The Branches of Government Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Branches of Government - Research Paper Example This is inclusive of the president who also cannot function as they please. Other parties in the government also have the right to impose the vote of no confidence on the president. Due to the tendency of many governments to usurp power, analysts argue that if left to run governments, a lot of leaders would end up running countries as private businesses. However, Campbell indicates that in the US the case is totally different (2). The constitutional makers of US divided the government into sections that would specialize in formulating laws, another section that would implement the laws formulated whilst the last the section would see administration of justice in the country. The Congress was mandated to be the law makers in the government whilst the president through the backup from the departments and agencies in the executive arm of the government to put in force the laws put in place. In line to this proposition, it is justified to argue that the president heads the non elected members of the government. It is also vital to note the establishment of the Supreme Court by the judicial authorities (Campbell, 111). This clearly aided in the checking the systems put in place in the government. The states and the citizens also have their administration authorities through the state governmental units present in all states. This is referred to as the governmental units that are legally authorized to operate within their jurisdiction. Of essence, the Executive that comprises of the president, vice president and cabinet members plays the role of ensuring that the daily operations of the country function effectively, such collection of duties, representation of the country in international forums, and safeguarding the country’s security amongst others (Campbell, 25). The Legislature, which comprises of the congress make up laws, and ensures

Human Resources - how individuals are managed within an organisation Essay Example for Free

Human Resources how individuals are managed within an organisation Essay Introduction People are an extremely important resource for any organisation. To be a successful business you need to employ staff with the right qualifications skills and experience. The employees of an organisation are collectively known as its human resources, in many organisations, both public and private, the human resources department is also known as the personnel department. However, the difference in name reflects a shift in emphasis from a purely recruitment and welfare role to a greater concern about how to maximise the performance of staff. Human resource management is also an integral part of many job roles. There are many duties performed by a typical human resources department. These duties include drawing up and implementing equal opportunities and health and safety policies, staff consultation, negotiation, appraisal and staff development, as well as training, recruitment and selection of staff. They are the most important resource in the production of goods ands services. Many aspects of the employer-employee relationship are covered by legislation. However, employers are recognising increasingly that good human resource management practice, which goes beyond the letter of the law, can generate benefits for both the organisation and the individual. The role of human resources Human resource management involves managing a range of roles relating to people employed by a business including: Recruitment The personnel department must advertise accordingly and try to attract the best candidates for the job, and the recruit the best applicants. If the wrong person is recruited, and then finds the job boring or too difficult, then the business will not get the most out of its human resources. Also where employees need to be flexible and autonomous and where direct control over employees is difficult, recruitment is becoming more and more important. To make sure the best person is chosen, personnel departments must be clear about: * What the job entails * What qualities the job requires * What rewards is needed to retain and motivate employees. There are many stages of recruiting, they are: 1. Analyse what the job entails and decide what sort of person is needed. 2. Decide how the vacancy is to be advertised or announced. 3. The selection process needs to be planned and conducted in such a way as to ensure that the best candidate is successful. Training involves employees being taught new skills or improving skills they have already have. Why might a business train its employees? It is argued that a well-trained work force has certain benefits for a business. * Well-trained workers should be more productive. This will help the business to achieve its overall objectives such as increasing profits. * It should help to create a more flexible work force. If a business needs to increase production, workers then have to be trained in new tasks. * New machinery or production processes can be introduced more effectively, if the staff are trained. * It should lead to increased job satisfaction to employees. Well-motivated workers are more likely to be more productive. * It should reduce accidents and injuries if employees are trained in health and safety procedures. * It may improve the image of the company. * It can improve employees chances of promotion. How does a firm know if training is required? One method might be to use the job description to find the skills and knowledge needed to do the job. If the employees skills do not match up with the ones in the job description, then there is a need for re-training. Employees can also be asked about areas where they are not quite as confident, and think may need a little work on. This should make them more committed to training. Training needs are found at different levels within a business. Training is often divided into on-the-job-training and off-the-job-training. On-the-job-training takes place when employees are trained while they are carrying out an activity, often at their place of work. Off-the-job training takes place away from the job, at a different location. It may involve the employee being released for periods of time to attend courses at colleges or other institutions. This is by far the most popular form of training. One vital key task of HRM is to keep up to date with employment legislation (UK and EU) and to remain alert to the implications of such legislation for the firm and the workers. The main aim of such legislation is to ensure that employees rights are protected. Basic rights include: * Employees must receive a written statement of terms and conditions of employment within 13 weeks of starting work. * They must be paid the same as other people who carry out identical or similar jobs. * Working conditions must be safe and healthy. * Workers cannot be dismissed unfairly. * Employers must not discriminate against any member of staff. Employees have basic rights to: * They are expected to comply with the terms of their contract. * To do jobs with care and skill, to the acceptable standard. * Observe health and safety regulations. * Not to damage the firms property. There are many other responsibilities that then form the basis of the contract of employment. The contract is formed as soon as the employer offers a person a job and they accept it. Motivation at work For many years firms have given financial rewards in an attempt to motivate employees and improve productivity. However in the last 2 or 3 decades firms have realised that: * the chance to earn more money may not be an effective motivator * financial incentive schemes are difficult to operate * individual reward schemes may no longer be effective as production has become organised into group tasks * other factors may be more important in motivating employees If other factors are more important than pay in motivating workers, it is important for firms to identify them. Only then can a business make sure its work force is motivated. Team work The Swedish car firm Volvo is a well-known example of a company that has effectively introduced teamwork. In both its plants at Kalmar and Uddevalla, it set up production in teams of 8-10 highly skilled workers. The teams decided between themselves how the work was to be distributed and how to solve problems as they arise. It is arguable whether these practices lead to an increase in productivity, but the company firmly believes this method of organisation was better than an assembly line system a similar system is used at Honda UK but with four person teams. If the firm is always changing due to the market, which is causing it to either, expand or de-layer. Then they will have to change the work force accordingly. The case study that I will be looking at is a position as a secretary for Ratcliffe College. P1- Recruitment One of the most important responsibilities of Human resource function is recruitment and selection. The costs of recruitment, training and retaining employees are high, but the costs of selecting the wrong people or losing key members of staff can be even higher. The processes of recruitment and selection must always relate the requirement for skilled staff to the business needs of the organisation. It is also essential that potential candidates be treated fairly. When vacancies arise because existing staff move to other jobs, retire or have to leave work because of illness. Some vacancies occur because the organisation expands or is restructured. Before the organisation advertises a post, it needs to decide whether there is a real need for the position to be filled. It might consider the following alternatives: * Amalgamating one job with another * Giving existing staff overtime * Recruiting temporary staff * Increasing the use of technology or machinery * Once an organisation decides that a vacancy exists, the recruitment process begins. Internal recruitment Internal recruitment strengthens employees commitment to the company, for example Kelloggs have stated the following in their recruitment policy handbook: * Offer the job to an existing employee, as a promotion or transfer * Advertise internally, if suitable candidate is likely to available internally * Advertise externally if no suitable candidate is likely to exist internally(and display notice internally to the effect that the advertisement is appearing) Except in special cases, all vacancies should be advertised internally before external recruitment methods are used. There are a number of advantages to advertising jobs inside the business. * It gives employees within the company a chance to develop their career * There may be a shorter induction period as the employee is likely to be familiar with the company * Employers will know more about internal candidates abilities. This should reduce the risk of employing the wrong person * Internal recruitment may be quicker and less expensive than recruiting from outside the business. However, there are also disadvantages. * Internal advertising limits the number of applicants * External candidates might have been better quality * Another vacancy will be created which might have to be filled * If having investigated ways of filling the vacancy internally the business still does not appoint, then it must find ways to obtain candidates externally. External recruitment There are many ways of attracting candidates from outside the company. The choice of method often depends on the type of vacancy and the type of employee a business wants. Each method has its own benefits and problem, although it could be argued that the overall advantages of external advertising are the opposite of the disadvantages of internal advertising, for example, there is a wider number of applicants. Commercial employment agencies, these are companies