American Women in the 19th vs 20th Century Essay

For many of the American history, women were not considered equal to men and were denied equality in many areas in life. In the 19th century women had no legal identity, apart from their husband. Married women could not hold property in their own names, make contracts, sit on a jury, write a will, or vote. Nor did women have the same opportunities for education and careers that men had. Yet, many women found ways to show their intelligence, courage, and leadership. In the 20th century, women in most states won the right to vote and increased their education and job opportunities. Since early 19th century women have been underestimated by men. Women were longed considered weaker than men. They were unable to perform work requiring muscular or intellectual development. A lower-class woman job included working for higher class families doing household duties, such as cleaning and cooking. Unable to afford help in the house they were responsible of their household duties. Traditionally, a middle-class girl would tend to learn from her mother’s examples. Cooking, cleaning, and caring for children was the behavior expected of her when she grew up. A lot was expected from these women, and they were often tired and sick. An upper-class married woman, after having everything as a child, is to be responsible of her own household and slave plantation. Different from the lower-class, the upper-class could afford a slave that was needed to help with house duties. â€Å"Upper-class women responsibilities involved; running a slave plantation, being a nurse to the slaves, making the slaves clothes, overseeing the food preparation, and supervising the work plans. †(Women in 19th) Most women were excluded from most jobs. The 20th century produced dramatic changes and opportunities for women. The success of many manufacturing wholesale trade, banking, and services depended on women and grew rapidly. During WWI, many women were government used as a political tool, enfranchising army nurses and female relatives of soldiers serving overseas in order to secure an election victory. Securing a job was only the first step in the right direction for women, soon after they aimed for the right to vote. â€Å"Women won the right to vote on August 26, 1920, but this long fight wasn’t easily achieved. It formally began 72 years earlier at the Seneca Falls Convention, organized by Elizabeth Cady and Lucretia Mott. †(Dougas, 1999) During that time the suffrage movements in the United States were large and vigorous. After the Union winning the Civil War, women hoped their hard work would result in suffrage for women as well as for blacks. But the blacks were granted citizenship and suffrage, not to women. The struggle to win the vote was slow and frustrating. â€Å"Wyoming Territory in 1869, Utah Territory in 1870, and the states of Colorado in 1893 and Idaho in 1896 granted women the vote but the Eastern States resisted. (WIC, 1994) Many Organizations were created that develop many meetings to help gain rights for women. The National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) came about after Elizabeth and Lucy Stone uniting their groups. Although they have not accomplished their goal, they continued to fight. â€Å"In 1907 international socialism decided to support women’s suffrage. Since bans against female party membership existed within most traditional political parties, Socialists, having to organize women separately from me, manage to create successful oriented movements in some countries. (Women’s Suffrage, 1996) Many other conventions and associations were form to help women to gain their rights. As the years advanced, women grew stronger and did not give up. Although they achieved the voting rights, they continued struggling to gain equal participation in political office alongside men. Winning the right to vote inspired the younger generation of women to go to school and gain the knowledge needed for a better life style. â€Å"Test made in the 1860’s that the scholastic achievement of girls was higher in the early grades than in high school. (WIC, 1994) This was caused by the lack of ambition given to the girls. Teachers and family did not expect the girls to achieve any educational skills. She was to anticipate in marriage and motherhood. Other girls who went to school were lucky, but not only because there was room for them. Generally, schools were open to girls during the summer. Summer was when the boys were working. However, colleges were still full of boys and very little of girls. Due to the Civil War an increase demand for higher education for women was needed. The reason of an eruption in the numbers of women entering higher education was the returning veterans and the later the baby boom. â€Å"During the 1960’s and 1970’s, due to social and legislative changes, several intuitions of higher education that had been previously all-male open doors to women. † (Harwarth) Numerous institutions and private schools became available to women. Men and women had arguments on the separation of genders but later the school converted to a coeducational public institution. After many disagreements and protests, women can now earn a degree alongside men who can no longer interfere with their education. The 19th and 20th century had different roles for women in the Unites States. In both centuries, women had to work hard to gain equality. Although women accomplished many goals, they still continue to strive for new ambitions, such as jobs. Women had the desire to vote and have equal rights with men, this gave them much respect. They were giving respect by having women institutions and public schools that directed them to join men. There will never be an ending to the equality between women and men. The competition among the two will always be there.

Problem Analysis Contract Law

An offer must be firm and demonstrate clear intent, whereas an acceptance must accept the term of the offer unqualifiedly. It should be noted that in the usual case, communication of acceptance and consideration are also essential to constitute a valid acceptance. If all elements are found to exist, the contract will be complete, and Lain will be bound to fulfill his promise. Offer The first issue to address is whether an offer exists. Lain would presumably argue that his statement was merely a puff and lacked intention to be acted upon as he announced it impulsively under the influence of alcohol, and the offer does not give him any benefit.This is, however, a weak argument. The general rule is that the intention of the parties should be assessed objectively, as in Smith v Hughes (1871) LORD 6 CB 597 where Blackburn] stated that the promises conduct should be considered in a way that appears to a reasonable man. The phrase â€Å"would pay El 0,000† exhibits both certainty and intention, because it has stated the exact amount of reward and the wordings shows immediate readiness to be bound. His claim is particularly convincing given his wealth. A reasonable man would therefore believe that Lain did intend to pay the reward if the stated condition was fulfilled.Similar to Williams v Cowardice (1833) 5 Car & P 566, there is only a promise made by one party. Lanai's statement appears to represent a unilateral offer that would be converted into a binding contract once the required act has been performed. This would be further discussed in the following. Acceptance In unilateral contracts, performance of the stipulated act constitutes the acceptance of offer (Cargill v carbonic smoke gall co. [1893] 1 CB 256 (CA)). Both crews have performed the act of â€Å"crossing the finish line† ahead of Lanai's yacht.However, it is highlighted that the current case differs from Cargill v Carbonic Smoke Ball Co. In that it is arguable whether or not anyone who has completed the performance can claim the reward. On one hand, it can be said that since Lanai's offer does not state any conditions, crossing the finishing line is sufficient in itself. This argument is, however, suggesting that any random yacht that happens to cross the finish line by incident is also entitled to the reward, which makes little sense. The court is more likely to accept that only qualified competitors who crossed the knish line ahead of Lanai's yacht should be considered.This is indeed supported by the fact that the crew of † Moon Amour† joined the competition upon knowing the offer. It shows that the offered also understands that being a qualified competitor is a prerequisite. By entering the race, both crews have agreed to the Race Rules and therefore, they should be bound by such rules. In Clarke v Dungaree [1 897] AC 59, the court stated that when the party understands that the race is to be run under a particular set of regulations, and that he delibe rately enter for the race upon those terms, he is bound by such rules.Whilst the crew of â€Å"Bell Raider', being a qualified competitor, had fulfilled the conditions of Lanai's offer, since the French crew was not officially recognized by the race officials due to a breach of the Race Rules, it can hardly be said that the latter has validly accepted Lanai's offer. Communication of acceptance Whilst communication of acceptance is needed in the usual case, in unilateral contract, the offer showed by his language and from the nature of the contract that he waived the need to communicate (Cargill v Carbonic Smoke Ball Co. ).Whether Lain received notice of the performance is irrelevant to the matter at hand. Consideration The agreement has to be supported by consideration in a legally enforceable contract. To determine if there is consideration, it brings up the debate of whether reliance is essential. Lord Dunedin, in Dunlop Pneumatic Tree Co. Ltd v Selfridges & Co. Ltd [191 5] AC 84 7, 855 defined consideration as â€Å"an act or forbearance of one party, or the promise thereof, is the price for which the promise of the other is brought, and the promise thus given for value is enforceable†.Following his definition, obviously, both crews' act Of crossing the finish line, in return for the reward, is treated as good consideration. The answer would be less certain if reliance is required. In the book The Law of Contract, Triple asserts that an act or forbearance would not be consideration â€Å"where the promises would have accomplished the act or forbearance anyway†. This view was supported by R v Clarke (1927) 40 CLC 227, where the court held that the claimant could not recover the reward because his concern was not the reward when he gave the information.In other words, the claimant had not â€Å"act in reliance upon† the offer. It is a matter of debate if this prevailing view is in fact erroneous, as argued by Paul Mitchell and John Philip s in â€Å"Is reliance essential? † , but this is not the current concern. Assuming that this general view is still correct, the French crew's acceptance was clearly motivated by the offer as they did not intend to participate in the race until Lain ‘s announcement. But in the case of â€Å"Bell Raider†, there is insufficient information to tell if their crew did act in reliance to the offer.There may be three different situations depends on the facts. Firstly, if the situation is identical to that of the French crew, they act in reliance to the offer for the same reason. Secondly, if evidence shows that â€Å"Bell Raider will join and win the match even without Lanai's offer, their performance cannot be regarded as consideration as there is no reliance. Thirdly, if â€Å"Bell Raider† will join the match but not necessarily reach the destination ahead of Lanai's yacht, it can still be argued that the reward motivated the crew to outperform themselves and thus, there is reliance.

