Architecture - Project Management - Exam Research Paper

Architecture - Project Management - Exam - Research Paper Example The involved parties may not be able to complete the project if the circumstances become unfavorable. Sometimes, such political changes occur that make the execution of project meaningless, thus making it useless for the involved parties to continue the project. 5. The cost has not been rightly estimated at the outset. Sometimes, lack of competence of a single estimator ruins the whole project that is worth billions of dollars. If the cost is under-estimated, the contractor in particular incurs a lot of financial loss. 6. The contractor is not experienced in the nature of work. This can generally cause the project to fail because of weakness in several areas like risk management, construction management, and cost management etc. 7. The people involved in its supervision, execution or management are not experienced or competent enough. A strong work team is fundamental to the success of every project. 8. There parties involved in it like the client, consultant and contractor do not ha ve good rapport with each other. Personal grudges are the biggest threat to the success of every project. 9. â€Å"Failing to break projects into manageable 'chunks'† (Khan, 2011). 10. The procurement method is not consistent with the specifications of the project. List and explain five critical success factors in project management. Five of the ten critical success factors in project management as mentioned by Emond (2011) are as follows: 1. Clear goals and vision: This is the first and foremost requirement in order for a PM to be successful. 2. Support of Executive Management: In order to utilize his/her full potential and make rational decisions keeping in view the resources at hand, a PM requires support of Executive Management. 3. Proper planning: Planning is one of the fundamental PM functions. 4. Realistic expectations: The PM should take care of time, cost and resource constraints while assigning tasks to individuals so that the expectations can be realistic. 5. Skill ed workforce: Since the staff is involved in the work at the grass root level, its competence directly affects the chances of success of a PM. Pre-contract planning vs contract planning: Pre-contract planning revolves around the development of contract. In order to develop a contract, first, the project feasibility study is conducted, followed by the preparation of drawings and identification of specifications, selection of procurement method, time and procedure and selection of contractor for contract. Contract planning takes care of all events that follow the development of contract, which involve development of schedule, cost scheduling and resource leveling. Project Manager Roles Define Project Management. Project management can be defined as the application of competence and methodologies to accomplish activities of a project that is meant to satisfy or exceed the needs and expectations of stakeholders from it. Another definition for project management is â€Å"the process of controlling the achievement of the project objectives, after noting a project to be the achievement of a specific objective, which involves a series of activities and tasks that consume resources† (Munns and Bjeirmi, 1996, cited in Mavengere, n.d., p. 38). Comparison of responsibilities of a Client’s PM with those of a Contractor’s PM at the pre-tender, tender and post-tender stages of project: Pretender stage: Client’

Why is breaking into work categories stereotyped by gender so Essay

Why is breaking into work categories stereotyped by gender so difficult - Essay Example Bill Gates or Jack Welch comes immediately to mind. But why don’t people think of women leaders, such as Meg Whitman or Katherine Graham, who are on the same list of top influential and prominent business leaders? Some experts say it is because stereotypes visualize men as a much more natural fit for high ranking leadership positions than women. Gender stereotyping pollutes the workplace. It portrays women as lacking the very qualities that people commonly associate with effective leadership. As a result, they often create false perceptions that women leaders just don’t measure up to men in important ways. Though there are other stereotypes which are present in the workplace where women begin to break into the top ranks or executive positions, but the breaking is slow. No one knows exactly the main reasons for women’s struggle. Some experts say: â€Å"It’s a result of the common excuses for not ‘trusting’ women in the highest leadership situations. They’re not strong enough. They’re too conciliatory; too emotional. They don’t know how to ‘play the game.† Although these reasons seem to be childish, there is an old-fashioned perception of women’s inabilities that is persistent in almost every workplace. Men consider women to be less skilled at problem-solving, one of the qualities most associated wit effective leadership. Because of this stereotyping, people lose faith in women’s problem-solving competence that is why they may be reluctant to follow the directions of women leaders. With their problem-solving skills undermined, women lose interpersonal power. This means that instead of using their credibility or expertise to influence followers, women may have to rely on their status or position to influence others. Being exposed to women leaders doesn’t necessarily lessen stereotyping; often, it reinforces stereotyping, creating even more â€Å"extreme perceptions† of differences between

The Recessions Effect On Consumer Behaviour Commerce Essay

