My evaluation for Grease Essay Example

My evaluation for Grease Essay My film that I choose was Grease because it contains music, dancing and humor. It is a cross between comedy and teen movies. It is a tribute to the Broadway show of the 1950s. It was directed by Randal Klieser and was released on July 7th 1978. The music and dance scenes are what attracted me to Grease. My favorite characters are John Travolta and Jeff Conaway who play Danny and Kenickie. I like these two because they are your typical high school popular boys who are always looking out for each other, looking good and they are always trying to get the beautiful girls but at the same time acting cool like it doesnt bother them. I had high expectations of Grease and I lived up to each and every single one of them. I learnt about this film through television and newspapers. We used three simple words from everyday media. Firstly narrative is from the Latin word narra, meaning the way a story is told. Many theories have been applied to the creation of stories. Tzvetan Torodovs 5stages of narrative. He said that all plots had 5 major components. These 5 components are equilibrium, disruption, complications, climax and resolutions (also called new equilibrium. The story begins with a situation of normality although not necessarily a positive one. An event changes the story, which involves the struggle of the characters to restore the equilibrium or reach their goal. The story reaches a point where the equilibrium or goal hangs in the balance. Normally the equilibrium is restored or a new equilibrium is established. Grease used this theory because the equilibrium is Rydell high the normal high school, the disruption is when Sandy comes and knows Danny, the complications is that Danny cannot be with Sandy because she is too pure for him and he is the most po pular guy in school, the resolution is that Sandy turns into a bad girl and the climax is when Sandy and Danny end up together. We will write a custom essay sample on My evaluation for Grease specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on My evaluation for Grease specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on My evaluation for Grease specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Secondly genre is the French word meaning type. Genres may be approached by way of various critical avenues. In the Aristotelian strain we recognize genres as kinds within a system of classification. These categories beg further definition, so there is a history of, on the one hand, the refinement of divisions and subdivisions, and on the other a Platonic search for the essential qualities of tragedy, comedy, epic poetry, and so forth. By the recognition of genres we begin to find our way in the universe of verbal artifacts with their feigned discourses, and to train our expectations upon the experience that lies in wait for us. Greases genre is a hybrid genre because it is a cross between a comedy, a teen movie and romantic. Lastly representation is the act of representing or the state of being represented. Also it is something that represents an image, an account or statement, an expostulation or a presentation or production. For example the representation of the characters in Grease varies. Sandy is portrayed as a pure and innocent girl but on the other hand Rizzo is portrayed as a bad girl who is always getting into trouble and wont take anything from no one. Also Rizzo is sometimes mean to Sandy but when its to her face she is sweet and kind. This tells me that she is two faced. Also because Sandy is pure and innocent she is not aloud to join the pink ladies (this connotes girly, frilly, happy, lively and/or average girl). Also Danny is portrayed in two different ways. When Danny is with his friends he is a mean typical boy who only cares about himself. But on the other hand Danny completely transforms when he is around Sandy. He becomes a sweet and caring person who Sandy falls in love with. Grease creates suspense because it has so many different storylines and each have a particular ending. For example the will they wont they with Danny and Sandy will end with them getting together. Is Rizo pregnant? Obviously she is not. Also who will win the car race is obvious because they wouldnt create a film that where they lose. So really we expect certain endings in a teen movie. This works because in the time left from the main storyline, it is filled in with other small but prominent storylines which creates many different types of suspense. The bit that are stereotypical are that we know it is going to end like a fairy tale because it will all work out and everyone will live happily ever after. The mis-en-scenes are standard, the shot size varies from a standard to a birds-eye view to an extreme close up etc. the compositions are straight on and the lenses are standard. All of these help to tell the story because it gives it a normal typical high school day and adds effect because if it had abnormal technical analysis then it wouldnt match the genre, because it is a conventional American film. There was nothing really unique about the narrative because it followed all the codes and the technical analysis, so it didnt reinvent certain generic conventions or new narratives. The type of ending closes the film off and also the ending was effective because it was at a funfair, which connotes the idea of fun and happiness and it also denotes a typical end of school party in America. The characters are realistic and are normal people and they are also authentic and believable characters. The mis-en-scenes have al been constructed in a way that tells me that it is an average high school where there are normal students who go through and do everything normal teenagers go through e.g. dates. The locations are an American diner, a drive in, the driving race and the high school, which signifies that these are all the cool spots where the T-birds and The Pink Ladies hang out. There are not a lot of special effects except for when they are in the car chase and the car lifts off the ground and into a puddle when Danny is about to win the race. The women are represented in different ways especially the popular girls aka The Pink Ladies are shown as different people. For example Rizo is shown as a girl who will sleep with anyone; she puts it as getting her kicks while Im still young. Frenchy is a wanabe beauty stylist and ends up dropping out of high school to go to a beauty school, but after failing all her classes she enrolls back into high school, she is opposite to Rizo because she will not sleep with the first boy she sees. There are not a lot of ethnic minorities in Grease, so some could say its a racist film because it only has white people in it and although it is typical of this era there are few people from other countries in it, but they havent got main parts. There were no narratives that were ineffective because its a comedy the hilarity would overwrite any narrative you put with it. The audience would see through it and still think it was funny. The costumes of the characters match the film because back in the 70s they wore big long skirts and people could wear what they wanted without being judged. The men wore leather trousers and the women wore tight tops and big frilly skirts that whilst you were dancing and spinning the skirt would become a circle. The make up has same effect on the characters because not a lot of high school students would wear a lot of make up so they would put make up on but it would look natural. Different characters were shown in different ways. The popular guys and girls were shown always picking on those who were annoying or unpopular but it wasnt shown that much because they were too busy concentrating on themselves, how they looked and how they would solve there problems so it is an average that they didnt care about anyone but themselves and they were effective and had bourgeois (middle class values; they are very normal). The message that these narratives are trying to publicize is that Grease is a film that everyone can enjoy, but like every film it has its problems and also the purpose of the narrative is to make it seem that the film is funny and musical, but it shows teenagers facing problems that all students and people in general face in everyday life. So theres a contrast between the hilarity and the problems that teenagers go through. The genre and narrative connect together in a way that the narrative connotes a mainstream day and the genre connotes the comedy and romance, and this put together makes the film a funny normal film that anyone could enjoy if they wanted to. The soundtrack gave Grease the musical feel that it needed to become the smash hit was. The synchronization of the visual and the sound of Grease are connected in a way that if there were no visual Grease wouldnt be the great film it turned out to be and visa versa, this is a promotional strategy. In conclusion the target audience would have to be everyone because anyone can watch Grease because they will enjoy the storylines and the optimism. The most effective part about Grease is that there are not really any negative bits that cannot be resolved easily, because all round Grease the different storylines have made practically no mistakes in it. The four typicals are settings, tag names, genre, and narrative. The typical settings are the high school and the diners. The typical tag names is a blonde, an exchange student, the grunger, the rebel, the geek, the beautiful girl, the ugly girl, the stupid parents, the teacher and the popular guy. The typical genre is comedy, romance and a teen movie. Finally the typical narrative is Tzvetan Torodovs 5stages of narrative. The main things that I found out bout Grease was that the narrative and the settings were surprisingly good and the best bit of the film is that it is a mix of genre so it suits everybodys needs and the worse thing would have to be settings because all teen movies are always set in America and I personally think that they should set a Grease like film over in England.

