Heath and Well Being Campaign Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Heath and Well Being Campaign - Case Study Example It also ensures that the environment is kept clean by repairing faulty gargets and thus preventing pollution (Siegrist & Marmot 2004). It is also determined to provide leisure facilities like movies and video games to provide entertainment to the society at large. Compuera mostly targets the young people between the ages of 16-35 and hence by providing leisure facilities, it helps the young people to stay away form dugs and other vices like crime. The following are the tasks; selling of all home appliances, buying of second hand appliances, repair and replacement of worn out parts in equipments, installation and service of electronic entertainment equipments like receivers, radios, television stereos and video cassette recorders. Testing and calibrating and locating electronic faults in equipments through the use of instruments like meters, tuning and adjusting equipment and instruments to get maximum end results and also reading and interpreting electronic circuit diagrams, drawings and service manuals to customers. The organisation also gives instructions to customers on how to use gargets at home safely. The organisation also offers training to individuals who are interested in learning about home appliances repair and maintenance (Acheson 1998). The organisation upholds the following values; support relationships, independence, achievements, initiative, self control, integrity and persistence to mention just but a few. The organisation structure is made up of:- Managing director; He is the head of the company. He makes the key decisions concerning the organisation. He represents the company in all meetings (Waddell & Burton 2006). Human Resource Manager: He is in charge of recruiting, training, managing, dismissing and firing employees in the organisation. He is in charge in the welfare of the employees. Assistant manager: He helps the managing director in making crucial decisions concerning the organisation. Accounts manger: They are in charge of all the financial transactions in the organisation. Technicians; These makes the largest proportion of the organisation. They are involved in repairing, replacement and all the field work. They do all the manual work in the organisation. Other staffs include cleaners, cooks, receptionist and security guards; all of whom are important for the organisation to run smoothly and to have maximum productivity. In the past years, the company has had many cases of staff being sick and feeling unwell. As a result we have decided to come up with a campaign to promote the health and wellbeing of workers. The aim of this report is to come up with campaign strategy to promote 'Heath and Wellbeing of Compuera staff'. Promotion of the wellbeing and health of staff yields a great deal in an organisation in terms of job satisfaction, improved performance and productivity, increased commitment and reduced staff commitment. Every organisation gains from having healthy workers. The pie chart below on figure 1 represents the percentage of workers who were absent and the reasons behind it in the last four months. It is clear and evident that a big percentage of wor

Human Resource Management Business Impact

Human Resource Management Business Impact People are commonly considered to be an organisations greatest asset simply because they have the power as individuals to decide. They decide on strategic, tactical and operational levels to obtain the most favourable results from whatever situation arises. It is therefore extremely important to train and develop the human resources as it determines a companys success. Over the past few decades, a growing awareness of the importance of the HRM process has lead to continual improvements in the field; thus causing more competence. In order to create efficiency in communication, training and general management, individuals were put in charge especially to manage the people within an organisation. Slowly this progressed and became a common department in any common organisation. Human resource management is a particularly important area which transcends all primary activities. It is concerned with those activities involved in recruiting, managing, training, developing and rewarding people within the organisation The firm will need an overall workforce (or human resource) strategy. In achieving this, HRM will need to work closely with other departments to ensure the firm is employing people with the right skills and right time The HR plan contains an assessment of: National and local changes in the population, analysed by numbers, ages, skills and location An analysis of the current internal labour supply Consideration of any proposed developments in the companys organisation, location and structure. This information can be used to evaluate the likely effects on labour turnover, the implications for recruitment, expected training requirements for existing and anticipated new staff, and the probable effects on morale and labour relations. The main difficulty of creating a workforce plan is the problem of estimating future demand for labour. Demand will change as a result of the firm changing strategy (e.g. new markets opening up, existing market demand falling), and competitor actions. Organisation adopt a core and periphery approach, employing a core of highly trained full-time staff, which is supplemented by a periphery of part time- often temporary- employees. This can bring greater staffing flexibility, although part-time staff may lack motivation, and communication becomes more difficult. HRM emphasises that people are an organization key source due to their flexibility, creativity and commitment. Communication takes place within the organization and with outside agencies internal communication may flow down the hierarchy through the chain of command or may be more informal. External communication tends to be more formal, taking place with the major external stakeholders: suppliers, customer, shareholders, the government and public. 