Sociology 100 Final Exam

Chapter 8 Sex Distinction – the biological distinction between females and males. Incest Taboo – a norm forbidding sexual relations or marriage between certain relatives. 1960 Birth Control – New technology also played a part in the sexual revolution. The birth control pill, introduced in 1960, not only prevented pregnancy but also made sex more convenient. Premarital Sex – sexual intercourse before marriage – among young people. Sexual Orientation – a person’s romantic and emotional attraction to another person.Homophobia – discomfort over close personal interaction with people thought to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual. Prostitution – the selling of sexual service. 90k Reported Rapes – more than 90,000 women each year report to the police that they have been raped. Uneven Enforcement – enforcement of prostitution laws is uneven at best, especially when it comes to who is and is not likely to be arrested. Abor tion – the deliberate termination of a pregnancy. Chapter 9 Decent Values – Elijah Anderson explains that in poor urban neighborhoods, most people manage to conform to conventional or â€Å"decent† values.Stigma – a powerfully negative label that greatly changes a person’s self-concept and social identity. Social Inequality – who or what is labeled deviant depends on which categories of people hold power in a society. Corporate Crime – the illegal actions of a corporation or people acting on its behalf. *Arrest of Women – couldn’t find a fact to define this one! Victimless Crimes – violations of law in which there are no obvious victims. High Risk – people with high arrest rates are also at higher risk of being victims of crime.Due Process – the idea that the criminal justice system should operate under the rule of law – guides the actions of police, court officials, and corrections officers. Decline of Executions – as a public concern about the death penalty has increased, the use of capital punishment has declined, falling from 74 executions in 1997 to 37 in 2008. No Elimination of Crime – criminal justice system cannot eliminate crime. Chapter 10 Structural Social Mobility – a shift in the social position of large numbers of people due more to changes in society itself than to individual efforts.Ideology – cultural beliefs that justify particular social arrangements, including patterns of inequality. Socioeconomic Status – a composite ranking based on various dimensions of social inequality. Conspicuous Consumption – buying and using products because of the â€Å"statement† they make about social position. Davis-Moore Thesis – states not only that social stratification is universal but also that it is necessary to make society highly productive. Chapter 11 Median Income – a recent survey of families by the Federal Reserve found that median wealth for minority families.Upper Class – many upper-class people are business owners, executives in large corporations, or senior government officials. Marriage Age: 26/28 – the average age at marriage has moved upward four years (to 25. 6 years for women and 27. 5 years for men). Feminization of Poverty – the trend of women making up an increasing proportion of the poor. Homeless Mentally Ill: 25% – One-third of homeless people are substance abusers, and one-fourth is mentally ill. Chapter 12 High-Income Countries – the nations with the highest overall standards of living.Global Stratification – the full extent of global stratification reflects both differences among countries and internal stratification. 100 Million Kids Black-market – 100 million of the world’s children are orphaned or have left their families altogether, sleeping and living on the streets as best they can or perhaps tryi ng to migrate to the US. Modernization Theory – a model of economic and social development that explains global inequality in terms of technological and cultural differences between nations.

Answer to exercises

Why does the Hong Kong Government impose duties on very few types of imports? p. 151 Discuss 12. Explain how the imposition of tariffs and quotas may restrict international trade and rotect domestic industries. p. 154 12. 2 ‘Free trade benefits everybody in an economy. ‘ Do you agree? Explain. Test yourself Refer to Fig. 12. 5. Explain why the supply curve after the imposition ofa unit tariff t is represented by the line abeg (Hint: Find out the quantities supplied at domestic prices below, equal to and above (Pw + t), respectively). p. 160 12. 3 Who would gain and who would lose under a quota? Fill in the following table with a in the appropriate box and account for them.Lose Reasons The importing country which imposes a quota Consumers Producers of import-competing industries The government The exporting faces a quota Producers of exports How do trade barriers imposed on the exports of the mainland of China also adversely affect Hong Kong? pp. 173-176 Exercises Multiple Choice Questions Free trade A. benefits all domestic consumers and producers. B. benefits domestic consumers of imports but harms domestic producers of import- competing industries. C. benefits domestic consumers of exports but harms domestic producers of exports. D. arms all domestic consumers and producers. Which of the following descriptions about trade barriers is INCORRECT? A. A tariff is a ax imposed on imports. B. A quota is a maximum limit imposed on the quantity of imports. C. An export subsidy is a government grant on exports. D. Exchange control is the government control over exchange rates, i. e. the prices of foreign currencies in terms of domestic currency. Which of the following is an effect of a quota? A. A quota shifts the supply curve of the imported product upwards. B. A quota reduces both domestic consumption and domestic production.C. A quota raises the quality of the imported product. D A quota raises the world price of the imported product. 4. Refer to the fo llowing diagram. The deadweight loss brought by a tariff is represented by A. Area (E + G). B. Area (H + D+ B). c. Area (B + q. Under the individual visit scheme, many individuals from the mainland of China travel to Hong Kong. This increases Hong Kongs (1) domestic exports of goods. (2) re-exports of goods. (3) exports of services. (4) imports of goods. A. (2) only B. (3) only C. (3) and (4) only D. (2) and (3) only 8.Which of the following descriptions about Hong Kongs attempts to face challenges in foreign trade is INCORRECT? A. Introduction of the Mandatory Provident Fund to improve the welfare of workers B. Improving productivity through capital investment as well as research and development C. Relocating land-intensive and labour-intensive production processes to the mainland of China and other low-cost economies D. Participating actively in international organisations and conferences to promote international trade Short Questions Country A imports Good X and exports Good Y.Su ppose the world price of Good X is lower than the domestic price of Good X in Country A under autarky. With the help of TWO diagrams, compare the situation without trade and the situation with trade and show the gains from trade. Do all domestic consumers and domestic producers benefit from trade? (8 marks) b**. Suppose the world price of Good Y is higher than the domestic price of Good Y in Country A under autarky. With the help of TWO diagrams, compare the situation domestic consumers and domestic producers benefit from trade? 8 marks) With the help of a diagram, illustrate why the imposition of a quota would benefit domestic producers but harm domestic consumers and bring a deadweight loss to an economy. (8 marks) Structured Questions Trade Organization, China has to reduce its tariff on cotton. Suppose the world price f cotton remains unchanged after the tariff reduction. a. With the help ofa diagram, illustrate how the reduction in the tariff affects the domestic price, domesti c consumption, domestic production and volume of imports of cotton. (7 marks) b.How does the tariff reduction affect the consumer surplus, producer surplus, government revenue and total social surplus? (5 marks) a. Compare the effects of an increase in domestic demand on the domestic price, domestic consumption, domestic production and volume of imports if a country imposes a tariff and a quota on its imports, respectively. 12 marks) b. Would consumers prefer a tariff or a quota in the above situation? (2 marks) Answers p. 150 1. They mainly want to cut the volume of imports so as to protect their domestic industries. Moreover, imposition of duties on imported goods may raise government revenue. . The imposition of duties will raise the domestic price of imported goods, reduce the volume of imports, lower the consumer surplus of domestic consumers, but increase the producer surplus of domestic producers. 3. Many of Hong Kongs imports do not have domestic substitutes, e. g. , water, food, raw materials. Moreover, the image of a free port facilitates Hong Kong's negotiation with its trading partners to reduce their trade barriers. On the whole, free trade brings more benefit than harm to Hong Kong. p. 151 Discuss 12. 1 After tariffs are imposed, the domestic prices of imports rise.By the law of demand, people will buy fewer units of imports. After the imposition of quotas, the maximum quantities of imports allowed are smaller than the equilibrium quantities. As a result, the quantities of imports will drop. As people buy fewer units of imports, they buy more units of domestic goods as substitutes for imports. Hence, domestic industries are protected. p. 154 Discuss 12. 2 No. With free trade, domestic prices drop and domestic consumption rises. As a result, the consumer surplus increases, as illustrated by Area (C + E) in Fig. 12. 3.Hence, domestic consumers of imports gain. However, domestic prices drop and domestic production falls. As a result, the producer su rplus decreases, as illustrated by Area C Therefore, free trade does not benefit everybody. However, on the whole, as consumers' gains are greater than producers' losses, the total social surplus increases, as illustrated by Area E in Fig. 12. 3. Test Yourself 12. 1 At domestic prices below (Pw + t), since the price cannot cover the cost [i. e. the world price (PW) plus tariff (t)], importers are not willing to supply the good.Only domestic producers with MC domestic price will supply. This portion of the supply curve is represented by line segment ae. Since the domestic economy is a small open economy, it cannot affect the world price (PW) no matter how many units it imports. At the domestic price of (Pw + t), since the price can cover the (constant) cost, importers are willing to supply as many units as consumers desire without raising the price. Even if demand increases, the domestic price will not rise above (Pw + t). Hence, the supply curve turns horizontal at Point e (represen ted by line segment eg).