Double Negatives in Spanish

Double Negatives in Spanish I cant get no satisfaction. I dont know nobody. You aint seen nothing yet. Because they contain double negatives, the above English sentences are considered substandard (although, of course, people often talk like that in real life). But theres no such prohibition in Spanish. In fact, in many cases, use of double negatives is required. Even triple negatives are possible. Double Negatives in Spanish Double and even triple negatives are not unusual in Spanish even though they are usually considered improper in English.Generally, negative and affirmative elements (such as the equivalents for never and always, respectively) shouldnt be used in the same Spanish sentence.Double-negative Spanish sentences can usually be translated in more than one way, such as I dont know anybody and I know nobody. Double Negatives Not Viewed Negatively in Spanish Grammarians may tell you that English doesnt use double negatives because the two negatives contradict each other and make a positive. (In other words, I dont know nobody is the same as saying I know somebody.) But negatives arent thought of in  that way in Spanish - the negatives are seen as reinforcing rather than contradicting each other. Although sometimes the second negative is used to make a stronger statement just as it is in substandard English, in most cases it is merely part of the structure of the sentence. In Spanish, the most common negative terms in addition to no (no, not) are apenas (barely, scarcely, hardly), jams (never), nadie (nobody), ni (neither, not), ninguno (none, no), ni siquiera (not even), nunca (never), and tampoco (not even, nor, neither). Most of these terms in Spanish have a corresponding affirmative term: algo (something), alguien (somebody), alguno (some), siempre (always), tambià ©n (also), and siquiera (at least). How To Use Double and Triple Negatives As a general rule, a sentence cant include both affirmative and negative terms; where one element of a sentence (subject, verb, object) includes a negative term, the other elements should use a negative term where a term is needed. Also, with the exception of nunca jams (see below), not more than one negative term is used before the verb. By following these rules, it is possible to have one, two, or three negatives in a sentence, as in the following examples: Apenas come. (She barely eats.)Apenas come nada. (She barely eats anything.)No tengo ninguno. (I dont have any.)Nadie sabe eso. (Nobody knows that.)Jams fumo. (I never smoke.)Tampoco comià ³. (She didnt eat either.)Tampoco comià ³ nada. (She didnt eat anything either.)No hablà ³. (He didnt speak.)No dijo nada. (He said nothing.)No le dijo nada a nadie. (He didnt say anything to anybody.)No compro ninguno. (Im not buying any.)Nunca le compra nada a nadie. (She never buys anything for anybody.)No come ni siquiera pan. (He doesnt even eat bread.)Ni siquiera come pan. (He doesnt even eat bread.) Note that in some cases (such as the final two examples in the chart) it is possible to say the same thing in more than one way, with either one negative or two. Generally, that is because in Spanish the subject can come before or after the verb; where a negative subject comes before the verb, a no is not needed with the verb. In this example, ni siquiera no come pan would not be standard Spanish. There generally isnt much difference in meaning between using one negative or two. Note also that various translations to English are possible. Tampoco comià ³ could be translated not only as she didnt eat either but also as neither did she eat. When a verb is used with a negative term, it isnt always necessary to use a negative term after the verb. For example, No tengo amigos (I dont have friends) is grammatically acceptable. What you shouldnt do, though, is use an affirmative term for emphasis. If you want to say I dont have any friends, use a negative term after the verb: No tengo ningà ºn amigo. Other Uses of Double Negatives There are at least two other cases where a double negative is used for added emphasis: Nada as an adverb: When used as an adverb in a negative sentence, nada usually can be translated as at all. No ayuda nada. (He doesnt help at all.)No usa nada los ordenadores. (He doesnt use computers at all.) Nunca jams: When these two negatives meaning never are used together, they reinforce each other. Nunca jams vuelo. (I never, ever fly.)Dijo el cuervo, nunca jams. (Quoth the raven, nevermore.)

Critique of Memo Paris in The Natural by Bernard Malamud Essay

Critique of Memo Paris in The Natural by Bernard Malamud - Essay Example The essay "Critique of Memo Paris in The Natural by Bernard Malamud" talks about one of the major women characters playing a critical role in the novel â€Å"The Natural† by Bernard Malamud. The memo is depicted as a destructive and materialistic seductress. The character depiction is critically important for the overall storytelling experience in the novel in a number of ways. This is particularly because of the author, Bernard Malamud has skillfully used women characters to advance the themes of the story by presenting them as either saviors or destroyers. Memo Paris character as a destructive force is counterbalanced by the character Iris Lemon who is presented as a constructive and life force. This critique argues that the character Memo Paris plays a critical role of a villain and destructive force behind all the novel’s scenes who eventually brings the protagonist’s fall.Throughout the novel, â€Å"natural† villain characters like Memo Paris are used to provide an important thematic setting that stems from a variety of different mythological stories. According to Griffith â€Å"..you can locate the possible themes of a story or novel based on the actions or the behaviors of the major characters†. The character Memo Paris has been particularly used by the author to bring out the despicable and destructive nature of women. This is particularly seen in when Memo ends up playing a critical role in the eventual destruction of Roy’s career.

