The Women of Alwal Alis Tribe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Women of Alwal Alis Tribe - Essay Example Lila Abu-Lughod describes the cultural phenomena of an Awlad ‘Ali people found in Egypt. The basis of her research is on dynamics existing in different genders with a concern on the rights of women in the Middle East, the link existing between the power and cultural forms, the representation as far as politics is concerned. Lila Abu-Lughod in her work about the veiling sentiments brings out the importance of covering of the head among the women. Once a woman comes across an elderly man, she is supposed to cover her head as a sign of respect for the elderly. This is not the case in case the same woman would come across a younger man. It is essential to note that, the women covered their heads, which was seen as a sign of respect to the elderly, were solely meant for the Bedouin men. The Bedouin women do not cover their head when they come across other elderly men from other communities. â€Å".One notes the distinctive glint of silver on her wrist, a vibrant full-length dress g athered at the waist by a red cummerbund and a head covered in black (Abu-Lughod, 1986:2).† In case, any woman declines to use the head cover or the red belt, this action is termed as the scandalous or inappropriate. In the ethnography, the author brings about the concept of marriage among the Awlad ‘Ali tribe.

Cirque Du Soleil Assignment Essay Example for Free

Cirque Du Soleil Assignment Essay 1. What are Cirque’s product and strategy? The cirque product is a circ show without animals, the main features of this show are: clowns, acrobats and gymnasts. The difference between Cirque du soleil and other circs is that the first one tries to make the show unforgettable by adding music specially composed for each show and also an elaborated â€Å"attrezzo† (lights and scenario). The Strategy that Cirque used is a blue ocean strategy, this strategy consist in creating a new industry from an existing one, so they reinvented the circus so we can say that they create a new industry. 2. How has Cirque structured and supported its casts to deliver superior performance? The Cirque tried to support each member of the cast when talking about habits and culture of each member. They tried to make it easier to each member to be in the road in every tour. Also, the management tries to give what artist asks, for example in the case there is a clown that explains that the clown section wanted a specific professor and the cirque hired him to teach the section of the clowns. With children they try to be as careful as possible, and they try to make a good environment to them. 3. What is the role of marketing? Since the Cirque du soleil is defined as a â€Å"luxury good†, definition that the same company states, the marketing role here is to sustain this category. What marketing has to do is to follow the same strategy that has followed in the entire Cirque’s history, promote the Cirque as a unique and astonishing show and make customers show fans. The marketing strategy objective should be that each customer that goes to see a Cirque du Soleil show return to the next show every three years, even if the ticket is expensive. 4. Regarding innovation and creativity, what are the important ideas that emerge from this case? Name them and develop them. We can say that Cirque du Soleil has been innovative and that its creativity has no limits, since every new show is different than the one before. Each customer can go several times in his or her life to see Cirque’s shows and it will find different things in every new one. So we can say that Cirque du soleil has creativity and innovation. 5. What are the challenges to Cirque’s continued growth and/or diversification? The challenges are to diversify in other types of products, also that the industry is turning more a business than an artistic industry and the owners do not want this to happen. Another challenge is that competition in this market is growing, and this means that Cirque du Soleil needs to be more creative than ever in order to maintain its customers.