5 Gore Movies That Are Not For The Weak Hearted

5 Gore Movies That Are Not For The Weak Hearted Sitting in a dark theatre with a big screen and great sound may not be always fun. How do you feel watching tongues slashed with surgical knives, the human stomach spilled wide open as if someone is demonstrating the human anatomy and eyeballs rolling out on the floor? The grotesque movies often portray the hidden beasts in humans. If you are weak hearted, watching bucketloads of blood may churn your stomach. Here are 5 films that can take you through gruesome gore rides. Evil Dead A ‘scarefest’ that centers around a terrifying trip undertaken by 5 friends who stumble upon the ‘Book of the Dead’ and play an audiotape of demon-summoning chants accidentally. The gore is painful to the eyes and it can make you cringe. This cult classic, originally made in 1983, was remade in 2013. Both the films were rated NC-17. Ichi The Killer The mayhem portrayed in the movie may be tough to deal with. This Japanese crime movie portrays a psychopath who is manipulated into killing rivals of Yakuza gang. The graphic depictions of cruelty and gore scenes led to this movie being banned in several countries. The director, Takashi Miike, looks out for opportunities to dish out manga-style violence and sexulaity be it Ichi masturbating watching a pimp assaulting a prostitute or Kakihara torturing Suzuki by suspending him from ceiling with giant hooks. Cannibal Holocaust This is a gruesome movie that depicts the concept of cannibalism. The plot is revolves around a lost film-making crew that are abused and murdered by the cannibal Yacumo tribes of the Amazons while shooting a documentary on them. But as the story progresses, the evil intentions of the film crew is surfaced which leave the viewers to think who the real cannibals are. The civilized crew members torture and abuse the natives just to get the perfect shot for their movie who in turn just fight back to protect themselves. This Italian flick was from the perspective of a man who was a part of the rescue team sent to retrieve the film crew and the lost camera footage. Hostel This horror trilogy is full of brutality and bloodshed. Though the characters are different but each part of the ‘Hostel’ trilogy revolves around slaying, killing and decapitating and are some of the scariest and goriest movies of all time. The first part is about two college students who are entrapped in a hostel and are preyed upon by â€Å"The Elite Hunting Club† that tortures and slays the tourists for rich elites. The second and third part of the series also gives vivid graphic description of torturing of the backpackers by the club and mere survival of one of the many personae. The movie series by Eli Roth had a good box office collection despite being opposed to theatrical release because of the violent scenes. Saw Though known as ‘torture porn’ by the critics the series of movies were a financial success in the box office. Saw is known to be the best of horror franchise consisting of eight feature films released every year on Friday before Halloweens, from 2004 to 2010. In Saw VII (2010), the scene where Lawrence saws off his foot using a chain cutting saw is disturbing and can give you nightmares. The story revolves around a man who sets up tests for his random victims to account the will of survival through physical and psychological torments. After separating from his wife and grieving over his dead unborn baby, John is detected to be suffering from inoperable cancer and is dying. So, he plays games with people invading both physical and emotional pain in them, without direct killing. He gives them a chance of survival and the one failing the test lose their lives. He cut-out a piece of flesh in the shape of a missing jigsaw piece from the dead victim, hence attaining the name ‘Jigsaw’. These are some of the all-time bests of movies in the ‘horror’ and ‘crime’ genre that can send a chill down your spines. So, watch them at your own risk!

Problems and ergonomic approaches in taxi driver position Essay

Problems and ergonomic approaches in taxi driver position - Essay Example All this is possible with ergonomics. The science of ergonomics relates to the provision of health and safety conditions within a workplace. According to the International Ergonomics Association: â€Å"Ergonomics is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance† (IEA, 2000). The ergonomic rearrangement of appropriate aspects within a workplace can provide comfort to operators and can have a significant impact on executing several daily tasks in a more accurate and convenient way (Donald, 2007). The purpose of this assignment is to redesign the work environment, meaning the seating arrangement for a professional taxi driver based on the principles of ergonomics. If it is found that the shape of the taxi is such that the taxi driver’s seating is cramped and uncomfortable, a shift to a vehicle with a more spacious interior may also be recommended. As can be seen from Picture 1 taken of the taxi driver at work, he feels cramped and uncomfortable and this position moreover is not congenial to long hours of work with minimal movement. In fact this is the problem with most sedentary occupations. This study will explore the faults that exist within the work environment in relation to comfort or discomfort and will develop a plan of suggested interventions. Its primary aims are for the driver to minimize the symptoms of pain in the lower back that he has been experiencing, as well as to enhance comfort at work. The foundation of such a plan begins with understanding both somatic and cognitive limitations of human behaviour, in relation to their interaction with products available (Jacobs, 2008). The application of ergonomic principles supports this relationship by diminishing the present symptoms and by preventing injuries caused by repet itive movements, faulty posture and over use of body muscles. However, before attempting to apply ergonomic actions it is necessary to carefully examine the driver’s complaints and ergonomically assess the workplace in order to identify existing errors (Jacobs, 2008). Description of the Case & Associated Problems The subject is a professional taxi driver. He has been driving a taxi for five years now and works for approximately six hours per day. This profession is considered to be difficult as per occupational standards but is necessary for him, as he is studying and working at the same time. He has been complaining of low back pain since the last six months, which he suspects has originated from the uncomfortable driving posture coupled with the long hours of minimal movement on the job. The car is fitted with a manual rather than an automatic gearbox. The driver’s symptoms are reported to be a moderate pain in his lower back. However he has failed to seek treatment so far due to lack of time and his erroneous perspective that the symptoms will eventually ease with time. (Picture 1) I observed these problems when I asked the subject to sit down as he normally would in his vehicle. As can be seen from the picture, he is sitting at the wrong angle and moreover there is no lumbar support. Both of these issues are contributing to the back pain

Product Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Product Marketing - Essay Example Brand awareness consists of brand recognition and brand recall. The former relates to consumers' ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand when given the brand as a cue. The latter relates to consumers' ability to retrieve the brand when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, or some other type of probe as a cue. The management of Beijing brand awareness will play an important role in potential sponsorship decision making for three major reasons. First, it is important that potential sponsorships think of Beijing brand when they think about Olympics games. Second, Beijing brand awareness can affect decisions about brands in the consideration set, even if there are essentially no other brand associations. Finally and the most important, Beijing brand awareness affects sponsorships and consumers decision making by influencing the formation and strength of brand associations in the brand image. A necessary condition for the creation of a brand image is that a brand node has been established in memory. On the other hand, related to brand image, it is defined as perceptions about a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory. Likewise, brand associations are the other informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory and contain the meaning of the brand for sponsorships and consumers. Based on the proposal of Keller (199... Based on the proposal of Keller (1993), marketing team of Beijing Olympics games has to consider three major categories of increasing scope: attributes, benefits, and attitudes. The attribute category is related with the features that characterize the Olympics games. Likewise, attributes are categorized in product-related and non product-related. The former is defined as the ingredients necessary for performing the product or service sought by consumers. The latter is defined as external aspects of the product or service that relate to its purchase or consumption. The four main types of non-product related attributes are: price information, packaging or product appearance information, user imagery (e.g. what type of person uses the product or service), and usage imagery (e.g. where and in what types of situations the product or service is used). In the case of management Beijing brand focused on sponsorships, marketing team has to put emphasis on user imagery. Associations of the typical sponsorship of Beijing Olympics are based not only on demographics aspect but also on psychographics. User image attributes can also produce brand personality attributes. Plummer (1985) assets that one component of brand image is the personality or character of the brand itself. Consequently, potential sponsors will expect to form part of a brand which is composed by sponsors of their same "personality" (e.g. brand image of the sponsors). The benefit category is the personal value consumers (in our case sponsorships) attach to the product or service attributes, that is, what consumers think the product or service can do for them. Benefits can be distinguished into three categories

The case method of stratigic analysis David and Goliath Essay

The case method of stratigic analysis David and Goliath - Essay Example -There are a number of possible solutions to the problem. One solution is to have each side choose its strongest member. For the Philistine this would be Goliath. For the Israelites this would be David. Both individuals would then fight to the death. The winner would determine the resolution for the entirety of their population. While this would provide a resolution and avoid significant death, one recognizes that it is largely an arbitrary means of deciding on the solution; for this reason not all participants may be happy with the final solution. -Another potential option would be to have both organizations engage in diplomacy. While a regular component of international relations in the contemporary environment, during the time of this conflict such actions occurred only in limited form. This then constitutes a major potential option a means of solving this conflict. -Still, another potential option would be to allow both armies to engage in warfare. While this is the most extreme solution it is an option that continues to be implemented through the contemporary world environment. This solution would be effective in providing a strong and resolute answer to the issue, as the stronger party would have the final say in the matter. Still, the human death toll would be significant. One considers that diplomacy functions as the best option as it determines an amenable solution without bloodshed and death. This approach functions within the Ansoff management techniques. One considers that turbulence is a prominent area of concern within the Ansoff approach, and this situation demonstrates a great degree of unpredictability. Ansoff recognizes that managers must meet these challenges with an appropriate aggressiveness of strategy. In this sense, the diplomatic approach recognizes that because of the turbulent nature of the situation, a strong and resolute solution needs to be reached. The diplomatic action then will

The Case of Sarver Elementary School Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The of Sarver Elementary School - Case Study Example At the final decision, Caine went against his commitment and voted for closing Sarver while Davis and Ebel adhered to their commitments and supported the Committee. The votes were in the 3-2 ratio, supporting the decision of closing Sarver. Amelia Stone, Committee’s member alleged the board for several issues such as rejection of Committee’s report without any consideration, violation of Sunshine Law and bypassing contractual commitment of Caine in support of Sarver Elementary School. After noticing all the situation and issues, it is quite clear that both sides conducted studies for coming up on a conclusion regarding the closing of Sarver Elementary School. However, it is quite clear that the whole board is not ready to close the school. The Committee is interested in closing Miller School because this school can be converted into a business setup while Sarver Elementary School has chances of future growth. There were professionals on both sides for considering the issue of closing Sarver School. Caine has promised in black and white to support the Committee’s decision by voting against closing Sarver Elementary School but he has not fulfilled his promise and has voted against his consent. Therefore, the vote placed by Caine should be ignored. After this, the voting will be in a ratio of 2-2. Looking at this situation, it is quite clear that Citizen’s Task Force and â€Å"Save Sarver† Committee have to reconsider their decisions. They should sit with another in order to come to a solution. The voting process should be there again in order to know about the new situation. Dr. Connie Kniving has just seen one side of the situation and has rejected all the efforts of â€Å"Save Sarver† Committee preferring the decision of Citizen’s Task Force. He has to keep proper attention to both the reports submitted by the Task Force and the Committee in order to come to a conclusion regarding the closing of Sarver Elementary School.