Outsourcing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Outsourcing - Research Paper Example Why are they still outsourcing from these suppliers. Are there more fundamental principles that need to be considered? This work will try to answer these questions and other issues in more details. National Express is the largest scheduled coach service provider in Europe. In the UK, distinctive white National Express coaches operate to more than 1,000 destinations and carry over 17 million customers a year. The Euro lines coaches additionally operate to over 500 destinations within Europe and Ireland. National Express coach services also serve the major UK airports with additional dedicated on-airport coach and bus services operated by Air links that are based at Gatwick. They also provide a Hotel Hoppa service, which links major hotels at both Heathrow and Gatwick to the airport terminals. Other dedicated airport operations help to serve British Airports Authority (BAA) and the wider airline community at these increasingly busy locations. National Express Ltd is also part of a leading international transport provider - National Express Group (NEG), which itself has over 45,000 employees. In addition to train and bus companies within the UK including Gatwick Express, one, Midland Mainline and Travel West Midlands their overseas operations include student transportation and public transit in the USA & Canada, the management of Stewart International Airport near New York and bus and coach operations in Spain operated by Alsa. In total the National Express Group now carry over 1 billion passengers a year. National Express outsources 80%of their services from third party with whom they have long term contracts. With a growing competition from many other operators, the abolition by the government of the subsidies of elderly and disable passengers, and the financial austerity, National Express like many other companies is under lot of pressure to provide a good value for money service. The aim of this project is to investigate and

Women’s Changing Role in the Family and Society

Women’s Changing Role in the Family and Society Nicole M. Tortoris Today, women are tipping the balance of power in their favor. Women have gained power because society is becoming more aware of women’s potential, not only as mothers and housewives, but as businesswomen and entrepreneurs (Schoen, Astone, Rothert, Standish, Kim, 2002). The battle of the sexes continues; women are becoming more independent and more preoccupied with their careers. Women’s independence is why they are less dependent on men and men’s financial support, and less willing to start a family for reasons concerning only economic safety. The emancipation of women, which began decades ago, led to a more active and influential presence in the business world, also known as â€Å"a man’s world.† The time to be an obedient housewife and a dedicated mother has passed, while the time for education and profession is present. Women are becoming too busy for large families for whom they must care during their entire youth (Schoen, Astone, Rothert, Stan dish, Kim, 2002). In their study, Schoen, Aston, Rothert, Standish and Kim (2002) investigated whether or not married women’s employment threatens their marriages. They pose a complex three-part hypothesis in which they examine the likelihood of a marriage to end in divorce based on the woman’s employment and the happiness of both or either spouse. They investigated these hypotheses using data from the 1988 and 1992-94 National Survey of Families and Households. In their analysis of this data, the authors consider two theories using the variables role specialization, interdependence, and economic opportunity. The first suggests that a married woman’s employment does pose a threat to her marriage; however, the second argues that in itself, the wife’s work does not endanger her marriage, but would allow her to leave if she were unhappy with the marriage. The authors’ findings support the second theory, that a working woman would be more likely to leave an unhappy marri age. The risk of divorce for a full time employed wife when both partners are unhappy is 4.94 times greater than not getting a divorce, p Women’s fuller participation in the decision-making processes of our social institutions has shattered stereotypes that tended to limit females to feminine activities and pushed males into male activities (Heslin, 2007). As structural barriers continue to fall and more activities are degendered, both males and females will be freer to pursue activities that are more compatible with their individual abilities and desires instead of society’s prescribed roles. As stereotypes continue to be broken, new role models develop and socialization of children changes. Males and females will gain new perceptions of themselves and of one another. Sociologist Janet Chafetz (1974) conducted a qualitative longitudinal study utilizing focus groups, (based in large part on small class project by her students). In this study, Chafetz identifies 16 acceptable behaviors, eight for men and eight for women. Each of these themes focused on specific behaviors that are considered acceptable for men and women. This study’s findings were more useful in determining acceptable behaviors for men and women, and efforts to understand how far both men and women have advanced in terms of acceptable behaviors. This study was also useful because it looked at behaviors instead of stereotypes. In an attempt to take a new approach to this area of study, this study coded specific sex-typed behaviors, instead of using stereotypes, to assess gender in commercials. Chafetz (1974) explained that this change will allow men and women to express needs and emotions that traditional social arrangements denied them. Women and girls will likely perceive themselves as more in control of their lives, more assertive, and striving more for positions of leadership. With these roles changing, men and women will also develop a new consciousness of their capacities and their options, which will change relationships among men and women. Offen (1990) predicted that if current trends continue, American society may see a growing appreciation of sexual differences coupled with greater equality of opportunity. This has the potential of transforming society. According to Rogers and Amato (2000), there have been fundamental changes to gender relations. Since the 1960s, both men and women have become less traditional in their gender-role attitudes. Judge and Livingston (2008) examined the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a panel study administered by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The sample was a nationally representative sample of 12,686 individuals between the ages of 14 and 22 years of age when the participants were first surveyed in 1979. Individuals were surveyed annually through 1994 and then interviewed on a biennial basis through to 2005. F rom the original sample, 60.4% of participants remained in the study. Judge and Livingston (2008) found that women have a more egalitarian orientation than men do (B=-.361, p Kulik (2002) analyzed 232 Israeli retirees aged 58 to 85 years to compare the differences between husbands and wives and their views on marital satisfaction. The results of this comparison suggest that gender may have implications for those couples who are at similar life stages versus those who are not. Participants in the study were asked to complete a 20 minute questionnaire. Research assistants made sure the couples filled out the questionnaire separately. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether there were differences between husbands and wives with respect to marital satisfaction and gender role ideology, power relations, and division of family roles. Wives reported a lower level of marital satisfaction than their husbands F(2,103)=7.45,p In Kulik’s 1999 study of 348 men, 137 were pre-retired (up to 18 months prior to retirement) and 211 had been retired from 2 to 10 years. MANOVA revealed significant differences between pre-retired and retired husbands in gender role ideology (F [2,324] = 6.25, p Several potential explanations for a gendered division of household labor have been posited (Blair Lichter, 1991). One explanation suggests that household responsibilities continue to be shouldered by women because women are socialized to adopt this as part of their identity as a woman. Therefore, many women may discourage help from their husbands because this challenges their self-identity. Recognizing that husbands contribute more to household duties upon retirement (Atchley, 1992), regardless of their wives’ employment status, may suggest a potential source of conflict as men encroach upon what has traditionally been accepted as a â€Å"woman’s domain.† This may be an issue that is more pronounced for individuals in age discrepant relationships who transition into retirement at different times. Although Kuliks (1999; 2001) results do not suggest that age discrepancy may exacerbate potential sources of conflict that couples in age-similar marriages have alread y confronted and resolved, it is important to recognize that no specific data regarding age similarity between partners was provided. Moreover, Kuliks (2001) study focused on Israeli couples who were in dual-earner marriages. As a result, the potential impact of culture may fail to extend to American couples. Kurdek (1998) provides further support for the link between gendered divisions of household labor and gender socialization. Kurdek examined the relation among division of household labor, gender role orientation, and marital satisfaction. The link between gender role orientation and division of household labor were consistent with Kulik’s (1999; 2001) findings. Although the women in Kulik’s sample shouldered more of the household responsibilities than men, the division of household labor was not significantly related to marital satisfaction. According to Kulik, this may be because an inequitable division of household labor is consistent with traditional views regarding the roles of men and women and is therefore congruent with the expectations of both husbands and wives. Ward’s (1993) study provides additional insight regarding the relation between marital satisfaction and the division of household labor. Unlike Kurdek (1998), Ward’s study provided evidence supporting the link between the division of household labor and marital satisfaction for wives, but not husbands. Ward analyzed the National Survey of Families and Households, which conducted interviews with a national probability sample of 13,017 participants. According to Ward, unequal divisions of household labor are not responsible for gender differences in marital satisfaction. The link to marital satisfaction is based on whether wives consider these labor divisions to be fair. Ward used multivariate analyses to investigate the predictors of perceived fairness in household labor and marital happiness. According to his findings, women participate in household tasks more often than men do (means: women=37, men=15, p=.0001). Perceived fairness of household chores appeared to be rel ated to marital happiness. For women, unfairness to self is related to lower happiness, χ2 (1, N=538) =38.4, p Several studies have linked gender role ideologies to the division of household labor (Kurdek, 1998; Gerson 2004; Mannino Deutsch, 2007; Mickelson, Claffey, Williams 2006; Robinson Hunter, 2008), yet the impact of aging on attitudes toward sex roles remains unclear (Kulik, 1999). Inglehart, Norris, and Welzel (2003) found evidence that younger adults displayed more modern gender role ideologies when compared to older adults. Inglehar, Norris, and Welzel (2003) note that the differences between younger and older couples may reflect differences in socialization related to cohort. As a result, couples who are age discrepant may be more likely to experience conflicts related to the impact of cohort differences on attitudes toward sex roles. However, Burke and Cast (1997) note that newlyweds who have a newborn during the first year of marriage experience changes in gender identity that accompany gender role taking. According to Burke and Cast, gender-role-taking yields more congruency between partners with regard to gender identity. The implications of Burke and Castâ⠂¬â„¢s study indicate that retirement may present the same opportunity for gender role taking among age discrepant marriages that the birth of a child does for newlyweds. These are issues that have yet to be examined among older couples and age discrepant marriages in particular. Researchers have attempted to explore power, decision-making, and relationship satisfaction differences between males and females for years. There appears to be some sex difference in the levels of satisfaction within marriages. For example, there seems to be a difference in relationship satisfaction based on gender roles and ideologies (Mickelson, Claffey, Williams, 2006; Sprecher, 2001). One predictor of relationship satisfaction may be equal participation in household work. Many women perceive the contribution by their partner, however limited, as an expression of love or support (Pina Bengtson, 1993). Similarly, other studies suggest that balanced roles in relation to equal division of household labor (Mickelson, Claffey, Williams, 2006; Rachlin, 1987) and equal contributions to child-rearing (Coltrane, 2000; Dempsey, 2002; Yogman Bragelton, 1986) led to higher levels of relationship satisfaction. Tsang and colleagues (2003) and Marks and colleagues (2001) also concluded that when both spouses were employed full-time, relationship satisfaction was increased (Marks, Huston, Johnson, Macdermid, 2001; Tsang, Harvey, Duncan, Sommer, 2003). REFERENCES Amato, P., Johnson, D., Booth, A., Rogers, S. (2003). Continuity and change in mariatl quarily between 1980 and 2000. Journal of Marriage and the Family , pp. 1-22. Atchely, R. (1993). Retirement and marial satisfaction. In M. Szinovacz, D. Ekerdt, B. Vinick, Families and Retirement (pp. 145-158). Newbury Park, California: Sage. Blair, S., Lichter, D. (1991). Measuring the dividion of household labor. Journal of Family Issues , 12, 91-113. Burke, P., Cast, A. (1997). Stability and change int he gender identieies of newly married couples. Social Psychology Quarterly , 60, 277-290. Chafetz, J.S. (1974). Masculine/feminine or human? An overview of the sociologt of sex roles. Itasca, IL: F.E. Peacock. Chafetz, J.S. (1990). Gender equaily: An intergrated theory of stability and change. Newburry Park, CA: Sage Publications. Gerson, K. (2004). Understanding work and family through a gender lens. Community, Work and Family , 7 (2), 163-178. Grote, N., Clark, M. (2001). Perceiving unfairness in the family: Cause or consequece of marital distress? Journal of Personaility and Social Psychology , 80 (2), pp. 281-293. Henslin, J. (2007). Sociology: A down-to- earth approach (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Inglehart, R., Norris, P., and Welzel, C. (2003). Gender equality and democracy. Comparative Sociology , 1 (3-4), pp. 321-346. Judge, T. A., and Livingston, B. A.. Is the gap more than gender? A longitudinal analysis of gender, gender role orientation, and earnings. Journal of Applied Psychology 93.5 (2008): 994-1012. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. Kulik, L.