The Variasian Experience Analysis Art Essay

VariAsian was held at the University Cultural Centre Dance Studio in NUS on 12th March 2011. It was the 6th NUS Arts Festival and they had many different creative persons from different Fieldss and different states to come down and execute in jubilation of this festival. The public presentation was about the disregarded times of the past. With the new and up universe of engineering, we tend to bury the memories and the things we one time loved buttocks. What we used to play with when we were kids such as the five rocks, hopscotch and the congkak is now replaced with high engineering games such as the play-station games and the iPhones. The new coevals of childs are now exposed to the new appliances that would do the traditional games ‘disappear ‘ even faster. Sometimes as life base on ballss us by, we tend to go forth those memories behind to be forgotten whereas VariAsian brings us back to the life we used to hold, when everything was simple and was about holding merriment with friends compared to the complexnesss of the current engineerings that people are so caught up with now. ‘When the bell rings†¦ ‘ by Sufri Juwahir was the gap act of the eventide. He was invited to be a invitee choreographer in this production. This piece was performed in silence and the terpsichoreans used the sound of their motions, their breath their linguas and the slippers that they wore throughout the piece as their music. It started out with five pupils have oning bag battalions and slippers with ice pick in their custodies. They walked onto the phase with boxes laid out as chairs and continued to eat their icy comeuppances. They easy started speaking and before you could register what they said, their words became sounds. Like a codification linguistic communication that merely your friends that know you would understand, but the people that does non cognize you every bit good, would non. The conversation started acquiring intense and looked like they were reasoning or contending over something, like how childs would reason over bantam things. One started to travel off from the others, one Saturday on the floor alternatively of the ‘chair ‘ , one was being nescient to everything that is around her and merely concentrating on eating her ice pick while the other two tried to work out the state of affairs. I reminded me of how I was when I was a pupil in primary school during my lunch interr uption. My friends and I would ever play with the five rocks and hopscotch. Sometimes when there are misinterpretations or merely kick unreasonable statements, we would travel off in different waies but the following twenty-four hours, it would travel back to the same modus operandi with the games and it would be a normal twenty-four hours in school. It was the same for this piece of work. They developed from words to sounds so from sounds into motions. They were confronting different waies and at their ain single infinite on phase. The blocks on phase were moved and were now their private infinite, their safe topographic point. They were ‘speaking their heads ‘ through motions, seeking to talk what they feel. The motions that we used were about similar but after awhile, they started making the same motions like they were doing up for the battle. They easy came together and stacked the boxes into a wall for a game of fell and seek. They would take bends to conceal behind the wall of blocks and making the same motions. The 1s that were caught would take a block and played a game of ‘hitting the slipper ‘ . Two of them that we caught formed a pyramid of their slippers on top of the blocks and the game is to strike hard it down with another slipper. One by one got caught and every bit shortly as the two misss formed their pyramid, the remainder mes sed with it and destroyed it intentionally over and over once more like how toughs in schools would pick on you over and over. It happened once more and once more until the two misss picked up their slippers and started dancing with the slippers on their custodies, standing up for themselves against those toughs. They broke out and they all were playing their single games. Some played with their bags, some played with a friend and one was playing the congkak, a long disregarded game, by herself in the corner. It felt like she was conveying back the memory of the game or conveying back an old memory of something she had forgotten for rather some clip and so did the others. All their motions were related to that congkak in one manner or another. Either doing sounds and noises like the beads that hits the wooden base or puting on the floor like the congkak and merely moves when person touches it or places it someplace else. When the miss played with the existent congkak, the others fol lowed her by imitated the motions or the sounds like they were remembering the yearss of their childhood when they used to play that game. Like how when you were younger, you had more freedom to make whatever you wanted with lesser jobs and things to believe about. The lone thing that mattered was that every twenty-four hours that was spent was an gratifying one. This piece was concentrating more on the narrative is wants to state alternatively of the technique and the motion as it was largely gestures that were used and game playing. It was a public presentation that people can associate to and can see themselves in it as it was something that everyone has gone through earlier in their lives. It was about the memories that we keep throughout our lives and the ideas that are most cherished to you. There might be times when you merely want to throw a specific memory off but no affair what you do, you can look to allow it travel. It depends on us if we want those memories to populate on or non. We have the power to do it come back or let it to vanish everlastingly. Traditions that used to be so close to our Black Marias that was passed down to us from our great grandmas are now on the brink of extinction due to the engineering that has been overmastering our universe. How it can take away traditions and take off cherished memories that have yet to go through down to our coevals of kids. Even though those memories or experiences that we ‘ve went through are mistily at that place, it will ever linger in our heads particularly those that affairs. As for the 2nd piece, it had more of an wellbeing and playful sort of feel compared to the first. ‘Variasian ‘ which is the name of this piece was choreographed by Zaini Mohd Tahir. He is the Artistic Director, the Resident Choreographer and the laminitis of the NUS Dance Ensemble. This piece was besides about the games we play and how games used to be simpler when we were younger and how it became more complex as we grew older but we ne'er stop playing. It merely advanced into a more technological version of the traditional games. Some games we grew up with and some had to turn up with us but we still play. There were a choir standing at the sides of the phase when we walked into the studio of where it took topographic point. As I sat down, they started singing. I had thought I walked into the incorrect public presentation infinite. After they were done with the first vocal, the terpsichoreans came out and started running about on phase playing the really old and traditional game that people still play today, the ‘scissors, paper, rock ‘ game. When the say the word ‘stone ‘ , they had to remain still in whatever place they were in and travel when the said the remainder. Watching them reminded me of how I used to love playing that game during recess period when I was in primary school. The volume and the velocity of the game increased as each unit of ammunition passed until it got so feverish and helter-skelter in the public presentation infinite. Their voices got louder and louder every 2nd and it felt like it could make the other side of the school evidences. Th en all of a sudden there were silence and terpsichoreans started vanishing into the wings go forthing half the sum of terpsichoreans on phase. As the terpsichoreans were easy vanishing, the choir sang a slow and dramatic vocal while walking through the infinite on phase, from one side to the other like altering the chapter in a narrative or a drama. The terpsichoreans get downing dancing with flow like motions that looked like they were drifting through the infinite. Their motions and the choir mashed and complimented each other attractively like a absolutely fitted pealing on your finger. Their motions were insistent throughout the piece but they changed it a small by utilizing cannons and different degrees. Once the vocal was over, the terpsichoreans at the side wings rolled in with a cute, wellbeing vocal that came on. It sounded like a vocal you would here when you play a specific game in the arcade. The terpsichoreans were like the life in the games with green and pink lighting , it made it experience like we were besides in the game. Some were ‘crabbing ‘ sideways while the others are running and jumping around them like they were supposed to catch them in order to win. That had to be my favorite portion of the whole public presentation. Then there was a sudden alteration in music and a techno like vocal came on and all the terpsichoreans ran off except for one cat, merely standing at that place like it was his clip to reflect and acquire the limelight, and that ‘s what he did. He started ‘Para Para ‘ dancing entirely in the center of the phase. Para Para is an arcade game that you play entirely where there are colored pointers lined with electronic detectors, and you have to dance and hit all the pointers to win. Slowly all the terpsichoreans came on phase and joined him in his game of Para Para but one by one they could n't catch up and died like they lost the game. One by one collapsed onto the floor and including the male terpsichorean who looked like the male monarch of the game. Surprisingly, the last one standing was a miss and she walked off with an evil laughter with deathly music following her as she left the phase. It was such an unexpected stoping for the piece and I think it made it more interesting and made an impact on me. I left the public presentation with that stoping tarriance in my caput throughout the dark. The eventide was a really interesting one as it genuinely spoke to me and I could associate to both pieces in many ways. It was a dark that took me through memory lane.

Planning and Controlling Direct Labor Costs Essay

Planning and Controlling Direct Labor Costs - Essay Example In the current competitive business environment, companies that cannot afford to charge low prices on their products are likely to be excluded from markets. In this regard, cost cutting allows firms to employ low pricing strategy and still make profits (Burns, Quinn, Warren & Oliveira, 2013). Business costs come in many forms. As noted by Burn et al. (2013), manufacturing companies incur expenses in acquisition of raw material and labour among other things. Sometimes it is not easy to assess the value contributed to the company’s product or service by the expenses incurred. According to Burn et al. (2013), many firms find it hard to assess actual contribution of their employees to their products. In this regard, planning and control of direct labour costs is one of the most challenging tasks for businesses. This paper discusses direct labour costs in relation to a soda ash mining company called Tata Chemicals Magadi. Importance of the study Tata Chemicals Magadi has been exper iencing financial difficulties in the recent years. As a result, the company hired an expatriate in May this year to help streamline its operations. After analysing the company’s operations, Paul Patterson (the expatriate) asserted that the Magadi’s financial problems were mainly caused by poor planning and control of labour costs. He therefore proposed a plan to improve labour efficiency. He took office in July 2013 but his progress has never been assessed until today. This study aims at determining the extent to which Patterson has been successful in streamlining the company’s direct labour costs. The specific objectives include: (1) determining actual contribution of individual employees to product output in the months of September, October and November. (2) Reconciling variances and providing information that will help the company to properly plan and control its direct labour costs. (3) Enhancing maximum output from employees. Analysis Direct labour cost co mprises of human resource expenses that goes directly to processing of products or provision of services (Horngren, Datar & Foster, 2003). In a manufacturing set up, direct labour cost would be the expenses incurred in form payment of wages and other benefits to employees who are directly involved in product manufacturing (Horngren, Datar & Foster, 2003). In this regard, as pointed out by Horngren et al. (2003), benefits may range from house allowance, transport allowance, medical cover, social security contribution and workmen’s compensation insurance among other things. This excludes labour expenses related to administrative functions such as accounting, human resources and purchases departments. Some functions in manufacturing department such as supervision and other overhead costs are not part of direct labour costs (Horngren et al., 2003). Tata Chemicals Magadi mines and dries soda ash from Lake Magadi before packaging and transporting to the market. In this case, direct labour costs comprise of wages and other benefits enjoyed by employees who are directly involved in mining and drying of soda ash. There are seven plant operators in charge of mining machines and 22 in charge of driers. In addition, there are 6 drivers who operate tracks that transport wet ash from the lake to the drying plants 4 in charge of front-end loaders at mining

