Issues Businesses Of These Three Companies â€Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Examine About The Issues Businesses Of These Three Companies? Answer: Presentation Everywhere throughout the world, another well known equivalent word of Winding up is the procedure of liquidation of the organizations likewise with the help of this procedure, business associations go through twist the entirety of their business forms (Uher et al., 2012). In this procedure, all the liabilities and privileges of the organizations are perceived and the organizations shrivel settle all the duty of the loan bosses or they warrant the leasers with resources of the organizations. The vast majority of the organizations works according to thoughts of the top managerial staff as the governing body is the focal piece of the companys the executives (Scholleova, 2012). They have a definitive capacity to take significant business choices so as to keep the enthusiasm of the companys partners like investors, speculators, clients and others. Viable dynamic procedure guarantees the since a long time ago run of the organizations as it assists with creating compelling business systems . Then again, Corporate Governance guarantees in the compelling industry tasks of the organizations as the adequacy of the organizations to a great extent relies upon different significant angles like standards, rules, code of behaviors and others. It is considered as the significant lack of ability of the organizations in the field of corporate administration when they neglect to agree to the corporate administration standards (Wang, 2012). This report depends on the liquidation or ending up of the organizations of three of the Australian significant organizations and they are ABC Learning, HIH protection and One Tel Phone. The point of this report is to concentrate on the particular reasons that prompted the ending up of the organizations of these three organizations. Outline of the Companies ABC Learning In their previous years, ABC Learning was notable for one of the significant organizations in the instruction business of Australia. ABC Learning was recorded in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and the organization had a market capitalization of AUD$ 2.5 billion. In any case, ABC Learning was stood up to with major administrative issues subsequent to influencing with the subprime contract emergency, as the organization was overpowered with the weight of obligation reimbursement. It was the disappointment of the evaluators of ABC Learning as they neglected to finish up the budgetary reports of the organization with respect to earlier years benefit. ABC Learning was set up in 1988 in Queensland. Since the initiation of their business activity, ABC Learning was significantly fruitful to set up in excess of 900 focuses all over Australia and New Zealand by 2006. In the year 2006, ABC Learning declared the securing of United States second biggest kid care supplier for the measure of $ 330 million alongside the obtaining of United Kingdoms fifth biggest kid care supplier Busy Bee Group. Every one of these acquisitions helped ABC Learning to grow their business in United States and United Kingdom with one percent piece of the pie (smh.com.au, 2017). One Tel Phone One Tel Phone was one of the significant media transmission organizations of Australia. The organization started its business tasks in 1995 after the deregulations of the Australian media transmission industry. At present, a large portion of the Australian organizations of media transmission industry are under the outer administration of court delegated outlet. The significant focal point of One Tel Phone was to satisfy the requirements of the clients by conveying better nature of administrations and items. The significant endeavor of the organization was to set up an adolescent arranged picture with the assistance of selling cell phones alongside One Net internet providers. Preceding the breakdown, One Tel Phone turned into the fourth biggest media transmission organization of Australia. The beginning thought of the organization was to begin with the improvement of a basic cell phone that all the clients can without much of a stretch access and comprehend. The significant focal poin t of the organization was on the private individuals of Australia inverse to the business promoting. One Tel Phone needed the entire gathering of clients of Australia to obtain entrance on all the phone items with the assistance of high advertising methodology (look into repository.griffith.edu.au, 2017). HIH Insurance HIH Insurance was one of the significant insurance agencies of Australia after the organization initiated its business activities in the year 1997. In the year 1998, HIH Insurance made obtaining of numerous organizations in Australia and everywhere throughout the world. The organization was recorded in the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in the year 1992 and in 1995 the organization offered the majority of its stake to Switzerland based organization and changed its name to HIH Insurance. This specific arrangement contained the tasks of Colonial Limited General Insurance in Australia and New Zealand. According to the estimation of the vendors, the all out misfortune measure of HIH Insurance was $5.3 billion. As a piece of the examination on HIH Insurance, huge number of individuals from the companys the executives inside the association were indicted and detained dependent on different misrepresentation cases. The breakdown of HIH Insurance is considered as the biggest corporate break down in Australia history (hih.com.au, 2017). Explanations behind Winding up and Corporate Governance Failure ABC Learning The significant reasons that added to the twisting up and corporate administration disappointment of ABC Learning are expressed beneath: In the second 50% of the year 2007, ABC Learning endured a sudden colossal fall in the benefit by 42% worth $37.1 million alongside a significant obligation of the association worth $1.8 billion. Every one of these viewpoints added to the fall of the offer procedure of the organization (crikey.com.au, 2017). Because of the fall in share costs, the organization enrolled a fall of 43% in the cost of the portions of $2.15 with a low of $1.15. Toward the finish of the money related year, ABC Learning ABC Learning needed to sell the entirety of their stakes worth $20 million and $6 million for a measure of $2.7 million. This procedure added to the suspension of all the exchanging exercises of the organization as the organization neglected to neglected to discharge the companys reports of winning for the year 2007 to 2008. Regardless of the selling of the advantages of the organization, ABC Learning needed to fall into enormous budgetary issues because of the huge increment in the scratch of the organization and the inspectors of the organization neglected to finish up the records (smh.com.au, 2017). In the event of the figuring of Goodwill and others, ABC Learning followed an inappropriate technique for bookkeeping. By just charging the disability of $8.4 million, ABC Learning made the valuation of altruism and other elusive resources worth $2.4 billion. Because of the reception of wrong bookkeeping strategy, the future income of ABC Learning was seen as off-base and this angles added to 42% loss of the organization. This specific disappointment is considered as one of the significant explanations behind the breakdown of ABC Learning One Tel Company The significant reasons that added to the twisting up and corporate administration disappointment of One Tel Phone are expressed beneath: Consistently, One Tel Phone enlisted prevalent measure of benefit and the organization conceded the working costs for the time of three years. The bookkeeper of the organization received the bookkeeping rehearses that were against the bookkeeping guidelines and accounting standards (wsws.org, 2017). The cause of One Tel Phones budgetary issues started in 2000 as the organization enlisted lost $291 million. This added to the fall in share costs underneath $1. Toward the finish of 2001 April, One Tel Phone needed required assets for business and accordingly, Rodney Adler, the chief of the organization sold 5 million portions of the organization for $2.5 million. According to the authoritative report, One Tel Phone got indebted and gazed to lay off their 1400 representatives (abc.net.au, 2017). The liquidation procedure of One Tel Phone requested the remuneration of $92 million from the chiefs of the organization as the executives of the organization neglected to practice their forces in regards to compelling due consideration and persistence. One of the significant reasons of the breakdown of One Tel Phone is that the organization began to charge one seventh from their clients by considering the way that they would have the option to recuperate that in not so distant future. Be that as it may, this didn't occurred. Thus, One Tel Phone needed required money for tasks that prompted the liquidation of the organization. HIH Insurance The significant reasons that added to the twisting up and corporate administration disappointment of HIH Insurance are expressed underneath: During the time spent securing FAI Insurance, HIH Insurance put away enormous measure of cash that influenced the protection business of the organization. Therefore, HIH Insurance needed to yield enormous harm. The entering of HIH Insurance in the film business was one of the significant explanations for the fall of HIH Insurance. The organization needed to yield lost more than $100 million throughout the years out of these move (aph.gov.au, 2017). HIH Insurance needed to confront major money related misfortune because of the cataclysmic event of Florida. Subsequently, the organization needed to take huge sum obligation that added to the breakdown of HIH Insurance. The unexpected changes in the remuneration arrangement of HIH Insurance were another significant explanation behind the breakdown of HIH Insurance that the organization paid to the representatives of California industry. The organization needed to confront immense measure of misfortune for this. According to the outlets, HIH Insurance lost over $800 million out of a period range of a half year. This was another significant explanation of the fall of HIH Insurance (smh.com.au, 2017). Moral Issues ABC Learning In ABC Learning, one of the significant explanations behind the liquidation is an inappropriate adjustment of bookkeeping approaches that prompted the different bookkeeping deceitful. It is clear that ABC Learning showed wrong accounting process. Another major moral issue in the liquidation of ABC Learning was the rendering of administrations to their clients. The organization was held responsibl

