Friday, August 21, 2020

A Theory of Cross-Cultural Communication Essay Example for Free

A Theory of Cross-Cultural Communication Essay Societies here are negligibly observed as huge scope frameworks of expected shared references, etymological or otherwise1, utilized for the motivations behind decreasing multifaceted nature. 2 Cultures themselves may glorify one or a few habitats, where the common references are felt to be thick to the point that correspondence would be with no requirement for decreases of complexities. Away from such beliefs, societies have peripheries, where references are meager, or inadequately shared, or blended in with references shared by different societies. The terms â€Å"center† and â€Å"periphery† are not to be seen geopolitically. (cf. Indeed Zohar 1990, Toury 1995) The contrasts among focuses and peripheries are employable fictions instead of essential observational realities. The very conviction that one is in a focal position might be sufficient to reduce unpredictability, similarly as the bogus impression that one is deficient in setting may expand multifaceted nature. (Pym 1998) The distinction among focus and outskirts may likewise be described as far as exertion. At the point when shared references are accepted to be thick (all else being equivalent), the decrease of multifaceted nature requires less exertion than when the references are accepted to be inadequate. Exertion here is comprehended as being on both the sending and accepting sides of messages, just as in any intervening position or interest in the channel. A book sent and got close to an apparent focus will hence require less venture of exertion than a similar book sent from an inside to an outskirts (expecting that the decrease of multifaceted nature is 1. 3. 1. 4. 1. 5. to be to a comparable degree in the two cases). What's more, further valuable exertion will be required if the content is to be gotten in another culture. (Pym 1995) 1. 6. The lines between societies are set apart as traverse focuses where the correspondence demonstration gets advantageous exertion of an intervening and spasmodic nature. Such focuses are normally where interpretations are completed. (Pym 2001a) Cross-social correspondence along these lines denotes the purposes of contact between societies, in spite of the fact that only it won't sign up the focuses to shape any sort of line. (Pym 1998, 2001a, cf. Chatwin 1987) On multifaceted nature and its decrease Texts are engraved articles that can be deciphered in various manners and for various capacities, freely of any unique goals. The majority of potential understandings is the thing that we are calling multifaceted nature. The decrease of unpredictability doesn't infer any perceiving of a valid or base importance. For instance, a peruser now may decipher the term â€Å"reduction of complexity† as â€Å"understanding†, yet such a perusing will ideally be veered off by the accompa nying passages. In this sense, the decrease of multifaceted nature doesn't involve a demonstration of comprehension in any optimist sense. Nor must exertion be consumed distinctly to decrease unpredictability. Exertion can likewise be utilized to make messages increasingly unpredictable, setting them up for a more prominent majority of understandings. Such may be a sure origination of tasteful delight, political uncertainty, or open mechancete. The level of proper multifaceted nature is for each situation reliant on the achievement states of the informative demonstration concerned. On progress conditions Success conditions are models that make the informative demonstration helpful for all or a portion of the members concerned. 4 Such models might be straightforward, as on account of a business exchange to agree on a business value: the achievement condition may be that a cost is consented to by all members.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

Why Cultural Appropriation Is Wrong

Why Cultural Appropriation Is Wrong It is a tricky question because it touches on one’s ability to express themselves.Often, it comes from a good place, where someone truly appreciates the culture and sincerely feels keen interest to incorporate parts of it in their live. For example, when someone wears a cultural dress to an event.Other times it comes from ignorance where they don’t realize the history and symbolism behind things. Like wearing your hair in cornrows, because you saw it in a magazine.And rarely, it comes from a bad place where they want to show superiority over another culture â€" if someone dresses as a Native American for Halloween, implying they are savage and scary.WHAT IS CULTURAL APPROPRIATION?Cultural appropriation happens when a representative of a dominant culture adopts elements from a minority culture, usually without showing appreciation or understanding.Is eating pasta cultural appropriation of the Italian culture? Well, the best answer would be ‘Ask the Italians.’ But no, it does n ot have the classic elements of cultural appropriation.So what are the classic elements of cultural appropriation?The power dynamic. The severity of cultural appropriation lies on a spectrum. Whenever the minority culture has the history (or present) of being oppressed by the majority culture, the more the cultural appropriation is unacceptable.Symbolism.  Pasta does not have any particular symbolism behind it, it is a dish, an everyday part of life. Wearing bindi, for example, (the colored decoration Hindu women wear on their foreheads), stripped off its meaning, just because ‘it looks edgy’ is wrong.Gains. It often sparks the greatest conflict when it is done for profit (in music or fashion) or to purposely further support stereotypes (mostly in movies).Claims. It usually sparks public outrage. People from the minority culture feel they are being exploited and violated, while the defenders say their freedom of expression is being infringed. However, in order to work towards eq uality the feelings of the historically oppressed and/or minority culture today have to be respected.WHY IS CULTURAL APPROPRIATION SO WRONG?It diminishes the significant violations against ethnic groupsPerhaps the most popular example of cultural appropriation is the controversial mascot of the Washington Redskins NFL team.One side of the coin of the discussion is the side of the NFL. They have invested money, time and efforts into building their brand â€" the name, the logo, the mascot bring the image a Native American… The large majority of their fan base endorse this identity and ascribe the spirit of the team to the myth of the fast, strong and savage Indian Tribes…The other side of the coin is the side of Native Americans. