Money - is the second most important Essay Example for Free

Money is the second most important Essay Money is the second most important thing in the world, Says Margaret on p. 134. To what extent do you feel your reading of Howards End has confirmed or undermined this view of the world Forster creates in his novel. Forster sets the novel in Edwardian times. This setting is one of great industrial and cultural advances that reflect greatly upon the characters in the novel. During the Edwardian period the first motorcar was developed for public use, there was a great divide between the upper classes and the lower and women did not yet have the right to vote. I will be exploring how money and other privileges affect characters behaviour. As well as describing how Forsters portrayal of these characters driven by money affects the novels story and readers perspective of how ones lifestyle was in Edwardian times. The Shlegels and the Wilcoxs both have very different views on life. Though from similar social status the Shlegels are of German origin and are interested more by culture, whereas the Wilcoxs are deeply involved in the world of business. The Wilcoxs wealth is demonstrated at the start of the novel as Charles drives Mrs Munt from the station to Howards End. It is clear straight away to the reader that the Wilcoxs must be of great wealth as a motorcar was a great privilege in Edwardian times and only the elite would have them. Helen and Pauls affair at the beginning of the novel also allows for the reader to see how much the Wilcoxs care for money as Charles states that Paul hasnt a penny, dooming the relationship barely before they even knew it had begun and finished. Pauls lack of financial substance gives an interesting contrast to a modern audience. As in modern times most couples would not let money divide their love, whereas in Edwardian times it would ruin relationships in an instant. Mrs Munts first reaction to the affair is one of a pessimistic nature; she exclaims, What do you think of the Wilcoxs? Are they are sort? Are they likely people? This shows Mrs Munts interest is more in the Wilcoxs financial and social background. Forster portrays the different interests of the two families in an interesting way, which affirms Margarets view that money is the second most important thing in the world. The Shlegels love for literature and music is demonstrated when the Shlegels go to a lecture on music and meaning. This is where Forster cleverly introduces Margarets interest in Leonard Bast. The Clerk is in the lowest rank of the middle classes but strives to better himself and his social status and cultural bacground. The two meet rather awkwardly as Helen accidentally steals Mr. Basts umbrella. Helen immediately takes an interest in Mr Bast as she realises he is not very well off but she see his desire for the arts. Helen does not seem to understand how strong willed Mr Bast is, as she tries to help his financial situation by giving him money. He is offended by this as he wants to make his way in life, but he wants to do it by himself. This is when Helen learns that money is not as important as happiness. It is clear from the way Helen and Margaret react to Mr Bast that the Shlegels are committed to personal relations. Helens interest in Mr Bast soon turns into something more as she begins to really admire his desire to climb the social ladder. Even when the Shlegels try to help Leonard by giving him money he returns the money out of principle showing that he does not want hand outs. The ironic factor in this section of the novel is that Helen invests the money and subsequently makes a profit. This portrays how for some of the upper classes money is inescapable. F. R. Leavis stated that although the portraits of the Schlegels and Wilcoxes were reasonably accurate, Leonard Bast was an unreal creation, a mere external grasping at something that lies outside the authors firsthand experience, This critique is interesting as it shows Forsters portrayal of Bast as a generalisation of what he assumed of a class he knew little about. Forsters depiction of the two families in the novel helps the reader understand how important happiness and culture is. The Wilcoxs unfortunately seem too involved in money to behave in a more ethical manner. When Ruth Wilcox dies, she leaves Howards End to Margaret Shlegel. Henry Wilcox knows from the beginning that the scrap of paper Mrs Wilcox has written on is no forgery, but Charles and the other Wilcoxs money driven personalities come in to play. Charles says My dear father, consult an expert if you like, but I dont admit that is my mothers writing Why, you just said it was! cried Dolly. Never mind if I did, he blazed out. This confusion represents the Wilcox selfishness and in a way lack of respect for their departed mothers wishes. Although the piece of paper is not legally binding there is certainly a moral issue that would be looked upon far more seriously in modern times than in Edwardian. Again this demonstrates how Forsters depiction of the Wilcoxs is far more based around money and material goods than morals and personal relations. I think that too many readers, one is quite shocked at when Margaret agrees to marry Henry Wilcox after having read about his families deceitful ways Leavis, also cannot believe, in other words, that a sensitive, imaginative, cultivated woman like Margaret Schlegel could ever be attracted to an obtuse, egotistic, unscrupulous, self-deceiving businessman like Henry Wilcox. The material artefacts in Howards End have a great impact on the readers understanding of Edwardian times, as well as what portraying the two families interests. Motorcars represent class divides and the restless, money driven, modern civilization that the Wilcoxs are involved in building. They are cut off from the natural world as they travel at abnormal speeds again giving the impression of the Wilcoxs care for only one thing. They also are brutally unsympathetic when they kill a girls pet cat and made no effort to comfort the child. The Schlegels books and sword portray the powerful, expensive European culture that Leonard Bast aspires to but cannot reach. In the end, the interfering of the Shlegels seems just as responsible for Leonards unhappy fate as the Wilcoxs lack of sympathy for Mr Bast throughout the novel, and the part the books and sword play in his death dramatizes.

