Saturday, August 31, 2019

Non Verbal Communicaton

Nonverbal Communication Nonverbal communication plays a crucial role in interpersonal communication. This is even more visible when individuals do not share a common language. Outsourced (2006), explores the journey of an American manager named Todd Anderson. His company, Seattle-based Company Western Novelty, outsources its call center to Gharapuri, India and Todd must travel to India in order to train the new staff and manager. Nonverbal communication is present throughout the movie as Todd, works through the language barrier and is introduced to a new culture, values and rituals.In this paper, nonverbal communication demonstrated in the movie is analyzed and discussed as it relates the research of Argyle (1988), Archer (1997), et al. Adler (2011) defines nonverbal communication as messages expressed through non-linguistic means. Research has shown that in communication, the verbal content only is only responsible for 7% of the message, while vocal cues such as pitch and intonation account for 38%, and facial expression an overwhelming 55% (Mehrabian, 1968). Nonverbal communication can be performed through facial expressions, proximity, and body movements.Argyle (1988) describes the five primary functions of Nonverbal Behavior – 1) Expression of Emotion, 2) Communication of Interpersonal Attitudes, 3) Accompany and Support Speech, 4) Self-Presentation, 5) Rituals. In the movie Outsourced (2006), examples of each of these functions of nonverbal behavior are observed. The face plays a particularly important role in showing emotion. Ekman (1982) classified facial expressions of emotion into six categories: happiness, surprise, fear, sadness, anger, and disgust/contempt.Throughout the movie Outsourced (2006) emotions were expressed by the characters through their facial expressions, body movements, and voice. Early in the movie, Todd visits the Indian call center for the first time. As he walks around the office Todd stops in his tracks with a surprised lo ok on his face as he sees a cow standing right next to the call center’s clock. A few days later in a team meeting, emotions are expressed through nonverbal behavior by the call center staff as Todd answers questions about the product catalog from his team.An employee asks about the purpose of a product. Todd replies that the product is used to brand cows. The employees are outraged, and display facial expressions of disgust/contempt as they learn that cows, sacred animals in their culture, are having logos burned into their flesh in the United States. In another scene, Todd experiences a terrible stomach ache from Indian food. He rushes home with a worried look on his face as he fears he will not make it home in time. His facial expression of fear amplifies as he arrives home only to find that his toilet is being replaced.The repair men point him in the direction of downstairs bathroom where he discovers there is neither a toilet nor toilet paper and he must relieve himself in a hole in the ground and use his left hand for cleaning. Later in the movie, Todd’s boss from Seattle unexpectedly shows up in India and announces that the call center will be relocated to China where the cost of operation is even cheaper. Todd’s facial expressions body movements and the tone of his voice show the anger he feels toward his boss for moving the call center and sadness when he must tell the staff that they will be losing their jobs.Throughout the movie, Todd and Asha show nonverbal indications happiness, smiling and laughing together as they become romantically involved and enjoy each other’s company at work and outside of the office. Nonverbal signals such as tone of voice, gaze, and touch play an important part in establishing and maintaining relationships (Argyle, 1988). Argyle (1988) writes that â€Å"the most basic meaning of touch is that an interpersonal bond is being offered or established† (p. 226).Furthermore, eye contact can gi ve important cues of attitudes and emotions. In the movie Outsourced (2006), Asha and Todd make a trip to an Indian island to retrieve merchandise that was shipped to the wrong address. After traveling for five hours and taking a ferry, they successfully retrieve the merchandise, but are forced to spend the night on the island after the ferry breaks down. When they arrive at the hotel they find that the hotel is almost completely booked and they will have to share a room.After a brief argument about the situation and sleeping arrangements, Asha and Todd gaze deep into each other’s eyes nonverbally communicating their attraction and feelings for each other. From there they kiss and proceed to physically express their admiration for each other through sex. Nonverbal communication plays an important role in supporting speech during communication (Argyle, 1988). In the movie Outsourced (2006), nonverbal communication plays an important role in situations where Todd must communica te with local people who speak little or no English.On Todd’s first day in India he approaches a street vendor to purchase a drink. The vendor does not speak English and Todd uses his index finger to single the number â€Å"one†. Through this gesture he is able to communicate his desire for one drink which is understood by the vendor. Shortly after this scene, Todd is escorted by Puro to a local bed and breakfast owned by the friend of a Puro. The hostess, Todd, and Puro sit down for midday snack and begin making conversation. Todd picks up some snacks with his left hand and begins eating.Both the hostess and his friend Puro look at him in shock. They proceed to try and tell him that eating with your left hand is considered crude and offensive in India because the left hand is traditionally used to clean oneself after using the toilet. When Todd is unable to understand an older man napping in a chair stands up, walks over to the table and makes the motion of wiping his behind with his left hand to help Todd understand. Self-Presentation, a person’s appearance, grooming, and dress is also a form of nonverbal communication (Non-Verbal Communication, n. . , para. 2). (Richmond & McCroskey, 2004) note that people generally form their first impressions about others based on their looks, attire, and attractiveness. In the movie Outsourced (2006), Puro dresses in a suit and tie when meeting Todd. By wearing the traditional Western culture attire for a manager, Puro projects the professional image of an American businessman. Rituals, the use of greetings, handshakes or other practices are also an important part of nonverbal communication (Argyle, 1988).When Todd meets Puro in Gharapuri, they shake hands as Puro welcomes Todd to India. In another scene at the office, Puro brings Todd a tray of food that he says will help Todd with his stomach problems. Todd kindly thanks him, and Puro bows to say you are welcome to Todd. (Archer, 1997) states t hat â€Å"gestures are definitely not a universal language, as people who have worked, lived, or studied abroad may have noticed. † In many cases, gestures from different societies may look similar but have dramatically different meanings.In the movie Outsourced (2006), Todd and Asha discuss differences in the meaning of words between British English, the form of English traditionally studied in India, and American English. For example, in British English, French fries are called chips. While not presented in the film it is important to recognize that nonverbal communication and gestures may mean different things in different cultures just like in verbal communication. In the movie Outsourced (2006), Todd is invited outside of his hotel to have dinner with a family in the nearby slums.The family gestures for him to sit with them and then they proceed to serve him a plate of food. An older woman smiles at Todd while he is enjoying the food and makes a hand gesture of the famil iar American â€Å"OK†. The gesture seemed to have a common understanding in this scenario, but in many cases gestures do not mean the same thing in cross culture interactions. For example, the gesture used by many Americans for â€Å"OK† is seen in the movie. This gesture is similar in many ways to gestures in other cultures but has a very different meaning.In Japan the gesture means â€Å"money†, whereas in France it means â€Å"zero†, and in Ethiopia it means â€Å"homosexuality†. As shown in this scenario, the use of gestures in cross- cultural interaction carries the potential for confusion, embarrassment, or insult. Nonverbal communication through the use of facial expressions, body movements, gestures, or positions play a significant role in interpersonal communication. The use of nonverbal communication to express emotion, communicate interpersonal attitudes, support speech, and aid people in self-presentation and cultural rituals is observ ed throughout the movie Outsourced (2006).Gestures, like words and phrases spoken language, may carry different meaning in different cultures. Therefore, it is important for people working in different countries or people from different backgrounds to be aware of this so they are less likely to encounter confusion, controversy, or offend someone during cross cultural interactions.References Adler, R. (2011). Understanding Human Communication. 11th ed. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Archer, D. (1997). Unspoken Diversity: Cultural Differences in Gestures. Qualitative Sociology, 20(1), 79-105. Argyle, M. (1988). Bodily Communication, 2nd ed. New York, NY: Methuen. Ekman, P. (1982). Emotion in the Human Face, 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Mehrabian, A. Communication without words, Psychology Today, 1968, 2 (4), 53-55. Non-Verbal Communication. Retrieved from http://siteresources. worldbank. org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/NonverbalCommweb. pdf Richmond, V. P. , & McC roskey, J. C. (2004). Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Relations. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon/Pearson Education.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Principles Of human Resources Management Essay

