Pygmalion :: essays research papers

Shaw’s play "Pygmalion" and the movie "Born Yesterday" both explore many of the same issues and characteristics. They are similar because they both portray that what other people think should not matter as much as what you think of yourself but, what show yourself to be is how people will think and view of you. This is shown by similarities between the characters Billie and Eliza and the combined attitudes of Harry and Paul to Henry Higgins. They also both share the plot of taking someone who does not belong and changing them to belonging. Both pieces have quite similar themes. They both focus on the idea that the way you carry yourself and the way you speak shows to the outside world what type of person you are. They also explore that what you think of yourself should matter more then what others think of you. In "Born Yesterday" Billie, played by Melanie Griffith, is viewed by her intellectual level and not for her soul. When her intellect grew so did her self worth. In her growth of self worth she began to carry herself confidently. In exchange people treated her better. In "Pygmalion", Eliza is also judged on superficial matters. Even though Eliza did not have much class she still had some pride in herself that kept her strong. But unfortunately, Higgins did not pay attention to her words. He only paid attention to how she said them. He showed how he thought of her when he said, "It’s almost irresistible. She’s so deliciously low, so horribly dirty." [p 26] Higgins never once says what a nice woman Eliza is only how irritating her voice is. In both stories, there is also the sub-theme that the lead female is misplace by the changes that are thrust upon them. Billie feels less happiness about all her old favorite things when exposed to knowledge. Eliza realizes that the truthfulness of her old life when she is exposed to the superficial way of high society. This brings out the theme that ignorance is bliss and that we should not take anything we already have for granted. Eliza shows this point when she says, "I an a child in your country. I have forgotten my own language and can speak nothing but yours. That is the real break off with the corner of Tottenham court road." [page 94] The characters in "Born Yesterday" And "Pygmalion" are uncannily similar to one another.

Little Prince

Matthew Majewski Mrs. Loudis English IV October 29, 2012 Little Prince Essay God’s will, a moral imperative and a fresh outlook, drove Antoine De Saint-Exupery to the stars and back for answers to his own questions. Even though we don’t see much influence in Saint-Exupery’s work what we do see is mostly from the existentialist philosophy. Saint-Exupery was always trying to find the meaning of life through the choices that he made throughout his life.These existentialist views are seen all throughout Antoine De Saint-Exupery’s book The Little Prince. Existentialism is the philosophy that would like to find the meaning of life through life choices and personal responsibilities. â€Å"Soren Kierkegaard who, a century earlier, told himself what he most needed was that which would make it clear what he must do, not what he must know; to find a purpose, God’s will; to find a personal truth hat will lead him to meet crucial situations in an honest and res ponsive matter† (Webster 6).What Kierkegaard said was the basis for Saint-Exupery’s life. While we see similarities in Saint-Exupery’s quest for his moral imperative, research cannot connect any philosophers’ influence to Saint-Exupery’s work directly said by The Life and Death of the Little Prince by Paul Webster. In Saint-Exupery’s existentialist mindset he strongly believed in what Pascal and Nietzsche wrote down saying â€Å"Man should reach beyond himself for, if not greatness, at least goodness.Saint-Exupery believed that man must rise above social, political and even moral conventions even if the decision that was made was wrong or right. Saint-Exupery wanted people to realize that life is a painful journey and that everyone has problems and despair in their life but it is the moral duty of the individual to move past all the problems and positively participate in life. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery has a lot of symbol s of the existentialist views that Saint-Exupery believed in throughout he book.While Saint-Exupery wanted people to adapt to their social environment in real life he showed how the pilot in The Little Prince adapted with the little prince the character. All the different inhabitants of the planets all teach us a lesson on how easy it is to g wrong in our life choices said by www. theatlantic. com. For example, the red faced man was to busy being serious to â€Å"stop and smell he roses† and the businessman who counts stars, so he can then own them but is to busy counting stars to enjoy being rich.These examples are exactly the opposite of what Saint-Exupery was trying to emphasize. Saint-Exupery wanted people to reach beyond themselves and what the serious man and businessman did was stay in their bubble and be content with their boring lives. The thought that The Little Prince is a children story is absurd and is worthy of an adult designation more than most other â€Å"ad ult† books. While most little kids look at the pictures in awe, the fact of the matter is that the issues are serious from when it was written, to today.

