Examining case studies as a research method

Examining case studies as a research method Article Assignment : CASE STUDIES Abstract : Case Study one of the approach of methodology to get result and also get data collection. Case study are famous in the social science field. This field give big explanation in many things include the social behavior. Case study also can have or perform in information management / knowledge management or library science field. This article also explore about the category of the case study, the advantages and disadvantages, weakness and also the applicability of this case study method in term of information management. Keywords Case Study, Academic Library, Research, Quantitative, Qualitative, Information Management Introduction Research can be defined as a process of systematic method to enquiry and investigate of the field. By doing the research, it can help to solve problems, increase knowledge to the researcher. Beside that the research can be part of the researcher to get now or most interesting features, then it can helps the researcher to have an opportunity to clarify, follow and confirm the new things with their interested in the topic or subject. Collis , Hussey, (2003) had stated the use of research which is to : Analyze and explore the general issues To appraisal and produce the new and obtainable knowledge To identify and investigate the problems and situations that existing To gain and generate the new ideas or knowledge To explain and state the new phenomena To develop and create the system, procedures and policies Definitions of Case Study Case study is the one of the research method and methodology. Case study is an applying an exhaustive approach which is the researcher focuses on only one specific instance of the phenomenon to be studied. It’s also only a instances in order to study the original or phenomenon in depth. From the article case study as a research method by Zaidah Zainal, (2007), stated that case study allows the exploration and understanding of complex issues. It can be considered a robust research method particularly when a holistic, in-depth investigation is required. Gulsecen Kubat, (2006) stated that case study recognized as a tool in many social science studies, the role of case study method in research becomes more prominent when issues with regard to education. A case study offers an opportunity to study a particular subject, example one organisation, in depth, or a group of people, and usually involves gathering and analyzing information; information that may be both qualitative and qua ntitative . The American Heritage Dictonary of the Engish Language , (2000) defines case study as a detailed comprehensive study of a unit such as a business or a business division that stresses factor contributing to its success or failure. Another definition is a detailed analysis of a person or group, especially as a model of the medical, social phenomena, psychiatric and psychological. Yin ( 2009) believes that relative samples used in either large or small, cannot change to one or more research into the macroscopic study. Single case can be accepted by meeting challenge objectives case studies. Beside that, Yin (2002) defines the case study research method â€Å"as an empirical study that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context which is when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. Besides that he is also mention that a a design of the case study should be considered when first is the focus of the study is to answer â€Å"how† and â€Å"why† questions; second, the reseacrher cannot manipulate the behavior of those involved in the study; third, the reseacrher want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study; or fourth, the limitations are not clear between the phenomenon and context. Other than that, Zaidah (2007) also stated that the past literature show the application of the case study research and method in many areas and disciplines in all types of media. Category of the case study The category of the case study are being categories by three, first is exploratory, descriptive and explanatory case studies. The exploratory case study can be explain as case studies set to explore any phenomenon in the data which serves as a point of interest to the researcher. For an example, a researcher conducting the exploratory a case study and the case study include the all data collection, research question and etc. The second category is descriptive case studies. This category of this case study explains about natural phenomena which happen within the data in question. For an example, the question like what different strategies use. The descriptive case studies may use in the narrative form like using the pattern matching procedure and so on. The third category is explanatory case studies. This examine the data deeply in level to explain the phenomena of the data in order. The explanatory case studies investigate the complex and multivariate cases. This complex theory explain the three theories of the phenomenon and study. Case study is one of the offers an opportunity to study of the particular subject. For n example, the case study can do the research at organization , the target group of people which usually involves collect, gathering and analyzing the data and information. And the information can be gets from qualitative or quantitative. Basic types of the case study design. Figure 1 : Types of Case Study Strength and Weakness of the Case Study Weaknesses Case studies include and involve the small sets of data for an example as one or two companies. that may conduct the researcher to get and gain some insights about the trends or viral in the relevant industries. For example, the case study about the Honda Company might be used to generalize about similar companies in the automobile industries. The data or information is a reasonable to the company that chosen as a source of data. But the case studies involve small data and so that conversational empirical techniques cannot be used or where they are used. Strengths. The case study method involves detailed, holistic , futuristic investigation in all aspects and can utilize a range of different measurement techniques such as a methodological tool. The data can be collected over the time and related to the industries. The histories or the stories that can be told about the company are also something’s that can be assessed and documented not just empirical data. There are 8 steps to conducting a case study: 1) set up the broad case to investigate 2) set up the research questions 3) Select the particular cases to be used 4) Determine data gathering and analysis techniques 5) Prepare to collect of the data 6) Collect the data 7) Analyse the data 8) Prepare the report Methodology Review : Applicability of case studies method in context information management In term of the applicability in context