Landslide Limousine Performance management plan Essay Example for Free

Landslide Limousine Performance management plan Essay Stonefield is starting up a new limousine business with 25 employee, located in Austin, Texas. The performance management plan is the starting point or a map for the company to identify and achieve the desire outcome they want for their employees and their customer. The company wants to maximize its goal through its performance management plan. the performance framework alone with the strategies of the business will developed an organizational performance philosophy, performed job analyses to identify necessary skills needed by employees, identified methods for measuring employee’s skills, developed a process for addressing skill gaps, and developed an approach for delivering effective performance feedback to employees. Performance management plan should always be use as a tool for a business to run smooth. The performance management framework with the strategies of the business According to Cascio (2013), at a general level, the broad process of performance management requires that you do three things well: define performance, facilitate performance, and encourage performance. The managers at Landslide must ensure that each and every employee know what is expected of them. They must have goals that are sustainable. The goals that are set must â€Å"make the company successful† (Cascio 2013). Managers must facilitate performance by eliminating roadblocks. They must provide all the right resources, tools and training. With that being said they must also hire the right employees in other words hire the right fit. You can’t have an employee with a bad driving record driving for a limo service, so you have do a background check just one example. Every employee like the last one, encourage performance, managers should always encourage employees in some kind of way, show them how they are appreciated. According to Cascio (2013), don’t bother offering rewards that nobody cares about, like a gift certificate to see a fortune teller. If  you are good to your employees they will be good to you. Show them you care. Organizational performance philosophy The philosophy of Landslide Limousine will be to utilize the max efficiency and the effectiveness of each employee’s performance; and furthermore to facilitate communication between the employees and their supervisors, according to University of California, Berkeley (2014), employees at all levels are responsible for actively communicating with their supervisors about their performance, taking an active role in planning their development, being accountable for their actions, and continually striving for excellence in their performance. Supervisors are responsible for training and making sure that the employees have the right tools to carry out the mission or job. They have to make sure the job is done right. They have to make sure the customer are taking care of. The job analysis process to identify necessary skills needed by employees According to Cascio (2013), Performance standards translate job requirements into levels of acceptable or unacceptable employee behavior. Job analysis identifies what is to be done. Job analysis information can be gathered in a variety of ways, Landslide Limousine will be using all combinations of method. The observation is one method which is limited to only so many jobs. The interview method is gathering information which requires an interview with every employee. This should be easy to do since he is starting off with only 25 employees. The interview method should focus on how the employees is performing each job. The major duties of the position. Are there is job’s physical demands. This method can be time very consuming but it will help Landslide Limousine identify necessary skills needed by employees. The last method is the Questionnaires. This method is widely used it tells management where training is needed, what is going right, what is wrong and what need improving. It can be a very detail long and complicated process. Methods used for measuring the employees skills I would recommend Landslide use the Behavior-oriented rating methods and results-oriented rating method for measuring the employee’s skills. Managers should conduct ride-a-long with each driver to observe their behavior and to rate their skills against others. The manager should document the  observation. Mangers should always provide feedback in a timely manner. It should be taken to improve employee performance. According to Cascio (2013), behavior-oriented rating methods focus on employee behaviors, either by comparing the performance of employees to that of other employees or by evaluating each employee in terms of performance standards without reference to others. The results-oriented rating method is another great method to use. The company needs to have a way to do customer survey. Customer service is one of the most important skills that should be measured constantly. According to Cascio (2013), results-oriented rating methods place primary emphasis on what an employee produces; dollar volume of sales, number of units produced, and number of wins during a baseball season are examples. In other word a limo driver will be rated on how well his/her skills are with customer service. They are being rating and measured at all times. Process for addressing skill gaps When addressing skill gaps it should be communicated on a daily basic but in a more formal way during the Performance evaluation. It should identify the areas that need improvement, a performance improvement plan (PIP) can be put in place. This is the opportunity for an employee that do not have all the skill to succeed to receive the appropriate training that he/she did or didn’t have. When addressing area for improvement communication is the key between managers and employees. Approach for delivering effective performance feedback According to Cascio (2013), before giving feedback, getting training in performance appraisal interviewing, planning to use a problem-solving approach rather than â€Å"tell -and-sell,† and encouraging subordinates to prepare for performance-feedback interviews, is important. Also, while giving feedback, each manager should be encouraging subordinates to participate by being specific, being an active listener, setting mutually agreeable goals for future improvements, avoiding destructive criticism, and judging performance and not personality and mannerisms. Lastly, after the feedback is communicated, each manager should periodically assess progress toward goals and make organizational rewards contingent on performance. If Landslide Limousine needs to make sure they that provide these before,  during, and after feedback activities, these activities can help better the performance of each and every person that Landslide employ. Conclusion Having a good Performance plan before starting business is always a great beginning. You need a stepping stone to hire the right employee and to put the right people in the place. Providing them with the right tools make for a successfully business and satisfied customer. References Cascio, W. F. (2013). Managing Human Resources (9th Ed.). New York, NY: The McGraw- Hill Companies, Inc. University of Berkley. (2014). Berkley HR. Retrieved from http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/about/philosophy/performance-management What is Human Resource? (2015). Retrieved from http://www.whatishumanresource.com/job-analysis-methods

Economic Development of East Asia

Economic Development of East Asia The East Asia Miracle: Lessons for the developing countries The East Asia region has been drawing global attention as fruits of its growth and development over the past thirty years continuously awe many. The most successful developing countries over the last half century apparently have come form this region. ­Ã‚  [1]  It has a remarkable record of high and sustained economic growth as 23 economies in it grew faster that those in other parts of the world.  [2]  However, when the Asian Financial Crisis hit this region in 1997 some structural and institutional weaknesses have cast doubt on the East Asian Miracle. Hasty recovery and resiliency which the region revealed in fighting off and prevailing over most of the negative drawbacks brought by the crisis was enough to sustain the belief in the miracle. Although East Asian economies applied varying strategies in their economic development, a salient and strong factor common to all is the presence and the role of the government in their development. East Asian countries have assume d a role of a developmental state in which the government played an important hands-on role in the process of industrialization and economic development.  [3]   Thus, understanding the economic development and experiences of East Asia may offer helpful lessons that other developing countries trapped in stagnation may want to consider. According to Thorbecke and Wan (2004) there are two critical factors and corresponding phases of development that occurred in East Asia. First, countries need to reach first a take-off point which emphasizes on promotion of education, to build up on human capital and the promotion of the agricultural sector in order to eventually finance investments on physical infrastructure. The second phase, development calls for industrialization that brings structural and technological upgrading.  [4]   First lesson implied in the first phase of development is that economic development cannot be hurried. There are certain processes that need to be readied before countries reach the take-off point. At the beginning of the development process a country is predominantly agrarian and the economy is relatively closed.  [5]  East Asian governments understood that the major mechanism for obtaining the resources needed to escape the poverty trap and for industrialization was through and inter-sectoral transfer out of agriculture. The major role of the agricultural sector was to generate the necessary capital to finance the outset of the industrialization process.  [6]  The main lesson to be drawn from the experience was summarized by Thorbecke and Morrison cited in the Revisiting East and (South East) Asias development model (2004): A lesson learned from those countries which were most successful in achieving both growth and equity throughout their development history (e.g. Taiwan and South Korea) is that a continuing gross flow of resources should be provided to agriculture in the form of such elements as irrigation, inputs, research and credit, combined with appropriate institutions and price policies to increase this sectors productivity and potential capacity of contributing an even larger flow to the rest of the economy In addition, the East Asian countries invested heavily on universal education with a long-term goal in mind. They spread of education in the rural areas provided farmers and their children the skills they need to operate in non-farming activities after the take-off.  [7]  They sponsored education of technical skills in the college level. This strategy resulted in a very competitive labor force able to man their industries.  [8]   In the second phase, East Asian economies recognized that the international economy is highly interdependent and that a development process of interdependence is much more favorable than individual growth.  [9]  Interaction among countries lets in trade, investment and technology transfer. East Asian economies took advantage of the positive spill over effects the interactions brought with it. It should be noted however that Thorbecke and Wan perceived of openness as a necessary yet insufficient condition for successful development. Catching up though is impossible without openness.  [10]   In an increasingly interdependent world, competition is much potent. To ensure high economic growth rate major structural changes like industrialization should undertaken. Structural changes needed by less developed countries require acquisition of technology. This is a step familiar to East Asian economies. They took advantage of the technology and knowledge transfer by making their countries attractive to foreign direct investments; they became subcontractors of high-tech firms and studied how they can localize the ideas and eventually create their own. Case in point is Taiwan which invested in industrial parks and attracted many foreign firms.  [11]  They acquired technology and idea transfer from joint ventures and foreign direct investments. Policies also played a great role in the development of East Asian economies. Although there are certain differences in the initial conditions for development and growth, economic development and growth pattern that East Asian economies that are common to them also is linked to growth factors and the policy system they adopted.  [12]   East Asian economies have growth led by investments, exports and enforcing of sound policies to support their industries. Moreover, the governments in East Asian countries are very much involved and unhesitatingly intervene in the market-oriented economies.  [13]  The role of the government is to maintain macroeconomic stability, overcome possible coordination failure and act as an intermediary in promoting growth initiations.  [14]  The economic system was based on wide ranging cooperative relationship between government and the local and transnational firms based in their country.  [15]   The industrial policies enforced seek to encourage the development of industries through various government measures such as tax incentives, Research and Development subsidies, credit allocation and protection against foreign imports.  [16]  In addition, the export-oriented industries did not develop without these particular measures of the government to accelerate investment in such industries; provision of infrastructure, universal education.  [17]  The role of the government was mainly to set up institutional policy foundations required for growth and overcoming coordination failures that can stop a the economy from flourishing.  [18]   The Asian Financial Crisis unearthed and exposed certain weaknesses of the East Asian economic model. Weak and inefficient financial systems, lack of corporate transparency and accountability, and widespread corruption became apparent after the crisis broke out.  [19]  This occurrence explicitly calls for constant improvement on institutions in the country which serves as the pillar of economic development. This is a lesson not only for developing countries but for the East Asian economies as well. The East Asia economic development model is applicable to the Philippines to a certain extent. The former policies and steps undertaken needed to be modified to suit the condition of the Philippines. The Philippines can consider setting its neighbors and the East Asia Miracle as benchmark of development and a goal to be achieved. The Philippines always has to remember that East Asian economies started modestly and took advantage and cultivated the initial conditions and resource endowments to their advantage. A step back to reexamine where the Philippines went wrong, why it seems to be experiencing a prolonged period at the take-off stage, would be a humble at the same time brave gesture on the part of the countries leaders. Although it may be too late to shift the focus back on agriculture because of changing conditions, it is still important that the government invest in infrastructure (i.e. farm-to-market roads) and R D as many in the country still rely on agriculture for a living ._ If it is possible that the government nurture the current industries it has and the agricultural sector at the same may be beneficial for the country. The Philippines have a lot of catching up to do, the East Asian miracle may also come true for the Philippines if it would only reconsider some of the policies being implemented and strengthen its institutions that would foster economic development. Sources: Chang, H. The Economic Theory of the Developmental State. 182-199. East Asia Analytical Unit. The Philippines: Beyond the Crisis . Manila: Department of Foreign  Affairs, 1998. Page, John. The East Asian Miracle: Four Lessons for Development Policy. NBER  Macroeconomics Annual, 1994: 219-269. Park, Jong. The East Asian Model of Economic development and developing countries.  Journal of Developing Societies, 2002: 330-335. Sakurai, Makoto. The Sustainable Development of East Asia and accompanying issues.  Economic and Social Research Institute, 2003. Thorbecke, E, and H Wan. Revisiting East and (South East) Asias development model. Cornell Conference on Seventy five years of Development. New York, 2004. 1-38. Wade. Lessons from East Asias Development Experience. 2005.

The Art Of Theater :: essays research papers

The Art of Theater Neither a book nor a work, but an energy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theater is the most remarkable art of life. It is a collaborate art combining different people into one solid group in which they work together harmoniously in order to portray a certain idea, concept, or piece of art. Theater deals with various forms of emotions and is most commonly expected to leave a trace or stimulate sentiments on the audience. The mind plays a big role in theater, for the art lies within our imagination. Our mind stimulates many different types of strong emotions such as power, anger, joy, and more. These intangible feelings created by our mind, are the reason why theater the most noteworthy art of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Theater â€Å" is neither a book nor a work, but an energy â€Å". Theater is considered to be an energy because it is a calculated act from beginning to end. A piece of theater only lasts for a specific period of time. It has a beginning, middle, and an end. Furthermore, every theatrical piece has a predestined conclusion. Implying that the audience is most often aware of what will happen at the end of the play, yet the art of it is to keep them focused and interested until the very end. Furthermore, unlike other modes of communication, in theater one cannot go back and see a certain scene. A theatrical act takes place in the present, has an ending, and becomes part of our past. Theater is a challenge to our mind, for it makes us think and allows us to use our imagination. During a theatrical act, we are projected into a world of fantasy and imagination, a world that only lasts for a certain period of time. A period of time in which one feels pain, joy, hatred, or love. This is reinforced by the direct contact between the actors and the audience stimulating more personal emotion between different individuals. In my opinion, the art of theater is one of the most empowering factors in ones life.

Present and Future Benefits of Solar Powered Homes Essay -- Argumentat

Present and Future Benefits of Solar Powered Homes Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The following is a feasibility study on the need to apply solar power for homes and the benefits to be expected from it. This report contains information on the expected benefits of using solar power for homes in place of traditional methods of power such as electricity and gas. Solar power is beneficial to consumers because it saves them money compared to the increasingly high prices of conventional methods of generation. Solar power is also beneficial to society because it is much safer for our environment than the burning of fossil fuels or the use of nuclear power that is characteristic of gas and electricity power. This report explores solar power as an alternate and superior means of power generation for homes. Discussion and Results â€Å"Photovoltaics—A Path to Sustainable Futures†, a journal article by Joshua M. Pierce states that since 1957, electricity demand in the US has increased by over 450% while the US population has increased by only 50%, which illustrates how the demand for electricity has grown. During the first half of the 20th century, the national average price of electricity decreased as more efficient generating units were brought into service and this general trend has continued, but more electricity is needed so there is a need for different methods of generation like nuclear and solar power. Nuclear and fossil fuel generation have many negative environmental impacts, so there is a need for change which enables consumers to reduce dependence on these harmful technologies. â€Å"Photovoltaics—A Path to Sustainable Futures† states that new technology such as solar power has become a primary focus for researchers and they not only believe solar power to be environment ally safer but more cost effective as well. All of us are electricity consumers and therefore are familiar with this issue that directly affects us. When looking at alternate ways to produce electricity, one matter that particularly stands out is the consumer’s cost for the use of electricity compared to the use of solar power. According to www.solcomhouse.com, over 200,000 homes in the U.S. use some type of solar technology and more than 10,000 homes are entirely power by solar energy. The advantages of using solar power for homes, also known as Photovoltaic systems, are numerous. Many solar-power... ...rgy. References Passive Solar Buildings by J. Douglas Baccomb is a book that we have used that explains a broad survey of solar power-energy technologies and the reasons for their increased use. WWW.solcomhouse.com by The Ozone Hole, Inc. is a web site that gives an overall definition of solar power and its many uses. â€Å"Convincing the Home Builder to Build Solar Homes- Evaluation of the Passive Solar Workshop for Builders† by S. Klein is a journal article that discusses the increasing need for electricity and the most cost effective and environmentally safest way to keep up with the demand. â€Å"Photovoltaics -- A Path to Sustainable Futures† Volume 34, 20022002 by Joshua M. Pierce is another journal article that explains the technical, social, and economic benefits and limitations of PV technologies to provide electricity. Solar Heating Systems: Analysis and Design with the Sun-Pulse Method by Gordon F. Tully is another book that we used for our background information on how solar energy systems work. WWW.Millionsolarroofs.com by the U.S. Department of Energy is a web site that contains information on government programs supporting the use of solar power generation in homes.