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is leading a campaign, dating back as far as 1968 to fight the stereotypes in media in and popular culture.The NCAI feel using Native American images and symbols for sports is not honoring their culture. Ra ther, they feel those are caricatures that promote racists stereotypes.However, there is more to this discussion than just the two sides of a coin, the two sides of an argument. A deeper look into history puts weight on the position of the Native Americans.The name, when it was given to the team, did not have any positive connotations. ‘Redskins’ was a racial slur given to bounty hunters in the 1800’s to imply they are supposed to bring the government proof of their prey â€" the actual skins of the killed Native Americans.At that point in time the American Indians were restricted to reservations, they were pushed towards assimilation, they were being deprived of their own rights and culture. To justify the viciousness with which they treated the Native Americans, it would be implied they are the ones that are violent, erratic and savage.The ‘redskins’ were to be feared from and avoided. George Preston Marshall, the owner of the club, did not choose the name to show appreci ation. It was to perpetuate the stereotype, associating once again the entire ethnic group with the violent traits of character sport.The U.S. Patent Office found the name disparaging to Native Americans and declared they will not give copyright protection to the team.While the battle is far from being over, public concern grows and the campaign continues.‘Normal’ becomes ‘edgy’It happens time and time again that African American women who wear their natural hair at work are criticized for it, asked to change, seen as unprofessional and encouraged to look ‘more normal’.There is evidence proving the bias against ‘black hair’. 4000 participants have been asked to participate in an implicit association test where they are shown rapidly changing images of black women with different hairstyles.Interestingly enough the study confirms the younger generation perceives less differences between natural and smoother hair, being more accepting. This is proof the prejudice is a l earned behavior and society can therefore ‘unlearn’ it.The bad news â€" the study has proved white women showed the strongest bias against textured hair, indicating they find it the least professional. At the same time, black women showed more anxiety when they had to respond to questions about natural hair.At the same time white women who take on this hairstyle as ‘something fun’ or something ‘something new’ are celebrated for it, for thinking out of the box, for being brave.In 2016 designer Valentino runs a fashion show of predominantly white models, braided in cornrows, wearing African inspired clothes.It shows yet another example of the imbalance of power. Moreover, it adds to the arguments of oblivious employers to reprimand women of color. As soon as being natural is associated with fashion, it is regarded as a choice, which for black women it is not.Cultural theft and benefitThe Jenner/Kardashian family are definitely the most famous culprits of cultural appropria tion.In April 2014 Teenage Kylie Jenner has been celebrated for her wearing part of her hair in cornrows, being called an ‘epic’ and ‘bold’ choice and sparks outrage.What contributes to the amount of public anger is the family is not known for backing claims of African Americans in times of heated social discourse, such as the Black Lives Matter campaign.And in July 2015, Jenner goes all in on the hairstyle again and is hit with public disapproval even harder.Black actress known from The Hunger Games, Amandla Stenberg’s social media response expresses in a very simple and very understandable way why the black community could feel offended from Jenner’s choice of ‘fashion’. Amandla explains why it is NOT just a hairstyle on Twitter.“When u appropriate black features and culture but fail to use ur position of power to help black Americans by directing attention towards ur wigs instead of police brutality or racism #whitegirlsdoitbetter,”Especially indicative is add ing the hashtag at the end. ‘White girls do it better’. It stresses on the fact Kylie’s main motive for action is to explore the black culture for inspiration for her look, while leaving aside all historic and current political background.Interestingly enough, there is another very popular celebrity, accused for appropriating elements of black culture without backing the community when they need to draw public attention to their needs and struggles.Back before cultural appropriation was the popular term that it is today, Elvis Presley’s music was accused of mimicking black art, all the while reaping the benefits the black Americans couldn’t.As The Guardian explains it, Elvis Presley benefitted from the moment in history when black writers and musicians were not acknowledged. While black Americans could not be accepted in society if they were anything else but subservient and non-threatening, they would never be given credit for their art.At the same time, the white all-Ame rican Elvis, taking elements from their culture and art, comes up with dynamic, energetic, crazy music, and is perceived as safe, bold and refreshing.Elvis has never spoken out against the unfair treatment of black Americans.While it is a necessary and natural process for different cultures to borrow elements from each other, accept them and create a new harmony, it is unacceptable to focus narrowly on elements that will bring you benefit and profit, without knowing and SUPPORTING the culture you are adopting parts of.And when those same elements are for different reasons impossible for access by representatives of their own culture, you are not borrowing them, you are taking them away.Rewriting historyThe Everyday Feminism magazine has illustrated quite well one of the most atrocious consequences of cultural appropriation.The example comes to explain why it would be offensive for a little girl to dress as Pocahontas for Halloween. A harmless, fun gesture it seems at first sight. Ju st another form of self-expression banned by cultural appropriation activists?That is, until you look deeper.It often happens that the winners rewrite history, and, this is largely true for the story of Pocahontas.The truth is, she lived a tragic life, romanticized by Disney to where it is almost unrecognizable. Her real given name even, the magazine writes, was actually Matoaka. She was kidnapped as a teenager for ransom, forced to convert to Christianity and married off to an Englishmen at the age of 17.She was used for propaganda purposes â€" as an example of a ‘civilized savage’ in hopes to attract investments for her settlement. She died early, around the age of 20.The propaganda, however, has continued in various forms of art, the most popular of which, the Disney film.The magazine draws an eerie parallel with another little girl, whose tragic story is more well known.They ask the question if it is so bad to dress your daughter as Pocahontas, just because there are misconc eptions about her really tragic life. Isn’t the concept what matters? And they answer it like so:‘You might think it does if she wanted to dress up as someone whose tragic truth is more familiar, like Anne Frank. They’re both girls with harrowing stories. But more of us believe that trivializing Anne Frank’s life is in very poor taste.Can you imagine the outcry if Disney tried to romanticize her diary by aging