information management, as we know, information management nowadays is developing to manage the information. To understand what information management is, the researcher nowadays interest to more case study in this field or area. Nowadays there are lots social scientist do the research. The information management are include the how to manage the information. By doing the research or case study in this area, the researcher must know the trend of the current research or issues . It’s important to know the trend because it making easier to the future study. For example, if the researcher do the research or case study on the impact of use the media social, the researcher must know about the previous research and need to suggest he future reading to the reader. Besides that, by doing the case study, it allows the researcher to explore deeply the issues. Information management more to understanding how to manage the information, the type of the information and so on. Case study have been use in information management research to suggest various types of findings. The approach of case study method also can develop many theory and model such as utaut model 1 and 2 , TAM models and so on. The case study can give comprehensive understanding on the phenomena or the specific field in information management. It is helps the researcher by doing the decision making. Conclusion In the nut, case study methodology are most important method to investigate deeply certain field. Nowadays, Case studies being speedily increasingly famous among the qualitative and quantitative researchers. This types of methodology provide the flexibility on the development, design and the methods’ technique in the case study. Moreover, case studies are consider to use I many research that can be the other alternative in qualitative or quantitative research because of case study is the best of methodology in research. Moreover, case studies observe many variables or elements to complete the event or research. Case study using documents, observation and also the interviews as the main sources of the information. Most the case study assigns and allocate the point from the case study. Supporter or the researcher will hold which means that it is depends on the situations behavior. The good case study must have creativity, the design, innovation in the context of the research. Yin (2009), also mention that case study can relies with many sources Yin (2009), also mention that all handle with the technically in Case Study, characteristic situation where there will be a lot of variables of interest field than data points , and as one result. Case study also relies on multiple sources of proof, with data needing to converge in a triangulation as a result. The case study also give benefits to prior development of theoretical propositions to guide data collection and analysis 1 | Page

Impacts on the Retail Fuel Price in Malaysia

Impacts on the Retail Fuel Price in Malaysia Background description of retail fuel price in Malaysia According to the local news on 7 March 2013, the retail price of RON 97 will be RM2.90 per litre when it was previously RM2.70. Meanwhile, the retail price of RON95 remains unchanged as it is subsidized by the government. In May, a 20 sen drop incurred for RON 97 per litre. There was no change in price for RON 95 and diesel. On September 2, 2013, Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that the price of diesel and RON95 petrol would increase by 20 sen (Bridel Lontoh, 2014) joining neighboring Indonesia to threaten investor confidence besides curbing in subsidies (Chong, 2013). There was a 20 sen price incremental to 2 Ringgit per litre for diesel and the new price for RON 95 is RM 2.10 per litre from RM 1 (Lim, 2013). â€Å"The hike was to prevent financial leakage and misappropriation of the subsidised fuel,† said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohmad, reportsBernama (Phung, 2014). The retail price of RON 97 continued to increase by 15 sen (Lim, 2013). In November, the price of RON 97 had gone down to RM2.75 per litre from the existing RM 2.85 per litre (Lim, 2013). On the first month of 2014, the price of RON 97 went up 5 sen to RM2.80 per litre. Another 5 sen was incurred for the price of RON 97 in the following month. In March, the previous price of RON 97 brought up with a new retail price of RM2.90. The RON 97 price decreased with a 5 sen to RM 2.85 per litre. (Lim, 2013) On 9th September, the price of RON97 dropped by 10 sen to RM2.75 per litre. (Lim, 2013). Royal Malaysian Customs Department senior assistant director Ishak Daud toldSin Chew Dailythat there is an addition of 80 to 85 zero-rated items. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that diesel and LPG will be exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) taking effect in April 2015 (Tan, 2014). The prices for RON 95 petrol and diesel will slightly increase by 20 senon 2 October, announced by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer (Sze, 2014). The Sun reported that Political party PAS urged for an increase in price for both petrol and diesel, to allow petrol station operators compete with each other (Lim, 2014). Theprices of petrol and diesel were indicated to drop until January of next year (Lee, 2014). In short, the graph in 2013 shows there’s an upward trend for Ron95 and diesel where there’s a rise in 20sens on 3 September. However, the fuel price for Ron97 fluctuates between a low of RM2.70 and a peak of RM2.90 before ending at RM2.75 at the end of the year. In 2014, there was a plateau in fuel price for Ron95 and diesel from January to September and then it increase gradually. For Ron97, the fuel price rises since January but then fell gradually after June. Fuel price in Malaysia between 2013 to 2014 (Galvin, 2015) Date Ron 97 (RM) Ron 95 (RM) Diesel (RM) 10 Jan 2013 2.70 (-0.05) 1.90 ( ) 1.80 ( ) 7 Mac2013 2.90 (+0.20) 1.90 ( ) 1.80 ( ) 22 May 2013 2.70 (-0.20) 1.90 ( ) 1.80 ( ) 3 Sep 2013 2.70 ( ) 2.10 (+0.20) 2.00 (+0.20) 5 Sep 2013 2.85 (+0.15) 2.10 ( ) 2.00 ( ) 14 Nov 2013 2.75 (-0.10) 2.10 ( ) 2.00 ( ) 8 Jan 2014 2.80 (+0.05) 2.10 ( ) 2.00 ( ) 7 Feb 2014 2.85 (+0.05) 2.10 ( ) 2.00 ( ) 7 Mac 2014 2.90 (+0.05) 2.10 ( ) 2.00 ( ) 6 Jun 2014 2.85 (-0.05) 2.10 ( ) 2.00 ( ) 9 Sep 2014 2.75 (-0.10) 2.10 ( ) 2.00 ( ) 2 Oct 2014 2.75 ( ) 2.30 (+0.20) 2.20 (+0.20) 19 Nov 2014 2.55 (-0.20) 2.30 ( ) 2.20 ( ) 1 Dec 2014 2.46 (-0.09) 2.26 (-0.04) 2.23 (+0.03) Note: Ron 95 and diesel are subsidies by government, while pricing of Ron 97 is determined according to market forces. Ron 92 remains at RM1.70 since 16 Dec 2008 Determinant for retail fuel price Demand and supply of crude oil   Ã‚   The world’s biggest economies such as the United States, consumes most oil in the world. The other world’s largest oil consumer includes Japan, Canada and South Korea (Gethard, 2008). However, the country that plays the biggest role in oil consumption is China. In 2013, China surpassed the United States becoming the worlds largest importer of crude oil as they took up one-third of growth in the global demand (Eia.gov, 2014). As China is currently a dynamic and fast-growing economy, China’s demand and usage of oil grows rapidly. The development of the country’s economy can be seen in China’s increasing number of factories and growth in number of people driving cars (Wagner, 2008). As China economy starts developing rapidly only these recent years, their oil reserves are not as much compare to other developed economies like the United States who had reserved oil for many years, thus China’s has extensive demand for oil from the global market. T his increased demand has contributed to the rise of global crude oil price which has indirectly raise retail fuel prices in Malaysia. Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a body that has great influence over the worldwide price of oil which compriseof 12of the worlds largest oil producing nations (Gethard, 2008). Since there is a shortage of the worldwide oil production, OPEC as the biggest oil supplier reduces the amount of oil contributed to the world market and manipulate the selling price of oil per barrel. Besides, political conflicts in Libya sustains its crude oil production further leading worldwide oil supply to decrease (Batovic, 2014). With uncertainty of supply, countries compete with each other for crude oil supply and this rising demand increases the price of crude oil. The global market now has to pay at a higher price for the same amount of oil. As the cost of purchasing crude oil price increases, the Malaysia government increases the retail fuel price to the citizens. Foreign exchange rate Because the world crude oil price is set in US Dollars, the conversion of world oil price into Malaysia ringgit changes every day in the foreign exchange rate market. Suppose there is a fall in Malaysia’s ringgit against the US dollar on the world currency exchanges, Malaysia has to pay more to purchase the same amount of fuel from the global market. Example the increase from US$1.00 = RM3.50 to US$1.00 = RM3.75 indicates a depreciation in Malaysia dollar. As the cost of purchasing crude oil increases, this implies citizens have to pay more for the same amount of fuel too. The foreign exchange rate is constantly monitored by the Malaysia government before determining the retail price of fuel. Therefore, the retail fuel price often fluctuates. Subsidy The changes in retail price of fuel depend on the provision of subsidies by the government. If the government provides subsidies for fuel such as the Ron95 and diesel, the price is cheaper compare to the price of Ron97 which is not subsidies. In 2013, MYR 24.8 billion (US$7.9 billion) was allocated to fuel subsidies. The government argued that the subsidy reduction would save at least MYR 1.1 billion (US$349 million) by the end of 2013 (Lee, 2013). The cost saved in subsidies would be channeled into the BR1M welfare fund, said Prime Minister Najib Razak (Lam, 2013). By doing so, 20 sen was increased in the price of RON 95 and diesel starting on 3 Sept of 2013. In brief, the absence of subsidy causes retail fuel to rise in Malaysia. Effects Consumer Low oil price results in the savings cascade down into the rest of the economy in form of cheaper prices. Consumers will hence have more disposable income to spend (Parry Kemp, 2012) leading to higher purchasing power. Besides, individual who drives car can save the cost for car petrol monthly. High oil price causes consumers to have less disposable income to spend especially those with a lower income. After barely consuming the necessities such as groceries, there will be not much money left to afford the luxuries, for example, travelling with family and friends. Producer Falling oil price brings negative impact on the mining industry, for instances those extracting oil and natural gas or constructing the pipelines to move those commodities. For producers, cheaper prices mean either less profits or even losses. Thus, oil producer will supply less oil to the market until oil prices rise back. If a person is required to pay more for oil, delivered goods and others, less will be left over for discretionary spending by the consumers (Parry Kemp, 2012). Buying a new home is such type of discretionary expenditure. Hence, the producers of the housing will supply less as the demand from consumers had fall. Besides the housing producers, other sectors are also affected. As fuel is needed for transportation to deliver goods and services, higher oil price will affect the delivery sector as transportation fee is higher. Not to mention, oil producers may use this opportunity to charge a higher price on fuel to gain more profit as well. Government As oil producers are taxed by Malaysia government, when oil prices are lower, government revenues will drop. There is always measure to be taken to diminish the damage. Government can save money by reducing or removing oil subsidy. Through this, government can spend the money on other area like education, welfare of the society or development of infrastructure for the economic growth of Malaysia. Inversely when oil price is higher, the cost to build or maintain infrastructures will be higher as materials, labors, and other costs needed to build or repair infrastructures are higher. Fuel consumption for the transportation of these materials also leads to higher expenditure of the government. As government spends more money on this area, they will have to cut back expenditure on other areas such as health care and education expenses (Parry Kemp, 2012). Conclusion In conclusion, the demand and supply for crude oil, foreign exchange rate and subsidy provided by the government affects the retail fuel price in Malaysia. When oil price is low, government gain less tax revenue, producer gain less profit and consumer have more spare money to spend, where they might afford luxury goods after purchasing necessities like groceries. When oil price is high, government gain more tax revenue, producer gain more profit and consumer have less spare money to spend. If the producer loses and not gaining profit, employees might get fired, causing them to be jobless and have less money for consumption. Reference list Batovic, A. (2014). Five political risk factors affecting oil markets in 2014 Global Risk Insights. [online] Global Risk Insights. Available at: http://globalriskinsights.com/2014/01/five-political-risk-factors-that-will-affect-oil-markets-in-2014/ [Accessed 21 Jun. 2015]. Bridel, A. and Lontoh, L. (2015). [online] Available at: https://www.iisd.org/gsi/sites/default/files/ffs_malaysia_lessonslearned.pdf [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. calvin, d. (2015). Malaysian Fuel Price History decoding galvin. [online] decoding galvin. Available at: http://blog.galvintan.com/malaysian-fuel-price-history [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Chong, P. (2013). Malaysians Brace for Austerity as Najib Cools Spending: Economy. [online] Bloomberg.com. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-16/malaysians-brace-for-shift-to-austerity-as-najib-cools-spending [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Eia.gov, (2014). U.S. crude oil production growth contributes to global oil price stability in 2013 Today in Energy U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). [online] Available at: http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=14531#tabs_SpotPriceSlider-2 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Gethard, G. (2008). How Does Crude Oil Affect Gas Prices?. [online] Investopedia. Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/crude-and-gas-prices.asp [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Lam, J. (2015). It’s finally here, fuel price up tonight. New taxes next? The Malaysian Insider. [online] Themalaysianinsider.com. Available at: https://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/09/10/fuel-price-increase-divides-malaysia/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Lee, J. (2014). Fuel prices in Malaysia to fall further – Ahmad Maslan. [online] Paul Tans Automotive News. Available at: http://paultan.org/2014/12/09/fuel-prices-malaysia-fall-ahmad-maslan/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Lee, S. (2015). It’s finally here, fuel price up tonight. New taxes next? The Malaysian Insider. [online] Themalaysianinsider.com. Available at: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ron95-and-diesel-price-up-20-sen-from-midnight [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Lim, A. (2013). RON 95 and diesel to go up by 20 sen per litre, effective Sept 3. [online] Paul Tans Automotive News. Available at: http://paultan.org/2013/09/02/ron-95-diesel-go-rm2-10/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Lim, A. (2014). PAS calls on govt to impose ceiling price on fuel. [online] Paul Tans Automotive News. Available at: http://paultan.org/2014/12/05/pas-calls-on-govt-to-impose-ceiling-price-on-fuel/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Parry, G. and Kemp, S. (2012). Investigate Macroeconomics. 2nd ed. Western Australia: Tactic Publications Pty Ltd. Phung, A. (2015). Petrol price hike not to burden people, says minister | theSundaily. [online] Thesundaily.my. Available at: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/1187644 [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Sze, G. (2014). RON 95, diesel prices up by 20 sen from October 2. [online] Paul Tans Automotive News. Available at: http://paultan.org/2014/10/01/ron-95-diesel-20-sen-october/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Tan, D. (2014). GST will include petrol, not in zero-rated list Kastam. [online] Paul Tans Automotive News. Available at: http://paultan.org/2014/09/12/petrol-not-exempted-gst/ [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015]. Wagner, H. (2008). What Determines Gas Prices?. [online] Investopedia. Available at: http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/gas-prices.asp [Accessed 14 Jun. 2015].

Essay on the Mysterious Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Lett

The Mysterious Pearl in The Scarlet Letter A few moments before Reverend Dimmsdale professes his sin to the crowd of onlookers, Hester's hopes of escape are dashed by the knowledge that Roger Chillingworth also booked a passage on the departing ship†¹a ship that she prayed would give her and her beloved freedom from the curse of the Scarlet Letter. Little Pearl, however, relays the message to her mother that her trip has been spoilt by the addition of the evil Chillingworth. A well-meaning sailor tells Pearl, "So let thy mother take no thought, save for herself and thee. Wilt thou tell her this, thou witch-baby?" (224), implying that an additional passenger will be aboard the ship come departure. Hester, paling after hearing the news, watches her utopian plans fall to ruins as the minister breathes his last breath and she is once again left alone with Pearl, without escape from her bondage. The term "witch-baby," though never r... ...tive connotation†¹rather, she seems steeped in another reality that is inaccessible by the puritans of Boston. The little girl tends to exist even outside the sphere of her outcast mother; Hawthorne, to prove the point of Pearl's mysterious identity, associates her with the sprites, elves and imps of a world that no human knows intimately. His constant use of "witchery" language gives Pearl a certain character sense that implies her fate as a unknown resident of another land.

Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers

Of Mice and Men, was a disturbing tale of friendship, and animosity and immoral nature of the human race. Along the Salinas River and underneath the Gablian Mountains of California during the Great Depression of the 1930’s this novel takes place. A famous writer by the name of John Steinbeck, who was also born in California, is the author of this book. He has also has written many other good books such as The Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, and Winter of Our Discontent for which he won a Nobel Prize. He is truly a great writer, and Of Mice and Men is no exception, but while reading this book I was greatly troubled by its ending. I can see why it is an excellent novel, but at the same time it left me with a kind of unpleasant feeling in the back of my mind. I can’t see how an author could write a book with such a short and sudden ending. The last images he leaves the reader with is George and Slim walking off as Curly says â€Å" Now what in the hell is eating them?† thus the book ends on a harsh, cruel note, topped off by the lack of understanding and compassion of an extraordinarily immoral and cruel man. Whatever Steinbeck’s intent for writing such a jarring ending, he leaves the reader with a powerful sense of the world’s immorality. In this book there were several characters, but only a few had significant roles. I would have to say Lennie is the protagonist of the book even though George is an extremely critical character as well. Lennie Small is described as being a monstrous man with the mind of a child, a shapeless face, big pale eyes, sloping shoulders, and big feet that dragged a bit when he walked, much like a bear. George has taken Lennie under his wing and thus Lennie depends solely on George for everything. Ever since Lennie has been with George, he has told Lennie stories of a great place, with a cabin all to their selves, and rabbits for Lennie to care for. This leads me to his next obsession for feeling and caressing soft things such as fur, velvet, or human hair. This is eventually his downfall as when he kills Curley’s wife when he wants to feel her hair. Lennie is not an evil or devious man.