The Recessions Effect On Consumer Behaviour Commerce Essay A recession is a negative decline in economic activity over a period of time. This is usually defined as a decline in Gross domestic product for two or more consecutive quarters. GDP is a measure of the countrys overall economic performance over a period of time. It is made up of consumption, investment, government spending, and exports minus imports. Consumer behaviour is the study that looks at all the reasons why people purchase products and where and when they purchase them. The credit crunch first started with the USA mortgage market and the collapse of the global housing bubble. Individuals were taking out mortgages that they could never afford to pay back. It all went wrong when the house prices in the USA started to fall. This in turn caused the value of securities connected to house prices to fall. The financial institutions all over the world were damaged. This put uncertainty regarding banks ability to pay its debts. The banks panicked and there was a rapid decline in credit availability. The investors confidence also declined and this had an impact on global stock markets. It was argued that investors did not accurately put a price on the risk involved with mortgage-related financial products. This causing the whole finance market to fail. The recession has caused banks to tighten credit availability. This has caused massive problems to secure credit for big ticket items such as cars and holidays. [1] The recession has had a major effect on many peoples consumer behaviour. There are many industries that have been hit by the recession. One important sector hit by the recession is the car industry and a knock on effect to companies that supply the car industry. Due to people finding it hard to secure finance they are unable to purchase new cars. So the sales of new cars have dramatically declined. An example of this is the Japanese car manufacturer Toyota. It has always been at the top of its game for many years. It has been producing exceptionally reliable cars and always at the cutting edge of technology. While in the recession the chief of Toyota Mr Katsuaki Watanabe produced the final annual figure which showed a loss of $4.4 billion. This was the companies first loss since 1950. This shows just how bad the car industry has been hit by the recession with many other firms in the industry achieving even bigger losses. [2] Another area that has been hit is the trade associated with the housing market. Due to problems with getting a mortgage people are unable to purchase new houses. So the development of new properties has fallen. Many house building companies such as Redrow and Barretts actually stopped building new houses on their sites when they realised they could not sell them. So all the labour associated were now unemployed. The Steel industry has also been hit hard. This is due to the car industry and house industry not needing the amount of steel they used to demand. With the recession affecting the whole economy the government has tired to use monetary policy to fix our situation. The government has tried to alter the supply of money by lowering the interest rate. But in doing this it has affected other sectors of the population. It will have a massive effect on people who rely on good returns from money they have invested. An example of this is the older population using their savings to give them an income to live on. At the moment the interest rate is at 0.5% compared to 4.5% in 2006. So the return they will receive on their investment has declined. The consequence of this is that their disposable income will fall causing them to purchase less. The government has also reduced Value added tax from 17.5% to 15%. This is a monetary policy that aims to increase the purchasing of consumers in the economy. The recession has also caused the exchange rate to fall against the pound. This means that the price of imports increase and price of exports de crease. This in turn has caused the import of raw materials for manufacturing to increase for many businesses. Due to the fact that the UK does not produce a lot of goods we rely heavily on imports. These now cost more than what they did before. This means that the consumer is getting less value for their money. The recession has had varied effects on different demographics within the economy. How people are affected depends on age, gender, occupation and location. The highest unemployed age appears to be the 18-24 category. This may be due to their lack of experience. A company would prefer to employ people who are skilled in doing their job. The older workers (45-64) will find it harder to obtain a new job if they are made unemployed. The current unemployment rate is at 7.8%. During a recession unemployment is a serious factor that affects consumers behaviour. Even if the individual consumer is not facing unemployment themselves they will still be affected psychologically. This is because other people around them such as family and friends may be affected. It will give them a thought that it may actually happen to them soon. It will affect their consumer confidence. With people having less consumer confidence they are more likely to save money rather than spend. So this makes the recession worse because it will reduce GDP more if consumers are not spending. Consumer behaviour is related to consumer motivation. Motivation is a basic concept in human behaviour. There is believed to be tension that arises as a result of unfulfilled needs that we have. The needs that are unfilled will move a consumer away from homeostasis balance. The Homeostasis See-Saw shows that a consumer needs a balance between Need satisfaction and Deprivation. The balance between these two is believed to be the homeostasis state. There are four drives that take us away from this equilibrium. Biogenic drives are such things as hunger and thirst that we automatically think we need. Psychogenic drives which drive us to achieve a certain status. These will depend on social and cultural environment that a person is used to. Cognitive motives are those that stimulate people to adapt to the environment and achieve a sense of meaning in society. Affective motives are associated with the need of obtaining emotional goals and the ability to achieve a satisfying feeling state. In a recession all these motives would be affected. Peoples purchasing pattern and ability to purchase certain products would follow a different pattern. In a recession when times are hard it could be potentially difficult to reach the homeostasis balance.