her into a young woman with a love affair with a Nazi officer and a happy ending?Now imagine if that Disney movie was mainstream culture’s primary reference for the Holocaust. And if it was marketed to Germans, who were told that the historical figures who oppressed the Jewish people were their country’s heroes.’That is why it is wrong. In this particular case rewriting history romanticizes a tragic story to fit the narrative of the winners of history. It not only repeats the wrong story, but it deletes events that could contribute to the better understanding of the hurt of the Native Americans today.HOW TO REACT TO CULTURAL APPROPRIATION ACCUSATIONSHow do you know?Version 1: You are being told.The best way to know if you have offended someone is if they plain out tell you. It is a difficult conversation to have, so be open to anyone who is brave enough to come by and comment.Be respectful. A conversation around cultural appropriation may come from a hurtful place for someone in a marginalized culture. You might have struck a nerve for no fault of your own, but that does not diminish the feelings of the offended.Be patient. Someone hurt by your actions may not choose the best words to address the issue.Listen. If you don’t know how to react, don’t. Keep your ears open and absorb the information. Emotional or factual, whatever they tell you, make sure you understand before you react.Don’t be scared to say you are seeing the subject from that perspective for the first time and you need your time to gather your thoughts.Version 2: You do not feel support for your actions.As explained above, a conversation around cultural appropriation is difficult to start. While public support on the subject is growing, so is the tiredness from the restraints on personal freedoms because of the rules of being politically correct.Some people would prefer to close their eyes to a small violation as opposed to making a spectacle of themselves, they just wouldn’t want to be perceived as too sensitive or weak and will keep their opinion silent.But you can feel heads turn, attitudes change and opinions exchange behind your back. Keep your eyelids peeled.When you ask ‘Do you like my new hairdo?’, was the response unexpected? Don’t be afraid to start the conversation yourself. Don’t expect it to be easy, don’t expect it to be simple.Version 3: You can draw parallelYou are watching the news, browsing Twitter, or surfing on the internet and suddenly you see a cultural appropriation story that sparked public outrage. And you canâ €™t help but think:‘Oh god, that looks an awful lot like something I did once’.You. Are. Guilty.What to doStep 1. Cease and desist.Whatever it is try and stop it as soon as possible. So you bought a nice cultural dress for an event and then you discovered it was offensive to use that piece of clothing. It is not the right setting, location or occasion and someone told you it is inappropriate.What do you do? If you still have several days before the event, the right thing to do is change your plans.Yes, you already bought the dress, you had your inspiration, and you were very excited. You had the best of intentions. You did nothing wrong so far. Nothing intentionally, that is. So you fall in the grey area.Continuing on once you are aware of people’s feelings about your decision would be a clear step in the wrong.Step 2. Analyze.Now is the time for some self-reflection. Assess the damage. Cultural appropriation falls on a spectrum. And the spectrum is everything between EMBRACIN G a culture and USING it.Here are several questions you should ask yourself:Did you know you were borrowing elements from another culture?Did you stay ignorant to the meaning of that element to the culture?If representatives of that culture used those elements in their everyday life could they be punished or frowned upon?Could you have had a representatives of that culture use those elements instead of you, but didn’t?Did you present the culture in a wrong or hurtful way?Did you benefit or profit from it?The more ‘yes’ answers you have, the worse the damage you have done.Step 3. Make amends.It is important to remember that the scope of your actions to fix the situation must be proportionate to the crime.If anyone demanded apologies from you, apologize. A good person can do a bad thing. Just because you made a mistake that does not mean anything bad about your character. Don’t be afraid to admit you were wrong. That is the least you could do.Educate yourself. The difference b etween embracing a culture and using it is often the understanding of the whole picture behind the pieces. Learn the history with all of the facts.Release the profits. If you have profited from your wrong deed and you can afford it, you should give back. There are organizations that take care to protect the dignity, the rights and the integrity of the culture and heritage of different marginalized groups. Big or small, donate.Help fellow culprits. As it became clear, a conversation about cultural appropriation is not always easy.If you see someone overstepping the line, don’t leave them be ignorant.What not to doDo not defend your actions.Most often those accused of cultural appropriation, without the power of foresight, would originally say their actions were led by the need of self-expression, looking for something new and different…Truth is, some communities have heard too much reasoning and too little apologies.They live in the same world as you do and they know there is dif ferent levels of being wrong. They are well aware you might have gone about it with no bad intentions at all. Defending your actions instead of apologizing right away makes you that much more wrong.Do not make a spectacle.Once you have realized you are guilty of cultural appropriation, take a deep breath before you take any action. Remember, your reaction and your self-imposed repercussions need to be proportionate to the crime.If it is possible, try and reverse what you have done, reduce the consequences and speak to whoever it Is that might have told you they are offended. Keep it on the down low.Celebrities are often accused in public of cultural appropriation and that is why their apologies are public. Do not go on social media to explain yourself, unless that is where you got busted.Do not swing to the other extreme.While it is helpful to educate yourself more fully about the culture you are interested in, make sure you keep it sane. It is still not your culture. Misappropriati ng one element of it without the total understanding will not be made better by completely diving in the deep and losing your own cultural identity in theirs.And it is not your fight. Once you have realized how cultural appropriation is wrong and how white people unfairly benefit in situations where people of color are mistreated, you might be tempted to raise your voice against the ignorance.But don’t. Make sure you are supportive of the common efforts towards sensitivity rather than preach a lesson that is not yours to teach. The voices of the mistreated should be the strongest. Support them instead of outvoicing them.CONCLUSIONIt is a complex question.Involving years of history and dynamic international relations. Sometimes, the decisions of a few have triggered events that lead to intercultural conflicts and caused trauma that has lasted for generations and generations.And yet those same events have also brought on a process of globalization where cultures get closer and enric h each other. And there is a way to do it right.It is up to individuals to accept each other and each other’s cultures. And not just in their fault-free movie-magic versions, but also with the history and with the strain it is still putting on its people.To accept the good and the bad from the past and the present, and live together with understanding and harmony.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Private School Headmasters Compensation

