Reviewing Martin Scorsese

More than just a filmmaker, Martin Scorsese is the self-appointed guardian of American cinema history. For him, the cinema of the present is always and necessarily influenced by the past. Scorsese commands immense critical respect; whether juggling big budgets and mainstream connections with large studios, delivering star vehicles and box-office successes, or indulging in more personal projects, Scorsese has retained his reputation as â€Å"the quintessential maverick auteur† (Andrew 21).An independently minded cinephile, his relationship to popular cinema has been an extremely productive one. While best known for the savage but complex exploration of masculinity and violence in films such as the New York-based Taxi Driver (1976), the scorching biographical boxing picture Raging Bull (1980), the epic gangster narrative Goodfellas (1990), or the controversial The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Scorsese’s output has been extremely varied. This paper reviews three of hi s films: Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ, and Gangs of New York (2002).Religion is a consistent theme in Scorsese’s films: almost all of his major male characters voice a fascination with religion in some form. Mean Streets’ (1973) Charlie is obsessed with the idea of his own spiritual purpose. The archetypal selective devotee, his desire to do penance is at odds with his actions: â€Å"he acts like he's doing it for the others, but it's a matter of his own pride† (Scorsese 48). Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle believes himself to be acting out God's rage against the lowlife of New York city; Cape Fear's (1991) Max Cady is likewise fixated; while Raging Bull's Jake LaMotta punishes his body both in training and in the boxing ring in an attempt to atone for his sins.These earlier films seem to be leading towards Last Temptation of Christ’s explicit wrestling with Christianity. Attracting intense reactions from some religious groups, the film, based o n Nikos Kazantzakis' novel, presents a non-biblical Jesus beset by doubts and fears about his identity and mission, constantly, oppressively tempted by evil. A human being much more than the incarnate Word of God, this Jesus is strongly tempted also sexually, and only by a superhuman effort of the will is he able to achieve a final victory. Scorsese argued that it was his intention to show Christ as a real man rather than as a faultless spiritual being.Thus, Christ's (Willem Dafoe) inner emotional struggle and the consistently female image of sin converge, if one is to accept Scorsese's interviews, in making the film as much a working through of his own identity as the story of Christ: â€Å"Jesus has to put up with everything we go through, all the doubts and fears and anger†¦he has to deal with all this double, triple guilt on the cross. That's the way I directed it, and that's what I wanted, because my own religious feelings are the same.† (Corliss 36)It is clear that the major objection of the protesters to this film had to do with its long final sequence, in which Jesus comes down from the cross and walks into an earthly paradise, where he marries first Mary Magdalene and then, as a widower, Mary, the sister of Lazarus. By her and her sister Martha, he has a number of children.The problem is that people who had not seen the film, or who had seen it but not very perceptibly, had no idea that these events happen in a fantasy sequence, a daydream-like temptation to the domestic life carefully formulated by Satan to discourage the crucified Jesus from living fully his mission of salvation. Moreover, it is a temptation sequence represented by Scorsese as a fantasy, something evident in the film language of the sequence, and as a temptation-fantasy that Scorsese has Jesus overcome: he returns to the cross and dies victorious.The Last Temptation of Christ can be interpreted in two distinct ways; either it posits Christ as a human being, or it raises Scorsese's vision of masculine identity to an omnipotent spiritual level. Notions of masculinity, a sense of community and the influence of religion on personal identity are all themes common to Scorsese films. In fact, the film suggests an attempt to universalize masculine experience by having these themes transported from the usual urban, late twentieth-century setting to biblical times.Objections to the film's depiction of Jesus as sexual perhaps served to divert attention away from another more uncomfortable theme; that masculine identity is defined in terms of existential conflict and growing self-awareness, while women remain confined to earth, sexuality and Original Sin. Though Scorsese cannot be simply cast as a misogynist, his personal perspective and belief systems are unashamedly patriarchal, grounded in Catholicism. Women feature mainly on a symbolic level, serving as projections of male spiritual conflicts (even, it might be argued, in The Age of Innocence).Whether nove l, romance, myth, epic, or film, narratives have relied on the presence of the â€Å"hero† as a sign of the human’s search of an ideal. Scorsese's Taxi Driver portrays a character, Travis Bickle, who is alternately an inversion, a corruption, and a variation of the idea of the hero. The film constructs a â€Å"literary city†, an archetypical topos in a story of the mass and the individual, where the â€Å"mass† creates â€Å"a peculiar kind of anti-community within the dissociated culture† (Pike 100).A chain of ironies defines Bickle placed into this setting and defines a new universal truth: anonymity and isolation amid a dense population, an instantaneous repugnance with and attraction for the magnified extravagance and corruption of the city, an estrangement from others which grows with increasing closeness, and an anti-social behavior and a pathological psychology absurdly born of the quest for ideals.In Taxi Driver, Bickle sees metropolitan so cial order as a material hell in a period of a dying God (or already dead God). He places himself in an adversarial connection with the world in general, and he pursues the ideals of self-realization and spiritual reconciliation in ironically repulsive actions. In addition, Bickle maintains a wicked sense for the sacred, and this distorted piety or holiness is manifest in his discourse suggestive of the confession genre, in his wrath for an immoral society, and in his sympathy for the oppressed and browbeaten (archetypically rendered in the form of a prostitute). Bickle recognizes his status as God’s lonely man. He writes in his confessional mode: â€Å"Loneliness has followed me all my life. The life of loneliness pursues me wherever I go: in bars, cars, coffee shops, theaters, stores, sidewalks. There is no escape. I am God's lonely man.†The opening montage of Scorsese’s Taxi Driver launches a series of optical themes, and the images of eyes, mirrors, and glas s symbolize Bickle’s perception of this spiritually bankrupt and spiritually bereft environment. The director manages his editing and camera angles to highlight the protagonist seeing the world through mirrors or glass, particularly the rear-view mirror and the windshield of the taxi, through which all important characters enter: Sport and Iris in a brief glance in his mirror; Palantine in his rear-view mirror; and Betsy through the sheets of an all-glass office. In general, the film mirrors French Existentialist the influence, and the setting, lighting, and mise-en-scene – especially in the darkness of the film – owe a debt to film noir, contributing to the understanding of the struggle of the protagonist.Overall, Bickle represents something more than alienation and social disenfranchisement, since God’s lonely man suffers in metaphysical misery because of the materialization of a world where the True, the Good, and the Beautiful have lost their meaning. In effect, Bickle is a prophet attacking Babylon, but without any assurance of liberation; he is also Theseus in the maze of the city but with no Olympus and no Ariadne. In this state of spiritual bleakness and spiritual poverty, Bickle retains an intuitive longing for the ideal â€Å"but no longer possesses the capacity for identifying, exemplifying or realizing it† (Swensen 267).While isolation and crises of identity are key themes that permeate many of Scorsese's films, they necessarily include explorations of community, or brotherhood against which the isolation, or level of identification for an individual can be measured. This is one of the major themes of one his most recent films, Gangs of New York.Obviously, the director’s explorations of community and brotherhood stem partly from his commentary on his personal experiences, his sense of his home community and of the people he has known. In most cases this sense of docu-realism extends only so far as setting. This film is concerned not only with political, social, and economic conflicts, but also spiritual conflict. In one of his interviews about Gangs of New York, Scorsese states:[During the Civil War] the North and South were fighting for causes. The nativists [whose slogan was â€Å"America for Americans†] and the Irish were fighting for the right to live and the right to live together, but they were dying for it, too. If people believe in something strongly enough they're going to die for it, and that's a major problem in the world today. In the film – as in today's world – religion is used in a militant way. (Scorsese 1)This film is also a characteristic of violence in many of Scorsese’s films: â€Å"The 20th century was arguably the most violent in human history, but the most violent century in American history was the 19th. Poor people, political parties, and gangs would demonstrate, and there was violence constantly.† (Scorsese 2) Alongside the romance of the gangster and of male ritual that is so much in evidence in this film, Amsterdam Vallon and Bill â€Å"the Butcher† Cutting can both be understood in terms of a journey towards salvation through self-knowledge.The themes in Taxi Driver, The Last Temptations of Christ, and Gangs of New York are dominated by the search for self-awareness: â€Å"the individual is trapped in solitude morale and can escape from it†¦if he or she comes to see their condition and then extend themselves to others and then to God† (Hess 20). Scorsese's preoccupations are evident in his work and in his many interviews. Shortly after the opening of his film The Last Temptation of Christ, Scorsese, commented, â€Å"I made it as a prayer, an act of worship. I wanted to be a priest. My whole life has been movies and religion. That's it. Nothing else.† (Kelly 6)Works CitedAndrew, Geoff, Stranger than Paradise: Maverick Film-makers in Recent American Cinema. London: Prion, 199 8.Corliss, Richard, â€Å"Body†¦and Blood†, Film Comment 24.5 (1988): 36-42.Hess, John, â€Å"La Politique des auteurs: Part I World View as Aesthetic†. Jump Cut, 1 May/June (1974): 20-22.Kelly, Mary Pat, Martin Scorsese: A   Journey. New York: Thunder's Mouth, 1991.Scorsese, Martin, Scorsese on Scorsese, David Thompson and Ian Christie (Eds.). London: Faber and Faber, 1996.Scorsese, Martin, Gangs of New York – Martin Scorsese – Interview. (December 2002). Retrieved December 5, 2007 from http://findarticles.com/?noadc=1Swensen, Andrew J.   â€Å"The Anguish of God's Lonely Men: Dostoevsky's Underground Man and Scorsese's Travis Bickle†. Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 53.4 (2001): 267.

