Fashion Opinion Leadership Essay

1. Introduction Consumers influence each other in several ways: they exchange information through communication, seek or give opinions and copy each other’s behaviour. Researchers recognise the giving and seeking of opinions as one of the most important word-of-mouth influences on brand and product choice (Bristor, 1990 and Weimann, 1994). Especially in fashion, social groups and opinion leaders influence product and brand evaluations (Amaldoss and Jain 2008). Fashion consumers often refer to fashion opinion leaders who they desire to be alike. The Internet and social media speeded up the way of communication within reference groups and made it possible to share interests without physical interaction. The following essay will outline an overview of fashion opinion leaders and reference groups before giving a better understanding of how fashion retailers make use of fashion opinion leaders in order to influence customers. 2. Reference groups and reference group influences Consumers use several sources when they seek information or opinions on decisions; informal and social (Goldsmith and Clark 2008). This aspect of consumer behaviour is described as opinion-leadership-opinion-seeking, word-of-mouth, buzz or social communication (Goldsmith and Clark 2008). This means that consumers refer to something or someone when they seek information and clears the way for the term referential or reference group. Solomon and Rabolt (2009) define Humans as social animals that try to fit into certain groups, please others and take â€Å"cues about how to behave by observing the actions of those around† (p. 422) them. A group can simply be defined as two or more people sharing common goals and interests. All members of a group interact by certain patterns, frameworks and networks. A group member must therefore be perceptible to belonging to this group. Groups can be primary (family), secondary (professions), formal (churches), or informal (certain group of frie nds). Belonging to a herd or group, makes consumers want to identify themselves psychologically and physically with desirable individuals of this group. Thus, an individual or group conceived of having significant relevance upon an individual’s sociological attributes, such as evaluations, characteristics, aspirations, or behaviour is defined as reference group (Park et al, 1977). As stated by Holton (2004), Merton hypothesized that individuals compare themselves with reference groups of people who occupy the social role to which the individual aspires. Hence, the group becomes the individual’s frame of reference and influences his ideas and decisions. Reference group influence can occur in different ways. According to Solomon and Rabolt (2009), group members of reference groups can be influenced informational, utilitarian or value-expressive. Furthermore, individuals are also mostly influenced by normative referents of the group, such as parents, teachers, or peers (Childers and Rao, 1992). There are also so called aspirational groups of which individuals aspire to be a member of. This phenomenon can be considered as comparative referents, such as public opinion leaders or celebrities. Belonging to a group, aspirational or not, can influence the buying behaviour of individuals, and decisions are often based on what the group members please in order to be accepted (Joel et al 1972). According to the above, a reference group is as an individual or group that significantly influences an individual’s behaviour (Bearden and Etzel 1982). 2.1 Online referential groups and virtual consumption communities Literature mostly concentrates on face-to-face interaction within reference groups on a regular basis or on aspirational groups without direct interaction (Pentina et al, 2008). However, Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995) stated that it is not directly necessary to have physical contact and interactions with members of a group in order to refer to it. More common forms of reference groups are online reference groups, which only exist in the World Wide Web. Within the age of the Internet, arising social media networks and communities it is possible to share interests with people who the individual never met personally (Solomon and Rabolt, 2009). A virtual community of consumption is defined as â€Å"a collection of people whose online interactions are based on shared enthusiasm for and knowledge of a specific consumption activity† (Solomon and Rabolt, 2009, p 426), such as fashion for instance. In the concept of virtual communities any group of people can share common bonds, without being dependent on physical interaction and common graphic location (McDonough, 1992). But the issue of relationships between each other still lies at the heart of virtual communities (Farquhar and Rowley, 2006). Although online sharing of interests takes place on blog websites, social media platforms, like facebook or twitter or sharing services like as Pinterest, members build up relationships when sharing. On facebook, for instance, members liking other people’s post in certain theme groups and commenting on those can explain a relationship. Solomon and Rabolt (2009) state that the impact of virtual communities on individual’s product preferences and decisions are huge. Because of that, an online referential group can be considered as consumers who write about their opinions towards certain topics, seek information, publish recommendations, and post products or services. 2.1.1 Online referential groups in fashion and fashion bloggers Fashion and apparel shopping are seen as the most popular discussion topic among social networks (Thomas et al, 2007). In fashion, online communities are seen mostly through social media emergence such as blogs or facebook groups. Fashion blogs are mostly run by one person who writes or â€Å"blogs† about different products, occasions or events within the fashion industry. The community is then formed by readers of the blog, so called â€Å"followers†, that read the stories or comment on it. With gaining popularity bloggers are also able to gain money by advertising on their blog websites. According to the Telegraph, the most popular bloggers make up to  £10,000 a month in advertising (Telegraph, 28/10/2012). Meanwhile, also fashion retailers look into the blogging business. For retailers the building up of social media groups could help them to gain direct feedback from consumers while monitoring discussions in referential groups online. Burberry for example not only has its own group on facebook, but also launched a blog, showing images of people wearing their trench coats (The Art of Trench, 28/10/2012). 3. Fashion opinion leadership Referring to an opinion leader is one of the social or informal sources of decision and opinions seeking, named by Goldsmith and Clark (2008) in reference group behaviour. A person who has knowledge about a certain product and whose advice is seriously taken by others explains opinion leadership. An opinion leader or influential is a person, who is frequently able to influence attitudes and behaviour of others (Solomon and Rabolt 2009) Further, it can be explicated by the desire of leaders to distinguish themselves from followers, while followers pursue the countervailing desire to assimilate with leaders (Amaldoss and Jain 2008). Feick and Price (1987, p. 95) state that opinion leaders are more likely in product categories in which association with the product provides a form of self-expression. Fashionable clothing embodies information about the personality and status of its wearer to other people (Dodd et al, 2000). However, Amaldoss and Jain (2008) argue that in fashion, this occurrence is mostly seen within the purchasing of luxury clothing and accessories. There are several types of opinion leaders that can be observed in fashion. Firstly, some heavy consumers of fashion clothing who become extremely interested and preoccupied with it, so that their interest, knowledge and experience qualifies them to become fashion opinion leaders for others (Goldsmith, 2000). Today, these types of fashion opinion leaders occur mostly online, such as fashion bloggers. Secondly there are people who are in the public spotlight, such as celebrities. Celebrities mostly look adorable and therefore individuals follow their look because they desire to assimilate with this leader (Amaldoss and Jain 2008). But sometimes celebrities are being dressed up by personal outfitters in order to create, perform and accomplish a certain image without actually having the interest or knowledge in the area. This shows that also the perception that individuals have about a person can make the person an opinion leader. Of course, there are also people whose profession is related to fashion that can be an opinion leader for individuals, such as designers, fashion photographers, models or fashion magazines. A recent study on Mintel shows that fashion content in celebrity, lifestyle or fashion magazines, newspaper supplements and makeover shows has a direct influence on the shopping behaviour of 2 – 3.5 million people. Especially women are most likely influenced by such coverage (Mintel, Fashion Online, 29/10/12). As the fashion magazine example illustrates, an opinion leader does not have to be only one person, it can also be a company or an organisation. 3.1 Fashion opinion seeking â€Å"Opinion seeking is the behavioural counterpart to opinion leadership† (Goldsmith and Clark, 2008, p 309) and is important to the diffusion of new fashion products because it can spread word-of-mouth about the advice gotten from opinion leaders. Unlike opinion leaders, opinion seekers do not have the same knowledge of and interest in a product category than opinion leaders in this segment do (Goldsmith, 2000). Opinion leaders do also absorb risk (Solomon and Rabolt, 2009) for opinion seekers when buying a new product. Therefore, Opinion seekers consider opinion leaders as appropriate sources for information and advice (Bertrandias and Goldsmith, 2006). Nevertheless, opinion seekers are very important to opinion leaders because they act on the information they got from the opinion leader. The fashion industry is one of the industries that show the most frequent changes in trends and styles. When consumers determine on buying a new product they might ask or even search for information about the desired fashionable product. Because of that they often make use of informal or social sources when seeking information (Goldsmith and Clark 2008) or opinions on decisions from fashion opinion leaders in any form. Consumers can seek for an opinion through various types of social communication, word-of-moth recommendations, observing opinion leaders, researching a subject or buzz (Goldsmith and Clark 2008). In an online perspective, consumers can use social network communities as sources for apparel shopping. 