Project Management - Communication for Improvement Essay

Project Management - Communication for Improvement - Essay Example 22 2.2.3. HR and Finance Section of DoT: In Focus 22 2.3. The Survey Results 24 2.4. Synthesis 29 2.5. The Option 31 3. Research Analysis 32 3.1. Analysis of the Findings 32 3.2. Recommendations 37 3.3. Evaluation of Recommendations 38 4. The Presentation 40 4.1. Presentation 40 4.2. Results of the Findings 41 4.3. Impact of the Project 42 References 43 List of Figures and Tables Figure 1 p. 7 Figure 2 p.9 Figure 3 p. 16 Figure 4 p.34 Table 1 p. 24 Table 2 p. 36 Table 3 p.37 Name Professor Subject Date Project Management: Department of Transportation and Communication 1. Introduction Crucial in the timely delivery of government services to the people is the appropriate allocation and use of funds and resources by government agencies. It is a recognized fact that public resources are also limited, and as such, a sagacious use of public resources is critical to help citizens obtain the means in attaining the good life. From this perspective, it becomes clear why project management is i ncorporated as the government department and agencies. Since, project management is the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project activities to meet project requirement (PMBOK Guide). It requires planning, organizing, controlling, and monitoring activities to comply with project requisites. As such, it is pivotal that in managing projects (1) identifying project requirements and establishing objectives to attain it (2) managing competing priorities and (3) satisfying identified stakeholders while working with the constraints of time, cost, and scope (PMBOK Guide). In effect, through project management, government projects are delivered more effectively and efficiently as selection, control, and evaluation are processes integrated in government projects, thus, creating measures protecting public funds and resources and securing the interests of the citizenry. Guided by the ethos of service to the people, economic growth, pursuit of quality of life, and environ mental sustainability, the Department of Transportation – Abu Dhabi (DoT) has embarked in establishing world class transportation system that is not only efficient and well integrated but, it also â€Å"serves the public interest by enhancing mobility and delivering safe, secure and environmentally responsible Aviation, Maritime, Public Transport and Highways sectors† (http://dot.abudhabi.ae). These vision and mission are founded on the principles of excellence, commitment, integrity, cooperation, transparency, and efficiency (http://dot.abudhabi.ae). In turning this vision-mission into reality, DoT has identified five objectives. These are (1) Reducing congestion and enhancing mobility within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. (2) Enhancing transport safety and security in coordination with key stakeholders. (3) Providing high quality and reliable transport services to all areas within the Emirate. (4) Establishing an effective and efficient transport sector that responds to t he rapid growth of Abu Dhabi’s economy. (5) Building a collaborative and result-oriented organization to achieve the set goals (http://dot.abudhabi.ae). These objectives are aligned with the ideals of â€Å"world-class standards, emiratisation, privatization, cost-efficiency, accountability, transparency, and sustainability† (http://dot.abudhabi.ae). Considering the various scopes of DoT objectives, this study will center on the fifth objective, â€Å"

Marketing Plan for Kindle Fire Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Plan for Kindle Fire - Assignment Example The main characteristic features of this device are, book reading, blogs, newspapers and all important documents, it mostly supports the portable document format (P.D.F) along with various other formats. Different models have been introduced since the beginning starting from the earlier one, followed by DX in 2009, and now the most recent one being the Kindle Fire. With less than couple of years in market it has made a lot of progress and at the same time it needs to address certain issues, and since after the launch many factors have come to forefront therefore this paper looks at the marketing perspective of Kindle Fire. Kindle fire is seen as a beginning of new era in the world of e-book device from Amazon since its considered as the rival to the Apple’s already in market I-pad .With Fire edition, it was the first time since Amazon introduced colored screens in their e book readers.. It provides access to thousands of movies, over a million books. With help of Premier membership access to lots of free stream material becomes possible. It is being stated as the insurgent that has blown I-pad out of the water. It is being dubbed as I-pad killer and with such a formidable package and features it is certainly going to present a challenge to the existing players in the game.The fire edition would serve as outsider force in the industry since it is totally revamped and a new look to the previous versions of Kindle. It is built on Android operating system and hence a complete infrastructure based kernel running the application programs. It runs on Android 2.3 version of the O.S. It provides a batte ry time of as long as eight hours and supports all three variants of Wi-Fi, that are, b/n/g. It has a dual core processor with clock speed of 1 G-hertz. (McNulty, S. 2011). Financial Statistics: in the category of tablets Apple is the chart leader, but Kindle is not

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Managing Strategy NETFLIX - Case Study Example As a result of this rapid success, Netflix began to create alliances with movie studies, such as Warner Home Video, that provided both partners opportunities for sharing revenues. As a result of these agreements, the company released its IPO for shareholders in 2002, as a company that could sustain growth and remain profitable long-term. With new capital availability as a result of having publicly traded stock, Netflix was now in a substantially sound financial business that provided opportunities to expand the business model. Today, Netflix provides customers with a flat rate membership of $7.99 USD per month, with the ability to rent DVDs and view streaming video content. Ease and convenience of using credit cards via Internet sales channels now gives Netflix immediate revenues that improves services and expand the vastness of its online movie libraries. This report explores the strategic position of Netflix, offering a full strategic appraisal of the company between the years 2010 and 2014. The investigation consists of analyses of the firm’s competitive strategy, performs an internal and external market analysis, determines the key strategic issues that have faced the company, strategic growth options for the company, and a description of the most relevant and viable strategies for improving the market performance of the firm long-term. Netflix operates in four key markets: DVD by mail, streaming video content subscriptions, original television programming, and video game rentals. The firm’s original market entry strategy for DVDs-through-mail was as a pioneer in this service concept in the United States, as a differentiator, giving the company a consumer-perceived uniqueness for providing convenience without having to visit a bricks-and-mortar rental company. Kalyanaram and Gurumurthy (2008) iterate the pioneers have tremendous

Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy Essay Hundreds of philosophers existed thousands of years ago. It was a time when the only leisure you could probably do was think, theorize, analyze and discover things. Obviously, two thousand years can change the habit of people and these days, thinking would take a lot of effort. The discovery of new things never stop as people have that urge to continue improves lives. In history and philosophy classes, great thinkers and philosophers were often studied. It is pretty amazing to read their works and come up with such incredible thoughts at that time. Often, they talk about leadership and politics. It was a time when countries are still developed and lands are yet to be discovered so a great leadership was very important. Although we would still analyze and review the philosophers’ works, more often their teachings cannot be applied to the current times. Sometimes change does not only involve technology and advancement, it can also apply to leadership and certain philosophical views. A great factor would involve the changing times. The lifestyle and the culture of the people are much different thousands of years ago. It was a time that women were limited to do domestic chores. Philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, wrote about what they of women during that time. It was probably a time when the role of women in the society is not defined. Of course, women nowadays are powerful and strong. They have created their mark in the society and gender bias in a lot of major industries is non-existent. That is why a lot of rules and laws cannot be applied to the world today. However, there are still some teachings that can be used up to now. These are the teachings that involve a great perspective in life. Sometimes, an illustrious perspective on life makes a person great. Anyway, the brain is the most powerful organ that is why the mind should take control of one’s lives. Teachings about life are very important that is why some philosophers and great thinkers are idolized and people formed a religion to continue preaching their teachings. One of the members of the long list of philosophers is Boethius. Although not as familiar as Aristotle and Plato, Anicius Manlius Severinus is the real name of this Roman philosopher but he was more famously known as Boethius. Boethius was born from a wealthy and educated family and like any other kids during that time; he studied poetry, mathematics and philosophy. Theodoric, the Gothic King ruling from Italy to Rome, appointed him court minister. Soon, his two sons became court ministers as well. He was a bold and brave man, with thoughts envied by a lot of people. His boldness is what brought him down as he became the object of vengeance of those oppressed. Boethius was known to check in the oppressions of some leaders. He was then accused of treason and was stripped of his dignities. In 524, he was executed in Pavia. While in prison, Boethius immersed himself in writing and there he wrote his greatest work. His masterpiece, The Consolation of Philosophy, talks about random thoughts about nature, justice and evil doings. The Consolation of Philosophy is a work mixed of prose and verse. It is a copy of Boethius conversation with Philosophy during the lonely years of the prisoners’ life. The work was theistic overall but it did not indicate whether the writer was Christian or not. In the Consolation of Philosophy, Philosophy showed Boethius how uncertain earthly fortune is and there is nothing more secure than virtue. Boethius was the last great Roman writer who translated Aristotle’s work. His translations were the sole means of studying Greek philosophy for a long time. His manuals on geometry, music, philosophy, arithmetic and astronomy were used in medieval schools. It may seem that Boethius may be having apparitions in his prison, but these visions came with a great message and a deeper insight. Boethius saw the reason behind his imprisonment and his conversations with Philosophy ended his misery and opened his eyes to better things, better perception. There was more to a great fortune and earthly things. It was probably some of the great things that Philosophy advised him that can still be applied up to the modern times. The first part of the book opens with Boethius having some afternoon thinking and writing when all of a sudden a woman appears in front of her. He described the woman as very beautiful and having a very powerful presence. He distinctively described her dress having embroidered the Greek letter Pi at the bottom and on the top hem, Theta. There was a ladder in between the two letters. She was holding books to her right hand and a scepter in the left. She was the Muse of Poetry. Boethius was currently having one of his many melancholy moments. Tears were trickling down Boethius’ eyes when the Muse of Poetry became angry. She was questioning the existence of sluts in Boethius’ place. She says that they only provide him temporary happiness that will not help him in his condition but instead will worsen it. The Muse of Poetry then pushed away the girls and they left in dismay. Boethius was teary-eyed as they left but eventually the Muse will explain why she did such thing (O’Donnell 21). The first part of the book shows how deserted Boethius feelings was in the prison that he tries to enjoy his self from getting temporary happiness. Apparitions or not, the Muse of Poetry shooed away the cause of all these but Boethius couldn’t help but feel terrible of her act he even questioned her authority. This lesson can still be applied to modern times. Often, when people have problems they are pushed to do band-aid solutions that will give them a short term solution to their problem. It is such an emotional thing to do that people do not even think of the long term effect or even the long term solution to their problem. A concrete example would be poverty. It is a sad fact that poor people are often pushed to do the bad thing. When a person is desperate to get food, he often steals. This solution just makes things more complicated as that person ends up ruining his life by spending it in jail. It is one of the many things that emotions take over and the mind stays behind. People often think of short-term solutions to their problems without considering the long-term consequences of these short-term solutions. The next stanza talks about how the Muse of Poetry consoled Boethius grieving soul. It was very well written with descriptions of how miserable Boethius has been. She assured Boethius that everything was going to be okay and that it was a time of healing not grieving. The Muse narrated how he brought up Boethius—being the great man that he is now. And although his situation may seem to be not bright, these too shall pass for the Muse is there to protect him and assure him that his virtues will prevail in this hardship (O’Donnell 24). This stanza was definitely was of the most touching part of the book. Really, this was the consolation of philosophy and one can’t help but feel for Boethius suffering. He was deprived of the life he deserved yet his imprisonment didn’t stop him from writing wonderful works. The second stanza also hints on the probable religion of the Philosopher—Christianity. The Muse somehow reminds me of Mother Mary and how she would protect her son from danger. It also signifies that the philosopher believes in a supernatural being that is more powerful than the earthly soul. Like any other human being, Boethius was going through probably the toughest battle in his life. And every human goes through that. No matter how driven or optimistic we are in our lives, there will always come a point that we want to give up. What the Muse was trying to communicate was that Boethius was born and made greater than his problems. And that does not exempt us. This made be theistic, but God won’t give us a problem that we could not bear. It is just normal that we feel like giving up at times especially when all hope’s lost but all we have to do is to stick to that goal and the universe will conspire to make life better for us. The next stanza talks about how the night ended and the day started with Boethius describing his physician examining him. The physician turned out to be Philosophy and she narrated how she has been with Boethius all along. She narrated how she started with Plato and Socrates and how she has turned out to be what she is now. She explained to Boethius how she has been taking care of him all throughout his life. The next stanza narrates his conversation with Philosophy. She tested him of the things he knew and welcomed him of her questions. The first thing that Philosophy asked him was if believed that life is full of chances. And he bluntly answered that God governs his creations and everything happens for a reason and he will never abandon His creation. The Philosophy then asked him why he was in such grief when he believes that God knows the best for him. By then, the writer was dumbstruck for he did not know the answer. The Philosophy knew something was missing and she was right. Boethius soon confessed that he was overpowered by grief. He knew the answer but he was just miserable to realize that the answer was just right in front of him. Philosophy then declared that the reason of his sickness is his grief and it was he who created all of those (O’Donnell 28). The following lines were so powerful that one cannot help but relate to Boethius’ situation. Pretty sure every one has gone through that pain. It was a feeling of emptiness and pity. It was as if the world has gone against us and everything is so not going our way. At the back of our minds, we know that something great is lurking around. We just have to be patient as good things come to those who wait. It was also just a matter of believing and working for whatever it that we want. It was a matter of realizing that we are in control of our lives—through God’s guidance that is. In general, the teachings of Philosophy can definitely still be applied to modern times. We all go through trials no matter what time or age we may be. It is just a matter of perspective. And although Boethius didn’t have any material thing left for him, it was his virtue that was more important than anything else. And that applies to all of us as well. Work Cited O’Donell, J. Life of Boethius. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania. Pages, 1996.