A computer a course or a blessing

Examination Malpractice is the process of student cheating during exams. Like in impersonation. That is copying from other students that maybe sitting next to him/ her, coming into the exam hall with textbooks/notebooks in order to copy answers from them or students bringing in phones in order to check Google or they may have camera some words either from notebook or textbook. Laziness, many students nowadays find it very difficult to sit down and read for about 30 minutes or at least 1 hour but they choose to waste their time on nothing.Government has tried all the could in order to stop those students from cheating but many many students has prove that they are expert in this act thereby making the government look like fools in their very eyes. Examination bodies are invigilators that are been sent to schools to go and examine students during exams. It dose not necessarily mean WAGE, NECK, JAMB But it could be a normal school exam like 1st term, 2nd term or promotional exams which is 3rd term.What this examiners do are searching students before they enter the exam hall, check their seats one after the other. When I say searching seats, it means checking their seats, bodies like pockets, undermine in the case of girls, socks and sandal. School authorities/Administrators also try their best because they join there head together In order to find a lasting solution but It seems It's not working at all, All the same these three bodies are doing well. Sometimes, It may seem as if these three bodies are not doing anything But are doing their best.The truth of the matter Is that there some bad eggs that are also In this bodies, during exams Instead of Invigilating, they will be busy telling answers to some students to some, particular questions thereby making this set of students lazy and believing that whether they read or not they will still get answers which Is not good. Only solution to this evil act Is that students should cultivate the habit of reading. If I am asked to give my final opinion to curb this evil acts, I will say that those caught In this act should be put In Jail at lest 7 (seven years.Either the coacher or student caught so that It will serve as lessons to others who are also planning to engage In this evil acts. Students read your books to avoid being tempted and landing yourself Into trouble.

Indian Book Retail Industry Essay

The Indian book retail industry is estimated to be over Rs 3,000 crore, out of which organised retail accounts for only 7 per cent.The industry is expected to grow by approximately 15 per cent a year.Book retail contributes only about 1 per cent to the overall retail industry. Text and curriculum books account for about 50 per cent of the sales. Second-hand books are also a big chunk of the book retail market. In the past few years, several large format book store chains have come up, such as Landmark, Crossword and Om Book Shop etc . More than 75 per cent stores of these large chains are in top eight cities. These Organized Book retailers are focusing on improved customer experience. Many book stores have also introduced coffee shops and provide a library-like atmosphere where customers can sit and read, while sipping coffee. Besides this online channel is also significant with players like Flipkart, Indiaplaza, Infibeam etc. With the printed word considered an endangered species in much of a rapidly digitizing world, India now represents one of the best book markets in the world. â€Å"There has definitely been a huge jump in the size of the industry in terms of book sales and the number of books being published,† said Mita Kapur, the founder of Siyahi, a literary agency, who says the number of books published in English is growing by 30 percent a year. Vikrant Mathur, associate director of Nielsen Book, India, said the volume of book sales grew by 45 percent during the first half of 2011. For the entire year, Nielsen, a global information provider, documented English-language book sales of 3.28 billion rupees – about $62 million – from more than 12 million books sold. And that is probably only a fraction of true total sales, since Nielsen only measures about 35 percent of the total market. â€Å"Where physical books are concerned India right now is a very, very big market,† said Priyanka Malhotra, director of Full Circle Publications. â€Å"There is a whole younger generation coming up from BPOs who are starting to read in English, which is where a lot of new demand is coming from.† Online retail have also spurred growth in the industry. To summarize India’s book retail industry is broadly divided into 3 sectors : 1. Organized 2. Unorganized 3. Online The organized sector has big names such as : crosswords, OM book shop , landmark etc to name a few. On the other hand unorganized sector is huge and highly fragmented, with shops spanning from local book stores to road side book shanties to red light book sellers etc. This sector is also filled with piracy and pirated copies of original books (which is a serious threat to the sales of organized sector) Online sector is the newest of them all and has just started to takeoff in sales since last 3-4 years. The major advantage of such a format is the wide variety of offerings under one roof and ease of access for the users. Thus this is the fastest growing sector among all of them. The prominent players in this category are Flipkart.com, Infibeam.com etc. Unorganized sector (Golden book depot) Golden book depot is a typical book store among many in the unorganized sector of the india book retail industry. This store is loacated in the vicinity of our target organized sector store ( OM book shop) i.e. Ber Sarai ( adjacent to IIT) in south Delhi. As can be seen in the photograph, this is a small shop , almost 1/10th of the size of om book shop and most of the products are available behind the counter, with only magazine stand placed just outside the store. As magazines as a category has most no of impulse purchase. On an average around 50-70 customers come to this book store, and this tore has a footfall conversion of over 85% which is very high as compared to the organized sector (OM book shop) . The reason for this behavior is that most of the products in these kind of shops are behind the counter and it doesn’t provide the luxury to the customer to stroll around and search and read a book as in the case of organized sector. Therefore almost all of the customers coming to these shops like golden book depot are aware of what they want and demand that directly from the shop keeper who then searches the book in the shop and hands over to the customer. Besides having a smaller area , less variety of books and behind the counter selling, the sales (in terms of no. of books sold) is still higher in golden book depot as compared to OM book shop . The reason for that being : 1. Availability of educational books , i.e. educational course materials and  competitive exam preparation books. These books constitute the majority of the portion of these book shops in unorganized sector. These kind of books , especially course materials for various courses such as MBA, B.Tech, BCA etc . are not available at book stores like OM book shop. As they (Organized) focus more on selling of novels and leisure read books. 2. Many of the popular shops in unorganized sector offer a facility to bring the old books and exchange them with the new books at a discounted rate or return the old books at a discounted rate in form of cash return. This is a major reason why price conscious middle class Indian customers prefer unorganized sector over organized sector. 3. Perception in the minds of Indian customers that these small shops will offer the same product at cheaper rate than the organized sector shops, which have flashy interiors and huge shop floor. This perception is true also upto some extent as these shopkeepers in these small shops have the control over their margins and not guided by any company policy ( as in the case of OM book shop) that means these shop keepers can even squeeze their margins from around 10% to as low as 1-2% to attract or retain a customer by offering them the cheapest bargain. Organized sector (OM BOOK SHOP ) About Om Book Shop Retailer and Publishing House: Om Book Shop is a part of Om Books International, a leading English language trade publisher in the subcontinent, and is a prominent player in the Indian book industries. The book retailing chain has a significant presence across the Delhi-NCR region. Besides stocking books, movies, magazines and CD ROMs, Om Book Shop is also a major distributor of books of many leading international imprints. OBI began publishing in 1993. Collection: With a strong focus on children books and coffee-table books, the store has a diverse collection including books on Lifestyle, Nature and Wildlife, Fashion, Bollywood, Heritage and Culture, Management, Health & Fitness, Cookery, Architecture and Interiors, pictorial books for children etc. Children section is a major thrust area for the company and OBI publishes children’s titles under the Om Kids imprint: illustrated classics, mythology, folk tales, encyclopaedias etc. Loyalty programs and other salient features: Other salient features Om Book Shop currently holds about 50 thousand registered customers with the Om Book Privilege Loyalty Programme which offers points, discounts & other offers to its loyal customers. OBS aims to popularize the Gift -a- book idea across its stores and delivers services like Dial-a-book which allows the customers to shop from their homes; and the efficient and helpful staffs in the book stores assists them in finding the right book or the right gift for the right occasion. Overview: Product, Category and Store Product Category: ‘Books’ Retail Format: Category Specialists Customer segments: In terms of demographics, the Om Book shop customer can be a child/adult from any age group, gender, income class (reasonably well off) etc. Store: Om Book Shop is located in DLF Promenade Mall in Vasant Kunj. The store is located on the 2nd floor of the mall and the floor plan is provided in Figure1. The store is strategically located in a way that it falls on one of the 2 ways to the food court and movie theatre. Figure 1: Floor Plan of Om Book Store STORE PHILOSOPHY * Layout * Ambience/dà ©cor * Sale program * Loyalty Store layout structure Om book store has a very functional and efficient physical layout. Mall sq. foot area is very expensive so there seems to be an effort on part of the book store to utilize as much area as possible. Hence the layout may be a bit crammed for some customers. The bird’s eye view of the layout is as follows: The front view of the store is a transparent glass window through which a passerby can easily see into the store. The poster’s on display from the  front view are only of â€Å"OM publisher’s† in different categories like kids books, cook books, and biography (Amir Khan’s â€Å"I’ll Do it My Way†. The most popular and eye-catchy book categories are positioned near the entrance of the store. The largest selling categories, Children’s books, Fiction, and New Arrivals are placed in shelves that a customer encounters as soon as he enters the store. These sections also have the largest impulse buy and are therefore kept at the forefront. Om book’s self published books in the kids category is displayed in big piles on the ground straight in the line of path of a customer who walks into the store. Since the child often runs about choosing his/her own story books and activity (colouring/mask) books and heavily influencing the purchase decision of the parent so the children books of the OM publisher has been strategically kept within reach of the child on the ground to woo the him/her. Other publications in the same Children’s category have been kept on the shelf and in â€Å"sideway† display to decrease their exposure to the child/parent. Om Publication’s in any other category when placed on the shelf have been given a frontal full display to encourage sales. Management books being the next most popular category, they have been placed right after the popular categories when comparing in terms of â€Å"distance from entrance†. Categories pertaining to work or hobby like gardening, travelling, cooking etc / or specific topics of interest like astrology, philosophy, poetry, etc have been grouped towards the end of the store, furthest away from the entrance. This is because these categories can usually not create impulse purchase and so every customer need not pass through these segments/aisles. People who do buy these books are targeted shoppers and will anyhow walk to the back end of the shop to pick up his/her book. These categories are not as popular as the others and have loyal customer following. The impulse buy accessories are lined along the passage on either side from the entrance to the cash counter. It is further seen that the counter is placed at the other end from the entrance to ensure that a customer has to walk through all the impulse purchase offerings before he/she can buy the book. The products on offer in this so called â€Å"impulse accessory† shopping segment are: pens (parker and waterman), magazines, cookbooks, horoscope books, key rings, bookmarks, marble-paper/wrapping paper, and bestsellers in each category. It can further be noticed that the best seller section just prior to the cash  counter is dedicated solely to Om publication. Additional aspects of the Store Layout The layout is no doubt very functional keeping in mind the profit maximization philosophy of the store and the main agenda of pushing its own publication to the shopper. However the spacing of shelves is crammed with little walking space, hardly any sitting space (only 2-3 stools), and only 1 book stand. The entire focus is on 1 product offering i.e. books. Unlike competitors in the organised sector like Landmark, it is not focussing on the entire shopping experience, (no coffee, no other items on offer like stationary etc, no sitting space). Store Ambience and Decor The bookshelves were made of engineered wood like particle wood. This created a unique and rich traditional effect. Plastic or metal bookshelves were not used since they do not look expensive and give a modern feel, which was not something the book store wanted. Furthermore the particle wood was coloured a light shade of brown to give a bright and roomy/spacious look to the store. However the bookshelves were placed too close and for a particular section of customers who prefer the comforts of abundant seating arrangement, coffee facility, and walking space (as provided by Landmark), the sheer functional design of the store might be interpreted as a crammed. This might not work well for a particular segment of customers whose involvement with the shopping experience is as high as, if not higher than the involvement with the product itself. Furthermore the store works on the philosophy that it will focus on selling books alone and not encourage customers to spend hours just reading in the store. This is unlike some of its contemporaries like Landmark that encourage customers to sit and read inside the store. Hence at OM book stores some customers may complain that the staff hover close to them and make them feel uncomfortable if they stay too long. The store plays light and slow English instrumental music to suit the taste of the higher-strata of people who usually visit the Promenade Mall and create a relaxed atmosphere in the store. Instrumental music is  played since a song with wordings would disturb the concentration of a customer reading the epilogue/back-cover of a book. This gives a contemporary feel to the store. Store Sale Programs The store’s maximum profit comes from its Children’s section. Hence the sale period coincides with the summer and winter vacation in schools in Delhi. December to Mid-January and May to June are the respective winter and summer sales. The store is also receptive to mall trends in sale. Since almost every other shop in the mall had a sale in July, so the store too announced a sale to cash in on the increased footfall to the mall during the sale-period. There was no Flat Sale offer. Discount amounts were graded on the basis of demand. Books with high demand had low sale; New Arrival, Top 20 Fiction/Non-Fiction, general Fiction, and bestsellers had only 10% discount. The store felt that irrespective of the price these books would sell and so gave negligible discount on them. However on the kids section the discount was higher, around 20%, and even higher discounts on children’s books published in-house by Om Publications. This is because the store believes that parents during the sale period buy in bulk and a higher sale would induce them to buy more and yet it would not affect your margins. Furthermore parents are price conscious when buying for little kids since the books cannot be added to a collection later on and mostly become irrelevant in a short time after the child has outgrown them. The sale on OM publication was the highest because they already had the highest margins on it due to the absence of a middleman, and therefore could easily afford a large discount on those books. By touting the large discounts they aim to attract consumers to their publication and yet make the largest profit on the same sales. The books with the largest discounts (say more than 50%) were displayed in piles on the floor. This was due to the belief that even if the books weren’t displayed at eye-level, even then the mammoth sale amount would encourage the shoppers to make the effort of bending down to pick up the book. To publicise the sale big red stickers were pasted on the glass walls of the store which can be viewed by the casual shopper passing by the store. Inside the store the discount for each section was  mentioned separately through stickers and pointers. Store Loyalty Program A book is generally a product category where the consumer’s involvement with the product (i.e. the book itself) is much higher than his involvement with the store. Even if a person might have store preferences, yet his/her loyalty lies with the book and not with the store. Hence a consumer would not really care much as to whether he bought his/her book at OM Book stores or at Landmark, which is a stones throwaway. Thus in order to boost retention of loyal customers Om book stores has come up with a loyalty program, a privilege card holder concept which is as follows: * 1 point for every Rs.10 purchase. * Minimum points for redemption are 500 points. * 1 point equals Rs 1 reduction in bill amount. 60-70% of walk-in customers were privilege card holders and the store already has 4500 privilege card holders. The scheme is a moderate success. Store Timings | 11 A.M to 10 P.M ( For Mall)11 A.M to 8 P.M ( For standalone shop not the store we studied)| Working days| All 7 Days of the week| Peak days| Saturday and Sunday| Peak hours| Evenings post 6:00 pm| Staff| 10-12 members including the manager. Manager stands behind the counter at one of the two cash registers. He is accompanied by 2 staff members whose work is to: 1. Use the second cash register for quick transactions during peak hour to prevent long queuing period 2. To get a book for a customer if he/she directly comes to the counter and asks for a specific book.| Floor Staff responsibilities| * Taking care of the specific three to four sections assigned to them. * keeping a track of inventory * Filling the requisition form for the replenishing of stock * Guiding the customers if required * Sticking the barcode behind each new book before placing them on the shelf.| Shifts| There are no shifts; each staff member works throughout the day from 11:00 AM -8:00pm (fixed) and from  8:00pm-10:00pm (variable) depending on the rush. Hence post 8:00 pm the retained staff is paid on overtime basis.| Showrooms (strategic positioning)| NCR – 5 in malls and 2 stand aloneMumbai – 1 stand aloneThe store we studied was in the Promenade mall beside DT cinemas movie ticket counter on the 2nd floor.| Revenues| 1.5 to 2 Lakhs on weekdays3 to3.5 Lakhs on weekendsChildren, Fiction – highest selling category (80% of sales)| CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR The product category is such that it involves Limited-Decision Making by the customers. The reasons for purchase of a book from the store can be: * Buying for self- Leisure * Buying for self Knowledge * Buying for Others- Regular * Buying for Others- Situational The greater the motivation to make an optimal decision, the more likely an attribute-based choice will be made. Thus, attribute-based processing is more likely for an expensive book purchase than it is for an inexpensive magazine. The easier it is to access complete attribute-by-brand information, the more likely attribute-based processing will be used. A variety of situations influence which choice approach is most likely. A book bought with the intention of a gift purchase is assigned more importance than a purchase for oneself. Thus, gift purchases would be more likely to produce attribute-based decision processes. Time pressure is a major determinant of choice process used, with increasing time pressures producing more use of attitude-based decisions. Thus, we can identify 3 major clusters of customers that visit Om Book Shop. Category I: DEDICATED READER This is the kind of person who feels complete with a book in his hand. For him, the behaviour is governed by his choices alone and it is solely his decision. He is always trying to find the time to get back to his book. He is convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. His primary information search happens within the store only. Category II: LITERATE GOOD CITIZEN This is the kind of person who usually buys a book after reading it review by a critic or an expert. Such a person does more information search before coming to the store. For our respondent group, the most dominant sources for this information were reviews and Bestseller lists published in newspapers, magazines or online blogs and sites likes Amazon.com. Category III: FAD READER This is the kind of person who only reads the popular books/ latest bestsellers so he can be up to date on what other people are talking about and be seen by others as someone who is well read. He often reads for the social credit he can get out of it. His primary information search is more through his friend circle or his group of colleagues from whom he might hear the latest ‘fads’ in terms of books. Such a person could also go in for information search in popular newspapers/magazines or the shares on social media websites.

