The short stories of Katherine Mansfield Essay Example

The short stories of Katherine Mansfield Paper The short stories of Katherine Mansfield can largely be divided into two distinct categories. The first of which deals mostly in satirising and somewhat flippantly portraying the affluent middle class society of early twentieth-century England. Such short stories are often seen by critics as failing to contend with any serious or significant social issues, and are rather a mocking imitation of bourgeois life. The latter group of Mansfields short stories can be said to depict a somewhat deeper and more understanding sense of life, in which Mansfield explores a plethora of emotional and psychological concerns through her characters. It is in these stories where the joys and terrors of sexuality and mortality can be found through Mansfields exploration of an ordinary mind on an ordinary day. Perhaps the story that most clearly delves into the issue of sexuality is Mansfields most provocative and controversial short story Bliss. Upon its publication, Bliss was subject to much criticism; Virginia Woolf claimed that it was uninteresting, while T.S. Eliot asserted that it was without moral and social ramification. Though it is clear to see why such a radical story might not have been appreciated in its time, Bliss is far more than the predictable love-triangle tale is appears to be from the surface. The underlying theme of the story is a tentative insight into the nature of female sexuality. We will write a custom essay sample on The short stories of Katherine Mansfield specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The short stories of Katherine Mansfield specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The short stories of Katherine Mansfield specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The scene in which Bertha and Pearl stand next to one another admiring the tree in the garden is clearly symbolic in terms of sexuality and undoubtedly tests the boundaries of female homoeroticism. And the two women stood side by side looking at the slender, flowering tree. Although it was so still it seemed, like the flame of a candle, to stretch up, to point, to quiver in the bright air, to grow taller and taller as they gazed almost to touch the rim of the round, silver moon. The pear tree in the story comes to symbolise Berthas character, she sees aspects of herself in it. The fact that she dresses in white, green and jade for the dinner party (the same colours as the tree) is no coincidence, and is a suggestion of her subconscious comparison between herself and the tree. In a similar way, Pearl is likened throughout to the Moon through Mansfields imagery. Pearl is dressed all in silver, the same colour the Moon is described as, her fingers like moonbeams, are so slender that a pale light seemed to come from them. Her cool arm, heavy eyelids and mysterious half smile all seem to imply a similarity between Pearl and the Moon. Furthermore, Pearls name itself can be seen as an example of imagery, as a pearl can be likened to the Moon in terms of its shape and colour. With this in mind, the scene symbolises the sexual tension between Bertha and Pearl, and Bertha subconscious homoerotic desire for Pearl. The two characters gaze outwards through the window in consideration of their two respective symbols. The juxtaposition of the tree and the Moon, and the fact that the tree is stretching upwards in an attempt to reach (and presumably penetrate) the round Moon, can be seen as Berthas desire for Pearl. The fluctuating experience continues immediately after this scene, as Bertha suddenly moves away from Bertha, and begins to fix her sights upon her husband once again. As those last words something strange and almost terrifying darted into Berthas mind. And this something blind and smiling whispered to her: Soon these people will go. The house will be quiet quiet. The lights will be out and you will be alone together in the dark room the warm bed We are told at this point that for the first time in her life Bertha Young desired her husband, yet it seems odd that this sudden shift back towards her husband should come straight after her moment with Pearl Fulton. Her emotions and strong feeling of lust for her husband are triggered by her subconscious desire for Pearl. Through this radical example, Mansfield explores the free flowing sexuality of women in early 20th century England, and delves into the concept of lesbianism something almost unheard of at the time of writing. In terms of Mansfields juxtaposition of the ordinary with the sexual, throughout Bliss, Berthas descriptions of the most mundane and routine things have sexual undertones. She takes note of Pearl rolling a tangerine between her fingers, and describes how Harry loves the white flesh of a lobster. Food and the concept of eating seem to evoke a deep sense of lust in Bertha and as such contribute to the fluctuating experience of an ordinary mind. The twist at the end of the story is somewhat ironic. Whilst Bertha has imagined throughout, the possibility of engaging in sexual relations with both Harry and Pearl, she later finds out that the pair are already lovers. By reaching this conclusion, Mansfield does not grant Bertha her bliss (repressed sexual desire), she has become a third wheel and an outsider in the relationship. Mansfields outlook on death and mortality can also be clearly seen within her work. One story that clearly deals with the question of mortality is At the Bay, and like Bliss this tale has been praised for its seemingly simplistic storyline combined with a deep and significant underlying meaning. Through symbols and motifs, Mansfield raises questions about the nature of our existence. The key recurring motif, which runs throughout, is that of the sun. The imagery Mansfield chooses to use through the story creates a deep sense of interconnection the feeling that