The Role of the Church in Society Essay Example for Free

The Role of the Church in Society Essay The role of the church in today’s society has been undervalued, misrepresented, and ineffectively communicated. There are many churches in the United States alone that possess a great deal of resources. Some churches are full of multimillionaires and others with six-figure incomes. However, they have too much, are doing too little, and when something is done it is too late. Those who call themselves Christians and that possess an excess of wealth are called to have that wealth. There is nothing wrong with being wealthy and affluent. It is truly a blessing to have more than enough. The problem with those who are wealth is that they are oppressing the poor. Of course those who are not of the faith can be expected to care less about those who are in need. However, those who are Christian, and not just claiming to be, must in the words of the Nesquik rabbit â€Å"share the wealth. † It is more than okay to have nice things and a nice home. It is even okay to have servants such as butlers and maids. When the wealth of a Christian becomes an affair for them and they neglect the need that is plainly in view, it becomes a problem. I do not mean to say just throw money at the problem. However, to not share your finances in a way that is pleasing to the lord is sin. In James it says â€Å"†¦to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. † When a wealthy Christian redistributes his or her wealth he or she ministers to God and receives favor from both God and man. The wealthy also have a near unlimited amount of political influence. Their political influence is not just in the capacity of a lobby, but often the wealthy are personally or mutually connected with mayors, governors, senators, and the like. With the resources they possess there is an unlimited amount of good that they can do. They can break down the strong holds of evil that claim lives by way of violence, drugs, gangs, and poverty. They must also be willing to live among the poor and not separate themselves by living in suburbs or in high rises that overlook the sea of misfortune. On the other hand, there are churches that have members that do not possess an excess of financial wealth. However, they still possess a great deal of spiritual gifts and a wealth of knowledge that the old and young have acquired throughout their experiences. Many churches that do not have wealthy members still have members who possess some amount of affluence. Those same churches are also filled with knowledge, wisdom, and love that can be used to break the same strongholds mentioned above that the devil likes to employ so enthusiastically. For instance, there are people in my church who have been to college, who have are counselors or therapist, there are teachers, I would even venture to say there exist some incredibly brilliant people in my church. With those resources, a church can be considered just as wealthy as a church full of millionaires. I know a slew of students who are high school aged, that do not possess the ability to read and write effectively. Education is certainly power and more importantly, the three Rs reading, writing, and arithmetic, are the most powerful components of education. A church that has members who can navigate the three Rs ought to be sharing the wealth of that ability. By sharing that wealth, those who do not have the ability to navigate the three Rs can acquire it. Then they can do likewise and help others become more educated. Education is one of the main reasons for poverty in this country and even throughout the world. If you are educated, you can figure things out and you are able to improvise when certain dilemmas take place. Another component of wealth is the experience of overcoming tragedy, adversity, and overcoming or being content with one’s socioeconomic status. That is probably the most significant component of wealth that those in a poor church possess. The Minor Prophets were blessed with a unique calling. That calling was to be the voice of those who did not have a voice. Throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament, there are two recurring themes. The first them is to love God with all your heart, your soul, and your strength. The second is to love thy neighbor as thyself. The twelve Minor Prophets were called to tell Israel about itself in regards to not complying with those two major themes. Each of the twelve Minor Prophets addressed Israel with God’s displeasure. God was extremely displeased with them because Israel would often take on the idols of the nation that God allowed them to overcome. Israel would also begin to take part in some of those nation’s undesired cultural traditions and practices. The Minor Prophets also addressed Israel’s oppression of the poor and disenfranchised. Israel was guilty of being unkind and being harsh towards the poor. All of Israel was judged according to their action and inaction regarding God’s law and their mistreatment of the poor.

