The NBA Draft free essay sample

An analysis of why high school basketball players should not enter the NBA draft. The paper lists the negative effects of being a high school NBA basketball player, such as the distraction from tertiary education and the professional risks involved. It explores the uniqueness of high school NBA drafts and explains its recommendations to defer entry into the NBA draft for a few years after high school. Todays sports world is almost surreal with its multi million dollar contracts; the treatment of the stars the adoration of the fans and other aspects make becoming a sports star a once in a lifetime adventure. It is something that young boys dream about and fathers secretly hope in the back of their minds, can happen to their child. Because of the increasing size of contracts and the sponsorship opportunities that go with the game, students now are often opting to leave high school and turn pro. We will write a custom essay sample on The NBA Draft or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

Macbeth Composition Essay Example For Students

Macbeth Composition Essay Life itself can either be great or not so great. Sometimes your up on top of the world and sometimes your lying face down in the dirt. Either way you got to take what life gives you and make the best of it. In this soliloquy, MacBeths recognition scene, he offers the reader a very negative and dark worldview. In essence he says that 1 life is repetitive and boring, 2 that man is puny and insignificant, and 3 that life itself is rendered meaningless and absurd by the finality of death. MacBeths worldview is extremely negative and pessimistic, and he sees no hope at all. Given the experience of life and literature, one might disagree with him and offer evidence to the contrary. There are many examples to prove MacBeth wrong in his view of life as being boring and repetitive. First, in the play MacBeth, king Duncan decides to make MacBeth Thane of Cawdor. How boring can it be to rule all of Cawdor and know that the king thinks very highly of you. Second, man has invented video games, TV, sports, and amusement parks to entertain man. So how can all those things just mention still make life boring? There is no way life is boring and repetitive because there is always something you can find to entertain yourself. MacBeth also thinks that man is puny and insignificant but that is truly wrong. Man is the supreme being of the Earth. Look how powerful the Pope, president of the United States, generals etc. can be. Every catholic would do anything the Pope would ask. Another reason to prove the views of MacBeth wrong comes right out of the play. The king of Scotland means a lot to the people and has the most power throughout the land. Once MacBeth killed king Duncan he knew he had to king Malcolm who has the heir to the throne in order for nothing to stand in his way of the throne. Obviously Malcolm was pretty significant to MacBeth if he wanted to murder him. Furthermore, you can look at history and see how Cesar ruled most of the world for over 600 years. There are just to many examples to prove that man is in no way puny and insignificant. There is no way life is meaningless even with death in mind. Every culture in the world believes in a God and a afterlife. They spend their lives praying and worshiping their Gods hoping that the afterlife will be grand. You should not fear death because you get to go to heaven, which is what you want heaven to be. Therefore there is no reason why you should fear death. The way MacBeth views the world as a dark place is extremely wrong. Throughout this paper there has been many examples on how life is exciting and very meaningful. Even though there are bad days or even weeks in life, the good days  always out weighs the bad. In conclusion, life is what you make of it so you cant blame others for your life and the way you live it.

Women In Shakespeare Henry V And Merchant Of Venic Essay Example For Students

Women In Shakespeare Henry V And Merchant Of Venic Essay eShakespeares presentation and portrayal of his female characters in TheMerchant of Venice and Henry V follows a typical pattern that is present in allof the Shakespearean plays that I have read so far. When looking closely at thefate of his female characters, this pattern becomes even more evident for itrepeats itself no matter how different the plays are. For instance, Henry V andThe Merchant of Venice are different in every respect. The female characters notonly come from different backgrounds, they also have very differentpersonalities. However, as different as these plays and their characters are,the female characters end up suffering the same fate. It doesnt seem tomatter whether they are born into a life of peasantry, nobility, or come fromroyalty, for they ultimately will end up being no better than a piece of land,or cattle, or some possession that a man can own and do with as he pleases. We will write a custom essay on Women In Shakespeare Henry V And Merchant Of Venic specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Scholars have been debating for centuries now as to whether Shakespeareswomen reflect his societys attitudes or that of his own. Henry V isdefinitely geared more for the male audience. There are only two or three actsin which a female character is present at all. When we first get a glimpse ofKatherine, she is trying to learn the English language. This scene is supposedto be somewhat comical, but are we really supposed to believe that while thereis a war raging throughout her country, that all Katherine is concerned about isthe fact that she cant speak the language of her enemy? This scene in whichwe get our first glimpse of Katherine is somewhat degrading to her character aswell as misleading. This leaves the audience with the inaccurate perception thatKatherine, and thus all women in general, care very little about whats goingon around them, and more about making themselves presentable. Afterall, isntKatherine the Grand Prize that will be awarded to the winning side? I findit very insulting that Shakespeares only significant female role in the wholeplay, is being used as a Prize to be given away. Shakespeare