Human Resource Management Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Essay The manner in which an organization handles its employees at the place of work is important as it determines its success rating (Deckop, 2006). This is because human resources constitute any organization’s most valuable assets. Among other issues, priority ought to be given to ethical and legal issues when dealing with employees. Complaints and general problems ought to be handled carefully, and in accordance with the legal and ethical provisions. As such, human resource managers ought to be well versed with employment and workplace laws; but need to use their discretion to act ethically when dealing with people. This is because what is ethical does not always mean it is legal (Deckop, 2006). The Ideal Legal and Ethical Hiring Practices There are federal laws that govern hiring of staff by organizations. For Greenhill Memorial Hospital, the conflict between Brad and his supervisor can be resolved by a careful examination of the ideal legal and ethical practices of hiring. The first area of interest as far as legal issues are concerned is that it is illegal to discriminate anyone during the hiring process (Querin, 2009) As such, should Brad’s claims that he is being discriminated against on the basis of his gender and sexual orientation be confirmed as true, then his supervisor is liable for criminal charges. This is in accordance with the provisions of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which prohibits discrimination based on color, race, sex, religion, and nationality (Guerin, 2009). It is therefore critical that Brad is given a fair chance during the selection process. Another legal requirement when hiring staff is that there ought to be a blend of different people as opposed to a homogenous workforce (Guerin, 2009). The law, on this basis, requires that hiring companies make advertisements for the vacancies they have and carry out a fair selection process based not only on qualifications but also on the need for maintaining a heterogeneous workforce. The organization is then expected to maintain a record of all the applicants for a given position, the number of those who qualified and those who failed, as well as the reasons for their failure (Guerin, 2009). This helps to ensure that the process is fair and legal. There has to be no focus on specific attributes of the person in making such advertisements except that the need for the applicant to be qualified. That is why the hiring agency is required to give reasons for rejecting certain applicants; and their personal details also ought to be made available. For instance, if indeed a friend to Brad’s supervisor is hired eventually, the supervisor, in the event of an investigation, will be required to give the reasons why the friend was hired as opposed to the others who interviewed for the position. In this case, Brad ought to submit an application for the job and wait for the results of the application. In the event he fails to get the job, he has the right to file formal complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) that is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that there is no form of discrimination at the workplace based on issues like age, gender, disability, race, among others. In the event that there are threats to Brad as he claims, then another agency, individual, or organization can file the claims on his behalf so that the hiring process can be investigated. If the claims are investigated and found to be true, Brad can be compensated in different ways, including being hired for the job. Ethically, it is unethical for Brad’s supervisor to inform staff under her of a vacancy when actually she has already filled it up (Deckop, 2006). Even more unethical is that she has filled it up with her own friend. It is also unethical for her to fail to let Brad, who has worked in the job for twelve years and is obviously better qualified, to have the job. Even more unethical is the fact that Brad is really in need of a morning shift job as he is going to have to give up his evening shift job because of his other commitments. Obviously, any ethical supervisor would view his case as a deserving one (Deckop, 2006). However, legal issues ought to always be given priority over ethical ones (Deckop, 2006). For instance, there has to be proof that no-one else is qualified for the job before Brad can be considered on ethical grounds. The law usually does not use ethics to determine the due process. Ethics remains the preserve of the individual people dealing with the process and cannot be cited in legal proceedings (Deckop, 2006). Brad also ought to understand that he is not supposed to make allegations based on rumors only. He also has to understand that he has the legal right to complain to her boss about work-related problems without fear of being dismissed or punished. Ensuring Legal Hiring As the HR manager to whom this case has been reported, I would first ask the supervisor to make available to staff under her the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rules and provisions for hiring so that they can be better placed to understand their legal rights on hiring, discrimination, and dismissal (Guerin, 2009). Then I would require that the supervisor advertises the job in accordance with those provisions. A key issue is that superficial attributes like age, skin color, gender, or sexual orientation ought not to be part of the requirements because any person can qualify to do the job. After hiring, I will require that the supervisor gives the reasons why whoever gets the job got it as well as why each of the other unsuccessful applicants failed to get the job (Pozgar, 2009). All the reasons must never have any element of discrimination as the basis of decisions made. Termination and Retaliation It is the right of an employer to fire staff when one so requires. However, it is illegal if such actions are based on reasons that are illegitimate (Dinterman, 2003). For instance, it is wrong for Brad’s supervisor to sack him based on his complaints about something. It is legal for employees to complain to their employers about the issues that concern them. Retaliation is not allowed and constitutes discrimination. Therefore, Brad ought to be helped to understand that a supervisor cannot retaliate against him for making official complaints. Neither can he be terminated on such a basis. Retaliation is an offence that is usually treated as an act of discrimination because retaliating is essentially acting against someone based on personal reasons as opposed to legitimate issues affecting the organization. Acts of retaliation usually overrule any other issues that the employer might have done to justify any disciplinary measures by the employer (Deckop, 2006). For instance, even if what Brad heard was baseless and only rumors, any retaliation by his supervisor upon his reporting or complaining will overrule any of his faults. Finally, Brad ought to rest assured that the law of employment protects everyone – the employer as well as the employee (Guerin, 2009). In this respect, he ought to understand that a unilateral decision by his supervisor cannot be effected without the involvement of the human resource manager and other relevant management staff.