Education professionals often earn significantly less than what they could earn in the business world or in other professions. However, there is  a group of leaders of private schools who are actually seeing surges in their salaries that pack quite the financial punch: the Head of School. What are these leaders really making and is it justified? The Head of School's Job Compensation Averages A head-of-school is a job that comes with enormous responsibility. At private schools, these high powered individuals have to run not only a school but also a business. Many people dont like to think of schools as businesses, but the truth is, they are. A Head of School will actually oversee a multi-million dollar business, some schools are billion dollar businesses when you consider endowments and operating budgets, and they are responsible for the well-being of hundreds of children every day. Boarding schools add another level of responsibility when it comes to leadership and oversight of children, as they are essentially open 24/7. The head is involved in not only the aspects of academics and ensuring students receive quality educations, but also hiring and HR, fundraising, marketing, budgeting, investing, crisis management, recruiting, and enrollment. The person who sits in this role must be a part of every aspect of the school.   When you consider the enormous expectations made of these dedicated individuals, most head of schools compensation is far below comparable levels in other fields. How far below? Significantly. The average compensation of the top 500 CEOs is in the millions according to Executive Paywatch. According to NAIS, the average compensation for a head of school is about $201,000, with boarding school heads edging out their peers with about $238,000. However, some schools also have presidents, which at the day school level are making comparable salaries, but are making an average of $330,000 at boarding schools.   But, thats not to say that Heads of Schools are hurting. An interesting note is that many private school heads also tend to receive extensive benefits, such as free housing and meals (even some day schools offer this), school vehicles, housekeeping services, country club memberships, discretionary funds, strong retirement benefits, and even expensive buyout packages should the school not be thrilled with his or her performance. This can easily equate to another $50,000-$200,000 in benefits, depending on the school.   Comparison to Public School College Compensation While many claim heads-of-schools make less than their corporate counterparts, the truth is that many actually  earn more than some  public school superintendents. The average salary without benefits for a superintendent is about $150,000 nationally. But some states, like New York, have superintendent salaries exceeding $400,000. In general, the salaries at Urban Schools tend to be greater for superintendents. Now, college presidents, by contrast, make significantly more than private school headmasters. Reports vary from source to source -- some claiming presidents average about $428,000, while others show the average is more than $525,000 annually with many earning well over $1,000,000 in annual compensation. The top 20 highest-paid presidents all earned over a million dollars annually, even in 2014.   Why Do Head-of-School salaries vary so much? Location significantly affects the salaries of these top-level positions, as does the school environment. Heads of schools, historically referred to as headmasters when the positions were held primarily by men, at junior schools (middle schools and elementary schools) tend to make significantly less than their secondary school counterparts, and boarding school heads tend to make the most due to a large amount of responsibility the school has in providing an appropriate homelife for students from around the world. Schools in small towns tend to offer smaller salaries, although many New England private schools buck that trend, with schools that are centuries old in small towns offering some of the top salaries in the country. A couple of years ago, the Boston Globe came out with a story about the surge of salaries in New England, uncovering several heads with salaries ranging from $450,000 to over a million dollars. Fast forward to 2017, and those heads are making even more, with increases equating to 25% raises in only a few years. School financials also play a role in head-of-school compensation. Naturally, those institutions with higher endowments and annual funds also tend to pay their leaders higher salaries. However, tuition doesnt always indicate the level of a head-of-schools salary. While some schools with high tuitions will indeed offer some of the most competitive compensation packages, those are usually schools that dont rely on tuition to cover the bulk of the operating budget. In general, the more tuition-driven a school in annually, the less likely it is that their head of school will be pulling the biggest dollars.   Compensation Information Sources The Form 990, which non-profit schools file annually, is similar to a tax return. It contains information about headmasters compensation, as well as other high paid employees. Unfortunately, to make sense of figures you have to examine several different pages of the filing. The elements of the compensation packages are complex and are contained under many different expense headings. If the school is a 501(c)(3) not for profit educational institution, it must file a Form 990 with the IRS annually. The Foundation Center and Guidestar are two sites that make these returns available online. Note: the cash salaries are somewhat misleading as most of these key employees receive significant allowances for housing, meals, transportation, travel, and retirement plans apart from their cash salaries. Figure an additional 15-30% for allowances and/or non-cash compensation. The gross amount in many cases exceeds $500,000, with some exceeding $1,000,000 with other compensation factored in. A sampling of head-of-school  and president base salaries ranked from highest to lowest, based on Form 990 submissions from 2014, unless otherwise noted: Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA $605,610 with $114,487 in est. other compensationMilton