dress, people’s eyes will turn and they will begin whispering. Why should a man be looked at any differently in comparison to any woman? In the movie The Bird Cage, the society of South Beach is not a stereotypical norm. There are many homosexual and cross dressers within the city, and it is not considered abnormal. Armand and Albert are proud owners of a club that presents a nightly drag show. Their son, Val, is engaged to Senator Keeley’s daughter, Barbara. Val wants both families to meet, but the Keeley family does not know that Val’s parents are homosexual and run a drag show. Senator Keeley is a conservative man, and morally does not support homosexuals. Senator Keeley represents the stereotypical views of society. Armand makes a good point about how society feels about homosexuals and cross dressers. â€Å"Albert, these people are right-wing conservatives. They don’t care if you’re a pig, they just care if you’re a fag! † This quote represents the views of society about homosexual people or cross dressers. Armand pretends to be a straight man by showing how masculine he is by saying â€Å"Al, you old son of a bitch! How ya doin’? How do you feel about that call today? I mean the Dolphins! Fourth-and-three play on their 30 yard line with only 34 seconds to go! †¦ This shows that stereotypically men are suppose to be masculine and a sport that represents masculinity is football. Society has remained unchanged in their views about cross dressing because they choose to see and believe only what they want to see and hear. Why is it that a woman can wear pants? Back in the 19th century women were not allowed anything else except a dress. Society can accept th is change because of the influence of time and the boldness of women. In The Bird Cage, Louise Keeley (the senator’s wife) makes a great example of how society only perceives what it wants to perceive. Why, it looks like young men playing leapfrog!†¦ Is it Greek? † In reality Louise Keeley is look at a piece of china with pornographic pictures of young men. Louise Keeley does not see what is really there because she blinds herself in order to shield herself from what is considered immoral and in a sense horrible. Society also tries to hide and shield themselves from situations that they do not like, such as homosexuals, homeless people, cross dressers, etc. Just because society wants to blind itself, does not mean that these people do not exist. Cross dressing is viewed as wrong in the eyes of a stereotypical society. Biological men and women are supposed to be masculine and feminine respectively. Cross dressing is not considered a norm in society. This idea is seen through the movie The Bird Cage. In reality sex does not determine gender, as represented by Brian Pronger in â€Å"Sexual Mythologies. † Therefore sex cannot determine gender, but society will always view what it wants to see. Unless society can learn to accept people for who they are and what they wear, then we will have a truly have a society where there are no stereotypes.

Plato’s Attack on Poetry

Poetry In order to understand Plato's attack on poetry we have to take in consideration the political and social context of Athens at that time. It was the context where Plato devoted all his efforts to uplift the moral condition of the individuals and the well being of the state. The aim of his literary criticism was to educate the youth and form them into good citizens of his ideal state. It was the age of political decline and the moral and educational standard of the citizens were in a poor state. The epics of Homer were very much rooted in every sphere of the society, and the influence of the poets on the society was too deep. Plato being a philosopher, to prove the superiority of the philosophy, he severely attacked poetry. Apart from poetry he criticized every other form of arts. Plato’s concepts on art were base son his Theory of Ideas. He believed that ideas are the ultimate reality. The ideas of everything are the original pattern and the things are the copies. So he viewed all forms of art as merely copies of copy, twice moved from reality. Things itself being imperfect and copies of the ideas, their reproduction in art must be more imperfect. He believed that the works of art takes man away from reality rather than leading to it. It neither helped to mould the character nor to promote the well being of the state. These were the basic principles underlined behind Plato’s critics on arts in general. Plato criticizes poetry in several of his dialogues, beginning with Apology, his first work, and ending with Laws, his last. Plato’s critics on poetry are basically concerned of two standards. The first concern was for the good of the individual and the state. Based on this standard he finds in poetry more to condemn it than approve. Same like his concepts about the other types of arts, his concepts about poetry also was under severe critic due to its unrealistic nature and its incapacity to be worthy to the society and individual. He severely condemned the incapacity of the art forms to get in to the roots/ reality and being concerned with only the twice removed reality. This was the first standard he used to condemn the poetry and other art forms in general. He attacked poetry on four grounds—moral, emotional, intellectual and utilitarian. Poetic inspiration: Poets does not write what he has thought to say, but because he is inspired. It means they do not compose the poem based on some virtue and reason, but based on some impulses and non rational kind coming from supernatural source. A sudden outpouring of the soul based on the sudden impulse of the moment does not be based on reason. Hence their pronouncements are unreliable and uncertain. They are not safe guides and it cannot be followed, it also cannot make the individuals a better citizens and the state a better organization. There might be some truth in them, for they are divinely inspired, but such partial and imperfect truths must be carefully examined. Such truths cannot use as substitute for knowledge based on reason. As the poems are based on the ‘divinely inspired’ and completely based on inspiration, sometimes the poets themselves cannot explain what they write. Another aspect of poetry which he criticizes is, the imitation or blind reliance on the passionate elements of the soul. He Plato divides the soul into three parts: (1) rational, (2) spirited, (3) appetitive. The imitation of the non rational part of the soul will give grater pleasure. The poets and the other artists imitates this baser, non rational part of the soul, and it leads them to away from reality and reason and become merely indulged in emotional outburst. The poets will be ashamed in their real life of the emotional over pouring which takes place during their poetic or other artistic performances. He condemns poetry in Republic X, for the poets, â€Å"they feed and water the passions instead of drying them up, and let them rule instead of ruling them as they ought to be ruled, with a view to the happiness and virtue of ‘mankind.† Based on all these ideas he strongly condemned poetry and argued that poetry cannot take the place of philosophy. The emotional appeal of poetry: Plato’s another charge against poetry is its appeal to the emotion. Being a product of inspiration, it effects emotion rather than reason, the heart rather than intellect. Emotions being just impulses like the poetic inspiration it cannot be trusted and act as safe guide as reason. The poetry at the time of Plato was tragic, in which the weeping and wailing were indulged to move the hearts of the spectators. He says in the republic â€Å"for f we let our own sense of pity grow strong by feeding upon the griefs of others, it is not easy to restrain it in the case of our own sufferings†. Non moral character. Plato’s another criticism against poetry is its lack of concern with morality. Poetry (and drama) is not conducive to social morality as poets pander to the popular taste and narrate tales of man's pleasant vices. Poe ts tell lies about gods. Gods and their representative heroes are represented as corrupt, immoral and dishonest in the epics of the poets (especially of Homer). This pervert public taste and morality. Children tend to imitate the doings of gods and other heroes as told to them by their mothers, they fashion their own conduct on what they read. It also hurt him to see virtue often coming to grief in the literature esteemed in his days – epics of Homer, narrative verse of Hesiod and tragedies of Aeschylus and Euripides. He says in republic â€Å"they give us to understand that many evil livers are happy and many righteous men unhappy†. Plato attacks poetry on intellectual grounds as well: poets have no knowledge of truth, for they imitate appearances and not the truth of things, illusions instead of reality. Poets, like painters, imitate the surface of things. Beyond the world of the senses there is another world, the world of ideal reality, where concepts, like truth, virtue, beauty, etc. , exist in an ideal form. Poetry is the product of futile ignorance. The poet who imitates without really knowing what he is imitating is demonstrating both his lack of useful purpose and his lack of knowledge. At last Plato says that â€Å"no poetry should be admitted save hymns to the gods and panegyrics on famous men. † The poets may be honoured, but they must be banished from his ideal state.

