Chapter 7 The Boggart in the Wardrobe

Malfoy didn't reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double Potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in Harry's opinion, as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle. â€Å"How is it, Draco?† simpered Pansy Parkinson. â€Å"Does it hurt much?† â€Å"Yeah,† said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But Harry saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away. â€Å"Settle down, settle down,† said Professor Snape idly. Harry and Ron scowled at each other; Snape wouldn't have said ‘settle down' if they'd walked in late, he'd have given them detention. But Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything in Snape's classes; Snape was head of Slytherin House, and generally favored his own students above all others. They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Malfoy set up his cauldron right next to Harry and Ron, so that they were preparing their ingredients on the same table. â€Å"Sir,† Malfoy called, â€Å"sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm –â€Å" â€Å"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him,† said Snape without looking up. Ron went brick red. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with your arm,† he hissed at Malfoy. Malfoy smirked across the table. â€Å"Weasley, you heard Professor Snape; cut up these roots.† Ron seized his knife, pulled Malfoy's roots toward him, and began to chop them roughly, so that they were all different sizes. â€Å"Professor,† drawled Malfoy, â€Å"Weasley's mutilating my roots, sir.† Snape approached their table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots, then gave Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair. â€Å"Change roots with Malfoy, Weasley.† â€Å"But, sir –!† Ron had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding his own roots into exactly equal pieces. â€Å"Now,† said Snape in his most dangerous voice. Ron shoved his own beautifully cut roots across the table at Malfoy, then took up the knife again. â€Å"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned,† said Malfoy, his voice full of malicious laughter. â€Å"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig,† said Snape, giving Harry the look of loathing he always reserved just for him. Harry took Malfoy's shrivelfig as Ron began trying to repair the damage to the roots he now had to use. Harry skinned the shrivelfig as fast as he could and flung it back across the table at Malfoy without speaking. Malfoy was smirking more broadly than ever. â€Å"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?† he asked them quietly. â€Å"None of your business,† said Ron jerkily, without looking up. â€Å"I'm afraid he won't be a teacher much longer,† said Malfoy in a tone of mock sorrow. â€Å"Father's not very happy about my injury –â€Å" â€Å"Keep talking, Malfoy, and I'll give you a real injury,† snarled Ron. â€Å"?C he's complained to the school governors. And to the Ministry of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this† — he gave a huge, fake sigh — â€Å"who knows if my arm'll ever be the same again?† â€Å"So that's why you're putting it on,† said Harry, accidentally beheading a dead caterpillar because his hand was shaking in anger, â€Å"To try to get Hagrid fired.† â€Å"Well,† said Malfoy, lowering his voice to a whisper, â€Å"partly, Potter. But there are other benefits too. Weasley, slice my caterpillars for me.† A few cauldrons away, Neville was in trouble. Neville regularly went to pieces in Potions lessons; it was his worst subject, and his great fear of Professor Snape made things ten times worse. His potion, which was supposed to be a bright, acid green, had turned — â€Å"Orange, Longbottom,† said Snape, ladling some up and allowing to splash back into the cauldron, so that everyone could see. â€Å"Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours? Didn't you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one cat spleen was needed? Didn't I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice? What do I have to do to make you understand, Longbottom?† Neville was pink and trembling. He looked as though he was on the verge of tears. â€Å"Please, sir,† said Hermione, â€Å"please, I could help Neville put it right –â€Å" â€Å"I don't remember asking you to show off, Miss Granger,† said Snape coldly, and Hermione went as pink as Neville. â€Å"Longbottom, at the end of this lesson we will feed a few drops of this potion to your toad and see what happens. Perhaps that will encourage you to do it properly.† Snape moved away, leaving Neville breathless with fear. â€Å"Help me!† he moaned to Hermione. â€Å"Hey, Harry,† said Seamus Finnigan, leaning over to borrow Harry's brass scales, â€Å"have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning — they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted.† â€Å"Where?† said Harry and Ron quickly. On the other side of the table, Malfoy looked up, listening closely. â€Å"Not too far from here,† said Seamus, who looked excited. â€Å"It was a Muggle who saw him. ‘Course, she didn't really understand. The Muggles think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she phoned the telephone hot line. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone.† â€Å"Not too far from here †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ron repeated, looking significantly at Harry. He turned around and saw Malfoy watching closely. â€Å"What, Malfoy? Need something else skinned?† But Malfoy's eyes were shining malevolently, and they were fixed Harry. He leaned across the table. â€Å"Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?† â€Å"Yeah, that's right,† said Harry offhandedly. Malfoy's thin mouth was curving in a mean smile. â€Å"Of course, if it was me,† he said quietly, â€Å"I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good boy, I'd be out there looking for him.† â€Å"What are you talking about, Malfoy?† said Ron roughly. â€Å"Don't you know, Potter?† breathed Malfoy, his pale eyes narrowed. â€Å"Know what?† Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh. â€Å"Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck,† he said. â€Å"Want to leave it to the Dementors, do you? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† said Harry angrily, but at that moment Snape called, â€Å"You should have finished adding your ingredients by now; this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk, so clear away while it simmers and then we'll test Longbottom's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Crabbe and Goyle laughed openly, watching Neville sweat as he stirred his potion feverishly. Hermione was muttering instructions to him out of the corner of her mouth, so that Snape wouldn't see. Harry and Ron packed away their unused ingredients and went to wash their hands and ladles in the stone basin in the corner. â€Å"What did Malfoy mean?† Harry muttered to Ron as he stuck his hands under the icy jet that poured from the gargoyle's mouth â€Å"Why would I want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to me — yet.† â€Å"He's making it up,† said Ron savagely. â€Å"He's trying to make you do something stupid†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The end of the lesson in sight, Snape strode over to Neville, who was cowering by his cauldron. â€Å"Everyone gather 'round,† said Snape, his black eyes glittering, â€Å"and watch what happens to Longbottom's toad. If he has managed to produce a Shrinking Solution, it will shrink to a tadpole. If, as I don't doubt, he has done it wrong, his toad is likely to be poisoned.† The Gryffindors watched fearfully. The Slytherins looked excited. Snape picked up Trevor the toad in his left hand and dipped a small spoon into Neville's potion, which was now green. He trickled a few drops down Trevor's throat. There was a moment of hushed silence, in which Trevor gulped; then there was a small pop, and Trevor the tadpole was wriggling in Snape's palm. The Gryffindors burst into applause. Snape, looking sour, pulled a small bottle from the pocket of his robe, poured a few drops on top of Trevor, and he reappeared suddenly, fully grown. â€Å"Five points from Gryffindor,† said Snape, which wiped the smiles from every face. â€Å"I told you not to help him, Miss Granger. Class dismissed.† Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed the steps to the entrance hall. Harry was still thinking about what Malfoy had said, while Ron was seething about Snape. â€Å"Five points from Gryffindor because the potion was all right! Why didn't you lie, Hermione? You should've said Neville did it all by himself!† Hermione didn't answer. Ron looked around. â€Å"Where is she?† Harry turned too. They were at the top of the steps now, watching the rest of the class pass them, heading for the Great Hall and lunch. â€Å"She was right behind us,† said Ron, frowning. Malfoy passed them, walking between Crabbe and Goyle. He smirked at Harry and disappeared. â€Å"There she is,† said Harry. Hermione was panting slightly, hurrying up the stairs; one hand clutched her bag, the other seemed to be tucking something down the front of her robes. â€Å"How did you do that?† said Ron. â€Å"What?† said Hermione, joining them. â€Å"One minute you were right behind us, the next moment, you were back at the bottom of the stairs again.† â€Å"What?† Hermione looked slightly confused. â€Å"Oh — I had to go back for something. Oh no –â€Å" A seam had split on Hermione's bag. Harry wasn't surprised; he could see that it was crammed with at least a dozen large and heavy books. â€Å"Why are you carrying all these around with you?† Ron asked her. â€Å"You know how many subjects I'm taking,† said Hermione breathlessly. â€Å"Couldn't hold these for me, could you?† â€Å"But –† Ron was turning over the books she had handed him, looking at the covers. â€Å"You haven't got any of these subjects today. It's only Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon.† â€Å"Oh yes,† said Hermione vaguely, but she packed all the books back into her bag just the same. â€Å"I hope there's something good for lunch, I'm starving,† she added, and she marched off toward the Great Hall. â€Å"D'you get the feeling Hermione's not telling us something?† Ron asked Harry. ****** Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, and were talking when he finally entered the room. Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his tatty old briefcase on the teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals. â€Å"Good afternoon,† he said. â€Å"Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands.† A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books. They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts class before, unless you counted the memorable class last year when their old teacher had brought a cageful of pixies to class and set them loose. â€Å"Right then,† said Professor Lupin, when everyone was ready. â€Å"If you'd follow me.† Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom. He led them along the deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Peeves the Poltergeist, who was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum. Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away; then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song. â€Å"Loony, loopy Lupin,† Peeves sang. â€Å"Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy Lupin –â€Å" Rude and unmanageable as he almost always was, Peeves usually showed some respect toward the teachers. Everyone looked quickly at Professor Lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still smiling. â€Å"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves,† he said pleasantly. â€Å"Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms.† Filch was the Hogwarts caretaker, a bad-tempered, failed wizard who waged a constant war against the students and, indeed, Peeves. However, Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry. Professor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand. â€Å"This is a useful little spell,† he told the class over his shoulder. â€Å"Please watch closely.† He raised the wand to shoulder height, said, â€Å"Waddiwasi!† and pointed it at Peeves. With the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight down Peeves's left nostril; he whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing. â€Å"Cool, sir!† said Dean Thomas in amazement. â€Å"Thank you, Dean,† said Professor Lupin, putting his wand away again. â€Å"Shall we proceed?† They set off again, the class looking at shabby Professor Lupin with increased respect. He led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door. â€Å"Inside, please,† said Professor Lupin, opening it and standing back. The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. As Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape said, â€Å"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this.† He got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, â€Å"Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear.† Neville went scarlet. Harry glared at Snape; it was bad enough that he bullied Neville in his own classes, let alone doing it in front of other teachers. Professor Lupin had raised his eyebrows. â€Å"I was hoping that Neville would assist me with the first stage of the operation,† he said, â€Å"and I am sure he will perform it admirably.† Neville's face went, if possible, even redder. Snape's lip curled, but he left, shutting the door with a snap. â€Å"Now, then,† said Professor Lupin, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall. â€Å"Nothing to worry about,† said Professor Lupin calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm. â€Å"There's a Boggart in there.† Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus Finnigan eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively. â€Å"Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces,† said Professor Lupin. â€Å"Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks — I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice.† â€Å"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?† Hermione put up her hand. â€Å"It's a shape-shifter,† she said. â€Å"It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most.† â€Å"Couldn't have put it better myself,† said Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed. â€Å"So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. â€Å"This means,† said Professor Lupin, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, â€Å"that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?† Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to him, bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air, was very off-putting, but Harry had a go. â€Å"Er — because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should be?† â€Å"Precisely,† said Professor Lupin, and Hermione put her hand down, looking a little disappointed. â€Å"It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake — tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening. ‘The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. â€Å"We will practice the charm without wands first. After me, please†¦riddikulus!† â€Å"Riddikulus!† said the class together. â€Å"Good,† said Professor Lupin. â€Å"Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville.† The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows. â€Å"Right, Neville,† said Professor Lupin. â€Å"First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?† Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out. â€Å"I didn't catch that, Neville, sorry,† said Professor Lupin cheerfully. Neville looked around rather wildly, as though begging someone to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, â€Å"Professor Snape.† Nearly everyone laughed. Even Neville grinned apologetically. Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful. â€Å"Professor Snape†¦hmmm†¦Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?† â€Å"Er — yes,† said Neville nervously. â€Å"But — I don't want the Boggart to turn into her either.† â€Å"No, no, you misunderstand me,† said Professor Lupin, now smiling. â€Å"I wonder, could you tell us what sort of clothes your grandmother usually wears?† Neville looked startled, but said, â€Å"Well†¦always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top. And a long dress†¦green, normally†¦and sometimes a fox-fur scarf.† â€Å"And a handbag?† prompted Professor Lupin. â€Å"A big red one,† said Neville. â€Å"Right then,† said Professor Lupin. â€Å"Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?† â€Å"Yes,† said Neville uncertainty, plainly wondering what was coming next. â€Å"When the Boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape,† said Lupin. â€Å"And you will raise your wand — thus — and cry â€Å"Riddikulus† — and concentrate hard on your grandmother's clothes. If all goes well, Professor Boggart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag.† There was a great shout of laughter. The wardrobe wobbled more violently. â€Å"If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn,† said Professor Lupin. â€Å"I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The room went quiet. Harry thought†¦What scared him most in the world? His first thought was Lord Voldemort — a Voldemort returned to full strength. But before he had even started to plan a possible counterattack on a Boggart-Voldemort, a horrible image came floating to the surface of his mind†¦. A rotting, glistening hand, slithering back beneath a black cloak†¦a long, rattling breath from an unseen mouth†¦then a cold so penetrating it felt like drowning†¦ Harry shivered, then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. Many people had their eyes shut tight. Ron was muttering to himself, â€Å"Take its legs off.† Harry was sure he knew what that was about. Ron's greatest fear was spiders. â€Å"Everyone ready?† said Professor Lupin. Harry felt a lurch of fear. He wasn't ready. How could you make a Dementor less frightening? But he didn't want to ask for more time; everyone else was nodding and rolling up their sleeves. â€Å"Neville, we're going to back away,† said Professor Lupin. â€Å"Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward†¦Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot –â€Å" They all retreated, backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone beside the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand ready. â€Å"On the count of three, Neville,† said Professor Lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. â€Å"One — two — three — now!† A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing at Neville. Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes. â€Å"R — r — riddikulus! † squeaked Neville. There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled; he was wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture, and he was swinging a huge crimson handbag. There was a roar of laughter; the Boggart paused, confused, and Professor Lupin shouted, â€Å"Parvati! Forward!† Parvati walked forward, her face set. Snape rounded on her. There was another crack, and where he had stood was a bloodstained, bandaged mummy; its sightless face was turned to Parvati and it began to walk toward her very slowly, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising — â€Å"Riddikulus!† cried Parvati. A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off. â€Å"Seamus!† roared Professor Lupin. Seamus darted past Parvati. Crack! Where the mummy had been was a woman with floorlength black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face — a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek that made the hair on Harry's head stand on end — â€Å"Riddikulus!† shouted Seamus. The banshee made a rasping noise and clutched her throat; her voice was gone. Crack! The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then — crack!- became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before — crack! — becoming a single, bloody eyeball. â€Å"It's confused!† shouted Lupin. â€Å"We're getting there! Dean!† Dean hurried forward. Crack! The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab. â€Å"Riddikulus!† yelled Dean. There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap. â€Å"Excellent! Ron, you next!† Ron leapt forward. Crack! Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its pincers menacingly. For a moment, Harry thought Ron had frozen. Then — â€Å"Riddikulus!† bellowed Ron, and the spider's legs vanished; it rolled over and over; Lavender Brown squealed and ran out of its way and it came to a halt at Harry's feet. He raised his wand, ready, but — â€Å"Here!† shouted Professor Lupin suddenly, hurrying forward. Crack! The legless spider had vanished. For a second, everyone looked wildly around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery-white orb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who said, â€Å"Riddikulus!† almost lazily. Crack! â€Å"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!† said Lupin as the Boggart landed on the floor as a cockroach. Crack! Snape was back. This time Neville charged forward looking determined. â€Å"Riddikulus!† he shouted, and they had a split second's view of Snape in his lacy dress before Neville let out a great â€Å"Ha!† of laughter, and the Boggart exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, and was gone. â€Å"Excellent!† cried Professor Lupin as the class broke into applause. â€Å"Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone†¦Let me see†¦five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the Boggart — ten for Neville because he did it twice†¦and five each to Hermione and Harry.† â€Å"But I didn't do anything,† said Harry. â€Å"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry,† Lupin said lightly. â€Å"Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and summarize it for me†¦to be handed in on Monday. That will be all.† Talking excitedly, the class left the staffroom. Harry, however, wasn't feeling cheerful. Professor Lupin had deliberately stopped him from tackling the Boggart. Why? Was it because he'd seen Harry collapse on the train, and thought he wasn't up to much? Had he thought Harry would pass out again? But no one else seemed to have noticed anything. â€Å"Did you see me take that banshee?† shouted Seamus. â€Å"And the hand!† said Dean, waving his own around. â€Å"And Snape in that hat!† â€Å"And my mummy!† â€Å"I wonder why Professor Lupin's frightened of crystal balls?† said Lavender thoughtfully. â€Å"That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?† said Ron excitedly as they made their way back to the classroom to get their bags. â€Å"He seems like a very good teacher,† said Hermione approvingly. â€Å"But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart –â€Å" â€Å"What would it have been for you?† said Ron, sniggering. â€Å"A piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?†

