XYZ Company

Introduction The effects of government policies on the functioning and a long-term plan of an enterprise are undisputable. The concept of free market economy is not devoid of a government mechanism that controls the operations from distance and in invisible ways. Government fiscal and monetary policies affect the operations of private organizations.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on XYZ Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On the one hand, government’s actions have a strong effect on a pricing policy, an expansion decision, and other operational decisions undertaken by a private enterprise (Agenor, Izquierdo Jensen, 2009). Policies related to antitrust laws, fiscal, and monetary policies affect private enterprises directly. On the other hand, policies related to environment, trade relations, and international policies affect private companies indirectly. The sportswear market is a dominant form, which h as to expand and embrace globalization in order to remain competitive in a highly monopolistic market. This paper discusses the fictitious sports apparel company XYZ and the effect that government policies have on its expansion plans and long term investment decisions. However, the paper will begin with a discussion of the development of an inelastic pricing policy. An Inelastic Pricing Policy: Rationale Inelastic pricing policy of a product is carried out in order to have inelastic demand for the product. The aim of the inelastic pricing is to have a profit maximizing sports apparel brand. Gaining profit-maximizing is traditionally defined as setting the range of prices, at which the marginal revenue of the product is zero. Profit maximizing will ensure inelastic prices for a corporation (McEacherm, 2011). For instance, the marginal cost of the brand and association of the brand with the sports celebrities will double the effect of the appeal of the product to the customers. This w ill ensure an inelastic demand for sports, because apparel is not bought simply for the sake of the product itself but for the association of the product with the game or the sports personality. Hence, the price that the consumers are willing to pay is not for the product but the association of marginal talent that is related to the product. Hence, the sports apparel brand has to associate itself with the top talents in the industry to ensure that their pricing can be inelastic, for the price is equated not with marginal cost for profit maximization, but with marginal talent of the sportsperson. Effect of Government Policies on Production and Employment The process of recovering from failure of capital projects is through regrouping. Apart of assembling, all the key people involved in the planning process have to be regrouped to assess the failures and loopholes in the planning process and do a proper diagnostic check. Usually what companies do is trying to reduce cost and losses by getting back on schedule at the earliest.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, this is a knee-jerking response to the problem, and in doing so, companies usually do not detect the real reason of failure. Therefore, the best option is to put in quality time to evaluate the issue and address it. Complete transparency in the operational process and the implementation process is necessary. Further accountability is also important. Maintaining a complete and thorough audit trial is essential for the companies to ensure proper documentation of the project process. In addition, as it has been mentioned above, the cessation of a company’s monopoly reduces unemployment rates considerably. By opening new opportunities or other enterprises within the target market, government will provide more people with the chances to get a job. Thus, the unemployment rates will plummet. Effect of Government Policies XYZ Company In a retrospect, the effects that government has had on the XYZ Company are rather impressive. To start with, it would be wrong to claim that governmental regulation of the company’s processes can be defined as solely negative. Quite on the contrary, it seems that the XYZ Company can reach equilibrium between the marginal revenue and marginal cost curves. More to the point, seeing how the XYZ Company is defined as a monopolistic one, as well as that the company operates within a monopolistic market, the introduction of governmental regulation allows for setting the prices for the company’s services that will be considerably higher than the aforementioned marginal cost, therefore, increasing the company’s profit. However, the effects that the governmental supervision has on the XYZ Company’s processes are rather diverse; particularly, the fact that the government will reduce the company’s control over market price should be mentioned. Once the XYZ Company is unable to earn higher profit and remain the monopolist for the provided services, it will have to address a number of issues, including the means to fight the competitors efficiently, come up with the new means of attracting target customers, search for resources and information faster than the rival companies, etc. The aforementioned operations will demand impressive amounts of money, which presupposes that the XYZ Company will have to cut on several costs, possibly including the inbound and outbound logistics (the choice of the resource transportation methods should be reconsidered), as well as the current methods of marketing.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on XYZ Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Is Government Regulation Needed for XYZ Company/Industry? The information provided above shows clearly that the XYZ Company does not actually need the interfe rence of the government into its organizational, financial and production processes; in fact, knowing quite little about the specifics of the company’s key mechanisms, as well as inside and outside factors that affect its operations, the government will most likely do more harm than it will improve the organization’s performance (Forrest Yip, 2011). This, therefore, begs the question whether the governmental regulation should actually be encouraged for SMEs in general and the XYZ Company in particular. Seeing how the intrusion of the government bodies into the course of the company has been quite negative so far, one might assume that the idea of allowing the governmental bodies interfere with the company’s policy are entirely negative. Indeed, the state authorities know little to nothing about the XYZ Company’s operational processes, marketing principles and organizational culture. Therefore, their effect on the company’s ability to earn supernor mal profit may be deplorable. In addition, it will be harder for the XYZ Company to remain monopolistic once the state authorities will take control over most of its processes. However, when considering the aforementioned changes closer, one will notice that the governmental influence allows the XYZ Company to gain better competitiveness. Fairness of Government Policy Government policies have a strong effect on stimulating market demand and expansion of the market for organizations, as well as production and employment in private sector. The evidence of the positive effect on public capital investment, infrastructure and other developmental work in the specified afield is evident – with an increase in public spending, there is an increase in resources as well as an increase in the productivity of the existing resources available to the private companies. For instance, a new highway joining the industrial belts allows trucks to transport goods faster. The reduction in the time taken by truck drivers to transport the products implies less damage to the trucks and greater productivity by means of reducing wage paid to the drivers by the producers. Hence, government spending on construction of a highway has a positive externality on the total cost of production of the private companies. Further, government spending on education, sewers, hospitalization, etc. helps in creating a more educated and healthy workforce that helps private companies to increase employment. In other words, public spending helps increase the employability of the working age population (OECD, 2012). Major Reasons for Government Involvement in a Market Economy The agency theory has tried to explain the issues between the divergent interests of management and shareholders. The issues may be solved by usage of the firm’s strategic behavior, finding a convergence between management structure and shareholder contract, and signing a new shareholder and manager contract. Some areas of friction between shareholders and managers are entry-exit barriers, organizational inertia, and an inefficient organization structure (McGuigan, Moyer, Harris, 2014).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the agency theory, one of the most prevalent methods of conversing the interests is through ESOPs (employee stock options). Stock options given to employees introduce managers to the rank of shareholders, and, hence, help managers maximize shareholders’ wealth. Another method presupposes the enforcement of a bonding mechanism in the company. Thus, managers are responsible for the bonds and are accountable for them. In both the cases, the aim is to enhance the degree of dependability between managers and shareholders. These methods will ensure greater reliability and understanding between the managers and the shareholders, whose interests will become linear, and, hence, will fetch greater profitability for the XYZ Company. Further, the convergence of interest theory suggests that the firm’s valuation will increase once the company will be guided by the government (Peng, 2009). Convergence between the Interests of Stockholders and Managers The overall study shows that the presence of government control and a panoptic system to monitor capitalist market economy is essential in order to work as a cushion that facilitates the working and/or recovery of the firm. Moreover, it also works as a monitoring agency that ensures ethical conduct. Government intervention has been found to be profitable to companies entering the global market. Inelastic pricing policy may be adopted by maximizing profit, but in case of sports goods brands, maximizing talents is necessary. Government intervention is essential for the functioning of the economy, for an open credit environment will delve the economy in an unprecedented recession. Further, the essay presents that inefficient planning is to be blamed for failure of capital projects. The only method to elevate the problem of management and shareholder conflict of interest is through establishing managerial shareholding through employee share ownership. Conclusion Capital projects essentially mean expansion by acqui ring a large sum of money or capital for long-term growth. Capital project usually run the risk of failure due to the primary cause of cost overrun. One of the causes of cost overrun is insufficient planning at the initial stage of the project implementation. Further inadequate and poor project controls can also cause problems in capital projects. Other issues may include delays in payment, an ineffective decision-making process, the lack of control over the processes, unavailability of skilled labor, etc. Usually, capital projects are not caused by a single problem, but rather are triggered by a blend of two or more issues. Many projects end up badly because they were unable to begin at the right pace. Further, unregistered, or defined cost resulted in company’s deviating from the schedule of the project. A poor calculation of the project budget and an untimely delivery of the results, as well as missing the deadlines, are the primary causes of project failures (Venkataraman Pinto, 2011). Reference List Agenor, P.-R., Izquierdo, A. Jensen, H. P. (2009). Adjustment policies, poverty, and unemployment. New York, NY: John Wiley Sons. Forrest, R. Yip, N. M. (2011). Housing markets and the global financial crisis: The uneven impact on households. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing McEacherm, W. A. (2011). Economics: A contemporary introduction. Stanford, CT: Cengage Learning. McGuigan, J. R., Moyer, R. C., Harris, F. H. deB. (2014). Managerial economics: applications, strategies and tactics (13th Ed.). Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. OECD (2012). OECD economic surveys: Slovak Republic 2012. Geneva, Switzerland: OECD Publishing. Peng, M. (2009). Global business 2009 update. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Venkataraman, R. R. Pinto, J. K. (2011). Cost and value management in projects. New York, NY: John Wiley Sons. This essay on XYZ Company was written and submitted by user MotherAskani 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. XYZ Company