3.1.1 The process within referential groups in fashion: coherence of opinion leaders and opinion seekers The basis of forming referential groups in virtual communities is the process combining interpersonal connectivity, social enhancement and sharing of information. Dholakia and Bagozzi (2004) state that interpersonal connectivity between members is important to retain social benefits of participating online. In fashion opinion leadership and fashion opinion seeking, the process is based on the social need of each other, shown in figure 3. Figure 1: The process of fashion influence between fashion opinion leaders and fashion opinion seekers in referential groups, adapted from Goldsmith and Clark, 2008 This process can especially be observed in online communities where opinion leaders post pictures of themselves wearing a new product. Several opinion seekers may like the product and give a positive feedback to the opinion leader or even share it with others, which shows symbolic validation to the opinion leader and creates a loop. 3.1.2 Victoria Beckham as fashion opinion leader for the Birkin Bag A good example for an opinion leader in fashion is Victoria Beckham. The ex-singer, designer and wife of English football star David Beckham is referred to being an A-list celebrity in the public spotlight. She is not only famous for designing fashion and wearing high-heels, but also for her collection of the Hermes Birkin Bag. The Birkin Bag is a hand-made handbag designed by the luxury fashion brand Hermà ¨s and is estimated to start at $6,000 (Branch, 2004). The bag is often seen adorning the arm of celebrities and has become a cult fashion phenomenon (Tonello, 2009) and is an example of a fashion product that gained high popularity. Its brand, Hermà ©s limited its production, to limit its accessibility. Victoria Beckham is presumed of possessing the largest collection of Birkins (Fashionthroughtravel, 26/10/12). The following figure shows an example of her and her Birkin Bag collection. It can be the fact that Victoria Beckham is popular and has a lot of people referring to her what made the bag so famous and desirable. Followers or referents to her then adopted the product, Birkin Bag. The more leaders adopt a product, the higher value is crated among its followers. â€Å"Thus, followers are buying the product for its reference group effect† (Almadoss and Jain, 2008, p 935). Therefore individuals that look up to their opinion leader may want to follow his choices (Amaldoss and Jain, 2008). As being outlined before, fashion clothing transmits a certain personality and status of its wearer to other people (Dodd et al, 2000) and is also a form of self-expression. Wearing certain trends or accessories like a Birkin Bag show commitment to a certain image of being wealthy, belonging to a higher class or having a sure feeling of trends and fashion. 4. Why and how marketers make use fashion opinion leaders The innovator theory by Rogers (1962) shows that consumer attitudes towards purchasing products can be classified into five categories. The following figure shows Rogers’s adoption of innovations curve. Depending on how quick consumers are to purchase they are either: 1. Innovators or Designers (2.5%), 2. Fashion opinion leaders or early adapters (13.5%), 3. Early majority (34%), 4. Late majority (34%), 5. Laggards or late adapters (16%) Directly after innovators or designers of the product, opinion leaders come second in purchasing or adapting this trend. According to the theory, opinion leaders are the key to product diffusion (Mituse, 05/11/12). Although innovators and opinion leaders combined account for no more than 16% of the overall market, a company can try to target opinion leaders already in early product stages and see if product diffusion will spread to the early and late majorities (Mituse, 05/11/12). Following Rogers’s theory and transferring it to the fashion industry, it can be argued that it is from extreme importance for fashion retailers to get opinion leaders on board in order to establish their designs and products within the market. Thus, the reasons why fashion opinion leaders influence others by sharing information are extremely important for companies (Bertandias and Goldsmith, 2006). Fashion retailers make use of â€Å"key opinion leaders† to influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers through their perceived position of authority. Therefore employing opinion leaders as advertising mascots or models in commercials or adverts, as seen in the figure below, is common in fashion retail. Figure 4: Fashion opinion leaders advertising for retailer Furthermore, collaborations with opinion leaders that are famous for their profession are common in fashion retail. This can be underlined by collaborations between mass retailer h&m and designers like Donatella Versace (2012) and Jimmy Choo (2009) or online premium retailer NET-A-PORTER and Karl Lagerfeld, as figure 5 illustrates below. Figure 5: Collaborations of retailers and designers as fashion opinion leaders Nevertheless, marketing products or brands effectively today requires tools that reach beyond normal advertising methods: by prior targeting fashion opinion leaders, marketers are able to engage positive word-of-mouth behaviours (Bertrandias and Goldsmith, 2006) about their products. According to Chaney (2001), opinion leaders act as human information processors and are an attractive marketing tool as part of the overall communication strategy. Influences by fashion opinion leaders are not only verbal, but also visual (Bertrandias and Goldsmith, 2006). In fashion, a product has to be desirable to a consumer. If no one is seen with a certain product, most consumers don’t see a reason in buying it. If someone famous is seen with the product, the probability of referential groups buying or wanting the product as well increases. When word-of-mouth networks are generated around opinion leaders, it can pave the way for spreading news or opinions about certain fashion products. Thus, it is beneficial to address fashion-marketing communications directly to opinion leaders of this segment in order to speed up advertising messages. Therefore, advertisers may address womenswear or accessories fashion campaigns directly to opinion leaders like celebrities or high-fashion magazines. Because of the important role they may have in influencing markets, advertisers may also hand out free fashion product samples to opinion leaders (Yahoo, 29/10/12). Handing out such testimonials, which often embody free designer clothes, handbags or shoes, retailers encourage opinion leaders to wear the brand in order to influence reference groups around the opinion leader visually. Outfitting celebrities that have public appearance for free, mostly sees this occurrence, exemplarily stated in the below figure. Figure 6: Celebrities on the red carpet, adapted from ELLE By doing so, the marketer uses the position of the opinion leader to carry and break down its message to influence its relevant target group. Well-established magazines such as Vogue, Elle or Glamour can also be expected to have high influences on fashion decisions of opinion seekers. A fashion magazine even has the ability to cluster a whole group of fashion opinion leaders together: celebrities, photographers, editors, industry experts and fashion journalists. This might be a reason why opinion seekers use those magazines as information source when seeking for an opinion. Thus, advertising in fashion magazines, outfitting celebrities, or using fashion opinion leaders in adverts can influence target groups in their purchasing behaviour. 5. Conclusion ‘Reference groups in fashion’ are defined as fashion consumers who are heavy fashion users and highly involved in seeking or reflecting opinions about fashion brands and products with others who share the same interests. Further, it is differentiated between fashion opinion leaders and fashion opinion seekers. As being part of a referential group, opinion leaders and opinion seekers are positively related to each other, as the one can’t exist without the other. Today, fashion opinion leaders are often classified as celebrities, people standing in the public spotlight, magazines, or bloggers, surrounded by networks of reference groups that admire to be like them. Especially in the age of social media it has become more important to marketers to understand the process of providing, sharing and seeking of information between fashion opinion leaders and opinion seekers. Therefore opinion leaders are seen to be an important marketing tool in fashion as they are able to influence reference groups in their product or brand purchasing decisions. List of references: Amaldoss, W. & Jain, S. (2008), ‘Trading Up: A Strategic Analysis of Reference Group Effects’, Marketing Science, pp. 932-942 Bearden, W. & Etzel, M. (1982), ‘Reference Group Influence on Product and Brand Purchase Decisions’, Journal of Consumer Research, pp. 183-194 Bertrandias, L. & Goldsmith, R. (2006), ‘Some psychological motivations for fashion opinion leadership and fashion opinion seeking’, Jornal of Fashion Marketing an Management, Vol 10, Issue 1, pp. 25-40 Branch, S. (2004), ‘Hermà ¨s’s jelly ache’, Wall Street Journal Bristor, J.M. (1990), ‘Enhanced explanations of word of mouth communications: the power of relationships’, in Hirschman, E.C. (Ed.), Research in Consumer Behavior, 4th ed., JAI Press, Greenwich, CT, pp. 51-83. Chaney, I. (2001), ‘Opinion leaders as a segment for marketing communications’, Marketing Intelligence & Planning, p. 302 Childers, T. & Rao, A. (1992), ‘The Influence of Familial and peer-based Reference Groups on Consumer Decisions’, Journal of Consumer Research, pp. 198-211 Dholakia, U. & Bagozzi, R. (2004), ‘A socialinfluence model of consumer participation in network- and small-group-based virtual communities ‘, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Vol. 21, Issue3, pp. 241-263 Dodd, C., Clarke, I., Baron, S. & Houston, V. (2000), ‘Looking the part: identity, meaning and culture in clothing purchasing – theoretical considerations’, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 41-48 Farquhar, J. & Rowley, J. (2006), ‘Relationships and online consumer communities’, Business Process Management Journal, pp. 162- 175 Feick, L. & Price, L. (1987), `The market maven: a diffuser of marketplace information’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 51, p. 95. Goldsmith, R. & Clark, R. 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Incomplete research project - Essay Example The visitors in turn will be happy to pay a reasonable amount in return for the services. That’s how the hospitality industry functions. With the emergence of big hotel chains hospitality came into being as an industry in itself. This study is an effort to analyse how The Goodwood Park Hotel has been able to take advantage of the globalisation and increasing economic activities. In the earlier times, travel to far off places used to take months to years, and it required grit and determination on the part of the adventurers to explore the other part of the world, and if they could live longer enough to go back to their native land, they would narrate the wonderful place that they could see, which in turn would encourage others around to go and see those places. Till the time Wright brothers presented the world with a flying machine, most of such travels used to take place with the help of ships, on foot, on camelback or on horseback. During those times people used to undertake travel as a part of trade and business and the business partner used to take care of the visitors. But gradually, the task of business partner was made easier by the hospitality industry, and such visits started gaining enough momentum after the aeroplanes were pressed into service. The hotel industry prospered with the increasing economic exchanges and cooperation in trades and servic es. Hospitality and tourism literally means carrying out the business activity by taking good care of our guests, with the help of facilities like comfortable stay, quality services, hygienic meals, better communication, transportation etc. Hospitality is all pervasive and has become central to the billion dollar industry and an upsurge in global economic activities. This study is being carried out with an aim of taking a realistic look at how the hospitality