Alexander Wendt The Agent-Structure Problem in International Relations Essay

Alexander Wendt The Agent-Structure Problem in International Relations - Essay Example Initially, Wendt believed on Marxism, as a way of understanding international politics and capital, but later turned to constructivist theory. According to Wendt (1999, 110), in the Agent-Structure theory of international relations, states in international relations act: out of the need to make own free choices and independently; and out of consistent patterned structures which fundamentally shape state choices and opportunities. This discussion therefore seeks to discuss Wendt’s theory and is therefore divided into four sections as shown below: Wendt’s central argument How Wendt’s argument differs from neo-realism and world-systems theory Whether Wendt’s ‘solution’ to the agent-structure problem is the only one available or not Whether Wendt’s ‘solution’ compelling or not Alexander E. Wendt (b. 1958, Mainz, W. Germany) is a political scientist and a core constructivist scholar in the field of international relations. Toget her with scholars such as Peter Katzenstein, Michael Barnett and Martha Finnemore, Wendt established constructivism as a school of thought. Wendt has taught Yale University (1989-1997), Dartmouth College (1997-1999), University of Chicago (1999-2004) and Ohio State University, where he currently serves as the Ralph D. Mershon Professor of International Security. Wendt wrote the Agent-Structure Problem in International Relations in 1987. ... state interests and identities and that because of this, many scholars fail to consider how first and second factors affect state interests and identity. Wendt also points out the failure of neoliberalism as being steeped in the fact that it seeks to explain interstate cooperation by only focusing on the process, while leaving out systematic variables. Constructivism fails to address how state identities are formed in practice (Clarke, 2003, 122). Nevertheless, Wendt ties the constructivist approach to the concept of self-help. This is because, international institutions (as self-help agents) may change identities and interests of states. The concept of self-help as is viewed by realists and himself emanates from the interaction of the units in a system in lieu of anarchy. This stands diametrically opposed to structural and deterministic documents which realists advance, and in which anarchy exists as the principal explanatory variable which drives interactions. Wendt also posits tha t states interact with one another, and depending on the results of the interaction, these states can come to be characaterised by self-help. Whatever is accrued depends on the process and not the structure (Fay, 1996, 75 and Fuller, 1998, 98-112). Klotz, Lynch and Dunn (2006, 355 – 381) observe that according to Wendt, unlike norms-based constructivism, neorealism and neoliberalism cannot give an adequate account for changes which take place in international systems. For instance, neorealism and neoliberalism cannot account for the manner in which states behave at their pristine periods, before they acquire any priors. Koran (2007, 324 – 326) and Nishimura (2011, 96 – 112) charge that Wendt identifies sovereignty, evolution of cooperation and intentional efforts to change egoistic

Impression Formation in Social Psychology Essay

Impression Formation in Social Psychology - Essay Example After a long day of regulating behaviors at work or at school, for instance, resources for controlling other person's traits could be limited; reading for tests or going to the gym. Research by Buss, M. G & Graig, K.L (2000) assumes that feeling regulation approaches would demand disparate echelons of behavioral management on the audience where feeling is rather contained. For instance, in comparison with being decent, more management is needed when we swank to others we are familiar with since they are much informed about our well being and could easily approve the impression we tend to construct. Correspondingly, traits ought to govern more when portraying decency to outsiders unlike swanking about the self. The implicit here it that it constructs so much sense to depict ourselves in the most prospective fashion to individuals we don't comprehend well, and being self-effacing does not achieve this intention. A vivid scenario is that where four college roommates that attend a party where they meet friends and classmates that know them closely and consequently interact with strangers who conceive so little about them. Juvenile men have conversations with either friends or strangers and they either swank about their achievements or depict the self in a modest manner. Soon after, the roommates are confronted with a temptation where governing their traits is quite significant; students are questioned to give forecasts concerning how well every man will respond to temptation. Their results are then tabulated with the founding by Vohs et al. Impression Management Theory Impression management hypothesis contents that persons are generally stimulated to advance the self by presenting themselves in ways that are rather positively appealing to their counterparts. According to Buss, M. G & Graig, K.L (2000) the knack to govern other person impressions of us is an imperative aspect in numerous actions, for instance when trying to please the employer during a job interview. When helplessly seeking for support from friends. By itself, impression hypothesis is inclined on an interpersonal procedure. Social psychology confirms that there exist, numerous line of attack through which persons employ to express an appealing reflection to others. Gratifying those that have reserves we seek for, relating with flourishing others, disconnecting with abortive others and constructing of excuses for our malfunction as well as threatening others. Humility and self-importance are two lines of attack emphasized in this case. Arrogance happens when we decorate our positive characteristic and also hide our unconstructive distinctiveness. Reticence transpire when we present out qualities in a way that is either arrogant nor self-disparaging Self-Regulation Theory Self governing hypothesis is oriented towards person's competence to monitor and organize their mannerisms to accomplish preferred intentions. This presumption is related with that ability to modify automatic, customary or instinctive qualities, urges, sensation and requirements that would otherwise mess up with intentions directed manners. For instance students self govern especially when they revise for exam unlike whether

Assignments 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Assignments 1 - Assignment Example The US government intervened in the case and tried to solve the issues at hand. The purpose of this report is to critically analyze the decisions and goals set by the then CEO of the company Mr. Bernie Ebbers. A number of factors contributed to this fraud and this include corporate culture, leadership, and communication style among others. The report use literature reviews form financial analysts, business journals and investigation reports to understand how the above factors contributed to the massive financial fraud as well as the failure of the company. The report will show how the CEOs ambitions and need to satisfy the Wall Street expectations led to fraud as well as failure of the internet communication slow growth after massive investment. WorldCom was established in 1983 under the name Long Distance Discount Service by two businessmen Murray Waldron and William Rector. Two years later, a new investor Bernard Ebbers became the CEO of the company. At that time, the company was based in Jackson Mississippi. In 1989, the company acquired Advantage companies Inc and consequently became traded publicly as a corporation. A couple of other acquisitions were done by the company in the following decade including Resurgens Communications group Inc, Metromedia Communications Corp in 1993. In 1995, after the acquisition of Williams Telecommunications, the company changed its name to WorldCom Inc. Perhaps the biggest acquisition yet was MCI Communications Corps, Brooks Fiber Properties Inc. and CompuServe Corp in 1998. The next big merger with Sprint was blocked in 2000 by both the European and US regulators. This was the beginning of catastrophes to the company. The company was actively involved in telecommunication services which included internet, emails, voice calls among others. Before the fraud case in 2002, the company had made investments to expand its internet capabilities as there was high expectation on