[3] An impact the recession can have on consumer behaviour is the Lipstick Effect. When times are hard within an economy a consumer will stop spending money on big ticket items such as Expensive holidays or a new car. In order to achieve the feeling shopping brings consumers simply trade down to cheaper items to make them feel happy and content. The recent sales figures from cosmetic companies such as LOrà ©al and Revlon show that the lipstick effect is in operation within our economy at the moment. LOrà ©al showed sales growth of 5.3% in the first part of the year when the recession started. It shows that when consumers budgets are tightened that people just substitute larger luxury goods such as a new fur coat for small luxuries such as expensive makeup. [4] Some consumers in the recession are choosing to drop a brand level in their weekly shop. This means that rather than purchasing the brand products such as Heinz and Kelloggs they are choosing to purchase supermarkets own brands or no frills brands. It is said to save on average 33% on your weekly shop by dropping one brand level.[10] Brand loyalty has less effect in a recession due to consumers not being able to afford to be loyal if there is a cheaper close substitute. While in a recession there are many consumer behaviour trends that start to emerge. One example of this is Sellsuming. This is a trend where Consumers are very creative in selling products or services that they have to offer. With need to generate extra income consumers become inclined to sell things they dont need or want anymore. An example of this is the use of eBay the online auction site to sell unwanted products. Some consumers may even go as far as renting out parking spaces. Another trend is the Increase of  online services and social media usage. With the unemployment rate increasing and jobs not being very secure, people spend more time looking for job advertisements on the internet. Consumers are also being sensible when they are shopping. The consumer is continuously looking for very good deals both online and offline. Consumers are looking for the best price and the best value available to them. Internet shopping has become the best channel for a consumer to achieve this with price comparison websites such as kelkoo.com and comparethemarket.com. Kelkoo is a shopping portal that compares many retailers and shows the best place to purchase a product depending on the cheapest prices found. Another trend in a recession is skills enhancement and  training. When people feel unsure about the future they believe that increasing their knowledge and skills is a good way to keep in them employable. The younger generation are also not entering the jobs market and choosing to increase their prospects for the future. Examples of this are the figures that show almost an 8% increase in applications for full-time study at universities in 2009. This is the biggest growth in eight years. The recession and rising unemployment have been blamed for this substantial increase.[6] While the economy has been in recession there has been an increase in the number of people searching dating agencies. According to the New York Times Online and offline matchmakers are reporting that dating interest is up, way up. Match.com, for instance, had its strongest fourth quarter in the last seven years. There may be a few reasons for this increase. People may now have more time on their hands due to being unemployed. Also meeting a potential partner on the internet is easier and more affordable than socialising in other ways such as going to the pub. A major trend of consumer behaviour in a recession is Escapism. Consumers are said to be spending money on products and services in order to distract themselves from the economic hardship. The entertainment industry should in theory be experiencing an increase in attendance. This would be such services as bowling and cinema. The figures show that in 2009 cinemas are up 13% year on year. Fast Furious tore up the record for the most lucrative opening weekend for a movie released in April 2009.[7] But this can also be seen in related companies such as the American-based chain of DVD and video game rental company Blockbuster. Their sales have increased over the recession with people choosing to rent. This may be due to the reduction in layout cost of actually purchasing the DVD yourself. It could also be another form of entertainment for people. Another business that is doing very well in the recession due to a change of customers behaviour is Dominos pizza. They are benefiting from con sumers trading down on their choice. A consumer who would have usually gone out for a meal now stays in and purchases a dominos pizza. [8] Consumers in recession also tend to talk more about their purchases and experiences. The OTO Research confirms 54% of consumers say that their primary source of information when choosing a brand is the Consumer Generated Content about the product and brand experience. Due to people being careful with their money they want to make a good purchase that will satisfy their needs. In a recession people will be more likely to tell their family and friends about good deals. This is compared to in a boom consumers tend to boast how expensive a product they purchased was. Consumers are also taking out more insurance policies during the recession. It appears that the desire to protect property becomes a high priority in a recession. This may be due to the fact that people are worried about replacement or repair costs if something does go wrong.[9] People are more likely to repair items if they break when the economies in recession. Such businesses as cobblers are seeing more and more people bringing in worn shoes. Before the recession consumers would of thrown them in the bin and purchased a new pair [12]. In order to try and reduce the effects of the recession the government introduced a scrappage scheme. It aims to increase the purchase of new cars. The consumer is offered a  £2000 incentive if they have a car that is over 10 years old and are willing to scrap it. The government has also tried to increase the money in the economy by offering lower vat of 15%. This is not really much of an incentive unless you are purchasing big ticket items. They have also dropped interest rates down to 0.5%. This provides people with mortgages lower repayments. This gives them more disposable income which they could potentially spend in the economy. In the recession not all companies are being affected. Some companies are actually doing better than they did before. Examples of people doing well in the recession are supermarkets, Amazon, dominos, cinemas, pawnbrokers. The best strategy to follow in a recession is cost leadership. By keeping your costs to a minimum you can maximise profit and be competitive. The best way to get consumers to purchase your products is by giving them an irrefutable offer. During a recession companies should try to increase positive motivation in a consumer. You can do this with a good use of advertising. If a consumer has increased positive motivation they are more likely to want to purchase your products. Overall it is important to realise that consumer behaviour and the recession are linked and have an effect on each other. But the effects will depend on the industry, products and the people it involves. Businesses need to be proactive in a recession in order to be successful. They must be able to change their strategy quickly and efficiently. 