Lady Macbeth Analysis Essay Example for Free

Lady Macbeth Analysis Essay Lady Macbeth has a manipulative, vindictive nature. She is a very controlling character yet we see her troubled mind reveal itself as the play progresses although as a character, in my opinion, when her mind unravels and her actions of insanity later occurs in the play I do not feel an ounce of sympathy for the murderous malicious actions of Macbeths temptress that lead him to doom and destruction. Therefore Lady Macbeth is just like a serpent that poisons her prey. In the opening scenes of the play it is clear to see how acutely in love Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are. When Macbeth is told the prophecy by the witches he immediately writes a letter to Lady Macbeth telling her of this news. Macbeth addresses Lady Macbeth as my dearest partner of greatness act 1 scene 5; this shows the magnitude of his love for her. He thoroughly respects her and reports to her, deliver thee not failing to tell her any new information. The first time we meet Lady Macbeth it doesnt give the reader a great perspective. She immediately becomes captivated in Macbeths letter and the prophecy of him being King, and conjures up a plan to kill Duncan, it is later revealed they are mutual friends, as he addresses her as honored hostess act 1 scene 6. This cold hearted nature and deep desire for social status and thriving ambition makes her desert any feelings of guilt and remorse, (for the time being). She is confident and strong, she fears Macbeth is not evil enough to execute a friend to reach the final goal of high status we hear this in her soliloquy, too full o the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way, act 1 scene 5 she prays for help metaphysical aid act 1 scene 5 to help Macbeth become ruthless. She fears he is without ambition act 1 scene 5 and so would not carry out the deed properly. Lady Macbeth even would do the murder herself as she prays to become manlier unsex me act 1 scenes 5-7, she prays that she will have no conscience and to be filled with poison. This shows the extent of her ambitious mind. It also reveals that although how evil she is, she still needs an extra push to give her confidence, this doesnt mean however that she is an innocent flower, she is still an evil serpent at the fact that she wishes to be even more evil and filled with malice. When she first meets Macbeth she begins to goad and persuade him to do the deed she administrates ideas of looking above suspicion. She tells him look like thinnocent flower, But be the serpent undert. act 1 scene 5, Shakespeare uses very expressive language here with contrasting imagery of a flower (which represents good) and a serpent (which represents evil). This could also be interpreted as a metaphor for Macbeths relationship with his wife in that when Lady Macbeth is plotting murderous schemes and manipulating her husband, Macbeth is presented in a good and vulnerable light. The same applies for when Macbeth decides to take the murders further later on in the book and the audience gains sympathy for his wife. Macbeth is left with little to say and is interrupted by his wife on several occasions in that scene, providing the audience with a clear insight into Shakespeares intentions for the hierarchy within the relationship. That hierarchy being where Macbeth is more or less controlled by what Lady Macbeth tells him to do, almost like a spell of her own. This provides strong evidence for those who believe that Lady Macbeth is like a serpent. Lady Macbeth shows more serpent techniques as she hides her malevolent plans while greeting her guest, the King, at her household. She is skilled with her welcome of politeness towards Duncan as she has already planned that Duncan will die, fatal battlements, act 1 scene 5 yet she can mask her wickedness and still seem courteous towards Duncan. Progressing through the book from the start Lady Macbeth now symbolizes the character of wickedness to her full extent, like a snake that targets its prey and is not satisfied until the aim is achieved. In Act 1 scene 7 we see how Lady Macbeth belittles her husband in an attempt for him to agree whole heartedly to kill the king of Scotland. She tries to make him feel weak and cowardly. She uses foul phrases with appalling imagery such as telling Macbeth that while she was breast feeding her baby she would: while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn you had done to this. She tries to come over as very menacing and heartless at this point in the play, making a point of the fact that if she had promised to kill her own child she would do so. The role of women at the time when Shakespeare wrote this play was that women were mothers and supported their husbands, there main objective would be to look after the home. A Shakespearian audience would be appalled that Lady Macbeth is neither and that she even threatens a life of a child. This shows how Lady Macbeth would have done almost anything to persuade Macbeth however, after the murder of Duncan, she contradicts herself rather strongly as she comments on not being able to kill her father. In Act 2 scene 2 Lady Macbeth shows strength. Macbeth returns from killing the king to discuss the event with his wife. Shakespeare uses this as an opportunity for the audience to feel sympathy as we see his grief and guilt. We also get to see a very new side to Lady Macbeth, she admits that if he had not looked like her own father she would have done the deed herself, showing that underneath her hard exterior, there are elements of compassion and guilt that though she expresses little, she still feels them just like any other human being. The audience then can see her snap out of her sensitive phase and channel her emotions into reassuring and controlling her husband. She tells him to dismiss his hallucinations about the dagger and to return them to frame the guards who were guarding Duncans room. These deeds must not be thought, after these ways; so, it will make us mad. The audience could consider this as foreshadowing of what occurs as the play progresses as both Lady Macbeth and her husband experience mental disturbances because of the horrific crimes they committed. Hands are used as a metaphor throughout this scene and as an extended metaphor throughout the play. Macbeth refers to his as hangmans hands and uses phrases such as ravelled sleeve of care, whereas Lady Macbeth is far more literal and tells him to wash this filthy witness from your hand. This could be interpreted as the hands representing guilt and so each character handles the guilt in different ways; Macbeth is very open about his guilt and remorse by using dramatic devices such as personification and metaphors, for example: Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more. Lady Macbeth, however, deals with her culpability in a different way in that she pretends to feel nothing towards the situation but it obviously haunts her as we see in her final scene in Act 5 scene 1 where she sleep walks and hallucinates. Shakespeare illustrates this well when Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth for being so gentle: My hands are of your colour, but I shame, to wear a heart so white. She also says rather flippantly, A