Social Care Theory for Practice

SOCIAL CARE THEORY FOR PRACTICE (OUTCOME 1) ASSESSMENT 1(1500 words approx. ) (12th October 2012) Coco J Hendry Page 1Introduction Page 2 – 5Assessment Page6Conclusion Page 7Reference/Bibliography 1 The following essay will demonstrate my understanding of the importance and relevance of values to social care by explaining how social care values and principles influence practice. I will then explain what relationship my value base has with social care values.I will offer and explanation of my understanding of the term anti-discriminatory practice and provide some examples of how I would apply this in a social care setting. I will outline the legislation, which underpins anti-discriminatory practice and how this would influence my own practice. 2 All care workers require recognising the importance of the two core values for care practice as suggested by â€Å"Janet Miller and Susan Gibb Care in Practice 2nd edition 2007† the value of respect for the worth of dignity of ev ery individual. he value of according social justice and promoting the social welfare of every individual. Adopting and implementing these values recognises that each individual service user needs are met socially, physically, emotionally, cognitively without stereotyping, pre-judging or discriminating the service user, according to â€Å"Janet Miller and Susan Gibb Care in Practice 2nd edition 2007† The two core values appear to be paramount to both the service user and carer.It becomes clear that the application of the two core values enables the service user to realise their full potential and advocates promoting social welfare of each individual. Because of the carer, applying the values without doubt contributes the principles of social care values achieved; â€Å"Social care values are underpinned by the principles of dignity, privacy, choice, safety, realise full potential and equality and diversity† www. sssc. com My own values were primarily because of my fami ly and my social surroundings.The social skills and values adopted at an early age enabled me to progress through school, social groups and friends. Adopting secondary values, shaped by culture, rules and values particular to social influences and settings Some aspects of the secondary values are an indication that as a member of a civilised society, the expectations is to conform and adhere to certain rules, regulation, and share the same opinion as my peers, not unlike the social care values.My values have been changed and evolved from all areas of my life, but the values learned from my family when younger have laid the foundations for what I deem ‘acceptable' and ‘unacceptable' This is called primary socialisation. My family were 3 my primary socialisation, they taught me what was ‘right' or ‘wrong' and what an acceptable way to behave or conduct myself was and what was unacceptable. Although my values have changed with time these basic values learned fro m my family have remained.My own values along with the social care values and principles will enable me approach all service users as individuals in a professional, competent manner. However diverse or multicultural we may be doesn’t always mean we are diverse and considerate in our approach to specific groups, cultures, religions, etc Having been subjected to direct/indirect prejudices’, I am mindful to consider all members of society and strive not prejudge people, and to avoid discrimination at all cost.Certain standards are expected in a standards expected of social care workers that were first published in the â€Å"Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act 2001† A key standard underpinning social care is ‘anti discriminatory practice’ which means that as a social care worker I should not treat anybody differently regardless of their, gender, sexuality, age, disability, political, religious spiritual beliefs. It is important as a social careworker to c onsider if I have any values or opinions that could be considered as prejudiced.Having an opinion of a certain individual or group based on hearsay, stereotypes or assumptions and without knowing them personally is a prejudice. As stated in â€Å"HNC Social Care (2009) by Bingham et al â€Å"Prejudices can be categorised into personal prejudices, cultural prejudices and societal/structural prejudices† and although some prejudices could be considered positive to some people, most prejudices are negative and if acted upon will result in discrimination. Social care is an integral part of any society; practice and legislation are a fundamental part of our society and social services.Promoting and applying the Codes of Practice and principles aims to educate care workers, providers and 4 service users. Anti-discrimination laws and acts such as the Equality Act 2010 and the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 enable us to aware of legislation and the need to adhere to the codes of conduct which regulate the social care profession. Working in a social care environment would require me to regularly review my own personal values or opinions and to consider at all times the social care values and codes.Keeping up to date with current legislation would ensure I am compliant, not prejudging or stereotyping service users. It is also important to reflect and consider whether I could have approached a similar situation differently with a certain individual compared to others, and if there was any differences why? Having personally experienced discrimination, I appreciate the negative effects discrimination can have on an individual and understand the importance and application of anti-discrimination laws and legislation. The SSSC have an extensive literature called ‘induction guidance for social care workers in Scotland†.This literature includes the principles and values expected of social care workers but also makes clear the relevant legislation that is specific to my role to assist me in implementing ‘anti discriminatory practice†, such legislation includes; * Disability Discrimination Act 1995 * Human Rights Act 1998 * Sex Discrimination Act 1975 * Race Relations Act 1976 and 2000 It is important to review such legislation as what I may consider to be only an opinion that is harmless and inoffensive to all may actually be considered as discriminatory 5 by others whether direct or indirect discrimination.Direct discrimination is easily identifiable and blunt, using race discrimination as an example direct discrimination in a social care setting would be someone of a different cultural or ethnical background being treated less favourably than someone of the same culture who may share similar society/structural beliefs. Indirect discrimination is less direct but equally offensive, an example of indirect discrimination in a social care setting would be a social care provider ignoring religious and cultural beliefs by expe cting a ‘muslim’ service user to eat during the daylight hours at Ramadan.Although the legislation does not state each individual requirement of a certain group or individual, it does make it more than clear what is unacceptable. According to â€Å"Bingham et al (HNC Social Care Scotland)2009† these legislative guidelines promote positive practice across the sector and also empower workers to ensure they are supported to carry out their duties with robust policies and procedures†. By adhering to the SSCC codes of practice and also regularly reviewing relevant laws surrounding discrimination I should be more than equipped to deliver ‘anti-discriminatory social care ‘. From my essay, you will see I have studied the values and principles that influence practice. In view of this, I now have a clearer understanding of my own values as well as the social care values and principles recognising and realising the overall impact they have when applied in a social care environment. In a professional capacity, it is crucial that social service workers are protected and regulated by the Codes of Conduct. The codes are a clear guide of the standards required to work in a social care environment.The codes of practice and principles provides employees, employers and service users a with clear set of standards, ensuring regulation and guidelines are applied in a consistent, compassionate manner. Regulation and consistency in the application of the Codes of Conduct and principles throughout the care profession will result in the service users being provided with the appropriate choices and services they require. In my opinion, being able to make informed choices regardless of age, gender, disability, sexuality, religion, etc. n a safe environment by care workers who have empowered them to realise their full potential is possible when all aspects of personal and social care values, laws and legislation are applied. 7 REFERENCES/BIBLIOGRAPHY Janet Miller and Susan Gibb  Care in Practice 2nd edition 2007 Publisher:  Hodder Arnold, (2nd  edition 2007). Bingham,   E. (2009) HNC Social Care Scotland Publisher:  Heinemann; 1 edition (6 Nov  2009)  Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ www. sssc. uk. com www. scotland . gov. uk

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Cross-Cultural Communication Matrix - Research Paper Example ess treats people in another country and from a different culture, in the same way as he does people in his own country and from his own culture, he may not be as effective as he would like to be. In order to become cross-culturally competent one needs to be aware of the different layers of culture, both visible and intrinsic, of the country they are visiting and have the skills to adapt their own behavior to be a better communicator and a culturally sensitive and competent person. Direct: Americans prefer a direct, open, unambiguous approach to communication. Circuitous or elaborate language is usually seen as a waste of time or as suspicious behavior. An impasse is usually confronted directly and the consequent debate is â€Å"seen positively and as a sign of definite progress.† (â€Å"American Communication Styles†, n.d.). Low-Context Culture: According to Edward Hall’s definition a Low-Context (LC) culture is one where â€Å"the mass of information is vested in the implicit code.† (Hofstede, 2001, p.30). This essentially means that instructions, directions and other such information are likely to available in direct written or oral forms (like bulletins, billboards) without dependence on non-verbal indicators. Short-Term: Goal orientation is usually short-term. Task-oriented planning. Deadlines are important. Automated situations are not threatening. Most Americans are more comfortable with written instructions. Time: It is important to remember that the adage â€Å"Time is Money† is believed quite literally in the USA. Relationship building is done through basic, perfunctory gestures and does not need elaborate or long-term rituals. Rhetorical: The truth of the statements is often a little obscured by the use of rhetoric. Also the number of people who speak fluent English and Japanese are very few. It’s usually one language or the other that they can speak. Collectivist: Decision making is a group activity. Interdependence is high. Being frank and

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Juvenile crime issues in the criminal justice system - Essay Example The explanation of delinquency and state offences, i.e. of two terms that are quite common in juvenile justice, would help to understand that the differences between the adult court and the juvenile courts are more than estimated. Also, the review of the variables related to juvenile crimes would help to realize that juvenile court serves an important social need: the need for fighting crime in its initial appearance, i.e. among teenagers. From this point of view, juvenile court should keep its independence towards the adult court. One of the key differences between the juvenile court and the adult court is that the former does not allow to the offender to appeal, at least when the case has reached the level of the final order (Siegel & Welsh 2010, p.354). Neubauer & Fradella (2010) focus on another characteristic of juvenile court, as differentiated from the adult court: in juvenile court ‘most of the proceedings are informal’ (Neubauer & Fradella 2010, p.521), a practice that would not be accepted in the adult court. Furthermore, in the juvenile court proceedings are not published, as in the case of the adult court, aiming to protect the personal life of the offender, who is young and should not be stigmatized for the rest of his life (Neubauer & Fradella 2010, p.521). In addition, in juvenile court the option of jury is not available; indeed, it is prohibited to juvenile courts to use jury trials (Neubauer & Fradella 2010, p.521). This practice has been possibly introduced for protecting the pe rsonal life of young offender. On the other hand, Del Carmen & Trulson (2005) note that the differences between the juvenile and the adult courts are gradually decreased; it is suggested that in the future an integrated system should be used, for both the adult and the juvenile offenders, so that their treatment, in terms of the hearing and the evaluation of their case, is fairer. In order to understand the