that specialise in recruiting and selection. They usually provide a shortlist of candidates for a company to interview, but can also provide temporary workers. For example HMS, Alfred Marks and Kelly Accountancy Personnel. The advantage of commercial agencies is that they are experienced in providing certain types of worker, such as secretaries and clerical staff. They also minimise the administration for the employer involved in recruiting staff. Their main drawback is that they tend to produce staff that only stay in a job for a short time. Another problem for the business is the cost of paying fees to the agency. Recruitment and selection P2-Personnel Specification The first step is to prepare a job description. Before writing a job description, the job itself has to be analysed. This will identify the skills needed to perform the job and will also allow management to consider the overall effectiveness of the post and whether any changes are necessary. Clear job descriptions form the basis for preparing advertisements and for drawing up person specifications. Once individuals are in the post, job descriptions allow them to know exactly what their roles are, and what is expected of them. Before writing a job description, the job itself has to be analysed. This will identify the skills needed to perform the job and will also allow management to consider the overall effectiveness of the post and whether any changes are necessary. Clear job descriptions form the basis for preparing advertisements and for drawing up person specifications. Once individuals are in a post, job description allow them to know exactly what their roles are, and what is expected of them. When preparing a job description, it is important that the business to look to: * Describe the job accurately- if you overstate or understate the requirements of the job, you will be less likely to attract suitable applicants * Avoid discriminatory descriptions wording that implies one sex is preferable to another is unfair, illegal and unnecessarily restricts the number of people you are able to choose from. Below is an example of a job description, advertised in the local paper, for my case study. Ratcliffe College Job title School secretary Department: Administration, including Bursary Location Ratcliffe College, Ratcliffe-on-the-Wreake Salary à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15,000- 20,000 Requirements for the job: * Enthusiastic, sociable, hard working person. * Taking care of any paper work regarding the school, and answering calls throughout the day on any matter. * Computer skills and experience of working in an office. General information * The hours per day would from 9am-5pm, 5 days a week. * There is a team of six people who deal with the administration of the school; this includes the bursar, the head masters secretary and the four secretaries. The profile of the best person to fill a job is a vital reference document to use during the selection process. It helps eliminate unsuitable candidates, guides interviewers and allows selectors to compare candidates objectively. The following are the key areas in drawing up a person specification: * Knowledge and understanding required for the job * Skills and abilities required for the job * Experience required for the job * Educational requirements The following shows a person specification: To fill the receptionist post we are looking for people with most of the following qualifications: 1. GCSEs in Maths and English, additional qualifications such as computer skills required. 2. The applicant must have had previous experience in an office environment 3. Must be computer literate, and able to use a photocopier. 4. Must have an outgoing, friendly personality, and able to communicate efficiently with students and fellow members of staff alike. Most importantly, they must be able to answer the telephone and help with any enquiries. When preparing person specifications, there are several pitfalls to be avoided. * Asking for higher qualifications than are needed, it runs the risk of passing over less-qualified staff who are likely to become frustrated in positions that fail to extend their abilities * Asking for someone with particular or extensive experience, an individual with the right aptitudes, skills and temperament may be a quick learner * Stipulating particular age requirements, tasks that are traditionally regarded as junior can often be done as well, if not better, by older staff. Similar, jobs that have been regarded as the preserve of more mature employees may be performed by able, qualified and highly motivated young people. * Defining narrow physical requirements, these must only be specified where the requirement is genuine and essential. Remember that the specification of physical attributes can lead to direct or indirect discrimination. * Basing your specification on someone who is already doing the job, no matter how good that person might be, he or she is a unique individual and no one else will be a perfect replacement. The newcomer will bring his or her own personality, values and skills. P3-Reviewing Applications Miss Puddleduck- she seems to be able to get on with people and handle situations, as we can see this from her working as a carer in an Elderly Home. She is the eldest to apply for the job and has a good amount of previous experience, which give her the skills needed, like office and computer work. Seems to be a hard work and has good communication skills, and also she has worked with children before so is a strong candidate. From her CV I see that she has three young children, This may cause a problem, as she has a live-in child minder. Mr Langer- Mr Langer sent in an application form with exceptional exam results both from GCSE and A level. He gave some job experience which all showed experience but nothing that was relevant to the job description. His letter of application was very short with not much detail. Being as he hadnt any experience in secretarial duties then I would have thought that he would have tried to impress me through the letter of application. This didnt happen but because of his good exam results I offered him an interview hoping he would have something to offer the company. Mr Langers CV was average, he had typed it out so that it looked neat, and it was set well but the contented which he needed to impress me wasnt there. Mr Langer was a very intellectual young man by the language which he had used on his recruitment forms and his given exam results but unfortunately he didnt have the relevant experience to offer this post. Miss Hill- the weakest candidate looking from her application form, but she seems to be enthusiastic over the job, but from her CV she says she likes socialising, which may be a downfall as she may need to come in any day of the week. Miss Hill has no previous experience. From the CV her GCSE grades are not excellent, however, she has passed English and maths, and has computer skills. I am not sure how well she can communicate with people of different ages, as I have no evidence that she can. However, as she is young she may find it easier to communicate with the student, but she must be able to communicate effectively with the adults as well. She also has a young child, so she may know how to get on with the younger generation in the school Miss Hill has a young child, which could mean that she will need time off work to look after it. She states that her mum could look after the child at the weekends if necessary, however, her mum may not be available in the week if the child is unable to go to playgroup. So it may cause difficulties in the future, as she may have difficulties finding someone to look after the child or she may have to take days off. P4-Contract of employment Once a business has selected an employee, the successful candidates must be appointed. Once appointed. Employees are entitled to a Contract of Employment. This is an agreement between the employer and the employee under which each has certain obligations. It is binding to both parties in the agreement, the employer and the employee. This means that it is unlawful to break the terms and conditions in the contract without the other party agreeing. As soon as an employee starts work, and therefore demonstrates that she accepts the terms offered by the employer, the contract comes into existence. It is sometimes a written contract, although a verbal agreement or implied agreements are also contracts of employment. The employment Right Act, 1996 requires employers to give employees taken on for one month or more a written statement within two months of appointment. This written statement sets out the terms and conditions in the contract. Some common features shown in the written statement are: * The names of the employer and the name of the employee * The date on which the employment is to begin * The job title * The terms and conditions of employment * Remuneration and pay interval; * Hours of work; * Entitlement to sick leave and pay (if any) * Pensions; * Period of notice for employer and employee; * Disciplinary and Grievance procedures. Certain employment protection rights cover employees that are appointed by a business. Government legislation makes it a duty of employers to safeguard these rights. They fall into a number of areas. * Discrimination. Employees cannot be discriminated against on grounds of gender, race or disability. So, for example, a business cannot refuse to appoint a candidate for a job only because that person is female. * Pay. Employees must be paid the same rate as other employees doing the same job, a similar job or a job with equal demands. They also have the right to itemised pay statements and not to have pay deducted for unlawful reasons. Other conditions which may be included are: the need for medical examinations, working from different locations, the right to search employees, the need for confidentiality and the need to obey the specific rules of the organisation. If the employer fails to provide a written statement of the main terms and conditions of employment, an employee could exercise his or her legal right to ask an industrial tribunal to decide what ought to have been in the written statement. This is then imposed upon the employer. Employers with more than twenty employees are also obliged to ensure that every employee has a copy of the disciplinary and grievance procedures. Employers have always wanted workers to be as flexible as possible. In the past this has meant paying overtime for extra hours worked, or higher rates for shift work. Faced with competition, businesses attempted to use their existing employees more efficiently. Sometimes this could benefit the employee. An example of a situation in Adams is a single woman with a child was able to work between the hours of 9 am to 3 p.m. each day while her child is at school. Working flexible hours could mean an employee may take time off for personal reasons and still work their required number of hours a week. Training would also be given to workers so they become multi -skilled able to switch from one job to another if needed. This example of job rotation may perhaps lead to the employee being more motivated. From a firms point of view, an employee that can change jobs may prevent the need to have temporary workers to cover for illness etc. and so reduce labour costs. An example of this is the workstyle initiative at Adams, where team working has been introduced so that workers can change from one process to another and do the work of others in the team if necessary. In 1985 John Atkinson and the Institute of Manpower Studies developed the idea of the flexible firm. They suggested that businesses have a core and a periphery. As a result of increasing competition, firms have attempted to make the workforce as flexible as possible, to increase productivity, reduce costs and react more quickly to change. The business would try to motivate core workers, giving them job security, and employ periphery workers only when needed. Increasingly employers looked to make plans that allow a business to respond to changes. For example, if a large unexpected order arrives, a business will need workers that can get it out on time. Using a flexible workforce enables a business to react effectively to changes that take place outside the business. Examples of workers that are used by a business includes: * Part time employees. * Temporary employees to deal with increases in demand. * Workers on zero hours contracts who are employed by the business but only work and are paid when both the business and the employee agree. * Workers who work to annualised hours contracts, where they work a certain number of hours over a year rather than in a week. * Workers who bank time, by not working when demand is slack but being asked to work that time at a later date. * Office temporary workers to cover for illness. * Self-employed workers. * Job sharing, where two workers are employed to do a full time job that in the past have been carried out by the one person. P5-My Performance in the Interview Before the interview 1. The interviewer should check that the interview arrangements are satisfactory: * Is the seating adequate? * Is the lighting satisfactory? * Is the room quiet or private? * Has it been ensured that the interview will not be disrupted? * Has access for candidates with a physical disability been checked? 