Majority of UK clothing companies struggling for survival

Majority of UK clothing companies struggling for survival The major share of the UK Clothing market is Womens, girls and childrens making up 68% of the total market. The increase in working women might have been expected to cause an upsurge in demand for smart clothing, but a major feature of the market has been a trend towards short dressing. Which targets the 18 to 25 year old market, has accepted the trend and recently recorded a pre-tax profit margin almost four times that of the industry average. Consumers are now tending towards the budget end of the market, which is targeted by companies such as Primark, Peacocks, Next, and Matalan, or the designer, premium-priced extreme (Fashion infomat, 25 May 2005). Selection of Organisation: This assignment completely deals with the changes in an organisation due to technology and what innovation has been made by the organisation to improve its profitability. Here information technology has taken as important tool of technology. This attempt aims to discuss the influence of IT systems that changes the organisation profitability and the whole structure. In the U.K fashion industry, it is the necessity to identify the market trends and respond immediately to the trends (Fashion infomat, 25 May 2005). Discount chains Next, Peacocks and Primark stores which are going to expand rapidly in this fashion trend accordingly. In the retail fashion industry like M S, Next, Top shop, Matalan etc. through a long period when they have been able to rely solely on declining prices to drive sales upwards. However, with the falling pound value and rising overseas sourcing costs, competing on price is going to become increasingly difficult for them (Fashion Retail Service, 21-May-2009). Why Primark? Look Good Pay Less The current credit crunch hit not only the UK Economy but the whole world Economy. If we look on the current UK clothing retail industry, we shall find out majority of companies are struggling for their survival. There is a few success stories in the current period of time regarding businesses, Primark is one of the company. Associated British Foods the owner of Primark have revealed that sales at Primark rose 18% in the 16 weeks to January 3, 2009 which helped by an increase in selling space and very good like-for-like sales growth. Primarks performance compares favourably with rival Marks Spencer, which reported an 8.9% fall in general sales for its third quarter. The business of Primark, which has 141 stores in UK whereas 200 in whole Europe, saw a  £122 million rise in profits while like-for-like sales increased by 5%. The Primark retailer store is looking to open another seven stores during their second half of this year (Metro Thursday, January 15, 2010). Associated British Foods, the owner of Primark, has beaten expectations with half-year profits of  £275 million, which was helped by a leap in earnings of 10% at the discount clothing retailer. The results represent a 2% dip in profits for Associated British Foods. However, they were higher than the  £262 million consensus estimate (Primark website, 10 August 2010). EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Innovation is essential for the life of an organization. The organisations who want to survive in this competitive era need to make innovation in response to the external environment as well as its internal environment. According to Kotter no business can survive over the long term if it cannot reinvent itself (Kotter, 2004). It is an era of technology and information. The rapid development in technology has changed the attitude of the people and the nature of business as well. In this technological era the process of change is very fast and rapid responsive. Technology boosts the process and made different type of innovation. Primark is the one of the organization who understands the importance of technology and innovation process. Primark is the discount cloth retailer working from 41 years. Primark is the fast and affordable fashion idea. The changes has taken by Primark has significant impacts on company performance and profitability. Primark improves his ordering and logistic system which helps to cut down the over head cost. Primark introduce new operational strategy, the company reduces the timing of waiting customer in queues. These changes help to create the value services to customers. Product innovation and improvement, new design, and better customer services are the key points of customer retain and attract new customers are main focus of company. To find out all the valuable information I go throw with primary research. I arrange interviews with Primark management arrange group decisions on Facebook.com and visit the Primark store as well. Academic literature is provided; company analysis, SWOT, recommendation, and conclusion are the key point of this assignment. ACADEMIC LITERATURE Why Innovation? Innovation brings changes in the organisation structure and makes a rise in profitability. Primark is an organisation which dealing with customers in clothing industry and have big set up to manage it. Product life cycle shows the Primark through its stages. http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/ Product life cycle shows the four stages of the organisation, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The organisation was at growth stage when the innovation is being done. Innovation brings changes in the whole set up of the organisation. Innovation: Innovation is a breakthrough approach or idea that can be completely new or an enhancement to something that already exist, it is referencing perspective that will challenge many who just can not see beyond what their own experience is telling them to think or do. Ettlie j., (2006) According to Tidd, J, (2009) innovation is something new that adds value; creativity is something new. Innovation is a change in the thought process for doing something, or the useful application of new inventions or discoveries. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation According to Michael Neito Lewin has three stages model of change theory, first stage is unfreezing that is the organization away from its current position. Once employee recognize and accept it the second stage where changing can begin. The third stage where change is established in organization, its mean refreezing takes place. Employees tasks and structure and socio technical theory a more frequent (Michael. Neito, 2006). The need for Innovation/Change in the UK clothing industry is a given fact that goes hand in hand with the need for improvement and innovation  [1]  (Barrie. L, 2001). Benefits of Innovation There are many benefits of innovation to the organization. The innovation must increase value of the organisaton and customer value. The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better. Innovation leads to rise in production which means increase in profit. Following are the main benefits of innovation. Creates new industries Maximize productivity and economic growth Fuels wealth creation and profits Generates high-value, higher-paying jobs Raises standard of living 3. Types of innovation Types of Innovation can be classified as under Product and services: the innovation that applied to products and services or market related activities are called products and services innovation. Operational: Innovation that improves the effectiveness and efficiency of core processes and functions of the organisation is called operational innovation. Business model: Innovation that basically transforms the business upwards and provides a better way to work or derives revenue up is called business model