Academy, Milton, MA $587,112 with $94,840 in est. other compensationPhillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH -  $551,143 with $299,463 in est. other compensationPhillips Academy, Andover, MA - $489,000 was reported in 2013, with no head of school compensation listed in 2014Choate Rosemary Hall,  Wallingford, CT $486,215 with $192,907 in est. other compensationHarvard  Westlake School, Studio City, CA - President $483,731 with $107,105 in est. other*Rye Country Day School, Rye, NY - $460,267 (down from $696,891 in 2013)Hackley School, Tarrytown, NY - $456,084 salary and $328,644 in est. other compensationDeerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA - $434,242 with $180,335 in est. other compensationWestern Reserve Academy, Hudson, OH - $322,484 with $128,589 in est. other compensationHarvard  Westlake School, Studio City, CA - Head  $320,540 with $112,395 in est. other*   *Figures from the 2015 Form 990 Some older 990 forms have revealed the following headmaster salaries, from highest to lowest. Well continue to update this information as we obtain it.   Greensboro Day School, Greensboro, NC $304,158The Brearley School, New York, NY $300,000Lancaster Country Day School, Lancaster, PA $299,240Poly Prep Country Day School, Brooklyn, NY $298,656Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC $296,202Culver Academies, Culver, IN $295,000St. Marks School of Texas, Dallas, TX $290,000Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights, OH $287,113Madeira School, Maclean, VA $286,847The Dalton Schools, New York, NY $285,000Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, CT $283,920Punahou School, Honolulu, HI $274,967Far Hills Country Day School, Far Hills, NJ $274,300Groton School, Groton, MA $258,243North Shore Country Day School, Winnetka, IL $250,000Avon Old Farms School, Avon, CT $247,743The Peddie School, Hightstown, NJ $242,314Kent School, Kent, CT $240,000Episcopal Academy, Merion, PA $232,743Cranbrook Schools, Bloomfield Hills, MI $226,600University School of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI $224,400McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN $223,660Middlesex School, Concord, MA $223,000Sidw ell Friends School, Washington, DC $220,189Ransom Everglades School, Miami, FL $220,000The Masters School, Dobbs Ferry, NY $216,028Greenwich Country Day School, Greenwich, CT $210,512Harvey School, Katonah, NY $200,000The Hill School, Pottstown, PA $216,100Taft School, Watertown, CT $216,000Shore Country Day School, Beverly, MA $206,250Miami Country Day School, Miami, FL $200,000Village School, Pacific Palisades, CA $210,000Lake Forest Country Day School, Lake Forest, IL $188,677Hillel School of Metropolitan Detroit, Farmington Hills, MI $156,866Annie Wright School, Tacoma, WA $151,410Foxcroft School, Middleburg, VA $150,000Ravenscroft School, Raleigh, NC $143,700Forman School, Litchfield, CT $142,500 Are Headmasters' Compensation Packages Justifiable? A good headmaster deserves to be well-paid. The head of a private school must be a top-notch fundraiser, a superb public relations person, a fine administrator and a dynamic community leader. How lucky we are to have talented educators and administrators who lead private schools rather than manage a Fortune 100 enterprise. Many of them could make 5 or 10 or even 20 times as much as they currently do. Trustees need to review their key employees compensation packages annually and improve them as much as they can. Its extremely important to attract and retain talented administrators in our private schools. Our childrens future depends on it. Resources:Pay Soars For Headmasters at Mass. Prep SchoolsHeadmasters Salaries On The Rise

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Oni throughout Pop Culture Literature and Art

The Oni throughout Pop Culture Literature and Art: The similarity throughout all folk tales involving the oni is that they are villains of the humans. An Oni is a yokai which is a strange and supernatural being from Japanese folklore. yo means attractive, bewitching, and calamity. Kai means mystery and wonder. It can also be translated to be demon, goblin, spirit, or monster. The folklore of japan is a collaboration of different traditions from the isolated tribes that lived on Japans isles who had different beliefs but could be alligned with the others. The traditions changed form with the arrival of Shinto and Buddhism which brought Chinese and Indian folklore into the mix. Today the yokai can be seen throughout most manga and anime even video games and on clothing. The japanese believe that the oni were created from peoples fear of natural phenomenon such as earthquakes and storms including thunder and lightning. Thunder and and lightning are usually associated with the oni. Oni have either one or several horns, they can have a third eye in the middle of their forehead, they can have a repulsive smile that can spread from ear to ear showing their gnarled teeth, they can have many different colored skin like red or black blue and even yellow. They are usually seen in a loin cloth, oni can are seen as men in most paintings and pop culture but there can be female oni. â€Å"The encyclopedia of shinto published by kokugakuin university distinguishes 3

Software Engineering- Processes & Methods Free-Samples for Students

Questions: 1. Provide a name and logo for your Organisation. Write 2 paragraphs describing the objectives and vision of the organisation.2. Provide a list of definitions for Keywords related to the Organisation and System. List the Major Stakeholders that might be involved in this Project. 3. Choose two different Potential Users of the Proposed System, and for each user role, Describe the User Profile and give an Example High Level Scenario of how they would use the New System.4.Write a Paragraph titled Scope and Constraints, in which you describe at least 4 high level broad Objectives of the Project. 5.Prepare a detailed, Prioritised list of User Stories describing part of the New System. 6.Sketch a high-level draft Concept of the user Interface for the Component of the System you anticipate being developed in Sprint Cycle 1 described in part 5. Answers: Introduction The report explains background information of the specified project. Definitions of the keywords as well as list of the stakeholders associated with the project are also provided in the present report. In addition, potential users for the proposed system are identified along with major stakeholders involved in the project. Moreover, prioritized list of the user stories and profile as well as high-level concept of user interface for component of the system are presented in the study. 