1.2: Assess the purpose of strategic human resource management activities in an organization. Internal scanning explains and documents the makeup of the current supply of the workforce and the human resources activities within an organization. It looks at the composition and diversity of the workforce, including what type of skills and jobs are available, what type of human resources policies and programs already exist, what is the culture and structure of the organization, and what are the trends in regard to tenure, turnover rates, etc. In addition, consideration should be given to such issues as prevailing personnel problems, managerial attitudes concerning human resources, etc. External scanning tracks trends and developments in the external environment, documenting their implications for human resources management and ensuring they receive attention in the human resources planning process. This assessment looks at: 1) how the economy is performing both locally and nationally, 2) how technology is expected to change and how these changes will influence the type and number of jobs available and the skills and education needed for these jobs, 3) what the current and future labor market looks like regarding the availability of certain occupations and the people necessary to fill them, 4) the requirements are for current or future government regulations, such as affirmative action and equal employment opportunity or regulations which influence agency-specific programs, 5) identifying the sources for competition in terms of attracting people (salary, benefit packages, etc.), and 6) what overall trends can be identified that could influence an organization such a s the movement towards decentralization and restructuring. Vetter (1967) defined human resource planning as the process by which management determines how the organization should move from its current manpower position to its desired position. Through planning, management strives to have the right number and the right kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, doing things which result in both the organization and the individual receiving maximum long-run benefits. Contemporary human resource planning occurs within the broad context of organizational and strategic business planning. It involves forecasting the organizations future human resource needs and planning for how those needs will be met. It includes establishing objectives and then developing and implementing programs (staffing, appraising, compensating, and training) to ensure that people are available with the appropriate characteristics and skills when and where the organization needs them. It may also involve developing and implementing programs to improve employee performance or to increase employee satisfaction and involvement in order to boost organizational productivity, quality, or innovation (Mills, 1985b). Finally, human resource planning includes gathering data that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing programs and inform planners when revisions in their forecasts and programs are needed. 1.3: Evaluate the contribution of strategic human resource management to the achievement of an organisations objectives Functions of Human Resources Management (HRM) include various key activities important in business development. The HR Manager decides for the organizations staffing needs and then decides whether to employ by independent contractors or hire employee to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees. The HR Manager must ensure that these employees are high performers and deal with performance issues; and ensure that the personnel and management practices used conforms with various regulations Activities in HRM also include managing employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. An organization must ensure that employees are aware of personnel policies which conform to the current organization regulations. These policies are often in the employee manuals, which all employees have. There are seven (7) major HRM processes namely: HR strategy, Recruiting, Assignment, Development, Reward, Protection, and Personnel administration. HR strategy is the strategic approach that the HR manager will undertake. This strategy is composed of objectives, goals and processes on how to attain the organizations business objectives and goals. Task 2 To: Etcetera Ltd From: Human resource manager Subject: Human Resources planning 2.1 Analyse the business factors that underpin human resource planning in an organisation. Human resource planning is a systematic series of continuing processes that determines the needs of an organisation and plans them accordingly (Bennison and Casson 1984). The reason human resources are planned is due to the simple need that any successful business needs efficiency. Planning eliminates wasted time and resources by preparation. The planning process is divided into several stages; analysing current human resource utilisation, forecasting the demand for human resources, forecasting the supply of human resources, developing action plans and evaluating the planning process. Human Resource Management (HRM) is a strategic and coherent approach in managing an organizations most valued assets- the individuals who are working collectively and contributes in achieving success of the objectives of the business. The terms human resource management (HRM) and human resources (HR) have largely replaced the term Personnel Management as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organizations 2.2 Assess the human resource requirements in a given situation With the development of technology, data collection and presentation has become much more sophisticated and efficient. HR planners can use computer technology very effectively to analyse data about the workforce. Information