2. Check through the job description and the person specification. 3. Read the application forms again, not any special questions or queries. 4. Write down the agreed questions that every candidate will have to answer, so they can make comparisons of each interviewee, this could including: * Why did you apply for this job? * Why did you apply to this organisation? 5. At the beginning of the interview every candidate should be welcomed by name and invited to sit down. 6. Begin the interview with an open or easy question, which should help the interviewees to relax. 7. The interviewer should always stay calm and uninvolved and be ready to listen 8. Keep observing the candidates. Watch for body language signal such as: * The way they sit * Arm and hand movements * Eye movements and eye contact * Voice 9. At the end of the interview the interviewer should: * Thank the candidate * Find out if the candidate has any questions or wants to add anything; * Find out when the candidate could start work; * Ask whether the candidate still wants the job * Tell the candidate how and when they will be told the result of the interview After the Interview 1. The candidates should leave feeling that they have had a fair hearing. An interviewer can ask either open or closed questions. * Open questions cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Answering them allows individuals to express their opinions and to talk at length. Here are some examples of open-ended questions. What did you enjoy most about a particular job? Which skills do you think would be most useful in this post? How do you plan to achieve that? * Closed questions require a simple yes or no answer. It will always be necessary to ask a few closed questions, but their use should be restricted. Closed questions do not allow the candidate to talk freely, and they can make the interview somewhat stilted, with the interviewer doing most of the talking. When I was the interviewer I asked open ended questions, which allowed me to find out more about the candidate personality as well as there attitude to work. However from my colleagues point of view I was told that I was to laid back towards the candidate and to disorganise, this was because I had not gone through the CVs and the application form. This could have meant that I missed some vital information about the candidates. Also I did not write any information down about each candidate, which meant that I could not remember what the candidates where like. Which meant that I could analyse and compare the candidates. As an interviewee I was confident going for the position, willing to answer the questions, with no problems. But in doing this I had not research the position enough, as I had a lack of information about the school. Knowing this would of help me to put across my views on how I would of achieved the job successfully, and showed that I was interested in the job. I feel that during the interviews I fulfilled most of these criteria. The seating was adequate; there were two seats for the interviewers and one doe the candidate. However, there was a desk in between, it would have been better to try and create a more relaxed atmosphere, by either not having the desk at all, or sitting to one side of the desk. I was familiar with the job description and person specification, and had already prepared certain questions for each candidate. I had prepared a sheet with the questions that I was going to ask all of the candidates, a copy of this can be found in the appendix. I welcomed all the candidates by name and shucked there hand, and tried to make them feel welcome. Throughout the interview I used a variety of open and closed questions. I should have used more open than closed questions to allow the candidate to talk more. This would be one aspect I would have to change in future interviews. I thought of some follow up questions, however, could have thought of some more. I observed the candidates several times throughout the interview, which gave me a good idea of their overall body language. At the end of the interview, I allowed the candidates to ask questions, found out when they could start work, and told them when they would hear of the result. I didnt tell them how they would hear of the result, and I forgot to ask then if they were still interested in the job. After the interview I made some brief notes on the way the candidate had reacted during the interview. All these documents remained private between myself and the other interviewer M4-Local Labour Market Employment by sector Leicestershire TEC Area % East midlands % Great Britain % Agriculture Fishing 1,500 0.4 6,900 0.4 71,000 0.3 Energy Water 5,000 1.2 17,600 1.1 214,700 1.0 Manufacturing 116,700 29.4 418,700 25.8 4,060,000 18.0 Construction 13.300 3.3 70,700 4.4 987,900 4.4 Distribution, Hotels restaurants 80,000 20.1 354,800 5.0 1,319,400 5.9 Transport communication 22,000 5.5 81,100 5.0 1,319,400 5.9 Banking, finance Insurance, etc. 58,600 14.8 230,200 14.2 4,183,700 18.6 Public administration, Education Health 85,900 21.6 378,700 23.3 5,496,600 24.4 Other services 14,000 3.5 65,700 4.0 1,068,900 4.7 Total 397,000 100.0 1,623,800 100.0 22,534,900 100.0 The labour market is split up into three different labour sectors: 1. Primary these are businesses that are involved in extracting natural resources from the environment. Examples are the first two rows of the table. 2. Secondary businesses convert the raw materials from the primary sector into a form that can be used by customers. The third and fourth rows on the table are examples of this sector. 3. Tertiary Organisations provide services. The reminding rows are businesses in the tertiary sector. * Manufacturing contributes nearly 30% to GDP and employs some 27% of the workforce, goods produced range from textiles clothing through aerospace engines. However, manufacturing output within the region is forecast to fall by approximately 0.5% in 1999 before recovering in 2000. * Service Sector employment is growing faster than at the national level, but the service sector is still relatively under-represented. IT related employment, in particular, continues to expand. * Agriculture the East Midlands accounts for 10% of UK agricultural output, and employs 45,000 people across the region, rising to nearly one in five of the workforce in some areas. * Unemployment the regional claimant rate has been below the UK rate and currently stands at 3.9% compared to the UK 4.4% for May 1999. Current situation prospects Within the East Midlands, growth in services was estimated to have been stronger than the UK as a whole during 1998. However, the region saw a sharp slowdown in business services growth, reflecting the dependence of the sector on local manufacturing. Manufacturing output declined significantly during 1998, due to deterioration in both domestic and export demand, and a strong pound. Manufacturing output within the region is forecast to continue to decline during 1999, before recovering in 2000. Subdued performance is also expected in retailing distribution, and in transport communications. Overall regional GDP is expected to rise only slightly by 0.3% during 1999, with employment levels expected to remain static. Short-term changes in the GDP by sector (% per year) Manufacturing Services Other All services Fin. Bus. Services 1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000 1998 1999 2000 E.M. 0.3 0.3 -3.1 1.5 0.2 1.2 4.9 2.2 1.9 6.8 -0.7 -1.9 UK -0.2 -0.2 -3.2 1.3 0.6 0.5 2.5 1.5 1.4 1.6 -1.4 -1.9 Inward investment The region has seen inward investment in manufacturing over recent years. In the first half of 1998 the East Midlands won 16 inward investment projects, which created a total of 2,240 jobs. Approximately 50% of the projects came from the USA. Other inward investment projects within the region include Toyota, the Japanese car manufacturer, which has expanded its plant at Burnaston in Derbyshire at a cost of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½200m in order to build a second car model, the Corolla. The region has also been successful in attracting call centres, despite competition. In the future as direct banking and insurance services increase, further investment opportunities are likely to arise for the region. The East Midlands success in attracting inward investment can be explained by its central location, good infrastructure links with the rest of the country, relatively low land prices, and the quality of its workforce. Leicestershires Industrial Profile Leicestershires industrial structure has experienced a long period of change and this change is seen to continue. The manufacturing industry consists of textiles and clothing, electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, food processing, printing and publishing, and pharmaceuticals. In Leicestershire 26% of the population are employed in this sector compared with 19% nationally. The most important manufacturing industry group, in terms of output, remains other manufacturing which includes textiles and food manufacturing, currently accounting for half of all manufacturing output. The fastest growing sector was national transport and communications, with an average annual growth of 9.6% since 1992. This growth largely reflects the advantages of Leicestershire as a central location for distribution Industrial sectors Leicestershire TEC area Leicestershire county Leicester city Rutland 1999 Employee estimates Number % Number % Number % Number % Agriculture Fishing 3,100 0.8 2,700 1.2 0 0 400 3.5 Energy Water 9,200 2.3 5,600 2.4 3,200 2.1 400 3.5 Manufacturing 102,600 26.0 64,300 28.1 36,300 23.8 2,000 17.4 Construction 14900 3.8 10,000 4.4 4,300 2.8 600 5.2 Distribution, Hotels restaurants 83,000 21.1 51,100 22.3 29,200 19.1 2,700 23.5 Transport communication 23,100 5.9 16,100 7.0 6,500 4.3 500 4.3 Banking, finance Insurance, etc. 54,800 13.9 28,100 12.3 25,600 16.8 1,100 9.6 Public administration, Education Health 85,900 21.8 41,900 18.3 40,600 26.6 3,400 39.6 Other services 16,600 4.2 9,300 4.1 6,900 4.5 400 3.5 Total employees 393,200 100.0 229,100 100.0 152,600 100.0 11,500 100.0 M5 Analysing the recruitment documents I think I should have spaced out the application form a bit better and left more room for the forenames and surnames. On the application form I didnt put a space