Us Dollar Movements In 2008 Essay Example for Free

Us Dollar Movements In 2008 Essay The U. S dollar is the most widely used currency in the world in terms of trade and foreign exchange reserves. The US dollar is susceptible to many factors e. g. political, economic as well as financial market forces and therefore fluctuates overtime (Intercontinental Exchange Inc, 2009). The assessment of the movements in the US dollar is tracked by the US Dollar index USDX which is basically a chart showing the value of the US Dollar against the major world currencies. These major currencies are the EUN (EUR), Japanese Yen (JPY), Sterling pound (GBP), Canadian dollar (CAD), Swedish Kroner (SEK) and the Swiss Franc (CHF). The dollar index is calculated as a geometric progression weighted average of the six currencies rates against the US Dollar value relative to 1973 (base year) when the index was launched. Therefore this means that the current rate of the US Dollar index shows the average dollar value compared to 1973 which is the base year (Intercontinental Exchange Inc, 2009). Factors affecting US dollar Index over the past one year The performance of the US dollar against the basket of other major currencies (which form the biggest chunk of US trading partners) as measured by the Dollar Index is affected by many factors key among them economic, political and even financial market news. Therefore the trend in the dollar index can be an indication of the state of the economy and financial market. Economic factors The state of the US economy and the major countries around the world affects the movement of the dollar against world major currencies. An example is an economic indicator like home sales. In April this year, the home sales done released indicated that the home sales were higher than predicted. This news boosted the dollar against major currencies hence moving the dollar index previous recorded levels as witnessed in the figure 1 below (DeCarbonnel, 2009). In late 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis resulted in lack of liquidity in the financial markets which led to the credit which as we know today. The dollar index increased during this period as a result of declining factors in the financial market. The other factor that has affected the dollar index over the past year is the widening US deficit resulting from the continued borrowing by way of selling US treasuries. The US government uses the funds to fund war in Iraq and Afghanistan among other pressing issues. The US deficit has substantially grown over the recent past to an extent that the countries debt ratings were at risk. Currently the US debt rating is Aaa according to Moody’s. The fear of credit rating downgrade reduced the value of the dollar against major currencies (TheLFB-Forex, 2009). Financial factors The ballooning current account deficit was a result of buying US securities by foreign investors but now with the dollar threatening the domestic currencies of these nations they have been forced to sell off the US held assets and this will definitely affect the price of the dollar. The deficit also has the effect of weakening the dollar value and thus affects the movement of the dollar index (Randall, 2009). The selling off of treasuries will also affect the dollar in that the government will be forced to print the equivalent dollar amount if they lack a buyer in order to honor the pledge made in the treasuries. The other factor that has affected the dollar index is the continued acceptance of gold in place of the dollar. The increase in the price of gold leads to a decline in the value of the dollar. Inflation as a result of pumping a lot of money into the economy may lead to high demand for commodities e. g. gold as explained earlier on, the higher the price of gold the lower the value of the dollar as shown in figure 2 (marketoracle, 2009). The other factor that may have played a bigger part in the trend witnessed of the US dollar is that of lack of confidence wit the US dollar as the major foreign reserve currency. In fact some countries like China and Brazil are contemplating establishing a currency that is more stable. Lack of confidence is shown by the wayward performance of the dollar index. Political factors The domestic problem in the US i. e. economical and social programs announced by the new president, stimulus package, bailout of banks and also companies, programs such as Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), war in Iraq and Afghanistan are just some of the factors that have pressurized the value of the US dollar. All these programs need resources which are basically raised by selling treasuries (marketoracle, 2009). Conclusion The movement witnessed in the dollar index over the past one year has not only been attributed to the above mentioned factors but also due to the market fundamentals which keep on changing from time to time although to a large extent, the dollar index has been affected by the credit crisis in the financial market which has led to the slowing down of the world economy.Figure 1. (marketoracle, 2009) Figure 2. (marketoracle, 2009) References DeCarbonnel, E. (2009, January 2nd). Ten Major Threats facing the US Dollar in 2009. Retrieved May 26th, 2009, from market skeptics: http://www. marketskeptics. com Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (2009, May 25th). US Dollar Index Futures. Retrieved May 26th, 2009, from Intercontinental Exchange Inc: https://www. theice. com/productguide/ProductDetails. stripes? specId=194 marketoracle. (2009, May 24th). Stock Market Trend Confusion and US Dollar crackdown. Retrieved May 25th, 2009, from marketoracle: http://www. marketoracle. co. uk/Article10869. html Randall, F. W. (2009, May 21st). Gains from the Greenbacks pain. Retrieved May 26th, 2009, from Barrons: http://online. barrons. com/article/SB124285469500340755. html TheLFB-Forex. (2009, May 09th). Dollar Index Review: Post Stress Test. Retrieved May 25th, 2009, from TheLFB-Forex. com: http://www. TheLFB-Forex. com

Women in the Renaissance Era

Women in the Renaissance Era Renaissance Humanism: The Feminine Voice The Renaissance Humanism, albeit a movement headed by males who agreed with the misogynist insights in ancient texts opened the door to the review of the misogynist tradition making it possible for the female humanists like Isotta Nogarola, Cassandra Fedele, Laura Cereta, and Olimpia Morata et al to write about the woman question, and thus changing the notion of Humanism from it earlier misogynist approach to re-evaluation of womens nature by putting household issues at the heart of academic concern and regenerating the relevant classical texts (Cereta, 1997). The triumph of women in Western Europe and the United States originates from a movement about six hundred years ago in the era of Renaissance. This was the time when the other voice, meaning the feminine voice, was first heard against the background of a three-thousand-year history of misogyny rooted in western culture, whether Hebrew, Greek, Roman or Christian. The hatred against women in these traditions suffused the intellec tual, medical, legal, religious and social systems that grew during the European Middle Ages. Concurrent with a general reformation of European culture in this early modern or Renaissance days (roughly during 1300 to 1700) issues related to female equality and opening emerged out that still echo and are still unanswered. This paper deals with the misogynistic tradition defeated by early modern Europeans and the new institution that suppressed the other voice called to defy the ruling theories and conjectures about women as lesser to the male in mind and body. The long-established Misogyny in European culture broke down to take to pieces when the modern period began hard task, no doubt. The progress started as part of a huge cultural movement involving a serious review of ideas received from the antiquated and medieval past—an attempt initiated by the humanists. The Renaissance, as the name suggests, was something new, according to some. The contenders hold that it fundamentally pursued medieval models revising them — an idea that gets more confused with the added fact that the Renaissance in Italy was at variance from the Renaissance in other places. The Renaissance started in Italy around 1300. The first and foremost name associated with this movement was Dante Alighieri, the deeply religious author of spiritual parables, a dedicated catholic who used academic philosophy and was often adverse to the political set-up of the Italian church. One can easily sense from his Divine Comedy that he basically belonged to the Middle Ages except that, as distinct most lofty intellectuals, he wrote mostly in Italian rather than Latin. After him comes the named of Giovanni Boccaccio in the fourteenth century, who wrote the extremely sensational Decameron, written in Italian too. Goeffrey Chaucer in England also wrote the lewd The Canterbury Tales , most likely, which like the Decameron, was a true account of how medieval people acted. But the classic successor of Dante was Francesco Petrarch who wrote both in Italian and Latin about secular themes, even though he was deeply religious often bothering that his secular writings were a diversion from mans only right goal, that is, deliverance (Stearns, 1977). Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch put very much in to the unearthing and safeguarding of classical works. Humanist values were powerfully articulate by another Italian scholar, Pico della Mirandola, in his Oration on the dignity of man. Hamlet’s well-known speech: â€Å"What a piece of work is a man? How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how like an angel, in apprehension how like a god—the beauty of the world, the paragon of animals!