Key Historical Figures in Statistics

Key Historical Figures in Statistics Free Online Research Papers A portion of the key analysts, ever, are John Graunt, Jacques Bernoulli, Ronald Fisher, Galileo, Blaise Pascal, and Pierre de Fermat. They each had their own speculations, information sources, and commitments which helped in the improvement of insights. Early uses of measurable originated from the requirements of states to put together their approaches with respect to segment and monetary information. London, England was experiencing plague episodes and the King needed a type of an early notice arrangement of the danger of new flare-ups. Week after week records were kept of mortality and the reasons for death in the capital. John Graunt made a gauge of the number of inhabitants in London. This is believed to be the main case of the understanding of detached information and the genuine start of measurements. The significant reality about this was John Graunt checked his figurings of all out populace by heading off to the proof. John Graunt was the pioneer of demography and delivered the primary life table (Who Invented Statistics, 2010). He composed a book called Natural and Political Observations upon the Bills of Mortality in 1662. This book alludes to the assortments of mortality figures in London and he is viewed as the writer of the main book on measurements (Statisticians Through History, 2001 2010). Numerical establishments were not included or utilized until the seventeenth century, with the advancement of the Probability Theory, by Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat, emphatically impacting the improvement of present day financial aspects and sociology (Answers.com, 2010). The Probability Theory came to fruition from the investigation of rounds of possibility. A case of this hypothesis would be on the off chance that you had a deck of 52 playing a game of cards and you needed to discover the likelihood of picking one card from the deck and it being a heart. There are 13 cards in the deck that are heart, so the arrangement would be 13/52 or 1/4. So the likelihood is 25% you will pick a heart on the principal attempt from the deck. The greater part of the graphical strategies and other criticalness tests originate from the twentieth century. In today’s society, measurements are broadly utilized by state, neighborhood, and central government, different organizations, sociologies, and so forth to give some examples. With the utilization of present day innovation, factual calculation has ascended higher than ever that would be set aside an excess of effort to attempt to perform physically. ? References Answers.com. (2010). Recovered July 2010, from Who was Blaise Pascal and what did he create: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_was_blaise_pascal_and_what_did_he_invent John Aldrich, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK. (2010, July). Recovered July 2010, from Figures from the History of Probability and Statistica: economics.soton.ac.uk/staff/aldrich/Figures.htm Analysts Through History. (2001 2010). Recovered July 2010, from bized.co.uk/timeweb/reference/statisticians.htm Who Invented Statistics. (2010). Recovered July 2010, from Ask Answers: http://answers.ask.com/Science/Mathematics/who_invented_statistics Examination Papers on Key Historical Figures in StatisticsInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesResearch Process Part OneIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalCapital PunishmentThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseQuebec and CanadaBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XBringing Democracy to AfricaPETSTEL investigation of IndiaEffects of Television Violence on Children

Writing a Sample APA Paper

Writing a Sample APA PaperTo put it briefly, a POCA (profile of contractility) sample APA paper is an example of a basic document used to determine whether the research proposal is a good fit for publishing in the journal. It gives a layman a picture of what the paper will look like. More complex papers require a different set of data and considerations.Sample APA paper has been used for years by many publishing companies, particularly in the field of medical science. For example, if you want to write a presentation on disease mechanisms or cancer metastasis in a journal called Cancer Biology, your topic should be based on actual published research. It can't be more simple than that. You have the free sample APA paper you can use.Sample APA paper, in its simplest form, consists of one to three major chapters. A few key things must be present in all chapters, including an introduction, a conclusion, and one or two appendices. When writing a presentation, the introduction is an introdu ction to the topic. It introduces the theme of the presentation. If there are chapters with their own, separate introductions, they should relate to the main body of the paper.The chapter's approach to the topic, its introduction, and its final sections are all very important. You must state what the paper is about, why you're writing it, and how you plan to address the topics that will be covered in the paper.A conclusion is where you summarize what was said in the paper. In addition, you may include a summary paragraph explaining what was discussed and presenting the conclusion. A section on appendices is usually included at the end of the paper, but you should also make sure you include it in the sample APA paper you use. This section is used to provide the detailed supporting data and calculations that are not part of the main body of the paper.Sample APA paper is not meant to be completed in one sitting. You should write a couple of pages for each chapter before you start worki ng on the main body of the paper. You must also consider the different chapter lengths, since each one is different. So it's important to read a sample APA paper and review the chapter length of your choice.Some journals will ask you to rewrite the section on appendices in your sample APA paper. If you are working with a journal that requires this, you can rewrite the appendix as part of the final paper. You'll need to include the necessary numbers of references, abstracts, and illustrations. You can use a sample APA paper and revise the appendix later.The sample APA paper is your guide in writing a successful paper. All it takes is the willingness to get started and a little bit of editing and reviewing later. Some readers might find it difficult to read and understand the various sections of the paper, but if you follow the directions in the sample APA paper, you should have no trouble. Once you begin writing your own paper, you can review the sample APA paper and incorporate any information it contains.