1.Name of the company: Web Solutions Logo of the company: Being employed in Web Solutions, it is required to provide a project brief that will be helpful for the client in order to understand the project and identify the possible outcome that can be resulted at the of the project, which can fulfill their demand. As the client organization has 50,000 visitors in every year, it is difficult to manage them, keep their database and update the system in order to provide modern facilities (Sudha et al. 2016). In addition, the organization is looking to develop their income through selling tickets as well as accommodation online. There is nearly 20 % of total number of visitors like to come from overseas. Along with these, no bank details are presently stored in the office. Therefore, it is required to provide new system that can allow the visitors to register for a membership. The proposed system would assist to facilitate online tickets as well as accommodation along with special deals to the customers. Moreover, the new system allows the visitors to get membership status (Bronner, 2016). On the other hand, returning visitor can be defined as the person visited the site already in past 12 months. In this perspective, it is required to have login system that helps the users to buy tickets through online. In addition, the business would prefer to enable the customers to pay through online and help the customers to avail the service easily (Nagadapally et al. 2015). In this aspect, it is required to include secured payment system in the new proposed system and allow the customers to save their payment details securely. It assists to make the process easier for future purchasers. Moreover, it is important to provide on-site accommodation, which is required by the customers. In this aspect, the accommodation manager has indicted to provide foully electronic room booking system (Neelamegam Murugan, 2016). There will be also facilities to contact with the accommodation manager through pho ne in order to finalize the arrangements for accommodation arrangements. Thus, it is required to have calling facilities in the proposed system that can be helpful to contact with the accommodation manager. Inclusion of all these functionalities would be helpful to accommodation and improve the entire system. 2.In the present study, several keywords are used such as potential users, sprint cycle, user interface and SCRUM. Potential users are those who are the end users of the system. The users can avail their facilities and contribute to provide feedbacks towards the system. There are generally common people and persons associate with the client organization are potential users of the project. On the other hand, SCRUM is an incremental as well as iterative agile framework for software development that is used to manage development of the project. It is flexible and holistic strategy for product development where team works within the strategy. In addition, it is the unit in order to reach the common goal of the project (Kucukusta et al. 2015). There are traditional as well as sequential approaches for development of the products that can be applied in the present project. The key principle of Scrum is to recognize development of the products and changing minds of the customers for meeting their needs at the time of development. The unpredicted challenges cannot be addressed easily with traditional manner. Scrum has two to four week Sprint cycle in the team that delivers work and driving towards the potentiality, which is shippable in the organization (Abdullah Kadhim, 2016). It is also important to consider the shippable challenges for Scrum, a project management framework. However, there are some overlaps between Scrum and XP. The practices can be generally implemented through making practices that is considered as mandatory for making sustainable pace, collective code ownership, development of test-driven a and constant integration. In the present case, potential stakeholders can be identified as end users, investor and shareholders. Mohapatra (2013) commented that end users have an important role to select the potential users involved in the project. They contribute with the proposed new system through booing online tickets and avail on-site recommendation that would be helpful for the organization to increase their profit. In addition, one of the potential stakeholders involved in the project is investor for the new system. In the present case, the client organization invests money in order to grow their business and increase profit. However, the stakeholders involve in the project are advertisers on the particular sites. 3.One of the potential users of the new system is the customers. Lee (2015) stated that visiting the portals would increase the trafficking of the audience for the organization. As a matter of specification, logging into through a user ID and password helps the personnel of the organization to maintain the privacy of the customers. Provision of hanging password averts the situation of hackers intervening into the personal records of the customers. Apart from this, logging into through the individual ID and password directly onsets the customers to the company websites, from where they an make online bookings. This facility proves beneficial for the customers, as they do not have to stand in long queues for booking tickets. User ID and password takes the customers to the exclusive offers, discounts and schemes, which makes their vacation a memorable one. For this, registration through membership is an essential consideration (Norrid, 2016). This registration helps the management of the organization to keep track of their customers and their personal details. Utilization of templates for this purpose safeguards the security of the personal data and belongings of the customers. This contradicts the paper based system, which if lost might bring losses for the organization. Regular surfing of the website makes the organizational personnel aware of the customer approaches towards the delivered services. This step brings efficiency in the services of the organization. Along with this, it enhances the stability in the relationship between the customers and the organizations, which is necessary for achievement of large sale customer satisfaction. Adoption of proper communication channel, such as social media, onsets the organization with the customers on an internal perspective (Pandey, Vashisht Sharma, 2015). The provision of financial details within registration mitigates the instances of illegal activities; which might deceive the customers of their personal data and belongings. Tagging of the visitors as new and running is an additional assistance for the organizational personnel towards maintenance of the internal and external stakeholders. 