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Business LAW - Assignment Example The main service offered by Acas is dispute resolution. Therefore, the organisation uses three main ways of resolving a disagreement between parties. The first one is conciliation. Conciliation occurs when the organisation tries to find out the issues that bring disputes between the parties. The reason for conciliation is to aid the parties to come to a mutual agreement in solving their differences. Therefore, conciliation seeks to give the parties in a dispute the room to evaluate their differing positions before coming to a conclusion. In conciliation, ACAS l meets both parties in private before bringing them together with an aim to rebuild the bruised relationship. In addition, any decision arrived at is legally binding upon the parties. In addition, ACAS uses arbitration. In arbitration, the parties in a dispute usually agree to involve a third party in case of a dispute arising to decide on the dispute and make any awards where applicable. ACAS is more informal in this, and it a voids formal processes that go on in courts such as formal pleadings and documentaries. Parties coming for arbitration in ACAS must first agree to take part (Gennard and Judge 2005). The agreement must be in writing outlining the issues to be negotiated. In addition, the terms of reference are determined by the disputing parties, and where they are not able, they are helped by an ACAS conciliator. The organisations are committed to good conduct and fairness with its decisions being final, and the awards given difficult to be challenged. Mediation is the third method used by ACAS, and it bears some similarities with arbitration. The major difference is that no awards can be got from mediation. The mediators usually take an active role in dispute resolution proceedings to help the disputing parties find solutions. After that, the mediators make recommendations to the parties, and it’s upon the parties to

The Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905 - Case Study Example This paper provides an evaluation of the conflict, negotiation of the treaty as well as an evaluation of the suppositions and empirical evidence as provided by the relevant readings and will offer analysis of underlying dynamics of conflict along with recommendations. The Russo-Japanese War prevailed between 1904 and 1905 and was the initial major military conflict of the 20th century, which developed from the imperial aspirations of Japanese and Russian empires particularly over the territories of Manchuria along with Korea (Woodhouse et al 1-10). The principal fronts of the confrontation were the southern part of Manchuria particularly the regions around Mukden and Liaodong peninsula as well as the sea adjacent to Korea and yellow sea. The Russian realm endeavored to obtain a warm water harbor located in the area of Pacific Ocean for purposes of the navy and commerce since Vladivostok could be used in summer seasons and was dormant on other seasons. Port Arthur on the other hand co uld be used throughout the year. Negotiations between the two ambitious foes had failed right from the conclusion of the initial Sino-Japanese conflict making war inevitable (Wandberge 23). Japan resorted to war in order to become overriding in Korea. Following the failure of talks, Japan attacked the Russians soldiers stationed at Port Arthur, a position located in Liaotung that had been granted to Russian by China via lease; this marked the beginning of the war (Butler 247). It was evident that owing to the fact that the Russians were not well managed, Japan triumphed in numerous battle fronts. The outcomes of the military campaigns were a huge global surprise in the sense that the victory of Japan was unexpected and shifted the power arrangement in East Asia. These outcomes brought Japan to the global stage as a major member of the world community. The course of negotiation at Portsmouth Peace accord has been recognized as a clear epitome of multi-track mediation. Records from th e process had indicated that citizen diplomacy was prevalent at Portsmouth- residents of the area inspired the negotiators to bring peace especially during a number of social events in instances when the process was failing. This has been cited as an important pillar in diplomacy. There are five strategies of negotiations that include contention, yielding, avoidance, problem solving and compromise (Zartman and Rasmussen 4). Contention involves the aspect of obsession with individual goals and less concern for the goals of the other party. Contention leads to confrontation, which involves threats, and restrictions along with hostility. Yielding is a situation where both parties are more concerned with the requirements of the other party and not their own, which creates a situation of pleasing each other and lessening the apprehensions. Avoidance signifies the absence of interest in both parties. Problem solving is a concern for each party’s goals that create an opportunity to generate a solution. Compromise being the ultimate in conciliation is an endeavor that is never arrived with enthusiasm (Dana 63-66). Experts of international relations have often concentrated on power relations among nations as an imperative dynamic in a broad category of state conduct, which comprises of creating alliance and tactical interactions along with negotiations programs. It is evident that that the power equation between Russia and Japan played a

International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management Essay Example for Free

International Journal of Retail Distribution Management Essay Introduction Sales promotion is the offer of an incentive to induce a desired sales result (Gilbert, 1999). For our purposes promotional techniques, within UK supermarkets, have been taken to be value increasing promotions (i. e. coupons and price deals) and value adding (i. e. premiums, prizes/contests/sweepstakes, samples, point of purchase display, demonstration and loyalty cards). Sales promotion consists of a wide variety of short-term tactical promotional tools aimed at generating a desired response from customers. Although there is a shift in marketing communications, away from advertising towards sales promotions, there is no consensus among researchers that sales promotions lead to repeat purchase. It is agreed, however, that price promotions can result in a short-term increase in sales (Smith and Sinha, 2000; Banks and Moorthy, 1999; Kopalle and Mela, 1999; Diamond, 1992; Gupta and Cooper, 1992; Bawa and Shoemaker, 1987). It is also important to note that studies of price promotions also show that customers who take advantage of a price promotion often return to their favourite brands (Ehrenberg et al. 1994; Brandweek, 1994). There is a large body of literature, which has examined consumer response to sales promotions, especially coupons (Krishna and Zhang, 1999; Huff and Alden, 1998; Leone and Srinivasan, 1996; Bawa and Shoemaker, 1987, 1989; Gupta, 1988, 1993; Blattberg and Neslin, 1990). Coupons and discounts are the most widely used promotional tools. However, relatively little research has focussed on value adding promotions. In coupon promotions retailers maintain the original price of the product and it is only coupon holders who are entitled to a discount. As buyers are not subject to a reduction in sales price there is no need for them to adjust their internal reference prices downwards, as is the case with discount promotions. Therefore, coupon promotions should be more attractive than discount promotions in improving the transaction value of the product. However, consumers must keep track of the coupons and produce them at the place of purchase. If consumers are used to utilising coupons then they are likely to have a more positive attitude towards them (Huff and Alden, 1998). Also, if a The authors D. C. Gilbert is Professor of Marketing and N. Jackaria is a Researcher, both at Surrey European Management School, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK. Keywords Sales promotion, Retail trade, Food industry, Marketing Abstract UK supermarkets need to be able to assess the current efficacy of the budget they allocate to promotional activities aimed at boosting sales. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to investigate consumer response to the four different promotional deals most commonly used in UK supermarkets: coupons, price discounts, samples and buy-one-get-one-free. Multi discriminant analysis was used on a study of 160 respondents to analyse whether there was an association between the four consumer promotional approaches and respondents reported buying behaviour. The findings indicate that only price discount promotions proved to be statistically significant on consumers reported buying behaviour. Purchase acceleration and product trial are found to be the two most influential variables related to a discount. For buy-one-get-one-free, while the result is not significant, the two variables, brand switching and purchase acceleration are statistically significant.