(1998). The effect of gender and social environment on gender role perceptions and sex identity: A comparative study of kibbutz and urban adolescence in Israel.Journal of Community Psychology, 30(6), 533-548. Kulik, L. (1999, May-June). Continuity and discontinuity in marital life after retirement: Life orientations, gender role ideology, intimacy, and satisfaction. The Journal of Contemporary Human Services , 286-294. Kulik, L.(2001). The impact of men’s and women’s retirement on marital relations: A comparative analysis. Journal of Women and Aging, 13(2), 21-37. Kulik, L.(2002). Marital equality and the quality of long term marriage in later life.Ageing and Society, 22,459-481. Kurdek, L. (1998). The allocation of household labor in gay, lesbian, and heterosexual married couples. In D. Anselmi, A. Law, Questions of gender: Perspectives and paradoxes (pp. 582-591). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill. Mannino, C., Deutsch, F. (2007). Changing the dividion of houselold labor: A negotiated process between partners. Rex Roles , 56, pp. 309-324. Marks, S., Huston, T., Johnson, E., MacDermid, S. (2001). Role balance among white married couples. Journal of Marriage and Family , 63, 1083-1098. Mickelson, K., Claffey, S., Williams, S. (2006). The moderating role of gender and gender role attitudes on the link between spousal support and marital quailty. Rex Roles , 55 (73), 81-91. Offen, K. (1990). Feminism and sexual difference in histroical perpective. In D. Rhode, Theortical perspectives on sexual differences (pp. 13-20). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale Schoen, R., Astone, N., Rothert, K., Standish, N., Kim, Y. (2002). Womens employment, marital happiness, and divorce. Social Forces , 81 (2), 643-663. Tsang, L., Harvey, C., Duncan, K., Sommer, R. (2003). The effect of children on marital happiness: Evidence from a longitudinal sample. Journal of Family and Economic Issues , 24, 5-26. Ward, R. (1993). Marital happiness adn houshold equilty in later life. Journal of Marriage Family , 55, 427-438.

Personnel Five-Year Development Plan: How to Be a Qualified Accountant

Personnel Five-Year Development Plan: How to be a qualified accountant Xingyi Wu 1591926 Personnel Administration V3 Dr. Bahareh Assadi March 07 , 2013 Personnel Five-Year Development Plan: How to be a qualified accountant In the modern society, the developing speed of economy is very fast, which means the world is becoming a business world. As a result of this trend, the role of financial management is getting more and more important.That is why more and more people and companies require accountants with good accounting skills, especially in Canada, in which the tax is so complicated that almost all the peolple need an accountant to take responsbility for their tax. Career goals and objectives There are many successful accountants in the world. For example: Daryl Ritchie, CEO of Meyers Norris Penny LLP, got his start in 1978 as an articling student at the firm,and because of Ritchie’s hard work in 20 years, Ritchie was promoted to CEO and has since led the firm in leadership and growth.Another good instance is Bill Thomas, who is the CEO and Senior Partner of KPMG Canada, started his career with a bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia in 1989. Thomas began at KPMG in 1990 in Audit practice. Quickly recognized, Thomas soon after moved up to become Audit Leader. Appointed to CEO in 2009, Thomas is now head of the 4,500 employee company(Kristin, 2011). These people are the final goals and objectives to most of the accountants, so do I. My terminal goals and objectives are to be a qualified accountant.I will work in an accounting firm at the beginning time, and after having lots of experience and many clients, I will set up my own accounting firm, that is the ultimate goal and objective in my career. The possible opportunities for career growth In the business world, the importance of accounting has been promoted in recent years. To companies, accountants are essential. They are trained in accounting and are taught to measure, establis h and maintain financial records of great accuracy for companies or individuals, records that have great value for managers, tax authorities and investors.In any business the accountant plays an important role and has many duties. Accountants are responsible for evaluating records provided by the book keepers in order to establish whether the business is progressing or not, and where it lacks improvement. Accountants record financial transactions that take place within the company and prepare financial statements. The most important role of accountants is predicting the cost effectiveness of company strategies and help the overall development of any business through knowledge and technical skill.They are key to the success of any organization, working hand in hand with those who run it(Nacpaf, 2012). To individuals, as I mentioned before, in Canada, almost everyone needs an accountant to help themselves to clarify the items and details of the financial statement, otherwise, they may pay a high price for their financial behaviour because of the strict and complicated tax law in Canada. Considering these two reasons, to set up my own accounting firm has a good prospect. Besides, this business action must have a large number of clients and a huge amount of potential clients, due to this, this action can ensure a very high profit.Therefore, it is a good choice for people who want to be successful. The inventory of current skills, abilities, training, and education It is not very easy to be a qualified accountant. First of all, this person should be good at math and calculating, because being an accountant, this person has to deal with a large amount of numbers. Secondly, this person should be smart enough so that he can try his best to reduce the clients' tax and not break the tax law at the same time.Finally, this person should have abundant knowledge in accounting area. However, there is no company will waste their time on testing whether this person is qualifie d or not, considering of this, this person had better has passed CGA exam. A CGA is an accounting professional with expertise in finance, taxation, business strategy, auditing, management, and business leadership. CGAs must meet the education, experience and examination requirements established, and regularly enhanced, by CGA-Canada(Wikipedia, 2013).After passing all the courses which CGA requires, this person will be qualified enough to do an accounting job. Job satisfaction attributes What attribute people to have an accounting job? For the first reason, getting an accounting job can offer people a stable salary. Some people are not interested in the jobs which are very flexible, they prefer to do things followed some laws or rules, they do not need to think about how they should do this thing, they should only care about what they should do.For the second reason, to have an accounting job is really more than getting a job. People use accounting in their daily lives when they stud y financial statements to make investment decisions, assess interest rates to pay off their house mortgages, and calculate rates for car payment. The last reason is that this job is comparably easy. Firstly, people do not have to work day and night. Secondly, people can even work at home instead of going to their work place. Thirdly, this job is very safe, people won't risk their lives when doing this work.Three action steps to reach the stated career goals and objectives For the first 2 years, the most important thing is collecting the accounting knowledge, starting learning CGA courses and passing the CGA exam. This is also the fundamental period during one's accounting career. A good beginning is half the success. For the following 2 years, after graduating from university, I will enter a small accounting firm. Because of lacking in the accounting experience, probably