Influence of IT on Organisational Behaviour

Influence of IT on Organisational Behaviour The Influence of IT on organisational behaviour Carr (2003) concludes that Information Technology (IT) has become the backbone of commerce and that IT empower companies to serve their customers better. IT can alter the basic nature of an industry (Luftman et al., 1993), and rightly so; IT has forever changed the world that we inhabit. With the use of computers and software, IT has altered how the finance sector operates, how the education system work, how companies conduct their business and how the healthcare sector can help their citizens. Ultimately, IT has been able to help every company and government institute alike to transform their daily operation by turning labour heavy and repetitive burdens into automatic and streamlined tasks that often require little to no human interaction. The use of IT in healthcare enables citizens, healthcare professionals, authorities and administrators to have access to real-time and relevant information through secure delivery without unnecessary barriers. With the help of online healthcare portals, citizens can schedule appointments with their general practitioner, check their patient journal, look up digital medical information such as X-rays or blood samples. Healthcare professionals can save time spent on paperwork and instead concentrate their valuable time on helping their patients. Authorities, such as Data Protection Agencies will be better equipped to help the healthcare to improve procedures, processes and patient safety. Finally, administrators will have access to data and information that could help them improve the decision-making in everyday operations. A practical example of an IT implementation that is showing to have a long-term positive consequence is the implementation of one (a single) centralised Electronic Patient Journal (EPJ) for the whole country of the Faroe Islands. While decentralisation may bring flexibility and fast response to changing needs, decentralisation also makes system integration difficult, presents a barrier to standardisation and acts as a disincentive toward achieving economies of scale (DeSanctis Jackson, 1994). Even though the Faroe Islands is a small country of only fifty thousand people, the country has three hospitals and around hundred general practitioners. With the centralised EPJ system, the healthcare sector has the basics in place to start exchanging digital medical information by integrating with other systems to receive descriptions and answers from a specialist (doctor). These other systems include computerised axial tomography (CAT) scanners, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, Lab oratory and blood systems and so on. On an entirely different subject, albeit all the positives social media might bring, one should not ignore the negative effects. Negative effects from social media include addiction and privacy concerns. The social media is comparable to drugs; once addicted it is hard to let to go. Griffiths (2010) mentions a research conducted on 415 medical technologists that Internet Abuse falls into three distinct categories: browsing, non-work-related e-mails and cyberloafing. According to Griffiths (2010), addition is related to Internet abuse and does have an impact on the workplace in regards to the loss of productivity. To conclude, information technology has spearheaded the digital revolution for some time and is moving companies, consumers and government ever closer to a constant change for globalisation. References Carr, N.G. (2003) Why IT Doesnt Matter Anymore Harvard Business Review. [Online] Available from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/3520.html (Accessed: 15 January 2016) Luftman, J.N., Lewis, P.R. Oldach, S.H. (1993) Transforming the Enterprise: The alignment of business and information technology strategies. IBM Systems Journal Vol 32 (1). p. 198 DeSanctis, G. Jackson, B.M. (1994) Coordination of information technology management: Team-based structures and computer-based communication systems. Journal of Management Information Systems Vol 10 (4). p. 85-110. Alder, I. (2013) How Our Digital Devices Are Affecting Our Personal Relationships [Online] Available from: http://www.wbur.org/2013/01/17/digital-lives-i (Accessed: 1. June 2016) Griffiths, M.D. (2010) Internet abuse and internet addiction in the workplace. Journal of Workplace Learning, 7, 463-472.

The Images and Imagery of Shakespeares Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essay

The Imagery of Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who can contest the statement that William Shakespeare in the tragedy Macbeth very skillfully uses imagery to strengthen the theme and other aspects of the play? In this paper we explore the imagery in all its dimensions.    L.C. Knights in the essay "Macbeth" explains the supporting role which imagery plays in Macbeth's descent into darkness:    To listen to the witches, it is suggested, is like eating "the insane root, That takes the reason prisoner" (I.iii.84-5); for Macbeth, in the moment of temptation, "function," or intellectual activity, is "smother'd in surmise"; and everywhere the imagery of darkness suggests not only the absence or withdrawal of light but - "light thickens" - the presence of something positively oppressive and impeding.   (101)    In Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy, Northrop Frye shows how the playwright uses imagery to reinforce the theme:    This theme is at its clearest where we are most in sympathy with the nemesis. Thus at the end of Macbeth, after the proclamation "the time is free," and of promises to make reparations of Macbeth's tyranny "Which would be planted newly with the time," there will be a renewal not only of time but of the whole rhythm of nature symbolized by the word "measure," which includes both the music of the spheres and the dispensing of human justice [. . .]. (94-95)    In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, H. S. Wilson interprets the imagery of Macbeth:    Macbeth is a play in which the poetic atmosphere is very important; so important, indeed, that some recent commentators give the impression that this atmosphere, as created by the imagery of the play, is its determini... ...: Barnes and Noble, 1970.    Frye, Northrop. Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1967.    Kermode, Frank. "Macbeth." The Riverside Shakespeare. Ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972.    Knights, L.C. "Macbeth." Shakespeare: The Tragedies. A Collectiion of Critical Essays. Alfred Harbage, ed. Englewwod Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1964.    Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. http://chemicool.com/Shakespeare/macbeth/full.html, no lin.    Warren, Roger. Shakespeare Survey 30.   N.p.: n.p., 1977. Pp. 177-78. Rpt. in Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism. Stanley Wells, ed. England: Oxford University Press, 2000.    Wilson, H. S. On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 1957.