little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it then! Your constancy hath left you unattended. Shakespeares intention for this scene, I think, was to show us that there is a sensitive, guilty side underneath her shell of ambition and malevolence. Conversely the depth of evil she has shown so far throughout the play cannot make her an innocent flower but an evil and manipulative serpent. When Macduff discovers Duncans murder with great astonishment, he alerts the whole castle including Banquo, Malcolm and Donaldbain of the kings death and so Lady Macbeth enters. She acts very much like thinnocent flower by pretending to be oblivious to what had happened in the previous scene, Whats the business that such a hideous trumpet calls to parley, the sleepers of the house? Then with immense dramatic irony, Macduff replies calling her gentle lady and commenting on the fact that the talk of murderous deeds is too tender for a womans ears. The audience would find this somewhat amusing as they know that Lady Macbeth is responsible for persuading Macbeth to commit the murder of Duncan and so would not in any way find the subject too sensitive or painful. Lady Macbeth is very much out of control in this scene, she is surprised to find out that Macbeth killed the two attendants which werent in her plan and she begins to falter. In the Macbeths relationship this is somewhat very different from the beginning, Macbeth did not consult Lady Macbeth of killing the attendants and this shows their relationship distancing. Lady Macbeth shows her fragility by fainting, although it is unknown to the audience if she genuinely fainted or if it is an act. Lady Macbeth experiences a loss of power and control in Act 3 scene 2, where Macbeth arranges his next murder without her involvement. Shakespeare has her character showing compassion to her husbands sorriest fancies when he complains of insecurity about his dangerous thoughts and deeds. She tries to make him forget what has happened by instructing him: Using those thoughts which should indeed have died, with them think on? Things without all remedy should be without regard; whats done is done. But Lady Macbeth has lost some of her control, her serpent like naturisms have become wilted but like a serpent, it always remains. Lady Macbeth presents herself as the gracious hostess once more as she invites the lords to dinner in Act 3 scene 4. At the beginning of the scene the audience is presented with the news of Banquos slaughter. Lady Macbeth suspects this but is not directly informed as her husband has somewhat distanced himself from her, implying that he does not need her influences for villainous thoughts any more, he can do it all by himself now. This scene manages to arouse some sympathy for Lady Macbeth as we see her power lessening downfall. This could be what ultimately leads to her suspected suicide. The audience gets to understand that Shakespeare did not want to present Lady Macbeth as a character who takes pleasure in the sight of bloodshed and gore, but one who craves power and enforces her ambitions upon those she can manipulate. We also see a role reversal here for the second time in the play. She already has upset the natural order of marital hierarchy from the beginning of the play where she presents herself in the dominant role which was extremely uncommon for that period. Then as the play progresses she becomes part of a downward spiral where she loses power and the status within the marriage as she becomes the more recessive figure next to her now dominant husband. Which in essence, could her suicide later on in the play be reflected upon the idea that Lady Macbeth needs to be the dominate figure? I think that she becomes so broken by her husbands horrific actions that even she wouldnt commit and she cant take anymore of the division between the once close couple this could be seen as an innocent flower but considering everything that has happened throughout the play, she can certainly not be called innocent. The ghost of Banquo makes an appearance at the dinner table in this scene but of course only Macbeth can see (another one of his deluded hallucinations like the dagger). He becomes extremely unsettled by this and begins to shout at the ghost with a fiery passion that stuns the rest of his guests. Thou canst not say I did it; never shake thy gory locks at me! Ross initiates the lords standing up and leaving their new king in peace to rest and collect himself but Lady Macbeth being thinnocent flower that she pretends to be assures the lords that he is fine and is just unwell. The audience feels some sort of consideration for her as we can see her husbands mental health deteriorates and her power disintegrate. She snaps at Macbeth Are you a man? as she quite obviously feels utterly embarrassed by his reactions to the ghost. She tries to use this as an opportunity to regain her status above Macbeth which is understandable as she feels defeated but is selfish considering her husbands stat e, she shows serpent qualities, the need to be in control of her prey. In the most dramatic scene in Lady Macbeths presence on stage, the audience is given the opportunity to see the real Lady Macbeth as her subconscious takes over her physical state. Having no further matters to occupy her mind as Macbeth no longer tells her his plans, she begins to dwell on the past, slipping further and further from reality until she eventually completely loses her hold on sanity and takes her own life. At the beginning of her last scene, Act 5 scene 1, the doctor and gentlewoman are analyzing her recent behavior, She has light by her continually, tis her command. As light is a common metaphor for purity this insinuates that she doesnt want to be considered evil and wants to redeem herself but cant because she is too involved to dig herself out now and so her subconscious speaks the words she cannot. Out damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then tis time to dot. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear? Who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? A Shakespearian audience would have recognized the spot as the devils mark and would have reacted with horror as they saw this scene being played; this shows that once again she can be called a serpent. Shakespeare has used very disjointed language with punctuation separating every short phrase. This translates to her being very edgy and emotionally unstable. She then reels off a list of other people for which she feels responsible for their deaths as well as her husband. She refers back to the common theme of hands which has occurred throughout the play. What, will these hands neer be clean? All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. O, O, O. She still refers to her hands as being little and the need for them to be sweetened and so this indicates the want for her to be filled with good and that she is feeling genuine guilt and mental anguish. This anguish finally leads to her suicide by unspecified means. Shakespeare probably chose not to present the death of Lady Macbeth on stage to add to the impact of her exit and last scene and also to be slightly ambiguous. I think a dying scene would have been effective for Lady Macbeths last scene; she could perhaps have given a soliloquy explaining how she