Flotation Method in Archaeology

Flotation Method in Archaeology Archaeological flotation is a laboratory technique used to recover tiny artifacts and plant remains from soil samples. Invented in the early 20th century, flotation is today still one of the most common ways to retrieve carbonized plant remains from archaeological contexts. In flotation, the technician places dried soil on a screen of mesh wire cloth, and water is gently bubbled up through the soil. Less dense materials such as seeds, charcoal, and other light material (called the light fraction) float up, and tiny pieces of stone called microliths or micro-debitage, bone fragments, and other relatively heavy materials (called the heavy fraction) are left behind on the mesh. History of the Method The earliest published use of water separation dates to 1905, when German Egyptologist Ludwig Wittmack used it to recover plant remains from ancient adobe brick. The widespread use of flotation in archaeology was the result of a 1968 publication by archaeologist Stuart Struever who used the technique on the recommendations of botanist Hugh Cutler. The first pump-generated machine was developed in 1969 by David French for use at two Anatolian sites. The method was first applied in southwest Asia at Ali Kosh in 1969 by Hans Helbaek; machine-assisted flotation was first conducted at Franchthi cave in Greece, in the early 1970s. The Flote-Tech, the first standalone machine to support flotation, was invented by R.J. Dausman in the late 1980s. Microflotation, which uses glass beakers and magnetic stirrers for gentler processing, was developed in the 1960s for use by various chemists but not extensively used by archaeologists until the 21st century. Benefits and Costs The reason for the initial development of archaeological flotation was efficiency: the method allows for the rapid processing of many soil samples and the recovery of small objects which otherwise might only be collected by laborious hand-picking. Further, the standard process uses only inexpensive and readily available materials: a container, small-sized meshes (250 microns is typical), and water. However, plant remains are typically quite fragile, and, beginning as early as the 1990s, archaeologists became increasingly aware that some plant remains split open during water flotation. Some particles can completely disintegrate during water recovery, particularly from soils recovered in arid or semi-arid locations. Overcoming the Shortcomings The loss of plant remains during flotation is often linked to extremely dry soil samples, which can result from the region in which they are collected. The effect has also been associated with concentrations of salt, gypsum, or calcium coating of the remains. In addition, the natural oxidation process that occurs within archaeological sites converts charred materials which are originally hydrophobic to hydrophilic- and thus easier to disintegrate when exposed to water. Wood charcoal is one of the most common macro-remains found in archaeological sites. The lack of visible wood charcoal in a site is generally considered the result of the lack of preservation of the charcoal rather than the lack of a fire. The fragility of wood remains is associated with the state of the wood on burning: healthy, decayed, and green wood charcoals decay at different rates. Further, they have different social meanings: burned wood might have been building material, fuel for fire, or the result of brush clearing. Wood charcoal is also the main source for radiocarbon dating. The recovery of burned wood particles is thus an important source of information about the occupants of an archaeological site and the events that happened there. Studying Wood and Fuel Remains Decayed wood is particularly underrepresented at archaeological sites, and as today, such wood was often preferred for hearth fires in the past. In these cases, standard water flotation exacerbates the problem: charcoal from decayed wood is extremely fragile. Archaeologist Amaia Arrang-Oaegui found that certain woods from the site of Tell Qarassa North in southern Syria were more susceptible to being disintegrated during water processing- particularly Salix. Salix (willow or osier) is an important proxy for climate studies- its presence within a soil sample can indicate riverine microenvironments- and its loss from the record is a painful one. Arrang-Oaegui suggests a method for recovering wood samples that begins with hand-picking a sample before its placement in water to see if wood or other materials disintegrate. She also suggests that using other proxies such as pollen or phytoliths as indicators for the presence of plants, or ubiquity measures rather than raw counts as statistical indicators. Archaeologist Frederik Braadbaart has advocated the avoidance of sieving and flotation where possible when studying ancient fuel remains such as hearths and peat fires. He recommends instead a protocol of geochemistry based on elemental analysis and reflective microscopy. Microflotation The microflotation process is more time consuming and costly than traditional flotation, but it does recover more delicate plant remains, and is less costly than geochemical methods. Microflotation was used successfully to study soil samples from coal-contaminated deposits at Chaco Canyon. Archaeologist K.B. Tankersley and colleagues used a small (23.1 millimeters) magnetic stirrer, beakers, tweezers, and a scalpel to examine samples from 3-centimeter soil cores. The stirrer bar was placed at the bottom of a glass beaker and then rotated at 45-60 rpm to break the surface tension. The buoyant carbonized plant parts rise and the coal drops out, leaving wood charcoal suitable for AMS radiocarbon dating. Sources: Arranz-Otaegui A. 2016. Evaluating the impact of water flotation and the state of the wood in archaeological wood charcoal remains: Implications for the reconstruction of past vegetation and identification of firewood gathering strategies at Tell Qarassa North (south Syria). Quaternary International In pressBraadbaart F, van Brussel T, van Os B, and Eijskoot Y. 2017. Fuel remains in archaeological contexts: Experimental and archaeological evidence for recognizing remains in hearths used by Iron Age farmers who lived in peatlands. The Holocene:095968361770223.Hunter AA, and Gassner BR. 1998. Evaluation of the Flote-Tech machine-assisted flotation system. American Antiquity 63(1):143-156.Marekovic S, and Ã…  oÃ… ¡taric R. 2016. A comparison of the influences of flotation and wet sieving on certain carbonized legume and cereal remains. Acta Botanica Croatica 75(1):144-148.Rossen J. 1999. The Flote-Tech flotation machine: Messiah or mixed blessing? American Antiquity 64(2):370-372.Tanker sley KB, Owen LA, Dunning NP, Fladd SG, Bishop KJ, Lentz DL, and Slotten V. 2017. Micro-flotation removal of coal contaminants from archaeological radiocarbon samples from Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, USA. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 12(Supplement C):66-73.