Incidences of Sexual Harassment in Northern Cyprus

Incidences of Sexual Harassment in Northern Cyprus Free Online Research Papers Sexual harassment is not a new phenomenon. It has probably existed as long as both sexes have been in existence. Sexual harassment is harassment or unwelcome attention of a sexual nature. It includes a variety of behaviors, including mild transgressions and annoyances to serious abuses, which also involves forced sexual activity (Boland, 2002). Males as harassers and females as victims are the most common types of sexual harassment (O’Donohue et al, 1998). Research on sexual harassment usually falls into two categories: (1) investigating the dimensions of sexual harassment, and (2) investigating the factors that influence an individual’s perception of sexual harassment (Tata, 1993, cited in LaRocca, 1999). These factors include severity of the behavior, context in which the behavior occurs i.e., power differentials, and incidental attributes of the persons involved i.e., physical attractiveness. Rubin and Borges (cited in LaRocca, 1999) found that about 70 % of the women they surveyed reported some form of sexual harassment while attending classes at a university, and that majority of these sexual harassment incidents went unreported. Sexual harassment has been acknowledged to be a widespread and recurring problem in employment as well as educational settings (LaRocca, 1999). Sexual harassment in schools is recognized as a public health problem detrimental to students’ psychosomatic health (Gadin, 2002, cited in Witkowski, 2005). Awareness of harassment in an organization gives rise to psychological distress among individuals who have not been directly victimized (Schneider, 2001, cited in Witkowska, 2005). Studies have usually examined harassment and abuse in isolation rather than in the context of the total academic experience (Carr et al, 2006). Financial loss is a major consequence of sexual harassment to organizations (Worsfold and McCann, 2000), and it is more expensive to ignore the problem of sexual harassment than to provide training to the employees and employers, or students as the case may be. Sexual harassment has negative repercussions on the individual, the organization, and the community in general (O’Donohue, Downs, and Yeater, 1998). Headaches, backaches, nausea, weight loss or gain, sleep disturbance, neck pain, tiredness and psychological reactions, such as depression, anxiety, fear, anger, shame, guilt, helplessness, isolation, lowered self-esteem, lowered self-confidence, and nervousness are common for both working women and female college students who fall prey to sexual harassment (American Association of University Women, 2002). College students are known to have forfeited work, research, education comfort and even future career, due to sexual harassment (American Association of University Women, 2002). Thacker (1996), further states that formal education is an important factor in an individual’s career and personal development, and so stunting or obstructing a person’s educational accomplishment can have severe consequences. Formerly, sexual harassment has been seen largely as an instance of regular males’ sex pursuit of women in the workplace or classroom. However, researchers have begun to turn from studying sexual harassment as a problem between individuals, to a problem of organizational climate (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). Thus, this study hopes to shed light on the nature of the organizational climate of E.M.U. This is because studying the perception of students on their understanding of what construes sexual behavior will provide an avenue for E.M.U to create and implement sexual harassment policies that will provide a sexual harassment-free studying environment for students. It also creates a foundation for further research. Schools may be considered as workplaces for students, just as they are for adult employees (Witkowska and Menckel, 2005). The school is an arena for students’ first contact with working life, and a place where they spend a large proportion of th eir time. 1.1 Rationale for the Study In the course of carrying out a study on the incidences of sexual harassment of trainees in the tourism and hospitality industry of North Cyprus, the researcher found out that there was no clear cut definition of what sexual harassment means to these students. It is essential that we reformulate our focus to identify what sexual harassment means for students of E.M.U. The study hopes to provide data and theoretical evidence on the context in which E.M.U students perceive sexual harassment. To be successful in today’s competitive organizational environment, it is important for the administration of Eastern Mediterranean University to realize the significance of a sexual harassment-free school environment. It is also important to understand how students feel about the issue. Without a clear-cut definition of what constitutes sexual harassment, it will be difficult for the university to identify and deal with it. Because of the increase in incidences of sexual harassment in high er learning institutions (American Association of University Women, 2006), the negative psychological effects it has on students, e.g., anxiety, tension, irritability, depression, headaches, lower morale, and the costs of lawsuit settlements increasing all over the world, it is with a pro-active view that this research looks at the perspective of sexual harassment by students in E.MU. Previous studies have contended that the best way to reduce sexual harassment is through prevention (Newman, 2000, cited in Wanthanee et al, 2006). Most of the studies that have examined sexual harassment have been conducted in the United States and other Western countries, thus; the findings from these studies may not be applicable in North Cyprus, given the difference in values and culture between countries. Social-sexual behaviors that may constitute sexual harassment in some countries may be perceived as acceptable in another (Hardman and Heidelberg, 1996, cited in Limpaphayom et al, 2006). Organizations need to establish effective sexual harassment policies and procedures, interventions and training programs to combat the problem (Newman, 2000, cited in Witowska, 2005). However, without a commonly accepted, behavioral –based definition of what constitutes sexual harassment, the degree to which the problem exists cannot be accurately assessed, an understanding of complaint s and reactions cannot be reached, and organizations cannot accurately address the problem through policies or training (Nielson, 1996). More research is needed in terms of the effect of gender difference on sexual harassment perceptions and reactions. Current literature based on the United States sample shows no clear consensus whether males and females agree on what behaviors constitute sexual harassment. Perceived gender difference on sexual harassment perceptions in other countries or cultures remain largely unexplored (Wanthanee et al, 2006). 1.2 Aims of the Study Despite recent interest in sexual harassment in schools around the globe, research in North Cyprus and other European countries remains limited. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to investigate the perception of male and female students of E.M.U in North Cyprus on sexual harassment. Thereby, the study aims to examine whether the sexual harassment construct varies across two specific genders, comparing male and female samples as to what behaviors may be perceived as sexual harassment. The present study builds on previous exploratory studies on sexual harassment and attempts to add to the development of a commonly accepted, behavioral based definition of a hostile work or school environment by identifying specific behaviors perceived by students to create a hostile school environment. Therefore, the aims of this study are: 1. To identify specific sexual behaviors perceived by students as contributing to the creation of differing levels of a hostile work environment. 2. Identify how these perceptions vary across selected demographic factors. 3. Identify how these perceptions are formed. 4. Provide recommendations to E. M. U. concerning the development and implementation of sexual harassment policies and procedures. 1.4 Scope Of The Study The study will discuss the definition, theories and effects of sexual harassment, with emphasis on perceived differences of male and female gender. It will also give details of the classifications and categories of sexual harassment, with in-depth review of past research on the topic. Further, the study will focus on students who are registered full time in E.M.U. Based on the findings of the study and previous research, results will be analyzed and concluded. 1.5 Outline of the Thesis The thesis has four chapters will comprise of 5 Chapters. Chapter One gives a background of the entire study, outlining a brief background of the topic, and stating the aims and objectives of the study. It also states the rationale as to why the subject of sexual harassment was chosen for the study. Chapter Two presents a review of the literature. It discusses what previous researches have concluded about the definition, classification, effects and incidences of sexual harassment, placing emphasis on the perceived differences of males and females on sexual harassment. It will also give information about Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus, where the sample will be taken. Chapter Three gives detailed information about how the data set for the study are collected. Data for the study were collected through survey of the students, with questions asked based on the 5 categories of sexual harassment. Thus, the research will use quantitative methodology, using target sampling method to collect primary data. Chapter Four presents the findings. This section presents a detailed report on the perception of the respondents on the context of sexual harassment, supported by the researcher’s conclusions based on past literature and research. Respondents are categorized based on how they report their perceptions, experiences, and how they feel about it. Chapter Five presents a discussion of the findings, limitations faced in collecting data, and the conclusion. In this final chapter, suggestions are proffered to the University administration on how to educate students on issues and policies of sexual harassment. Finally, future research areas are proposed. CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 2.1 Defining Sexual Harassment The definition of sexual harassment adopted by the European Commission in 1991 refers to unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, or other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of women or men at work. This includes unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct (Witkowska, 2005). According to Dziech et al (1990), sexual harassment is harassment or unwelcome attention of a sexual nature. It includes a variety of behaviors that include mild transgressions, serious abuses, and can involve forced sexual activity. EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) in the United States, defines sexual harassment as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, when submission to or rejection of such conduct is used as the basis for employment decisions affecting an individual, or where such conduct has the purpose or effect of interfering unreasonably with the individual’s work performance, or creates an offensive, hostile or intimidating working environment. (US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1992, cited in Limpaphayom et al, 2006). One chief difficulty in defining sexual harassment is that people with different demographic and/or social backgrounds have different perceptions of what sexual harassment consists of (Foulis and McCabe, 1997, cited in Lin, 2004). Inconsistencies and disagreements on what actually constitutes a hostile working environment and the degree to which sexual harassment is present in the workplace may be the result of two important factors: first, sampling differences found in previous research, and second, lack of a commonly accepted, behavioral based definition of sexual harassment (Nielson, 1996). In November 1993, the Supreme court handed down a decision in Harris versus Forklift Systems Inc, that no longer required complainants to prove that a hostile or abusive environment caused them psychological injury- the complainant needed to simply show that the defendant’s behavior was either physically threatening or humiliating or unreasonably interfered with his or her work (Reynolds , 1994, cited in Nielson, 1996). Based on the above decision, it is clear that there is still no accepted definition of sexual harassment. Individual interpretation is inherent in the identification of a hostile work environment. Behavior that is considered harassing by one individual may not be harassment to someone else, and the reason for these differences in perceptions remain unclear. Sexual harassment seems to be in the eyes of the person being harassed, and it is left to the courts to decide what constitutes acceptable or unacceptable behavior. Although the researcher realizes that it is difficult to define the exact boundaries of sexual harassment, for the purpose of this study, sexual harassment is defined as unacceptable conduct of a sexual nature, or other conduct based on sex that interferes with a student’s right to a supportive, respectful and safe learning environment in school, or that affects a student’s dignity in a negative way. This definition includes both the quid pro quo and hostile work environment types of harassment listed by the European Commission, which captures a broad range of behaviors so as to better describe the nature of sexual harassment in school. Also, because schools are mainly educational institutions, it is necessary to evaluate standards of school behavior related to sexual harassment in a broader learning context than is the case for working adults. 