Jean-Baptiste Bernadottes Role in the Napoleonic Wars

Jean-Baptiste Bernadottes Role in the Napoleonic Wars Conceived at Pau, France on January 26, 1763, Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte was the child of Jean Henri and Jeanne Bernadotte. Raised locally, Bernadotte chose for seek after a military vocation as opposed to turn into a tailor like his dad. Enrolling in the Rã ©giment de Royal-Marine on September 3, 1780, he at first observed help in Corsica and Collioure. Elevated to sergeant eight years after the fact, Bernadotte accomplished the position of sergeant major in February 1790. As the French Revolution assembled energy, his vocation started to quicken also. A Rapid Rise to Power A gifted fighter, Bernadotte got a lieutenants commission in November 1791 and inside three years was driving a unit in General of Division Jean Baptiste Klã ©bers Army of the North. In this job he separated himself in General of Division Jean-Baptiste Jourdans triumph at Fleurus in June 1794. Procuring an advancement to general of division that October, Bernadotte kept on serving along the Rhine and saw activity at Limburg in September 1796. The following year, he assumed a key job in covering the French retreat over the waterway in the wake of being crushed at the Battle of Theiningen. In 1797, Bernadotte left the Rhine front and drove fortifications to the guide of General Napoleon Bonaparte in Italy. Performing great, he got an arrangement as minister to Vienna in February 1798. His residency demonstrated brief as he left on April 15 after a mob related with his raising of the French banner over the government office. Despite the fact that this undertaking at first demonstrated harming to his profession, he reestablished his associations by wedding the powerful Eugã ©nie Dã ©sirã ©e Clary on August 17. The previous fiancã ©e of Napoleon, Clary was sister-in-law to Joseph Bonaparte. Marshal of France On July 3, 1799, Bernadotte was made Minister of War. Rapidly indicating authoritative aptitude, he performed well until the finish of his term in September. After two months, he chose not to help Napoleon in the upset of 18 Brumaire. In spite of the fact that marked an extreme Jacobin by a few, Bernadotte chose for serve the new government and was made leader of the Army of the West in April 1800. With the making of the French Empire in 1804, Napoleon designated Bernadotte as one of the Marshals of France on May 19 and made legislative leader of Hanover the next month. From this position, Bernadotte drove I Corps during the 1805 Ulm Campaign which finished with the catch of Marshal Karl Mack von Leiberichs armed force. Staying with Napoleons armed force, Bernadotte and his corps were at first held for possible later use during the Battle of Austerlitz on December 2. Entering the quarrel late in the fight, I Corps supported in finishing the French triumph. For his commitments, Napoleon made him Prince of Ponte Corvo on June 5, 1806. Bernadottes endeavors for the rest of the year demonstrated rather lopsided. A Star on the Wane Partaking in the crusade against Prussia that fall, Bernadotte neglected to go to the help of either Napoleon or Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout during the twin clashes of Jena and Auerstdt on October 14. Seriously condemned by Napoleon, he was about alleviated of his order and was maybe spared by his commandants previous association with Clary. Recuperating from this disappointment, Bernadotte prevailed upon a triumph a Prussian save power at Halle three days after the fact. As Napoleon drove into East Prussia in mid 1807, Bernadottes corps missed the grisly Battle of Eylau in February. Continuing crusading that spring, Bernadotte was injured in the head on June 4 during battling close Spanden. The injury constrained him to surrender order of I Corps to General of Division Claude Perrin Victor and he missed the triumph over the Russians at the Battle of Friedland ten days after the fact. While recuperating, Bernadotte was selected legislative leader of the Hanseatic towns. In this job he thought about an endeavor against Sweden however had to relinquish the thought when adequate vehicles couldn't be accumulated. Joining Napoleons armed force in 1809 for the crusade against Austria, he took order of the Franco-Saxon IX Corps. Showing up to participate in the Battle of Wagram (July 5-6), Bernadottes corps performed inadequately on the second day of battling and pulled back without orders. While endeavoring to revitalize his men, Bernadotte was eased of his order by a furious Napoleon. Coming back to Paris, Bernadotte was endowed with order of the Army of Antwerp and coordinated to protect the Netherlands against British powers during the Walcheren Campaign. He demonstrated fruitful and the British pulled back later that fall. Crown Prince of Sweden Named legislative leader of Rome in 1810, Bernadotte was kept from accepting this post by a proposal to turn into the beneficiary of the King of Sweden. Accepting the proposal to be silly, Napoleon neither bolstered nor contradicted Bernadotte seeking after it. As King Charles XIII needed youngsters, the Swedish government started looking for a beneficiary to the royal position. Worried about the military quality of Russia and wishing to stay on positive standing with Napoleon, they chose Bernadotte who had demonstrated war zone ability and extraordinary empathy to Swedish detainees during prior crusades. On August 21, 1810, the Ãâ€"retro States General chosen Bernadotte crown ruler and named him leader of the Swedish military. Officially received by Charles XIII, he showed up in Stockholm on November 2 and expected the name Charles John. Expecting control of the countrys outside issues, he started endeavors to get Norway and attempted to abstain from being a manikin of Napoleon. Completely receiving his new country, the new crown sovereign