Legislation affecting schools Essay

Linked to the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights. Under this Act individuals in the UK have particular rights and freedoms however these have to balance against the rights and freedoms of others. Some articles which have a direct link to education/schools are: Article 2: The first protocol – the right to education (however this does not mean the right to a particular school). Article 8: The right to respect for private and family life. Article 10: The right to freedom of expression. Restraints of pupils are permitted under the Act however each school has their own policy and procedure for this. All children have a right to an education. Pupils have a freedom of expression. Data Protection Act 1998 Means that schools need to keep and use information only for the purpose it was intended. It also needs to be kept securely on site, either locked away in a filing cabinet or on a password protected computer. If required to update and pupil information this should be done on site and not be taken off site to complete. All information about pupils should be considered confidential and must not be shared with others without parental consent. When discussing pupils with other members of staff you should make sure that only necessary information is shared The school is protected over personal information it holds The school should issue a letter informing parents of how pupil data is protected. Schools must follow the act over how they handle data (password computers, locked cabinets). Staff need to be aware of this and reminded. Freedom of Information Act 2000 Introduced in 2005 to promote transparency and accountability in the public sector. It is retrospective and information can be sought from any time in  the past. Any person can request information for a school however this must be done in writing. Schools have a duty to provide assistance and advice to anyone who requests information but on the other hand they must evaluate the situation if they need to protect the information for confidentiality. The DCFS has produced guidance for schools and governing bodies to give advice about requesting information. Parents/students have the right to request information held by schools and local authorities. Information for information must be done in writing. Equality of Opportunity Sex Discrimination The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 makes it unlawful for education establishments to directly or indirectly discriminate pupils based on their sex, gender or sexual orientation. Admissions policies are available to be seen at hand. Local authorities are also under general duty to ensure that educational facilities and services are provided without sex discrimination. Many bodies can be held responsible for discrimination under the SDA. Race Discrimination The law states that all schools or colleges must not discriminate against people on the grounds of race in any of its policies or practices including admissions policies. All local educational authorities also have a legal duty not to discriminate. Local educational authorities have a duty to have a race equality policy and should take steps to discourage racial attacks. All schools should follow the local authority policies. Disability Discrimination Act To protect disable people from discrimination in the workplace and in the provisions. All schools have a duty to make adjustments that may be needed to ensure that the child is made welcome and is supported at all times. Schools must adhere to the Equality Act 2010. Schools cannot discriminate against pupils because of their sex, sexual orientation or gender. Children are taught about equality and diversity. No sexist book or exams. Toys that are accessible must be accessible to all. Ensure they have a Racial Discrimination Act. Have a duty to protect pupils against abuse or violence. Must no discriminate against anyone because of their race Relates to class rooms as well- all work displayed not discriminating. Schools must adhere to inclusive education. They cannot exclude on the grounds of disability or special needs. The head teacher must seek advice if needed from local authorities. Schools must have accessible resources. Staff training days to update knowledge. Special Educational Needs Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act Special educational need also known as SENDA. It is unlawful for educational providers to treat disabled children â€Å"less favorably† than they would other children. institutions are required to make â€Å"adjustments† for example providing aids like ramps. LEAs and schools plan together to make the access easier for disabled children. All registered early years providers must have a written SEN policy and a SENCO. They should also make arrangements for staff to participate in any relevant training. All pupils must not be excluded from any aspects of school due to the disability. Legislation will affect how the schools are run as they will need to comply fully with legal requirements. Schools may need to ask advice and guidance if and when needed this will usually be through the governing bodies. Special Educational Needs Code of Practice SEN code of practice, parents and SEN children have an increased right to a mainstream education. This may have an impact on the number of children who have SEN being included in mainstream schools and on the number of individual support assistants who will support them. Training and implications have been put in to place in order to support individuals and schools must now manage pupils with a more diverse range of need. Schools need to ensure they make reasonable provisions to ensure people with SEN are provided with the same opportunities as those who are not disabled. Could be through 1:1 support or building adaptions e.g. disabled toilets, ramps and sensory rooms. The school must make the best decisions to provide best values for the child with special needs. For example: a child may receive a considerable amount of IPS (Individual pupil funding) and the school must decide the best way to use this support for the child’s needs. Sources: www.yourrights.org.uk www.adviseguide.org.uk www.kingston.gov.uk

American Beauty †Analysis Essay

I had seen the movie American Beauty when it was first released, however it was a different experience for me this time. I was closely examining the interpersonal conflict in the movie. The movie is based around the Burnham family. Lester and Carolyn are husband and wife, and they have a teenage daugther, Janie. On the outside they appear to be a normal family. As the movie plays, it is obvious the characters are all a negative result of interpersonal conflict. â€Å"Conflict is a critical event in the course of a relationship. Conflict can cause resentment, hostility and perhaps the ending of the relatonship†(DonnaBellafiore). Carolyn is extremely self-centered and demanding. She controls the family with her underlying anger. Lester is a shell of a man. His self-concept is very low and he is depressed. This undoubtedly due to his lack of communication with his wife. â€Å"Self-concept is the idea you have of who you are and what makes you different from everyone else†( Sole,K). In part of the movie he realizes he has lost something, but he doesn’t know what. He has lost his self-esteem due his interpersonal conflict with his wife and daughter. In one scene Carolyn and Lester have arrived at a party Lester doesn’t want to attend. Carolyn tells him to act happy, but sadly she never wonders why he is not happy. In another scene the family is at the dinner table. Carolyn is talking about her day and Lester informs her that he has quit his job. She mocks him for doing so and tries to get Janie into the conversation. Lester becomes extremely angry, and they begin to blame each other for their lack of communication. Their behaviors not only affect their relationship negatively, but has weakened the relationship they have with Janie. Carolyn handles her conflict by having an affair rather than communicating her frustrations with her husband, Lester. Lester black-mails his boss, quits his job and demands a years pay and benefits. This is one way that Lester handles his anger. Janie and her relationship with her parents, especially her father, continues to deteriorate. Janie becomes emotionaly involved with the new neighbor a nd school-mate Ricky. When Janie’s friend Angela, comes over to visit, her father always gets excited and flirts with her. This upsets Janie, but Angela likes it. Angela tells Janie Lesters attraction to her makes her realize she has potential to be a model. Angela shows no empathy for Janie’s feelings of negativity towards her father. â€Å"Empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts and experience of another†(merrriam-websterdictionary). As a result of his attraction to Angela, Lester begins working out. He begins to feel better about himself as a result of getting in shape. There is a scene in the movie where Lester sits on the sofa next to his wife, Carolyn. He begins softly speaking to her and useing non-verbal cues reminding her of how much fun she was when they were younger. She begins to smile, and for a moment you believe they are going to be kind to each other. instead, Carolyn jumps up and freaks out because Lester almost spilled his beer on the sofa. Lester becomes angry as he tries to explain to her that her material things mean more to her than living. The moment of kindness between them is over-destroyed by Carolyns confusion with her priorities and her need to be in control. It is always about her. As Janie becomes more angry with her father, she befriends her neighbor, Ricky Fitz. Ricky is forth-coming and confident. However, he has been physicaly and verbaly abused by his father. Mr. Fitz is an ex-marine. When he introduces himself to people he always says â€Å"Frank Fitz Cornel in the Marine Corps†(SamMendes, producer,1999,AmericanBeauty). He has a need for people to see him as a strong man, having been a Marine. This is his great accomplishment in life. he has beaten Ricky and verbaly abused him, and sent him away for 2 years as a result of Ricky severely beating a boy, most likely a reaction to his anger towards his father. Franks wife, Ricky’s Mom, is emotionless. She has no self-concept due to Franks personality, anger and overpowerment. Their house is a cold environment. There is no normal communication between the three of them. There is a scene where Frank and Ricky meet the neighbors-JIm and JIm. They are a gay couple who have just moved into the neighborhood . Frank freaks out about the couple. His reaction shows that he is homophobic by his negative comments. Ricky agrees with his father in an effort to keep the situaton stable. Ricky is trying to avoid a beating. Ricky and Janie are building a relationship and becoming close. Ricky has also built a relationshio with Lester. He sells Lester Marijuana . Ricky goes to Lester’s house to sell him marijuana one particular night. Frank can see Ricky and lester through the window. Frank thinks what he is seeing is Ricky having oral sex with Lester. He beats Ricky when he comes home. Ricky runs to Janie and asks her to run away with him, s he agrees. At the end of the movie, Lester is in the garage. Frank approaches him, as he walks through the pouring rain. He has an expression of pain and fear on his face. Lester approaches Lester (thinking lester is gay) and wraps his arms around him in a hug. Lester tries to be comforting, but then Lester tries to kiss him. Lester pulls back expressing to Frank that there must be some kind of understanding. Lester is not a gay man. Frank walks away with tears in his eyes. Ricky and Janie are up in her room planning their departure, and Carolyn is on her way home. She has been taking shooting lessons and carrys a gun in her glove compartment. Suddenly a gun shot is heard. Carolyn has justed pulled into the driveway, we wonder was it her who killed Lester? Jamie and Ricky find Lester shot in the head. Frank Fitz has shot Lester. He would rather have him dead than risk sharing Franks secret with anyone. Frank was a gay man. He spent his entire life covering up this reality, and in the process destroyed his wife and abused his child. After shooting Lester, Frank goes home to his room filled with guns and military memorabilia, and shoots himself. The families in this movie had such poor interpersonal communication that they destroyed each other. It was a schock for me to see such a lack of communication cause such destruction.

