Why longhouses are beneficial to college campuses Research Paper

Why longhouses are beneficial to college campuses - Research Paper Example perfect gathering place on college campuses where people from different cultural backgrounds could learn with each other, and deepen the native programs within colleges. Longhouses are a platform for supporting indigenous arts. The Evergreen State College in Olympia intended to build a longhouse that would serve as both a social facility and a public service center with the aim of supporting indigenous arts. The longhouse would serve as a multipurpose facility that can serve cultural, community, and educational functions. The primary vision for instituting a multi-purpose facility in college campuses is to provide a platform for hospitality and service for people from different cultural backgrounds. If people in learning institutions learned to stay together, they would elevate the levels of education by creating and maintaining conducive learning environments. As a public service center, the longhouse would promote indigenous arts and cultural exchanges through education, creative expression, cultural preservation, and economic development. The Evergreen State College received a $325,000 grant to build the longhouse to support the following program s; Colleges have been committed to expanding Native programs and faculty. Longhouses have provided a program where the Native focused programs link undergraduate and graduate native students. The Evergreen State College’s case has underscored the need for longhouses. The Native focused programs enable students from different cultural backgrounds

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Operations Management - Essay Example Higher rates of employee contentment are directly proportional to lower turnover rates. Therefore, keeping employees in the firm satisfied with their careers should be at the top of the priority list of every employer. While employee empowerment and its upsides are well-known facts in management conducts, economic drop downs seem to cause employers to ignore it. Operations managers of most of the organization observe and scrutinize performance data frequently and create challenging yet reasonable targets for the organizational campaigns. Evaluation softwares are used by some of the most efficient managers to check employee performances. In a survey by â€Å"Glassdoor† Google Inc. has been declared as the company with the highest employee satisfaction and productivity for the year 2013. The secret of such an achievement lies in the fact that the company empowers its employees to venture into fields of their talents (Reed, 2013). Google shares rose sharply, from less than $500 a year ago, the stock traded in nearly $600 since mid-July, near to its record high of $707 a share as in 2007 (Schepp, 2013).. It is evident from this fact that Google Inc.’s success in the share market is a productivity marker that may be correlated to the high levels of employee empowerment practices that the company follows Every company requires a system to scrutinize their employees’ performance based upon parameters like employee attendance, projects undertaken, and reviews by immediate superiors etc. Several software tools are available in the market that can help individuals working on performance reviews to visualize and comprehend the data correctly and hassle free. Database tools achieve goals that many Chief Information Officers (CIOs) would like to match: Taking key data for business side or external customers and offering it in an attractive, appropriate way on the internet (McLaughin, 2013). Software vendors like InetSoft

Blackberrys Social Scope as a Business Tool Research Paper

Blackberrys Social Scope as a Business Tool - Research Paper Example This papaer stresses that the initial ubiquitous team that developed the app, in the beginning made it as a mobile application. The project began under iPhone backing but switched to Blackberry because of background processing. This allows the user to monitor, as well as report, their tweeter feeds while continuing to use other apps on their platform. In business, the background processing allows the user to access their emails, browse information they do not understand, check on stock markets, and read their business Facebook and Twitter messages. These messages are pulled for viewing each time one switches back to using Social scope. Given Blackberry’s fundamental utility as a messaging device, the vibrant half-VGA display and QWERTY keyboard completes a two-way device for communication. This report discusses that the app also ensures that no delay is experienced when receiving Twitter messages, which can be crucial in an organization that relies on information. Social scope ensures that all recent messages are displayed on the screen. The entrepreneur does not require their app be left open in order to receive messages, and they do not require to re-login. The messages are just present when required, providing immediacy for the organization’s PR department. Red Robin Gourmet Burgers introduced their new burger line last month and turned to social media. Using Social scope to foster connections also allows companies to match the skills of employees working. for them across the world who, otherwise, would have found it difficult to communicate in between their work schedules. It has become especially valuable for business entities built on acquisition where the managers in the various divisions are not acquainted to one another. An American supermarket chain su ch as Shaw in Boston, has utilized Social scope for this purpose