†is directly influenced Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man. The humanist movement was supplemented by the entry of Byzantine scholars to Italy after the collapse of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453 and also by the founding of the Platonic Academy in Florence. The academy established by the 15th-century Florentine statesman and sponsor of the arts Cosimo de Medici, revitalized Platonism and changing the literature, painting, and architecture of the period. The compilation and translation of classical texts among the higher clergy and nobles, the invention of printing with variable types around the mid-15th century gave fuelled humanism to progress more through the distribution of editions of the classics in Italy though literature and art, in central Europe through theology and education—a primary basis of the Reformation. One of the most significant scholars in humanism in France was the Dutch cleric Desiderius Erasmus, who also played crucial role to spread the movement into England, firstly at the University. By the middle of the 16th century humanism had won wide acceptance as an educational system. Oxford by classical scholars like William Grocyn (1446-1519) and Thomas Linacre, and at the University of Cambridge by Erasmus and the English prelate John Fisher (1459-1535) to ultimately all through English society thus making the way for the thriving of Elizabethan literature and culture (Witt, 1978). The Humanists reverence for the academic philosophy of medieval universities effected a literary flare-up consisting of works by both men and women, in Latin and in lingua francaworks detailing the attainments of prominent women, works confuting the main allegations made against women, works contending for the equal education of men and women, works labeling and reclassifying womens appropriate role in the family, at court, and in public and works depicting womens lives and experiences. The proto-feminism of these other voices represents an important aspect of the literary effects of the Renaissance. Around 1365, Boccaccio whose Corbaccio made the typical attacks against female nature wrote Concerning Famous Women, a humanist discourse based on classical texts eulogizing distinguished women from pagan Greek, Roman ancient times, and from the religious and cultural tradition since the olden times making all readers conscious of a sex usually damned or forgot ten. However, in it, Bocca ccios position was typically misogynist. The book only honored those women who maintained the conventional female â€Å"qualities† like virginity, quiet, and compliance. Socially active women, for example, sovereigns and fighters, were portrayed as enduring appalling penalties for infringing into male-domain. Even if Boccacio chose women as his theme, he maintained his male chauvinistic attitude although in the book. Christine de Pizans Book of the City of Ladies contains a second catalogue of famous women, as a reaction to Boccaccios. Where Boccaccio’s book shows feminine virtue as extraordinary, her book describes it as common. Many women in history were leaders, visionaries and valiant sufferers for a cause or stayed pure in spite of the lecherous advances from men. The work of Boccaccio enthused a run of such catalogues of famous women of the biblical, classical, Christian, and indigenous past: works by Alvaro de Luna, Jacopo Filippo Foresti , Brantà ´me, Pierre Le Moyne, PietroPaolo de Ribera (who recorded 845 names), and many others. Whatever prejudices these catalogues contained, these catalogues illustrated the public the prospect of female superiority. Yet simultaneously, questions surfaced: Could a woman be moral? Could she act strikingly? Could she be as equal as a man? These questions were argued over four centuries, in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and English, by male and female authors, among Catholics, Protestants, and Jews, in tedious volumes and gusty booklets, the debate being referre d as the querelle des femmes, the Woman Question. The opening torrent of this war took place in the first years of the fifteenth century, in a literary debate generated by Christine de Pizan. Humanism provided the materials for a positive counter concept to the misogyny embedded in scholastic philosophy and law, and inherited from the Greek, Roman, and Christian pasts. A series of humanist treatises on marriage and family, on education and deportment, and on the nature of women helped construct these new perspectives. There were, of course, views opinions by women that went against women’s emerging new roles, the works by Francesco Barbaro and Leon Battista Alberti, respectively On Marriage ( 1415) and On the Family ( 1434-37), reaffirmed womens duties to look after children and supervise house hold maintenance while being submissive, virtuous, and quiet. Even then, that served the purpose of pondering over the â€Å"question women† by placing household matters at the focus of academia and reviving the relevant classical texts. In addition, Barbaro stressed the importance of a wifes religious and rational virtues for the happiness of the family, topics that came back in later humanist works on marriage and the education of women by Juan Luis Vives and Erasmus who were fairly sensitive to the condition of women, without taking it too far. A more constructive stance towards women was seen in the virtually unknown work In Praise of Women (ca. 1487), a catalogue of famous women, by the Italian humanist Bartolommeo Goggio where he contended that male and female are essentially the same, and that women are in fact better. Almost similarly, the Italian humanist Mario Equicola stressed the sacred equality of men and women in On Women. An outlook more favorable to women characterizes the nearly unknown work In Praise of Women (ca. 1487) by the Italian humanist Bartolommeo Goggio. In addition to providing a catalogue of illustrious women, Goggio contended hat male and female are essentially the same and that women are in fact better. Similarly, the Italian humanist Mario Equicola stressed the divine equality of men and women in On Women ( 1501). In 1525, Galeazzo Flavio Capra (or Capella) published his work On the Excellence and Dignity of Women. This humanist tradition of discourses guarding the value of women ended in the wo rk of Henricus Cornelius Agrippa, On the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex, an incomparable attempt by a male humanist to concisely or openly present the case for female self-respect. Works written on the womens question had an extra point in the sense that volumes of them were written by women. A woman writing was in herself a declaration of womens assertion to self-respect. Only a handful of women wrote anything before the the early modern era, for three reasonsfirst, they hardly ever had the culture that facilitated them to write, second, they were not let in to have public roles-as officer, civil servant, lawyer or attorney, university professor where they might attain information about matters worth writing about and lastly , the male-dominated culture suppressed the voice of women with the hidden social dictate that considered speaking her mind as a unchaste. Under such condition it was amazing for those who did write before the fourteenth century. Women writes mostly were nuns or spiritual women whose secluded life made their assertion more tolerable. From the fourteenth century on, the number increased rapidly, women went on writing devotional literature, even though not always as secluded nuns. They also wrote journals, often having it in mind as mementos for their children; guides to their children; letters to family members and friends; and family memoirs that could as well be considered as histories of some sorts. A few women wrote works directly related to the woman question, and some of these, were well trained. While women’s rights were a novel idea, educated women concentrated on another aspect of women, which is witch-hunting. There was a distinctive hostility against witches and a number of booklets and pamphlets on instructions to protect them against witches, who were considered essentially women. The most notorious witch-hunting manual was The Hammer of Witches ( 1486), by two Dominican inquisitors, Heinrich Krà ¤mer and Jacob Sprenger. Witches were often accused of exaggerated deeds as well as deceitful and lust-ridden. Hence, women were equated with the devil who held unholy powers. Of course, rational men, protested such opinion but the most believed in these. For example, the German Ulrich Molitur, the Frenchman Nicolas Rà ©my, the Italian Stefano Guazzo described sinister orgies with the devil and the celebrated French jurist, historian, and political philosopher Jean Bodin often suspended regular legal routine in order to try women charged with exceptional crime. Thus, the early Renaissance involved misogynists. Even when they followed new norms in all matters of society and philosophy, these did not include women. It was up to the women themselves to make their new rules. They formed their own literature and culture whiles the men, even rational otherwise, had distinctive hostility. But the women slowly broke down the barriers gradually as women who were otherwise cocooned within the arena of women began to write and express themselves. Yet, the Renaissance did help women to find their own voice. Even as they have faced new challenges over the years, they have continued to struggle to make their own place up to now. Bibliography Primary sources: Cereta, Laura. Collected Letters of a Renaissance Feminist. edited by Diana Robin. University Of Chicago Press. Chicago, 1997. dePizan, Christine. The Book of the City of Ladies. trans. Earl Jeffrey Richards; Foreword Marina Warner. New York. 1982 Thomson, Melissa (2005). Women of the Renaissance. Lucent Books. San Diego. Zophy, Jonathon W. A Short History of Renaissance and Reformation Europe: Dances over Fire and Water. Prentice Hall; 2 edition., 1998 Secondary sources: Elton, G. R. (1963). Renaissance and Reformation. 1300-1648. Hale, J.R. (1993-1995). The Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance. Simon andm Shuster. New York. Letts, Rosa Maria (1981). The Renaissance. Cambridge University Press. New York. Stearns , Peter N. The Face of Europe. Forum Press: St. Louis, MO, 1977. Shakespeare, William. Hamlet: edited by David Bevington: Bantam, 1988.