drove Sweden into the Sixth Coalition in 1813 and assembled powers to fight his previous leader. Getting together with the Allies, he added resolve to the reason after twin annihilations at Lutzen and Bautzen in May. As the Allies pulled together, he took order of the Northern Army and attempted to shield Berlin. In this job he vanquished Marshal Nicolas Oudinot at Grossbeeren on August 23 and Marshal Michel Ney at Dennewitz on September 6. In October, Charles John partook in the unequivocal Battle of Leipzig which saw Napoleon crushed and compelled to withdraw towards France. In the wake of the triumph, he started effectively battling against Denmark with the objective of driving it to surrender Norway to Sweden. Winning triumphs, he accomplished his goals through the Treaty of Kiel (January 1814). In spite of the fact that officially surrendered, Norway opposed Swedish standard requiring Charles John to coordinate a crusade there in the mid year of 1814. Ruler of Sweden With the passing of Charles XIII on February 5, 1818, Charles John rose to the royal position as Charles XIV John, King of Sweden and Norway. Changing over from Catholicism to Lutheranism, he demonstrated a traditionalist ruler who turned out to be progressively disliked as time passed. Regardless of this, his line stayed in power and proceeded after his demise on March 8, 1844. The present King of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf, is an immediate descendent of Charles XIV John.

Movies rollercoaster - Free Essay Example

INTRODUCTION Movies are rollercoaster ride that have the tremendous power to entertain and to teach. They can be a powerful tool to bring about effective social change true or false? It seems intuitive and logical that a well made film- especially one with a compelling narrative and well-crafted outreach plan would serve as a catalyst to change minds, encourage viewers to change entrenched behaviors, and start inform or reenergize social movements (Barrett and Leddy, Fledging Fund, Dec08). But another group of people believe that it can be surprisingly difficult to make a firm connection between the power of a film and social change so the social impact of movies needs to be better understood and documented although it is important to note that not all films are intended to be agents of social change, nor should they be. Some are simply lovely moving stories whose primary purpose is to entertain and share a compelling story. The concept of empowerment is inescapably tied to the idea of disempowerment and thus refers to the process by which those who have been denied the ability to make choices acquire such ability (Kabeer, 1999). Empowerment in essence entails a process of change. It refers to the expansion in peoples ability to make strategic life decisions in situations where earlier this ability was not given to them. Batliwala (1994) defines empowerment in terms of how much influence people have over external actions that matter to their welfare. The World Bank has identified empowerment as one the key development goals. The promotion of womens empowerment is based on a dual argument, the first part of which states that social justice is a vital part of human welfare and that womens empowerment in itself is a means to other ends. The most important element of empowerment is that it is a process (Kabeer 2001; Chen 1992; Rowlands 1995, Oxaal and Baden 1997). According to Jejeebhoy (1997), even though t erms like autonomy and empowerment seem like similar concepts, there is an important line of difference between them. The former represents resemblance to a static state while latter is something that continuous to change over time. The concept of empowerment of women does not necessarily imply that a change in the position of women can be brought about only by their own action or that empowering themselves is the responsibility of individual women themselves. It is looked upon as a collective responsibility of every individual member of the society in his own regard as well the responsibility of various legal and political institutions. Most researchers believe that in order to bring about women empowerment it is imperative to have collective action in the public sphere. Individual actions when combined together can help bring about significant normative changes at a broader or societal level. According to sociological theories of diffusion, new ideas and practices often spread gra dually without the realization that any fundamental change is occurring (Rogers 1995). At last comes a tipping point where the new processes become strong enough in themselves to create a revolution and to create a change in the collective consciousness. Empirical research on gender issues in the field of sociology, economics, demography and anthropology has increased significantly in the last three decades. However, research is yet to make a clear establishment on what is the one factor or the most significant factor that can alone influence this issue. There is still a lot of scope for research on the various dimensions and factors associated with the concept of empowerment. In this paper an attempt has been made to form a link between the awareness created about the issue of empowerment of women through movies. Movies are an important part of the modern day life and a powerful source of influence. Its impact on various areas in peoples lives cannot be denied. However, how powerful a medium it is to mobilize people for a social cause, to change their attitudes and perceptions about them, is an area open for debate and exploration. Movies influence people in different ways be it in their lifestyle or thought process. If this channel can be effectively tapped to reach out to people and effectively communicate social messages pertaining to different issues of concern then it will become easier to reach out to thousands of people across geographies and to create a change in the collective consciousness, to mobilize people towards a cause for the greater good and create a change at the societal level. In this paper an attempt has been made to study through va rious hypotheses the impact of movies in generating social awareness in the viewers pertaining to the cause of empowerment of women and the various dimensions that affect the impact that is created.The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between films and coordinated outreach efforts as change agents. i.e. whether an individual would actually change his opinion after seeing a movie. If yes, then movies are a very powerful medium to fight against the perils of the society. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The purpose of the paper is to understand and analyze the extent to which movies influence peoples perception about various social issues. Contributions of factors such as the movie characteristics, movie success in making a movie an effective instrument for generating social awareness will also be analyzed. MODEL The model links the movie characteristics and success of the movies to the overall social awareness generated. Respondents attributes consisting of gender acts as the mediator for this model. The constructs decided for the research are: 1. Movie Characteristics: This parameter consist the characteristics of the movie, various components which define the movie Storyline This component indicates how well the issue has been depicted through the movies script. The film should have a compelling narrative that can not only engage the viewers but also illustrate complex problems in a lucid manner. Popularity of the Director Star Cast The popularity of the director has a major impact on the pre release success and ratings a movie. The more the popularity and fame of the director and the star cast the more will be people talk about it. Promotion Done This component will incorporate the promotional activities undertaken before the release of the movie. The pre-release promotion and publicity of the movie plays a significant role in the revenue generated. Through our research we will try to analyze how these variables impact the success of a movie and the social awareness generated by it. 2. Success of the Movie: Different people have different criteria while measuring the success of a movie. For some it is the revenue generated by the movie, for others it comprises of the number of awards the movie has won. The various components which represent a movies success are listed below. 3. Social Awareness Generated:The ultimate objective is the social change which in this research paper is women empowerment. It is a long and complex process, however, in some cases there are key indicators of success. These can be in the form of legislative or policy changes or a shift in public dialogue or how issues are framed and discussed. One needs to be clear about the kind of social issue that a movie addresses and accordingly set reasonable expectations in respect of impact generated. In this paper we intend to evaluate the social change in the society by the following three variables:Action-Under this we look at the short term effect i.e. in terms of the immediate actions taken by the respondents as result of the impact caused by the movie in question. Impact- This variable looks at a more long term effect caused by the movie in terms of changes in peoples perception, attitude and behavior towards a particular issue or cause. Methods In this research paper we intend to study these variables via questionnaire, where in we will try and gauge the change in the level of activity under all these variables after they saw the movie. The study undertaken for the purpose of this paper has been done mainly through primary data collection. The sample population has been taken as group of 150 persons on whom a survey was administered in order to collect the necessary information. The area of research as undertaken in this paper is relatively new as a result of which no fixed methods and scales were available to study the effect of the movies in the manner as required by us. As a result of this on the basis of some of the existing scales and measures we developed a list of statements that would help us to capture the essence of all the variables that had been taken to represent a given construct. The statements so developed were clubbed together to form a simple questionnaire that could be administered upon the respondents. The measure of these was taken with the help of a five point Likert Scale, which gauges the response of the consumers on a continuum varying from strongly disagree to strongly agree. The developmen t of the statements to capture the social awareness generated in people about women empowerment has been made on the lines of the Spreitzers (1995; 1996) empowerment instrument, the validity of which has been established and proven. This instrument makes use of four dimensions when assessing the effect of empowerment in people, which in this case we have used to determine how deeply people are affected by the movie and the extent which they feel responsible for things and are willing to take action for the same even on a long run. The essence of the awareness generated among people has been captured on two levels: the first refers to the immediate action that they took to act on the particular issue and the second tries to capture the change in peoples perception and behavior on a sustained basis. The statements as available in the Spreitzers instrument have been modified suitably in order to test or capture the impact as created on the movie viewers. Since the scale used in this st udy is not a pre established one and has been developed by us for the purpose of this study therefore the instrument was required to be put through a test of face validity before it could be administered to the respondents. Face validity