Blood Donation: Reasons to Donate

Q: Hav u ever donated ur blood? Y? MKT case from America's Blood Centers(ABC). It was founded in 1962 and is the national network of nonprofit, independent community blood centers. The members of it work for more than 125 million ppl and more than 3,100 hospitals. It carried out a survey nationwide via telephone interviews in order to encourage ppl to donate blood. Reasons for giving blood: umani'tarian reasons as their primary reason for donating blood; 4 out of 6 top reasons are al'truistic motives: helping the community and responding a blood shortage Wanting to help others 34% Responding to a blood drive 25% Helping the community 13% hearing about a shortage 7% Because I might need it someday 4% Helping a local child 2% Reasons for not donating blood 44% cite health issues as reason for not†¦this group is likely to be difficult to call up donating. risk health); however, ;half(52%) say other reasons: being scared of the process and unawareness never thought about it 17% too busy 15% scared of process 10% afraid of infection 4% don't know where/how to give 4% don't know anyone in need 2% !many reasons could be eliminated by some specific education about the ease,speed and safety of the process of the blood donation. and make ppl aware the need for blood. ABC gave some effective msgs to encourage blood donation. family member, frd or child is in need. 86% 92% extremely and compelling†¦(see in table 4. 3) In addition, it find out the ppl who donated 1-2 times, 18-34 yrs ones and ppl who said†never thought about it†as the reason for not donating are most likely to change mind to donate blood. while the target were asked twice about the question: whether someone is likely to donate blood in the next 12 months. The yes answer grows from 34% to 41% It turns out that roughly 8% of respondents switched to yes while only 2%.. no.

A life of the Senses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

A life of the Senses - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that throughout history, technology has had indelible impact on the lives of the people and through it; several changes in the way we do things have been realized. For instance, communication has been made possible such that we are able to communicate to those in far-flung areas without necessarily transiting to those places. Away from communication, technology has also enable us to produce goods in a more efficient and faster rate than before, with the increase in the world population, there is high demand for the products, without technology, it would be difficult to satisfy the requirement of the all people without an efficient mechanism through which production can be hastened. It is also important to note that technology has also enabled us acquire knowledge with ease, for instance, the use of Google enables us to get information at the click of the button. These are the benefits that technology as brought to our doorsteps to make life bearable and possible for us, to enable us run errands with ease and communicate issues in a timely manner. Notwithstanding, whereas there are technological advancement that has made our lives easier, there are also some bad effect that technology has brought to us, it is not that advantageous per se. For instance, in his book A life of the Senses, Richard Louv categorically proposed that Google is making us not enjoy nature in the sense that it has created a culture that do not appreciate the value of reading. Most of the people today cannot sustain reading hard copy academic materials for just one hour. This is attributed to the technological advancement that has brought Google, through this mode of getting information, it has been realized that the culture of reading has been fading with time and most of the people no longer considers reading books to be a way of sourcing information. In this doing, to find student reading hard copy materials has become rare, as most of the yout hs prefer technology to enable them get information in a click of a button. The natural reading environment has been pushed to the periphery and no more book are there to read (Goodbody 66). In the contemporary United States, young people have been so engraved in the technology that they have been deflected from getting in touch with nature. The technological advancements experienced in the US are rapidly depriving the young people from enjoying the provision of nature since most of the things they are doing are technology based. There is a strong fear that teenagers in the United States soon will be completely be disconnected from nature if they continue to rely on technology as they do today. In this paper, I have examined the different ways in which technology is affecting the extent through which young people should enjoy nature (Negrotti 43). Overreliance on technological provisions is making the young people to miss associating with nature and there is need that they balance t heir relation between nature and technology. Young people in the US have been deprived nature in the following ways through their skewed interest in the technology used. Using technology, most of the natural things have been enabled in the technology through animations, young people then use this animated or simulated programs to satisfy their quest for the natural system. The use of technology has thus made the youths to lose a lot of natural real time experience of the world by engaging in technology. Take for example tourism, before the onset of technology, there was need for tourism activities where people would go out to have fun in the natural environment, to appreciate the diversity of flora and fauna but with the onset of technology, young people have grown lazier and have no time to visit even parks to see wild animals. Instead, they opt for the movie series to enjoy the natural world as captured and availed in the movies. There are several computer games that has made it p ossible for the young people

Management Accounting - World Class Manufacturing Essay

Management Accounting - World Class Manufacturing - Essay Example Current trends emphasize world class manufacturing (WCM) which highlights maximum manufacturing efficiency in businesses, and customer and workforce satisfaction. WCM is regarded as "manufacturing systems which demonstrates best industry practice( World Class Manufacturing)." Accordingly, a world class manufacturer is a firm which displays excellence in key competitive points like quality, price, delivery speed, delivery reliability, flexibility and innovation. Its main features is the utilization of a total quality management (TQM) approach, highly flexible and motivated workforce, Just-in-Time (JIT) manufacturing philosophy, and the pursuit of satisfying customers at a global level. Consistent with the goal of a world class manufacturer, TQM denotes a set of management practices within the organization which are implemented to ensure the quality of products and services offered. The primary goal of TQM is the production of commodities which consistently meets or even exceeds customer requirements. This feature of world class manufacturing emphasizes process measurement and controls to pursue continuous improvement (John Stark Associates 2000). However, TQM does not just involve the production system or processes of the company but embraces the whole operation of a manufacturing business. Implementing TQM involves modifying the whole organization as it has strong bearing on the culture, attitude, and organization of the company. TQM culture requires the unmatched quality in all aspects of the company's operations "with things being done right first time, and defects and waste eradicated from operations (John Stark Associates 2000)." Important aspects of TQM incl ude customer-driven quality, top management leadership and commitment, continuous improvement, fast response, actions based on facts, employee participation, and a TQM culture (John Stark Associates 2000). A flexible and highly motivated workforce is another essential feature of WCM. As discussed above, WCM as opposed to the traditional manufacturing implements a totally innovative approach in operations which has a huge impact on employees. WCM needs a flexible workforce as these employees will not handle production in the traditional assembly line. WCM often requires teams which work together to finish an output. Specialization of jobs is often displaced in WCM replaced by "job enrichment." This new approach is intended to eliminate boredom and lessen employee dissatisfaction. Job enrichment is geared to "expand the scope of the job with a greater variety of tasks, vertical in nature, that require self-sufficiency (Mione 2005)." Thus, in WCM it is imperative that employees are flexible to take on a more responsibilities. Motivation is also increased as jobs are "enriched" and employees become are empowered. Motivation, in turn is a great factor in the success of WCM. In this new manu facturing approach, employees need to be motivated to excel in their job to produce the best job results. A highly flexible and motivated workforce results into a high quality product which is the main goal of WCM. JIT is a manufacturing philosophy which aims to

Airline operations management (MRO case study) Assignment

Airline operations management (MRO case study) - Assignment Example He is a true mentor and a persistent oasis of ideas and concepts that motivated my progress as a student and professional. I am undoubtedly obligated to him. It is my pleasure to express my gratitude to all the staff and faculty members of Department of ABC for their valuable supportive remarks and observations. I would also appreciate the dedicated help of all my class fellows whose constructive comments and notes played vital role in presenting detailed explanations of the project. I would also appreciate my online friend, ABC, who uninterruptedly helped in identifying and gaining access to relevant contents that proved significant to my research. We engaged in fruitful discussion on online forums that contributed in extraordinary way to accomplish this assignment with best possible result. I would like to thank the staff in university library for their smiling attitude. I would also mention National Library which provided me access to great texts of academic literature. Recent technological advancements in software development and increasing trend in implementing such IT based solutions in Aviation MROs is a major step forward in providing, controlling and tracking maintenance information. Vendors developing such specialist software are continually endeavoring to improve their products over past many years. In the same context, vendors are heavily investing in making their ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) solutions more specific to particular industry. The purpose of this research project is to develop in-depth understanding of how airline operations are managed. Further, the study aims to investigate and evaluate commercially available various options for software implementation in an airline, which currently consists of Jetstream 31 aircraft is planning future expansions with commission of new BAe aircraft. This study also focuses on identifying regulatory requirements enforced by EASA for aviation industry operators and

MIles Davis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MIles Davis - Essay Example Through his fight, he brought a wide range of stylistic innovations into jazz and becoming a very influential musician of the twentieth century and an iconic symbol in jazz music. Miles Davis was born in 1926 in Alton, Illinois, and from his very childhood he experienced prejudices and oppression, which then had a significant influence on both his personality and music. He got his first musical instrument from his uncle and received lessons from friends of his father. The latter was pro-African American activist, was actively involved in politics and, perhaps even unintentionally, instilled the sense of fight for equality into his children. When Davis’ family moved to a white community, the boy experienced hatred, violence and inequality not only in the streets but at school as well (Miles). In his autobiography, Miles, the musician mentions taking part in numerous musical competitions held at school and losing them to white peers. Such inequality had an important influence on Miles future career because, as he states in his book, â€Å"if I hadn’t met that prejudice I probably wouldn’t have has as much drive in my work† (12). 1944 was the year when Miles Davis emerged on the scene in New York for the first time. It was the time when revolution in jazz music was on its way. Davis participated in that revolution against racial injustice and commercialism in music; he was not a leader in it though. He spent that period of his career under the watchful eye of Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker, who influenced his bebop style as he learned it by playing alongside with them. Davis worked with the Parker quintet, and that very period in his life appeared to be remarkable for his style as he perfected his performance and worked up his personal approach to play difficult rhythms and melodic lines (Miles). This period of his career can be called the romantic

Focused Scenario Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Focused Scenario - Case Study Example Since the patient complaints of pain, history of present illness (HPI) should include the severity, onset and duration of the pain as well as aggravating and relieving factors. Any change in testicular size, irregular lumps, soreness or heaviness of the testes should also be asked. Any medication/s taken by the patient for the pain such as analgesics or antibiotics is also important. Past medical history (PMHx) should include any history of STD's, single or multiple infections, treatment and residual problems, if applicable as well as concomitant diseases like Diabetes Mellitus or for any neurologic or vascular impairment (Seidel, et.al, 2006). Relevant to ask in the Family History are infertilities in siblings, history of penile, prostate and testicular cancer and hernias (Siedel, et.al, 2006). Information as to the social history should also include past or present use of alcohol, drugs and cigarette. Since the patient rides a bike everyday and engages in physical sports (softball) , the use of protective gear on his genital area should be asked. The patient's sexual history should include the number of sexual partners, condom usage, sexual lifestyle (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) and questions as to any change in the frequency of sexual desire or activity and change in sexual response (e.g.