Evaluation on Spare the Rod Spoil the Parenting Essay Example for Free

Evaluation on Spare the Rod Spoil the Parenting Essay In this article â€Å"Spare the Rod, Spoil the Parenting†, written by Leonard Pitts, Jr. is based upon what is considered corporal punishment; what’s right and what’s gone too far. Leonard expresses the idea that without punishment towards children, they can develop into untamable brats. Using his humorous sarcasm and entertaining message he gets the point across that child rearing is ok and not abuse. Showing uniformed parents/adults that rearing does keep the little ones in line making them learn and respect the adult; rather than their idea of it scarring the kids for life. With Pitt’s article I had found that it was to approach the unknowing; the people without children. It was appropriate in the manner that Pitt’s had showed that this punishment wasn’t as horrible as some people take it to be. Obviously the writing style was in subjective tone, subject meaning opinion; to make it clear how Pitt’s had felt on the topic of spanking children whether or not it be abusive. The tone was at times confusing, he would jump every once and a while off topic then jump back to the topic he was originally. The tone also made it opinionated, stating how the author had felt on â€Å"corporal punishment†. I believe the article good enough to fit into a magazine article with tone stating how Pitt’s had felt about punishment, showed the readers a well rounded article based upon his humorous feelings. Pitt’s evidence was weak, there weren’t many facts or statistic in the article; but then again you can’t really show much information on a topic such as corporal punishment. At one point he put in â€Å"Time/CNN poll† relating towards children becoming spoiled and information on a psychologist studying homes finding that most homes use some sort of corporal punishment, other than that, the article is based upon a opinionated theme. Since Pitt’s doesn’t provide tons of evidence I find that the quality of the article still to be good, and the quantity of evidence just enough because the author also relates to the struggles he faces during the time periods of himself having to use corporal punishment and the reasoning behind him using it. The organization of Pitt’s article was put together nicely. Throughout the whole article Pitt’s states that he believes corporal punishment is put to good us, not once does he go back and question it. The logic was there stating his idea from beginning to end, not changing the purpose of the article. Pitt’s does acknowledge and respond in his own manner to the article, but the way he responds is still through his own opinion; not caving into agreeing with the other point. Through the beginning of the authors paragraph he goes in with a bit of confidence showing this is an opinionated article telling us that Americas’ children have become spoiled. When Pitt’s ends the article he finishes off in one sentence â€Å"Some folks think it’s abuse when you swat a child’s backside, But maybe, sometimes, it’s abuse when you don’t. † . Every last sentence of every paragraph relates to the thesis, completing the main idea, showing Pitt’s purpose through the entire article. I believe Pitt’s writing style altogether worked out in the end. Pitt’s article showed readers his opinion without backing down, this confident article was successful in the sense he stuck to his guns and never questioned or contradicted himself.