2.2 Theories of Sexual Harassment. 1. Sociobiology- This perspective argues that males are biologically programmed to be sexual aggressors and that sexual behavior in the workplace is an aspect of biological inheritance (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). Proponents of this theory agree that though sexual behavior in the workplace is inappropriate, it is however, unavoidable, and argue that acting in accordance with one’s biological impulses should not be considered offensive or illegal ( Murrey, 2000). 2. Patriarchy- This perspective holds that men have social, political and economic power over women, and women are defined by the system as sexual in nature (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). In some cultures, women are confined to the home as wives and mothers and female children are not formally educated. In other cultures (such as that of the researcher of the present survey, in Nigeria), women are not confined to the home, but, stereotypes about appropriate male and female behavior assign women a subordinate sexualized identity. Proponents of this theory believe that social structure must change before harassment can be eliminated. This can be done if both men and women are taught about the nature of stereotyping, and there are no links between power and sexuality (Barth and Raymon, 1995). 3. Culture- This perspective maintains that men and women are socialized into different cultures, different beliefs, values and ways of communication (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). Proponents here believe that traditionally, the workplace has been a male culture where men joke and tease each other, and talk about women in a not too respectful manner, so, women who want to enter this scene should not expect men to change their culture in a minute; however men must learn to work along with women in the workplace (Taylor, J. K, 1999). Another argument here is that, suggesting that comments about sex are more offensive to women than men is stereotyping and it is gender discrimination, so the culture of the workplace should be a culture of respect towards all persons. 4. Discourse-The discursive perspective holds that communication creates and shapes social reality, so that communicative practices create assumptions about the nature of the world, which influence our opinions and behavior (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). This means that feelings and emotions are defined and taught so that people who harass and people who are harassed come to feel these behaviors are normal. Until recently, incidences of sexual harassment were not seen as inappropriate, but instead seen as normal in men’s conduct towards women (Wood, J, 1994). 2.3 Classification of Sexual Harassment Hadjifotou (1983) classified sexual harassment into 5 categories: 1. Sexual remarks, jokes, catcalls, whistling and teasing, or personal remarks about parts of the body, particularly legs, breast and hair. These forms of harassment are the hardest to identify and tackle. 2. Suggestive look and gestures, staring and leering. Such unwanted behavior is threatening because there is no immediate escape at work. Ignoring this behavior carries the risk of the harasser increasing his actions; acknowledging the harasser’s interest may be taken as acceptance; and complaining may be difficult if the harasser has power over the woman’s job. For example, a lady narrated how her boss will stand with his hands in his pockets as if rubbing his genitals. (Farley, p.116, cited in Hadjifotu, 1983). 3. Persistent demands for dates and sexual favors either from a supervisor or co-worker. Direct questions and comments of the sort cannot be easily ignored. Two scenarios may result from this: rejection or avoidance of the harasser may fuel the myth that women ‘like to play hard to get’, and/or it may be difficult to persuade the harasser that his attentions are unwanted. An example is given of a woman whose boss visited her at odd hours during her night shift, asking her to have an affair with him, a night out, an afternoon, or just half an hour. (Night Nurse p.44, cited in Hadjifotou, 1983). 4. Touching, pinching, caressing and hugging. A familiar excuse for this type of behavior is that it demonstrates friendship, but when the action is unwanted and repeated, it cannot be mistaken for genuine concern for a person’s well-being. (Kitchen Helper, p.67, cited in Hadjifotou, 1983.) 5. Violent sexual assault, rape or attempted rape. Such cases account for a very small proportion of sexual harassment at work. Fitzgerald et al (1988), using Till’s (1980) study on sexual harassment of college women, identified how sexual harassment progresses. This study describes 5 categories of sexual harassment which are all similar to that of Hadjifotou (1983) above to describe the 5 levels of sexual harassment: 1 -gender harassment: generalized sexist remarks and behavior. 2 -seductive behavior: inappropriate and offensive, but essentially sanction-free, sexual advances. 3 -sexual bribery: solicitation of sex activity or other sex linked behavior by promise of rewards. 4 -sexual coercion: coercion of sex activity by threat of punishment. 5 -sexual assault: gross sexual imposition Fitzgerald et al (1988) believe that gender harassment is perceived as the least serious behavior of sexual harassment, while sexual assault is perceived as the most serious of all the behaviors of sexual harassment. This means that the 5 levels of sexual harassment that have been identified is on a 1 to 5 scale where 1 is equal to less severe and 5 is equal to most severe. However, it is believed that gender harassment often leads to eventual sexual assault. Pattinson (1991) states that though sexual harassment does not just involve having sexual intercourse, it is more often than not the prime motivation. 2.4 Effects Of Sexual Harassment on University Students It is difficult to assess the actual extent of the effects of sexual harassment as a whole. Though many studies indicate the issue to be widespread and take a serious toll on the victim, critics say that many studies get response only from people who have experienced sexual harassment, and such experiences might be exaggerated (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). In schools however, many scholars complain that sexual harassment remains an unspoken secret, with teachers and administrators refusing to admit the problem exists in their schools, thereby, not accepting their legal and ethical responsibilities to deal with it. (Dziech and Weiner, 1990). A 2002 study of students in the 8th to 11th grade, undertaken by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), revealed that 83% of girls have been sexually harassed and 28% of boys have been sexually harassed, by teachers and colleagues, (AAUW, 2002). Also in the association’s study, it was reported that 62% of female college students and 61% of male college students have been sexually harassed in their universities, with 80% of the reported harassments being peer-to-peer (AAUW, 2006). Headaches, backaches, nausea, weight loss or gain, sleep disturbance, neck pain, tiredness and psychological reactions, such as depression, anxiety, fear, anger, shame, guilt, helplessness, isolation, lowered self-esteem, lowered self-confidence, and nervousness are common for university students who fall prey to sexual harassment (AAUW, 2002). College students are known to have forfeited work, research, education comfort and even future career, due to sexual harassment (AAUW, 2002). Thacker, (1996) argues that formal education is an important factor in an individual’s career and personal development, and so stunting or obstructing a person’s educational accomplishment can have severe consequences. Further negative effects include lower morale, decreased job satisfaction, and poor time-keeping (Stanford and Gardiner, 1993). Previous researches have shown that over a period of time, even low level frequent sexual harassment can lead to significant negative consequences f or student victims. (Schneider et al, 1997). According to Hadjifotou (1983), common effects on the college victims are: Decreased work or school performance, and increased absenteeism. Loss of job or career, which in turn leads to loss of income. Having to drop courses, change academic plans. Defamation of character and reputation. Loss of reference and/or recommendations. In addition to the above, a survey of 903 female students conducted by Fitzgerald et al in 1988 (cited in Lin, 2006), at a University in the US Midwest, reported that victims of sexual harassment did not report their experiences because of 3 reasons: 1. They felt they might not be believed. 2. They did not want to cause trouble or be labeled as trouble makers. 3. They rather dealt with the problem themselves or, they had not perceived it as serious enough to be reported. 