INTRODUCTION The management of organization human resource to make them attain the organizational goals and work effectively towards contributing to the growth of the organization in contemporary times has taken a new dimension from the traditional way of personnel management. Human resource is considered as the most valuable resources in the organization; without which other resources cannot be coordinated and utilized to the optimal sue of the organization. The formation of effective relationship with workers and enabling a working environment where there is informal relationship goes a long way to motivating workers to performance. According to Farrazzi & Gatti (2007), â€Å"†¦developing deep, genuine relationships- both internally among co-workers †¦is one of the most important skills need for performance in workplace† Thus, Human Resource Development (HRD) is a vital process used in contemporary times to make an organization Human resource inapt and adequately equipped to face the challenges of the time. According to Wilson (1999:27), â€Å"An alignment between strategy and training and development is now commonly regarded as a good business sense in all corners of the globe†. This is more adduced to the limited resources and finance to aid an organization in the attainment of its goal. Thus, HR development will go a long way in the organization to attain effectively set goals in the most efficient way. For Colours R Us (CRU) company to effectively get the best in its human resource management , the management of the organization need to put in place conducive working environment; one that would motivate workers to want to remain long in the organization. This is obtainable through formation of deep relationship among workers. Getting the right people at the right place is a function of human resource planning. Motivation of workers plays a significant role in maintaining and making the positioned ‘right people’ stay and build up a long career in an organization. IMPLEMENTING AN EFFECTIVE HRM IN CONTEMPORARY BUSINESS Effective Human Resource Management practices are recognises as to enhance an organisation’s competitive advantage by creating both cost leadership and differentiation. Today’s competitive global environment has made organisation maintaining a competitive advantage puts a premium on having a committed and competent workforce. Low-cost, high- quality products and services are a result of committed employees all working hard to produce the best products and provide the best services that they can at the lowest possible cost. Thus, it is important that the Human Resource Managers are made to get in touch and be included in the organisation’s strategic plan, since they have the wealth of experience in the motivation of the organisational workforce into putting their best in the attainment of the strategic goals of the organisation. Furthermore, the possession of information about human resource planning put the Human Resource Manager in a good position to partake in the strategic planning of the organisation. For example, with the available information on human resource planning, this along side with the organisation strategy would bring about the hiring of the best human resource that would be in a better position to efficiently meet the organisation’s goals. In this view, Sims (2002), has it that, As effective partners in helping organisations successfully achieve their goals, Human Resource Management managers need to have a clear understanding of exactly what are the organisation’s strategies, and then they must ensure that their own efforts are consistent with provide support for those strategies. To the extent that the Human Resource Management function is seen as a strategic partner and/or a centre of expertise, of course, its manager should also be actively involved in the formulation of corporate and business strategies as well as other functional strategies. A closer integration between top management goals and Human Resource Management practices helps to elicit and reward the types of behaviour necessary for achieving an organisation’s strategy. According to Matanmi (2001:7), â€Å"as a concept HRM has relatively recently, developed as a generic (i.e. broad, all-embracing), and yet specialised management field that particularly draws its strengths from such multi-disciplinary sources of knowledge that include (but) not exclusively restricted to) personnel management, organisation behaviour   (OB), industrial and labour relations, economics, law, psychology and sociology†. In the process of HRM, there is an increasing emphasis on the personal needs of the organisation and its members. Thus, how effectively an organisation’s employee contribute successfully to the attainment of the organisational goals depends to a larger extent upon the ability of its HRM staff. Hence, the challenges of the HRM are to create an organisational environment in which each employee can grow and develop to his or her fullest extent (Sims, 2002:4). Furthermore, Rowden (1999) have it that Human Resource Professional need to master global operating skills. They should learn to do business in non-native environments, with individual of different backgrounds and perspectives and with products and services used in different ways. Human Resource Professionals should also be masters of the business environment. They need to understand financial reports, business goals, and consumer and investor important. â€Å"Also they must have the business acumen necessary to understand and support the business function. This will make Human Resource Professionals and indispensable part of a team assigned the task of charting a business’s future†. (Hussey 1995). Thus, it is seen that for the Human Resource source professionals to actively partake in the strategic planning of an organisation they need to be vast with skills that cut across financial planning, critical visioning and thinking, analytical skill and be informed with the ever changing technological development and better utilisation of modern information technology packages. This will make them be equipped to put the organisation a head of its competitors. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF COLOURS R US (CRU) HRM PROBLEMS The workers in Colours R Us (CRU) are not motivated enough to make their stay and build up a career in the organization. The working environment is not conducive; as workers find it difficult to meet their personal needs in the locality where CRU is located. These include restaurants services, baby day care services, security of workers who engages in night shifts. The necessary amenities are not there to aid the worker abide in their work and stay long in the company. Another major issue that is making CRU not to attract the best workers and to retain those it has is the level of remuneration available to the company’s staffers. However, CRU gives an average remuneration, the locality where the company operates from there is higher level of payment. The software companies and communication call centers are well positioned to pay more. This alone, would be an obstacle in motivating the right workers to want to be employed and build up a career with CRU. This is also a cause to make already employed workers in CRU to wanting to move out. Furthermore, the statistical number of workers in the organization shows that women are more than male permanent workers are. Women workers usually leave within short period of assuming their post as workers in the company. There is the problem of getting more workers to operate the company’s diversification operation in the production of ‘Magnificence in Miniature’ RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MANAGING THE COLOURS R US (CRU) HRM PROBLEMS As a Consultant with ‘Right People Right Place’, my recommendations for CRU Company, to solve its HRM problems, include the following: MOTIVATIONAL IMPROVEMENT FOR THE COMPANY’S HR CPU as an organization has not done very well in the motivations of its staffers. Though the company pays its staffers the average pay in the industry, the workers put in much time. Motivation would keep the staffers to contribute meaningfully in the organization and they will be interested and prepare to build up a lasting career with the company. Lindner (1998), argues, â€Å"Motivated employees are needed in our rapidly changing workplaces. Motivated employees help organizations survive. Motivated employees are more productive. Monetary incentive is not only the channel of motivating workers. The sense of belonging and appreciation of workers contribution to the organization goes a long way to motivating workers. To be effective, managers need to understand what motivates employees within the context of the roles they perform. Of all the functions a manager performs, motivating employees is arguably the most complex. This is due, in part, to the fact that what motivates employee changes constantly†. The CPU management should adapt different ways for motivating employees who serve long hours and permanent from short- term workers. Motivating short-term worker, this should be done differently from those workers who are overworked or who put in lengthy work performance in the organization (University of Chicago Newsletter for Supervisor and Managers, 2004). In motivating a short-term worker the management of CPU, need to adopt the following strategic approach: Reinforce the significance of short-term employees’ work by explaining their importance and how they contribute to the organization’s growth. Introduce short-term employees to the people who use their work to demonstrate the effect the quality of their work has on others. Counter assumptions that someone else will do the work if short-term employees do not come through. Discuss the role short-terms workers play in the CPU manufacturing and working process. They should be made to understand that their work is as important as that of other employees. The Management of CPU should demonstrate interest in their long-term plans for HRM for short –term workers. Plans should be devised to identify those areas where skilled short-term workers may have value elsewhere in the organization. The management should help short-term workers to identify other opportunities before their assignment in your department is over. On the other hand, to motivate those workers who have work lengthy period and over work for the organization, the CPU management can motivate this group by adopting a strategy that follows the sequence of: The CPU management should let the lengthy period and over worked employees know that the company value their stay in the organization and appreciate their contribution to the growth of the organization. They should be made to know they stand to be adequately rewarded. The management of CPU should display the quality of a team player by requesting from this category of workers what they require to made them comfortable and keep the work going. The management of CPU should provide a feedback to workers that put in lengthy work hours, stay, and make them fell appreciated for their contribution in the organization. ADOPTING A MUTUAL EXCHANGE MOTIVATIONAL STRATEGY Mutual exchange is another strategy the management of CPU can adopt in motivating their workers. Here, where a worker has accomplish an assigned task he or she should be given something in return based on   earlier promise made by the supervisor; this may come in form of   a day off, or early closure for the   day’s work etc. According the Moore (1991), the negative effect of this appraoch is that it is not the most effective approach for motivating   workers; as the workers and supervisor may not reach a balance on what should be exchanged for the accomplishment of an assigned task.   RECRUITING MORE MALE WORKER The management of CPU should engage in recruiting more males than females. The environment where the company is situated is not conducive for female worker to work adequately. There is absence of day care for nursing mothers and those women with little children; the vicinity is not safe enough for night female worker. Considering these facts, the male worker will do more to cope in the environment than their female counterparts will. STRATEGIC ALLIANCE FORMATION WITH OTHER INTENSIVE CARE AND FACILITY PROVIDING ORGANIZATION The major reason for the workers leaving the CPU Company within short period is adduced to the lack of amenities to contribute to workers convenience in working for the company. The locality where the company is situated lacks these basic amenities. The management of CPU can enter into strategic alliance by inviting and forming strategic partners with small organizations to provide basic services that the workers lack, such as children day-care services, security, inter-alia. REFERENCES Ferrazzi, Keith & Gatti, Lisa (2007), â€Å"The Human Element of Successful Training† June Volume 61, 6c ABI/ INFORM Global P. 68 Hussey, D. (1995), â€Å"Human Resources: Strategic Audit† In International Review of Strategic Management Vol. 6 Pp 157-195. Lindner, James R. (1998), â€Å"Understanding Employee Motivation† in Journal of Extension. June 1998 Volume 36 Number 3 Matanmi, Segun (2001) Strategic Management of the Human Resources in Nigeria for the next Millennium: some notes   (unpublished article) Lagos State University. Moore, Dianne-Jo (1991), â€Å"7 Motivational Strategies – Manager’s Motivation Of Workers† Modern Machine Shop http://findarticles.com/p/search?tb=art&qt=%22Dianne-Jo+Moore%22 (2/11/06) Rowden, R.W (1999), â€Å"Potential Roles of the Human Resource Management Professional in the Strategic Planning Process† in SAM Advanced Management Journal. Vol. 64, Issue 3. Pp 22 Sims, Ronald R. (2002), Organisational Success Through Effective Human Resources Management West Port, CT: Quorum Books. Pp. 1-5, 8, 9, 20, 23. University of Chicago Newsletter for Supervisor and Managers’ (2004), â€Å"Strategies and Tactics Methods to Manage Your Work, Your Staff, and Your Results† Volume VI Issue 9 September http://hr.uchicago.edu/newsletter/itk–20040901/toc.html (1/11/06). Wilson, John P. (1999), Human Resource Development: Learning and Training for Individuals and Organizations London: Kagan Page   

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Alumni Tracking System Essay Example for Free (#2)

Alumni Tracking System Essay An issue tracking system (also ITS, trouble ticket system, support ticket or incident ticket system) is a computer software package that manages and maintains lists of issues, as needed by an organization. Issue tracking systems are commonly used in an organization’s customer support call center to create, update, and resolve reported customer issues, or even issues reported by that organization’s other employees. An issue tracking system often also contains a knowledge base containing information on each customer, resolutions to common problems, and other such data. An issue tracking system is similar to a â€Å"bugtracker†, and often, a software company will sell both, and some bugtrackers are capable of being used as an issue tracking system, and vice versa. Consistent use of an issue or bug tracking system is considered one of the â€Å"hallmarks of a good software team†.[1] A ticket is an element contained within an issue tracking system which contains information about support interventions made by technical support staff or third parties on behalf of an end-user who has reported an incident that is preventing them from working with their computer as they would expect to be able to. Tickets are commonly created in a help desk or call center environment. Typically the ticket will have a unique reference number, also known as a case, issue or call log number which is used to allow the user or support staff to quickly locate, add to or communicate the status of the user’s issue or request. These tickets are so called because of their origin as small cards within a typical wall mounted work planning system when this kind of support started. Operators or staff receiving a call or query from a user would fill out a small card with the user’s details and a brief summary of the request and place it into a position (usually the last) in a column of pending slots for an appropriate engineer, so determining the staff member who would deal with the query and the priority of the request. Alumni Tracking System. (2016, Dec 09).