Children on edge of care, and the role of social workers associated Essay

Children on edge of care, and the role of social workers associated with them - Essay Example The language used in describing the issue of child protection has undergone many transformations over the years, and has especially seen marked changes in the last 40 years. From 1960s medico-social perspectives that exposed and treated the ‘battered babies’ (Parton, 1991), to the modern day twenty-first century provisions for ‘child care’ by the UK government, represent the huge transition in the perspectives of the state and the society on the issue of child protection. â€Å"The primary focus of official concern has broadened considerably. While in the 1960s it was ‘battered babies’, in the 1970s ‘non-accidental in jury to children’, in the 1980s ‘child abuse’, and for much of the 1990s ‘significant harm and the likelihood of significant harm’, the focus of the new millennium is ‘safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child’† (Parton, 2007, 9). ... that children need a secure and stable familial atmosphere within their homes, â€Å"in order to enable them to develop attachments and achieve the outcomes, to which we aspire, for all children. However, some children who are not able to form these attachments in their present living circumstances may need to be moved, which entails difficult judgements for all concerned†( Department for education and skills, 2006, 4). Protections for such children, were given a legal framework for the first time through the legislation of the Children Act 1989. Under section 31 of this 1989 act, children without stable and secure homes are liable to come under the overall care of the local authorities. ‘Children in care,’ however is a blanket term that covers all children that are being cared for by the local authorities, including â€Å"those subject to care orders under section 31of the children act 1989 and those looked after on a voluntary basis through an agreement with th eir parents† (Lall, 2007, 3). As per the Department of Education, the children that are placed for some reason under care of the local authorities in England /UK, form one of the most vulnerable social sections, in today’s context. â€Å"The majority of children in care are there because they have suffered abuse or neglect. At any one time around 60,000 children are looked after in England (of whom some 59 per cent are subject to care orders). Some 90,000 children are looked after at some point in any one year† (Department for Education, 2011). Children in care can be broadly divided into 3 basic types. These are: Any child placed under the care of the local authorities (LA). Children that are provisioned to a statutory care order under the rulings of section 31 of the Children Act 1989. Children place

John Berger Essay Essay Example for Free

John Berger Essay Essay While in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I traveled through the different galleries and their various cultures; discovering all sorts of arts from Contemporary art, to American art, Japanese art, and even the Egyptian art where I could appreciate the complexity of mummies. Throughout all these diverse cultures of art, I was questioning myself and started to wonder how I could understand art beyond others’ opinion about them. Moreover, I realized that it was a question John Berger, critic of art and author of the Ways of Seeing, raised in his essay, and it is a question that will always be raised while demanding how to understand a certain art. Walking through a room where various French artists had their paintings exposed, I fell in front of the artwork (see above) painted by Paul Gauguin. I did not choose a French artist to make me remember the French culture that I am missing here in Boston, nor to pretend that the French are advanced in art, but a way to analyze and understand, with the experience of a famous art critic, an artwork from an artist who astonished me in my previous art classes. Dou venons-nous, Qui sommes-nous, Ou allons-nous? By Paul Gauguin I chose a painting that had a warm expression, and complex story emanating from it. As the title of my essay indicates, the title of the painting translated in English is â€Å"Where are we from? Who are we? Where are we going? So many questions in the title and the painting, but there were as much coming through my mind while studying this image. This artwork is very ambiguous because I do not know how to start looking at it. I can observe people appearing half naked in the foreground, but we cannot really tell why they appear there. The statue in the back makes the questioning more obscure. It seems like an Ora cle that gives people their destiny, and that is maybe why they all look so sad. Truly, I felt that this image was a representation of my origin country, West Indies, by the color Gauguin used. He used the blue to symbolize the ocean surrounding the island, and the mixed race of the habitants by the warm and beige color or the characters. I felt as if I was in the center of the painting, more precisely in the position of the child being observed in the right corner, and waiting to be reassured. I also felt like the person in the middle of the painting, standing up and waiting for answers while traveling through this painting. Gauguin’s artworks are extremely complicated to decipher, so are they to analyze. Gauguin is an artist I studied back in France in my art classes. Consequently, I had seen many of his works, and even the painting I chose; However, I had never asked myself how knowing about his life could help me study his paintings. I was taught in my art classes how to analyze art in a more technical way than in an analytical way like Berger supported. Indeed, when we were looking at the entire structure of the painting with my art class method, we were focusing on the brush strokes, the color, the tone, lines and forms, and the composition of the painting. If I had to describe the work of art I chose based on technical features, I would examine the painting saying that the brush strokes could express many emotions at the same time, and describe the painter style and art movement. Gauguin was also part of the post-impressionist painters with artists such as Paul Cezanne or Van Gogh. Post impressionist art was more focused on color, lines, outlines and perspective. Concerning Gauguin, the complexity of shapes is very important in his paintings due to their abstract significations. In fact, the lines were not straight; they were round and suggesting bodies that we did not see in art before. Moreover, the color had its importance. Post impressionist artists like Gauguin used color and color combination in order to create ‘vulgar’, ‘calm’ or ‘bold’ impressions (Robert Hughes). The analysis of the painting I just did was very technical and structural, but in no sense relevant for understanding the thought process as Berger explained. I was subject to mystification as John Berger explained in his essay as â€Å"the process of explaining away what might otherwise be evident† (103). Indeed, mystification appeared while I was looking at the painting. I could sense a certain limit of my understanding due to the previous art classes I had. In other terms, it meant for me that words were coming before seeing whereas seeing should come before words as Berger deciphered in his essay. My mind was already set for a certain critic about the painting based on the knowledge I had; Consequently, I could not have another point of view vis-a-vis the painting I was staring at. Although I learned a lot from my art classes, especially how to describe an artwork contextually, the observations and point of view of Berger about art gave me enough elements o have a complete analysis of an image, both contextually and historically. Using Berger as a guide for art description helped me to learn more about the painting historically, and much more about the painter himself to have a complete understanding of the artwork. Prior to this assignment, it had never occurred to me to use the biography and the background of the painter in order to facilitate my understanding of the painting. When Berger quoted â€Å"When we see a landscape, we situate ourselves in the it. If we saw the art of the past, we would situate ourselves in history. † (100) in the essay led me to start the analysis of Gauguin’s painting in a very different way. Actually, when I focused more on the painter’s life, and follow Berger’s analysis, I learned that Gauguin wanted to commit suicide after he painted this image. Plus, even though there was a caption under the image saying that it was his last painting, I would not have noticed that it was his last painting, which refers to what Berger described when he talked about Van Gogh’s last painting. Berger cited â€Å"The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe† (97). Clearly, it means that the details you know about a certain painting will prevent you from analyzing it innocently. Based on the art experience I acquired in class, I would have said that the image implies sadness because of the choice of colors, which were darker than his previous works. However, I think that the title gives us more details about his thoughts while he was painting. Through reading of artistic reviews or even my art book, named Shock of the New by Robert Hughes, I discovered that this work of art should be read from right to left, with the three main groups of people illustrating the questions that are asked in the title. The first group with the three women looking at the child represents the beginning of Gauguin’s life, making a reference to his parents, then there is the group in the middle which symbolizes all the experiences he went through while being a young adult. The last group shows an old lady close to death because of the darker color he used, moreover, there is an odd white bird at her feet, which could represent the guide to heaven. In the background of the painting, there is a blue statute, which represents what Gauguin described as the hereafter. This painting seems like a flash back of his life, and these three questions lead us to comprehend him better. Gauguin left a lot of non-answered questions about this painting, considered as a testimony to his life by many critics of art. Indeed, this painting is very complex. I learned by reading my previous art book, that Gauguin wrote a letter to his friend stipulating the reasons of the painting. In this letter, Gauguin said that he had decided to commit suicide in December; therefore, he wanted to paint on a huge canvas all the things he had on his mind for so long. Things he absolutely wanted to paint before his death. In this letter, Gauguin also confessed that the value of this painting is so much ahead of his precedents, and that it was a one of a kind that he could not nor would not try to produce a better painting. This sentence clearly explains that he reached the height of his life, and that now he drew this painting, there was nothing else he could do better or similar except terminate his life. Gauguin was wondering a lot about the existence of the world, and this perpetual questioning led him to the entitlement of this painting. As I said earlier in my essay, each group of people appearing in this painting is applied to a specific question of the title. Those questions made me think about my own life. Indeed, the questions he used are somehow important to everyone to really understand the meaning of their lives. Berger said â€Å"The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe† (97). While looking at this painting, I could recognize some events of my life, for instance, I could recall where I am from and what are my origins, as well as how I did to accomplish such academic success and arrive in the United States. Furthermore, due to my art background, I could understand better the expression and feelings Gauguin was trying to deliver in this painting with his powerful colors and thick traits. Approaching art is not easy at first glance, thus approaching it with different methods makes it more difficult to understand. Throughout my life, I have been able to view art in many different context, either artistically speaking when I was in art classes in France, or analytically this year when I had to analyze art with the support of an art critic opinions. For me, both ways were complementary to each other and drastically improved my understanding of art. Complementary in the sense that I could rely on my technical knowledge of art to understand the structure of a painting, and also analyze the story of the painting as Berger mentioned to fully understand the underlying message of an artwork.