Self Efficacy And The Social Cognitive Theory Education Essay

Self Efficacy And The Social Cognitive Theory Education Essay This chapter is divided into four parts. The first part initially discusses the construct of self-efficacy in the social cognitive theory. Then, definitions and properties of self-efficacy, characteristics of high and low self-efficacious individuals, the sources of self-efficacy and the difference between this construct and other similar constructs are discussed. Moreover, the last section of the first part is devoted to the role of self-efficacy in second/foreign language achievement and proficiency in general and in specific skills. The second part is devoted to the definitions of language learning strategies and their classifications. Moreover, the role of language learning strategies in second/foreign language proficiency and achievement and the relationship between language learning strategies and self-efficacy are discussed in this part, too. The third part is devoted to the construct of anxiety in general and foreign language anxiety in particular. In this part, definitions a nd classifications of anxiety, the role of anxiety in second/foreign language achievement and proficiency and the relationship between foreign language anxiety and self-efficacy are discussed. The last part discusses the concept of listening comprehension and how it is related to the three constructs of self-efficacy, language learning strategies, and foreign language anxiety. 2.1 Self-efficacy and the social cognitive theory To understand the concept of self-efficacy better, one must consider the theoretical framework of social cognitive theory. Bandura (1986, 1997) considers the social cognitive theory as a theory of human functioning. Based on this theory, human functioning can be explained through the operation of three factors that interact with each other. One factor is what Chomsky refers to as cognition, and Bandura in the social cognitive theory refers to as personal factors. Another factor is what Skinner referred to as environment and the third factor is what Bandura refers to as behavior. Bandura (1986) believed in the concept of triadic reciprocality in the social cognitive theory. This refers to the interaction among personal, behavioral and environmental factors. Moreover, an individuals behavior is determined by the interaction of the above mentioned factors. In this theory, individuals are considered as proactive, self-regulating, self-organizing and self-reflecting rather than reactive o nes and controlled by biological or environmental forces. Based on the social cognitive theory, individuals have a system of self-belief or a self-system that enables them to control their actions, feelings, thoughts, and motivation (Bandura, 1986; Pajares, 1997). This self-system makes it possible for individuals to make choices, choose their courses of actions, self-examine the adequacy of their behavior, interpret the outcomes, develop beliefs about their capabilities, and store this information to be used as a guide for future behavior (Bandura, 1986). Bandura (1997) considered the practice of self-reflection as the most influential mediator of human functioning and among the most arbiters of self-reflection are perceptions of self-efficacy. 2.1.1 Self-efficacy and its definitions Bandura (1986) considers self-efficacy as the main feature in the social cognitive theory. Based on the social cognitive theory, self-efficacy is the primary determinant of an individuals motivation to act. Bandura (1986) defines self-efficacy as peoples judgment of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances. It is not concerned with the skills one has but with the judgment of what can one do with whatever skills one possesses (p. 391). Besides Bandura, many researchers have provided different definitions of self-efficacy but most of them are based on Banduras definition. Delcourt and Kinzie (1993) stated that self-efficacy reflects an individuals confidence in his or her ability to perform the behavior required to produce specific outcomes (p. 36). Huang and Shanmao (1996) defined self-efficacy expectations as the beliefs about ones ability to perform a given task or behavior successfully (p. 3). Schunk (2001) considers self-efficacy as beliefs about ones capabilities to learn or perform behaviors at designated levels (p. 126). Moreover; Baron and Byrne (2004) identified three kinds of self-efficacy: Social self-efficacy, self-regulatory self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy. They considered social self-efficacy as the ability to maintain relationships, engage in social activities, and become assertive. They referred to the self-regulatory self-efficacy as the ability to be curious, think carefully, and avoid hi gh-risk activities. Finally, they considered academic self-efficacy as the ability to take part in learning activities, regulate the learning activities and meet expectations. 2.1.2 Self-efficacy and its properties Self-efficacy beliefs are not dependent on ones abilities but instead on what one believes may be accomplished with ones personal skills. Moreover, Bandura (1997) believed that there is a major difference between possessing skills and being able to use them in different situations. And that is why, different people with similar skills or the same person on different occasions may perform differently. Bandura (1997) mentioned that self-efficacy beliefs are distinguished from the skills one possesses, although they may be influenced by the acquisition of skills. That is why he assumed that self-efficacy beliefs are often better predictors of success than prior accomplishments, skills, or knowledge. For example, in educational settings, students self-efficacy mediates between the several determinants of competence (e.g., skills, knowledge, ability, or previous achievements) and their subsequent performances (Bandura, 2006; Schunk Pajares, 2001). Bandura (1997) mentioned that optimistic efficacy beliefs maintain and enhance motivation, and boost performance. Optimistic self-efficacy beliefs are instrumental to the successful completion of challenging tasks. These beliefs may increase effort and persistence and promote accomplishment in challenging circumstances. In academic settings, these beliefs seem to be necessary for attempting novel tasks or for learning new materials. He also stated that innovativeness requires an unshakable sense of efficacy to persist in creative endeavors when they demand prolonged investment of time and effort (Bandura, 1997, p. 239). Self-efficacy is not a fixed ability that individuals have or dont have in their repertoire of behaviors. But it is a generative capability in which cognitive, social, emotional and behavioral sub-skills must be organized and effectively orchestrated to serve innumerable purposes (Bandura, 1997, p.36). Bandura (1997) believed that the sense of self-efficacy influences individuals motivations, the goal they set, the effort they expend to achieve their goals and their willingness to persist in the face of difficulties and failures. For example, in an educational setting, students who have the sense of self-efficacy in their academic skills expect high marks on exams and expect the quality of their work to gain benefits for them. Another feature of self-efficacy is that it is task and domain specific. In other words, it refers to specific judgment of a specific situation and it is not a context-free disposition. A high sense of efficacy in one domain does not necessarily mean high sense of self-efficacy in another domain. And this is why measures of self-efficacy must determine the domains of action. In educational settings, self-efficacy beliefs are more specific and situational judgments of capabilities (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, Pastorelli, 1996; Bong, 2006; Pajares, 1997). In academic settings, according to Bandura (1986), self-efficacy refers to judgment of confidence to perform academic tasks or succeed in academic activities. Self-efficacy beliefs are also hypothesized to mediate the influence of other determinants of academic outcomes such as skills or past performance on subsequent actions. Efficacy beliefs also act in concert with other common mechanisms of personal agency such as self-concept beliefs, anxiety, and self-regulatory practices in influencing and predicting academic outcomes. Also, Bandura (1997) mentioned that in such settings self-efficacy affects students aspirations, their level of interest in academic work and accomplishments and how well they prepare themselves for future careers. He identified two types of efficacy in such settings: One refers to achievement in specific subject area such as language or science and the second refers to self-regulated learning and the extent to which an individual feels successful on tasks that generalize across academic domains. 2.1.3 High and low sense of self-efficacy Bandura (1997) stated that people usually tend to become involved in and perform activities that they judge themselves capable of managing, but they tend to avoid those situations that are threatening and they believe exceed their skills and abilities. In an educational setting, a learner is more likely to exert effort to engage in an assigned learning task when he or she sees him/herself capable of accomplishing it. When facing with difficult situations, those who have a stronger sense of self-efficacy tend to make greater efforts to deal with challenges. But those who have a lower sense of efficacy are likely to avoid engaging in a difficult task or even not try hard enough to accomplish the task. Avoiding difficult tasks leads to lower success and this, in itself, leads to even lower sense of self-efficacy. Based on the researches done in the area of self-efficacy, there are major differences between those with high and low sense of self-efficacy. High self-efficacious people exert more attention, effort and persistence in the case of difficulties than people with lower sense of self-efficacy. Those with high sense of efficacy work harder than their low self-efficacy peers. When those with low sense of self-efficacy fail, they often put the blame for their failure on everything except their own shortcoming. High self-efficacious people set more challenging goals for themselves than low self-efficacious ones. People with high sense of self-efficacy outperform those with low sense of self-efficacy and they employ more strategies to accomplish their goals (Bandura Locke, 2003; Latham, 2004; Locke Latham, 1990). Pajares (2006) reported that students with high sense of self-efficacy, regardless of previous successes or abilities, persist in the face of adversity. Moreover, these students are more optimistic and have lower stress levels and achieve more. Pajares and Schunk (2001) stated that the higher the sense of efficacy, the more energy and effort are used to keep trying tasks or situations that may be more difficult and challenging in nature. They believed that in educational settings, a self-efficacious student takes academic risks, sets goals for him/herself, compares him/herself to other peers, maintains routines, and keeps track of what works well and what doesnt regarding academic and social progress. A self-efficacious person may not have the highest grades in the class, but he/sh e believes in his or her own abilities to accomplish tasks, to find the right answer, to meet goals and often to surpass other peers. Schunk (1983) stated that a heightened sense of efficacy sustains task involvement and results in greater achievement and lower perceptions of efficacy lead to less persistence and lower achievement. Regarding the difference between high and low sense of self-efficacy, Bandura (1997) stated that self-efficacy beliefs influence individuals pursued courses of action, effort expended in given endeavors, persistence in the confrontation of obstacles, and resilience to adversity. Self-efficacious individuals will, therefore, approach challenges with the intention and anticipation of mastery, intensifying their efforts and persistence accordingly. These individuals rapidly recover their lowered sense of self-efficacy after enduring failure or difficulty, and attribute failure to insufficient effort or deficient knowledge. Students with a high level of self-efficacy perceive tough tasks as challenges. They also have higher motivation to conquer the difficulties and more confidence to accomplish demanding tasks. On the contrary, students with low sense of self-efficacy regard things as harder than they really are; they do not perceive their efforts can lead to better results, so they hav e less motivation to devote time to demanding tasks. He also stated that self-efficacy is a factor that can differentiate successful learners from unsuccessful ones. Eggen and Kauchak (2004) mentioned that students who have high self-efficacy are more willing to accept a challenging task, work harder, have a calmer disposition despite experiencing failure in the beginning, practice effective learning strategies, and generally generate better performance than students who have low self-efficacy, even if they have the same ability and skill. Finally, Bandura (1997) describes the feature of self-efficacious learners as follow: self-efficacious learners feel confident about solving a problem because they have developed an approach to problem solving that has worked in the past. They attribute their success mainly to their own efforts and strategies, believe that their own abilities will improve as they learn more, and recognize that errors are part of learning. Students with low self-efficacy believe that they have inherent low ability, choose less demanding tasks and do not try hard because they believe that any effort will reveal their own lack of ability (p. 3). 2.1.4 Self-efficacy and its sources People get their self-efficacy information from four different sources: Mastery experiences, vicarious (observational) experiences, verbal persuasions, and physiological reactions or states (Alderman, 2004; Bandura, 1997; Ormrod, 2003; Pajares, 2003; Pintrich Schunk, 2002; Zimmerman, 2001). The first source of self-efficacy is a mastery experience which is, according to Bandura (1997), the most influential source of efficacy information. Mastery experiences are prior performances that may be interpreted positively or negatively. Successful performances strengthen personal efficacy beliefs while failed performances undermine ones sense of self-efficacy. Successful performances lead to the anticipation of future success. Therefore, the information which is gathered from mastery experiences provides a reliable base from which one can evaluate self-efficacy and predict successful performance of future tasks. According to Palmer (2006), mastery experiences are the most powerful sources of creating a strong sense of efficacy because they provide students authentic evidence that they have the capability to succeed at the task. In educational settings or academic contexts, the previous success of a learner is the most influential source of self-efficacy beliefs. The second source of information for self-efficacy is vicarious experiences. It refers to the appraisal of ones own capabilities in relation to the accomplishment of peers. One can manage a task and foster the belief that he/she might possess similar capabilities by observing the success of comparable peers. Also, observation of the failure of a comparable peer can undermine an individuals perception of the ability to succeed. So, vicarious experience may affect efficacy positively or negatively. The third source of self-efficacy comes from verbal persuasion. It refers to the peoples judgments of others ability to accomplish a given task. Verbal persuasion is a weaker source of efficacy information in comparison to mastery or vicarious experiences. Verbal persuasion can be in the form of performance feedback or encouragement in overcoming obstacles. Positive verbal messages can lead to successful performances in future. On the other hand, negative persuasion can hinder the development of stronger sense of self-efficacy. The last source of self-efficacy information is physiological or emotional states of people such as stress, anxiety, or fatigue in judging their capabilities. Physiological and emotional states can lead both to an expectation for failure or enhancing beliefs for future success. According to Bandura (1997), high emotional arousal can undermine performance and people are more likely to expect success when they are not troubled by aversive arousal than when they are tense and emotionally agitated. Finally, it should be mentioned that self-efficacy beliefs do not come from a single source of the above mentioned information, but it is through the selection, integration and interpretation of information from these diverse sources that ones sense of self-efficacy is formed (Bandura, 1997). 