Number the Stars essays

Number the Stars essays Number the Stars was about a family who lives in Copenhagen, Denmark take in a Jewish girl to protect her from the Nazis that are taking over Denmark. Meanwhile, Ellens parents go with one of the Johansens family friends named Peter Neilsen. He was the fianc of their deceased daughter, Lise. The first night of having Ellen, Mr. And Mrs. Johansen had planned out what to do if the Nazis were to come to their apartment that night. They told Ellen that she was supposed to be, Lise Johansen. Lise is the deceased child of Mr. And Mrs. Johansen. She died a couple years back in a car accident. Later that evening when Ellen AKA Lise, Mr. And Mrs. Johansen, and Kirsti, Annemaries little sister, and Annemarie were is bed; there was a knock at the door. It was the Nazis. They stepped into the apartment knowing that the Rosens might be here since they also knew they were friends. They searched the apartment. When Annemarie heard the noise, she woke up Ellen. She told her to take off the Star of David that way the Nazis didnt know that she was Jewish. They introduced her with kindness like she was their own daughter. They kind of thought that she wasnt part of the family because she had dark hair. Mr. Rosen then pulled out some baby pictures and showed the soldier that she had dark hair as a baby. They tore them up and left. After a week or so, Mr. And Mrs. Johansen decided to move in with Annemaries uncle, Uncle Henrik. They would be safer there without the Nazis more at there back then at Denmark. He lived by the sea and was a fisherman. Then one day out of the blue, Annemaries uncle and her mother tell Annemarie, Ellen, and Kirsti that that night there was going to be a ceremony for Annemaries Great Aunt Birte. Annemarie knew all of her family from stories and pictures and knew that her own family was lying to her. Something was wrong, she thought. She ...

Homeland Security Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Homeland Security - Assignment Example I chose to study the New Town High School because this is the school that my daughter attends. She is involved in a number of the school activities, both curricular and co-curricular ones. Besides, this school is in my community and my neighbors’ children attend the same school. For these reasons, any security threat to the school is also a threat to our community; hence it is our responsibility to oversee the security of the school Interviews I interviewed the school principal, a teacher, a parent from the parent teachers’ committee, my daughter, and a junior student. The school principal has a good knowledge of security issues that the school faces, and takes part in formulation of policies that are instituted to address the issues. The teacher has been a member of staff for four years now and his interaction with both the students and administration enables him to access information from the two sides. The parent from the parent teachers’ committee has been a member of the committee for three years now. She interacts with students through her daughter who is a student in the school, and with teachers and faculty in the board. Being a parent in the school, she is concerned about the security issue of the school and lives in the same community the school is in and will give valuable information. My daughter is currently a senior in the school having attended it for the past four years. She actively participates in the school functions such as drills enabling her to interact with other students in an informal capacity, thus being able to pick up any useful information. Lastly, I will interview one junior student who, just like my daughter, participates in a number of activities in the school. The names of the two interviewees are withheld for obvious security reasons. Interviewer: Mr. Principal, could you please tell us the greatest challenges to security and safety of students and staff in the school. Principal: The greatest security chall enges are the manmade threats such as terrorist threats, arson, computer malware, and unprofessional conduct. This is because while we are able to predict and control or prevent natural disasters, we are not able to easily detect and prevent manmade threats because of their malicious intents. The school’s intelligence services are not so sophisticated to get hold of malicious plans beforehand, thus prevention is difficult. Interviewer: What measures has the administration put in place to keep the school safe from natural disasters. Principal: When constructing the premises, we ensured that they were away from fault lines that could lead to earthquakes. We are in constant touch with the meteorological department for any updates on looming disasters. With the break of avian and swine flu, we increased the stock in our clinic with sufficient equipment to detect and treat such pandemics. Besides, our hygiene standards are good with qualified personnel to keep such sanitation outb reaks away. Interviewer: Your school comprises a majority of black students. How are you able to ascertain that they are not a security threat, especially with respect to drug and gang activities. Principal: We are in the process of instituting a full time intelligence service with the help of the Department of Homeland Security. So far, we just look out for any strange activity among the students and investigate. Interviewer: What

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Strategic management - Essay Example Unilever was one of the first to recognize the importance of strategic knowledge management, having accumulated extensive evidence on its development and implementation in a wide organizational context. The idea of knowledge creation and knowledge transfer is central for the whole paper. The literature on strategic knowledge management identifies these two key processes to be major components of knowledge management process. Both significantly influence organisation’s success. â€Å"All managers must manage knowledge. Knowledge must not only be gained, but shared throughout the organization. This ability to create and transfer knowledge will be the key to competitive success† (Higgins & Vincze, 1993). Both knowledge creation and transfer became even more indispensable to companies operating in modern global markets, as knowledge management and accelerated innovation emerged to be crucial success factors for global competition in the 21st century. (Cumming & Wilson, 2003 ) Von Krogh, Nonaka & Aben (2001) identified that the primary purpose of knowledge creation is to advance the company’s potential of creating innovation and to reduce the time span to the market success of new products / services introduced by the company. Usually knowledge creation is pursued using small-sized groups of 5-15 specialists that actually develop collective tacit knowledge through an extensive experience and discussion of new business processes, products, use of technologies, etc.