truly was feeling. To let her portray her malice side and let the audience be satisfied to call her an evil serpent. The significance of Lady Macbeth being an evil woman becoming tortured with guilt and grief is off great importance to a Shakespearian audience, in that time they believed in witchcraft and in my opinion Lady Macbeth could be portrayed as how people who are evil and malicious never get away with the deed. I think a Shakespearian audience would think witchcraft would have been involved in Lady Macbeths downfall and this would be very real and true for them. She was certainly a bold character for going against the Chain of Being in which God was considered to be ultimately at the top with monarchs under that and other members of society such as lords and townsfolk following after, but at the bottom were women and so she was courageous to consider herself to be above even monarchy! Though wrong, especially considering what was said if the chain of being was to be disrupted, that chaos would arise, disrupting the natural order of life on earth and in the heavens which is seen as inexcusable a definite serpent quality. To conclude, it is evident that Shakespeare had Lady Macbeths emotional state disintegrate as the play proceeded to in effect show the downfall of a control freak. In the first two acts we have little sympathy for Lady Macbeth as Shakespeare only provides the audience with her vindictive exterior, at this time we cannot see what she is truly thinking and feeling. It is only as the play progresses that we understand why she turns out to be the way that she is, that she has a very ambitious character and so enforces that upon her husband. She feels that Macbeth becoming king will benefit them both and sees killing the existing king as the fastest way to get to the throne. She then becomes gradually defeated as Macbeths ambition and obsession with becoming king begins to soar and spiral. She is then over-ridden with guilt and eventually feels that she cannot bear the guilt that torments her troubled mind and so decides to end it all. Had her ambition not overridden her sense of morality, she could have been a respectable, intelligent woman who complemented her husbands abilities to form a perfect partnership. However, she ended up becoming a tortured, immoral, dejected soul, and disliked by many people becoming a serpent.

Reasons for the gender pay gap

Reasons for the gender pay gap Since 1960, the feminization in the European work force is a phenomenon unquestionable. Indeed, today in France of 100 employed people, 47 are women contrary to 1962 where they were 34. In spite of this increase, sex is a significant decisive of professional position in working places (De Curraize, Y., Hugouneny, R., (2004)). This gender discrimination results through the gap of salaries between men and women. We consider in this study gender that gender gap defines oneself as a measure of the difference between the earning of men and women (Andrew Barnard (August 2008) p.18). Certainly, a number of significant review and reports have revealed that women in both full time and part time work earn less than men. Therefore, it remains professional disparities between men and women. To understand this gender discrimination, our analysis focuses on pay according sexes. Firstly, a current situation regarding women work will give basing on factors and reasons that have contributed to this situation. Secondly, a legal position will be analyzed through government initiatives set up to reduce this issue. Finally, the measures that organizations should and could take to eliminate gender pay gap will be examined. First of all, this part will focus on the current situation regarding women work and will find the factors which are contributed to this situation. Above all, it is necessary to define payment to understand our subject. Indeed, payment defines oneself as an income and all contractual terms and conditions including a basic salary and other benefits for example bonus, pension scheme, company car that could receive an employees. Today, the pay gap between men and women tend to decrease but it remains narrowed slightly. Indeed in the UK, the statistics revealed that pay gap between sexes is 12,2 per cent in 2009 while in 2008 it was 12,6 per cent. Therefore, sexes pay gap decreased however it has not removed. Moreover, according to Employee Benefits in Salary Survey (2009) the mean salary of men including rewards differs from  £16,000 above the mean salary of women. (Jones, Ben (December 2009)). Furthermore, in regard to the median earning, it is noticeable that the average pay of man in 2006 is  £11.71 contrary to women which is  £10.24. Anon (11/9/2006) Sexes pay gap shrinks. We could wonder if the women work is being valued equally to men. According to Anon (01/11/1999), the women work is 20 per cent less valuable than mens work. However, it is difficult to understand the pay gap if pay is not associated to observable factors. In fact, to analyze difference of income between men and women, we have to add the age, the region the occupation industries and sectors variables (Andrew Barnard (August 2008) p.23). According to Appendices 1, 2 and 3, it is to say that these variables have a significant impact on earnings. Firstly, if we focus on age effect on earning according to gender we can see that men progress faster than woman until 21-22 years old, then earnings increase at a similar rate until age 40 and after 46 years women earning are high than men. (See appendix 1) This tendency can be explained by the fact that women tend to return later to the working market due to their career breaks when they are pregnant. Secondly, if we choose the variable of occupational effects (See appendix 2) it is argueable that there is a difference of earnings between men and woman in managers and senior officials higher than administrative and secretarial occupations. In fact people who work within professional and technical occupations, career breaks are damaging people future earnings less who work within professional and technical occupations that means career is more flexible compared to senior officials occupations. Finally, in appendix 3 it can be seen clearly that women are submit to discrimination in m anufacturing, agriculture and fishing, energy and quarrying sectors due to their lack of skills in this sector. Only, the public sector offers roughly the equal earnings according gender. Finally, we can study the mentality of European Union members that know their feelings about the subject and know if for them it is natural that women work less than men in nowadays. (See appendix 4). The survey reveals that Europeans opinions differ from one country to another. In France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Portugal the majority of pooled people are discordant to this statement. Contrary to Greece, Bulgaria, Lithuania which are agree to say that it is normal that women work less than men. (European Commission (2009)) the results of this survey show very well that the mentalities are difficult to change and this contributes to discriminate women working. Discrimination occurs when one persons wage is different from another otherwise identical persons for reasons of non-productivity related characteristics