Definition Of Test Types Of Test Education Essay

Definition Of Test Types Of Test Education Essay This chapter provides an overview of the theories related to the study concerning with items test analysis. To be more specific, the review of related literature discusses about: definition of test, types of test, achievement test, summative test, English test of Tes Kendali Mutu, aspects in developing a test, validity in language testing, content validity, the school based curriculum, items test analysis, difficulty level, discrimination power, distractor function, and theoretical framework. Definition of Test A test supposed to be able to measure learning outcome which distinguish the every single students ability between students already mastered and not yet the learning material. Therefore, testing is one of the powerful tools to measure students abilities as well as enhance their attitudes towards learning. This notion is supported by Hughes (2003) stated that a test is a tool to measure language proficiency of students. Brown (2004:3) stated that a test is a method of measuring a persons ability knowledge, or performance in a given domain. In the same line, Anthony J Nitko (1983:6) defined test is systematic procedure for observing and describing one or more characteristics of person with the aid of either a numerical of category system. Based on Cronbach in Azwar (2005) defined a test is a systematic procedure for observing a persons behavior and describing it with the aid of a numerical scale or category system. In short, a test as an instrument of evaluation is a systematic procedure of description, collection and interpretation in order to measure the test takers achievement ability, knowledge, and performance what they have been learned in learning process and to get a value judgment. The purpose of a test is able to give the valid information on the students abilities and knowledge. Hence, the successfulness of the teaching and learning can be seen in the tests results. Types of Test A test can be classified based on the types of information they provide. Based on Wilmar Tinambunan in his book with the entitled Evaluation of Students Achievement (1998: 7-9), the four types of test are placement test, formative test, diagnostic test, and summative test. The language tests have different kinds of purposes. Baily (1998) hold that there are eight kinds of language assessment. They are aptitude test, language dominance test, proficiency test, admission test, placement test, diagnostic test, progress test, and achievement test. Based on different classification of several types of tests described from any experts of language testing depending on variable purposes in testing if related to this study that the types of tests that will be reviewed and used is achievement test and summative test. Achievement Test Achievement test are directly related to language courses, their purposes being to establish how successful individual students, groups of students, or the courses themselves have been achieving objectives. In the book of Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics that written by Jack C. Richard (1992:3), he said that an achievement test is a test which measures how much of a language someone has learned with reference to particular course of study or program of instruction. In the same line, Brown (2004) defined an achievement test is to see how far students achieve materials addressed in a curriculum within a particular time frame. It means that an achievement test is to measuring students achievement learning outcome which is administered at the end of course of study. The scope of test content must that represents the course they are concerned. Summative Test Summative test is an achievement test administrated at the end of a course or unit of instruction. Brown (2004) mentioned that final exam in a course is example of summative test. Summative test is intended to show the standard that the students have now reached in relation to other students at the same stage. Thus summative test is conducted to find out overall learning outcome after set of learning units program already done. Summative test is commonly designed based on subject matter that had been already taught for one semester. Consequences of a test that emphasize the overall learning outcomes is its substance of scope involve all of material have been delivered. The result of summative test is to determine successful in learning and teaching, whether or not the students are able to follow the higher level of next instruction program, and students progress. In the final, the level of success rate is stated with a score or value which written in the form of report card. English test of Tes Kendali Mutu Tes Kendali Mutu is a name of appliance evaluates administered at SMKN 26 Jakarta after teaching and learning process for measuring how far purpose of students learning and teachers teaching achievement reached. As in final semester examination, according to Regulation Minister of National Education No. 20/2007, it is carried out to measure students competency achievement at the end of the semester. It can be said that Tes Kendali Mutu is administrated at each final in learning and teaching process in the period one semester and its scope includes all the indicators that represent all the basic competence at that semester. All groups of subject are tested in order to evaluate learning outcome including an English subject. The format of English test of Tes Kendali Mutu of first grade school year 2011/2012 at SMKN 26 Jakarta is written test with objective multiple choice items. Total number English items test of Tes Kendali Mutu is 50 items test which including listening and reading sk ill. Listening skill consists of 15 items test number and reading skill consists of 35 items test number. In reading skill, there are three reading section which consists of first section was 15 incomplete short dialogue items; second section was 5 items error recognition; and third section was 15 questions of reading comprehension which divided into different 5 of reading texts. Aspects in Developing a Test In order to know criteria of a good test for measuring students ability has been reached in learning process, a test as an instrument of evaluation has to meet requirements the validity, reliability, and practicality. As stated by Brown (2004), there are three important aspects should reflect in a test, namely validity, reliability, and practicality. Gronlund (1998) pointed out that validity is the extent to which inferences made from assessment results are appropriate, meaningful and useful in terms of the purpose of the assessment. Validity has to do with the information that the uses in class, it has to be appropriate for the students level, the purpose of the class, and if the meaning of the materials used in class are for the students. In term of achievement test, it can be valid if it is accurate, authentic or valid has been able to measure students learning outcomes achieved, after they achieved the learning process in a certain period. Reliability is consistent and dependable . A test is called reliable if the same test is given to the same students on two different occasions and its tests should yield similar results. Practicality means an effective test. A test should be efficient and easy to be implemented. Since the focus of analysis was merely on one aspect of language test, it did not require to be observed as in the other aspects as reliability and practicality Validity in Language Testing Validity is the most important characteristic of a test or assessment technique because it measures what it purports to measure. Without good validity, all else is lost. In the J.B. Heatons book, Writing English Language Test (1998:153), Heaton said that the validity of a test is the extent to which it measures what it is supposed to measure and nothing else. For example, if the teacher wants to measure the speaking skills, the test that is developed must be able to measure the ability to speak, not writing skills. Further, as insisted by Gronlund in Brown (2004: 22) the extent to which inferences made from assessment result are appropriate, meaningful, and useful in terms of the purpose of the assessment. There is no final absolute to measure the validity of a test established but several different kinds of evidence may be invoked in support. Arikunto (2006:65) mentioned two types of validity. They are empirical validity and logical validity. Empirical validity is as same as quantit ative analysis. It consists of concurrent validity and predictive validity whereas the logical validity consists of content validity and construct validity. However, the writer only focused its investigating on content validation because this study dealt with logical validity that is a way of reviewing in rational by using descriptive analysis method and thus got involved with qualitative inquiries. Beside, because of the limitation in time and the other aspects in validity need the expert judges. Content Validity A test has content validity that relates the evidence to the content of the test. The content is related to the goal of what has been taught. Fulcher Davidson (2007) defined content validity as any attempt to show that the content of the test is a representative sample from the domain that is to be tested. In the same line, Hughes (2003) said that a test is said to have content validity if its content constitutes a representative sample of language skills and structures, etc. with which meant to be concerned. For example, a grammar tests, it must be made up of items relating to the knowledge or control of grammar. In relation to tests content validity in this study, tests content should be tested in accordance with the target competencies which reflected on Standar Kompetensi-Kompetensi Dasar in view of the school based curriculum to be achieved. These Standar Kompetensi-Kompetensi Dasar broken down into skills or behaviors that can be measured called indicator. In short, content validity is arranged based on the content in subject that evaluated. Because those subjects are taught written in curriculum, it can be often called curricular validity. According to John A. Upshur (1996:63), content-related evidence of validity is assessed logically by carefully and systematically examining whether the method and content of the assessment procedure are representative of the kinds of language skill. It means that evidence of content-related validity requires the panel discussion as primary method to determine whether a test has content validity or not. In the panel discussion, the expert judges who considered having knowledgeable to do with the subjects tested. They asked to make judgments about the appropriateness of each item and overall coverage of the domain. The School Based Curriculum As cited in the National Education Standards (SNP) section 1 (15), School Based Curriculum is operational curriculum that developed and implemented by each educational unit. The developing of curriculum conducted by each educational unit has to follow based on the standard competence and the basic competence which is designed by Badan Standar Nasional Pendidikan (BSNP). It means that each educational unit is given the authorities in developing their curriculum. Its curriculum is designed as a reference in using the materials, teaching and learning techniques. Based on Regulation Minister of National Education no. 41/2007, The standard competence means minimum competency qualification for student which show mastery of knowledge, behavior, and skill of student which expected to be achieved in each level and/or each semester of certain subject whereas the basic competence means as a number of abilities that should be mastered by students in certain subject as a reference in developing i ndicator of competency. Based on the school based curriculum, the standard competences and the basic competences of English in Vocational High School is divided into three different level which are level novice, level elementary, and level intermediate. In relation to this study, there is one Standard Competence and eight Basic Competences of English in Vocational High School for Level Novice. The Standard Competence is Berkomunikasi dengan Bahasa Inggris setara Level Novice. Then, the eight Basic Competences of English in Vocational High School for Level Novice are 1.1 Memahami ungkapan-ungkapan dasar pada interaksi sosial untuk kepentingan kehidupan; 1.2 Menyebutkan benda-benda, orang, ciri-ciri, waktu, hari, bulan, dan tahun; 1.3 Mendeskripsikan benda-benda, orang, ciri-ciri, waktu, hari, bulan, dan tahun; 1.4 Menghasilkan tuturan sederhana yang cukup untuk fungsi-fungsi dasar; 1.5 Menjelaskan secara sederhana kegiatan yang sedang terjadi; 1.6 Memahami memo dan menu sederhana, jadwal perjalanan kendaraan umum, dan rambu-rambu lalu lintas; 1.7 Memahami kata-kata dan istilah asing serta kalimat sederhana berdasarkan rumus; and 1.8 Menuliskan undangan sederhana. The English subject itself put in the adaptive group that provides students the ability in the English communication in the context of material related to the majors need either spoken or written. Also, English subject also directs students to be able in speaking in daily communication based on global requirement and developing communication at higher level. As stated in the curriculum that English subject aim for the learners to master basic knowledge and skills to support the achievement of English language competency skills program and apply skills and mastery of English language skills to communicate both verbally and written at the intermediate level. Items Test Analysis The activity aims at increasing quality of a test called item test analysis. Nitko (1996:308) stated that item analysis refers to the process of collecting, summarizing, and using information about individual test items especially information about pupils response to items. Item test analysis is used to identify quality of the test whether it is good, low or not good. As stated by Anastasi and Urbina (1997:184), the main aim of item analysis of the teacher made test is to identify its deficiencies. In conducting item test analysis, two methods are able to be used, namely qualitative and quantitative analysis. As stated by Suyata (2009:16), items test can be analyzed by quantitative or empirical and qualitative or theoretical. Item test analysis in terms of qualitative covers the content of a test while difficulty level, discrimination power and distractors function involved quantitative analysis. In the same line, Purwanto (1992) said that by making analysis, it can be known the impo rtant things of every single item obtained, the extent to which difficulty level, whether item has discrimination power, and whether all alternative answer (options) attract the answer. The more explanation about difficulty level, discrimination power, and distractors function are as below: Difficulty Level Aiken (1994: 66) said that Difficulty Level is the opportunity correct answer a question at a certain skill level. It is usually expressed in the form of an index which has proportion range 0,00 1,00. If the item test has 0,00 of Difficulty Level Index, it means that no students who answer correctly. While if the item test has 1,00 of Difficulty Level Index, it means that student can answer correctly. In short, the higher of Difficulty Level Index, the easier of item test is understood and vice versa. Based on Crocker Algina (1986) in calculating the item difficulty, divide the number of people answering the item correctly by the total number of people answering item. The proportion for the item is usually denoted as P and is called item difficulty. Arikunto (2006:207) explained that a good test is about not too easy or too difficult. The easy test is not able to stimulate students learning. Contrary, the difficult test is able to make students desperate because of out of their rea ch. As cited by Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, Direktorat Jendral Manajemen Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah, Direktorat Pembinaan Sekolah Menengah Atas (2008) in Panduan Analisis Butir Soal, The prediction information about the easy item test is as follow: The distractor function doesnt work well, Most students answer those item tests correctly; it means most students have understood the content in question. The prediction information about the difficult item test is as follow: Item tests maybe have mistake a key answer, Item tests have two or more the correct answers, The content in question hasnt been taught yet or hasnt finished in its learning so that the minimum competency student have doesnt achieved yet, Unsuitable measured content using format given in the item test, Statement or item sentence is too complex and long. Discrimination Power Discrimination Power refers to measurement of the extent of the ability of items of achievement test to distinguish between students high answers and students low answers based on criteria. This notion is supported by Arikunto (2006:211), Discrimination Power is items ability to distinguish between students who are good and low capable. The proportion range of Discrimination Power Index is from -1,00 to +1,00. The higher of Discrimination Power Index, the more capable the item test distinguish between students who had already understood and hadnt already understood the content. An item test has negative Discrimination Power Index ( As cited by Departemen Pendidikan Nasional, Direktorat Jendral Manajemen Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah, Direktorat Pembinaan Sekolah Menengah Atas (2008) in Panduan Analisis Butir Soal, The prediction information about disability item test to distinguish lower and upper student group is as follow: Inappropriate key answer of item Item tests have two or more the correct answers Unclear of measured competency The distractor function doesnt work well, The content in question is too difficult, so many students are guessing. Distractors Function Distractor function is meant to know work or not the answer of item. Arikunto (2006:220) stated a distractor function works well if it at least selected 5% by test taker. This analysis is only used to analyze multiple choice item tests. Theoretical Framework In order to answer the research questions of this study, English items test analysis of Tes Kendali Mutu of first grade school year 2011/2012 at SMKN 26 Jakarta is reviewed in terms of: (1) the relevance of English items tests content to the school based curriculum for level novice of Vocational High School; (2) validity; (3) difficulty level; (4) discrimination power; and (5) the distractor function. In relation to tests content validity in this study, qualitative analysis is used by analyzing items test in reference to the aspects of test validity. Measuring the validity of a test, the English items test of Tes Kendali Mutu must contain proper sample of relevant material in learning. The relevant material in learning can be found in the syllabus and curriculum for level novice of Vocational High School which is School-based Curriculum (KTSP). In order to answer whether English test of Tes Kendali Mutu has content validity, the writer needs Standar Kompetensi and Kompetensi Dasar in the school based curriculum to compare and match its items with the relevant syllabus and curriculum. Furthermore, in order to support in answering the research question of this study, quantitative was conducted by using classical items test analysis through multiple choice test involving Difficulty Level, Discrimination Power, Distractor Function, and Validity. They are also considered to fulfill requirement criteria of quality a good test.