Mona Lisa - The Enigmatic Meaning Essay Example for Free

Mona Lisa The Enigmatic Meaning Essay The Enigmatic Meaning They call her â€Å"The Enigmatic Woman,† yet the painting at first glance is quite banal. It looks a lot like any run of the mill portrait with the subject positioned in the center while she sits facing and staring directly at the viewer. Even the colors are boring in this painting with its abundance of earth tones with different mellow shades of faded green, brown, blue, and burnt orange. The picture itself is only 30†x21† which is about double the size of the average college textbook. With all of the hallmarks of a picture that most people would discard, it is quite an enigma as to why the world has been obsessed with the â€Å"Mona Lisa† for over 500 years. In â€Å"Ways of Seeing† John Berger, an art historian and novelist (only a tiny sample of the different ways I could title this Renaissance man), offers his readers a way into understanding the moment captured in paintings, especially mysterious paintings like the â€Å"Mona Lisa.† He suggests that viewers ask questions about and to the painting as way into entering into a sort of dialogue with the artist and his or her subject. By asking the appropriate questions, I was able to get a bit of a grasp on exactly why this enigmatic woman’s gaze has been capturing the rest of the world’s for so long, but I was also left questioning Berger’s theory. Berger encourages everyone with an interest in art to complete this process in order to fight against the â€Å"mystification† of classic paintings, but sometimes mystification is part of the experience of enjoying art and there is merit in that as well. As the title of the essay hints, Berger believes that â€Å"Every image embodies a Way of Seeing† (99 My Italics), meaning that every image also includes the perspective of the artist to the subject. Once a reader can start to grasp where the artist is coming from in relation to what he is painting, then the image may start to make sense. As an example of this process Berger examines â€Å"Regents of the Old Men’s Alms House† by Frans Hals, which is depicted below: Berger contextualizes the pictures by first inquiring into the artist’s social status at the time. During the commission of the painting Hals was â€Å"an old man of over eighty, [and] was destitute† (101). These wealthy men that Hals depicted gave him â€Å"three loads of peat† (101), or rotting vegetation, for this portrait. With those facts in mind, Berger comes to the conclusion that there is a sense of bitterness in the perspective of the painting, which may be why Hals depicted the third man from the right as being drunk. Berger argues that the man’s expression and hat are not necessarily a result of facial paralysis and fashion as art historians argue, but part of the â€Å"drama of these paintings† (102) which in this case is an old pauper struggling with his feelings of these men while trying to stay objective in his depiction of them; therefore, he let a glimpse of the truth out, a glimpse at these regents’ corruption. So, how does one begin to ask questions about the â€Å"Mona Lisa†? Perhaps it is best to start the same way that Berger does, by understanding who the artist was at the time of the painting. According to the Louvre’s official website, (the museum where the painting hangs) the painting is believed to have been painted between 1503 and 1506. Leonardo da Vinci, the artist, would have been just over fifty at the time. Kenneth Clark from The Burlington Magazine explains that â€Å"after he had lingered over it four years, [he] left it unfinished.† In 1516 the king of France invited him to work on a project. BBC contributor Bob Chaundy believes that da Vinci took Mona Lisa with him to continue working on it until his death in 1519. So what we have is man nearing the end of his life working on a seemingly personal project (since he took it with him everywhere), a project that he felt he never finished. The next obvious question: who is the woman? According to the Louvre, the model was Lisa Gherardini who was by all accounts an average Italian middle-class mother to five children. Her husband, Francesco Giocondo, commissioned da Vinci to paint the portrait as a way to celebrate the new Giocondo home and the arrival of their second son. Essentially, Mona Lisa, My Lady Lisa, is a housewife put on a pedestal. She is arguably the most glorified housewife of all time. With an understanding of the artist and the subject, it is time to ask, â€Å"what is the perspective here?† What point of view was da Vinci trying to give his audience? Knowing the information that I do, it is hard to even suggest that there was an audience for the painting. The accounts suggest that da Vinci painted and gave what he was commissioned to Gioncondo, but he kept one of the original sketches to keep working on. In other words, the Mona Lisa the world knows today was really for da Vinci’s eyes only. The portrait is an intimate depiction perhaps of someone who baffled da Vinci’s sensibilities. Of all the different subjects and models da Vinci painted, it was a middle-class mother who captivated his attention. Perhaps da Vinci could not even wrap his own mind around why she was so enthralling and so spent the rest of his life trying to capture that â€Å"it factor† she seemed to exude. In a sense, da Vinci was trying to capture the feeling of love at first sight, the feeling of being completely attracted to someone and not knowing why. So how does this feeling of awe-inspiring adoration flow over into the other stylistic elements of the portrait? Most people tend to comment on her eyes and her smile, and if you notice, they do not really seem to correspond to each other. If you only look at her eyes and cover her mouth, the eyes give a sense that she is giving a much broader smile than she actually is since the eyes are wrinkled and upturned. The high placement of the cheekbones also lend to this interpretation. The rest of the portrait with the conservative colored clothes and pose do not exude the sense of joviality that the eyes give. Those eyes that seem to contradict the other aspects of the portrait are also paradoxically the focus since many people comment on how Lisa’s gaze seems to follow you wherever you go. Her eyes tell you one thing, and the rest of her tells you another. She feels two emotions simultaneously, and that is mysterious. Many people also tend to comment on the background since it is not based on any real location (BBC). It is almost other-worldly, alien in that sense. In the same way that she can feel two emotions at the same time, it is as if she can be in two places at the same time since she is posed in between two  manmade columns on a balcony; she is simultaneously human and extraterrestrial. The colors of the background also give this sense since they are split into two. The top half is bluish green in its depiction of the sky, water, and trees while the lower half is brown and orange in its depiction of the land. Finally, her equilateral triangle pose really seems to seal this reading, for what is a triangle but the convergence of two opposite points on a single point? Mona Lisa is that point of convergence. She is place where two emotions can converge. She is the place where terrestrial and extraterrestrial converge. She is the point where a mundane housewife converges with an iconoclast of the world. She is the epitome of mystery since she cannot be pinned down to just one thing. Mystery, though, is what John Berger is fighting against. He wants to take what he calls the â€Å"bogus religiosity† (109) that mystifies art out of the equation by giving people the tools they need to make meaning on their own. He believes that art critics and historians mystify by â€Å"explaining away what might otherwise be evident† (103); in a sense they try to confuse interpretations that might be obvious through academic discourse and elitism. But what happens when the point is mystification? When the point of the painting is to leave the viewer confused? Is not there a place for that in art also? If it was not for this mysteriousness that Lisa creates, would anyone care? I think not. â€Å"Works Cited† page deleted