innovation. Partnership innovation: Partner innovation mean two businesses or firms get together to make innovation. There may be Government and private partnership innovation for favour of public. Link, (2006) Portfolio innovation: The key to choosing products that contributes to profitability lies in changing the business focus of portfolio management from financial matter to customer value. Mello, et al (2006) Primark has selected operational innovation to up grade the whole infrastructure of the organisation for the favour of organisation and for the favour of its valuable customer. The organisation selects the operational innovation to avoid customers standing long time in queue and for better customer services. Role of Manager in Innovation Managers are either incapable of or somehow exempt from, innovation. Role of manager in the process of innovation is very important. Manager should consider all the aspects regarding innovation in the organisation. According to Roger Bean and Russell Radford there are several points that related to nurturing and fostering innovation that are worthy of more attention to manager. Following are the points that a manager must capable. Personal understanding of the process of innovation Continuous learning and study Curiosity Openness Leadership Focus on strategic issues rather than operational tasks (Roger Bean and Russell Radford, 2002) System development and organizational change: Jon Turner Kenneth Laudon claiming that information system is an opportunistic component. Largely IT systems provided faster and accuracy results in the process of communication. It took the firms to gain competitive advantage in the firms value chain and opportunities  (Jon. Turner Kenneth. Laudon, 1988). Information technology can promote various important organizational change, ranging from incremental to far, reaching like structural organization change that are enabled by information technology: 1) Automation 2) Rationalization 3) Reengineering 4) Paradigm shifts (Kenneth. Laudon and Jane. Laudon, 2009). Innovative Organisation: The organisatiion need to take certain steps to become innovative organisation. Some important steps that should take the organisation are following. (Ettlie, J. 2006) Create strategic vision Create organisation structures that promote collaboration Establish processes to convert ideas into innovations Allocate resources Train workforce on creativity tools Measure and communicate results Recognise creative behaviour Reward innovation results Operations Management: Every time businesses are looking for new and improve methods to improve the efficiency of their operations to achieve higher profitability. Information systems and technologies are some of the most important methods available to managers for achieving high levels of efficiency and productivity (Jane. Laudon and Kenneth. Laudon, 2008). The concept of off shore business and outsourcing has taken a huge advantage for firms to play globally irrespective of its place consideration (Kshetri. Nir, 2007). Operation Productivity: Many retailers have improved their operations productivity through computerisation checkouts, the electronic point of sale system and scanning formats. They use this system to process transactions and monitor inventory efficiently. Computerised registers instantly record and display sales provide detailed receipts and store inventory data. This system lowers costs by reducing transaction time, employee training and the need for item pricing (Barry. Berman and Joel. Evans, 2006). Firms increased its productivity and flexibility with use of IT. But increased cost in installations and maintenance resulted (Olson. Margrethe, 1993). Supply Chain Management: The supply chain consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, to fulfil the requirement of customer. These supply chain includes not only the manufacturers and suppliers but also the transporters, warehouses, retailers and even customers themselves, the supply chain includes all functions involved in receiving and full filling the customer request (Sunil. Chopra and Peter. Meindl, 2007). It is clear that it is very important for some level of co-ordination for some level of activities and processes within and between the organisations in the supply chain that extends beyond logistics and this is called Supply chain management (Cooper. C., Lambert. D, and Pagh. D, 1997). The management of upstream and downstream relationship with suppliers and customers to deliver superior customer value at less cost to the supply chain as the whole (Douglas. Lambert, 2008). Total Quality Management: Total quality management mean continuous improvement in the business, it is a philosophy for running a business, manage the business right way, total people empowerment, mainly a focus on the customer, a commitment to quality and investment in knowledge (Cali, J.F, 1992). Total Quality Management is considered to be more incremental than business process re-engineering. TQM typically focuses on continuous improve and change rather than stay just in one change (Kenneth. L and Jane. L, 2006). How information systems support quality improvements? By Mithas, Krishnan, Fornell, the Service industries are performed better with customers than manufacturing industries. Information affects the products quality and its value. With that the research outlined market value of firms are increased for the firms using IT in its core business operations  (Fornell. S, and Mithas. S, 2005). The study found that the new theory evolved in fashion industry due to IT in place. It changed the force of influence and fashion dimension in respect to the type of business (Lee. Jintae and Collar. Emilio, 2002). New Products: The products are serviced is the principle component of marketing as it provides revenue without which commercial activity could not take place. The following are the products used in marketing: Innovative products are completely new to the market. Replacement products might include renowned items with a new design and functions. Imitative products are common and are termed as Me Too products. Re-Launched products occurs when an original product had been declined but the company expects sufficient potential sale if product is altered through manipulating the marketing mix (Geoff. Lancaster and Paul. Reynolds, 2004). New Product success: most established companies focus on incremental innovation can allow companies to enter new markets by adapting existing market offerings for new customers. Seven notion of innovation: See the future through the eyes of yours customer Intellectual property and brand power are key assets. Use digital technology to create tools for customers. Build a championship team, not a group of championship. Innovation is a state of mind Speed is critical so push your organisation Partner up if you are not the best in something (Philip. Kotler, 2009) Technological change and new product development: There are important aspects regarding the impact of the pace of technological change and new product development. The first one in many industries life cycle is shorting. This then creates vicious circle in as much as the marketer must increasingly be looking for new products to replace the outdated ones. Second consequence of the increased pace of technological change is that there is now a premium on being able to develop and launch new products quickly (Geoff. Lancaster., Lester. Massingham Ruth. Ashfor, 2002). Lot of new concepts of business like e-commerce introduced and benefited to firms. It varied firms performance and keeping more available options to function and to develop its operations (Koellinger. P, 2008). ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS By primary research In terms of find out thats what changes has been made in Primark organization, I go through with primary research .I go through with managerial interviews from the Primark FALG SHIP store at oxford street London. I arrange group discussions on www.facebook.com to get the customer view that, are the customer are getting the results in the result of the company efforts. I met the store manager INA RANKIN and Dept. store manager MIA RAJ to find out recent innovation made by the company that influenced by technology. I done long time interview to collect valuable information and then elaborate in this assignment. (See appendices 1 for detail inerview) In the result of the interview we found some of the very significant changes that made by Primark and we point out below. New ordering and distribution system: Quality improvement. New Product Line. Cut the cost of packing. Improvement of store operations. Return and exchange policy. Digital administration system  [2]  . Reduction in customers queue  [3]   Treat in Primark ethical trading managed with IT  [4]  . Now I will have a look on each change in a little bit detail Quality improvement: Company constantly improving his quality of product and fitting to give the customer real satisfaction and value for money and the company always introduce new and improve technology in the manufacturing process. New Product Line: Primark introducing hundreds of new product lines every week to deliver up to date fashion regarding the customer needs and demand, when a new fashion introduce in the market its only take six weeks to come in company stores and it because of the advance and improve technological innovation. Primark introduced new product range as well like Denim Co, Butler and Webb range, Rebel, Early days and Backswing. Cut the cost of packing: Primark believes to deliver good quality products on affordable price, so company always try to find out new ways to minimize the price. In these days company made a strategy that to cut the cost of packing. Improvement of store operations: All the stores of Primark having a huge amount of customers every time and the pressure on the tilling was too much excessive, to reduce the customer check out time in long queues Primark installing more tills in every store, it helps the Primark to improve customer services and profitability as well. Return and Exchange Policy: Primark recently change its return and exchange policy. Prior if you want to return or exchange a product you could do only in same country with in 14 days but now you can return or exchange within 28 days and whichever country you want where company stores exist. Digital administration system: The Digital Administrative Management system (DAD) with Business Collaborators management solution providers has introduced to control of large information at one time and eliminated paper plans decreased admin costs by 50 percent as well as reduced confusion with overloading emails. Specifically it is supported to new store development functions. Good communication flow has been taking place with the system to control the information in an efficient way. Reduction in customers queue: An electronic call forward system is adopted to improve customer transaction times and minimise queuing at Primark. Treat in Primark ethical trading managed with IT In the past years, Primark is largely criticised in its gap in ethical trading systems with suppliers who are employing illegal migrant workers. Now new software having a tool Entropy will look the global suppliers to check the mandatory code of conduct of suppliers. Entropy is a web based supply chain audit systems, the remedial actions and quality of working environments can be checked. This is entirely a global system has its visibility and tools of greater control. Business Methodology of Primark Primark is the one of the largest company in UK related to ready mad garments, following are the business points of business methodology. Push urgency up: push up all the resources and skills for enhancement of quality in the field of garments industry using the high skilled and motivated team. Adaptation of new technology for control management process and ETI are significant practical way of getting in, with new information technology as Laudon and laudon 2008. New ordering system is a good example of JIT and Supply chain management. Primark all the time follow high moral and ethic values to serve customers and all member of organization. Its possible when customers happy and beneficial parallel with company in the industry. Interdicting new product lines, improvement of products quality, improving of operations management all are very relevant to TQM and Retail management theories. Primark has philosophy to provide facility of margin, benefits regarding price vice, quality vice, designing services and as well as with employees satisfaction, production, sale, logistic management and innovation for reducing cost and better management. Recommendations Primark should introduce online trading/purchasing. These will help them to increase their revenues, generate more profits and create customer value. It will also help them to become number one Retail firm in the UK. Primark should try to eliminate the perception of low quality from the Customers mind by introducing new products and offering a better quality and keeping the same price range. Primark should expand their business in developing countries. Primark should concentrate on Ethical trading where suppliers are employing unskilled labours to manufacture the clothing and are also offering them low pay scale which in turn is affecting the reputation of the Company. Primark should serve customers of all age groups and not just youngsters. Conclusion In this current credit crunch period where most of the companies are going to close down and some of them are struggling for their survival, Primark is the only organisation who is doing considerably well in this recession time. The only reason is that they are doing well is because they have understood the concept of innovation and change management. Innovation is very important for the organisation but people are scared to adapt and put themselves in innovation process as they dont know whether innovation will be good or bad for them or for their organisation. Primark has adapted to change and innovation has introduced various systems to operate their work efficiently and effectively. They are also opening new stores which are more spacious than before. The reason for their success is innovation. Innovation in Technology management and organisation plays a very important role in todays world of science.   References Albert N. (2006), Public Private Partnership Innovation Strategies and Policy Alternatives. USA: Spring Science + Business Media. Berman, B. and Evans, J. (2006) Retail Management a strategic approach. 10th ed., US, Pearson Prentice Hall. Chopra, S. and Meindl, P. (2007) Supply Chain Management. 3rd ed., USA: Pearson Education. Cooper, M.C., Lambert, M.D., Pagh, J.D., The International journal of logistics and Management, 1997, Volume-8, Page-1-14) Ettlie, J., (2006) Managing Innovation, 2nd , Butter worth-Heinemann Elsevier Fornell,C.,Krishnan,M.S.,and Mithas,S., Effect on Information Technology investments on Customer Satisfaction:Theory and Evidence,Ross school of Business Working Paper Series,Working Paper No.971,June 2005,pp 25-28 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innovation http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2237685/primark-turns-manage-ethical [Accessed 12 August 2010] http://www.groupbc.com/clients/cases/Primark_Factsheet.pdf [Accessed 13 August 2010] http://www.quickmba.com/marketing/product/lifecycle/ [Accessed 20 August 2010] Huber, G.P. Glick, W.H. (1995) Organisational change and redesign. 