4.Effective adherence to the IT legislations would help the organizational personnel t maintain the safety and security of the personal details and belongings of the customers. Along with this, compliance to the standards and norms of the regulatory framework would result in the utilization of the communication channels for providing prospective services to the customers. Vyas (2014) stated that arraying out market research would make the organizational personnel aware of the software, which directly onsets the customers to the services offered by the organization. Onsite testing would help the personnel to detect any virus or hacker intervention that might at as an obstacle for the customers in online booking or searching for online accommodation (Kharwade et al. 2014). This step would reserve the quality of the services. Onsite installation of the technologically advanced software in the personal computers and laptops of the customers would establish direct connection with the organization. This connection would bring technological advancement for the organization. On the other hand, exclusion of data migration from the objectives would add to the personal sentiments of the customers. Exposure of negligence in this direction would bring compel the organization to bear with the questions of the customers regarding derives and false promises. This would, in turn, adversely affect their purchasing power and decision, for which the personnel have to take pains to restore (Gautama et al. 2014). Hiring experts for the detection of virus within the parts of the software helps the personnel to ensure its smooth functioning. Ensuring the financial flexibility before searching for technologically advanced software contradicts the intensity of the term constraints (Xu et al. 2016). Joint ventures with the stakeholders and shareholders and discovering financial instability is a shame for the organization in terms of achieving customer satisfaction. Emerging useful in overcoming the constraints would be an innovative concept for the organization. Along with this, it would enhance the reputational status of the organization among the customers, one of the key stakeholders. Smooth flow of the urgent helps the customers to get an uninterrupted eases to the organizational websites, which aligns with their ease of online booking and onsite accommodation. 5.The requirements of proposed system are to avail the online system for ticket booking and on-site accommodation. It is required a way that helps to allocate resources for the online ticket booking system. In the present case study, the user stories are explaining the part of proposed system. This provides the needs of unique REQUIRMENT ID. The users of online booking system need to register in the system at first. After that, they would ask to provide the system that can allow the users to access their profile with security. The new system likes to have advanced functionalities that offer secured login facilities to the users (Chen et al. 2016). Moreover, it is important for the system to store the database system that is capable to store the data of the customers. REQUIREMNT ID of the users would be unique numbers and letters. It presents a clear format with ID of the users. The functional users have an important role in the present case that helps to identify the key stakeholders and target audience of the proposed system. The functionality of the system would serve purposes of different persons. The end users would access the system with their unique ID and password. The client organization has an important role to control the process and access credentials of the users. Moreover, the server site application would be controlled by the Web Solution. However, advertisers and third party security provider for payment system are also associated with the system. 6.The proposed system of online booking and payment system has friendly user interface that can provide several combinations of search criteria that can be helpful to the users to aces several options like registration, sign in, online booking and availing onsite accommodations. Generating the corresponded database of search statements is provided through the interfaces of the system. On the user interface of the proposed system, new users are asked to provide their personal details step by step and login after authenticating through email ID or mobile phone verification method (Chen et al. 2016). After completion of the process, the users can avail and choose onsite accommodation and book tickets. In addition, the users can pay through online system with the support of third party security providers. After completing the booking, the users can sign out from the system. Conclusion From the above discussion, it can be concluded that a proposed system need to meet the demands of end users as well as assist the organization to generate their revenue. Scope and constraints are explained with high level broad objectives of the project that would be helpful to achieve target of the organization. In this aspect, the organization or provider of the system require to make a proper plan, which can be helpful to meet objectives of the organization. It is also important to provide user-friendly interface that can assist the organization to access the functionalities and gain advantages for the organization. References Abdullah, M. N., Kadhim, E. H. (2016). Airline Mobile Reservation Development.development,3(10). Bronner, J. S. (2016).U.S. Patent Application No. 15/183,684. Chen, B. C., Yeh, H. T., Yu, T. H. (2016). The Construction of Integrated Online Ticketing Systems.1 (3), 551-558. Gautama, I., Ongowarsito, H., Aryanto, R., Andrew, E. (2014, May). Optimizing sales using mobile sales ticketing application. InTechnology Management and Emerging Technologies (ISTMET), 2014 International Symposium on(pp. 6-13). IEEE. Kharwade, P., Gujarkar, I., Holey, S., Datey, V., Sharma, V., Gupta, V. (2014). Smartphone Application for Railway Ticket Reservation and Validation Using Mobile Network. Kucukusta, D., Law, R., Besbes, A., Legohrel, P. (2015). Re-examining perceived usefulness and ease of use in online booking: The case of Hong Kong online users.International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management,27(2), 185-198. Lee, M. C. (2015).U.S. Patent Application No. 14/811,819. Mohapatra, S. (2013). E-commerce Strategy. InE-Commerce Strategy(pp. 155-171). Springer US. Nagadapally, A. S. R., Krishnaswamy, B. B., Shettap, C. A. R., Prathika, D. D., Lee, E. R. (2015, January). A Step Ahead To Connect Your Bus-With GPS. InProceedings of the International Conference on Software Engineering Research and Practice (SERP)(p. 171). The Steering Committee of The World Congress in Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Applied Computing (WorldComp). Neelamegam, R., Murugan, P. (2016). A Study on Passengers' Problems in Online Ticket Booking in Indian Railways with reference to Virudhunagar Junction, Madurai Division.TSM Business Review,4(1), 35. Norrid, J. A. (2016).U.S. Patent Application No. 14/986,761. Pandey, D. K., Vashisht, A., Sharma, A. (2015). An empirical study of customer confidence after big billion day sale 2014.South Asian Journal of Marketing Management Research,5(4), 97-105. Stephens, S. P., Tucker, P. C., Boruff, K. J., Zurliene, C. M. (2014).U.S. Patent No. 8,862,487. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Sudha, L., Salian, S., Roy, N., Sarma, N. (2016). Online Ticket Booking System for Mumbai Local Trains.International Journal of Computer Applications,135(8), 19-22. Vyas, P. (2014). The Growth of Online Bus Ticketing Industry: Redbus Route to Success in the Indian Market. Xu, J., Li, Z., Chi, H., Wang, M., Guan, C., Reiff-Marganiec, S., Shen, H. (2016, June). Optimized Composite Service Transactions through Execution Results Prediction. InWeb Services (ICWS), 2016 IEEE International Conference on(pp. 690-693). IEEE.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