William Timothy O’Briens Novels :: William Timothy OBrien Essays

William Timothy O’Brien's Novels William Timothy O’Brien has written many stories during his lifetime. The first of which he wrote when he was nine years old. "Timmy of the Little League" was an autobiography of a youngster involved in sports (Myers, 143). As Tim was growing up, he took a break from writing. He began again while serving in the Vietnam war. When he began writing again, he quickly readapted to an autobiographical style of writing. These wartime stories are what has made O’Brien one of the leading writers today. His style is often compared to other factfiction writers; such as Hemmingway, Fitzgerald and Faulkner (Myers, 144). It is said by critics that O’Brien uses a lot of the same plot ideas as used by these other famous wartime authors. Even though similar plots are used, O’Brien uses his own experiences to make the stories realistic and inspirational. The same basic themes runs throughout all of O’Brien’s stories. According to Thomas Myers, all of O’Brien’s work contains these basic principles: "the continual interplay of fact and imagination in fiction and in life; the compulsive, absurd, noble quest for human truth; the difficulty in defining and obtaining the elusive quality of courage; and ongoing human need for fragile, made up, explanatory device we call story." With all of these elements together Tim is trying to write stories that fill his description that "War stories aren’t about war-they are about the human heart at war." While serving in the South China Sea, O’Brien wrote poetry and short vignettes about what he was experiencing. After returning from his Vietnam tour-of-duty, O’Brien wrote If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home. This autobiography is an account of a soldier facing death and searching for courage. O’Brien "offers a particular version of himself who is both a participant telling one man’s story and a symbolic emissary of his culture who exchanges traditional and pop culture myth for hard-earned knowledge of personal transgression and historical experience."(Oates, 438) O’Brien wrote about searching for personal courage while fighting a war he did not believe in. He also touches on the fear he faced as he grew from a naive young boy into a war-torn man. Some of the poetry and vignettes O’Brien wrote during the war show up in If I Die in a Combat Zone." O’Brien wrote this novel to help tell the public about the real horrors and fears that go along with war. This and the rest of O’Brien’s novels are used to show Americans the falsehood of the idea that war is glamorous. The same themes shows up in O’Brien’s second book.

Training Practices in Japan

Japan, the home country of tech giants Sony, Panasonic, and Sharp, has faced several talent recruitment challenges that have overturned the amounts reputation of excellence to a reputation that â€Å"Is no longer considered to be on the cutting edge of cool. † The appeal to work in Japan and for a Japanese firm isn't appealing for any longer for several reasons. For a country with companies that â€Å"were next to Western firms in popularity', Japan now has a smaller economy than China and has a less practical workforce compared to the skilled and specialized talent of the young in China, the West, and India.Beyond Japan's poor performing economy, Japan has also faced some political mishaps that also made the country less appealing for the monger talent. With Japan on the brink of a territorial war with China, recruitment by Japanese firms of young Chinese talent has â€Å"fallen by more than half this heavy. Another struggle that job seekers face is Japan's strict and stron g traditional sense and its stubbornness in letting go of traditional work ethic practices and Japan's â€Å"way of professional life. Japan's limited use of the English language has also scared many International talents from seeking employment In Japanese firms. American, Chinese and European new graduates don't want to Invest In the time or energy it would take to adjust their way of life to the Japanese way of life. The most important challenge to the shortage of young talent in Japan is, the belief that traditional Japanese companies don't give new talent much responsibility.Furthermore, the Japanese still feel that employees should start of small and â€Å"learn the ropes over time† whereas the Chinese and western firms hire new talent to utilize their abilities, strengths and specializations. Tankard points out however that there are some Japanese firms such as Reawaken and Deana â€Å"that are no longer following the rotational belief that new hires should be given a reprieve to prove themselves. † These firms also disagree with Japan's traditional â€Å"one-size-fits-all approach† which recently hasn't proved successful as exemplified by Sony lack of innovation and technological advancements.Firms like Reawaken and Deana, have been successful in outsourcing students from MIT and Indian universities and have already given them excellent quality production both successfully and satisfactorily. As many firms are slowly transitioning to this approach, several firms are also using mergers and acquisitions as a gateway to obtain high-quality talent. Taking explains how companies such as Reawaken and NET Data, who are expanding globally through acquisitions, have been successful because they have access to larger pools of talent. II.Analysis Introduction Over the past decade or so, Japan has seen a downward shift in economy, innovation, employment opportunities, and popularity. Even before the earthquake and tsunami that struck the Japa nese islands, several large Japanese corporations such as Sony, Sharp, and Panasonic that were known as industry leaders and were dollied by the rest of the world, experienced horrible financial performance strictly due to a change in talent management requirements and practices that had proven to be more successful than the Japanese professional traditions.It's important to ask; how do the Japanese do things differently? Japanese firms do a number of things extremely well. One is to train their people carefully, a strategy that many successful U. S. Firms also employ. Management attitudes toward quality also are quite different. The Japanese philosophy is that anything worth doing in the area of quality is worth overdoing. Workers are trained for all Jobs on the line, even though they eventually are assigned to a single workstation.This method of â€Å"training overkill† ensures that everyone can perform every Job perfectly and results in two important outcomes or if someone is moved to another Job, he or she can handle the work without any additional assistance and the workers realize that management puts an extremely high value on the need for quality. The Japanese do not accept the common U. S. Strategy of building a product with quality that's â€Å"good enough. † Although Japan seems to believe that it's traditions ND it's the professional way of life is the only and correct way of life, many Japanese natives including Mr..Highchair, the CEO of Reawaken, believe that this one-size-fits-all approach no longer works in emerging Japanese corporations. The training that Japanese firms used to give and that traditional firms still give using the â€Å"training overkill† method is insufficient compared to the education and training that Mr.. Highchair states makes Chinese talent more suitable. It is important to relate the findings by Taking to concepts that we have analyzed in section three of the course text and in specific, chapter ten which cuisses international training and