Thursday, August 27, 2020

My Favorite Film free essay sample

My preferred film I have numerous diversions, for example, sports, nourishments, games and particularly motion pictures. I like watching film. I have a ton sorts of film, for example, ghastliness, sentimental, war, verifiable, artist, and so on. I generally spent numerous relaxation to observe all its. My propensity is continually searching for acclaimed films on the web. Most loved film what I like best is The Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Hulk is hero film based Marvel Comic character The Hulk. Content the film is about The Hulk-The beast has horrendous force. The Hulk is Dr. Bruce Banner (Edward Norton). He is researcher. At some point, in the science test, he affected by gamma beam ‘cause he needs to spares his partner. In this way, he turned into a beast called The Hulk. It opened a shocking long story. He can't control The Hulk. He lost his better half. Such a large number of blackguards search for him to take the mystery. We will compose a custom article test on My Favorite Film or on the other hand any comparative theme explicitly for you Don't WasteYour Time Recruit WRITER Just 13.90/page Numerous pioneers think The Hulk is calling of United States armed force. He should move and to be battling with the beast inside him. The Incredible Hulk film is diverse other hero film, for example, Iron man, Thor, Batman, Spider man, and so on. It has more human culture than that. The mass isn’t only a beast he’s likewise a green legend. He battles to spare his sweetheart and the world. He shows at least a bit of kindness. He isn't haughty like Iron man. He’s more grounded than the god like Thor. He doesn’t need to injury individuals however they scared of him. They consider him a beast. They avoid him. He doesn’t have a place with here. I love the Hulk. I don’t know why I like him. Possibly the tale about him is extremely moving or he has the horrible force. This late spring, the Hulk will return The Avenger film. It’s extremely fascinating. You can see legends in this film, for example, Thor, Iron man, Captain America, Black Widow. Have you at any point watched the Hulk? You should watch it.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Pre

Pre-twentieth Century Drama Coursework Hamlet By William Shakespeare Essay Toward the beginning of Act 3 Scene 2 Hamlet is by all accounts mindful of the significance of the players execution and trains them not to over do the exhibition. He instructs them not to be overwhelming as this will cause the crowd inside the play and the Elizabethan to begin giggling and this is significant in light of the fact that they are the ones Hamlet is attempting to express what is on his mind to. Presently this exaggerated, or come late off, however it makes the unskillful giggle, can't cause the sensible to lament, the rebuke of the which one should in your stipend oerweigh an entire performance center of others. He likewise educate them not to under act the play as this won't create a scene in the crowd and this is one of the principle goals of the play for Hamlet. Different sonnets that we have contemplated are The research facility and My last Duchess both composed by Robert Browning which has an alternate point demonstrating how damaging adoration can be, which contrasts from the numbers where the force of affection is high and furthermore supernatural. Noyes utilizes the sentimental figure of an unknown outlaw to portray the quick paced, sensational story of the destined relationship between the bandit and his red lipped, delightful Bess. The Highwayman is depicted as having a lot of trim at his jaw which demonstrated that he was luxurious and rich, conceivably from the cash he took from individuals. They make him a sentimental figure, for example, They fitted with never a wrinkle. Noyes uncovers the Highwayman as a sentimental individual, who a young lady would dream to have. The Highwayman is made to look mind boggling masculine, who a young lady would succumb to. His sword grip a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky. How the Highwayman is portrayed toward the beginning acquires the subject of a bound relationship. Later in the ditty, Bess gets hijacked as a ploy to catch the Highwayman. For Bess could see, through the casement, the street that he would pass on. Now the peruser understands that the affection between the two may not keep going extremely long by any stretch of the imagination. This gets the theme, of both their affection to be destined as they wouldnt remain as one. Intelligently Noyes toward the beginning expounds all on the adoration between the two, however ordinarily later on the peruser understands, that their affection appears to have been damned. He fabricates a sense despair at the reality, that the Highwayman and Bess won't drag out their adoration any more. Yet additionally Noyes makes a feeling of expectation and even expectation, that Bess will be spared. The Highwayman came riding. The peruser feels that the Highwayman has come to spare Bess, in this way making a feeling of expectation. Be that as it may, heartlessly Noyes parts of the bargains when Bess slaughters herself. The characters act in a specific way to make various points inside a number. The characters structure the story with various subjects. On the other hand, La Belle Dame Sans Merci begins with the subject of death. The knight sees a lily on thy forehead. He is at the purpose of death. John Keats starts of the anthem with the subject of death and the knight being exceptionally near death. The title proposes that Keats sonnet tells the miserable story of a knight being caught by his affection for La Belle Dame Sans Merci. Only somewhat later in the anthem the knight meets a delightful woman, and feels as though he has motivation to live once more. Full excellent a faerys youngster, the knight begins to look all starry eyed at the woman. This acquires the subject of affection just to be changed into selling out in a brief timeframe. Hath thee in bondage! , when the woman is oppressing the knight to do what she needs. She captures the knight and leaves him injured. She removes his forces and poise. The characters and the themes consolidate to make a ditty story. Noyes utilizes numerous representations to depict the setting, and to pass on a puzzling and premonition atmostphere in the start of The Highwayman. A specific similitude would be The moon was a spooky ship hurled upon overcast oceans. The moon is being contrasted with a phantom boat around in a turbulent climate. This specific representation shows that the late evening being spooky and the mists disrupted. The impact of this allegory is portrays impeccably the setting of the evening time. It plainly has depicted the setting with a ground-breaking feeling. Another great utilization of similitude was The street was a lace of evening glow, over the purple field. It is portraying the street as being strip formed and splendid like the twilight. Likewise the word strip is the thing that ladies wear on their hair is related with adoration and sentiment. This upgrades the subject of adoration while depicting the setting too. Alfred Noyes insightfully utilizes one sentence to depict two things without a moment's delay. Comparisons were additionally used to make climate and tension. Her face resembled the light! which constructed anticipation on the grounds that now she was trusting that the Highwayman will show up so she could shoot herself and caution him of the impending risk. The analogy makes anticipation as her face is the light. Her face was sparkling as to propose the light was streaming once and for all as she wouldnt see light once more. Similar sounding word usage was utilized, for example, over the cobbles he rattled and conflicted in obscurity hotel yard. Noyes exemplifies the Highwayman as being daring and a kind of thrill seeker. It makes him considerably bolder in light of the fact that at that point, he was being pursued somewhere around numerous individuals so he was daring to making such a clamor in spite of the commotion disturbing individuals searching for him. In light of the current situation he was truly bold to caution anybody about his whereabouts by making such clamors. Buffy Media Analysis EssayVariety The quality or condition of being extraordinary or assorted; the nonattendance of consistency, equality, or tedium. Concurred Give or award somebody (force, status, or acknowledgment): the forces agreed to the head of state. Sapphire An individual who is nice, enjoyable to be with, provocative, skilled, brave, cheeky, around and know the estimation of fun. She is an individual who doesnt pay attention to life yet can brighten you up whenever. Additionally a sort of individual who will attempt to help those in any capacity they can. Diocesan a priest having Jurisdiction over a bishopric Indelible Making marks that can't be evacuated. Parochial kept or confined as though inside the fringes ofa ward : constrained in range or extension (regarding a tight zone or locale) Internet-is a system of systems. It is a worldwide system of a systems connected by private and open phone lines, and by microwave and satellite associations LAN Base-A framework that joins together electronic office gear, for example, PCs and word processors, and structures a system inside an office or building. Study To analyze or take a gander at extensively. l. Setting Diagrams Student Viewing and posting of the subject And Schedule Enrollment Form Evaluation Complete Evaluated Ill. Information Flow Diagram Unofficial Form enlistment framework works with paper and pen. Above all else, in enlistment, is first started things out serve. Understudies need to get 3 papers to list the subjects, and afterward directly to recorders office to assess first the subjects, particularly to those understudies who have a back subject, and to know the pre-essential of the subject, and afterward directly to MIS to encode the subject. In paying the education cost, there is an arrangement, A,B,C, and D. In plan D the understudies can pay month to month. At that point rearward in fund office. Destinations of the Present System The goals of the current framework are to sort out the enlistment framework, to follow the stream how the enlistment goes on, so it won't be hard for the understudies to enlist. Abilities of the Present System The capacity of the current framework are encoding the framework in MIS, to arrange the subjects, utilizing PC advances. What's more, one of the ability, they can make the site page of the school for the understudies to be refreshed in any exercises or significant occasions. Also, uniquely if there are no classes they will consequently post it on the page so the other understudy doesnt need to call at school. Confinement of the Present System The constraint of the current framework is the understudy can't enlist the pre-essential of the subject on the off chance that they got fizzled; they need to pass the subject first. In the event that they enlisted the subject, still it won't be recorded at the recorders, or it won't be substantial. One of the confinements in homeroom, the understudies are not permitted to be missing in 3 days, on the off chance that they are missing in multi week, naturally they need to drop the subject. Three late is proportional The Proposed System A. Meanings of terms Development plan Development arranging occurs in a wide range of settings so to efine it compactly is precarious. Essentially advancement arranging alludes to the vital quantifiable objectives that an individual, association or network intends to meet inside a specific measure of time. Typically the improvement plan incorporates time sensitive benchmarks. It for the most part additionally incorporates the standards that will be utilized to assess whether the objectives were really met. Courses The thing course can allude to a progression of talks, conversations, or different exercises in a specific subject. To move on from secondary school, you need to take certain courses in English, social investigations, math, and science. Normally, you need to ass them! Manual Enrollment Own support projects and manuals, and various kinds of airplane. Support can be totally different for a turbo propeller plane, a Jet motor plane, or a helicopter, in spite of the fact that their center upkeep exercises are comparative. Since topography, condition, workplace, and so forth join these distinctions, carriers more likely than not qualified staff that realize the upkeep procedure, particularly in light of the fact that they will accomplish something other than specialized, checking, and building undertakings and their related desk work Irregular Students An unpredictable understudy can't stream the subject grouping of he subjects plot in the program educational plan, because of reason of disappointment, dropping, time away, or potentially moving. The program could conceivably be done inside the quick endorsed number of semesters/years. Enlistment System Enrollm