doesnteven try to hide the fact that he is setting Katherine up as a prize. I findthis kind of arrogance to be offensive and very belittling to women. While themen are off fighting the battle, Katherine, the future Queen of France, does notappear to be a bit concerned over the fate of her own country. Instead, shereadily accepts her fate as she prepares herself for the role of Queen ofEngland. This play is very biased and one-sided. Most of the English men areportrayed as noble, humble and superior to the French. Henry himself can do nowrong, and is portrayed through out the play as the best leader that the Englishhave ever had. This image that he can do no wrong and is as close to beingperfect as one can get, only holds up if you dont go digging around inHenrys past, in which he had been portrayed as a spoiled, pampered partyingboy. The French, in contr ast to the English, are presented as arrogant,incompetent, and weak, very similar to what Henry had been not to long ago. There is, however, one thing lower than a Frenchman, and that is, a Frenchwoman. The fact that Shakespeare subjected Katherines character, (she, whohad been born into royalty which was the highest social position one can reach),to being treated as a possession or prize for a man, only adds credence to theargument that Shakespeare had very little respect for women. Katherinecharacter, for the most part, adds very little, if anything at all, to the play. In fact, the role of Katherine could have easily been omitted altogether, andpersonally, I wish it had been The last act, in which Henry easily manages towin the affections of Katherine, is a weak attempt on Shakespeares part toend the play on a an uplifting note. Its a shame that Shakespeare put it inat all because it definitely changes the way I feel about this play, inparticular, as well as the others. The women characters in The Merchant ofVenice are treated with much more respect than Katherine had been. However, Ihave a feeling that its only due to the fact that Shakespeare thinks less ofJews than he does women. The Merchant of Venice, does have a strong castof women who play very important roles throughout the play. These women are muchmore impressive than those found in Henry V. Portia, in particular, is by farthe superior one of the play. Like Queen Elizabeth herself, Portias characteris a blending of femininity and masculinity. Portia has great strength ofcharacter, a quick wit, and is very well educated in the affairs of the worldaround her which is not a common theme in Shakespeares women. She is in everyrespect far superior to the fools she ends up being surrounded by. This mightnot have been the case if it werent for the fact that she, with all herintelligence and wit is still being dictated by a male. Her dead father dictatesher life through his will. I guess Shakespeare does not miss an opportunity toput even the most superior of all women in her place as he does just that toPortia. For all her power, riches, and strengths, she still is no better thanthe man she marries. Her new husband, Barsenio, is no match for her, and yet heis handed over everything that belongs to her, including her soul. AlthoughShakespeare gives the very best of qualities and traits to the female characterPortia, he knows that in spite of her superiority and domination over all theother characters including the male characters, he can later strip her of allher greatness a t any time, and does just that at the end of the play. What Ifind so unbelievable is the way that Shakespeares women just hand overeverything including themselves, no questions asked, to a man they hardly knowand yet willingly and happily marry. I have a hard time believing that women ofhis day did this duty so graciously. Portias portrayal of being such a strongfigure and at the same time, a woman who is subservient to her times, makes mequestion whether Shakespeare really knew what was gong on in the minds of theElizabethan women. Just the fact that he disguises his women characters up asmen in order to bring them to higher levels, leads me to believe that he is justmaking it all up as he goes along. Dont get me wrong, I love most ofShakespeares work. Its just his female characters that I have a problemwith. When reading Shakespeare it is easy to question what his motives mighthave been. Scholars have been doing this for centuries. We will never be sure asto whether or not Shakesp eare was reflecting the times or his own feelings. Onemust keep in mind when reading Shakespeare that hs writings are not historicallyaccurate and therefore most likely only reflect his views on things. I only hopethat is the case, for I cant imagine women ever being so passive. Could wehave really been the passive beings that Shakespeare portrays women as, Iseriously doubt it. Kelley Vickers-Sullivan Engl. 141-Mid-Term Essay March 30,2000 Youve Come a Long Way Baby! Shakespeares presentation and portrayalof his female characters in The Merchant of Venice and Henry V follows a typicalpattern that is present in all of the Shakespearean plays that I have read sofar. When looking closely at the fate of his female characters, this patternbecomes even more evident for it repeats itself no matter how different theplays are. For instance, Henry V and The Merchant of Venice are different inevery respect. The female characters not only come from different backgrounds,they also have very diff erent personalities. However, as different as theseplays and their characters are, the female characters end up suffering the samefate. It doesnt seem to matter whether they are born into a life ofpeasantry, nobility, or come from royalty, for they ultimately will end up beingno better than a piece of land, or cattle, or some possession that a man can ownand do with as he pleases. Scholars have been debating for centuries now as towhether Shakespeares women reflect his societys attitudes or that of hisown. Henry V is definitely geared more for the male audience. There are only twoor three acts in which a female character is present at all. When we first get aglimpse of Katherine, she is trying to learn the English language. This scene issupposed to be somewhat comical, but are we really supposed