such as experience, length of service, qualifications, potential attendance, productivity, efficiency and personal data have all contributed to the accurate analysis of human resource utilisation. With the use of this data it has become easy and efficient to forecast possible situations regarding specifically HR demand. As mentioned above, the analysed data can be efficiently used to determine current conditions. It is especially important to forecast demand in time in a dynamic working environment where new products and premises are bound to increase. Corporate plans are also projected into a shared system to co-ordinate forecasting. In some cases however there is no data that can project future requirements; these cases would be linked to general economic, political or industrial change. Existing human resources classified by organisational demography, more specifically by department, occupation, skill level, status, age, gender, aptitudes, experience, qualifications, job history, length of service and ethnicity. Specific work history; absenteeism, commitment, involvement and disciplinary matters. Ensuring all personnel/HRM activities help to add value by helping the organisation achieve its objective. Motivating workers to achieve improved performance Action plans are based on a comparison of forecast demand and forecast supply. This will determine deficits and surpluses. Evaluation is suggested to be based on outputs rather than inputs. Storey and Sissons have a variety of techniques such as simple audits to conclude if targets have been met, how many vacancies have been filled and how much costs were reduced. 2.3 Develop a human resource plan for an organisation To develop a human resource plan for Electra this below Five Major Stages in workforce planning link the strategic and human resources planning processes. Collecting Data and Information Forecasting Reconciliation Action Plans Feedback and Evaluation 1. Collecting Data and Information: At the strategic planning level, an organization conducts a number of assessments to determine its long-range objectives, usually for up to five years. At this level, the human resources planning process assesses such issues as strategic plan implications, factors external to an organization, and the internal supply of employees over the long-run. Human resources collect data and information to analyze and assess these types of issues, but do not make detailed projections. Data and information are collected through scanning internal and external environments of an organization. 2. Forecasting: The strategic plan eventually breaks down into operational plans that state specific objectives an organization wants to accomplish over the next six months to one year. This will, in turn, forecast future human resource needs. The focus for human resources becomes forecasting the number of currently available employees with the appropriate skills and educational levels to meet operational plans. This information is drawn from internal and external assessments, but is further refined for these plans. The forecasting process highlights the supply and demand principle of the model. Strategic and operational plans determine the necessary human resource requirements (demand) needed, while the human resources planning process forecasts the availability (supply) of human resources. 3. Reconciliation: Reconciliation identifies those gaps that occur between supply and demand. This process focuses an organization on specific human resource issues that need to be addressed. This allows an organization to move forward with its operational plans. The process of reconciliation helps identify what the major gaps or sources of pain are in managing human resources. In addition, through reconciling an organization is able to develop a sense of urgency and build commitment to action regarding its sources of pain. 4. Action Plans: Action plans represent programs and policies needed to address the gaps identified in the reconciliation process. To be successful and ensure accountability, action plans must outline specific responsibilities, timelines, staff, and financial resources necessary to address those gaps. 5. Feedback and Evaluation: Feedback and evaluation are critical to the success and effectiveness of the workforce planning process. These two mechanisms are ways to retrieve information to evaluate and make adjustments to the process. Feedback: Feedback mechanisms should be designed to retrieve information so programs and policies can be evaluated to determine how well the process works. This provides input to update strategic or organizational plans. Inadequate feedback mechanisms or plans can cause small problems to grow into large problems that impede the overall process. Evaluation: In implementing evaluation mechanisms, it is important to first determine what is to be measured. Normally, human resources strategies are measured in terms of implementation or completion of actual programs. But to provide more meaningful information, measures have to be designed to determine the effect the action plans have had on the defined issues. Therefore, it is important to identify specific measures and target levels to be achieved and what the end results should be. 2.4 Critically evaluate how a human resource plan can contribute to meeting an organisations objectives. Human resource planning has traditionally been used by organizations to ensure that the right person is in the right job at the right time. Under past conditions of relative environmental certainty and stability, human resource planning focused on the short term and was dictated largely by line management concerns. Increasing environmental instability, demographic shifts, changes in technology, and heightened international competition are changing the need for and the nature of human resource planning in leading organizations. Planning is increasingly the product of the interaction between line management