The Subject Of Education In Cambodia Education Essay

Education is really of import agencies to develop and construct up human resources for development of each state and it is besides of import for development of kid as individual. However, educational system in Cambodia has suffered excessively much during Khmer Rouge Regime from 1975 to 1979. After that period, the authorities has tried to better it by cooperated and collaborated with external assistance and non-governmental organisation ( NGOs ) . Harmonizing to the Kampuchean fundamental law, it states that â€Å" the province shall supply free primary and secondary instruction to all citizens in public school. Citizens shall have instruction for at least nine old ages † . Nowadays, though the students have no wage the fee, they still have to pass money on other things such as letter paper, text editions, part fee etc. Furthermore, some states pupils are asked to pass money to teacher for fee ; this is the job that prevent student from hapless households from go toing school . About a half a million Kampuchean kids from 6 to 11 old ages old have no entree to school, so 50percent of those who entered rate one dropped out of school and had to reiterate the category. Those jobs are caused by picture games, karaoke and the presence of whorehouse for the pupils in metropolis, and for female students, they could non go to school because of many jobs. First, parents are hapless, so they can non supply kids to larn and sometime they need their kids, particularly the misss, to gain money to back up the household. Second, the schools are located excessively far off from their house. Merely male child can travel to school at some distance from place because they have given adjustment in pagodas near the school. The last 1 is some parents do non understand about the of import of instruction, so they do non let their kids to go to school. Furthermore, the ministry of instruction has non provided equal instruction for minority kids. Many kids can non entree to school, and there is no proviso for schooling in minority linguistic communications except for categories provided by private ethic associations. Not merely that, there is deficient particular instruction proviso for disablements kids. Even though some organisations co-operated with authorities to supply school for those, this attempt is non yet plenty. Then, the quality of instruction in Cambodia is really hapless. Some schools in urban countries have about 60 to 80 pupils in each category, because there are non adequate category for students, most schools operated two displacements or three displacements per a twenty-four hours that affect the students ‘ feeling to analyze. Other thing is that the limited skilled of instructors cut down the quality of educational system. Technical and pedagogical preparation for instructor is non up to standard yet. There are many learning methods such as child-centered acquisition method has been taught to some instructors ; nevertheless, instructors still follow the old instruction methods. The last point is the deficiency of committedness of instructor because they receive a little sum of wage ( about $ 15 to $ 20 per month ) that lead to the low motive for learning. Then, they need to happen others occupation to supplement their incomes for endurance. In fact, the national authorities budget allotment to Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport was merely 10.3 % in 1997 and increase to 12 % in 1998, which is still really, in peculiar when compared to 52 % for the defence sector. The authorities should pay more attending because this sector is the major sector for development the state. Government should supply the high wage to instructors, and construct more school all around the state, and national budget allotment for instruction should be increased promote and ease the instruction to minority kids and supply particular school for handicapped kids and promote instruction for misss, raise consciousness of parents about the advantage of instruction. Finally, the educational system in Cambodia has faced many jobs that have to work out instantly. Those jobs can be affected on development for state every bit good. Because of that, the authorities needs to join forces or collaborate with international organisations. United Nations Organization is an international organisation that purpose are easing coaction in international jurisprudence, international peace and security, human right, economic sciences development, societal advancement and accomplishing universe peace. United Nations has many specialized bureaus to runing the jobs of member provinces. Those including UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO and UNESCOaˆÂ ¦.and so on. However, we merely concentrate on three specialised bureaus because these bureaus are really of import for development in developing states. First, UNDP is the UN planetary development web. It promotes for alteration and connects states to knowledge, experience and resources to assist people to construct a better life. The specialised bureau has states offices in 166 states, where it works with local authorities to run into development challenges and develop local capacity. UNDP decision maker is the 3rd highest ranking functionary of United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-general and Deputy Secretary-general, and its headquartered is in New York. UNDP is funded by voluntary part from member provinces. UNDP helps the states to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) . MDG is adopted by United Nations General Assembly to develop the hapless states in 2002. These precedence MDGs states are concentrated is Sub- African, Central America and Andes, Central Asia, and the portion of Southeast Asia. Millennium Development Goals is related to poorness, primary instruction, gender equity, maternal wellness, kid mortality, HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and planetary partnerships for development. Second, UNICEF was created by United Nations General assembly on December 11, 1946 to supply exigency nutrient and health care to kids in states that had been destroyed by World War II. UNICEF provides long-run human-centered and development aid to kids and female parents in developing states. UNICEF support kid wellness and nutrition, quality basic instruction for all male childs and misss, entree to clean H2O and sanitation and the protection of kids from force, development and AIDs. In 1953, UNICEF became United Nations System and its name had shortened from United Nations International Children ‘s Emergency Fund and its headquartered is in New York City. UNICEF fund is provided by voluntary part of authorities, concerns, foundations and persons. Third, UNESCO is a specialised bureau of the United Nations which established on 16 November 1945. Headquarter of organisation is in Paris, with over 50 field offices and many specialized institutes and based in throughout the universe. Its aims is to lend to peace and security by advancing international cooperation through instruction, civilization, and scientific discipline in order to foster cosmopolitan regard for justness, the regulation of jurisprudence, and the human rights along with cardinal freedoms declared in the Charter of UN. UNESCO pursues its aims through five major plans: instruction, natural HYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_science † scientific disciplines, societal scientific disciplines, civilization, and communicating and information. Undertakings sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, proficient aid, and teacher-training plans, scientific discipline plans, the publicity of independent media and imperativeness free dom, regional and cultural history undertakings, the publicity of cultural diverseness ; international cooperation understandings to salvage the universe cultural and natural heritage ( World Heritage Sites ) and to protect human rights, and efforts to bridge the world-wide digital divide. UNESCO in Cambodia has worked through with the local authorization and NGOs. UNESCO focused on its activities through five major dockets such as instruction, civilization, natural scientific disciplines, societal and human scientific disciplines, and information and communicating. First, in instruction, UNESCO has developed the policy and schemes for ECCE ( Early Childhood Care and Education ) , presenting planetary degree policy tendency and advanced patterns, and lending to outline the policy on ECCE by supplying consultative services. Furthermore, UNESCO has improved on instructor instruction by supplying policy model and policy picks for developing teacher professional criterions and appropriate measuring, planing inducements to actuate the instructors for better instruction and pupil acquisition, deploying qualified instructors to rural and distant countries. Then, UNSECO has focused on proficient vocational instruction and preparation, HIV/AIDs bar instruction, and instruction and planning direction. As the chairs of educational sector working group, UNESCO has played an of import function in easing good coordinated and professional response from the giver community to the demands of the instruction development and the petition from authorities. The chief spouse in instruction of UNESCO is Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport ( MoEYS ) . UNESCO assists MoEYS for the preparation and constitution of national instruction model and policy to outreach broader populations. A figure of instruction policy are formulated with proficient support from UNESCO and other development spouses including: National Non- Formal Education Policy, the National Plan of Action for Non- Formal Education, the policy on School Health and policy on Education for Children with Disabilities, and National ICT ( Information and Communication for Technology ) policy and scheme. Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) are the international development end which focal point on eight jobs such as eradicate utmost poorness and hungriness, achieve cosmopolitan instruction, advance gender equality and empower adult females, cut down kid mortality, better maternal wellness, combat HIV/AIDs and other diseases, guarantee environmental sustainability, and develop a planetary partnership for development. However, in Cambodia, because of acknowledging the major restraint to development is the continued taint of mines and explosive leftovers of war, the Royal Government of Cambodia added the de-mining and victims aid as the 9th major development end. Then, on the subject of the 2nd end of CMDGs, it is reference about Achieve Universal Nine-year basic Education that took root of the Education for all by guarantee that all kids will finish primary schooling by 2010 and Nine-year basic schooling by 2015. UNICEF in Cambodia has provided de-worming tablet to 95 per centum of kids in primary school. Furthermore, UNICEF has supported the fiscal aid for the wage of community preschool instructor in order to better the preschool to all kids. Harmonizing authorities ‘s statistics, the pre-primary school registration rate of Cambodian ‘s five twelvemonth old in school twelvemonth 2006-2007 was 27.7 % including province, community, home-based, and preschool categories. Then, Kampuchean authorities and UNICEF functionary maintain that early childhood development plan have proved over and over that preschool encourages on clip registration in primary school and better academic public presentation. In amount up, those organisations are of import for bettering or advancing the all sector in Cambodia, particularly in educational sector which is of import sector for development. However, the authorities should lend to advancing every bit good, so our state will accomplish all ends early. Since you focused on the functions and models of MDGs, UNICEF, UNESCO, you have known that those models are suited for bettering the instruction in Cambodia. However, do these bureaus and authorities can assure that they will better or advance instruction good as they expect? Harmonizing to the statistic from studies, the primary school undertakings have been complete successfully. In 2000, there are about 85 % to 86 % of kids from urban country can go to school, and for the kids in rural country, there are about 82 % to 83 % go to school, but the kids populating in the distant country can go to school merely 60 % to 63 % . From one twelvemonth to twelvemonth, the Numberss of go toing school from those three countries are increasing bit by bit. In fact, in 2009, in distant country the kids attend school about 90.3 % . Surprisingly, the urban kids which had the figure higher than others do non increasing dramatically as the rural country in 2000. Rural country ‘s kids go to school much more than the urban country ‘s kids, is 95 % and 92.2 % . Nevertheless, undertakings to advancing the secondary school is seem failed because the mark of undertaking predicted that about 65.3 % in 2009 for the kids go toing secondary school, but in world, there a re merely 31.9 for pupils go toing school. By the manner, gender disparities in primary school have been eliminated and regional disparities have besides been eradicated. Then, the proportion of 6-14 old ages old out of school is stagnating. Based on the information from CMDGs, the flow of the line of graph is smooth from 1997 until 2003, but in 2004 the figures of the information is increasing from 18.7 % to 19.81 % . However, the expected mark is merely 14.4 % in 2008 for the out of school pupils, so it seems non travel beyond as outlook. Literacy rates of 15 to 24 old ages old ; hence, in 1998 there is about 82 % of literacy. CMDGs expected that in 2009, there would be about 92.1 % for literacy, but in existent, there is about 87.47 % for literacy because the line of the graph was increasing easy. In amount up, instruction in Cambodia become better than earlier. Even so, those bureaus need to better or advance more because as you known, the instruction is the of import sector for develop state. Then, in instance instruction in Cambodia does non good, how could Cambodia better or develop state good? After you have understood about the functions and models, consequence of the bureaus, you can state that though they could non accomplish all ends as scene, but they could better or advance the instruction in Cambodia. As you can see, educational system in Cambodia has suffered excessively much during Khmer Rouge Regime from 1975 to 1979. After that period, the authorities has tried to better it by cooperated and collaborated with external assistance and non-governmental organisation ( NGOs ) . About a half a million Kampuchean kids from 6 to 11 old ages old have no entree to school, so 50 % of those who entered rate one dropped out of school and had to reiterate the category. Those jobs are caused by picture games, karaoke and the presence of whorehouse for the pupils in metropolis, and for female students, they could non go to school because of many jobs. Due to these jobs, the Kampuchean authorities attempts to pay attending on instruction systems because every bit mentioned before, instruction is really of import agencies to develop and construct up human resources for development of each state and it is besides of import for development of kid as individual. If Kampuchean people hapless at the cognition, how could Cambodia has been developed to go the strong state as the adjacent states. Furthermore, the IOs ( International organisations ) besides pay attending on instruction sector as good. They try to promote and join forces with Kampuchean authorities to bettering the instruction systems. As mentioned, Harmonizing to the Kampuchean fundamental law, it states that â€Å" the province shall supply free primary and secondary instruction to all citizens in public school. Citizens shall have instruction for at least nine old ages † . Then, IOs have besides contributed to betterment every bit good. First, UNESCO has improved on instructor instruction by supplying policy model and policy picks for developing teacher professional criterions and appropriate measuring, planing inducements to actuate the instructors for better instruction and pupil acquisition, deploying qualified instructors to rural and distant countries. Furthermore, UNESCO has played an of import function in easing good coordinated and professional response from the giver community to the demands of the instruction development and the petition from authorities. Second, CDMGs is reference about Achieve Universal Nine-year basic Education that took root of the Education for all by ensures that all kids will finish primary schooling by 2010 and Nine-year basic schooling by 2015. Third, UNICEF has supported the fiscal aid for the wage of community preschool instructor in order to better the preschool to all kids. Harmonizing authorities ‘s statistics, the pre-primary school registration rate of Cambodian †˜s five twelvemonth old in school twelvemonth 2006-2007 was 27.7 % including province, community, home-based, and preschool categories. Then, Kampuchean authorities and UNICEF functionary preserve that early childhood development plan have proved over and over that preschool encourages on clip registration in primary school and better academic public presentation. In decision, some jobs the province could non cover with by herself, so she needs the aid from NGOs, IGOs, and so on. However, in instance the provinces do non pay attending with those jobs, the solution still can non run into. As Cambodia, because the authorities and specialised bureaus try to collaborate each other, the instruction system seem better a small by a small. In my sentiment, in future, Cambodia will diminish the rate of illiteracy from clip to clip.

A Short Story Of Denim Essay

Denim is more than just a cotton fabric; it inspires strong opinions within the hearts of historians, designers, teenagers, movie stars, reporters and writers. Interest bordering on passion can be found among textile and costume historians today, especially in the debate over the true origins of denim. These experts have put decades of work into their research; here are summarized the prevailing opinions about the birth of denim, followed by a discussion of the way Levi Strauss & Co. has helped to contribute to denim’s movement around the world. In 1969 a writer for American Fabrics magazine declared, â€Å"Denim is one of the world’s oldest fabrics, yet it remains eternally young.† If continuous use of and interest in an item makes it â€Å"eternally young† then denim certainly qualifies. From the 17th century to the present, denim has been woven, used and discarded; made into upholstery, pants and awnings; found in museums, attics, antique stores and arc haeological digs; worn as the fabric of hard honest work, and as the expression of angry rebellion; used for the sails of Columbus’ ships in legend; and worn by American cowboys in fact. Legend and fact are also interwoven when scholars discuss the origin of the name denim itself. Most reference books say that denim is an English corruption of the French â€Å"serge de Nimes;† a serge fabric from the town of Nimes in France. However, some scholars have begun to question this tradition. There are a few schools of thought with regard to the derivation of the word â€Å"denim.† Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros, of the Musee de la Mode et du Costume in Paris, has done some interesting research on both of these issues. A fabric called â€Å"serge de Nimes,† was known in France prior to the 17th century. At the same time, there was also a fabric known in France as â€Å"nim.† Both fabrics were composed partly of wool. Serge de Nimes was also known in England before the end of the 17th century. The question then arises: is this fabric imported from France or is it an English fabric bearing the same name? According to Ms. Gorguet-Ballesteros, fabrics which were named for a certain geographic location were often also made elsewhere; the name was used to lend a certain cachet to the fabric when it was offered for sale. Therefore a â€Å"serge de Nimes† purchased in England was very likely also made in England, and not in Nimes, France. There still remains the question of how the word â€Å"denim† is popularly thought to be descended from the word â€Å"serge de Nimes.