Belonging: Overseas Chinese and Leah Essay

Belonging is a natural human instinct of how we define ourselves in the world we are living in. Our belonging to or connections with people, places and groups enable us to develop an unique characteristics in our personalities. Our perception of belonging is influenced by the personal, cultural, historical and social context of our surroundings. Identity, community, society’s attitude, relationships and culture are aspects of belonging that contribute to broaden or deepen our sense of Belonging or Not Belonging. The sense of not belonging felt by individual can be evolved to become a sense of belonging by factors of the aspects of belonging through experiencing physical or inner journey and vice versa. Identity is defined as the distinct characteristics of an individual possessed by which a person is recognized or known as. Individual who possesses a strong and unique personal or cultural identity will intensify their sense of belonging or not belonging. In the novel, the China Coin, by Allan Baillie, explores how personal and cultural identity of the protagonist, Leah Waters, could be changed from alienation of not belonging to acceptance of belonging by experiencing physical and inner journeys. In the beginning of the novel, Leah senses alienation and distanced toward China as she identify herself as an Australian instead of a Chinese. The monologue from Leah’s mind, ‘Couldn’t the woman see? She was not Chinese, not even an ABC – Australian born Chinese. Joan was Chinese, but Dad, David Waters, had been English. Didn’t it show? ’ suggested that Leah identify herself that she does not belong as a Chinese. A similar situation is also described in the film Avatar, directed by James Cameron, when the protagonist, Jake Sully, who was a disabled person that chosen for a mining operation in a distanced planet. Jake said, ‘so, here I am†¦ they offer me the gig because I could link with the avatar which is insanely expensive’. This reveal that Jake felt isolated and discriminated in the same sense as Leah towards China. The sense of not belonging will create a barrier that further prevents the willingness to belong in a new area. Leah’s sense of identity however gradually changed from not belonging to belonging, as it is shown in her monologue â€Å"No, you’re not Chinese, but you’re not not Chinese,† this suggested that Leah has recognized her identity as a Chinese and is willing to accept her multicultural identity. Relationship is the critical factor that can escalate the sense of belonging as it allows interaction between people which will increase their communication which in turns increase their understanding and this lead to an increase in the sense of belonging. In â€Å"China Coin†, the half ancient Chinese coin represents a separated relationship to Leah and Joan’s family. Throughout their journey, Leah and Joan expanded their relationship with the Ji family. Leah in particular changed her sense of belonging during her interaction with Swallow. Swallow said, â€Å"it’s all right, now you got a sister,† and Leah relied, â€Å"You? Yeah, thanks kid. † This suggested that relationship grew between Leah and Swallow through their conversation and this strengthen Leah’s sense of belonging. When Leah and Joan left the Good Field village, Leah said, â€Å"Will we ever see them again? † and â€Å"Yes. We’re family,† shows that this is a milestone where Leah as she sense belonging when she relate herself to the Ji family as her own family. Community acceptance and Society’s attitude are important factor which correspond to each other which magnify the sense of belonging. Community acceptance is being welcomed to be part of a family or group and society’s attitudes are the believes sees by individual. Community acceptance towards Leah and Joan is shown when they found the Good Field village. â€Å"Grandfather †¦ wrapped his arms about Joan. ‘Welcome back, Sister. ’† This is a touching scene that demonstrates Chinese community is welcoming towards their relatives which escalate their sense of belonging. A further example of community acceptance is when Joan had an accident and Leah was left alone. Ke, the son of the Zhu family, recognized Leah as a family member from the letter from Joan’s father and offered hospitality. â€Å"Leah should stay in my family’s house. She is my family. † This contributes to increase Leah’s sense of belonging as Ke assisted her when she was helpless because of Joan’s accident. The discriminative society attitudes directed toward Leah and Joan as foreign Chinese, however, restricted their growth of sense of belonging. The biased comment from the women on the train, â€Å"You Oversea Chinese do not know anything, just how to make money and get fat,† signal and deepen the barrier to belong in a new community when discriminative attitudes rumoured. A powerful example of the combination of community acceptance and cultural understanding that highlighted the emotional sense of belonging is that Jake Sully, the protagonist in the film Avatar, chose to belong to the alien natives, the Omaticaya, to against invading human when he himself is a human because he developed his sense of belonging as he learn the culture of the Omaticaya through understanding and challenges and he realize the deceiving tricks exercised by the human. Jake was accepted in the Omaticaya community as he said in his last video log, â€Å"†¦I’m not gonna be coming back†¦I don’t want to be late for my own party. It’s my birthday after all. This is Jake Sully signing off. † The community acceptances and cultural understandings are emphasized when Jake said, â€Å"It’s my birthday after all† with the conjunction monologue stating that, â€Å"the Na’vi say, ‘every person is born twice, the second time is when you earned your place among the people, forever’. † The sense of belonging is highlighted when Jake’s soul at the end was permanently transferred to his avatar via the spiritual ceremony conducted by the Omaticaya. With the use of extreme close up camera shot, it shows Jake belong to the Omaticaya community now as he opening his eye in his avatar body. In conclusion, during our lifetime, our sense of identity, the surrounding community, society’s attitude, the complex interaction of relationship and our culture will alter our sense of belonging or not belonging as we would experience physical or inner journey. It is critical and essential that we understand our sense of belonging or not belonging thoroughly in order to define ourselves in the world we are living in.