Utilization Of IT In Property Management Information Technology Essay

Utilization Of IT In Property Management Information Technology Essay Information Technology, or IT, has become an enabler in multiple areas of human life, including professional practice of all kinds. The practice of property management cannot be accepted. With a case study of estate surveying firms in Lagos, this paper investigates the level of utilization of IT in the professional practice of property management. Data was collected using questionnaires, which were administered using the cluster sampling method. The paper shows that IT is not being significantly employed in the practice of property management in Lagos. It further reveals that the relative high overall cost of its adoption is most probably responsible for the foregoing. In this wise, the paper recommends that the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, the custodian of the profession, should provide leadership in the utilization of it, while individual and collective efforts of the firms should be geared towards this area. Key words: Information Technology, Property Management, Professional Practice, And Estate Surveying Firms INTRODUCTION The world of today is being propelled by information, in profound proportion, via the agency of Information Technology (IT). Information, in these present times, more frequently described as a fourth resource, is as essential as land, labour and capital in the production process; and advances in IT have tremendously facilitated the processes of gathering, storing, handling and utilizing this vital resource (Brady, 1991; and Olawore, 1999). The foregoing underlines the aptness of terming this 21st century the Information Age (Emeagwali, 2003). Significant changes have come about due to the rapid growth of IT; the outstanding change being the increasing globalisation of the world. There is the increasing transmutation of the present-day world into a more homogenised geographical entity with no boundaries, hence, the famous clichà © the world is a global village (Owasanoye, 2001). The most revolutionary agent of this development is the Internet, an offshoot of modern IT. The Internet h as lowered the cost of doing business; made it possible for a consumer to access goods or services without leaving the confines of his home or office; and has given its users an opportunity to advertise and operate across frontiers, across borders and beyond the control of national governments. IT has been, and will continue to be, applied to the multifarious facets of the life of the ubiquitous modern-day man. It is common knowledge that virtually all categories of professional service providers are now leveraging on the cutting edge afforded by modern IT so as to progressively leapfrog competitors, proactively respond to the ever-dynamic demands of their respective clientele and ultimately add value to their bottom line. Modern IT has changed business landscapes and expanded the frontiers of service delivery (Osadolor, 2002). For example, banks and financial services providers have created their own system of electronic funds transfers; the travel industry uses electronic informat ion services for booking, time tabling and pricing; stock exchanges have evolved automated trading systems; while estate agents now utilize the platform of the Internet to market real estate in their portfolio (Owasanoye, 2001; and Akomolede, 2002). Situated in the context that property managers are also included in the category of professional service providers carrying on the practice of ensuring that a clients property investment is kept in a state to enhance its functionality, prolong its lifespan, yield an optimum return and achieve the investors general objectives, hence, IT is of useful purpose to the practice. Similarly, central to proactive property management practice is an efficient system of record keeping in its entirety. Against this backdrop and given the myriad of responsibilities of the property manager coupled with all sorts of complexities presented by properties and their occupants, an enabling tool as IT cannot but be deployed. Furthermore, if the foregoing is critically examined in the context of the emerging milieu of increased client awareness and requirements, it reinforces the imperative of property managers substantially leveraging on IT to drive, and step up the quality of, service delivery (Longe, 20 01). However, even in the absence of an in-depth inquiry, by casual observation, it can be conjectured that there is a yawning gap between the levels of sophistication that are being attained vis-à  -vis the adoption of information technology in the contemporary professional practice of property management in both the developed and the developing economies. The practice of property management (like its umbrella practice of estate surveying and valuation), in most developing economies, inclusive of Nigeria, is lagging behind that in the developed economies (like the United Kingdom) specifically in terms of the application of modern enabling tools of information technology. Though, it cannot be said that there is blanket non-utilisation of IT in the practice of property management by estate surveying firms in Lagos, Nigeria, as a typical example of a city in the developing world, but to what extent is IT adopted in the practice? This is the central question that this paper intends to answe r with the aid of an empirical study carried out in 2005. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT The term Information Technology has been variously described. IT, being the acronym for Information Technology, has been broadly defined as a term that encompasses all forms of technology used to create, store, exchange, and use information in its various forms (business data, voice conversations, still images, motion pictures, multimedia presentations, and other forms including those not yet conceived)1. However, in simple terms, the Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English (6th edn) furnished a definition of IT as the use of electronic equipment, especially computers, for storing, analyzing and sending out information. It is common knowledge that IT has wide-ranging applications; it has been applied to virtually every aspect of human life. It has found useful application in science, commerce, engineering, education, recreation, entertainment, research, medicine, governance, religion, agriculture, real estate marketing, project management, banking, airline reservations and so on (Brady, 1991; Alile, 1997; Ojo, 2000; Ayo, 2001; and Akomolede, 2002). It is also of useful purpose to the various facets of the professional practice of property management. Property management à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the other term under review à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ is an integral aspect of the profession of Estate Management. Thorncroft (1965) defined estate management as the direction and supervision of an interest in landed property with the aim of securing the optimum returns. These returns need not be financial but may be in terms of social benefits, prestige, status, political power or some other goals or group of goals. In consonance with the traditional aim of general estate management, property management entails the practice of directing, supervising and controlling interest in land and landed property so as to enable it yield an optimal return. Specifically, property management is that aspect of the real estate profession devoted to the leasing, management, marketing and overall maintenance of the property of others2. According to Olajide and Bello (2003), property management can be defined as the application of skill in caring for the property, its surroundings and amenities, and in developing sound relationship between the landlord and tenant and among tenants themselves, so that the property as well as individual premises would give value both to the landlord and tenant. Basically, its purpose is to secure for the property owner the maximum continuous net return on his investment over the life of that property and to maintain the physical aspects of the property for optimum efficiency and economy (Weich, 1967; and Kyle, 2000). In essence, the primary functions of property management are threefold: achieve the objectives of the property owners, generate income for the owners, and preserve or increase the value of the inve stment property (Kyle, 2000). Towards this end, comprised in the professional services rendered by property managers are: (a) rent collection and remittance; (b) selection of tenants; (c) property maintenance; (d) marketing of vacant accommodation; (e) administration of estate personnel and services; (f) administration (maintenance) of estate records; (g) routine management inspection and correspondence; (h) enforcement of lease covenants; and (i) any other function as reasonably expected of a property manager or as stipulated in the management agreement between the parties (the property manager and the client). All these services can be driven by IT. The following are some identified application areas where IT has been of beneficial use in the practice of property management. a. Filing: It is asserted that a property manager cannot survive without his records (Nwankwo, 2004). If he cannot maintain a good filing system, he will always be in difficulty. Hence, the hallmark of an efficient management office is a good filing system (Kyle, 2000). Data should be sorted and segregated into separate files for easy collection, retention and retrieval of records. Records can be kept manually by means of simple registers, record cards, schedules that are referred to often, reminders, files and so on; but the trend now is computerization (Nwankwo, 2004). A computerized data system has a number of advantages over a manual system including the ease of storage, the ability to retrieve large amounts of data as required, economy of space, and reduction of operational cost and time (Olawore, 1999). With a computer database, records relating to clients properties can be effectively maintained. Database such as computerized property management system (CPMS) e.g. EstMan is available in the market to all property managers desirous of computerizing their operations (Adebiyi, 2003). The CPMS comprises various elements such as data relating to the properties, the landlords, the tenants and the leases in a digital form. It is designed to aid the management and administration of commercial, industrial and residential properties. The software allows the myriad of information to be retrieved quickly, eliminating the need to refer to bulky files or having to refer physically to leased documents often by extracting vital information and making them ava ilable to be looked at or pointed out whenever needed. b. Financial Record Keeping: This is a crucial activity in property management that deserves a separate mention given that the cardinal aim of property management is securing the maximum return (Olajide and Bello, 2003). Accounting software programs allow tedious book keeping calculations to be performed automatically, including accounts receivable (e.g. rents and service charges), accounts payable (e.g. ground rents, rates and insurance premium), payroll, inventory and general ledger (Kyle, 2000). Accounting programs can generate various reports that are valuable for financial planning and evaluations, including monthly budgets, cash flow studies, profit and loss statements and reports to owners. Some even can write and print a cheque, while entering that directly into the bank balance summary, thus maintaining even more up-to-the-minute control. c. Word Processing/Generation of Notices and Reports: Word processing is used when composing and typing almost any kind of letter, report, or newsletter; it is easy to insert or delete characters, words, lines, paragraphs or even pages of text and correspondence can be merged with mailing lists to generate mass mailings. Drafting a document, letters to delinquent tenants for example, which can be time-consuming, will be made easier and faster with the aid of this software. According to Kyle (2000), at the very least, the new software programs offer a template for letters (for proper form) as well as pre-written form letters to meet all sorts of needs: late notices, eviction notices, lease termination and letters on all types of problems (e.g. excessive noise). If the software does not have a letter one needs, after drafting it, one can save it to reuse. Specifically, in connection with review and renewal of tenancies and other action dates, a completely automatic key dates system is available (Stapleton, 1994). Further, graphic software programs can produce a variety of graphs and charts to use in presentations and reports, and can also be used to create advertisements, brochures and tenant newsletters. d. Property Marketing and Tenant Selection: The World Wide Web, a network of interconnecting computers, is quickly becoming a vehicle for advertising, marketing and communication (Kyle, 2000). The Web enables users to create their own websites to display information easily accessible to the public. Adebiyi (2003) identified the benefits accruable to professional firms with websites: Information can be provided to the user free, or via subscription service, or for a specific payment; it provides the firms with shop windows available to any client or applicant 24 hours of the day; it can display an innovative brochure of the firms professional services, clients properties available for sale or letting and they market to the widest audience without any boundaries to working days. In particular, Alile (1997) identified that, with multimedia technology, a contemporary offshoot of IT, marketing rental properties has become more sophisticated in the sense that you can walk through houses à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ without leaving your room. Apart from marketing, the Internet can serve the purpose of tenant selection. Kemp (2000) reported a special Web property management solution, the Rentals.com on-line property management system. Through Rentals.com, rental property owners and managers can create a personalized website. From the site, one can show pictures/floor plans of all properties; access a private, virtual office; track site traffic; schedule viewing appointments; view rental applications; and obtain rental news and advice from experts in the real estate industry. The benefits of this system are obvious: a clutter-free workspace and a