† Serge de Nimes was made of silk and wool, but denim has always been made of cotton. What we have here again, I think, is a relation between fabrics that is in name only, though both fabrics are a twill weave. Is the real origin of the word denim â€Å"serge de nim,† meaning a fabric that resembled the part-wool fabric called nim? Was serge de Nimes more well-known, and was this word mistranslated when it crossed the English Channel? Or, did British merchants decide to give a zippy French name to an English fabric to give it a bit more cachet? It’s likely we will never really know. Then, to confuse things even more, there also existed, at this same time, another fabric known as â€Å"jean.† Research on this textile indicates that it was a fustian – a cotton, linen and/or wool blend and that the fustian of Genoa, Italy was called jean; here we do see evidence of a fabric being named from a place of origin. It was apparently quite popular, and imported into England in large quantities during the 16th century. By the end of this period jean was being produced in Lancashire. By the 18th century jean cloth was made completely of cotton, and used to make men’s clothing, valued especially for its property of durability even after many washings. Denim’s popularity was also on the rise. It was stronger and more expensive than jean, and though the two fabrics were very similar in other ways, they did have one major difference: denim was made of one colored thread and one white thread; jean was woven of two threads of the same color. Moving across the Atlantic, we find American textile mills starting on a small scale at this same time, the late 18th century, mostly as a way to become independent from foreign producers (mainly the English). From the very beginning, cotton fabrics were an important component of their product line. A factory in the state of Massachusetts wove both denim and jean. President George Washington toured this mill in 1789 and was shown the machinery which wove denim, which had both warp and fill of cotton. One of the first printed references to the word â€Å"denim† in the United States was seen in this same year: a Rhode Island newspaper reported on the local production of denim (among other fabrics). The book The Weavers Draft Book and Clothiers Assistant, published in 1792, contains technical sketches of the weaving methods for a variety of denims. In 1864, an East Coast wholesale house advertised that it carried 10 different kinds of denim, including â€Å"New Creek Blues† and â€Å"Madison River Browns.† (They sound rather contemporary, don’t they? Another example of denim appearing â€Å"eternally young.†) Webster’s Dictionary of the same year contained the word â€Å"denim,† referring to it as â€Å"a coarse cotton drilling used for overalls, etc.† Research shows that jean and denim were two very different fabrics in 19th century America. They also differed in how they were used. In 1849 a New York clothing manufacturer advertised topcoats, vests or short jackets in chestnut, olive, black, white and blue jean. Fine trousers were offered in blue jean; overalls and trousers made for work were offered in blue and fancy denim. Other American advertisements show working men wearing clothing that illustrates this difference in usage between jean and denim. Mechanics and painters wore overalls made of blue denim; working men in general (including those not engaged in manual labor) wore more tailored trousers made of jean. Denim, then, seems to have been reserved for work clothes, when both durability and comfort were needed. Jean was a workwear fabric in general, without the added benefits of denim as I just mentioned. In Staple Cotton Fabrics by John Hoye, published in 1942, jean is listed as a cotton serge with warp and woof of the same color, used for overalls, work and sport shirts, doctors and nurses uniforms and as linings for boots and shoes. Of denim, Hoye says, â€Å"The most important fabric of the work-clothing group is denim. Denims are strong and serviceable; they are particularly strong in the warp direction, where the fabric is subjected to greater wear than the filling.† Twenty years after this was written, the magazine American Fabrics ran an article which stated, â€Å"If we were to use a human term to describe a textile we might say that denim is an honest fabric – substantial, forthright, and unpretentious.† So how did this utilitarian and unpretentious fabric become the stuff of legends that it is today? And how did pants made out of denim come to be called jeans, when they were not made out of the fabric called jean? One very important reason can be found in the life and work of a Bavarian-born businessman who made his way to Gold Rush San Francisco more than 150 years ago. Levi’s ® jeans, of course, are named for the founder of the company that makes them. A lot of people over the years have thought that Levi Strauss & Co. was started by a Mr. Levi and a Mr. Strauss; or even by the French philosopher/anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss. The truth is, the company was founded by a man born as â€Å"Loeb† Strauss in Bavaria in 1829. He, his mother and two sisters left Germany in 1847 and sailed to New York, where Loeb’s half-brothers were in business selling wholesale dry goods (bolts of cloth, linens, clothing, etc.). For a few years, young Loeb Strauss worked for his brothers, and in 1853 obtained his American citizenship. In that same year, he decided to make a new start and undertake the hazardous journey to San Francisco, a city enjoying the benefits of the recent Gold Rush. At age 23, Loeb either decided to go into the dry goods business for himself (perhaps thinking that the easiest way to make money during a Gold Rush was to sell supplies to miners), or he was sent there by his brothers, in order to open the West Coast branch of the family business. No matter what the reason, San Francisco was the kind of city where people went to reinvent themselves and their lives, and this proved to be true for Loeb, who changed his name to â€Å"Levi† sometime around 1850, – for which we should be grateful, or else today we would all be wearing â€Å"Loeb’s Jeans.† We don’t know how young Levi Strauss got his business off the ground; what his thinking was; if he travelled into the gold country in search of customers, because LS&CO. lost virtually all of its records, inventory, and photographs in the great San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906. This has led to many problems for company officers, researchers, and certainly thos e interested in LS&CO.’s history. Chief of these is digging up the true story of the invention of blue jeans, and separating popular myth from historical reality. For decades, the story ran like this: Levi Strauss arrived in San Francisco, and noticed that miners needed strong, sturdy pants. So he took some brown canvas from the stock of dry goods supplies he brought with him from New York, and had a tailor make a pair of pants. Later, he dyed the fabric blue, then switched to denim, which he imported from Nimes. He got the idea of adding metal rivets to the pants from a tailor in Reno, Nevada, and patented this process in 1873. Luckily, the company obtained copies of the patent papers for the riveting process a number of years ago so we know that Jacob Davis, the Nevada tailor, did come up with this idea and worked with Levi Strauss to manufacture riveted clothing. However, the brown canvas pants story is really just an attractive myth. This story likely arose because evidence had been found of some brown pants made of a heavy material which the company sold in the 19th century. However, historical research done at institutions in the San Francisco area provides us with the truth within the myth. Levi Strauss was a wholesale dry goods merchant beginning with his arrival in San Francisco in 1853. He sold the common dry goods products, including clothing whose manufacturers are unfortunately unknown to us. Levi worked hard, and acquired a reputation for quality products over the next two decades. In 1872 he got a letter from tailor Jacob Davis, who had been making riveted clothing for the miners in the Reno area and who purchased cloth from Levi Strauss & Co. He needed a business partner to help him get a patent and begin to manufacture this new type of work clothing. Well, Levi knew a good business opportunity when he saw one, and in 1873 LS&CO. and Davis received a patent for an â€Å"Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings.† As soon as the two men got their manufacturing facility under way, they began to make copper riveted â€Å"waist overalls† (which is the old name for jeans) out of a brown cotton duck, and a blue denim. It’s likely that a pair of these duck pants (which survived the 1906 fire) confused early historians of the company, as duck looks and feels like canvas. The denim, however, was true blue. Of course, Levi did not dye any brown fabric blue, as the myth has proclaimed, nor did he purchase it from Nimes. Knowing that the riveted pants were going to be perfect for workwear, it’s likely he decided to make them out of denim rather than jean for the reasons mentioned earlier: denim was what you used when you needed a very sturdy fabric for clothing to be worn by men doing manual labor. The denim for the first waist overalls came from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire, on the East Coast of the United States. This area, known as New England, was the site of the first American textile mills, and by 1873 their fabrics were wellknown and well-made. Amoskeag was incorporated in 1831 and their denim production dated to the mid-1860s (this being the time of the American Civil War, the company also manufactured guns for a few years). In 1914 an article about the association between LS&CO. and Amoskeag appeared in the mill’s own newspaper. It read in part, â€Å"In spite of the many cheaper grades offered in competition, the sale of the Amoskeag denim garment has kept up due in part to the superior denim used in its construction and in part to superior workmanship such as sewing with linen thread, etc. Doubtless the Amoskeag denim has contributed in no small degree to the success of Levi Strauss & Co. and, in return, that concern has contributed in an equal degree to the success of Amoskeag denims, advertising as it does, their superiority over all other denims.