Science policy studies - Was there a BSE crisis Essay

Science policy studies - Was there a BSE crisis - Essay Example This disease is characterized by a 4 – 5 years incubation period and its effects are adverse; after a few weeks of its onset, it often leads to the death of cattle. Researchers have indicated that as BSE gets into the brain of cattle; the spinal cord and the brain itself get affected, resulting to lesions that have alterations that are sponge-like. These lesions can be seen under the normal microscope. Some researchers have also indicated that the BSE agent is very stable, with the capability of resisting heat, drying and freezing, and more critically, resisting heat applicable in the processes of sterilization and pasteurization. This property has raised a controversy over BSE agent’s nature, as several theories have sought to explain such nature. It has been generally assumed that the BSE was derived from the disease scrapie, which occurs in sheep (Millstone and van Zwanenberg, 32), though there is no any evidence from experiments to show that this assumption is true. Further, there lacks a proof to show that BSE agent would behave like scrapie agent, which does not find its way into the human beings, when they consume the meat products that are from infected animals. Generally, the roots of the BSE crisis dates back to the traditional food policy-making and UK Agriculture. The scientists in the UK first unravelled the disease in 1986 and by the year 2002, cases preceding 181, 376 had been confirmed. After the initial discovery, the disease had also been confirmed out of the UK from 1989. This led to an alarming call that initiated the introduction of programmes for monitoring the spread of the BSE in cattle that were slaughtered or found dead. 12 countries unveiled the presence of the disease in their territories including Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Poland, Japan, Italy, Israel, Greece, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic and Austria (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, 4). Measures for preventing

How fashion as a styling tool can be used for self expression Essay

How fashion as a styling tool can be used for self expression - Essay Example He talks of fashion in the American journal of sociology, as a form of imitation in the attempt of attaining social equalization. In contrast, it brings out inequality and changing from differentiating one social stratum to another. It, however, unites people from the same social class while segregating them from those in a different category. Although fashion is only for the wealthy and does not exist in tribal or less fortunate societies. It only affects the superficial image of a person, differentiating them from different groups, but does not cause any harm. On the negative side, it denies one the personal freedom dressing because they have to fit in. In most cases, it features both the female and the middle-class individuals. â€Å"The charm of imitation in the first place is to be found in the fact that it makes possible an expedient test of power† (Simmel, 1957, p. 542). In the agreement, Pierre Bourdieu in the Taste of Luxury, Taste of necessity talks of fashion in terms of the economic value of the commodity. The type of dressing one puts on depends on the economic status of the individual. With fashion in place, the works of art designs different attires with different pricing. In the end, the poor tend to buy cheap clothes that differentiate them from the rich. The source and amount of income define the so-called â€Å"slaves to fashion† as the cash one sets aside for dressing differs (Bourdieu, 2013, p. 72.). Some even emulate what they see von media to determine what they put on as long as they have the money. According to this, mainly the poor but ordinary to the rich consider fashion luxurious. According to Thorstein Vablen dress as an expression of the pecuniary culture, he considers fashion as a form of wasteful consumption. The outlook that one needs makes the person budget for a particular type of clothes. The social perspective of the person is entirely defined by what they are seen