Multicultural Managers In Global Teams

Multicultural Managers In Global Teams LOreal is an intriguing company: Very French in culture and image, and yet very global in products, brands and activities. It is poised to reach the next billion consumers mostly among the budding middle class of emerging economies. In this article we explore one facet of L Oreals success: Its very clever use of managers with bi-cultural backgrounds in the most critical process for the success of the company; new product development. Of course we all now recognize that cultural diversity is a good thing, and we value executives with expatriate assignments in their backgrounds, who claim themselves to have become cosmopolitan. LOreal goes one big step further: Rather than just diversity among executives it seeks diversity within each executive [2. Yves: Brannen Thomas, 2010: p.6 p.13: cultural diversity that exists within individuals and MYB Lee, forthcoming, p.23: diversity within a single person] Yves, i.e., it hires develops and uses strategically individual who usually by way of a multicultural early childhood-have gained the ability to understand and behave according to the cultural meanings and norms of two or more cultures. [3. Yves: This definition of multiculturalism. MYB can not argue to own the definition as hers. Previously other researchers define biculturalism such as Hong et al., 2000 in their phenomenal article, Multicultural minds] Not only can they be precious bridges between their cultures of origins, they can also be sensitive alert scouts in new cultures, with an ability to grasp them much greater than individuals from a single cultural origin. [4. Yves: This is about multiculturals cognitive complexity (BMV et al., 2006 and Tadmor et al., 2006/9. I think this sentence is more common sense. I heard a lot from those who participated in Bicultural thought leadership conference in Green Gulch and Abu Dhabi] Not every global company needs bi-cultural executives but many can greatly benefit and learn from them, thus instilling in their international executives -whose vast majority are from a single cultural origin-some of the critical cross-cultural skills that help make them effective. [5. Yves: Is this can be a common sense?, I dont find exactly same words or phrase in MYBs]In this article we draw a few lessons from examining LOreals decade long experience in using bi-cultural executives selectively. But first, what is the challenge bi-culturals allow to address successfully? [6. Yves: I dont know why she highlighted here] THE CHALLENGE: IT IS NOT EASY TO BE LOCAL AND GLOBAL Global competitors face an age-old tension: Serving regional or national markets requires adaptation to local conditions, and calls for differentiation in their products, services, and business models, but achieving economies of scale and scope across markets calls for uniformity and integration of activities. Local responsiveness and global integration are hard to combine. Some products are clearly global, such as TV sets, except for regulatory and language differences, and simple technical differences such as voltage. Others, such as restaurants, are intrinsically local, although global formulas and brands may succeed, such as Starbucks or Benihana. Many products, and to a lesser extent services, call both for responsiveness to local differences and for some form of global integration, of brands, marketing and advertising, manufacturing, product development, and research. They are affected by the global-local duality of knowledge differentiation and integration in innovation proces ses. Perhaps at the forefront are companies striving to develop global products in culture-sensitive and ethnically differentiated markets, such as cosmetics and skin or hair care. LOrà ©al very much faces this challenge: Its main product categories, skin care, hair care, hair color and beauty categories are sensitive to global economies of scale and scope, and they also need to be highly responsive to local market differences. Furthermore, not all of LOrà ©als product categories face the same mix of demands: Hair care may be very regional and dependent on ethnic differences, lipstick and most fragrances much more universal. Luxury brands are more global than mass market ones, which are often local. Figure 1: The complexity of product portfolio: Responsiveness and Integration Differences The global integration-local responsiveness issue is further complicated when the knowledge required to develop and market products is complex. Yet, such complex knowledge (tacit and collective, only revealed in action and interaction) now lies at the heart of innovation and global competitive advantage, not just for LOrà ©al but also for most global competitors. Other forms of arbitrage, for products, costs, or materialsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ are easily imitated, and have been. Complex knowledge is hard to identify and observe, let alone imitate. It has become the main source of sustainable competitive advantage for global competitors. It drives hard to imitate innovations. LOrà ©al as a leading French multinational company in skin care and beauty products provides a remarkable example of relying on complex knowledge for innovation: Its products are not just chemicals, much more importantly, they depend on fashion, style, seduction, they convey national image of French womens sophisticationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ they elicit the idealized self-image of its customers and their value is conveyed through complex, often subliminal advertising and multiple distribution channels. Of course, some highly culture- and context-dependent products, with a strong national identity happen to find readily a global market. They are widely adopted worldwide with little or no adaptation (French perfumes, U.S. action movies, German classical music and high-end cars, Japanese Mangas, Korean K-Pop, Bollywood movie and TV productions or U.S. fast food). But these are exceptions more than the rule. In fact, a common language, high cultural and institutional homogeneity, greater density of interpersonal networks and friendships, and less not-invented-here resistance mean complex knowledge generally diffuses more rapidly within single countries than across national boundaries. So, in industries where complex knowledge drives innovative advantage success depends on face-to-face (or rather shoulder to shoulder) participation in local and national networks where new complex knowledge first arises. [7. Yves: Isnt this argument yours?] MNCs should build, manage, and globally integra te their local/global capabilities and dispersed inputs. Yet the quality of local knowledge access, being embedded in local cultures and networks, often makes global sharing more difficult, as local participants in global innovation processes are culturally very different and closely identify with their origins. [8. Yves: Isnt this yours as well? MYB doesnt do much about knowledge and global innovation, does she?] For many companies, such as LOrà ©al, this challenge is further complicated by an additional contradiction: While they want to be global, they do not want to relinquish the advantages associated with their country of origin. LOrà ©al does not just sell cosmetics, it mainly sells French-ness to women around the world. In other words, its identity, and its founders cultural inheritance need to be protected, and remain part and parcel of its global offerings. The company has maintained its founders spirit of entrepreneurship, and remains largely family-controlled, with a very strong shared culture. Over its 73 years, it has had only four CEOs (including the founder), all with very long tenures, and it promotes only from within. One becomes part of senior management over the years, as one weaves a dense network of relationships with colleagues and builds trust over time. In France, the company has a reputation for being the consumer marketing school, and many of its alumni have become successful entrepreneurs and business builders, such as LOccitane en Provence, a highly successful fast growing skin and body care company. Its third CEO, Welshman (and INSEAD graduate) Lindsey Owen Jones is widely credited for having transformed the company from a regional European challenger to a global leader, but the company still remains quite remarkably French. Traditional approaches to the internationalization of senior management would not work well for LOrà ©al, or might only work very slowly since a rapid infusion of international executives in the top ranks might compromise the tightly knit and informal French community of senior managers, operating as a global network. Furthermore at LOrà ©al, complex knowledge about products, cultures, and how to work together is progressively learned and internalized by individuals as their career develops, which makes a rapid internationalization of senior management through hiring from outside largely impossible. French managers are often assigned to international operations, and learn about the plurality of cultural and institutional contexts, as well as about differen t consumer priorities, but few foreigners become senior executives. The most promising international executives might be reluctant to join LOrà ©al anyway fearing the risk of a glass ceiling. Successful senior executives often identify themselves as partly French, for instance French and German, of French, Moroccan, and German. And even executives that identify themselves as foreigners take great pain to explain they have lived in France and worked for LOrà ©al for a long time and pride themselves on speaking perfect French. The main language of the company has remained French. [9. Yves: This is my observation and your informal discussion when you lead workshop with LOreal RD top management a while ago] STRUCTURAL SOLUTIONS DO NOT WORK: For LOrà ©al, and for many multinational companies, to successfully address the global-local innovation duality, simple structural solutions such as regional units or global product divisions wont work, for at least two reasons. First, the product range puts both intensely global and intensely local demands on the way the company is run. No either-or organizational solution will work, the company needs both global and local priorities effectively taken into consideration in decision-making. Take perfumes (or fragrances as they are known in the industry). World products and famous world brands (think of Chanel No 5) are the name of the game, but the underlying knowledge needed to develop a perfume resides mainly in France, for historical reasons. Second, companies such as LOrà ©al need a wide range of products to maintain their strength in distribution: fragrances, cosmetics, skin care products, and hair products. Any simple structural approach such as local subsidiaries and regional entities or global business units would fit a few of their products but not all, given the diversity of demands for local responsiveness and global integration shown on Figure 1. Some are more global, such as perfumes or cosmeti cs, others are more regional or local, such as hair care or skin care. As the company considers increasingly the next billion customers (as the CEO stresses) in emerging economies, both the advantages of global scale and the need for local differentiation will increase even further. For some products, like fragrances, most relevant market and technical knowledge can be found in one place, for most though, like hair care, relevant knowledge is distributed around the world and will become even more so with the growing importance of emerging economies. Furthermore, speed is often of the essence: Knowledge-driven FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods, such as beauty and skin care products) industries call for a continuous stream of innovations across a wide product portfolio facing both local responsiveness demands and global integration advantages, but in varying degree among products. In new areas, such as anti-aging, competition is intense and fast, as well as technology based, in mature areas it is slower and marketing driven. Yet, any technological advantages are short-lived. Yet speed needs to be tempered by continuity. Even with constant innovation, markets quickly reduce the most advanced products to the condition of feature-less commodities unless brand equity has been built very quickly. Underlying ingredients are relatively stable and long-lived, but new products are frequent. Brands cover families of products (Lancà ´me, Biothermà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) to provide continuity and lasting brand strength but leave room for fast and fre quent product renewals. Continuity of brands, and of channels, and renewal of products have to be carefully integrated. No organizational structure, global business units or country organizations will be up to the task. Structure is too blunt a tool. Of course, some multinationals resort to matrix organizations, but adopting a matrix organization is a cop out: It just acknowledges that, as we just outlined, complex, varied and rapid trade offs between local responsiveness and global integration need to be made constantly on very specific issues: product packaging, marketing campaigns, specific chemical ingredients, etc. So rather than risk getting mired in the negotiations that end up being so characteristic on matrix organizations, many companies, LOreal included, go one step further: Global teams. GLOBAL TEAMS: PROMISE AND PITFALLS Faced with such challenges to achieve worldwide innovation, combine global knowledge integration and local knowledge differentiation, and be fast, global companies increasingly resort to global, and often virtual, teams. These teams hold the promise of effective knowledge creation, knowledge sharing, as well as flexibility, responsiveness, and speed. Yet, in practice in many companies these global teams are no panacea: they suffer from misunderstandings, conflicts and often fall prey to a Babel Syndrome: their members talk past each other, not together, and teamwork breaks down. The results of their work are often disappointing, particularly when complex knowledge is essential, like the proverbial camel designed by a (multi-cultural) committee. Actually, it is often difficult to transmit even explicit knowledge across cultural boundaries and it seems impossible to transmit tacit knowledge, where physical distance also gets in the way. Even seemingly universal and very precisely expli cit knowledge, such as mathematics, is liable to different perspectives and interpretations in different cultures. Tacit knowledge cannot be transmitted over distance because it is revealed only in action and cannot be meaningfully explained. It has to be learned through (co)-practice. [10. Yves: The difficulty to transfer tacit knowledge is common sense and not only MYB (2004) and much earlier, other researchers (Szulanski, 1996; Zander Kogut, 1995) already argued.] BI-CULTURAL MANAGERS AND GLOBAL TEAMS AT LORÉAL To avoid the pitfalls typical of global teams LOrà ©al makes extensive use of bi-cultural managers and professionals in its product development process (i.e., individuals, usually of mixed cultural backgrounds, who can switch their frame of reference, both in what they understand and in how they behave, between two or more cultures). Although bi- and multi-culturals only account for a very small proportion of LOrà ©als employees (a few dozens out of 69 000 employees in 130 subsidiaries) they play a key role in the most critical activity of the company: new product development, headquartered in Paris. No less than forty percent of about 160 product development project managers (among whom 40% come from foreign subsidiaries and 60% were recruited in France) are multicultural. LOrà ©al has maintained this recruitment balance in new product development leaders for over ten years. The task: New product development teams, each composed of a few people, some multicultural (the smaller circles on Figure 2), work closely with other groups such as research and development, the international marketing team, and local subsidiaries in a highly interactive process. It involves functional groups within HQ and across regional offices. Newly created product concepts also have to be coherent with existing product lines (e.g., hair care products that use only natural plants) and their reputation (e.g., environment-friendly and people-tested). So considerable inputs from the various subsidiaries are needed. Finally, the product has to be feasible for manufacturing without any risks. Developing a new product concept takes from six months to a year depending on the products level of novelty. In developing a new product concept, multicultural project managers have to present their work to top management on a regular basis, both formally and informally. Once they obtain approval for their new product concept, they present their project at the la journà ©e mondiale, LOrà ©als largest and most important yearly event at HQ. This event attracts all regional directors from all around the globe who come to evaluate future products (i.e., those that would hit the market in one or two years). If feedback from the regional directors attending this event is positive the multicultural project managers move from articulating product concepts to actually designing the products. In the design phase, multicultural project managers select and combine ingredients, choose product colors, and design packaging for the product with the packaging team (often outsourced) and manufacturing team (called the Factory). They interface intensely both with headquarter functions and local subsidiaries around the world. Through all phases, project managers work with their colleagues in teams within and across departments at HQ and local subsidiaries. Multicultural project managers work with others on three levels. First, they work in their own team (called the unit team), where they managed informal relationships with other product managers. One product development team is composed of two or three project managers who are responsible for developing different products for the same region in the same product category (e.g., hair products). For example, for Latin America, one multi-cultural manager (Lebanese-Spanish-American) was in charge of womens hair color, while another (French-Irish-Cambodian) was in charge of womens hair care (hair damage). They shared physical space so that they could exchange ideas, information, and feedback (the larger central circle on Figure 2). Second, they interact with their boss and the leaders of other functional departments in Paris. Although more than 40% of the project managers in the new product development division are multi-cultural, the majority of their direct bosses are mono-cultural, very French. Project managers meet their direct boss quite freely any time they needed or vice versa. Regular divisional team meetings with top management are held with other unit teams (for the same product line, such as hair care Asia and hair care international), other functional departments, and teams in local subsidiaries. Informal meetings with other functional departments (e.g., RD, supply chain, advertising, and packaging) are held based on the phase of the product development process. Third, project managers work with local subsidiaries, via email, phone calls, and videoconferences. They also visit local offices regularly. It is the project managers direct bosses, however, who visit local subsidiaries more frequently-at least once a month-as they are in charge of developing several products at the same time. In addition, because project managers are operating within a tight schedule and budget, they accompany their direct boss only when the visit is urgent and important. In the final development phase project managers involve employees who executed promotional campaigns through television, the Internet, and other advertising activities. They set up all visual images of products, articulate the products selling points, and choose the best way to promote the products they developed. Team leaders with more experience lead the promotion campaign directly. More specifically, experienced team leaders travel to local subsidiaries and direct all processes of promotion. Product promotion also involves various new tasks often outsourced to new groups. For example, to promote a make-up product for Chinese women, the promotion team hired a famous local movie star, local make-up and uniform team, local stage setting team, and a professional camera crew (which was a French team). Television commercials are typically expensive and take months to complete. The people: Beginning with their recruitment, multicultural project managers at LOrà ©al gained credibility for new product development by being labeled international talent by the Human Resource department, a prestigious title in a company trying to combine strong French roots with global reach. Most had at least five years of working experience in sales and marketing in local subsidiaries, or for those recruited in France, who were graduates of top business schools, twelve months of intensive training in product development and marketing department at HQ. At LOrà ©al, they were called the stars or crà ¨me de la crà ¨me (meaning the best of the best). LOrà ©al designated an HR manager who managed the performance and career development of these employees who were anticipated to be top performers. Figure 2: Team composition and its work within and across units at LOrà ©al !!!Yves: From this part till conclusion in p.19, all parts are from the 2nd chapter of my dissertation. Multiculturals in global teams: Multi-cultural individuals that have internalized more than a single cultural schema (i.e., the values, norms of behavior and beliefs of a given culture), [11. Yves: this is the definition of multiculturalism. See #3] bring unusual skills to solve challenges in knowledge transfer across international borders for global innovation. Not only do they bring the obvious knowledge of their own cultures, and the ability to translate and transfer complex knowledge between them, but also the latent skills to understand new third country knowledge in context, and being effective bridges to combine knowledge from these other countries.[12. Yves: understanding third culture knowledge is related to David Thomas metacognition (2008). I describe similar argument in my IJCCM paper as culture-general knowledge (Hong 2010: p. 96-97, I cited Thomas et al., 2008 Cultural Intelligence] LOrà ©al also recognizes multi-culturals creativity in new product development and thei r innovative ways to combine/ bridge knowledge in global teams. But more specifically, these bridging, translating and sense-making skills are key to the effectiveness [13. Yves: this is the 2nd chapter of my dissertation]of LOrà ©als global product development teams. Bi-culturals are uniquely able to play specific roles: Role 1: Managing Knowledge Processes in Teams In creating new products, multicultural project managers manage two kinds of knowledge: product- and market-related knowledge and organizational/practical knowledge. The multicultural project managers challenge is to integrate the creative options to be pursued, while transforming local market knowledge into global product knowledge for higher quality products and innovative concepts. To bring a creative product to fruition, their contribution to knowledge sharing processes in the team focused on three areas: (1) bringing new local product and market knowledge, (2) translating cultural nuances, (3) connecting geographically diverse knowledge and skills. [14.Yves: this is from my dissertation] Bringing new local product and market knowledge: Multicultural project managers were expected not only to know what evolving market attributes were but, more importantly, identify new market trends and generate market insights. In addition, to secure the new product concept, they worked with other members (e.g., team leaders, regional directors, RD, and local subsidiaries) by reviewing differing perspectives on the commercial viability of new product concepts. In response to these challenges, multicultural project managers brought both new product ideas and market understanding: Our team tries to find some natural ingredients for new hair care product. J (Hong Kong-Canadian-Singaporean) knows all the Chinese medicine that has no translation either in English or in French because its so authentic. J does not only explain these ingredients but also suggest some ways we (team) can use for our new products. (French Director) and bringing local market knowledge: The Polish-French project manager was raised in Poland until age 20. She described her life under the communist regime and after in terms of how she evaluates and appreciates make-up products. As our target consumers are about her age, everything she shared with other members is valuable for developing products and markets. She is actually educating us to get a better understanding of consumers in the region. (American-French regional director talking about Polish-French project manager) Translating cultural nuances: Even if a common syntax or language is present, as in mathematics or chemistry formulaes, interpretations are often difficult not in processing the information, but in learning about the sources of semantic differences across cultural boundaries.[15. Yves: MYB tends to argue as hers if there are phrases with language semantic. I just typed semantic difference in google scholars. There are so numerous papers talking about semantic difference across cultures from psychologists and linguists.]The problem then shifts to who interprets what. A French manager who planned a test of a new shampoo in a laboratory in Germany explained how his French-German-British multicultural manager who used to work in Germany helped him: If we say dry hair, dry hair on this floor (HQ) doesnt mean as same as German dry hair means. So, it is much safer to check with B who knows two cultures (French and German) and translate exactly what I mean as dry hair. (B is German-British-French multicultural) Connecting geographically diverse knowledge and skills: To generate creative ideas so that they can be implemented, multicultural project managers must be able to access expertise and draw analogies from one cultural group (e.g., local) to other cultural groups (e.g., other regions or globally). They synthesize those ideas from multiple sources-diverse cultural perspectives-for innovative products. [16. Yves: this is from my thesis] For example, a French-Cambodian-Irish project manager used the specificity of Asian womens skin care (reducing winkles) to develop a new product for the French market. He noted: While researching Asian skin-care products, I found that in Asia, some tinted cream (skin colored cream for make-up face) used face lifting effect, in France and Europe, none of tinted creams used face lifting effect. I developed a new tinted cream with face lifting effect for French market. It was a big success! (Team: French-Cambodian-Irish project manager, a Chinese-French and two French). Role 2: Managing Conflicts in Teams Cultural differences in teams increase the risk of conflict. Multicultural project managers manage conflicts in teams by (1) reducing misunderstandings and (2) displaying flexible behavior with people from diverse regions and cultures. [17.Yves: this is from my thesis] Reducing misunderstandings: Product development managers must gain cooperation from their colleagues at HQ and local subsidiaries. Multicultural project managers mitigated the negative effects of cultural distance and group boundaries on developing trust between HQ and local subsidiaries.[18. Yves: this is from my thesis] For example, an Indian-American-French project manager noted: If an Indian local manager said, India might have an issue with this ingredient for a new product because theres no written communication confirming this can be used to please our consumers. What they actually tried to tell me was, No, I wont do what you asked us to do and please lower your expectations. But I didnt make any negative comments on that. Instead I said, Okay, how about I discuss with RD at HQ and find out the way we solve this problem? In this way, I didnt make an uncomfortable situation. Instead, I got respect from them, which as a result had a positive influence on our work progress. (Indian-American-French manager; Team members at HQ: Chinese-French, French; Local teams: India, China, Thailand) This Indian-American-French project manager interpreted Ill try my best (Indian local team) as Its going to be difficult, or No, I am not going to do it. He preempted potential conflict and tried to avoid risky situations where the local team felt pushed by HQ. In this way, he could develop interpersonal trust between these two groups. However, although HQ members may not provide any negative comments immediately, but still hold a negative impression of the Indian. In other words, they prejudged that the Indian local team did not fulfill its responsibilities, and trust in the Indian team was lost. This may not cause a problem right away, but it may be a root for relational conflict that eventually harms the trust between HQ and local teams. This multicultural manager not only preempted potential conflict between two parties but also tried to avoid risky situations where the local team felt pushed by HQ. In this way, he could develop interpersonal trust between these two groups. Displaying flexible behavior to deal with people from diverse regions and cultures: Once conflicts erupt in teams, however, multicultural project managers handled those conflicts with tolerance. In other words, they were more accepting of different cultural values, less disturbed by them, and accordingly better at handling conflicts due to valuing cultural differences among members. [19. Yves: this is from my thesis] For example, a Hong Kong-British-Canadian-French multicultural director whose team members were Dutch-Chinese, Taiwanese-French, and Korean-British and whose boss was French noted how members handled a process conflict (e.g., time management), which was created by different work values regarding meetings: In terms of meeting time, we all seem to have different principles. For example, my French boss never starts meetings on time and quite often postpones or cancels them. H (Dutch-Chinese) is very strict on time and deadline (meeting is time for checking-up on each others work process). I and K (Taiwanese-French) we are a bit flexible regarding meeting time. So, whenever we have meeting with my French boss, or ourselves, we face frustrating moments. But, what is important for us is how to handle this frustrating moment. As we are conscious about each others differences, we come to compromise when such moments occur. For example, with my French boss, I need to be really flexible with time. With my team members, if I am behind my meeting schedule with my team members, I make sure to tell them in advance why I am behind and ask them next availabilities. Conflicts may still exist in my team. But we handle them at a much more tolerant level. (Hong Kong-British-Canadian-French director, Team : Dutch-Chinese, Taiwanese-French, Korean-British and French boss) LOrà ©als product development team members have cultural diversity within themselves. They are bi- or multi-cultural and play two critical roles in team innovation: (1) bridging between cultural contexts and combining knowledge across cultural/national boundaries; and(2) resolving cross-cultural conflicts. [20. Yves: this is from my thesis] WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM LORÉAL To a greater or lesser extent, most global companies face the four challenges, or dualities, we identified as so characteristic of LOrà ©al: Global-local, dispersed complex knowledge to be integrated, national image of the home base but glo