† At Levi Strauss & Co., the duck and denim waist overalls were proving to be the success that Jacob Davis had predicted. Levi Strauss was now the head of both a dry goods wholesaling and garment manufacturing business. In addition to the waist overalls, the company made jackets and other outer wear out of denim and duck; they also branched out into shirts of plain or printed muslin. Levi Strauss died in 1902, at the age of 73. He left his thriving business to his four nephews Jacob, Louis, Abraham and Sigmund Stern – who helped rebuild the company after the disaster of 1906. The earliest surviving catalog in the Archives shows a wonderful variety of denim products for sale. Within a few years, it became obvious to the Stern brothers that they needed a new source of denim. Near the end of the 19th century Amoskeag and other New England mills had begun to experience a slow decline, due to competition from mills in the southern states, higher labor and transportation costs, outdated buildings and equipment and high taxes. The demand for waist overalls was so great that LS&CO. needed a more reliable method of obtaining the fabric they needed. Interestingly, by around 1911 the company had stopped making garments out of cotton duck. It’s possible that this was due to customer preference: once someone had worn a pair of denim pants, experiencing its strength and comfort – and how the denim became more comfortable with every washing – he never wanted to wear duck again; because with cotton duck, you always feel like you’re wearing a tent. By 1915 the company was buying the majority of its denim from Cone Mills, in North Carolina (by 1922 all the denim came from Cone). Founded in 1891, it was the center of denim production in America by the turn of the century. Cone developed the denim which brought Levi’s  ® jeans their greatest fame during the following decades. By the 1920s, Levi’s ® waist overalls were the leading product in men’s work pants in the Western states. Enter the 1930s – when Western movies and the West in general captured the American imagination. Authentic cowboys wearing Levi’s ® jeans were elevated to mythic status, and Western clothing became synonymous with a life of independence and rugged individualism. Denim was now associated less often with laborers in general, and more as the fabric of the authentic American as symbolized by John Wayne, Gary Cooper and others. LS&CO. advertising did its part to fuel this craze, using the West’s historic preference for denim clothing to advertise Levi’s ® waist overalls. Easterners who wanted an authentic cowboy experience headed to the dude ranches of California, Arizona, Nevada and other states, where they purchased their first pair of Levi’s (the products were still only sold West of the Mississippi). They took these garments home to wow their friends and help spread the Western influence to the rest of the country, and even overseas. The 1940s, wartime. American G.I.s took their favorite pairs of denim pants overseas; guarding them against the inevitable theft of valuable items. Back in the States, production of waist overalls went down as the raw materials were needed for the war effort. When the war was over, massive changes in society signalled the end of one era and the beginning of another. Denim pants became less associated with workwear and more associated with the leisure activities of prosperous post-war America. Levi Strauss & Co. began selling its products nationally for the first time in the 1950s. Easterners and Midwesterners finally got the chance to wear real Levi’s ® jeans, as opposed to the products made by other manufacturers over the years. This led to many changes, within the company and on the products. Zippers was used in the classic waist overalls for the first time in 1954. This was in response to complaints from non-Westerners who didn’t like the button fly (the jeans the y were used to wearing had zippers). We received similar comments from men who had grown up using a button fly, saying rather rude things about finding a zipper where buttons should be. We did offer both products all over the country, but making changes to people’s favorite pants is always a risk. Some things took longer to change. One of them was the attitude that denim clothing was appropriate only for hard, physical labor. This was dramatically demonstrated to LS&CO. in 1951. Singer Bing Crosby was very fond of Levi’s ® jeans and was wearing his favorite pair while on a hunting trip to Canada with a friend in that year. The men tried to check into a Vancouver hotel, but because they were wearing denim, the desk clerk would not give them a room; apparently denim-clad visitors were not considered high-class enough for this hotel. Because the men were wearing Levi’s ® jeans, the clerk did not even bother to look past their clothing to see that he was turning away America’s most beloved si nger (luckily for Bing, he was finally recognized by the bellhop). LS&CO. heard about this, and created a denim tuxedo jacket for Bing, which we presented to him at a celebration in Elko, Nevada, where Bing was honorary mayor. Interestingly, the day set aside for this special presentation was called â€Å"Blue Serge Day† not â€Å"Levi’s Day† or â€Å"Blue Denim Day.† Was the word â€Å"denim† not sophisticated enough for the organizers of the event (who were not from LS&CO.)? I don’t think we’ll ever know the answer to this. The 1950s brought great acclaim to Levi’s ® jeans and denim pants in general, though not in the way most company executives would like. The portrayal of denim-clad â€Å"juvenile delinquents† or, as one newspaper put it, â€Å"motorcycle boys† in films and on television during this decade led many school administrators to ban the wearing of denim in the classroom, fearing that the mere presence of denim on a teenager’s body would cause him to rebel a gainst authority in all of its forms. Nearly everyone in America had strong opinions about what wearing blue jeans did to young people. For example: in 1957 we ran an advertisement in a number of newspapers all over the U.S. which showed a clean-cut young boy wearing Levi’s ® jeans. The ad contained the slogan, â€Å"Right For School.† This ad outraged many parents and adults in general. One woman in New Jersey wrote, â€Å"While I have to admit that this may be ‘right for school’ in San Francisco, in the west, or in some rural areas I can assure you that it is in bad taste and not right for School in the East and particularly New York†¦Of course, you may have different standards and perhaps your employees are permitted to wear Bermuda shorts or golf togs in your office while transacting Levi’s business!† Interesting, isn’t it, how this woman predicted the future trend toward casual clothing in the workplace? But even as some Americans tried to get denim out of the s chools, there were just as many who believed that jeans deserved a better reputation, and pointed to the many wholesome young people who wore jeans and never got into trouble. But no matter what anyone thought or did, nothing could stop the ever-increasing demand for Levi’s ® jeans. As one 1958 newspaper article reported, â€Å"†¦about 90% of American youths wear jeans everywhere except ‘in bed and in church’ and that this is true in most sections of the country.† Events in this decade also led the company to change the name of its most popular product. Until the 1950s we referred to the famous copper riveted pants as â€Å"overalls;† when you went into a small clothing store and asked for a pair of overalls, you were given a pair of Levi’s ®. However, after World War II our customer base changed dramatically, as referred to earlier: from working adult men, to leisure-loving teenage boys and their older college-age brothers. These guys called the product â€Å"jeans† – and by 1960 LS&CO. decided that it was time to adopt the name, since these new, young consumers had adopted our products. Now how did the word â€Å"jeans† come to mean pants made out of denim? There are two schools of thought on this one. The word might be a derivation of â€Å"Genoese,† meaning the type of pants worn by sailors from Genoa, Italy. There is another explanation: jean and denim fabrics were both used for workwear for many decades, and â€Å"jeans pants† was a common term for an article of clothing made from jean fabric; Levi Strauss himself imported â€Å"jeans pants† from the Eastern part of the United States to sell in California. When the popularity of jean gave way to the even greater popularity of denim for workwear, the word â€Å"jeans† seemed to get stuck with the denim version of these pants. Certainly the word jeans has been used to describe any type of pant made out of denim, and not just the riveted, indestructible, working-man’s pants originated by Levi Strauss & Co. in 1873. We even called some lightweight denim Western Wear pants in the 1940s â€Å"jeans.† But until America’s youth decided what j eans meant to them, we stuck with the classic moniker â€Å"overalls.† From the 1950s to the present, denim and jeans have been associated with youth, with new ideas, with rebellion, with individuality. College-age men and women entered American colleges in the 1960s and, wearing their favorite pants (jeans, of course), they began to protest against the social ills plaguing the United States. Denim acquired a bad reputation yet again, and for the same reasons as it had a decade earlier: those who protest, those who rebel, those who question authority, traditional institutions and customs, wear denim. Beginning in the late 1950s, Levi Strauss & Co. began to look at opportunities for expansion outside of the United States. During and after World War II, people in Japan, England and Germany saw Levi’s ® jeans for the first time, as they were worn by U.S. soldiers during their off-duty hours. There are letters in the company Archives from people who traded leather jackets and other clothing items to American G.I.s for their Levi’s ® jeans, and wrote to the company asking how they could get another pair. Word began to spread via individual customers, and American magazi nes which made their way overseas. Letters came to us from places as diverse as Thailand, England and Pitcairn Island in the South Pacific, written by people begging us to send them a pair of the famous jeans. British teenagers would swarm the docks when American Merchant Marine ships came into port, and buy the Levi’s ® jeans off the men before they even had time to set foot on dry land. By the late 1960s, the trickle of jeans into Europe and Asia had become a flood. Denim was poised to re-enter the continent which had given it birth, and it would be adopted with an enthusiasm shown to few other American products. Indeed, despite its European origins, denim was considered the quintessential American fabric, beginning even in the mid-1960s, when jeans were still a new commodity in Europe. We entered the Japanese market a few years later. One writer wrote prophetically in 1964: â€Å"Throughout the industrialized world denim has become a symbol of the young, active, informal, American way of life. It is equal ly symbolic of America’s achievements in mass production, for denim of uniform quality and superior performance is turned out by the mile in some of America’s biggest and most modern mills. Moreover, what was once a fabric only for work clothes, has now also become an important fabric for play clothes, for sportswear of all types.