To Determine Social Media Usage Among Malaysia Student Media Essay

To Determine Social Media Usage Among Malaysia Student Media Essay Recent year have shown a worldwide growth pattern in social interaction in digital media more knows as social media. Today more than hundreds of millions internet user all over the world visited thousand of social media sites. Social media come out parallel with various technological affordances, supporting with a wide range of interests and practices. While, their key technological features are fairly consistent and the cultures that emerge around social media sites are varied. Most sites support the maintenance of pre-existing social networks, but others help strangers connect based on reasons, shared interests, political views, or activities. Universal McCann (2009) conducted an extensive study on social media usage among 232000 active internet users in 38 countries during spring 2009. This study showed that social consumption of digital content is either highly penetrated among active internet users or still growing rapidly. Besides that, through this study also find out that consumers continue to flock to digital destinations in order to create and share content, but they are now becoming more selective in terms of where they are doing it included the tools of social media are starting to coalesce on to a single platform type, namely the social network. According to Universal McCann (2009), 17 percent of active internet users globally now access the internet on the move, in others words internet and social media use are becoming more mobile. Social media platforms also are becoming more multi-media and the number of bloggers and social network users who have uploaded photos, videos, music and widgets has continued to rise since the last study conducted in 2007 until 2008. From this information, there is no doubt at all that social media increasingly important and become a culture for people all over the world in this era 21st century. Background of the study This study will carry out in Universiti Utara Malaysia because students are not exceptional as the active internet user and they have a higher access to the internet especially in variety types of social media. It is also because many students are teenager and still young. Usually, at this age the student have a higher desire to do something that their feel interesting and something new. Commonly, student will use many type of social media depending on their reasons. Sometimes, they visited social networking sites, collaboration websites, creativity work sharing sites and others type of social media to get any information, to make a discussion, to keep in touch with friend, for media sharing, self presentation and debate, social networks, referencing and recommendation services and many else. Problem statement Currently, social media become phenomena to all internet users not only in Malaysia but all over the world. According to the recent report, more than 30% teenager neglecting their school and also family because spend a long time to access social media. We can see that young became addicted to social media. Social media addiction will occur when people visited websites regularly without any motive, goal and became of their habit every day. Social media addicted is more likely to happens to a university student that have a greater access to the computer. So, this research will conduct a study in Universiti Utara Malaysia to identify the social media usage among Universiti Utara Malaysia student and also to determine the factors that motivate them to take part in social media. 1.3 Research question This research aims to answer the following question: What are the social media usages among Universiti Utara Malaysia student and what are the factors motivate them to take part in social media? 1.4 Research objective Research objective has listed below: To determine social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by performance. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by passing time. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by information seeking. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by social connection. To determine whether social media usage among University Utara Malaysia student is motivate by entertainment. 1.5 Significance of the study A study on internet user regarding social media was done by previously researchers. However, the author choose to take the graduate as the scope of the study as this group is those who are educated and expose to technologies changes especially in emerging of variety type social media. They believe through social media they can gain many advantages and beneficial information. Hence, this group should be addressed to enhance a better understanding about social media and the factors motivate to take part in social media. The author chooses Universiti Utara Malaysia to conduct this study because Universiti Utara Malaysia is one of the early higher educations in Malaysia. Besides that, this study location at northern peninsular of Malaysia because until now, there did not have any study conduct regarding social media in Malaysia. This study is considered important because to identified the social media usage and to determined the factors that motivate Universiti Utara Malaysia student to take part in social media. This study also was conducted to view growing rapidly all over the world. The previously research about social media should be given a new lease. 1.6 Scope and limitation of the study The studies on the social media usages and motivation factors to take part in social media only focused only to the graduates. Graduated are here devoted to College of Business student that consist of undergraduate student and also postgraduates student. The researcher will make Universiti Utara Malaysia student from College of Business as their population and sample will be randomly selected from the population. The limitation of this study is limited to the Universiti Utara Malaysia student only because of timing problem and also budget problem. Organization of the research project CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction In this chapter earlier studies connected to the problem area and more specifically to the research questions, will be discussed. First, previous studies related to the definition of social media from previous research, will be presented. Then, literature regarding the research question from first question until the last question about social media usage and motivation factor to take part in social media among Universiti Utara Malaysia student will be brought up in this chapter. 