everything around us is relevant and purposeful. The story, though seeming to be concerned mainly with family relationships and the tension that inevitably comes with them, also takes into account the anxiety of death, which was a huge concern at the time. The sun in the story is seen as a powerful and fiery force, marking time and creating routine. Its inescapable and monotonous schedule not only creates unity amongst all humans, but also limits all actions. The link created between time and the sun is significant in highlighting Mansfields concern with the shortness as well as the limitations of life. Even the characters within the story seem to recognize the influence and potentially damaging nature of the sun. Stanleys daily routine mirrors the sun he wakes as the sun rises, and returns home when it sets. Meanwhile, other characters such as Mrs Fairfield seek to avoid the sun through the course of the story and Uncle William is referred to, as we hear that he went to the mines, andgot a sunstroke there and died. There is an undertone of death, and anxiousness about morality that run throughout, and these can be strongly linked to the presence of the sun. In conclusion, it is clear to see the way Mansfield creates a fluctuating experience of an ordinary mind, and hints strongly at the joys and terrors of both sexuality and mortality. In Bliss we are allowed to see a fairly biased insight into the life of a woman with free flowing sexual desires which transcend the bounds of heterosexuality. Mansfields clever imagery and juxtaposition of the ordinary with the strong sexual desires of Bertha clearly create the impression of an ordinary woman trying to break free from normal social constraints and express her repressed sexual desire. Bertha is not only curious and excited about her subconscious thoughts, but at the same time terrified about the implications and consequences they may have. The idea of ordinary minds and ordinary lives continues in At the Bay, where Mansfield cleverly creates a story which seems to be concerned with family ties and tensions, yet beneath the surface delves into a whole host of issues regarding mortality and death. The sun is highly significant in At the Bay, the characters in the story live by it and at the same time fear it. It controls their lives and has the potential to bring death. It is through the sun that Mansfield highlights the anxieties of death and mortality.

Latin Verbs - Deponents

Latin Verbs - Deponents Deponent verbs are active in meaning and passive in form.This means that if you see a deponent like conor, you must translate it as an active verb; here: I try. In the dictionary, you will see the verb for to try listed as conor, -ari, -atus sum try Conor is the present passive first person singular indicative, but because the verb is deponent, it is translated as if it were active.Conari is the present passive infinitive. Because of the a. you can tell this is a first conjugation verb. Conari is translated as if it were an active infinitive: to try.The third entry in a non-deponent verb is the third principal part, which gives you the perfect active stem. If the verb were laudo, you would seeRemove the i from laud avi and you have the perfect stem. There is none in the case of conor, because in deponent verbs, the third principal part is skipped.laudo, -are, -avi, - atus praiseConatus sum is the perfect passive participle plus the first person of the verb for to be. In a non-deponent verb, this form would give you the perfect passive, but here the form gives you the perfect active: I tried. In a non-deponent verb, the sum would not be added.Except where the forms are missing, deponent verbs are conjugated just as other verbs in their conjugations.Latin Grammar Tips Latin SupineLatin Verb EndingsLatin ImperativesLatin InfinitivesLatin Verbs - Person and NumberLatin Words - Where Do You Add on Endings?Passive Periphrastic

Application of Electrical Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Application of Electrical Technology - Assignment Example In industrial applications, the switchgear is constructed with high-voltage circuit breakers and they may be lined-up together with the transformers in one unitized substation (USS). Switchgear de-energize loads in order to allow work to be done and also to enable clearing of faults downstream power systems. In the construction of protection relays, the current coil of the relay is connected to the secondary current coil of the transformer. Moreover, the secondary voltage coil of the transformer is connected to the voltage coil of the protection relay. When a fault occurs in the circuit feeder, an increased mmf of a current coil of the relay is triggered. The increased mmf closes the normally open contact of the relay that in return closes and completes the DC Trip Coil Circuit. The mmf of the Trip Coil initiates a tripping mechanical movement on the circuit breaker that causes it to isolate the fault. A sub-station refers to a part of an electrical generation, distribution, and transmission that that performs the function of voltage transformation from high to low and vice versa. A power plant refers to an installation that is used for the production of electricity while a power equipment refers to any equipment that is powered by electricity. A ring is an electrical wiring technique that enables the use of wires of smaller diameter than the ones used in the radial circuit, but of equivalent total current. On the other hand, feeders refer to a set of electric conductors that transmit power from the primary distributor centers to secondary distribution centers or branch-circuit distribution centers. An isolation transformer is installed between an AC power source and medical grade equipment in order to protect patients and staff from electric shocks in case faults occur due to the defectiveness of a medical grade equipment or use of a non-medical grade.