Friday, August 21, 2020

10 Success-Driven Tips for Business and Living Your Best Life

10 Success-Driven Tips for Business and Living Your Best Life Make Money Online Queries? Struggling To Get Traffic To Your Blog? Sign Up On (HBB) Forum Now!10 Success-Driven Tips for Business and Living Your Best LifeUpdated On 11/12/2018Author : Pradeep KumarTopic : BusinessShort URL : https://hbb.me/2L7RUCB CONNECT WITH HBB ON SOCIAL MEDIA Follow @HellBoundBlogHave you ever wondered why some people seem to have it all while others are barely struggling to stay afloat in business and in life? While personal situations will surely be a big factor, there are still a lot of things at play that greatly contribute to your own success â€" things that you have a huge amount of control over.These tips for success in business and life are a good starting point in creating positive changes that bring great results. Once you know what they are, you can move on to implementing them in life to see the positive changes they bring in. There are many proven advice from successful people around the world; some still alive and inspiring people and some passed away and left their success stories for us to learn. Check out this list of career and personal life advice that many others before you have followed and benefitted from:Simplify all of your routines. Bruce Lee once said, “Simplicity is the key to brilliance” â€" and he is absolutely right. The more non-essentials you do away with, the more time you will have for things that really matter. The whole notion of simplifying your life and business always starts with identifying the most important things that need your attention, and devoting all your time and energy to it. Learn how to do away with tasks that can be delegated to others and tasks that actually turn out to be time wasters. What you devote your time to should yield impactful, short- and long-term results for your personal and/or professional benefit. Don’t lose track of your big vision. Your big vision is the end point â€" the summation of all your efforts, both big and small. This is the result of all the tips for success in business and life. Perhaps your big vision in life is to have enough passive income coming in so that you can spend more time with your wife and children. Or you imagine that one day soon, your online store will become the ultimate example of a successful startup that employs handicapped artisans to deliver 100% sustainable and eco-friendly home textiles. Whatever big vision you have, it should be something that you constantly think of so it serves as a guide for each and every decision that you make.Have a detailed action plan. The best career and personal life advice you can get will always require action. Everyone has a dream, but not everyone will know the actual steps it takes to achieve it. Writing down a plan to get things done is essential in success for both business and life.The keyword here is to make each item in your plan actionable â€" meaning there is an explicit, concrete action that tells you exactly what you need to do to become one step closer to your d ream. For example, if your dream is to improve your physique by squeezing in a fitness regimen without interrupting your current routine too much, write down the actual steps you need to take to achieve it. It can be as simple as “Wake up twenty minutes earlier to do Pilates every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday” and “Hire a babysitter every other Saturday so I can go to the gym for an hour”. Before you know it, you’d be putting in 6 hours of exercise every month when you once had zero time for it.Embrace delay of gratification. It’s so tempting to reward yourself every now and then â€" a weekend getaway to the beach, a new pair of shoes, the latest laptop or brand new carpeting for the office. However, these rewards are a whole lot nicer â€" and certainly more meaningful â€" if you put in a lot of work prior to getting them. You can promise yourself that if you beat your sales target for four consecutive months, then you can go ahead and replace your worn down carpet beca use you’ve made enough sales for that quarter. If you want a new laptop to replace your current model, commit to replacing it when it has generated at least $10,000 in revenues so you can truly say that it more than paid for itself. The only time you need to spend for something right away is if you know some aspect of your life or business won’t work properly without it. When it comes to tips for success in business, delay of gratification makes rewards so much sweeter -and can even make you wealthier.Invest in relationships. Your life, while it might seem like it’s your own, is actually a continuum of shared experiences with people. This is why it is important to invest in relationships with people that matter â€" in life, in the workplace, and in society in general. American film producer Jerry Weintraub, died on July 6, 2015, was quoted to have said “Relationships are the only thing that matter in business and in life”, which goes to show how your success becomes meanin gful when you have others to share it with.READExcellent Platforms for Building Mobile AppsThese relationships extend beyond your family to include all people with whom you interact with in business and in life: the delivery men who bring in today’s fresh catch for your restaurant, the receptionist at the investment firm you work in, etc. There is no one in life whose status is too far beneath you for you to connect with, celebrate with, and draw support from. Without others, all these tips will be less meaningful.Avoid getting burned out. Monitor yourself so closely that you will identify and stop a burn out from happening before it crushes you. Burn out is real and can creep up on you without you knowing it. If you see the warning signs, you will know when to stop and take a step back before things overpower you.Remember: health is wealth, and if you expend it then there will be nothing from the well to draw water from. The best way to avoid getting burned out is to get some muc h needed rest. Decide to sleep one hour earlier every other night. Go on a quick beach retreat over the weekend. Forgo a working lunch and take a stroll around the park instead of being holed up in your cubicle. These efforts will do wonders for your soul and allow you to continue pursuing your goals with a refreshed mind.Have a growth mindset. People with a growth mindset know that there is much to learn from failures, that there is a wealth of knowledge to be had in setbacks, and challenges are meant to be embraced and not avoided. Training your mind to think “How can I benefit from this experience?” will empower you because everything will have a potential benefit, no matter how small. Fortunately, one does not have to be born with a growth mindset; it is something you can develop through time and with a lot of practice in your personal and professional life.Focus on your expertise, then farm out the rest. The skillset you possess is something that you should cultivate to bec ome the very best at it â€" which oftentimes require having others to do the rest (i.e. things that you know you are not good at). If you are a bag designer who runs an online shop, have someone to attend to the business’ everyday operations so you can focus on product development without worrying about the orders that need to be processed. While not everyone will have the manpower or resources to do this in the beginning, you will certainly get there if you persist. Even the most hands-on business owner will find that delegating tasks will do wonders for his business, so grab that opportunity to do so when you first spot it.Have a sense of humor. You will get a lot of advice in your lifetime, and having a sense of humor is one tip that is as important as the rest. Being driven to succeed shouldn’t be at the expense of your ability to laugh at yourself or see the humor in things. Being serious about your work is important, of course â€" but not when you are too serious that you end up compounding the stress that comes with your career instead of diffusing it.Keeping your sense of humor intact is a wonderful defense mechanism that does good things for your mental and emotional well-being. It prevents you from snapping at your wife when you get home, or chewing the head off your employee when something goes wrong. If you try to laugh a bit more and see the humor in things, you will find that only a few things will faze you, and others will see you as wonderful company.Invest in time management tools. There are so many tools out there to help you use your time wisely: alarms, habit trackers, online team task boards, etc. These are things that will help you get more things done if discipline is something that you still find some struggle with. Explore a few time management tips and see which ones work for you the best. Better yet, share it with your family or your team at work so they too can make better use out of their own personal and professional time!Pati ence: The Key to Mastering Habits for SuccessCrafting a successful business and living a life worth emulating is not something that happens overnight. It takes a lot of time to get yourself to the point where you are starting to see true results, and even more to get you to exactly where you want to be. But if you keep at it, you will experience firsthand how all your efforts will be so worth it.

Monday, May 25, 2020

Careers in Accounting - 2287 Words

Careers in Accounting Jenifer Smyder ACC100 – Accounting I Dr. Kazem Khan Strayer University December 2, 2014 NOTE: This is your title page for the research paper in APA style. YOUR RUNNING HEAD IN ALL CAPS (a shortened version of your title no more than 50 characters). Be sure to type the words, Running head: and then place your shortened version of your title in all caps. Subheadings in the paper will derive from your brainstorming/prewriting research questions that are formed into phrases. Subheadings (for level one) are centered and bold. Always capitalize the important words in all subheadings including the title of the paper. You will more than likely have 5 to 7 subheadings. The entire paper must be double-spaced using†¦show more content†¦Provide well-reasoned statements that appear at the beginning of your paragraphs, and supply evidence of support with proper documentation† (Research and writing, 2008, p. 344). â€Å"Offer a variety of development to compare, show process, narrate the history of the subject, show causes, and so forth† (Research and writ ing, 2008, p. 344). Analyze the information the source presents, and avoid using contractions as well as first and second person pronouns in the entire paper; include proper use of in-text citations (Raimes, 2008). Your Subheading Here Start typing here. The above subheading should consist of a phrase, not a complete sentence. The discussion/body of the research paper is here. You should have multiple subheadings here to break up the sections, and they should be in APA style format (proper use of in-text citations). Each paragraph should contain approximately 3-5 well-developed sentences. Present topic information and critically analyze what the author is trying to say about the topic (Maimon et al., 2010). â€Å"Classify the major issues of the study and provide a careful analysis of each in defense on your thesis. Provide well-reasoned statements at the beginning of your paragraphs, and supply evidence of support with proper documentation† (Research and writing, 2008, p. 344). â€Å"Offer a variety of development to compare, show process, narrate the history of the subject, show causes, and so forth† (Research and writing,Show MoreRelatedCareer in Accounting1577 Words   |  7 PagesCareers in Accounting One of the major careers being practiced today is accountancy. Thousands of people are completing their degrees in accounting because there seems to be a bright future for accountants with the appropriate qualifications. Accountants, in their career, help ensure that the organizations are running more efficiently, public records are kept more accurately, and taxes are paid properly and on time. They perform important functions by offering a wide volume of business and accountingRead MoreAccounting As A Career2623 Words   |  11 Pagesinvestigate the major I have chosen, Accounting. Because my goal is to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), I would like to know more of what it entails. Dealing with numbers, and recording and projecting the earnings of a company, accountants are placed with the responsibility of keeping track of the moneys of a business. God has blessed me with skills in the areas of mathematics and organization, which caused me to look for an occupation tha t utilizes both. Accounting seemed a logical choice sinceRead MoreThe Career Fields Of Accounting1572 Words   |  7 PagesMany students eventually come to a point in their collegiate career that they must decide what path to pursue in their professional careers. For the majority of accounting students, this could not be more challenging since there are such a large variety of career paths to choose from. To further complicate this decision making process, many of the career fields in accounting mandate the individual to obtain certain field related certifications that are essential to that particular field of studyRead MoreMy Career In Accounting705 Words   |  3 Pagesprofessional MBA from UGA will help me to achieve. Through practice and guidance, I have incorporated the essential skills of leadership, team work, and communication gained through my community involvement into my professional career of accounting. Even though I enjoy my work in accounting where I have developed excellent analytical skills and improved my problem-solving ability, I am interested in studying an MBA to enhance my current skillset in my professional life rather than just being an expert in oneRead MoreAccounting Exploration Career1014 Words   |  5 PagesAccounting Exploration Career When people talk about accountant, CPA might be the first word that comes out in the mind. It is true that CPA is the most familiar type of accounting work for most of people. However, accountant is a person who works in accounting area. And accounting includes plenty of different types of jobs. The diversity in accounting attracts my interest and makes me decide to major in it. Since accounting contains many different kinds of works, it offers lots of chancesRead MoreEssay on A Career in Forensic Accounting947 Words   |  4 PagesForensic Accounting There are many different avenues that one could take in the field of accounting. It is a lucrative career with many areas of interest to be followed. I have chosen Forensic Accounting to further review and research. This paper will define forensic accounting, describe what it takes to be a forensic accountant, give some statistics about forensic accounting, and give my feedback on this potential career path. Forensic accounting is the use of investigative and analytical skillsRead MoreCareer Management For The Accounting Field1327 Words   |  6 PagesCareer Management for Accountants is designed to prepare students in the accounting field. As part of this class every student is assigned to a mentor. In my case, Jim Ahlborn was selected as my mentor. In the following narrative I hope to underline Ahlborn’s career path including his education and professional experiences, his views on ethics, and finally the commitment that his employer has to corporate social responsibility. Ahlborn’s Career Path. When Ahlborn was about to graduate from high schoolRead MoreAccounting Career Resorces Essay1869 Words   |  8 PagesTitle Accounting Career Resorces Accounting my field of study The purpose of accounting is to provide the information that needed to make sound economic decisions. It is one of the oldest professions in the world today, and the backbone of any business operation. It is not just about numbers, accounting is about planning. Accounting has many subfields, which includes management accounting, financial accounting, and cost accounting. Accounting can be a prestigious career, but to achieve thatRead MoreAccounting Career Goals Essay1552 Words   |  7 Pagesare communication skill, lack of U.S culture and working experience. Increasing job demand, globalization and accountant role expanding are three major opportunities in accounting field. Information technology, uncertainty of recession and starting salary are 3 major threats to my financial success. I will face all the accounting major competitors from the Midwest. My goal is the final destination of my financial success. It is to be able to pay bills without worry, be free of debt, have enoughRead MoreAccounting as a Career for High School Presentation1012 Words   |  5 PagesThe profession of accounting includes many different job settings. The main fields for accounting include public, private, and government accounting. Public accountants work on a fee for service basis, either independently or as a member of an accounting firm. They are then hired by individuals or businesses for the purposes of preparing financial statements, auditing, tax preparation, and investigations. (1) Private accountants are employed by companies, for which they develop and maintain the

Thursday, May 14, 2020

Evaluating A Pharmaceutical Portfolio Using ( Bcg, Eg, And...