is basically a test conducted in order to judge whether something looks like it is going to measure what it is intended to measure. In order to test this the original questionnaire was sent to a few experts and their views and opinion obtained on whether they felt that the statements were able to rightly get the message across to the respondent and capture the meaning as was intended by us. According to their suggestions some of the statements that were incorporated in the initial questionnaire were dropped as due to their extreme generic nature they were not able to convey the right kind of meaning and get the response as was required for the purpose of the study. The statements that were removed were: The director of a movie influences my decision to watch the movie. Im more likely to watch a movie if made by a famous producer/director. The star cast of a movie influences my decision to watch a movie. Im more likely to watch a movie if it has a famous star cast. After making the necessary revisions we were able to come up with a questionnaire that could convey meaning to people in the same sense as intended by us and which looked like it was capable of capturing the responses in the true spirit bringing about the right understanding on the part of the respondent of the various variables involved. We also went through relevant articles and journals from EBSCO and other web sources to carry out a literature review to create our hypotheses. The issue which we have addressed is women empowerment. We have selected 2 movies for the purpose of our study, namely Chake De India and Dor. The key issue that has been addressed in Chake De India is that Women are capable of creating a space for themselves in a so called male dominated society while Dor talks about a married woman who has to renounce happiness and live a life of repentance when her husband dies. Subsequently we studied the impact that both these movies had on the viewers in terms of making them aware about the pertinent issue. While selecting the movies various factors were taken into consideration in order to draw a meaningful comparison. Chak De India was selected because of the popularity of the star cast, the hype and success of the movie; whereas Dor was selected because it is not a part of commercialized cinema and t he actors and director are not as famous as in the case of Chake De India. Literature Review Existing Research Available In 1920s movie exploded as mainstream entertainment as there were no radio or TV set during that period. A lot of researchers believed that movies had impact on attitude and behaviours of people and they launched a series of studies focusing on effect of films. There were 13 studies conducted primarily by Edgar Dale. He studied film content and categorized them into 10 groups. An observation which came out was more than 75% fall into crime, love and sex categories. Interestingly same kind of trend can also probably been seen today. Edgar Dale used census, survey, questionnaires, case studies and personal interviews in his study. It was observed movies caused attitude, emotions, behavioural change in people who were the part of the study. Herbert Blumer conducted questionnaires and interviews with people to study how watching movies affected their behaviour. Most of the people who were studied believed that they had been influenced by movies in some way (A brief History of Media Effects Research). In one of the study, Andrew Butler of Washington University decided to simulate a classroom where films were used as a teaching tool. The accurate version of an historical event was taught to the students and they were also made to watch a movie associated with that event. The movie that was shown contained both accurate and inaccurate information about the historical incidents they depicted. The idea was to see which method led to the most accurate comprehension of the events: teaching or watching a movie. The results were really interesting, when the information in the film and the reading were contradictory that is, when the film was inaccurate the students were more likely to recall the films distorted version and were very confident in their memories, even though they were wrong (I Learned It at the Movies.By: Herbert, Wray, Scientific American Mind). In the last ten years, however, outreach strategies, have become a central component of movies, spurred by a new generation of producers (The evolving impact of documentary film: sacrifice and the rise of issue-centered outreach (1) by Whiteman, David). Thus at the societal level, movies are assumed to play a role in transmitting, maintaining, and reinforcing the societal and cultural consensus. They cultivate images of society by interpreting the world in terms of what is what is important what is right and what is related to what else. In other words, movies generally show a view of reality (Interactive Media and Its Contribution to the Construction and Destruction of Values and Character.By: Kane, Harrison D., Taub, Gordon E., Hayes, B. Grant). Films affect perceptions that people hold about the world at large and its inhabitants in particular. Even though some people may like to disregard cinema as only a frivolous means of entertainment and nothing beyond that, one cannot ignore the fact that there have been film makers who have managed to lift veil on a hidden plight. It might be about an injustice to a minority, or the courageous story of change by a single individual, but either way it raises awareness about the issue at hand (Movies Promoting Social Change by Robert Oakes). One of the most popular papers on this topic considers the following factors to be important for a movie to make an impact: Quality of the movie The movie should have a compelling narrative that can not only engage the viewers but also illustrate complex problems in a lucid manner. Ability of the film to create awareness