Recruitment and Retention of nurses Research Paper

Recruitment and Retention of nurses - Research Paper Example The nursing profession is an important department in the development of every nation. The profession of nursing is even more important to the United States because the government more particular about the good health care of the citizenry. It is therefore not surprising that the Obama Government has devoted so much into health-care. â€Å"The Obama campaign estimates his health care reform plan will cost between $50 and $65 billion a year when fully phased in† (Laszewski, 2008). THE PROBLEM DEFINED Owning to the importance of the nursing profession and the inevitable situation of employee turnover and retirement, there is the urgent need for research and review into the recruitment of nurses to find workable means of making the recruitment of nurses successful, meaningful and mission-oriented. Closely related to the recruitment of nurses is also the issue of retention of nurses. This is because research has shown that one important factor for ensuring employee retention is thr ough positive and well organized employee recruitment (Fertile Ground Detroit, 2008). To this effect, this write-up is committed to researching and reviewing the shortfalls of recruitment processes and exercises that take place in various nursing organizations and institutions. What is more, the write-up shall critically analyze the failures of recruitment and placement exercises that have been going on in the nursing fraternity in times past. Much attention shall be placed on the duties of human resource managers in various organizations since they form the nucleus of employee recruitment processes in various organizations. Again in this write-up, the researcher shall relate the positive impacts of effective employee recruitment on employee retention. What is more, the employee shall give out personal suggestions on how recruitment of nurses can be made effective. PROBLEM ANALYSIS The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, CIPD (2011) explains that â€Å"recruitment is the process of having the right person, in the right place, at the right time.† From this definition, it is clear that there are certain processes and guidelines that should be followed in recruitment exercises in various nursing organizations. To this end, the major problem that has been linked to poor recruitment is wrong approach towards the recruitment exercise. Wrong approach to Advertisement Firstly, most organizations take the wrong approach in the advertisement and publicity of recruitment vacancies. This is because most often than not, organizations looking for nurses restrict their advertisement to nursing schools and few community newspapers with the view of attracting fewer candidates in order to save money. However, this limits the number of potentially capable candidates for the vacancy. Constitution of Recruitment Team Another problem has to do with the constitution of recruitment team. In some organizations, the recruitment process is left in the hands very few people. This however reduces efficiency because the work becomes tedious for the few people. Inefficiencies are seen when the people have to spend much time undertaking manual processes when those tasks could be

Persuation(Austen) vs Silas Marner(Eliot) Essay

Persuation(Austen) vs Silas Marner(Eliot) - Essay Example They showed through their characters what women of that time could accomplish if they refused to believe that their femininity was a barrier. According to Eliot marriage meant being "absorbed into the life of another, and only [being] known in a certain circle as a wife and a mother" (George Eliot) whereas Austen almost unquestioningly accepted it. Eliots writings were not about a polite society, but by writing about abusive relationships, went beyond it. (Melanie Shelton). These two authors do not belong to the "silly lady novelists" (Eliot) category, which George Eliot has referred to in one of her writings. Austen portrays the daily lives of her characters that are mainly upper-middle-class men in England of early nineteenth century. She focuses on themes that never die, such as marriage, social pressure, and the generation gap (N. Zeynep Yelce) Anne Elliot, the heroine in Persuasion, suffers the consequences of a decision she had to take years ago to severe relations with a man she loved. Her family had forced this decision upon her. The thoughts of Lady Russell in this context "Anne Elliot, with all her claims of birth, beauty and mind, to throw herself away at nineteen; involve herself at nineteen with a young man, who had nothing but himself to recommend him, and no hopes of attaining affluence, but in the chances of a most uncertain profession, and no connexions, to secure even his farther rise in that profession; would be indeed a throwing away which she grieved to think of." (Austen Jane) aptly describes the kind of advice Anne got from her family. Austen while putting forth the causes and consequences of this action gives an incisive account of the narrow-mindedness of the British class system. Silas Marner portrays a realistic portrait of life in a traditional English village of the 19th century where kindness and cooperation take precedence over petty differences. It centres on Silas Marner, a weaver living in the

Characterizing Carbonated Soft Drink Industry in the US Case Study - 35

Characterizing Carbonated Soft Drink Industry in the US - Case Study Example According to the paper, the major soft drink companies include Coca-Cola and Pepsi. These companies are distributed all over the country each having branches and distributers in cities and towns. For instance, Coca-Cola North America and the Bottling Company of Southern California introduced Fanta and Manzana Lift. This came about because a research conducted showed that fruit-flavored drinks were the best choice for many Hispanics. Therefore, these two drinks are the ones that met the consumers’ preferences. Pepsi, a stiff competitor has Mountain Dew, which is the fourth best-selling soft drink in the U.S and best-flavored drink. To improve its marketing, they have commercials that only focus on the Hispanics among other diverse advertisements because ethnic markets are so profitable for these firms. This brand focuses mostly on teens and the 20-39 year population is its secondary market. Squirt soft drink originates from Great Depression of 1930 but Cadbury Schweppes was the main marketer for Squirt since 1993 until Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. took over since 1995. The drink came to market in 1938 and to heighten its market, the owners introduced an appeal called little squirt for advertisements, hence popularizing its recognition. After change of ownership in 1977, the drink rebranded its logo and due to new upcoming trends, squirt made the first low calorie drink in 1983. Squirt is bottled and distributed by 250 bottlers in America, a third are independent and some owned by Dr. Pepper/Seven Up, Inc. whereas two-thirds are part of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. This wide distribution makes it possible for supply of the product amounting to over 85% of Americans’ soft drink by volume. Squirt has a diverse range of products with diet and ruby red Squirts being the leading products having generated 20% of the total sales. Its products compete stiffly with those of Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the market.  

The Concept of Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Concept of Death - Essay Example Death relates to the end of an individual’s life. It defines a permanent and irreversible end of all fundamental functions like breathing. Death leads to a condition of being dead. Ideally, various definitions of death depend on distinct factors like religion, culture, age, and academic field. The paper addresses various definitions of the concept of death. It also defines the different perspectives adopted by children and adults about the concept of death. The paper equally defines the concept of death with respect to culture especially the Chinese culture. Ultimately, the paper draws my opinion on the definitions of the concept of death.  Legally, we can define death as a legal declaration by a person in authority that there is no need to continue offering medical assistance to a patient and that the patient is dead under the law. Furthermore, under medical terms we can define the concept of death as the end and cessation of all important body functions like breathing, thi nking, and thumping. We also have a Biblical meaning of the concept of death. Indeed, the Bible refers to the concept of death as a separation of two things (Elliott 1). The Bible refers to the concept of physical death as a separation between the body and the soul (Elliott 1). On the other hand, it refers to the concept of spiritual death as human separation from God (Elliott 1). Regardless of these definitions, it is clear that humans do not adore death and barely want to think about it. However, it is true that the concept of death is universal since everybody must experience at some point in life. As such, there is need to seek more understanding on the concept of death.  The understanding and perspective of the concept of death differ between children and adults. Indeed, the understanding of death changes as children grows and approach maturity. Adults always struggle to explain the concept of death to children (Speece 57-60). As such, adults should beware of how a child unde rstands death at different stages of child development.

The History of Literacy instruction in Spanish and in English Essay

The History of Literacy instruction in Spanish and in English - Essay Example At least one scholar, who is listed in the article, began to take on traditional concepts that had existed up until that time. In 1999, Goodman’s classic What’s Whole in Whole Language was written on the topic and, once translated into Spanish and Venezuela, came widely distributed among the region. The book was so popular that it was translated into English six years later. In the 1980s publications about literacy in Spanish began to reflect an understanding of the psycholinguistic view. As early as 1984, Dubois began questioning traditional, word-based approaches of teaching reading in favor of taking a psycholinguistic view. In 1989, Goodman’s classic What’s Whole in Whole Language was translated into Spanish in Venezuela and widely distributed throughout Latin America. The demand for the book was so great that it generated a newer translation into Spanish only six years later. When one scholar affiliated with the author moved to Mexico, the materials in the local schools were changed thanks to ideas and those of other constructivist educators. In fact, the first grade primer of the series tells one in the article that, â€Å"showed the drastic difference this text represented from the former government-approached text, Mi Libro Magido (My Magic Book), with its practice sheets that required students to repeat syllabus and practice penmanship. In the 1990’s the government started to take better control in controlling educational methods. According to the case study the practice of phonics is more likely to be constructive when students are taught the different sounds of words and then are taught be blend them together. Other, more traditional approaches take longer and a lot of people are opposed to change, but administrators, scholars, and teachers really believe they have something here being able to teach the same thing easier and in a shorter period of time. This is the mark of phonics