2.1.5 Self-efficacy and similar constructs There are some constructs such as self-esteem, self-concept, and confidence that have fuzzy boundaries with self-efficacy or seem to constitute a conceptual overlap with it. The common feature of all these constructs is that they all refer to beliefs about perceived ability but what distinguishes self-efficacy from them is the idea that it refers to specific types of performance and explicit desired goals or results (Pajares, 1996). The main difference between self-esteem and self-efficacy is that self-esteem is a personal trait while self-efficacy is not. Self-esteem is a more emotional response to self while self-efficacy applies to specific fields of human behavior. Self-efficacy is the assessment of ones capabilities while self-esteem is the assessment of ones self-worth (Epstein Morling, 1995; Maddux, 1995). According to Zimmerman and Cleary (2006), self-esteem is an affective reaction indicating how a person feels about him or herself whereas self-efficacy involves cognitive judgments of personal capacity. They stated that self-esteem is not a predictor of academic performance while self-efficacy is. The main difference between confidence and self-efficacy is that self-efficacy is the belief in ones power to achieve certain levels of performances while confidence does not involve the persons power or ability to perform at a certain level (Epstein Morling, 1995). According to Pajares and Schunk (2001), an individuals self-concept involves evaluation of self-worth and it takes the cultural and social values into consideration. Self-concept has an indirect influence on performance while self-efficacy due to its task-specific nature can predict performance more easily than generalized measures of self-esteem, self-concept or anxiety (Zimmerman Cleary, 2006). Bong and Skaalvik (2003) argued that self-efficacy can be seen as providing a basis for the development of self-concept. Moreover, Pajares (2003) stated that writing self-efficacy is a significant predictor of achievement in writing while writing self-concept beliefs are not. 2.1.6 Self-efficacy and its role in achievement and proficiency Based on the properties of self-efficacy mentioned above, it seems that it plays a great role in determining individuals behavior in their daily lives and especially in educational and academic settings. In this part the role of self-efficacy in individuals achievement and proficiency will be elaborated and some major relevant studies will be reviewed. Some of these studies focus on the predictive power of self-efficacy in individuals achievement. Bandura (1986) assumed self-efficacy to be a much more consistent predictor of behavior than any other closely related variables. He mentioned that many students have difficulty not because they are incapable of performing successfully, but because they are incapable of believing that they can perform successfully, that they have learned to see themselves as incapable of handling academic skills(p. 390). Some researchers (e.g., Bandura, 1997; Pajares, 1997; Schunk, 1989; Zimmerman, 1995) assumed that self-efficacy, which is an individuals judgment about his or her abilities to perform a given task can be a better predictor of success than his/her actual abilities because they considered self-efficacy a critical determinant of behaviors. Some studies that have been done in the educational settings (e.g, Berry, 1987; Schunk, 1989) have shown that when learners have the same skills or they are at the same level of cognitive skill development, their performance can be different depending on their self-efficacy beliefs. That is why, Pajares (1997) stated that peoples prior accomplishments or actual abilities are not always good predictors of their subsequent success because the beliefs they hold about their abilities influence their subsequent behavior. But some researchers (e.g, Carmichael Taylor, 2005; Mills, 2004) warned that measuring self-efficacy in educational settings before the target skills are acquired cannot be considered as a good predictor of achievement. For example, in Mills (2004) study, self-efficacy was measured at the beginning of a semester when the participants had not acquired the required skills to perform the tasks. So, the result revealed that self-efficacy did not predict the final grade. According to Zimmerman and Kitsantas (2005), self-efficacy can better predict or explain subsequent performance when the students are familiar with the necessary skills to perform the task being measured. Schunk (1999) also warned that high self-efficacy beliefs will not produce competent performance if students lack necessary skills. For example, Chen (2003) found that the impact of students self-efficacy beliefs on their math performance was greater when they possessed underlying math skills. Multon, Brown, and Lent (1991) after doing a meta-analysis of self-efficacy research found a positive and significant relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and academic performance. Moreover, they indicated that self-efficacy was strongly related to student performance in a variety of subject matters. They reported that self-efficacy beliefs accounted for approximately 14% of the variance in students academic performance. Graham and Weiner (1996) found that self-efficacy beliefs more consistently predicted academic performance than other motivational constructs. Recently, several researchers (e.g, Maddux Gosselin, 2003; Skaalvik Bong, 2003) have shown that students academic self-efficacy is predictive of their study behavior as well as academic outcomes. Self-efficacy has consistently been shown to be positively associated with general academic achievement (e.g., Jackson, 2002; Lane Lane, 2001) and with performance in several specific domains, including math (Pajares Miller, 1995), and writing (Pajares, 2003; Pajares, Britner, Valiante, 2000). Some recent studies have found a consistent link between having a high sense of self-efficacy and achievement and the fact that efficacy beliefs are one of the most important predictors of motivation and performance (Bong, 2002; Pajares, 1996; Robbins, et al., 2004; Schunk Pajares, 2001). Also, Mills, et al. (2006) found that a stronger sense of self-efficacy leads to higher levels of achievement, greater willingness to face challenges and to exert effort. Many researchers indicated that self-efficacy has a stronger effect on academic performance than other motivational beliefs and it is found to have critical effects on various types of academic learning (Gibson, Randel, Earley, 2000; Linnenbrink Pintrich, 2002; Pintrich Schunk, 2002). Yazici, Seyis, and Altur (2011) found that self-efficacy beliefs are the most powerful predictors of academic achievements. Yang (2004) and Wong (2005) stated that students learning outcome is influenced by their perceived sense of self-efficacy. Moreover, Yang (2004) asserted that students learning attitudes, learning behaviors or even learning performances are affected by their sense of self-efficacy. Wong (2005) has shown that students performance can be facilitated by the enhancement of their sense of self-efficacy. Pajares (2002) mentioned that students academic self-efficacy influence their academic achievements in several ways. It influences the choices students make and the courses of action they pursue. In situations that students have free choices, they tend to engage in tasks about which they feel confident and avoid those in which they dont. It also helps to determine how much effort students will expend on an activity, how long they will persevere when facing obstacles and how resilient they will be in the face of adverse situations. Although considerable research has been done to study self-efficacy in educational and academic settings, most of these studies have been restricted to the domain of mathematical problem solving and languages other than English. For example, (Britner Pajares, 2001; Pajares Graham, 1999) found that perceived self-efficacy of the students mediate between their abilities and their academic performance in mathematics and science. Collins (1982) found that across ability levels, students whose self-efficacy is higher are more accurate in their mathematics computation and show greater persistence on difficult items than do students whose self-efficacy beliefs are low. Pajares and Graham (1999) aimed to determine whether mathematic self-efficacy makes an independent contribution to the prediction of mathematic performance when other motivational variables and previous achievements are controlled. They found that mathematic self-efficacy was the only motivational variable to predict mathem atic performance. Ayotola and Adedeji (2009) examined the relationship between mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics achievement. The result revealed that there was a strong positive relationship between mathematics self-efficacy and achievement in mathematics. The researchers concluded that self-efficacy beliefs are important components of motivation and of academic achievement. Jaafar and Ayub (2010) also found a positive relationship between mathematics self-efficacy and mathematics performance. In the case of languages other than English, McCollum (2003) found that the German language self-efficacy was a significant predictor of the semester final grade. In a similar study, Mills (2004) investigated the relationship between French self-efficacy in reading and listening and proficiency in reading and listening. The result of the analysis indicated that French reading self-efficacy was a predictor of French reading proficiency but French listening self-efficacy was not a predictor of proficiency in listening. Mills (2004) assumed that the failure of French listening self-efficacy to predict French listening proficiency may have been partly due to the fact that the critical task measure in the study-that is, listening proficiency test-possessed psychometric flaws. Recently many researchers have investigated the role of self-efficacy in foreign language settings and the role it plays in the achievement and proficiency in foreign languages specially English. Hsieh and Schallert (2008) examined the relationship between self-efficacy and attribution in a foreign language setting. In their study attribution referred to the explanations individuals give for their success or failure in a particular performance. The result indicated that despite failure in performing the given tasks, students reported the same level of self-efficacy as successful students when they attributed their failure to lack of effort. The researchers concluded that even when students reported having low self-efficacy, helping them view success and failure as an outcome that they can control may increase their expectancy for success and lead to successful experiences. Wang and Wu (2008) adopted the social cognitive model to investigate the role of self-efficacy on behavioral influences such as feedback behaviors and learning strategies and on environmental influences such as achievement. In the case of behavioral influences, the result indicated that self-efficacy was significantly related to students elaborated feedback behaviors and use of learning strategies. However, the results indicated that self-efficacy was not related to students academic performance. The researchers argued that this may be due to the domain specific nature of self-efficacy. They assumed that students who lack performance information or experience in the academic domain may form inaccurate estimation of self-efficacy and this may have been the reason why self-efficacy did not predict students achievement in this study. With regard to learning English, Huang and Shanmao (1996) found a relationship between self-efficacy of ESL students and their scores on the reading and writing sections of the TOEFL test. In a similar study, Templin (1999) divided the EFL participants into high and low self-efficacy groups and found a significant difference between the English proficiency of the two groups. 2.1.7 Self-efficacy and its role in achievement and proficiency in specific skills Some researchers studied the role of efficacy in specific skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in English. Pajares (2003) in reviewing the predictive power of self-efficacy in writing found that writing self-efficacy makes an independent contribution to the prediction of writing outcomes and plays a meditational role that social cognitive theorists hypothesized. Moreover, he suggested that instruction in self-regulatory strategies such as goal setting, self-recording progress, revision strategies, and self-evaluating progress may increase both self-efficacy and writing skills. Shang (2010) investigated the impact of EFL self-efficacy in reading and reading proficiency. He found a correlation between EFL learners self-efficacy in reading and their reading proficiency. Recently, Sioson (2011) aimed to determine among the subscales of language learning strategies, beliefs about language learning and anxiety which one is the strongest predictor of performance in an academic speaking context. The result of multiple regression analysis revealed that only the motivation and expectation subscale of beliefs about language learning was the significant predictor of speaking performance. Woodrow (2011) indicated that self-efficacy is a powerful predictor of writing performance than anxiety. According to the finding of his study, highly self-efficacious students performed well in their English writing and showed desirable learning attributes such as exerting effort. Ghonsooly and Elahi (2010) found a positive relationship between the Iranian EFL learners self-efficacy in reading comprehension and their reading achievements. The researchers indicated that high self-efficacious learners performed better than low self-efficacious learners in reading achievements. They concluded that EFL learners self-efficacy is an important factor in the achievement of high scores in English language skills such as reading comprehension. Rahemi (2010) studied the self-efficacy of Iranian high school students. The result indicated that students majoring in humanities had a very weak English self-efficacy and held certain negative beliefs about their academic ability as EFL learners. Moreover, a strong correlation was found between their English achievement and sense of self-efficacy. Rahimi and Abedini (2009) explored the role of self-efficacy in listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners and their listening comprehension test performance. According to the res ults of the study, there was a significant difference between high and low self-efficacious students in terms of listening comprehension. Moreover, self-efficacy in listening was significantly related to listening proficiency. In another study, Graham (2006) studied the role of efficacy in the development of listening skills and