Critically Evaluate the Use of Personality Assessment in Work Settings

Critically Evaluate The Use Of Personality Assessment In Work Settings. What Are The Important Professional Issues? Abstract Personality tests are used in a work setting, predominantly for the purpose of recruitment and selection. A number of professional issues exist around the use of personality tests in this setting, and practitioners should be clear of the possible flaws involved in the use of personality tests. The literature has highlighted concerns with the faking of personality tests. Individuals faking tests can mean those who obtain the highest scores are the ones who are recruited.This should be considered where personality tests are used for recruiting the top candidates as opposed to being used for removing the least suitable candidates. The validity of personality tests has to be considered when being used for selection purpose. A high face validity of tests can increase the likelihood of faking tests; yet low face validity can result in the personality tests being reje cted by candidates. Practitioners have to also take into account a number of ethical issues before using personality tests in a work setting.Key Words: Personality testing; Faking; Validity; Recruitment; Ethics. Introduction Personality tests are used in a work setting at the stage of recruitment, and also once people are within a job, to assess their working preferences. Personality traits have been found to be predictive of a number of outcomes, ranging from health behaviours to task performance (Hough & Oswald, 2008). Work specific factors related to personality types include Job Performance, Work Motivation, Leadership and Adaptability (Morgeson et al. , 2007). Using the Big Five personality traits, Judge et al. (2001) found that Conscientiousness, significantly predicts job performance across different organisational settings, and Emotional stability also predicts overall Job Performance. Organisations wish to recruit the candidates who show the greatest probability of performi ng well in the role and those who are going to benefit the most from the use of all of the training opportunities provided by the organisation (Shum, O’Gorman & Myors, 2006:147). However, the use of personality assessments can be debated, and a number of factors have to be considered before using personality tests to make important decisions about individuals’ careers.The focus of this essay is on the use of personality assessment in organisations, primarily in recruitment and selection, and the issues practitioners need to be aware of before using personality assessments. Faking Faking of personality tests is been described by terms such as â€Å"response distortion, impression management, social desirability, displaying unlikely virtues, and self-enhancement† (Griffin, Chmielowski & Yoshita, 2007). The many definitions may account for the substantial number of published articles relating to the faking of personality tests (Morgeson et al. , 2007).Researchers h ave suggested that it should be expected that individuals will give inaccurate responses in self-report tests due to the value attached to the outcome (Hogan, Barrett, & Hogan, 2007). However, there is little consensus in the research, about the frequency of faking, or how to address the issue. As selection is often carried out in a top-down approach, where those who perform in the top 5-10% are selected to progress (Arthur, Woehr, Graziano, 2001), the possibility of candidates faking personality tests should be a serious consideration for practitioners, otherwise those who have falsely represented themselves will be selected.Where it is obvious what is being tested in self-report questionnaires, there is likely to be a greater opportunity to fake responses. The face validity of questionnaires is an important issue, as it is likely to contribute to faking. Furnham & Drakeley (2000) found that managers tend to use personality tests with high face validity, due to concerns about havin g to rationalise the use of the test to participants. Alternatively, using low face validity personality tests could mean the participants reject the appropriateness of the test, and do not fully engage with it (Kline, 2000:430).However, where face validity of personality tests is high, the accuracy of personality tests scores can be distorted by individuals who assume they know what the â€Å"best response† is, and give an extreme rating. Arthur et al. ,(2001) suggest that it is easy to assume the extreme scores on a scale are the most or least desired, due to the wording of questions. Ironically, ‘fakers’ may overrate themselves and appear to be inappropriate for a role.For example, conscientiousness has been found to be easier to fake than other personality traits such as â€Å"Openness to Experiences† (Griffin, Hesketh & Grayson, 2004); therefore individual who rate themselves to be overly Conscientious may be restrained by rules and be unsuitable for the position. Practitioners have to be aware of the limitations of high face validity and the likelihood of faked responses (Kline 2000: 255). Much of the research around faking of personality tests has been lab-based, and carried out on students (Judge et al. 2008), therefore the question as to whether they do cheat in reality needs to be examined (Griffin, Chmielowski & Yoshita, 2007). Hogan et