2.1 Social media From the previous research, we can see there have several definitions of social media given by the previous researcher. The definition that already given by the previous researchers is so variety and there is no clear definition about social media. According to Universal McCann (2009), social media is a platform for social connection and also an application to user generated content. It is a new kind of online media that can be characterized by user participation, openness, conversation, community and connectedness (Mayfield, 2006). Blog, micro blog, RSS, widget, social networking sites, chat room, message board, video and photo sharing is included in central of social media (Universal McCann, 2009). According to Universal McCann (2009), social media design is about designing platforms and applications for social interaction and user generated content. Social media is a new kind of online media characterized by user participation, openness, conversation, community, and connectedness (Mayfield, 2006). Central social media platforms include blogging, micro blogging, RSS, widgets, social networking, chat rooms, message boards, podcasts, video sharing, and photo sharing (Universal McCann, 2009) Social media is an application and system that can support content sharing, and create environment for sociable online that included solution for media sharing, presentation and debate, social network, referencing and recommendation and also sources for create knowledge. It also may include technology platform interactive television and also mobile phone (Karahasanovic Folstad, 2008). According to KarahasanoviĆ¡ Fà ¸lstad (2008), social media are systems and applications supporting content sharing and co-creation in sociable online environments. This includes solutions for media sharing (e.g. YouTube, Flickr), self presentation and debate (e.g. MySpace, blogs), social networks (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn), referencing and recommendation services (e.g. Digg, Del.icio.us) and co-created knowledge resources (e.g. Wikipedia). Social media may also include technology platforms such as interactive television and mobile phones (KarahasanoviĆ¡ Fà ¸lstad, 2008). According to Kaplan et al (2010), social media is a group of internet based application that can build ideology and technology foundation of Web 2.0 that can allow creations of user generated contents and also exchanges the user generated contents. Web 2.0 can be consider as platform for the evolution of social media because it represent the ideology and technology foundation that have being seeing as the sum of all way in which people make use the social media (Kaplan et al, 2010). Social Media is a group of Internet based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated Content. They consider Web 2.0 as the platform for the evolution of Social Media because when Web 2.0 represents the ideological and technological foundation, User Generated Content (UGC) can be seen as the sum of all ways in which people make use of Social Media (Kaplan et al, 2010). There have three requirements in User Generate Content that included need to be published, certain amount of creative effort need to be show and lastly need to create outside from the practices and routine (Kaplan et al, 2010). According to Kaplan et al, (2010) User Generated Content needs to fulfil three basic requirements in order to be considered as such first, it needs to be published either on a publicly accessible website or on a social networking site accessible to a selected group of people and second, it needs to show a certain amount of creative effort and finally, it needs to have been created outside of professional routines and practices. The combination of technological drivers likes increased broadband availability and hardware capacity, economic drivers likes increased availability of tools for the creation of User Generated Content and social drivers likes rise of a generation of digital natives and screenagers: younger age groups with substantial technical knowledge and willingness to engage online will make User Generated Content nowadays fundamentally different from what was observed in the early 1980s. (Kaplan et al, 2010). According to Danah Allison (2007), social media is a web based service that allow user to construct a profile either public or semi public profile that will be bound by the system, all will be listed in the system included list of other user that they are connected with and lastly view and traverse their list that they are connected with and other within the systems. The connection is different between sites to sites. Social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and lastly view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site (Danah and Ellison, 2007). 2.2 Factors motivate to take part in social media They are many factors that can motivate user to take part in social media. It is included because of performance, passing time, information seeking, social connection and entertainment that will be elaborate below: 2.2.1 Self expression From literature we can find several different reasons why customers visit social media sites. Shao (2008), believe that the user contributed to social media because their need to self expression. This statement also supported by Sirgys (1982) claim that user looking for the experience that will enhance their self concept. Shao (2008) suggests that users contribute because they have a need for self-expression and self-actualization, which is supported by Sirgys (1982) claim that individuals look for experiences that enhance their self-concept. According to Shao (2008), self expression refer to user communicated their own identities and also their individualities. It is assume that user wan to communicate themselves to other person, so other person will know about themselves as they know themselves (Shao, 2008). Self-expression refers to users communicating their own identity and individuality (Shao, 2008). It is assumed that people want to communicate themselves to other people, so that others can know them as they know themselves (Goffman, 1959; McKenna and Bargh 1999; Swann, 1983; Shao, 2008). 