Last Night I dreamed of Peace

Introduction Dang Thuy Tram Last Night I Dreamed of Peace is a captivating informative chef-d’oeuvre demonstrating the author’s love for his country based on the sorrowful situation that the country undergoing.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Last Night I dreamed of Peace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As young as 23 years, she associates with the communists party in her quest of ensuring that people of Vietnam do not go through what they goes through (National Library Board Para. 3). The American soldiers’ inhumanity and killings of the Vietnam citizens leaves her disturbed and therefore puts on spirited heart of ensuring that the people are liberated, a decision purely founded on her love for her people. Love and Idealism Dr. Dang makes the decision to go to the South Vietnam because of her love and youthful idealism she has for her kindred. Despite the deadly circumstances and appalling conditions that her patients undergo, she opts to make the dreadful decision. She is a young and youthful woman who in spite of the deadly conditions vows or is ready to sacrifice her own life to secure the lives of the patients who have faced attacks and injuries from the America soldiers and the soldiers themselves. Her idealistic nature also plays a vital role in her decision to move to the South Vietnam. She is determined to see her country in peace despite her age. She aligns herself with the communists’ party. She joins the ideology of the party just to ensure that their values and their rights as citizens of the Vietnam remain respected rather than being infringed on by other people. She condemns the killings and shootings of Vietnam locals on streets by the American soldiers. It proves a very difficult and trying time especially when the war rages on, kills, and destroys people without valid reasons. Therefore, Dr Dang makes the choice of moving to South Vietnam to ex tend her hand in saving the lives of those injured. The courageous decision surrounded by much risk to her own life seems further founded on the sense of shared humanity. Sense of Shared Humanity She also makes her decision to move to South Vietnam because of her spirited heart of humanity and love and long for an end of the war and the sufferings and pains subjected to the citizens of Vietnam. Since she is a physician, she offers herself to assist the people who are shot and who fall victims in the course of the war (Dang 47). She succumbs to her death in the course of her service to the people of Vietnam.Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This therefore demonstrates her sense of shared humanity in saving the lives of others while placing her own in danger. Her compassion and urge or wish to see the war end also makes her risk her own life to go to the South Vietnam. She wishes that th e war and the fighting in South Vietnam ended allowing the people to have their peace and unity. For instance, in the diary, she expresses her intimacy and love showing how she misses her mother and lover whom she refers to â€Å"M†. She yearns for the time that she will go back home and meet her mother who is in the Northern Vietnam (Guthrie 105). This therefore shows how the Doctor is concerned and optimistic that finally the war and the shootings will end. Tram in the Current Vietnam Though dead, Tram speaks volumes and volumes through the marks she left to the people of Vietnam. She has contributed significantly towards the making of the country’s history, as it stands today. It seems quite unfortunate that she succumbed to death at that tender age. If she were alive to date, she would automatically qualify as one amongst the liberators and the heroes of Vietnam history, who assertively sacrificed not only their time, money, relationships, but also their own self s olely to cultivate freedom to the Vietnamese citizen. Dr. Tram stands out as a liberator who from the evidence of her diary and documentations, shows that she had a vision and a great concern to her country. She, although at a younger age, associates herself with politics by becoming a party of the communists. She is a woman who puts her country in front by sacrificing her own life. She knows the dangers that will beget her by making a decision to go the South Vietnam to provide humanitarian assistance to the soldiers who are shot and injured in the course of the war knowing very well the dangers that faced her. She, despite of the dangers, travels to the South Vietnam. Furthermore, she is worth acknowledging based on her thought and wish for an end of the inhumanity and brutalities that people of the Vietnam were going through. It proves rather sad as Tram expresses her sympathy and concerns by noting that the people of Vietnam remain subjected to invalid pains and sufferings despi te their innocence.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Last Night I dreamed of Peace specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Therefore, Dr. Tram passes for a hero and if she could be alive, she could have gone on the record for understanding and having the courage to liberate the people of Vietnam from the unnecessary pains and killings (Guthrie 106). She refers the Americans people to as merciless and thirsty of other people’s blood, descriptions that she notes bitterly and with sorrow. It therefore sounds unfortunate that the people of Vietnam went through the pain that they went through. Therefore, in no doubt, Dr. Tram stands out as a true hero, whose tireless work stands remembered and appreciated by the Vietnamese who enjoys the freedom of today acknowledging the cost attached therein: It cost the lives of protagonists for instance Dr. Tram. Conclusion Based on the expositions made in the paper, it suffices t o declare it a rather touching experience, for Dr. Tram, a young woman, to take such a serious life-threatening decision for the sake of liberating the people of Vietnam. It brings to light the sorrows, pains and sufferings faced by people who seek to achieve a certain risky objective for instance fighting for freedom, as the case stands for Dr. Tram. Therefore, Last Night I Dreamed of Peace comes in as a rather fascinating masterwork, heavy-laden with touching message that reveals the need to have a shared sense of humanity by avoiding wars based on the agony and pain that come as a result. Works Cited Dang, Tram. Last Night I Dream of Peace. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007. Guthrie, John. Last Night I Dream of Peace by Dang Thuy Tram. Web California Literary Review, 13 Aug. 2007. Web. National Library Board. Last Night I Dream of Peace: The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram,  2008. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This essay on Last Night I dreamed of Peace was written and submitted by user Harmony W. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.