management development.In the next section, I plan to discuss some training functions discussed in the text that Japan can adopt when dealing with outsourced new talent that has proven successful to the both the firm and the talents development. The text does serve a great role in pointing out five concepts that the Japanese can adopt to drive better usage of outsourced talent and it's global workforce. These concepts are: I. â€Å"think and act globally'; iii. â€Å"empower teams to create a global future†; lb. â€Å"make learning a core competence for the global organization†; . ND â€Å"both the global organization and its individual members must constantly reinvent themselves†. [Pages 255-256, International Human Resource Management, E (Global HARM)] I'. Think and Act Globally For Japanese firms to succeed in thinking and acting globally, global Japanese corporations must train talent to think of all markets in the w orld and strategies how to succeed in each individual market and not only the Japanese market. A decade ago, Japan did not have to think and act globally as Japan led markets and industries into thinking that their ways were the best ways.The Japanese were persuasive in their practices due to the success and strength of global Mines such as Sony and Panasonic who led the world at one in innovation, financial success, and employment satisfaction. Iii. Develop Global Leadership Skills Another practice Japanese firms need to succeed is they must also challenge talent with global learning ideas and a build it's forefronts to develop global leadership skills. Reawaken and Deana exemplify how through trust, all firms can build leadership in talents. In Japan the traditional way is to start of small and slow and build your way up.Unfortunately, this out dated practice is no longer suitable for today's working generation, which is always looking for advancement. Giving an talent the tools t hey need is usually enough to get the talent thinking on their own feet, accomplishing tasks with autonomy, and leading others successfully through cooperation, respect and integrity. lb. Empower Teams to Create a Global Future Japan must also empower teams to create a global future to be able to be successfully and competent in foreign and domestic markets.Japanese Mines can empower teams by creating expectations that require for talent to work on projects tit other international divisions. By allowing for talents across multi-regions the ability to perform organizational projects will allow for talents to build better problem-solving skills. As we learn through the course, different regions have different traditions, standards, regulations and ways of doing things. By allowing for cross-team cooperation, talents can find unique approaches and develop practices that can suit headquarters or several regions beyond those involved.With firms in Japan seeking mergers and acquisitions, empowering teams to cooperate globally should only become easier. V. Make Learning a Core Competence for the Global Organization firms strong focus on its goals and missions and task execution. Justine mentions that because of his firms focus, he believes that he will â€Å"emerge with a strong set of engineering skills† that he wouldn't gain elsewhere. With out much realization Deana has really become a core competent global organization that focuses on developing a learning atmosphere throughout all of the firm's doings.By doing so Japanese firms, like never before, can adopt an ability to learn and project outcomes much faster than competitors, which creates a sustainable advantage. ‘. Constant Re-invention of the Firm and the Talent â€Å"Training-overkill† and other traditional training practices followed by the Japanese are efficient for production, but not advantageous or beneficial for the development of the talent. Training-overkill and practices where J apanese talents are trained on every aspect of the position and how to resolve every problem can be detrimental for the growth of the talent.A talent needs to be able to confidently analyze, assess, and gather thoughts on the talents self-development in order to make the next move to advance his or her career. Reassessing also creates room for a talent to seek lateral promotion and assist in creation of strategies that allow for the talent to reach success. In today's highly competitive and everyday globally changing economy, it is important for training practices to encourage talents to strategies to avoid stagnation and lack of interest in their positions. IL. Conclusion The challenges that Japan currently faces are not challenges that are impossible to overcome. With the success of Japanese firms such as Deana, Reawaken, and NET Data, it's only a matter of time that these firms' successes are recognized. Their constant mission to veer away from the norms of the Japanese tradition that they know don't work and veer towards new strategies that develop the firm globally will be the testament to their success.With their continuous efforts to train talent to world standards and beyond, these firms can only perform as well as the talent they recruit. It's also important to realize that with Japanese firms moving toward outsourcing special talents, that innovative standards that were once prevalent in the nation, will soon return. Ill. Discussion Questions If the Japanese were to outsource, how can the â€Å"new' hiring strategies and raining models prepare the talent for today's challenges while keeping the Japanese way of doing things in tact.Mention three new attributes found in new hires from China, India and the Western hemisphere that can be merged with former Japanese practices and traditions. 2. As discussed in the analysis, the Japanese are known for â€Å"training-overkill†. Will the new strategies found in several Japanese firms, such as Reawake n create inefficiency? Will hiring talent based on specific skill-sets be challenging for Japanese who are acclimated to training for every position? How will this affect Japan's strict

The History Of Gender Equality Education Essay

Gender is the most basic and outstanding difference that exists among people, whether they are Latino, inkinesss, white, Asiatic, native or European. The heroic poem battle for gender equality in about all states of the universe is good recognized and acknowledged. For centuries, adult females were considered inferior to adult females or as second-class citizens until late. Queerly adequate, really immature misss ne'er attended public simple schools and even when they admitted, they were made to go to a unintegrated school installation. The transition of 19th Amendment to the US Constitution guaranteed voting rights to US adult females. The famed, 1973 instance of Roe v. Wade in the US Supreme Court finally resulted in the granting of right to reproductive freedom.Essential Differences between work forces and adult femalesPhysical differences between work forces and adult females are all good known. However, the most outstanding difference among work forces and adult females relates to the sensitive biological maps that are associated with childbearing, kid nursing, early oncoming of adulthood and the smaller physical size. If there are any other differences, they are due to differences and prejudices caused by the society. Anthropologically, immature male childs were ever considered as warriors, combatants and defenders of the society and household. A typical adult male was supposed to be full of energy and strength. He was besides supposed to be competitory and self-asserting. Work force were besides supposed to be passionless and reject