1- The purpose of analyzing a pharmaceutical portfolio using(BCG, EG, and others), and describe the characteristics of a â€Å"Star† products and its role in portfolio. The decisions that the companies make are affected by the problem of resource scarcity. With many opportunities but limited resources, the companies should know what is the best to invest their cash in. Always, there is the question of how and where to invest the cash, it is a real challenge for those who are responsible for allocating the resources. Pharmaceutical companies may have 10, 30 or 100 products should be managed. These products differ in potential growth, competitive environment, and performance. The decision is very hard to choose which products that the company should invest. The BCG matrix or GE compare the products and divide them to the groups that are worth investing in or the groups that should be harvested or divested. The purpose of these tools is highlighting growth potential, relative market share, and cash flow potential between different products in portfolio. These differences can indicate which products that can generate investment funds and which Should, p erhaps, be discontinued The Boston Group Consulting Matrix divides the products into four different groups ( Stars, Cash Cows, Question Marks, Dogs) based on: Market share – the magnitude of the product’s sales in the market. Market growth – the demand in the market its self is growing or not. However, Stars are high growth market andShow MoreRelatedDarden Consulting Case Book25163 Words   |  101 PagesStructure / Framework Building Explanation Problem Solving Analysis Recommendation The interview should be highly conversational and interactive. Depending on the firm, and depending on the round, some interviews can be more structured than others. Please see the subsequent section for more information on firm-specific preferences and formats. STRUCTURE OF THE CASE INTERVIEW Case Overview / Prompt The case interview will start with the interviewer providing an overview of the client andRead MoreBrand Building Blocks96400 Words   |  386 Pages These market realities imply that the key success factor is low cost. Organizations must reduce overhead, trim staff, downsize, and cut all unnecessary expenditures. What, then, happens to the people who support the brand with market research or other brand-building activities? They are vulnerable to the organizations new cost culture. 2. Proliferation Of Competitors New, vigorous competitors come from a variety of sources. A host of food categories have watched Weight Watchers and HealthyRead MoreMarketing Management130471 Words   |  522 PagesDBA 1652 Marketing Management UNIT -- I Unit No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Unit Title Marketing management – an introduction Marketing environment Marketing with other functional areas of management Market segmentation Market targeting and positioning Product management Brand management Pricing Channel design and management Retailing and Wholesaling Integrated Marketing Communication Advertising management Sales promotion Personal selling Public

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Network Diagram - 1908 Words

Several weaknesses of paper-based medical records have been identified, such as illegible handwriting, ambiguous and incomplete data, data fragmentation, and poor availability.1 In addition, paper records often become bulky with time, which leads to lack of overview. Because paper records still represent the usual medium for collecting and recording patient data, these weaknesses could impede the continuity and quality of care. Allow for all medical offices to send, receive, and share data resources throughout the network Upgrade all hardware/software to ensure network operability Allow scalability for growth of and on the network Merge all five medical offices without slowing down current service at any location Provide physical†¦show more content†¦There are stuff that need improvement. Still, electronic digital information can be very effective if highly developed and recognized. M.C. Kinnon is the author of The Digital Patient. His book looks at and explains the medical information revolution; how your doctor is using your digital medical information to better manage your health. As well as how you can take control of your medical information. For more information of his work, visit http://thedigitalpatient.com/website/ Abstract Objective: It is not automatically given that the paper-based medical record can be eliminated after the introduction of an electronic medical record (EMR) in a hospital. Many keep and update the paper-based counterpart, and this limits the use of the EMR system. The authors have evaluated the physicians clinical work practices and attitudes toward a system in a hospital that has eliminated the paper-based counterpart using scanning technology. Design: Combined open-ended interviews (8 physicians) and cross-sectional survey (70 physicians) were conducted and compared with reference data from a previous national survey (69 physicians from six hospitals). The hospitals in the reference group were using the same EMR system without the scanning module. Measurements: The questionnaire (English translation available as an online data supplement at ) covered frequency of use of the EMR system for 19 defined tasks, ease of performing them, and user satisfaction. TheShow MoreRelatedNetwork Diagrams : A Network Diagram1432 Words   |  6 PagesNetwork Diagram: A network diagram is a graphical representation of any network, it’s a small structure of computers and network devices (routers, modem, Ethernet etc.) It is a sequence of steps. This network diagram represents setting up a Web Server with DMZ in an existing network. Network Diagram Explanation: Internet service provider (ISP) provides a public IP address, which is given to a modem. A router connected to modem gets this public IP address through Ethernet cable into its WAN portRead MoreLogical And Physical Network Design Diagrams1807 Words   |  8 PagesIT IS important to have logical and physical network design diagrams. These diagrams help us in understanding of the entire network with its functionalities. Physical layout diagrams of the network shows connections between network devices and their physical location on the network. Workstations are represented by use of small computer icons, severs are shown with full tower cases. Switches and other network devices can be shown by use small rectangular boxes with their RJ-45 points. Sometimes switchesRead MoreDependencies and Network Diagram1112 Words   |  5 PagesDependencies and Network Diagram The network diagram is a schematic representation showing the sequence and relationship/ dependency of the tasks along with their duration. All the tasks, except the first and the last, are linked with at least one predecessor and successor to have a proper sequence of work. This logical dependency between the tasks will determine afterwards the duration of the project. There are four types of dependencies which define the relation between pair tasks Finish-to-startRead MoreNetwork Diagrams and Schedule Analysis1396 Words   |  6 PagesNetwork Diagrams and schedule analysis NETWORK DIAGRAMS ARE SCHEMATIC DISPLAYS OF PROJECT SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES AND THE INTERDEPENDENCIES BETWEEN THESE ACTIVITIES. WHEN DEVELOPED PROPERLY, THIS GRAPHICAL VIEW OF A PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES CONVEYS CRITICAL SCHEDULE CHARACTERISTICS REQUIRED TO EFFECTIVELY ANALYZE AND ADJUST SCHEDULES – THUS RESULTING IN ACCURATE AND FEASIBLE SCHEDULES. THIS DOCUMENT ADDRESSES WHAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NETWORK DIAGRAM, HOW NETWORK DIAGRAMS ARE CREATEDRead MoreNetwork Diagrams and Schedule Analysis1388 Words   |  6 PagesNetwork Diagrams and schedule analysis NETWORK DIAGRAMS ARE SCHEMATIC DISPLAYS OF PROJECT SCHEDULE ACTIVITIES AND THE INTERDEPENDENCIES BETWEEN THESE ACTIVITIES. WHEN DEVELOPED PROPERLY, THIS GRAPHICAL VIEW OF A PROJECT’S ACTIVITIES CONVEYS CRITICAL SCHEDULE CHARACTERISTICS REQUIRED TO EFFECTIVELY ANALYZE AND ADJUST SCHEDULES – THUS RESULTING IN ACCURATE AND FEASIBLE SCHEDULES. THIS DOCUMENT ADDRESSES WHAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NETWORK DIAGRAM, HOW NETWORK DIAGRAMS ARERead MoreFigure 1 show a simple diagram of wide area network (WAN) connected with few local area networks900 Words   |  4 Pages Figure 1 show a simple diagram of wide area network (WAN) connected with few local area networks (LAN). WAN is a network that covers a large geographical area. Internet is one of the best example of WAN has the largest area network over national region and worldwide connected to let devices located at everywhere connect to each other through this enormous network area. LAN allows connecting to computers and devices in a limited geographical area, LAN normally build in small area such as home, officeRead MoreNetwork Diagram And Design Management Planning1541 Words   |  7 PagesNETWORK DIAGRAM Formulating a network diagram, likewise alluded to as a logic diagram, in order to comprehend and envision how each task will continue is an extraordinary path to begin. It is a basic idea within project management planning that is effectively utilising as a part of application, commonly used as a part of assembling commercial enterprises, and also to outline and comprehend work processes are what service industries requires. It distinctively shows the rational rules for influencingRead MoreCalculating and Interpreting a Project Network Diagram1185 Words   |  5 Pageswhich a task can start and finish† (Wysocki, 2009). This process is known as the â€Å"forward pass through the network diagram† (Time management). Also the â€Å"LS to LF procedure â€Å"which consists of the latest times at which a task can start and finish without delaying the completion date of the project† is calculated (Wysocki, 2009). This process is known as the â€Å"backward pass throu gh the network diagram† (Time management). Both the ES to FS and LS to LF procedures were calculated based on all the dependenciesRead MoreAib Problem Solution Essay606 Words   |  3 Pagesdata were obtained from a project to create a new portable electronic. Activity Duration Predecessors A 5 Days --- B 6 Days --- C 8 Days --- D 4 Days A, B E 3 Days C F 5 Days D G 5 Days E, F H 9 Days D I 12 Days G Step 1: Construct a network diagram for the project. Step 2: Answer the following questions: (15 points total) a) What is the Scheduled Completion of the Project? (2 points) 32 - CORRECT b) What is the Critical Path of the Project? (3 points) B,D,F,G,I - CORRECT 2,4,6,7Read MoreNetwork Diagram, And Critical Path Method1313 Words   |  6 Pageshazards, and issues of poor quality. Accordingly, a project manager should consider the work space as one of the important factor during a construction. According to Chau et al. 2004, Mallasi 2006, and Wang et al. 2004, although the grant chart, network diagram, and critical path method are some existing construction planning techniques, they have some limitations to demonstrate the three-dimensional features of activities. In addition, it is difficult even for expert project managers to manage work-space

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Electronic Health Record in Clinical Research

Question: Discuss about the Electronic Health Record in Clinical Research. Answer: Introduction: In the article titled Electronic health records based phenotyping in next-generation clinical trials: a perspective from the NIH Health Care Systems Collaboratory, researchers Richesson et al. (2013) have presented the findings of the Health Care Systems Collaboratory program. The said program was initiated in the year 2012 with the aim of engaging health care systems as partners in all activities associated with that of discussing and developing tools and technologies required for conducting pragmatic clinical trials or PCTs. The researchers have commented that the sole objective of the NIH Common Fund behind forming the Health Care Systems Collaborator was to find effective methods for conducting the research works in the following manner: Utilizing those electronic healthcare records that have already been collected during the clinical research works, The integration of all research findings in the said EHR system, with the aim of facilitating further research works. The researchers have presented the details of the core principles based on which the NIH Health Care Systems Collaboratory groups are currently operating, along with some of the previous experiences reported by other experts conducting research work in EHR-Based Phenotyping during clinical research activities. In fact, the researchers have also presented a brief discussion on the data standards that are currently being utilized by the NIH Health Care Systems Collaboratory groups for the utilization of the data presented in the HER (Kahn et al. 2012). Thus, it can be said that the article would be of prime importance to those who aim to conduct further studies in the said domain. References Kahn, M. G., Raebel, M. A., Glanz, J. M., Riedlinger, K., Steiner, J. F. (2012). A pragmatic framework for single-site and multisite data quality assessment in electronic health record-based clinical research. Medical care, 50. Richesson, R. L., Hammond, W. E., Nahm, M., Wixted, D., Simon, G. E., Robinson, J. G., ... Laws, R. L. (2013). Electronic health records based phenotyping in next-generation clinical trials: a perspective from the NIH Health Care Systems Collaboratory.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association,20(e2), e226-e231.

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Sanders The Men We Carry In Our Minds Essays - Sanders,

Sander's The Men We Carry In Our Minds Scott Russell Sanders wrote an argument entitles, The Men We Carry In Our Minds. It deals with the problems that exist between sex and social class issues. This short work demonstrates troubles that lie between rich and poor, males and females. The time period that this piece was written tells of issues dealing with the earlier part of the 20th century. Sander's was born into a poor, low-class family that had only known hard labor. During his childhood he witnessed many a men go to the same job day in and day out to do back breaking labor so as to support their families. From his yard he had a view of the prison and watched black prisoner's slave away against the land. Watching them were guards dressed in white that didn't raise an arm or bend their backs to do their job. Sanders claimed that, As a boy, [he] also knew of another sort of [man], who did not sweat and break down like mules (Sanders 515). He saw soldiers, who didn't work in the factories or the fields, as far as he could tell they didn't work at all. He watched these soldiers from his house on a military base in Ohio. He knew the life of the soldier conceived of little excitement except for in the time of war. Either way, he knew that he neither wanted to inherit his father's life, though after time he prospered, or join the military. As a youngster, he also saw the difference in men and women in the workplace. His ideas of women were ladies who sat around the house reading, tidying up and running errands. To him this was a life of luxury. But as Sander's said, I was slow to understand the deep grievances of women (Sanders 516). He idolized them, though they suffered as men suffered when money was tight, it wasn't their fault or responsibility. As Sanders say's, ?they were not the ones who failed (Sanders 516). This idea took a transition when he went to college. Sander's was very fortunate to attend college. He himself was very surprised, for among people of his social class, it was a rare opportunity. IT was here that his views of the world were put into logical perspective. His socialization with the women opened his eyes to the hardships they had to undertake. To get out of the shadow of being a female and be respected for their intellect and hard work. As he felt helpless before for being poor, they in relation felt the same for being of a different gender. He thought he'd made an alliance because of the alienable circumstances that they'd been through. To his dismay, the females at college did not take him in as a friend, but perceived him as the enemy. For in their lives growing up, being daughters of affluent families, they knew from birth that men would become the ones with degrees and would be successful. This was a paradigm shift for Sanders; everything he thought he knew about women was turned upside down. Sanders proclaimed, It was not my fate to become a woman, so it was easier for me to see the graces (Sanders 517). In conclusion, Sanders realized that the women he met wanted to share in the grandeur of wealthy jobs worthy of degrees and intelligence. He also realized, The difference between me and these daughters was that they saw me, because of my sex, as destined from birth to become like their fathers, and therefore as an enemy to their desires (Sanders 518). Sanders main point was that it is easier to overcome gender than class, which is portrayed in his argument. Bibliography Work Cited Sanders, Scott Russell. The Men We Carry In Our Minds. Literacies. Brunk, Terence. Diamond, Suzzane. Perkins, Priscilla. Smith, Ken. New York, N.Y.: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. 513-518. English Essays