Multiple Sclerosis Essay example -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Multiple Sclerosis Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the central nervous system. It most commonly occurs in individuals between the ages of twenty and forty (1) and in higher numbers of women than men (2). In Multiple Sclerosis (or "MS") a loss of the nerves' axon coating myelin prohibits the nerve axons from efficiently conducting action and synaptic potentials. Scar tissue (called plaques or lesions) forms at the points where demyelination occurs in the brain and spinal cord, hence the name "Multiple Sclerosis"or "many scars" (3). The demyelination found in MS is thought to be caused by an autoimmune process, in which the body's immune system attacks its own healthy tissue (4). Other diseases thought to have an autoimmune basis are rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and the insulin dependent form of diabetes mellitus(5). In the immune system, there are two types of white blood cells, B-cells and T-cells. T-cells exist in three forms, all responsible for different immune system responses. Helper T-cells recognize foreign antigens (the substance the immune system aims to destroy), stimulate antibody production, and produce cytokines (chemicals which act as biological messengers) which activate other T-cells. These T-cells are able to recognize antigens through their receptors, made of protein molecules that selectively bind to certain other molecules. Suppressor T-cells perform a function converse to that of their helper counterparts, turning off the immune system response. Cytotoxic T-cells directly attack and destroy antigenic material (6). In MS, an unknown trigger activates helper T-cells whose antigen specific receptors recognize central nervous system myelin as an antigen. While what exactly activates these T-cel... ... MS GENETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY http://www.nmss.org/msinfo/current_research/updates/RMP9620.html 25) VIRUSES http://www.nmss.org/cmsi/cmsi18.html 26) Remyelination Progress Reported http://www.myelin.org/puppress.html 27) EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGIC ENCEPHALOMYELITIS http://www.nmss.org/cmsi/cmsi157.html 28) Current Research Updates http://www.nmss.org/msinfo/current_research/updates/summary.html 29) Virtual Hospital, Chapter 14: Neurology: MS http://www.vh.org/Providers/ClinRef/FPHandbook/Chapter14/08-14.html Other WWW Sites 30) Knowledge Weavers http://medstat.med.utah.edu/kw/ms/ 31) World of Multiple Sclerosis http://www.msif.org/language_choice.html 32) National Multiple Sclerosis Society http://www.nmss.org/ 33) MS Gateway http://www.ms-gateway.com/ 34) MS Gateway Glossary http://www.ms-gateway.com/glossary.html

National Honor Society Paper

National Honor Society is known for having extraordinary students whom possess strong leadership, constant determination, and also structured character. Though there are various students who have what it takes to become a member of the National Honor Society I feel that I should be one of them. From the beginning of my Freshmen year, I had a strong desire to find my path early in life and choose a career I would like to pursue as time went on.Realizing my passion for shopping was just the beginning, and though most girls all have this love for clothes I saw it differently, and began to explore the fashion industry by researching and reading up on the latest news. The electives I took in 9th grade, which were studio and art and fashion illustration both had a large impact on my future and also provoked my desire and curiosity for the artistic side of the fashion world.Getting very high grades in these courses made me acknowledge my ability to draw and learn how to sketch fashion desig ns and learn about the career of illustration in fashion, giving me more confidence in choosing my direction in this field. As my sophomore year began, I explored a different side of the fashion industry and enrolled myself in fashion marketing and also fashion apparel and accessories, but also stuck to the arts by taking drawing. In my fashion apparel and accessories class my teacher privately selected 6 people from the class to partner up in twos and compete in the famous DECA competition.Out of three hundred people, my partner and I competed in advertising and placed honorable mention. This showed that out of all those people my partner and I’s work paid off, and my teacher found us to be unique among our class. Because of my teacher Ms. Ehrhardt and also my fashion illustration/ art teachers Mrs. Copolla and Ms. Syska I became extremely inspired to do something about my newfound passion and sign up for FIT’s precollege workshop classes to gain better experience of this fashion world I was ready to journey into.That march until may of 10th grade every Saturday I would independently take the train in early and attend three-hour fashion classes, sewing and an introduction to the fashion industry and take the train home late. The privilege of being in the city on my own helped me develop a significant understanding of myself and who I wanted to be, and the opportunity of taking these classes transformed me into a more social and friendly person. I became much more understanding to the structure of the basis of fashion and felt that though I loved the classes, I wanted to xplore other courses they had in order to expand my interests of fashion as a whole. In the summer I decided to spend most of my time in the city for fashion and took more classes at FIT and also LIM college to assure myself in which area of fashion I wanted to be in. The classes I took in 10th grade at FIT were design classes, but I felt that my abilities would have a larger pos sibility for success in merchandising. The summer FIT class I took was for public relations and I got the chance to visit various museums and also real fashion design floors to become truly involved in the industry.From here, I knew this was the area I wanted to be involved in and believed I would excel in. At LIM, I spent a week in the city with a roommate and dormed while I took a class for fabric styling and fashion magazine during the day. These two classes gave me a lot to offer, from the learning to the activities I became a leader of my own fashion shoot and also got to interview people in fashion, which left me such an empowering feeling.Though the dorms seem to be only temporary living quarters, I was fortunate enough to taste true independence and individuality; making me very excited to take on future challenges life would give me. Into 11th grade I pursued this path of taking fashion classes in the city, and took fashion marketing classes in. From all the hard work and d etermination In these classes through out high school, I was rewarded with high grades, which are hard to obtain in these courses. I also stood out because I was interviewed and placed upon the FIT website itself, under â€Å"who’s in precollege? (When you apply for a course) which holds the information and pictures of a handful of unique and stylish individuals. All of my fashion experiences as a whole have built me into the hardworking, determined, independent individual I am now and I am very proud that was able to achieve these aspects in order to reach my goal of being apart of the fashion industry. I also feel that this has made me eligible and also worthy of becoming a member of the National Honor Society who’s character will be beneficial towards this society.

Business Etiquette Essay

Business Etiquette is one of the most important skills any person can posses this days, no matter if you’re a student, or a business person or anyone else, etiquette will come in handy one way or another. When the word Business Etiquette comes to your mind, you think of thing like to burping in front of people or not disrespecting them. what is really Business Etiquette? Business Etiquette is the way a person acts or treats another Employee or customer while on the job. What this means, for example, is phone etiquette. Phone etiquette enables you to handle calls more politely and efficiently. For example let’s say right now a person calls you but your on the phone with another customer, both call are important what do you do? Well In this type of scenario you would tell the second customer that called could you please hold or you have the option also to ask them if you may call them back, but perfecting this method you can assure that your customer will have your full attention everytime you speak to them. Another Etiquette is Dinning Etiquette. The reason why this is important in a business world is because do the fact that most business deal are held over lunch, Proper Etiquette for this situation is always arrive at the door at least 10 minutes early that way you can greet your client at the door. Another this you must not forget is to not talk about any business before lunch is ordered, after lunch has been ordered you may go about your plan. The last most important thing is to pay for your client regardless of the sex and regardless if you business deal went successful or not.