Negative brand 4Ps analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Negative brand 4Ps analysis - Assignment Example The company’s strategy for succeeding in the market has been selling its products at a lower cost and for years, its culture has been operating on the assumption that keeping costs under control will sustain the company in the competitive global PC marketplace. Things have however changed in recent years and Acer has been constantly failing in the market. In 2012, the company was a position down in terms of worldwide PC sales, since it occupied a fourth place (Barker, businessinsider.com). In an effort to satisfy its users and customers and maintain a competitive position in the PC market, Acer has been changing its look. Acer group named this as its multi-brand strategy (Acer Group, acer-group.com). The implementation of the multi-brand strategy has been done by making Acer’s range of products different aesthetically, as well as fully featured and innovative. For desktops, their conventional design had been changed, while notebooks have been made slimmer and longer lasting. For desktops, Acer has come up with stylish LCD’s and for notebooks, their weight has been significantly reduced making them lighter and their battery life lengthened for more convenience and freedom (Acer Group, acer-group.com). People like having their needs and desires met without too many complications and Acer’s goal has been to satisfy its customers. Product: In terms of reliability, Acer laptop brands occupy 9% among all laptop brands worldwide (Egan, pcadvisor.co.uk). After being used for a while, it has been noted that the speed of Acer laptops reduces, while booting seems to take longer and webcams have problems. These negative factors make Acer fail as a product in the market place. Price: The cost of Acer PC products in comparison to other PC products is relatively low. This has been the case for years. The company has maintained the

Export and Import Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Export and Import - Research Paper Example The culture of instating clear regulations has been in the United States for a long time. This is done to ensure the safety of all the citizens of the country. Therefore, a business that will not consider such regulations is likely to flop. For example, the United States has clear regulations on any imports that pose a threat to the environment (Manresa, 2010). This is a culture that has been developed to ensure the nation does not pose environmental threats to its citizens. Apparently, the issue of globalization has enhanced the regulations that are deemed to limit the influence on the environment. In the previous years, the regulations on imports were not stringent, which was an easy task for importers and exporters. As such, there is a need to take a closer reflection on these regulations before embarking on the import and export business. Culture of a country determines the way of life of the citizens. Therefore, this is likely to affect the import and export business as it is likely to affect the demand of supply of the products in the country (Cook, 2012). For example, the issue of junk foods is prevalent in the United States. This is an issue that has caused uproar between concerned parties especially in regard to health concerns. It is estimated that many young citizens of the country have health issues which emanate from the consumption of junk foods. These are fast foods that are consumed frequently in the United States. ... In order to reduce such instances, there is a dreaded reduction on the production of such foods. This would be a setback to businesses that would wish to import and export foodstuff. Lastly, there is the culture of consumption of particular products. This should also be considered since the demand market will affect the business. Governmental, compliance management, and security requirements There are various institutions that are put in place to deal with the import and export business in the United States. These are institutions that ensure the business is conducted in a legal and safe manner (Manresa, 2010). First, there is the Border Compliance Assistance Center which is instrumental in regulating transport of products on the United States’ border. This is a body that is obligated to safeguard any products that are transported to the United States with special focus on solid and hazardous wastes. The United States is focused on reducing entry of waste materials into the co untry as this will cause environmental threats. Any business that wishes to transport products from the border into the United States has to comply with the regulations that are highlighted by the Border Compliance Assistance Center. Similarly, this is an instrumental center where businesses gather information regarding transport from other places, which includes Mexico. Secondly, a business that would wish to import products into the United States has to comply with the Code of Federal Regulations (Weiss, 2011). These are the stated regulations that should be adhered to before starting any importation and exportation business in the United States. Compliance with the regulations requires massive preparation since they restrict

Characteristics of Orientalism Essay Example for Free

Characteristics of Orientalism Essay There are several differences between the Arab and Muslim groups. The actuality is that Arabs are an ethnic group and Muslims are a religious group. A Muslim is a person who practices the Islam religion. In the world, most Muslims are not necessarily Arabs and most Arabs are not necessarily Muslims. â€Å"Orientalism is the simplistic view of the people and history of the Orient, with no recognition of change over time or the diversity within its many cultures† (Schaefer, 2006). This term is a misrepresentation of people from the East by those in the West. One characteristic is stereotyping the difference in religious expression. Discrimination and prejudice are other characteristics of orientalism. For example, the overemphasis of Arab and Muslim women wearing face veils in the media. This is seen as oppressing women but yet the history behind it is not being told. After the 9/11 attacks, the USA Patriot Act, which was passed in October 2001, had specific provisions that condemned discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans. This act was revised because it had been accused of contributing to the fear within the Arab and Muslim communities. Unfortunately, all policies were not changed in a positive way. The U. S. Department of Justice required all foreign-born Muslim men to report to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. They have to be fingerprinted, photographed, and interviewed. There are several things that individuals can do to promote tolerance and reduce prejudice in their towns and cities. One way to achieve this is by treating everyone equally. Another way to reduce prejudice is by educating ourselves about a person’s culture. If we can gain an understanding of an individual’s cultural background, we are opening up our minds to realize that those that we consider â€Å"different† may have similar views.