Comparative Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Comparative Analysis - Essay Example Philosophers like Peter Singer have adopted utilitarian viewpoints in order to justify a strongly favorable position to animal liberation and a respect for the environment. After all, it was Jeremy Bentham, John Stewart Mill’s family friend, who said of animals, â€Å"the question is not ‘can they reason’, and not ‘can they talk’ but ‘can they suffer’?† John Stewart Mill’s piece â€Å"Nature† discusses the extent to which human beings can listen to and derive moral truths from nature alone, and whether it is indeed a valid source for such information. Mill looks critically at claims made by philosophers throughout time and space that human action must conform to some underlying Law, a supreme ruler and ultimate standard. He ultimately concludes that acting in accordance with any just natural laws is a physical impossibility and therefore the concept itself an absurdity. The word â€Å"nature†, whatever it means, does not confer any normative principle, whether it is endorsement or disapproval. Nature simply is what is, and not what ought to be. â€Å"Nature,† Mill writes, â€Å"cannot be a proper model for us to imitate. Either it is right that we should kill because nature kills; torture because nature tortures; ruin and devastate because nature does the like; or we ought not to consider what nature do es, but what it is good to do† (Mill, 2007). This passage encapsulates perhaps what is most significant about Mill’s essay. Holmes Rolston, in â€Å"Humans Valuing the Natural Environment† broaches this same topic by quoting Barry Commoner’s â€Å"third law of ecology†, which says Nature knows best (Rolston, Humans Valuing the Natural Environment, 1989, p. 32). This is the inversion of Mill’s thought that nature has no place in guiding human action. It states simply because human beings value nature in some sense such means they ought to follow nature accordingly. Rolston

E-Recruiting (HR) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

E-Recruiting (HR) - Essay Example The first references to e-recruitment appear in articles of the mid-1980s (Gentner, 1984; Casper, 1985), while systematic reference to the e-recruitment in the HR journals begins almost a decade later, in the mid-1990s, when IT companies and universities begin to use the Internet extensively. Since then, the e-recruitment industry has been developing and it is estimated that in Europe it will have soared in value from just over 50 million in 1999 to 3.8 billion by 2005 (Taylor, 2001). Due to the novelty of the term, different authors have different concepts of what e-recruitment consists of. In this paper we take a view on e-recruitment that has been promoted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD, 1999). This states that the most common ways to use the Internet as a means to recruit are: - To add online hiring pages to the existing organization site. It is a very common exercise at the moment and its major benefit, namely the minimal cost related with creating a page on the company site, puts it forward as the smartest way to recruit on the Internet (Scheyer and McCarter, 1998). - To use Web sites specialised in recruiting employees, like "online recruiters", "job portals", "online job boards" e-recruiting "job agencies". Those sites ultimately act as mediums that connect the companies with potential applicants. The dedicated recruitment Web sites can take the form of job listing Web sites, which are very similar to printed classified advertisements; work-wanted sites, which emphasize the prospective employee's side; and, finally, online recruiters who make use of other Web sites as a resource for finding clients and customers (Rudich, 2000; Taylor, 2001). - To use a media site. In this case, electronic advertisements appear similarly and simultaneously with traditional printed advertisements in the original paper (newspaper e-recruiting magazine). Classifieds on the newspaper's Web sites are sometimes offered free to anyone paying for a print advertisement. The scope of e-recruitment also involves providing the possibility to conduct remote interviews and assessments, such as psychometric e-recruiting aptitude tests online, and using banner advertisements and smart agents to search the Web. Interactive tools, which link the corporate databases with the Web site, like search engines, interactive application forms, e-mail auto-respondents and electronic mailing lists, are also at an early practice stage (Dysart, 1999; Taylor, 2001). Factors affecting the decision to recruit through the Internet In most relevant literature there are some commonly identified benefits and downsides for the companies using e-recruitment. The commonly cited advantages and drawbacks of e-recruitment in the literature are as follows: Advantages of e-recruitment Low cost The economy achieved depends on the e-mailing approach applied. Publishing vacancies on the corporate Web site involves almost no cost at all, while the cost of putting advertisements on dedicated recruitment sites depends mainly on the coverage of the particular site. e-recruitment also achieves considerable economies of scale in terms of the number of words used because, through the Inter