Someone to Respect and Admire Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Someone to Respect and Admire - Research Paper Example He earned his electrical engineering degree from Mysore University. He later earned his degree in computer science Indian institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. IIT is treated as one of the top engineering colleges in the country. In 1981 Mr. Murthy founded Infosys Technologies alongside six of his friends. Some will even be surprised to know that none of the friends actually ha the capital of start the company. However wife of Mr. Murthy, who also happened to be an engineer by profession had somehow managed to save Rs. 1000 i.e. $250 that was donated by her for the company. Since then it really has been a fairy tale. From the extreme modest beginning the company has become a corporate giant achieving one success after the other. In 2001 the company became was chosen as the best managed company in the Asia. It is also the biggest exporters of software from India. From its humble beginnings the company has expanded its horizon and is present in all over the globe with over 60 offices including the U.S. (Barney, 2010, p.216). Essence of integrity and Ethics in the leadership The best way to focus on the essence of integrity and ethics is probably through an example. With an objective to interview Mr. Murthy an interviewer once visited the office of his. It is said that at that point of time the company had suffered loss in stock value growth. When the topic was asked to Mr. Murthy the answer given by him was amazing, inspirational and ethical to say the least. As per Mr. Murthy the advice given him to the colleagues in not too look at the stock market as it was believed by him that there is so very little to look at the stock. According to him to main objective of the company must be to maintain transparency to the investors, no to violate the law of the land and maintain harmony in the society and deliver quality products to the clients on time (Singhal, 2003, P.45). Insight into the leader Mr. Narayana Murthy is truly an inspirational leader to say the least. I t has already been discussed about the journey of the company from its modest beginning to the pinnacle of success. It was once said by him only that a true leader is the one who leads from front. A true leader leads by example. He sacrifices more than anyone in the quest of excellence. It has always been the belief of his that if confidence is provided to the people tremendous things can be achieved. It has been the belief of the great man that people having entrepreneurial strengths must have ideas which are marketable in nature. Success can’t be achieved alone, the very essence learnt by him at a very young age from his father paid rich evidence in the success as he believed that entrepreneurship is a marathon but a hundred meter dash. In the year 199 the company became the first registered Indian company listed on American stock exchange. As per a poll by Asiaweek Mr. Murthy was chosen as one of the most powerful people in Asia. He was also voted as the best CEO (Murthy, 2010, p.9). The standouts of the person The factors influencing the success of Mr. Murthy are undoubtedly his vision. Once it was said by him that beyond certain point money should only be treated as a power and opportunity to give something back to society. Over the course of time this has always been backed up through his actions. The driving force behind his success is not destination, but the love of the journey. Here another example must be taken. It has become a corporate culture to work for late hours, something which is a

The problems facing itc

The problems facing itc Report Purpose This report has been compiled by the Director of Human Resources at the request of the Board of Directors. Following on from the recent study of the organisation by external consultants, a number of problem areas have been identified in relation to HR practices, policies and implementation. It is the purpose of this report to analyse the findings of the study compiled by the consultants and recommend the courses of action necessary to address the problems identified The Problems Facing ITC The organisation is currently comprised of four separate functions: administration, production, retail, and customer service. These functions are spread over a number of sites with administration and production sharing a single site, retail function operating from several locations, and customer service spread across three call centres. The problems which are facing the organisation vary depending on the function and location. The administration function of head office and the production function of the factory are both based on the same geographical site. Although the functions are working in close proximity to each other they are very different in terms of working conditions, practices, and pay systems. These differences are creating tensions across the departments and leading to a â€Å"them and us† culture. Some of the differences identified include; bonus scheme in the factory but not the head office, poorer working conditions in the factory compared to head office, lack of subsidised canteen for factory staff which is available to administrative staff. Some problems are common to both functions such as lack of promotion opportunities for internal candidates and poor general perception of staff abilities by managers. As well as these, the factory also suffers from a blame culture apparently fostered by poor product quality. The retail outlets have a separate set of problems. There is potentially a discrimination problem in the recruitment and selection processes employed for managerial staff. There are currently no female managers of retail outlets and there has been at least