Monday, March 9, 2020

Examine the factors influencing the accounting system in Saudi Arabia Essay Example

Examine the factors influencing the accounting system in Saudi Arabia Essay Example Examine the factors influencing the accounting system in Saudi Arabia Essay Examine the factors influencing the accounting system in Saudi Arabia Essay List OF ABBREVIATIONS: DZITDZIT Department of Zakat and Income Tax IFRSInternational Financial Reporting Standards FDIForeign direct investing Introduction The accounting system of a state is affected by assorted influential factors. While there is a little possibility that influential factors of two states might be equal, they can be taken as generators of national specificities. The degree of differences of every influential factor between states, implicate the deepness of accounting differences at the planetary degree. The realization of planetary accounting harmonisation issue, forces the demand of idea and comprehensive survey of factors that influence the accounting system and development in a state. Background of Saudi Arabia: The capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh, and Mecca ( the way of all Muslim supplication in the universe ) and Medina ( metropolis of Prophet Mohammed ) are the two holiest topographic points in the state and so, for Muslims, in the universe. Every twelvemonth many Muslims come to these metropoliss from all over the universe to do pilgrims journeies ( either Omrah or Hajj ) . Arabic is the official linguistic communication, and the Arabic calendar ( Hegira ) is used ( Shoult, 2006 ) . The official faith of Saudi Arabia is Islam, and its influence pervades all facets of life in the state, including accounting patterns and the accounting profession. Since 1970, the accounting environment in Saudi Arabia has been altering quickly. These alterations have affected about all facets of Saudi life, peculiarly political system, Legal system, Education, wellness, and most significantly civilization. Major Factors Influencing Accounting system in Saudi Arabia 1. Political System: The political system is one of the most important influences on the accounting profession in any state. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy with no experience of democracy. Laws are based on the Quran and the Sunnah, and are issued by Royal Decree. The chief legislative organic structures are the Majlis al-Shura ( Council of Consultation ) and the Council of Ministers, which has the King as its caput and the Crown Prince and Prime Minister as members. The intent of the Council of Ministers is to assist the King carry out his responsibilities. The 60 members of the Majlis al-Shura, based in Riyadh, are chosen by the King. These two organic structures have the power to take enterprises or O.K. public policy ( Basheikh, 2002 ) . Saudi Arabia has neer been colonised by any Western state, but some of these states have exerted an influence on accounting in Saudi Arabia through accounting instruction or the development of the capital market. 2. Legal System Islam is the official faith of Saudi Arabia, and all facets of life are based on Islamic instructions. The chief beginning of the legal system in Saudi Arabia is the Quran, which contains guidelines non merely for the behavior of persons, but besides dogmas regulating all aspects of societal and community life. The Sunnah, incorporating Mohammed’s ( PBUH ) directives has shown as to how the ideals of the Quran can be applied in practical footings, is the 2nd beginning. Ijma and Qiyas are other beginnings ( Basheikh, 2002 ) . The former is the reading of certain Islamic traditions as decided by theologists in the first few hundred old ages of Islam, while the latter serves to decide new jobs emerging from scientific and cultural developments though the application of rules from the Quran and Sunnah ( Basheikh, 2002 ) . Accounting and Accounting policies in a state like Saudi Arabia are influenced by Islamic Sharia jurisprudence. Islam plays an of import function, based on the Sharia, on how concerns should be conducted and how accounting needs to be undertaken and the mode banking and finance should be organized, Harmonizing to Lewis ( 2001 ) . Islamic Sharia jurisprudence forms the footing of the Saudi Arabian legal system, and besides governs all aspects of commercial and fiscal minutess, which means that the fiscal ordinances laid down by Western economic systems may non be suited for acceptance in states which are influenced by Islam, due to the divergencies between Western and Muslim civilization. 3. Culture Harmonizing to Hofstede’s survey, Arab states belong to the high power distance group of states. Saudi society is divided into many folks, and by and large the ordinance of these folks depends on the personality of the person in the folk with the authorization to do ordinances ; it is about ever the caput of the folk who is in this place ( Sabri, 1995 ) . In Saudi Arabia there is an uneven distribution of wealth. As a consequence, the bulk of the population, who have limited agencies, depends on the minority, who are affluent and therefore hold power ( Sabri, 1995 ) . Furthermore, there are other features which indicate that Saudi Arabia is a high power distance society ; for case, kids normally treat their parents with great regard and parents in bend instil obeisance in their kids. In Saudi Arabia, directors make determinations dictatorially and paternalistically ( Bhuian, 1998 ) . 3.1 New civilization Contemporary Saudi civilization is influenced by Western civilization ; this consequence can be seen particularly in the younger coevals. The influence of the civilizations of developed states on Saudi civilization appears to widen to accounting in that many of the persons who set accounting criterions completed their higher instruction at universities in the USA, the UK or other Western states. Decision The influence of civilization is a common obstruction which may face accounting harmonisation in any state, and Saudi Arabia is likely to be faced with this obstruction as Saudi civilization is formed by Islam, which may conflict with IFRSs on several issues. As a consequence, there is a demand for accounting and scrutinizing STD’s to cover with the mechanisms and processs elaborated in Sharia compliant fiscal minutess in KSA. SOCPA has issued particular criterions to run into the demands of DZIT for the computation of Zakat. On the other manus, SOCPA will confront force per unit area from many interested parties to follow and implement IFRSs, one of the grounds for this force per unit area being the encouragement of FDI.The Saudi Stock Market Authority ( SMA ) began to do an attempt to pull FDI by advancing and developing the fiscal coverage of companies in order that it might be clearer and more enlightening for investors ; one of their suggestions to SOCPA was to follow IFR Ss. It would look from the above that accounting in Saudi Arabia has been influenced by Western accounting in assorted ways, and as a consequence of this the scene of accounting criterions in Saudi Arabia will unite different accounting criterions from different states. SOCPA was established comparatively late, in 1992, and hence there has been some hold in fixing accounting criterions. SOCPA has issued 21 accounting criterions so far, the most recent one being in March 7Thursday2012. Mentions: Adnan, M. and Gaffikin M. ( 1997 ) . The Shari’ah, Islamic Banks and Accounting Concepts and Practices. Accounting, Commerce and Finance: the Islamic Perspective. Paper presented at International Conference, University of Western Sydney, Macarthur, Australia Al-Jirari, A. ( 1996 ) Accountability in Islam. Available at: http//abbesjirari.com. Al-Rehaily, A. S. F. ( 1992 ) . The development of accounting in Saudi Arabia: A survey of its relevancy to the societal and economic environment. PhD thesis, University of Hull, UK Buchanan, F.R. , ( 2003 ) ,  «International accounting harmonisation: Developing a individual universe standard » , Business Horizons, May – June, 61 – 70. Jaggi, B. L. ( 1973 ) Accounting Systems in DevelopingCountries: An Appraisal The International Journalof Accounting Education and Research, Vol.9, pp.159-170.

Friday, February 21, 2020

Research on the Basking Shark Forming an argument to list the Basking Paper

On the Basking Shark Forming an argument to list the Basking Shark as an Endangered species (with consideration to ES - Research Paper Example The color of basking shark is typically blackish to grey-brown, grey or blue-grey above and below the body and fins, often with irregular white blotches on the underside of the head and abdomen (Compagno, 2001 from COSEWIC, 2007). Basking sharks prefer cool and temperate coastal shelf waters and are distributed worldwide. In the North Atlantic (Compagno, 2001), basking sharks are sighted in waters off countries as far south and east as Senegal, through Europe, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Canada, along the eastern seaboard of the United States and into the Gulf of Mexico. In the North Pacific, they are observed as far south and west as Japan, through to China, Alaska, British Columbia, along the western seaboard of the United States and Mexico (Compagno, 2001, from COSEWIC, 2007). Habitat requirements The habitat requirements for basking shark (Sim et al, 1997) are associated with the oceanographic events on zooplankton concentration. Fronts off headlands, around islands and in bays with strong fluctuation of water masses from tidal flow were also frequented. In a study conducted by Compagno (2001), it recorded basking shark in the epipelagic zone by aerial surveys, in pelagic driftnet fisheries and is caught in bottom trawls off the St. Lawrence River, Scotian Shelf and Scotland. Te Newfoundland Observer Program (NOP) also noted that basking sharks have been caught in trawl nets fishing in depths up to 1370m. Fifteen percent of the records from waters deeper than 1000m were also observed. Skomal (2005) suggested that basking sharks migrate to different wintering habitats. They are seen to be influenced by patterns of prey distribution, varying by depths, location, and season (COSEWIC, 2007). Observed on the habitat trends of the basking sharks is the consistency of target areas and preference for high concentration of zooplankton. This has been linked to both large and small scale oceanographic conditions that change quickly (Sims and Quayle, 1998, from COSEWIC, 20 07). Reproduction and Mortality The pairing of the basking shark (Sims et al, 2000) is perceived to occur in early summer. This is based on the observed courtship behavior which is nose to tail circling, and scarring. The gestation period of basking shark with a litter of six young is at 2.6 years (Pauly, 2002). The assumed length at birth is 1.5m. The time between successive litters may be two to three years (Compagno, 2001) and like other lamnoid sharks, the basking sharks develop embryonic ovophagy which supplies nutrients to the developing embryos (Compagno, 2001, from COSEWIC, 2007). The longevity of the basking shark is approximated at 50 years. The age of maturity is about 12 to 16 years in males and 16 to 20 years in females (UK CITES, 2002). Generally, females are presumed to mature at larger sizes than males with an estimated size at 4.6 to 6.1m in length at the stage of maturity. Yearly productivity ranges from 0.013 to 0.023 based on the methodology of Smith et al (1998) . They used age at maturity, maximum age and average fecundity. Smith et al (1998) suggested that the potential for recovery or rebound rate may be lower for basking shark when compared to other species of Pacific sharks. Pauly (2002) determined the natural mortality to be 0.068 based on the age of maturity at 18 years for female which midrange is 16 –

Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Traditional family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Traditional family - Essay Example Life has become so expensive and it is not possible for the man's income to be enough to bring the food on the table. For this case, both parents are forced to work in order to provide for their children. The wife was left alone to do all the house chaos in a traditional family setting which is different today since one can employ a house girl or boy to do the house jobs while the wife go for a white collar job. On the other hand a man was treated like a king and the wife as a servant in the traditional family but today the wife has a bit of freedom since she can choose what she want with her life. House chaos in a traditional family setting was divided in gender. For example, the woman takes care of the children inside the home and the man works outside the home. Each person knew what he or she was supposed to do for example the boys were supposed to help their father while the girls were supposed help their mothers with cooking and washing dishes. Traditional family has some values which are usually social standards brought about by natural forces of nature. These values have been tested customs which normally provide emotional and physical support for rearing offspring. The religious value and traditions reinforce these social values. The traditions reflect a natural order responsible for providing and protecting children as they grow and learn. The tradition family was seen as an institution responsible for bring up physically and emotional healthy children. Naturally, a family institution is suited for supporting each other through unconditional love; growing children and providing for them both physically and emotionally. There has been too much divorce and cohabitating in the society today such that the traditional family is on the decline. There is more than fifty percent divorce in our society today. In the United States, people spends less time in marriage than they used to do as they see no use of marriage and family as well as bearing children. Due to the fact that traditional constituted, the people now see that marriage and family are not satisfying the social and intimacy need of many people. Traditionally, the main aim of marriage was to produce a male heir who was supposed to carry on the family line and not to provide mutual companionship and support for husband and wife. Today, this is very different as people are comfortable with either they get a male or female child. Recent studies have shown that a female child look after their old parent more than their male counterparts against the traditional believe that the male child was better in looking after their aging parent. Many people today value their nuclear family other than the extended family due to drastic economic changes that have affected our economy. For this case, one has to have a smaller family in order to provide basic food to them all with difficulty. On the other hand it is not also possible for one to build big quarters for our extended family hence we are forced to live with our nuclear family.