Does the Labor Law Encourage or Discourage Unionization Essay

Yes they do. And the following is in support of that claim: â€Å"Often described as the ‘heart’ of the act, section 7 of the statute reflects the law’s basic purposes. It provides that ‘employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection’ â€Å" (Kohler, 2004). In addition, the labor laws tend to favor employee and union relationships. Labor laws do provide protection for union employees against wage inequality by defining standard minimum wage requirements and they address other workplace safety issues as well. These labor laws are authorized at the government level and thus allow any public employee to not only join a union, but create one (by organizing) should they so desire. And given the fact that the majority of the employees at West University are public employees, already in established unions, the organization process for the Resident Assistants (RAs). To help facilitate that process, the Graduate Employee Organization (GEO) was affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. Although the workforce at West College is a majority of union employees, the non-union employees are not required to join any union due to the fact that Arizona is a right-to-work state. But again, the labor laws to prevail and allow a group of employees to legally organization under State and Federal laws. 2 – Do you think teaching assistants should be considered employees? If they are on a payroll as a W2 individual, and work a set amount of hours then I can’t any reason why they would not be considered employees. Similar to the Resident Assistants, I would imagine that the Teaching Assistants are also students who attend the college as well. Based upon the information provided, the Teaching Assistants are also unionized employees. Education aside, the skill level of the Teaching Assistant should not be a factor when it comes to joining a union, there should be some educational requirements for the job of a Teaching Assistant however. Although a Teaching Assistant does not have teaching credentials, hence they’re not on the same pay grade, but there is a fair amount of experience that a Teaching Assistant is expected to have to perform their job effectively. This does not mean that a Teaching Assistant could not handle the job of teaching a class if they had to, they just do not have the official credentials and could present to the University should they be put into a teaching position. For further clarification, there is a difference that should be noted between an assistant and an intern. Per the following example: â€Å"Intern: a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience, and sometimes also to satisfy legal or other requirements for being licensed or accepted professionally.† Whereas â€Å"Assistant: serving in an immediately subordinate position; of secondary rank†¦generally not in training for another role.† (Dictionary.com) 3 – Do you think management’s reaction to employee interest in unionization differs if the employer already has a high union density among other employee groups? If a majority of the employees are already organized in some type of a union setup, then unfortunately, the only reaction that Management can have is to agree to other groups wanting to organization. That is unless Management can come up with some reasons why organization should not take place. This type of a balance has its pros and cons. If this is a type of an environment where a majority of union employees makes more sense, then this type of an arrangement can be productive if even more employees wanted to organize. And it might be best if management did agree to that because there is always the fairness issue that can come up of a group of non-union employees receives the same treatment that the union employees receives. In this case, that is the argument of the Resident Assistants. But at the same time, there are situations where it just makes no sense for a particular group of employees to organize. Now it is a great benefit for the employees to belong to a union but on the flip side of that argument, transitioning from a non-union environment to a union environment can be a lengthy and expensive process. The costs of running a unionized business can be quite. And the case of a University, those costs are not going absorbed as a lost by the school, but instead will be passed down to the consumer, in the case, the student. Thus the tuition costs will keep increasing, and the university runs the risk of losing business to the competition. It doesn’t matter if it is a university, is it still a business. 4 – What are the key factors that led some RAs to have interest in union representation? Do you think that RAs have legitimate job-related concerns, or are the RA complaints overstated? The working conditions of the Resident Assistants were starting to become a concern for the employees. The Resident Assistants have been assigned the task of disciplining their fellow students and were subjected to any pushback. Thus there is a potential conflict of interest since the Resident Assistants are overseeing the immediate area where they are also housed in. Although the Resident Assistants are paid a wage for their services, they are in fact full-time students. Per the labor laws, the University is not required to allow a group of full-time students to organize but it is not against the law Resident Assistants to organize. Now, the Resident assistants, do sign an agreement with the University detailing their job description and what is expected of them. This is certainly a valuable service that is being provided to the University, but at the same it does not warrant an organization movement in my opinion. Especially due to the natural turnover rate of the students (students graduating, etc.), a Resident Assistant is certainly not a long-term position and thus does not really justify signing a union / employee contract for any significant length of time. In summary, the Resident Assistants do have generally good talking points for organization. However, their job description does not warrant the added expense that the University will take on when that group is organized. Should the Residents Assistants job descriptions increase, then yes, organization would be a good idea at the University. But key to remember here is that the Resident Assistants are full-time students with less than part-time jobs that they want to unionize. 