Starbucks HRM Essays

Starbucks HRM Essays Starbucks HRM Paper Starbucks HRM Paper Human resource management function is a very crucial function in any modern organization that seeks to achieve its objectives including the task of ensuring that employees are motivated by use of effective performance appraisal techniques such as reward schemes. Such HRM function is very crucial to Starbucks Corporation in order to motivate its employees. This is because people are the most important asset an organization has as compared to other assets that aid in running the organization. Therefore for accomplishment of organizational effectiveness, performance appraisal is the most important critical factor that must be paid attention to by the management of any business firm wishing to remain competitive as well as remain international in scope; Starbucks Corporation is not exceptional from such an objective. Human resource has the responsibility to coordinate all the activities within the organization and they have to ensure efficiency in productivity of the organization hence firms should maintain a motivated workforce (Bjbrkman and Fey, 2001). This paper is dealing with how Starbucks human resource department can use performance appraisal technique to improve the performance of its staff. The paper is also aimed at equipping managers particularly those from Human Resource department of the corporation to look critically on the best ways of rewarding employees in the organization. Starbucks Corporation and its Current HRM Strategy Starbucks Corporation is a coffee company in Australia which was first opened in July, 2000 in Sydney and at the Central Business District as a subsidiary of the mother company in the United States. Starbuck roasts high quality whole coffee beans and they sell them with other beverages as prepared in the Italian espresso beverages. The coffee drinks are richly brewed to give the customers necessary satisfaction and pleasure. One of the best known drink brands is the bottled Frappuccino ® which is enjoyed throughout the world. In Australia alone, the organization has been able to expand and now has 89 retail outlets in major areas of the nation such as Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Tasmania, Gold Coast, South Australia, and Brisbane. The headquarters for the Starbucks coffee company Australia is at the Frenchs Forest, New South Wales and it serves as the support centre for all the other stores in Australia. The retail stores offer people the finest coffee sourced from coffee farmers across the world in addition to great entertainment, music, good people and excellent customer service. This organization is the only retail international coffee store that has a unique brand that has a global recognition. Most of the customers get access to excellent room tables, comfortable sofas, chairs, bars and other accessories which fit the needs of everyone from the CEO of a company to the secretary of a company (Starbucks Corporations, 2008). This company endeavors to produce economic, social, and environmental benefits as a social responsibility stance for the communities it serves. This organization believes that it is possible to be good and do the best at the same time. Nevertheless, there has been a considerable criticism that Starbucks management has failed to be effective and efficient in its business activities because they have practiced unacceptable managerial activities of planning, organizing, directing, and controlling. The company has not ensured that the respective managers of respective departments are well equipped with human, technical, and conceptual skills that give them an opportunity to integrate the managerial activities above in order to produce results expected from their departments. The absence of such skills by managers has led to the company performance decreasing in some of its potential markets (John and Keith, 1997). Starbucks Corporation has been criticized for not building a strong human resource relationship with its entire workforce who has failed to enhance the success of corporation. In fact there is speculation that the company does not recruit its employees based on their qualifications and their competence. They have not achieved effectiveness and efficiency because they have not developed their staff through training and have not adopted proper compensation systems that have in turn demoralized the employees in their work. Such employees have not been able to cope with effects of competition and thus they have produced poor results (Starbucks Corporations, 2008). Decisions regarding to employees, operations management have not been constantly revised by the management of the corporation in order to match international standards that will foster success in business environment. For example, employees have not been properly trained to cope with new changes like introduction in technology. However, many companies who deal with sale of drinks have also diversified and fight for market share with Starbuck Corporation, a development which has given the corporation rough time in coming up with viable marketing strategies (Starbucks Corporations, 2008). Human Resource Strategy and its role in Starbucks Human resource management in business terms is the coherent and strategic approach to the management of the working force of an organization. It combines academic, social and business practices in the application of techniques to manage a particular workforce. These practices are designed to go inline with the company’s goals, objectives, vision and mission with specific emphasis on growth and development. Starbucks Corporation needs to attract, maintain and also manage its employees effectively. There is an assumption that employees are just business assets in an organization, but human resource development professionals explain that, these employees have varying goals and needs in life which can be utilized by the organization to meet its targets while assisting the individual persons succeed in their careers (John and Keith, 1997). The following are some of the core functions of human resource management in Starbucks Corporation; workforce planning, recruitment and staffing, promoting industrial relations, personnel development and performance monitoring as well as training, compensation and benefit management. It is considered that the human resource practices used in strategic human resource management in Starbucks Corporation should enhance techniques, systems and polices developed in line with the performance appraisal management of the organization’s tasks. This performance appraisal of Starbucks Corporation is designed promote strategic planning and thinking in all aspects of employee assessment, problem solving and counseling (Maund, 2001). Good knowledge of employee behaviors, performance and needs helps Starbucks Corporation to deal squarely with diversity issues e. g. ulture, religion, race etc. in fact; studies have shown that, certain human resource practices in Starbucks Corporation have contributed both positively and negatively to firm performance through workforce alignment. It is also related to employee outcomes including; trust in management co-operation, higher commitment in workplaces as well as better employee efforts and involvement among other factors (Michael, 2006). Manpower planning within Starbucks Corporation is very critical in that, cases of either overstaffing or understaffing is detrimental in one way or another. The economies of scale for the business together with specialization orders are lost if the organization is understaffed. On the other hand, if overstaffing is sustained, it becomes a waste and also expensive for the organization. These factors are therefore part of the planning process