† By the 1970s, these â€Å"play clothes† tended toward the flared and bell bottom silhouette. At the same time, new fabrics were used for products that had traditionally been made out of denim. The product line of Levi Strauss & Co. was no exception. â€Å"Blue Levi’s ®Ã¢â‚¬  were still a staple of the company’s collection, but a glimpse at sales catalogs will reveal that customers also wanted plaid, polyester, no-wrinkle flares with matching vests. What looked almost like the end of simple, cotton denim as the fabric of everyday wear, was merely a pause in denim’s continued ascension to global dominion. A closer look will show that denim never really disappeared. Even in the 1970s, when it seemed that denim was being pushed aside in favor of these other fabrics, writers, manufacturers, and marketing executives worked hard to keep denim in the public eye. A writer in the Fall 1970 issue of American Fabrics said, â€Å"Indigo Blue Denim†¦has become a phenomenon without parallel in our times. To the youth of this country, and many other countries in this shrinking world, Indigo Blue Denim does not stand for utility. It’s the world’s top fashion fabric for pants.† By the mid to late 1970s the craze for doubleknits and other like fabrics began to slow. At the same time, marketing reports in various trade magazines showed an upward surge in the popularity of denim, as seen in the number of denim-clad models in print and television advertising. Those who followed clothing trends into the late 1970s were quoted in the trade papers with comments such as, â€Å"Jeans are more than a make. They are an established attitude about clothes and lifestyle.† This attitude could be seen very clearly in the â€Å"decorated denim† craze which saw beaded, embroidered, painted and sequined jeans appearing on streets from California to New York and across the ocean. Personalizing one’s jeans was such a huge trend in the United States that Levi Strauss & Co. sponsored a â€Å"Denim Art Contest† in 1973, inviting customers to send us slides of their decorated denim. The company received 2,000 entries from 49 of the United States, as well as Canada and the Bahamas. Judges included photographer Imogen Cunningham, designer Rudi Gernreich, the art critic for the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, and the Curator for San Francisco’s De Young Museum. The winning garments were sent on an 18month tour of American museums, and some of them were purchased by LS&CO. for the company Archives. In the Introduction to the catalog published to accompany the museum tour, contest coordinators wrote that Levi’s ® jeans had become â€Å"a canvas for personal expression.† Personal expression found another medium in the 1980s with the â€Å"designer jean† craze of that decade. It seems you can’t keep a good fabric down, no matter what form it takes. We all remember the ways in which denim was molded onto our bodies and the way that jeans were now worn almost anywhere, including places where they would have been completed banned in previous years (such as upscale restaurants). A writer for American Fabrics predicted this trend all the way back in 1969, when he wrote, â€Å"What has happened to denim in the last decade is really a capsule of what happened to America. It has climbed the ladder of taste.† Today, LS&CO. employees wear Levi’s ® jeans to work. Looking back, we see that the very first people to wear Levi’s ® jeans worked with pick and shovel, and though our tools are computer keyboard, PDA and cell phone, we have both been moved to wear the same thing each and every work day: denim jeans. Born in Europe, denim’s function and adaptable form found a perfect home in untamed America with the invention of jeans; then, as now, denim makes our lives easier by making us comfortable; and gives us a little bit of history every time we put it on.

Grief in “Hamlet” Essay

Grief is a universal emotion felt by everyone at some point or another during the course of their lives. Its effects can be very diverse and adverse, causing different people to act in very different ways. It is very unpredictable because it is unique for each person, thus it is difficult to ease or even ascertain. It is accompanied by many other painful and confusing emotions and if not dealt with properly, it may prove to be cataclysmic. The theme of grief is quite prevalent throughout William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Hamlet†, as virtually every character in the play experiences it. In fact, all of the main characters experience this emotion before the play is through. Grief has many causes and as a result, many outcomes, but the one thing that remains the same is that it has a profound effect on each person it touches. Grief is sometimes caused by feelings of guilt or remorse, and in cases such as this, it affects the sufferer by making the burden of guilt even more substantial. Oftentimes, feelings of guilty grief are intensified by placing too much blame on oneself. For example, Ophelia, who is being used by her own father and her king, tries to do what she thinks is best to help her love, Hamlet. She is told that this is the right thing to do, but suffers as a result of doing it. Polonius and Claudius use her to spy on Hamlet, but when the plan miscarries, she is the one who feels â€Å"†¦most deject and wretched†¦Ã¢â‚¬  saying: â€Å"[I] that sucked the honey of his musicked vows† (Hamlet, III, I, 169-170). Ophelia already feels bad for having to lie to Hamlet, but this negative feeling is amplified by the fact that she completely blames herself for what happens. Although Polonius seems heartless in using his daughter in this situation, his grievous feelings may prove otherwise. He instructs his daughter not to see Hamlet, but if she must not to respond to his love. This is because he thinks it would be bad for his career, as the king does not like Hamlet. Nevertheless, Hamlet comes to her after seeing the ghost and truly frightens her. Being the obedient daughter that she is, she runs to her father, and he cannot help but feel in part responsible for not having protected her. He tells her that he was somewhat worried for her to begin with and that â€Å"[He is] sorry that with better heed and judgment / [He] had not coted [Hamlet]. [He] feared did but trifle / And meant to wrack [her].† Alas he was wrong, Hamlet does more than  trifle, and now Ophelia is full of dread. Polonius reprimands himself for this, saying: â€Å"†¦beshrew my jealousy!† (Hamlet, II, II, 124-126) He may not have been able to foresee Hamlet’s actions toward his daughter, but he blames himself anyway, intensifying his feelings of grief over what has happened to his daughter. Even the seemingly heartless all have hearts; no matter how evil one may seem one’s conscious always manages to plague one’s guilty soul and cause grief. Claudius, a man who murdered his own brother and stole his crown and wife, is a perfect illustration of this. Claudius finally has everything he wanted but he cannot fully enjoy it because of the guiltiness he feels. â€Å"The harlot’s cheek beautied with plast’ring art / is not more ugly to the thing that helps it / Than is [his] deed to [his] most painted word,† says Claudius in an attempt to explain how this lie he has built up now weighs upon his shoulders, â€Å"O heavy burden!† (Hamlet, III, I, 59-62) Claudius finds covering up lies and pushing them aside does not make them go away, it only makes the angst they cause worse. Hamlet learns this lesson too, not because he is hiding a terrible secret, but because he will not confront his father’s killer or do what he must to exact his revenge. He thinks about it too much and in doing so pushes his courage aside. However, his feeling of culpability continues to cause him more and more grief as the situation progresses. After seeing Fortinbras leading his army to Poland with such charisma and vigour, he wonders:  how [stands he] then, [he] that [has] a father killed, a mother stained, / And let all sleep, whil e to [his] shame [he sees] / The imminent death of twenty thousand men /†¦ for a plot / Whereon the numbers cannot try the cause.† (Hamlet, IV, IV, 59-66) He becomes so angry and ashamed of his lack of action; he even goes so far as to call himself a coward. This only serves to amplify the misery he feels over the murder of his father and speedy marriage of his mother. All of these people have a reason to grieve and a reason to feel accountable, but completely blaming themselves or dwelling on this remorse does nothing but deepen their grief. The death of a loved one also causes extreme grief, but in these cases, many  people look to blame another for this misfortune. In turn, one may feel that the only way to relieve the negative feelings is to seek revenge and kill the person whom one blames for them. Hamlet clearly shows a deep love for his father, and he is utterly heart-broken over his death, especially after seeing his uncle take his place. Therefore, when his father’s ghost informs him that it is a murderer, not a snake, who is responsible for his death, Hamlet immediately responds: â€Å"Haste me to know [who], that I, with wings a swift / As meditation or thoughts of love, / May sweep to my revenge.