The greatest improvement

The greatest improvement in the productive powers of labor, and the greater part of the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which it is any where directed, or applied, seem to have been the effects of the division of labor.†This is the first paragraph excerpted from Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. com/compare-and-contrast-karl-marxs-and-walt-rostows-theories/">Adam Smith is regarded as the Father of Modern Economics, and the Father of Capitalism. Smith’s most famous work, The Wealth of Nations was the first systematic attempt to explain the workings of the economy in market terms, emphasizing the importance of the division of labor. The fundamental element in Smith’s viewpoint is his focus on the importance of the free market in ensuring the highest level of quality of commodities at the lowest prices. Smith’s philosophy is that human beings are naturally individualistic.He furthers political theories that emphasize the individual, and proclaims the worth of each individual. He believes that human beings will interact most effectively when they live in a society of economic freedom, with individualistic philosophies that tend to emphasize what people can do as individuals, not what they can do as groups. In The Wealth of Nations, he states that: â€Å"In a free economic system, an individual is led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention†¦By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it.† We can understand in this excerpt that because individuals constantly seek to better their own condition, they will continually direct resources to better uses when it is possible to do so. This will result to their and other people’s advantage which can consequently better or improve the conditions of others as well.Adam Smith believes that the tenets of the free market system can improve the living conditions of individuals. In his view, free markets allow all individuals in an economy to improve their conditions. This collective improvement by individuals results to national improvement – the wealth of nations. He believes that a free market enables individuals’ significant self interest to exercise itself within the limits established by a government that controls people from performing positively bad actions.Smith states: â€Å"Man has almost constant occasion for the help of his brethren, and it is vain for him to expect it from their benevolence only. He will be more likely to prevail if he can interest their self-love in his favor, and show them that it is for their own advantage to do for him what he requires of them†¦It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.†This paragraph very well sums up Adam Smith’s philosophy that individualistic tendencies can very well result to the improvement of others, and to the wealth of nations.Smith greatly believes on the benefits of the division of Labor. The division of labor is a fundamental component of economic growth and it is this division allows the wealth of nations and individuals to develop. The division of labor requires a free market in order to be most effective.Where there is a closed or highly regulated market, or monopolies or guilds control productive practices, inefficiencies can often result. Subsequent to John Locke, Smith also sees labor as the ultimate source for all value. Smith states: â€Å"Labor†¦is the real measure of the exchan geable value of all commodities.†Resources:1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Great Political Thinkers. Plato to the Present. Sixth Edition. William Ebenstein. Allan Ebenstien. Chapter 23: Smith. Pages 492-497.

The Impact of Firm Size on the Process and the Role of SME in Creating Essay

The Impact of Firm Size on the Process and the Role of SME in Creating Innovation in New Zealand - Essay Example The paper tells that New Zealand bases much of its support to research and development by awarding the sector the necessary support it deserves. This is evident in 2010 when the expenditure in R&D reached a whopping $2,444 million and $ 2,161million in 2008 most of which led to innovative findings. The research and expenditure represented 1.31% of the GDP representing an increase over the years. The total business expenditure on research and development in the year 2010 was estimated to be around $1,013 million an increase of 8% of the 2004 allocation. In the year 2010, the experimental research got most of the funding followed by applied research and basic research in that sequence with the latter getting the least funding. This is quite opposite in the last decade when basic applied research used to get more funding than other type of research. Most of these research funding come from the government and businesses with minor funding coming from universities, oversees and other fund ing sources. The government is very supportive in matters relating to research and development and this is evident in the year 2010 when it contributed about 46% of the money mean for research and development. This is higher compared to 28% of the government contribution in R&D in the year 2008. From all the sectors funded by research, the New Zealand business sector got 38% of the research funding in the year 2010 representing a decrease of 41%. Most of the research personnel in New Zealand had a bachelor’s degree or higher making most of their research to be of high quality and of international recognition. New Zealand environment, Economic and Culture The new Zealanders exhibit strong cultural ties that were weakened by the British Empire during colonial rule. Of late, the New Zealand culture has been broadened by globalization and immigration from various parts of the globe, the European and the Maori are the two main ethnic groups in occupying the region together with ot her tribes but in minority status. New Zealand is a geographically isolated country with unique natural environment across its landscape making it a very beautiful country. The country experienced a long period without human habitation. Its richness in biodiversity boast over 80,000 species of native animals plants and fungi some of which have not been found anywhere in the world. The country’s population is just about four million people with a good population growth rate which offers good market for its innovative services. Most of the people in New Zealand live in urban areas most of which are within beautiful coastlines with beautiful beaches. The population density is low making it a sparsely populated country which consists of two main islands with several small islands in beautiful environment. Environment dominates almost every aspect of New Zealand life thus they take great efforts to conserve it in ways that protect economic wellbeing, social systems and cultural we alth. The SME sector employs about 31% of the country’s population making it very significant for the economy and to the government in matters of development. Most of these SMEs are largely managed and operated by their owners who are motivated by the view of making profits. Just like other SMEs in the world, the SME in New Zealand lack specialist staff at their managerial levels like big businesses and companies. The self employed in this are about 10.5% of the workforce with 5 or fewer employees accounting for about 12%.