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Negotiating Strategy Negotiation practice of group Unity 04254 Essay

Negotiating Strategy Negotiation practice of group Unity 04254 - Essay Example Mainly, any trading process is including the parties like transferor and transferee. Firms have to maintain proper commitment in terms of maintaining post sales support and delivery products (Crump, 2011). In the current study, the negotiation process will be detailed out for Beaufort, XFM and Unity perspective. It is a Northampton, United Kingdom based high-end shoemaking firm. However, they are facing huge challenge from the shoe producers of Asia. Thus, they selected the strategy of ‘offshore’ production which will be done by XFM, China. This policy will be reducing the production cost as it reduces the UK based high rate workers. This study will be outlining the negotiation process between Beaufort’s management, XFM, and Unity, which is a UK trade union. The negotiation process will be outlining benefits of the UK based shoemaking employee, who are facing higher risk of job cuts for Beaufort’s offshore strategy. Druckman (2001) stated that the negotiation process of firms or other trading bodies are using the various strategies and theories for achieving best possible benefits of the involved parties. Mainly, any negotiator can use the negotiation strategies or approaches like structural approach, strategic approach, behavioural approach, processional approach and integrative approach. Organisations are adopting various types of negotiation process in order to increase commercial relationship and employee beneficiary. On the other hand, trade unions will be looking for the welfare of their members. Global firms and trade unions are using negotiation process for managing labour cost. The process also fixes up wage rates, working time and employment contracts. Organisational management can adopt various negotiation strategies for increasing the beneficiary of all the parties involved in the process. Dajani (2006) opined that structural

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Grounded theory approach Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Grounded theory approach - Research Paper Example Lost potential to manage muscles in the hand is an example and has many effects on the individuals. A person with Fine Motor Skill Disability may for example not be able to hold a pen firmly and write with it or even function effectively in physical activities that engage the affected muscles (Nicholls and Jones, 2012). Emerging trends in technology can however empower this population and this paper explores the population’s experience with technology to develop a theory on empowerment effect of technology on the population’s ability to participate in graphic design. In order to explore the research questions, the study will use a list of students with Fine Motor Skill Disability, from an academic institution, to generate a corresponding list of the students’ parents and teachers. Stratified random sampling will then generate a sample of 25 participants from the three groups with 11 participants being students with the disability. Interviews and observations will be used in data collection. The students will be interviewed on their experiences and opinion over derived benefits of technology in graphic design and their successful implementation of technology in design observed. Interviews will however be used in collecting data from the parents and teachers regarding effects of technology on the disabled students’ attitude and success in graphic design (Johnson and Chrisensen,

Monday, August 26, 2019

What are the most important differences between rationalists and Term Paper

What are the most important differences between rationalists and empiricists(Site specific philosophers in each group) - Term Paper Example It is known that rationalists and empiricists give different answers to the above-mentioned questions. Such rationalists as Des Cartes stated that one always describes the highest truth by means of logic and reason. One should not apply subjective or direct experience to do that. As for empiricist’s point of view, experience is very important as it is the basis of one’s development of logic. Once Isaac Asimov uttered that â€Å"I prefer rationalism to atheism. The question of God and other objects-of-faith are outside reason and play no part in rationalism, thus you do not have to waste your time in either attacking or defending† (Lacewing, 65). This statement demonstrates that for Asimov it was better and more convenient to use rationalism than empiricism. As for empiricism, it teaches that one should not try learning more about God with the help of reason. This school recommends using two projects instead of that. They are: critical and constructive. The first one focuses on the elimination of what is known by metaphysicians. The second pays attention to the commentaries of religious texts. A strong point of empiricism is that people are able quickly understand the sources of information/knowledge. In the majority of cases it is received with the help of the senses. It is a casual process. Experience helps to form one’s concepts. When the latter are gained, their understanding gives to the individual analytic knowledge. Thus, John Locke is sure that â€Å"all ideas are derived from sense experience. The mind is a ‘tabula rasa’, empty at birth. He begins his argument by attacking the opposite point of view – that some ideas are not derived from sense experience, but are ‘innate’. By ‘innate idea’ Locke means a concept or proposition which is part of the mind from birth. For an idea to be part of the mind, the

'Is chocolate a food or a drug' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

'Is chocolate a food or a drug' - Essay Example Chocolate has been a popular and revered flavor for many past civilizations, chocolate residue have been found in pottery dating to 1100 BC from Honduras, and 600-400 BC from Belize. Till date chocolate is one of the most popular flavors in the world and chocolate lovers known as "chocoholics" are ready to swear by its pleasurable and medicinal effects. The Mayan civilization worshipped the Cacao Tree for they believed it was divine in origin. The Mayans called the fruit of the cacao tree "food of the gods† and also associated it with the god of fertility. The Aztecs also considered the cocoa tree a gift from the god of wisdom and knowledge. They considered chocolate to be an aphrodisiac as it invigorated men and made women less inhibited, the Aztec emperor Monteczuma is said to have drank fifty golden goblets of chocolate a day in order to enhance his sexual ability (Thames & Hudson, 2000) Chocolate was an important luxury good throughout pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and cacao beans were often used as currency. Today chocolate takes the form of a substance of powder or a block composing of raw and processed food from roasted and crushed cacao seeds found from the tropical cacao tree. Chocolate has a unique appeal of sugar, texture, flavor, sweetness and aroma, making it the most common ingredient for confectionary sweet food as well as flavoring. There are three varieties of chocolate available, chocolate coated or made of dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate (Hornby 1989). Dark chocolate contains a mild content of cocoa butter and a fat that naturally occurs in cocoa beans. These beans are made up of 34% of stearic acid, 24% of oleic acid, 25% of palmitic acid and 7% of other fatty acids (Roth 2007). Milk chocolate contains two times the amount of antioxidants where as dark chocolate contains five times the amount of antioxidants (Moss 2002). While white chocolate only contain the texture and sweetness (Hemmelgarn 2006). Dark

Sunday, August 25, 2019

4 Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

4 Discussion - Essay Example moral grounds wherein the involvement and formation of a consistent value system is administered to and this forms the base on which decisions concerning behavior is based upon. Conscience is the â€Å"the little voice,† perhaps at times may nag, complain or make us feel harassed when actions are considered not in the right perspective. Sigmund Freud described conscience as the voice within the superego, the set of rigid moral precepts that helped to control the want and take aspects of the id. Superego can be characterized as the sum of things learned in early life about right and wrong, wherein the self or ego functions within the bounds of a particular society. A person with poor superego control is considered id-driven.(Bonnie,1995) Others believe that the conscience is the other voice of reason as viewed by Thomas Aqinas. Since reason is God-given to Aquinas therefore consciences is also God-given. But human beings have the capacity to develop reason, and so reason remains a facility that must be exercised and developed. To act conscientiously is to act on reason-based decisions. (Bonnie,1995) Aquinas discusses people who have erring consciences and make wrong decisions based on faulty reasoning. He states that this may not be the person’s fault if he has not learned enough to know what is right or wrong. We have been stating that conscience is merely a feeling but I feel it is more of knowledge that is required to understand the difference between right and wrong. This extent of conscience is based on knowledge and is not merely a feeling. This should be a knowledge rather than rational or analytical knowledge wherein this knowledge of mine is an absolute obligation to goodness, justice and charity and virtue and holiness. Secondly this knowledge is of moral facts. Thus knowledge forms the bases for conscience. Now this conscience for me can lead to authority. The age we live in is filled turmoil and terrorism. And I feel that from young this