Supplementary Restraint and Air-bag system

Supplementary Restraint and Air-bag system Supplementary restraint and airbag system is a passive part of vehicle safety system. SRS is designed to protect and lower forces acting on the driver and passenger at the event of the accident. In a case of an accident at speed about 35km/h the SRS is activated and the following procedure is taking place: seat belt tensioners are activated -about 10-15 ms airbags are inflated -about 10-40 ms airbags are deflated -40-120 ms driver or passengers kinetic energy is taken in by airbags around 120 ms after accident the airbags are deflated SRS and air-bag system consist of: Driver and passenger airbags (including igniter and pyrotechnic inflator) a warning light (MIL) seat belt pretensioners impact sensors (crash sensors) electronic control unit. Illustration 1. SRS Driver and passenger airbag The airbag is made of one side coated nylon and has a shape of a big cushion. To allow rapid deflation air bag has side holes. Airbag is placed into steering wheel (driver) and front of passenger side but also is placed on the both sides inside of the car as a curtain (protecting against side impact). In the modern car the number of airbags and their sizes are constantly changing, but principals are the same. In a case of an accident ECU engage igniter which triggers the spark necessary to burn fuel tablets (pyrotechnic inflator). The burned fuel tablets produce a nitrogen gas which inflates the airbag. Everything happens in few ms and the amount of gas and pressure created during burning is strictly calculated for each airbag. Illustration 2. Airbag Warning Light (MIL) A warning light is used as a part of the self-diagnostic system. Every time when the ignition is switched on SRS checks all components of the system and if any fault appeared the MIL is activated. MIL light stays on as long as the problem of the system is not rectified. Illustration 3. MIL Warning Light Seat belt tensioners The function of the seat belts is to secure occupant of the vehicle from injuries at an accident or a sudden stop. Due to a seat belt slack, belt stretch, three point seat belt protection is limited up to 40 km/h, if speed is higher than this limit the occupants head or body can impact the steering wheel or the instrument panel. Seat belt pretensioners improve restraining ability of the seat belt and increase the protection of the occupant from injuries. In modern cars there are two types of tensioners, both of them can work simultaneously. The first type is a shoulder pretensioner. The pretensioner pulls the seat belt tighter and holds the occupant closely to the seats backrest. This action prevents the body from excessive forward movement. The pretensioner is activated at around 10-15 ms, and by conjunction with an airbag (10-50ms fully deployed) they absorb kinetic energy acting on the body. When the supplementary restraint system (SRS) detected an accident the pyrotechnic propellant charge placed in the tube tightener is activated and pressure is created. The rising pressure in tightener pushes the piston which is attached to the steel cable and pulls the seat belt tightly against the occupant. Illustration 4. Seat belt pretensioners In addition to the shoulder belt tensioner a buckle tighteners are developed. The buckle tensioner improves the restraining and protection on the occupant and prevents the body from submarining. Impact sensors There are two types of impact sensors: mechanical and electronic. The mechanical system is a ball in tube mechanism which basically consists of a ball, tube, magnet (holding the ball in position) and electrical circuit with a switch. If an accident occurs the ball is dislodged from the magnet and starts to roll forward inside the tube closing the circuit switch. Then the signal is sent to ECU to take further action. Illustration 5. Mechanical crash sensor Another type is an accelerometer. This kind of sensor detects any changes in a speed of a car and there are a few types of them in use. One of them is a piezoelectric crystal accelerometer which works on principals similar to the engine knock sensor, another one uses a spring. A drastic change in car speed (deceleration) will cause the seismic mass movement or a spring bend, either of which will then change the output from these sensors. Main advantage of this type of sensor is that sensors dont have to be designed for each car separately, as all changes can be made by the software.Illustraton 6. Electronic crash sensor Illustration 7. Piezoelectric crash sensor Electronic central unit (ECU) Electronic central unit collects and analysis the data from sensors and according to them it takes further action. The ECU has following functions: crash sensing by crash sensors (acceleration sensors) prompt activation of airbags and seat belt tensioners according to different types of the impact in the vehicle longitudinal direction eg. rear-end, frontal, side triggering of the seat belt tensioners depending on the buckle status, firing only when buckle is fastened voltage and energy accumulator if vehicle battery fails diagnosis of external and internal system components MIL activation storage of faulty codes and duration of it watchdog (WD) constant monitoring of the airbag units with regards to false activation in non-crash situation and corrected if needed. Since 2003 all ECU has three independent monitoring hardware watchdogs: WD1, WD2 and WD3. Each of them independently monitor the system and if all data collected by them is matching the system is triggering procedure according to situation. Diagnosis and repair defect: Make: Vauxhall Model: Astra Year: 2008 Reg. No: NL08BYY VIN: WOLOAHL0885070200 After switching on the ignition the Airbag MIL appeared on the dashboard. To find out the faulty code I plugged in the Snap-on diagnostic tool. Codes B0012 (driver airbag open circuit stage 1) and B0013 (driver airbag open circuit Stage 2) appeared. My diagnosis: there is no connection between the airbag unit and the system. To rectify this fault I do as follow: battery disconnected for at least 10 mins removed air bag from the steering wheel diagnosis confirmed: airbag was disconnected from the circuit Two plugs were connected to the airbag according to the number placed on the airbag air bag was replaced on the steering wheel battery was connected Finally, to confirm my diagnosis I reconnected the Snap-on diagnostic tool and erased faulty codes. MIL went off and the codes disappeared from the system.