one complaint of discrimination referred to a trade union by an unsuccessful female candidate for promotion. This complaint has received the backing of a number of the individuals colleagues. The call centres are very highly pressured, time-oriented environments in which to work. There are significant pressures to deal with customer enquiries quickly and to sell as many new packages as possible. Pressure is exerted by supervisors whose salaries are dependent on the abilities of the centre staff to generate income through sales. Across the organisation there is a general feeling that staff are underpaid in relation to competitors and not valued as an asset of the organisation. There is an increasing trend towards trade union membership which is probably a sign of growing disaffection within the workforce as a whole. There are also a growing number of customer complaints, mainly directed at retail and customer service staff as they are the customer-facing part of the organisation. These complaints are generally centred on lack of knowledge of products on the part of retail staff and poor customer service from the call centre staff. As detailed there are a multitude of different problems facing ITC with the lack of consistency of treatment of staff across the organisation and poor communication of organisational values being major contributing factors. The morale of the workforce is low and there is a lack of loyalty to the organisation demonstrated by high levels of staff turnover. It is not purely a matter of low salaries as it has been recognised that staff leave the company to work for other organisations for little in the way of additional reward. The managerial and supervisory staff also appear to be unable and/or unwilling to tackle the problems which leaves the staff with no alternative but to seek advice and assistance from the trade unions. The consultants reported that there is no inherent problem with the quality of the core workforce but that the managerial staff are not sufficiently competent to be able to recognise and build on the attributes of the workforce. This combination of factors and probl ems could potentially all be explained within the concept of employee engagement. The main thrust of this report will, therefore, concentrate on the implementation of an employee engagement programme as an initial means of addressing the issues currently facing ITC. Other means of tackling the identified problems over the longer term will also be discussed and recommendations made. Employee Engagement The CIPD (2009) define engagement as â€Å"†¦creating opportunities for employees to connect with their colleagues, managers and wider organisation. It is also about creating an environment where employees are motivated to want to connect with their work and really care about doing a good job.† Why is employee engagement relevant to ITC? Almost all examples quoted in the consultant findings demonstrate an out-and-out lack of employee engagement; moreover, the opposite appears to be the case. At this point, it is important to note that a global survey by BlessingWhite Intelligence (2008) on the state of employee engagement found that that â€Å"Indian workers are among the most focused and satisfied in the world†. In the Asia-Pacific groupings, full engagement for Indian employees reaches 34% in comparison to the lowest of only 10% for China. Moreover, over 65% of respondents said ‘yes when asked if, assuming they had the choice, they would hope to remain within their organisation in 2008. From this, the apparent lack of employee engagement and retention issues apparent within ITC would appear to point to something we are doing wrong as a company. The first question should be: Why is employee engagement important? Links between employee attitudes, employee management and business performance have been repeatedly demonstrated in CIPD (Nov 2009) research, and the Aberdeen Group (2009) reported only this year that 82% of ‘Best-in-Class organisations attributed employee engagement initiatives directly to transformations in revenue and / or profitability. Employee engagement spills into the concept of the ‘psychological contract. The ‘psychological contract is a popular framework within which aspects of the employee relationship can be studied (Bratton Gold, 2007; 14). Guest and Conway (2002) define it as â€Å"the perceptions of the two parties, employee and employer, of what their mutual obligations are towards each other†. These obligations tend to differ from individual-to- individual and are often imprecise / unspoken and inferred â€Å"from actions or from what has happened in the past, as well as from statements made by the employer†(CIPD Nov 2009). This contract forms the basis for employer brand (CIPD Jan 2009); positive brand can of course help promote recruitment and improve staff retention levels. For the latter reasons, ITC should pay close heed to this contract. After all, taking account of the emotional needs of the employee ought to be a consideration when we consider they are the only resour ce within our organization that can simply â€Å"walk out†, taking their skills and possible opinions of negative employer brand with them. Customer service issues With regards to the consultant reports of customer service issues, several studies have found that employee engagement is an important variable on this front. The CIPD (2009; 2) reported that Visa Europe figures show that employee engagement levels ran parallel with an increase in customer satisfaction. Likewise, it seems intuitive that an increase in customer satisfaction would henceforth lead to an increase in financial performance. In a recent study within the customer service industry by Chi and Gursoy (2009), empirical support for this link was indeed presented. On the engagement level, while they found employee satisfaction did not appear to impact on financial performance directly, they did find an indirect relationship between the latter, with customer satisfaction acting as the mediator. Storey, on the other hand refers to engagement as EIP (employee involvement and participation) and stated that it is â€Å"thought to contribute to improved levels of worker satisfaction and commitment and, subsequently, organisational performance.