and planners. In addition, organizations are realizing that in order to adequately address human resource concerns, they must develop long-term as well as short term solutions. As human resource planners involve themselves in more programs to serve the needs of the business, and even influence the direction of the business, they face new and increased responsibilities and challenges 3.1 Explain the purpose of human resource management policies in organisations There are lot of purpose of human resource management policies was known to manage the employees within an organisation in many aspects; such as recruitment, selection, evaluation, motivation, general management and termination. One can argue that not much has changed and it is still the same as HRM, but from comparing the process over the past few decades, we can see that the process has actually evolved quite significantly. Human resource management, unlike personnel management, has become a process that is very closely linked with the other departments of an organisation. This helps the HRM department to foresee and prepare for possible circumstances; such as increased workloads and redundancies. Below is a table of perceived differences between Personnel Management and Human Resource Management (Beer and Spector, 1985): Strategic integration: HRM is integrated with the organisations strategic plans. High commitment: management of people ensures employees are genuinely pursuing the goals of the organisation. Flexibility: HRM policies are subject to change; meaning innovations and changes in the business fields will be anticipated by HRM and the policies thereby structured. High quality: the process of human resource management is done with high quality to ensure high quality results. This will eventually affect the quality of goods/services provided. 3.2 Analyse the impact of regulatory requirements on human resources policies in an organisation Human resources manager plays many varieties of roles in the organisations. Following are some of his/her role to carry out on daily basis. Guidance Role Directly involves with companys HR Policy making, and implementation those policies, Advisory role Offering specialist service to the employers and employees. Offering advice for line managers for changes in legislations, conducting appraisals, etc. For employees, advice about their rights, counselling, Etc. Service Role Carrying out various administrative tasks e.g. payroll, giving reference, and delivering of Human Resources Management Programs. (Recruitment, Selection, welfare so on) Control/auditing role Analysing personal indices. (Such as labour turn over, wage cost) monitoring performances carrying out bench marking Planning/organizing role Forecasting future man power needs, adopting new labour practices. Human resource planning: forecasting organisations future labour and skills requirements. Recruitment: Attracting more suitable applicant required by HR plan Selection: Selecting most suitable employees Retention: retaining staffs by promoting and motivating Exit Management: managing termination of the employment, retainment, dealing with grievance procedure. Task 3 To: Head of TESCO human resource department From: Independent human resource consultant Subject: Reviewing human resource department 4.1 Analyses the impact of an organisational structure on the management of human resource organization structure: The study of organizations includes a focus on optimizing organizational structure. According to management science, most human organizations fall roughly into four types: Pyramids or hierarchies Committees or juries Matrix organizations Ecologies An organizational structure is a mostly hierarchical concept of subordination of entities that collaborate and contribute to serve one common aim. Organizations are a number of clustered entities. The structure of an organization is usually set up in one of a variety of styles, dependent on their objectives and ambience. The structure of an organization will determine the modes in which it shall operate and will perform. Organizational structure allows the expressed allocation of responsibilities for different functions and processes to different entities. Ordinary description of such entities is as branch, site, department, work groups and single people. Contracting of individuals in an organizational structure normally is under timely limited work contracts or work orders or under timely unlimited employment contracts or program orders. (Robbins, S.F., Judge, T.A. (2007)) There are four formats of Tesco. They are Tesco, Tesco Extra, Tesco Metro and Tesco Express. Tesco Express is small in size and scale compare to other Tescos. So the decision making process is shorter and quicker which is important for an organisation of this nature. Tesco Express has a flat structure. There are four duty managers who get the ideas to how to handle the workload from the Site Manager. They run the shifts and they have team leaders working under them who take part in decision making to some extent. Stock controller and administrator also a major character in the organisation. They have to do specific task and also if they get time, they must help other colleagues work. On the last level of the organisation there are customer service assistants. They deal with the customers directly. They serve the customers on the tills and they do the shelf filling as well. They are the major part of our management team 4.2 Analyses the impact of organisational culture on the management of human resources Organizations are as individual as nations and societies. They have widely differing cultures, and these are reflected in their values, ideals and beliefs. The organizations culture is what gives meaning and purpose to the work lives of its members. An organization culture influences its strategy, its ways of doing business and they it responds to change. A strong culture will be beneficial if it focuses on need to change proactively. The culture of an organisation influence the way in which it operates, so it is necessary to understand the culture before deciding how people might contribute to the success or failure of the organisation. Put in simple terms, the culture of an organisation can be defined as: The Way We Do Things Here! Our organisation has a task culture. Task culture-It is very much a small team approach the network organisation small organisations co-operating together to deliver a project. The emphasis is on results and getting things done. Individuals empowered with discretion and control over their work is flexible and adaptable.'