† (Hamlet, I, V, 35-37) He does not even know whom he has to kill yet, but he is already sure that he must avenge his father, no matter the cost. Hamlet is so lost without his father, he needs somewhere to place the blame for his death. Thus, when this opportunity arises he endeavours to seize it in an attempt to avenge his father, and alleviate his own heartache as well. Fortinbras, too, seeks revenge for his father’s death. However, unlike Hamlet, he does not have a ghost to incite him, only thirty years of hatred and anger toward the ruler of Denmark. He spends his whole life trying to win back the land his father lost to the Danes, take vengeance for Old Fortinbras, and regain dignity for him and his people. When, finally, he storms the castle to assume the throne and the â€Å"†¦ rights of memory [he has] in this kingdom, / Which now to claim [his] vantage doth invite [him],† (Hamlet, V, II, 432-433) he can finally rest. His feelings of grief can be almost completely forgotten as the Great Chain of Being is restored. The knowledge that he has retaken all that his father lost in war provides him with satisfaction and appeases his soul. However, sometimes revenge is not about the soul, in fact, certain people must completely disregard it to seek their revenge. For example, Laertes, after hearing about the strange death of his father bursts into the castle to demand his revenge of Claudius. â€Å"To hell, allegiance! [He] vows, to the blackest devil! /†¦ [He dares] damnation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  saying to the king: â€Å"Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged / Most throughly for my father.† (Hamlet, IV, V, 149-154) Evidently, Laertes cares nothing about the consequences of his actions. His grief is so strong that he will have his revenge no matter what will happen to him as a result. In his mind, his anger and scorn over the loss of Polonius can only be assuaged when the person responsible for his death is also dead. Like Hamlet and Fortinbras, he does not care who he kills, as  long as someone pays for this heinous crime. This shows just how much personal grief plays a role in their desire for revenge. All three men want to kill someone, but none are sure who it is that they must kill when they make the decision to become assassins. As long as the desired result is achieved, and as long as they feel better for having killed the person they choose, e verything will be all right, or at least they hope so. True justice is not an easy thing to find, so they will settle for their own grief relief. The emotions and thoughts that accompany grief can be extremely overwhelming. These innermost feelings of sorrow, anger, and confusion can push one to the brink of insanity and sometimes even further. After seeing the ghost of his father, and hearing that Claudius murdered him, Hamlet decides to display an antic disposition as a trap for his uncle. There are both arguments for his true madness and against it, but either way the case is proved, Hamlet acts exceedingly abnormally. His sorrow drives him to act as though he is mad. According to Ophelia: †¦as [she] was sewing in [her] closet / Lord Hamlet†¦ / With a look so piteous in purport / As if he had been loosed out of hell / To speak of horrors – he comes before [her] /†¦And thrice his head thus waving up and down, / He raised a sigh so piteous and profound / As it did seem to shatter all his bulk / And end his being. (Hamlet, II, I, 87-108) Whether Hamlet planned an antic disposition or not, he must be very shocked and bewildered by the news given to him by the ghost, and this outburst with Ophelia is clear proof of this. His woe almost triggers him to go totally mad, causing everyone around him to believe he has lost his sanity. Laertes too suffers from a brief lapse in sense after seeing what has become of his beloved sister. Ophelia does not remember who Laertes is when he returns from France, but speaks to him as though he is someone else. Laertes is astonished, he cannot believe this; he lost a father while in France, and now that he is returned, he loses his sister to madness. â€Å"O heat, dry up my brains! Tears seven times salt / Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye,† (Hamlet, IV, V, 177-178) he cries aloud, displaying to all present his crazed frame of mind. He is already infuriated by the circumstances  surrounding his father’s death, and now this. It takes great effort from Claudius to finally calm him down and stop his thoughts of self-destruction. Because his emotions are so overwhelming, he seems to lose the will to live, if only for a short while. Ophelia, the primary cause of Laertes’ near madness, also seems to lose her will to live. She loses her wits due to many reasons, mainly her father’s death at the hands of her true love. Consequently, she is completely unable to restore order to her fragile mind. She babbles and sings mindlessly, and hands out flowers that are not really there to the king, queen, and her brother. She is driven completely berserk with grief, so crazy that she drowns shortly afterward. As Gertrude recounts: †¦she chanted snatches of old lauds, / As one incapable of her own distress / †¦Till that her garments, heavy with their drink, / Pulled the poor wretch from her melodious lay / To muddy death,†(Hamlet, IV, VII, 202-208) telling her audience just how lunatic this pitiable girl is at the time of her death. Ophelia is totally destroyed by the plethora of bad news she receives, so much that her rational mind is completely paralyzed and her mental faculties are truly lost. These three people feel grief so deeply that their minds are put at great risk. Pathos is created for all three, because of their innocence in these situations and their inability to control what has happened to them. They are victims, for the most part, of the malicious act going on around them, and the grief they feel because of this nearly drives each of them past their mental limits. Because grief is so overwhelming, it may cause people to do things they would not usually do. Many people act quite irrationally under grief’s powerful influence. It can be so consuming that oftentimes there is no room left for logic in one’s mind, so one acts without thinking. Hamlet does this in killing Polonius, who is hidden behind the arras. He stabs through the curtain before he even finds out who is concealed within it. When Gertrude questions Hamlet: â€Å"O me, what hast thou done?† he can only reply: â€Å"Nay, I know not, is it the king?† (Hamlet, III, IV, 31-32) because he is not really thinking when he commits this fatal crime. Hamlet is a strong-minded person and is able to control his emotions for the most part. However, the added grief of his current quarrel with his mother seems to cause a lapse in  judgment which in turn makes Hamlet do something that is very grave indeed, commit murder. Laertes, too, decides that murder is not out of t he question when he allows his pain to consume him. In fact, Laertes is so caught up in his fury and wrath that he would â€Å"†¦cut his [father’s killer’s] throat i’ th’ church† (Hamlet, IV, VII, 144) something that he obviously would not do if he was thinking clearly. During the Elizabethan Era, revenge is a commonly respected notion, but to seek revenge in a church is certainly not regarded with the same esteem. Laertes would undoubtedly go to hell if he were to go through with this rash statement, something he would decide against if he were not so frenzied by grief. Horatio also becomes taken over by his anguish, watching the whole story unfold and witness its gruesome and bloody finish. Seeing his best friend wounded and dying before his eyes makes Horatio â€Å"†¦ more an Antique Roman than a Dane† and he is about to take his own life proclaiming, â€Å"here’s yet some liquid left† (Hamlet, V, II, 374-375). Nevertheless, Hamlet, who is finally free of his grief and now thinking clearly, takes the cup and saves his companion. When one’s mind is full of grief it is very hard to think about anything else, like the good things in life or any reasons there may be to continue on living as usual. It is also difficult to foresee the consequences of one’s actions, or, moreover, to care about them because grief clouds the mind so. Many things that one would typically not even be able to conceive doing become viable possibilities, when grief is equated into the situation. Grief has the staggering ability to cause almost anyone to perform acts that one will surely regret later, making it a very dangerous emotion. Grief affects each person differently because each person possesses their own causes for grief and their own mechanisms with which to deal with it. When one is grieving because of guilt over past mistakes or a personal loss, one most often blames themselves wholly. This makes the guilt worse, and in turn misery only grows stronger and stronger. It is a vicious cycle of remorse and repentance that is difficult to stop once it is begun. Grief is also caused by losing someone that is very dearly loved. To the griever, revenge often seems like the only way to find release from this mourning. Most find that it is not justice they seek, but refuge, from the heavy feelings of sorrow and anger, which they believe they can find in the death of the  person responsible for this grief. These feelings of regret and resentment, caused by angst, often prove to be quite overpowering and sometimes too much to bear. Some unfortunate individuals lose their wits due to extreme emotional pain. Some go further and lose their will to subsist, even further still, their lives. Grief also has the ability to fully envelop a person’s mind and take away their ability to think about anything except for what they are feeling at the moment. It may cause the person to act in a way they are not accustomed to or to do something they would never dream of doing in any other circumstance. It can be very dangerous, in that it can cause one to do things that are absolutely irrational and devastating to oneself or others. As is demonstrated in the play, the effects of grief vary greatly, but to all whom they affect they are profoundly detrimental and destructive. Grief can cause the loss of one’s mirth in life, the incitation to do something rash and ill advised, even the key to one’s undoing. In all cases grief is difficult to avoid, and therefore must be dealt with, and it is how one deals with grief that determines how one’s life will be affected by it. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William, Hamlet, (New York: Washington Square Press, 1992)