1st ed., US: Oxford University Press. Koellinger, P., (May, 2008) The Relationship between Technology, Innovation, and Firm Performance, Empirical Evidence on E-Business in Europe, ERIM Report Series Reference No.2008-031 Kotler, P. (2009) Marketing Management. London: Prentice Hall. Kotter, J. P. and Cohen, D. S. (2002) The heart of change. USA: Harvard Business Press. Kshetri, Nir,Institutional Factors Affecting Offshore Business Process and Information Technology Outsourcing, Journal of International Management, Vol. 13, No. 1, 2007. Lambert, D. M. (2008), Supply Chain Management. 3rd ed., Pearson Education. Lancaster G. and Reynolds P., (2004) Marketing. Wales UK, Palgrave Macmillan. Lancaster G., Massingham L. and Ashford R., (2002) Essentials of Marketing. 4th ed., London, McGraw-Hill. Laudon, J. and Laudon, K., (2008) Essentials of Management Information systems. 8th ed., Pearson Education. Laudon, K. C. and Laudon, J. P. (2009) Management Information Systems. 11th ed., USA: Pearson Education. Lee, Jintae and Collar,Emilio, Information Technology Fashions(June 2002), MIT Sloan Working Paper No. 4251-02,CCS No. 219 Mello et al (2006), Value Innovation Portfolio Management. Lauderdale, J. Ross Publishing. Nieto, M. (2006) An introduction to Human Resource Management. England: Palgrave Macmillan. Roger B. and Russel R. [2002], Innovative Leader. Managing Innovation by Managers, 11(5) Turner,J.,Laudon,Kenneth, Inforamtion technology and management strategy, NYU Working Paper No.IS-88-26,Feb 1988 www.bnet.com [Accessed on 12 August, 2010] www.Fashion.infomat [Accessed 15 August 2010]

Effect of the Internet on Brain and Cognition

Effect of the Internet on Brain and Cognition Robert Deichert Research Article Review Article 1: â€Å"Searching for Explanations: How the Internet Inflates Estimates of Internal Knowledge† (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Published online March 30, 2015) Matthew Fisher, Mariel Goddu, and Frank Keil, the three researchers in charge of this study, were interested in studying the Internet’s effects on the brain and cognition. More specifically, they wanted to find out if having access to the Internet for the purpose of searching for answers to general knowledge questions would increase one’s self-assessment of confidence in answering other questions unrelated to the original Internet-based questions. In introducing the topic, the researchers introduced the idea of a transactive memory system a system wherein multiple individuals encode and retrieve memories and information as a whole. This allows individuals in a group to divide cognitive tasks between group members, and it reduces the mental load on each individual within the group. As an example, in the case of a three-person hunting and gathering group, one individual may be responsible for remembering where to find food, another with how to hunt animals, and another with how to cook the food. Each individual does not have to remember all three the entire set of information is stored across the memory systems of all three individuals. All individuals are required to work together and piece together their individual stores of knowledge to hunt and gather food, and all individuals rely on each other for information. This is a transactive memory system. The idea behind this study is that, theoretically, one individual and the Internet can form a sort of transactive memory system in which the individual feels that the vast stores of knowledge on the Internet are readily accessible at any time, and the individual will feel much more confident in his or her ability to answer general knowledge questions simply because he or she can query an Internet search engine (the other party in this sort of transactive memory system) at any time and access the knowledge stored on the Internet. To test this hypothesis, the researchers used a between subjects design with two groups of participants and two conditions. Participants in the first group were asked a series of general knowledge questions and told to use the Internet to find answers. Participants in the second group were asked the same set of general knowledge questions; however, they were told not to use the Internet to find answers. After this, participants from both groups were asked to rate their ability to answer unrelated questions from various subjects. The study didn’t test actual ability to answer subsequent, unrelated questions, but rather perceived ability, or confidence. The resulted showed that participants who used the Internet to look up general knowledge questions prior to being asked to rate their confidence in answering other questions were significantly more confident in their ability to answer the subsequent, unrelated questions than the individuals who did not use the Internet to search for answers to the initial knowledge questions. Various additional experiments were performed by the researchers to account for time spent answering questions while searching the internet and whether participants were considering Internet knowledge when self-assessing confidence. Additionally, the study showed that this confidence-boosting effect is a result of having access to and using an Internet search engine. After using an internet search engine, participants were much more confident in their own knowledge and in their ability to answer any other general knowledge question, even though the knowledge was not stored in their mind but on the Internet. Article 2: â€Å"Narcissism and the Use of Personal Pronouns Revisited† (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Published online March 30, 2015) In this study, researchers wanted to determine whether or not a connection exists between an individual’s usage of â€Å"I-talk† and his or her level of narcissism. â€Å"I-talk† is the use of first-person singular pronouns such as I, me, and my. It is a commonly held belief that individuals who talk about themselves frequently and use a large amount of I-talk are more narcissistic than those who do not. However, this intuitive relationship between I-talk and narcissism hasn’t been thoroughly tested and concretely proven or disproven. The goal of this study was to definitively identify a relationship between the two, if such a relationship exists at all. Very few studies have been done on this topic, and the results of those studies have been inconsistent. Additionally, previous studies on this topic have not employed very large sample sizes. This research study’s goal was to come to a concrete conclusion on the topic by employing a very large sample size and answering a few related questions concerning the relationship between gender, I-talk, and narcissism and context, I-talk, and narcissism. To accomplish this goal, researchers set up a large database of information from over 4,000 participants and 15 individual samples collected across five laboratories in the US and Germany. Each sample contained anywhere between 68 (in the case of Sample 2) and 1,209 (in the case of Sample 14) participants. Each sample was assigned to participate in a different activity designed to identify usage of I-talk in participants. For example, in Sample 1, university Psychology students videotaped self-descriptions that were later transcribed and analyzed for I-talk. In Sample 4, university Psychology students were seated in a classroom at random and asked to individually step forward and introduce themselves to the other participants in the classroom. They also participated in various other tasks, including writing down attributes about themselves