Essential of Marketing Strategies Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Examine about the Essential of Marketing Strategies. Answer: Presentation Developing an advertising plan is basic to counter any test that may intrude on the normal result of the arrangement. Also, amarketing plan contains numerous basic components in it; be that as it may, every such component have diverse degree for various types of advertising plan (Krasnikov and Jayachandran 2013). The present investigation is focused on web based promoting for my design apparel association. This will require an orderly and an increasingly organized wanting to execute according to the desires and to screen the following of the advancement. Advertising plan: Target clients The item picked for advancing it online is the stylish children apparel. The initial step will characterize the objective client with the advancement (Morgan 2012). The objective client for the items is unquestionably the children; in any case, the advancement is planned for drawing in the gen X-er gathering. They are the person who all will buy the fabrics for their children. Also, my association sells kids apparel of premium cost, in this manner the objective clients will be upper-white collar class in the UK. Chosen stage Web based life stages will be utilized; nonetheless, this is critical to choose the possible stage (Truong and Hall 2013). This will help in catch the eye of children of post war America and will assist with arriving at the intended interest group. Moreover, my association will utilize web based showcasing plan through Facebook and Twitter promoting procedure so as to arrive at the objective clients. At present, Facebook is the biggest online networking webpage with 2 billion month to month dynamic clients and Twitter has 330 million clients internationally in 2017. Internet showcasing plan My associations PR group is going to open web based life accounts on Facebook and Twitter. From that point, we will examine about the objectives and USP of our children apparel area. Through web based life, it is simpler to arrive at the clients through short recordings, pictures and messages. Facebook and Twitter give the chance to give promotions on their destinations at least evaluating. As the association is in UK, the PR group will explore about socioeconomics. From that point, the PR needs to pick the timetable of the Facebook and Twitter promoting. This is extremely significant and this ought to be extremely alluring in online life pages. Advancement has a major task to carry out in arranging the Ad content. The Ad substance will incorporate some associating words, for example, yours. This will likewise incorporate some passionate words, for example, soothing and unwinding. The Ad substance will be brimming with not many pictures of top of the line fabrics. This is required to impact the purchasing conduct of clients. An Ad containing alluring conveyable messages with some appealing pictures, status, recordings, writings, stories and connections do help in catches the eye of the clients (Smith, Fischer and Yongjian 2012). Drawing in the clients on Facebook and Twitter is most significant thing and my PR group will connect first with the clients and on the off chance that, clients get some information about any inquiry, the PR group will reply back amenably. So as to draw in the clients on internet advertising plan, it should empower the clients to discuss the association. In addition, PR group will likewise utilize the online networking logical apparatus so as to cause client to fulfill and connect via web-based networking media. It is expected to lead the clients into clients through online life. Posting the sites interface via web-based networking media pages can expand the traffic on site. Exercises Facebook Twitter Internet based life webpage center Essentially content, pictures, stories Essentially recordings and pictures Organization brand nearness Facebook Business Page Profile page (hashtag) Viral brand introduction Likes, remarks and offer Retweets or follows Effect on web traffic Direct connection of site and web based business Direct connection with content posted Promoting openings Facebook advertisements Premium advertisements Supported advertisements Advanced tweets Advanced patterns Advanced records Content posting time Between 1pm 7pm Between 9pm 11pm Table: Social media showcasing plan (Source: Self-create) Spending plan This is another significant section of the web based advertising for the picked item. This ought to be pre-arranged so as to endure the consumptions required for the web based showcasing (Potocan 2016). The expense of web based advertising will be roughly around 250 consistently. The web based showcasing will proceed till a year since the time its beginning. The expense is referenced for a solitary month. Both Facebook and Twitter stages will be utilized for a year so as to arrive at the objective clients. Observing the internet showcasing effort The following of the presentation should be possible with the assistance of certain stunts, for example, appointing coupon or deals codes for setting every notice. It is essential to quantify the change rates at the chose online networking stages. This will be figures dependent on hits every day. The quantity of hits every day will tell that in the case of everything is going as indicated by the arrangement or there is a need to acquire a few changes the current advertisement quality (Ludwig et al. 2013). Additionally, ROI (Return of Investment) strategies can be useful to comprehend the change rate (Berthon et al. 2012). Besides, following and dissecting the online exercises should be possible by web based life scientific instruments like Socialbakers, Google Analytics, Buffer, Buffer and others. My association will utilize Hotsuite programming so as to connect with the clients and to comprehend the brains of the clients. Way to deal with gain understanding for the promoting plan From the start, building alliance among all the offices is required and the internet promoting plan will be sent to the divisions for comprehension. From that point, the way to deal with get the concession to the developed showcasing plan will be to send an endorsement looking for letter to the senior division of the organization. This is required as the necessary financial plan and the related assets need a critical speculation. A speculation can never occur without a legitimate worry from the companys executives. Also, a point by point plan including the costs and the related exercises are should have been introduced to the chiefs of the organization. The advertising plan can never occur without a critical endorsement from the chiefs of the organization (McDonald and Wilson 2016). The senior advertiser needs to make a dream of the showcasing plan it is progressively similar to a projection to the official sheets. In addition, the originator of the arrangement must not release all the data about the showcasing before the introduction. Keeping the arrangement new and conveying the introduction with certainty pulls better opportunity to endorse it. Assessment measures for the showcasing plan There are different ways, which can be utilized to gauge or assess the viability of an executed showcasing plan. Those ways incorporate however are not constrained to, for example, Return on Investment (ROI), Brand Value, Customer Satisfaction and Market Share. For the specific internet showcasing plan, two systems will be sued to assess its viability. The first of the methodology is the Brand Value. The reason behind the internet advertising was to get solid reactions on the picked items (Krasnikov and Jayachandran 2013). Everything relies upon how they execute the arrangement. This additionally relies colossally upon the companys executives as their backings are absolutely required. Their endorsement will just help the arrangement with the necessary subsidizing and the related assets. Also, the Ad group should be creative in giving the Ad an appealing look. It is undoubtedly fundamental that the Ad merits snatching. This just implies the target will serve in upgrading the brand ack nowledgment into a more extensive client