al. ,(2007) looked at responses to personality tests in the application process for a customer service role, and compared responses given at two stages by 5,266 applicants, over a six month interval. Hogan et al. , suggested that if individuals do fake personality tests at the recruitment stage, they are most likely to do so once they have been rejected from the job on a previous occasion. The findings indicated little difference in the personality measures from time one and time two.These findings would suggest that not all applicants attempt to fake in actual recruitment settings. However , findings by Griffin et al. ,(2007) indicated that some participants do fake their personality when applying to jobs, and this has an impact on the rank order of scores. A professional implication of these findings is that practitioners have to be cautious when interpreting personality scores, but should not be cynical by disregarding personality measures totally. As well as being aware of issues around faking, practitioners should be aware of the methods used to reduce or identify faking.A proactive method used included the use of forced-choice, or ipsative inventories, in which neither option is more socially desirable than the other. An alternative option is to use instructional warnings against faking. A reactive method for â€Å"fixing† faking can be the use of social desirability scales or a lie scale within the inventory which indicate if a respondent is faking. However, there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness of strategies such as instructional warnings and forced choice item format (Hogan et al. , 2007), and social desirability questions are likely to be more transparent in their urpose, and therefore prone being to faked (Griffin et al. , 2007). With all of the issues surrounding faking of personality tests, it has been argued that instead of using the tests as a method of recruiting the â€Å"best† performers on the test, there is actually a greater benefit in using the measures as a form of rejecting the poorest performers when using tests to â€Å"select out† (Mueller- Hanson, Heggestad & Thornton, 2003). Using personality tests for selecting out applicants would allow those who have performed poorly, and those who have faked but not been successful in obtaining the benchmark score, to be rejected.Validity In the past decade there has been considerable evidence in the academic literature for the support of personality tests for selection, but a there have been concerns about the predicative validity of personali ty tests relating to work related behaviour (Meyer et al. , 2001). However, practitioners continued to use personality measures for selection purpose (Bartram, 2004), disregarding the academic arguments. Critics often highlight the â€Å"low† validity scores of the best predictor in the Big Five with Job Performance, Conscientiousness (r=0. 23; Judge et al. 2008), where as other methods of assessment, such as the use of General Mental Ability tests which have been found to have a predictive validity of r=0. 51 (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). However, the validity score of Conscientiousness should not be dismissed. Meyer et al. , (2001) identified a large number of medical and psychological interventions, which produce correlations of approximately . 15 to . 30, are commonly accepted by professionals, such as taking regular aspirin to reduce risk of heart attacks. It can be argued that academics are actually focussing on a â€Å"gold standard† score of validity (Judge et al. 2008), and not looking at the benefits of other interventions that have similar predictive validities. Schmidt & Hunter (1998) suggest that using a combination of measures with relatively low validity on their own, when combined would be more than sufficient for use in recruiting, for example combining a conscientiousness tests, work sample tests and a job knowledge tests. Practitioners should have a clear understanding of the criterion validity of personality measures in relationship to job performance, and be aware of large degree of unaccountable variance that can occur.There is no guarantee that an individual who scores highly on a personality measure will be successful in their role, and an individual’s skills and ability are likely to account for a large part of their performance in the role (Shum et al. ,2006:161). Ethics It is important that ethical issues are taken into consideration when using personality measures in a work setting. First of all, organisations have to be aware of the qualifications required by the individual administering the personality tests and interpreting them.In the UK, the British Psychological Society sets a requisite standard through the attainment of Level A & Level B qualifications in order to administer and interpret both ability and personality tests. However, not all individuals who administer tests are responsible for interpreting the data, therefore the those who are administering the test should obtain the Occupational Test Administration qualification (British Psychological Society, 2000). Insufficient training on the use of a personality measure can result in misinterpretation of the results and render the test useless.Where individuals have not been provided with sufficient training to administer tests, there is the possibility of providing inconsistent instructions