round-the-clock virtual, paperless office, amongst others. e. Office Automation: Office automation deals with acquisition and distribution of information, communication (internal and external), and information processing. It has, therefore, a variety of facets including communications, publishing, and data processing. Very few, if any, offices can run without the use of some automated equipment. The amount of automation needed depends, again, on the size of the operation and the type of properties involved (Kyle, 2000). Office equipment such as fax machines, typewriters, word processors, calculators and specialized accounting equipment (including computers) are fundamental once the business begins to grow. For communication purposes particularly, with a local area network (LAN), computer users in the same office can share data, including text or data files, whole programs, scanned images, incoming and outgoing fax messages, blueprints and voice messages. LANs increase the efficiency of computers, software and printers, which make inter-office communication better, faster and cheaper. LANs differ in speed, reliability, and compatibility with various computer hardware, so a wise property manager will consult a LAN expert before making a purchasing decision. Further, with a modem and a phone line, computers can communicate with each other over long distances, sending computerized data (e-mail) to another computer hundreds or thousands of miles away. Since the modem transfers information directly to another computer, there is no need to print out the information on paper first, which increases the speed and efficiency of the communication. The data can be viewed on the receiving computer screen or printed out on paper. f. Tracking Maintenance: According to Holmes (1994), IT has enhanced the planning and organization of maintenance. Software packages have been developed for most activities. There are 3 main areas which require IT support; the first for handling work recording and monitoring, the second for condition assessment analysis, and the third for cost predictions. Within these areas a range of linked programs can be used to supplement the process; for example, an asset register will greatly help with work ordering. On a general note, Stapleton (1994) described the benefits of the application of IT to the practice of property management as follows: Problems can be identified quicker and performance be analyzed in a more rigorous way. Information for regular review by policymakers is more readily available and more work can be handled by the same staff. He, however, attached a caveat that the application of IT does require a substantial commitment by the existing staff and considerable care is required in the way the concept, the technology and the system are introduced. In spite of the gains of the adoption of IT in the practice of property management (and estate surveying and valuation in general), Adebiyi (2003) suggested that, by casual industry analysis of the use of IT, not a deliberate inquiry, it is indicated that there is low-level utilization and awareness by a significant proportion of estate surveying firms in the Nigerian real estate industry. He opined that IT is often seen by those who do not use it as an unknown technological threat, both complex and expensive, requiring extensive training and bringing an additional and unnecessary complication to professional life. In the light of the foregoing, Adebiyi (2003) offered an admonition thus: It is important for (Estate) Surveyors who do not use IT to consider the changes that have taken place over the last few years, the current speed of changes and facilities available to assist Surveyors. It is also advisable for them to have some understanding of the ever more rapid developments that will affect all practitioners in the foreseeable future. They need to consider how IT awareness and use can enhance not just their efficiency and business performance, but also the professional advise they give to property company and developer-clients or to tenants. THE INVESTIGATION Bearing in mind that it is an observable tendency for estate surveying firms to exist in pockets or congregate together in geographical areas around Lagos (i.e. the population of estate surveying firms is largely distributed in clusters), hence, it is apposite to adopt the cluster sampling method as the suitable approach to generating a representative sample for study here (Asika, 1991). According to Asika (1991), generally, a sample size of 10% of the population size is adequate enough to validate and generalize the findings of a study to the entire population. Given that there are 477 estate surveying firms in Nigeria as offered by Nwankwo (2004) and assuming that all the firms have an operational office in Lagos, then applying 10% to this number of firms and leaving ample room for safety, the total sample size for this study is therefore 50 and will be spread over four main identified clusters (convergence areas) in the Lagos metropolis. Response Rate As indicated in Table 1 below, an evaluation of the individual response rates of the cluster areas reveals that all areas are fairly represented (with the minimum response rate being 80%), and the average response rate being 84%. For all practical purposes, this is acceptable and valid for statistical analysis. Table 1: Response Rate According to Cluster Area Cluster Area Target Response Actual Response Response Rate (%) Lagos Island 20 17 85 Victoria Island/Ikoyi 10 8 80 Surulere 5 4 80 Ikeja/Opebi 15 13 87 Total 50 42 84 Source: Field Survey, 2005 Extent of Utilization of Information Technology in the Practice Seven specific areas of the practice are examined vis-à  -vis the adoption of information technology, namely: Preparation of schedules of letting; Preparation and communication of management notices and reports; Preparation of clients statements of accounts; Rental property marketing; Mode of receiving applications from prospective tenants; Mode of receiving complaints from sitting tenants; and Property record keeping. A schedule of lettings serves a major purpose in the practice of property management and it is frequently required. It aids rent collection. Hence, the mode through which it is drawn up is very crucial. Two modes can be identified: manual and computerized or a combination of both. Fig. 1 reveals that 64% (or 27 out of 42) use the manual means, 12% (or 5 out of 42) use the computerized means while 24% (or 10 out of 42) use both the manual and computerized means. It can then be reasonably concluded that the majority of the respondents still rely on the manual mode of extracting relevant data from rental payments register in order to draw up schedules of letting. This method is, however, adjudged to be inefficient and susceptible to errors. Table 2: Preparation of Management Notices and Reports Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By handwriting By using typewriter 2 4 5 By using word-processors 42 84 100 By using property management software 6 12 14 Total 50* 100 119 Source: Field Survey 2005 * Note: Total number of responses is greater than the total number of respondents because each respondent gave multiple responses. The cumulative frequency count by the multi-response analysis was thus greater than the total number of respondents. Table 3: Communication of Management Notices and Reports Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By staff hand delivery 37 26 88 By courier service 27 19 64 By postal service 15 10 36 By phone 29 20 69 By e-mail service 21 14 50 By short message service (SMS) 16 11 38 Total 145* 100 345 Source: Field Survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 2 for explanation In preparing management notices (such as rent demands) and reports, 4 methods are identifiable as shown in Table 2. Survey reveals that word processors are of general application, and used by all the respondents (or 100%) while 6 out of 42 (or 14%) use special-purpose property management software. 5% (or 2 out of 42) of the respondents still use typewriters. And to communicate the notices and reports, a combination of 6 options are open to the respondents (see Table 3). Staff hand delivery features most prominently as the means through which most of the respondents communicate notices and reports (37 out of 42 or 88%). E-mail service, a main IT option in the context of this study, ranks 4th and adopted by 50% (or 21 out of 42) of the respondents. Table 4: Preparation of Clients Statements of Accounts Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By manual calculations 27 43 64 By using accounting software 29 47 69 By using property management software 6 10 14 Total 62* 100 147 Source: Field Survey, 2005 * Note: See Table 2 for explanation Accounting software, a general application software, finds the widest use amongst the respondents in rendering accounts to landlord-clients (see Table 4), followed closely by manual means of extracting relevant data from account books and balancing the accounts (27 out of 42 or 64%). The use of special-purpose property management software ranks last (a distant 3rd). Table 5: Rental Property Marketing Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) To-Let board placements 42 31 100 Print media advertising 42 31 100 Property bulletin distribution 36 26 86 Internet advertising 16 12 38 Total 136* 100 324 Source: Field Survey, 2005 * Note: See Table 7 for explanation Table 5 indicates that all the respondents market available rental accommodation by board placements and print media advertising. However, only 16 out of 42 (or 38%) advertise via the Internet. Hence, it can be fairly concluded here that IT has not found popular use amongst the estate surveying firms in marketing rental property. Table 6: Mode of Receiving Applications from Prospective Tenants Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By phone 39 47 93 By physical appearance at office 42 51 100 By applying on-line 2 2 5 Total 83* 100 198 Source: Field survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 2 for explanation Table 6 shows that only 2 out of 42 (or 5%) accept on-line applications from prospective tenants that intend to let advertised rental accommodation in spite of its benefits of round-the-clock accessibility. All the respondents dwell on prospective tenants physically visiting their offices. Applications through the phone are also accepted by 39 out of 42 (or 93%). Table 7: Mode of Receiving Complaints from Sitting Tenants Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) By phone 39 26 93 By letters 42 28 100 By physical appearance at office 37 25 88 By short message service (SMS) 13 9 31 By e-mail service 18 12 43 Total 149* 100 355 Source: Field Survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 7 for explanation It is not uncommon for sitting tenants to forward complaints about relevant matters demanding the attention of property managers. Different channels are created through which these complaints are received. Table 7 reveals that the multitude of complaints is received through letters by all the respondents while SMS is the least used mode. E-mail service is the 4th most frequently used mode of receiving complaints from sitting tenants (18 out of 42 or 43%). Table 8: Mode of Property Record Keeping Mode Frequency Count Percentages of Responses (%) Percentages of Cases (%) Cabinet filing 40 63 95 Electronic database 24 37 57 Total 64* 100 132 Source: Field Survey, 2005 *Note: See Table 2 for explanation From table 8, 95% of the respondents (or 40 out of 42) adopt cabinet filing while 57% of the respondents (or 24 out of 42) use electronic database. Both cabinet filing and electronic database are complementary; though the latter offers easier access to relevant information. Having examined seven salient areas of the practice of property management in Lagos in relation to the adoption of IT, it can be summarized thus: IT is being relatively put to use in all the examined areas of the practice of property management in Lagos; however, the extent of adoption, on the whole, is below average. Table 9: Respondents Ranking of the Reasons for the Current Extent of Utilization of IT in the Practice of Property Management Reason Absolute Frequency Weighted mean score Strongly Agree 5 Agree 4 Undecided 3 Disagree 2 Strongly Disagree 1 Relative underdeveloped state of the property management practice in Lagos 3 11 0 18 10 2.50 Relative non-availability of IT tools for property management in Lagos 5 5 8 19 5 2.43 Relative high cost of adoption of IT in the property management practice 2 19 5 16 0 3.17 Relative non-sophistication of clients served by property management firms in Lagos 3 8 6 22 3 2.64 Relative small sizes of the operations of the property management firms in Lagos 2 3 6 19 12 2.14 Source: Field Survey, 2005 Respondents were asked to score five probable reasons for the below-average utilization of IT in the practice of property management in Lagos on a 5 point Likert scale. The results as shown in Table 9 above show that the relative high cost of adoption of IT in the property management practice is the most probable reason for the current extent of utilization of IT in the practice. IT is widely viewed to attract huge costs for its application in the practice of property management. Relative non-sophistication of clients served by the property management firms ranks 2nd. However, ranking last is the relative small sizes of the operations of the property management firms. A possible interpretation of this is that the respondents see the sizes of their operations as substantial enough to warrant the deployment of IT. Further, to gauge the practice-wide perception of the adoption of IT, respondents were asked to indicate their degree of agreement or disagreement with this statement: The increased adoption of IT in the practice of property management in Lagos can have a significant positive impact thereon in terms of increased profitability, broadened client base and excellent service delivery. Out of 42, 28 (or 67%) strongly agreed, 13 (or 31%) agreed and 1 (or 2%) was undecided. On the basis of this, it can be said that, in the absence of constraints, the firms are willing to significantly increase the level of utilization of IT in the practice of property management. From the foregoing, it can be stated that the relative high cost of adoption of IT in the practice of property management, amongst others, is the most probable reason for the current extent of utilization of IT in the practice. Hypothesis Testing Research Hypothesis To be tested in t