such as gender Andrew Barnard (August 2008). Therefore, it is questionable why women are paid less than men. Andrews Barnard thinks it results from a combination of discriminatory and economic reasons. According to De Curraize, Y., Hugouneny, R., (2004), allocation of time between productive and domestic spheres is often in favor or men. Indeed, the salary of women is often a supplementary salary whereas men are specialized in working area. Moreover, stereotypical perceptions of women still remains through a lack of flexibility due to their needs to reconcile demands of career and family, some negative effects of masculine organizational culture. As reported by the minister of employment, social cohesion and housing (2006), women are less paid than men because their working time is lower than mens men working time. Indeed women work more frequently than men in part-time, they are doing more complementary hours but less lucrative than supplementary hours. In other part, men in average jobs are paid more than women in such that their supplementary hours are also in average better pay. Moreover, the pay gap between men and women is not only due to discrimination. Indeed, Hakims (2004) argues that it is a scientific theory. Men and women have different main interests and they find their fulfillment through differ balance. Of 100 women, 20 are work centred, 20 are home centred and 60 are adaptive. And on 100 men 30 are adaptive, 60 are work centred and 10 are home centred. Furthermore, it can be add also that women have a profile career easier to damage than men. The presence of children is of course a reason to cease activity particularly in women less qualified. Concerning women who have a high level of studies, maternity has an effect of working length with a transition of part-time to conciliate work and family life. Finally, women are concentrated in less lucrative fields often they are focus on health, social, teaching jobs at the expense of scientific and engineer field therefore we can speak about of occupational segregation (De Curraize, Y., Hugouneny, R., (2004)). Finally, Goldberg (1973) thinks that the male dominance in the working area could come from their hormones. Indeed, their attraction of competition, assertiveness, and dominant are due to their testosterone. Therefore, it is obvious for them to be in high hierarchy. To conclude this part, we can consider that discriminal in pay, occupational segregation and the unequal impact womens family responsibilities are three main factors which contribute to the gender gap. In this second part, a legal position regarding women work will be given through government initiatives. The main actors who contributed most to progress in the area of gender equality according to survey of European Commission (2009) are associations representing womens interests, national equality organization, trade unions, the European Institutions (European Parliament, European Commission, European Council), National public authorities, NGOs, and Employers representatives. Firstly, we will see that some convention, laws and ratification will create to reduce gender discrimination. Firstly, on the European level, some texts have been ratified. First of all the principle of equality between men and women defined in article 119 of Roma Treaty (1957) which announces the equality of pay without discrimination based on sex. This implies a payment given for a same job being establish in the basis of the same unit of measurement and that the payment given for a job paid being the same for the same work position. On the national level, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) and United Kingdom Parliament have enforced The equal pay act in 1970 which is amended in 1983 based on prohibition of any less favorable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. The term pay is interpreted in a broad sense to include, on top of wages, things like holidays, pension rights, company perks and some kinds of bonuses. Also, Sex discrimination Act dated of 1975 protects men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marriage. Moreover, this Act is mainly in relation to employment, training, education, harassment, the provision of goods and services, and the disposal of premises. Other amendments have been introduced by the Sex Discrimination Act 1986, the Employment Act 1989, the Equality Act 2006, and other legislation such as rulings by the European Court of Justice. In February 2001, the EOC sets up Equal pay task force publishing a report to eliminate gender pay gap and almost try to understand it, take evidence and suggest commendation about how to close the gap through amending social economic and labour market policies to complement equal pay measures for instance flexibility, training opportunities. This report lays down 5 multi-levels to addressing the issue. The first one is raising levels of awareness and developing a common understanding of what the pay gap means, the second is reforming and modernising the equal pay legislation, then capacity building to ensure that employers and trade unions know how to implement equal pay, the fourth is enhancing transparency and developing accountability for delivering pay equality and the final one is amending social, economic and labour market policies to complement equal pay measures (Equal Pay Task Force Report (2001)). The law of 23 March 2006 has the same goal of Equal pay task force however this law leads to a sanction when there is no plan of curbing professional inequalities in com panies. (Gottely-Fayet J. (Mars 2010)) James Purnell, Minister of State for Pensions Reforms (March 2007) would allow men to share more domestic responsibilities. As reality has proved that men are already doing more within the household, but they still do less than women. This pensions reforms stands for tackle to stereotypical career paths (job suited to women for example Women and Work Commission- Five Cs), remove stereotypes embedded in organizational culture for instance women in support roles and reduce stereotypical view of men as managers (Managing diversity for equal diversity course slides). We have to notice also the Governments Ten Year Childcare Strategy (2nd December 2004) which is setting up to improve parents life. It relies on 4 principles which include the choice and the flexibility which is means that parents have a large choice about balancing work and family life, the availability concerning families with children aged up to 14 who need it, an affordable, high-quality childcare place is available in o rder to meets their expectations, the quality where a high-quality provision with a highly skilled childcare is promoted and finally the affordability where families could be able to afford flexible high-quality childcare that is appropriate to their needs according to the Government office for London (2004). And finally the Equality Act 2006 allowing to the British Government to introduce regulations outlawing discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation in goods and services in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the Sexual Orientation Regulations 2006) and a provision relating to the creation of a public duty to promote equality on the ground of gender. Finally, can be seen