Beethoven :: essays research papers

It has been called the greatest audio entity one could ever listen to; a song which can pierce the soul of even the most dedicated music-hater: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Not only has it been designated thus; also, as one of the few truly divinely inspired works, one which most men can only marvel at, as they wallow in their appropriate humility. These creations, however, are definitely not the only aspects of entities beyond the scopes of men; there are far more examples, which are seen every day, but often overlooked. I was walking outside, with this song echoing in the recesses of my mind, on a dismal, overcast day in the Autumnal quarter, a day when where the streets blended with the atmosphere, when one could hardly look up without feeling the singe of the wind against one’s face. To me, these days have always conjured up images of some distant, looming storm, some silent tempest which, if not otherwise distracted will soon wreak mayhem and disaster on my environs. This day had an intense air about it, as do others of its ilk. This is most likely the fault of the storm under which it is shadowed, as though it and its inhabitants are uneasy and harrowed about the imminent predator waiting overhead to pounce. As the sky overhead swam with deeper and deeper shades of gray and hopeless black, the song in my mind was reaching some vocal crescendo in the fourth movement, a better foreteller of the gale I could not imagine. While the winds bullied and tormented the defenseless neighborhood, I started for my house. Unexpectedly, as the crescendo was losing speed, a quiet, pacific violin entered the musical fray in my brain, and the entire mood of the symphony mellowed, the winds themselves pacified, seemingly under Ludwig’s fickle dominion. Thinking the storm had passed, I continued blissfully onward to the meadows which were my destination. Again I was assaulted, this time by a different part of the symphony; not too long after the first chorale. This was the startling and almost fearful, but still uplifting, part in which the female and male vocals collided like two huge tidal waves with the power to splinter a fleet of ships with the German Alle Menschen repeated several times. Upon this onslaught of euphony, I turned from whatever I might have been thinking before, and looked at some violently twisting and rising leaves and other debris, and gazed at the playful heavens, again ominous. Annoyed with Beethoven and the cruel elements, I stood there, unmoving; indecisive, not knowing whether to turn around or pursue my present course, I felt the excited chorale still striking

Kenny Chesney Essay -- Country Singers Biographies Musicians Essays

Kenny Chesney Introduction: â€Å"No shoes, No shirt, No problems. Blues what blues†¦hey I forgot them. The sun and the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom and no shoes, no shirt, and no problems! (Lyrics on Demand). These are the lyrics of infamous country legend Kenney Chesney. Kenney Chesney is a leading artist in the country music industry. Earlier in his life, he experienced several set backs and disappointments on his way to becoming a country singer. Nashville, TN was very difficult on this young song writer, as it was the same to others. However, with persistants and dedication, Kenny Chesney finally made a name for himself, and is now a â€Å"Big Star.† Country Music History Unlike other genres of music, country music did not begin until August 1, 1927. On this day in Bristol, Tennessee, Ralph Peer signed Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family to recording contracts for Victor Records. These two acts set the tone for others to follow – Rodgers with his unique singing style and the Carters with their extensive recording of old-time music (Roughstock’s History of Country Music). However, it was not until 1950 when the â€Å"Nashville Sound† began. The â€Å"Nashville Sound† is defined as a blend of pop and country music. This is the category of country music in which Kenny Chesney falls into. K.C's History: Kenney Chesney grew up in a very small town called Luttrell, Tennessee. There, he was what you would call a typical â€Å"red neck.† He was a starter on his high school football team and his heart was broken by his high school sweetheart. Additionally, he idolized country singers like â€Å"Conway and Waylon, George Jones and Lefty Frizzell, Willie nelson and George Strait and Merle haggard, Vern Gosdin and John Conley and whatever ... ...Chesney has sold over eight million albums. Conclusion: Kenney Chesney has definitely made a name for himself in the country music industry. Through his had work and persistence, this guy from a small town in Tennessee has become a â€Å"Big Star.† Although Kenney Chesney is known thought the world, Chesney said for me, it’s â€Å"about the guy in the baseball hat and the girl that guy thinks is pretty. Real life the double platinum boy, who finds his solace in the ocean, realizes doesn’t’ always who up with the glided edges and profound pronouncements – you gotta find the truth as it rolls by with tan lines, an easy smile and a twinkle in its eye. And you know, so far, that’s worked just fine† (Official Website). Works Cited: href="www.roughstock.com"Rough Stock href="www.kchesney.com"The Official KC Homepage href="www.lyricsondemand.com"Lyrics on Demand

What Ethics of Care in Nursing Means to Me

My definition of Ethic of Care is caring for individuals equally throughout all cultural backgrounds while using a precise fair code of ethics. It is extremely pertinent that ethic of care be implemented into nursing care in order for this to happen we must first understand the meaning of ethics. Ethics is the ideal actions of right and wrong behavior. With that said Ethic of Care should be looked at as a standard of nursing that must be met. When I become a nurse I will implement ethic of care in various ways.When I am assigned a patient I will be sure that their comfort level is maximized given the situation and most importantly I will communicate in my verbal and no-verbal behavior that the patient is of high importance. I will let the patient know that I will do any and everything in my power to address their situation as unique and in the most caring and respectable manor. Like theorist Leineger, I think that it is important to consider culture when developing a plan of care for the patient. A successful nurse does not address all patients an all cultures the same.By knowing and staying on top of the most recent research regarding cultural care the nurse increases the chances of a patient having a positive experience as opposed to a negative experience at that specific facility. Another theorist, Watson, demonstrates that care is the single most important component of nursing and everything else revolves around it. As a nurse I plan to use Ethic of Care as the major factor around nursing and use that as the foundation and move forward from there. Without the implementation of Ethic of Care you do not have a â€Å"nurse† looking at it from the ideal perspective.

Evaluation of the Endosymbiosis Theory

Evaluation of the Evidence The modern version of the endosymbiosis hypothesis was developed and promoted by Dr. Lynn Margulis in 1970. The term endosymbiosis comes from â€Å"endo† meaning â€Å"within,† and symbiosis which occurs when two different species benefit from living and working together (Genetic Science Learning Center). This theory proposes that the organelles of eukaryotic cells, specifically the mitochondria and chloroplasts, were once free-floating bacteria that were ingested by larger, prokaryotic bacteria by means of endocytosis.The host bacteria benefitted from the engulfment of the organelles as they were able to carry out functions, such as cellular respiration, more efficiently than the host itself could. Therefore, the free-living bacteria were not digested, and consequently over time their DNA was combined with the host bacterial cell’s DNA to eventually develop a new form of cells called eukaryotes.One of the most eminent pieces of evidenc e that supports the hypothesis is that although prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells are quite distinctive in physiological characteristics, some of the organelles of eukaryotes share a number of staggering similarities with prokaryotes. Like prokaryotes, the mitochondrion and chloroplast both replicate through means of binary fission, unlike the eukaryotic cells that contain them, which undergo mitosis.Moreover, prokaryotes and the abovementioned eukaryotic organelles have circular DNA, whereas eukaryotes have linear DNA. The size of the DNA is also a factor in the theory as the prokaryotic DNA and the DNA of the organelles is similar in size, and much smaller than that of eukaryotic cells. The dissimilarities between the physical characteristics of the DNA in the eukaryotic nucleus and the DNA in the organelles lead to the impression that the organelles were once bacterial (prokaryotic) symbionts (IUPUI Department of Biology).However, since the DNA in the nucleus and the organel les replicate independently of each other, there is the possibility that random mutations may have occurred, thus causing the discrepancies in the DNA over a certain period of time. Therefore, this evidence is not conclusive proof that the organelles are possible descendants of ancestral bacteria. Additionally, chloroplasts and mitochondria are surrounded by a double membrane. This provides further evidence to the endosymbiosis theory because it suggests that these organelles were ingested by a primitive host (Genetic Science Learning Center).To explain this circumstance, the host cell ingests the bacterium through phagocytosis – a form of endocytosis – which results in an additional lipid bilayer formed by the vesicle membrane, in addition to the bacterium’s inner plasma membrane (IUPUI Department of Biology). There is no other known cause as to why these organelles have double membranes, other than the widely-accepted endosymbiotic theory. In the field of scie nce, a theory is a well-established explanation based on extensive experimentation and observation, and is generally accepted as fact by the scientific community (Genetic Science Learning Center).Although some of the evidence provided in support of the endosymbiosis hypothesis is not irrefutable, there is more evidence is support of the theory, than there is against it. Therefore, in my opinion, the amount of research put into this topic over the years and the various evidences that have been unearthed in support of it, as well as the lack of proof against it, lead me to accepting this theory as conclusive. However, I also want to note that research is always being done, and in the near future it is possible that scientists may propose new, improved theories.REFERENCES Genetic Science Learning Center (1969, December 31). The Evolution of the Cell. Retrieved on October 8, 2012 from http://learn. genetics. utah. edu/content/begin/cells/organelles/ IUPUI Department of Biology (2002, Ja nuary 14). The Endosymbiotic Theory. Retrieved on October 8, 2012 from http://www. biology. iupui. edu/biocourses/N100/2k2endosymb. html Caprette, D. R. (2008). Evolutionary Origin of Mitochondria. Retrieved on October 8, 2012 from http://www. ruf. rice. edu/~bioslabs/studies/mitochondria/mitorigin. html

How does Gaskell use setting and location to reveal the character of her heroine, Margaret Hale?