2.5 Effects of Sexual Harassment on the Organization and the Community Sexual harassment is a widespread and continuing problem in workplaces and schools that cuts through occupational and professional categories, age groups, educational backgrounds, racial and ethnic groups and affects everybody (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). On October 6, 1991, Anita Hill, a University Law Professor, notified the United States Judiciary Commission that she had been repeatedly harassed by Judge Clarence Thomas, a Washington DC Circuit Judge nominated to sit on the US Supreme court by President Bush. This incidence, Anita reported, occurred a decade earlier when they both worked at the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (Barton and Eichelberger, 1994). The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported a $1 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against Grace Culinary Systems, Inc. and Townsend Culinary, Inc. alleging egregious sexual harassment of 22 Hispanic women at a food processing plant in Laurel, Maryland. The suit charged the companies with routinely subjecting the female workers, all recent immigrants from Central America who spoke limited English, to unwanted groping and explicit requests for sexual favors by male managers and co-workers over several years (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). The governor of Osaka was ordered to pay $ 107,000 to a university student in Japans largest sexual harassment verdict, a ruling described as revolutionary in the size of the award and one that is expected to lead to more court cases. Japan has seen a growing number of lawsuits since a revised labor law prohibiting sexual harassment and sex discrimination took effect last April. In July, a court awarded $87,000 to a woman who said she was harassed and forced into a sexual relationship by a piano teacher while she was a university student (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). WR Grace Co agreed to a $1 million settlement in a sexual harassment suit. Managers at a food processing facility in Maryland were charged by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the harassment of 22 female workers from Central America. The violations included the demanding of oral sex, touching of the women and exposing themselves to the women. According to commission officials, two pregnant women who refused the mens advances were fired (www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html). As is seen in the examples above, financial loss is a major consequence of sexual harassment to organizations (Worsfold and McCann, 2000), and it is more expensive to ignore the problem of sexual harassment than to provide training to the employees and employers. Government officials are not left out in the criticisms and lawsuits levied against them on sexual harassment matters. In a 1990 survey of employees of the US Defense Department (Barton and Eichelberger, 1994), 64 percent of the findings in the military reported that they had endured sexual harassment while in service. Also surveyed are the cases of at least a dozen Senior Naval Officers who had been reassigned or demoted over charges of them harassing female Officers at a Las Vegas convention in the summer of 1991 (Barton and Eichelberger, 1994). O’Donohue et al (1998), summarize some of the effects of sexual harassment on the organizations as follows: -Decreased productivity: when sexual harassment occurs in the workplace, the individuals involved will be psychologically affected and may not perform as well as they ought. -Increased absenteeism of staff: staff that experience sexual harassment behaviors in the workplace tend to make excuses for not showing up for work. -Increased healthcare costs and sick pay costs: in organizations where sexual harassment behaviors are prevalent, staff will incur more healthcare and sick pay costs during post harassment treatment. -Decreased ethical standards and discipline in the organization: organizations that condone sexual harassment behaviors and do not do anything about it will find a decrease in their ethical standards and discipline because employees will act in anyway they like knowing there will be no consequences. This is also bad for victims as they will feel no one cares about their predicament. -Legal costs if complainants take issue to court: when victims file lawsuits against organizations, costs are incurred in settling the complainants or paying for the services of attorneys. 2.6 Effects of Sexual Harassment on the Individual Rubenstein (1992) identifies anxiety, tension, irritability, depression, headaches, sleeplessness, fatigue and deterioration of personal relationships as stress related consequences of sexual harassment. Further negative effects on the individual include lower morale, decreased job satisfaction, and poor time-keeping (Stanford and Gardiner, 1993). Previous researches have shown that over a period of time, even low level frequent sexual harassment can lead to significant negative consequences for the victim (Schneider et al, 1997). 2.7 Gender Differences In Sexual Harassment Sensitivity Gender has been a dominant aspect of sexual harassment research and has been shown to be a predictor of sexual harassment sensitivity (Crow et al, 1995). Research by Crow et al also suggests that males and females, do, in fact, differ in sensitivity to harassment. Major differences were found in the reaction to harassment of a non-sexual nature where women were more likely than men to perceive a given incident as harassment. As human beings, we grow up to be aware of who we are through being exposed to particular interpretations of what it is to be human- in this case, either male or female, masculine or feminine (Linstead et al, 2005). Traditionally, sexual harassment sensitivity has been looked at in terms of social-sexual behaviors based on gender (Crow et al, 1995). The traditional view from research is that gender has a significant impact on sex-role behaviors and sexual behaviors. It has become apparent that men and women automatically have different orientations towards sexually-related behaviors, which in turn results in different perceptions to sexual harassment (Reilly et al, 1986, cited in Crow et al, 1995). Tangri et al in their 1982 study (cited in Lin, 2006), state that females are more sexually attractive and so are more socially disadvantaged than their male counterparts. Therefore, Lin (2006) argues that females are more vulnerable to harassment than the males. Males as harassers and females as victims is the most common type of sexual harassment (O’Donohue et al, 1998). Men seem to be more tolerant of sexual harassment than women and tend to rate hypothetical scenarios and specific social behaviors as less harassing than women (Gutek, 1985 cited in Crow et al, 1995). Women are assumed to resent sexual overtures at work and tend to react more negatively to sexual harassment scenarios than men. Gender differences occur because men and women weigh information about the victim and the harasser differently (Carr et al, 1999). Men tend to be more influenced by incidental behaviors of the victim. For example, Pryor and Day, in their 1988 research (cited in Carr et al, 1999), foun d that men were more influenced than women by the information of how the victim dressed, thereby, attributing more blame to the victim than the harasser. Researchers of past surveys have had difficulty in defining sexual harassment and have attempted to identify behaviors that constitute sexual harassment by respondents of their survey (Worsfold and McCann, 2000). However, the most commonly reported forms of sexual harassment are gender related derogatory remarks, suggestive looks, and sexual comments ( Stanford and Gardiner, 1983). CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 1. Introduction This chapter outlines the research method, research design, and the research sample. The research method gives detailed information about the type of research that was utilized for this study and gives reasons why it was used. It also gives information on the kind of data that will be collected and which sources will be used. The research design gives information on the survey instrument used for the study, explaining the questions and their source. The research sample provides the reader with the population used for this survey and the reason why it was used for this study. 2. Research Methodology This research is an inquiry into the perceived differences on sexual harassment between male and female students of EMU, examining the size of the gender difference within specific behavioral categories in an attempt to identify those behaviors that produce the largest difference and provide accurate information about the actual size of the gender difference. Thus, this study uses the quantitative approach to test the hypotheses. The aim for using this method is to determine whether the predictive generalizations of the hypotheses hold true. The researcher uses questionnaires to collect data, and remains objectively separated from the subject matter of the research. 3. Survey A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Questionnaires were chosen for this research because this research involves a large sample, thereby making data entry and tabulation easier to analyze. Also, questionnaire surveys are familiar to most people, and generally do not make people apprehensive in answering questions. In addition, the researcher’s own opinions will not influence the respondent to answer questions in a certain manner, reducing bias, and also are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys, as the respondent is free to complete the questionnaire on his/her own time-table. 3.1 Questionnaire Design This survey is designed to provide information distinguishing between reactions to both pervasiveness and severity of particular behaviors, as well as to provide information distinguishing between reactions to gender harassment, seductive behavior and sexual imposition. The questionnaire design used for this research was adopted from Nielson (1996). Nielson (1996) examined the perception of sexual harassment, focusing on the female office professional’s perspective. Self administered questionnaires will be given to respondents with assurance that data will only be used for this thesis research and not for any other purpose. The items of the survey instrument will be prepared in English and then translated into Turkish by using the back translation method. There will be a pilot study of students who will be given questionnaires to complete, so that the researcher could confirm if the questionnaire was well understood by the respondents. After confirming the questions were understood, the researcher will hand out the questionnaires to students in various classrooms after taking permission from the University administration. Questionnaires returned by the respondents will be analyzed using Windows SPSS 0.8 and used according to the respective ob jectives and occasions. 300 questionnaires will be distributed. Demographic explanations for differing perceptions of sexual harassment will be tested based on the following research and proposed hypothesis. Based on the assumption that females are inclined to find social sexual behavior (dating and flirting) as more severe than boys, this study proposes that: H1- Female students will perceive potentially harassing behavior as more severe than male students. Research found that men were more influenced than women by the information of how the victim dressed, thereby, attributing more blame to the victim than the harasser. Based on this information, the study proposes that: H2- male students will judge the victim more harshly than female students. Research shows that a person’s previous experience with regard to sexual harassment influences gender difference in perceptions of sexual harassment (Blakely et al, 1992, cited in Nielson, 1996). This means that if one has experienced sexual harassment behaviors, he/she will be more conscious and less tolerant of behavior considered as harassment. Based on this, this study proposes that: H3- students who respond to having been sexually harassed will perceive potentially harassing behavior as more severe than those who respond to not having been sexually harassed. Previous research shows that studies investigating sexual harassment has tended to exclude behaviors which are perceived to have a low potential to harass and have also provided respondents with limited responses. In attempting to deal with these issues, this survey utilized in this study is designed to measure students’ perceptions of a wide range of actual workplace behaviors which create varying levels of a hostile work environment. Within this variety of behaviors, both severity and frequency of the behavior will be manipulated. Therefore, the continuum to be used for this study is as follows: 1. Likely to consider it a compliment 2. Socially acceptable behavior 3. Annoying, but not likely to affect my studies 4. Disturbing to the point of affecting my studies, but no formal complaint 5. Basis for formal complaint, but not a lawsuit. 6. Basis for a lawsuit. The use of response options beyond formal complaint is to enhance the identification of behaviors that create a hostile work environment. Though such behaviors are typically not reported, they may have an adverse effect on the victim’s productivity, moral absenteeism and turnover. 3.2 Survey Items. 1. Comment: â€Å"your hair looks nice† 2. Comment: â€Å"have you lost weight?