The Most Important Thing In Communication Is Hearing Communications Essay

The Most Important Thing In Communication Is Hearing Communications Essay Good communication is important, but what is communication anyway? The exchange of information? Many people think that communication is the same as the use of language. An understandable thought, because without a language it would probably be impossible to pass on information for this assignment. People spend about seventy percent of their day on language, this means talking, listening, reading and writing. Therefore language is very important for people to pass on information. A man with a red head, throbbing veins and a clenched fist, crying out: ‘Are you kidding me, I am not angry. This shows that we are not only communicating in languages (verbal communication), but also through body language (nonverbal communication). In this case, the nonverbal communication includes the red-faced head, throbbing veins, clenched fists, his volume and the tone of voice. Verbal and nonverbal expressions have different communication powers. The person from the example claims that he was not angry, but most people will not believe him. Because his body language ‘says something else. In cases in which language and body language contradict each other, the body is believed rather than the spoken word. Types of nonverbal communication Facial expression Emotions can be found throughout the whole body, posture and by gestures, but especially on the face. You can read a lot of emotions from the position of the eyebrows, mouth and particularly the lips. Non verbal communication can be a huge difference in cultures. But the facial expression for happiness, sadness, anger and fear are similar throughout the whole world. Gestures Some people support their story with many movements. Sometimes they need to beckon the people to make something clear. For example, you would specify how big or small something is or you have to make a move. This includes movement of the hands, face, or other parts of the body. Sometimes simple gestures are symbols, as the fist with the thumb up: ‘Well done or with the thumbs down. ‘Really bad. Eye-contact Eyes are the mirror of the soul. The most deep and intense emotions are expressed through the eyes. Therefore eye contact is almost a synonym for personal contact. It is also very sensitive, because when you look someone too long to attract attention, this can be seen as rude or even intrusive, this is only the case when the other side doesnt want any contact. It can also be nice to have eye contact and it might be interesting to see how the other responds. Maintaining eye contact while both speaking and listening is a sign of confidence and interest. Posture Your body language can give you an individual status or power. It says something about who you are. For example, when you are a little shy, you will probably look to the ground. The movements of your hands and feet can be a bit slow. If you are a proud person you will walk with your head up, shoulders back, chest forward and with a lot of enthusiasm. Communication through object communication In our culture, the choice of clothing is an important way to communicate without words. Someone who will apply for a job will generally watch carefully what he wears and if anyone should give a presentation to a group of important people he will not normally do that in a pair of jeans. It is therefore surprising to see that relatively little research has been conducted to see a person clothing. It does appear that someones clothing should not underestimated the importance for the picture others have of him and the impact that his words are. But it is very difficult to cover general rules. What we can say is that people respond more positively to someone wearing similar clothing than someone with a totally different style. An American student had to interview farmers as vacation work. The first day he dressed in a suit with tie. He received little cooperation from the farmers. When he decided to wear jeans and a working shirt, he got considerably more response from the farmers. Someone appears to be believed better when his clothes and hair are better cared. But this is only the case when people do not know each other, so they have to make a good first impression. In the business world there are usually very strict dress rules. Not (well) aware of these rules can have a major impact on how others respond to you. Wrong choices in this area may therefore be harmful to your career. If you are underdressed or overdressed it may have a result in falling out of place. Appearance When you look at someones appearance, you can see how someone feels or what they want to radiate. For example, if someone has a hair bun it radiates neatness and meticulousness. Short shaven hair and spines radiate an easy and modern behavior. A beard may indicate wisdom, but also someone who is slovenly or it has to do with religion beliefs. If a woman has shaved hair it can arouse the suspicion that she is a lesbian, which is often a prejudice. Clothing Clothing can also be a form of communication. For example, you can see what kind of job the person has. When he/she wears a suit, he or she probably has an office job. You can also see what kind of music someone loves, (Punk, hardcore, RB) by the clothes they are wearing. For a lot of people branded clothing is often an important factor. It gives a certain status and suggests a certain quality. It often can characterize a particular group. Colors When you pay attention to colors you can see how someones life is. For example, someone wearing lots of bright, cheerful colors, is often an optimistic person. And someone with all-black clothes radiates sadness or just wants to make a statement. When and how to make eye contact in different cultures Like all mammals, the behavior of the eyes of people is very important. We have already seen that people respond positively to pupil expulsions. However, if someone sees something unpleasant, pupils will be smaller. The preference for the eyes seems to be a natural feature. Babies that are an hour old show a strong preference for forms that strongly resemble a face compare to other forms. Another very important sign is eye contact with the eyes. People who love each other are looking with pleasure to each other. If someone looks at another person for a longer period, so that is seems not be functional, will look aggressive. This applies much more for men than women. Men who have too much eye contact are more experienced as dominant or even aggressive compared to women. This is probably because too tightly is associated with rage and anger. Many teachers use the viewing behavior as an indicator if they want to select students whos homework they will check. After the teacher asks a question, he or she looks around the classroom. Students know the answer, will look to the teacher, while students who do not know the answer will often avoid eye contact. By looking at eye movements of people, you can see how people think about issues.  § If someone thinks visually and he will look left or right or look right through the center tail.  § If someone thinks phonetically, he or she will move their eyes to the right center, left center or lower left part of the eye.  § If someone thinks kinesthetic, he or she will look to the bottom right. Different Angles Here are a few different angles. These angles are for right-handed people. For the left-handed people it can be the other way around. A. Visually constructed images If someone looks to the right center, he tries to imagine something visually that hasnt actually occurred. He thinks from his imagination. According to the forecast, people could respond in this way to questions like: How do you spell your name backwards? (People can only do this if they are trying to see their name) B. Visually remembered images If someone looks to the left center, while talking, this means that he is trying to remember it visually. In this case his memory is very important. People will respond to a question like: What do you see when you are walking to the station? C. Visualization When people are looking right through the middle, without focusing, they often try to illustrate something. This is often by asking for examples of abstract concepts: Give me an example of social inequality. D. Constructed noise Middle right means that someone is trying to make noises that he had not previously heard: How would Mozart on a synthesizer sound? E. Remembered sounds Eye movements to the left center indicate that someone is trying to remember a word or sound: Is the second note of that song lower or higher than the third? F. Internal dialogue Bottom left represents the internal dialogue: What do you say to yourself when you are trying to talk courage to yourself? G. Kinetic When people look to the bottom right, it refers to feelings and bodily sensations: How does it feel when you are feeling very hungry? Can you see when someone is lying? Some people are hard to catch on a lie, even if they lie. Facial expressions are not always a reliable source of information to identify the lie. Some people smile while they lie, while another just has a quiet expression. Some evidence that people lie:  § People who lie often take a closed attitude. People who lie, uses their language differently and they often leave holes in their conversation, presumably to prevent what they say might betray them.  § The voice of people who lie usually goes higher than when those same people tell the truth.  § Liars often though their face or playing with pencils or other objects. The FBI can look at peoples eye movements. People who describe a situation or condition that have occurred here are their eyes to move left (remember for pictures) or to left center (for recalled words). When people think of words as they contrast to the right center and made statues the right to be here. But if someone constantly fumble with items in his hands, after a question, it obviously cannot be concluded that he is lying because he is fumbling. And if somebody has suddenly a closed attitude, this does not mean that he is lying. It may be that he just tells the truth, but it is so painful that he signed an attitude. Body language In general, people pay more attention to someones body language than to their words. Words determine the topic, but the way those words are expressed, determines how the message is interpreted. One explanation for the credibility of non-verbal communication besides verbal communication is that words are much easier to control than our behavior. Many people who lie find it difficult to keep eye contact and start to blush. Sometimes nonverbal communication is not difficult to control. Someone who likes another person, often get ‘caught because of the fact that their pupils grow bigger when he or she looks at that person. Sender and receiver are both not aware of this pupil reaction, but the receiver picks up the information unconsciously. This person gets positive and warm feelings for the person with the enlarged pupils. 