Ethics in Contracts Essay Example for Free

Ethics in Contracts Essay Abstract: When creating a contract, a negotiator is not only doing so to reach an agreement between two or more parties, but to create an agreement that is durable; whereby parties of the contract are legally bound and committed to its promises . â€Å"A legally binding contract is defined as an exchange of promises or an agreement between parties that the law will enforce, and there is an underlying presumption for commercial agreements that parties intend to be legally bound† [1]. When a contract does not expressly address a contingency that occurs, the morality of breach is assumed here to depend on what the contract would have said had it addressed the contingency. Morality in contracts becomes crucial to parties entering into a contract. This is where the role of ethics comes in. Introduction: The etymology of business relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The most common form of business all around the world is corporation. There are more than 2 partners who either wholly or has limited liability over the business. In such a scenario the need to bind by certain terms arose both within the organization by the stakeholders and outside the organization with the suppliers and wholesalers. This dire need gave rise to â€Å"contracts†. The leaders of the organization cooperate with a set of written rules bounded by every other stakeholder. HOW CONTRACT? It all started as an idea of shaking hands, the idea it expresses has had greater impact on Business ethics. Just a simple handshake denotes the idea of agreement in economic contexts. A contract is an agreement entered voluntarily by two or more parties, each of whom intends to create one or more legal obligations between or among them. The elements of a contract are offer and acceptance by competent persons having legal capacity who exchanges consideration to create mutuality of obligation, and, in some circumstances, do so in writing. A contract is always enforceable by law and has the following essentials.[2] 1.Intentions to create a contract 2.Offer and acceptance 3.Consideration 4.Capacity to enter into contract 5.Free consent of the parties 6.Lawful object of consideration Being Ethical in contracts is behaving in accordance with social conventions, religious beliefs and law where the humans are basically evolved in a moral sense and possess the ability to engage in moral behaviour. The law here is aforesaid liability in contracts where the generic importance is of getting a fair share in corporation profits. That is why it becomes extremely important to maintain ethics in contracts. The lawful object of consideration is considered very important in the contract and ethics related to contract. This is because in case of contract breach ethically or non-ethically reimbursing the value of lawful object of consideration is hereby treated as lawful. It is therefore imperative that contracts are created to be as durable as possible so parties are unable to find legal ‘loopholes’ and use their power, wealth, ignorance or cultural differences in setting contracts aside. Apart from that the ethical behaviour of the parties involved in contract adds an extra layer to the contract thereby keeping the best interest of people involved in contract. The following factors seem to affect the ethics involved in contracts. Cultural Flexibility Japanese culture for instance, the creation of a contract symbolises formation of a working relationship, and not a legally binding agreement. Some groups will regard the contract as being flexible in terms that if any problems or issues arise, the parties will reassess the obligations of the agreement and negotiate ways to preserve the relationship. Being Ethical and professional at the same time is viewed with high regard by the Japanese. However, this is not generally the ‘Western’ view on contracts. In relation to the ethical issue of cultural relativism, a business is obliged to operate in a manner acceptable to the host country, both legally and morally. The example cited here dealing with Shell portrays the fact of having contract as per the ethical behaviour of the host country. In those cases, there arises a question, is it morally wrong for a Western party to hold a Japanese party to the contract when it is known that the Japanese party would not have intended to be legally bound? Or is it unethical or immoral of the Japanese to sign such an agreement, even though they mean well when signing it, knowing the Western party intended to be legally bound by the contract but themselves see the contract as more of a flexible agreement? 1.Shell Oil : Brent Spar incident Popularly known as the Nigeria/Spar episode which taught the company to be ethical in its host country. In its action to maximize profits Shell articulated roundtables of 14 countries which brought together 159 shell executives and 145 external participants including opinion leaders and journalists. In this meet Shell articulated a contract which ensured its commitment to health, safety and environment. It set the same as the goals of the company. The step to the goal was supposedly implemented immediately by setting up safety team to manage HSE and Shell publicly announced its commitment towards human right and health safety[4]. Shell’s initiatives in the wake of Nigeria and Brent Spar signalled a fuller recognition of subtlety of ethics. With the completion of a pipeline connection to the oil terminal at Sullom Voe in Shetland, the storage facility had continued in use but was considered to be of no further value as of 1991. Brent Spar became an issue of public concern in 1995, when the British government announced its support for Shells application for disposal in deep Atlantic waters at North Feni Ridge (approximately 250 km from the west coast of Scotland, at a depth of around 2.5 km)[3]. This put issues of societal expectation in sharp relief. These incidents forced shell to recognize that people around the world come to place a heightened value on conservation of natural resources. Nigeria on the other hand had distinctively non European ethical expectations for companies. The evolving ethical attitudes of emerging economies, made Shell recognize that unless it changes global and regional changes in attitudes it cannot draw a line between ethical and unethical behaviour. Nigeria and Brent Spar forces shell to realize the importance of social contracts that framed business activities. Shell later on monitored the changing communal understandings as they played a growing role in company’s actions. Shell started to factor social contracts into ethical decision making process. Ethical games in business are played with different rules in different countries. In companies multinationals and corporations’ racial gender and world, questions of clash and compatibility between family and work are now assumed to be proper province of corporate management. Shell with its troubles it faced in early 90s due to Brent spar incident stands as a perfect example to approaching ethical issues in business. The differences in cultural expectations can predictably lead to the more economically powerful party attempting to negotiate that all breaches will be dealt with ultimately by courts from their own culture, applying their own cultural and legal rules. This then highlights the issue of different legal rules existing in different countries which enable contracts to be set aside. The list of exceptions to finality of contracts varies from one jurisdiction to another, and this is often placed under the label ‘frustration of contracts’. Some jurisdictions, notably Australia, Israel and India, imply a term of good faith into contracts. A final way in which terms may be implied due to fact is through a previous course of dealing or common. The Uniform Commercial Code of the United States also imposes an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in performance and enforcement of contracts covered by the Code, which cannot be derogated from. [5] Lack of Informed Consent Some acts cannot legally take place because of a lack of informed consent. Another person is generally authorised to give consent if an individual is unable to. These cases sometimes result in a party refusing to comply with the terms of the contract. This usually is exploited by many unethical behaviour. 2.This was the case in Gerbert and Gerbert (1990) FLC 92-137 [1], where a husband settled for 10% of assets against his probable entitlement to 40%, and it was held that there was no miscarriage of justice as the husband acted feely and was advised to seek legal advice. In cases where an individual is provided limited facts, serious ethical issues may arise. It is unethical to hold someone to a contract when they clearly had no awareness of exactly what they were signing and committing themselves to, due to ignorance. It is unethical for a lawyer to encourage the signing of a document if they are clearly not fully understanding of the document. Wealth If the chance of success and money is opportune to a wealthy person, their capacity and willingness can give rise to alleging various legal justifications for breach. A few years of legal expenses may only be a small proportion of their empire, and the resulting attrition and disparate investment in the conflict may eventually encourage other parties to renegotiate the disputed In terms of moral relativism, most people would agree that it is ethically wrong to use wealth to control a situation and to ‘force’ people into renegotiating clauses in contracts if they are unable to afford the legal bill accompanying a dispute. In situations such as these, the ‘little man’ usually loses out and will ultimately succumb to the power of the other party or parties. 