1 His journal 2 Ian Rowley (May 8th, 2009) Toyotas Loss Is Worse Than Expected, Available at http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/may2009/gb2009058_991777.htm , [Accessed 16th December 2009]. 3 book- SEE SAW 4 Larry Elliot (December 22nd 2008) Into the red: lipstick effect reveals the true face of the recession,http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/dec/22/recession-cosmetics-lipstick , [Accessed 16th December 2009]. 5 Yulia V Smirnova (June 16th 2009) Top 10 Emerging Consumer Behavior Trends in Recession, http://www.memesponge.com/2009/06/top-10-emerging-consumer-behavior-trends-in-recession/, [Accessed 21st December 2009]. 6 Nicola Woolcock (February 16th 2009) University applications rise by 8% as recession bites,http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article5741496.ece, [Accessed 21st December 2009]. 7 Alain Portmann (April 16th 2009) Consumer Behavior During the Recession, http://webliquidgroup.com/knowledge/consumer-behaviour-during-the-recession-four-key-consumer-trends/, [Accessed 29th December 2009]. 8 Chris Moore (17 February 2009) Recession hots it up for Dominos Pizza, http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=476450HYPERLINK http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=476450in_page_id=3HYPERLINK http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/markets/article.html?in_article_id=476450in_page_id=3in_page_id=3, [Accessed 29th December 2009]. 9 Nick Elliman (September 1 2009) Consumer behaviour in the recession, http://www.allbusiness.com/marketing-advertising/marketing-advertising-measures/13183075-1.html, [Accessed 29th December 2009]. 10 Martin Lewis (January 2 2010) Supermarket Shopping Downshift more, halve weekly bills, http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/cheap-supermarket-shopping, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 11 CBI (June 2009) Employment trends 2009 Work patterns in the recession,http://www.cbi.org.uk/ndbs/press.nsf/38e2a44440c22db6802567300067301b/56ebefb25149a68b802575da00308471/$FILE/CBI%20-%20Harvey%20Nash.%20Work%20Patterns%20in%20the%20Recession.%20June%202009.pdf, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 12 Sunday Times (November 23, 2008) Riding the recession: how some businesses are doing well in the downturn, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/article5213280.ece, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 13 Charlie Makin (December 23, 2009) 10 key pointers of consumer behaviour in a recession revealed http://www.themarketingblog.co.uk/e_article001261803.cfm?x=b11,0,w , [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 14 Philip Atkinson (2009) Customers Consumer Behaviour in 2009 http://www.philipatkinson.com/change-customer-consumer-behaviour-millennial.htm, [Accessed 2nd January 2010]. 15 16

Women Conform More than Men Essay -- Conformity Psychology Gender Role

Women Conform More than Men Studies over the years have shown a higher rate of conformity among women than men. Psychologists have attributed this difference to many areas, such as personality traits, differing views of conformity, social status, and situational forces. The following research and studies illustrate the findings which confirm this hypothesis. Personality Traits of Men vs. Women According to Eagley, Wood, and Fishbaugh (1981), women are more concerned than men about the quality of interpersonal relationships. Women take greater responsibility for establishing and maintaining interpersonal bonds, whereas men do not. Also, women are more empathetic and more accurate at decoding nonverbal communication than males. Male gender roles also claim that men should remain independent and not agree closely with others, while it is seen as acceptable for women to conform to group behaviors. According to the studies by Maslach, Santee, and Wade (1987), part of the masculine gender role is to be independent and assertive, therefore leading males to conform less. At the same time, they stated that part of the feminine role involves being sensitive to others, therefore leading to conformity to maintain harmony. These contrasting personality traits found in men and women set a solid foundation for their conforming or nonconforming behaviors. Male vs. Female Views on Conformity A study completed by Santee and Jackson (1982) helped determine that females assess conformity as a more positive, self-defining act than males do. Females are seen as being more sensitive to others, and therefore conform more to keep a state of peace. Males, on the other hand, are more likely to deviate from a group ... ...Personality and Social Psychology, 40(2), 384-394. Johnson, R. A., & Schulman, G. I. (1989). Gender Role Composition and Role Entrapment in Decision-Making Groups. Gender and Society, 3(3), 355-372. Maslach, C., Santee, R. T., & Wade, C. (1987). Individuation, Gender Role, and Dissent: Personality Mediators of Situational Forces. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1088-1093. Santee, R.T., & Jackson, S.E. (1882). Identity Implications of Conformity: Sex Differences in Normative and Attributional Judgements. Social Psychology Quarterly, 45(2), 121-125. Workman, J.E., & Johnson, K.K.P. (1994). Effects of Conformity and Nonconformity to Gender-Role Expectations for Dress: Teachers Versus Students. Adolescence, 29(113), 207-221.