Ethnography Essay -- Ethnography

Ethnography Introduction Beginning with the early stages of savagery to the complex civilizations in the 21st century, the need to compete remains an important aspect in the continual evolution of mankind. Competition took various forms throughout history from the bloody attempts to kill a mammoth in order to provide nourishment, to the violent battles between two opposing sides taking place on college football fields every Saturday afternoon. Another form of competition involving severe contact on a scale par with football is the sport of rugby. My personal history with the sport began in a medium sized island in Polynesia. I lived and worked in New Zealand during the summer of 1999, between my sophomore and junior year. This little country hosts a number of different leagues and excels on the world level. I watched numerous matches on the television and in the parks. The first time I watched the national team (the â€Å"All Blacks†) was in a friendly match against New Zealand’s biggest rival, Australia (the â€Å"Wallabies†). I returned to Occidental in late August with an All Blacks jersey and the idea of playing rugby once my soccer season ended. Unfortunately the gods thought it would be better that I hold off on rugby for a year, so they helped me land on my right foot in such a way that I fractured my ankle during one of my last soccer games. The next semester I studied in southern France, specifically a city called Toulouse. The â€Å"Stade Toulousain† is the best club team in France, and has won numerous European club championships. After watching rugby in New Zealand and France, I finally started to play rugby over the course of my senior year. When the opportunity to study a group for my ethnography in â€Å"Anthropology 370†... ...ile too much playfulness is a problem also. The oval ball pictured above exemplifies a sport with many opposing themes and contradictions. With a round ball like soccer, the ball bounces rather consistently. On the other hand, the oval-shaped rugby ball is constantly competing against opposing forces for the specific direction it will travel. Works Cited Appadurai, Arjun. â€Å"Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy.† Global Culture: Nationalization, Globalization, and Modernity. Ed. Mike Featherstone. London: Sage, 1990. 295-319. Bourdieu, Pierre. â€Å"How Can One be a Sports Fan?† The Cultural Studies Reader. Routledge, London. Carruthers, Vanessa. In class discussions. Occidental College. 6 February 2001. â€Å"Rugby.† Encyclopedia Brittanica. Online. Internet. 9 April 2001. Available: http://search.eb.com/bol/topic?eu=114957&sctn=1

Slavery - A Cruel Institution :: Slavery Essays

Slavery as a Cruel Institution Cruelty can be defined as an inhumane action done to an individual or group of people that causes either physical or mental harm. Slavery, at its very core, was a cruel and inhumane institution. From the idea behind it to the way that it was enforced, it degraded the lives of human beings and forbade the basic liberties that every man deserves under the Constitution of the United States. Three major areas where cruelty was especially prevalent were in the slaves working conditions, living conditions, and loss of fundamental freedoms. Working conditions for slaves were about as bad as can possibly be imagined. Slaves worked from dawn till dusk and sometimes even longer. Solomon Northrup describes his experience as a slave on his Louisiana plantation: The hands are required to be in the cotton field as soon as it is light in the morning and with the exception of ten or fifteen minutes, which is given them at noon to swallow their allowance of cold bacon, they are not permitted a moment idle until it is too dark to see, and when the moon is full, they often times labor till the middle of the night (Northrup 15). The slaves lived in constant fear of punishment while at work, and it was that fear that drove them to obey. Northrup continues to say that, "No matter how fatigued and weary he may be†¦a slave never approaches the gin-house with his basket of cotton but with fear. If it falls short in weight—if he has not performed the full task appointed him, he knows he must suffer" (10). He goes on to explain that after weighing, "follow the whippings" (10). This was not the end of the workday for a common slave though. Each slave had his or her own respective chores to do. "One feeds the mules, another the swine—another cuts the wood, and so forth (Northrop 11). Then there were jobs to do in the slaves’ quarters, jobs that were necessary for their basic needs and survival: Finally, at a late hour, they reach the quarters, sleepy and overcome with the long day’s toil. Then a fire must be kindled in the cabin, the corn ground in the small hand-mill, and supper, and dinner for the next day in the field prepared (Northrup 12). The slaves got very little sleep because, "an hour before day light the horn is blown," and it was "an offense invariably followed by flogging, to be found at the quarters after daybreak" (Northrup 14).

Analysis of As You Like It by Daniel Maclise :: As You Like It Daniel Maclise Literature Essays

Analysis of As You Like It by Daniel Maclise During the time that France was divided into provinces (or dukedoms as they were called) there reigned in one of these provinces an usurper, who had deposed and banished his elder brother, the lawful duke. The duke, who was thus driven from his dominions, retired with a few faithful followers to the forest of Arden; and here the good duke lived with his loving friends, who had put themselves into a voluntary exile for his sake, while their land and revenues enriched the false usurper; and custom soon made the life of careless ease they led here more sweet to them than the pomp and uneasy splendour of a courtier's life. Here they lived like the old Robin Hood of England, and to this forest many noble youths daily resorted from the court, and did fleet the time carelessly, as they did who lived in the golden age. In the summer they lay along under the fine shade of the large forest trees, marking the playful sports of the wild deer; and so fond were they of these poor dappled fools, who seemed to be the native inhabitants of the forest, that it grieved them to be forced to kill them to supply themselves with venison for their food. When the cold winds of winter made the duke feel the cha nge of his adverse fortune, he would endure it patiently, and say: 'These chilling winds which blow upon my body are true counsellors; they do not flatter, but represent truly to me my condition; and though they bite sharply, their tooth is nothing like so keen as that of unkindness and ingratitude. I find that howsoever men speak against adversity, yet some sweet uses are to be extracted from it; like the jewel, precious for medicine, which is taken from the head of the -venomous and despised toad.' In this manner did the patient duke draw a useful moral from everything that he saw; and by the help of this moralizing turn, in that life of his, remote from public haunts, he could find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything. The banished duke had an only daughter, named Rosalind, whom the usurper, duke Frederick, when he banished her father, still retained in his court as a companion for his own daughter Celia.

Vietnam’s Inflation

Vietnam's government is set to raise electricity prices by 15% on Tuesday, at a time when the population is already struggling with a soaring cost of living. Last week the Vietnamese government also raised the retail prices of oil products by as much as 24%. In February, inflation hit a two-year high of 12. 31%. Analysts say despite the government's measures to tighten monetary policy, price pressures are likely to continue. â€Å"The increases in energy, electricity and petroleum indicate that we are going to see inflation get a little worse despite the shift in government policy,† said Christian de Guzman of Moody's Investor Group. Overheating For years the Vietnamese government has kept a loose interest rate policy and subsidized lending in order to boost growth. The government expects the economy to expand as much as 7. 5%, up from 6. 8% in 2010. But the cost of that rapid pace is that the economy has started to show signs of overheating. Credit rating agencies cut the country's sovereign-credit rating last year. Inflation fears have also caused a sell-off in Vietnamese markets. Vietnam's benchmark stock index has slid 6. 7% in the past year. The Vietnamese government was focused on growth at all costs,† said Mr de Guzman. â€Å"By the middle of last year they had already reached their inflation target but then they continued to pursue other macroeconomic policy targets like credit growth and gross domestic product growth,† he said. Fighting inflation But since the beginning of this year, the government seems to have shifted its policies towards stabilizing prices. Last week the Vietnamese govern ment announced a set of measures to curb inflation. Electricity prices have been raised in an effort to reduce budget spending The central bank recently raised the cost of borrowing. It increased the benchmark refinance rate by 2 percentage points from 9% to 11%. The government has also vowed to reduce government debt. To that effect, it cut the budget-deficit target to less than 5% of gross domestic product, from 5. 3%. Reducing government spending on subsidies for fuel and electricity are also part of that plan. â€Å"In order to stave off inflation, they want to cut back on subsidies. It does alleviate some of the pressure on the budget,† said Mr de Guzman. Dong devaluation The other major strain on the Vietnamese economy is the currency. The central bank devalued the dong against the US dollar by 8. 5%. It is the latest in a series of devaluations the government has implemented to reduce the risk of a shortfall in foreign currency reserves. However, that will lead to higher import costs, which in turn, could again increase inflationary pressures.