Saturday, August 24, 2019

The utilization of Furlough days to combat budget issues Research Paper

The utilization of Furlough days to combat budget issues - Research Paper Example From the research it is clear that the organizational practice involves forecasting and determining the major drawbacks that may hinder effective performance of employees and finding a lasting solution. Human resource management entails measures for improving the workplace environment, recruitment, performance and reward management among other activities that enhance the productivity of employees. Organizations maintain competitiveness through inventiveness and uniqueness in their operations. These are accomplished through maintenance of a committed and competent work force. High commitment among employees is important in ensuring customer satisfaction. When an organization succeeds in maintaining competence and satisfaction among employees, it is able to maintain strong customer relationships as well as a strong brand image. These are among the aspects that determine an organization’s productivity since happy employees are satisfied employees, who are able to own the organiza tional goal. Strategic human resource management involves supporting the employees to help in establishing organizational goals. Organizations that engage in employee training and supporting innovative ideas are usually competitive in the market. Strategic human resource management helps in accomplishing employee satisfaction. More over, it helps in maintaining skilled workers in the organization. However, an organization may be faced with budget issues that may hinder the accomplishment of human resource management strategies. This paper presents a critique of the utilization of Furlough days to combat budget issues. Utilization of Furlough Days Furlough days negatively affect the morale of employees due to the breaks in their day to day activities as they are ordered to take compulsory unpaid leaves. Even though employees maintain permanent employment in an organization, the practice may be frustrating to many since it decreases their income. Depending on the nature of the budget deficit, furlough days may be scheduled for a number of days per month or one day per week until the financial shortfall is dealt with. While an organization focuses on the shortfalls in its budget, the workload increases and employees have to be overworked to cover the days that they do not work (Whitfield & Poole, 1997). Schrader & Lawless (2004) observe that while losing the job completely may be more frustrating to the employees, the regular loss of income and employment benefits through furlough days may cause resentment and the urge to look for an alternative job and hence a high employee turn over. High employee turn over is detrimental to an organization’s productivity and reputation. It is usually costly to hire and train new employees to become competent in the workplace. The organization looses skilled employees to competitors, and more so, skills attained from the organization (Buller & McEvoy, 2012). It may be a great loss to the organization especially when an e mployee exposes company information to competitors (Luthans & Stajkovic, 1999). The future projections may not be realized if the organization relied on training an employee to attain a particular goal in future. Customers may loose confidence in the organization due to disruption in service delivery especially when the departing employees were at strategic positions of service delivery. Other customers build their trust on particular employees especially for the services that require one-on-one relationships (Huselid & Becker, 2011). Human resource managers need to ensure that the employee turn ove

Friday, August 23, 2019

Strategic Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Strategic Marketing - Essay Example However it is accomplished, the satisfaction of all physical distribution needs in the marketing channel must be accomplished for the rest of the channel to function successfully. The selection and use of physical distribution facilitating agencies is quite different than the selection and use of facilitating agencies for other channel services. In most cases other than for physical distribution, the facilitating agency will be employed and paid for by whichever channel member needs it. For physical distribution, however, the manufacturer or marketer will normally locate, select, and pay for the services of agencies involved in physical distribution (McCalley, 1992, p. 43). Channel strategy literature informs us about channel-facilitating agencies that can provide a variety of services for the manufacturer or marketer of products. Marketing services in this context needed depend on what can be expected from the channel members and the capabilities of the manufacturer. In this case not only strategies are required but other governance and management issues are also of significance that are most commonly the selected marketing channel members as they have the ability to ship and store products at the wholesale or retail levels in the market. These are actually the intermediaries that provide all or most of the physical distribution functions. In conditions where the channel members are unable to provide the needed services, the manufacturer has the option of providing the services itself or employing facilitating agencies to perform them. Therefore the need for all or some of these services or for other physical distribution services depends on manufactu rers’ ability to themselves satisfy the key physical distribution requirements of the marketing channel to be managed. Let us review that in order to help us in determining what is

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Haitian and American Revolutions Essay Example for Free

Haitian and American Revolutions Essay While the revolutions in colonial America and Haiti had many parallels, they were also unique in their own ways. In both revolutions, the rebels revolted against a foreign superpower that was in a weakened economic state in order to gain economic and social freedom. However, the Haiti revolution stressed freedom for everybody (including slaves), whereas the American Revolution focused more on the needs of the Bourgeois, or middle class. The revolutions in both of these countries would have been unsuccessful were it not for the crippling problems faced by both opposing superpowers. The success of the Haitian revolution was due in no small part to the political turmoil brought about by the French revolution. This weakened the ability of the colonial administrators in Haiti to maintain order and caused the authority of colonial officials to no longer be clear; even the very legitimacy of slavery was even being challenged in France. The turmoil in France and Haiti paved the way for a struggle between the elite plantation owners and the free black slave owners. This fighting in turn gave the slaves, under the leadership of Toussaint LOuverture, the unheard of opportunity to revolt against their owners and emancipate themselves from a brutal system of bondage (Corbet). The revolution in the Americans was against its mother country, Great Britain, and unlike Haiti, the British army was in full force when war broke. There were, however, economic weaknesses that led to the inevitable revolution against Britain. Britain was burdened by debts from the French and Indian War, and therefore taxed the colonies substantially to make up for this. The ideologies of the revolutions in both Haiti and America were very similar. In America, philosophers such as Thomas Paine and John Locke preached social and economic freedom. Thomas Paine writes, And he hath shown himself such an inveterate enemy to liberty, and discovered such a thirst for arbitrary power, is he, or is he not, a proper person to say to these colonies, you shall make no laws but what I please!' (Overfield, 198). This represents the opinion of many revolutionaries: that they should be allowed to rule on their own and not be taxed and forced into things by a  ruler thousands of miles away. Also, these philosophers believed in the idea of unalienable rights for men. The Declaration states, We hold these truths to be [sacred and undeniable] self evident, that all men are created equal and independent; that from that equal creation they derive in rights inherent and inalienables, among which are the preservation of life, and liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Maier). The colonists believed that everyone with land should have a chance to pursue happiness, and that the British monarchy wasnt allowing them this freedom. They also proclaimed that taxation without representation was a denial of the rights they deserved. The bourgeois class brought up this claim to get more economical freedom and rights. Acts passed by the Parliament such as the Stamp Act limited the economic potential of this middle class. Thomas Paine talked of how no immigrants would move to the colonies of the government was not allowed to be independent and thrive (Overfield, 198). Although this would help the middle class gain more money and thrive, the lower class including the slaves would be unaffected. These slaves were not to be given any rights or improvements from their previous lifestyle. In Haiti before the revolution, slaves also had no rights or say in their lives. With Frances being in a state of turmoil, a window opened for a chance to rid of their masters and grasp a life unheard of to slaves of this era. All they needed was a leader: someone to bring them together and unite them in this noble cause, and for them, this man was Toussaint LOuverture. With the slave owners fighting and in disarray, the slaves rose up and fought hard for a better life. LOuverture might have grasped the idea of economic independence, but the slaves only goal was social freedom. Many fought to the death because they welcomed death as a change from the terrible lives they had been living. This revolution was to give inalienable rights to all, including slaves, instead of just to the bourgeois class as had been done in America. In the Haitian revolution, the slaves revolted against the wealthy plantation owners. Details of these events are shown with illustrations that were  created from British admirer Marcus Rainsfords own sketches. Rainsford depicted him through his portraits almost as if he were a deity a countenance bold and striking, yet full of the most prepossessing suavity terrible to an enemy, but inviting to the objects of his friendship or his love. The rebellious slaves eventually gained the upper hand under the leadership of LOuverture (Rainsford). LOuverture then led an invasion of neighboring Saint Domingo where he continued to liberate slaves. In 1802, Napoleon, the leader of France, sent a large military force and fought the rebel forces. The resistance persisted, and the slaves eventually gained independence by defeating Napoleon. LOuverture was captured and sent to France, where he died in prison. One might wonder what he was thinking as when he was there. A letter, or a journal written by him might provide insight into the mind of this influential revolutionary. The American Revolution started with boycotts to repeal unjust measures such as the Stamp Act. These passions intensified into riots, which were portrayed in the Boston Tea Party, where rebels dumped 10,000 pounds of tea into the river to protest high tea taxes. The Boston Massacre also incited hatred towards the King of Britain, King George III (Middlekauff 712). All these factors escalated and came to a climax when war was declared against the British. In the early stages of the revolution, minutemen, ordinary colonists, were used in the battles. Eventually, strong military leaders organized the colonists into a fighting machine and the colonists were able to surround the British at Yorktown, thus gaining their independence Bibliography Corbett, Bob. The Haitian Revolution of 1791-1803. 21 Mar. 2001. Webster University. http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/revolution/revolution1.htm. Maier, Pauline. American Scripture Making the Declaration of Independence. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. Jefferson, Thomas. The Declaration of Independence. Maier 235-241. Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789. Vol. II of the Oxford History of the United States. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1982. Overfield, Andrea. The Human Record Sources of Global History. Vol. 2. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. Overfield 194-198. Rainsford, Marcus. An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti: Comprehending a View of the Pricipal Transactions in the Revolution of Saint Domingo; With its Ancient and Modern State. London: James Cundee, 1803.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The affect of the Mexican Revolution Essay Example for Free