and rating the other students’ presentations. Everything was transcribed, recorded, and analyzed for I-talk usage. Other samples involved a nalyzing participants’ Facebook status updates, performing a stream-of-consciousness recording task, and other various activities designed to allow for the measurement of I-talk. Additionally, each group’s assigned task was categorized based on the context of the activity prescribed by the task. These included identity, personal, impersonal, private, public, and momentary thought contexts. After each participant in each sample group participated in the prescribed activity, he or she completed a narcissistic personality questionnaire and a self-esteem test. Most participants were administered the 40-item or 16-item Narcissistic Personality Inventory and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem test. After analyzing the data, the researchers found that there is not a statistically significant connection between I-talk and narcissism. Participants’ self-esteem and narcissism scores had no significant correlation with their usage of I-talk. Additionally, the context of the activity did not affect this finding. There was a slightly higher correlation between male participants’ use of I-talk and narcissism than females’ use of I-talk and narcissism, but it was still statistically insignificant and near-zero, just as for the female participants. The researchers found that, contrary to popular belief, there is no connection between I-talk and narcissism, and this applies to all conversational contexts and genders. Article 3: â€Å"Finding a Needle in a Haystack: Toward a Psychologically Informed Method for Aviation Security Screening† (Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Published online November 3, 2014) The researchers involved in this study identified a significant problem with current aviation security screening procedures and introduced a new security screening method of their own creation. They provide experimental evidence suggesting that their method is much more accurate and consistent in detecting deceptive passengers passing through airport security checkpoints. Currently, most aviation security checkpoints employ a behavioral method of deception recognition. Security screeners look for nonverbal behavioral cues from passengers that may indicate that the passenger is trying to deceive the security screener, including twitching, nervousness, aggressiveness, fidgeting, and some verbal indicators such as stumbling over words and hesitating while speaking. This method results in an alarmingly low rate of passenger deception detection of 5%. This is, according to the researchers, a result of the failure of this method to account for the real content of the passenger’s verbal account and the truthfulness of his or her statements. The researchers proposed an alternative method of screening called Controlled Cognitive Engagement (CCE), which was developed based on laboratory studies done on veracity testing techniques in two-person verbal exchanges. CCE does not focus on behavioral cues, but rather on the actual verbal exchange and conversation content between screener and passenger. CCE involves a security screener conducting a short, one-on-one interview with a passenger. The interviewer does not ask scripted questions; instead, the interviewer uses a process to create new questions in real time for the passenger that are based on the conversational context of the interview. CCE is trained to security screeners as an algorithm that the screeners can use while conducting an interview to create unique questions for each passenger that are designed specifically to test for passenger truthfulness. Interviewers can then analyze a passenger’s answers to all of the question for consistency and, thus, truthful ness. To experimentally test CCE and compare it to the traditional, behavioral method of aviation screening, the study employed two groups of security agents and two groups of passengers. The first group of security agents was assigned to use traditional behavior-based screening at a checkpoint, and the second group was assigned to use CCE screening. The first passenger group was a genuine group of passengers selected from individuals passing through the airport checkpoint. The second group of passengers was a sample of individuals chosen by the researchers to pass through the same security checkpoint, but with a deceptive cover story being told to screeners. The two passenger groups were matched in composition by the researchers. The researchers measured the rate of detection of deceptive passengers for non-CCE security agents and CCE security agents. The results of the study show that veracity testing methods, like the CCE method developed by the researchers, are significantly more effective at detecting deceptive passengers. Traditional behavior-based screening methods only detected about 5% of deceptive passengers in this study, but CCE, a method of veracity testing, detected 66% of deceptive passengers.

False Consensus Effect :: essays research papers

False Consensus Effect: A Focused Review of Research Categorization and social projection are important ways that people can more successfully navigate their social environment. People need to know that there are others in their in-group that share the same attitudes and behaviors as they do. If people are unable to determine how many people in their environment share their attitudes and behaviors, it would be more difficult to engage in social situations without offending or contradicting others. For this reason, false consensus is an interesting offshoot of this important idea. The false consensus effect refers to the fact that people have a tendency to over-estimate the proportion of the population that shares an attitude or behavior with him or her. Much of the research on false consensus has demonstrated that people tend to over project how many members of their in-group are likely to share their attitudes and behaviors. This effect diminishes when comparing to an out-group. It is thought that this occurs because people feel that people who they do not consider to share a group identity with will likely have different basic attitudes and behaviors than they. An important aspect of the literature is that the vast majority used college students as the primary subjects. While this is extremely convenient for researchers, it may not give us a clear picture about false consensus, in that it is possible that college students' limited "real-world experience" may be influencing their projections. Also, almost all of the behavior measures were taken by self-report. This is somewhat necessary, as many of the behaviors would be difficult to measure directly (e.g., drug use) without a breach of ethics. This too is a source of potential source of error, it is likely that the self-reports would under-estimate the proportion of the population that engages in a particular behavior. The astute reader may notice that this review does not include any papers that did not find a false consensus effect. The reason for this is not that this paper is not representative of the literature, but rather, that it is. The uniformity of the literature suggests that the phenomenon is fairly common. Some interesting arguments as to why this is are motivational or cognitive in nature. The motivational premise is based in the idea that people are motivated to believe that they have a place in their social environment. This argument is a based in self-justification, in that if many people share a given belief or behavior, it makes it easier to justify that this attitude or behavior is either right, or not as bad as it might seem.