to participants, and leading to errors or biases in the results (Kline, 2000:9). An issue that ties in with the Level B training is that practi tioners are trained to use one specific test, therefore they may only ever use this one test, and not take into consideration the appropriateness of the test they are using for the specific needs of the organisation. Organisations need to be aware of the issues around the feedback they provide to individuals who take part in personality measures.How feedback is interpreted by individuals should be considered, and whether they will understand the meaning of the scores (Kline, 2000:431). Where a candidate completes a personality test, but does not score at the top of the group, they may feel they are not suitable for the organisation, or the type of role they are applying for. The implications of what is reported back to the candidates can result in an individual making major decisions about the type of role they apply for in the future, should they be told that they scored significantly â€Å"poorly† in the personality test (Toplis, Dulewicz & Fletcher, 2005:37).Practitioners should clearly explain the reason for the personality measures used, and ensure the feedback they provide will not have a negative impact on the individual. An important consideration for practitioners should be the possible biases held within personality tests, which can be biased towards a gender, race, social class or disability. These factors can influence the score of a personality test, and can mask actual scores (British Psychological Society, 2000). However, there is evidence to suggest that the use of personality measures balances out the biases of ability tests, when comparing different racial groups.Therefore the combined use of ability and personality tests can be beneficial (Bartram, 2004). When testing individuals with disabilities, factors such as the time required, the environment being tested in, and the method of testing, all have to be considered to ensure the testing process is fair (Toplis, Dulewicz & Fletcher, 2005:42). Conclusion Researchers have identified cl ear benefits in using personality measures in a work related environment, especially when recruiting to a post.However, the use of personality assessment should be considered as a supplementary method of selection into a role, due to the number of possible factors that can influence the results of a personality test. It is clear that faking of tests is a well researched area, however, little consensus exists with how to best address the possibility that individuals will fake a test that has a value attached to the outcome (Hogan et al. , 2007). One possible solution is to use the tests as a form of selecting out those who are in the lowest percentile (Mueller-Hanson et al. 2003), and using additional measures to support the selection of those who perform in the upper percentile. The concerns about the criterion validity of personality measures and job performance have raised doubts about the suitability of personality assessments. When comparing single personality traits with altern ative methods of assessment for their predictive validity, it is clear that alternative methods are stronger predictors of work related behaviours (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998), however, personality measures are still considered reliable measures, therefore should be used to supplement alternative methods or assessment.It is clear that the ethical implications of using personality assessments are an important factor, as they can influence the outcome of the tests as well as the responses of the participants. If practitioners do not follow the correct procedures by providing adequate instructions and ensuring standardised conditions, it is likely that individuals will reject the tests (Kline, 2000:9). It is also important to consider the effects of taking a personality assessment, and then knowing you failed to meet the cut off point.The way in which feedback is given can have detrimental effects of individuals therefore the issue should be approached with caution (Toplis et al, 2005:37). In conclusion, there are a number of issues that need to be considered when using personality assessments in a work setting. The benefit of gauging an individual’s behaviour through assessing their personality is clear, however, practitioners should be aware of the flaws in personality assessment, and be aware of alternative forms of assessment when selecting individuals for a job, to supplement personality assessments.Word count: 2173 REFERENCES Arthur W. J. , Woehr D. J. , Graziano W. G. (2001). Personality Testing In Employment Settings: Problems And Issues In The Application Of Typical Selection Practices. Personnel Review, 30(5),657-677 Bartram, D. (2004). Assessment In Organisations. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 53, 237-259. British Psychological Association,(2000). Psychological Testing: A User’s Guide Psychological. Leicester: The British Psychological Society Furnham, A. , & Drakely, R. (2000). Predicting Occupational Personality Test Scores.J ournal of Psychology, 134, 103-111 Griffin, B. , Hesketh, B. , & Grayson. D. (2004). Applicants Faking Good: Evidence of Item Bias In The Neo Pi-R. Personality and Individual Differences, 36 (7), 1545-1558. Griffith R. L, Chmielowski T. S, Yoshita Y. (2007). Do Applicants Fake? An Examination Of The Frequency Of Applicant Faking Behavior. Personnel Review, 36 (3), 341–355. Hogan, J. , Barrett,P. , & Hogan R. (2007). Personality Measurement, Faking, And Employment Selection. Journal Of Applied Psychology, 92,(5), 1270–1285 Hough, L. M. , &Oswald, F. L. 2008) Personality Testing and Industrial– Organizational Psychology: Reflections, Progress, And Prospects Industrial And Organizational Psychology, 1, 272–290. Judge, T. A. , Klinger, R. , Simon, L. S. , & Yang, I. W. F. (2008). The Contributions of Personality to Organizational Behavior And Psychology: Findings, Criticisms, And Future Research Directions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 1982-2 000. Kline P. (2000) The Handbook Of Psychological Testing, (2 Ed). London: Routledge, Meyer, G. J. , Finn, S. E. , Eyde, L. D. , Kay, G. G. , Moreland, K. L. , Dies, R.R. , Et Al. (2001). Psychological Testing And Psychological Assessment: A Review Of Evidence And Issues. American Psychologist, 56, 128–165. Morgeson, F. P. , Campion, M. A. , Dipboye, R. L. , Hollenbeck, J. R. , Murphy, K. , & Schmitt, N. (2007). Are We Getting Fooled Again? Coming To Terms With Limitations In The Use Of Personality Tests For Personnel Selection. Personnel Psychology, 60, 1029-1049 Mueller-Hanson, R. , Heggestad, E. D. , & Thornton III, G. C. (2003). Faking and Selection: Considering The Use Of Personality From Select-In And Select-Out Perspectives.Journal Of Applied Psychology, 88 (2), 348-355. Schmidt, F. L. , Hunter, J. E. (1998). The Validity and Utility Of Selection Methods In Personnel Psychology: Practical And Theoretical Implications Of 85 Years Of Research Findings. Psychological Bul letin, Vol. I24 (2), 262-74. Shum, D. , Myors, B. , & O'Gorman, J. (2006) Psychological Testing and Assessment. Oxford:Oxford University Press Toplis, J. , Dulewicz, V. , & Fletcher, C. (2005) Psychological Testing (4th eds). London:Institute of Personnel & Development.

Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Lincolns Dressmaker and Friend

Elizabeth Keckley, Mary Lincolns Dressmaker and Friend Elizabeth Keckley was a former slave who became the dressmaker and friend of Mary Todd Lincoln and a frequent visitor to the White House during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln. Her memoir, which was ghost-written (and spelled her surname as Keckley though she seemed to have written it as Keckly) and published in 1868, provided an eyewitness account to life with the Lincolns. The book appeared under controversial circumstances, and was apparently suppressed at the direction of Lincolns son, Robert Todd Lincoln. But despite the controversy surrounding the book, Keckleys accounts of Abraham Lincolns personal work habits, observations on the everyday circumstances of the Lincoln family, and a moving account of the death of young Willie Lincoln, have been considered reliable. Fast Facts: Elizabeth Keckley Born: About 1818, Virginia.Died: May 1907, Washington, D.C.Known for: Former slave who opened a dressmaking business in Washington, D.C., before the Civil War and became a trusted friend of Mary Todd Lincoln.Publication: Wrote a memoir of life in the White House during the Lincoln administration which provided unique insight into the Lincoln family. Her friendship with Mary Todd Lincoln, though unlikely, was genuine. Keckleys role as a frequent companion of the first lady was depicted in the Steven Spielberg film Lincoln, in which Keckley was portrayed by actress Gloria Rueben. Early Life of Elizabeth Keckley Elizabeth Keckley was born in Virginia in 1818 and spent the first years of her life living on the grounds of Hampden-Sydney College. Her owner, Col. Armistead Burwell, worked for the college. Lizzie was assigned work, which would have been typical for slave children. According to her memoir, she was beaten and whipped when she failed at tasks. She learned to sew growing up, as her mother, also a slave, was a seamstress. But young Lizzie resented not being able to receive an education. When Lizzie was a child, she believed a slave named George Hobbs, who belonged to the owner of a another Virginia farm, was her father. Hobbs was allowed to visit Lizzie and her mother on holidays, but during Lizzies childhood the owner of Hobbs moved to Tennessee, taking his slaves with him. Lizzie had memories of saying goodbye to her father. She never saw George Hobbs again. Lizzie later learned that her father was actually Col. Burwell, the man who had owned her mother. Slave owners fathering children with female slaves was not uncommon in the South, and at the age of 20 Lizzie herself had a child with a plantation owner who lived nearby. She raised the child, whom she named George. When she was in her mid-twenties, a member of the family who owned her moved to St. Louis to begin a law practice, taking Lizzie and her son along. In St. Louis she resolved to eventually buy her freedom, and with the help of white sponsors, she was eventually able to obtain legal papers declaring herself and her son free. She had been married to another slave, and thus acquired the last name Keckley, but the marriage did not last. With some letters of introduction, she traveled to Baltimore, seeking to start a business making dresses. She found little opportunity in Baltimore, and moved to Washington, D.C., where she was able to set herself up in