about an issue- Awareness is the first step to any kind of social change. Care should be taken to see whether the film could reach people beyond those who already knew and cared about the issue illustrated in the movie. Public engagement This implies not only being aware of the issue to taking action on it. To evaluate a films success in this regard one can look at participation in response to facilitated dialogues, blogs, activity on various social networking sites and participation level in various Actions campaigns that are organized around that issue. The ultimate objective is the social change. It is a long and complex process, however, in some cases there are key indicators of success. These can be in the form of legislative or policy changes or a shift in public dialogue or how issues are framed and discussed. A lot of film makers are making full use of the social power of the internet to drive their social campaigns. Not only are viewers being encouraged to visit and discuss the movie on online forums after having viewed it ,but, a lot of filmmakers are also using websites to create a community before the film has been released. This is slowly becoming a critical strategy to deepen the reach and impact of films. Engaging a pre release audience increases their investment in the film and logically increases the likelihood that they will see the film and take some action. The film makers are expanding their digital reach to the likes of Facebook, YouTube, MySpace and Twitter to draw in new and diverse audiences who generally may not have been interested in a movie of that particular genre or issue. Hypothesis Characteristics are the qualities that define the core features of objects and distinguish one object from another. While defining a movie, the initial elements which come to mind are genre, storyline, impact of the personnel in the movie, music, cinematography, etc. movie characteristics are distinguished into two groups; movie traits and picture related communication. The traits describe such attributes which influence the decision of people to watch a particular movie (Jedidi, Krider and Weinberg 1998). Depending on the influence on behavior, the traits are further divided into factors which moviegoers comprehend before watching the movie such as attractiveness of personnel, genre, and success in previous years. The second category contains qualities which can be experienced only after watching the movie like the storyline or script. The script of a movie decides its fate. If the movie is not made well and is unable to grip the audience to their seats, it does not serve the purpose. The script should be able to define the issue in such a way that people can relate to it and understand the essence of the issue. Poorly made scripts eventually lead to a disinterested crowd of audience and the main motive behind making the movie is lost. The core dimension of the films impact remains the quality of the film. This basically means that the film should have a compelling narrative that can not only engage the viewers but also illustrate complex problems in a lucid manner. For this measure researchers look at a lot of dimensions such as festival acceptance, theatrical success, online buzz, international and national DVD sales as well as traditional film reviews and awards. Ridley Scott had stated once that the success of a movie is driven by the script (Silver-Lasky 2003). Eliashberg, Hui and Zhang (2006) studied the eff ect of a movies script on the box office revenue and stated that the script of a movie plays an important role in the box office revenue thus generated. Facts have shown that the revenue generated by a movie does not entirely depend on the money spent on the production, but the ability of the script to capture the issue being portrayed in a realistic manner. Finalizing the script is a tedious task and a lot of research is put into it. There is a tremendous gap between the number of scripts registered and the number of movies actually made out of them. It has been estimated through studies that each year over 15000 scripts get registered with the Writers Guild of America, whereas about 700 movies are made in America. A regularly debated question is whether the presence of stars critical to the success of a movie? The industry is full of actors and actresses but it is the ones who are on the top of the pyramid who command the highest payments. Generally people go to watch a movie because their favorite actor/actress is acting in it. Popularity of an actor is build by his previous performances and success in the film industry such as awards won by him, etc. This provides a benchmark for the viewers and they believe that the presence of that particular actor will result in the movie becoming a hit. Similarly, reputed and famous directors and producers are expected to make good films which are a box office. The expectations from these directors/ producers are far more than some not so famous directors. There is a lot of academic literature on whether the presence of stars affects the performance of a movie, however, the results have been mixed. Direct and absolute causal relationship has not been est ablished. Thurau, Walsh and Wruck (2001) studied the significance of the popularity of the star cast and producer/ director in attracting audience to the movies. The study stated that the motion pictures are a result of the contribution of numerous individuals. Movies are complex creative goods that are the results of teams of creative people working together (Caves 2000). Both the visible personnel like the onstage performers and actors as well as the invisible personnel like producer and director have an influence on the peoples choice of movie. Presence of a famous start reduces the uncertainty in the viewers mind about the movie. Arnold stated that analogous to brand names, the presence of famous stars help the movie attain