(Charles Handy, 1985). In our organisation, Tesco Express, we have team-based approach to perform any job. Team work plays the major role to achieve organizational objectives. The culture of our organization is working as a team, co-operating each other to achieve our goals and objectives. In the team all the staffs are empowered, so they feel motivated and important at work. All the staffs are empowered to make decisions to some extent and they are given responsibilities within the team. So the staffs feel valued and responsible for their jobs. In my work place has nearly 20 Staff. This staffs are from different ethical background and different countries, so various behaviours of team members mesh together in order to achieve objectives. We all work hard successfully in our team. Our manager guides us to do our work properly. 4.3 Examine how the effectiveness of human resources management is monitored in an organisation The Human resource department is the companys greatest asset; because without man power, everyday business functions could be completed. That is why it is important to maximize organizational effectiveness, human potential-individuals capabilities, time, and talents-must be managed. Human resource management works to ensure that employees are able to meet the organizations goals. Companys today are continuously changing. Organizational change has an impact not only the business but also its employees; the company at all time should be considerate to its entire employee. The company and employees should work together in harmony to remain productivity, and the HR manager is the bridge for the company and the employees to understand each other. Every organisation aims to keep a good staff retention record. However, retaining staff can be very time consuming and expensive. To retain staff is to give them reason to stay. This is normally done by giving employees incentives in addition to salary. These incentives normally take financial form; however, other psychological incentives work just as well. These psychological incentives can be as simple as verbal encouragement. This ultimately leads to motivation; therefore better performance. Other forms of psychological incentives include added responsibility and work challenges. Employees not only work for money, they work also to satisfy their psychological needs. As long as incentives are fair, employees will carry on working with more conviction. This will lead to good retention levels and result in lower costs in terms of recruitment. 4.4 Make justified recommendations to improve the effectiveness of human resources management in an organisation. HR manager it is my role to ensure that the organizations objectives and goals are followed by all personnel. Constant communication with the employees and evaluating their performance in their work will help me in this role. Problems in terms of the organizations work force must be immediately resolved in order to prevent unnecessary complexities. Our workforce is the organizations valued asset. It is my duty as HR manager to ensure that these assets will remain an asset for the organization; keeping our workforce productive and competitive in our business. The HR manager is a both a business and a strategic partner of the company. The HR manager contributes to the development and accomplishments of the companys business strategies and objectives. As a strategic partner, the HR manager designs the companys work positions: hiring, reward, recognition, and strategic pay; performance development and appraisal systems; career and succession planning; and employee development. As business partners, the HR manager have to think like business people, know finance and accounting, and be accountable and responsible for cost reductions and the measurement of all HR programs and processes. The HR manager can be considered as an employee sponsor or advocate, because of the integral role the HR manger plays in the company success due to his knowledge about and advocacy of the people. The expertise of the HR manager includes the managers expertise in creating a work environment in which people will be motivated to work, productive and happy in the co mpany. The HR manager provides employee development opportunities, assistance programs, gain sharing and profit-sharing strategies, due process approaches in solving corporate problems and schedule regular communication opportunities. The HR manager contributes to the company by constantly assessing and ensuring effective HR function. It is also the role of the HR manager to the companys mission, vision, values, goals, and action plan. Managers within the organization will help in handling our personnel. As a big organization with branches and different departments, it will be difficult to handle all the organizations personnel. Line managers can help in managing this problem. Line managers will be the one responsible in handling the personnel under their respective jurisdiction. They will be the one in charge to report to the HR manager all the progress and problems of an employee hey handle. The organizations HRM will be centralized, where the HR manager handles all the personnel through the line managers. By this means all problems in terms of the organizations personnel will be given enough attention and priority.