Relationship Between Racist Symbols and Prejudice

Relationship Between Racist Symbols and Prejudice Pre-test measures Image and question selection was twofold, primarily, the author identified possible images against three criteria political, general and racial, selected from a general cross-section of images located on internet sites identified by the search race hate groups white supremacy and political symbols. Various Discussion groups were then facilitated, one prisoners and one civilian group[1]. The dual grouping was to negate any prisoner only bias. Twenty selected images were displayed in each of the three categories to each group separately. The means of display was in a room which had reduced lighting and the individual images being projected onto screen. A semi-structured discussion then followed with the facilitator noting each image, which appeared to raise awareness or interest within the group. The images selected for treatment use were seven racial, five political (with a balance between parties) and two general (see appendix A). Further discussion groups with different prisoners a nd civilians; incorporating a variety of closed and open-ended questions being tabled around a different selection of images, which were similar in design to those already selected for use in the experiment. The responses from within these groups were noted as to which questions appeared to raise awareness or interest from each pilot group. Thus the questions selected were: Three scales were used as outcome measures in this experiment: British Prejudice Scale: The British Prejudice Scale (BPS) (Lepore Brown, 1997) is the amalgamation of several existing instruments: the Modern Racism Scale, the New Racism Scale and the Subtle and Blatant Prejudice Scale. The authors subtly altered these scales post-amalgamation to make them appropriate for white British respondents. The scale is designed as a general measure of anti-black prejudice. This scale was chosen because it contains a substantial component of anti-immigration, anti-foreigner sentiment. This sentiment closely approximates out-group hostility, distance and perceived worldview threats that are central to the theoretical argument being developed in this thesis. The internal consistency for this scale is high, Cronbach a=.92 (Lepore Brown, 1997).The scale consists of 15 questions answered on a scale from 1 7 (strongly agree to strongly disagree) and are summed indicating a range from 15 (high prejudice) to 105 (low prejudice). Thus a respondent scoring lower on this scale will be deemed more racist than a person with a high score. Social Dominance Orientation Scale: The Social Dominance Orientation Scale (SDO) (Pratto, Sidanius, Stallworth Malle, 1994), measures individual differences in the extent to which respondents prefer inequality among social groups. There are four separate versions of this scale; the 16-item scale has been selected for use in these experiments to allow other measures to be included. According to the scales authors, SDO is not a direct measure of racial attitudes, but, like authoritarianism, is a focal part of social ideology that predicts a wide range of political and racial attitudes. The measure has strong internal consistency, Cronbach a= .84 (Pratto et al., 1994). SDO conceptualises the importance of racial and political attitudes and therefore will be a direct measure of racial attitudes. It is purported that a person high in SDO will quite probably develop a negative attitude towards some group that is low in status or prestige. Further indications are that for those respondents high in SDO display a tendency to favour hierarchical relationships within groups and suggest an alignment of superior-inferior dimensions. According to the authors, individuals high in SDO accept legitimising myths that include racial and ethnic prejudice, nationalism, patriotism, separation between high and low culture, sexism, meritocracy and political conservatism (Pratto et all., 1994). Scale items are scored on a 1-7 (very positive to very negative) scale and scores are averaged across items. Thus a respondent scoring higher on this scale would indicate a stronger social dominance orientation or more prone to racist thinking than a person with lower scores. Selection of this scale was important to the study because those high in SDO display out-group hostility or denigration and would therefore likely seek to ensure a greater social distance from members of those out-groups. In addition the scale has been designed to independently indicate racism as apart from traditional pol itical ideology. Social Distance Scale: The Social Distance Scale (SDS) (Bogardus, 1933) was designed to measure the extent to which people want to keep a distance and avoid intimate contact between themselves and people from different racial, ethnic, national or social groups. The scale has a high internal consistency, with Cronbach a greater than .90 (Kleg Yamamoto, 1995, Mielenz, 1997, Osei-Kwame Achola, 1981). The scale consists of measuring first feeling reactions to a list of social, racial, ethnic and national groups ranging from regarding distant