base. A web based promoting will in the long run help in coming to a more extensive client base. Additionally, the quantity of hit in the diverse picked web based life stages for the picked Ad will characterize the degree of accomplishment accomplished. The degree of brand acknowledgment will characterize a specific degree of progress accomplished. Another strategy for assessment will be the Market Share. A raised piece of the pie will characterize the distinctions happened because of the change promoting systems. Pieces of the pie will possibly characterize the rise when there is an ascent in the deals or there is a decent reaction to the picked product offering (Kumar and Mirchandani 2012). End The style garments association has its noteworthiness nearness in the United Kingdom or in some different pieces of world. The organization has earned great notoriety in the retailing business. Be that as it may, the rising rivalry in the retailing business at less expensive costs and quality item has made the direness to have a compelling technique to catch the current and the other new market with some successful showcasing methodologies. The investigation has precisely delivered a similar result. The senior promoting director in the chose organization has arranged some powerful web based advertising methodologies for some explicitly exceptionally selling results of it. The arrangement is compelling thus the chose product offering. References Berthon, P.R., Pitt, L.F., Plangger, K. furthermore, Shapiro, D., 2012. Showcasing meets Web 2.0, web based life, and inventive shoppers: Implications for worldwide advertising strategy.Business horizons,55(3), pp.261-271. Krasnikov, A. furthermore, Jayachandran, S., 2013, May. The general effect of showcasing, innovative work, and activities abilities on firm execution. American Marketing Association. Kumar, V. what's more, Mirchandani, R., 2012. Expanding the ROI of internet based life marketing.MIT Sloan Management Review,54(1), p.55. Ludwig, S., De Ruyter, K., Friedman, M., Brggen, E.C., Wetzels, M. what's more, Pfann, G., 2013. More than words: The impact of emotional substance and etymological style coordinates in online audits on transformation rates.Journal of Marketing,77(1), pp.87-103. McDonald, M. furthermore, Wi

Postings,forum Topics Example

Postings,forum Topics Example Postings,forum Topics â€" Assignment Example > Postings, Forums TopicsForum Topic 1.2 â€" Current Issues Relating to the notion of SyllabusThe notion of syllabus has been questioned by various writers. In a lot of learning institutions the syllabus system is mainly fixed especially in the language teaching. One of the writers in regards to the notion of syllabus argued against language syllabus being fixed as it was retrospective in terms of what was being taught in relation to language learning process. In addition, it was argued that various approaches in language teaching were deficiency in curriculum theory in education (Clarke, 1987). According to Stern (1987)the notion of syllabus must include language proficiency, cultural component of the learned language, experiential component and language education that is meant to create awareness among learners in relation to the nature of language. Therefore an important issue in relation to the notion of syllabus involves the involvement of both the narrow and broad definitions of syllabus. Additionally, a more flexible approach should be embraced in relation to syllabus with the main focus being made on flexibility in order to attain competent teachers and satisfactorily language teaching process. Both syllabus and curriculum process are important for the purpose of language learning and the two should not be confused with each other. Syllabus is therefore not static as it keeps on changing in relation to the needs of individual learners. Syllabus is therefore regarded as part of curriculum that should be planned, developed, implemented and evaluated. Furthermore, more research should be conducted so as to reflect a clear picture on the notions of syllabus within the classroom setting in language teaching process (Stern, 1987). ReferencesStern, H. H. (1987). Directions in syllabus design. In M. L. Tickoo (Ed. ), Language syllabuses: state of the art (pp. 19-32). Singapore: SEAMEO Regional Language Centre. Clarke, J. L. (1987). Curriculum renewal in schoo l foreign language learning (pp. 90-107). Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press. Forum Topic 1.3 â€" Curriculum TheoryThe term curriculum theory has multiple meaning that can be used in varied situations in the learning process. Curriculum may be taken to mean the holistic programme in the context of an educational institution for instance school curriculum, university curriculum among others. The second meaning may be taken to refer to a course or unit in the context of a specific subject for instance geography or English. In the contemporary times curriculum is used to mean all the aspects of the learning and teaching process that encompasses the content, instructions and exams. Therefore curriculum theory is mainly discussed in terms of educational philosophies. Generally within the curriculum theory there are three educational ideologies: classical humanism, reconstructionism and constructivism (Taba, 1962). Classical humanism aims at enhancing broad intellectual capabil ities for instance the ability classify, evaluate and rebuild the aspects of knowledge. The ideology holds that the content should not be decided by either teachers or students. It is also important to note that the materials are created as course books and there is a great emphasis on conscious and deliberate learning process. The controversial aspect of classical humanism involves the assumption that knowledge is fixed and therefore lack of importance of practical elements. In addition the classical humanism curriculum theory does not assist in the provision of necessary information to both students and teachers. Therefore with these controversial issues in classical humanism there is need to device a curriculum theory that will encompass all the elements that concerns both the teachers and students in the language learning process (Clarke, 1987).

Information technology and animation - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 17 Words: 5204 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Introduction: Information technology (IT) plays a key role in creating knowledge [1] and supporting management towards decision making[2] and Visualization tools are computer applications that produce graphical representations that aid decision making. Visualization tools are used in IT based decision support systems (DSS) like the simple spreadsheets to complex computer-based systems like business intelligence system, enterprise resource management and reporting system, knowledge management systems, and expert systems; to help decision makers to solve structured ,unstructured and semi structured problems. In the digital era, decision makers have access to large amount of digital data which can be used by visual analytics software to support decision making. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Information technology and animation" essay for you Create order Well structured problem has clear path to solution but for solving ill structured problem, external representation of the data and the problem can reduce the effort in reaching an accurate solution[3]. Chief economist of Google Inc predicts that need for data visualization will be growing rapidly in the next few years. He writes. the ability to take datato be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate itthats going to be a hugely important skill in the next decade. because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the complimentary scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it Managers need to be able to access and understand the data themselves [4]. Independent researchers have predicted high future demand for visualization tools. Gartners research reports that in spite of global recession businesses are interested in investing in business intelligence (BI) platforms that are expanding their capabilities towards advanced data visualization, scorecards and interactive dashboards. It predicts BI markets compound annual growth rate (CAGR) through 2012 to be 7.0% for stand-alone BI platforms ([5]. Review of the literature on computer graphics as decision aid reports that the format in which data is presented to decision makers is critical to provide information for making decision[6]. As per the dual coding theory, cognition consists of two sub systems: Visual and Verbal[7-9]. The theory specifies that when information is represented visually, the recall is easier and the human brain can process changes in shape, color and motion parallely. As per the Central Capacity theory humans have limited working memory [10] and visualization of data (e.g. chart, diagram, graph) activates the visual component of the short-term working memory (visual working memory) to hold the visual objects for immediate attention. Both the theory recommend visual data representation to provide information to the users for making decisions as visual information is easier to store and recall. Visualization aids in perceptual information processing to identify exceptions, trends, patterns, relationship in the data (clusters, associations, causality etc), detect outliers and to summarize data perceptually [11]. Many complex