to believe thatwhile there is a war raging throughout her country, that all Katherine isconcerned about is the fact that she cant speak the language of her enemy?This scene in which we get o ur first glimpse of Katherine is somewhat degradingto her character as well as misleading. This leaves the audience with theinaccurate perception that Katherine, and thus all women in general, care verylittle about whats going on around them, and more about making themselvespresentable. Afterall, isnt Katherine the Grand Prize that will beawarded to the winning side? I find it very insulting that Shakespeares onlysignificant female role in the whole play, is being used as a Prize to begiven away. Shakespeare doesnt even try to hide the fact that he is settingKatherine up as a prize. I find this kind of arrogance to be offensive and verybelittling to women. While the men are off fighting the battle, Katherine, thefuture Queen of France, does not appear to be a bit concerned over the fate ofher own country. Instead, she readily accepts her fate as she prepares herselffor the role of Queen of England. This play is very biased and one-sided. Mostof the English men are portrayed as nobl e, humble and superior to the French. .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 , .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .postImageUrl , .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 , .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3:hover , .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3:visited , .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3:active { border:0!important; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3:active , .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3 .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue07906095363db72e964c571d82128f3:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Physics Of Scuba Diving: Swimming with the Fish EssayHenry himself can do no wrong, and is portrayed through out the play as the bestleader that the English have ever had. This image that he can do no wrong and isas close to being perfect as one can get, only holds up if you dont godigging around in Henrys past, in which he had been portrayed as a spoiled,pampered partying boy. The French, in contrast to the English, are presented asarrogant, incompetent, and weak, very similar to what Henry had been not to longago. There is, however, one thing lower than a Frenchman, and that is, a Frenchwoman. The fact that Shakespeare subjected Katherines character, (she, whohad bee n born into royalty which was the highest social position one can reach),to being treated as a possession or prize for a man, only adds credence to theargument that Shakespeare had very little respect for women. Katherinecharacter, for the most part, adds very little, if anything at all, to the play. In fact, the role of Katherine could have easily been omitted altogether, andpersonally, I wish it had been The last act, in which Henry easily manages towin the affections of Katherine, is a weak attempt on Shakespeares part toend the play on a an uplifting note. Its a shame that Shakespeare put it inat all because it definitely changes the way I feel about this play, inparticular, as well as the others. The women characters in The Merchant ofVenice are treated with much more respect than Katherine had been. However, Ihave a feeling that its only due to the fact that Shakespeare thinks less ofJews than he does women. The Merchant of Venice, does have a strong castof women who play very important roles throughout the play. These women are muchmore impressive than those found in Henry V. Portia, in particular, is by farthe superior one of the play. Like Queen Elizabeth herself, Portias characteris a blending of femininity and masculinity. Portia has great strength ofcharacter, a quick wit, and is very well educated in the affairs of the worldaround her which is not a common theme in Shakespeares women. She is in everyrespect far superior to the fools she ends up being surrounded by. This mightnot have been the case if it werent for the fact that she, with all herintelligence and wit is still being dictated by a male. Her dead father dictatesher life through his will. I guess Shakespeare does not miss an opportunity toput even the most superior of all women in her place as he does just that toPortia. For all her power, riches, and strengths, she still is no better thanthe man she marries. Her new husband, Barsenio, is no match for her, and yet heis handed over everything that belongs to her, including her soul. AlthoughShakespeare gives the very best of qualities and traits to the female characterPortia, he knows that in spite of her superiority and domination over all theother characters including the male characters, he can later strip her of allher greatness a t any time, and does just that at the end of the play. What Ifind so unbelievable is the way that Shakespeares women just hand overeverything including themselves, no questions asked, to a man they hardly knowand yet willingly and happily marry. I have a hard time believing that women ofhis day did this duty so graciously. Portias portrayal of being such a strongfigure and at the same time, a woman who is subservient to her times, makes mequestion whether Shakespeare really knew what was gong on in the minds of theElizabethan women. Just the fact that he disguises his women characters up asmen in order to bring them to higher levels, leads me to believe that he is justmaking it all up as he goes along. Dont get me wrong, I love most ofShakespeares work. Its just his female characters that I have a problemwith. When reading Shakespeare it is easy to question what his motives mighthave been. Scholars have been doing this for centuries. We will never be sure asto whether or not Shakesp eare was reflecting the times or his own feelings. Onemust keep in mind when reading Shakespeare that hs writings are not historicallyaccurate and therefore most likely only reflect his views on things. I only hopethat is the case, for I cant imagine women ever being so passive. Could wehave really been the passive beings that Shakespeare portrays women as, Iseriously doubt it.