business. Washington Career Keckleys dressmaking business began to flourish in Washington. The wives of politicians and military officers often needed fancy gowns to attend events, and a talented seamstress, as Keckley was, could obtain a number of clients. According to Keckleys memoir, she was contracted by the wife of Senator Jefferson Davis to sew dresses and work in the Davis household in Washington. She thus met Davis a year before he would become president of the Confederate States of America. Keckley also recalled sewing a dress for the wife of Robert E. Lee at the time when he was still an officer in the U.S. Army. Following the election of 1860, which brought Abraham Lincoln to the White House, the slave states began to secede and Washington society changed. Some of Keckleys customers traveled southward, but new clients arrived in town. Keckley's Role In the Lincoln White House In the spring of 1860 Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary, and their sons moved to Washington to take up residence in the White House. Mary Lincoln, who was already gaining a reputation for acquiring fine dresses, was looking for a new dressmaker in Washington. The wife of an Army officer recommended Keckley to Mary Lincoln. And after a meeting at the White House on the morning after Lincolns inauguration in 1861, Keckley was hired by Mary Lincoln to create dresses and dress the first lady for important functions. There is no question that Keckleys placement in the Lincoln White House made her a witness to how the Lincoln family lived. And while Keckleys memoir was obviously ghost-written, and is no doubt embellished, her observations have been considered credible. One of the most moving passages in Keckleys memoir is the account of the illness of young Willie Lincoln in early 1862. The boy, who was 11, became sick, perhaps from polluted water in the White House. He died in the executive mansion on February 20, 1862. Keckley recounted the sorrowful state of the Lincolns when Willie died and described how she helped prepare his body for the funeral. She vividly described how Mary Lincoln had descended into a period of deep mourning. It was Keckley who told the story of how Abraham Lincoln had pointed out the window to an insane asylum, and said to his wife, Try to control your grief or it will drive you mad, and we may have to send you there. Historians have noted that the incident could not have happened as described, as there was no asylum within view of the White House. But her account of Mary Lincolns emotional problems still seem generally credible. Keckley's Memoir Caused Controversy Elizabeth Keckley became more than an employee of Mary Lincoln, and the women seemed to develop a close friendship which spanned the entire time the Lincoln family lived in the White House. On the night Lincoln was assassinated, Mary Lincoln sent for Keckley, though she did not receive the message until the following morning. Arriving at the White House on the day of Lincolns death, Keckley found Mary Lincoln nearly irrational with grief. According to Keckleys memoir, she remained with Mary Lincoln during the weeks when Mary Lincoln would not leave the White House as Abraham Lincolns body was returned to Illinois during a two-week funeral which traveled by train. The women stayed in touch after Mary Lincoln moved to Illinois, and in 1867 Keckley became involved in a scheme in which Mary Lincoln tried to sell some valuable dresses and furs in New York City. The plan was to have Keckley act as an intermediary so buyers would not know the items belonged to Mary Lincoln, but the plan fell through. Mary Lincoln returned to Illinois, and Keckley, left in New York City, found work which coincidentally put her in touch with a family connected to a publishing business. According to a newspaper interview she gave when she was nearly 90 years old, Keckley was essentially duped into writing her memoir with the help of a ghost writer. When her book was published in 1868, it attracted attention as it presented facts about the Lincoln family which no one could have known. At the time it was considered very scandalous, and Mary Lincoln resolved to have nothing more to do with Elizabeth Keckley. The book became hard to obtain, and it was widely rumored that Lincolns oldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had been buying up all available copies to prevent it from achieving wide circulation. Despite the peculiar circumstances behind the book, it has survived as a fascinating document of life in the Lincoln White House. And it established that one of the closest confidantes of Mary Lincoln was indeed a dressmaker who had once been a slave. Sources: Keckley, Elizabeth. Behind the Scenes, Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years In the White House. New York City, G.W. Carleton Company, 1868. Russell, Thaddeus. Keckley, Elizabeth.  Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History, edited by Colin A. Palmer, 2nd ed., vol. 3, Macmillan Reference USA, 2006, pp. 1229-1230.  Gale Virtual Reference Library. Keckley, Elizabeth Hobbs.  Encyclopedia of World Biography, 2nd ed., vol. 28, Gale, 2008, pp. 196-199.  Gale Virtual Reference Library. Brennan, Carol. Keckley, Elizabeth 1818–1907.  Contemporary Black Biography, edited by Margaret Mazurkiewicz, vol. 90, Gale, 2011, pp. 101-104.  Gale Virtual Reference Library.