The Worst Disease That You Could Ever Get Essay Example for Free

The Worst Disease That You Could Ever Get Essay At first when this assignment was presented to us I planned to write something about the worst disease anyone could get. At first a lot of diseases came into my mind. I thought about cancer, AIDS, ulcers, thalassemia etc. But as I was surfing the net in order to find more information about one of those diseases I realized that there were so many diseases that were even worse than the ones I thought. I had had the chance to hear about some of them but when I read more about them I realized that I knew so little. Some of them may not be life threatening diseases but anyway it is hard for those people to live in that way. Healthy person has a million wishes, a sick one only one. Unfortunately, for this people, even the wishes wont help. Some examples of these kind of diseases may be: * PROGERIA = is an extremely rare genetic disease wherein symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at an early age. * Leontiasis Ossea (LION FACE SYNDROME ) = is a rare medical condition, characterized by an overgrowth of the facial and cranial bones. It is not a disease in itself, but a symptom of other diseases, including Pagets disease, fibrous dysplasia, hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodystrophy. * PORPHYRIA (THE VAMPIRE DISEASE) = The porphyrias are a group of rare inherited or acquired disorders of certain enzymes that normally participate in the production of porphyrins and heme. They manifest with either neurological complications or skin problems, or occasionally both. * NECROTISING FASCILITIS = commonly known as flesh-eating disease or flesh-eating bacteria syndrome, is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneou tissues, easily spreading across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous tissue. * FIBRODISPLASIA OSSIFICANNS PROGRESSIVA = sometimes referred to as Stone Man Syndrome, is an extremely rare disease of the connective tissue. A mutation of the bodys repair mechanism causes fibrous tissue (including muscle, tendon, and ligament) to be ossified when damaged. In many cases, injuries can cause joints to become permanently frozen in place. Surgical removal of the extra bone growths has been shown to cause the body to repair the affected area with more bone. But I would like to center my attention on two diseases of this kind. Grisi siknis Imagine yourself having dinner with your family when suddenly you fall into a trance-like state, your eyes roll back into your head, your body becomes rigid and you are completely oblivious to the outside world. All your family hears is swearing, grunts and painful groans coming from your taunt, stretched face. Your body suddenly goes into convulsions before you jump up attacking your family members or unseen assailants with all your strength (double what it was before you fell ill). You tear at your skin, pull out your hair, eat whatever roaches, spiders or insects are within reach and speak in tongues. Other victims are reported to have performed superhuman feats or they speak the names of the next to be infected, although it is not always accurate. During attacks, victims report mental visions in which devils or evil spirits come for them, and have sex with them. These victims will remain in this state for days or even weeks and they are completely unaware of what is going on and what they are doing during this period of time. It sounds like a horror film scene or something like that, doesn’t it? But that’s nothing more than the Grisi siknis. Grisi siknis (in Miskito language, means â€Å"crazy sickness†) is a contagious, culture-bound syndrome that occurs predominantly among the Miskito People of eastern Central America and affects mainly young girls from 15 to 18 years old. According to western physicians this is classified as a dissociative fugue, which is distinguished by impulsive travel and amnesia, identity uncertainty, stress, and impediment to normal social function. It is most often related to intense emotional stress, emotional upset, worry, fear and general anxiety (whereas Miskito tradition holds that Grisi siknis is caused by possession by evil spirits). But despite the western physicians theories the Grisi siknis can be treated only by traditional Miskito healing methods. The Miskito healers may use vapor baths, herbal remedies, exposure to dead people, pregnant women and various meats etc. Ondines curse What about the Odine’s curse?! Have you ever heard about that? According to the French folk tale Odine was a breathtaking beautiful nymph. But as we all know if a nymph or mermaid falls in love with a human and bears his child than she will â€Å"lose† her immortality. That is what happened to Odine when she saw the handsome Palemon. When Palemon saw Odine, he was taken by her incredible beauty, as well. Eventually thay fell in love and got married (after Palemon broke his engagement with the young Berta). When they  exchanged the wedding oaths, Palemon vowed that My every waking breath shall be my pledge of love and faithfulness to you. The following year Odine gave birth to their son and as a consequence she lost her immortality. After a long period of time things began to change until finally Odine found her husband lay sleeping with his arms wrapped around his former fianceà © Berta. Having sacrificed her immortality for this man, she was filled with anger and regret. She woke him and uttered her curse. You pledged faithfulness to me with your every waking breath and I accepted that pledge. So be it. For as long as you are awake, you shall breathe. But should you ever fall into sleep, that breath will desert you. Ondine still retained some of her magic . . . enough to make the curse come true. ****** Ondines curse, also called congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) or primary alveolar hypoventilation, is a respiratory disorder that is fatal if untreated. Persons afflicted with Ondines curse classically suffer from respiratory arrest during sleep. It is is congenital or developed due to severe neurological trauma to the brainstem. In other words these patients should make a voluntary breathing; if they forget to do so then the consequences would be fatal. The symptoms of this disease are: * tumors of the sympathetic ganglia * difficulty swallowing * anomalies of the pupilla * darkening of skin color * drowsiness * fatigue * headaches * inability to sleep at night etc.

Global Recruitment Market Report Essay Example for Free

Global Recruitment Market Report Essay http://www.aarkstore.com/reports/Global-Recruitment-Market-Report-2012-Edition-12373.html One of the major industries which move in tandem with the global economic condition is recruitment industry, also known as staffing industry. Recruitment is the process of attracting, screening, and selecting a qualified person (from within or outside of an organization) for a job opening. The types and sources of recruitment are of 2 types viz. Internal and External recruitment. Considering the structure of the global recruitment industry, the overall staffing market can be bifurcated in two major segments: General staffing and Professional staffing. Furthermore, the sub segments of general and professional staffing include Temporary staffing, Permanent staffing and Outsourcing. As of now, the general staffing segment which takes into account the staffing of the semi-skilled and lower wage blue collar workers overshadowed the professional staffing segment in terms of market share, which is constituted by the high skilled and higher wage professionals staffing. At present, on account of the ameliorating economic condition all across the globe, the recruitment industry is also growing at a swift pace. In addition, a substantial share of production activities is inclining towards the developing nations/emerging countries, because of the cost benefits, the recruitment market is poised to gain momentum from the same in the near future. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the global staffing industry along with the coverage of major regional markets like North America (The US and Canada), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, UK, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), Asia (India and Japan) and Australia, describing the market size, segmentation, and employment/unemployment rates. Some of the major trends and developments studied include the deployment of supplier management strategies like VMS, MSP, RPO, HRO, industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, and the quick penetration of online recruitment sources especially in the US. Moreover, there are certain underlying growth drivers such as the improving global economic scenario and increasing employment. Since employment is closely correlated to the world GDP, augmentation in the GDP in the years to come will expedite the growth of recruitment market. But in line with these growth drivers, there also exist some challenges and issues which potentially hinder the growth of recruitment industry on regional basis. A couple of these challenges include lack of skilled workers and stringent regulatory obligations by which the staffing agencies are bound to abide. Moreover, the global staffing/recruitment market is fiercely competitive and highly fragmented with numerous global and national players in fray, vying for the market share. Also, the top four players account for about one-fifth of the total revenues of the industry. On the global level, Adecco Group is the leading player followed by Randstad and Manpower. The four largest companies in the recruitment industry, Adecco, Randstad, Manpower and Kelly Services are profiled. By combining SPSS Inc.’s data integration and analysis capabilities with our relevant findings, we have predicted the future growth of the industry. We employed various significant variables that have an impact on this industry and created regression models with SPSS Base to determine the future direction of the industry. Before deploying the regression model, the relationship between several independent or predictor variables and the dependent variable was analyzed using standard SPSS output, including charts, tables, and tests.