The affect of the Mexican Revolution Essay Francisco Bollain y Goitia Garcia (1882-1960) is a prominent Mexican artists of the XX century, who has been almost forgotten for decades and is now rediscovered. His works are rather complicated for perception and they can hardly be called pleasant, for Goitia concentrated on the most homely aspects of the world around him, demonstrating the fatality of revolution and violent changes in the most shocking way. This paper is to investigate two of his famous paintings – Zacatecas Landscape with Hanged Men I and Zacatecas Landscape with Hanged Men II. The paper is to demonstrate the style and manner of painting, as well as compare those pictures with works of other Mexican painters of the time such as Jose Clemente Orozco and Victor Augustin Cassasola. Some biographical data about Goitia is necessary to understand his works, so the paper shall open with a short biographic reference about the artist. Francisco Goitia was born in the Mexican state of Zacatecas. Being a talented artist since his early years he studied in the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City and than in Barcelona with the Spanish artist Francisco Gali. Upon return to his home country in 1912 he has found it being wasted by the revolution. Having occupied the position of official painter for General Angel of Pancho Villas army he had an ability to observe war and it’s consequences with his own eyes. The experience influenced Goitia’s works greatly and his paintings are now examples of uncovered brutality and dread. There were even claims that Goitia ordered to exhume executed soldiers and hang them on cactuses as models for his pictures so it is hard to say how much in his paintings comes from real facts and how much from artificial staging of his morbid fantasies. Goitia has never worked with monumental forms so characteristic for Mexican art of the time. His canvases remained inside realism, impressionism and to a great extent symbolism, so he never became so popular as Diego Rivera or Jose Orozco. His last years passed in self-imposed poverty, but still he was quite a famous painter inside Mexico since early 20-s. In recent years his works became of interest for scholars outside Mexico as well. Both landscapes of Zacatecas (I and II) were painted most probably in 1914, although the exact date is unknown. They are both variations about the same topic: a bleak depressive landscape with half-dissolved corpses of hanged men on the trees. Both pictures were drawn from nature. Goitia knew this terrain well since he himself was born in Zacatecas, so he takes almost an intimate and affected position towards the scene. The landscape is typical for northern Mexico – it includes grey and yellow desert land with hills on the horizon and yuccas growing everywhere. The men hanged on the trees seem to their parts – so â€Å"naturally† they are tied to the branches. Most of the researchers point biblical analogies in the first painting for the landscape is so bleak that it reminds Golgotha. The analogy becomes even stronger for Goitia called his series of paintings about revolution â€Å"martyrdoms†. Goitia has been in the army of Pancho Villa in 1914 when he has captured the capital city of Zacatecas. Being both fascinated and frightened by that what he has seen he started feeling that his mission was to record the epic events of the revolution for history. As he himself put it â€Å"I went everywhere with the army, observing. I did not carry any weapons because I knew that the mission of killing was not mine† . Among the things Goitia has witnessed was death of general Lazaro Gomez, who has been repulsing enemy attacks auntill he ran out of ammunition and shot to his back after being taken prisoner. The body of the general has been beheaded and hanged on a tree with his head replaced with the head of a steer. It is believed that exactly death of Gomez inspired Goitia to paint his Zacatecas Landscape with Hanged Men I, although he used bodies of simple soldiers as â€Å"models†. So the first variant of the painting can really be considered a record of actual events, although Goitia did not concentrate on the death of a particular man, but aimed to show the series of deaths in Zacatecas. The most obvious difference between two variants of paintings is the manner in which they are drawn and involvement of the spectator. Zacatecas I still looks like a â€Å"real† classical painting with obvious elements attributable to artistic form including shape, symmetry, movement and rhythm. The background plays an active role in the picture and the bodies of the hanged look simply like the bodies of the hanged. They are horrible and shocking, but at least â€Å"natural†. Perhaps Goitia was not satisfied with the artistic effect of the first painting, so in the second variant he made it more impressive and less realistic . This was necessary to strike the audience in the necessary way. In the second painting two dead bodies are absolute centre of the compositions, and their empty eyeholes are pointed directly ad the spectator, as if they were looking at him. The position of the bodies creates an impression of surrealistic â€Å"gates† to the dreadful reality of death and grief. Death and it’s triumph are key points of the picture. The first variant is painted with oil on canvas and the second one looks more like a touchy pencil drawing, which has later been colored. To make his second painting even more symbolic Goitia replaced usual terrain of Zacatecas with surrealistic vision of deadly symbolism. In Zacatecas Landscape with Hanged Men II the trees seem to come out from gothic descriptions of Poe as they are gnarled and lifeless being painted with pale cold colors. Skulls of animals on the ground once more stress that death is a true master of the stage. The only living creatures on the second painting are owls – traditional symbols of night and forerunners of death. They create a ghostly atmosphere of the scene. Bodies are waved to different sides paralleling the braches they hang on, so they seem to be blown by different winds. White sun in the grey skies creates an image of omen. The general impression from the first picture is that Goitia painted that what he has seen and the second picture is undoubtedly a manifesto of his views, in which he tried to impress the observers by shocking view of horrifying images. As it has been already mentioned, the paintings belong to Goitia’s revolutionary period when he worked as a painter of Mexican federal army. The revolution in Mexico lasted from 1910 till 1917. Some scholars believe that Cristero rebellion of 1926-1929 was also a part of the revolution, so revolutionary events lasted in Mexico for almost two decades. Goitia’s paintings are images of that what virtually every Mexican of the time has once experienced, and this is perhaps the main reason why Goitia is so popular in Mexico and less famous outside its borders. It is hard to say for sure whether Goitia was an active supporter of the revolution or just followed the army as a chronicler. His later memoirs seem to support the second point of view – Goitia remained an artist but not a revolutionary throughout his travels after the army. The manner of paintings and their impression also correspond to the version. He has never painted any picture in which he would admire revolution, but both paintings seem rather to blame its barbarity. The manner of Goitia’s painting reminds the most famous apocalyptic pictures such as Triumph of Death by Peter Breugel, descriptions of war by Goya or Picasso’s Guernica. Most of the revolutionary painters glorify its triumphs and view it as a way to the new world. Goitia has chosen to demonstrate the horrifying â€Å"side effects† of progressive social upheavals. This was enough for him to be considered one of the sharpest critics of revolution in art. He explained that: â€Å"You see that it is natural that circumstances have made my temperament more inclined to the profound. There is a great deal of sadness in this country and I have tried to sum a certain phase of it† . Such Goitia’s insights are rather unusual for Mexico of the time, where revolution became almost a national idea, reflected in numerous artworks. This includes frescos by Diego Rivera or monumental modernist paintings of Jose Clemente Orozco. Mexican artists of the time shared different views of the revolution but there was one common thing for all of them – for them revolution was a magnificent event, a high tide of spirit and will, but in no way a vision of death and destruction. For example Diego Rivera was an incandescent Trotskyist, absolutizing the idea of global revolution and idealizing Trotsky as its dramatic leader. Orozco is a more complicated case for he was interested more in changes that revolution would cause in human minds and in the society. Still his art stands closer to the supporters of revolution as he used expressive modernist techniques being a revolutionary artist by his mere nature. And another common point of Rivera and Orozco is that they both are working with â€Å"objective reality† using artistic means to make the spectator impressed by this reality . In contrast, Goitia’s paintings are full of his own attitudes and they allow the spectator to make his. Revolutionary artists provided only one view, Goitia allowed the audience to chose. Although it is hard to find a â€Å"colleague† for Goitia between painters, such â€Å"colleague† still existed among photographers. Augustin Casasola in fact worked for the newspapers, but he would remain a usual reporter in case his pictures were not full of artistic sense, making them close to Goitia’s graphic works. As the revolution spread along Mexico Casasola established his own agency to provide home and foreign press with photographs of the event. Working as an independent photographer he was able to use his talent in full. he concentrated on all aspects of the revolution showing both victories and, like Goitia, the unattractive sides. He has also gathered a large collection of images of revolutionary individuals – from officers to peasants in their surroundings. Like Goitia his manner has been characterized by psychological dramatics and involvement of the spectator to the picture . Warlike and revolutionary art is always popular because there are always lots of people who are ready to admire the triumph of spirit and epic deeds. Less popular is art that shows the another side of war and revolution – death and destruction. To show this side the painter needs to be much more talented and avoid being just a thrilling entertainment. For this reason only a few painters became great after painting atrocities of war. Goitia is perhaps not so famous as Goya, but his works are deeply original.For this reason he is now being rediscovered and investigated by art historians worldwide. Works Cited: 1. Dore Ashton. (1999) Mexican Art of the Twentieth Century. In The 20th Century Art Book. ed. by Editors of Phaidon Press 2. Jacqueline Barnitz (2001) Twentieth-Century Art of Latin America University of Texas Press 3. Latin American Painting available at: http://www. chicagomanualofstyle. org/tools_citationguide. html (last accessed: November 19, 2007) 4. Viva Casasola! http://emiliobrizzi. blogspot. com/2007/03/viva-casasola. html (last accessed: November 19, 2007)

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Explain Formally The Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis Economics Essay