for sex, this should have been entered, as some people may see it as not giving equal opportunities. I think that it is of a good size, and the font is neither too small nor too large, however, if there had been more spaces left, then it may have been easier to read. There is not a final section asking for a supporting statement. This does not give the applicant opportunity to sell themselves. I should have put some spaces in the Employment History section for reason for leaving the job, and also how long they had been at their last job for. This would have given me some indication on how willing they are. Also if I had left space at the end of the form, there would have been space for the candidates to sell themselves, also giving me more information to base my questions on at the interview. There should have also been more space for them to fill in information about their education. In the references section there should be space to show what relationship the person given as a reference is to the candidate. As it is important for companies to enforce equal opportunities I should have had a section in the application form asking if they had a disability, what their ethnic origin is and also what colour they consider themselves (black, white, other, mixed). This should be an optional section; however, I should have included it. I also provided a sheet for the candidates to fill in just before the interview. This is where extra information could be gathered, and if any details have changed since they filled in the application form, then I could be notified of them. The appraisal documents: during the interview I made some basic notes of the candidates performance. These notes included how well they answered the questions, and their body language. I also gave them marks for their body language, their language and how appropriate it was, and how confident they were (1 being the best, and 5 the worst) In my personnel specification, I should have said more about the job so that they know more about the job and what jobs would be involved in the position. Also how to handle parents and children. Also in the job description, I should stated more about what the jobs would be involved with, like handling children from the ages of 5-18, so they need to be patient sometimes and also authoritative. M6-Strengths Weaknesses Mrs Jemima Puddleduck Her letter of application was most impressive. It was typed, set out correctly, and lots of good language was used. The recruitment documents that we received from Mrs Jemima Puddleduck showed that she was a well-educated young lady, showing she had studied both GCSEs, and A levels with excellent grades, and also well qualified. The only factor, which made me a little unsure of her, was that she had children, which I felt it might cause some difficulty about the hours she could work. Plus a degree in sports management. It was a very encouraging letter, outlining her strengths and weaknesses, and also stating any previous relevant work experience as well as any other experience to show her enthusiasm for work. Her experiences in jobs show us a very caring girl and she has taken part in work experience in very useful places. Mrs Jemima Puddleduck sent me a very short but detailed letter of application it was in written form very neat and well set out. Her work experiences have given her experience of what this position requires and I feel she would be an excellent candidate for this job. Mr Brett Langer The documents that were given to us by Brett Langer shows that he is ma very hard working person, we know this by looking at his GCSEs and A Levels. So he should then have the basic skills available to do the job successfully, with A grades in Maths and English in his GCSEs. My impression also was that he may be a little well qualified for the job, nonetheless a very promising candidate. It showed that he had some previous job experience, however, he had never worked in an office before. From the letter of application he seemed to be an all round person, being able to get on with people. We can also see this from his past work experience as a Waiter and Employee at McDonalds, this showing he should be able to get on with any sort of person and situations. The only problem is that he is going to be working on a temporary basis as hes looking for a job in the business sector, so he will only be working here until he finds a job in the business industry. Miss Tracy Hill Miss Hill is the youngest candidate applying for the position as Secretary. The recruitment documents, which we received from Miss Tracy Hill, she seems to be a nice girl but lack the personnel skills and personality for the job. There are concerns on how sociable she is, and how this may affect her work, as she may have to come in on a Saturday or Sunday. She has the basic skills to do the job with having GCSEs in IT, Maths and English. She also has no work experience in any field. She is the weakest candidate for the job, but we have decided to give her a chance to prove us wrong in the interview. Jemima Puddleduck questions 1. Will you be able to come in if there was an emergency? 2. Do you think you be able to handle the children when if they get rowdy? 3. Why have you decided to leave your present job? 4. How long would it take to hand in your notice at your present job? 5. How come you havent decided to go into the sports industry? Brett Langer questions 1. Do you know how to use the basics of computer software? 2. How long do you think you would work here? 3. Will you be able to come in if there was an emergency? 4. Do you think you be able to handle the children when if they get rowdy? 5. Do you think you would get along with the different age groups that go to the school? Tracy Hill question 1. Why did you leave school after your GCSEs? 2. Why havent you got any work experience? 3. Would it be a problem with the hours you work with a child? 4. Who will look after the child? 5. Will you be able to come in if there was an emergency? 6. Do you think you be able to handle the children when they get rowdy? M7-My performance in the Interviews To start off with I was shy, I was not sure how they would react to me, but as the interviews went on my interviewing technique improved and I started to settle down. I found that I didnt really help them to relax and settle down, which made them nervous and allowed them t make mistakes, as they didnt know how to react to me. After settling down I became confident enough to ask the candidate questions about the job and putting them in situations and asking how they would handle a particular situation. Due to this I became to laid back, I was showing poor body language; for example my arms were crossed. I also acted to casual with the candidate; I was told this from my colleagues who were also interviewing the candidate. Due to me being confident and laid back, I asked the candidate opened ended questions, which enabled my colleagues and I to get to know the candidate more intimately and what there personality was like. I also found that I was too disorganised for the interview, compared to my colleagues who where ready for the interview, as they had questions readily decided to ask the candidate. Which didnt show a good impression on the candidate and made me look silly. I also had not gone through the candidates information, which gave me a disadvantage, as I did not ask the relevant information for the job. Which lead to me not writing any information about the candidate, so it made it difficult on which candidate to pick for the job. I think that I also should have changed the tone of voice more, as I felt the candidate was finding the interview was getting to boring. Improvements 1. I should appear to be relaxed from the beginning of the interview so that they can give their best performances through out the interview. 2. I shouldnt act laid back whilst interviewing the candidate. As this gives a bad impression to the interviewee, about the way things are running in the company. 3. I should look through the application documents before I interview the candidate to have some kind of information about the candidate and question to find out more about their personality. 4. It would be more fairer to all the candidates if I took notes on each applicant, so that I can offer the job to the best person, so that I can compare them with there good and bad points and offer the job to the best person. M8 Our own design of a Contract of employment 1. Name of employer:_________________________________ 2. Name of employee:________________________________ 3. Job title: . 4. Salary: . 5. Start date: 6. Pay rate:.. 7. Amount of hours that must be completed in one week:. 8. Leave, you are entitled todays-paid holiday per annum in addition to statutory holidays. The leave is to taken at a time convenient to the employer. 9. Sick pay and allowances: .. 10. Amount of holiday entitlement: . 11. What notice is needed when you want to finish that job:.. to ensure flexibility within our workforce, you will at times be expected to work extra hours as required, but you will normally be given advanced notice of times. 12. Grievance Procedures, if you wish to raise any grievance relating to your employment, you should do so in accordance with the grievance procedure shown in the employee information binder, which can be obtained from the Personal office. 13. Pension scheme, details of the contributory company pension scheme, for which you are eligible, may be obtained from the personnel office. 14. Discipline Rules, the company rules form part of your conditions of employment. These are shown in the Employee Information Binder and it is your responsibility to familiarise yourself with these and observe them at all times.

A New Policy on High-heeled Shoes :: Medical Medicine Health Essays

A New Policy on High-heeled Shoes Background Throughout history, women have bent over backward to feel and look attractive. Many of the methods used to obtain this goal are dangerous to their health. The high-heeled shoe, one of the most popular types of women’s foot apparel, belongs in this category. The pump puts a tremendous amount of stress on a woman’s knees, back, heels, and toes. To avoid these potential problems, women should be warned about the dangers of wearing high-heeled shoes. Needs Without knowledge of the damage done by high-heeled shoes women are put in danger of permanently harming their bodies. "High heels hurt and can cause significant health problems including bunions, heel pain, toe deformities and painful trapped nerves" (1). Many women experience lower back pain resulting from the extended wear of high-heeled shoes. Women are also more likely to sprain an ankle while wearing heels than while wearing flatter shoes. The constant wearing of a heeled shoe can shorten the Achilles tendon over time, causing the wearer to lose a range of motion in the foot. This can result in causing pain during any exercise, even one so simple as walking(1). Another health concern is the strain on the knee, which can result in osteoarthritis, a chronic degeneration of cartilage in the joints. A two-inch heel is enough to cause an increased amount of strain on the inner side of the knee, possibly setting the stage for the onset of this condition (2). Below are two diagrams sh owing the health dangers of extended high-heel shoe wearing, Figure 1.1 shows the injuries to the foot and Figure 1.2 shows the damages to the rest of the body. Source: www.ama-assn.org/insight/en_hlth/atlas/newatlas/mufront.htm (3) Source: www.ama-assn.org/insight/gen_hlth/atlas/newatlas/foot.htm (4) Many women also have to waste money going through a corrective surgery that otherwise could have been avoided if they had been aware of the damage caused by high-heeled shoes and had been more moderate with the amount of wearing time. "The total estimated cost for this avoidable surgery is $2 billion annually" (1). This wastes time and labor, both of which could have been easily saved by an informational warning about the risk of wearing high-heeled shoes. Idea Since there are so many ill effects resulting from high-heeled shoe usage, women should be informed of them. I propose the best way to do so is to place a warning label on all high-heeled apparel boxes. This label would appear something like the following:

Philosophy I Think Therefore I Am Essay

‘Cogito ergo sum’, meaning I think therefore I am, Rene Descartes is the man credited to these few words. The quote originally written in French, comes from The Discourse on Method, but also appears written as the famous Latin, â€Å"Cogito ergo sum,† in his Meditations on First Philosophy, which was an attempt to find foundational truths for knowledge. The book contains six meditations that attempt to discover what is real by first doubting absolutely everything and starting from scratch. In this way, Descartes starts at the bottom and works his way up into believing in the existence of worldly things. For Descartes the essence of the self is the ability to think, in order to actually have an identity, you must be able to think. In many of Descartes works he emphasizes this point. In order for one to have an identity, you would have to be aware of your thinking, reasoning, perceiving processes. If someone was consistently unconscious of all of the for-mentioned things than it is impossible to actually have a perception of the self. Cogito, ergo sum is one principles of Descartes theory, where he is basically saying that if someone can not think, or have a conscience mind then they do not exist as an individual. It was the foundation upon which knowledge could be built. Although we can doubt our senses, we cannot doubt our thinking as doubting is a thought. And as one cannot think without existing and as we think, it follows that we exist. Many people now reject Descartes’ point of view, but I completely agree. If we can’t not think how can we truly understand our surroundings and adapt as all humans are naturally born to do. Our ability to think is completely dependent on all of the things we perceive with our minds. Though sometimes our senses can be a deceiving it is completely up to our minds and our thinking ability to be the decipher, the clear thought in the sea of confusing and discourse.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 30

Part VI Passion Nobody's perfect†¦. Well, there was this one guy, but we killed him. ANONYMOUS Sunday Joshua's mother and his brother James found us outside of the Golden Gate of Jerusalem, where we were waiting for Bartholomew and John, who were looking for Nathaniel and Philip to return with James and Andrew, who were off trying to find Judas and Thomas, who had been sent into the city to look for Peter and Maggie, who were looking for Thaddeus and Simon, who had been sent to look for a donkey. â€Å"You'd think they'd have found one by now,† Mary said. According to prophecy, Joshua was supposed to enter the city on the colt of a donkey. Of course, no one was going to find one. That was the plan. Even Joshua's brother James had agreed to be part of the conspiracy. He'd gone ahead to wait inside the gate, just in case one of the disciples had missed the point and actually came back with a donkey. About a thousand of Joshua's followers from Galilee had gathered on the road to the Golden Gate. They had lined the road with palm fronds for Joshua's entrance to the city, and they were cheering and singing hosannas all afternoon in anticipation of his triumphant entrance, but as the afternoon wore into evening, and no colt showed, the crowd gradually dispersed as everybody got hungry and went into the city to find something to eat. Only Joshua, his mother, and I were still waiting. â€Å"I was hoping you might talk some sense into him,† I said to Mary. â€Å"I've seen this coming for a long time,† Mary said. She wore her usual blue dress and shawl, and the usual light in her face seemed faded, not by age, but by grief. â€Å"Why do you think I sent for him two years ago?† It was true, she had sent Joshua's younger brothers Judah and Jose to the synagogue at Capernaum to bring him home, claiming he was mad, but Joshua hadn't even gone outside to meet them. â€Å"I wish you two wouldn't talk about me like I'm not here,† Joshua said. â€Å"We're trying to get used to it,† I said. â€Å"If you don't like it, then give up this stupid plan to sacrifice yourself.† â€Å"What do you think we've been preparing for all of these years, Biff?† â€Å"If I'd known it was this I wouldn't have helped. You'd still be stuck in a wine amphora in India.† He squinted to see through the gate. â€Å"Where is everyone? How hard can it be to find one simple ass?† I looked at Joshua's mother, and although there was pain in her eyes she smiled. â€Å"Don't look at me,† she said. â€Å"No one on my side of the family would ever sacrifice a straight line like that.† It was too easy, so I let it go. â€Å"They're all at Simon's house in Bethany, Josh. They aren't coming back tonight.† Joshua didn't say a word. He just climbed to his feet and walked off toward Bethany. â€Å"There is nothing you can do to stop this from happening!† Joshua screamed at the apostles, who were gathered in the front room of Simon's house. Martha ran from the room crying when Joshua glared at her. Simon looked at the floor, as did the rest of us. â€Å"The priest and the scribes will take me, and put me on trial. They will spit on me and scourge me and then they will kill me. I will rise from the dead on the third day and walk among you again, but you cannot stop what must happen. If you love me, you will accept what I'm telling you.† Maggie got up and ran out of the house, snatching the communal purse from Judas as she went. The Zealot started to rise to go after her but I pushed him back down on his cushion. â€Å"Let her go.† We all sat there in silence, trying to think of something to do, something to say. I don't know what everyone else was thinking, but I was still trying to formulate some way for Joshua to make his point without giving his life. Martha returned to the room with wine and cups and served each of us in turn, not looking at Joshua when she filled his cup. Joshua's mother followed her back out of the room, I presumed to help her prepare supper. In time, Maggie came back, sliding through the door and going directly to Joshua, where she sat down at his feet. She took the communal purse out of her cloak and from it she pulled a small alabaster box, the sort that was used to store the precious ointments that women used to anoint the bodies of the dead at burial. She tossed the empty purse to Judas. Without a word, she broke the seal on the box and poured the ointment on Joshua's feet, then untied her long hair and began to wipe the oil from his feet with it. The rich aroma of spices and perfume filled the room. In an instant Judas was on his feet and across the room. He snatched the box of ointment off the floor. â€Å"The money from this could have fed hundreds of the poor.† Joshua looked up at the Zealot and there were tears in his eyes. â€Å"You'll always have the poor, Judas, but I'm only here for a short while longer. Let her be.† â€Å"But†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Let her be,† Joshua said. He held out his hand and Judas slammed the alabaster box into it, then stormed out of the house. I could hear him shouting out in the street, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. Maggie poured the rest of the oil on Joshua's head and drew patterns on his forehead with her finger. Joshua tried to take her hand but she pulled it away from him and stepped back until he dropped his hand. â€Å"A dead man can't love,† she said. â€Å"Be still.† When we followed Joshua to the Temple the next morning, Maggie was nowhere to be seen. Monday On Monday Joshua led us through the Golden Gate into Jerusalem, but this time there were no palm fronds laid on the road and no one was singing hosannas. (Well, there was this one guy, but he was always singing hosannas at the Golden Gate. If you gave him a coin he'd stop for a while.) â€Å"It would be nice to be able to buy a little something for breakfast,† Judas said. â€Å"If the Magdalene hadn't spent all of our money.† â€Å"Joshua smells nice, though,† Nathaniel said. â€Å"Don't you think Joshua smells nice?† Sometimes you find yourself grateful for the most unlikely things. Right then, when I saw Judas grit his teeth and the vein stand out on his forehead, I said a quick prayer of thanks for Nathaniel's na;vet. â€Å"He does smell nice,† said Bartholomew. â€Å"It makes one want to reassess one's values regarding the material comforts.† â€Å"Thank you, Bart,† said Joshua. â€Å"Yes, there's nothing like a good-smelling man,† said John dreamily. Suddenly we were all very uncomfortable and there was a lot of throat-clearing and coughing and we all walked a few paces farther apart. (I haven't told you about John, have I?) Then John started to make a great and pathetic show of noticing the women as they passed. â€Å"Why, that little heifer would give a man some strong sons,† John said in a booming and falsely masculine voice. â€Å"A man could surely plant some seed there, he could.† â€Å"Please shut up,† James said to his brother. â€Å"Maybe,† said Philip, â€Å"you could have your mother come over and tell that woman to cleave unto you.† Everyone snickered, even Joshua. Well, everyone except James. â€Å"You see?† he said to his brother. â€Å"You see what you've started? You little nancy.† â€Å"There's a nubile wench,† exclaimed John unconvincingly. He pointed to a woman who was being dragged toward the city gates by a group of Pharisees, her clothes hanging in shreds on her body (which indeed appeared to be nubile, so credit to John for working outside of his element). â€Å"Block the road,† Joshua said. The Pharisees came up to our human blockade and stopped. â€Å"Let us pass, Rabbi,† the oldest of them said. â€Å"This woman has been caught in the act of adultery this very day and we're taking her out of the city to be stoned, as is the law.† The woman was young and her hair fell in dirty curls around her face. Terror had twisted her face and her eyes were rolled back in her head, but an hour ago she had probably been pretty. Joshua crouched and began writing in the dust at his feet. â€Å"What's your name?† he asked. â€Å"Jamal,† said the leader. I watched Joshua write the man's name, then next to it a list of sins. â€Å"Wow, Jamal,† I said. â€Å"A goose? I didn't even know that was possible.† Jamal dropped the adulteress's arm and stepped back. Joshua looked up at the other man who was holding the woman. â€Å"And your name?† â€Å"Uh, Steve,† said that man. â€Å"His name is not Steve,† said another man in the crowd. â€Å"It's Jacob.† Joshua wrote â€Å"Jacob† in the dust. â€Å"No,† said Jacob. He let go of the woman, pushing her toward us. Then Joshua stood up and took the stone from the man nearest him, who surrendered it easily. His attention was focused on the list of sins written in the dirt. â€Å"Now let us stone this harlot,† Joshua said. â€Å"Whoever of you is without sin, cast the first stone.† And he held out the stone to them. They gradually backed away. In a moment they had all gone back the way they had come and the adulteress fell to Joshua's feet and hugged his ankles. â€Å"Thank you, Rabbi. Thank you so much.† â€Å"That's okay,† said Joshua. He lifted her to her feet. â€Å"Now go, and sin no more.† â€Å"You really smell good, you know that?† she said. â€Å"Yeah, thanks. Now go.† She started off. â€Å"I should make sure she gets home okay,† I said. I started off after her, but Joshua caught the back of my tunic and pulled me back. â€Å"You missed the ‘sin no more' part of my instructions?† â€Å"Look, I've already committed adultery with her in my heart, so, you know, why not enjoy it?