social contact (e.g., as visitors to ones country) to the most intimate (e.g., as a family member by marriage). In Bogarduss original scoring method (1933) a low score on this scale indicates the person is less inclusive or welcoming of out-group members than those respondents with a high score. Unlike the British Prejudice Scale and the Social Dominance Orientation Scales, which utilise closed-ended questions and Likert scales, the Social Distance Scale design is based on the uni dimensional Guttman-type scale. Clear written instructions on how to respond to the questionnaire and each scale were provided to all respondent prior to each scale. The British Prejudice Scale and the Social Dominance Orientation Scales being of the closed question style were pre-coded and the response sets were in a Likert scale, this allowing for ease of analysis. The Social Distance Scale design is based on the uni-dimensional Guttman-type scale, with increasing levels of intimacy. Clear written instructions on how to respond to the questionnaire and each scale were provided to all respondent prior to each scale. The main body of the questionnaire, as previously noted, was pre-determined by the use of existing scales. Consideration at this stage was given to a methodology of image presentation, due to the social undesirability of racial comments, and it was further considered unlikely that respondents would answers openly and honestly if they were fully aware that they were being questioned about racist attitudes. Furthermore, fully informed consent was not realistic prior to the experiment. The selected scales were already of a political nature by being measurements of political attitudes. The scales used dictated the information required, therefore consideration only had to be given to the construction, format ordering and filler questions required to ensure the deception was successful. The filler questions were selected by using a pre-general election governmental questionnaire[2] . It has been acknowledged that the style of question can influence the reported response, thus this method, by which elimination of any bias from the researcher is effected was deemed the most appropriate methodology. The questions were subsequently piloted,[3] with random introduction, the facilitator noting the level to which questions appeared to lead or invoke discussion or a better response from the group members. These questions were then used to fill the questionnaire and disguise the real intention of the measure. The design of the questionnaire was against two specific criteria, simplicity of administration and level of cognition of intended recipients prisoners. Instructions and layout were deliberately simple with additional concentration on ensuring the design was short, thus ensuring a minimisation of respondent fatigue and high response rate. The demographics were selected to identify length in prison, first or further prison sentence, number of previous prison sentences, age and level of education, thus allowing for statistical tests for possible influence or bias. Post-test measures The study investigated whether exposure to racist signs and symbols impacted participants scores on measures associated with hate and prejudice. The hypothesis was tested in seven different ways, firstly against the British Prejudice Scale, which was designed as a measure of anti-black prejudice; Secondly, against the Social Dominance Orientation Scale, the Social Dominance Orientation Scale conceptualising the importance of racial and political attitudes, therefore being a direct measure of racial attitudes. The next five tests of the hypothesis were sub-components of the Social Distance Scale which measures the extent by which people want to keep a distance and avoid increasing amounts of intimate contact between themselves and people from different racial, ethnic, national or social groups. A Man-Whitney U[4] test was conducted to determine whether the experimental and the control groups were comparable, on the demographic information from the sample. The demographic variables used in this experiment were length in prison (time spent in present establishment), first time in prison (whether or not this was a first custodial sentence), previous times in prison (number of previous custodial sentences), length of sentence (length of present custodial sentence), age and education. Independent t-tests were also conducted using the British Prejudice Scale, and the various elements of the Social Distance Scale scores. In order to take into account multiple testing, a Bonferroni adjustment[5] was also calculated. Analyses of covariance[6] were considered but no variances in dependant variables were apparent. Hypothesis The primary hypothesis of this research is that viewing racist signs and symbols increases prejudice against out-groups and factors associated with racism and hate. FINDINGS British Prejudice Scale On average, the control group scored significantly higher on the British Prejudice Scale (M= 64.67, SD= 16.41) than the experiment group (M= 36.68, SD= 18.46). The results of the test were significant (t(126) = 9.08, p=