3.Gujarat Housing Board vs Vipul Corporation on 21 June, 2004 [6] Housing Board was awarded a contract to Vipul Corporation for Water Proofing work of 360 Middle Income Group Houses at Valsad on 22.11.1994, being highest bidder, on accepting the tender. It appears that at the last moment, when work was about to be started, the work was obstructed. Housing Board was sincerely trying to create an atmosphere which may enable the contractor to perform the contract. It appears that the Housing Board also took the defence of frustration of the contract as per sec. 56 of the Contracts Act. Vipul Corporation lost the case but it hardly did anything to their business that they were able to pay the indemnification amount in the contract and started bidding for other contracts as if nothing had happened with their wealth. This was because of the large amount of accumulated wealth. Undue Influence Undue influence is an equitable doctrine that involves one person taking advantage of a position of power over another. The law presumes that in certain classes of relationship there will be a special risk of one party unduly influencing their conduct and motives for contracting. The general rule is whether there was a relationship of such trust and confidence that it should give rise to such a presumption 4.An example of such a case is Odorizzi v. Bloomfield School District CA Ct of App 54 Ca Rpt 533 [1964]. The plaintiff was under contract as a teacher. He was arrested, and the next day he allegedly was pressured by his superiors to sign and deliver his resignation. He was cleared of the criminal charges, and then he sought to be reinstated by the school district. They refused, so he sued to rescind his resignation. He claimed that his resignation should not be enforced because, among other things, he signed it under the â€Å"undue influence† of his superiors. When a party has placed their confidence and trust in another and this relationship is broken, the view of moral relativism will generally see this situation as being wrong. Here we see that the implications of Ethics in contracts being ignored. Ensuring Ethics of Contracts †¢A longstanding relationship –a contract with them raise incentives to perform †¢Avoiding making contracts with cultural groups that view contracts as the ‘beginning of a relationship’, rather than a legally binding agreement [1] †¢Clarifying whether ‘yes’ means ‘maybe’ or ‘no’ and whether signed and detailed contracts are considered to be binding, morally, legally and/or in reputation, †¢How any future misunderstandings and problems will be addressed to be discussed at the time of the contract †¢Only going into contract with parties that are stable and reliable †¢Attempting to reduce buyer’s remorse by †¢Making congratulatory speeches about the agreement’s benefits †¢Never agreeing quickly to any clauses †¢Adding post-agreement gifts and bonuses †¢Publicize the deal by mutual agreement. A wider audience will then place expectations on all parties to perform, or risk losing face and credibility in future arrangements. Most people have a strong desire to act consistently with their own clear commitment Signing a contract We focus so much on deal substance and style that we often lose sight of the problems that can arise at the most critical time of all—when pen is hitting paper. If a lawyer mishandles contract execution, it can lead to a malpractice claim, professional discipline and a very angry client (or, more likely, former client) A DEAL ISN’T â€Å"DONE† UNTIL YOU SEE A FULLY SIGNED AGREEMENT (or, better yet, cash in the bank) 5.As a great example of this, see International Telemeter v. Teleprompter, 592 F.2d 49 (2d Cir. 1979). Kirsch’s client told Kirsch that it had signed a settlement agreement, but Kirsch didn’t get the signed copy into his possession. Kirsch then relayed the alleged good news to the other side. However, Kirsch’s client had a management change before delivering the signed copy, and the new management balked at the settlement. This left Kirsch in the middle—he had told the other side that the agreement was done (and had authority to do so), but his client had reversed course and was saying the deal was never signed. Not only did Kirsch’s eagerness cost Kirsch a client (he resigned), but he has very few defences if his former client sues him for malpractice based on being committed to a deal they didn’t want. This issue also comes up with press releases—no public announcements of a completed deal until you see the fully signed contract. 6.ONGC vs Streamline Shipping Co. Pvt. Ltd. on 22 March, 2002 [7] On 19-2-1999 the appellant floated a tender for manning, running, operating, repairing and maintenance on hire of three vessels under Group IX i.e. Samudrika 2, Samudrika 7 and Sindhu 9. The respondent was one of the tenderers. On 30-12-1999 a contract was signed between the appellant and respondent for vessel Samudrika 2 for the primary term of 2 and half years from 9-12-1999. Clause 1.10.1 of the agreement provided. In the case above a contract was floated between ONGC and Streamline shipping co. for maintenance of three vessels. The vessels were damaged pretty badly in an exploration expedition and ONGC sought their help as per contract. But the streamline shipping company due to the high cost that may be incurred, viewing their personal interests acted unethically in contract and avoided to repair. In the 1990s, this issue reached a zenith as lawyers scrambled to obtain equity in clients, either as part of undertaking the representation or as directed shares when clients were lining up for an IPO. Seeking big payoffs, some lawyers took pretty aggressive interpretations of the rules to engage in these transactions, but it would be a mistake to relegate this behaviour to the dot-com boom. Instead, doing business with clients occurs in all aspects of the legal profession, and it poses significant risks in every format. Parties’ concern of breach Still another reason why it may be rational for parties not to take pains to include many contingent provisions in a contract concern the general possibility of renegotiation of their contract. The reason why we would expect only limited use of contingent provisions is that our legal regime, under which parties usually are able to commit breach and pay damages, serves as an implicit substitute for contingent provisions. Under this regime, a party will be motivated to perform if the cost of so doing is not high, in order to avoid paying damages; whereas he will be led to commit breach if the cost of performing is high, because paying damages will be less expensive than performing. This behaviour – performing when the cost is below a threshold and not performing when the cost would exceed a threshold – is in at least qualitative alignment is considered unethical. Still another reason why it may be rational for parties not to take pains to include many contingent provision s in a contract concerns the general possibility of renegotiation of their contract. The parties can anticipate that if they do not provide for a troublesome contingency and it occurs, they will often be able to renegotiate and resolve their problem. If, for instance, the seller finds that it would be unexpectedly costly to perform when the contract requires that, he might be able to obtain a release from his obligation by paying the buyer some bargained-for sum. Of course, the outcome of such renegotiation may be uncertain and it may introduce an added risk into a contract. The question of the morality of breach is when contracts are incomplete. To ascertain whether a breach in a contingency that was not explicitly provided for is moral or immoral under our definition, one needs to determine whether performance would or would not have been required had the contingency been expressly addressed, and whether the parties to the incomplete contract know this. The morality of breach of incomplete contracts occurs when damages equal the expectation measure. When sellers have to pay damages for breach, they will be motivated to obey the contract if the cost of performance is less than the damages they would have to pay for a breach. If, though, the cost of performance exceeds the damages they would owe for a breach, they will have a financial reason to commit breach. Hence, they will tend to commit breach if and only if the cost of performance exceeds the measure of damages. Ethics comes in this aspect when the sellers has the cost of performance exceeds the damages they have to pay. The ethical aspect is whether to perform the contract or not. Since the penalty is very less compared to the cost of performing the work, the contractor tends to do violate the contract and pay the penalty. This should be avoided by corporations to create a good reputation within its peers. In order to avoid this circumstance, the contracting parties now-a-days agree to have the compensation amount to be greater than the cost of doing the actual work. The case regarding the state of Kerala precisely portrays this part of the ethics in contracts. 