1 So it may be interesting to watch the body language of people around you. Did we learn nonverbal behavior? Most of our nonverbal behavior we have learned through the years. Some of the gestures may have completely different meanings in different countries.If someone in France points to his head he finds you pretty smart. But if the Frenchman points his hand to his sleep, he wants to say that you are crazy in a negative way. And if we are accepting something we make a circle with thumb and forefinger. ‘Ok. But in Brazil this gesture means a contempt notion. Some nonverbal behaviors are probably not learned but self thought. Facial expressions for interest, joy, surprise, fear, anger, pain, disgust, contempt and shame have the same meaning in all cultures of the world. This strongly suggests that at least some facial expressions are congenital standards. Another proof that some expressions of emotions are self thought, is that deaf and blind children have the same basic facial expressions for emotions as people who do not have disabilities (e.g. crying, smiling, fear and anger). These emotions cant be wrong interpreted by looking at their faces. Although certain facial expressions are innate, it does not mean that they are always shown by people. Our education can ensure that certain expressions are not appropriate for adults to be shown. By culture and growing up, the expression of an innate emotion itself is changing. Thus, the innate facial expression for anger is showing the teeth and frown the eyebrows, in order to protect the eyes. In many cultures it shows the innate expression of anger openly. Instead, those oppressed by the teeth and the lips to be pressed. This also prevents people verbalizing their anger to continue swearing. If people who are angry no longer protect their eyes by frowning, but just dilate their eyes and show their teeth, this is usually a sign that someone is no longer in control. He even not thinks anymore about protect himself. And if he gets a fair complexion which is transported through blood to the muscles, it is time for you to find a safe place to hide. Because these people are really dangerous. 1 Hess, 1975 2 Eibl-Eibesfledt, 1970 Also for other emotions, cultures can add to those feelings to show the other non-native form. Japanese and American students were shown pictures of very bloody operations. If the students thought they were no longer observed, the facial expressions of Japanese and Americans are identical: the horror on their faces was plain to see. However, if they knew they were observed, unlike the Japanese. Americans were to hide their horror by smiling. In Japan it is rude to show your emotions openly in presence of others.3There are also differences in culture is often seen between men and women. For example in western cultures it is much more common for women to openly demonstrate sorrow compared to men. Men are more expected that they control their emotions (Real men do not cry!). People seem to be quite aware of their facial expressions. As already shown by the example of Japanese and American students, facial expressions, like languages, can be controlled. This has not always the best facial expressions (nonverbal indicator of what people really feel). 3. Research of Paul Ekman Meaning of the arms and hands Hands are frequently used to support verbal communication. Gestures often have a logical and traceable meaning. Some gestures are very clear in meaning. So we all know the insulting gesture of the middle finger. Other gestures have a meaning that is rooted in history. In England, for example, there are two gestures that are very similar: Everyone knows the famous V-sign of victory, made famous by Winston Churchill: the index and middle fingers of the right hand raised with the palm, but with the palm facing inwards. The main difference is the direction of the palm. With the palm directed toward the other has a positive meaning. With the outside of the hand addresses to the other is an offensive gesture. It is impossible to map all signs in the world. Here are some examples:  § Making a fist usually has an aggressive or offensive meaning.  § Showing the back of the hand is often referred to as being offensive. It usually has a negative signal value for the other.  § Showing open hands, palms up often has a submissive pleading or meaning. It generally has a non-aggressive signal value for the other.  § Showing open hands, palms towards the other, often has a bowing, submissive or defensive meaning. It usually has a non-aggressive signal value for the other.  § The downward keeping the palms often has a calming, enchanting sense.  § The further the hands held together, the less vulnerable a person feels himself generally speaking. The hands The hands are sometimes busy moving body parts or hidden in a trouser pocket. Hands tells people always something. It can show feelings and moods. They tell their own interpretation of events. But how to recognize certain feelings and attitudes? Here are some examples, feelings of the hands:  § Uncertainty: Someone has his hands all entangled. The palms are fully hedged. Soft fingertips rubbing against each other to indicate that a person has a conflict, challenge or prefer to avoid discussion going.  § Dominant: A person has his hands behind his back. The person is confident of himself and feels dominantly.  § Apparent dominant: An individual has his hands behind his back. The person wants the world to convince that he feels dominant.  § Hide: A person has his hands hidden in his pockets. He wants no positive nor a negative reaction, he takes the role of an observer. Examples, attitudes of hands:  § Open palms: This is a reliable measure of whether someone is honest.  § Questioning hand: The hand with the palm facing upward with your fingers is more or less a ‘bowl shape.  § Stop sign: During a conversation one person raises his hand, together with the palm facing out. The person indicates that it is ‘enough.  § The commanding hand: The hand points to the palm as if the hand down any rebellion from below suppressed. The arms †¦. How to improve your nonverbal communication skills? Some people dont believe that you can learn nonverbal skills, but you can. It will lead you to a few surprises. When you pay attention to nonverbal aspects of communication it will improve your communication skills. It can help you in both your personal and professional life. It can also enhance your own ability to communicate effectively because people are not always aware of the signals of nonverbal communication. It is very important to pay attention to nonverbal signals, like eye contact, gestures, postures, and body movements. It can help you to understand some difficult words or meanings. In some cases words do not match nonverbal behavior. The other person can say that he or she is happy but the look on their face will show you that he or she is unhappy. Also the tone of the voice can give you information of that person. People can say some words in an enthusiastic, disinteresting or even angry manner. So if you want to show interest in something or someone, express your enthusiasm by using your enthusiasm in the tone of voice. When people are evading or trying to hide something or someone, you can see it in their eyes. Eye contact is an important part of communication, its important to remember that good eye contact does not mean staring constantly into someones eyes. Your eye-contact may last up to four or five seconds. Different interpretation Behavior in other cultures can be interpreted very differently. For example, in Arabic countries men greet another with a handshake. Men, however, may not handshake with women. In many Asian countries the handshake is not so common. They use an alternative way of greeting such as nodding one hand on their chest or bend in different degrees of depth. Habits and conducts, for example from different religions can have a big influence on the physical presentation of people from other cultures. Another difference between Arabic and European people is that the left hand in Arab cultures is unclean. Also crossing your legs is an insult for Arabic people because if you show your foot sole, you are disrespectful. Cross-cultural misunderstanding of nonverbal communication The three-step method of Intercultural communication (dr. pinto). Culture and culture models People do not exactly know what the meaning of culture is. But it has something to do with values, habits, history, knowledge, experience, beliefs, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, roles, relations and manners of people behaving, that are different from other cultures. It is very difficult to find the definition for culture. Therefore it is probably easier to explain culture by discussing a number of theories. Theory 1. The fishbowl Model The Fishbowl Model describes the natural instinct humans have to act upon our own perceived short-term individual benefit, rather than long-term benefit or the benefit of others. The Fishbowl offers the class an opportunity to closely observe and learn about social interactions. You can use it in almost every area. Theory 2. The Iceberg Model This model is about the visible and invisible cultural aspects; The practices described above are the tip of the iceberg, the things we can see, hear, observe. The small part above the water level is visible. In it, we can include manners, customs, and languages: all things we can observe and learn. We also talk about the explicit aspects of culture, those aspects that we can easily describe. However, the larger chunk, is hidden under water, and we cannot see it. This is where we find the values and the vision of the world, the way of thinking and the assumptions we have. All these aspects are hidden; we cannot easily express our values. Theory 3. Union Model of Culture The Onion Model of Culture shows how culture has a number of layers. There are a number of interpretations of this model out the most easy one consists of four key layers. ‘Culture is a system that can be peeled, layer by layer, in order to reveal the content. Imagine the whole onion as ‘culture and as you peel on, you see different levels which work on and influence culture, in any particular society.4 Significant conversations are those that move beyond the material and behavioral levels (first two rings) to consider values, beliefs and worldview. This means that the goal is to move beyond comments about our environment (for example weather, sports) and behavior (our preferences for schools, holidays, church) to consider values (appropriate behavior, sexual morality), beliefs (value of human life) and worldview. 4. Geert Hofstede Conclusion Answer to the main question What does nonverbal communication exactly means and what kind of effect has nonverbal communication on people from different cultures. Literature Internet  § http://iwp.cs.utwente.nl/Vaardigheden/G-Nonverbaal/Koefening/koefening.html  § http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonverbal_communication  § http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language  § http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/05/nonverbal-behaviour.php  § http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/05/busting-myth-93-of-communication-is.php  § http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/a/nonverbaltypes.htm  § http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/tp/nonverbaltips.htm  § http://www.innerned.org/nvc2.html  § http://www.psychowerk.com/Woordenboek/N/nonverbaal%20gedrag,%20de%20gebaren%20en%20hun%20betekenis.htm  § http://humanresources.about.com/od/interpersonalcommunicatio1/a/nonverbal_com  § htm http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/05/education-reduces-cross-cultural.php  § http://womeninbusiness.about.com/od/businessetiquette/a/making-eye-contact.htm  § http://www.lichaamstaal.com/cultuur.html  § http://www.gilde-samenspraak.nl/sitebuilder/index.asp?nodeid=235  § http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00451/nonverbalcom.htm  § http://helpguide.org/mental/eq6_nonverbal_communication.htm  § http://www.lichaamstaal.com/cultuur.html Books  § Basisprincipes van communicatie, Klaas Wiertzema Patricia Jansen  § Communicatie handboek, Drs. W.J. Michels Planning and logbook Not ready yet, (plan of action) Number Activity Starting date Deadline Estimated Workload (hours) Actual Workload (hours) 1 . Making Project Plan 12/03/10 17/03/10 4 1.1 First draft 12/03/10 17/03/10 3 1.2 Revision 18/03/10 18/03/10 1 2 . Pre-research 23/03/10 02/04/10 68 2.1 Orientation 23/03/10 26/03/10 5 2.2 Internet search 24/03/10 02/04/10 28 2.3 Literature search 24/03 31/03/10 28 2.4 Television series 23/03/10 01/04/10 5 2.5 Search for visual aids 26/03/10 31/03/10 2 3. Definition of research question 05/04/10 25/05/10 55 3.1 Select subjects 06/04/10 09/04/10 4 3.2 Select information for each subject and create structure 07/04/10 19/04/10 3 3.3 Write information about every subject 19/04/10 25/05/10 43 3.4 Add visualization with captions 15/05/10 20/05/10 5 4. Final things to do 28/06/10 16/06/10 17 4.1 Rewrite after first check 28/05/2010 11/06/10 16/06/10 12 4.2 Final touch of the script 11/06/10 16/06/10 5 Total hours 144