Julius Caesar :: essays papers

Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was born on July 12/13, 100? BC, and died March 15, 44 BC.Julius Caesar was a celebrated Roman general and statesman, the conqueror of Gaul (58-50 BC), victor in the Civil War of 49-46 BC, and dictator (46-44 BC), who was launching a series of political and social reforms, when he was assassinated by a group of nobles led by Brutus in the Senate House on the Ides of March, in an attempt to free Rome of the dictatorship. After Caesar's death Marc Anthony waged a war with the murderer of his mentor, ending with the suicide of Brutus. Caesar changed the course of the history of the Greco-Roman world decisively and irreversibly. The Greco-Roman society has been extinct for so long that most of the names of its great men mean little to the average, educated modern man. But Caesar's name, like Alexander's, is still on people's lips throughout the Christian and Islamic worlds. Even people who know nothing of Caesar as a historic personality are familiar with his family name as a title signifying a ruler who is in some sense uniquely supreme or paramount--the meaning of Kaiser in German, tsar in the Slavonic languages, and qaysar in the languages of the Islamic world. Caesar's Rome was filled with large rather plain stone buildings filled with ornate statues and busts. People's homes seemed to be quite large (although most homes that were portrayed were those of the wealthy), with large open courtyards. Rooms were without doors, but a thin cloth was draped across the bedrooms. The clothing of the day was limited to togas, some including designs and others were quite plain. Jewelry wasn't prevalent, although the men did wear a band of metal around their wrists. All of the men's hair was styled almost identically, with a part in the back and combed forward on the top as well as on the sides. The Romans warfare was similar to the wars of early America, in that they had both infantry and Calvary. A group of men on horses, led scores of men on foot. Weapons were limited to swords, knives, and bows. The armies were split up into groups of a certain number of men, which were led by an "officer". When the order was given to attack, each of these "officers" would in turn, give the order to their group of men, thus putting the battle into play.

Nonverbal: Woman and Victoria Essay

All types of communication interaction involve two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, and nonverbal. These cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures accompany our words in order to create a clear message. Every person is continuously communicating even when they are not saying a word, thus, it is possible to send an exclusively non verbal message but it is not possible to send an exclusively verbal message. Nonverbal cues in the interaction are always more powerful indicators of what a speaker means and what the speaker feels because non verbal cues have not been learned and therefore are not manipulated. In the movie Victor Victoria, nonverbal cues are used to emphasize the gender of characters. There are certain nonverbal cues that accentuates a woman. One example from the movie is Victoria’s long hair. Long hair in the 1930’s was how a woman was identified. Toddy cuts Victoria’s long hair to create the illusion that she is man. Along with a woman’s long hair, their breast were also a symbol of womanhood. Victoria is asked to wrap her breast as well as walk with her chest sticking out to emphasize that she is man, because walking with their chest out was a mans way of showing confidence. In a scene in the movie Victor is going to say cheers before drinking and he is laughed at because traditionally women are the one’s that cheer before drinking. Another gender based nonverbal cue is in the nightclub, during performances the women dance and the men are in the orchestra. It was normal for the women to be dancers in that era because a woman is built a lot more flexible so manipulating their bodies is easier although there are exceptions. A characteristic that separates men and women is pride. Although I am not saying women do not have pride, men are willing to go above and beyond to protect their pride; an example of this is when Toddy accepts the ride back to their hotel even though in reality they were not staying in a fancy hotel. Victoria tries to deny the ride in order for their lie not be discovered. Toddy accepts the ride to show off that they’re wealthy even if they are not. This scene in my eyes is one of the great barriers that distinguishes men and women. In addition to the things that accentuates a woman, there also exist the things that accentuates a man. For example the way men greet each other. I man greeting another man would simply shake hands, but a man greeting a woman would kiss her hand. There is also the nonverbal cues of what a gay man should look like. In this movie we have the bodyguard, and the boxer who are two gay men but King Marchand refuses to admit it due to the nonverbal cue that they are both strong men. Also, when the gangsters think that King Marchand they try to get rid of him by paying him off because gangsters can’t be seen as gay because they are usually strong feared men. Nonverbal cues are used in this movie to emphasize the socio-economic class of the characters. In the opening scene of the movie we see Victoria singing, we automatically know she is poor by the clothes she is wearing. She has a broken glove, and no fancy jewelry. This nonverbal cue was intended to demonstrate that she is a struggling singer. In a later scene we see Victoria walk by a restaurant and see a fat man enjoying a large variety of pastries. The size of the man is intentional and is what let’s the audience know that he is wealthy because he obviously eats a lot of pastries which only a rich man could afford in this time period. Overall I must say that nonverbal cues account for most of the perceptions of things that we have. In this movie the nonverbal cues play a large part in demonstrating to the audience who these characters are. Whether the nonverbal cue represents gender of economic level, it is safe to say that the nonverbal cues are all intentional created to create a clearer message throughout this movie.