a certain standard. Elberse in her study stated that a popular star as a part of a movie is like a source of free advertising for the movie. He/she can help the film maker to garner valuable resources (in this case the audience) for him/her to be able to reac h out to the masses to make the presence of his movie felt. Empirical studies by Albert (1998); Kindem (1982); Wallace, Seigerman, and Holbrook (1993) indicate that the power of stars contribute to 20 percent of the gross revenue generated by the movie. According to Schroder (1995), the director is of great importance while a motion picture is being made. It is his task to coordinate the actors, technical staff and other personnel to achieve his vision. A directors previous successes are also sometimes included for the advertising and promotion of a movie. For example Titanic was advertised using the catchphrase From the director of the movie True Lies. Brand Theories by Chang and Ki state that similar to superstars, presence of famous directors is like ingredient branding. In other words popular directors contribute to box office success by attracting audience. The success of a movie is also influenced by the promotion done for the movie. Movie promotion is done to make the people aware of the movie, create suspense and interest about the movie. If a person is unaware of a movie, its genre, star cast, director, etc then it is unlikely for him to watch the movie. The pre release promotion of a movie creates a buff and hype about the movie. Based on promos itself people start speculating the fate of the movie. A strong promotion is likely to attract more audience in the early few days of the release of the movie as the only information about the movie before its release is through its promotional activities. The different promotional activities include advertising through print media, film posters, participation of stars and directors on TV and radio, merchandising, trailers, etc. Movie promotion focuses on communicating a movies quasi-search qualities like symbolicity, presence of actors and actresses. Attempts are also made to reflect the o verall quality of the movie in its advertising through statements like The years funniest movie or testimonials. Empirical studies by Austin (1989); Eastman, Bradbury and Nemes (1985); Muller and Cheviz (1993) have shown that the customer expectations are influences by the movies trailers. However, the trailers should be such that they do not reveal the movies secrets as that interest dies down. For example the trailer of the movie What lies Beneath entirely demolishes the surprises. Ebert (2000) said that the approach of modern studio to trailers is taken from the marketing people standing in the supermarkets, offering a bite of sausage. Tasting it gives you all the ingredients of the sausage, except for the experience of eating the whole thing. Internet has become a very powerful tool for advertising. Graaf (1999) in his study stated that the success of a movie is influenced by website advertising rather than conventional advertising. Blair Witch Project was able to earn box-offic e gross revenue of 130 million dollors in USA and Canada through word of mouth on the internet. According to the study by Barrett and Leddy the films promotion and outreach activities play an important role in not only increasing the size of the audience and sales but to use films as vehicles of social change. The relevance of the storyline directly influences the success of the movie. Popularity of the star cast, director and producer positively influences the success of the movie. Promotion positively influences the success of a movie. Success is defined as an event that accomplishes its intended purpose. Success of a movie is a very debatable topic as different people perceive success differently. Some attribute the success of the movie to the box office revenue generated by it, for others it is the number of awards won by the movie. People also perceive a movie to be successful if it was able to create an impact and awareness about the issue or was able to cause a social drive which changed the mindset of the people regarding that issue. If a person perceives a movie to be a success then the movie has a strong lasting impression in his mind. The ability of a film to create awareness about an issue is the first step to any kind of social change. In this regard the researchers have considered both the diversity as well as the size of the audience. The research makes an attempt to see whether the film could reach people beyond those who already knew and cared about the issue illustrated in the movie. While looking at the success of motion pictures, a great deal of importance is attached to the number of moviegoers and the gross revenue generated (box-office earnings), along with the movies profitability (Thurau, Walsh Wruck, 2001). In order for a movie to be long term box office success it is imperative that there should be elements present that complement the overall quality of the movie, which can be done effectively through viewers perception and the critical reviews that it obtains. In the arena of new product deve lopment, word of mouth (WOM) plays a significant role because building consumer awareness is of vital importance, and consumers need information when deciding whether to purchase a product they do not know well (Mahajan, Muller, and Kerin 1984). Similarly movie reviews largely influence the decision of people to watch the movie. Word of mouth is supposed to be more credible and trustworthy, and it is more readily accessible through social networks (Banerjee 1992; Brown and Reingen 1987; Murray 1991). Due to the large number of movies being released these days, movies are seen as consumer goods and not just a source of entertainment. A McKinsey Company study found that 67% of the sales of consumer goods are based on WOM (Taylor 2003). Movies which have