Developers We Need Your Help

Developers We Need Your Help Free Online Research Papers There are amazing things happening with new advances in graphics and interfaces as technology improves and enthusiastic gamers have recently been introduced to convincing virtual reality with stunning visuals. There are videos of people playing these virtual reality games reacting in laughter, awe, and fear to playing these increasingly realistic games that have become fully immersive. Imagine some of the games today such as Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and Minecraft some of which not only have marvelous graphics, but now also an added element of realism that is so immersive, so real, and so elaborate that the action may as well be taking place in real life. It has long been debated whether or not video games cause violence, but with such convincing options in virtual reality, there are now endless possibilities when it comes to the effects these games can have. Some people think video games do not affect players in the real world despite the evidence, and some people think de velopers should have an ethically responsible duty for the content of games because evidence has shown positive behavioral effects on users such as an increase in prosocial behavior, as well as negative traits such as a decrease in empathy and an increase in aggression. There is plenty of evidence and accusations on how video games and other violent media affect consumers in negative ways, but recent developments indicate there are also positive behavioral effects on users such as an increase in prosocial behavior. Prosocial behaviors are often defined as helping behaviors that are done mainly for the benefit of the recipient with little regard for selfish gain by the person helping. For example, in a study done by Happ, Melzer, and Steffgen, â€Å"[p]articipants who played the hero character (Superman) showed more helping behavior and less hostile perception bias than those who played the evil Joker† (Happ, Melzer, Steffgen, 2013, p. 776). The prosocial behavior was measured after participants of a study in which players were evaluated on their empathetic responses to a perceived bad guy when exposed to a backstory of bad circumstances that may explain villainous behavior or just a neutral background of both Superman and Joker. Prosocia l behavior was indicated in the response of the test subjects in which a letter was dropped, fully addressed and stamped, that could easily be seen, and was not mentioned to be part of the study outside of the lab area, then counted as prosocial if the letter was either given to the addressee or the experimenter. This may indicate that it is not only negative effects that would result from gameplay, but also indicates empathy in the case of bad behavior if such behaviors could be rationalized through a backstory of wicked circumstances. This seems to show that developers could, in fact, affect behavior in more positive ways, as well as have the ability to inspire empathy and even rationalization of bad behaviors. It appears as though video games could be a great tool for emotional and social development as long as they are created with intent and attention to detail to encourage more positive actions. Greitemeyer and Osswald, â€Å"†¦presented evidence that exposure to pro social video games increased the accessibility of prosocial thoughts, which may instigate prosocial action† (Greitemeyer Osswald, 2011, p. 126), and that reinforces the idea for developers taking responsibility by writing positive storylines to show video games in a more encouraging light. This study demonstrated that prosocial thoughts were found to be more accessible through an experiment where reaction times were measured to either aggressive or prosocial words after playing an aggressive or prosocial game. The findings were dependent on the game played with either quicker reactions to aggressive words if the aggressive game was played or a faster reaction to prosocial words if the prosocial game was played, which indicated a priming effect. Essentially, if you are put into a negative frame of mind you will react quicker to negativity and if put into a positive frame of mind you will react quicker to positivity. It should be clearer that shunning the idea of being ethi cally responsible and continuing to churn out violent games will not have good consequences. A commonly featured negative aspect in studies of video game use is a decrease in empathy of players who play violent games. There was a recent analysis that concluded violent video games and exposure to those games can lead to increases in aggression while decreasing empathy (Fraser, Padilla-Walker, Coyne, Nelson, Stockdale, 2012). The analyses were concluded using many types of studies such as randomized experiments in which children were randomly assigned violent or non-violent games and their resulting behaviors were observed, cross-sectional surveys were utilized in which time was spent playing violent games was recorded and compared to self- reported acts of aggression, and longitudinal survey results were analyzed in which several measures of violent media were assessed for frequency and then compared to measures of aggressiveness. Most gamers who are adolescents are still developing and the most susceptible according to a study by Shin and Ahn who assert that â€Å"[p]la ying video games do not require game players to allocate mental resources to understand other