Organic Foods Can Be Dangerous Essay

Do you know about the food that you are eating or how it is being grown? Genetically modified foods is the way scientists can make food crops stay fresher, grow bigger, and have the crops create their own pesticide. Sounds good right? Wrong! Genetically modified foods need to be monitored and removed from everyday agriculture because of the threat they pose to human health, the environment, and the impact on the global economy. Organic food can be a hazard to human’s health. There are three natural chemical’s contained in some organically grown foods that can cause a risk of cancer to people. DDT, DDE, or Alar, these are 3 pesticides that are banned in the U. S. and other countries (Silver, 2006). Rotenone is a neurotoxin that is used by organic farmers that has been known to be used to kill fish and it has been linked to Parkinson’s disease. Another pesticide used by organic farmers, pyrenthrin, it is known to be used on the day crops are being harvested, can result in breathing problems when it is inhaled (Silver, 2006). In 1989 it was reported that dozens of Americans died and several thousand were impaired by a genetically modified food supplement known as L-trptophan and it created an ailment known as (EMS) eosinophilia myalgia syndrome. The GMO was released without being tested. A settlement of 2 billion dollars was paid out by the manufacturer (Batalion ND, 2009). Planting organic crops can be very damaging to the environment. People would think that because the food is organic it would mean less chemicals and it would be better for the environment but that is wrong because the natural pesticide rotenone-pyrethnin is very toxic and it is dangerous to our aquatic life and fish. It is also said that not all organic soil additives and pest-controls are non-toxic and that toxic residues remain on the organic food. In my research I also found that genetically modified Bt endotoxin remains in the soil for at least 18 months and it can be transported to wild plants causing super weeds that are resistant to such organisms as butterflies, moths, and beetle pests which will disturb the balance of nature. By carrying genetically modified pollen by wind, rain, birds, bees, insects, fungus, bacteria- the entire chain of life becomes involved. What needs to be known is that once it is released, there is no recall or cleanup possible. Whenever delivering organic foods to the market it can cause higher food prices as well as causing some countries to have more assets than others. One of the reasons it is so expensive to deliver organic foods to the market is because of post-handling of small quantities of organic foods causes higher prices because of the mandatory segregation of organic and conventional produce. Marketing and the distribution of organic foods is inefficient and volumes are small and that is another reason for higher costs. As for why rich countries profit more from organic foods than poor countries do, there seems to be numerous reasons. The world’s richest nations, especially America and Europe, deliberately pay their farmers to produce too far much food at low prices to prevent the world’s poorest farmers from being able to compete. Did you know that the average family pays $1000 each year in taxes to the world’s most wealthy farmers, while farmers in poor countries suffer in poverty? Another disadvantage of organic foods is that most organic food have a shorter shelf life than non-organic food products. Preservatives are not used in the processing of the organic foods, so it spoils more quickly. Organics have a shorter shelf life and retailers often take huge losses by having to trim organic produce, adding more to the final consumer price. With organic foods not having anti-bacterial agents, the pathogens have already started to multiply in organic foods and invading the cell walls of the plants tissues within hours of harvesting. The inevitable signs of organic foods having a shorter shelf life is the diminishing quality such as shrinking, fading, drying and changes in the texture and the color that make the foods look less appealing to the customer. Even though organic foods have their disadvantages, there are still some advantages to using organic foods. I personally think that by planting organic foods that there would be a chance to help third world countries feed their own. If organic farming can produce super foods and make larger yields of crops and make crops grow faster then I believe it would be what we need to stop world hunger. It would require a lot of experimentation I am sure but, would it not be worth it if it would stop some of the world hunger that is starving people to death? Another advantage of organic foods is that they help people from ingesting regular amounts of pesticides and insecticides commonly found in commercial products. Organic foods also protect the planet. Organic farming ensures that bio-diversity remains available in the foods we eat. Organic farming is considered to be sustainable farming. The farmers and workers are not exposed to dangerous toxins or bad living or working conditions. Sustainable farming protects humans, animals, and the environment. Increasing the demand for organic products will help people to want to use this type of farming and by using organic we are ensuring that the food our children are eating is healthy. With healthy foods there is a chance of stopping the obesity epidemic that is all over the world today. In conclusion, the environmental issue of organic foods is a very complex one. Organic foods can cause possible risks and harm on human’s health as well as the environment, furthermore it brings an impact on the global economy, and for these three reasons, organic food should be researched further or completely banned. If it could be researched further and organic farming could help with world hunger then it would be something that could help our third world countries and then it would be considered to be an advantage.

Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis Study Guide

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis Study Guide Franz Kafka’s well-known story â€Å"The Metamorphosis† begins with a description of a disturbing situation: â€Å"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect† (89). However, Gregor himself seems most disturbed by the possibility of missing the train to work and losing his job as a traveling salesman. Without asking for aid or alerting his family to his new form, he attempts to maneuver his unwieldy insect body- which has several tiny legs and a broad, hard back- out of bed. Soon, however, the chief clerk from Gregor’s company arrives at the apartment. Gregor is determined â€Å"to show himself and speak to the chief clerk; he was eager to find out what the others, after all their insistence, would say at the sight of him† (98). When Gregor finally opens his door and appears, everyone in the Samsas’ apartment is horrified; Gregor’s mother cries for help, the chief clerk flees the premises, and Gregor’s father, â€Å"hissing and crying ‘Shoo!’ like a savage,† mercilessly drives Gregor back into his bedroom (103-104). Back in his room, Gregor reflects on the fine life he had once provided for his family and wonders â€Å"if all the quiet, the comfort, the contentment were now to end in horror† (106). Soon enough, Gregor’s parents and sister start adapting to a life without Gregor’s earnings, and Gregor adapts to his new insectoid form. He develops a taste for rotten food and forms a new hobby- scurrying all over the walls in his room. He also feels grateful for the caring attention of his sister, Grete, who â€Å"tried to make as light as possible of whatever was disagreeable in her task, and as time went on she succeeded, of course, more and more† (113). But when Grete forms a plan to remove Gregor’s bedroom furniture and give him â€Å"as wide a field as possible to crawl in,† Gregor, determined to hold on to at least a few reminders of his human form, opposes her (115). He rushes out of his usual hiding place, sends his mother into a fainting fit, and s ends Grete running for help. In the midst of this chaos, Gregor’s father arrives home from work and bombards Gregor â€Å"with fruit from the dish on the sideboard,† convinced that Gregor is a danger to the family (122). This attack on Gregor makes â€Å"even his father recollect that Gregor was a member of the family, despite his present unfortunate and repulsive shape† (122). Over time, the Samsas become resigned to Gregor’s condition and take measures to provide for themselves. The servants are dismissed, Grete and her mother find jobs of their own, and three lodgers- â€Å"serious gentlemen† with â€Å"a passion for order†- come to stay in one of the Samsas’ rooms (127). Gregor himself has stopped eating, and his room is becoming dirty and crowded with unused objects. But one night, Gregor hears his sister playing the violin. He emerges from his room, feeling as if â€Å"the way were opening before him to the unknown nourishment he craved† (130-131). After seeing Gregor, the lodgers react angrily to the â€Å"disgusting conditions† in the Samsa household, while the anguished Grete declares that the Samsas must, despite their past efforts at accommo dation, finally get rid of Gregor (132-133). After this latest conflict, Gregor retreats to the darkness of his room. He feels â€Å"relatively comfortable.† In the early morning, his head sinks â€Å"to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last faint flicker of his breath† (135). The dead Gregor is quickly removed from the premises. And with Gregor’s death, the rest of the family is reinvigorated. Gregor’s father confronts the three lodgers and forces them to leave, then takes Grete and Mrs. Samsa on an excursion â€Å"into the open country outside the town† (139). The two elder Samsas are now confident that Grete will find a â€Å"good husband, and watch hopefully and optimistically as â€Å"at the end of their journey their daughter sprang to her feet first and stretched her young body† (139). Background and Contexts Kafka’s Own Professions: Like Gregor Samsa, Kafka himself was caught up in the world of money, commerce, and day-to-day bureaucracy. Kafka wrote â€Å"The Metamorphosis† in 1912, at a time when he was employed by the Workers’ Accident Insurance Company of the Kingdom of Bohemia. But even though Kafka remained at the Company until a few years before his death, he viewed another kind of activity- his writing- as his most important and most challenging life’s work. As he wrote in a 1910 letter, highlighting the daily difficulties that devotion to writing can bring: â€Å"When I wanted to get out of bed this morning I simply folded up. This has a very simple cause, that I am completely overworked. Not by my office but by my other work.† While Gregor gradually forgets his professional habits and discovers the power of art as â€Å"The Metamorphosis† progresses, Kafka was firmly convinced for much of his adult life that art was his true calling. To quote another Kafka letter, this time from 1913: â€Å"My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing but literature and want to be nothing else, my job will never take possession of me.