† 3. Comment: â€Å" you have nice legs† 4. Comment: â€Å"your skirt is very short† 5. Comment: â€Å"your neckline is very low’ 6. Comment: â€Å"your clothes fit like a glove† 7. Comment: â€Å"you have an attractive build† 8. Opposite sex touches your hands 9. Opposite sex touches your arms/shoulder 10. Opposite sex asking for a date 11. Opposite sex touches your back 12. Opposite sex telling off-color jokes 13. Student forced into sex in school 14. Opposite sex asking for sexual favors 15. Opposite sex touches your breasts 16. Hugs with caresses from opposite sex 17. Opposite sex touches your buttock 18. Opposite sex describing sexual abilities 19. Opposite sex staring, persistently 20. Observing peers having sex in the school environment 21. Peers discussing sexually related stories 22. magazines with pictures of people scantily clothed 23. Opposite sex touches your face 4. Research Sample The questionnaire survey will focus on students of E. M. U. in North Cyprus, who are registered as full time students. Purposive sampling is a sampling method in which elements are chosen based on purpose of the study. Purposive sampling may involve studying the entire population of some limited group (example, sociology faculty at Bilkent University) or a subset of a population (example, EMU faculty who has won a Nobel Prizes). As with other non-probability sampling methods, purposive sampling does not produce a sample that is representative of a larger population, but it can be exactly what is needed in some cases study of organization, community, or some other clearly defined and relatively limited group. In this study, purposive sampling method was used, as the researcher decided to focus on students whose profiles are given above to get the specific information for the research. Table 3.1 Questionnaire This questionnaire survey aims to investigate the perception of male and female students of EMU on sexual harassment. The researcher wishes to find out from you, whether the sexual harassment construct varies across two specific genders, comparing male and female samples as to what behaviors may be perceived as sexual harassment. Due to the sensitivity of the topic, be assured that whatever you say or write is strictly confidential and cannot be traced back to you, as you are not requested to write your name or any other personal information. Please answer the questions honestly and sincerely, as it is important for the output of this research. 1. What is your gender? a. Male b. Female 2. What age group are you? a. 16-20 b. 20-24 c. 25-28 3. What is your educational level at EMU? a. Year 1 b. Year 2 c. Year 3 d. Year 4 e. Graduate student. 4. What is your nationality? 5. For each of the scenarios depicted below, how would you rate such behavior? (In reference to the school environment). Kindly mark ‘X’ in boxes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 (as applicable to you). Where; 1= Likely to consider it a compliment. 2= Socially acceptable behavior. 3= Annoying, but not likely to affect my studies. 4= Disturbing to the point of affecting my studies, but no formal complaint 5= Basis for formal complaint, but not a lawsuit. 6= Basis for a lawsuit. 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Comment: â€Å"your hair looks nice† 2. Comment: â€Å"have you lost weight?† 3. Comment: â€Å" you have nice legs† 4. comment: â€Å"your skirt is very short† 5. Comment: â€Å"your neckline is very low’ 6. Comment: â€Å"your clothes fit like a glove† 7. Comment: â€Å"you have an attractive build† 8. Opposite sex touches your hands 9. Opposite sex touches your arms/shoulders 10. Opposite sex asking for a date 11. Opposite sex touches your back 12. Opposite sex telling off-color jokes 13. Student forced into sex in school 14. Opposite sex asking for sexual favors 15. Opposite sex touches your breasts 16. Hugs with caresses from opposite sex 17. Opposite sex touches your buttocks 18. Opposite sex describes sexual abilities 19. Opposite sex staring, persistently 20. Observing peers having sex in the school environment 21. magazines with pictures of people scantily clothed 22. Peers discussing sexually related stories 23. Opposite sex touches your face 6. Please define what sexual harassment means to you- Reference: AAUW (2002) â€Å"Hostile Hallways: Bullying, Teasing, and Sexual Harassment in School†, Research by Harris Interactive: American Association of University Women Educational Foundation, 11 11 Sixteenth street, Washington D.C. ISBN: 1-879922-28-2. AAUW (2006) â€Å"Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus†, National Conference for College Women Student Leaders’ Summit on Sexual harassment, American Association of University Women, Washington D.C., 20036. Anderson, J and Poole, M. (1994), Assignment Thesis Writing, John Wiley and sons, New York. Pp24-30. Barth, A. J., and Raymon, P. (1995), ‘The Naà ¯ve misuse of power: Non-conscious Sources of Sexual Harassment, Journal of Social Issues, 51 (1) pp 85-95. Barton, L., Eichelberger, J. (1994) ‘Sexual Harassment: Assessing the need for corporate policies in the workplace. Volume 7, Number 1, pp 24-28, MCB Press, 095 3-3230. Boland, M. L. (2002), Sexual harassment: Your Guide to Legal Action, Naperville, Illinois, Sphinx Publishing, 2002. Fitzgerald, L. F., Shullman, S. L., Bailey, N., Richards, M., Swecker, J., Gold, Y., Ormerod, M., and Weitzman, J. (1988), ‘The Incidence and Dimensions of Sexual Harassment in Academia and the Workplace’, Journal of Vocational Behavior, 32, 152-175. Hadjifotiou, N. (1983), ‘Women and Harassment at Work’, Pluto Press Limited, Australia and London. Lin, Y. H. (2006), ‘The incidence of Sexual Harassment of students while undergoing practicum training experience in the Taiwanese hospitality industry: Individuals reaction and relationships to perpetrators’, Journal of Tourism Management, 27, 51-68. O’Donohue, W., Downs, K., and Yeater, E. A. (1998), â€Å"Sexual harassment: A review of the literature†, Aggression and Violent Behavior, 3 (2), 111-128. Pahlavan, N. (2006), Investigation of sources of funds in Restaurants in T.R.N.C. Masters thesis, september 2006, gazimagusa, North Cyprus. pp30-44. Reyner, C., Sheehan, M. and Barker, M. (1999), â€Å"Theoretical approaches to the study of Bullying at Work†, International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 20, No.  ½ , pp11-15. Rubenstein, M. (1992), ‘Preventing and Remedying Sexual harassment at work: A Resource Manual, Eclipse, London. Schneider, K. T., Swan, S., and Fitzgerald, L. F. (1997), ‘Job related and Psychological effects of Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Empirical Evidence from 2 Origins’, Journal of applied Psychology, Volume 82, Number 3, pp 401-410. Stanford, J., and Gardiner, J. (1993), ‘Sexual Harassment: how it happens and how to beat it’, The Industrial Society, London. Taylor, J.K. (1999), ‘What to do when you don’t want to call the Cops’, New York: NY University books, p 8. Thacker, R. A. (1996), â€Å"A Descriptive Study of Situational and Individual Influences upon Individual’s Responses to Sexual Harassment†, Human Relations, 49 (8), 1105-1122. Thomas, M. (2005), â€Å"Bullying among support staff in a higher education institution†, Journal of Health Education, Vol. 105, No. 4. pp 273-288. Worsfold, P., and McCann, C. (2000), â€Å"Supervised Work Experience and Sexual Harassment†, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Volume 12, Number 4, pp 249-255. Woods, J. (1994), ‘Saying it makes it so: The Discursive Construction of Sexual Harassment’, in Shereen Bingham (Ed.) ‘conceptualizing Sexual Harassment as Discursive Practice. Westpoint, CN: Preager, p 19. www.de2.psu.edu/harssment/generalinfo.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sex.h Research Papers on Incidences of Sexual Harassment in Northern CyprusInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyResearch Process Part OneThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseStandardized TestingRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andThree Concepts of PsychodynamicCapital PunishmentAnalysis Of A Cosmetics Advertisement19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

People`s Points of View on the Gerrymandering Issue Article

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Long Term Care Continuum Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Practitioner Values in Dementia - Portfolio 1 Essay

Practitioner Values in Dementia - Portfolio 1 - Essay Example 1). It will also look at values and government legislations as ethical basis for healthcare. People with dementia are losing their memory, especially those that are aging (US National Library of Medicine, 2012, p. 1). The dysfunction in their brain has serious effect to their memory and their ability to communicate. Though this illness is common among elderly, but this is not normal for all of those that are aging (US National Library of Medicine, 2012, p. 1). Whitehouse,  Price,  Struble,  Clark,  Coyle,  and Delon (1982) explained memory loss of patient with dementia and Alzheimer based on evidences indicating that the nucleus basalis of Meynert, a distinct population of basal forebrain neurons, is the source of cholinergic innervation of the cerebral cortex (pp. 1237-1239). Post-mortem research illustrated the profound reduction in the presynaptic markers for cholinergic neurons in the cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease and senile dementia of the Alzheimer's typ e (Whitehouse et al., 1982, pp. 1237-1239). Research further bared that memory loss is associated to that neurons of the nucleus basalis of Meynert which undergo a profound and selective degeneration at more than 75% in these patients and provide a pathological substrate of the cholinergic deficiency in their brains (Whitehouse et al., 1982, pp. 1237-1239). Demonstration of selective degeneration of such neurons represents the first documentation of a loss of a transmitter-specific neuronal population in a major disorder of higher cortical function and, as such, points to a critical subcortical lesion in Alzheimer's patients (Whitehouse et al., 1982, pp. 1237-1239). Recent analysis of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), involving representative sample of Health and Retirement Study (HRS), bared that health care for people with dementia have increasing emotional and physical demands (Vaughn, 2013, p. 1). Thus, add to the financial burden for care. It also inspires the National Hea lth Institute to find effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, too (Vaughn, 2013, p. 1). Through NAPA, health expert established and enforced National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease the institution also capitalized on research and development of BRAIN initiative, with the support of the president, to generate approaches to broaden our understanding on the neurological disorders, inclusive of neurological disorders and Alzheimer (Vaughn, 2013, p. 1). Dementia is an illness that could be genetically inherited by offspring from their elders or parents. Alzheimer is considered as the worst form of dementia which may appear at 65 years of age or further (Alzheimers.org, 2013b, p. 1). Hence, health practitioners call this a familial disease. Vascular and fronto-temporal dementias are other forms of dementia (Alzheimers.org, 2013b, p. 1). The first can be developed by high cholesterol levels in their bodies. Other milder forms of dementia which can be de tected at an earlier age are dementia with Lewy bodies, Down’s syndrome, and Huntington’s disease (Alzheimers.org, 2013b, p. 1) Medical experts admitted difficulty in determining the cost of dementia care, both in formal and informal setting, because majority of those who suffered in this illness has also multiple medical

Eveline Father Denied Giving Her Money English Literature Essay