5 – Do the RAs opposed to unionization have legitimate concerns? How could unionization change the culture of Residence Life? Those concerns are quite legitimate, and in my opinion, more selfless and grounded than the rest of the Resident Assistants. As mentioned above, these are full-time students with a part-time that they are not being forced to do. They chose to apply for the position, and they signed an agreement of the behavior and expectations (minimum GPA, etc.) The Resident Assistant position should be used as an opportunity to gain some good experience such as what an intern would get but also with a financial incentive. By organizing, the Resident Assistants may miss out on the real experience of interaction with the culture of the campus residential environment. In other words, the resident Assistant would be focusing more on being an employee vs. being a student and a Resident Assistant. Thus, the Resident assistant could possibly be viewed as more of a security guard then someone who is on the same level as the other students. I’m sure there was a fair amount of thought that went into designing the position of the Student Assistant, and it appears that they divided in half. One half, being on the same page with the University in wanting to keep the integrity of the position; and the other half wanting to break away from University tradition and form a separate. Again, not a bad idea to organize if the students were going to be in these positions for a long time, but they’re not. It’s a very transient position. 6 – How does the law regarding union recognition for public employees in this state compare with the NLRA rules regarding union recognition for private-sector employees? There are some similarities. However, Section 7 of the law states the following: to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid and protection,† as well as the right to refrain from engaging in any of those activities. (Kohler, 2004) Let’s look at the three key principles of the law as noted by Kohler: â€Å"There are three key principals on which the NLRA rests: 1) the exclusivity principle; 2) the notion of free collective bargaining; and 3) the structural autonomy of the bargaining representative of the employees (in other words, the independence of the employees’ labor union from the employer).† (Kohler, 2004) Breaking this down further, Kohler goes on to explain: Exclusivity Principle. The exclusivity principle is a basic feature of American-style collective bargaining. According to the exclusivity principle, the union representative selected by a majority of employees in a workplace becomes the exclusive (sole) representative of all those employees. (Kohler, 2004) Free Collective Bargaining. Free collective bargaining is the second basic principle of the NLRA. The act leaves the decision whether to organize entirely to employees.(Kohler, 2004) Structural Autonomy. The structural autonomy of the employees’ bargaining representative is the third key principle of the collective bargaining system adopted by the NLRA. This principle anchors the system of free collective bargaining.(Kohler, 2004) In addition, Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) states the following: â€Å"to dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or to contribute financial or other support to it.† (Kohler, 2004) 7 – Why did the LRC determine that RAs and CDAs were employees? Do you agree with the LRC decision? Why? Why not? In summary, I do not agree with the decision handed down by the Labor Relations Commission. Resident Assistants are really only student assistants that earn a small wage through the school year and depending upon the school schedule will not be working in the summertime. The decision to recognized students as employees is reckless and can have consequences down the road. This is a slippery slope. I don’t know the complete reasoning behind the decision of the Labor Relations Commission but if I had to guess I would imagine that there is a bit of a bias since the Labor Relations Commissions tend to lean pro-union. Another concern that the University should be aware of is that now that they Resident Assistants are organized, there is a possibility that these positions can be abused. Prior to organization, the Resident Assistant applicant would sign a Memo of Understanding (MOU) outlining the expectations that they were expected to meet. Being that they are organized now, the Memo of Understanding is most likely going to be tossed out the window and a new set of demands may start coming in over the years. Not to mentioned the future additional labor expenses that the University is going to incur. Works Cited Kohler, Thomas C.. â€Å"National Labor Relations Act (1935).† Major Acts of Congress. 2004. Retrieved October 18, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3407400221.html

THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Essays - Oxygen

THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Essays - Oxygen THE EFFECTS OF ALTITUDE ON HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY Changes in altitude have a profound effect on the human body. The body attempts to maintain a state of homeostasis or balance to ensure the optimal operating environment for its complex chemical systems. Any change from this homeostasis is a change away from the optimal operating environment. The body attempts to correct this imbalance. One such imbalance is the effect of increasing altitude on the body's ability to provide adequate oxygen to be utilized in cellular respiration. With an increase in elevation, a typical occurrence when climbing mountains, the body is forced to respond in various ways to the changes in external environment. Foremost of these changes is the diminished ability to obtain oxygen from the atmosphere. If the adaptive responses to this stressor are inadequate the performance of body systems may decline dramatically. If prolonged the results can be serious or even fatal. In looking at the effect of altitude on body functioning we first must understand what occurs in the external environment at higher elevations and then observe the important changes that occur in the internal environment of the body in response. HIGH ALTITUDE In discussing altitude change and its effect on the body mountaineers generally define altitude according to the scale of high (8,000 - 12,000 feet), very high (12,000 - 18,000 feet), and extremely high (18,000+ feet), (Hubble, 1995). A common misperception of the change in external environment with increased altitude is that there is decreased oxygen. This is not correct as the concentration of oxygen at sea level is about 21% and stays relatively unchanged until over 50,000 feet (Johnson, 1988). What is really happening is that the atmospheric pressure is decreasing and subsequently the amount of oxygen available in a single breath of air is significantly less. At sea level the barometric pressure averages 760 mmHg while at 12,000 feet it is only 483 mmHg. This decrease in total atmospheric pressure means that there are 40% fewer oxygen molecules per breath at this altitude compared to sea level (Princeton, 1995). HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM The human respiratory system is responsible for bringing oxygen into the body and transferring it to the cells where it can be utilized for cellular activities. It also removes carbon dioxide from the body. The respiratory system draws air initially either through the mouth or nasal passages. Both of these passages join behind the hard palate to form the pharynx. At the base of the pharynx are two openings. One, the esophagus, leads to the digestive system while the other, the glottis, leads to the lungs. The epiglottis covers the glottis when swallowing so that food does not enter the lungs. When the epiglottis is not covering the opening to the lungs air may pass freely into and out of the trachea. The trachea sometimes called the "windpipe" branches into two bronchi which in turn lead to a lung. Once in the lung the bronchi branch many times into smaller bronchioles which eventually terminate in small sacs called alveoli. It is in the alveoli that the actual transfer of oxygen to the blood takes place. The alveoli are shaped like inflated sacs and exchange gas through a membrane. The passage of oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide out of the blood is dependent on three major factors: 1) the partial pressure of the gases, 2) the area of the pulmonary surface, and 3) the thickness of the membrane (Gerking, 1969). The membranes in the alveoli provide a large surface area for the free exchange of gases. The typical thickness of the pulmonary membrane is less than the thickness of a red blood cell. The pulmonary surface and the thickness of the alveolar membranes are not directly affected by a change in altitude. The partial pressure of oxygen, however, is directly related to altitude and affects gas transfer in the alveoli. GAS TRANSFER To understand gas transfer it is important to first understand something about the behavior of gases. Each gas in our atmosphere exerts its own pressure and acts independently of the others. Hence the term partial pressure refers to the contribution of each gas to the entire pressure of the atmosphere. The average pressure of the atmosphere at sea level is approximately 760 mmHg. This means that the pressure is great enough to support a column of mercury (Hg) 760 mm high. To figure the partial pressure of oxygen you start with the percentage of oxygen present in the atmosphere which is about 20%. Thus oxygen will constitute 20% of the total atmospheric pressure