that government shows the will to remove discrimination through creative equal opportunities initiatives based on career-break schemes, work place nursery, women-only training programs, special holidays, work-sharing and part-time employment. (Firth-Cozens, J. and A. West (1990)) Government initiatives against discrimination are not enough to succeed to reach a total equality between men and woman. Indeed, other strategies within companies can be used to combat pay gap. Firstly, according to Jones, Ben (December 2009) a greater transparency is necessary in the companies, the availability of pay showing detailed job evaluations. For instance, in the public sector equal pay monitoring is a compulsory requirement. Employees have to make audits to publish gender gap in order to aware on discrimination, review existing policies within their companies and to re-examine how your staff are paid. The audit results will help to identify and address pitfalls in pay systems. It will also suggest good basis for create new policies or improving old ones. If companies are enrolled in fair pay this allow to have a positive impact on staff motivation and retention. It will also improve trust in the employer/employee relationship. EOC Equal opportunities commission (2009) pointed out. Some others measures should be taken to reduce the pay gap between men and women like impose penalties on company guilty of gender based pay discrimination, intensifying efforts to combat prejudice and generally negative accepted areas concerning women that is means challenging stereotypes; facilitate responsibility women positions through formal monitoring programs, remove barriers of inflexible working; improve access for women and men to sectors and jobs in which they are under-represented for example apply a fair recruitment and selection procedures and finally enhancing the standing of the sectors or jobs in which a majority of women are employed like combining work and family life, lifelong opportunities for women in training and work, embedding quality part-time work and improving careers advice. European Commission Survey (2009) p.67 Moreover, EOC proposes a guide to employers on equal pay between men and women under the sex discrimination ordinance. Indeed, company can enroll in Equal Pay Policy in order to have a good employment practice to maintain open communication with staff. This policy permits to ensure to employees a clear understanding on problems relating to their career within their organizations and understand principles affections their remuneration throughout their working life within their company. The Equal Pay Policy should cover the following requirement in order to combat pay gap: Some commitment are recommended like organizations commitment to support the principle of equal pay between men and women, an outline of the policies and practices undertaken by the organization to ensure pay equity, a commitment to carry out equal pay self-audits periodically and to take corrective actions if necessary, another one to provide resources to monitor equal pay practice in the organization, an account of actions taken and results obtained to validate compliance on equal pay under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance and the establishment of a mechanism to provide assistance to staff to address equal pay concerns. To sum it up Governments, organizations and institutions show their will to reduce and remove gender gap thanks to some Acts and laws such as the Equal Pay Act, Equality Act or Governments ten year child care strategy. Also, some strategies are implemented within companies like the development of a certain transparency, audits, fair recruitment, and career advice. In spite of the reduction of gender pay gap, we notice that it still remains through some statistics which show discrimination in pay, occupational segregation and unequal impact womens family responsibilities. There are good reasons to be optimistic about the future because the majority of Europeans consider that it is not normal that a women work less than men therefore the mentalities are changing however to combat women work discrimination it is questionable if the image of the women should be less stereotype in the media? Appendices Figure 1 Andrew Barnard (August 2008) Modelling the gender pay gap in the UK: 1998 to 2006 Figure 2 Andrew Barnard (August 2008) Modelling the gender pay gap in the UK: 1998 to 2006 Figure 3 Andrew Barnard (August 2008) Modelling the gender pay gap in the UK: 1998 to 2006 Figure 4 European Commission (2009), Gender equality in the EU in 2009

Self Reflective Practice Essay -- Childcare Directors, Early Childhood

This paper will explore the role of the director in modeling reflective practice as a tool to move a program towards programmatic excellence. Childcare directors are closely connected to all aspects of the childcare program; they supervise and support the teachers and staff and they work with the children and families. They are responsible for the program administration. They are the program manager and the center leader. This paper will suggest ways to incorporate more reflective practice into our programs at Kennedy Heights Community Center. The literature on self-reflective practice will be explored and analyzed to support the paper’s thesis of reflective practice as a tool on the path to excellence. The limitations and weaknesses of reflective practice will also be explored. Reflection- Literature Review In her article, Becoming a Self Mentor, Bloom states, â€Å"The capacity to reflect and engage in candid introspection is at the core of achieving self-awareness. Reflective practitioners think creatively, imaginatively, and at times self-critically about what they are doing. Individuals who use a variety of reflective practices have a better understanding of themselves† (pg. 55). If we value continuous programmatic improvements then practitioners must know themselves to effectively change and improve themselves. Teachers and directors cannot adjust or improve their attitudes or behaviors if they are unable to honestly acknowledge and own their actions. Reflection can help to close the gap between â€Å"espoused theories and theories in action† (Bloom, 2007). The best written handbooks and program manuals are meaningless if teachers and directors do not implement the philosophy and vision of the program as written. If centers talk... ...d care and education to know what excellence looks like, but also knowledge of adult education to get all the teachers to the pursuit of excellence. While reflective practice is a critical part of professional development, the program administrator must continuously move a program towards excellence and have a deep understanding of best practices and what quality childcare looks like to effectively model and facilitate reflective practice that leads to sustainable change. While some aspects of quality are concrete and stable; many aspects of quality childcare reflect the needs of the children and their families and are constantly changing. It takes management skills to maintain consistency and leadership skills to facilitate the changing program needs to maintain quality. The director serves both roles and therefore serves as the gatekeeper to program quality.