† From this it would appear that engaged and satisfied employees are a requirement for customer satisfaction, with customer satisfaction being the strongest indicator in financial performance. It would also appear, however, that all three variables are required to be woven into the same fabric for overall business success. For ITC, without employee engagement / satisfaction, there will little customer satisfaction, and without customer satisfaction there will be no success. The obvious lack of ITC employee engagement at this moment in time is a worrying factor with regards this tripartite equation. Therefore, the obvious question should be how do we tackle employee disengagement, how do we go about driving employee engagement? Employee engagement drivers According to the CIPD (Nov 2009), there is no absolute list definitive of engagement ‘drivers. Their research has shown, however, the key employee engagement drivers are:  § Opportunities to feed employee views upwards  § Feeling well-informed about what is happening in the organisation  § The employee believing that their manager is committed to the organisation Most writers agree that one of the most important factors at play with regards employee engagement is reciprocal communication between management and the requirement to keep all employees well informed, etc. As you might imagine, these factors are also very much involved in the psychological contract; it is also suggested that, in a crisis, â€Å"mutually recognised expectations are best shaped by honest communication and solid information† (Dietz 2009). At this moment in ITC history, we might be described as being on the verge of crisis point. Intranet 2.0 A technology that appears oddly lacking in ITC since its inception is Corporate Intranet. All of the key engagement drivers suggested above can to some extent be addressed with the implementation of an Intranet solution. This of course would not solve all of our problems, but it would at least supplement any other measures we ultimately put into place. This Intranet should not be of the antiquated variety (known as Web 1.0), that is, typified by static pages, existing with the sole purpose of providing information. We should be embracing all that Web 2.0 tools have to offer (i.e. highly dynamic / interactive internal social networking tools, instant messaging, wikis, blogs, discussion forums, and RSS feed technologies, etc.). Intranet 2.0 is still very much in its infancy, so the ability to introduce a rich networking environment is very much in line with core business strategies of innovation and creativity. We also have a largely young workforce, and Web 2.0 technology tools are so mething the younger generation have grown accustomed to, and this acquaintance can be employed to our advantage in the recruitment field. When it comes to the employees call to connect with managers, the desire to believe in their commitment, and having the opportunity to have views fed upwards, the sharing medium of Intranet 2.0 is ideally suited to help facilitate these key engagement drivers. Web 2.0 tools flatten company hierarchy by providing a transparent path of communication between employees at all levels, from the Company Director down to the shop floor worker. It can provide staff across geographical location, irrespective of position or intellect, the opportunity to ‘float ideas on new product ranges, best practices, working procedures, etc. via live suggestion boxes. These ideas can appear in real time and will open to further comments / suggestions by all staff. Intranet 2.0 can also provide a channel for feedback on organisational news announcements, strategies, etc. This type of feedback can help â€Å"managers to gain insight into the needs and motivations of employees† (BlessingWhite Inc. 2008). Indeed, employee attitude surveys can be a regular feature of the system, the results of which can used to measure employee engagement and gauge feeling amongst the workforce, all of which can help ITC identify areas to focus improvement towards. The contribution such an Intranet can make as a training and development tool cannot be underplayed. It can provide the workforce with the most up-to-date product information, tutorials, and marketing material, etc. This information does not have to appear in the way it did pre-Web 2.0, where static pages were displayed across the organisation, meaning each employee would be required to wade through pages in order to arrive at the relevant ‘nugget of information. Intranet 2.0 provides levels of personalisation to the point of providing â€Å"each employee with news updates focused on their job role† (Nielsen, J. 2009). This would be of particular benefit when it comes to areas such as the customer complaints we have been receiving from the call centre regarding staff not being â€Å"up-to-date† on products. For example, this type of system has the capability to consistently display individual staff with the most â€Å"up-to-date† products details and Q A s cripts, etc. As this Intranet 2.0 proposition is based on helping the flow of communication across the entire organisation, then logically, we would require all staff to have appropriate access to such a system. Head Office, call centre and retail staff are likely to have ready access to PC, laptop, mobile phone technologies in order to do this. In