7.State Of Kerala vs United Shippers And Dredgers Ltd. on 15 July, 1982 The Government of Kerala through Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Central Circle, Trichur, entered into a contract with the respondent on 19-9-1975 to do the work of improvements to Champakkara Canal-Dredging works and allied works. The work was agreed to be completed on or before 15-7-1976. The agreement also required the contractor to maintain progress in work as prescribed in the schedule in Clause 3 of the agreement. There was also a provision in the contract to enable penalty to be levied in case of failure on the part of the contractor to maintain stipulated progress. The contractor did not maintain stipulated progress and extensions of time were granted on contractors requests as per supplemental agreements. Or account of the delay in maintaining agreed progress in the work; penalties were levied against the contractor at the rates prescribed. After the completion of the work end the drawing of the final bill, disputes arose between the contracting parties and as provided in the agreement. From withheld amount a sum of Rupees 7,35,000/- (Rupees seven lakhs and thirty five thousand only) shall be refunded to claimant by the respondents.. The United shippers Ltd. performed the breach on account of the cost of compensation being higher than the cost of performing contract. The ethical aspect of this made contracts thereafter to rewrite them in lieu of having the cost of compensation and the cost of lost profit to be included in the terms of contract. Had the parties been ethical, it wouldn’t have required the contracts to reinvent their terms for this sake. For example, if the measure of damages is $125 instead of the expectation of $200, breach will occur whenever the cost of performance exceeds $125. Consequently, if breach occurs when the cost is between $125 and $200, for instance when it is $150, the complete contract would have insisted on performance. Such breach would be immoral and unethical, if the seller realizes that the true expectation is $200. Given the conclusions reached in the prior section, what can be said about whether the breach that we see in practice is moral or immoral? If damages tend to be fully compensatory, we could say that breach tends to be moral, as breach should occur if and only if contracting parties would have allowed non performance had they addressed in their contracts the contingencies that engendered breach. But if damages are not really compensatory, breach might be immoral. Situations portraying Ethics Damages tend not to reflect the often considerable delays that victims of breach suffer. The legal costs are not compensated. In view of the foregoing, the practical reality seems to be that breach could be immoral or moral, that we have to inspect the reasons for breach and the knowledge of the party committing breach to know which the case is. To gain an understanding of these issues, a small-scale survey was conducted [8]. The number of respondents were 41. The survey consisted of four questions, each of which asked about the morality of breach and could be answered as follows: (1) definitely unethical; (2) somewhat unethical; (3) neither ethical nor unethical; (4) somewhat ethical; (5) definitely ethical. Assigning a score of 1 to definitely unethical, a score of 2 to somewhat unethical, and so forth. Hence, the lower score, the less ethical a respondent felt breach would be. The first question was designed to ascertain whether respondents believe that breach in general is unethi cal. It was as follows: 8. [8]â€Å"Suppose that a Renovator has made a contract with a construction company to do a Home decor. The Renovator then discovers that the job would cost him a lot more than he had anticipated because the price of decor equipment has risen sharply – so the Renovator would lose money on the job. Is it unethical for the Renovater to break his contract with the company?† Note that the question does not mention whether damages would be paid. The average answer score was 2.41, meaning about midway between somewhat unethical and neither ethical nor unethical. Also, 38 of the 41 respondents found breach unethical or ethically neutral; only 3 of respondents answered that the breach would be somewhat ethical (none as definitely ethical). 9.[8]â€Å"Suppose that a Renovator has made a contract with a construction company and finds that his costs have risen sharply due to an increase in the price of decoration equipment. Suppose too that the Renovator and the company did not discuss this unlikely possibility when they made their contract. However, the Renovator knows what they would have agreed to if they had discussed this possible large cost increase in advance: They would have agreed that the contract would be cancelled if there was a large cost increase – the Renovator would be excused from the contract. Under these assumptions, is it unethical for the Renovator to break his contract?†The average answer score was 3.0, meaning ethically neutral. Also, 17 of the respondents found breach more ethical in this question than they had in the first question; none of the respondents found breach less ethical than in the first question. 10.[8] â€Å"Suppose that a kitchen Renovator has made a contract with a construction company and finds that his costs have risen sharply due to an increase in the price of decoration equipment. Suppose too that the Renovator and the comapany did not discuss this unlikely possibility when they made their contract. However, the Renovator knows what they would have agreed to if they had discussed this possible large cost increase in advance: They would have agreed that the contract would remain in force despite a large price increase – the Renovator would still have to do the job.† The average answer score for this question was 1.56, which is to say, midway between definitely unethical and somewhat ethical. All but three of the respondents found breach to be somewhat or definitely unethical, and the other three considered it ethically neutral. Further, 31 of the respondents found breach to be less ethical than in the prior question where the hypothesis was that performance would not have been agreed to. 11.[8]â€Å"Suppose that a kitchen Renovator has made a contract with a construction comapny and finds that his costs have risen sharply due to an increase in the price of decoration equipment. If the kitchen Renovator breaks his contract with the company, suppose that (as contract law says is required) he compensates the construction company for his losses – for delay, inconvenience, having to hire another renovator, and so forth. Is it unethical for the Renovator to breach his contract?†The average answer score for this question was 3.56, which is about midway between ethically neutral and somewhat ethical. In summary, the individuals participating in the survey found the simple, unqualified fact of breach to be unethical on average (2.41 was the average for question 1). In other words, the felt reaction to the fact of breach is that it is an unethical act. However, when individuals were prompted by being told what contracting parties would have agreed to had they discussed the particular contingency that arose, individuals tended to change their evaluation of the morality of breach, finding it better or worse in the expected way. When informed that if the problematic contingency had been discussed, the contracting parties would have said no duty to perform, individuals found breach ethically neutral (3.0 was the average for question 2). When apprised that if the problematic contingency had been discussed, the contracting parties would have said there was still a duty to perform, individuals found breach to be quite unethical (1.56 was the average score for question 3). And when told that breach would be accompanied by full damages payments, individuals again changed their opinion of breach, finding it to be somewhat ethical (3.56 was the average score for question 4). An important normative aspect of many commentators’ writing on breach is their moral advice. Their writing often suggests that individuals and corporations ought to feel a general ethical duty to obey contracts, that is, a desire to obey contracts above and beyond that due only to having to pay damages for breach. If we could shape individuals’ moral feelings, we would want corporations to put a thumb on the scale in favour of contract performance. According to a perfectly calibrated and flexible moral system, the moral sentiments would come into play if and only if they are needed to correct the too-great incentive of a â€Å"bad man† to commit breach, when the personal benefit from breach would exceed damages but not the true value of the expectancy. This ideal moral system is consistent with the spirit of traditional advice, and is inconsistent with the spirit of efficient breach theory, in that morality has a useful role to play. The actual moral system, however, is not as flexible as the ideal one. The moral impulses probably cannot be freely tailored to turn on for this kind of contract breach and to turn off or that one. The implications for moral advice about breach become complicated, for when giving moral advice, we have to consider the degree to which the advice will be understood as special to the circumstances of the breach, or as having a more general effect, and thus entailing the implicit disadvantages just mentioned. A striking instance of such thinking is that underlying the approach of the German Civil Code to contract performance, according to which the general remedy for breach is supposed to be specific performance. Had it been that contracts are to an important extent incomplete promises and thus on reflection that the morality of promise-keeping does not imply that performance should always occur. Damages are inadequate because it is time-consuming and expensive for the legal system to resolve what would often be contentious proceedings about subjective elements of loss from breach. It may be that our legal system works better avoiding the costs of ascertaining these problematic elements of loss, relying on moral forces, such as they are, to fill the gap in inducing appropriate performance. Conclusion The implications article for the general normative thrust of the writing of traditional commentators concerned with the morality of breach and also of the efficient breach theorists. Assuming that the social objective is to promote an corporate measure of social welfare, one based on individuals’ utilities. In particular, our moral feelings which have been portrayed as Ethics throughout will have a direct effect on social welfare because they are themselves components of corporate utilities and they will also exert an indirect influence on social welfare because they provide incentives toward socially desirable behaviour. In any event, the belief that there is a clear and overarching moral reason to alter contract law to enhance the keeping of contracts appears to me to be the product of an over simple view of the moral sentiments and of a related failure to take into account the importance of the incompleteness of contracts. List of references 1.http://www.bond.edu.au/law 2.Course material on Indian Legal System-IIMC 3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brent_Spar 4.Ties that Bind- Donaldson and Thomas 5.http://contracts.uslegal.com/elements-of-a-contract/ 6.http://www.indiankanoon.org/docfragment/927021/?formInput=gujarat%20housing%20board%20vs%20vipul%20corporation 7.http://www.indiankanoon.org/docfragment/1617242/?formInput=ongc%20vs%20streamline%20shipping 8.A Social Contracts Approach to Business Ethics By Thomas