The Worst Hard Time

In this work of non-fiction Timothy Egan expresses his wish for sounder government policy to avoid natural disasters. Egan’s The Worst Hard Time is a harrowing tale about farmers who decided to stay on the plains stretching across Texas’ panhandle, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado during the major drought in the 1930’s. The disaster, known as the Dust Bowl, is largely regarded as a human caused problem. Egan, who is a national correspondent on environmental issues for the New York Times, expertly incorporates historical facts from the time with real accounts from those who stayed.Although Egan sees farming as the direct cause of the drought, winds, and dust, he portrays his characters as hardy entrepreneurs who were duped onto unsustainable farm-land. These individuals, who were known as â€Å"Sod-busters†, started moving into the area during the 1800s when federal government was selling land for next to nothing. They quickly tore up huge regions of rece ntly settled grass-land to plant wheat. This quick change in topography caused high winds to blow off top soil that had been accumulating over millennia.High temperatures and dust storms ravaged the area killing animals and humans in its wake for most of the ‘30s. On April 14, 1935 the region saw its worst dust storm which rained more than 300,000 tons of dirt and dust. This day became known as Black Sunday because those who witnessed it said it blotted out the sun. The dry grass became fuel for praire fires that were sparked by lightning. Swarms of grasshoppers and rabbits plagued the region. In one story Egan describes a story in which the bunnies are brutally beaten while they’re assailants are still dressed in the Sunday best.The worst effect was the endless wind and dust. One young mother, Hazel Shaw, lost her baby daughter and grandmother within hours of each other to dust pneumonia. Using personal stories such as this, Egan tries to point out that this disaster c ould have been prevented with more cautious government policy. Egan portrays his characters as innocent victims of railroad companies and the government. However, as the situation got worse no one told them that their promises where founded on speculation.Egan describes how Germans, who had been lured to Russia by Catherine the Great to serve as a human buffer from the Turks, headed for the American plains when her promise of free land and no taxes was found to be false. One such man was George Ehrilich. He didn’t â€Å"flee the czar's army, survive a hurricane at sea and live through homegrown hatred caused by the Great War just to abandon 160 acres of Oklahoma that belonged to him and his 10 American-born children†. In stories like this Egan portrays his characters as resilient and even stubborn. To survive they did what they had to do but did not give up on their dreams.Egan follows the stories of families that move into new lands in the region that rarely turned ou t worthwhile. In one story a family moves to an inhospitable area after grueling journey. Upon arrival their horses fell over dead and their owners were forced to drink the blood from a sows ear to stay alive. Egan expertly incorporates facts and vivid stories to gain sympathy for hard working Americans and reveal the root cause of the Dust Bowl. Hopefully Egan can reach enough people that control government policy to prevent another catastrophe like the Dust Bowl. The worst hard time What lessons, If any, have we learned from the dust bowl catastrophe-?about how human actions, well-intentioned or not, can lead to environmental damage? Is there anything comparable on the horizon today? 225). What lessons, If any, have we learned from the dust bowl catastrophe-?about how human actions, well-intentioned or not, can lead to environmental damage? Is there anything comparable on the horizon today? Drawing on more contemporary examples of environmental disasters or concerns, write a paper that explores how this debate continues to be timely or hat takes a stand on this debate. . According to the Houston Chronicle, â€Å"The Worst Hard Time documents how government and business with the best of Intentions can facilitate the destruction of an entire region. † Explain how this Is true with regard to the Dust Bowl, and then extend your analysis to include the relevance of this statement to more recent events. What parallels to current events do you see? What are the implications for our society today? 3. Watch the 2012 documentary film by Ken Burns called â€Å"The Dust Bowl† (PBS. Erg/sunburns/dustbins), and then write a imperative analysis of the documentary film and Jean's book. Note any conflicting accounts of the dust bowl or the presentation of events or any additions of details In one account that aren't present in the other, and then reflect on the significance of these differences. Do the accounts share the same purpose and audience? How do the messages vary? Analyze how the different medium and genre-?a historical book vs.. A documentary film-?employ similar or differing strategies to appeal to the audience and carry out their message. 