2.2.2 Performance there are various types of Social Media that need to be distinguished further. However, although most people would probably agree that Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, and Second Life are all part of this large group, there is no systematic way in which different Social Media applications can be categorized. To create such a classification scheme, and to do so in a systematic manner, we rely on a set of theories in the field of media research (social presence, media richness) and social processes (self-presentation, self-disclosure), the two key elements of Social Media. Applied to the context of Social Media, we assume that a first classification can be made based on the richness of the medium and the degree of social presence it allows. Applied to the context of Social Media, we assume that a second classification can be made based on the degree of self-disclosure it requires and the type of self-presentation it allows. Social media encompasses a wide range of online, word-of-mouth forums including blogs, company sponsored discussion boards and chat rooms, consumer-to-consumer e-mail, consumer product or service ratings websites and forums, Internet discussion boards and forums, moblogs (sites containing digital audio, images, movies, or photographs), and social networking websites, to name a few. As illustrated by Table 1, social media outlets are numerous and varied. 2.2.3 Passing time 2.2.4 Information seeking According to Shao (2008) argue that the primary use of social media among user is to find information and also to build the knowledge. Users can get technical value from social media through find the specific information that can broadening and increase their knowledge (Shao, 2008). Shao (2008) suggest that the primary use is looking for information and building knowledge. In social media technical value can be seen as the value that the customer gets from finding specific information or just broadening his knowledge (Shao, 2008). Desire to increase knowledge among user are motivated user to seeking for the information. User not only wants to get information about others and the world but they also want to provide information about themselves to others and the world. Shao (2008) argues that information seeking is motivated by users desire to increase knowledge. Users want information about themselves, others and the world (Shao, 2008). Studies show that people are increasingly looking for information on the web, which has lead to sites like wikipedia.org growing rapidly (Shao, 2008). According to Kaplan (2010), the trend of social media can be seen as evolution to the Internet root since World Wide Web already transform to became a platform that can exchanges information between user. The current trend toward Social Media can therefore be seen as an evolution back to the Internets roots, since it retransforms the World Wide Web to what it was initially created for a platform to facilitate information exchange between users (Kaplan, 2010). Shao (2008), argue that users can find and get information about product and services but in some cases, user are more trusted the information that they are getting from others user compare to the information that they are getting from the marketers. Searching for information can also be related to reading about products or services. In most cases, users trust information that they get from other users more than they trust information that is provided by marketers (Shao, 2008). According Kim et al, (2010) both members and non-members have two types of facilities to find the information they need on social Web sites. The facilities are keyword-based search engines and browsing. The search engines can be used to look for the names of people, names of groups, and particular UCCs. Browsing can be done on selected groups and UCCs in a particular category. Most sites allow keyword-based search of text-based contents. Some search engines are fairly powerful, while others are crude. The users can also browse the results of keyword-based searches, and groups and UCCs that are suggested as related to the group and UCCs the users currently view. All social Web sites provide categories for the UCCs stored, so that users may browse UCCs in a specific category. 2.2.5 Social connection Social media can also increase users social interactions, and decreases loneliness or help users manage their moods (Shao, 2008). These motivations can also be linked to the community aspect of social media, as Tedjamulia et al (2005) suggests that one of the reasons why users choose to contribute is because they feel motivated to do so because of being part of a community. Social Web sites provide various facilities for members to use to communicate with their online connections, that is, friends and other members. These include email, instant messaging, text messaging, and public and private bulletin boards, and even Internet phone services. Such sites as MySpace and Facebook allow their members to use the messaging and phone call facilities of Internet phone services, such as Skype (Kim et al, 2010). Further, according to Kim et al, (2010) on behalf of the members, the sites send member updates and notices using emails or text messages to members friends. They also send updates and notices to members of groups. The sites also display friends updates to members public and private boards. For example, Twitter allows members to send mes- sages to friends on what the members are doing. A message, which is restricted to 140 characters, may be sent to friends mobile devices and their Twitter accounts. A member may have one or more followers, and many members may be following a member. Facebook provides a mini bulletin board (called a wall) to post a members message for all friends to see and respond to. LinkedIn provides an answers function to allow members to answer questions posted by other members, and to refer the questions to their online connections.