Culture and Values Terms :: essays research papers

High and Popular Culture High culture is a term referring to the "best of breed" (from some elitist viewpoints) cultural products. What falls in this category is defined by the most powerful sections of society, i.e. its social, political, economic and intellectual elite. The opposite of high cultural art forms, such as the opera, historic art, classical music, traditional theatre or literature; popular culture includes many forms of cultural communication including newspapers, television, advertising, comics, pop music, radio, cheap novels, movies, jazz, etc. In the beginning of the 20th Century, "high art" was the realm of the wealthy and educated classes while popular culture or "low art" was considered commercial entertainment for the lower classes. In the 1950s and 60s the gap between high and low art closed with the rise of Pop Art. Post colonialism This term describes the situation in existence since a majority of countries have achieved their political independence from Britain and other Western European powers such as Spain, France, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Post colonialism describes the cultural, intellectual, political, and literary movement of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries characterized by the representation and analysis of the historical experiences of the victims, individuals and nations, of colonial power. A recent site of postcolonial change in the English-speaking world is the formal overthrowing of the "apartheid" system in South Africa. Post colonialism has transformed our sense of what we are about; and such impressive changes will naturally have important implications on English studies. Multiculturalism Similar to Post colonialism, multiculturalism has transformed our sense of what society and culture is about. Multiculturalism describes the status of several different ethnic, racial, religious or cultural groups co-existing in harmony in the same society. The existence of multiculturalism in the Western World today has expanded the English literary world, displacing the narrow notions of literature and increasing recognition of non-Western-European genres of writing, oral performance and cultural production for example legends, histories, laws, fables, anecdotes, oratory, song, chant, and song and dance. Culture itself is a broad term, therefore there are various views on what multicultural can mean. It can describe the existence of a multiracial society, in which case emphasis is placed on people's physical attributes i.e. Hair texture and skin colour. It can also describe the existence of multiethnic society, where the emphasis is placed more on people's social organisation or cu lture rather than physical make-up. Cultural differences of all kinds that exist in society can also describe the term multiculturalism, including differences of class, rank, caste, sexuality, gender, occupation, region, age etc. Culture and Values Terms :: essays research papers High and Popular Culture High culture is a term referring to the "best of breed" (from some elitist viewpoints) cultural products. What falls in this category is defined by the most powerful sections of society, i.e. its social, political, economic and intellectual elite. The opposite of high cultural art forms, such as the opera, historic art, classical music, traditional theatre or literature; popular culture includes many forms of cultural communication including newspapers, television, advertising, comics, pop music, radio, cheap novels, movies, jazz, etc. In the beginning of the 20th Century, "high art" was the realm of the wealthy and educated classes while popular culture or "low art" was considered commercial entertainment for the lower classes. In the 1950s and 60s the gap between high and low art closed with the rise of Pop Art. Post colonialism This term describes the situation in existence since a majority of countries have achieved their political independence from Britain and other Western European powers such as Spain, France, Portugal, Holland, Belgium and Germany. Post colonialism describes the cultural, intellectual, political, and literary movement of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries characterized by the representation and analysis of the historical experiences of the victims, individuals and nations, of colonial power. A recent site of postcolonial change in the English-speaking world is the formal overthrowing of the "apartheid" system in South Africa. Post colonialism has transformed our sense of what we are about; and such impressive changes will naturally have important implications on English studies. Multiculturalism Similar to Post colonialism, multiculturalism has transformed our sense of what society and culture is about. Multiculturalism describes the status of several different ethnic, racial, religious or cultural groups co-existing in harmony in the same society. The existence of multiculturalism in the Western World today has expanded the English literary world, displacing the narrow notions of literature and increasing recognition of non-Western-European genres of writing, oral performance and cultural production for example legends, histories, laws, fables, anecdotes, oratory, song, chant, and song and dance. Culture itself is a broad term, therefore there are various views on what multicultural can mean. It can describe the existence of a multiracial society, in which case emphasis is placed on people's physical attributes i.e. Hair texture and skin colour. It can also describe the existence of multiethnic society, where the emphasis is placed more on people's social organisation or cu lture rather than physical make-up. Cultural differences of all kinds that exist in society can also describe the term multiculturalism, including differences of class, rank, caste, sexuality, gender, occupation, region, age etc.

Hunting and mindset Essay

I believe if you have a fixed mindset it’s never too late to change and adapt to a growth mindset. The growth mindset will lead you to try new things but a fixed mindset will stop you in your tracks causing you only to fail. The type of mindset you have is very important because it will influence your life in many ways. What is the difference between a growth and fixed mindset? Well a growth or positive mindset leads to a desire to learn and therefore a tendency to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, and learn from criticism, and find lessons in the success of others. As a result you will reach even higher levels of achievement. A fixed or negative mindset leads to a tendency to look smart at any cost. Therefore a tendency to avoid challenges, give up easily, see effort as fruitless or worse, ignore useful negative feedback, and feel threatened by the success of others. As a result you will plateau early and achieve less than your full potential. Some of the ways a positive mind set affected my life happened early in my life. For example when I was ten years old I went to camp seven hills and took on archery. It was really hard but I learned it very quickly and never gave up. When I got home from camp I asked my dad if I could go hunting with him once I was old enough and he told me girls cant hunt we are too weak. Because I had a growth mindset I never gave up I practiced without my father every day for three years. I got my hunting license when I was thirteen and went with my friend mike and his parents to their cabin in Olean NY. It was really cold out that day I remember shaking while perched up in my tree I wanted to give up so bad but I wanted to prove my dad wrong and show him that girls can hunt. Finally a 8 point buck walks in my range I got my bow ready and breathing slowly I pull back the arrow aim for the kill spot let go WAMM right threw his lungs. I was so excited knowing I just proved to my father that I can do anything I put my mind to. After I turned fifteen I started to develop more of a fixed mindset towards school which affected my life in many ways. It all started with failing one test and my life spiraled downhill from there. It was 2003 and I thought I was on top of the world I could pass any test without studying and I thought I knew everything, but what I didn’t know is how this stuck up attitude was going to change my life in a huge way. I walked into my class head in the clouds sad down and looked at my test â€Å"spelling ha this is going to be easy† I muttered. I flew through the test handed it in and walked out. The next day I got to class and my teacher handed me my test my jaw dropped â€Å"this has to be a mistake I couldn’t of got only a 63% on my test you had to grade it wrong† I yelled to the teacher. She gave me detention for yelling at her in class but I didn’t bother going I was so mad. I started skipping school and going to parties because at this point I started not to care anymore. When I got home one day my dad grounded me because the school called him and mentioned my behavior to him. I was so mad I ran away from home and started drinking and doing drugs. This caused me to get put in a detention center when I was sixteen and when I got out I moved in with my mother because she didn’t care what I did. Now twenty-three I have started to work at getting back into a positive mindset so I can be a good role model for my daughter. In order for someone to adopt a growth mindset, they would have to care about what their mindset is, understand why they act the way they do, and understand that they can change, and the reason for change, which would be to become a better person, which they would also have to care about. Our mindset will affect us in many ways and it can also affect the people around us which are why we should try to keep a growth mindset.