the factory, however, such access is very likely limited. To get around this, deployment of PCs / touch-screens at specific locations throughout the factory is recommended; perhaps inviting factory floor staff to use the system during lunch breaks, etc. Following the suggestion that we allow all employees across the site access the canteen, situating access in this area would also make sense. Web 2.0 technologies and business performance Beyond the obvious communication-flow benefits of Web 2.0 technologies, recent findings by the Aberdeen Group also provide positive figures for their business performance benefits. Saba (2009) reported that they found that 52 % of organisations who employed social networking tools, blogs, and wikis achieved ‘Best-in-Class compared to only 5% for those who did employ them. They also provided figures for Web 2.0 tools in relation to employee engagement. They found an 18% average year-on-year increase in employee engagement for organisations employing Web 2.0 technologies in comparison to a mere 1% for those who did not Options for Change Short-term An employee engagement programme and corporate communications strategy should both be developed as a matter of urgency to stem the tide of disaffection and high levels of turnover within our workforce. This will undoubtedly require a certain level of upfront investment but will, I believe, begin to pay dividends at a very early stage. Part of this investment may have to include outlay for extra personnel and equipment to implement these solutions as we currently do not have the specialist staff available in-house to fully utilise the technology required for this communications systems implementation, nor the staff to adequately implement an employee engagement programme. Long-term An organisation-wide job evaluation scheme is required as a means of rationalising the pay scales of the separate functions into one transparent system. The use of bonus payments to boost the wages of certain sections of the workforce should be reviewed and possibly abolished. Exact costs of this proposal are difficult to predict until the completion of the job evaluation exercise, but it may well be a cost-neutral option with increases to basic salary costs being offset by reduction in bonuses. Any subsequent increase in the overall salary costs which may arise would hopefully be countered by increased productivity. A scheme which would encourage secondments between departments should be developed. This would allow staff to gain a better understanding of the operations of the other functions within the organisation. This scheme could also be of benefit in assisting to identify personnel with potential for promotion or who could perform better in a different role. The hierarchy in the factory requires a radical overhaul with a view to rationalising the management structure. The ratio of managers to supervisors is far higher than the ratio of supervisors to production workers. The potential savings gained from this approach could be used to increase the salary of the supervisors in return for taking on greater responsibility for operations in their sector. This would create a more prestigious role for the first line supervisor and a more strategic one for the remaining managers. A process is required which will recognise the potential leaders and managers of the future from within the existing workforce. Learning and development for staff should be a core principle of the organisation. Staff with the potential to move on to other roles within the organisation should be identified, encouraged and developed in order to achieve this. There is also a need to introduce learning and development opportunities for staff who do not necessarily wish to move on to other roles. Members of staff may be satisfied with the role they are performing but it is still necessary to ensure that there are opportunities for personal growth and satisfaction within that role. The emphasis on speed in dealing with customer enquiries within the call centres should be replaced by an ethos of efficiency in dealing with those enquiries. This would be a more cost-effective approach as an enquiry dealt with efficiently initially is less likely to generate future similar enquiries from the same customer and reduce complaints of poor service. Conclusion Being an â€Å"Employer of Choice† is not simply about offering the best salary. The whole package must be seen as appealing in order to attract and retain the correct calibre of staff who share the vision of the organisation and who want to actively contribute to its success. It has been stated (CIPD, 2009) that: â€Å"Engaged employees are more likely to act as organisational advocates than disengaged employees and can play a powerful role in promoting their organisation as an employer of choice.† For this to work, staff must feel that their views are welcomed and they are valued as individuals. This should result in higher levels of motivation and increased morale which, in turn, should reduce staff turnover. Our aim is to spread the word about how good ITC is to work for and hence attract the maximum number of high calibre candidates for posts who then want to stay with the organisation to reach their full potential. We also have to accept that by attracting the highest calibre of candidate we will inevitably lose a number of high-performing staff over time as they wish to progress beyond what the organisation can offer. We must be prepared not only to embrace this, but actively encourage it, and accept that for the organisation to grow there will be a certain degree of turnover of ambitious staff. The upside of this is that there will be regular opportunities for existing staff to progress through the organisation increasing levels of loyalty and improving morale.