agents, and this can lead to prolonged inactivity of the social brain† (Shin Ahn, 2013, p. 602). Video games do not require players to think about understanding the actions of other players, so, therefore, social interactions are not practiced as if they would be regularly with in-person social exchanges. These findings mean that if care is not taken and the gameplay is extended beyond a reasonable period where they are not utilizing or cultivating these skills that it may affect the emotional brain development of key social abilities in teenagers, such as cognitive empathy. A lack of skills or decline in cognitive empathy makes it harder for those affected to accurately recognize and understand the emotional state of others through visual cues. If reading the emotions of others is difficult it could lead to various misunderstandings, some of which could culminate into episodes o f aggression. Finally, the most important reason developers should be ethically responsible for the messages their games send is an increase in aggression. Hasan, Bà ¨gue, and Bushman found that â€Å"†¦ participants who played a violent video game were significantly more aggressive afterward than were participants who played a nonviolent video game. Violent game players gave their ostensible partners louder and longer noise blasts through headphones than did nonviolent game players† (Hasan, Bà ¨gue, Bushman, 2013, p. 68). This shows how a violent video game can have at the least, short-term displays of aggression, possibly caused by the agitation of a high-stress situation and how they were willing to inflict increasingly uncomfortable stimuli on their perceived partners. There may have been many reasons why their partners perhaps did not act as expected, but as mentioned previously playing video games does not require contemplating motives of other actors and it then becomes ea sy to act aggressively towards those around us. It has been, â€Å"†¦confirmed that violent video games can increase aggressive behavior- but they also indicate that certain safeguards can be employed to reduce such unsavory outcomes† (Gitter, Ewell, Guadagno, Stillman, Baumeister, 2013, p. 353). As the research in this paper shows, there is a great hope that positive behaviors can be inspired, reinforced, and encouraged using video games as long as proper care is taken by those creating these powerful tools. Evidence shows games are able to nurture prosocial attitudes that developers could take advantage of and do a great service to the public. Indeed, while not everyone who plays violent video games will suffer adverse social effects, there should be more ethical awareness by game creators of the messages these games send. It is now known that video games can foster positive behavioral developments such as an increase in prosocial helping behaviors as well as adopting undesirable behaviors such as lack of empathy and aggression. If the video games we see on the screen a few feet away can have this powerful of an influence on our psyche, just imagine how detrimental or uplifting the futures of children could be with virtual reality and an ever-changing landscape of technology gaining more momentum into full immersion. It must be accepted that the future of the youth is not just up to parents. Developers, there are many great stories that can be told with games that will elicit the best qualities out of people and make the future more utopian, all that needs to be done is to take responsibility for the power wielded. References Anderson, C., Berkowitz, L., Donnerstein, E., Huesmann, L. R., Johnson, J., Linz, D. (2003). The Influence of Media Violence on Youth. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 81-110. Fraser, A., Padilla-Walker, L., Coyne, S., Nelson, L., Stockdale, L. (2012). Associations Between Violent Video Gaming, Empathic Concern, and Prosocial Behavior Toward Strangers, Friends, and Family Members. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 636-649. Gitter, S. A., Ewell, P. J., Guadagno, R. E., Stillman, T. F., Baumeister, R. F. (2013). Virtually justifiable homicide: The effects of prosocial contexts on the link between violent video games, aggression, and prosocial and hostile cognition. Aggressive Behavior, 346-354. Greitemeyer, T., Osswald, S. (2011). Playing Prosocial Video Games Increases the Accessibility of Prosocial Thoughts. Journal of Social Psychology, 121-128. Happ, C., Melzer, A., Steffgen, G. (2013). Superman vs. BAD man? The effects of empathy and game character in violent video games. Cyberpsychology, Behavior And Social Networking, 774-78. Hasan, Y., Bà ¨gue, L., Bushman, B. J. (2013). Violent Video Games Stress People Out and Make Them More Aggressive. Aggressive Behavior, 64-70. Shin, D., Ahn, D. (2013). Associations between game use and cognitive empathy: a cross-generational study. Cyberpsychology, Behavior And Social Networking, 599-603. Research Papers on Developer's We Need Your HelpOrganizational Behavior - Analysis of Wal-MartAdvertising EssaySociology EssayBiological, Strain, My Writing ExperiencePlastic Surgery Essay

Freedom of Association in Hong Kong, Great Britain and The United Essay