Arguments for Open Adoption Records Essays -- Law

For those who are a part of the adoption world one of the most hotly debated issues is whether birth records should be open or closed to adoptees. With this issue comes strong feelings on both sides. In most states adoption records are fully sealed and inaccessible, unless the adoptee petitions the court. In 16 states these records are fully or partially available upon request with no court involvement, and also may depend upon when you were born. In a few states records are completely prohibited and the adoptee will never have any access to them. Alaska and Kansas have always made original birth records available. As an adoptee, I feel that all adoption records should be open. I believe that this can only strengthen the quality of the institution of adoption itself and positively affect all those involved in it. I am not one of those people who did not know I was adopted. I have always known. My parents are good and loving, and provided me with all that I needed as a child. However, just because they were very good parents did not decrease the inherent need I had to look at a face that is similar to my own. Open adoption records would provide the tools for people to learn indispensable information that is provided to all other Americans beside themselves. Sealed records violate adoptee’s rights as human beings. Adoptees are discriminated against like no other group in this country. Records should be opened so that we have the same rights as those who are raised in their biological families. Open records in no way threaten the institution of adoption. There will always be mothers and fathers who are willing to chose a different path by giving their child away, just as there will always be those parents who wish to provi... ...2002): p271-310. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. Fleming, Caroline B. "The open-records debate: balancing the interests of birth parents and adult adoptees." William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law Spring (2005): 461-480. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. Freundlich, Madelyn. For the Records: Restoring a Legal Right for Adult Adoptees. Evan B. Don Aldson Adoption Institute. New York, NY. (November 2007). www. Adoptioninstitute.org. Web. 17 Feb. 2012. Sorosky, A.D., Baran, A., & Pannor, R. The Adoption Triangle. New York: Doubleday. (1984). Print. Whittaker Hughes, Susan. â€Å"The only Americans legally prohibited from knowing who their birth parents are: a rejection of privacy rights as a bar to adult adoptees' access to original birth and adoption records.† Cleveland State Law Review. 55.3 (Summer 2007): p429-461. Academic OneFile. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.

virgin atlantic Essay -- essays research papers fc

THE AVIATION INDUSTRY The aviation industry of any nation acts as a contributor to its economic growth, helps in globalisation and creating an international image. It is the best in terms of the fastest, safest and convenient mode of travel. Even though it is an expensive one, it is expanding its markets across the middle-class who are ready to spent money on leisure trips. Thus it is truly stated that aviation forms a vital core infrastructure area without which a country economy is handicapped. The civil aviation industry of world has expanded its wings by letting in private organisations. Privatisation in the domestic and the international circuit can help in foreseeing the future of the aviation industry at a mark up rise, and gaining international recognition. It started eight years back with Open Sky Policy allowing charter flights to operate in domestic market. Today in the year 2000 we saw the code sharing agreement between Air India and Virgin Atlantic Airlines for the DEL- LON sector. During the last nine months there has been fare wars, value added services, alliances etc. Suddenly there seems some action in the Aviation Industry, where Virgin has acted as a lubricator. There are many other airlines, in bid of competition increasing their capacities or increase their flights for the same route. Introduction In the early 80s, when Virgin Atlantic was created, by Richard Branson was a go getting, sweater wearing entrepreneur and head of the successful Virgin Group, probably best known for Virgin Records. By the early 1980s, Virgin Records was one of the top six record companies in the world. Then, in 1984, Richard got a phone call out of the blue suggesting a jumbo jet passenger service between London and New York. Branson like the idea, much to the horror of his fellow directors who thought him crazy. Undeterred, Richard announced to the world that Virgin Atlantic Airways would begin operating†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦within three months! An aircraft was found, staff were hired, licences granted and, thanks in no small part to Richard's infectious enthusiasm, on 22 June 1984 an aircraft packed with friends and the media set off for Newark, New York - and a phenomenon was born! Since then, Virgin Atlantic has become the second largest long-haul international airline operating services out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick Airports to 21 destinations all over the world - ... ... quality and value for money has gained the loyalty of many passengers. Its services, which are exclusive to this airline, enhance the experience of people on board. What more could you ask from an airline which has built an excellent. All this and more has resulted in a tough competition with its competitors, but Virgin Atlantic faces competition as a motivating factor, which would help them to grow in the long term. Virgin Atlantic has opened up a destination for Richard Branson to offer him a platform to invest in other activities. As it is known that Virgin Company has diversified itself into other products in other parts of world. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lovelock, C., â€Å"Services Marketing†, Prentice Hall, 1991. Kotler.P, â€Å"Marketing Management†, Prentice Hall of India, 1999 Payne, A., â€Å"The Essence of Services Marketing†, Prentice Hall of India, 1996. Luck, Rubin, â€Å" Marketing Research†, Prentice Hall India, New Delhi, 1996. Bernhardt, Kinnear, â€Å"Cases in Marketing Management†, Butterworth Heinemann, 1997. WEBSITES www.virginatlantic.com www.airindia.com www.tourismindia.com MAGAZINES Business Standard Aviation. Business World. Todays Traveler- The Business and Leisure virgin atlantic Essay -- essays research papers fc THE AVIATION INDUSTRY The aviation industry of any nation acts as a contributor to its economic growth, helps in globalisation and creating an international image. It is the best in terms of the fastest, safest and convenient mode of travel. Even though it is an expensive one, it is expanding its markets across the middle-class who are ready to spent money on leisure trips. Thus it is truly stated that aviation forms a vital core infrastructure area without which a country economy is handicapped. The civil aviation industry of world has expanded its wings by letting in private organisations. Privatisation in the domestic and the international circuit can help in foreseeing the future of the aviation industry at a mark up rise, and gaining international recognition. It started eight years back with Open Sky Policy allowing charter flights to operate in domestic