Explain Formally The Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis Economics Essay Clearly as countries strive for increased growth they attempt to produce greater output and logic dictates that with greater output, ceteris paribus, there must be greater input and thus a depletion of resources from our environment. Simultaneously greater output leads to greater levels of emissions and waste, thus the carrying capacity of the biosphere will be exceeded sooner. Simon Kuznetss Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis states that economic inequality initially increases, reaches a critical threshold, and then decreases as the country develops (Economic Growth and Income Inequality, 1955). The hypothesis is shown by Figure 1 below. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Kuznets_curve.png Figure It is important to realise the relationship of the EKC shows a correlation between environmental equality and income, not causation. This simply means that a trend has been realised between income and economic inequality which states that initially as income rises so does inequality, however at a certain threshold inequality begins to diminish, and the reason for this change is not immediately apparent. The concept that environmental equality is influenced by economic growth originated from earlier economic theory, as in many 1970s theoretical literature on pollution and growth, optimal pollution control models have inverted U curves of pollution implicitly embedded in them (Selden, 1994). There are two main economic explanations for the Kuznets Curve hypothesis. Firstly the environment can be viewed as a luxury good. This means that although initially individuals are not willing to trade consumption for environmental investment, at a certain level of income individuals begin to increase their expenditure on the environment to enjoy its benefits. It can therefore be argued that economic development is a means to environmental improvement and thus whilst initially the environment will suffer from growth, it will benefit from the economic prosperity in the long run. Secondly as countries experience growth and income increases there are recognised historical structural development stages to the countrys economy much like, as Roslow noted, the moving from traditional to industrial economies and then to a mature mass consumption economy (The Stages of Economic Growth, 1960). For example, in a Less Developed Country (LDC), a structural transformation from primitive agriculture, through manufacturing and into services would initially utilise the environment efficiently through agricultural trade, with greater income this might transform into manufacturing which is highly dependent on environmental resources and also carries large negative externalities such as pollution. However once again, with further growth industry and trade will move towards services which have the least impact on the environment. The study by Syrquin in 1989 econometrically ties structural changes to economic growth and is often used to discuss the EKC hypothesis (Grossman, et al., 1995). It is obvious to conclude that if these developmental stages occur and the transitions between the stages correlate with specific per capita income levels, then a relationship where pollution levels initially rise before subsequently falling, as average incomes increase. Unrah and Moomaw argue that we cannot be sure whether the stages of economic growth are a deterministic process that all countries must pass through, or simply a description of the development history of a specific group of countries during the 19th and 20th centuries that may never again take place (An alternative analysis of apparent EKC-type transitions, 1998). We can look at the turning point in the EKC from increasing environmental inequality to diminishing environmental inequality as a change of individual interest from self-interest to social interest. However Arrow (2000) points out that the EKC provides very little information about the mechanisms by which economic growth affects the environment. For example, as income increases industry developments and innovations may have reduced negative externalities on the environment. Also with greater national income and wealth there is greater demand on the authorities for environmental regulations. There have been several empirical and analytical studies of the EKC hypothesis and whilst some support the conclusions of Kuznets others counter his findings. There is however, little debate that many pollution emissions in the developed countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have stabilised or indeed declined over recent years whilst these same countries per capital incomes have simultaneously increased (An alternative analysis of apparent EKC-type transitions, 1998). Unrah and Moomaw demonstrate in their 1998 empirical study of France GDP growth against CO2 levels an inverted U-shaped curve is produced which supports Kuznets hypothesis (An alternative analysis of apparent EKC-type transitions, 1998). Image Figure France CO2 vs GDP 1950-1992 Grossman and Krueger in 1994 produced a study with an N-shaped curve where after a high enough threshold there were increases in environmental degradation. Grossman also in 1994 found that the turning point is sooner for an obvious short term environmental hazard for the local population (Grossman, et al., 1995). Arrow in 1995 stated that responsiveness is not immediate so income growth does not spontaneously bring a reduction to environmental degradation. As such Arrow concludes that while short term indicators would support Kuznetss hypothesis, long term indicators would not. The huge potential for economic growth through effective utilisation of the environment has made efficient and socially desirable management of environment resources is a key issue within economics. The environment surrounding each individual economy has always been fundamental to the performance of economic growth. Along with creating economic prosperity the environment also performs the essential function of supporting life and thus managed with care and responsibility. As has been seen through history, exploitation of the environment which has provided crucial economic inputs may also be the instrument which impairs the earths ability to support life. For example, in last decade we have seen the emergence of concern about how economic expansion of the world economy is leading to irreparable global damage (Silbert, 2009). As such decisions regarding the environmental trade-off between economic growth and preservation require careful consideration from political authorities. Kuznets EKC Hypothesis EKC Analysis Conclusions One policy proposed by economists is to allow countries to economically grow out of environmentally damaging activity. Looking at countries with already large economies, we see signs of environmental regulation such as emissions standards, extensive recycling programs, and limited timber harvesting. The economists supporting a policy that initially allows for environmental degradation assert that if a country can achieve sufficient economic growth in a short period of time then perhaps environmental damage should be tolerated. A well-known hypothesis providing support for a policy that emphasizes economic growth at the expense of environmental protection is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. It posits that countries in the development process will see their levels of environmental degradation increase until some income threshold is met and then afterwards decrease. If true, economic policies should allow extensive, although not necessarily absolute, use of the environment for growth purposes. But carrying out such policies involves inherent dangers. If developing countries decide to overlook environmental protection by counting on rising incomes to abate environmental damage the consequences could be devastating. The most pressing danger is that additional environmental degradation could cause some irreversible and significant harm. This could occur before the predicted income threshold is met. The other concern with counting on incomes to reduce environmental damage is that the EKC hypothesis could easily be incorrect and relying on its predictions would lead to consistently insufficient protection. This paper evaluates the validity of the EKC hypothesis and argues that it is not a sound basis for policy formation and justification with so much at stake. The plan of the paper is as follows. Section II examines the basis for the EKC hypothesis and conditions under which it may accurately predict a countrys future environmental status. Section III briefly summarizes empirical studies investigating EKCs and looks at the findings of these studies. Section IV identifies the inherent dangers in determining environmental policy based upon the EKC hypothesis. Some concerns are relevant if the hypothesis does not hold and others are present even if it proves a correct forecaster of environmental quality. Section V concludes with my assessment of how well the hypothesis works as a justification for dubious environmental policies. Section II: The Concept of the Environmental Kuznets Curve The EKC hypothesis asserts that countries will naturally move from relatively low environmentally degrading activity to highly degrading activity and then, once a certain income threshold is achieved, will proceed to less degrading activity once again. This assertion allows one to predict the relative level of environmental damage being caused by a country by looking at GDP per capita. However, this prediction is relative to individual countries. In other words, each country has its own EKC, based upon resource endowment, social customs, etc., from which it progresses along relative to its GDP. A graphical model of the hypothesis helps illustrate the inverted U shape of the relationship: Environmental Damage Y* Income per capita The y-axis represents the amount of environmental damage due to economic activity and the x-axis represents income per capita. Y* represents the threshold income, sometimes referred to as the turning point. That point signifies the income level at which environmental damage per capita begins to recede. It is important to note that the theoretical EKC graph does not explicitly express time as a dimension and for this reason the use of the EKC hypothesis to justify policy decision an action that by definition incorporates time would appear inadequate. Only by comparing two different countries can the inverted U shaped curve be derived as seen above. However each country possesses its own unique EKC and therefore each countrys policies should be organized accordingly. In order for the graph to show an EKC, and thereby be valid as policy justification, we must incorporate a time dimension. We find a time dimension along the x-axis. The EKC hypothesis assumes that changes in income per capita only occur over time. By including this supposition of changes in income inherently signifying time, the graph can now show an EKC for a specific country. The identification of a countrys particular EKC provides a basis for using it to influence policy. Possessing the theoretical model by which t he EKC hypothesis is used for economic policy we turn our focus to explaining why the inverted U shape exists. There are two primary explanations for the proposed shape of the EKC. The first examines the history of developed countries and the paths they took to achieve development. The second reflects the changing preference for environmental quality as incomes rise. Historically, all developed countries economies were originally based upon agriculture, a state that produced little environmental damage. Their economies later switched to a much more environmentally damaging state that focused on industry and manufacturing. Finally, upon switching from heavy industry to the now-prevalent service-based economies the levels of environmentally damage fell in most developed countries. Two main factors lead to environmental damage that occurrs during industrialization. First, the harmful by-products of production damage the environment. High levels of pollution and water contamination accompany the expansion of industry. The second factor is the increased consumption of natural resources. The extensive over-use of land, deforestation and mining of mountains is a form of environmental damage in and of itself. A common conclusion of this development pattern is that LDCs must pass through the same phases in order to achieve economic growth. Furthermore, if forced to adhere to strict environmental regulations, LDCs will be at an economic disadvantage compared to the already developed countries. Many LDCs point to this competitive disadvantage when rejecting global environmental standards. The next stage of development saw industrial nations switching to service-based economies, a trend that all global GDP leaders tend towards. During this phase the income threshold of for the EKCs for certain substances appear to have been reached. Service-based economies are able to avoid many of the most environmentally damaging economic activities. Also, highly resource-dependant production is cut significantly which reduces the impacts of resource input and harmful emissions. The graph reflects the switch from an industrial to service-based economy somewhere around point Y*. The decreasing industrial production decreases the environmental damage despite the rising GDP associated with the service sector economy. Environmental impacts also fall as a result of improved technology discovered in developed countries. In some cases technology leads to a more efficient use of inputs. Other technological advancements make it possible to restrict the harmful effects that economic activity have on the environment. The second reason that a high-income level can reduce environmental damage is by altering the demand for environmental quality. Known as the income effect, sufficiently high GDP per capita often leads individuals to place environmental quality above additional economic growth. The aggregation of these individual preferences plays an integral role in determining the income threshold. The EKC income threshold aggregates all environmentally damaging agents into a single numerical value. However, taken individually economists can place dollar values on the turning points of damaging agents. For example, in a 1997 paper by Cole, Rayner and Bates, the authors found the turning point of CO and NO2 emissions to be around $9,900 and $14,700, respectively. Using environmental quality preference as an explanation, the income threshold represents the income level per capita at which the preference for environmental quality outweighs the preference for additional income. This change in preference occurs on a public level, rather than a private one. Microeconomic decisions to support more environmentally friendly goods and services cannot account for the income effect. The issue is instead a matter of public policy. The changes in environmental standards reflect political pressure on the federal government and state governments. Effective lobbyists have altered the political and social landscape to favour one of increased environmental quality. Despite the clean nature of high-income countries it remains difficult for EKC supporters to explain certain things such as the fact that the United States is, by far, the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitter. Defenders of the EKC hypothesis say this is due to the incredibly large economy of the U.S. and that the seemingly large figures are, proportionate to GDP, not as astonishing as they appear. The only other defense to the greenhouse gas emission statistic is that the income threshold may not have been reached. According to the EKC hypothesis, changes to evolving economies and the individual preference for environmental quality combine to determine the income threshold. However, whether or not an inverted U shaped curve exists at all is still up for debate. Section III: Evidence For and Against the EKC Hypothesis Evidence regarding the EKC hypothesis is circumstantial and inconclusive. Most early studies that supported the hypothesis focused on a single damaging agent, such as a pollutant. Identifying key characteristics associated with agents that have been studied we find that only certain types of agents exhibit an EKC. Evidence supporting the EKC first began in 1994 when Selden and Song found an EKC for SO2 (Environmental quality and development: Is there a Kuznets curve for air pollution emissions?, 1994). A later test in 1995 by economists Grossman also found SO2 emissions to follow an EKC (Grossman, et al., 1995). They found a turning point between $4,000 and $6,000. Another early documentation of EKC support came from Theodore Panayotou who found the turning point of deforestation to be $823. After the initial studies, other economists began to investigate the validity of the EKC hypothesis and found refuting evidence. In the 1997 paper by Cole, Rayner and Bates, they found no EKC for traffic, nitrates or methane. A different study in 1997 by Horvath examined energy use and found no EKC; rather, energy use per capita rose steadily with increased income. Evidence appears to support the EKC hypothesis only for a limited type of damaging agents. The emission SO2 is found in urban waste areas and is thereby characterized by its locality. Deforestation also reflects a situation involving a specific location. Damaging agents that affect only a particular site tend to show EKCs. However, a damaging agent such as traffic is plain to see and also affects certain areas heavily. In this case the agent is dominated by a scale effect increased activity leads to increased environmental impact. While traffic-related pollution is generally iterated by population size, damaging agents such as energy production by-products increase with GDP per capita. Section IV: Dangers of the EKC Hypothesis as Policy Justification There exist many dangers in allowing an economy to simply grow out of environmentally damaging activity. Some of these dangers arise because the EKC hypothesis does not hold true in all cases. Others exist even if we assume the hypothesis as an accurate predictor of environmental conditions. The following is a list of concerns regarding the EKC hypothesis: (I) It remains inconclusive if most damaging agents follow the EKC. (II) The threshold income may be irrelevantly high or the temporary period of increasing environmental damage too long. (III) The decrease in environmental damage seen in developed countries may reflect the production of dirty products abroad and subsequent importation. (IV) The absorptive capacity of our earth is unknown. (V) EKCs may only exist in certain political atmospheres. A detailed examination of the above concerns illustrates the inherent dangers in accepting the EKC hypothesis and afterwards using it to justify policy. As discussed above, only local and regional damaging agents show signs of EKCs. Other difficult to detect agents may simply increase with GDP per capita. This discovery leaves open to question whether more agents than not respond to income increases. If there exist more agents that do not respond then attempting to grow past these impacts would be impossible. Many damaging agents may respond to income levels, but not until GDP per capita approaches out-of-reach levels. If in a developed country, the turning point for a damaging agent is above, say, $50,000 then neglecting to react will create damage for a considerable amount of time. Over the time it takes to achieve the turning point, the environmental damage may prove more costly than its worth. Obviously, in an LDC the turning point value needs only to be considerably lower and still have the same adverse effects. It is important to note that it is unclear if forgoing the opportunity for economic growth may is the right or wrong decision. Nonetheless, using solely the EKC hypothesis to justify this action remains unwise, as the outcome is not known. Another consideration that challenges the EKC evidence is that wealthy countries may be importing dirty products, thereby contributing to environmental degradation; the only difference is that the degradation is not domestic. The first hypothesis to bring up this possibility was the Pollution Haven hypothesis. It states that developed countries export their dirty industries to LDCs whose governments have more lax environmental standards. Many economists discounted this hypothesis with strong evidence showing that capital flows do not follow environmental regulations. However, this does not exclude the possibility of dirty industries existing in LDCs and coincidently exporting their products to wealthy countries. In this case, wealthy countries only started along the downward slope on the EKC by domestically reducing environmental damage. When taken globally their increased consumption due to income may still be increasingly damaging. Another danger is that leaving the quality of our environment subject to economic activity, even for only a short period, may be disastrous. The ability of the earth to absorb the damaging agents produced by economic activity, called absorptive capacity, is not yet known. A good example is global warming. More and more studies confirm that rising global temperatures are due at least in part to human activity. Predictions regarding the consequences of this change are still being debated. But further activity could push the environments limits to a point that causes serious repercussions for humanity. A final concern is that even if developing countries can achieve high levels of income per capita they may not possess a political atmosphere conducive to environmental protection. Assuming that the aggregate turning point is in a country reached, that country it is not necessarily going enact protection. Countries that possess sufficient demand for environmental quality still only achieve it with policy revisions. The most successful avenues for obtaining environmental quality are lobbyists. Without a government that responds to political pressure by these public groups there is no reason to believe that its policies will reflect the demand for a cleaner environment. In addition to this point, it also remains to be seen if all cultures place similar values on environmental quality. While constituents of currently developed countries may desire protection, countries in the process of developing may reach a point of equivalent income and still not demand environmental quality. Convers ely, they may actually demand protection earlier. Section V: Conclusion The questions and concerns about the EKC hypothesis that I have examined in this paper raise significant doubt as to the wisdom of adopting environmental policy based upon the EKC hypothesis. Even assuming its validity, the EKC hypothesis generates considerable doubt as to its effectiveness at balancing economic growth with environmental protection. Given these doubts policies must be, at most, based only partially on predictions by the EKC hypothesis. The correct balance between environmental protection and economic growth continues to be debated. Both of the opposing views present important arguments. Obviously, having either extreme either unhindered economic activity or overly protective environmental measures is an inadequate solution. The largest problem facing the debate is the lack of knowledge regarding the degree of robustness present in our earths environment. Still unclear of its ability to offer its resources and to soak up our by-products, our only course of action is to, with both needs in mind, tread carefully.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Engineers: Communication and Writing Skills :: ESL Essay