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"You're the one who set the standards. By those rules, even John committed adultery with her in his heart, and he doesn't even like women.† â€Å"Do too,† said John. â€Å"To the Temple,† Joshua said, pressing on. â€Å"Waste of a perfectly good adulteress, if you ask me.† In the outer court of the Temple, where the women and the Gentiles were allowed to go, Joshua called us all together and began to preach the kingdom. Each time he would get started, a vendor would come by barking, â€Å"Get your doves. Get your sacrificial doves. Pure as the driven snow. Everybody needs one.† Then Joshua would begin again and the next vendor would come by. â€Å"Unleavened bread! Get your unleavened bread! Only one shekel. Piping hot matzo, just like Moses ate on the way out of Egypt, only fresher.† And a little girl who was lame was brought to Joshua and he started to heal her and ask about her faith when†¦ â€Å"Your denariis changed to shekels, while you wait! No amount too large or small. Drachmas to talents, talents to shekels – all your money changed while you wait.† â€Å"Do you believe that the Lord loves you?† Joshua asked the little girl. â€Å"Bitter herbs! Get your bitter herbs!† cried a vendor. â€Å"Dammit all!† Joshua screamed in frustration. â€Å"You're healed, child, now get out of here.† He waved off the little girl, who got up and walked for the first time in her life, then he slapped a dove vendor, ripped the top off his cage of birds, and released a cloud of doves into the sky. â€Å"This is a house of prayer! Not a den of thieves.† â€Å"Oh no, not the moneychangers,† Peter whispered to me. Joshua grabbed a long low table where men were changing a dozen currencies into shekels (the only coin allowed for commerce inside the Temple complex) and he flipped it over. â€Å"Oh, that's it, he's fucked,† Philip said. And he was. The priests took a big percentage from the moneychangers. He might have slid by before, but now he'd interfered with their income. â€Å"Out, you vipers! Out!† Joshua had taken a coil of rope from one of the vendors and was using it as a scourge to drive the vendors and the moneychangers out of the Temple gates. Nathaniel and Thomas had joined in Joshua's tirade, kicking at the merchants as they scampered away, but the rest of us sat staring or ministered to those who had come to hear Joshua speak. â€Å"We should stop this,† I said to Peter. â€Å"You think you could stop this?† Peter nodded to the corner of the courtyard, where at least twenty priests had come out from the Inner Temple to watch the fracas. â€Å"He's going to bring down the wrath of the priests on all of us,† Judas said. He was looking at the Temple guards, who had stopped pacing the walls and were watching the goings-on below in the courtyard. To Judas' credit, he, Simon, and a few of the others had managed to calm the small crowd of the faithful who had gathered to be blessed and healed before Joshua's tantrum. Beyond the walls of the Temple we could see the Roman soldiers staring down from the battlements of Herod the Great's old palace, which the governor commandeered during feast weeks when he brought the legions to Jerusalem. The Romans didn't enter the Temple unless they sensed insurrection, but if they entered, Jewish blood would be spilled. Rivers of it. â€Å"They won't come in,† Peter said, a tiny note of doubt in his voice. â€Å"They can see that this is a Jewish matter. They don't care if we kill each other.† â€Å"Just watch Judas and Simon,† I said. â€Å"If one of them starts with that no-master-but-God thing, the Romans will come down like an executioner's blade.† Finally, Joshua was out of breath, soaked in sweat, and barely able to swing the coil of rope he was carrying, but the Temple was clear of merchants. A large crowd had started to follow him, shouting at the vendors as Joshua drove them out of the Temple. The crowd (probably eight hundred to a thousand people) was the only thing that kept the priests from calling the guards down on Joshua right then. Josh tossed the rope aside and led the crowd back to where we had been watching in horror. â€Å"Thieves,† he said to us breathlessly as he passed. Then he went to a little girl with a withered arm who had been waiting beside Judas. â€Å"Pretty scary, huh?† Joshua said to her. She nodded. Joshua put his hands over her withered arm. â€Å"Are those guys in the tall hats coming over here?† She nodded again. â€Å"Here, can you make this sign with your finger?† He showed her how to stick out her middle finger. â€Å"No, not with that hand, with this one.† Joshua took his hand away from her withered arm and she wiggled her fingers. The muscle and tendons had filled out until it looked identical to her other arm. â€Å"Now,† Joshua said, â€Å"make that sign. That's good. Now show it to those guys behind me with the tall hats. That's a good girl.† â€Å"By whose authority do you perform these healings,† said one of the priests, obviously the highest-ranking of the group. â€Å"No master – † Simon began to shout but he was cut off by a vicious blow to the solar plexus from Peter, who then pushed the Zealot to the ground and sat on him while furiously whispering in his ear. Andrew had come up behind Judas and seemed to be delivering a similar lecture without benefit of the body blow. Josh took a little boy from his mother's arms and held him. The boy's legs waved in the air as if they had no bones at all. Without looking away from the boy, Joshua said, â€Å"By what authority did John baptize?† The priests looked around among themselves. The crowd moved in closer. We were in Judea, John's territory. The priests knew better than to challenge John's authority under God in front of a crowd this size, but they certainly weren't going to confirm it for Joshua's sake, either. â€Å"We can't say at this time,† said the priest. â€Å"Then I can't say either,† said Joshua. He stood the little boy on his feet and held him steady as the boy's legs took his full weight, probably for the first time ever. The boy wobbled like a newborn colt and Joshua caught him and laughed. He took the boy's shoulders and helped him walk back to his mother, then he turned on the priests and looked at them for the first time. â€Å"You would test me? Test me. Ask me what you will, you vipers, but I will heal these people and they shall know the word of God in spite of you.† Philip had moved up behind me during this speech and he whispered, â€Å"Can't you knock him out or something with your methods from the East? We have to get him out of here before he says any more.† â€Å"I think we're too late, John,† I said. â€Å"Just don't let the crowd disperse. Go out into the city and bring more. The crowd is his only protection now. And find Joseph of Arimathea too. He might be able to help if this gets out of hand.† â€Å"This isn't out of hand?† â€Å"You know what I mean.† The inquisition went on for two hours, with the priests concocting every verbal trap they could think of, and Joshua wiggling out sometimes, and blundering through at others. I looked for some way to get Joshua out of the Temple without him being arrested, but the more I looked, the more I noticed that the guards had moved down off the walls and were hovering around the gates to the courtyard. Meanwhile the chief priest droned on: â€Å"A man dies and leaves no sons, but his wife marries his brother, who has three sons by his first wife†¦[and on] The three of them leave Jericho and head south, going three point three furlongs per hour, but they are leading two donkeys, which can carry two†¦[and on] So the Sabbath ends, and they are able to resume, adding on the thousand steps allowed under the law†¦and the wind is blowing southwest at two furlongs per hour†¦[and on] How much water will be required for the journey? Give your answer in firkins.† â€Å"Five,† Joshua said, as soon as they stopped speaking. And all were amazed. The crowd roared. A woman shouted, â€Å"Surely he is the Messiah.† â€Å"The Son of God has come,† said another. â€Å"You guys aren't helping,† I shouted back at them. â€Å"You didn't show your work, you didn't show your work,† chanted the youngest of the priests. Judas and Matthew had been scratching out the problem on the paving stones of the courtyard as the priest recited, but they had long since lost track. They looked up and shook their heads. â€Å"Five,† Joshua repeated. The priests looked around among themselves. â€Å"That's right, but that doesn't give you authority to heal in the Temple.† â€Å"In three days, there will be no Temple, for I'll destroy it, and you nest of vipers with it. And three days after that, a new Temple shall be built in honor of my father.† And then I grabbed him around the chest and started dragging him toward the gate. The other apostles followed the plan and moved around us in a wedge. Beyond that, the crowd pressed in. Hundreds moved along with us. â€Å"Wait, I'm not done!† Joshua yelled. â€Å"Yes you are.† â€Å"Surely the true king of Israel has come to bring forth the kingdom,† one woman shouted. Peter smacked her on the back of the head. â€Å"Stop helping.† By the sheer mass of the crowd we were able to get Joshua out of the Temple and through the streets to Joseph of Arimathea's house. Joseph let us in and led us to the upper room, which had a high arched stone ceiling, rich carpets on the floors and walls, piles of cushions, and a long low table for dining. â€Å"You're safe here, but I don't know for how long. They've already called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.† â€Å"But we just left the Temple,† I said. â€Å"How?† â€Å"You should have let them take me,† Joshua said. â€Å"The table will be set for the Passover feast of the Essenes,† Joseph said. â€Å"Stay here for supper.† â€Å"Celebrate the Passover early? Why?† John asked. â€Å"Why celebrate with the Essenes?† Joseph looked away from Joshua when he answered. â€Å"Because at the Essenes' feast, they don't kill a lamb.†

Princess Diana2 essays

Princess Diana2 essays Princess Diana was born The Honorable Diana Frances Spencer on July 1, 1961. She was the third female child to Viscount and Viscountess Althorp. Diana had two older sisters, Sarah and Jane and one younger brother, Charles. Her family was well off and Diana had a privileged childhood. The Spencers made their money as successful sheep traders in the 15th century. With their fortune they built Althorp House in Northamptonshire and acquired a family crest and motto God defend the right (Morton 10). The Spencers occupied various offices of State and Court. When Dianas was born her father was disappointed she was a girl. He was hoping for his third children to finally be a male heir to carry on the Spencer name. Dianas father and the rest of the family wanted to know why her mother was only producing girls. Because of this, her mother was sent to a clinic for tests (Morton 10). She was only 23 at the time. This is ironic because today we now know the sex of the baby is determined by the father. Even though she was too young to understand, Diana believed she was to blame for her fathers disappointment. Finally, a few years later her mother delivered a boy to carry on the Spencer name. Although Diana had a beautiful christening at Sandringham Church with well-to-do Godparents, her brother Charless christening was a major event at Westminster Abbey. The Queen was the principal Godparent. The Spencer children were privileged but not snobbish. They were taught to accept people for what they are and not their position in life. The children never understood their titles until they went to school. Occasionally one of the royals would make a visit to the Spencer home and once in a while they would play with Princess Margarets sons, Princes Andrew and Edward. Diana remembers not liking to go to the Royal home, because it was big and spooky. Dianas mother...