† Modernism Art and the Modern City: â€Å"The Metamorphosis† is but one of many early 20th-century works that depicts city life. Yet metropolitan commerce, technology, and living conditions evoked very different reactions from the various writers and artists of the modernist era. Some of this period’s painters and sculptors- including the Italian Futurists and the Russian Constructivists- celebrated the dynamic, revolutionary potential of city architecture and transportation systems. And several important novelists- James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Andrei Bely, Marcel Proust- contrasted urban transformation and upheaval with calmer, though not necessarily better, past lifestyles. On the basis of bleak urban narratives such as â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, â€Å"The Judgment†, and The Trial, Kafka’s own stance toward the modern city is often understood as a position of extreme criticism and pessimism. For a story set in a modern city, â€Å"The Metamorphosis † can feel remarkably closed-in and uncomfortable; until the final pages, the whole of the action takes place in the Samsas’ apartment. Envisioning and Illustrating â€Å"The Metamorphosis†: Even though Kafka describes certain aspects of Gregor’s new, insect body in great detail, Kafka opposed efforts to draw, illustrate, or represent Gregor’s full shape. When â€Å"The Metamorphosis† was published in 1915, Kafka cautioned his editors that â€Å"the insect itself cannot be drawn. It cannot be drawn even as if seen from a distance.† Kafka may have given these directions in order to keep certain aspects of the text mysterious, or to allow readers to imagine Gregor’s precise shape on their own; nonetheless, future readers, critics, and artists would attempt to pin down Gregor’s exact appearance. Early commentators envisioned Gregor as an overgrown cockroach, yet novelist and insect specialist Vladimir Nabokov disagreed: â€Å"A cockroach is an insect that is flat in shape with large legs, and Gregor is anything but flat: he is convex on both sides, belly and back, and hi s legs are small. He approaches a cockroach in only one respect: his coloration is brown.† Instead, Nabokov hypothesized that Gregor is much closer to a beetle in shape and form. Direct visual representations of Gregor have in fact appeared in the graphic novel versions of â€Å"The Metamorphosis† created by Peter Kuper and R. Crumb. Key Topics Gregor’s Sense of Identity: Despite his disturbing physical transformation, Gregor holds on to many of the thoughts, emotions, and desires that he exhibited in his human form. At first, he is incapable of understanding the extent of his transformation and believes that he is only â€Å"temporarily incapacitated† (101). Later, Gregor realizes that he is a horror to his family adopts new habits- eating putrid food, climbing all over the walls. But he is unwilling to give up mementos of his human state, such as the furniture that remains in his bedroom: â€Å"Nothing should be taken out of his room; everything must stay as it was; he could not dispense with the good influence of the furniture on his state of mind; and even if the furniture did hamper him in his senseless crawling around and around, that was no drawback but a great advantage† (117). Even towards the end of â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, Gregor is convinced that elements of his human identity have remained intact. His thoughts turn to his inner human traits- affection, inspiration- as he hears Grete’s violin playing: â€Å"Was he an animal, that music had such an effect on him? He felt as if the way were opening before him to the unknown nourishment he craved. He was determined to push forward until he reached his sister, to pull at her skirt and let her know that she was to come into his room, with her violin, for no one here appreciated her playing as he would appreciate it† (131). By turning into an insect, Gregor displays deeply human traits such as artistic appreciation- traits that were uncommon to him in his over-worked, business-oriented human state. Multiple Transformations: Gregor’s stark change of shape is not major change in â€Å"The Metamorphosis†. Because of Gregor’s new tradition and its negative effects on his family, the Samsas’ apartments undergo a series of alterations. Early on, Grete and her mother attempt to remove all of Gregor’s bedroom furniture. Then, new characters are brought into the Samsas’ property: first a new housekeeper, an â€Å"old widow, whose strong bony frame had enabled her to survive the worst a long life could offer;† then the three lodgers, picky men â€Å"with full beards† (126-127). The Samsas even transform Gregor’s room into a storage space for â€Å"superfluous, not to say dirty, objects† in order to make the lodgers comfortable (127). Gregor’s parents and sister change considerably as well. Initially, the three of them live in comfort thanks to Gregor’s earnings. Yet after the transformation, they are forced to take jobs- and Mr. Samsa transforms from a â€Å"man who used to lie wearily sunk in bed† into a bank messenger â€Å"dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons† (121). Gregor’s death, however, sparks a new series of transformations in the Samsas’ ways of thinking. With Gregor gone, Grete and her parents are convinced that their jobs are â€Å"all three admirable and likely to lead to better things later on.