The History of How Time Zones Came to Be

The History of How Time Zones Came to Be Prior to the late nineteenth century, time keeping was a purely local phenomenon. Each town would set their clocks to noon when the sun reached its zenith each day. A clockmaker or town clock would be the official time and the citizens would set their pocket watches and clocks to the time of the town. Enterprising citizens would offer their services as mobile clock setters, carrying a watch with the accurate time to adjust the clocks in customers homes on a weekly basis. Travel between cities meant having to change ones pocket watch upon arrival. However, once railroads began to operate and move people rapidly across great distances, time became much more critical. In the early years of the railroads, the schedules were very confusing because each stop was based on a different local time. The standardization of time was essential to efficient operation of railroads. The History of the Standardization of Time Zones In 1878, Canadian Sir Sandford Fleming proposed the system of worldwide time zones that we use today. He recommended that the world be divided into twenty-four time zones, each spaced 15 degrees of longitude apart. Since the earth rotates once every 24 hours and there are 360 degrees of longitude, each hour the earth rotates one-twenty-fourth of a circle or 15 degrees of longitude. Sir Flemings time zones were heralded as a brilliant solution to a chaotic problem worldwide. United States railroad companies began utilizing Flemings standard time zones on November 18, 1883. In 1884 an International Prime Meridian Conference was held in Washington D.C. to standardize time and select the prime meridian. The conference selected the longitude of Greenwich, England as zero degrees longitude and established the 24 time zones based on the prime meridian. Although the time zones had been established, not all countries switched immediately. Though most U.S. states began to adhere to the Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern time zones by 1895, Congress didnt make the use of these time zones mandatory until the Standard Time Act of 1918. How Different Regions of the Word Use Time Zones Today, many countries operate on variations of the time zones proposed by Sir Fleming. All of China (which should span five time zones) uses a single time zone eight hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (known by the abbreviation UTC, based on the time zone running through Greenwich at 0 degrees longitude). Australia uses three time zones its central time zone is a half-hour ahead of its designated time zone. Several countries in the Middle East and South Asia also utilize half-hour time zones. Since time zones are based on segments of longitude and lines of longitude narrow at the poles, scientists working at the North and South Poles simply use UTC time. Otherwise, Antarctica would be divided into 24 very thin time zones! The time zones of the United States are standardized by Congress and although the lines were drawn to avoid populated areas, sometimes theyve been moved to avoid complication. There are nine time zones in the U.S. and its territories, they include Eastern, Central, Mountain, Pacific, Alaska, Hawaii-Aleutian, Samoa, Wake Island, and Guam. With the growth of the Internet and global communication and commerce, some have advocated a new worldwide time system.