Changing Gender Roles Research Paper Example

Changing Gender Roles Research Paper Example Changing Gender Roles Paper Changing Gender Roles Paper The important norms of life divide the people in different categories and groups depending upon the race, religion and age. There is another category that is most of the times simply irresistible to be forgotten which is the gender division. It is the just the instant reflex that makes the males and females to observe the difference during any kind of confrontation. As these issues stand by Sociology plays an important role in describing how the gender roles are devised and how they change as the time passes by. More or less the difference lies in the beliefs of the society including interpretation of different situations and the stereotyping that leads to certain conclusion at times (Wallace Alison, 1995). Gender Roles: Social learning theory works for the socialization. Social learning theory is described as the process in which a person from its birth learns different aspects of life including behaviors and responses to the behaviors as he sees (Giddens et al, 2007). Socialization is therefore a process in which the person learns how customs, environment and laws work in society. Gender socialization is the focused form of socialization and allows the grooming of different sexes into individuals and how they are supposed to play their roles according to their genders in the society. Defining of the gender roles is an important in how the society works. Looking into the developed countries of the world, the gender roles are often termed towards discrimination but still the conventional roles of the women have changed considerably for both males and females. A persons gender role encloses many different elements including the way of clothing, styling etc. and the differences in these roles have alwa ys continued over time (Christie-Mizell, 2006). The division of the roles has been, historically, based on males and females but different gender roles have emerged overtime as well. Changing of gender roles has been a quite continuous process. Males and females trying to avoid their personal strengths of being a specific sex have changed. Research followed in Western countries have shown that the females have become lot more vulnerable and hollow in their approach towards their main role of bearing child and work domestically. The progressive approach has made them to deviate from their roles considerably causing the momentum to be shifted away from the equilibrium that requires stability (Giddens et al, 2007). Even the role of males has changed in most parts of the world as well. Gender Roles in America: The civilization has played an important role in the cultural aspects of the country where the gender role reformation has taken place in recent years. The formation of the laws always stood against the females as they were never allowed to take part in active politics and they didnt have the right to vote. More importantly the females were more degraded than this specific reality as they were not even considered a responsible part of the society and were treated quite disgracefully. Though they were bearing children and were good at domestic works but they require more than these things in their life. Thus it seems that the changing in the gender roles was quite inevitable for them as they wanted to revitalize their gender so that they can be viewed differently (Scott Braun, 2006). After considerable work done in the history by some females, they gained a respectable stature in the society. They were allowed to gain education and move freely into the markets and everywhere. The social aspects of this new role have placed various questions upon the conventionality of the gender roles which are very far away from each other. The important point is the equality which has played a major role in the shaping of lives of both sexes. The males and females have come at direct confrontation with each other considering both of them as enemy of each other. This particular statement has made both sexes to move away from their main role and they have tried to invent things of their opposite gender into their own. Those who agree with these changing of roles describe this as a healthy change which could provide prosperity to the society but the socialization has predominantly been affected. The women now have achieved respect; they are now in fashion and media and are running side by side with men. They have taken job positions which few years back would have been only appropriate for men. They even try to gain access to these jobs because this is the way they feel secure whereas the males have continued to show their dominance by going into wars, running the business and taking responsibility of the family in previous years are now having direct competition from the females (Connell, 1987). The critics of these changing in the gender roles describe it as a curse which is causing the natural phenomenon to worn out without benefits and with serious consequences. The people are no longer interested in marriages and having families rather than work for money. They are just moving away from the basic means of life. The inclusion of stress, pain and sleeplessness with the essence of loneliness has made the whole American society to become solvent in the current society. The birth rates are going down, new born babies are not having the right kind of learning scenarios and the gender differentiation is causing the frustration as well (Andersen, 1993). The discrimination and racism has also increased considerably against the women. Many men are still unable to realize the reality that females now hold equal rights and require respect. When this happen they are going around the way and try to gain the dominance by either beating or by other measly actions. This has caused the ra tio of domestic violence to gain as well. The families and household structures in America have changed considerably therefore. The females are not confined to the homes only and the males are not confined to offices only. Males also take the responsibilities for the growth of their children when their wives are doing office works. This is where the sociological aspects of the America have changed quite a lot. The gender discrimination might not be present on a larger scale and at one place where they have provided good results, bad results are also present. Gender Roles in Hong Kong: Hong Kong has a very strong cultural and sociological structure. The Chinese structure of the families play an important role in the Hong Kong culture where the gender roles are changing but they are being kept at a steady pace (AU, 1993). Though with recent advancements in the field of science and technology and the industries, the progressive approach around the world have required some changes in Hong Kong as well. Chinese remains a great follower of their family cultures. The women are devised to raise the families but there are many examples where they are quite active in the work as well though the ratio of respect for the elders and the males is quite more than that is present in the American culture. Chinese believe in providing better services to their grandparents more than in the American culture. The combined family system is still applicable in various parts of the country as opposed to the American society where the grandparents are stuck into the old age houses. The gender roles in Hong Kong have never been hyped before the 1980s. The country gained these propositions from the fueling from the United Nations about the human rights of the women. After these incidents, the gender roles started to change but less gradually than any other country in the West. The gender roles were clearly stereotyped since recently. Today, Hong Kong has placed various complications in their system which not only provides right to the women but also the freedom to choose whatever role they want to attain regardless of their gender importance (AU, 1993). Women are present in politics, in businesses, in social welfare and then there are those who are actively taking part in the domestic role for their families. The understanding of the role basically depends upon the individual. The stereotyping can become an important factor to provide easy access to the decisions. Difference in Gender Changing Roles in Hong Kong and America: At this point we are much clear about the gender roles in traditional as well as modern American society. Situation however, is very different in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is still is in the transition phase when view in terms of changing gender roles. In terms of traditional gender roles America and Hong Kong are much similar. America being a liberal nation showed less resistant to changing gender roles than Hong Kong. Things are on the go in Hong Kong too, but it has been observed that resistance factor still creating many hurdles. Men here still want their wives to stay at home and perform the household hold duties and domestic chores. Eventually, media played a very positive role, employers are creating jobs for women, and equal employment opportunities are available in most if not in all organizations. Despite of all these facts, Hong Kong is still far behind. . Many researches highlighted different factors which are still to be addressed. Issue has been discussed widely too, may be youth can make it possible. Different studies has been conducted to have an inside towards genders inequality, it is derived from these studies that the textbooks offered to students (even at primary level) intends to believe in stereotypes about men superiority. Portrayals in different textbooks highlighted men as social person and women as household manager (Au, 1993: 13). Apart from this, women are repeatedly under presented in the textbook character portrayal. When these children were asked about their perception towards gender they replied as expected (Au, 1993: 18). Now the question arises if teachers, parents, principals and publishers are aware of what they are intending their children to learn, or not. These types of activities are the clear wisdom of the intensions of Hong Kong policies towards gender inequality. Conclusion Americans are leading the world, not because they have adequate resources to do so, because they care about the issues and try to trigger that out. They are liberal towards human rights and believe that both men and women have capacities to perform duties traditionally symbolize to one. Hong Kong on the other hand is not paying attention to what we can say call of Time. Increasing number of women physicians, judges, teachers, scientists are the resources of America. Though we know, Americans still have to do a lot towards actual gender equality and ideal changing gender roles, they have to rectify the pay inequality, they need to increase the number of women in top level management to show that women can do almost everything associated to men, traditionally. This is the wakeup time for Hong Kong Government to educate their people towards changing gender roles and to create equal employment opportunities with positive intensions. Women of this era are not t all less than man. At this stage, we need to promote and encourage gender equality and equal employment opportunities and to do this first we need to introduce more gender equality curriculum. Otherwise, we will remain behind not only from America but from other nations too. This is not an easy task as we dont know how much this gender-based curriculum penetrated in our upcoming youth. Policy measures are required at organizational level both in education and business organization. Apart from curriculum and equal employment opportunity, media should be the source to educate people. Power of media can be use as an opportunity to educate people quickly and effectively.

Best Summary and Analysis The Great Gatsby, Chapter 4