business decision making need insight and insight is a sudden discovery of a solution to a problem which results in a subjectively catastrophic experience[12]. As competition in the knowledge economy gets fiercer, organizations are constantly trying to get new insights to gain competitive advantage. Effective visualization tools acts as external aids that supports thinking and building insight by providing graphs that represent information primarily through position, shape, color, size, location, movement and symbols, and that viewers decode that information by taking it in, organizing it, analyzing it and detecting patterns and structures perceptually[13]. Human brain is a powerful pattern-finding engine and effective graph make behavioral patterns, tem poral trends, correlations, clusters, gaps, and outliers visible in seconds and data graphics should amplify cognition and complement what humans do well[14]. Effective visualization tools are of great importance in supporting decision making as it amplifies cognition, perceptual information processing and facilitates knowledge generation. When visualization tools are inadequate decision making performance is impaired. A review of literature on computer graphics as decision aids has demonstrated that decision performance is effected by information presentation format[6]. Compared to static graph (SG) , Dynamic Graph (DG) facilitates in faster retrieval and recall of information [15, 16], information comprehension [16] required for decision making. One author writes If learners are in control of the speed of animation and can view and review, stop and start, zoom in and out, and change orientation of parts and wholes of the animation at will, then the problems of veridical perception can be alleviated [17]. However the use of dynamic interactive graph has increased in business decision making, its impact on decision making has not been explored extensively in the IS field. Both the IS literature and Accounting literature has emphasized the need for studying the role of presentation format in the efficiency and effectiveness of decision-makers decision quality in order to provide empirical evidence o n the effect of presentation format on decision quality [18] [19]. Previous research so far in the IS domain has extensively studied 2D, 3D graph, combining 2D-3D graph and animation with low data volume that are easily comprehensible in tables or graph. Gaining insight from high volume of business data can be challenging because the high density of the data makes it difficult to view all the data at once. On a typical computer screen the high volume data cannot be seen at once, the data has to be sliced to visually represent it on screen. A study done on functional mechanisms of online product presentation and its effect on online shopping reported that interactivity of product presentations is a design feature that influence (1) the efficacy of the presentations; (2) consumers perceptions of the diagnosticity of websites, their perceptions of the compatibility between online shopping and physical shopping, and their shopping enjoyment derived from a particular online shopping experience jointly influence consumers attitudes toward shopping at a we bsite; and (3) both consumers attitudes toward products and their attitudes toward shopping at a website contribute to their intentions to purchase the products displayed on the website[20].Thus Interactive display has a positive influence on decision making thus the first objective of this study is extend the work done in the past by studying whether the use of display which has bother interactivity and is dynamic impacts decision making, including reducing information overload when dealing with high volume of data. While indicating a positive l effect from the use of DID, on the basis of the theory of Cognitive Fit, which identifies that better performance results when the external representation corresponds to the nature of the task to be accomplished [21] this study argues that it is most effective when the qualities of the display corresponds to the salient features of the task. On Time is also an important component of information load[21] where information load is the volume of the data to be processed over the unit of time available for the task. The second objective of this study is to examine weather and how the effect of visualization tools on decision taking may be contingent on the time constraints- available time available for information processing. A prior study on 2D graph Vs table to examine the joints effects of presentation format and color on decision accuracy and efficiency under different time constraints [22] concluded that under low time constraints (15 min), tabular reports are better for accurate decision making and 2D graphs are better for faster processing. The combination of Table and graph were better than graph alone for decision accuracy. Under High time constraint (5 min)s color coding led to improved decision making. Decision makers are sometimes pressed for time which can result in information overload, which is the point at which information processing demands exceed the information processing capacity of the individual. This study investigates the moderating effect of time constraints on DID effe ctiveness on decision making in terms of the quality of the decision that the decision makers are able to make. This study uses the term High Time constraint (HTC) task to characterize the task that needs to completed in an environment when the decision makers are under time pressure and to distinguish it from Low time constraint (LTC) task where the decision makers are not under any time pressure to complete the decision making task. Next section contains the review of past work on DID and decision making done to arrive at the hypothesis on the overall impact of DID on decision making. The subsequent section presents a review of the previous litreature on the theory of Cognitive Fit which provides the foundation for our theories on the relationship between different task types and DID. Then the different task types with time constraints is explained along with the prediction about the moderating effects of task type on decision making. The research method for the proposed research is explained including the measurement of independent and dependent variables and the experimental design. Finally this paper concludes with the significance of this proposed study to both researchers and practioners. Theory and Hypothesis. The research model developed for this proposed study is shown in figure 1. The figure illustrates that DID enhances decision making. The effect of DID is more pronounced when the task is less time critical where the decision makers are not pressed for time and the effect of DID is limited when the task is time critical. The hypotheses supported by theory are developed below. Dynamic Interactive Display Businesses today are commonly using Dashboards, which is a combination of visualization tools that provide summarized and details reports of current status and alerts and creates situational awareness. The array of visualization tools that available today includes Tree Maps, [23], Node-Link diagram /Network diagram[24], Parallel coordinate Graph [25], Spark lines- Integrates text, and chart [26],Motion chart[27]. The present study focuses on visualization tools that provide dynamic and interactive display (DID) because in the recent time there has been staggering advances in visualization tools that are interactive and dynamic to support taking decisions and solving information-intensive problems in business. The DID chosen for this study is Googles Motion Chart, which is a flash based visualization tool that delivers dynamic chart with high level of interactivity for multidimensional data[28]. Motion charts are dynamic. The graph is said to dynamic when the graph consists of series of single frames, each showing incremental changes in the position, brightness, shape, color of the variables; shown in a sequence which give the illusion of movement[29, 30]. Graph Dynamism consist of two types of change : position or form [31, 32]. Translation change refers to change in position (from one location to another) and transformation change refers to the change in form ( in size, shape, color, brightness)[33]. Motion chart reflect both translation change and transformation change. It is dynamic as it has several indicators which show incremental change in color, location and shape over time. Graphical excellence consists of complex ideas communicated with clarity, precision and efficiency and are accurately perceived [14]. Animations are often not clear and complex or efficient ( too fast) to be accurately perceived and judicious use of interactivity may overcome this disadvantage [17]. Motion Chart provide high level of interactivity (i.e., the extent to which users can manipulate and transform the form and content of the graph in real time[34]. Interactivity is achieved when the users can control the speed of animation and can view and review, stop and start, can transform (change the way representation is rendered, such as zooming, panning or resizing), or manipulate (control the parameters during the process of image generation, i.e. filtering, visually encoding the variables based on color, shape). Decision Making Previous study on online shopping website has indicated that dynamic , interactive presentation of information has a positive effect on the shopping decisions ( intend to purchase, revisit the shopping website) of the consumers [20]. Decision making includes problem solving[2]. Problem solving involves mentally working to overcome obstacles that stand in reaching a goal and arriving at the solution to the problem involves identifying the problem, defining and representing the problem, formulating the strategy , organizing and reorganizing information, allocating resources, monitoring and evaluation[3]. Prior research has indicated that (1) task type, (2) individual characteristics, and (3) information presentation format have effects on cognitive processing for making decisions [6]. Decision accuracy, problem comprehension and satisfaction will be used to measure decision making performance. Decision accuracy is probably the most commonly used criterion for measuring decision making performance [22, 35-48]. It is suggested that compared to DG, Dynamic Interactive Graph should facilitate performance [49]. Therefore, this study proposes that DID can enable decision makers to be more accurate when evaluating high volume of data than Dynamic Display. H1. Compared to Dynamic Display, DID increases users Decision Accuracy Research in the Management field has not examined different types of visuals and its effect on graph comprehension in detail[6]. The effect of x-y and y-z relationship encoding on the time to comprehend information was studied with respect to2D and 3D line graph [50]. As per Pinkers theory of Graph Comprehension[51], different types of display are suited for extracting different classes of information, primarily because of two contrasting types of encoding mechanisms governing the graph comprehension process: (1) automatic conceptual message lookup processes and bottom up processing, and (2) inferential and top-down encoding processes. Simplified Flow diagram of the graph comprehension process is shown in Figure 2. Automatic conceptual message lookup is the acquisition of information using the bottom-up encoding processes where the required information is obtained from the graph easily from the graph by means of salient cues. For example the theory indicated that that trend in a line graph is encoded via the bottom-up encoding processes because the human eye can automatically extract the change perceptually. On the contrary, information that are encoded via the inferential and top-down encoding process , needs execution of deliberate and capacity-limited computations that requires effort and use of both short-term and long-term memory processing. Fulfilling comprehension tasks, such as making inferences and drawing conclusions about the data in the graph and selecting and organizing the information from the graph, requires integration of the retrieved and encoded new information. This study proposes that more scan and search operations are needed to visually locate and organize the new informa tion represented in the dynamic graph for both conceptual message lookup process and inferential process. The DID possesses interactivity and hence retrieving the information from the graph will be easier for the users by manipulating the data using overview, zoom, filter features of the display. Therefore, in response to the comprehension task, DID will be better than dynamic display. H2a. Compared to Dynamic Display, DID increases users graph comprehension for automatic conceptual message lookup process H2b Compared to Dynamic Display, DID increases users graph comprehension for inferential and top-down encoding process Next from the perspective of affective dimension, users form positive, neutral or negative attitude towards the perceived usefulness of the visualization tool in decision making. The study predicts that DID with interactivity and dynamic display of the multi dimensional data affects decision makers attitude regarding perceived usefulness of the tool more significantly in favor of the tool than dynamic graph. H3 Users attitude towards the perceived usefulness of the DID display differ from their attitude towards the perceived usefulness of the dynamic display. Theory of Cognitive Fit and Time constraints The theory of Cognitive Fit suggest that a match between External representation and users tasks is important for the realization of positive results from the display format [52]. While DID generally influences decision making, the degree to which DID affects decision making varies contingent upon the task types being examined. Decision makers may be faced with different types of tasks. Tasks for Problem solving can be retrieval, Communication of facts, Comparison of alternatives, Trend analysis, Recognition and recall, Problem finding, Problem comprehension and Problem solving[36]. When time in money decision makers have to make decisions fast and thus decision task can be time critical. In prior studies terms time pressure and time constraint are most commonly used interchangeably [53]. Prior research so far has not investigated the time-constraint tasks that are best supported by DID. For this study High Time Constraint (HTC) tasks are those that force the decision makers to perfo rm under high time pressure. It is different from Low time-constraint (LTC) task for which the decision makers are not under any time pressure to perform. These types of task types moderate the degree to which DDI affects decision making. Research suggests for HTC task , decision makers accelerated their processing, are more selective in processing and instead of evaluating one alternative at a time (depth based) the decision makers concentrate on attribute based ( breadth wide) pattern of processing[54]. Dynamic Interactive display (DID) have features that lets the users manipulate the data and retrieve details on demand but DID are complex because it provides access to several layers of data which the users can slice and dice. Therefore when DID is used with HTC task , decision makers are unable to accelerate processing as the complexity of the graph makes the users experience information overload , which affects their performance negatively. However when DID is applied to LTC task, then the interactivity is useful because access to several layers of information and availability of time lets the decision makers process information in depth. Thus DID for HTC task does not contribute as much to decision making accuracy, problem comprehension and perceived usefulness as it does for LTC task. H4. Increases in Decision accuracy, effected by DID, are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. H5a. Increases in users graph comprehension for automatic conceptual message lookup process, effected by DID, are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. H5b. Increases in graph comprehension for inferential and top-down encoding process, effected by DID, are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. H6. The impacts of DID on perceived usefulness towards decision making are more significant for LTC task than HTC task. Research Method The proposed study will employ a controlled laboratory experiment to empirically test the effects of DID on Decision making and the moderating effect of time-dependent task types to achieve a high degree of internal validity [55]. To simulate experimental display close to real experiences and to increase the generalizability of the findings, instead of developing a prototype of DID , we selected Motion Chart owned by Google Inc for the visualization tool to produce DID . Motion chart is a commercial product used in business. Experimental Design For this proposed study a within-subject factor along with a between-subject factor, 2X2 factorial design will be used. The within-subject factor, Display format, will have two levels: DID and Dynamic Graph. The between-subject factor, Task Type will have two levels: HTC and LTC (Refer fig 2). The within-subject design for the presentation format will enable control over individual differences like spatial ability[56], cognitive style, comprehension abilities, which could confound the results [6] and also economize on the number of participants required for this study. Fig 2 2X2 Factorial Design Because display format was a within-subject factor, different task type were employed for each display format. The different task will have the same difficulty level so that this study can control for difference in task difficulty to have an effect on decision performance. Different task will control for the learning effect that could happen by repeatedly making the same type of decision with same task using different display format under different time dependent task. The participants might not use the interactive features provided in the DID even though it is provided to them. To control for that, the task assigned to DID will require manipulation of the data to arrive at the correct solution and the participants with the correct result will be rewarded with Bonus gift certificate to motivate them to use the interactive features of DID to arrive at the optimum result. Prior use and practice with a display format has an effect on performance [57] hence to control for that this study will allow participants to have experience with the visualization tool by giving them a brief 15 mins hands on training with the product. As discussed earlier this study uses the term First, the pretest will be conducted with a pilot group that will be demographically similar to the experiment participants to determine the average time required by the subject to reach the optimum solution. Based