Freedom of Association in Hong Kong, Great Britain and The United States - Essay Example The paper tells that in Hong Kong, the principle piece of legislation which details the country's position on Freedom of Association is the Societies Ordinance. This ordinance is concerned with the registration of societies, and the rights of societies, so it implicates Hong Kong's Freedom of Association. In order to fully understand the impact of this piece of legislation, it has to be broken down in pieces and analyzed in this manner. First of all, Section 5 of this law states that societies within Hong Kong must register with the Societies Officer within 1 month of the formation of that particular society. The application form for registering must include the name of the society, along with the society's purpose. That said, societies may be exempt from the registration requirement if they are to be established for the benefit of a religion, a charity, or social and recreational purpose. The Societies Officer may refuse to register a society if the Office believes that refusing to register the society is in the interest of the people or the government, in that the society somehow implicates national security, public safety, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others. Furthermore, the Societies Officer may refuse to register a society which has connections with the government of Taiwan, or has a connection with a political organization in Taiwan. The Societies Officer may also cancel the registration of a society, or the exemption from registration for a society, for the same reasons why The Societies Officer may deny an initial application. ... l its case to the Chief Executive in Council.8 If the society appeals, then the society may function during the period of time that the Chief Executive in Council is considering the appeal.9 If the Societies Officer cancels a registration, the society has a right to appeal this as well.10 What the effect is of not being able to register with the Societies Officer, or having a registration cancelled, is draconian – that society would have to cease operations, and if they do not, the officers of the society are subject to fine or imprisonment.11 Moreover, â€Å"triad,† or criminal, societies are automatically deemed to be unlawful.12 Discussion Hong Kong In looking at this portion of the Societies Ordinance, it becomes clear that there is not truly freedom of association in Hong Kong. A number of elements in the ordinance stand out. First, the Societies Officer appears to have a great degree of power in deciding who gets registered as a society and who does not. The Socie ties Officer must only decide that national security, public safety, public order, or the rights and freedoms of others is implicated by the formation of a particular society, and this is deemed as a reason to deny that society the benefits of registration.13 These exceptions are vague and overly broad, and seems like a great number of legitimate societies could somehow fit into one of the categories above. For instance, if a society is deemed to infringe on the rights and freedoms of others, what does that mean? What rights? What freedoms? Also, how does the Societies Officer determine if public order or public safety are implicated? National security may seem obvious, in that if a society is formed which is in opposition to national security goals, then this society may not be registered, but even

Economics For Business, The Canadian Economy in the years 2006, 2007 Essay

Economics For Business, The Canadian Economy in the years 2006, 2007 until end of 2008 - Essay Example The government has catalysed saving by reducing taxes and providing non-taxable savings accounts. (conservative.ca, 2009) Fundamentally, the main objective of the monetary policy of Canada is to ensure Canadian citizen’s wellbeing. This is by enhancing an economic growth that is sustained, increasing employment levels as well as improved standards of living. From experience, monetary policy only achieves this goal by way of offering businesses and households’ confidence as far as the value of money is concerned. In 2008, October 23rd the Bank of Canada released a report on monetary policy. The report contained current financial and economic trends in line with the control of inflation is concerned. According to the report, the three main interrelated world developments are affecting the economy of Canada and resulting to the economic growth outlook more unpredictable. This is due to the world financial crisis resulting to major strains in the markets of financial instruments. Demand is prospected to continue being weak due to exports. Lower prices of goods and services will also lead to an outlook that is damp since the terms of trade for Canada are set to decline as well as a growth in domestic demand that’s moderate. Generally, the Bank of Canada predicts a real GDP growth of 0.6% in years 2008 and 2009. 2010’s is set to be 3.4%. (bankofcanada.ca, 2008) In the 2009’s monetary policy report, the Bank of Canada noted that the economic environment continues to highly unpredictable. This is due to the large negative impacts by the recession of the global economy. Emanating from this, the Canadian economy is projected to fall by 3.0% in the year 2009. Recovery is likely to occur in the fourth quarter and the projected growth in the real GDP is 2.5% in year 2010. 2011’s economic growth is set to be 4.7%. The core

Interpretivism Approach In The Study Of Workers Behaviour Psychology Essay