Best Summary and Analysis The Great Gatsby, Chapter 4 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Fresh from theworld of organized parties that we saw in Chapter 3, now we dive head-first into the world of organized crime. In TheGreat GatsbyChapter 4, our narrator Nick gets a short private audience with one of New York’s premier gangsters - Meyer Wolfshiem, Gatsby’s business partner. But, just as Chapter 4 exposes the seamy side of get-rich-quick East Coast life, we also learn the origin story of Gatsby’s love for Daisy. So, basically: come toThe Great GatsbyChapter 4for human teeth as jewelry, stay for the thwarted romance. Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. The Great Gatsby: Chapter 4Summary Sunday morning, people come back to Gatsby’s.New rumors circulate – that Gatsby is a bootlegger and that he is the nephew of German General von Hindenburg (a successful military commander in the war). Nick makes a list of the people who came to Gatsby’s parties that summer. There are East Egg names that sound very WASPy, West Egg names that are distinctly more ethnic-sounding (with clearly German, Polish, Irish, and Jewish names featured), and a bunch of theater nameswho connect back to the idea of Gatsby as a theater producer. One morning in July, Gatsby picks Nick up in his beautiful car and takes him to Manhattan forlunch. They don’t have much to talk about, but suddenly, Gatsby tells Nick to ignore all the rumors about him – he’ll tell him the real deal. According to Gatsby, he was born to a wealthy Midwestern family, his parents are dead, and he was educated at Oxford per family tradition. Nick immediately thinks Gatsby is lying. Gatsby continues his story: he bummed around Europe depressed until the war, then fought bravely enough to get medals from all the Allied governments. Gatsby shows Nick a real-looking medal inscribed to him and a photograph from his Oxford days. Nick is convinced. Apparently this crazy, too-good-to-be-true story really is true. Gatsby tells Nick that this information is a kind of payment for a favor he will ask for later – mysteriously, Nick will find out what the favor is from Jordan. On the drive to Manhattan, Nick sees Mr. Wilson in his gas station. Gatsby is speeding, but when a policeman tries to pull him over, he shows the cop awhite card and the cop politely and apologetically waves them on. Gatsby claims that this happened because the police commissioner owes him a solid. Nick revels in the â€Å"anything goes† quality of Manhattan as they drive past a funeral procession and a car with both black and white passengers. Even Gatsby wouldn’t stand out here. At lunch, Gatsby introduces Nick to Meyer Wolfshiem, who is described in offensive anti-Semitic terms. Nick mocks his speech patterns, his appearance, and his mannerisms, which in his mind seem to connect as closely to Wolfshiembeing Jewish as to him being a gangster. Wolfshiem reminisces about another restaurant, where he witnessed a gangland execution (and was clearly an active participant in gang activity). Nick remembers the case, and that the shooters were put to death by electric chair. It suddenly turns out that Wolfsheim thinks that Gatsby introduced Nick as a potential business prospect, but Gatsby clarifies that Nick is simply a friend. Gatsby apologizes for not telling Nick about whatever the favor will be, and then takes off to make a phone call, leaving Nick and Wolfshiem together. Wolfshiem talks Gatsby up to Nick, confirming that he is an Oxford man.Wolfsheim then points out that his own cufflinks are made out of human molars, and out of nowhere says that Gatsby would never hit on a friend’s wife. When Gatsby returns, Wolfshiem takes off. Nick wonders what he does for a living, and Gatsby tells him that Wolfshiem is a gambler – and the man who fixed the 1919 World Series (what’s now also known as the â€Å"Chicago Black Sox Scandal†).Nick is staggered by the thought that one man could have done such a huge thing. Nick then sees Tom in the restaurant, and they go over to say hello. Gatsby becomes extremely uncomfortable and disappears. Later that day, Jordan tells Nick the following story: In 1917, when she was 16, Jordan became good friends with Daisy in Louisville. Daisy was 18, super popular, with a white car, white clothes, and tons of boys asking her out. On the day Daisy chose to single Jordan out as a new friend, Daisy was having a romantic afternoon with Jay Gatsby. A few years later, Jordan heard a story that Daisy had tried to run away from home to say goodbye to a soldier going overseas. Six months later, Daisy married Tom Buchanan in the biggest wedding ever. Tom’s wedding present to Daisy was a pearl necklace worth $350,000 (over five million dollars in today’s money). Jordan was one of Daisy’s bridesmaids. The night before the wedding, she found Daisy completely wasted, holding a letter. Daisy drunkenly cried and begged Jordan to call off the wedding. She then crumpled the letter up in the bathtub.But the next day, none of this was mentioned, and the wedding went fine. After the honeymoon, Daisy seemed very much in love with Tom, but Tom was already cheating on her. Daisy, meanwhile, has never had affairs – at least none that anyone knows about. Jordan finishes her story by saying that when Nick came to dinner with Daisy and Tom is the first time Daisy had heard the name Gatsby in all these years – and she realized that he was the same Gatsby she had known in Louisville. Nick is amazed at the coincidence. Jordan replies that it’s not a coincidence at all – Gatsby bought the house across the bay on purpose. Gatsby would like Nick to invite Daisy over one day, and then let Gatsby come over also, â€Å"accidentally† meeting Daisy there.Nick is floored by the insanity of this level of planning. Jordan thinks maybe Gatsby expected Daisy to come to one of his parties, and when that didn’t happen, he made up this new plan.Nick and Jordan make out. I, for one, would love to see the flow chart of Gatsby’s elaborately laborious planning process. Its wheels within wheels are at "Count of Monte Cristo" level! Key Chapter 4 Quotes "I'm going to make a big request of you today," he said, pocketing his souvenirs with satisfaction, "so I thought you ought to know something about me. I didn't want you to think I was just some nobody. You see, I usually find myself among strangers because I drift here and there trying to forget the sad thing that happened to me." (4.43) The more Gatsby seems to reveal about himself, the more he deepens the mystery– it’s amazing how clichà ©d and yet how intriguing the â€Å"sad thing† he mentions immediately is. It’s also interesting that Gatsby uses his origin story as a transaction – he’s not sharing his past with Nick to form a connection, but as advance payment for a favor. At the same time, there’s a lot of humor in this scene. Imagine any time you told anyone something about yourself, you then had to whip out some physical object to prove it was true! A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms, followed by two carriages with drawn blinds and by more cheerful carriages for friends. The friends looked out at us with the tragic eyes and short upper lips of south-eastern Europe, and I was glad that the sight of Gatsby's splendid car was included in their somber holiday. As we crossed Blackwell's Island a limousine passed us, driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish Negroes, two bucks and a girl. I laughed aloud as the yolks of their eyeballs rolled toward us in haughty rivalry. "Anything can happen now that we've slid over this bridge," I thought; "anything at all. . . ." Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder. (4.56-58) In a novel so concerned with fitting in, with rising through social ranks, and with having the correct origins, it’s always interesting to see where those who fall outside this ranking system are mentioned. Just he earlier described loving the anonymity of Manhattan, here Nick finds himself enjoying a similar melting-pot quality as he sees an indistinctly ethnic funeral procession (â€Å"south-eastern Europe† most likely means the people are Greek) and a car with both black and white people in it. What is now racist terminology is here used pejoratively, but not necessarily with the same kind of blind hatred that Tom demonstrates. Instead, Nick can see that within the black community there are also social ranks and delineations – he distinguishes between the way the fiveblack men in the car are dressed, and notes that they feel ready to challenge him and Gatsby in some car-related way. Do they want to race? To compare clothing? It’s unclear, but it adds to the sense of possibility that the drive to Manhattan always represents in the book. "Meyer Wolfshiem? No, he's a gambler." Gatsby hesitated, then added coolly: "He's the man who fixed the World's Series back in 1919." "Fixed the World's Series?" I repeated. The idea staggered me. I remembered of course that the World's Series had been fixed in 1919 but if I had thought of it at all I would have thought of it as a thing that merely happened, the end of some inevitable chain. It never occurred to me that one man could start to play with the faith of fifty million peoplewith the single-mindedness of a burglar blowing a safe. "How did he happen to do that?" I asked after a minute. "He just saw the opportunity." "Why isn't he in jail?" "They can't get him, old sport. He's a smart man." (4.3-9) Nick’s amazement at the idea of one man being behind an enormous event like the fixed World Series is telling. For one thing, the powerful gangster as a prototype of pulling-himself-up-by-his-bootstraps, self-starting man, which the American Dreamholds up as a paragon of achievement, mocks this individualist ideal. It also connects Gatsby to the world of crime, swindling, and the underhanded methods necessary to effect enormous change. In a smaller, less criminal way, watching Wolfshiem maneuver has clearly rubbed off on Gatsby and his convolutedly large-scale scheme to get Daisy’s attention by buying an enormous mansion nearby. Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm. A phrase began to beat in my ears with a sort of heady excitement: "There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired." (4.164) Nick thinks this about Jordan while they are kissing. Two things to ponder: Which one does he think he is: the pursued or the pursuing? The busy or the tired? Perhaps we are meant to match these adjectives up to the two people involved in the main love story, in which case Gatsby is both the pursuing and the busy, while Daisy is the pursued and the tired. If Tom, Daisy, and Gatsby are locked into a romantic triangle (or square, if we include Myrtle), then Jordan and Nick are vying for the position of narrator. Nick presents himself as the objective, nonjudgmental observer – the confidant of everyone he meets. So it’s interesting that here we get his perspective on Jordan’s narrative style – â€Å"universal skepticism† – right after she gets to take over telling the story for a huge chunk of the chapter. Which is the better approach, we are being asked, the overly credulous or the jaded and disbelieving? Are we more likely to believe Jordan when she says something positive about someone since she is so quick to find fault? For example, it seems important that she be the one to state that Daisy hasn’t had any affairs, not Nick. Ladies and gentlemen, the 1919 Chicago â€Å"Black† Sox. Not major league baseball’s finest hour. The Great GatsbyChapter 4Analysis How does the text of this chapterinvoke the major themes of the novel? Let's investigate. Overarching Themes Society and Class. The list of East and West Egg names clearly ties into Tom’s earlier fixationon the book about the â€Å"white race† being in danger of being overwhelmed by â€Å"other races†. Here, we see that the people who until very recently were newcomer immigrants to America are now becoming rich enough to populate West Egg – and it is because of this seeming encroachment that the old money society is circling its wagons ever more. It is interesting that Gatsby’s mansion is a kind of demilitarized zone where these two groups of people encounter each other. The American Dream. Gatsby’s attempt to sell Nick on an origin story of himself as the scion of a wealthy family again points to his desire for self-invention and self-mythologizing. It also shows that he doesn’t want to present himself as an American Dream success story, but instead as an old money part of the upper crust. Morality and Ethics. The introduction of Meyer Wolfshiem focuses our attention on the criminal enterprise pervading the Roaring 20s during the Prohibition. Meyer’s active and powerful effect on the world around him – his ability to single-handedly fix the 1919 World Series – contrasts with the two other wealthy men we have met so far. Gatsby clearly at least somewhat admires Meyer’s abilities and also pursues his desire with a big and bold play. Tom, meanwhile, is powerful only in a physically intimidating way, but has neither the vision nor the follow-through for any large accomplishments. Love, Desire, and Relationships. The marriage of Tom and Daisygets more complicated when we see that Daisy had had some kind of romantic connection with Gatsby beforehand, that she had extreme cold feet before going through with the wedding, and that Tom started having affairs as soon as their honeymoon ended. This gives context to some of Daisy’s earlier despairand of course paints Tom in an even worse light. Unreliable Narrator. Finally, we get a chance to see what a different kind of narratorwould do with this story when Jordan takes over the storytelling duties for a while. She is judgmental, quick to mock her subjects, but the story she tells is psychologically cohesive and doesn’t contradict what we now know of the characters. We are left wondering whether a narrator who puts all their biases up front is better than one who pretends to be totally objective like Nick. Tom’s MOis to buy love - he pacifies Daisy’s cold feet with pearls, and later finds Myrtle’s moral qualms much cheaper to overcome. Crucial Character Beats Gatsby tells Nick an origin story: he’s the son of wealthy now-dead Midwesterners, he went to Oxford, and then he fought bravely in WWI. Not only that, but he has a medal and a photograph to prove it! Gatsby introduces Nick to Meyer Wolfshiem. He is clearly affiliated with the Jewish mafia. (In fact, he is based on the real-life gangster Arnold Rothstein.) He is depicted with every horrible anti-Semitic stereotype available – everything from his appearance to the way he speaks is a racist caricature. Jordan fills Nick on Daisy and Tom’s wedding. Daisy had had a romantic connection with Jay Gatsby before then, but ended up marrying Tom after a night of hysterically crying about wanting to call it off. A few months after the wedding, Tom was already cheating on her. Jordan also tells Nick that Gatsby bought the house across the bay from Tom and Daisy’s on purpose. He wants Nick to invite Daisy over so that Gatsby can then â€Å"accidentally† stop by. What’s Next? Get comfortable with the flashbacks and flashforwards of the narrative by checking out the chronological timelineof exactly what happens when in the story. Compare Gatsby and Daisy’s backstory with Fitzgerald’s own youthful love affairto see how authors mine their own experiences to build a richer fictional world. Move on to the summary of Chapter 5, or revisit the summary of Chapter 3. Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Dr. Anna Wulick About the Author Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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