Graduation Speech: Lifes Defining Moments :: Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

I was watching a re-run of the "Dr. Phil" show the other day, and he was offering advice to someone who had an anger problem. Dr. Phil asked him to recall the top 10 defining moments in his life, which is where the secret to his anger problem was supposed to lie. So, I began thinking about what are the top ten defining moments in my life? The birth of my daughter was the first thing that came to my mind. She made me a mother, along with a 24-hour worrier and an insomniac. As I began to dwell more on the topic I realized that going to college has not only been one of my defining moments, it has made me who I am. With all the different classes we take Community College, we realize interests we never knew we had. My first three quarters here, I was in the Running Start program, which allowed me to graduate high school while taking college courses. I took a political science class, just to fulfill my American history credit, and I realized I love politics. I never knew I had such a passion for debating heated topics like gun control until the teacher couldn't get me to stop talking in class. psychology taught me that my weird 2-year-old isn't so weird after all. And chemistry taught me that I really don't care for science that much. So, when my friends tell me they aren't going to college because they don't know what they want to do, I ask them how are you ever going to figure it out? As you guys have your celebrations and get-togethers today, I encourage you to think about your first day at Johnson and how you have changed since then. Do you look on the world in a different way, or did college just confirm that this is the person you truly are? On one hand, my viewpoints on topics changed completely, when my professors opened up my eyes to things like discrimination and class-ism, and on other hand some of my beliefs were strongly supported. Throughout school, I had everyone supporting me. When you have a baby young, everyone pressures you to finish school. I'm very proud to say that I continued school, not only for myself, but for my family too. Not because it is what I was suppose to do, although it is what was best for me.

Marketing, Advertising, Style and Art Essay -- Marketing Advertising A

Marketing, Advertising, Style and Art: Life Should be Lived, Not Painted Man-made objects produced for acquisition depend on the ability to carry an image of style. The consumer is persuaded that ownership will enable them to inherit this style transforming their lives into perfect, happy reflections of the people featured in advertisements. These objects can be applied to any aspect of life as a fast answer to the question of style. The media promotes and reflects the current mainstream culture's standards for life style, class and importance of appearance. The media uses images of thin, beautiful women in well kept stylish homes and links these images to other symbols of prestige, happiness, love and success for women. Repeated exposure to this ideal via the various media can lead to the internalisation of this ideal. It also renders these images achievable and real. By targeting advertisements at set demographic groups, the choice of how to split responsibility for domestic chores is taken away. Instead we are presented with a list of acceptable social rules that are different for each gender. An example would be Fairy washing up liquid, in the advertisements we always see a mother doing dishes, with her child somewhere near by. This is communicating a message that washing up is a women’s work and worse still a feminine thing to do, as if to say a man who washes up risks losing part of his masculinity. When considered it seems ridiculous that we would let the media keep such sexist themes alive but the sad fact is that the majority are so conditioned to this train of thought, in order to preserve our gender identities, we must conform. Objects therefore not only posses the power to add style to our lives but to delegat... ...lives it is just a case of applying the same recipe. For instance look at a new sofa in a shop window now forget its advertising style and price, refuse to listen to the cocky sales person and think. Look at it for what it is, an object, with one use and one use only to sit on. Obsession with possessions is everyone’s burden the key is in realising we are all involved in a universal scam. Instead of accepting things as they are presented, take them out of context and produce a new meaning. Once this new meaning has been regarded something of the original meaning is lost forever and in this way we can liberate ourselves. Using these ideas as a tool to reject the regimes that the media present, to re-write the language of style. Many people have used an expression as a defining point of their admiration for Marcel Duchamp’s ideals â€Å"life should be lived, not painted†.

The Theme of Carpe Diem in Robert Herricks To the Virgins to Make Much

The Theme of Carpe Diem in Robert Herrick's To the Virgins to Make Much of Time Robert Herrick's poem, "To the Virgins to Make Much of Time," focuses on the idea of carpe diem. More specifically, in this poem the idea of marriage while love and flesh are still young should be heeded or one may suffer in their later years alone and loveless. Herrick suggests that this gift of virginity might be a great waste if not given while it is still desirable. Virginity is a gift for the simple reason that it can only be given once to the taker of the prize, which he believes should be the husband. Therefore, he says to go out and find husbands, for youth is not perpetual and will eventually succumb to old age and loneliness. Through Herrick's use of colorful imagery and personification, the reader detects a sense of urgency and duty for the virgins to go forth and marry while time is still at hand and love is bountiful, thus creating the overall idea of carpe diem. The first stanza of the poem opens to the personification of the flowers as the virgins: Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a flying: And this same flower that smiles today, To morrow will be dying. (ll. 1-4) The rosebuds correspond to the virgins in that they are beautiful and delicate, yet they have not reached their full potential and maturity by becoming full bloomed roses. Time is also personified as, "Old Time," which suggests a genial greybeard more than a grim reaper (Rollin 83). Time is still "a flying" suggests a comical image more than ominous but still one of urgency (Rollin 83). The image of the smiling flower indicates innocence and freshness but it only "smiles today, To morrow [it] will be dying." A grim and abrupt end comes to t... ...s across his idea of carpe diem in a very understandable way. The images used were easily comprehended, and the poem was often comical. His advice is very typical of a charismatic man who easily can manipulate words in his favor. One illustration that came across from this poem was one of entertainment, and not surprisingly mostly on the behalf of men. I can imagine the laughter this poem would draw from women in a bar if a man attempted to use these arguments as pick-up lines. Yet, the message does have a serious light in that time should not be taken for granted. Something that one may possess today, such as beauty or youthfulness, will eventually succumb to old age. Experience things while they are still fresh and untouched, for later on one may regret not having done so. Works Cited Rollin, Roger B. Robert Herrick. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1992. 83-84.