Interpretivism Approach In The Study Of Workers Behaviour Psychology Essay The study of workers behaviour is a very complex phenomenon as it involves peoples attitudes, feelings and behaviours, which characterise life in an organisation. The field of human behavior is solidly grounded by researcher such as Taylor, Maslow, Herzberg and Elton Mayo. With the pace of industrial revolution, studies are now more focused on areas such as job satisfaction and analysis, performance evaluation, employee motivation and the human factor at workplace. Hence, the interpretivism approach has gained momentum in the study of human behaviour. This literature review will introduce the different research philosophies which have been used in the field of human behaviour, firstly, providing a descriptive analysis of the Positivist approach, which focuses on quantitative methods as opposed to the Interpretivist approach, which focuses on qualitative methods and secondly how the early approach to research in human behaviour has shifted towards qualitative methods as it enhances understanding of workers behaviours in organisations and hence facilitate management decisions. For decades, the way in which research is conducted has produced arguments relating to which research philosophies, approaches and strategies are best to follow.   A research philosophy is a belief about the way in which data can be gathered, analysed and used. Galliers (1991) identified two major school of thoughts as Positivist (also called scientific) and interpretivist (also known as anti-positivist). Positivism is a belief that it is possible to obtain objective knowledge through observation and that such knowledge is verified by statements about the circumstances in which such knowledge is true. Smith (1998) provides a useful insight into positivist thinking within social sciences with this description: Positivist approaches to the social sciences . . . assume things can be studied as hard facts and the relationship between these facts can be established as scientific laws. For positivists, such laws have the status of truth and social objects can be studied in much the same way as natural objects. In other words, Positivism views the social world as the natural world in terms of how it can be studied, because human behaviour is determined by rules and developed with social groups. Positivism is considered to be an empirical testing of theories by means of experimentations before reaching a general principle. Positivism adopts a clear quantitative approach to investigating phenomena by using data that are objective, discernible and measurable. According to House (1983) evaluation of information is considered to be scientifically objective in the sense that they can be verified by logical inspection regardless of who uses the techniques. Hence, the positivist approach to research is favoured due its exactness and impartiality. (e-International Relations, 2010).   Positivist research is usually conducted with a large number of participants. The research design tend to be comparative, hence the use of surveys or experimental designs is usually preferred. The methods used are more likely to produce quantifiable and testable data such as official statistics, structured interviews and observation.   Typically, they are rigid, unchanging and free from social constraints. However, the use of these methods can sometimes be very expensive and time consuming. Thus, critics argue that the positivist approach yields useful, but limited data, which only provide a superficial view of the phenomenon under investigation (Bond, 1993; Moccia, 1988; Payle, 1995) Early positivist theorist in the field or organisational and human behaviour searched for underlying principles of what happens in organisational settings. They were concerned with efficiency, or how to economically maximise workers productivity (Denhardt, 2008; Simon, 1947a). However, Dahl (1947) rejects the idea that the study of human behaviour could be classified as a positivist approach and could be designed as true experiments that produce uniform, reliable and verifiable data. A major criticism of the positivist approach is that it does not allow a comprehensive study and examination of human beings and their behaviours. Hence, the increasing importance of the human factor in the workplace leads to the emergent to a shift towards the interpretivist paradigm. Interpretivism approach focuses on methods that examine people and their social behaviour (Gill and Johnson, 1997). This approach considers human beings as part of the social world, which exists due to the interaction and actions of human beings. It emphasises a search for meaning, understanding and social interaction as the basis for knowledge. According to Cantrell (1993, p84), the aims of interpretivist approach research are to understand phenomena, to interpret meaning within particular social and cultural contexts, and to uncover beliefs and elicit meaning from action and intention through dialogical interaction between researchers and participants. According to the interpretivist view, the social world is open and changing by ways people go about their lives. Research methods therefore, must be capable of capturing the quality of peoples interpretations and understanding the meanings to people course of actions. Hence, the utility of qualitative data is preferred as it is more acquiescent to the study of organisation and human behavior. Qualitative research is a class of research methods in which the researcher actively interacting with the participants of the particular study (Muchinsky, 2003).   