Master Harold and the Boys Essay

â€Å"Master Harold† †¦and the boys, by the white South African playwright Athol Fugard, is a naturalistic play set in a Tea Room in Port Elizabeth on a rainy day in 1950. Two black servants, Sam and Willie, and their white master’s son Hally (‘Master Harold’), have deep conversations about the good time they had together when Hally was young. In the beginning of the play, Sam and Willie, practice their dancing techniques and talk about an upcoming dance contest. Fugard has created first impressions of situation and characters in the opening of the play by using set design, stage directions, duologue as well as speech and tone. The opening of the play is interpreted as being up to Hally’s first entry. Firstly, the unprofessional and for the audience surprisingly casual and light-hearted situation is created by Fugard’s choice of set design, stage directions and duologue. Secondly, Sam and Willie’s relationship is proven of unequal status, yet intimate and deep, by the difference in speech and tone, and by the choice of topics in the duologue. Finally, initial perceptions of a childish and rude Willie and an intelligent and experienced Sam are constructed through mostly speech and tone. The unprofessional impression of the Tea Room and the carefree and easy going ambiance is created by set design and stage directions, and duologue. Firstly, the amateurish impression of the business is created by the blackboard on which an untrained hand has chalked up the prices of the items, and by the few sad ferns in pots in the room. Furthermore, the fact that Fugard has chosen to clear all tables to one side, suggests that the business is not doing well, because the Tea Room is not likely to be expecting any customers. Secondly, the audience notices immediately that the mood in the room is casual, by letting Willie start off with singing a song as he mops down the floor. This strong mood is then reinforced when Willie suddenly gets up and starts dancing, Sam eagerly encouraging and correcting Willie’s dance technique. The audience must have been surprised by this casual situation, because one must not forget that at the time of the performance, around 1982, apartheid in South Africa was considerably further developed than the setting of the play. The fact that two black men, obviously workers, are without supervision of a white person and that they are enjoying themselves during work must have raised a sense of unease from the spectators, unsure how to react. The relationship between Sam and Willie is profound, yet Sam seems to have a higher status compared to Willie, as suggested by Fugard’s choice of topic of conversation and by the contrast between the terms of address and physical position. To begin with, the way in which both men communicate is very informal. Willie uses plenty of swear words, like â€Å"fuckin’ whore† or â€Å"bitch†, whereas Sam uses a higher register, but is still joking around with Willie (â€Å"How’s your pillow with the quickstep?†). This use of language suggests that both men feel at ease and that they have known each other for a very long time already. A sense of intimate relationship is also created by the topics of conversation. Willie is very open with Sam about his relationship with Hilda Samuels, as when he talks about the problems buying food for their baby of which he isn’t even sure it is his son (â€Å"Only his hair looks like me.†); he shows no hesitation to discuss the matter with Sam. Sam even knows that Willie often beats up his girlfriend, suggesting that they have been living alongside for a long time. The audience realises that it is watching an intimate conversation, which makes them attentive, curious and involved in the discussion. Secondly, Sam’s higher social position is suggested by the contrast between the way Sam addresses Willie and vice versa, almost like a teacher-student relation. Sam suggests improvements for Willie’s dance technique, as â€Å"Don’t look down!† or â€Å"But you’re too stiff!†, as well as how he could be more successful in his relationships with girlfriends (â€Å"You hit her too much.†) and Willie reacts willingly to take up the advice. Also, Sam demonstrates the dance as it should be, suggesting that Sam is more experienced. Lastly, a subtle but symbolic detail is the physical positioning of Sam and Willie at the very beginning of the play: Willie is mopping down the floor on his knees, working, while Sam is flicking through a comic book, standing, and obviously not working. Fugard has visualised their relationship by the contrast between kneeling and sitting, and working and relaxing, and this can in fact be applied to the entire rest of the play. Sam is portrayed as a confident, intelligent and experienced character through his speech and tone. The way Sam guides Willie through the learning process of the quickstep, and even demonstrates a much more accomplished dance than Willie, indicates he is a skillful dancer himself. Fugard has made the audience feel sympathy towards Sam, as he encourages Willie, â€Å"Look happy, Willie! Relax Willie!†, although Willie is a hopeless dancer. Fugard represents Willie’s character as slightly vulnerable, unexperienced, and as a bad lover through his reactions to Sam’s teasing, the difficulties he has with learning the quickstep and through his description of his relationship with girlfriends. Willie is very quickly frustrated by Sam’s advice, like â€Å"Yesterday I’m not straight †¦ today I’m too stiff!† and â€Å"I try hard because it is hard.†. Willie’s incapability to cope with Sam’s teasing once even results in a small brawl between the two of them: â€Å"It’s finish between us.† Furthermore, Willie is clearly a bad love partner, confirmed when he describes his girlfriend as a â€Å"whore† and a â€Å"bitch†, but which is, quite ironically, provoked by himself hitting his girlfriend every once in a while. This, together with his vulgar choice of language, results in an aversion from the audience to Willie. To conclude, Fugard has managed to create strong first impressions in the opening of the play in terms of situation and characters. He has used set design, stage directions and duologue to create an unprofessional and casual ambience. In terms of characters, Fugard has succeeded in associating strong characteristic features to Sam and Willie, both intimate friends, yet separated in a way by an intellectual line.