Eveline Father Denied Giving Her Money English Literature Essay Eveline story is about a teenager with Italian roots called Eveline that has 2 brothers called Harry and Ernest and parents which have no name and most importantly a lover called Frank. Eveline had a very drastic life also had bad and violent relationship with her father, and the fact that her mother died when she was younger. She always felt herself as the forgotten, the one that nobody cared about, because her father preferred her brothers and he always demanded her to bring money to their house. Eveline father denied giving her money because he thought she was going to use it in stupid things. But later on, Eveline started to move over with her life when she met Frank, a traveler who fell in love with Eveline and promised her to buy her a house in Buenos Aires. Frank convinced Eveline to move to Buenos Aires for them to live a new life and when they were finally boarding up the ship Eveline remembered the promise her mother had told her about take care of the house no matter what happened and that made her decide not to go. 2.0 Type Of Story Textually Implicit In this story, Eveline had a dark life because of her mother passed away for a few years ago. She was afraid and felt herself in danger of her father behavior and violence. However, her father actually not so bad. Evelines really missed her fathers nature when her mother was alive. He is a caring and had sense of humor with his childhood. Evelines missed that moment so much. Evelines also did not know the grief suffered by his father due to his mothers death. Her father feels so empty without his wife and he wants to maintain all the things in his house like his wife alive. In this story, both of them really missed a happy life together. They always flash back the sweet moment before her mother death. This text is textually implicit because we have to use the information in the story to make inferences about the characters and the real feeling Textually Explicit In this story, Eveline is a lonely person. She likes to dreamy and talk with herself her conditions. She did not share her problems especially with her father;s,friends and her siblings. She try to find out the ways to get a better life without thinking her fathers conditions. All the Evelines characters are explicit and it is stated in the story. 3.0 Story Structure (1): Theme This story begins in a town in Ireland which is Belfast with the introduction of family characters. Family seems to be a strong theme in Eveline story. This theme is evident when Eveline stays home and takes over her mother duty in the household as a teen after a promise was made to her dying mother. Deaths play the major role in this story as the author points out that many Eveline friends and family are said to have died at some point. Another theme in Eveline story is paralysis, escape and freedom. Eveline longs for escape. The story also draws on the theme of class.  It is a tale of a woman who is bound to the past and has the opportunity, through marriage to Frank, for freedom and a life in a different country (Buenos Aires, Argentina). She is torn between the call of the past and home and the call of a new future. Eveline stays in the same place, goes nowhere. It is difficult to go full circle without much movement, and in the story there is exactly that, very little movement. Eveline we are told only stands up of the chair she is sitting on for most of the story and goes to the ships side. We are never told how she gets there, Joyce taking her there directly. Escape: She has every reason to leave She has to work hard and is accused of waste money Her father abuse to her Nobody protects her Perspective of living the same life as her mothers, she has been given a chance Paralysis: Cause the feature of her escape continuous shift from living and not living. Eveline is a passive character. 4.0 Story Structure(2): Plot The story starts with Eveline sitting at home looking out the window and reminiscing about when she was a child and the freedom she had playing in the field that was once across the road from her house. It has long since gone, replaced by new houses. She is looking around the house and its repetitiveness, this brings on an anxious feeling and she starts to weigh up her decision. She thinks about what her work colleagues would say but soon disregards their importance, it was only a job where she was not respected by her supervisor Miss Gavan. Eveline thinks she will be treated with respect in Buenos Aries because she would be a married woman (social status and class), but she is drawn back when she starts to think about her family. She would miss her father and brother Harry, even though her father was tight with money, abusive, and liked to drink. It was Evelines job to make him his dinner, she needs him. Even though she handed up most of her wages, she still found it hard to get mon ey back from him for necessities. Though it was a hard life she starts to have second thoughts, but now as she is about to leave it she did not find it a whole undesirable life. She starts to remember her promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could and laments at how much her father would miss her. She starts to think her father isnt all bad and remembers on the night her mother died how her father stopped the organ-player from playing on the street. She then recalls her mothers saying Derevaun Seraun. It is now that we have the first movements from Eveline, when she jumps up from her chair, thinking that it is Frank who will love her and give her happiness. Frank will be her rescuer. Eveline moves directly to ship side where she is standing motionless with Frank, still not knowing if she should go with him to Buenos Aries. Still unsure she starts praying repetitively, in doubt she has reliance on God. When it comes time to board the ship, Frank signal her to follow him but she is stuck to the railings still praying. With no more time left Frank boards the ship and Eveline cannot follow him. She is staying at home. Eveli ne is not leaving, she is to repeat the same mistakes her mother made and return to her father. The climax of Eveline only comes only after the long flashbacks into Evelines life end, where the time finally comes for her to shed her past life behind and join Frank in Buenos Ayres. Eveline is torn between her desire to leave, and the safety and comforts of her life. The conflict between Evelines decision to leave and her desires to stay never does come to a true resolution, the story only ending in the lines, She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition. In leaving the ending of the story as such, There is two options of what reader believe the ending would be Eveline leaving with Frank, or Eveline staying behind as Frank is forced to leave. 5.0 Story Structure (3): Character Analysis Eveline Eveline is a main character for this story. She likes staring and remembering her childhood story. In the opening scene, she sat at the window and reviewing all its familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years. She likes to dream and wants to get happy life. It is shown in paragraph 5, but in her new home, she would be married and people treat her with respect not as her mother had been. Then, Eveline was affraid of his father, he always voiced fierce and make her fears. In paragraph 5(line 5) she sometimes felt herself in danger of her fathers violence and agiven her the palpitations. Other than that, Evelines brave to get affair with deck boy, Frank. She also wants to be free and leave the house with Frank without permission of her father. In paragraph 7, Frank falling in love with Eveline, of course her father had found out the affair and forbidden her to have anything to say to him. More than that, Eveline said she must escape! Frank would save her and giv e her life. Evelins father He is a good father and also a great husband. He like to create jokes to make their childrens laughing. It is shown in paragraph 8 (line 5), they had all gone for a picnic to the Hill of Howth. Her father putt her mother bonnet to make the children laugh. However, Eveline fathers change when her mother passed away. He turn to moody and sensitive person, it shown in his character in paragraph 5(line 15), he said she (Eveline) used to squander the money that she had no head, that he wasnt going to give his hard-earned money to throw about the street and much more. Frank He is Evelines lover. He is a deck boy on ship the Allan Line. He is a kind and open-hearted guy. It is shown in paragraph 6, Frank was a very kind, manly and open hearted. He also have talent in singing. He was awfully fond music and sang a little in line 11. Frank wants to make Evelines happy and run from her dark life.  ¬- he would give her life, perhaps love too. She had a right to happiness. Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms. Miss Gavin She is Evelines Store supervisor. Miss Gavan gives an advice for Eveline to more concentrate when she working. It shown at paragraph 4(line 7), she had always had an edge on her, especially whenever there were people listening. 6.0 Story Structure (4): Consequences Of The Story In the story, Eveline did not have friends and also her brother had his own career. She is always alone and think about her fate. Although, she was approach 20 years old, she really felt danger with her father violence. So, the consequence from the part Eveline try to go out from the problems with easy way. She wants to follow her boyfriend to run away from her house. She always dream to be happy with Frank and make her colorful life together. But, before she steep up to the ship, she felt her cheek pale and cold then, her distress a nausea in her body. Eveline gave no sign when Frank was shouted and called her. Evelines father also make a bad consequence for the story. He cannot accept his wife was dead and change hiself to be fierce. He did not try to close and understand his daughter desire and needs. He was selfish and did not shows the good atittude or role model for his chilhood. So, thats his daughters Eveline will to leave him alone witout get permission 7.0 Literary Criticism (1) :The Interpretative Response In this story, we found that there are 4 aspects related to Eveline life which is childhood, adolescence, maturity and public life. Eveline short story was happened between adolescent and maturity. The character of Eveline is largely affected by feminist issues of the time period. We found that this issue is quiet sensitive and people in this year, do not appreciate women power at all. The writer ideas are all about Evelines relationships with her family and boyfriends, and her duties and also obligation. With her mother having passed, she expected to take care of childhood home. Eveline has to struggle to make a reality promises that can be shows on pharase her promise to keep the home together as long as she could, a promise she made to her mother while on her deathbed. Taking care of her home is one example of Evelines oppression by lack of women liberation. She had hard work to keep the house together to see that the two young children who had been left to her charge went to school regularly and got their meals regularly, Joyce write. It was hard work-a hard life. It is never clear mention whom Eveline is responsible to taking care their family home but it is clearly illustrated that she is unhappy in her life and the position of a housewife without a legal husband is really made her sick. Evelines relationship with her father is not really good and the most reason is she always never get attention from her father at all. Because of that,her father always treats her uneven and differently because shes female. Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father violence. This is one of the evidence that she actually afraid with her own father.In this time period, females were still viewed as less than the worth of men, unable to hold position of power thus in this story, clearly shows that Evelines father was no t proud of her at all but he more proud with his son 8.0 Literary Criticism(2): The Critical Response Jamess hints that Evelines harbors doubts about her relationship with Frank, the sailor man.She puts so much of her proposed future happiness on Frank, and assumes that leaving her life as a homemaker is only possible by becoming his legal wife. Frank also give offered to Eveline the chance to travel with him. He always telling her about his past adventures sailing and she excited about the ideas.She considers his good qualities, his kindness, his mankind, his passion of music but never once does he shows that he in love with her Evelines wanted to use Frank as reason for escape to other place, and she was conquer by the idea of marriage and probably others would thinks higher of her status now that she was with a man that can protect her. When the night boat is start to go, she start to prays to the God, hopefully show her what was her duty. Here, duty suggested that she believe her life with Frank would be like her mothers life with her violent father or no better than Evelines life with her father. It may be the factor that her doubts about her love relationship with Frank, combined with her responsible to her surrounding and her feelings of guilty towards her family especially, lead to overcome her desire to escape. 9.0 Conclusion As the conclusion this story is quiet interesting and totally preceded the womens suffrage in Ireland city, the story protagonist and the title character, Eveline, is largely affected by the classical feminine issues. This story can give us the image how Eveline tries to discover herself and her own wishes. But her way of initiation is meant to lead to an surprising conclusion by Eveline in the end of the story. What is so fascinating about Eveline is not only the plot itself, but the way Joyce illustrates the situation of Eveline linguistically through his way of writing.

Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview Essay -- Analysis,

Al-Mosaed, Nora F. "Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview." Journal of the Social Sciences 31.3 (2003): 707-729. Sociological Abstracts. Print. Nora Al-Mosaed’s â€Å"Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview† argues that sexism and unequal treatment towards women in a patriarchal society negatively impacts the behavior and relationship between mothers and daughters. Al-Mosaed describes a study conducted where 173 female college students were questioned about their relationships with their mothers; of the most notable information collected, married daughters reported having a better relationship with their mothers while divorced daughters cited a much more negative relationship with their mothers, and all daughters reported being devalued when compared to their brothers. It is important to note that the women who participated in this study were daughters of Saudi families, which may suggest the effects of the patriarchal society on the mother-daughter relationship. Al-Mosaed’s article was interestingly refreshing because of its focus on daughters in Saudi families; the author’s research is highly relevant to my chosen topic in that it examines what strengthens and deteriorates the relationship between mother and daughter (in the case of this study, it was suggested that the deterioration stemmed from the overwhelmingly patriarchal society in which they lived) and takes into perspective a culture not often represented in literature about communities of women. Boyd, Carol J. "Mothers and Daughters: A Discussion of Theory and Research." Journal of Marriage and Family 51.2 (1989): 291-301. JSTOR. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. In â€Å"Mothers and Daughters: A Discussion of Theory and Research†, Carol Boyd... ...es each item with the historical happenings of each time period, with a particular interest in the feminist spectrum. Included topics of study are ‘mother blame,’ domestic expectations, maternal sacrifice, ‘feminine containment’, and more (Walters). Suzanna Walters wrote insightfully and intelligently about the various condemning ways that mothers and daughters have been viewed in popular media for more than sixty years. I found this text to be extremely helpful in that I gained knowledge in the many ways that society’s sexism was/is portrayed in various popular media outlets; the pressure laid on mothers and daughters was/is excruciating and, as displayed in many of the films, resulted in general unhappiness for women. I believe this text will prove to be extremely helpful in evaluating mother/daughter relationships as related in history and in the media. Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview Essay -- Analysis, Al-Mosaed, Nora F. "Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview." Journal of the Social Sciences 31.3 (2003): 707-729. Sociological Abstracts. Print. Nora Al-Mosaed’s â€Å"Mother-Daughter Relationships: A Feminist Overview† argues that sexism and unequal treatment towards women in a patriarchal society negatively impacts the behavior and relationship between mothers and daughters. Al-Mosaed describes a study conducted where 173 female college students were questioned about their relationships with their mothers; of the most notable information collected, married daughters reported having a better relationship with their mothers while divorced daughters cited a much more negative relationship with their mothers, and all daughters reported being devalued when compared to their brothers. It is important to note that the women who participated in this study were daughters of Saudi families, which may suggest the effects of the patriarchal society on the mother-daughter relationship. Al-Mosaed’s article was interestingly refreshing because of its focus on daughters in Saudi families; the author’s research is highly relevant to my chosen topic in that it examines what strengthens and deteriorates the relationship between mother and daughter (in the case of this study, it was suggested that the deterioration stemmed from the overwhelmingly patriarchal society in which they lived) and takes into perspective a culture not often represented in literature about communities of women. Boyd, Carol J. "Mothers and Daughters: A Discussion of Theory and Research." Journal of Marriage and Family 51.2 (1989): 291-301. JSTOR. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. In â€Å"Mothers and Daughters: A Discussion of Theory and Research†, Carol Boyd... ...es each item with the historical happenings of each time period, with a particular interest in the feminist spectrum. Included topics of study are ‘mother blame,’ domestic expectations, maternal sacrifice, ‘feminine containment’, and more (Walters). Suzanna Walters wrote insightfully and intelligently about the various condemning ways that mothers and daughters have been viewed in popular media for more than sixty years. I found this text to be extremely helpful in that I gained knowledge in the many ways that society’s sexism was/is portrayed in various popular media outlets; the pressure laid on mothers and daughters was/is excruciating and, as displayed in many of the films, resulted in general unhappiness for women. I believe this text will prove to be extremely helpful in evaluating mother/daughter relationships as related in history and in the media.

The Nature and Status of Folk Psychology

The nature and status of Folk Psychology (UP) In philosophy circles is controversial. In this essay I shall begin by briefly defining what folk psychology Is. Followed by an outline on eliminative where some of the controversy lies. My main focus will be on Paul Churchyard's views and his arguments against UP, as this will enable me to facilitate an assessment of his criticisms.Subsequent to that I will search for my own view in the defense of UP in the light of its proponents such as Horror and Woodward or Denned. By doing this I will then be able to gauge the plausibility of Churchyard's criticisms of UP. Folk psychology (UP) is the name given by lamentableness to the common sense understanding of the mind (Mind and Bodies pep). A common sense view which accepts that we all have desires and emotions such as fear, lust, beliefs, desire, pain, pleasure ,love, hate, joy attraction and so forth.These deferent states of being are utilized in what are called propositional attitudes which show intent. An example of a propositional attitude is Brenda ‘believes' she can win the lottery, Hereford ‘believes' is the Intentionality in this propositional attitude. The view of UP encapsulated by Paul Churchyard Is that It â€Å"embodies our baseline understanding of the cognitive, affective, and purposive nature of person. Considered as a whole, it constitutes our conception of what a person is†. (Churchyard in Guatemalan, 1994, p. 08) Before we go on to examine Churchyards criticism of UP, I think it would be useful to give a brief overview of the eliminations viewpoint regarding UP. Eliminative materialism (also called eliminative) Is a materialist position in the hilltop's of mind. Its primary claim is that people's common-sense understanding of the mind (or folk psychology) Is false and that certain classes of mental states that most people believe in do not exist (Wilkinson, Mind and Bodies pep) Paul M. Churchyard (b. 942) a Canadian-born philosopher is a leading proponent of eliminative; he is a long time critic of UP and the foremost advocate of neuroscience. Churchyards criticism dovetails with the eliminations claim that UP is a false theory â€Å"Eliminative materialism is the thesis that our common-sense inception of psychological phenomena constitutes† (eliminative Materialism and the Propositional Attitudes' Paul M Churchyard Reading 6, Wilkinson, Mind and Bodies p 194). He claims that UP is not only a radically false theory but also an empirical theory by pointing out Its similarities with other theories.He does this by stating how our â€Å"familiar mentalist vocabulary' is to be understood like other semantic terms. In that the terms used need or in fact do operate by a network of formulate laws like any other theory. An example of how Churchyard employs UP as theory Is found In his hypothesis argument on understanding the minds of others. He says that we can use UP as a hypothetical framework which Works in the main and is reasonable' to employ (Wilkinson, Mind and Bodies pep).Although Churchyard accepts our everyday use of UP as a reasonable thing to do he still argues forcefully his claim, that UP is a false theory and does this with a three pronged attack: – (a) its ontology is an illusion, (b) It is a stagnant theory and incapable of advance (c) It Is not reducible to neuroscience. (a) Churchyard begins his attack on UP by declaring that It ouch as mental illness; imagination; intelligence differences; sleep issues; motor co- ordination; perceptual illusions and memory, that he claims UP has nothing to say.He includes learning in this critique and with a further assault on UP propositional attitudes, questions where they are stored and how they are learnt to be employed, both vital to UP views on the conception of the mental. However Churchyard does not go as far as to say UP is not true but rather illusionary and that â€Å"UP is at best a highly superficial theory' (Ibid IPPP up 16) (b) Churchyard argues on historical grounds that The UP story is one of retreat infertility and decadence† (Ibid IPPP IPPP).He gives the example of how early man used UP to relate to their environment in a naive fashion believing that the wind was capable of anger, the moon Jealousy as examples of early intentional attitudes. Therefore backing up his argument that UP along with these historical intentional attitudes has become stagnant and sterile and had to give ground in the face of better theories from the area of empirical science (Wilkinson Mind and Bodies pep). To add further weight to this criticism Churchyard uses MireLegatos' terms that â€Å"UP is a stagnant or degenerating research program, and has been for millennia† (Churchyard, Reading 6, Wilkinson, Mind and Bodies, IPPP, up 18). (c) Theoretical reductionism, the process by which one theory is absorbed into another is what Churchyard uses as the main thrust of his argument that UP is probably f alse as it is not reducible to neuroscience. How UP promises theoretical integration by Churchyard's opinion is very poor he bashes FPS lack of progress and coherence in relation to natural history and physical sciences.Where he believes there growth in rinsing understanding of man is out performing UP in many respects, pointing to neuroscience breakthroughs in human sensory input and neural activity. Furthermore according to Churchyard, UP is akin to a misfit standing alone looking incapable of