In other words, the researcher gets involved with the phenomena being researched. Thus, qualitative research produces narrative descriptions of events as opposed to quantitative research which produces results in numerical data (Landy Conte, 2004; Strauss Corbin, 1990) The interpretivist approach makes use of flexible and multiple methods, the most desirable way of studying a small sample in depth over time. The favoured common methods used include interviews, observational research and focus groups.   The characteristics of these methods are extremes to those used in quantitative research as they are exploratory rather than explanatory and focus on meanings than establishing facts. The interpretivist paradigm disagrees with the notion that human beings and its behaviour can be studied with scientific methods. Interpretivist theorists are more concerned with the study of organisation from inside as they assumed that a better understanding of how the company functions can only be achieved from the perspective of the workers. The favoured research design in Ethnography with the use of qualitative method such as observation is useful in answering questions on why employees behave the way they do in organisations and what happens in the organisation (Ehigie, R.I Ehigie B.O, 2005:621-638). Ethnography study is by means of which you assess people in their day to day activities, their behaviour and culture in a natural setting. Fetterman (1998) describes it as the art and science of describing a group or a culture. The group can be categorised as work group, organisations or team of individuals where as culture can be the prevailing culture in an organisation. Ethnography can be used to gain understanding of the real world context, social as well as work settings (Hughes et al, 1995; Blomberg et al, 1993). Bret et al (2003) argues that since organisations are presently turning towards the use of work teams, ethnography studies have become an important research method in understanding the complex interactions with work teams. Hence, the use of ethnographic methods help in gathering information by mainly watching and talking with people, and by scrutinising documented reports and records (Riemer, 2008:205). Observation is one of the ethnographic methods used by researchers to observe the population of the phenomena to be studied to develop an understanding of their behaviour and culture. The personnel of an organisation who usually make use of this method are supervisors, human resource experts as by nature of their job responsibilities they are expected to observe workers behaviour on the job (Krumm, 2001). Frederick Taylor, one of the early contributors in the study of motivation and performance at work carried out series of experiments at the Bethlehem Steel Company which included non-participant observation of workers. As the workers were constantly aware that they were being observed, there was a drastic change in their work pattern and consequently resulted to improvement in work performance, organisation productivity and earnings. Taylor (1856-1915) advocated that monetary rewards were the main cause of motivation, therefore observational studies on workers did not affect their p erformance, as they were drive by the financial rewards they would achieve by their course of actions. A very good example of participant observation can be related to the Hawthorne experiments allegedly conducted by Elton Mayo. The researchers involved in the Hawthorne Experiments did not understand the impact of human values and interaction until they personally interacted with the workers (Denhardt, 2009:3). Thus, through this interaction they had a better understanding of the workers actions in relations to the working environment. However, observational studies are also criticised as only small samples can be investigated such as in the case of Taylors research which was only conducted on manual workers. It is believed that if the research was conducted on white collar workers the findings would have been different. Another criticism by (Muchinsky, 2003; Sackett Larsen, 1990), observation is not frequently used in the study of human behaviour as it relies extensively on time and energy. One criticism of Mayos research is that the population involved knew that they were being studies. The critics argued that to capture a clearer picture of the research, the participants should not be made aware that they are being studied. Despite these criticisms, it is believed that Taylors observational studies have immensely contributed to present day management and gave birth to the concept of performance related pay system. To summarise, it can be argued that qualitative methods found its way in the study of both organisational and human behaviour. However, as a researcher to understand the phenomenon being studied, the use of converging information from different sources, regardless of its form is more advisable. Although Spector (2005) argued that qualitative methods of research offer an alternative to the highly quantitative methods, it is opined that both quantitative and qualitative research methods can help researchers understand issues better than either of the two separately. The use of qualitative methods is growing in the study of organisational and human behaviour (Lee, 1999) as human element are substantially emphasised in an organisation. Although the qualitative methods have significantly contributed to our understanding of human behaviour in the organisations, many avenues for future research are still open and new ones continue to emerge.