Importance of Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Importance of Communication - Research Paper Example With respect to Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL), the company provides great example for understanding that how the market scenario had provided decision makers to understand the problems and opportunities and turn them to innovation. Innovation may rake the shape of a unique product, different methods or new approach of performing business. It arrives from inside of a company. Successful innovations take place by different outlooks and concepts. HLL had put great deal of efforts to develop innovative approaches and increase sales in the rural poor market of India. Generally, the products of multinational companies are targeted for developed market and the price is often beyond the purchasing power of rural citizens. Thus, multinational companies always market their products for the top level customers in poorer nations. HLL seeks to take the opportunity of making products available for poor consumers. They seek to reach to the poor customers by research and development approach. HLL ob served that to sell their products in the rural market of India there is need to shift from traditional media. In India, there were differences in using the television media among poor people and thus there was need for more direct and individual approach to communicate their message to the poor consumers. The main problem HLL faced for selling the products was illiteracy among poor Indian people. The decision makers had recognized that customers need to be educated first to understand the benefits they can get by using HLL products (Achtmeyer, â€Å"Hindustan Lever†). There was a great opportunity in front of HLL as the food market was strong in India. Food accounts for almost half of all commercial consumptions in India. India’s market was characterized by overwhelming national and social diversity. The HLL market researchers had studied the market of India and learned that majority of food purchased by poor people are raw in nature. The food products where made as w ell as sold locally. Each food products such as wheat, rice and salt among others have separate supply chain. As salt was the key input of majority of HLL products, the decision makers had selected salt as prospect for market growth (Achtmeyer, â€Å"Hindustan Lever†). HLL entered in the salt market of India by their new product ‘Kissan Annapuna’ in the year 1995. At that time, 10% of total consumer salt was sold branded. The decision makers had recognized the need for improving the customers’ knowledge. Besides the rural market, the consumers of urban market also purchased unbranded salt. In order to expand their business, HLL concentrated on the urban market to demonstrate the practicality of their branded salt. The demand and production of salt was well in India, thus HLL focused on upgrading the quality of their salt and purity in their products. The major issue for HLL was the price of product as their main competitor was local salt which was inexpens ive. The cost of HLL salt was high because it included the shipping expenses, packaging expenses and refinery expenses that were absent in local products.

Language and Content Objectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Language and Content Objectives - Essay Example Language and content learning can be segregated in three domains, i.e. Social Language (SL), School Navigational Language (SNL) and Curriculum Content Language (CCL). While all these domains aim at developing the linguistic skills and communication abilities of pupils at their early life, their core purposes differ widely in their application. For instance, the objective of SL is mainly to assist the learners to communicate with their family members and friends when conducting their daily activities. Thus, at a larger paradigm it helps in creating a social status for the learners amid their surrounding community. Again, SNL helps the learners to communicate with their peers and teachers, inducing a degree of formalism in their language, when communicating within the school environment. Accordingly, CCL emphasises helping learners to communicate with teachers, instructors as well as peers, wherein the learners focus on obtaining instructions and following them within the classroom env ironment. Thus, it can be stated that while SL is a much casual approach, SNL and CCL are gradually more systematic and formal procedures of communication that the learners need to implement in their day-to-day interaction (Haynes & Zacarian, 2010; Bailey & Heritage,

MySpace and Facebook are among the fastest growing sites on the web Essay

MySpace and Facebook are among the fastest growing sites on the web. But are these sites enriching or diminishing our social experience - Essay Example These web sites like Facebook and MySpace became popular as online community webs in a short period of time. People like these web sites as they can share their ideas with their friends and with the world, they can upload and comment on the photos and share these to their friends and other persons. But are these web online communities are helping people to be close to each other or these community web sites making people anonymous. Today we use internet a lot. Many people utilize most of their time on the internet using Facebook or MySpace or any other such web site. It has been found that people mostly the youth spend most of their time using the internet rather than watching television or doing other things (Gale).In the essay â€Å"Study rates online habits† Thomas gale writes that the rate of reading newspaper, magazine, listening radio and watching TV is declined with the rapid increase in the usage of internet. He says that only 20 percent people read magazine and 15 per cent read newspaper but 51 percent people spend more than 10 hours on the internet (Gale). On the internet there is no way to detect a lie. Susan Youngwood in the article â€Å"Networking by the ‘Book’: Vt. college students cull, gather friends on facebook.com† quotes Stone that â€Å"there is no way to determine truth from fiction on Facebook (Youngwood 2006).You can write whatever you want, put whatever picture you want. The picture doesn't even have to be of you.†¦ Photoshop,† he says, â€Å"is a wonderful thing†. That is the reasons that Susan says that it is impossible for the administration to look into the profile and make decisions about any student. Student use internet and social networking sites a lot (Youngwood 2006). They share their ideas and other such things. In the same article Susan Youngwood quotes Greg stone says that the students suppose that they are anonymous and states â€Å""Even though they say very, very, very, very private things, they do it because †¦ they don't have to look someone in the eye. We're real concerned about them understanding that." So the social network of students on the internet is not helpful for the administration to detect a fiction (Youngwood 2006). Now the youth ranging from 14 to 24 years old don’t know that who should be their heroes. Being busy in the network sites the young generation has not enough time to interact with their family in a proper manner. They unwillingly ignore their families and spend most of their time on the web. In the essay â€Å"Computers Will Not Significantly Transform Society† Clifford Stoll discourages the computer and networks and have the opinion that it is impossible for a person to enjoy more on a computer screen rather than a live concert. He says that a meeting over a coffee is incomparable with a chat on the internet and the term cybersex can never make a person such happy that a real can (Stoll). The vital characte ristics of the human interaction are neglected uncompromisingly. The values of the human interactions are replaced by the technology (Stoll). In the book â€Å"Computer and Society† Clifford states â€Å"A poor substitute it is, this virtual reality where frustration is legion and where--in the holy names of Education and Progress--important aspects of human interactions are relentlessly devalued† (Stoll). The social network sites on the one hand proving an ease of communication and interaction among the people but on the other hand the online communities are devaluing the

Productivity and Human Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Productivity and Human Performance - Essay Example Compatibility in the aspects of attitude, need and work is very important in assessing a person's productivity. This leads us to the habit of understanding other persons feeling by the practice of tact and empathy. If management fails to provide a platform for expressing their individualism then this can be a handicapped towards their decision making and self confidence and destroys their will to outrun competition by performance. Speaking openly with one's ideas and any improvements that is work related may overcome fear or discomfort that will accelerate daily social interactions. One does not have the right to humiliate unintelligent conversations for it defines who they are partially reflecting how they feel towards a certain subject. Good work relationships depict the ability to communicate emotions in non verbal ways and in a lot of significant actions. This serves us to understand the person not only as to how they communicate but the hidden meanings of their nonverbal ways wh ich is in a lot of situations gives us a clearer picture of what they want. What most managers fail to practice are their listening skills and lowering indifference barriers to non intelligent flow of conversations from workers. Teamwork to productivity. This paper seeks to identify the things that negatively impact and lowers productivity. We have to bridge the gap to accurately pick up nonverbal cues to connect workers relationships to verbal repertoire. The things that we have been practicing everyday are being able to read between the lines through signals from the eyes, facial expression, tone of voice, and posture. Stress is very common and we must carefully note the conditions and the things that cause it either within the job function or within the... Teamwork to productivity. This paper seeks to identify the things that negatively impact and lowers productivity. We have to bridge the gap to accurately pick up nonverbal cues to connect workers relationships to the verbal repertoire. The things that we have been practicing every day are being able to read between the lines through signals from the eyes, facial expression, the tone of voice, and posture. Stress is very common and we must carefully note the conditions and the things that cause it either within the job function or within the work environment that continues to negate the will to perform more. Emotions communicate and an employee must learn to develop emotional intelligence. A good move is to deviate from the person centered plan of vision to transformational leadership. In the hospitality industry, customer service needs an upfront of visions to develop and to maintain to aim for the performance rating of customer care. It relates a changing nature of customer service in a multicultural environment of changing customer behavior where expectation notes empowerment to employee care. The fact is that a customer is the foundation of the very existence of our people and our existence. We have to empower employees to sustain values as valued people to value people. (Cook, S., 2002). Organizational productivity is not a stand alone concept. A large number of corporations fail when there are a lot of floating personal visions of managers and they don’t coordinate with other departments in their directions to achieve more.