on this average time the two limits will be chosen to arrive at the High time constraint and low time constraint condition. HTC task is a financial decision making task that will be given to the subjects which involve both bottom up encoding and inferential processing under the High Time constraint in an environment when the decision makers are under time pressure. When there is insufficient time to complete a task, decision performance becomes unpredictable[58] and to control for that the subjects in the HTC treatment will be given a time limit which will be close to the average time required to reach the optimum solution so that they get sufficient time. Low time constraint (LTC) task is a different financial decision making task that will be given to the subjects which involves both bottom up encoding and inferential processing where the decision makers are not under any time pressure to complete the decision making task. Half of the participants were assigned to Dynamic graph with HCT task and DID with LCT task and the other half in reverse order. Participants were assigned randomly to each condition to reduce potential extraneous effects in the experiment. Participants For the main experiment the participation will be voluntary and the subjects will be selected from the pool of graduate and undergraduate students taking courses in finance, economics or business in a large university. To motivate the subjects to participate in this study they will be offered gift certificates. to encourage their participation in the experiment. The participants will have to fill out a standard form about their demographics, if they have experience with Motion charts, number of years at the university. For the results to have external validity, this study proposes to conduct the experiment with handful of executives from the industry who are entrusted with the task of decision making to increase the generalizability of results. Measurements The study will use the decision accuracy to measure the decision quality of the decision making performance. As discussed earlier this is a common measure used to measure decision making performance. To measure the problem comprehension this study will employ a validated comprehension study which has been used in prior studies on effects of information formats [59, 60]. To measure perceived usefulness of the display this study will use the validated survey used in prior studies to predict system usage [61]. Data Analysis Cronbachs Alpha will be used to assess the reliability of the constructs. A repeated measure ANOVA will be run to analyze the effects of information display on decision making. Separate t-test will be conducted to compare the mean difference between DID and dynamic display for each of the task type to examine the nature of interaction effects. Significance of this Research The proposed study can contribute to both theory and practice. By a controlled laboratory experiment , it will empirically test the impact of Dynamic Interactive Display (DID) in decision making performance for high volume of data. Although DID today are available in a number of areas like accounting and finance (Electronic financial statements using XBRL eXtensible Business Reporting Language), geography (E.g. Active Maps), education (E.g. web based active textbook with animated interactive figures), medicine (E.g. Medical imaging), architecture (Floor plan, building plan) but the review of the literature suggests that the impact of DID has not been explored intensively in the IS field. This proposed study aims to provide empirical test of the theory of Cognitive Fit, in supporting that the impact of IT is limited which is contingent on whether a particular IT application, such as DID, is a good match with the requirement of processing high volume of data to complete a given task. The current study provides useful guidelines for design and use of dense, interactive visualizations towards effective business decision making. If Business want to want to improve decision making performance with high volume of data they can do it with DID. However, because there are so many visualization tools available for use that it is difficult to select the one that is useful for decision making under different time pressure. This proposed study will provide guideline for the usefulness of use DID for HTC and LTC task. These suggestions might help the decision makers and Visualization tool to enjoy the benefits of DID for the appropriate time-dependent task. The proposed study in crucial to understand whether DID has positive effects on decision making and if yes then under what conditions. Interaction can becomes become a powerful tool where users need to filter and zoom on subset of data. There might be information overload and the users might feel lost in the data. There can be added cost in giving access to several levels of data. We also need to understand if providing interactive display is appropriate for tasks which need to be completed under high time pressure and requires processing of high volume of data. This proposed study attempts to imply that DID might not be usable for all decision making context and it is important to understand when it is the most appropriate and use it accordingly to support decision making. References: 1. Shneiderman, B., Creating creativity: user interfaces for supporting innovation. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction (TOCHI), 2000. 7(1): p. 114-138. 2. Todd, P. and I. Benbasat, The impact of information technology on decision making: A cognitive perspective. Framing the domains of IT managementProjecting the future through the past, 2000. 3. Yahaya, A., Problem Solving. unspecified. 4. DeSanctis, G., COMPUTER GRAPHICS AS DECISION AIDS: DIRECTIONS FOR RESEARCH*. Decision Sciences, 1984. 15(4): p. 463-487. 5. Paivio, A., Dual coding theory: Retrospect and current status. Canadian Journal of psychology, 1991. 45(3): p. 255-287. 6. Sadoski, M. and A. Paivio, Imagery and text: A dual coding theory of reading and writing. 2001: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 7. Paivio, A., Mental representations. 1986: Clarendon Press Oxford [Oxfordshire. 8. Kahneman, D., Attention and effort. 1973: Prentice-Hall Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 9. Carpenter, P. and P. Shah, A model of the perceptual an d conceptual processes in graph comprehension. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY APPLIED, 1998. 4: p. 75-100. 10. Weisberg, R., Metacognition and insight during problem solving: Comment on Metcalfe. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 1992. 18(2): p. 426-431. 11. Cleveland, W. and R. McGill, Graphical perception: Theory, experimentation, and application to the development of graphical methods. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1984: p. 531-554. 12. Tufte, E., The visual display of quantitative information. 1983. Envisioning information, 1990. 13. Rieber, L. and M. Boyce, The effects of computer animation on adult learning and retrieval tasks. Journal of Computer Based Instruction, 1990. 17(2): p. 46-52. 14. Morrison, J. and D. Vogel, The impacts of presentation visuals on persuasion. Information Management, 1998. 33(3): p. 125-135. 15. Tversky, B., J. Morrison, and M. Betrancourt, Animation: can it facilitate? International Journal o f Human Computer Studies, 2002. 57(4): p. 247-262. 16. Abdolmohammadi, M., J. Harris, and K. Smith, Government financial reporting on the Internet: The potential revolutionary effects of XBRL. Journal of Government Financial Management, 2002. 51(2): p. 24-31. 17. Debreceny, R. and G. Gray, The production and use of semantically rich accounting reports on the Internet: XML and XBRL. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 2001. 2(1): p. 47-74. 18. Vessey, I. and D. Galletta, Cognitive fit: An empirical study of information acquisition. Information Systems Research, 1991. 2(1): p. 63. 19. Eppler, M. and J. Mengis, The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, accounting, marketing, MIS, and related disciplines. The Information Society, 2004. 20(5): p. 325-344. 20. Shneiderman, B., Tree visualization with tree-maps: 2-d space-filling approach. ACM Transactions on graphics (TOG), 1992. 11(1): p. 92-99. 21. Atallah, G., et al., Ne xt Generation Network Management Technology. 1994. 22. Inselberg, A., et al. Parallel coordinates: a tool for visualizing multi-dimensionalgeometry. 1990. 23. Tufte, E., Sparklines: Intense, Simple, Word-sized Graphics. 2004, May. 24. Rosling, H., A. Rosling-Ronnlund, and O. Rosling. New software brings statistics beyond the eye. 25. Roncarelli, R., The Computer animation dictionary. 1989: Springer New York. 26. Sundberg, P., Animation in CALL: Learning to think in the fourth dimension. Paper Presentation CALICO, 1998. 98. 27. Lowe, R., Selectivity in diagrams: Reading beyond the lines. Educational Psychology, 1994. 14(4): p. 467-491. 28. Lowe, R., Animation and learning: selective processing of information in dynamic graphics. Learning and Instruction, 2003. 13(2): p. 157-176. 29. Lowe, R., Extracting information from an animation during complex visual processing. European Journal of the Psychology of Education, 1999. 14: p. 225-244. 30. Kiousis, S., Interactivity: A concept explic ation. new media society, 2002. 4(3): p. 355. 31. Jiang, Z. and I. Benbasat, Research Note Investigating the Influence of the Functional Mechanisms of Online Product Presentations. Information Systems Research, 2007. 