Father Involvement in Child Welfare Services

Father Involvement in Child Welfare Services Substance addicted fathers fail to provide a safe environment that focuses on the needs of their children. While inebriated, fathers may believe they are being attentive to their children, while in reality, they tend to act on their own feelings and disregard their children’s needs and become unpredictable. Sometimes a substance addicted father will have periods of presence and periods of absence from his child’s life. At one moment, he may provide his child with security, and another, he may inflict fear. Paternal substance abuse undermines the ability to give adequate care to children and overall, the ability to support his family. Fathers with a drug addiction are judged to be irresponsible and deemed incompetent as parents. The wives of these men are implicitly left with the responsibility to care for their children with some help from child welfare services. Although, fathers exist in the lives of women and children involved with child welfare authorities, they are rarely seen by the child welfare professionals themselves. Substance abusing men tend to avoid social services due to lack of paternal responsibility, cross gender communication, and hyper-masculinity. In the article â€Å"Engaging Fathers in Child Welfare Services: A Narrative Review of Recent Research Evidence†, Social Workers Nina Maxwell, Jonathan Scourfield, Brid Featherstone, Sally Holland, and Richard Tolman found that only thirty-three percent of mothers identified the father when asked (163). Fathers are reluctant in participating in social cases, therefore may threaten the mothers to leave them out of it. Mothers may withhold the father’s identify out of fear about letting the father know that child welfare services are involved, fear that the father may be incarcerated, and fear of the father’s reaction, especially in cases involving domestic violence. These fears reinforce the idea that women are subordinate to men. Since she is fearful of her child’s father to be able to reveal his identity, the mother cannot receive the much needed, proper assistance from her social case worker. Even if the mother were to reveal the identity of her children ’s father, it is likely for him to evade contact from child welfare. Fathers avoid contact with child welfare staff. In a focus group study, Maxwell and her colleagues found that these fathers had a wide range of explanations for the avoidance. These included fear that they cannot be good fathers for their children, fear that the involvement with the child welfare system will worsen their problems with the criminal justice system, fear that relationships with current partners not related to the child would be affected, and a perception that the system is not there to help them (164). The concerns expressed by these fathers are a prime example that substance-abusing fathers are selfish because they are only interested in fulfilling their own desires, rather than meeting their children’s needs. Social policy makers have been trying to involve fathers more in their children’s lives by increasing child support payments, but it is done so in the best interest of the child. Over the past few years, social policy makers have made an effort to increase the participation of fathers in their children’s lives, by providing child support to the children’s mother. The income of a father, who is not living with his children, can by affected by child support obligations in several ways. For example, if a father recently received an additional income of five hundred dollars a month, his child support payments might increase by one-hundred and twenty-five dollars (Lerman 69). Increased incomes have higher taxes and when combined with increased child support orders, it lowers a fathers’ profit each month, causing them to reduce their work effect. It is found that rigorous enforcement by the child support system could cause fathers to shift from formal to informal or underground work, which makes it more difficult for the government to track true income. Child welfare professionals acknowledge that some fathers are committed to their children, many others are not. In her study â€Å"Child Welfare Professional’s Experiences in Engaging Fathers in Services†, Professor Mahasin F. Saleh found that sixty percent of substances abusing men associated in social services cases lack paternal responsibility (126). The lack of father responsibility includes father absence, denial of paternity, alcohol or drug abuse, blaming the mother, incarceration for various reasons, and maltreatment. One child welfare professional recalls, â€Å"They don’t believe. They took the paternity test and then it’s ‘I want a blood test’. And some of them disappear because they feel like they’re not the father. That’s hard, too, getting them engaged when they don’t want to believe† (Saleh 126). This example exemplifies a lack of father responsibility. Substance addicted men deny responsibilities tha t come with paternal identity, because they view the responsibilities as a burden, and often want nothing to do with it. This father figure is self-absorbed, abusive, and driven by addiction and carelessness. Child Welfare Professionals have shared that fathers who neglect their children are found to be more verbally abusive and threatening during counseling (Saleh 127). Fathers view social counseling as a vehicle for women to process their emotions and that â€Å"strong† men do not attend counseling. Hyper-masculinity causes a man to maintain a rigid gender role script (Guerrero 137). The hyper-masculine man is prepared to challenge any real or imagined taunts from other men with violence. Men have a high sense of pride when it comes to his manhood. In 2013, the National Association of Social Workers conducted a membership workforce study and reported that eighty-two percent of social workers working full time were female (Whitaker Arrington 9). Since a majority of social workers are female, a father is reluctant to comply and subject to the words of a woman. Masculine fathers do not like to hear something from women, and they may get angry when working with female social workers , because they feel like women are trying to tell them what to do. A hyper-masculine man’s attitudes towards women are usually those of sexual or physical subjugation. A female social worker from Saleh’s case study recalls multiple times that she had to deal with male clients who had expressed romantic interests in her (130). Experiences similar to these make it difficult for female case workers to deal with a situation professionally. There are many instances when the social worker is confronted with a father that has not only has neglected his kids through his ignorance. Most of the time, they never admit they are at fault. Fathers exist in the lives of women and children involved with child welfare authorities, and yet, they are rarely seen by child welfare. These fathers are seen as deviant, dangerous, irresponsible and irrelevant, and even further, how absence in child welfare is inevitably linked to blaming mothers. In failing to work with fathers, child welfare ignores potential risks and assets for both mothers and children. Social workers are encouraged to focus on mothers as being the protective parent, whereas fathers are considered as risks and damage potential, due to neglect, abuse, and substance addiction. In the article â€Å"Manufacturing Ghost Fathers: the Paradox of Father Presence and Absence in Child Welfare†, Leslie Brown, Marilyn Callahan, Susan Strega, Christopher Walmsley, and Lena Dominelli reveals that over sixty percent of fathers associated with child welfare are identified as a risk to children and are not contacted. Similarly, fifty percent of these men were not conta cted when they were considered ricks to the mothers (26). Mothers are responsible for the care and protection of children even when they are victims of domestic violence. Child welfare holds mothers responsible for monitoring the behavior of the men in the children’s lives, essentially contracting out the surveillance of men to mothers (Chuang 457). They are expected to fill the role of both parents and further expected to mediate the relationships between children and fathers, as well as between fathers, and professionals. While inebriated, a father may believe he is performing his fatherly duties to the best of his abilities, but in reality he is oblivious to what is happening in the environment around him, including his children. The appearance of a social worker at his home is detrimental to his mental state as a father. In a way, he may view it as insulting. The father may not realize the dangers that he put his children in as a result of his negligence. The father is too proud to realize his mistakes and may want to blame outside sources. Unfortunately, this results in an agitated and distraught way of thinking, which could result in more negligence and abuse to their families (Burrus et al. 212). Substance abusing fathers often lose custody of their children. With help from social services, mothers are able to collect child support from their children’s fathers. Since a majority of social workers are female, males feel like their manhood is undermined when they speak to these women. These fathers try to avoid any instances of conference with social workers, because they feel it may affect their life that is unassociated through relations with the child. This shows how selfish and incompetent substance-abusing fathers are. Mothers are subordinate to fathers due to fears of reactions of the fathers finding out the involvement of social services (Brodie et al. 36). Many substance abusing fathers are invisible when it comes to their children. The lack of insight to his own problems causes a father to become invisible to himself and his child’s needs. If a man cannot handle his own feelings and problems, there is no chance he will be able to handle and resolve a child’s or be able to see his development. In the state of intoxication, fathers become self-absorbed and forgetful about what happens in the world around them. Substance abusing fathers are associated as being neglecting, abusive, destruction, and often insignificant. Fathers struggle to fulfill the role of the ideal role model to his children.

The Second World War (WWII) - Identities Honored :: World War 2 II Two

JOE FOSS PAGE Joe Foss was born in 1915 to a Norwegian-Scots family in South Dakota. He learned hunting and marksmanship at a young age. Joe Foss was inspired by Charles Lindbergh, especially after he saw Lindy at an airport near Sioux Falls. Five years later he watched a Marine squadron put on a dazzling exhibition, led by Capt. Clayton Jerome, future wartime Director of Marine Corps Aviation. In 1934, Joe began his college education in Sioux Falls, but he had to drop out to help his mother run the family farm. However he scraped up $65 for private flying lessons. Five years later he entered the University of South Dakota again and supported himself by waiting on tables. In his senior year he also completed a civilian pilot training program before he graduated with a Business degree in 1940. When he graduated he enlisted in the Marine Corps reserves as an aviation cadet. Seven months later, he earned his Marine wings at Pensacola and was commissioned a second lieutenant. For the next nine months he was a "plowback" flight instructor. He was at Pensacola when he was notified about Pearl Harbor, and since he was Officer of the Day, he was placed in charge of base security. Thus he prepared to defend Pensacola from Jap invaders, riding around the perimeter on a bicycle. He was then ordered to the aerial photographers school and assigned to a VMO-1, a photo reconnaissance squadron. But he insisted he wanted fighter pilot duty, even after being told he was to old at the age of 27. After lengthy lobbying with Aircraft Carrier Training Group, he learned all about the new F4F Wildcat, logging over 150 flight hours in June and July. When he finished training, he became executive officer of VMF-121. Three weeks later, he was on his way to the South Pacific, where Americans were fighting t change the momentum of the war. Arriving in the South Pacific, VMF-121 was loaded aboard the escort carrier Copahee. Joe Foss fits well into this book because he is an example of an ambiti ous leader and at this time of need thats what was very important. Joe Foss was one of the success stories of his age. He represented his generation well and is commended with a story in this book. GEORGE SHULTZ George Shultz was a man who accomplished many things in his life. He graduated from Princeton University in 1942 and recieved a B.

Super Athletes :: Essays Papers

Super Athletes In the last ten years there has been a drastic change in professional athletics. Players are coming out of college much bigger, faster, and stronger than players of the past. When players reach the High School level of sports it is forced upon them that their sport is twelve months long, and it is basically a job. Players are expected to run and condition, as well as lift weights every day in the off-season. Players training so hard and so much they come out of college fully matured and developed. Jevone Kearse of the Tennessee Titans was given the nickname, â€Å"The Freak, due to his massive size, amazing speed, and phenomenal strength his rookie year in the NFL. Players are much bigger than they were twenty years ago. In 1979 the NFL's heaviest offensive lineman, Max Montoya of the Bengals, weighed 285 pounds. At the NFL scouting combine in February, 48 of 53 offensive linemen weighed more than 300 pounds (Oehser 2). The receivers are still fast, and the fastest guys these days are generally as fast as they were then. The difference is in who is running these speeds. As an example former Cowboys wide receiver and Olympic gold-medal sprinter Bob Hayes, ran a 4.4 forty yard dash, and he weighed 185 pounds. Jevon Kearse is 30 pounds heavier and he runs only 3/10 of a second slower in his forty yard dash (Oehser 2). Athletes are driven by a fierce competitiveness to achieve at the highest levels. Athletes in professional sports getting bigger, faster, and stronger, has led to drastic changes in the entire world of sports. More frequent and severe injuries are occurring, which is leading to changes in rules, and proposed changes for current rules. Equipment has also changed along with demands according to the physique of the players. Some have proposed changes in size and dimensions of the playing field in both the NHL and NBA. As players continue to get bigger, stronger and faster, the collisions between them cause more and more serious injuries. In the first four weeks of play in the NFL in 2001 there were 22 serious injuries, with five cases resulting in broken bones, eleven players tearing ligaments in their knees, and six severe sprains (King 106). With bone shattering collisions due to increased player speed and size, leagues have been forced to change rules and policies on hitting and contact between players.