Feminist Theory

Feminism refers to political, cultural, and economic movements aimed at establishing greater rights, legal protection for women, and or women's liberation. It includes some of the sociological theories and philosophies concerned with issues of gender difference. Nancy Cott defines feminism as the belief in the importance of gender equality, invalidating the idea of gender hierarchy as a socially constructed concept. Feminism has earned itself a bad reputation, but it never undermined gender differences that exist between males and females. A man can never be as good a mother as a female can.Similarly, a woman can never be as good a father as a male can. While accepting these anatomical and physiological differences between the two genders, feminism seeks for both genders to be equally respected. They are both human and as a species, humans cannot progress without either one of them. Maggie Humm and Rebecca Walker divide the history of feminism into three waves. The first wave transpi red in the nineteenth and early twentieth century’s, the second occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, and the third extends from the 1990s to the present.In each wave of the movement, though men have taken part in significant responses to feminism, the relationship between men and feminism has been complex. Historically, a number of men have engaged with feminism. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham demanded equal rights for women in the eighteenth century. In 1866, philosopher John Stuart Mill presented a women's petition to the British Parliament and supported an amendment to the 1867 Reform Bill.An extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical fields such as anthropology, sociology, economics, women's studies, literary criticism, art history, and psychoanalysis is called feminist theory. Feminist theory aims to understand gender inequality and focuses on gender politics, power relations, and sexuality. While providing a critique of these social and political relations, much of feminist theory focuses on the promotion of women's rights and interests. Themes explored in feminist theory include discrimination, stereotyping, objectification (especially sexual objectification), oppression, and patriarchy.Today, feminist theory has manifested in a variety of disciplines such as feminist geography, feminist history, feminist theology, and feminist literary criticism and has changed traditional perspectives on a wide range of areas in human life, from culture to law. Feminist activists have campaigned for women's legal rights such as rights of contract, property rights, and voting rights while also promoting women's rights to bodily integrity and autonomy, abortion rights, and reproductive rights.They have struggled to protect women and girls from domestic violence, sexual harassment, and rape. On economic matters, feminists have advocated for workplace rights, including maternity leave and equal pay, and against other forms of gender-specific discrimination aga inst women. During much of its history, feminist movements and theories were led predominantly by middle-class white women from Western Europe and North America. However, at least since Sojourner Truth's 1851 speech to American feminists, women of other races have proposed alternative feminisms.This trend accelerated in the 1960s with the civil rights movement in the United States and the collapse of European colonialism in Africa, the Caribbean, parts of Latin America, and Southeast Asia. Since that time, women in former European colonies and the Third World have proposed postcolonial and Third World feminisms. Postcolonial feminists argue that oppression relating to the colonial experience, particularly racial, class, and ethnic oppression, has marginalized women in postcolonial societies.They challenge the assumption that gender oppression is the primary force of patriarchy. They object to portrayals of women of non-Western societies as passive and voiceless victims and the portr ayal of Western women as modern, educated, and empowered. Today, they struggle to fight gender oppression within their own cultural models of society rather than through those imposed by the Western colonizers. They, thus, react against both universalizing tendencies in Western feminist thought and a lack of attention to gender issues in mainstream postcolonial thought.Some postcolonial feminists, such as Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Black feminists, such as Angela Davis and Alice Walker, are critical of Western feminism for being ethnocentric. Chandra Talpade Mohanty criticizes Western feminism on the ground that it does not take into account the unique experiences of women from third-world countries or the existence of feminisms indigenous to third-world countries. This discourse is strongly related to African feminism and is also associated with concepts such as black feminism, womanism, Africana womanism, motherism, Stiwanism, negofeminism, chicana feminism, and femalism.Pro-femi nism is the support of feminism without implying that the supporter is a member of the feminist movement. The term is most often used in reference to men who are actively supportive of feminism and of their efforts to bring about gender equality. The activities of pro- feminist men's groups include anti-violence work with boys and young men in schools, offering sexual harassment workshops in workplaces, running community education campaigns, and counseling male perpetrators of violence.Pro-feminist men also are involved in men's health, activism against pornography including anti-pornography legislation, men's studies, and the development of gender equity curricula in schools. This work is sometimes in collaboration with feminists and women's services, such as domestic violence and rape crisis centers. Some activists of both genders refer to all pro-feminist men as ‘pro-feminists' and not as ‘feminists'. There have been positive and negative reactions and responses to fe minism, depending on the individual man and the social context of the time.These responses have varied from pro-feminism to masculism to anti-feminism. In the twenty-first century, new reactions to feminist ideologies have emerged, including a generation of male scholars involved in gender studies and men's rights activists who promote male equality including equal treatment in family, divorce, and anti ­discrimination law. Today, academics like Michael Flood, Michael Messner, and Michael Kimmel are involved with men's studies and pro- feminism.The United Nations Human Development Report 2004 estimated that, when both paid employment and unpaid household tasks are accounted for, on average women work more than men. In rural areas of selected developing countries women performed an average of 20 per cent more work than men, or an additional 102 minutes per day. In the OECD countries surveyed, on average women performed 5 per cent more work than men, or 20 minutes per day. On 3 Sept ember 1981. The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), described as an international bill of rights for women, came into force.While Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Qatar, Nauru, Palau, and Tonga have not ratified CEDAW, several countries have ratified the Convention subject to certain declarations, reservations, and objections. A number of feminist writers maintain that identifying as a feminist is the strongest stand men can take in the struggle against sexism. They have argued that men should be allowed, or even be encouraged, to participate in the feminist movement. Other female feminists counter- argue that men cannot be feminists simply because they are not women.They maintain that men are granted inherent privileges that prevent them from identifying with feminist struggles, thus making it impossible for them to identify with feminists. Irrespective of what the feminist writers maintain, the feminist movement has effected change in Wester n society, including women's suffrage, greater access to education, more nearly equitable pay with men, the right to initiate divorce proceedings and ‘no fault' divorce, and the right of women to make individual decisions regarding pregnancy (including access to contraceptives and abortion), as well as the right to own property.