Hamlets Madness Essay Example for Free

Hamlets Madness Essay I do not believe that Hamlet is going mad nor insane. I think that he was just putting on an act of madness to convince people he was going insane in order to carry out his revenge on Claudius. If it wasnt for Hamlets feigned madness the Claudius would have obviously known that something was up and would have possibly had Hamlet killed. Hamlet only acted mad or insane around certain people. In his private conversations with Horatio there was no signs of insanity with the way he was talking to him. Hamlet tells Horatio How strange or odd soeer I bear myself, As I, perchance, hereafter shall think meet To put on an antic disposition on, That you, at such times seeing me, never shall, With arms encumberd thus. Or this headshake, Or by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase. (Ham. 2. 5. 170-175). In this phrase He is telling Horatio that he is going to feign madness, and that if he notices any strange behavior that he is putting on an act. This is proof that he is neither mad nor insane. He basically has stated he is going to act mad. As soon as someone appears, whom he wants to convince he is mad, he changes his behavior to put in his or her minds different explanations of his irrational behavior. He changes from rational speech to irrational conversations with those he wishes to convince he is mad. With Rosencrantz and Guildenstern he makes them believe that the reason for his behavior is frustrated ambition. In act 2 scene 2 Rosencrantz says Why, then, your ambition makes it one; tis too narrow for your mind. (Ham. 2. 2. 241-242). Then Hamlet says O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. (Ham 2. 2. 243-244) Then Guildenstern states Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; fro the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. (Ham. 2. 2. 245-246). Hamlet wants to make the King and Queen believe that the death of his father and their marriage is the reason for his madness. The Queen states I doubt it is no other but the main, His fathers death and our o hasty marriage. (Ham. 2. 2. 56-57). Hamlet want s to make Polonius and Ophelia believe that it is his love for Ophelia that has driven him mad. This is revealed when Ophelia speaks with Polonius about Hamlets encounter with her (Ham. 2. 2 75-108). In the phrase I am but mad north by northwest, when the wind is southernly I know a hawk from a handsaw(Ham. 2. 2. 347-348) Hamlet is stating that North is normal and that North by Northwest means that he is only slightly insane. Once Claudius thought he was insane he was safe to carry out the rest of his plan. In the Soliloquy, To be or not to be (Ham. 3. 1. 56-90) Hamlet knew that he was being watched by the King while talking to Ophelia. This was his chance to convince the King that he was insane. I believe that Hamlet may have crossed the line into true madness a few times. For example when Hamlet slays Polonius he has no feelings of remorse. This is evidenced by Hamlets words Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell! I took thy fortune thou findst to be too busy in some danger(Ham. 3. 4. 32-34). After Hamlet kills Polonius he will not tell anyone where the body is. Instead he says not where he eats, but where he is eaten, a certain convocation of political worms a een at him(Ham 4. 3. 20-21). Hamlet also is aware of his dissolving insanity as he tells Laertes that he killed Polonius in a fit of madness(Ham. 5. 2. 236-250). In the scene where he is with his mother he also has a violent out burst. He is very cruel towards he and clenches her throat in anger. He sees his fathers ghost while with his mother. His mother does not see him. All of the other times someone has seen the ghost when it has appeared. This may be a sign that Hamlet experiencing true madness. On him, on him: Look O you how pale he glares! His form and cause conjoured, preaching to stones would make them capable (Ham. 3. 4. 126-128. In conclusion I believe that Hamlets madness or insanity throughout the play is being acted. However I do believe that in the end Hamlet drives himself over the edge when he kills Polonius and his true anger shows. Hamlet crossed that line into true madness a few times in this play. I believe that this was not a good way to go about getting revenge on Claudius. There was too much of a delay and in the end Hamlet lost by losing his life too.

Observation and Evaluation of a Teachers Lesson

Observation and Evaluation of a Teachers Lesson Describe the group characteristics (number and types of students, grade level, course description, etc.) of the observed classroom. There are 25 elementary school students in the classroom. The teacher is teaching multicultural students in an English Language Learners program. As the teacher explains how to distribute class material her instructions were made in English and Spanish. This indicates that some of her students are from Hispanic origin. Describe the tone of the observed teachers interactions with students. The teachers tone is firm and clear. The firmness of the teachers voice establishes the role she takes as the leader of the class. The clear tone allows the students to understand instructions given by their teacher. The firm and clear tone establishes the way the teacher interacts with students based on a teacher centered instruction. The teacher provides the students with information and the students are the receiver of that information. 2. Analysis, Exploration, and Reasoning Explain how the observed teacher builds the confidence of students with diverse backgrounds. The English Language Learners teacher assisted one of her student as she explained how to distribute class material for their next activity. She assisted the students by communicating effectively in Spanish to guide the student to properly distribute class material. This method helps students from diverse backgrounds the opportunity to build their confidence by encouraging them participate during an activity. When a student has a clear understanding of the instructions they are able to complete the task successful. This helps students to interact with their class environment in a positive way as they start building their self confidence. Describe the level of student engagement with the observed lesson. The students in the video are highly engaged. For example, the students are seating at their chairs and seating up straight as they listen actively to their teacher instructions. The students use eye contact to let their teacher know they are paying attention as she explains how to distribute materials. By staying quiet and facing forward is another indication they are engaged with the teachers instruction during their lesson. 3. Connections to Other Effective Teaching Practices Connect one pedagogical strategy observed in the lesson to building the confidence of students with diverse backgrounds. In the video the students are organized in small group discussions called cooperative learning. Cooperative Learning is a systematic pedagogical strategy that encourages small groups of students to work together for the achievement of a common goal (George Mason University, n.d., para.10). Students from diverse backgrounds are often hesitant to share ideas with the entire classroom due to the lack of confidence. Small group discussion allows the opportunity for students to contribute ideas and develop a bond among their group members. In the video the students in the cooperative groups were laughing as they interacted with one another. Children from diverse backgrounds learn to work as a team, develop social skills and start building their confidence through cooperative learning. 4. Evaluation Assess the effectiveness of the strategies the observed teacher used to build the confidence of students with diverse backgrounds. The first strategy viewed in the video was the way the teacher interacted with her diverse students through her tone. The teacher centered method was used through the teachers tone of voice as she established her role as the leader. The purpose of this role is to effectively build a respectful relationship between teacher and student. As this relationship develops, students from diverse backgrounds will begin to build a bond of trust with their teacher. This bond influences a positive impact in a students self esteem, confidence, and it motivates them to participate in class activities. The second strategy viewed in the video was the teachers explanation on the importance of understanding and learning from her diverse students bring into the classroom. For example Teach me how it is that you say it because I want to make the connection between what you know and what we know. We want to make sure that you feel good about who you are. When a teacher demonstrates respect and wiliness to learn from their diverse students, it helps students to appreciate themselves more. Through that appreciation students will feel valued and respected which will contribute to their confidence. The final strategy is cooperative learning. Cooperative learning allows students to interact with other students in a smaller group rather than sharing it with the entire class. Students from diverse backgrounds can build their confidence through team work, sharing ideas, and creating bonds as they work in groups. This foundation of confidence can lead to participating and sharing ideas in a class discussion. Explain the thinking process you went through to complete this evaluation. A teachers relationship with their students, a teachers method of teaching and cooperative learning method was the strategies I focused on to complete this evaluation. The first thing I focused on was the teacher and student relationship. Seen in the video the interaction between teacher and students was established through the teachers role as a leader and the way she included her students during the distribution of material by speaking in English and Spanish. The relationship a teacher has with their students is very important. It leads to respect, trust, and it encourages students to seek further education. The second things I focused on was the teachers explanation why she taught the way she did. For example, We dont want you to lose what you are and who you are. When a teacher shows respect and willing to learn from their students it leads to building a positive relationship in the classroom. The last thing was exploring the importance of cooperative learning. I realized this me thod is great opportunity for students to develop a positive interaction with peers and a healthy impact on their confidence. All of these strategies contribute to a students confidence, motivates students to succeed and genuinely build a bond among peers.