market. Today in the year 2000 we saw the code sharing agreement between Air India and Virgin Atlantic Airlines for the DEL- LON sector. During the last nine months there has been fare wars, value added services, alliances etc. Suddenly there seems some action in the Aviation Industry, where Virgin has acted as a lubricator. There are many other airlines, in bid of competition increasing their capacities or increase their flights for the same route. Introduction In the early 80s, when Virgin Atlantic was created, by Richard Branson was a go getting, sweater wearing entrepreneur and head of the successful Virgin Group, probably best known for Virgin Records. By the early 1980s, Virgin Records was one of the top six record companies in the world. Then, in 1984, Richard got a phone call out of the blue suggesting a jumbo jet passenger service between London and New York. Branson like the idea, much to the horror of his fellow directors who thought him crazy. Undeterred, Richard announced to the world that Virgin Atlantic Airways would begin operating†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦within three months! An aircraft was found, staff were hired, licences granted and, thanks in no small part to Richard's infectious enthusiasm, on 22 June 1984 an aircraft packed with friends and the media set off for Newark, New York - and a phenomenon was born! Since then, Virgin Atlantic has become the second largest long-haul international airline operating services out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick Airports to 21 destinations all over the world - ... ... quality and value for money has gained the loyalty of many passengers. Its services, which are exclusive to this airline, enhance the experience of people on board. What more could you ask from an airline which has built an excellent. All this and more has resulted in a tough competition with its competitors, but Virgin Atlantic faces competition as a motivating factor, which would help them to grow in the long term. Virgin Atlantic has opened up a destination for Richard Branson to offer him a platform to invest in other activities. As it is known that Virgin Company has diversified itself into other products in other parts of world. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lovelock, C., â€Å"Services Marketing†, Prentice Hall, 1991. Kotler.P, â€Å"Marketing Management†, Prentice Hall of India, 1999 Payne, A., â€Å"The Essence of Services Marketing†, Prentice Hall of India, 1996. Luck, Rubin, â€Å" Marketing Research†, Prentice Hall India, New Delhi, 1996. Bernhardt, Kinnear, â€Å"Cases in Marketing Management†, Butterworth Heinemann, 1997. WEBSITES www.virginatlantic.com www.airindia.com www.tourismindia.com MAGAZINES Business Standard Aviation. Business World. Todays Traveler- The Business and Leisure

Calculus

This is a take-home exam. You may consult different sources of information including but not limited to class notes, homework and/or textbook. You may also collaborate with your classmates but you must write your own solutions. It is fairly obvious when a student is Just copying the work from an external source; if I deem a solution has just been copied I may give you a warning for Academic Dishonesty (ADD for short).Solutions to some of these problems are available elsewhere, if you happen to come cross one of them you should make your best effort to understand it, then write your own using your ideas and understanding of the topics. Question: 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Points: 25 20 200 Score: Please do not answer the questions in the limited space provided; use scratch paper and attach it to this cover page. Name: Signature: Page 1 of 6 Please go on to the next page†¦ Questions (10 puts) 1. I. Use Roller's theorem to prove that f x ex. root . 013 xx 2 has at most one real Hint: If has two roots (say a and b) then FAA Feb. O. What does Roller's theorem say in this situation? (1 5 puts) it. Let f be continuous on a, and differentiable on a, b . Show that there exists c a, b such that the tangent at c, FCC is parallel to the secant through a, FAA and b, Feb. . In other words, show that FAA Equation (1) is known as the Mean Value Theorem formula. Hint: Apply Roller's theorem on a, to the function G x Feb. FAA Feb. Keep in mind that a, FAA , b and Feb. are constants. 2.True or false. (5 puts) I. Iffy O, f is neither concave up nor concave down around x a. I. It. If is continuous on a, b and c iii. If f is continuous but not necessarily differentiable on O, then the absolute maximum and the absolute minimum off exist. V. If f is differentiable on a, b then it is also continuous on a, b and the absolute maximum and absolute minimum exist. V. If x a corresponds to an inflection point off , then f ii a around x a. A, b is a local maximizes then fix O. O and f ii x changes sign 3.Henry is pulling on a rope that passes through a pulley on a MM t pole and is attached to a wagon. Assume that the rope is attached to a loop on the wagon 2 Ft off the ground. Let x be the distance between the loop and the pole (see figure 1). (10 puts) I. Find a formula for the speed of the wagon in terms of x and the rate at which Henry lulls the rope. We say that x a is a root (or is a zero) off x , if FAA O. We say thatch is a local maximizes if f c is a local maximum. Page 2 of 6 Henry Figure 1: Henry pulling the wagon from problem 3. 10 puts) it. Find the speed of the wagon when it is 12 Ft from the pole, assuming that Henry pulls the rope at a rate of 1. 5 Ft sec. (25 puts) 4. Olav Adagio -a former student of mine- was asked to sketch the graph of a function. Unfortunately Olav often forgets things. Luckily for you, he wrote down some statements. Regarding the function f x , he wrote: * It is only defined on , and it is continuous. * It is strictly positive, e xcept at x 2 and x O where its value is zero. *f 2 2, f 3 1, and f 4 1. 1 when x O.Regarding if x , he wrote: XSL * On the interval (-2, 1) it exists only at those points where g x is well defined. Moreover, it is positive when g is positive; negative when g is negative; and zero when g is zero. * On the interval (1,2) it is identically equal to zero. * On the interval (2,4) it is negative. Lastly, regarding f ii x , he wrote: * On (-2, 1) it exists whenever h x signs on this interval. Is well defined. They also have opposite On (2,4) it changes sign from negative to positive at x 3. Help Olav sketch the graph off .Make sure to clearly identify the local and global extreme as well as the inflection points. 5. A piece of wire 24 CM long is given to you. You can choose to either cut it into two pieces or leave it the way it is. If you decide to cut it, one piece must be bent into the Page 3 of 6 shape of a square, while the remaining one must be bent into the shape of a circle. If you decide not to cut it, you can bend it into either shape. (5 puts) I. Denoting by x the length of the piece of the wire that will be bent into the shape of circle, obtain an expression for the area enclosed by the wire.Make sure that the formula works regardless of whether or not the wire is bent into one or two pieces. (20 puts) it. Find the maximum area that can be enclosed by the wire. Explain how this area can be obtained by specifying the dimensions (ii. , length of sides and/or radius) of the objects to be constructed. The following facts might come in handy: If a square has perimeter.