Law Exam Review

Or the victim choosing not to have a blood transfusion? * Court Ruling: * Guilty. Thin skull rule Those who use violence against others must take victims as they find them Blaue had to take the victim as a Jehovah’s Witness * The defendant is not responsible if the victim dies as a result of an unrelated event If his actions led to the event, he is still guilty R v Hummel (Stare decisis- lower courts must follow higher courts) * Summary: Judge Perkins did not follow a binding decision of a higher court (contravening the doctrine of stare decisis) * Perkins struck down a section of the criminal code, in favour of the defendant * The crown appealed, and judge Clements disagreed with Perkins, allowing the appeal * Shortly after, Perkins had another ssimilar case, and refused to follow Clement’s judgment. He once again adopted his own reasoning as in the previous case. * Legal Principle: * Decisions of a higher court must be followed because that is what holds common law to gether.Their decisions are â€Å"binding decisions† * It doesn’t matter that Perkins could have been more intelligent than Clements * Rulings of higher courts bind lower courts R v Ladue (Does mistake negate mens rea? ) * Summary: * Woman at a party died from drinking too much alcohol * Forensics showed that Ladue had sex with her after he died * He couldn’t be charged with sexual assault because he was dead * He was charged with doing an indignity to a dead body * Used the defense that he did not know she was dead, so he had no mens reaR v Bird and Bolduc (Doctor allowed friend to examine patient) * Summary: * doctor told a female patient that his friend was a medical intern * she gave consent for the friend to observe a medical examination * The fraud was as to the identity of the onlooker, not as to the act, of which she knew and understood. * Legal Principal: * Was consent obtained fraudulently as to the nature and quality of the act? * Court Ruling: * Boldu c did exactly what the victim understood he would do.There was no fraud on his part as to what he was going to do * Victim knew that Bird was present and consented to his presence * Innocent: the fraud had nothing to do with the act, but with Bird’s identity * If he touched her, it would have turned into an assault R v Campbell and Mlynarchuk (Stripper case, mistake of law) * Summary: * Campbell was convicted of dancing naked * Previously, Alberta supreme court made dancing naked legal * Campbell did not know that the Court of Appeal overruled it * Legal Principle: Mistake of fact is a defense to a criminal charge, mistake of law is not * Court Ruling: * Campbell’s mistake was one of law She coincluded that the decision of the judge correctly stated the law, which it did not * Although this is not fair, it is necessary in order to prevent ignorance of the law as a defense * Out of the sense of justice, (naked dancing is not a prevalent problem), Campbell got an absolut e discharge * Mistake of fact is a defense to a criminal charge, mistake of law is not R v Keegstra (Freedom of speech vs hate speech) * Summary: Keegstra was a schoolteacher who taught his sstudents anti-Semitism and expected them to use his teachings on exams. If they didn’t, their marks suffered * A few months after a paren't complained, Mr. Keegstra was dismissed * Legal Principle: * S. 319 bans promoting hatred against an identifiable group * Charter protects freedom of speech * Court Ruling: * Court of Appeal states it was protected under s. 319 2(b), which protects innocent and imprudent speech (people who think that their hate speech is actually true) * Majority: Failed the Oakes proportionality test.Hate propaganda contributes little to the quest for truth, or the protection and fostering of a vibrant democracy The infringement was justified R v Rabey (Automatism) * Summary: * Stabbed a woman after finding out that she doesn’t like him * Used the defense of no n-insane automatism, stating that he had a blackout due to his rage (powerful emotional shock) * Legal Principle: * Was his dissociative state due to a disease of the mind? * Court Ruling: * His automatism was insane * Ordinary stresses and disappointments of life do not explain the mind alfunctioning * Rabey’s emotional stress from the girl’s rejection is not reasonable It was due to his psychological or emotional make-up, thus constituting â€Å"disease of the mind† R v Ruzic (Duress) * Summary: * Ruzic landed in Pearson airport with 2 kilos of heroin and a fake passport * She used the defense of duress, because a man in Serbia would kill her mother if she didn’t listen to him