The final title of her novel ‘North and South', suggests the important role setting and location play in Gaskell's story of Margaret Hale and her relationship with Milton mill-owner John Thornton. During the course of the novel, we see Margaret settled in three locations; Harley Street, Helstone and Milton. Each of these settings represents a different social stratum and we see Margaret develop in her perception and attitude towards each of them. They all contribute, in some way, to making Margaret the girl that she is at the end of the novel. The book opens in Harley Street, where we are presented with the character of Edith. Edith's role in the novel is to act as a contrast to Margaret or ‘control sample'. Through her, we can see what Margaret's life would have been like had she accepted Lennox. Edith is the model Victorian woman and she fits in perfectly with her Harley Street surroundings, but Margaret is far more independent, strong-minded and unconventional. When having her lover describe her future life in Corfu, â€Å"the very parts which made Margaret glow as she listened, Edith pretended to shiver and shudder at†¦ because anything of a gipsy or make-shift life was really distasteful to her. Margaret, on the other hand appears to be ill at ease with the superficial attitudes and concerns of those around her. As she tells her mother; â€Å"I think what you call the makeshift contrivances at dear Helstone were a charming part of the life there†. Margaret has no pretensions and this dislike of the superficial relationships is particularly evident in her description of her aunt's view of her â€Å"neighbours whom Mrs Shaw called friends, because she happened to dine with them more frequently than with any other people, and because if she or Edith wanted anything from them, or they from her, they did not scruple to make a call at each other's houses before luncheon†. This relationship contrasts with her experiences in Milton were the term ‘neighbours' is applied to people such as Higgins and his daughters; a far more personal and sincere relationship. The opening scenes also provide the reader with an explanation of Margaret's position in Aunt Shaw's house. It is shown to be a warm and affectionate household with her â€Å"gentle aunt and dear cousin†, but Margaret's position within it was that of ‘poor cousin' and companion to Edith. Margaret's proud character and regard for social stature is clear from her eager â€Å"delight of filling the important post of only daughter in Helstone parsonage†. This perception of class and positions in society is one that shapes many of her dislikes of Milton and its inhabitants and is one that she must eventually overcome. The title of chapter two, â€Å"Roses and Thorns† has significance in that is shows the contrast between the life Margaret expects at Helstone, surrounded by roses and the outdoors, and the â€Å"thorns† in her life that she hadn't expected. It shows how beneath the idyll of her memories of Helstone, lie problems waiting to cause pain. Margaret feels that she belongs in Helstone where â€Å"its people were her people†. As an example of this, she â€Å"learned and delighted in using their particular words†. However, she is later to acquire the language of the people in Milton, showing her adaptability and also how she ‘belongs' in Milton to the same extent as she does in Helstone. Margaret is aware that â€Å"one had need to learn a different language and measure by a different standard up here in Milton†. The embracing of the local dialect by a middle-class girl is highly unusual in novels, showing the unconventional, clever and independent mind that Margaret possesses. Her return to Helstone and her â€Å"keen enjoyment of every sensuous pleasure† shows how Margaret is a sensuous woman, greatly appreciative of the outdoors. The loss of the countryside and the geographical differences between Milton and Helstone are perceived greatly by Margaret. In Helstone, Margaret walks â€Å"out on the broad commons into the warm scented light, seeing multitudes of wild, free, living creatures, revelling in the sunshine, and the herbs and flowers it called forth† whereas â€Å"at Milton the chimneys smoked, the ceaseless roar and mighty beat, and dizzying whirl of machinery, struggled and strove perpetually. Senseless and purposeless were wood and iron and steam in their endless labours†. The difference in the environments is emphasised through Gaskell's use of language and tools such as alliteration. Margaret shows her attitude to social class on her first arriving at Helstone, to have been shaped by her childhood in the fashionable Harley Street. She conforms to the conventional perception that a man's status as a gentleman is reliant on birth, property and an appropriate (or no) occupation. This topic is one that is discussed at length with Mr Thornton and we see that Milton, and her acquaintance with Thornton, changes Margaret's opinion on this. Thornton believes that â€Å"†gentleman† is a term that only describes a person in his relation to others†, whereas the term â€Å"a man† comprehends more, a person not merely considered â€Å"with regard to his fellow-me, but in relation to himself†. It is one of the many prejudices concerning class relations that Margaret must overcome before she can be happily united with Thornton. Although she declares that â€Å"I am not standing up for [the cotton spinners] any more than for any other trades-people†, she is later to stand up for both the masters through Thornton and the workers through Higgins. The change in Margaret is forced upon her through her change in situation and circumstance. The frailties and failings in Mr Hale's character can be seen in his being unable to tell his wife of his change of conscience and their subsequent more to Milton-Northern. This means that greater responsibility is placed on Margaret's shoulders, but her strength of character shines through because although she â€Å"did dislike it, did shrink from it more than from anything she had ever had to do in her life before† she then manages to â€Å"conquer herself†. This is something that Mr Hale is unable to do. The area the Hales move into in Milton is cleverly named, Crampton. Like Dickens in ‘Hard Times', Gaskell uses the names of places to suggest their nature. Edith's letters from Corfu provide not only the reader, but Margaret also, with a constant reminder as to what her life could have been like. The first letter from Edith tells of her arrival and is received on the day of Margaret's own arrival in Milton. The lively and gay description of their happy days in Corfu provides a stark contrast between the dark, chaotic and cramped life in Milton. The lives of the two young cousins have diverged completely. At this point in the novel, Margaret would have preferred Edith's life, but later on we see that she would not have been content with such a life. Margaret's humanitarian interest is awakened in her through her life in Milton. She provides a counter-argument to that of J. S. Mill and those of the utilitarian movement such as Gradgrind in ‘Hard Times'. She sees a smaller section of Milton society and was â€Å"thrown in with one or two of those who, in all measures affecting masses of people, must be acute sufferers for the good of many†. She, like Dickens' Sissy Jupe sees the cost in terms of human suffering, her concern is for the individual. Margaret is interested in people and it is through her acquaintance with Higgins and his family that Milton â€Å"became a brighter place†¦ in it she had found a human interest†. She does not like to hear the mill workers referred to as â€Å"Hands†. This is an issue discussed also in ‘Hard Times' but it reflects on her interests in the individual in society. Referring to a whole class of people by the same generic term, removes the personal contact and identity of the workers. They no longer have â€Å"independence of character†. As we hear of Frederick and his story, we see how and why Margaret looks up to him. Her creed in life is that; â€Å"Loyalty and obedience to wisdom and justice are fine; but it is still finer to defy arbitrary power, unjustly and cruelly used – not on behalf of ourselves, but on behalf of others more helpless†. This is what Frederick did. She sees his crime as elevated through his motives to a â€Å"heroic protection of the weak†. This concords with her great interest in humanity. When she saves Thornton from the mob at the mill, â€Å"she did it because it was right, and simple, and true to save where she could save†. Margaret, coming fresh to the industrial troubles in Milton, provides a new outlook on the problems. Although she is biased in that she considers the south a lot less hostile and full of suffering, she can see â€Å"two classes dependant on each other in every possible way, yet each evidently regarding the interests of the other as opposed to their own†. She correctly identifies communication as being the root of a lot of their problems and endeavours to improve this. Margaret's relationship with Dixon shows her capacity to love fiercely. It also highlights her perception of her position in the household and her willingness to take on all the responsibilities of nursing her mother. Mrs Hale's fatal illness brings Dixon and Margaret together in sympathy and support for one another. Through Mrs Thornton's scathing opinion of Margaret and her condescending attitude to her surroundings, we see others' perception of Margaret's breeding and social awareness. Although her opinions as regards her surroundings change gradually during her time in Milton, Mrs Thornton never credits her with this. Bessy too is surprised that Margaret is associating with the â€Å"first folk in Milton†. More particularly because it is unusual that someone of Margaret's middle class breeding visits both the masters and the men, thus straddling the two very distinct classes in the industrial town. Margaret finds this hard to come to terms with when she is invited to dine at the Thornton's, where she is expected to â€Å"dress up in my finery, and go off and away to smart parties, after the sorrow I have seen today†. Margaret, with all the sorrow and hardship she has to bear, has all the propensity to become a martyr. Many a self-sacrificing heroine has had her true character poorly developed throughout the history of the novel. Despite this, Margaret is not a martyr, she is a much more three-dimensional character. While she bears the responsibility and pain of her life and family troubles, â€Å"her whole life just now was a strain upon her fortitude†. She doesn't deny the hardship and must struggle against complaining. This makes her a much more ‘real' and enjoyable character. In her darkest times in Milton, she still looks back to Helstone as the â€Å"sunny times of old†, showing that her character has not yet completed its journey. In the wake of her mother's death, we see Margaret beginning to redress her prejudices regarding trades people; â€Å"her cheeks burnt as she recollected how proudly she had implied an objection to trade (in the early days of their acquaintance)† This is also a sign of her growing feelings for Thornton, which she is yet to admit to herself. When Higgins visits, he is asked upstairs; something which astonishes Dixon, as â€Å"folk at Helstone were never brought higher than the kitchen†. During their time in Milton, class distinctions as perceived by the Hales have weakened. The change in Margaret is also shown through her beginning to address the poor in the south with a more objective attitude. Margaret's view of trades people goes full circle when her brother goes into trade in Spain and she reflects on her â€Å"old tirades against trade†. Not only does her perception of trade go full circle, but also in her returning to London, her lifestyle does likewise. Her London life no longer satisfies her and she fears becoming â€Å"sleepily deadened into forgetfulness†. The pace of life in London is very different from the bustle of Milton and she finds that it is the commotion and excitement of the industrial town that she prefers. Leaving it has left a â€Å"strange unsatisfied vacuum in Margaret's heart†. She also longs for contact with other classes such as she experienced while in Milton. On returning to Helstone, Margaret comes with the view that she was returning ‘home', but she finds that little things have changed and moved on and Helstone will never be the place it once was. It is this realisation of the changes that â€Å"carry us on imperceptibly from childhood to youth and thence through manhood to age, whence we drop†¦ into the quiet mother earth† that allows Margaret to make a break with Helstone and all the memories attached to it. She is able to come to terms with it as her past and remember it solely as such. Mr Lennox comments that Margaret returns at the end of the novel to the â€Å"Margaret Hale of Helstone†, but he is wrong; she is quite a different woman to the now. Thornton too fails to see that it was her time in Milton that made Margaret the independent woman she is at the end of the novel, describing Helstone as â€Å"the place where Margaret grew to be what she is†. Margaret's character is shaped not only by her young childhood in Harley Street, her summers in Helstone, but also her young womanhood in Milton. It is probably the latter that had the most substantial impact on her, causing her to see both Harley Street and Helstone through different eyes on her return. Ultimately, she chooses the life and spirit and vigour of Milton over the laziness of London, through her choice of Thornton over Mr Lennox as a husband. The vast differences in the scenery and setting over the course of the novel reflect Margaret's attitude and her changing opinions regarding herself and those around her. The changes she undergoes in Milton are highlighted by her return to the familiar scenes of Helstone and Harley Street, her new attitude to them and the people connected with them.