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

Analyzing Thailands Tourism Industry

Analyzing Thailands Tourism Industry Abstract In the present context of an increasingly globalized world, and the nature of the tourism industry, it is worthwhile to note if Porters Diamond framework still provides answers to the changing competitiveness of Thailands tourism and identifies success factors and factors detrimental to its competitiveness. A revised version of the Diamond framework has been proposed for the given context of tourism industry and Thailand state. This paper tries to analyze Thailands Tourism industry using this revised form of Porters Diamond Framework, identifying the various sources of competitiveness or the lack of it thereof. It attempts to identify key areas for improvement based on the above analysis and suggests solutions for the same. Keywords: Competitiveness, Thailand, Tourism, Diamond Model, Revised framework Introduction For any country tourism impacts not only revenues but employment and economic development as well. For Thailand, this is even more so. It is therefore important for Thailands tourism industry to be competitive not just in ASEAN region but globally. Subsequent to the success of Visit Thailand Year in 1987, Thailand, a small country in the Asia Pacific region became the biggest growth story in the region with a growth rate of 7 %. Subsequently its economy (GDP) grew at an astounding 10.9 %, 13.2 % and 10 % respectively in the next three years i.e. an average of 11.7 % from 1998 1990, about the best in the world. However, it did not maintain that growth subsequently, and its tourism industry faced many adversities. This paper will analyze the recent developments in the tourism industry to help understand the reasons for the same in todays context. Today when not only individuals, products, firms compete against each other but industries and nations themselves strive to outdo the competition, it becomes imperative to understand what it takes to beat the completion and stay competitive i.e. to acquires a good understanding of the determining factors of competitive growth. This paper proposes to do such an analysis for the tourism industry of Thailand. It also, argues a case for revising the Porters Diamond Model framework for the given context. Porters Diamond Model Framework Besides traditional resource advantages like land, location, labour, natural resources and size of population Porter (1990) argued that grouping or clusters of interconnected firms and stakeholders like institutions, suppliers and related industries provide competitive advantage which are not inherited and which can be acquired. To get a better understanding of the determinants for such attainment of competitive advantage, Porter (1990, 1998) provided the famous diamond framework (Fig. 1). This framework helped in the analysis of not only industries but also nations. The four vertices of the diamond indicated four groups of determinants. These were: factor conditions (also called input conditions), demand conditions, related and supporting industries; and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. These were the basic determinants. There were however two external or additional factors chance; and government. All these factors were not isolated but interconnected. Thus, demand and factors conditions were connected. So were the factors: related and supporting industries; and firm strategy, structure and rivalry. The national factors of production like natural resources, infrastructure and skilled labour are the key factor conditions. The nature of domestic demand for product and services chiefly define the demand conditions. The presence (or absence) of suppliers, related industries which are themselves competitive (internationally) form the related and supporting industries vertex. The domestic rivalry between the firms and the conditions that govern their formation, organization and management form the last vertex of the diamond in the framework. The framework is useful in identifying not only the sources of competitive advantage but also identifies key problem areas to be addressed. Oz (2006) illustrated this when identifying the sources of competitive advantage of Turkish construction companies in international markets. The success factors like dynamic domestic market, variables favourable to entrepreneurship, and intense domestic rivalry pressures effects were brought to fore along with the trouble causing areas like government induced hindrances, difficulties in financing and weak consulting and design engineering capabilities positioning of Turkey in the international arena. However, there are limitations to this framework and many researchers have combined this with other form of analysis like Rugman and Verbeke (1993) used SWOT for comparison, citing flaws like difficulty in making it operational i.e. of putting it in practice. It is noteworthy that this framework is been applicable to services as given by Lee and Spis to (2007). The case for the Endogenous Role of Government and Chance Apart from the limitation attributed to the diamond framework above, another flaw in it is that it does not include government as one of the basic factors but only considers it as an external factor despite the fact that it greatly affects all the other basic factors. To compensate for this Wickham (2005) re-conceptualized the framework for the Australian context. It had government as an integral basic factor at the centre of the framework, depicted as government surrounded by all the other factors as vertices of a hexagon with the chance factor in incomplete (dotted) lines giving it a separate identity as an external factor alone. He also suggested that the role of chance be considered in with new attention when applied to a regional economic model like that of the Porters Diamond. Fig. 1: Determinants of Competitive Advantage: Porters Diamond Model Framework Factor Conditions Chance Firm Strategy, Structure Rivalry Related Supporting Industries Government Demand Conditions The importance of government policy initiatives to promote and develop the industry can be seen for the tourism context in Prideaux (1996), who on examining growth trends of Taiwanese inbound tourism to Australia, studied the factors responsible for this and listed them as better air connectivity, promotions and organization of Taiwans travel industry. Suggestion was also made that repeat visitations would be greatly beneficial and to achieve better tourism prospects with Taiwan steps like forging links with operators in Taiwan, increasing frequency and connectivity of airlines, cultural education including language training, and customization of products to suit Taiwanese tastes should be undertaken. The importance of the study lies in the fact that it provides a model for Thailand to replicate with neighbouring ASEAN nations. It provides inputs as to what it should do to target a lucrative, individual nation like China. Clearly government policies and trade agreements with regional nations play a great role in determining the relative competitiveness of Thailand as a tourist destination. The role of government and chance here, for the Thailand tourism industry plays a crucial role given the recent history of Thailand it was the epicenter of the Asian financial crisis of 1997; it faced the Indian Ocean earthquake followed by Tsunami on 26th December 2004; it dealt with global recession post September 11, 2001 attacks, the financial downturn of 2008, SARS (and H1N1 Flu phenomena) and more recently domestic political chaos. These seem to have impacted tourism severely. This builds the case of chance being a critical determinant in the diamond model leading to the assumption that it should definitely be regarded as an endogenous factor and not just one having an exogenous role in the whole framework. Pine, Chan and Leung (1996) have outlined the impact of the Asian economic downturn and stated that the economic downturn which affected adversely the tourism industry has led to slowing or halting of many projects in the hospitality arena. It noted that intra-regional tourism had grown due to the regions strong economic growth. They further expect the tourism to be adversely affected (based on limited data); intra-regional tourism was expected to decline but increase from Europe and Americas in the light of the recent currency devaluations. Zhang (2005) has reported after analyzing industry data that Chinas outbound tourism got distributed as a result of the Tsunami. The South East Asian and South Asian nations lost out on many Chinese tourists to hitherto new choice of destinations. The perception of the region was one of high risk and this eventually led to loss in tourist numbers and revenue. The new destinations garnering attention even saw escalation in prices. Travel insurance was more sought as a result of the tsunami phenomena. Also, Ichinosawa (2006) provides highlights as to how Tsunami stigmatized Phuket as a tourist destination. Leiper and Hing (1998) studied unrelated four events in 1997-98 in the Asian context and the impact on the tourism industries of the respective nations. The events included huge forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan, Chinese takeover of Hong Kong, the triggering of Asian Economic Crisis with currency collapse in Thailand and social and economic unrest in Indonesia; and political and economic crises in Cambodia. These they inferred resulted in decline in international as well as domestic tourism. Thus, chance was a major factor here. Malhotra and Venkatesh (2009) have explored how vital it is to have contingency plans for crises and provide guidelines to proactively design a crisis management plan; even to take care when things go really bad. They compared Hong Kongs strategy and Thailands response to the Tsunami and the SARS outbreak. Based on such deliberations they advise having fluid structures and policies with regards to the organizational design, so as to effectively and timely deal with uncertainties of various kinds. They name various kinds of crisis, along with all their stages and depending upon the readiness of the affected entity (nation etc) determines the gap that needs to be filled in terms of crisis management. This they argue is the responsibility of the hospitality and tourism industry. The role of the government in formulating beneficial policies then becomes crucial given the above chance factor is so influential in the tourism industry. Thus, roles of chance and government are said to be cri tical in relation to the tourism industry. The influence chance has over government policies (and even governments themselves) implies that chance is way too important and thus should be regarded as intrusive, internal factor integrated with the whole framework of the diamond model. Clearly, for the case of a highly specific industry like tourism and a country where the government (directly or indirectly) holds more than half of its net capital stock (Phongsathorn, 2001), the government cannot be left out as just an exogenous factor. It is too important to be dealt as an influence. Thus, government should be thought of as an endogenous factor in the model. Also, government today has more a role of a collaborator than just an influencer or policy maker. Considering that the diamond framework has not been applied to services as it has been to manufacturing industries, and also less work is done specifically on the tourism industry using the model, the role of the external factors need to be seen in new light. Besides, tourism itself is such an industry which in the case of nations like Thailand may incorporate the whole country as the operating area. More recently, Pettus and Helms (2008) have included government in an endogenous role in the diamond model framework, while analyzing the case of Argentina. Though, Porter (1990) has opined that chance events are outside the control of the industry, nevertheless its effect can be negated. Also, prudent investment and preparation can actually prevent the occurrences of man-made disasters and reduce the probability of many untoward incidents. Besides, the operationalization of chance even outside the diamond as an external factor is also very difficult. It is noteworthy also that chance even affects the government and its role. In the scenario of much globalized world where two countries are not isolated anymore and the events in one country affects the other in a more significant way than ever before the model requires an upgrading. Thus, a case has been made for the exogenous factors Government and Chance to be treated as endogenous. Therefore, in effect the diamond model gives way to the proposed model (fig.2). Fig. 2: The Proposed Revised Porters Diamond Model Framework Factor Conditions Government Related Supporting Industries Firm Strategy, Structure Rivalry Chance Demand Conditions Research Methodology The study identifies the key variables that act as constituents to the various determinants of competitiveness of the tourism industry of Thailand. It also looks into the role played by Chance and the Government in altering the industrys competitiveness. For this, unforeseen events and government policies and their impacts were studied and extensive literature reviewed to achieve the above stated objectives. A couple of telephonic interviews with Thai people were conducted to probe into specific areas and to corroborate findings. Thus, primarily the analysis is qualitative in nature. Discussion and Analysis Factor Conditions Factor conditions like infrastructure have been in the governments eye along with the human resources. However, it is perchance that the multi-million dollar airports that were to be a gateway to Thailand and its scenic beauty was the centre of anti-establishment protests and subsequently two airports were then shut down. Thailands natural resources like beautiful beaches definitely provide a competitive edge. This factor condition is also one of the key variables for the tourism industry. Its spicy food, hospitality and exotic culture are inherent attractions. The significant external markets for the tourism industry are widely spread across the world and include major European countries, the U.S. and now even China. Thailands ideological commitment to liberalization and open economy has had major impacts on the industry dynamics especially over the long run. Knowledge resources also have grown. Capital resources which were an area for concern has been dealt well in recent times and policy measures for financial markets has made it more sound and less prone to international volatility in comparison to earlier years. Location is definitely an important issue here. Singapore and Taiwan are so important for global businesses because of their strategic location. Quality and quantity of highly skilled work force for the industry is also a huge concern. Serious policy initiatives are to be taken by the state in this regard. Recommendations include the continued development of various transport related infrastructure and maintaining and enhancing a skilled labour pool. The Tourism Authority of Thailand Travel Industry Portal provides online training for the industry personnel. Another facilitator for easy travel is a rail link from Suvarnabhumi International Airport to Bangkok by means of a sky train. This initiative reduces the travel time to 15 min and is greatly appreciated by travelers.  [1]   There is growth in the road linkages. The newly formed North South Economic Corridor links Thailand to other Asian countries by means of a twelve hundred km R3A road highway which links Thailand with Laos to China emerging from Chiang Rai in Thailand was developed successfully in 2009. Thailand is becoming known for its status as a definitive hub for regional aviation. It has strong aviation linkages and airlines presence. Now, many countries have more flights from Thailand than most others in the whole of Asia. There are weekly 131 direct by around 13 airlines connecting Middle East Asia. Thailand is served by over seven hundred flights per by charter, scheduled and low-cost airlines from all over the world. Thai Airways has also launched new routes to Abu Dhabhi and Jeddah form Bangkok. Tehran-Bangkok link has been proposed. Similarly, rival Emirates Airlines have inducted Airbus-380 aircrafts for its Bangkok route to provide daily service from the city of Dubai.  [2]   Human Resources: Labour Force Statistics 2009 (Source: NSO) Total population is 66.72 million of which persons who are aged below 15 are 14.15 million, and persons aged 15 years old and over 52.57 million. Total labor force (Available for work) 37.53 million. Persons not in labor force (Not available for work) are 15.04 million. Thus, employed persons are 36.50 million, unemployed persons are 0.78 million. Of these seasonally inactive are 0.25 million. Household workers are 4.93 million, students are 4.41 million, and others are 5.70 million. Fig. 3: Comparison of number of employed persons between Quarter 1 of 2008 and 2009 by Industry Unit: Million Persons (Source: Labor Force Survey 2009, NSO) The physical and natural beauty of the beaches and islands of Thailand are the greatest attraction for tourists. Thailands most popular beaches and island destinations include along the Andaman Coast: Phuket, Mu Ko Similan Marine National Park, Mu Ko Surin Marine National Park, Ao Phang-nga National Park, Krabi, Phi Phi Islands, Mu Ko Lanta Marine National Park, Tarutao Marine National Park; along the Gulf of Thailand: Cha-am (Hua Hin), Ko Samui, Ko Pha-ngan, Mu Ko Ang Thong Marine National Park, Ko Tao and along the Eastern section: Pattaya, Rayong Ko Samet and Ko Chang Marine National Park. The National Telecommunications Commission Act of Oct 2004 along with the earlier Telecommunications Business Act 2001 has done a lot to setup the competitive environment for telecommunications industry. The formation of the Universal Service Fund by CAT (Communications Authority of Thailand) and TOT (Telecommunications Organization of Thailand) has provided impetus to the development of the industry. This has been instrumental for the growth of the tourism industry of Thailand. Car (rentals), train, bus; taxi services are available for transportation. A host of other offerings are available for inland transportation which includes motorcycle taxis, Tuk-Tuks, tricycles, bicycles and Song Thaeo or the very popular pick-up trucks. Charter, scheduled and low-cost airlines make up the air travel avenues; cruises, boat, etc provide water transportation facilities. Railways provide access to a large network of destinations in Thailand, providing economical and efficient transportation. Firm Strategy, Rivalry Corruption and bureaucratic hurdles created by the government is another deterrent to it reaching its competitively superior position. Anti-trust policies of the Government are few and far between. There is a lot to be desired on this front from the Thai government. A recently enacted anti-competitive law had a monumental flaw in it as it did not apply to state-owned enterprises (that enjoyed monopoly). Environmental regulations are being looked into by the state. To be competitive on the global platform requires efficiently producing goods and services of value more than that provided by other competing nations. It is important for Thailand to do so for the tourism industry to make a mark for itself on the global platform especially when its productivity levels are low. Firms should lay emphasis on retention of and attracting intellectual capital. Within the industry as well as across the industry technology should be shared. The Trade Competition Act 1999 and thereby the Trade Competition Board helps provide fair trade. The General Agreement on Trades in Services (GATS) furthers this cause. However, the anti-trust policies are not very effective as these are biased in favour of the government. Also, the players pay a high price for the illegal or unethical practices of rivals. The governmental officials prove a bane as there is rampant corruption and cases of corporate cronyism provide hinder fair competition between the players. The rivalry is also relatively less intense than it could be to get more value for the consumers for the services offered. The local base of the competition makes the rivalry worthwhile. Employer and labour relations are adequately cooperative to discourage any untoward strikes or major hurdles in provision of productive output. There is adequate decentralization of various corporate activities and delegation of responsibility and authority is a prevalent phenomenon. However, the corporate boards leave more to be desired in terms of efficacy. The cry for greater privatization is justified as it would certainly help in making the industry more competitive. Greater role of the private sector would ensure better management and corporate governance practices, reducing the business related corruption highly prevalent today. This process could be expedited by better corporate control activities, maintaining ethical business standards, sharing management know how, devising incentive based compensation systems, applying performance based appraisal systems, and having collaborative partnerships with local players with an understanding that practices to be in the right spirit, having joint investments, etc. Considering the significant role of the government in this industry, Private public partnerships (PPP) could effectively achieve the requisite competitiveness for being one of the best globally. No doubt that if this is implemented properly over time then the incident revelations from CNNs survey of global travel and tourism that Thailand was the best on the basis of value for money amongst all countries in the Asia Pacific region would not be an isolated event but among a series of similar results. Turtle Conservation Plan in Mai Khao area which involved beach and reef cleaning also is a PPP initiative for environmental considerations. Interestingly, many hotels in Thailand have raised the quality standards in terms of environment friendliness by going smoke-free i.e. promoting anti-smoking measures. Thai Airways and Nok Air have decided to cooperate to boost up domestic traffic over specific routes like Bangkok to Phitsanulok, Bangkok to Ratchathani and Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son Already Thai Airways is part of the Star Alliance the worlds first major global airline alliance which aids its network operations. Demand Conditions The internal demand though grown is limited by the population size and disposable incomes. Reductions in prices have encouraged local demand in recent years. However, Thailand may not be able to charge the premium it did during the hey-days. And any further price increase will discourage domestic demand. However, the internal demand for Thailands tourism industry offerings has been seen to grow in recent years. Advantage for Thailand exists in the offerings in terms of varied services and a competitive value proposition vis-à  -vis other countries. Also, the active tendency of the local tourists to readily accept the latest offerings offered by the tourism industry makes the demand. A few regulatory standards for tourism based trade and environment are exacting in nature. Even the intellectual property rights and safety standards for online transactions are less than desirable providing less encouragement for innovation and stimulation of demand. However, not only does the internal demand conditions condition the industry to become competitive globally it provides an avenue for experimentation and more importantly provides revenues when global tourist inflows ebbs below expected levels. Increasing internal demand could then easily be used as a hedge for fluctuations in collections from international tourists especially during the off seasons. Specialized market segments for specialized services and distinctive benefit segmentation provides impetus to the internal demand and subsequently to the external demand. In this regard providing incentives for innovation and aiding multinational corporations should be the policies pursued by the industry. There are various activities that a visitor or tourist can undertake for pleasure. Thailand offers a wide array of such offerings which include shopping, golf, adventure treks, hill tribe visit, special cooking and food, elephant rides, special festivals and celebrations, spa, spiritual and religious insights and learning (especially Buddhism), meditation, water sports, etc. Water sports include diving, sailing, yachting, cruising, canoeing and kayaking, swimming and snorkeling, fishing, windsurfing, rock climbing and bouldering, jet skiing and wakeboarding. Medical-tourism and business events also form an integral part of the range of offerings. Many indigenous events attract visitors from within and outside the country thereby stimulating demand. Some key events that happened from time to time in Thailand are the Luang Phor Thuad and Sunflower Field Festival dealing with the first blossoming of sunflower at a distinguished temple and paying tribute to Luang Phor Thuad, Chinese New Year Fair where prayers are offered the Chinese way, and there are opera shows and a food festival for vegetarians, Chinese Lantern Festival where a competition for lanterns and its decoration is held, World Wetland Day involving environmental related activities and awareness, bird watching and games, Eco-tourism and Kasalong Flower Festival involving bonfire and camping activities, showcasing of rare species of wild flowers and visiting caves, Thailand International Kite Festival that showcases traditional kites from different regions, kite flying competitions, etc; Thai Sky Festival involving a show of Skydiving by skydivers from many countries, Traditional Gold Leaf Covering Ceremony at Kuiburi Temple involving prayers and religious rites and as the name suggests gold leaf covering, Blooming Lotus Festival providing a tour of the Lotus Pond and trekking, Hua Hin Jazz Festival where Jazz concerts are performed, Hua Hin Regatta involving a race of sailors, Hua Hin (Cha-am) Golf Festival involving golfing contests, Hua Hin Vintage Car Rally which involves parading vintage cars. Many sports events, trade events and festivals had been planned for attracting visitors to Thailand in 2009. Important among these were the 1st World Comedy Film Festival, Thailand Grand Sale 2009, Thailand Tourism Festival (TTF) 2009, LPGA Thailand 2009 (Golf), The 2009 Kings Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, 1st Asian Martial Arts Games, Loi Kratong, Candle Festival, Songkran Festival and the 14th ASEAN Summit. New attractions like Sirindhorn Museum and Phu Kum Khao Dinosaur Excavation site, Chiang Mai Zoo Aquarium, Dragon Descendants Museum, etc have come up. It is interesting to note that Thailand was voted as the best sailing venue in Asia in a poll conducted by Top of The Gulf Regatta. Also, Phuket Kings Cup Regatta was the winner for best regatta in Asia. Thailand was also voted as the Asian Spa Capital for 2009 by AsiaSpa magazine. Also, Thailand won the Destiantion Spa of the year for Six Senses Destination Spa in Phuket. The major destinations chosen by tourists are (by region): Central Thailand: Ayutthaya, Bangkok, Hua Hin, Kanchanaburi, Cha-Am, Chachoengsao, Lampun, Nonthaburi, Petchburi, Phetchaburi, Prachuab Khiri Khan, Pranburi, Samut Songkhram, Saraburi. Southern Thailand: Koh Lanta Island, Koh Phi Phi Island, Koh Samui Island, Krabi, Phang Nga, Phuket, Trang, Chumphon, Hat Yai, Khao Lak, Koh Phangan Island, Koh Tao Island, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ranong, Suratthani. Eastern Thailand: Koh Chang Island, Koh Samed Island, Pattaya, Chanthaburi, Chonburi, Koh Kood Island, Rayong, Trat. Northern Thailand: Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, Sukhothai, Lampang, Phetchabun, Phitsanulok, Tak. North-East Thailand: Nakhonratchasima, Khon Kaen, Loei, Nong Khai, Ubonratchathani, Udonthani. Latest foreign technology is available to it and this should be made good use of by the industry players and the government. Use of ICT (info-communications and technology) in hotels and other areas is a step in the right direction. The following of the Star Rating methodology for hotel standards by Thailands premier hotels was a step in achieving quality and recognition. To the advantage of Thailand is the level of orientation of the tourists coming to Thailand and the internal tourists as well). These are more or less favourable for the state and should be capitalized upon. Thailand Travel Mart was a large showcase for travel and events held in June in Bangkok. Such events promote the internal demand significantly. Inadequate reliance on experts and professionals for managing the business and related aspects of the industry, poor managerial innovation, low level research and development activities for the tourism industry, provides a hindrance for Thailand to emerge competitive against other players compromising the very nature of its competitive advantage. The extents to which it brands its industry though much better now and steadily improving over the years even in quality, leaves more to be desired in this front. Basing compensation on incentives is another recommendation for the industry. Training staff, at various levels is required to put together a skilled workforce and efficient labour pool for the industry. Related and Supporting Industries The tourism industry is well connected and linked with industries like the transportation and hospitality. Specialty services and has also provided impetus to the industry. However, the stigma of child prostitution and Aids epidemic is still a major concern for the government of Thailand. Labour productivity of Thailand is also not competitive at all. The revenues per tourist to Thailand are less than many competitors in the region. Also, these have not gone up over the years. Understandably, this was due to the chance factor but nevertheless, it seems to compromise the competitiveness of the industry even further. The importance of the framework applied here is that it helps identify sources of competitive advantage. One specific area of interest is the formation of clusters. Domestic rivalry and geographic concentration enhance competitiveness of Thailands tourism industry. The six factors depicted in fig. 2 help the framework act as system. Scalability, magnification and upgrading help provide linkages and networks. These thus help in forming clusters which provide competitive advantage. Efforts should be made to build special business relationships with the various players. Partnerships and alliances between and across the industry could help get the maximum value to the consumer inevitably making Thailand more competitive and the formation of clusters more evident, thereby benefitting the industry greatly. Provision of incentives to encourage; and subsidies to support the entrepreneurial talent in the industrys core and related areas could benefit the industry in many ways including the adoption of innovative tools, techniques and methods and e