4.As noted at the end of the book, in the section on â€Å"Notes and Sources,† Egan conducted the research for the book using multiple methods and by compiling various types of data. Besides consulting public documents (like U. S. Census reports), local public library collections, local ne wspapers, and other historical societies and historical sources, Egan also did primary research by visiting the High Plains and interviewing people who lived through the Dust Bowl. What is the effect of weaving personal stories and stories of individuals and families Into his historical account?What is the effect on you, as a deader, and your understanding of this historical event? Carry out your own project In which you 1) consult a secondary source on a local historical event (environmental, political, or cultural) and then 2) interview an older relative or acquaintance or community member who has a recollection of the event. Write a report on the event, followed by a reflection on how your understanding of the event and presentation of the report were affected by these deferent types of evidence. 5.Conduct further research on the political and social events coinciding with Jean's Dust Bowl portrayal Ђ?such as the Stock Market Crash of 1 929, the Homestead Act, the Hoover admi nistration policies, the election of FED, the New Deal programs implemented by FED, etc. Then write an analysis of how an understanding of the larger cultural, historical, and economic context can deepen our understanding of the Dust Bowl. As an alternative, you might research and write a project that examines the local context in Kansas, drawing on Kansas History resources (see the links at assassinations. Us/ dustbins. HTML).Or, explore, In particular, the political effects of the Dust Bowl. How multimedia project-?a website or video-?that integrates print, audio, video, and images to capture the multi-layered experiences of various families and regions portrayed in Jean's book, along with the multi-sensory experiences of the Dust Bowl. You might create a timeline or use maps, oral histories, photos, etc. To help convey the experience via a multimedia format. Or you might focus on a key event or issue, such as Black Sunday, dust pneumonia, static electricity, soil 8 | Face u I t y G u I d e erosion and conservation, etc. ND organize your multimedia presentation around en of these topics in order to deepen and enrich understanding of these issues. 7. Write a response to the question: â€Å"How is this book relevant to 21st century readers? † You might consider the most serious ecological or environmental issues that we currently face, and the responses and actions of individuals, communities, activists, and governments. Or, as a group collaborative project, define an ecological or environmental problem, and outline a proposal or solution that might address the problem. Present this as a multi-part paper or website. . During the Dust bowl, a umber of people left their homes-?a migration about which Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath is written. But most residents chose to stay. Write a response in which you evaluate why the residents stayed. Would it have been better to have left? Which choice would you have made? Use illustrations and examples from the book to support your analysis. 9. Create a class environmental blob in which you include discussion threads of historical accounts of environmental disasters-?such as the Dust Bowl-?along with accounts of current environmental events or concerns.With he purpose of creating collective action, include concrete steps that individuals and communities might take to address environmental concerns, and include links to relevant national and local organizations and community groups. 10. Imagine that the sequences of diary entries from Don Harebell in Nebraska (pages 244-48; 274-78; 294-302) were presented in the current day as a wobble or blob. Harebell, like many floggers, has chosen to leave the entries open to comments from readers. Write a comment in response to one of the sequences of diary entries. Harebell's last entry name in the form of a poem (page 302).Analyze the significance of that poem, or write a response to that in the form off blob entry. 11. Jean's historical account incorporates multiple disciplinary perspectives ranging across the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. While the environmental perspective is crucial to Jean's account of the Dust Bowl, he is also interested in effects on human psychology, family behavior, marriage, labor conditions, agriculture, the food industry, the liquor laws and trade, political systems, religious systems, economic systems, music, the arts, etc.Drawing on your own academic (or personal) interests or the subject area or field in which you are planning to major, look for appearances of this interest/area of interest in the book. What role does your disciplinary interest (or related interest) play in Jean's historical account? Or, if you don't see your area of interest or study represented in Cantor's account, explain what role it might have played had it been factored in. Links to further questions for discussion or short writing prompts.