Reality and Knowledge in Plato's Myth of the Cave Essay

Reality and Knowledge in Plato's Myth of the Cave - Essay Example Therefore, analyzing philosophic ideas of the rationalists and empiricists, dualists and monists, idealists, materialists and pragmatists begins with perception or rejection of Plato’s ideas of reality and knowledge. The expression that philosophy is a footnote to Plato does not necessarily mean that the philosophers continue Platonic traditions or agree with Plato’s ideas. However, in my opinion, it is Plato who we think of first when we start dealing with philosophic issues. The tendency to incline to the ideas regarding the nature of knowledge and reality can be found in thinking of many European philosophers. Furthermore, it would be wrong to associate every philosopher with Plato, as there are many great thinkers whose ideas were not based on Plato’s teaching or are contrary with them. Of course, Plato is one of the greatest philosophers standing in line with Aristotle, Socrates, Hume, Locke, and Kant. Nevertheless, power of Plato’s thought like nobod y else’s is so great that his ideas can be traced in others thinkers’ philosophy, especially when to speak about European philosophy. Intellectual tradition started by Plato has never ceased to prosper. Europeans are the first and the most frequently said to be referring to Plato’s philosophy, because his thinking seems to be the closest to this particular group of people. The meaning of the statement that philosophy is a footnote to Plato is nothing else, but a metaphor which means that power of his thinking can be neither denied nor rejected, because it has been interwoven into the philosophical tradition of many other great philosophers. Therefore, today it is difficult to discern the ideas regarding, for example, knowledge and reality and classify them into Platonic and non-Platonic. It is difficult to say exactly which philosopher was influenced by Plato and which was not. My understanding of knowledge and reality is that reality is limited to the point wha t we can comprehend and see on basis of our senses usage. To put it simply, if we see a beggar on the street, we conclude him to be a poor and miserable man because of his real physical appearance. However, this person can be a great thinker the same as the worst conman, but we do not know as our knowledge is limited by what we can only see on the surface. The knowledge about this man as well as about different things in the world is hidden. We can discover the knowledge only when we strive for such discovery and keep searching even at times it seems pointless. I agree with Plato that people must try to rise above their limited knowledge to learn more and to attain the highest form of knowledge. At the same time, I think that one type of knowledge can be perceived and explained differently as we have ability to compare things. Our experiences and knowledge of something is relative: for example, if we’ve tried a very delicious cake, we tend to think it’s best in the wor ld. But when we continue tasting more and more delicious cakes, we understand that the first one was not the best one. The same can be claimed about anything which exists in reality. Besides, I’d like to conclude that real knowledge and true wisdom comes with life-long learning. To start, the allegory of the cave also referred to as Plato’s Myth of the Cave is the allegory used by the Greek Philosopher Plato in his work The Republic. Plato basically uses this allegory to illustrate the nature and wanting of education. He describes the interacting phenomena of