Franz Kafkas Life Reflected in his Work, The Metamorphosis Essay

Franz Kafka's Life Reflected in his Work, The Metamorphosis The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka is considered one of the few great, poetic works of the twentieth century. Addressing The Metamorphosis, Elias Canetti, a Nobel Prize-winning author, has commented, "In The Metamorphosis Kafka has reached the height of his mastery: he has written something which he could never surpass, because there is nothing which The Metamorphosis could be surpassed by - one of the few great, perfect poetic works of this century" (http://www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/m4lec5a.htm). There are many symbolisms and parallelisms used in the story. "[Kafka's] disturbing, symbolic fiction, especially The Metamorphosis, written in German, [not] only prefigures the oppression and despair of the late 20th century" but also is an account of the dramatic transformations that had occurred during his own life ("Kafka Franz", Funk?, 2000). This beautifully written masterpiece of Kafka's is clearly symbolic of his own life and nightmare-like life experiences he had with his father . "Suppose all that you have always valued in your life was shown to be an illusion. What if your precious beliefs, maxims, platitudes, and traditions were inverted and distorted beyond recognition? You suddenly realize that what is good is bad; what is beauty is foul; what is virtue, vice. What if all your points of reference were to shift: North becomes South; black becomes white; deviant becomes saint; saint becomes deviant. Suppose that this transformation - a metamorphosis of perception - were to come to you and you alone. Suddenly you awake, and in utter solitude you discover that your values have reversed along with you: you are a roach!" (http://www.vr.net/~herzogbr/kafka/). Yo... ...s. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. New York: Norton, 1996. 61-74. Corngold, Stanley. "Preface." The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney: Bantan, 1972. xi Kafka, Franz. "Explanatory Notes To The Text." The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney: Bantan, 1972. 77. Kafka, Franz. "Documents." The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney: Bantan, 1972. 103-112. Madden, William A. "A Myth of Mediation: Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'." THOUGHT XXVI.101 (Summer 1951): 246-66. Rpt. in "Kafka, Franz." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1996. 210-213. "Franz Kafka." Encyclopedia Of World Biogarphy. 2nd ed. 1998. "KAFKA, Franz." Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. CD-ROM . World Almanac Education Group. 2000. "Metamorphosis by Kafka." http://www.vr.net/~herzogbr/kafka/meta09.html Franz Kafka's Life Reflected in his Work, The Metamorphosis Essay Franz Kafka's Life Reflected in his Work, The Metamorphosis The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka is considered one of the few great, poetic works of the twentieth century. Addressing The Metamorphosis, Elias Canetti, a Nobel Prize-winning author, has commented, "In The Metamorphosis Kafka has reached the height of his mastery: he has written something which he could never surpass, because there is nothing which The Metamorphosis could be surpassed by - one of the few great, perfect poetic works of this century" (http://www.mala.bc.ca/~mcneil/m4lec5a.htm). There are many symbolisms and parallelisms used in the story. "[Kafka's] disturbing, symbolic fiction, especially The Metamorphosis, written in German, [not] only prefigures the oppression and despair of the late 20th century" but also is an account of the dramatic transformations that had occurred during his own life ("Kafka Franz", Funk?, 2000). This beautifully written masterpiece of Kafka's is clearly symbolic of his own life and nightmare-like life experiences he had with his father . "Suppose all that you have always valued in your life was shown to be an illusion. What if your precious beliefs, maxims, platitudes, and traditions were inverted and distorted beyond recognition? You suddenly realize that what is good is bad; what is beauty is foul; what is virtue, vice. What if all your points of reference were to shift: North becomes South; black becomes white; deviant becomes saint; saint becomes deviant. Suppose that this transformation - a metamorphosis of perception - were to come to you and you alone. Suddenly you awake, and in utter solitude you discover that your values have reversed along with you: you are a roach!" (http://www.vr.net/~herzogbr/kafka/). Yo... ...s. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. New York: Norton, 1996. 61-74. Corngold, Stanley. "Preface." The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney: Bantan, 1972. xi Kafka, Franz. "Explanatory Notes To The Text." The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney: Bantan, 1972. 77. Kafka, Franz. "Documents." The Metamorphosis. Trans. and Ed. Corngold, Stanley. Sydney: Bantan, 1972. 103-112. Madden, William A. "A Myth of Mediation: Kafka's 'Metamorphosis'." THOUGHT XXVI.101 (Summer 1951): 246-66. Rpt. in "Kafka, Franz." Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1996. 210-213. "Franz Kafka." Encyclopedia Of World Biogarphy. 2nd ed. 1998. "KAFKA, Franz." Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia. CD-ROM . World Almanac Education Group. 2000. "Metamorphosis by Kafka." http://www.vr.net/~herzogbr/kafka/meta09.html

Myth on Aging Essay

There are many misconceptions when we talk about sex especially to old age generation. During the first day of class in HS 107, we talked about myths on aging. According to many people, they believed that â€Å"Majority of old people have no interest in, nor capacity for, sexual relations† (Facts on Aging Quiz). In our society, many people believe that older adults do not have sex when they reach the certain old age. Many argue that as you grow older your body becomes frail, thus, decreasing and diminishing sexual desire. Others believe that the sex â€Å"belong to the younger generations† (Schwartz, 2012). Since older adults are more prone to chronic disease, this means that we assume that they do not have a desire on having sexual intercourse. This myth persists This myth continues because not everyone has an open-mind when it comes to talking about older adults’ lifestyle. Many people believe that older adults should stay at home because they are fragile, and should not have any sexual thoughts anymore. Most of us believe that older adults that have sexual intercourse can give complications and might risk their health. Many younger generations including college students feel that it is uncomfortable when talking about older generations having sex. â€Å"College students were more surprised and disgusted by incidents of sexuality of those who were 70 to 75 than those who were 30 to 35† (Lochlainn & Kenny, 2013). Many in younger generations do not believe that older adults still have sex, and they feel appalled when somebody talks about it. Not only our generation avoids this issue, but the health care field as well. Langer-Most and Langer (2010) showed results that many doctors show very little interest when it comes to talking about sexual interaction with older adults. Many of them argued that this population does not have sex occasionally and it can be risky for their health. According to Connolly et al. (2012), when they asked physicians on whether they ask their patients about they sex life, they replied as being embarrassing for their profession. This is appalling of how a health care provider does not talk about sexual interaction when it comes to older generations. Because of embarrassment, many people closes this discussion and over generalize that older adults does not have any interest or have sex at all. The Reality Older Adults have interest and capacity for sexual interactions. Despite of getting older, many people still have sex whether younger generations like it or not. Regular sexual activity is a normal event, as you get older. There are several evidences that older generations tend to have sexual relations. According to Connolly et al. (2012), the study found that, â€Å"Among respondents ages 75-85, 54% of sexually active person reported having sex at least 2-3 times a month, and 23 percent reported having sex once a week or more. † This shows that our myth is not true that older adults do not have any interest when it comes to sexual interaction. Aging does not mean that once you hit a certain age, you will stop having interest on sex. Bradford and Meston (2007) accentuates that â€Å"Sexuality in older adults is often misunderstood, misrepresented or simply invisible. † We tend to avoid these conversations. Many of us over generalized and judge older people when they tell us that they have sex. Many people are being judged, which is harder for them to open and ask for help with these types of issue. We believe that older adults having sex is not necessary. However, according to Bradford and Meston (2007) studies have shown and according to â€Å"National Council on Aging (2005) reported that 71% of mean in their 60s and 57% of mean in their 70s engaged in sexual activity at least once per month. The studies have shown that there are greater amount of older adults that have sexual relations that we have normally expected. For older adults, it is normal for them to have sex; though we do not believe that this is true. Bradford and Meston (2007) explains that according to â€Å"American Association of Retired Persons reported that 62 % of mean and 51% of women between ages 60 and 69 believed that sexual activity is an important component of a good relationship. † Their study have shown older men and women have sex in order to continue their good relationship with their significant other since their intimacy is not the same as before. It is a positive aspect to have sex with your loved one when you get older. This way, you both can still connect despite of what you experience while getting older. As you grow older your body tends to slow down, which makes it harder to have sex when you suffer with some illness. However, this does not mean that you cannot have sex when your body starts to weaken, as you grow older. Mauk (2008) argued, â€Å"Normal aging changes include [†¦] diminished sex hormones. † Our sex hormones decreases as you grow older, but this does not mean we completely stop or does not have interest with sexual relations. Many older adults compromise with their illness when it comes to sex. For men, they experience erectile dysfunction, and the most common problem is achieving or maintaining an erection during the intercourse (Lochlainn & Kenny, 2013). Older men have these reproductive problems, and it is difficult for them to have sex when you have this issue. As for women, menopausal is the problem. When a woman reaches the menopausal stage, their vaginal wall begins to get thinner, and the lubrication production decreases. Despite of their complications with their reproductive system, most of them seek for an advice and try to compromise in order to attain and continue their sexual relationships with their significant other. However, due to overgeneralization and prejudice, many older adults are embarrassed to seek for help even to health professionals. Lochlainn and Kenny (2013) states that, â€Å"5% of older women volunteered their sexual problems during office visits, 85. 3% of men with erectile dysfunction wanted help, but only 10. 4% mean received medical care. † Not many older adults seek for help because of the stigma that our society is impelling. Many providers underestimate patient risk, and lack the knowledge and comfort to discuss questions about sexual dysfunction or satisfaction with older patients (Langer-Most & Langer, 2010). Many patient providers do not have adequate training on how to approach the older adults’ issue because of the stigma. The doctors are embarrassed and they feel it is a humiliation to his/her profession when they open the sex issue for older adults. Additionally, older adults tend to be excluded from studies because many professionals that they have a lower chance of getting diseases such as HIV/AIDS, and a very low chance of getting pregnant. Thus, there have only been a few doctors that have enough knowledge when it comes educating older adults on how to compromise with their body or how to prevent of getting infected with sexual transmitted diseases. Media have also contributed with the ageism regarding with sexual relations among older adults. â€Å"[†¦] One reason for the negative attitudes of older person could be the media’s portrayal of the elderly as frail and asexual† (Lochlainn & Kenny, 2013). Many of the movies, and other shows displays that older adults are very sensitive and delicate. Thus, we overgeneralize that older adults does not have interest with sex. Social Actions The study among older adults that is being conducted nowadays is beginning to grow. Thus, it is a big start when it comes to social actions. Many professionals begin to take a step and start learning more about older adults’ lifestyle. There have been several studies that we have encountered when it comes to sexual relationships among older adults. Researchers have found ways and suggest several solutions. Since health professionals does not know how to approach older adults with this issue, Langer-Most and Langer (2010) suggests having a positive attitude regardless of their ethnicity, gender level, and age. Also, researchers have suggested on conducting educational programs for health professionals regarding with sexuality and aging. A resource fair conducted by SJSU is another social action for senior citizens, which they approach older adults and educate them about their body. Hartford Institute of Geriatric Nursing educates health practitioners and nurses on how to approach older adults when it comes to this sensitive matter. They know that it is significant to teach providers in order for the older adults to be more comfortable with their doctors. They conduct seminars to other hospitals to educate people in the health field. Most of all, many well-known universities such as SJSU embraced the geriatric field and educate many college students that most of the myths are not true when it comes to older generations. Sex is an important part in life, and we have to be sensitive and accept the fact that older adults tend to have sex, and it is part of the normal life. References Bradford, A. , and Meston, C. M. (2007). Senior Sexual Health: The Effects of Aging on Sexuality. Innovations In Clinical Practice: Focus on Sexual Health. 35-45. Connolly, M. , Breckman, R. , Callahan, J. , Lachs, M. , Ramsey-Klawsnik, H. , & Solomon, J. (2012). The Sexual Revolution’s Last Frontier: How Silence About Sex Undermines Health, Well-being, and Safety In Old Age. Generations. 36(3), 43-52. Kristen, M. PhD RN (2008). Myths of Aging. ARN Network. Langer-Most, O. , and Langer, Nieli. (2010). Aging and Sexuality: How Much Do Gynecologists Know and Care. Journal of Women and Aging. 22, 283-289. Doi:10. 1080/08952841. 2010. 518882 Lochlainn, M. N. , and Kenny, R. A. (2013). Sexual Activity On Aging. Journal Of The American Medical Directors Association. Doi:10. 1016/j. jamda. 2013. 01. 022 Wallace, M. PhD (2013). Best Practices in Nursing Care to Older Adults: Sexuality. Dermatology Nursing. 15(6).