being carried out by human resource development officers in Starbucks Corporation. For instance; they should ensure that the organization’s workforce is certainly enough to meet the general duty requirement Human resource strategy is referred to in a layman’s language as the management of the people who are working in an institution or an organization. This is done because employee performance affects how far or how successful an organization can be. Human resource strategy of Starbucks Corporation also involves the managers clarifying to the employees the organization’s goals and objectives. Studies have shown that, there is a unique relationship between the human resource management practices and techniques for a company and its overall performance (Armstrong, 2006). Starbucks Performance Appraisal and its Business Goals The success of Starbucks Corporation is mainly determined by its human resources and hence there is a need for a motivated workforce. In fact human resource of any firm has to be innovative, energetic, creative and motivated in order to remain focused in scope. Indeed any company including Starbucks Corporation should have guiding principles which help the employees to attain set goals and objectives. Such principles define what each and employee is expected to do thus attain their goals. Starbucks Corporation has such principles and such principles also points out how the company promotes trust, pride, professionalism, trust, teamwork and openness in their undertakings. Such principles however, do not concentrate much more on the issue of performance appraisal such as motivation which is a key factor in organizational success. Therefore this paper will attempt to reveal the importance of a motivated workforce as well as the different methods that can be used to motivate the workforce particularly in Starbucks Corporation (Hoyer, 2001). Research indicates that skills, knowledge and experience represent capital due to the reason that they enhance productivity. Companies invest in skills training and development to be competitive, but the failure to manage the person trained could be considered a great setback. Employee retention is basically essential in grasping a complete return on investment. Based on the human capital theory, it is imperative that companies invest in skills training and development, but they should also align the performance appraisal such as compensations and benefits of the person with his or her achievements. Research reveals that in many modern business organizations there is obviously a lack in recognizing the achievements of skilled employees. Without recognition and growth, there is no reason for the employee to carry on his good performance, or worse, to continue his service to the organization (Bjbrkman and Fey, 2001). Motivation can be assumed as the reason or the force behind why a person does what he or she does. Sometimes, it is also a means to make the person perform better and more efficient. Basically there are three assumptions in human motivation as established in research. The first one assumes that motivation is inferred from a systematic analysis of how personal, task and environmental characteristics influence behavior and job performance. The next one infers that motivation is not a fixed trait; but rather it refers to a dynamic internal state resulting from the influence of personal and situational factors. This means that motivation as one technique of performance appraisal may change with changes in personal, social or other factors. Finally, it should further be noted that motivation affects behavior which in turn will lead to poor performance by the employees (Buck, Filatotchev and Wright, 2003). As social beings, basic human interaction and communication are considered as relevant needs that should be attended to in the working environment. The rational and emotional aspects of a person enable one to be participatory and reflective on certain aspects of the operations in the organization. Social interactions are necessary so as to provide for the social needs of an individual. Since people are more than a resource of an organization, their active and contemplative nature will always be open and shown. Aside from the primary needs for existence, social interaction in the form of companionship helps in shaping the character of a person as a quality individual that is capable of doing complex things and acting complicatedly Performance Appraisal Management in Starbucks Corporation Research reveals that employee motivation is the key to the profitability and competitive success of Starbuck Corporation in the current business world i. e. particularly in the hotel industry. Research has shown that Starbuck Corporation dose not pay well its employees and thus they do not carry out their jobs well and in return the company’s performance has been negatively affected. In Starbucks Corporation; for instance, the employer-employee relations are considered not very important thus that the corporation failing to realize its mission effectively. In fact, it has been researched and found out that well paid employees of Starbucks Corporation have translated to satisfied customers i. e. with motivated workforce they do their tasks well thus retaining and attracting more customers. Hence, with improper policies and administrative skills utilized by Starbucks Corporation, managers have indeed created failed to create a satisfied workforce through such an appraisal performance technique. Starbucks Corporation employee performance appraisal technique has taken different forms that include the following: The first factor is of job security which is the primary driving force an employee Centres on while working; it is the ability to retain the job for as many years as possible (Hoyer, 2001). Personal organization and family budget go in line with job security concerns. When an employee is confident of his or her job security at the workplace, his performance is far much better than a case where he or she is not sure of being retained in the next year because he is motivated to work. With job security, some Starbucks employees have failed to know whether at the end of month he/she will be paid thus becoming demoralized to work. This implies that much time is wasted because employees are not okay and thus have do not have enough time to work for the company since they work as they think of quitting the corporation at one time The other factor that is suppose to enhance success in Starbuck is that of pay satisfaction; research indicates that people don’t work unless they receive pay for work done as a motivator which is therefore the key to employee satisfaction. Although employees are paid better than other employees of other organizations, Starbucks Managers normally do not use financial rewards to improve their worker’s performance. Good salaries equally translate to better work. Every worker would want to continue working for an organization which pays him or her well which has not been the case in Starbucks Corporation (Bjbrkman and Fey, 2001). Therefore Starbucks Corporation has not saved time since the management has to spend time of hiring new employees every time because the current employees are not secure and they have reason to look for other opportunities Another source of motivation is that of using rewards and gifts in order to inspire employees in Starbucks Corporation. Research indicates that rewards used by the corporation have been only very big inducements but the small gifts given to anybody have been ignored by the management thus its employees eventually don’t feel appreciated. For example a handwritten thank you note which can be utilized in Starbucks Corporation is normally appreciated and cherished (Foster and