Business Management of Owning a Construction Company Essay Example for Free

Business Management of Owning a Construction Company Essay Owning a construction company requires good planning whereby the management puts several measures in place to ensure that a company performs well to generate enough money that aids it run its operations. Availability of surplus raw materials is one of the important factors to consider while managing a construction company. A construction firm should have enough laborers who offer services to customers and who work at the production stage. Running a construction company requires that the management come up with a good marketing strategy that allows the company to attract as many clients as possible to allow the organization generate enough income to carry out its activities effectively. Keeping records in an organized manner makes it easy for a construction company to make references and also to avoid loss of data. Managers who plan their activities wisely and accordingly in a construction company are in a better position of elevating the profit that the company generates and to improve the quality of goods and services that the firm offers. Definition of Important Concepts Management is a common term that this paper uses and it means to adopt effective measures as a leader that help to run an organization in an effective manner. The term construction is also common in this analysis and it means to come up with projects such as buildings, bridges and roads using qualified personnel. Counterarguments Even though raw materials are essential in the running of a construction company, some companies lack them due to poor management which in most cases leads to the fall of a business. Other construction companies lack enough laborers and this makes the available workers to strain with their work which in most cases lowers the outcome of construction companies. Lack of effective marketing strategy and lack of proper ways of record keeping also in many instances lead to the downfall of many construction companies because they are not able to generate sufficient income from different customers and they experience confusion respectively.This report makes use of an imaginary company by the name of Davis Construction firm to expound on the management of owning a construction company. As part of its activities, this construction firm produces building bricks from clay soil, produces celling boards that builders fit inside houses, and also hires professional masons and other construction desi gners to people or organizations that want to come up with buildings. To attain its goals, the management of Davis Construction firm must take into account several measure that will help it run its activities. Availability of Raw Materials First of all, the manager of this organization must ensure that there is a continuous flow of raw materials to enable the firm continue with its production. In this case, the essential raw materials that Davis Construction firm needs are clay soil to manufacture bricks, wood chips to manufacture celling board, and sufficient water to carry out the mixing process. Other raw materials that this organization needs to produce its goods include chemicals that it uses to carry out its production. A good manager will carry out a research on the best places to acquire the raw materials so that the firms does not experience delays in its production process. To ensure a steady supply of raw materials in a construction firm, managers should have more than one source of suppliers who deliver raw materials to the company. Having more than one source of supplier who supply the same product is important because this allows a company to carry out its activities continuously not to inconvenience customers. In many instances, unreliable suppliers make business managers to consider alternative ways getting raw materials to carry out an organization’s activities (Alonso, 2007, p. 3). Another way in which the manager of this company and any other construction company can ensure constant availability of raw materials is by establishing nearby sites that generate enough raw materials to run the activities of an organization. For example, to have a constant supply of water, the manager can hire professionals to come and dig boreholes that will provide surplus water to the firm at a much cheaper cost. Availability of Workers Effective management of a construction company calls for hiring enough laborers who help in running the organization’s activities. A wise manager will therefore, put measures to ensure that the laborers share work equally and that they do not strain while carrying out their activities. The laborers in a construction firm should fall into several sections where each worker partakes in the activity of his specialization. By each worker taking part in the activities of his specialization, a construction firm will attain accuracy in all the goods it produces and all the services it offers. To get laborers of sufficient knowledge to carry out their activities, the management of Davis Construction Firm should carry out a test while recruiting laborers after ascertaining their credentials. Even though it is a common occurrence in many countries that construction activities attract workers with low educational level (ILO, 2001, p. 12), it is important for managers to hire workers with high qualification to do their job perfectly so as to come up with products and services that satisfy customers’ needs. The management should ensure that workers get sufficient training to enable them carry out their duties with preciseness. As a way of improving the technical skills of their workers, managers should organize educative seminars where other professionals offer theoretical and practical knowledge to the workers. Good managers take the initiative of helping technicians who show great ability in their duties attain further training and also to serve as motivation to the co ntractors. Managers in a construction company should also take their workers to tour different construction firms because if they fail to do this, it will be impossible to compete favorably with other construction firms. Marketing Strategies A construction company should adopt effective marketing strategies that allows it to reach customers from different geographical regions. After intense research about marketing strategies, managers in construction companies such as Davies Construction Firm should come up with a suitable way of marketing the goods and services that the firm offers. To effectively reach customers from different regions, managers who run construction firms should adopt reliable channels such as the internet and publications because these two are able to carry so much information about a company and are also able to transmit information within a very short time. Enhanced technology has improved communication and marketing which has positive effect on inter-organizational relationship and communication (Avlonitis Karayanni, 2000, p. 442). Managers in a construction firms should appoint certain people with the right qualification to manage the company’s website and to attend to customers’ ne eds. In a business organization, it is important for managers to create a customers’ department wing to improve the quality of services and to build a long-term relationship with the customers (Rust, Moorman, Bhalla, 2010, p. 5). Record Keeping Managers who run construction companies should adopt better ways of storing vital information. Good forms of record keeping enable construction companies to make necessary reference whenever conflicts or discrepancies occur. For example, Davis Construction Firm can adopt better ways of record keeping by using computers that are able to store large amount of data for a very long time. People in charge of electronically storing data must be very keen in their activities to ensure that the information stays for a long time without getting lost (Trace, 2002, p. 138). Managers in a construction firm should also adopt a way of keeping records that is easy to retrieve information. Some of the advisable ways of keeping records in a manner that is easy to retrieve include using alphabetical orders, storing records according to the subject and keeping records in accordance to urgency. Conclusion Managers who run construction firms should take the initiative of helping the company attain its goals. As part of their management duties, managers should be able to come up with ways that ensures a constant and sufficient supply of raw materials to enable the firm carry out production of goods and services continuously. A manager should also be able to ensure that a construction firm has enough workers who help in carrying out the activities of a company in accordance to their area of specialty. Coming up with an effective marketing strategy helps to reach customers from different regions and therefore, be able to generate enough money for the construction firm. Above all, a manager in a construction firm needs to device effective methods of storing vital information about past and current operations of a construction firm. References Alonso, E., et al. (2007). Material availability and the supply chain: Risks, effects, and responses. Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Avlonitis, G., Karayanni, D. (2000). The impact of internet use on business-to-business marketing: Examples from American and European companies. Industrial marketing management 29(4) 441-459. International Labor Organization, ILO. (2001). The construction industry in the twenty-first century: Its image, employment prospects and skill requirements. Geneva. Rust, R., Moorman, C., Bhalla, G. (2010). Rethinking marketing. Harvard Business Review. Trace, B., C. (2002). What is recorded is never simply ‘what happened’: Record keeping in Modern organizational culture. Archival Science 2(7), 137-159.at is Recorded is Never Simply What Happened: Record Keeping in Modern Organizational Culture Source document