World War I and World War II :: Comparative

World War I and World II are basically the same, right? Well, one can also say they have nothing in common. The comparison of the two wars is conceivable, but it is thought-provoking because they are such widespread notions. This concept applies to Araby, written by James Joyce during WWI, and The Flash, written by Italo Calvino during WWII. In Araby, the protagonist falls in love with a girl, but love deceives him. In his moment of epiphany, â€Å"[g]azing up into the darkness [he] saw [himself] as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and [his] eyes burned with anguish and anger† (Joyce 1). In The Flash, the protagonist suddenly grasps a reality and in his moment of epiphany â€Å"[he] stopped, blinked: [He] understood nothing. Nothing, nothing about anything. [He] didn’t understand the reasons for things or for people, it was all senseless, absurd† (Calvino 1). Comparing the epiphanies of the two distinct short stories reveals a relationship betwee n their similarities and differences through theme, symbolism and setting. First and foremost, comparing the themes of both epiphanies reveal they can simultaneously be similar and different. An important common theme in both epiphanies is facing reality. In Araby, the protagonist realizes â€Å"[his] stay was useless† (Joyce 6) since the young lady only â€Å"spok[e] to [him] out of a sense of duty† (Joyce 6). Likewise, in The Flash, the protagonist realizes he â€Å"accepted everything: traffic lights, cars, posters, uniforms, monuments, things completely detached from any sense of the world, accepted them as if there some necessity, some chain of cause and effect that bound them together† (Calvino 1). Both characters face the reality and randomness of the world. Even so, each epiphany implies each protagonist faces a different sort of reality. The protagonist of Araby faces the reality of love and â€Å"[sees himself] as a creature driven and derived by vanity† (Joyce 6). On the other hand, the protagonist of The Fla sh faces the reality of existence and hopes â€Å"[he] shall grasp that other knowledge† (Calvino 2). Therefore, reviewing the theme similar to both epiphanies leads to discovering different themes as well. Conversely, looking at the differences in the symbolism of each epiphany hints at a comparable aspect of symbolism. The epiphany of Araby symbolizes the protagonist escaping into a dark world when he enters â€Å"[t]he upper part of the hall [which] was now completely dark† (Joyce 6).