† And they decide to find new living quarters, too- â€Å"a smaller and cheaper but also better situated and more easily run apartment than the one they had, which Gregor had selected† (139). A Few Discussion Questions 1) Do you understand â€Å"The Metamorphosis† as a work that confronts political or social issues? Is Kafka using Gregor’s strange story to discuss (or attack) issues such as capitalism, traditional family life, or the place of art in society? Or is â€Å"The Metamorphosis† a story with few or no political or social concerns? 2) Consider the issue of illustrating â€Å"The Metamorphosis†. Do you think that Kafka’s reluctance to show exactly what the transformed Gregor looks like was justified? Despite Kafka’s reservations, did you have a strong mental image of Gregor? Could you, perhaps, draw his insectoid body? 3) Which character in Kafka’s story is most deserving of pity and sympathy- the hideously transformed Gregor, his persevering sister Grete, the rather helpless Mrs. Samsa, or someone else? Did you find yourself siding with different characters- for example, liking Grete more and Gregor less- as the story moved forward? 4) Who changes the most in the course of â€Å"The Metamorphosis†? Gregor is an obvious choice because of his new shape, but you should also think about the changes in the characters’ emotions, desires, and living situations. Which character undergoes the strongest shift in values or personality as the story progresses? Note on Citations All in-text page citations refer to the following edition of Kafkas works: The Complete Stories, Centennial Edition with a New Foreword by John Updike (â€Å"The Metamorphosis† translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. Schocken: 1983).

4 Good Reasons to Go out and Vote in Elections

4 Good Reasons to Go out and Vote in Elections It can be tedious standing in line  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ often for a significant period of time  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ to do something that youre not sure will make a difference. And if youre like many Americans, your day is already crammed full of must-do tasks and errands so you simply dont have time to stand in that line to vote. Why put yourself through it?   Because it often makes a difference. U.S. citizenship grants most the right to vote in American elections, and many new citizens cherish this right. Here are some of the reasons that they stand in line, and why you might want to do so as well.   The Role of the Electoral College   The Electoral College has something of a bum rap, especially over the last couple of decades. Its often said that leaders in the U.S. are chosen by the people in a majority vote, but is that the case with the presidential election? Doesnt the Electoral College interfere with the peoples majority? Yes, sometimes it does, but not very often. Five presidents have been elected to the White House after losing the popular vote: John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, George W. Bush, and Donald J. Trump. Technically, electors are supposed to vote for the candidate who won the popular vote in the state they represent. Population varies by state so the college is set up to accommodate this. California has more electoral votes than Rhode Island because its home to more voters. If a candidate wins a populous state such as California by just a small margin, all the states electoral votes still go to the winning candidate. The result? Lots of electoral votes, but maybe only a few thousand more popular votes. In theory, at least, that candidate may have received only one additional vote. When this happens across several large, populous states, its possible for the candidate with fewer popular votes to win in the Electoral College.   Voting Is Still a Privilege   Regardless of this wrinkle, democracy is a privilege that should not be taken lightly. After all, the Electoral College has prevailed over popular vote only five times and weve had 45 presidents. Many new immigrants know firsthand what its like to be governed by leaders who have not been chosen by the people all the time, not just in isolated elections. This is why many of them come to this country –  to be part of a democratic structure where representatives are elected by the people. If we all stopped participating in the electoral process, our democratic government could wither away. Pride in Your Adopted Homeland   Elections take place at the national, state and local levels. Taking the time to understand the issues and evaluate what each candidate has to offer helps to establish a sense of community and kinship for immigrants with fellow citizens across the nation. And state and local elections typically are decided by a majority of the people.   Its a Responsibility   The USCIS Guide to Naturalization says,  Citizens have a responsibility to participate in the political process by registering and voting in elections. In the naturalization oath, new citizens swear to support the Constitution of the United States, and voting is an integral part of that Constitution. No One Likes Taxation Without Representation   As a U.S. citizen, you want a say in where your taxes go and how this country is run. Voting for a person who represents shared visions and goals for your country is an opportunity to become part of the process.