empathy, understanding, fright and cargo. On the other manus, immature misss were supposed to be nurturing and inactive towards everyone in the household. Furthermore, they were expected to demo and exhibit emotions and sentiments. Development ensured that immature work forces and adult females adapted themselves to these typical and stereotyped sentiments and beliefs. They besides considered these beliefs to be the natural order of life. The consequences of these stereotypic beliefs were a deep unease of the society that finally resulted in gender prejudice and bitterness.Educational differencesEarly educational research conducted in the last century proposed that there are indispensable differences between male childs and misss, particularly in the sphere of math, verbal and spacial accomplishments. However, recent research findings suggest us that these perceived differences are false and at best biased. For illustration, there are non adequate differences on category trials between school traveling male childs and misss until the age of 10. Whatever the differences those exist is really infinitesimal. There was a perceptual experience that indicated that work forces do better in math trials in high school. However, those differences are get downing to vanish, as even adult females are making better in Math trials. In kernel, whatever the biological differences that exist between work forces and adult females, they are non wholly due to biological grounds.Methods to dispute female stereotypesStereotypic thought is really common in our society. Gender prejudice, inequality and contempt for adult females ‘s authorization are some of the negative thought that runs even today. A typical illustration of this is the sensed alteration in the attitude about a female jock ‘s power and ability in the field and path events. In the early parts of the last century, females were discouraged from take parting in athletic plans. Athletic plans were non even listed in the athleticss meets, while the supp ort for such plans was really light and rare. In fact, adult females seldom participated in athleticss activities. However, all these changed when the authorities proclaimed that adult females should have equal support under the Title IX of the educational amendment Acts of the Apostless of 1972. Due to the alterations in the jurisprudence, adult females could take part in athleticss and competitory activities conducted nationally and internationally.How should teacher act when there is gender pigeonholing?Struggle for gender equality is ongoing and every instructor is lending to guarantee gender equality. In the yesteryear, there were cases of instructors falling into trap of gender stereotypic believing inclinations that finally led them to believe that male childs were superior to girls in topics like math and scientific discipline. Such instructors used to name male childs to reply their inquiries in the category and they were encouraged to execute good in verbal and non-verbal trials. Similarly, girl pupils were either neglected or even ignored. As a dedicated instructor, you should non fall into the trap of gender stereotype ; instead, you should be a powerful instructor to deter such activities. This may advance and promote a typical schoolroom that provides encouragement for both male childs and misss to execute better in the category.More about Racial Prejudice and DiscriminationGender favoritism in our society ever depends on many factors like differences between work forces and adult females, presumed male high quality myth and the society ‘s general prejudice against weaker groups. Overall, the sensed bias against some groups in the society could be due to the construct of power relationship that arises as an indispensable portion of socialisation procedure. When immature people grow, they ever start seeking for their personal individuality. When you grow through your age, you may inquire these simple yet slippery inquiries: Who am I? Why am I here? However, it is really hard answer these inquiries by anyone. While it is really hard to reply these inquiries, you may be unconsciously larning about other intricate inquiries like ; Who are they? Who they are non To which race does he or she belong to What civilization does he or she belong to These simple inquiries may give rise to sense of ‘otherness † which may finally take to either domination by others or entry by ego. It may even ensue in the creative activity of pride or shame based on the prevailing stereotype and biass as projected by the society. To avoid all these unsavoury occurrences, you may necessitate to inform your kids about the rich cultural heritage of the state, all the piece emphasizing on the importance of different races, ethnicities and cultural groups of the state.The Great â€Å" Cycle of Poverty †Black to white relationship provides a really pertinent context for understanding how power relationships reinforce through legion social and cultural stereotypes and prejudice. Research findings suggest is that African American kids frequently accept the beliefs, patterns and built-in values of the dominant white social groups. This could be unsafe because kids may develop and propagate negative stereotype and sentiment about their a in race, civilization and beliefs. The 1944 authoritative written by Gunnar Myrdal ( An American Dilemma ) has provided us a great start to understand the practical theory of the now celebrated â€Å" The War on Poverty † . Focused specially on the racism in the US, the writer argued that African Americans frequently are trapped in a â€Å" rhythm of poorness † that may finally take to the development of unwanted stereotypes and prejudice. Harmonizing to the writer, a figure of African Americans have small entree to high quality instruction that may ensue in decreased employment options and eventual poorness and life of hopelessness. This general belief may hold led to the stereotypic thought that African Americans are lazy and that they can non work good for any occupations. This prejudice may besides ensue in a barbarous rhythm of poorness. Federal and province governmental plans like Head Start and Affirmative Action were successful in helping those people enrolled in public establishments.How to interrupt the barbarous cycle- Your FunctionWhite persons may reenforce the rhythm of poorness by believing in the usual stereotypic thought of Blacks, Hispanics, Asians and other cultural groups. Queerly, a figure of pupils are blissfully incognizant of their ain individuality as a portion of a racial group and this has led to the theory of â€Å" colour blind † . The consequence is that as they enter school, so get down believing that they are the portion of the â€Å" in group † that are wholly different from other pupils, who appear diverse in footings of their tegument colour, sunglassess, textures, linguistic communication, idiom and cultural upbringing. It could be a unsafe state of affairs for all kids. At this critical occasion, you may wish to work towards making a reciprocally contributing and across-the-board schoolroom. You may besides wish to develop a schoolroom that really believes in the rich civilization of America. It is your responsibility to work hard to make a democratic schoolroom by learning your pupils to esteem the cultural fortes of different groups. Nature helps kids to socialise and streamline their attitude to move in some specific manner towards others. Normally, they may ne'er seek to understand who they are, but they will decidedly get down specifying themselves by who they are non ; this attitude may take to incorrect