Employment Law Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employment Law - Article Example They are the only ones who can file a complaint under this law. But, they are required to show proof of the alleged discrimination because in all cases coming under the jurisdiction of judicial or agencies exercising quasi-judicial functions it is necessary that there is proof to support any claim. Opinions or belief of discrimination are not accepted. There must be proof to show that discrimination did occur. Witness as to events or truth of contents of documents and the actual documents must be presented. A complaint by a person aged 40 or older demonstrating that he/ she was replaced by somebody younger than aged 40 is insufficient. He/ she must show that the younger person has less competence and experience than him/her to handle the tasks of the position as delineated in the office job description. Because it may be possible that the younger person is more knowledgeable, competent and experienced for the job, in such a case there is no discrimination. As in the case of Cerutti v BASF Corp., where the court ruled that there was no discrimination in the case filed by 10 workers laid off due to the restructuring of the corporation because the "employees (retained, though some of younger age) had the skills needed for future performance given the restructuring." Texas has its own Child Labor Law patterned after the Federal Law but some provisions were added or clarified to the needs of the State of Texas. The purpose of the Texas Child Labor Law is to ensure that a child is not employed in an occupation or manner that is detrimental to the child's safety, health, or well-being. Children aged 14 and above are allowed to work except for some tasks that the law either totally prohibits the child to do, or may be allowed at certain ages. There are also tasks that although are prohibited for a certain age but may still be allowed if the child is an Apprentice or a Student Learner. In such cases there are requisites that must be met in order that the task given to the child may be considered legal: For an Apprentice the child must be employed in a recognized apprenticeable trade; works incidental to training; works intermittently, short, and under close journeyman supervision; and registered or under written agreement about work standards. For a Student Learner the child must be enrolled in an authorized cooperative vocational training program; and employed under a written agreement providing that: (1) work is incidental to training; (2) work is intermittent, short and under close supervision; (3) safety instruction are given by school and employer; and a schedule of organized and progressive work is prepared. Guided by the explanations above and the Texas Child Labor Law, as the New Manager of Minyard's Grocery Store located in Texas I have assessed each child worker and found out that only the 16-year-old operating the cardboard bailer violates the Texas State Law for being a prohibited occupation or hazardous occupation (TWC 817.23, no. 8 and 12. Note that in both cases, if the child is an apprentice or a student-learner he/she is not covered by the prohibition.) The rest of the child workers are alright as long as they follow the restrictions as follows: A 14-year-old bagging groceries every Saturday for four hours is not contrary to Chapter 51 of the Texas State law as long as he/she is not assigned to work between midnight and 5 a.m. A 16-year-old slicing lunch meat at the deli counter

Disappearing Technology of the Twentieth Century Essay

Disappearing Technology of the Twentieth Century - Essay Example Steam locomotive being the most influential example of steam engine technology, its disappearance from the modern railroad deserves to be reflected on. According to Lindqvist, the general perception about history of technology holds that â€Å"the initial stages of growth and development of new technologies are far more interesting than the boring routine maintenance and depressing dismantling of older technological systems.†1 However, research on older technological systems helps us not only to analyse the dynamics of industrial demands but also to understand the contemporary political and social values. Moreover, economic analysis of the decline of a technological system may have extremely useful implications for the future technologies. This paper is divided into four major parts: Introduction, Literature Review, Analysis and Conclusion. Reputable scholarly resources and contemporary literature of twentieth century have been used for research and reflection on the topic. Ca ses of USA and UK have been discussed with special emphasis. Research Question: Give an account of a disappearing technology of the twentieth century. Why has its use decreased? Literature Review The steam engines have been part of a gigantic technological system which dominated the world almost throughout the twentieth century. ... acilitated political organisation, industrial production and transportation, Theoretical Perspective: Innovation can be regarded as the driving force of technological development which is designed to meet the socio-economic demands of the populace. So, too much emphasis on the developmental phase of a technological system may appear to be natural; but this is not a wise option always.2 â€Å"We know, for example, more about the first automobiles and the infancy of the automobile industry than we know about the dominating transportation technologies at the same period.†3 But the importance of an older technological system lies in the fact that it may not be necessarily abandoned at the introduction of a new system. Although cases of exponential decline of a technology are known, older and modern technologies do exist in our world side by side. Illustrating the American charcoal industry, Schallenberg has put forward that evolution, adaptation and survival are the key phases in the life cycle of a technology which may eventually culminate at a slow or exponential decline.4 In the case of steam engine technology, the pace of phasing out the steam locomotives has been fast in some countries (e.g., Britain, USA, etc.) and slow in some other countries (e.g. India, China, etc.). The extent of once powerful steam engine technology has been truly international and impressive. Evolution of Steam Locomotives: Steam locomotive capable of passenger conveyance was invented by the British engineer George Stephenson in 1825. Hence UK can be regarded as the first country in the world that developed its steam powered railway system. In USA, steam locomotive was first operated in the year 1829. Subsequently, locomotive manufacturing industry started off in the country. In the 1830s and