the big accounting firms will not hire people who just graduate from university.However, as a CGA, to find a job in a small company is not very hard. I will spend these 2 years to accumulate work experience, save money and try to know lots of clients to lay the foundation for setting up my own accounting firm. For the fifth year, after having enough funds and clients, I will set up my own company. This is the ultimate goal and objective in my career. I believe this step will be a milestone in my career life. Potential barriers To be a qualified accountant is a very long and hard period for an international student.For one thing, as I come from China, there are sigificant differences between Canadian and Asian universities, especially when it comes to accounting education. These differences, in conjunction with differences in cognitive and linguistic patterns, constitute formidable barriers that initially prevent successful participation in the Canadian accounting courses(Mary, Matthew& Panadda, 1999). For another, even if Asian students have studied English for a long time or have passed some basic English tests, the language is still the biggest problem during their study time.What is more challenging for Asian students is that they have adapted to their own country's tax law. However, in Canada, they have to learn a totally new tax law in their second language, which is also a intractable trouble for them. Conclusion Being an accountant has many advantages. For instance, people can get a stable salary from this job, they don't have to day and night. Besides, accounting offres people an absolutely good potencial opportunity in business. Therefore, if they can overcome the barriers mentioned before, it's really a good choice to start an accounting firm. ReferencesKristin, Craik. (2011). Canada's Best Accountants. Retrieved from http://www. businessreviewcanada. ca/money_matters/canadas-best-accountants Nacpaf. (2012). Accountants in the company. Retrieved from http://www. nacpaf. com/role-of-accountatns-in-a-company. html Wikipedia. (2013). Certified General Accountant. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Certified_General_Accountant Mary, Beaven. , Matthew, Calderisi. , & Panadda Tantral. (1999). Barriers to Learning Experienced by Asian Students in American Accounting Classes. Retrieved from http://www. fdu. edu/newspubs/barriers. html

HRD Sample

Drawing from theories and models that inform adults and organisational learning, critically evaluate an HRD program or intervention that you deliver or have personally experienced. Introduction This essay looks into a learning program which was personally delivered. It aims to critically evaluate the effectiveness of the program by drawing upon relevant theories and models revolving around adult and organisational learning.Theories are used to substantiate the step by step processes undertaken in the program as well as to critique the areas which could have been performed better or were carried out uccessfully by the program coordinators. This essay is told from the perspective of a facilitator's role in which I was primarily involved in. At the end of this essay, we hope to understand how a successful HRD learning program should be run and what factors significantly influence its success.Learning Program The selected program used throughout this essay as a case study is the ‘C ombat Medical NSmen Ops Refresher Training. The program involved me as one of the key facilitators which was conducted during my national service time. The objective was to ensure the competence of the National Service (NS) men in carrying out their edical responsibilities and performing up to expectations when the time arises for them to do so in future. This was carried out by first refreshing the NSmen's theoretical knowledge of specific medical subject matter, i. . various emergency surgical procedures, that was taught during their NS days. Typically conducted annually, the refresher training would see the NSmen undergoing classroom learning followed by a practical hands-on session of role playing, after which they would be tested under a controlled, simulated setting as a form of learning assessment. The refresher training was a one-day program carried out in the compounds of the Singapore Armed Forces Medical Training Institute (SMTI).The facilitators comprised of regular seni or medical officers and fulltime national servicemen (NSFs), of whom I was one of them. The seniors acted as supervisors while the NSFs were more primarily involved in running the program on the ground. Teaching and demonstrations were conducted by NSFs while assessment was done by the senior officers. The age group of the NSmen participants ranged from 30 to 40 years old, thus the target audience was specific to older adult learners who were most likely married or some even fathers.The program was catered to a batch group of 20 NSmen with 2 facilitators assigned. The four stages of HRD HRD is an ongoing learning process involving training and development activities which seek to groom individuals' skills for the purpose of enhancing organisational productivity (Swanson & Holton 2 ) Adult learning talls within the HRD learning process. Knowles (1998) mentioned that adults tend to follow andragogical assumptions of learning such that firstly, the learning should have practical value for applying in real-life situations and problems.Next is for the learning to utilise the knowledge inherent in the adult and lastly it should actively engage him/her. All hese are reflected in the medical refresher program and will be explained through a series of four step by step stages namely the needs investigation, design, implementation and evaluation stages. HRD Needs Investigation (HRDNI) HRDNI refers to the process of identifying how much is known by the participants prior to the program against what is expected of them to know based on the learning objectives set out (Tovey & Lawlor 2008; Rothwell & Kazanas 1989).It represents an organized way to determine if a HRD solution is needed in the first place. It helps identify the content and learning objectives, the population, resources required, as ell as context and organisational politics. Behind every successful HRD learning program is a good HRDNI carried out in the beginning. The refresher program showed that HRDNI was conducted successfully as clear learning objectives, competencies and learning outcomes were established (Delahaye 2011). The needs were determined through the two levels of HRDNI: surveillance and investigation (Delahaye 2011).Program coordinators had long been monitoring how competent NSmen were in carrying out their medical duties upon completion of their NS time. Through the observation of several past reservists' in-camp trainings where these NSmen were required to demonstrate their medical proficiency in a simulated battlefield environment, their quality and competencies were analysed. Data was gathered through the means of organisational records and observations (Delahaye 2011). It was found that most NSmen were unable to remember much of what they had learnt during their NS days and thus, lacked in several key competencies.One of which was the ability to remember the medical apparatus to be used in assisting the surgeon in the surgical procedures. Thus, as a result of HRDNI, the ‘Combat Medical NSmen Ops Refresher Training learning program came about as form of HRD ntervention. Its aim was to keep NSmen constantly up to date with their medical roles so that when a real emergency breaks out in Singapore, they would be ready for it. Although the need for refresher training was correctly identified by program coordinators, the HRDNI could have been more specific to seek the opinions of the participants as well.Conducting such