Is a College Education Necessary to Succeed in Life Essay

Education is the key that opens the door to all life has to offer. The benefits of a good education, enhanced vision, increased motivation, and improved performance is crucial to being successful in life. Success belongs to those who acquire a good education. Enhanced vision. Getting a good education can help you gain a better view of what you are capable of doing. Education gives a person an enhanced sense of personal control (Schieman and Plickert, 2008). Sound theoretical and empirical research has established that educational attainment is the critical first step in improving communication skills, improving relationship skills and improving your life (Schieman and Plickert, 2008). The most important thing to remember about education is education is the most important element that can help you increase your personal control in life. Increased motivation. Acquiring a good education can also help you improve your station in life. Abraham Maslow believed that what motivates people is a hierarchy of needs beginning at the most basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing and ending in self actualization (Wilson and Madsen, 2008). Maslow believed individuals have the ability through education to become whatever they want to become because the individual has an ability to learn (Wilson and Madsen, 2008). Through using this ability to learn and acquiring education you can find success and you can find the power to change your life. Increased performance Improving your education will improve your chance for success. Getting a good education has a tendency to make you feel good about yourself. When you begin to feel good your life takes on a new meaning and you are able to cast off the garments of a meaningless life and put on the garments of a meaningful life (The humanist, 1992). This change is accomplished through the renewal of your dreams. When you start dreaming again you will begin to learn through structured programs of learning, from friends and family, from daily experiences, and from self reflection (Teare, 1997). Learning will become a fun thing to do. Finally, education equips you with the critical career and life skills that lead to a successful life (Hays, 2008). When you learn through education to listen, have empathy, start caring about life, become persuasive, become aware of the world in which you live, develop foresight or vision, start seeing the big picture, become committed to your growth as a person, become concerned about doing the right thing, and realize that you are a small part of a greater whole (Hays, 2008) then you will be well on your way to being successful in life and will have proved that people really do need education to succeed. References Hays, J. M. (2008). Teacher as servant: Applications of Greenleaf’s servant leadership in higher education. Journal of Global Business Issues, 2(1), 113. Retrieved form ABI/INFORM Global database. Schieman, S. and Plickert, G. (2008). How knowledge is power: Education and the sense of control. Social Forces, 87(1), 153. Retrieved March 31, 2009, from ProQuest Multiple databases.

Effect of reading culture on students performance

It is in light of this that the researcher decided to weigh and find out the impact one of the most important organization in the educational system has on the achievement of his aim ‘the library' in doing this the researcher used a student-librarian perception questionnaire to gather information. The sample consisted of 10 students who were seated in the library at the time the questionnaire was distributed and 10 librarians of Abs fauna library of Diadems College of Education. A percentages as well as T-test analysis of mean scores gotten from analysis of respondents' were computed and analyzed in tables.Findings show that there is no significant difference between students and librarians responses to the impact of reading culture on students' performance. (TCL=3. 3, t-critic=l . 73, at pScholars have proposed different definitions of reading. Item (2008) said that reading is the corner stone of learning; it is the ability to glean meaning from printed symbols. Scabbards (200 7) quoting Galilee describes reading as reasoning involving the meaningful interpretation of words, phrases and sentences requiring all types of thinking such as critical, analytical, creative, imaginative, evaluative, judgmental, and problem solving. Similarly, Babushka (1984) explained that through reading an individual over a period of suitable exposure can acquire efficiency, skill and a set of behavior sin both linguistics and psycholinguistics.Reading therefore consists of complex psycholinguistic processes of identifications, mental integration research and application of written language symbols. It serves as a link between printed symbols and meaning attached to these symbols. Thus achieving interaction between the author and the reader. Despite these assertions and government efforts in developing libraries, reading culture is still at its lowest level among Nigerian students. Poor development of libraries and paucity of reading materials and lack of adequate reading envir onments in Nigerian school system stifles the growth of reading culture.To worsen the situation, all the colleges of education in Nigeria no longer run programmer n library science (JAMB, 2007). Thus the colleges that would be a fertile ground for the training of teacher librarian no longer offer such courses. A pertinent question to this research is what is reading culture? How does the library help to develop reading culture among students especially in the higher institutions of learning, and what factors affect the library effectiveness on this pursing this course. Reading culture is the use of reading as a regular activity.It is the cultivation of an attitude and possession Of skills that make reading a pleasurable, regular and constant activity. Reading ultra is identified as the single most important determination of a student's success in education in our modern education, incomes, skills development and fulfilled employment. The importance and benefits of reading culture ca nnot be over-emphasized. It provides individual's welfare, greater academic performance of students since a student who learns to read, reads to learn, It also provides skills knowledge and right attitude that frees one from boredom or idleness.It as well widens students' general knowledge. It is therefore one of the tools for achieving qualitative education. Finally, poor eating culture among our students has brought our education to the background just as we relegated the relevance of library Purpose of Study The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of of libraries on the development of reading culture among students in tertiary institutions. Specifically, the study will examine the following I. How reading culture affects the academic performance of students II. Whether and how the library creates an enabling ground for the development of reading culture.Significance of the Study This study aims at finding out the impact of libraries on the development of eatin g culture among students in tertiary' institutions. Its findings therefore are to be of value to government agencies and policy makers who aims to tackle the problems of reading culture and poor academic performance among tertiary students. It will also be relevant to students who wish to develop their reading habits as well as librarians to know measures that can encourage real patronage and use of the library materials for self- development.Finally this research will improve reading culture among Nigerian students in general and in Diadems College of Education since some f the required enabling environment is already in place. Statement of hypothesis The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study; 1 . Reading culture improves the academic performance of students 2. The library creates an enabling ground for the development of reading culture. Conceptual approach to reading culture Horny (2002), sees reading culture as reading behavior which is mainly done often becaus e it has been established.According to Nines (2002), reading culture means learning tendencies that enable student work privately. Aweigh (1 998), describe reading culture as the way and manner a student Lana his or her private reading outside teaching hours in order to master a particular subject or topic. Scabbards(2007) defined reading culture as when an individual habitually and regularly read books. According to Van (2001) reading culture is seen as an â€Å"active intervention to open up reading choices, increase readers' enjoyment and offer opportunities for people to share their experiences†.Inside (2008), described reading culture as the process of building up positive attitude among students and children over a period Of time. He added that reading culture is the kind of culture that imbibes eating and studying as the basis of growth and development. Though it is better to inculcate reading culture right from a tender age, so that it can be imbibed as growth takes p lace, it is important to emphasis that is better late than never. It is in light of this that reading culture is being taught, promoted and advocated right from a tender age of a child in every serious and more developed nation of the world.Importance of reading culture According to Knick and hussy's (2006) through reading, children knowledge base is enhanced, intellect sharpen and misconception eroded. Good authenticating helps the student in critical reflection in skills outcomes, such as selecting, analyzing critiquing and synthesizing. Fielded (2004) observed that children can get information through reading which is an essential tool is indispensable in the decision making process Of individuals and organizations van (2000). According to Gadded (2003) reading is a means of proficiency and excellence in all human endeavourers.It is through reading that mind is enriched and knowledge is acquired, Undue (1997) observed that extensive reading is the most obvious way for children to enrich their vocabulary. On the same view, Horton (1983) added that the more a student reads, the more background knowledge he acquires of other peoples way of behavior and thought. Reading is clearly essential for the development of human intellectual but also a most controversial of all subjects. It is an essential social skill and must be practiced often in order to acquire and develop good reading culture.Payoffs (1995) in her study extensively discussed pursuit and submitted that it promotes a deep awareness and build the child up emotionally and intellectually. Similarly, crasher (1993), brilliantly illustrates owe reading culture benefits students achievement. He remarked that, â€Å"children or young adults read more when they see other people reading the longer free reading is practiced, the more consistent and positive the results and that people who read more write better†. He then, submitted that reading as a leisure activity is best predicted of comprehension, v ocabulary and reading speed of students.According to Sati (2002), reading culture influences in the promotion Of ons personal development in particular and social progress in general. He added that, â€Å"Regular and systematic reading harpers the intellect, refines the emotions, alleviates taste and provides perspectives for ones living; and thereby prepares a person for an effective participation in the social, religious, culture and political life, reading fires the imagination of the person, it adds new sight to eyes and new wisdom to mind. Skunked (2007), points out that an individual who reads widely is empowered because knowledge is one of the best tools an individual can get. According to Hussy (2007), reading is the foundation upon which other academic skills are built because through reading, information can be acquired which bridges the gap between knowledge and ignorance. Tell and sneaked (2007) assert that ability to read is at the heart of self education, lifelong lea rning and that is an arty capable of transforming life and society.An individual who reads well has a means of widening mental horizons and for multiplying opportunities of success. Reading is a vital factor affecting intellectual and emotional growth. Sir Richard Steele has logically quoted, â€Å"reading is to the mind what exercise is to body'. Reading for a student is very important for the development of language skills. It also indispensable tool or achieving emotional stability, enjoying leisure hours, sharing experiences which are encountered in books, and for keeping abstract of what is happening inside the world at large.It is for this reason that students, librarians teachers, parents and all concerned with the emotional, educational and cultural development of children must help them to cultivate a healthy reading culture. Role of Libraries in Development of Reading Culture. Libraries play vital role in the worlds system of education and information storage and retrieva l. The library makes available through books, journal, alms, recordings and other media knowledge that has been accumulated for ages.