Monday, January 20, 2020

Employee Motivation and Effective Job Performance Essay -- Positive, N

â€Å"It seems that the ethos of â€Å"shared sacrifice† evoked by this past generation has gone by the wayside. In place of the Greatest Generation, we are now in the midst of what might be termed the â€Å"greediest generation,† whose hallmark include an insatiable appetite for the trappings of status and wealth† (Monheit, 2010, p.272). Studies show how effective upbringing can influence the independence of an individual and the roles these characteristics play throughout adulthood (Lekes, Gingras, Phillippe, Koestner & Fang, 2009). In addition to providing structure, consistent rewards and punishments must exist to reinforce that behavior. These traits learned throughout adolescence are detrimental for managers in determining employee motivation methods and effective job performance. For thousands of years, humans have strived for independence. Moses’ people fleeing the Egyptians and Pilgrims escaping Europe’s religious persecution are examples of people seeking freedom from hostile conditions that dampened their free will. For these groups, independence was far from free, the journey was dangerous, but the reward was extraordinary. Their nobility and perseverance is what makes their actions so admirable and memorable hundreds and thousands of years later. Getting something for nothing has not always been the norm, but a learned trait conveyed for many generations. Parental involvement has been linked to a wide variety of outcomes including perceived competence and control according to a study performed by Farkas and Grolnick (2010, p.267). Parental supported child autonomy produce high levels of warmth and involvement along with providing structure, motivation, and persistence (Farkas and Grolnick, 2010, p.266). Structure enables children ... ...e kinds of sacrifices that are essential to promote the common good† (Monheit, 2010, p.272). Receipt of â€Å"something,† whether it be tangible goods or feedback, not contingent on a specific performance will decrease an individual’s motivation and satisfaction as well as future performance (Podaskoff, 2010, p.298). Parents’ influence on adolescents mold the characteristics and behaviors for adulthood. These learned traits are pertinent for managers seeking to validate and administer rewards to reach a specific outcome or goal. With consideration of personality response to feedback, one can determine how rewards not linked to performance can have little effect on the attitudes or behaviors of individuals (Podaskoff, 2010, p.299). People who get something for nothing, become good for nothing through unwarranted honors rewarding unsatisfactory behavior and performance.