a program meant that more time, be it for work or family, had to be sacrificed by the working adults so that they could attend. Moreover, not all might feel the need for the refresher as they might be confident of their own knowledge. Thus one investigatory method to gather their opinions would be through holding an online survey questionnaire weeks before the commencement of the program. The questionnaire could ask them for their current level of knowledge and ask if the refresher would be effectively catering to their needs, also for their level of interest in participation.Curriculum Design This is the second stage once HRDNI nas been completed Curriculum represents tn systematic process of putting the learner through action (Smith & Lovat 2003). This stage involves matching the learning structure to the characteristics of the adult learners (Delahaye 2011). To do this, constructive alignment needs to take place. This means that the expected actions the learner has to emulate based on the learning objectives must be coherent with the teaching and assessment style (Biggs & Tang 2007).The refresher program was successful in achieving constructive alignment as the objective to instil confidence in the NSmen to showcase their medical proficiency in carrying out the surgical procedures was well reflected by the practical role- playing sessions demonstrated and taught by the facilitators. The design structure of the refresher program followed closely to Delahaye's (2011) Hierarchy of Learning Outcomes (HLO) model. The model emphasizes the progression from explicit to tacit knowledge and this was seen in the program as facilitators made use of instrumental to communicative learning.The program outlined movements from basic to intermediate to complex, Just as how HLO mentions in its five categories of programmed knowledge, task, relationship, critical thinking and meta-abilities. The refresher program started off with programmed knowledge which was in the form of classroom-based learning to provide the factual and theoretical knowledge to the NSmen. It then moved into task where they were required to be analytical in a role- laying scenario. That involved a linear, diagnostic and complex analysis which in short, refers to using simple information-processing, interpretation, problem solving and decision making skills.The role-playing session incorporated discussions and effective team play as well, which in turn worked on a relationship level of interpersonal communication between partici pants. The program ended off with action learning where participants were encouraged to use mental agility under the meta-abilities category to be able to think clearly under pressure, when performing their learning assessment in a controlled environmental setting. The HLO progression was mapped in accordance to the learning characteristics of the NSmen participants.Facilitators took into consideration that because the participants were older learners, the learning environment created was a similar aged batch of between 30 and 40 years old so that they would feel more comfortable and safe (Delahaye ; Ehrich 2008). Older learners tend to be involved in complex learning, occasionally switching from being dependent to independent learners and thus passively seeking and actively seeking knowledge, respectively. Hence, the design of the refresher program ensured a combination of various learning trategies to meet to these adult learners' characteristics.These strategies will be covered u nder the implementation stage later. It was indeed a good initiative by the facilitators to find out the basic characteristics of their adult learners and thus used HLO as a step by step process to teach them. However, there is room for improvement. All adult learners have different learning styles and so a good HR designer would pay close attention to finding out what styles their participants fall under. This can be done by issuing out a learning style questionnaire which will seek o determine if a participant is a reflector, theorist, pragmatist or activist (Honey & Mumford 1992).Each learning style will differently influence the way an individual learns, and so will impact the design ot a learning program. However, an individual may also have at times a combination of both styles. Thus, a good designer should strive to integrate all four styles in any learning program. Implementation This third stage of the HRD process covers the skills required of a HR developer who is also kno wn as the facilitator. In other words, this section analyses how effective or killed the facilitators are in conducting the learning program, based on the participants' level of engagement.It also covers the various learning strategies used. As one of the facilitators of the refresher program, I exhibited strong micro-skills of questioning and responding, and a high level of enthusiasm, channelling the energy positively to the participants. Delahaye (2011) pointed out that such skills are important in the delivery of a learning program, but are often overlooked by HR developers. Feldman (2007) agrees that with greater enthusiasm demonstrated, the higher are the chances of learner accomplishment. As for the learning strategy, a structured style was used in the beginning stage of the refresher program.This took the form of lecture-style learning. Delahaye (2011) regards lecture as structured due to the teacher-student controlled form where the teacher assumes full responsibility over the learning of the student and controls what and how the student will learn. Facilitators conducting the lecture used PowerPoint presentation to recap the relevant theoretical knowledge of the emergency surgical procedures. The slides included detailed photographs showing how each procedure was to be carried out step by step. This was complemented with a set of the hardcopy handout slides so that the NSmen could write notes throughout.On top of that, the whiteboard was used simultaneously by the facilitator to Jot down the key points of the presentation. This ensured an appropriate usage of visual aids to appeal to the adult learners (Delahaye 2011). The lecture-style teaching made use of instrumental learning, one of the three transformational adult learning domains (Mezirow 2009). Instrumental allows learning to be controlled and can manoeuvre the environment. Under it is the knowledge generation process of combination which sees a transfer of explicit to ven more complex explici t knowledge (Nonaka ; von Krogh 2009).The PowerPoint presentation, for instance, got the NSmen to combine the explicit knowledge they were looking at and listening to with their own explicit knowledge, thus leading into a process of re-sorting and re-understanding of their inherent knowledge. Another point to make was that sufficient breaks were given throughout the lecture presentation so as to space out the learning and carry out part learning so that participants could digest the information better, especially since older learners dislike having big chunks of information (Grattan 1955; Miller 1956).These were some of the principles of learning highlighted during the structured strategy. Subsequently, in the refresher program, the learning strategy shifted from structured to semi-structured. After the theoretical bit was covered, facilitators proceeded onto the practical, hands-on session. The knowledge Just learnt or recapped was to be applied on mannequins which acted as causali ties. Here, the actual whole tray of medical apparatus needed for the surgical procedures is introduced to the NSmen participants, after seeing pictures of them in the PowerPoint slides and the hardcopy andouts.Participants were divided into 4 groups ot 5 in which each group nad a mannequin and a set of tools to work with. Each