Harris, 2005). Everybody loves chocolate, and provision of such kind of rewards especially at the weekends and special days like Christmas and Valentine days, should help to build positive relationships between the Starbucks Corporation management and the employees. Research indicates that gift certificates such as birthday wishes are a morale booster to self-confidence of the employees. Starbucks Corporation has failed to offer sufficient logo merchandizes; for instance, in form of t-shirts, caps, mugs, pens, jackets and computer mouse pads thus not boosting the morale of the employees because they are not proud to be associated with Starbucks failure. In addition, Starbucks Corporation has not been utilizing motivational posters which are supposed to be strategically drafted for individual recognition for job well done. In most cases, people would want to know if their work has made some difference and therefore provision of such rewards by Starbucks Corporation should encourage them thus motivating the employees. Another way of appraising employees that Starbucks Corporation have not utilized fully is that of praising them; for instance if they have fulfilled their undersigned tasks effectively. The firms’ management has not strategized well since they even don’t keep the records of the performance of employees. Any employee who shows commendable improvement are not praised in the organizational weekly, monthly and also the annual meetings. Through this employees have not been motivated since they believe that they are not recognized by the organization and thus not improving their performance. However, this should not just be carried out in the formal meetings only, but managers should make time to meet with individual employees who are reported to have been performing better and praise them for the good work (Harzing and Ruysseveldt, 2004). Recommendations The main aspects of human resource strategy in Starbucks Corporation should incorporate the following areas; employee motivation and retention strategies, employee selection strategies and employee management strategies which in general encompass performance appraisal measures. This strategy if implemented simultaneously in Starbucks Corporation will create a family-like community and environment in the organization. From this study we can conclude that performance appraisal is a key factor to success of any organization including Starbucks Corporation. It should be noted that as a manager, your impact on employee satisfaction is great and immeasurable; therefore the management of Starbucks Corporation should look for convenient, cost-conscious and appreciated ways of performance appraisal such as excellent motivation structures in order to build a motivated, dynamic and committed workforce that will result in better productivity and profitability of the corporation. The most critical factor that results to poor management of many organizations including Starbucks Corporation is that of the inability of senior managers to provide necessary support for the accomplishment of organizations goals through utilization of effective performance appraisal techniques. It is substantiated that the behavior of many senior managers of Starbucks Corporation has contributed immensely to poor success of the organization. This is explicitly witnessed in the performance appraisal process. Senior managers have adopted behavior of self centeredness and they always think that they are the only one who makes viable decisions in relation to goals being attained hence resulting to low morale by existing workforce (Maund, 2001). This has resulted to lower level managers and employees not to perform quality work because they are always not motivated when carrying out their respective duties. The overall management of Starbucks Corporation should not that no matter how well the organization’s values and culture is drafted it requires the will of senior managers to maintain such performance appraisal values and cultures within the organization. The senior managers can change the attitude of their employees if only they can lead by example which will lead to good motivation and thus successful attainment of set objectives. Human resource is the most vital asset in Starbucks Corporation and senior managers have to concentrate their management efforts in their staff development in order to boost their morale and thus increase in productivity. Employees’ satisfaction strategies should be formulated in Starbucks Corporation in order to ensure smooth running of the corporation. It is the key to the economic success of Starbucks Corporation. Research has shown that a satisfied employee does his job well and in return the company’s performance is greatly improved (Hoyer, 2001). The HR department of Starbucks Corporation should formulate corporate and HR strategies that incorporate performance appraisal analysis and clarification of the corporation mission statement. The department should also offer guidelines to the rest of the management when considering how business should develop and in what direction it should be directed to. In this line the HR department should clearly ensure that the strategies developed in the organization should be the ones that direct efforts towards accomplishing the Starbucks Corporation basic mission or purpose (Armstrong, 2006). In order to enhance the activities of Starbucks Corporation, the HR department should redesign the HR department in order to remain competitive in the market place and to respond to any changes in the market place; Also strategic objectives that encompass performance appraisal measures of the organization should be formulated; this implies that the HR department should turn the mission statement in to supporting objectives for each level of management in the corporation. The objectives formulated should be directed to key result areas in the corporation where performance is necessary for business survival. The corporation key result areas that should be considered include; marketing, finance, production, human resources, physical resources, social responsibility, and profit requirement (Thomson and Rampton, 2003). Conclusion From Starbucks Corporation case analysis we can therefore deduce that, ensuring employee performance requires establishing a level of competence which the employee should be aware of as a target to be achieved. This is the measure that should be used by Starbucks Corporation managers in determining compliance with the standards and in identifying problems met by the employees in meeting such standards. For instance; in developing a performance appraisal technique such as efficient motivation structure to enhance the productivity of employees the manager will look at the competency problems of the employees and fashion the program to enable the employees to reach and even exceed the competency standard established for their work. This requires a great amount of perceptiveness on the part of the manager in determining what method of appraising will be most effective in improving employee competence (Thomson and Rampton, 2003). A considerable number of companies including Starbucks Corporation have developed into an essential part of the period of global competition, increasing development, improved business paradigms, and corporate re-organization. The continuing transformation from the traditional industrial framework with its hierarchical companies to a worldwide, knowledge-founded financial system and intelligent corporations, altering ideas regarding the social contract involving employers and employees, an progressively more adaptable pool of talent and a body of workforce, necessitates human resource (HR) strategies to realign and relocate itself in the vicinity of these drivers.