synthesis as FPS â€Å"stagnation and explanatory impotence promise little faith† (Ibid IPPP IPPP). Moreover UP will not likely be reflected by neuroscience as it will seem to be antiquated and here he draws a parallel between UP and ‘Aristotelian cosmology.His final and most damming attack to back up his arguments on FPS laziness is that it â€Å"suffers explanatory failures on an epic scale† (Ibid, IPPP, IPPP). I will now go over the main points of Churchyards arguments and challenge their validity and soundness in the light of his main critics and defenders of UP. Churchyards first criticism that there are areas of the mind such as motor co- ordination, sleep and memory which he says are not dealt sufficiently by UP. And implying that its ontology may be false is objected to by a riposte from two American philosophers Horror and Woodward in defense of UP.Firstly on the grounds that to impose demands on any psychological theory accounting for considerable know how when theoretical knowledge is relatively primitive (A fair point given that psychology as a medical discipline has only been practiced about the last one hundred years). Secondly, as Churchyard argues if UP is to be a successful theory the fact it must offer explanations for all the phenomena it lists in Horror and Woodward opinion this argument needs to be treated with skepticism and caution (Horror and Woodward, 1985, up. 00). Finally as Churchyard's narrowing of FPS definition does no t cover retain areas of the mind it is also dismissed, with good argument I think, because cognitive psychology has developed detailed theories on intentional psychologies (UP) Churchyards empirical argument fails to provide a convincing critique on the grounds that the theories outlined are explainable in terms of UP. Churchyards second assault on UP that it is a stagnant theory employing the same mentalist framework as the ancient Greeks.Horror and Woodward have a counter argument they rebut his view by citing the progression in 18th and 20th century literature such as Jane Austin and John Birth. Furthermore bringing their point to bear with great assurance when they point to the modern day skill in appealing to our â€Å"unconscious beliefs and motivations†, in my view borne out when viewing our modern day advertising. Therefore a rebuttal to Churchyards assertion that UP is a stagnant theory, incapable of advance is found to be false (Wilkinson, Mind and Bodies pep).In re ply to Churchyards controversial damning conclusion on FPS falseness due to its inability to reduction and that it â€Å"suffers explanatory failures on an epic scale† (Reading 6 IPPP,IPPP), American philosopher Daniel Detente (1942) points out hat eliminations fails to recognize UP as a ‘normative' theory (not Just a descriptive one). In that it also encapsulates an ‘ideal' or recommendation on how to proceed as a rational being with a value structure which incorporates social practices, such as greeting, reassuring, that is relevant to everyday existence.A pertinent point made by Denned in that it is not Just crucial not only to our own reason as human beings but that it enables us to act and think rationally and facilitates good social relations. This as can be deduced makes a mockery of Churchyards FPS falseness claims. These thoughts are mirrored by Horror and Woodward that UP although probably not reducible to neuroscience â€Å"Churchyard is Just mistaken to assume that UP must be reducible to neuroscience in order to be compatible with it† (Horror and Woodward, 1985, PEP).The assessment and examination of eliminations views on Folk Psychology with particular regard to Churchyards criticisms and UP defenders crystallites for me the essence of the UP debate, theory or practice? , reality or illusion? , past or future? UP for me is a skill nurtured by the past and in my opinion elegantly defended by Horror and Woodward arguments not only for its continual relevance but its reliance upon contemporary culture implying a growth in its lexicon.Finally Dent's utter dismissal of the eliminations views that UP left a great deal unexplained. And it is by Dent's assertion that we need UP to give us a language of reason for both our personal and social behaviors, a real boon to Folk psychology. After defining and outlining both UP and eliminative, we can see some plausible solutions to the controversy with regards to the claims that UP is a false theory, Rutherford that it is illusory, stagnant and non reducible. In my opinion Churchyard's assertion that UP is a false theory is invalid.As having seen the arguments for criticizing UP I have come to the view that Churchyard's criticisms of UP can easily be argued against, not because of his limitations of his understanding but because of his not taking into account ‘normative' values pointed out by Denned. But also invalid on the grounds that at least two to three thousand years in the life of mankind would be in my view absurdly dismissed. And finally if we were all given a behaving like robots making poetry and art nonsense!

Consequences of the Conquest of the Aztecs

Consequences of the Conquest of the Aztecs In 1519, conquistador Hernan Cortes landed on Mexicos Gulf coast and began an audacious conquest of the mighty Aztec Empire. By August of 1521, the glorious city of Tenochtitlan was in ruins. The Aztec lands were renamed New Spain and the colonization process began. Conquistadors were replaced by bureaucrats and colonial officials, and Mexico would be a Spanish colony until it began its fight for independence in 1810. Cortes defeat of the Aztec Empire had many ramifications, not the least of which was the eventual creation of the nation we know as Mexico. Here are some of the many consequences of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and their lands. It Sparked a Wave of Conquests Cortes sent his first shipment of Aztec gold back to Spain in 1520, and from that moment, the gold rush was on. Thousands of adventurous young Europeans - not only Spanish - heard tales of the great riches of the Aztec Empire and they set out to make their fortune just like Cortes had. Some of them arrived in time to join Cortes, but most of them did not. Mexico and the Caribbean soon filled with desperate, ruthless soldiers looking to take part in the next great conquest. Conquistador armies scoured the New World for wealthy cities to loot. Some were successful, like Francisco Pizarros conquest of the Inca Empire in western South America, but most were failures, like Panfilo de Narvaez disastrous expedition to Florida in which all but four men out of over three hundred died. In South America, the legend of El Dorado - a lost city ruled by a king who covered himself in gold - persisted into the nineteenth century.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Population of the New World was Decimated The Spanish Conquistadors came armed with cannons, crossbows, lances, fine Toledo swords and firearms, none of which had ever been seen by native warriors before. The native cultures of the New World were warlike and tended to fight first and ask questions later, so there was much conflict and many natives were killed in battle. Others were enslaved, driven from their homes, or forced to endure starvation and rapine. Far worse than the violence inflicted by the conquistadors was the horror of smallpox. The disease arrived on the shores of Mexico with one of the members of Panfilo de Narvaez army in 1520 and soon spread; it even reached the Inca Empire in South America by 1527. The disease killed hundreds of millions in Mexico alone: its impossible to know specific numbers, but by some estimates, smallpox wiped out between 25% and 50% of the population of the Aztec Empire. It Led to Cultural Genocide In the Mesoamerican world, when one culture conquered another - which happened frequently - the winners imposed their gods upon the losers, but not to the exclusion of their original gods. The vanquished culture kept their temples and their gods, and often welcomed the new deities, on the grounds that their followers victory had proven them strong. These same native cultures were shocked to discover that the Spanish did not believe the same way. Conquistadors routinely destroyed temples inhabited by devils and told the natives that their god was the only one and that to worship their traditional deities was heresy. Later, Catholic priests arrived and began burning native codices by the thousands. These native books were a treasure trove of cultural information and history, and tragically only a few battered examples survive today. It Brought Forth the Vile Encomienda System After the successful conquest of the Aztecs, Hernan Cortes and subsequent colonial bureaucrats were faced with two problems. The first was how to reward the blood-soaked conquistadors who had taken the land (and who had been badly cheated out of their shares of the gold by Cortes). The second was how to rule large swaths of conquered land. They decided to kill two birds with one stone by implementing the encomienda system. The Spanish verb encomendar means to entrust and the system worked like this: a conquistador or bureaucrat was entrusted with vast lands and the natives living on them. The encomendero was responsible for the safety, education and religious well-being of the men and women on his land, and in exchange, they paid him with goods, food, labor, etc. The system was implemented in subsequent conquests, including Central America and Peru. In reality, the encomienda system was thinly-disguised slavery and millions died in unspeakable conditions, particularly in mines. The N ew Laws of 1542 tried to rein in the worst aspects of the system, but they were so unpopular with colonists that Spanish landowners in Peru went into open rebellion. It made Spain a World Power Before 1492, what we call Spain was a collection of feudal Christian Kingdoms which could barely put aside their own squabbling long enough to oust the Moors from Southern Spain. One hundred years later, a united Spain was a European powerhouse. Some of that had to do with a series of efficient rulers, but much was because of the great wealth flowing into Spain from its New World holdings. Although much of the original gold looted from the Aztec Empire was lost to shipwrecks or pirates, rich silver mines were discovered in Mexico and later in Peru. This wealth made Spain a world power and involved them in wars and conquests around the globe. The tons of silver, much of which was made into the famous pieces of eight, would encourage Spains Siglo de Oro or golden century which saw great contributions in art, architecture, music, and literature from Spanish artists.   Sources: Levy, Buddy. . New York: Bantam, 2008. Silverberg, Robert. The Golden Dream: Seekers of El Dorado. Athens: the Ohio University Press, 1985. Thomas, Hugh. . New York: Touchstone, 1993.