Sunday, January 12, 2020

The Loons

Journal of the Short Story in English 48   (Spring 2007) Varia †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Jennifer MurrayNegotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Electronic reference Jennifer Murray,  «Ã‚  Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons†Ã‚  Ã‚ », Journal of the Short Story in English [Online], 48  |  Spring 2007, Online since 01 juin 2009, Connection on 01 avril 2013. URL  : http:// jsse. revues. org/index858. html Publisher: Presses universitaires d'Angers http://jsse. revues. org http://www. revues. org Document available online on: http://jsse. revues. org/index858. html Document automatically generated on 01 avril 2013.The page numbering does not match that of the print edition.  © All rights reserved Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† 2 Jennifer Murray Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† : p. 71-80 1 2 3 4 5 â€Å"The Loons† belongs to Margaret Laurence’s story-sequence A Bird in the House which is built around the character Vanessa MacLeod and her growing-up years in the fictional town of Manawaka, Manitoba. Following on from the collection’s title story which has the death of Vanessa’s father as its central event, â€Å"The Loons† is set in a time prior to the father’s death and is the first of three stories which deal with Vanessa’s progressive opening up to the world around her and her increasing awareness of the suffering, poverty and forms of oppression outside of her family circle (Stovel 92). More specifically, â€Å"The Loons† gives us Vanessa’s perception of a young girl called Piquette Tonnerre who is of Metis descent and who accumulates the social disadvantages of poverty, illness, ethnic discrimination and being female.The story has been taken to task for the questionable values attached to its u se of Piquette as the stereotype of the doomed minority figure, most notably by Tracy Ware who asks: â€Å"To what extent [does this short story] confirm a debased master narrative that regards Natives as victims of a triumphant white civilization? † (71). At the same time, Ware recognizes the â€Å"enduring sense of [the] aesthetic merit† (71) of this story which so clearly has its place within the canon of Canadian literature.Evaluating the text against its depiction of the Metis can only lead to the negative conclusions that Ware arrives at, namely, that Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† falls ideologically short of the expectations of today’s politically-conscious reader. What this reading of â€Å"The Loons† does not take into account is that the â€Å"aesthetic merit† of the story is situated elsewhere—not in the portrait or role of Piquette as such, but in the story’s treatment of loss and in the central role of the fat her in the symbolics of this particular knot of meaning.In the context of the full story-sequence, loss and the father would seem more naturally associated in â€Å"A Bird in the House,† where the death of the father is the central event. In â€Å"The Loons,† the death of the father is recalled and reactivated as an informing event related to other moments in Vanessa’s life and to her relationship to others, Piquette bearing the weight of this role as ‘other’. On one level—that of Vanessa’s childhood perception of Piquette2—the story is about incomprehension, misconstruction, defensiveness and the impossibility of communication between the two girls.But the entire history of this failed relationship is revisited through the narrating voice of the adult Vanessa; in the telling of the story, she reshapes past events through the experience of loss provoked by her father’s death and invests them with symbolic value. Like the dreamer and the dream, Vanessa’s story is more about Vanessa than about those around her; it is her attempt to fit her own sense of loss into a world which is, more than she knows, beyond her.The father’s role in giving Vanessa access to symbolic values is central to the story; indeed, the first ‘event’ in the story is the father’s announcement of his concern (as a doctor) for the health of the young Piquette, who is in his care. After having prepared the ground briefly, he asks his wife: â€Å"Beth, I was thinking—what about taking her up to Diamond Lake with us this summer? A couple of months rest would give that bone a much better chance† (110).This act of social generosity, which is to involve his whole family, introduces the reader to the father’s values; it also inaugurates the continuing association in the text between the father and Piquette. The father is a reference point for Piquette; she invokes him to justify her re fusal to accompany Vanessa on a short walk: â€Å"Your dad said I ain’t supposed to do no more walking than I got to† (113), and in later years, Piquette tells Vanessa, â€Å"Your dad was the only person in Manawaka that ever done anything good to me† (116). This positive assessment of the father is Journal of the Short Story in English, 48 | Spring 2007Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† 3 6 the only shared ground between the girls. In response to the comment above, Vanessa â€Å"nodded speechlessly [†¦ ] certain that [Piquette] was speaking the truth† (116). In the name of her love for her father, Vanessa will make several attempts at approaching Piquette: these attempts are regularly met with rejection, leading to a moment of hurt for Vanessa: ‘Want to come and play? ’ Piquette looked at me with a sudden flash of scorn. ‘I ain’t a kid,’ she said. Wounded, I stamped a ngrily away [†¦]. 112) 7 8 This pattern recurs twice on the following page, with Piquette’s â€Å"scorn† taking on other forms —â€Å"Her voice was distant† (113); â€Å"her large dark unsmiling eyes† (113)—and her refusals becoming more verbally aggressive: â€Å"You nuts or somethin’? † (113); â€Å"Who gives a good goddamn? † (114). The impossibility of sharing between the girls is seen both from the perspective of the child Vanessa, who is mystified, â€Å"wondering what I could have said wrong† (113), and from the more experienced perspective offered by the narrated construction of events.This double vision allows the reader to see the misperceptions and involuntary insensitivity on which Vanessa’s attempts at communication are based. Where Vanessa fantasizes Piquette into â€Å"a real Indian† (112) and projects onto her the knowledge of the ‘secrets’ of nature, Piquette lives her identity as a Metis through the social rejection which characterizes Manawaka’s view of her family:   Ã¢â‚¬ËœI bet you know a lot about the woods and all that, eh? ’ I began respectfully. †¦] ‘I don’t know what in hell you’re talkin’ about,’ she replied. [†¦] If you mean where my old man, and me, and all them live, you better shut up, by Jesus, you hear? ’ (113) 9 While the child cannot understand the defensiveness of Piquette, as readers, our knowledge of Piquette’s social conditions, outlined in the opening paragraphs of the story, leads us to a position of empathy with the offended girl. Similar effects are produced by Vanessa’s enthusiasm about her summer cottage, —â€Å"‘I love it,’ I said. We come here every summer,’† (113)—expressed in the face of Piquette’s poverty, which habitually excludes her from the world of lakeside summer homes. Just as much as Piquette’s social disadvantages, Vanessa’s self-absorbed immersion in the comforts of middle-class Manawaka is the source of the girls’ mutual wariness. As the narrator of the story, the older version of Vanessa puts forward expressions of regret at the failure of the relationship between herself as a child, and Piquette.This regret, however, is not distinct from childhood, but a part of it, recounted in the past tense: â€Å"Piquette and I remained ill at ease with one another. I felt I had somehow failed my father, but I did not know what was the matter, nor why she would not or could not respond† (115). The linguistic markers â€Å"somehow† and â€Å"did not know† suggest that the emotional experience of failure remained confusing for the child, but the ability to formulate this metadiscourse indicates that things have become clearer to the adult Vanessa.This acquired comprehension allows the narrator to develop the expression of failure once again, two pages further on, including, this time, more details about the possible expectations of the father: Yet I felt no real warmth towards her—I only felt that I ought to, because of that distant summer and because my father had hoped she would be company for me, or perhaps that I would be for her, but it had not happened that way. (117) 10 Through the voice of the more experienced Vanessa, the regret of the past is understood to have been intimately related to a sense of having failed not herself, nor Piquette, but her father.The focus is on the father’s symbolic role in attributing potential value to the possibility of their friendship. Along with the father’s generosity towards Piquette, a series of other values related to the father are offered in the short story. The father’s name, MacLeod, is also the name which designates the family cottage (111), which itself is associated with nature and authenticity: it Journal of the Short St ory in English, 48 | Spring 2007 Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† 4 11 s the father who comes and sits by the lake with Vanessa to listen to the loons (114); the lake, the nighttime, the loons, all come to signify intuitive communication (â€Å"we waited, without speaking†), mystery and transcendence (â€Å"They rose like phantom birds†), a reproach to human civilization (â€Å"Plaintive, and yet with a quality of chilling mockery, those voices belonged to a world separated by aeons from our neat world of summer cottages and the lighted lamps of home†) (114). The idea that the loons belong to a separate world is reinforced by the father’s comment that the loons had been there â€Å"before any person ever set foot here† (114).The loons are both a form of access to the continuum of natural time as opposed to civilized time, and a reminder that man cannot bridge that gap; there is therefore a form of retrospective loss attached to the image of the loons: the imagined loss of what came before and is now inaccessible. However, the birds also prefigure future loss—the enduring presence of the loons is endangered, as Vanessa tells Piquette: My dad says we should listen and try to remember how they sound, because in a few years when more cottages are built at Diamond Lake and more people come in, the loons will go away. 114) 12 We can also see the metonymic association between this loss and the approaching end of the permanence of Vanessa’s world; her father, associated with the loons in Vanessa’s childhood, is soon to disappear: â€Å"Neither of us suspected that this would be the last time we would ever sit here together on the shore, listening† (115). The symbolic charge of the loss of the loons is therefore great for Vanessa, but meaningless to young Piquette, who, on learning of the precarious situation of the birds, says: â€Å"Who gives a good god damn? (114). For Piquette, they are literally, â€Å"a bunch of squawkin’ birds† (115). Meaning is to do with symbolic construction and â€Å"The Loons†, for all of its focus on Piquette, is about Vanessa’s construction of personal meaning. Coral Ann Howells notes that Vanessa’s choosing to write about Piquette is a way of â€Å"silently displacing her own feelings into [Piquette’s] story† (41). This process is clearest in the paragraph which announces the father’s death: That winter my father died of pneumonia, after less than a week’s illness.For some time I saw nothing around me, being completely immersed in my own pain and my mother’s. When I looked outward once more, I scarcely noticed that Piquette Tonnerre was no longer at school. (115) 13 14 The words which tell of the loss of the father are almost immediately followed by words which tell of the disappearance of Piquette. This is given in the form of a neg ation: â€Å"I scarcely noticed†¦,† but what the young Vanessa had â€Å"scarcely noticed,† the narrating Vanessa gives weight to by placing it in verbal proximity to the death of the father, obliquely associating the two events.Through indirection, therefore, Vanessa speaks of her own loss. But the process is not entirely parasitic; in the telling, she also constructs Piquette. Piquette is, in some ways, a difficult character for today’s reader to take on board: like Pique, the daughter of Morag Gunn in the final Manawaka story, â€Å"The Diviners†, she â€Å"suffers from the weight of too much thematic relevance† (Howells 51) since, as I noted earlier, she accumulates an extraordinary number of handicaps, all of which are seen to be indirectly related to her Metis origins.In spite of the older Vanessa’s gentle mocking of her earlier self in her desire to ‘naturalize’ Piquette into a folkloric Indian, the story does imply that part of Piquette’s tragedy is that, like the loons, she belongs to a more ‘authentic’ heritage which has been/is being destroyed. 3 The romanticism which the narrating voice mocks is nonetheless supported by the story’s symbolism, as is the attempt to fix Piquette into a sterile, stereotyped role of ‘representativity,’ something that Piquette’s direct discourse has violently rejected.Yet, we do have access to a more tenacious Piquette; in her silences, rejections, and refusals, she is a character who is fighting for her own survival in a world clearly divided along class lines and this tenacity is seen principally in her rejection of Vanessa’s self-satisfaction. Vanessa’s sense of superiority over Piquette is implicit in the narrator’s comments about the Metis girl’s invisibility to her younger self; at that time, Piquette was but â€Å"a vaguely embarrassing presence† who â€Å"moved somewhere w ithin my scope of vision† (109). Moreover, Piquette can drop out of sight for years without notice: â€Å"I do not remember seeing her at allJournal of the Short Story in English, 48 | Spring 2007 Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† 5 until four years later† (115). It would seem to be the total separateness of their social worlds that creates and sustains what might be experienced as a ‘lack of affinity’. Whereas these social differences remain unformulated to the child Vanessa, they are close to the surface for Piquette whose discourse refuses to endorse the smugness of the well-off Vanessa: ‘Do you like this place,’ I asked [†¦] Piquette shrugged. It’s okay. Good as anywhere. ’ ‘I love it,’ I said, ‘We come here every summer. ’ ‘So what? ’ (113) 15 Other details suggest a Piquette who has dreams of her own, but who cannot allow herself t o expose them to others: â€Å"When she saw me approaching, her hand squashed flat the sand castle she had been building, and she looked at me sullenly, without speaking† (113). For Piquette, the child Vanessa is a potential enemy, someone to guard oneself against. Dreams cannot be shared, and cannot even be envisaged within the society of which Vanessa is a part.Indeed, even in her later teenage years, Piquette holds no hope of improvement for herself within the confines of small-town Manawaka: â€Å"Boy, you couldn’t catch me stayin’ here. I don’ give a shit about this place. It stinks† (116). Piquette knows that Manawaka holds nothing for her in the sense that no one there believes in her chances for a better future. When she becomes engaged to be married, she remarks that, â€Å"All the bitches an’ biddies in this town will sure be surprised† (117).The implication that the town gossips have nothing good to say about Piquette is un derscored by Vanessa’s own reactions. On seeing Piquette several years after the summer at the cottage, Vanessa is â€Å"repelled† and â€Å"embarrassed† by her, and although she is â€Å"ashamed† at her own attitude, she gives way to an emphatic outpouring of animosity towards the teenage girl:   Ã‚  Ã‚  I could not help despising the self-pity in her voice. I wished she would go away. I did not want to see her. I did not know what to say to her.It seemed that we had nothing to say to one another. (117) 16 The force of this expression suggests a negative identification with Piquette on Vanessa’s part. It is as if Piquette represents the photo negative of Vanessa’s life; the result of poverty, illness, and lack of education made flesh and standing there as a threat to the integrity of Vanessa’s identity as a middle-class, reasonably well-educated girl with a future. There is no indication in the story that Vanessa ever overcomes thi s violent rejection of Piquette during the Metis girl’s lifetime.This moment of intense emotional confrontation is followed by what may be seen as the story’s signature moment: For the merest instant, then, I saw her. I really did see her, for the first and only time in all the years we had both lived in the same town. Her defiant face, momentarily, became unguarded and unmasked, and in her eyes there was a terrifying hope. (117) 17 These last two words encapsulate the relative positions of the two girls.Where Piquette ‘reveals’ her most guarded treasure—hope, arguably the most positive emotion which exists, Vanessa reproduces the condemning judgement of the town; with the word â€Å"terrifying,† she declares this hope to be without any ground. It is therefore coherent with Vanessa’s view of Piquette’s life that the Metis woman should be left as a single mother, follow in the drunken path of her father, and finally die in a hous e fire along with her two children. Vanessa’s reaction to this news is, â€Å"I did not say anything. As so often with Piquette, there did not seem to be anything to say† (119).It is not that there is ‘nothing to say’ about Piquette, but rather, that what there is to say would involve a questioning of community values which would also have to be a form of self-questioning. The narrative does not take the direction of a critique of human and social relationships; it deals with the vague sense of guilt expressed by the narrator—â€Å"I wished I could put from my memory the look that I had seen once in Piquette’s eyes† (119)—by sublimating Piquette into the symbol (along with the loons) of something lost.The ground is prepared through the falling action of the story which lists the avalanche of losses which Vanessa experiences after having heard about Piquette’s death: â€Å"The MacLeod cottage had been sold after my father ’s Journal of the Short Story in English, 48 | Spring 2007 Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† 6 death†; â€Å"The small pier which my father had built was gone†; â€Å"Diamond Lake had been renamed Lake Wapakata†; and finally, â€Å"I realized that the loons were no longer there† (119).These different elements reinstall the triad of the father, the loons and nature as the paradigm of loss and the narrator then brings Piquette into this sphere of symbolism: I remember how Piquette had scorned to come along when my father and I sat there and listened to the lake birds. It seemed to me now that in some unconscious and totally unrecognised way, Piquette might have been the only one, after all, who had heard the crying of the loons. (120) 18 19 â€Å"Piquette,† â€Å"father,† â€Å"lake,† â€Å"birds,† â€Å"loons†: all of these words are given a place in the final parag raph.The narrator too, is present amongst these elements, and her place as the one who reconstructs meaning is affirmed: â€Å"I remember how [†¦]. † But it is affirmed, finally, as a process of questioning: in the phrase, â€Å"It seemed to me now that in some unconscious and totally unrecognised way,† (where it is uncertain as to whether it is the narrator’s unconscious or Piquette’s which is being invoked), the narrator seems to romanticize Piquette’s Metis status into the ‘natural’ world and confer on her the positive charge of nostalgia related to loss. In this statement of restricted awareness, it would seem that the narrator is trying to resolve the problem of her own position in relation to Piquette; the irreconcilable distinction between how she felt towards Piquette and how she felt she should have felt, if only for her father’s sake. The solution to this is to transform Piquette from the living girl—judged by society, including Vanessa and her mother—as â€Å"sullen and gauche and badly dressed,† â€Å"a real slattern,† â€Å"a mess† (118), into a symbol: a young girl, representative of an oppressed minority, with a tragic destiny, doomed to die. In this form, the loss of Piquette can be associated with both the death of the father and the disappearance of the loons; the desire to bring Piquette into this association suggests an unresolved sense of guilt—towards the girl character, on the level of the diegesis, but also towards the Metis people, whose â€Å"long silence† (108) is echoed in the â€Å"quiet all around me† experienced by Vanessa (119) as she becomes aware of the disappearance of the loons.Silenced by death, Piquette’s ‘otherness’ can be neutralized and romanticized into nostalgia. The contradictions which structure â€Å"The Loons† give the story its force. In spite of the control of the adult n arrator in the choice and ordering of memory, there is no attempt to beautify the emotions of her childhood self. The limited, often egocentric aspects of her childhood perspective are rendered, so that the reader’s sympathy goes out towards the other girl, Piquette. This construction of perspective may be een as a form of generosity, whereby, in spite of Vanessa’s statement that â€Å"there was nothing to say,† the narrator’s rendering of the past has allowed the reader to achieve an awareness of Piquette’s specificity as a character: she has moved from the general sense of absence which characterizes her in Vanessa’s memory, to a form of visibility in which the reader may see her as the victim of multiple vectors of oppression; in this context, her ‘defiance’ and ‘sullenness’ become the marks of a fighting spirit, and her ‘hope,’ the sign of her humanity.Through these effects constructed by the narrat ing voice, the earlier generosity of the father is ultimately echoed and loss takes on its complex human dimension. Bibliography Howells, Coral Ann. Private and Fictional Words : Canadian Women Novelists of the 1970s and 1980s. London: Methuen, 1987. Laurence, Margaret. A Bird in the House (1970). Chicago : The University of Chicago Press, 1993. Stovel, Bruce. â€Å"Coherence in A Bird in the House,† in New Perspectives on Margaret Laurence : Poetic Narrative, Multiculturalism, and Feminism.Ed. Greta McCormick Coger. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1996. Vauthier, Simone. â€Å"‘A Momentary Stay Against Confusion’ : A Reading of Margaret Laurence’s ‘To Set Our House in Order. ’† The Journal of the Short Story in English vol. 3 (1984): 87-108. Ware, Tracy. â€Å"Race and Conflict in Garner’s ‘One-Two-Three Little Indians’ and Laurence’s ‘The Loons. ’† Studies in Canadian Literature vol. 23:2 (199 8) : 71-84. Journal of the Short Story in English, 48 | Spring 2007 Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons† 7 Notes   I am grateful to my colleagues in Besancon who participated in a discussion on â€Å"The Loons. † 2   See Vauthier (96-99) for a detailed analysis of Vanessa’s function as narrator (based on the short story â€Å"To Set Our House in Order,† but equally valid here). 3    Indeed, Tracy Ware argues that the association of Piquette with nature, on the basis of her Metis origins, â€Å"den[ies] Piquette her full humanity, [and it also] makes a tragic outcome inevitable. We will never be able to imagine a future for people whom we regard as separate[d] from us ‘by aeons’† (80).   Margery Fee’s comment, quoted in Ware, that â€Å"Native people [†¦] are so rarely depicted as individuals, because they must bear the burden of the Other—of representing all that the modern person has lost† (Ware 82), seems relevant to the construction of Piquette as a character who comes to bear the symbolic weight of the very idea of loss. 5   Ware declares that this symbol is â€Å"a misrecognition because it ignores the historical struggles of both Natives and Metis† (79). References Electronic referenceJennifer Murray,  «Ã‚  Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons†Ã‚  Ã‚ », Journal of the Short Story in English [Online], 48  |  Spring 2007, Online since 01 juin 2009, Connection on 01 avril 2013. URL  : http://jsse. revues. org/index858. html Bibliographical reference Jennifer Murray,  «Ã‚  Negotiating Loss and Otherness in Margaret Laurence’s â€Å"The Loons†Ã‚  Ã‚ », Journal of the Short Story in English, 48  |  2007, 71-80. Jennifer Murray Jennifer Murray is an associate professor at the University of Franche-Comte.Her research is focused primarily on Canadian literatur e and on American writers from the South. Ms. Murray’s publications include articles on Margaret Atwood, Carson McCullers, Flannery O’Connor and Tennessee Williams. She is currently working on the short stories of Margaret Laurence and Alice Munro. Copyright  © All rights reserved Abstract Je me propose ici d’etudier l’impact symbolique de la disparition du pere dans â€Å"  The Loons  Ã¢â‚¬ , une nouvelle de Margaret Laurence.Au niveau de l’intrigue, l’histoire est celle d’une amitie impossible entre la narratrice, Vanessa, fille de medecin, et une jeune metisse, Piquette, soignee par le pere de Vanessa. Les differences de niveau social, d’education et d’origine ethnique creent une incomprehension fondamentale entre les deux filles et vouent a l’echec les tentatives de Vanessa de sympathiser avec Piquette. Cet insucces attriste Vanessa  ; elle pense avoir decu son pere qui esperait que le sort de sa jeu ne patiente serait adouci par le contact avec sa famille.Devant son incapacite a transformer la realite et le remords qu’elle en eprouve, la narratrice transforme son souvenir de Piquette, l’exclue, en symbole. Ce symbole se developpe autour d’un noyau d’elements semantiques associes a l’authenticite, la nature, et la nostalgie du passe  ; des concepts valorises par le pere, et qui, pour la narratrice sont lies au sentiment de perte occasionne par sa mort Journal of the Short Story in English, 48 | Spring 2007