Tech Resources for Early Childhood Educators

Tech Resources for Early Childhood Educators This is a self-guided tour of useful resources for early childhood educators to encourage thinking about how technology can be used in purposeful ways with young children. For a digital handout that accompanies this tour, please click here.   Examining the Possibilities with Kindergartners and Technology Here are three fun videos related to using technology in early childhood classrooms. Miss Nelson is MissingiPad Artwork Inspired by Peter Reynolds The DotIntegrating Technology in a Kindergarten Classroom Next, explore these sites for other ideas. Note that these teachers are using technology with students to create and publish. They are not using tech at lower levels on Blooms Taxonomy. Young children CAN do more sophisticated work!   The Connected Kinders: Turning iPad Experiments into Adventures in Innovative LearningGoing on a Bear Hunt Using QR CodesHow Kristi Meeuwse Teaches with an iPadTalking Animal ReportsEdutopias Resources for Using iPads in Grades K-2 Exploring iPad Apps iPads are amazing devices for content creation, not just consumption! Ideally, educators should strive to provide opportunities for student voice and choice, designing lessons and projects that allow students of all ages to create content. Heres a collection of apps are more focused on creation than consumption and if you havent seen Osmo, check out this device that using iPads to create really innovative learning games for kids.   Other places to find high quality ed tech materials: AppolearningGraphiteKindertownKinderchat Symbaloo Publishing with Young Children Publishing should be a universal activity in all early childhood classrooms. Check out the following iBook examples:   The Adventures of the Monkey and the Cat by KinderPris Ridge International SchoolConnecting Classrooms: Activities to Promote Global Collaboration by Ben SheridanFamily Time with Apps by the Joan Ganz Cooney FoundationGlobal Book: Schools Around the World by Kristen PainoGlobal Book: Shelters Around the World by Kristen PainoA Global iBook by Meg WilsonInspired Young Authors by Jane RossMy Pet Monster by Jason Sand and Others Building Your Own ECE Personal Learning Network Use social media to enhance your own learning and to connect to others. Here are a few suggestions to get started with connecting to other educators and learning from their best practices. First, join Twitter, and start following other ECE educators and organizations. Then, start participating in Kinderchat, a Twitter chat where kindergarten teachers come together to discuss relevant topics and share resources. Finally, start finding ideas for your classroom by perusing the following blogs and pinterest boards. Blogs Enabling EnvironmentsiTeach with iPadsPassion for EYFSTechnology in Early Childhood Pinterest Augmented RealityKid World CitizenKindergarten - iPadThe Kindergarten SmorgasboardPlayful Learning Investigating Making and Tinkering The Maker Education movement is growing within US schools. What does this look like in early childhood classrooms? Starting points for further exploration may include TinkerLab. Some early childhood classrooms are also exploring the possibilities of digital making through robotics and coding. Check out Bee-Bots, Dash and Dot, Kinderlab Robotics, and Sphero.   Connecting Globally The first step to connecting globally is to get connected yourself. Use social media to meet other teachers, and youll find that project opportunities will organically happen. Projects tend to be more successful when professional relationships are established first; people just seem to be more invested if connections happen first. If you are new to global projects, youll want to get to the point where youre co-designing experiences for students with virtual colleagues. In the meantime, join existing communities and projects in order to get a feel for the project design process. Below are a few starting points and exemplars: The Global Classroom ProjectHello Little World SkypersProjects by JenSkype in the ClassroomiEARN USA Thinking About PD and Additional Resources   Face to face professional development opportunities also an ideal way to participate in professional development. For early childhood specific events, we recommend the NAEYC Annual Conference and the Leveraging Learning  conference. For general ed tech information, think about attending ISTE and if youre interested in creative uses of technology and the Maker Movement, consider attending Constructing Modern Knowledge.   Also, the  Chicago-based Erikson Institute has a site devoted to the role of educational technology in early years classrooms.  This site is a unique resource dedicated to helping early childhood professionals and families make informed decisions about tech. Finally, weve curated a massive list of ECE resources in an Evernote notebook. Well be continuing to add to this, and are welcome to browse our collection!

Diversity in American Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Diversity in American Society - Research Paper Example America has placed high value on diversity, for instance, ethnic groups have transformed and celebrated their heritage, and children of immigrants grow up experiencing the languages. America’s success is due to establishment of society that embraces diversity and celebrates the differences of various cultures. The different cultures share core values such as education, family, faith and charity hence diversity has led to great success and development of American society. Due to immigration and oppression, that is, the paradox of Nativism in a Nation of Immigrants (America), English was the primary spoken language. The Alaska Natives and American Indians practiced English as their main language. Other immigrants who came to America learned the language; therefore, the current immigrants should do the same by learning or practicing English. Therefore, every individual who planned to live in America permanently had to assimilate and learn the English language Alcoholism is the most common health problem. Native communities suffer from the common predictors of poor health such as unemployment, poverty, and high school dropout. The native people face five health problems. Alaska Natives and American Indians have high rate of diabetes. It is an issue of poverty and limited access to healthy food (Weaver, 2014). The government - funded Special Diabetes Program for the natives has helped improving the health of the diabetic. There is food movement to recover Native American cuisine and old agricultural practices. Native Americans succumb to injury at an early age as compared to white men. Native people are more prone to die by fire, in a car crash or die as a pedestrian. Sexual abuse is another issue among Native Americans. The American Indian women are highly raped more than the national average according to Justice Department. The tribal courts fail to prosecute non-native men who rape the native women on tribal lands.

Personal letters of soldiers to their families changing the way we Essay

Personal letters of soldiers to their families changing the way we view history of the Civil War - Essay Example In this article, I will be highlighting these findings and new discoveries that I unearthed from reading the letters. The General American Population is well averse with at least the fact that this war was one of the deadliest war ever fought involving the Union solders. According to official statistics from the Civil War Trust, this war involved casualties of the war stood at 620,000 with admission that some of the bodies could not be accounted for because they could not be traced (Civil War Trust). This means that the count given is on the lower scale and thus still tops as the deadliest war. Additionally, majority of these casualties were solders from the confederate states that wanted to secede due to the election of Abraham Lincoln as the President of the United States of America. This can be attributed to the inferior number of Solders from the Confederates as opposed to the union. The same civil war trust organization puts the number of solders as 2,128,948 for the Union solde rs and 1, 082, 119 (Civil War Trust). ... From the letters from the solders, there is inference of Union soldiers complaining about the terrains of Centre County and some solders deriding the confederate State soldiers as knowing little about the terrain yet the war is being fought in their grounds (Olsen 314.). The African American soldiers in the Union Army were also understood to be underpaid as compared to their white counterparts. One such solder, T.D Freeman, is quoted complaining in a letter to his brother-in-law about how the majority of the African American soldiers, â€Å"were in low spirit†¦enlisted for 13 months and have never received one cent† (Silber & Sievens 47) Another aspect of the war that I was already too familiar with was that most of the time was spend by this solders writing letters to their family members and playing games and this is evident from the large number of letters that have been archived in libraries in America. Letters were written by all shades of solders be they Union solde rs or the confederate soldiers. One soldier is quoted as writing to his wife saying that the war was â€Å"99% boredom and 1% sheer terror† (Silber & Sievens 2). These letters, however, have helped me get to learn a few facts about the civil war that I did not know yet. One of this is the fact that not all letters were sad and contained a narration of how harrowing and terrifying the war was. Not all these letters were complaining about the hardship in the battlefield as there are others that I got to read that was lively and filled with humor and hope in its contents. Such letters as expected were written mostly by the Northern-based soldiers who were the Union soldiers and it is