facilitator was assigned to 2 groups to firstly demonstrate the correct techniques and steps to perform the emergency surgical procedures, using the apparatus provided. Participants observed carefully to learn the steps that they would later be tested, in what was actually known as modelling, one of the 3 basic types of learning. Modelling refers to copying an action after observing how it is done (Bandura 1977; Gardner et al. 1981).Facilitators of the efresher program aimed to see an exchange of tacit to tacit knowledge between the participants and themselves in a socialisation process. This was achieved through the modelling learning behaviour. The semi-str uctured strategy using the mannequins was a form of role-playing as within each group, participants took turns to role play as surgeons and assistants to the surgeons. This role-playing also helped to strengthen the HLO in areas of forging better interpersonal relationships and the use of group processes, Just to name a few (Delahaye 2011).On a separate point, ole-playing illustrates that the NSmen participants also underwent communicative learning, which is known to be a learner's effort to relate to another to understand each other's viewpoints (Mezirow 2000). Evaluation This last stage of the HRD process signifies the importance for proper assessment methods. The evaluation technique that was used for the ‘Combat Medical NSmen Ops Refresher Training program was the assessment of learning.This assessment, as stressed by Delahaye (201 1), paves the way for measuring the effectiveness of the learning program, allowing the examiners to gauge how useful the program had een for t he participants as well as to see if the learning objectives set out from the start had been met in the end. In addition, assessment offers feedback for both the adult learner and HR developer. Through it, they can identify their strengths and weaknesses so that they can make necessary amendments to make their learning processes more effective in future.Out of the six types of assessment of learning methods available, the refresher program used performance tests, which proved to be the most suitable form of evaluation due to the complex nature of the program (Delahaye 2011). Following on after the role-playing session of using the mannequins and medical tools, the NSmen participants were made to undergo a performance test in the outdoors open field which simulated an actual situation of what it would likely be in an actual war zone battlefield environment where the NSmen would encounter multiple casualties suffering from different kinds of wounds and war injuries.They would be requi red to think on their feet using mental agility, under a stressful environment, of which of the following emergency surgical procedures learnt would be best used for treatments. As said by Delahaye (201 1), performance tests need to be conducted by highly skilled trainers whose evaluation makes use of their tacit knowledge. Thus, the assessment of the program was a success as it brought in the senior medical officers, who have years of experience in the field, to evaluate the performances of the NSmen. This also served to be a non-biased evaluation as the seniors were not involved in running the on ground training.In evaluation, a pre- designed evaluation criteria form was used by the senior officers so as to quantify the observed results (Thorndike 2007). The results were then snowed to the NSmen articipants during the program debrief. The outcome of the performance test showed a match to the adult learners' HLO, identified in the curriculum design stage, in the categories of progr ammed knowledge; and task and relationship. It also successfully tested the learners' action learning process of critical thinking and meta- abilities.Conclusion This essay has looked at the ‘Combat Medical NSmen Ops Refresher Training' as a learning program which served as an HRD intervention based on the needs investigation conducted. It found that a refresher program would be beneficial to the NSmen in helping them to familiarise with the medical proficiency knowledge they are required to demonstrate in their annual reservist in-camp trainings. This essay thus went on to elaborate the four stages involved in influencing this successful HRD learning program using theories primarily from adult learning.Following on from a thorough HRDNI, the design of the program saw that a necessary constructive alignment was made between the teaching style and the characteristics of the adult learners. The HLO model was used in this stage. As for the implementation, the acilitators of the p rogram demonstrated strong micro-skills as well as using structured and semi-structured learning strategies through a PowerPoint presentation and role-playing session which reflected on instrumental and communicative learning for the adult learners, respectively.The final stage was the evaluation of the program in which a performance test was carried out as a specific assessment of learning method. Word Count: 2566 Reference List Bandura, A 1977, Social learning theory, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Biggs, JB & Tang, C 2007, Teaching for quality learning at university: what the student does, 3rd edn, Open University Press, Maidenhead. Delahaye, B & Ehrich, L 2008, ‘Complex learning preferences and strategies of older adults', Educational Gerontology, vol. 34, pp. 649- 662, viewed 30 August 2012, Emerald Database.Delahaye, B 2011, Human resource development: managing learning and knowledge capital, 3rd edn, Tilde University Press, Prahran Australia. Feldman, KA 2007, ‘Identi fying exemplary teachers and teaching: evidence from students' ratings', Perry, RP ; Smart, JC (eds. ), The scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education: an evidence-based perspective, Springer, AA Dordrecht, Netherlands. Gardner, G, Innes, JM, Forgas, JP, O'Driscoll, M, Pearce, PL & Newton, JW 1981, Social psychology, Prentice Hall, Sydney.Grattan, CH 1995, In quest of knowledge: a historical perspective on adult education, Association Press, New York. Honey, P & Mumford, A 1992, The manual of learning styles, Peter Honey, Maidenhead, I-JK. Knowles, MS 1998, The adult learner: a neglected species, 5th edn, Gulf, Houston. Long, HB 2002, Teaching for learning, Malabar, Florida, Krieger. Mezirow,J 2000, ‘Learning to think like an adult: core concepts of adult learning theory, in Mezirow, J (ed. ), Learning as transformation: ritical perspectives on a theory in progress, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.Mezirow,J 2009, ‘Transformative learning theory, in Mezirow, J & Taylor, EW (eds. ), Transformational learning in practice: insights from community, workplace and higher education, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. M GA 1956, ‘The magical number seven plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information', Psychological Review, vol. 63, pp. 81-97, viewed 30 August 2012, Emerald Database. Nonaka, I & von Krogh, G 2009, ‘Tacit knowledge and knowledge conversion: controversy and advancement in organizational knowledge creation', Organization Science, vol. 0, no. 3, pp. 35-652, viewed 28 August 2012, Proquest Database. Rothwell, W] & Kazanas, HC 1989, Strategic human resource development, 4th edn, Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Smith, DL & Lovat, TJ 2003, Curriculum: action on reflection, 4th edn, Social Science Press, Tuggerah, NSW. Swanson, RA & Holton, EF 2001 , Foundations of Human Resource Development, Berrett-koehler, San Francisco. Thorndike, RM 2007, Measurement and evaluation in psychology and educatio n, 7th edn, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Tovey, MD & Lawlor, DR 2008, Training in Australia, 3rd edn, Pearson Education, Frenchs Forest, NSW.