Stanley

Stanley Ho Hung Sun : the ‘King of Gambling’ ,from his multiethnic identity to the contribution to society Introduction Macao is known to the world for its casino industry. Macao's richest man, Ho Hung Sun, is an entrepreneur in Asia. Ho is also known as â€Å"The King of Gambling†, showing the monopoly he held of the Macau gambling industry for over 40 years. Behind Stanley Ho's successful career is a story of ordeals and adventures that will inspire everyone. This essay focuses on the contribution of Stanley Ho as a multiethnic entrepreneur in laying the foundations for Macao to become a world-know gambling place.The factors that explain Stanley Ho's success is complex . Ranging from his multiethnic identity, family connections, to the historical background (particularly the Second World War and the Handover to China), have all played a vital role. Background Stanley Ho’s Multi-ethnicity Stanley Ho was born in a well-known and influential family in Hong K ong on November 25, 1921. His grandfather Ho Fok was the younger brother of Sir Robert Ho Tung, an influential figure in Hong Kong’s political and commercial circles at that time. While Sir Robert Ho Tung, was an influential businessman in British Hong Kong.He was an multiethnic person, born to a man of Dutch and Jewish ancestry named Charles Henri Maurice Bosman and Madame Sze, a Han Chinese woman of Bao An heritage. It has often been claimed that he was the â€Å"first Chinese to be allowed to live on Victoria Peak† in 1906. Stanley Ho’s father, Ho Sai Kwong, was a business who made great fortunes. Stanley Ho was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But his father lost his fortune when he was only 12, after an adverse stock market investment and abandoned his family. It shown that Stanley Ho is Portuguese, Jewish, British and Chinese multi-ethnic mixed. Fortunes may not follow you a lifetime, only knowledge will. † By Stanley Ho Stanley Ho studied at Q ueen's College, Hong Kong. Owing to his unsatisfactory academic results, he attended Class D, which is the lowest class level. After realizing studying was the only path to improve his social status, he worked hard and earned himself a scholarship to the University of Hong Kong. He was the first student from Class D to be granted a scholarship. But unfortunately he couldn't finish the studies due to the broke out of World War II in1942. Stanley Ho’s CareerStanley Ho left Hong Kong for Macao with only 10 Hong Kong dollars in his pocket. Fortunately, He soon found a job in the biggest company in Macao. The company was jointly controlled by the most influential groups in Macao, the Portuguese Macao government and the Japanese army. Thanks to his hard work and command of four different languages (Portuguese, Japanese, British and Chinese) . Ho became a partner of the company and got a million dividends at the end of the second year he joined. When the war ended, Ho returned to Ho ng Kong and started the real estate business.As the industry in Hong Kong was experiencing a period of rapid growth, Ho made huge profits from the business and became one of the richest men in the region. In 1961, the Portuguese Macau government planned to develop Macao's casino industry and placed bids for its operation. Ho teamed up with Henry Fok Ying Tung, a businessman in Hong Kong, and won the bid. They promised the government to open a new port in Macao, and secondly, bought efficient ships which could shortened the commuting time between Hong Kong and Macao to about one and a half hours.More importantly, they committed to spend 90%of the income they earned on charities. Offering such favorable conditions, their rivals could not compete at all. At the end of 1990, Ho had already control the entire casino industry in Macao with his nine casino companies. It is estimated that about 1/4 of residents in Macau were worked for his companies. This explains why Ho received the glory of the â€Å"Gambling King† though he never gambled himself. In 2003, Ho lost his monopoly on Macao's casino industry due to the stricter government's policy. But his influence in Macao's economy and his status as the Gambling King do not end.In 2008, Ho was 113th on â€Å"Forbes† magazine's list of the world's richest people. According to the report by Hong Kong media in 2010, Ho’s four listed companies shares held by the hand, including the Casino, the Shun Tak group and MELCO international and VC holdings, the market value at that time a total of about HK $35 billion dollars. His properties, plus the sum of the market value of the non-listed companies, conservatively estimated that they worth more than 60 billion Hong Kong dollars. Honours ; Awards With his international profile, Ho received a number of honours from overnments around the world, including Portugal, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Spain, Japan, Malaysia, the Papal Insignia and others. Maca u  Ã‚  Ã‚  | A Medalha de Honra Lotus de Ouro (Golden Lotus Medal of Honour) (2001)A Medalha de Honra Grande Lotus (Grand Lotus Medal of Honour) (2007)A new avenue in Macau was named after Dr. Ho as â€Å"Avenida Doutor Stanley Ho† (Dr. Stanley Ho Avenue) in May 1998. He is the first Chinese in the history of Macau who has an avenue to be named after during lifetime. G2E Asia Visionary Award  (2009)  | Hong Kong  | Gold Bauhinia Star (G. B. S. ) (2003) |China  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  | Honorary Citizen gGuangzhou, Guangdong Province (1993)Honorary Citizen of Nanhai, Guangdong Province (1994)Honorary Citizen of Foshan, Guangdong Province (1995)Honorary Citizen of Sanshui, Guangdong Province (1995)Guangzhou City – Award for Outstanding Achievement (1996)Honorary Citizen of Jiangmen, Guangdong Province (1997)Honorary Citizen of Zhuhai, Guangdong Province (1998)Honorary Citizen of Beijing (2000)Chinese Charity Award (2005 ; 2008)Beijing Olympics Honour (2008) | Portugalà ‚  | Comendador da Ordem de Benemerencia (Commander of the Order of Benefaction) (1970)Comendador da Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique (Commander of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator) (1981)Grande-Oficial da Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique (Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator) (1985)Gra-Cruz da Ordem do Merito (Grand Cross of the Order of Merit) (1990) Medalha Naval de Vasco da Gama (Naval Medal, Vasco da Gama) (1991)Gra-Cruz da Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique (Order of the Grand Cross of Prince Henry the Navigator) (1995)Nuno Goncalo Vieira Matias (Medal of the Naval Cross, First Class) (1999)Medalha de Merito Turistico No Grau Ouro (Gold Medal of Merit in Tourism) (2001)Medal of Corporate Merit by the Municipality of Cascais (2008)An avenue in Cascais was named after Dr. Ho as â€Å"Avenida Dr. Stanley Ho† (Dr. Stanley Ho Avenue) in October 2008. He is the first Chinese in the history of Portugal who has an avenue to be named after during lifetime. | Unit ed Kingdom  | Commander of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem (1983) Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O. B. E. ) (1990) | France| Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur (1983) Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur (2004)| Spain  | Cruz de Plata de la Orden Civil de la Solidaridad Social (Silver Cross Medal of Social Solidarity) (1993) |Belgium| Commandeur de L’ordre de la Couronne (Commander of the Order of the Crown) (2007) | Japan  | Insignia of the Order of the Sacred Treasure (1987) | Malaysia  Ã‚  Ã‚  | Darjah Dato Seri’ Paduka Mahkota Perak (S. P. M. P. ) (Honourable Order of the Crown of Perak) (1990) Darjah Seri’ Paduka Mahkota Terengganu (S. P. M. T. ) (Honourable Order of the Crown of Terengganu) (1997) | Papal Insignia| Eqvitem Commendatorem Ordinis Sancti Gregorii Magni by His Holiness Pope John Paul II (1989)| Contribution to Society Adhering to the principle of â€Å"from society to society†, Ho supports many activiti es for the benefit of Macau’s people and society. As a responsible entrepreneur, he places special emphasis on improving social welfare, medical services and education in Macau and Hong Kong.Because during those years of managing the casino business, he admitted that many families were ruined by gambling. So he did a lot of charity works to make up for it and live up to the expectations of society. In Social Aspect Ho worked to strengthen the foundations of Macau, including enhancement of Macau’s basic infrastructure, transportation and tourism amenities. Examples of developments that demonstrate Ho’s contribution to Macau include the Friendship Bridge, Macau Maritime Terminal, Macau container port, Macau International Airport, Macau Tower, urbanization of the Outer Harbour District, reclamation of the Nam Van Lakes District, high speed ferries, hotels and many others.All these help turning Macau into an integrated tourism city and benefits of its people. As Ho said in 1962, â€Å"The view that our enterprise is merely focus on gambling is a misconception. Our purpose is to bring a new prosperity to Macau and to improve the welfare and living standard of Macau citizens†. History proves his promise. Over the years, Ho has also contributed to the promotion of Macau as a platform between China and the Portuguese-speaking countries for economic and cultural exchange by means of his investment presence and networks in Macau, Hong Kong, China and Portugal. In Educational Aspect Ho’s charitable contributions on educational field are extensive.Donations to schools and education funds are set up to encourage students from the low-income family to continue their studies. For example, The Stanley Ho Scholarship is available to the new graduate accepted for a research degree at Oxford University in the area of Chinese studies. He also supports the Girl Guides and the Boy Scouts, and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, the Workers' Children Schools in Hong Kong and Macau, to the Police Children's Education Trust. Conclusion Relation between his identity and career During the days Ho escaped to Macau in 1942, he joined the Macau Cooperative Company, the ownership of which was shared between Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese interest parties.Ho was well command of four languages, Portuguese, Japanese, English and Chinese due to his multi-ethnicity. Then he could be well communicated with different parties at that time. He soon became successful in Macau, he then returned to Hong Kong in 1947. His company, the Agencia Commercial Progresso, engaged in ship-breaking and dealt in piece goods. From 1948, he was Managing Director of the Hong Kong Match Factory. He traded with Korea during the Korean War. As Ho's eldest daughter Angela mentioned, thanks to her late mother, Clementina Leitao. Her connections in Portugal and Macau were the biggest single factor for Ho in winning the gambling monopoly in 1961.Ho’s business interests extend from Macau, Hong Kong, China and Portugal to across the world and cover a spectrum of industry sectors including gaming, hospitality, real estate, shipping. Relation between his identity and contribution â€Å"One must study hard. Nothing is better than a good education,† said Ho. Upon success in career, Stanley Ho has paid much attention to the development of education in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau, including sponsoring and funding various research and educational programs. As a member of the Court of the University of Hong Kong, Stanley Ho offered financial assistance to the construction of its new academic building and facilities, for example the University of Hong Kong Stanley Ho Sports Centre.For his contributions to the Hong Kong economy and to the promotion of education, The University of Hong Kong conferred upon him an Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences in 1987. Ho is the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of The University of Hong Kong F oundation for Educational Development and Research, and a founding member of the Court of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University as well. The reason why Stanley Ho contributes so much on the educational fields of Hong Kong is obvious. Across several studies (Renn, 2004; Wallace, 2003), how a multiracial individual looks, including skin color, hair texture and color, eye and nose shape, and so ,could strongly influences his or her identity.For Stanley Ho, he has big blond eyes with long and tall nose like foreigners. But to a certain extent, Ho treated his identity as a Hong Kong citizen. Although Stanley Ho is a multiethnic person with Portuguese, Jewish, British and Chinese multi-ethnic mixed. Ho was born and raised in Hong Kong. He studied at the Queen's College and the University of Hong Kong. Ho believes that fulfilling his obligations to society is such a source of happiness and satisfaction. So he donates much to support students in Hong Kong. Probably majority of them goes to t he University of Hong Kong, which is the mother school of Stanley Ho. To a certain extent, the ecological approach described by Brunsma helps explaining such case.It predicts mixed-raced individuals will choose one race or other to identify with depending where they are in live- in other words, the different situation or physical location they may find themselves in. As Stanley Ho was born and raised in Hong Kong and worked in Macau for long periods, It is not difficult to explain why he contributes so much on both Hong Kong and Macau’s schools and academic institutions instead of those in India, for example. Future Ho has made extensive contributions to the gambling business of Macau and to the sustainable prosperity of Macau over the past 48 years. Among the six operators, SJM (the one owned by Stanley Ho) is the only company with its roots in Macau, and the largest casino operator in terms of gaming revenue, market share and number of casinos.Now that the king of gambling Stanley Ho is 92 years old already, his rivals are speculating on who will fill the power vacuum when he eventually dies. Since Macau opened its markets to foreign investors, the era of Stanley Ho has been diminishing gradually. There will not be another figure like Stanley Ho . And the future of Stanley Ho's holdings has been in question. Words Cited List Renn, K. A. Understanding the Identities of Mixed-Race College Students Through a Developmental Ecology Lens. Journal of College Student Development, 2003. Print Wallace, K. R. Contextual Factors Affecting Identity Among Mixed Heritage College Students. Multiracial Child Resource Book: Living Complex Identities. MAVIN Foundation, 2003. Print