Proof :: Math Education Papers

Proof Proof. What is it and why does this simple term cause such a stir among mathematics educators and mathematics students? If you were to ask a young child to prove a mathematical fact, they would be happy to show you many examples of how it works. This does not constitute a proof but it is a step in the right direction. If you were to ask a high school student or first year college student to do a proof, you will most likely be met with groans and feelings of disgust. Students at this age have probably encountered proof in a geometry class where they were expected to follow a strict format without much freedom to express proofs on their own. However, if you were to ask a mathematician about proof they would begin to tell you about how beautiful proof in mathematics can be. Proof has always been a topic of interest for me. In high school geometry and my first year of college, I too did not understand proof. I felt like many other students, frustrated by the fact that we were asked to prove theorems that the book had already told us were true. It was as though the instructor was playing magical games on the chalkboard and all of the sudden we had a proof. However, as time progressed, I began to see the beauty of proof. Then, mathematical induction introduced me to the power of proof. In this paper I hope to address the concept of proof, how it relates to understanding and the implications for mathematics education. BACKGROUND In the 1950’s and 60’s proof played a significant role in mathematics education. Then in 1989, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) deemphasized proof and replaced it with reasoning. Following this, mathematics educators began to see that students had difficulty with proof because they had little contact with it. In response, NCTM in the 2000 standards, elevated proof to a standard, emphasizing that it should be part of all students mathematical experiences (Knuth). Schoenfeld states proof is inseparable from mathematics. It is essential in communicating, doing, and recording mathematics (153). Throughout most of the history of mathematics education, proof has been more of a topic of study instead of a way to understand mathematics (Knuth 73). In addition, proof has only been limited to the college bound student or the student enrolled in geometry.

Comets :: Essays Papers

Comets What is Cometography? Cometography is a four-volume project I have been working on since the mid-1970s. Jump-started by comet Kohoutek of 1973-1974, I began researching comets and immediately found myself becoming more and more intrigued by them. It was fascinating to read about comets that unexpectedly split, brightened, or faded. There were also interesting stories concerning the discovery circumstances of some comets, as well as tales about how comets affected cultures. As I continued reading I found that, back in 1967, the International Astronomical Union suggested that an up-to-date descriptive catalog of comets or "cometography" was needed. A committee was formed, but in 1970 it reported, according to the words of Brian Marsden, "that it would be very nice to have a cometography, but that the effort required to produce such a catalog was greater than the members of the committee could devote to it." Thus began my inspiration to research and write Cometography, a set of books devoted to adequately presenting the details of every comet seen in recorded history. The last complete work of this type was written by Alexander Guy Pingre. His two volumes, called Cometographie, were published in 1783 and 1784, but are now greatly out of date. Not only do they obviously lack the comets seen between 1784 and the present, but much of the original source material has been retranslated over the years, so that Pingre's work is now inaccurate in places. Since the time of Pingre, two other books have been published: Physical Characteristics of Comets, by S. K. Vsekhsvyatskii in 1958, and Comets: A Descriptive Catalog, by myself in 1984. Both of these books brought the 19th and 20th century comets to readers, but in a manner much more highly condensed than that of Pingre. They also only included those comets for which orbits had been computed. The vast portion of Pingre's work included comets for which orbits could not be determined, some of which have since been identified as previous, though poorly observed, appearances of Halley's comet, periodic c omet Swift-Tuttle, and periodic comet d'Arrest. Cometography brings back the lesser observed comets, with the intention of providing all necessary details that might help future astronomers establish new comet identity links. To aid in the accuracy of Cometography I have tried to avoid Pingre's books and the book of Vsekhsvyatskii. Comets :: Essays Papers Comets What is Cometography? Cometography is a four-volume project I have been working on since the mid-1970s. Jump-started by comet Kohoutek of 1973-1974, I began researching comets and immediately found myself becoming more and more intrigued by them. It was fascinating to read about comets that unexpectedly split, brightened, or faded. There were also interesting stories concerning the discovery circumstances of some comets, as well as tales about how comets affected cultures. As I continued reading I found that, back in 1967, the International Astronomical Union suggested that an up-to-date descriptive catalog of comets or "cometography" was needed. A committee was formed, but in 1970 it reported, according to the words of Brian Marsden, "that it would be very nice to have a cometography, but that the effort required to produce such a catalog was greater than the members of the committee could devote to it." Thus began my inspiration to research and write Cometography, a set of books devoted to adequately presenting the details of every comet seen in recorded history. The last complete work of this type was written by Alexander Guy Pingre. His two volumes, called Cometographie, were published in 1783 and 1784, but are now greatly out of date. Not only do they obviously lack the comets seen between 1784 and the present, but much of the original source material has been retranslated over the years, so that Pingre's work is now inaccurate in places. Since the time of Pingre, two other books have been published: Physical Characteristics of Comets, by S. K. Vsekhsvyatskii in 1958, and Comets: A Descriptive Catalog, by myself in 1984. Both of these books brought the 19th and 20th century comets to readers, but in a manner much more highly condensed than that of Pingre. They also only included those comets for which orbits had been computed. The vast portion of Pingre's work included comets for which orbits could not be determined, some of which have since been identified as previous, though poorly observed, appearances of Halley's comet, periodic c omet Swift-Tuttle, and periodic comet d'Arrest. Cometography brings back the lesser observed comets, with the intention of providing all necessary details that might help future astronomers establish new comet identity links. To aid in the accuracy of Cometography I have tried to avoid Pingre's books and the book of Vsekhsvyatskii.

Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Jude the Obsc

Compromising Female Characters in Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure  Ã‚   The novels of Thomas Hardy are intricate and complicated works whose plots seem to be completely planned before the first word is ever actually formed on paper. Though I have no proof of Hardy’s method of writing, it is clear that he focuses more on plot development than characterization in the novels Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Jude the Obscure. The advantages of this can be easily seen in the clever twists and turns that occur in the novel which hold the reader’s interest. But the main reason Hardy uses this method, especially in the tragedies Tess and Jude, is to present a moral argument to the reader through actions done by and to the main characters of the novels. By mapping out the turning points ahead of time, Hardy is able to control the course of his writings, and they emerge as a social criticism. But in doing this, the characters are condemned to a literary predestination. Hardy concentrates more on forcing the characters to carry out these actions than allowing their personalities to become fully and freely developed. Females perform most of the necessary but unlikely actions, and Hardy blames any erratic behavior on woman’s natural inconsistency. Thus, in reaching for a high literary purpose Hardy inadvertently stunts the development of the main female characters.   Jude the Obscure is designed to show the faults and repercussions of religious and social conventions, with an emphasis on marriage. According to Hardy, short-lived impulses cause people to marry, which binds couples together until their deaths. When these feelings of affection fade, they must live together i... ...nally draw the attention of a man she has no desire to be with, he turns her character into a tease. She begins to be seen as a comic character and less respect is given to her. She is just another female character used to make the machinery of Hardy's novels function, and takes on a more mechanical and stereotypical countenance as a result.   Hardy's intentions are noble. He tries to show the reasons for giving more social freedom to everyone, females in particular, but compromises their characters in the process. The novels would benefit by far if there was a more spontaneous atmosphere and the characters were allowed free reign to develop unhindered, but the novels could result in the loss of such powerful moral messages. So, changing the characters could endanger the novels' importance in history, but would definitely improve the overall reading experience.

The Namesake Clash of Culture

The thing about The Namesake is not that it is a great movie (although most avid movie-goers will be satisfied), but that it treats universal themes with such clarity that anyone who has been through the experience of leaving one’s land should be able to relate, even if not from India. Directed by Mira Nair and with Kal Penn leading a great cast, the movie follows the lives of an Indian couple coming to New York in the 70s and raising children in this context.I have a number of friends that are second generation to Indian immigrants for which reason I believe my understanding of their culture is above average, but even if that was not the case I’m sure these themes would not be lost on me: Abandoning the comfort of family life in the quest for better opportunities Struggling to make a living without help, in a culture where all values are different All the sacrifices that parents make for the sake of their children.I’ve always said that migration is cruel to our ancestors but selfless to our children. The agony of loosing loved ones being far away and the constant fight with the irrational thought that it could be avoided. The temptation of multiracial relationships The intimacy of the father/son dialog when the entire future of their lineage depends on them The cultural pride that one feels even after leaving the country behind, assuming all great achievements from our people as our own.In many ocassions this only happens once we leave our countries. The quiet professional triumph that occurs almost in the background to all the other events in our lives. The crude attempt to follow tradition even if this means to butcher them once in a while The cultural mix that is driven by well adapted â€Å"second generation† kids and their loose interpretation of their heritage in the context of their daily lives. Go see it or continue reading the chatter at one of the Indian blogs I follow.