What Factors Do You Think Make Some Organizations Ineffective at Managing Emotions?

Submit your posts to the Case Study Discussion for Module 3. Read the Case Incident 1, â€Å"Is It Okay to Cry at Work† on p. 124 of your textbook. Post a response to one of the questions listed at the end of the case study that has not been previously addressed by another group member. This initial posting is due by February 8, 2013 at 11:30 pm CST. Next, respond and build on a posting made by two of your group members. This follow- up postings are due by February 10, 2013at 11:30 pm CST. The rubric for grading this assignment can be viewed in the syllabus and your grade will appear in the ‘Grades' section of Blackboard. Questions 2.Do you think the strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect employees, or does covering your true emotions at work lead more problems than it solves? 3. Have you enter worked where emotions were used as part of a management style? Describe the advantages and disadvantages of this approach in your experience. 4. Research shows tha t acts of co-workers (37 percent) and management (22 percent) cause more negative emotions for employees than do acts of customers (7 percent). What can Laura’s company do to change its emotional climate? 1. What factors do you think make some organizations ineffective at managing emotions?There are many factors that make organizations ineffective with managing emotions in the workplace. Human beings complex thinking is one of the factors that make the organizations hard to manage the emotions. Every person is different and has his/her own emotions (Robbins 2013, p. 160). Each person may not act in the same way in a same situation due to cultural background (Robbins 2013, p. 162). Therefore, organizations face difficulties when they are dealing with their employee’s emotions. This is becoming a problem when the organization is very large and contains many employees from different background.In addition, sometimes the top managers of the organization cannot control thei r own emotions as well. On the other hand, organizations are unable to relate to their employees, and their lack of constant contact with their staff can be other factor. By keeping strong connections with workforce, organizations can ensure that emotions and moods are up-beat and energetic. It is important to be in constant contact with employees and make sure they feel comfortable to communicate to their managers anything and everything on their mind.Some of the organizations have not practiced the suitable business culture. For example, they will yell and shout at the employees when things go wrong just like the second case mentioned. This shows that some of the organizations still do not concern to manage the emotions effectively. This is due to factors such as: the inability to read emotions of employees and managers, An organization needs to make sure they keep strong connections with their workforce to ensure that emotions and moods are up-beat and energetic.Next, it’s important to remember that bottling up your true inner emotions and keeping them to yourself, will only make things worse. Organizations need to be in constant contact with employees and make sure they feel comfortable telling managers anything and everything on their mind. When I worked at IBM, they would call in each employee individually to the manager’s office every month for a â€Å"check-in† appointment. This is where managers would get very friendly with employees so that we would tell them what was going good, what was going bad, and our thoughts on the current tasks at hand.I learned that the staff would look forward to these monthly meetings and would relay a lot of useful information to the managers during this time. Even though organizations want employees to relay their true emotions, I don’t think crying at work is acceptable. This is an emotion that should be saved for home due to the fact that it could hurt your image and current position at wor k. When I say crying at work is unacceptable, I don’t mean that employees should bottle up their emotions.There is a time and place for everything and I believe you should save the crying for home and confront your manager alone in a professional way once your†¦ 1. What factors do you think make some organizations ineffective at managing emotions? Firstly, I think that the complex human thinking is one of the factors that make the organizations hard to manage the emotions. Every person has his or her own emotions. Although in a same situation, they may not act in the same way. Thus, the organizations face difficulties when they are dealing with their employees.This problem is even becoming worse when the organization is very large and contains many employees from different background. Furthermore, the authority of an organization sometimes finds out they themselves cannot control their own emotions as well. Besides, due to the business culture and etiquette which are sti ll remain poorly in some of the organizations, it becomes a problem for the organizations to manage the emotions effectively. Some of the organizations have not practiced the suitable business culture.For example, they will yell and shout at the employees when things go wrong just like the second case mentioned. This shows that some of the organizations still do not concern to manage the emotions effectively. Moreover, emotions are automatic physiological responses to the environment. It will be very hard for one to control his or her emotions by hiding their true feelings within their heart. It revealed automatically. Even people that are trying to cover their true emotions can be discovered from their facial expression.Thus, this is not the fault that the organisations cannot manage the emotions effectively. This is because it is not an easy work to control the emotions of whole organisations. 2. Do you think the strategic use and display of emotions serve to protect employees, or does covering your true emotions at work lead to more problems than it solves? By covering one's emotions can sometimes ensure a work to be done perfectly. However, people that are always covering their own emotions will always find themselves in a stressful situation and they are very hard to communicate with others.Consequently, that kind of people can be easily frustrated and lose their confidence in their jobs. Problems such as unsatisfied towards the jobs, depression, low job performance and so on will then arise. At the end, it creates more problems than what it wants to solve at first. Through the strategic use and display of emotions, the employees can express their emotions in a manner way. They have to know the ways to control their emotions even though†¦ http://www. scribd. com/doc/127040062/Case-Study-Discussion-Module-3