Debate on Board Exams

Good morning, one and all! Today’s debate is quite interesting, as we are the victims, rather the part of the society who sees it very closely than the rest. Now, frankly speaking, within each one of us, somewhere or the other we feel, very strongly feel , that board exams are a curse or rather some dangerous, ferocious animals. Truly the very spirit of examination aims at something noble, but unfortunately the implementation process is very unrealistic.The present examination systems, as I said are very unrealistic, and moreover focus on the core subject of ‘Writing based on Memory’; there isn’t any scope for a child to enhance his/her creativity, there is always an obstruction on the out-of-box thinking. The child along with his parents suffer from acute tension, anxiety and fear during the period of exams, that lead to a very different mental status of a child, and is a symbol that the child is stressed out.It is not possible, to judge a student’s capacity in a mere 3 hour exam, How can it be possible that a 3 hour exam will foretell a student’s future? And that, this so called board exam be the only parameter to judge a child’s ability. It is really insane to say that, I feel. And moreover, its pure gambling at times, like it depends on the question, and the child’s preparations that coincide to give a better outcome. Sometimes it does and sometimes not. Mentioning draw backs of the exams will lead me to write a novel full of reasons.Present education system encourages cramming, unnecessary expenditure on help books and also encourages private tuition which has resulted in mushrooming of a large number of tuition shops in every city and even small towns by inexperienced tutors, with a lure to make huge turnovers†¦ Einstein once said and I quote â€Å"Every animal has their own talent, but if we judge a fish with its ability to climb tree, It lands to be a failure, always† This is what, board exam does, It tries to judge the memory power, and the power to reproduce the answers on the exam paper, It is a mechanical approach to test a human’s knowledge and not a holistic way.Now, I would like to ask you, what basically is exam!? Some may say, it’s an art to reproduce things on the exam paper, and yes truly it is! But what is the process involved? Do we give importance to that!? No, some of us might have cheated, used unfair means in the exam, and would come out bravely and speak ‘See I cheated and was undetected† we take credit for this, and here, the basic aim of board exams comes down breaking ! This symbolizes, and I conclude that board exams, or any Exam that focuses on memory, never helps the child in a long run. Debate on Board Exams Good morning, one and all! Today’s debate is quite interesting, as we are the victims, rather the part of the society who sees it very closely than the rest. Now, frankly speaking, within each one of us, somewhere or the other we feel, very strongly feel , that board exams are a curse or rather some dangerous, ferocious animals. Truly the very spirit of examination aims at something noble, but unfortunately the implementation process is very unrealistic.The present examination systems, as I said are very unrealistic, and moreover focus on the core subject of ‘Writing based on Memory’; there isn’t any scope for a child to enhance his/her creativity, there is always an obstruction on the out-of-box thinking. The child along with his parents suffer from acute tension, anxiety and fear during the period of exams, that lead to a very different mental status of a child, and is a symbol that the child is stressed out.It is not possible, to judge a student’s capacity in a mere 3 hour exam, How can it be possible that a 3 hour exam will foretell a student’s future? And that, this so called board exam be the only parameter to judge a child’s ability. It is really insane to say that, I feel. And moreover, its pure gambling at times, like it depends on the question, and the child’s preparations that coincide to give a better outcome. Sometimes it does and sometimes not. Mentioning draw backs of the exams will lead me to write a novel full of reasons.Present education system encourages cramming, unnecessary expenditure on help books and also encourages private tuition which has resulted in mushrooming of a large number of tuition shops in every city and even small towns by inexperienced tutors, with a lure to make huge turnovers†¦ Einstein once said and I quote â€Å"Every animal has their own talent, but if we judge a fish with its ability to climb tree, It lands to be a failure, always† This is what, board exam does, It tries to judge the memory power, and the power to reproduce the answers on the exam paper, It is a mechanical approach to test a human’s knowledge and not a holistic way.Now, I would like to ask you, what basically is exam!? Some may say, it’s an art to reproduce things on the exam paper, and yes truly it is! But what is the process involved? Do we give importance to that!? No, some of us might have cheated, used unfair means in the exam, and would come out bravely and speak ‘See I cheated and was undetected† we take credit for this, and here, the basic aim of board exams comes down breaking ! This symbolizes, and I conclude that board exams, or any Exam that focuses on memory, never helps the child in a long run.

12 Angry Men: Jury’s Conflict Involved on Verdict Essay

Any jury trial is bound to have some sort of conflict involved when coming to a verdict. The portrayal of a murder case in the movie, 12 Angry Men, involves many different examples of conflict, as well as the approaches to conflict used by different characters. Almost every conversation in the film involves conflict, since the characters are all debating whether or not the boy being tried for murder is guilty or not, but there are a few scenes in which different types of conflict and different approaches to conflict seem to stand out. The room in which the men are sitting and debating the case has a table with each of the men sitting around it. Jury member number one, who sits at the head of the table, takes on the role as the leader of the discussion by formatting how the voting goes and asking all members whether they agree to any decisions made. In one scene, the older man with the summer cold comes over to jury member number one and tells, â€Å"stop being a kid. K. I. D. Kid.† Jury member number one responds, â€Å"Just because I am trying to keep this thing organized? Here, you take the responsibility. I’ll just keep my mouth shut, that’s all.† This scene is an example of Ego/Identity conflict because of the beliefs that the man with the cold see’s jury member number one as being a kid because he is younger than him. Jury member number one seemed to take the responsibility of leading the group just because of his number, but the man with the cold seemed to get upset and cre ate a conflict with him because of his age. See more:  Social Satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay The different types of characters in the jury decision create many different examples of approaches to conflict. Jury member number two, the quiet man with the glasses, becomes the target of many of the other characters. When the men are all going around and explaining their reasons for why they feel the boy is guilty, Jury member number three interrupts and says, â€Å"what about the switch-knife found in the man’s chest?† Jury member number two says, â€Å"Wait a second, there are some people who haven’t talked yet, shouldn’t we go in order?† Jury member number three says, â€Å"forget about the people who haven’t gone yet, be quiet will ya?† This causes jury member number two to quiet down and not respond. This approach to conflict is an example of competing because of the win-lose outcome of the conflict. Jury member number three makes sure that he uses his alpha male status and shuts down jury member number two without any complai nt. The last situation is an example of conflict as well as the approach to conflict. When the men choose to make an anonymous vote and one of them writes â€Å"not guilty† on the paper, jury member number three calls out the man who had grown up in the slums and says that he changed his vote because he fell for the preaching of the first member who felt the boy was not guilty. After yelling at the man, the old man finally admits to changing is vote. Later, jury member number three attempts to apologize for calling out the man who grew up in the slums and he just walks right past him without responding. This is an example of Ego/Identity conflict because jury member number three judged the man who grew up in the slums and expected him to change his vote because of his past. The approach to the conflict later is avoidance because the man who grew up in the slums chooses to not respond to the apology and walk right past the man without getting into any type of conflict.

Why did Project Baton fail? Essay

1. The two teams concentrated on different parts of the product, Indian team focus on lowering the cost while the US team on the design. Actually they did not corporate well; 2. The time difference (reasons for the late conference calls), different communication styles and different working styles caused misunderstanding and distrust; 3. The success of Fiit Project did not provide Indian team much experience of working internationally. Production 1. The outset issues caused the quality of the component of the product (the noise problem); 2. The cost of Project Baton is very difficult to cut; 3. The Indian team had the experience of EKG production but they did not have enough experience of stress test system; 4. The components from Asian suppliers were often delayed. Management 1. Unexpected departure of manager caused chaos for several weeks, delaying the project; 2. The initial goal of the project was too ambitious and too fast than comparable projects, which is difficult to achieve; 3. The project was far behind the schedule, causing heavy cash burden on the company. Should Bella India take on Project TKO and develop an EKG specifically for the local market? I believe Bella should start the Project TKO. 1. India has the manufacturing advantages such as well-trained, extremely motivated and English-speaking engineers and lower-cost labor. 2. From previous experience (both success and failure), the teams have gained experience in working globally, which is valuable assets for the company. 3. Other competitors (China & Korea) that could use lower labor costs in manufacturing EKG would not be able to produce high quality products in the near future. 4. Both the demand and purchasing power of the emerging market (such as India) are growing. 5. Also, Indian patients are getting heart disease symptoms at younger age; and there are approximately 30 million CAD patients in India, which is a huge potential market. 6. Bella already has an India team, which could help the company to achieve a â€Å"local for local† R&D strategy. This would help the TKO product targeted on Indian market

Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 28

Personal Statement Example I could tell that marketing to me was one of the most fulfilling topics I had ever covered while studying my degree in Management. The course work was as interesting as the practical work which mostly entailed presentations and research work as directed by my professor. To be honest, I found the practical work much easier to do, with especially my research assignments in the marketing topic proving to be one of the most interesting and memorable tasks I have completed to date. I especially enjoyed making field observations and presenting field data in the market research segment for the marketing classes. In all honesty, this is a field that caught my heart, despite being a regretfully small part of my degree in management. As earlier mentioned, I have studied primarily in management, and my specialty is in the banking area. I graduated with a management degree in June 2014 from the Qafqaz University in Azerbaijan. I was top of my Faculty (Management) accumulating a final GPA of 95.04. This followed a string of exemplary academic performances that saw me receive numerous recognition awards from the Dean of the Faculty and the University Rector as well. However, it is the marketing subject that remains a memorable part of my studies in management. I found myself more inclined to all marketing related subjects than all other areas of my undergraduate studies, with a special liking and interest in advertising. I feel that it is the creativity that this subject demands which makes me so attracted to it. I believe that I am well equipped to prosper in the marketing field, especially considering a few of my related strengths and passions. I am a team leader by nature and for this, I have found to thrive well in teamwork arrangements. From my experience at the University, I performed the best while studying in team works, deriving immeasurable satisfaction and joy from

Methodology Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Methodology Proposal - Essay Example Questionnaire method will be used to collect information from employees while the company’s manager will be interviewed. In a study to find out the employee engagement in IT organisations and manufacturing organisations, one hundred middle level executives , fifty of whom were from a car manufacturing firm and fifty from an IT service provider were interviewed (Desai, Majumdar, & P.Prabhu, 2010, p, 86). The car manufacturing firm and the IT service provider belonged to a large Bengaluru based conglomerate. Two principal questionnaires were sent to two hundred willing participants (Desai, Majumdar, & P.Prabhu, 2010, p, 86). Questionnaires were used because they could collect reliable and valid data from the middle level executives conveniently. The use of questionnaire was tested and reliability was found to be very high. Therefore, the study was found to be sufficiently valid (Desai, Majumdar, & P.Prabhu, 2010, p, 87). In this study a t-test was used to ascertain whether there was any significant difference between the sample from the two organisations, as far as employee engagement levels were report ed at work levels, and how employees perceived them. T-statistics were used to identify specific predictors that were perceived to have significant different levels in the two organisations. A two way analysis of variance was used in determining if there was any difference in employee engagement due to the perceived status of the organisation. A correlation analysis aimed at finding out the extent to which employee engagement and employee engagement predictors were expected to coexist in an organisation, was carried out (Desai, Majumdar, & P.Prabhu, 2010, p, 88). Andrew and Sofian, in their research, Individual Factors and Work Outcomes of Employee Engagement, which sought to find out uncertainty about the influence of individual factors of employee engagement on work outcomes, used a questionnaire survey to collect information (Andrew