Dark Tourism Within The Tourism Industry Tourism Essay

Dark Tourism Within The Tourism Industry Tourism Essay The topic of this essay will discuss dark tourism within the tourism industry and what motivates tourists to visit this place Introduction The aim of this essay is to discuss the relevance and appropriateness of different approaches of research in the researchers chosen subject area (dark tourism) and what motivates tourist or visitors to visit this place. There is different research method. In other words, the researcher will be using different approaches to evaluate and analyse them. In addition, the essay will discuss and critically evaluate the available resource in the subject area example by using qualitative research or quantitative research, primary and secondary research, inductive and deductive approach, positivist or phenomenological approach and ethnography. Furthermore, the researcher will justify why this approach has been taken this into consideration or chosen and not the other approaches. Firstly, the literature of this essay will define research, qualitative research, and quantitative research. Secondly, this essay will define dark tourism and validity. And finally, conclusion will be summarised. There are different definitions for research methods, quantitative research and qualitative research. According to Sekaran (1994, p. 4) quoted in Finn et al (2000, p.2) he defines research as a systematic and organised effort to investigate a specific problem that needs solution. Whilst Elias (1986, p.20) cited in Veal (2006, p. 2) argues it as The aim, as far as I can see, is the same in all science. Put simple and cursorily, the aim is to make known something previously unknown to human beings. It is to advance human knowledge, to make it more certain or better fitting The aim is discovery. Veal also Define quantitative approach as to research involves statistical analysis. It relies on numerical evidence to draw conclusions or to test hypotheses. To be sure of the reliability of the results it is often necessary to study relatively large numbers of people and to use computers to analyse the data. The data may be derived from questionnaire surveys, from observation involving counts, or from secondary sources. Adding to that, Veal also defines the qualitative approach as research is generally not concern with numbers. It involves gathering a great deal of information about a small number of people rather than a limited amount of information about large number of people. As the researcher said earlier, there are different definitions for quantitative and qualitative research, here are some other definitions form another author. Brent and Goeldner (2003, p, 487) define qualitative research as the foundation on which strong, reliable research programs are based. It is most often the first step in a research program the step designed to uncover motivation, reasons, impression, perception, and ideas that relevant individuals have about a subject of interests. Unlike more quantitative methods of research, qualitative research involves talking in depth and detail with few individuals. The goal is to develop extensive information from a few people. The author also defines quantitative as a type of research; the goal is to develop important-but limited- information from each individual and to talk with a sizable number of individuals in order to draw inferences about the population at large. The characteristic of qualitative research, on the other hand, inc ludes small samples, extensive information from each other respondent, and a search for meaning, ideas and relevant issues to quantify in later steps of the research program. Dark tourism is a different type of tourist attraction. It is the act of travel and visitation to sites of death, disaster and the seemingly macabre. Tourists flock to experience sites of past terror that offer up grim and disturbing tragedies (www.citypaper). Howie (2003, p. 325) argues that dark tourism can be define as a term coined by Lennon and Foley(2000) for tourism motivated by a desire to visit places associated with death and catastrophe such as famous assassination sites, for example where president Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas, or the concentration camps in Europe and Holocaust memorial in Israel. Dark tourism has been very important because is the time people remember their loves ones who has been dead through war. Tourist or visitors intend to visit the darker side of tourism from all over the world and for different reasons for example because of curiosity and maybe something they have heard before. Dark tourism includes some of the most famous places in the world to visit. It is obvious that most tourists travel because they are very interested in seeing the dark side of tourism such as the death and disaster which occurred in countries such as country France, Belgium and Germany where soldiers died in the wars. This dark tourism issue has caused a lot of discussion as to why people do this in among academics. Research in the field of dark tourism has not been very important until the early nineteen seventies; it began to spread only since that time. Marketing research is a broad concept including various techniques, but a main distinction should be made between quantitative and qualitative research methods. As said early Quantitative techniques describe variables by assigning a number representing an attitude, opinion or motivation- which can be statistically analysed. In contrast, qualitative research focuses on attitudes, opinions and motivations in the words of each respondent, but without quantifying it. Quantitative methods have always dominated in tourism, as it often appears as more reliable, since it is based on facts that can be observed, and then analysed. This paper will focus on the quantitative correlation study method used in survey based researches. Social research is a collection of methods people use to systematically combine theories and ideas to produce knowledge. Because of its complexity, researchers must be able to carefully select a method or methods that will best suit their study objectives. Quantitative research methods consist of: experiment, content analysis, existing statistics (correlation), and survey. The correlation and survey will be the two main methods that will be emphasized. In a survey research, people are asked questions either through the use of questionnaires or during an interview. Unlike the experiment approach, the condition and situation in a survey requires no manipulation. All the subjects have to do is to answer questions. Good quantitative research is determined by validity and reliability of the research method used. Quantitative research is a technique for comparing relationship between time, weight, size and performance. The purpose of quantitative market research is to have an increased understanding of the product First Fruit. This research is numerically oriented and requires attention of consumers as well. For example an insurance company may ask its customers to rate its overall service as excellent, good, poor, very poor. Quantitative data consist of numbers representing counts or measurements (e.g., height, weights, salaries, etc.). Quantitative data can be further divided into discrete data or continuous data. Discrete data result from either a finite number of possible values or a countable number of possible values. Continuous data result from infinitely many possible values that can be associated with points on a continuous scale in such a way that there are no gaps are interruptions. However, qualitative techniques have become to be more commonly used for the last decade. Each technique has obviously specific advantages and drawbacks; that is why it is necessary to examine both in different contexts, especially in tourism research. As Alf H. Walle reported in his report called Quantitative versus Qualitative Research in Tourism, plurality of equally valid research strategies exist within tourism. Choice must be thus determined according to the situation in which the research takes place. Grounded Theory is still very relevant today as it is the main form of rigorous and rule-governed qualitative methods. Even if it attempts to maintain positivist rigor, a high degree of Modernism can be reached through this technique. As both quantitative and qualitative research methods have advantages and drawbacks. To evaluate this problem and overcome the limitations, the principal solution appears to be the use of both methods in the same time, according to the situation. As Miller and Crabtree pointed out, different levels of intensity can be reached in tourism research, this intensity being defined as the degree to which qualitative methods are associated with quantitative methods. The canonical correlation analysis is based on the same principle, but it uses multiple dependent variables, thus enlarging the scope of research. However, both methods have the same limitations: omitted variables may be correlated with existing ones, and the environmental conditions are likely to change. On the other hand, factor analysis and collecting analysis are two other important quantitative techniques that can be useful for tourism research methods. Factor analysiss goal is to identify the underlying dimension in data and to reduce the number of variables by eliminating redundancy. Validity also helps produce the desire result the researcher is looking for. Validity can define as the extent to which the information collected by the researcher truly reflects the phenomenon being studied veal (2006, p.41). In tourism research there are different approaches targeting the audience when researching. The primary sources of these methods have largely come from sociology and anthrop ology. Since that time, qualitative techniques have developed, but the sharpest rise in qualitative publications has really occurred in the nineteen eighties, the main reason for that being that figures cant explain all the situations, especially in a field such as tourism. Besides, decision behaviours are always depending on two main elements that should not be forgotten: firstly, task factors include the number of alternative and attributes, time pressure, response mode and information format. Secondly, Context factors refer to the similarity of the options in a choice, the quality of the choice set, as well as reference points and framing. This report also considers qualitative techniques as inadequate because of the extra time, effort and skill required; besides the model tested may in this case be incompletely or inadequately specified. Most researchers use different approaches of researching as has been said before, for example a focus group. Using a focus group also help analyse what the research is about and also gives broad ideas of another audience. Additionally, it also helps identify what people want and love to do in a tourism organisation. Researchers conduct focus group so that they can know the perception of their opinion, attitude or be haviours towards something. Focus group is a unique method of qualitative research in discussing issues with group of people. According to lia (2003, p.1) a focus group is defined as a small structured group with selected participant, normally led by a moderator. They are set up in other groups to explore specific topic, and individual views and experiences through group interaction a focus group is intended to be a collection of data from audience and also having individual interviews for example face to face interviews. On the other hand, a focus group has a limitation of analysing a topic. A Focus group can very be difficult in terms of gathering all the information taken from a target audience. As Monique (2007, p. 10) argues that despite popular belief, focus group research is not a cheap and quick exercise; it requires a great of preparation, organisation, and time to collect, manage and analyse and the data. The sample size is usually small, and there is a large use of non-pr obability sampling methods, meaning that results cant be generalized to the whole population, they are just reliable for the sample concerned. Descriptive methods summarize some aspects of the environment, they only describe but without looking for the cause and effect of relationships. Surveys with questionnaires are the main way to collect data, they can be achieved face-to-face or by indirect means such as mail, phone, fax or the Internet. This usually takes a long time, but a large sample can be used easily. Finally, causal research establishes a cause-effect link between variables. In each case, the main strength of projective techniques is that respondents are more willing to give answers that they wouldnt have given if they knew the purpose of the study, especially when the subject is personal or difficult. Whats more, it can reveal motivations or attitudes at a subconscious level. Yet, these methods require highly trained interviewers and skilled interpreters, as they are open ended techniques that can thus be difficult to interpret. Finally, other qualitative methods can be used to explain the reasons and motivations underlying in peoples decisions. Moreover, there are different ways of research in terms of academic working. Researcher mostly use the following ways, referencing usually when we paraphrase or summarize someone else opinion. Books, journals, video, personal interview, emails and many more are some of the sources that researchers use. Qualitative research can be used to enhance quantitative work. Finally, in qualitative research it can lead to theological sampling. As quoted from (Manson 1996:93-4) in Long (2007, p.42) said, theoretical sampling means selecting groups or categories to study on the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦basis of their relevance to your question , your theoretical positionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and most importantly the explanation or account which you are developingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[using] criteria which help to develop and test your theory and explanation. The researcher is going to identify some side effect or complication of secondary research. According to veal (2006, p.148) he argues that are advantage and disadv antage of using secondary data to analyse research. Some of the advantages can be, timing- data maybe instantly available, cost of collecting new data avoided and disadvantages can be secondary data that has been designed for another purpose so it may be not be ideal for the current project. A clear link with this essay summarise up the importance of why visitors or tourist visit the darker side of tourism. It has now become clear that, tourists have their own interest and what motivates them to visit this place which there is no doubt for that. Additionally, the researcher focuses on different approaches of research and picked one approach to research the dark tourism.