Engineers: Communication and Writing Skills   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For many years, in the masses of people there has been made a stereotype of the working engineer. This is a person who spends ten hours straight in front of his computer, making some strange graphs and calculations. He is afraid of sunlight and spends his free time inventing the time machine. When people try to start a conversation he says that he has a lot of work to do and tries to run away as fast as possible. This picture may be a little exaggerated, but it is how media and television draw it. But today, engineers need communication and writing skills even more than actual engineering.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Any engineering career starts from the resume writing. Usually a resume consists of two parts: the list of things that you have done well in your life and the cover letter. Dr. Craig Gunn, a professor of mechanical engineering, clearly explains, â€Å"Many big companies do not require the cover letter, but it will be much better for you to write one, because if a manager will read it for some reason, your chances to get a job will be a lot higher.† A person that is going to give you a job will not see you directly, so you have to convince him or her not to throw your resume in the basket by presenting all of your best qualities in the resume. To write a good convincing resume is a very difficult thing to accomplish without some preparations. A good thing will be to go to a library and read a special book about resume writing. Also, the Internet is full of websites like http://www.7step-resumesampler.com/ that have a lot of important information about this subject.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A cover letter plays an important role in getting a job too. In your cover letter, as dr. Gunn suggests, â€Å"use all your writing abilities to convince the manager of your exceptional importance for this job, and you will be accepted.† Smooth and grammar free cover letter increases chances to get a job very much.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Communication is also a very important part of the work of any engineer. As Dr. Gunn states, â€Å"there is only twenty percent of actual engineering and eighty percent of writing and communication between co-workers and superiors.† Employers, as Paul Osterman points out in his essay â€Å"Getting Started†, â€Å"are not simply looking for technical skills.