18(4): p. 454. 32. Remus, W., An empirical investigation of the impact of graphical and tabular data presentations on decision making. Management Science, 1984: p. 533-542. 33. Benbasat, I. and A. Dexter, An experimental evaluation of graphical and color-enhanced information presentation. Management Science, 1985: p. 1348-1364. 34. Benbasat, I. and A. Dexter, An investigation of the effectiveness of color and graphical information presentation under varying time constraints. MIS Quarterly, 1986: p. 59-83. 35. Lee, J., J. MacLachlan, and W. Wallace, The effects of 3D imagery on managerial data interpretation. MIS Quarterly, 1986: p. 257-269. 36. Amer, T., An experimental investigation of multi-cue financial information display and decision making. Journal of Information Systems, 1991. 5(2): p. 18-34. 37. Volmer, F., Effect of graphical presentations on insights into a companys financial position: an innovative educational approach to communicating financial information in financial reporting. Accounting Education, 1992. 1(2): p. 151-170. 38. Carey, J. and E. White, The effects of graphical versus numerical response on the accuracy of graph-based forecasts. Journal of Management, 1991. 17(1): p. 77. 39. Umanath, N. and I. Vessey, Multiattribute Data Presentation and Human Judgment: A Cognitive Fit Perspective*. Decision Sciences, 1994. 25(5-6): p. 795-824. 40. Montazemi, A., et al., On the effectiveness of decisional guidance. Decision Support Systems, 1996. 18(2): p. 181-198. 41. Dennis, A. and T. Carte, Using geographical information systems for decision making: Extending cognitive fit theory to map-based presentations. Information Systems Research, 1998. 9(2): p. 194. 42. Dull, R. and D. Tegarden, A comparison of three visual representations of complex multidimensional accounting information. Journal of Information Systems, 1999. 13(2): p. 117-131. 43. Vance Wilson, E. and I. Zigurs, Decisional guidance and end-user display choices. 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The Precedency Supporting the Affrimative Action Essay

Affirmative action is a government policy that gives opportunities to minorities, women, and any group who has been the victim of discrimination in the past. Affirmative action is the outcome of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement, growing out of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which outlawed discrimination based on race, ethnicity, or gender. It was the 1978 Supreme Court decision, The Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, which allowed for the use of race-based preferences as a means of fostering diversity, allowing affirmative action to be used in admissions policies. It was created with the intention to provide equal opportunities for members of minority groups in education and employment. Initially, affirmative action focused†¦show more content†¦Supporters of affirmative action make many arguments in support of affirmative action, in the hopes of getting others to see the genuine good that affirmative actin policies bring to our society. Supporters belie ve that affirmative action is more of a process rather than an admissions policy. Colleges and universities take the extra initiative to reach out to minority groups, encouraging them to apply. Colleges and universities offer additional financial aid and provide on-campus resources to help better the student’s college education. Supporters also note the rising number of minority applications to colleges and universities due in part to affirmative action policies. Statistics have proven that when affirmative action is eliminated, such as when it was at Berkley College and UCLA in 1998, the minority student admissions fell 61 percent and 36 percent respectively, proving that affirmative action plays a major role in a minority students college admissions process. Affirmative action supporters also believe that diversity in higher education provides a better educational atmosphere for all students, personally and intellectually. If affirmative action were to be eliminated, there would be fewer minority students enrolled in colleges, causing diversity to be fairly slim. Affirmative action policies are also necessary in order to compensate for centuries of racial, economic, and social oppression. Individuals with a

Short story “Everyday Use” Free Essays

In her short story â€Å"Everyday Use,† Alice Walker takes up what is a recurrent theme in her work: the representation of the harmony as well as the conflicts and struggles within African-American culture. â€Å"Everyday Use† focuses on an encounter between members of the rural Johnson family. This encounter––which takes place when Dee (the only member of the family to receive a formal education) and her male companion return to visit Dee’s mother and younger sister Maggie––is essentially an encounter between two different interpretations of, or approaches to, African-American culture. We will write a custom essay sample on Short story â€Å"Everyday Use† or any similar topic only for you Order Now Walker employs characterization and symbolism to highlight the difference between these interpretations and ultimately to uphold one of them, showing that culture and heritage are parts of daily life. The opening of the story is largely involved in characterizing Mrs. Johnson, Dee’s mother and the story’s narrator. More specifically, Mrs. Johnson’s language points to a certain relationship between herself and her physical surroundings: she waits for Dee â€Å"in the yard that Maggie and I made so clean and wavy† (88). The emphasis on the physical characteristics of the yard, the pleasure in it manifested by the word â€Å"so,† points to the attachment that she and Maggie have to their home and to the everyday practice of their lives. The yard, in fact, is â€Å"not just a yard. It is like an extended living room† (71), confirming that it exists for her not only as an object of property, but also as the place of her life, as a sort of expression of herself. Her description of herself likewise shows a familiarity and comfort with her surroundings and with herself: she is â€Å"a large, big-boned woman with rough, man-working hands† (72)—in other words, she knows the reality of her body and accepts it, even finding comfort (both physical and psychological) in the way that her â€Å"fat keeps [her] hot in zero weather† (72). Mrs. Johnson is fundamentally at home with herself; she accepts who she is, and thus, Walker implies, where she stands in relation to her culture. Mrs. Johnson’s daughter Maggie is described as rather unattractive and shy: the scars she bears on her body have likewise scarred her soul, and, as a result, she is retiring, even frightened. Mrs. Johnson admits, in a loving manner, that â€Å"like good looks and money, quickness passed her by† (73). She â€Å"stumbles† as she reads, but clearly Mrs. Johnson thinks of her as a sweet person, a daughter with whom she can sing songs at church. Most importantly, however, Maggie is, like her mother, at home in er traditions, and she honors the memory of her ancestors; for example, she is the daughter in the family who has learned how to quilt from her grandmother. Dee, however, is virtually Maggie’s opposite. She is characterized by good looks, ambition, and education (Mrs. Johnson, we are told, collects money at her church so that Dee can attend school). Dee’s education has been extremely important in forging her character, but at the same time it has s plit her off from her family. Mamma says, â€Å"She used to read to us without pity; forcing words, lies, other folks’ habits, whole lives upon us two, sitting trapped and ignorant underneath her voice† (73). Dee, in other words, has moved towards other traditions that go against the traditions and heritage of her own family: she is on a quest to link herself to her African roots and has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. In doing so, in attempting to recover her â€Å"ancient† roots, she has at the same time denied, or at least refused to accept, her more immediate heritage, the heritage that her mother and sister share. The actions Walker’s characters take, as well as their physical attributes, are symbolic of their relation to their culture. Dee’s male companion, for example, has taken a Muslim name and now refuses to eat pork and collard greens, thus refusing to take part in the traditional African-American culture. Mrs. Johnson, meanwhile, has â€Å"man-working hands† and can â€Å"kill a hog as mercilessly as a man† (72); clearly this detail is meant to indicate a rough life, with great exposure to work. Symbolic meaning can also be found in Maggie’s skin: her scars are literally the inscriptions upon her body of the ruthless journey of life. Most obviously—and most importantly—the quilts that Mrs. Johnson has promised to give Maggie when she marries are highly symbolic, representing the Johnsons’ traditions and cultural heritage. These quilts were â€Å"pieced by Grandma Dee and then Big Dee â€Å"(76), both figures in family history who, unlike the present Dee, took charge in teaching their culture and heritage to their offspring. The quilts themselves are made up of fragments of history, of scraps of dresses, shirts, and uniforms, each of which represents those people who forged the family’s culture, its heritage, and its values. Most importantly, however, these fragments of the past are not simply representations in the sense of art objects; they are not removed from daily life. What is most crucial about these quilts—and what Dee does not understand—is that they are made up of daily life, from materials that were lived in. This, in essence, is the central point of â€Å"Everyday Use†: that the cultivation and maintenance of its heritage are necessary to each social group’s self-identification, but that also this process, in order to succeed, to be real, must be part of people’s use every day. After all, what is culture but what is home to us, just as Mrs. Johnson’s yard is home to her. How to cite Short story â€Å"Everyday Use†, Papers