The Oppression of Fat People in America Essay -- Obesity Weight Disord

The Oppression of Fat People in America Many people see fat activists as a bunch of whiners who can’t keep their hand out of the cookie jar." — Kimberly, fat activist Being fat is one of the most stigmatizing attributes in America. One cannot live through a single day without encountering numerous forms of fat prejudice in magazines, on television, in the streets, and even in homes. Erving Goffman’s Stigma delineates three types of stigma: abominations of the body, blemishes of individual character, and tribal stigma of race, nation and religion (4). According to Goffman’s definition, being fat is an abomination of the body. Being fat is a highly visible stigma, unlike the stigma of being queer which does not have an outward appearance. According to research in Women’s Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality, "Fat oppression, the fear and hatred of fat people, remains one of the few ‘acceptable’ prejudices still held by otherwise progressive persons" (Meadow 132). In fact, people are obsessed with noticing fat, not getting fat, and pointing out to people that they are fat without hesitation. Unlike other stigmas, fat people are blamed for their condition. Society believes that if fat people really wanted to they could just lose weight and be permanently thin. Fat is not the problem, rather fat oppression endorsed and reinforced by society is the problem. I’ve made a conscious choice to use the word fat in this paper; I’ve already used the word ‘fat’ ten times in the first paragraph. The word ‘fat’ and fat itself have negative connotations in our culture, the reasons for which I will explore in my paper, as well as the way people are instituting positive ideological changes about fat. I use to have a hard time using ‘fat’ t... ...way Books, 1999. Meadow, Rosalyn M., and Lillie Weiss. Women’s Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality: The Relationship Between Food and Sex. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1992. Muà ±oz, Josà © Esteban. Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota, 1999. "NAAFA Online." National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. Online. Internet. 2 Dec. 2000. Available: http://www.naafa.org Orbach, Susie. Fat is a Feminist Issue†¦the Anti-Diet Guide to Permanent Weight Loss. New York: Paddington Press, 1978. Solovay, Sondra. Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight Based Discrimination. New York: Prometheus Books, 2000. Wann, Marilyn. Fat!So?. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1998. Works Consulted Nadius, Beverly. One Size Does Not Fit All. Littleton, CO: Aigis Publications, 1993. The Oppression of Fat People in America Essay -- Obesity Weight Disord The Oppression of Fat People in America Many people see fat activists as a bunch of whiners who can’t keep their hand out of the cookie jar." — Kimberly, fat activist Being fat is one of the most stigmatizing attributes in America. One cannot live through a single day without encountering numerous forms of fat prejudice in magazines, on television, in the streets, and even in homes. Erving Goffman’s Stigma delineates three types of stigma: abominations of the body, blemishes of individual character, and tribal stigma of race, nation and religion (4). According to Goffman’s definition, being fat is an abomination of the body. Being fat is a highly visible stigma, unlike the stigma of being queer which does not have an outward appearance. According to research in Women’s Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality, "Fat oppression, the fear and hatred of fat people, remains one of the few ‘acceptable’ prejudices still held by otherwise progressive persons" (Meadow 132). In fact, people are obsessed with noticing fat, not getting fat, and pointing out to people that they are fat without hesitation. Unlike other stigmas, fat people are blamed for their condition. Society believes that if fat people really wanted to they could just lose weight and be permanently thin. Fat is not the problem, rather fat oppression endorsed and reinforced by society is the problem. I’ve made a conscious choice to use the word fat in this paper; I’ve already used the word ‘fat’ ten times in the first paragraph. The word ‘fat’ and fat itself have negative connotations in our culture, the reasons for which I will explore in my paper, as well as the way people are instituting positive ideological changes about fat. I use to have a hard time using ‘fat’ t... ...way Books, 1999. Meadow, Rosalyn M., and Lillie Weiss. Women’s Conflicts About Eating and Sexuality: The Relationship Between Food and Sex. New York: Harrington Park Press, 1992. Muà ±oz, Josà © Esteban. Disidentifications: Queers of Color and the Performance of Politics. Minneapolis: U of Minnesota, 1999. "NAAFA Online." National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance. Online. Internet. 2 Dec. 2000. Available: http://www.naafa.org Orbach, Susie. Fat is a Feminist Issue†¦the Anti-Diet Guide to Permanent Weight Loss. New York: Paddington Press, 1978. Solovay, Sondra. Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight Based Discrimination. New York: Prometheus Books, 2000. Wann, Marilyn. Fat!So?. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 1998. Works Consulted Nadius, Beverly. One Size Does Not Fit All. Littleton, CO: Aigis Publications, 1993.

Family Albums: A Practical Analysis Essay -- essays research papers

Since their inception in the 1860s, family albums have played an important role as the promoters of familial ideology and treasures of familial memory. ‘Most family photograph albums in containing a great variety of items, both identified and unidentified, from different periods and of varying quality,’ held together by their collective identity with the family (Schoeman, 1996: 8). The function of familial photography is to ‘fix perception and memory, represent a method of preserving memories, document important moments and confirm social relationships and fact of belonging’ (Tobiassen, 1990). When photographs are stored in albums the process ‘resembles the writing of family history’ (Tobiassen, 1990), and are thus a resource constituting an important mnemonic aid in the construction of a family narrative, although Tobiassen omits any thought that the photograph album is probably the closest that most families will ever approach to narrativisin g and transmitting their individual and collective familial experiences for later generations. Early portrait photographers stressed the importance of the photograph as a moral stabilizer for families and the social fabric, "†¦ family photographs sustained sentimental ties in a nation of migrants." (Alan Sekula, 1986) These sentimental ties, especially those produced by viewing photographs of deceased loved ones, enabled families to document their lives as they happened, and to remember those who had predeceased them, thus forming a seemingly cohesive "history" on which to build a nation. Therefore, family photographs can be considered cultural artifacts since they document the events that shape families' lives and so the recording of family history becomes an important endeavor. In many cases, photographs are the only biographical material people leave behind after they die (Boerdam, Martinius, 1980). However, the impact of family photo albums extends beyon d merely recording history. Interpretation of family structures, relationships and self is possible through viewing family photographs. Interpretation of meaning behind photographs assumes that they are a means of communication (Entin, 1979). Much like family storytelling, photographs indicate relationships within and among the family. The family photo album is indeed an easy way to initiate outsiders to family history (Boerdam, Martinius, 1980)... ...separations and sibling rivalries needs to be studied. Historical documents, such as family photographs, can provide essential background information as well as indicate important people and relationships within a story. References Alan Sekula, "The Body and the Archive," 3-64, October, 39, Winter, 1986, p. 8. Boerdam, Jaap and Warna Oosterbaan Martinius. (October, 1980). "Family Photographs - A Sociological Approach," The Netherlands Journal of Sociology, v16, n2, pp. 95-119. Halle, David. (Summer, 1991). "Displaying the Dream: The Visual Presentation of Family and Self in the Modern American Household," Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 22: pp. 217-229. Merz, Caroline. (August, 1988). "Smile, please," New Statesman & Society, v1, n10, p. 42. Tobiassen, Anna Helene (1990) ‘Private Photographic Collections as an Ethnological Source.’ Ethnologia Europaea 20.1. 81-94. Titus, Sandra L. (August, 1976). "Family Photographs and Transition to Parenthood," Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38: 525-530. Trend, David. (February, 1992). "Look who's talking: Narratives of Family Representations," Afterimage, v19, n7, p.8.

Child Labor Laws: Harmful to Agriculture Essay -- Farming

Virtually everyone who grows up on a farm has chores to do. This has been the case for countless generations. Conversely, household duties often replaced farm chores as more and more families moved to the city. Nonetheless, in the dwindling agricultural sector of society, the entire family often continues their involvement in the farming operation. Participating in the family business and contributing to its sustainability creates valuable life lessons for children and teenagers. It is also a vital practice in preparing the future farmers of America. However, this practice will come to a halt once the Department of Labor enacts new rules restricting children from performing agricultural work. Articles such as, â€Å"Changes In Child Labor Laws Affect Farm Kids,† by Stu Ellis from Dairy Herd Network, â€Å"New Child Labor Laws Could Be Detrimental to Farms,† by Megan Loberg from Eat.Pray.Farm., and â€Å"Changes To Child Labor Laws Hurt Farmers,† by Bob Confer from Tonawanda News, agree that the changes pending for the child labor laws will adversely affect the future of agriculture. The three articles assert that it is essential for the development of new farmers to begin at an early age. The commentaries address the uniqueness of growing up on a farm, the irrationalities of the new laws, and damage to the future of agriculture due to delayed education. Farming is an unusual occupation according to today’s standards because, in most cases, it is not just the responsibility of the patriarch, but the vocation for the entire family. As said by Confer, â€Å"Farming is not a job. It’s a lifestyle.† Although this practice may seem archaic to people unfamiliar with the complexities of agriculture, family labor is vital to the success of the smal... ...arized by a statement from Ellis, â€Å"If you are a farm kid, raise your hand. Now, everyone else look at those whose hands are raised because they will soon be as scarce as a World War II veteran.† Works Cited Confer, Bob. "Changes To Child Labor Laws Hurt Farmers." Tonawanda News. N.p., 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. CONFER-Changes-to-child-labor-laws-hurt-farmers>. Ellis, Stu. "Changes In Child Labor Laws Affect Farm Kids." Dairy Herd Network. Vance Publishing Group, 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. Commentary-Changes-in-child-labor-laws-affecting-farm-kids-132994943.html>. Loberg, Megan. "New Child Labor Laws Could Be Detrimental To Farms." Eat.Pray.Farm. N.p., 29 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2012. .