Mixed Media Culture :: essays research papers

Mixed Media Culture Following the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Ben Franklin was asked what kind of government the country now had; â€Å"a republic, if you can keep it†. Franklin’s concerns at that time was that we might turn to a monarchy on the basis that this was the kind of government familiar to most people in the new world. Now, many years later, we should be concerned about the same issue, but rather than a â€Å"real† monarchy, comprised of an individual or a family ruling the country, we are faced with the prospect of money being the King and those with money controlling government and society. We have seen government fall to the whims of money and special interest groups, more in the last decade than before. There are laws on the books to control the influence peddling in Washington and other communities, but these laws are not being enforced. Pressure and influence by unions, large business groups and other large organizations has been common place for years, but in the recent past, we have seen influence from individuals, many with less than acceptable standards, accepted by the size of their campaign contributions to individuals or to a specific party. The average American has to wonder today whose interest is being served by their representatives. The idea of a government for the people can and should be questioned, until we can put controls on those with money and the manner in which they are allowed to spend money to influence elections and policies. When we see polls indicating that nearly two thirds of the participants question the integrity of the government, we need to look seriously at what changes need to be made. We need to develop a system that is less influenced about the need to raise large sums of money and get the politicians more focused on the needs and values of society. Some of the measures being considered include: better enforcement of laws currently on the books, restrictions on a candidate raising large sums of money, if he elects public funds for his campaign, closing the loopholes associated with soft-money contributions from unions, business groups and others, and encourage voluntary limits on campaign spe nding. Obviously, we did not get in this position overnight and this issue is not something that will be solved without a sweeping change through the government structure. Another issue impacting the political process today is the lack of participation by registered voters and maybe the need to increase the number of registered voters.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Comedys Adjoining Terror: The Ponder Heart Essay -- Michael Kreyling

Comedy's Adjoining Terror: The Ponder Heart Michael Kreyling essay called, "Comedy's Adjoining Terror: The Ponder Heart", opens with the critic drawing a parallel between The Ponder Heartand Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust. He warns us that if we look too hard into the serious side of The Ponder Heart, we may lose the humor. The Ponder Heart takes place in the Beulah Hotel in Clay, Mississippi and is told with all the characteristics of a dramatic monologue. According to Kreyling, Edna Earle is a troubled soul that is struggling for fulfillment and freedom while being trapped by the dictates of society and filling the role that society has prescribed for her. The source of comedy in The Ponder Heartis this struggle between laughter and outrage, and stability and chaos. The critic sees this struggle as life that collides with external restrictions. This releases the vital energies that exist in Welty's writing, whether she chooses to use two persons or conflicting natures in one person. Another way Kreyling illustrates this point is through the mythological personas of Apollonian and Dionysis. Edna Earle represents the Apollonian ways of living which include order, knowledge and experience. Uncle Daniel represents the Dionysian side of life as he simply does what comes naturally. He listens to spontaneous impulses that rule his life. Michael Kreyling states that there is no winner or victor in The Ponder Heart. It is basically stagnant although time continues to move on. Time is the arch enemy of Edna Earle. Through time, she must face the fact that things are changing and what was important in her world is not always very important to the new social set. The critic tells us that the result of the trail, while... ...re lady bike riders, the wrong element, speeding cars, and the Peacocks. These things bring home to Edna Earle the fact that she must change to survive in life and one is left with serious doubts as to whether she ever will. I have to agree with Michael Kreylingthat if one looks too deeply into The Ponder Heart, one loses the sense of comedy that it first inspires. I'm not sure this book should be delved into to a great extent. I prefer to see Edna Earle as a delightful, entertaining person, and although I agree with Kreyling's assessment of the characters, I prefer to concentrate on the humorous side of The Ponder Heartbecause I think that was Eudora Welty's main purpose. Works Cited: Kreyling, Michael. "Comedy's Adjoining Terror" The Ponder Heart". Eudora Welty's Achievement of Order. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. 1980.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Ezhuthachan

Indian poet from around the 16th or 17th century, known as the father of the Malayalam language—which is the principal language of the Indian state of Kerala, spoken by 36 million people in the world. [1] In his era, Vattezhuttu, an old script originally used to write Tamil, was generally used in Kerala to write this language. However, he wrote his Malayalam poems in Arya-ezhuttu, a Grantha-based script originally used to write Sanskrit, so that he could accurately transliterate Sanskrit words into Malayalam. His works became unprecedentedly popular, which also popularized the writing system adopted by him, and that is the current Malayalam alphabet. He was born in Trikkantiyur ( , Tr? kka iyur), in the town of Tirur, in Kerala. At that time,it was a part of Vettattnad. [2] His personal name is Ramanujan. Thunchaththu is his â€Å"family name†, and Ezhuthachan (schoolmaster) is an honorific title or the last name indicating his caste. His name is transliterated in several different ways, including Thunchath Ezhuthachan, Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, and Thunjath Ezhuthachan. Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan lived in the 16th century,[3][4] or the 16th century. [5] He was born at Trikkantiyur (Trkkantiyur) in the Tirur municipality, Malappuram, Kerala, India. His birthplace is now known as Thunjan Parambu. According to Arthur Coke Burnell, he was â€Å"a low-caste man who goes under the name Tunjatta E? uttacchan, a native of Trikka iyur in the present [1874] district of Malabar. He lived in the seventeenth century, but his real name is forgotten; Tunjatta being his ‘house’ or family-name, and E? uttacchan (=schoolmaster) indicating his caste†. 6] In 1865, Burnell actually saw the manuscript of the Bhagavata translated and adapted by Thunchaththu, allegedly copied by his sister, preserved at Puzhakkal in the Chittur taluk, and wrote in his book published in 1874: â€Å"The author’s stool, clogs, and staff are preserved in the same place; it thus looks as if Tunjatta E? uttacchan was a sannyasi of some order. †[7] Some sources[who ? ] state that he was born into a Chakkala Nair among Nairs) family, held low among Savarna hindu caste system of Kerala and among the Nair caste. Some apocryphal legends have that Ezhuthachan's father was a Namboodiri . That version is totally ahistoric. [8] A few sources claim that he was of the Ezhuthachan caste. A. C. Burnell, a noted indologist, had categorically stated that Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan belongs to Ezhuthachan Caste only. He had stated this when he edited an article written by another important scholar F. W. Ellis when he published that article in â€Å"Indian Antiquery † in 1878 after the death of linguist Ellis. In that path breaking article Ellis articulated the evolution of Malayalam (â€Å"Malayanma†) and other south indian languages. F. W. Ellis had stated: A Brahman without a father must be born of an unmarried female of that tribe, whose celibacy ought to have been inviolate: he is considered, therefore, illegitimate, and has scarcely an assignable place in society. Elutt' Achan, or the ‘Father of Letters', was a Brahman without a father, and on that account has no patronymic†¦. The Brahmans envied his genius and are said to have seduced him by the ar ts of sorcery into the habit of ebriety†¦.. he enriched the Malayalam with the translations, all of which, it is said, he composed under the immediate influence of intoxication†¦. To which A. C. Brunell added the footnote: â€Å"Eluttachchan [sic] lived in the 17th century; there is no reason for supposing that he was a Brahman father's illegitimate son; he was certainly an Eluttachchan (or schoolmaster) by caste† Great Malayalam poet and historian Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer concludes Ezhuthachan as either Chakkala Nair or Vattekattu Nair. Sri K. Balakrishna kurup in his famous book â€Å"Viswathinte Kanappurangal† published by Mathrubhumi ptg and publishing company Kozhikode had stated that Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan belongs to Ezhuthachan caste. Prof. T. B. Vijayakumar noted scholar, historian had written many articles in all prestigious journals, like Mathrubhumi Weekly, had also stated that Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan belongs to Ezhuthachan caste. In nut shell, Ezhuthachan was a Kaniyan by caste and had a title Ezhuthu Asan in relation with his teaching service in Ezhuthupalli. In the Pre and early British ruling era of Kerala, the Kaniyans (traditional astrologers) were the only class who had undertaken the role of teaching letters, grammar, sanskrit and literature to non Brahmin communities. So they were known Ezhuthu Asan (Ezhuthachan in the vernacular), but, later this professional name was adopted by the descendants of families of non Brahmin disciples of Thunchat Ezhutahchan ,as a special caste or class. Most of these people were from Chakkala Nair and Kadupattan castes. [edit]Father of Malayalam language According to Dr K N Ezhuthachan, noted scholar, writer, essayist, poet, only Ramayanam and Bharatham belong to him. Others, usually attributed to him, were not really his . See his two volume selected works of Dr K N Ezhuthachan, published by Kerala Sahithya Akademi Thrissur. According to Dr K N Ezhuthachan even † Uththara ramayanam† is not of his. Its compostion lacks Ezhuthachan's stamp and genius. There may have been many popular keerthanas, namam or japam by other poets, but it was veritably impossible to find a single house in Kerala without Ezhuthachan's â€Å"Adhyathmaramayanam† during those dark times of war, disease and famine. There is no doubt about his contribution to the literary level of the common man. Ezhuthachan taught the people to respect and worship the language and the alphabet, a level of culture which is difficult to find even in the modern era. He refined the Malayalam language style and wrote his works for ordinary people, incorporating whatever is good with a strong sense of righteousness and worship. His contribution to the Malayalam language through the Adhyatmaramayanam (a translation of the Ramayana and â€Å"Mahabharatham† (a translation of the Mahabharata) is unparalleled, and his contribution in the cultural level is immense. His chief original works are said to include the:[9]: Keralolpathi Hari Nama Keerthanam – The song of the Holy Name â€Å"Hari† Ganapatistavam Kilippatu Prasthanam Devi Mahatmayam Kerala Natakam Harihara Sudham Various census reports (Census reports of erstwhile Madras presidency- Census reports erstwhile princely states of Cochin and Travoncore were also included in that) from 1870 onwards- Ezhuthachan Caste was shown as low caste sudra caste. [10] â€Å"†¦ [T]he phrase ‘father of language’ is a symbolic reference. Language represents culture. So Ezhuthachan is in fact denoting culture. He shone as a brilliant star above our culture. He renovated the alphabets of heart. We see the light of conscience and moderation in Ezhuthachan. We call him ‘the father of Malayalam language’ because he led the language to a new dimension. † – Chattanath Achuthanunni Chair Thunjan Festival meeting (1998 ) Great poet Mahakavi Kodungallore Kunhikuttan Thampuran who was a titan among poets, who singlehandedly translated entire Mahabharatham into Malayalam vernacular within short span of time, stated in an article in a literaray journal, â€Å"Rasikaranjini† edited by himself, that Thunchath Ezhuthachan belonged to Ezhuthachan Caste only. [edit]