The Picture of Dorian Essay Example For Students

The Picture of Dorian Essay The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde is the story ofmoral corruption by the means of aestheticism. In the novel,the well meaning artist Basil Hallward presets young DorianGray with a portrait of himself. After conversing with cynicalLord Henry Wotton, Dorian makes a wish which dreadfullyaffects his life forever. If it were I who was to be alwaysyoung, and the picture that was to grow old! For that Iwould give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the wholeworld I would not give! I would give my soul for that(Wilde 109). As it turns out, the devil that Dorian sells hissoul to is Lord Henry Wotton, who exists not only assomething external to Dorian, but also as a voice within him(Bloom 107). Dorian continues to lead a life of sensualitywhich he learns about in a book given to him by LordHenry. Dorians unethical devotion to pleasure becomes hisway of life. The novel underscores its disapproval ofaestheticism which negatively impacts the main characters. We will write a custom essay on The Picture of Dorian specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Each of the three primary characters is an aesthete andmeets some form of terrible personal doom. Basil Hallwardsaestheticism is manifested in his dedication to his artisticcreations. He searches in the outside world for the perfectmanifestation of his own soul, when he finds this object, hecan create masterpieces by painting it (Bloom 109). Herefuses to display the portrait of Dorian Gray with theexplanation that, I have put too much of myself into it(Wilde 106). He further demonstrates the extent to which heholds this philosophy by later stating that, only the artist istruly reveled (109). Lord Henry Wotton criticizes BasilHallward that, An artist should create beautiful things butshould put nothing of his own life into them (Wilde 25). Ironically, the purpose of Basil Hallwards existence is thathe is an aesthete striving to become one with his art (Eriksen105). It is this very work of art which Basil refuses todisplay that provides Dorian Gray with the idea that thereare no consequences to his actions. Dorian has this belief inmind when he murders Basil. Here we see that the artist iskilled for his excessive love of physical beauty; the same artthat he wished to merge with is the cause of his mortaldownfall (Juan 64). Lord Henry Wotton, the most influentialman in Dorians life, is an aesthete of the mind. Basil is anartist who uses a brush while Wotton is an artist who useswords: There is no good, no evil, no morality andimmorality;there are modes of being. To live is to experimentaesthetically in living to experiment all sensations, to know allemotions, and to think all thoughts, in order that the selfsevery capacity may be imaginatively realized (West 5811). Lord Henry believes that, it is better to be beautiful than tobe good (Wilde 215). Although he attests that aestheticismis a mode of thought, he does not act on his beliefs. BasilHallward accuses him saying, You never say a moral thingand you never do a wrong thing (5). However, Lord Henrydoes take the immoral action of influencing Dorian. AlthoughLord Henry states that, all influence is immoral (Wilde 18),he nonetheless drastically changes Dorian Gray. As Dorianacts on the beliefs of Lord Henry, the portraits beautybecomes corrupted. Lord Henry presents Dorian with thetenants of his New Hedonism, whose basis isself-development leading to the perfect realization of onesnature (Eriksen 97). If Lord Henrys aesthetic ideas havevalidity ,Dorian Grays portrait should not become ugly, butrather more beautiful. Since the picture becomes loathsome,it is evident that Lord Henrys beliefs are untrue (West5811). Dorian becomes so disgusted with the horribleportrait that he slashes the canvas, an d the knife pierces hisown heart. Because Lord Henry is responsible forinfluencing Dorian Gray, he is partly the cause of the deathof Dorian (5810). While Lord Henry is indirectly the causeof Dorians death, he too causes his own downfall. LordHenry changes Dorian with the belief that morals have nolegitimate place in life. He gives Dorian a book about a manwho seeks beauty in evil sensations. Both Lord Henrysactions and thoughts prove ruinous, as his wife leaves himand the remaining focus of his life, youthful Dorian Gray, killshimself in an attempt to further the lifestyle suggested to himby Lord Henry. Eventually, he is left destitute, withoutDorian, the art he so cherishes, because he tried to mold it,as dictated by aestheticism. Of all the protagonists, Doriansdownfall is the most clearly recognized. A young man whowas pure at the beginning of the novel becomes depraved bythe influence of Lord Henry. He grew more and moreenamored of his own beauty, more and more interested inthe corruption of his own soul (Bloom 121). He begins tolead a life of immorality, including the murder of his dearfriend Basil Hallward. There were moments when helooked on evil simply as a mode through which he couldrealize his conception of beautiful (Wilde 196). However,there is still a spark of good left in Dorian. He lashes out athis twisted mentor, Lord Henry, declaring, I cant bear thisHenry! You mock at everything, and then suggest the mostserious tragedies (173). This trace of goodness is notenough to save Dorian, for he has crossed too far towardsthe perverted side of aestheticism and cannot escape it. .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be , .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .postImageUrl , .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be , .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be:hover , .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be:visited , .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be:active { border:0!important; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be:active , .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u538cae99d55dfbbd75dfbde6436634be:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Privacy And Information Technology EssayDorian experiments with himself and with men and women,and watches the experiment recorded year by year in thefouling and aging corruption of his portraits beauty (West5811). Dorian becomes so disgusted with this portrait of hissoul and his conscience, that he slashes the canvas, killinghimself. For Dorian, this is the ultimate evil act, the desire torid himself of all moral sense. Having failed the attempt toescape through good actions, he decides to escape bycommitting the most terrible of crimes. Aestheticism hasclaimed its final victim. Basil Hallward is what I think I am:Lord Henry what the world thinks of me: Dorian Gray whatI would like to be in other ages, perhaps (Hart-Davis352). Because of the endings he creates for thesecharacters, Oscar Wilde proves that he does not envisionshimself in the immoral characters of this story nor is heattempting to promote their lifestyles. Of all the characterswhom he creates, he sees himself as Basil, the good artistwho sacrifices himself to fight immorality. It was his beautythat had ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he hadprayed for (Wilde 242). Contrary to Wildes claim in thepreface that, there is no such thing as a moral or immoralbook (vii), this novel has a deep and meaningful purpose. The moral is that an absence of spirituality, of faith, ofregard for human life, separates individuals like WildesDorian Gray from humanity and makes monsters of them(West 5831). W.H. Auden feels that the story is specificallystructured to provide a moral. He compares the story to thatof a fairy tale, complete with a princess, a wicked witch, anda fairy godmother. This leaves room for a moral with whichgood every fairy tale ends. Not only is the novel seen asexisting on the pure level of fairy tales, but it is claimed tocontain ethical beauty (Auden 146). The Picture of DorianGray is a novel including a moral dialogue betweenconscience and temptation that is powerfully conveyed. Though it is made to seem an advocate for aestheticism onthe surface, the story ultimately undermines that entirephilosophy. Wilde brings the question of to what extent arewe shaped by our actions (26). He also demonstrates thatart cannot be a substitute for life (Eriksen 104). It is afantastic tale of hedonism with a moral to be learned andremembered. Works Cited Auden, W.H. In Defense of theTall Story. The New Yorker. 29 November 1969. pp.205-206, 208-210. Bloom, Harold. Oscar Wilde. NewYork: Chelsea House Publishers, 1985. Ellman, Richard. Oscar Wilde. New york: Alfred A. Knopf Inc., 1987. Eriksen, Donald. Oscar Wilde. Boston: Twayne Publishers,1977. Hart-Davis, Rupert. The Letters of Oscar Wilde. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1962. Juan,Efifanio. The Art of Oscar Wilde. New Jersey: PrincetownUniversity Press, 1967. Wilde, Oscar. The Picture of DorianGray. New York: Random House, Inc., 1992.