self-perceptions. In life, all kids would wish to see themselves as either colored or non-colored, male or female, dark or just, immature or old or native English talkers or non. They may besides wish to acknowledge other differences between themselves and other people. These may include such things as caste, faith, civilization, ethnicity, regionalism or even sexual orientation. A multi-cultural schoolroom will assist you avoid developing such a negative inclination among your pupils. Supplying text editions that are positive in nature and that discuss about the benefits of life in a merely society may assist you plan and make a cultureless schoolroom. A good instructor will besides seek to make a schoolroom that exhibits tolerance, forbearance and credence of all cultural groups. It is possible to make a demographic schoolroom that is tolerant and sensitive towards all people.Classism – It is the Stain of Materialistic CultureAs a kid starts turning into an grownup phase, he or she will obser ve the presence of important differences in the social place of their schoolmates. Some kids may be treated as being low in the category ; this may intend that they are really hapless. Traditionally talking, people consider stuffs wealth to be above everything in this universe. It is besides really common to see rich know aparting against working category or even in-between category households. Because of their inability to flash material wealth in forepart of others, they are considered as person who can non hold a position in the society. The media and society play an of import function in propagating this category difference. Media advertizement and selling publicity are the two of the most powerful tools that guide little and immature kids in believing that utilizing branded and dearly-won merchandises will heighten their societal position among their schoolmates. Most of the trade names that are promoted by Television, cyberspace and wireless advertizements are premium and expe nsive.Happening of poorness in the United statesOn paper, the US is one of the wealthiest states in the universe. However, there are broad wrappings of population that are populating under poorness line ; most people populating under poorness line are frequently referred to as working hapless or working category. If you consider the authorities ‘s ain figure, the entire figure of people populating in poorness is a galvanizing 40 million or about 15 % of the full population. Harmonizing to the US Census Bureau ( U.S. Census Bureau, 2000a ) , approximately 30 % of all African Americans, 28 % of Hispanics and 31 % of Native Americans are populating below the poorness line. A state as rich and every bit affluent as the US has many traditional myths under its belly – myths refering the continuity of poorness and misery are common even today. One of the most important myths that exist today is that those people, who are populating below poorness line, do non really work. Most of the people, who are populating in poorness line do work for low paying and humble occupations that do non supply for the minimal amenitiess and populating necessities. Hence, these people are trapped in ageless poorness. Though they are willing to work, their low educational degree every bit good as dearth in accomplishments, impede them from acquiring better paying occupations. Recent research shows that about two million people, who are populating below the poorness line do work full clip. Another 7 million people, who are below the poorness line, really work portion clip. However, the most distressful fact about these set of statistics is the sensed Numberss of kids, who are populating under low poorness. They are the guiltless victims of a state of affairs that is non their mistake. With really few resources in their manus like books, computing machines, survey stuffs, you can non anticipate them to win in their category. Most of the parents, who live under the poorness line, are uneducated themselves and they may non be able to fix their kids for the schoolroom. As a instructor, you may necessitate to assist such parents and instructors to acquire an entree to liberate survey resources like books, computing machines, public libraries, in school plans and any other benevolent plans that can heighten their accomplishments and intelligence.Childs who live under poorness line – Comparison with other statesA old survey by a US magazine called U. S. News and World Report, demonstrated that the entire Numberss of kids populating in our state is far more than those that live in other industrialised states. Even after, you consider all those public assistances and societal security plans, every bit many as one kid in every five live in poorness, which is a really high figure of about 21.5 % ! Just compare this statistics from other states – 6.8 % for Germany and France, 9.9 % for Great Britain and a really low rate of 2.75 for Sverige! This important study besides provides a revealing narrative of why affluent United states kids are wealthier than the richest kids anyplace in the universe – â€Å" Poor kids have less to populate on- than those in all [ industrialised states ] but Ireland and Israel † ( U. S. News and World Report, 1995, p. 24 ) . The available informations on those kids, who are stateless, are even more startling! Estimated figures suggest us that the entire Numberss of stateless kids in the United States range from 65000 to 500,000. When you add the about 14 million kids, who live in some type of Foster attention installations, you can conceive of the humungous nature of the job ( Jencks, 1994 ; Sandham, 2001 ) . Classroom classism could be one of the most barbarous and worst signifiers of favoritism. As a instructor, you may wish to eliminate this perfidy from your schoolroom.What can you make?As a dedicated American instructor, you can make many things to minimise and eliminate classism in your schoolrooms. Two illustrations of actions are as follows: Choosing good course of study stuffs that plan to minimise classism Choosing your ain actions that are good and merely for the full schoolroom Teaching about the achievements of working category and hapless people in the state edifice could assist you in minimising classism. Historical mentions about labour battle and racism could besides be your potent tools in this way. You may besides learn how foolhardy disbursement on stuffs that we do non necessitate, will take to material geting compulsion and uneconomical outgo. You must be a positive function theoretical account, who believes in high value public presentation, cooperation and indifferent and above all with a head to eschew philistinism. Make certain that you send out a positive signal to your kids.Journal ActivityMake you hold with gender inequality? Why female stereotypic thought can harm the larger involvements of a society? Do you experience inordinate gender stereotyping will harm your learning? What is your sentiment on biass and favoritism practiced in a schoolroom?Pause and ReflectInvent a mechanism to contend the Great Cycle of Poverty. Write down notes on why this construct is so critical for guaranting learning success in a traditional schoolroom. If you want to win as a good instructor, how to you face assorted cases of gender race favoritism that are so common in a school.Internet ActivityCollect more information on the Great Cycle of Poverty and happening of poorness among schoolchildren in the US. What is your sentiment on the Great War on Poverty? By utilizing the information, devise you ain function that will help you in interrupting down the barbarous rhythm of poorness.