performed well on the box office are likely to have a greater impact about the issue being addressed. A lot of research has been done to study the effect of the box office success as a driver for carrying out a social change. Barrett and Leddy in their study stated that while looking at a movie as having the potential for social impact it is important to move beyond the box office success and look at the overall impact generated. While one looks at the number of people who saw the film, whats more important is how many people understood the issue for which it was made. It is not reasonable to expect broad social change if there is little awareness of the fact that a problem exists. In some cases, just getting the audience to watch the film and better understand the issue is sufficient as creating awareness is of prime importance while trying to bring a social change. The number of awards won by a movie also influences the perception of people regarding its success. A lot of studies have taken awards as an independent variable for predicting the success of the movie as it is perceived that awards reflect quality or might help in generating bigger revenues for the movie. However, the relationship between quality reflected by winning awards and the quality as perceived by movie viewers is yet to be established in a significant manner (Chang Ki, 2005). Movies like Ben Hur, Titanic and Lord of The Rings are considered to be some of the most successful movies and this can be attributed to the fact that each of them has won a record breaking 11 awards at Oscars. Moreover these movies have a higher recall value in the viewers minds and have had a greater impact as compared to movies which have won lesser or no awards. The perceived success of a movie has a positive influence on the social awareness generated. According to Max Weber action can be defined as human behavior which the agent or agents seen as being subjectively meaningful. In this case meaning does not necessarily imply that it has to be objectively correct or true by some metaphysical criterion. Action when looked at this context mainly refers to the initiatives or steps taken by them in the immediate future after being exposed to an external stimulus. For the purpose of this research paper the external stimulus referred to is the movie that the people are exposed to. Action here is judged in terms of steps taken by them in the immediate time span post this exposure. Action can be taken being mainly composed of two aspects. The first refers to the dimension by which people feel like the engine of empowerment. It basically refers to the mechanism through which individuals get energized and feel passionate about the work or cause. The second dimension talks about competence which basically refers to an individuals belief that h e/she has what it takes to do a task well. Without a sense of confidence in their abilities, individuals feel not adequate or empowered and thus may not be motivated enough to take any kind of action (Conger Kanungo, 1988). When talking about impact we consider the long term and sustainable change generated in the peoples attitude and perception about a particular object which in this case would be the movie in question. Impact can be seen as comprising of two primary dimensions. The first thing that it talks about is the concept of self-determination. This primarily refers to whether individuals see themselves as the origin of their actions (DeCharms, 1968) it is very essential for a person to view herself/himself as the source of the action or change if the effect created on them initially is to be sustained on a long run basis. The second part refers to a sense of accomplishment that an individual would feel when he believes that he is able to cause a difference in the manner th ings happen around him. Without a sense of progression towards a goal, without a belief that their actions are influencing the system, people would not feel empowered (Thomas Velthouse, 1990). Action and Impact have been incorporated as a part of the social awareness generated as any change initiated in society or elsewhere will not be complete if checked only in terms of the immediate consequences without giving due importance to its sustainability. Often when exposed to a strong external stimulus people respond by taking some immediate action however, any meaningful change can occur only if the effect of the influence remains on a relatively permanent basis. Result and Analysis Cronbachs Alpha Chak De : Constructs 0.740 Chak De : Questionnaire 0.907 Dor: Questionnaire 0.904 Dor : Constructs 0.774 Since the area of our research is relatively less explored and the scale used was also developed by us therefore we conducted the reliability test on the various aspects of this study to ensure the reliability of the test scores obtained. As a rule of thumb, a reliability of 0.70 or higher is considered satisfactory to use an instrument further. We conducted this test to obtain the alpha value for the responses received under both the movies to check the internal consistency of the test scores. The values obtained were as given in Table- . since all the values obtained were greater than 0.70, we could conclude with a reasonable level of confidence that the items used were capable of measuring the given constructs and thus the responses received could be used to carry the research forward. In addition to this all the variables used to capture the various constructs were all us put through the reliability test. The findings of the same have been reported in Table and Table Chak De India Cronbachs Alpha Construct Movie Characteristics Storyline 0.354 Popularity of the director 0.598 Popularity of the actor 0.537 Promotion done 0.770 Construct Perceived success of the movie 0.528 Construct Awareness generated about women empowerment Action 0.522 Impact 0.424 Dor Cronbachs Alpha Construct Movie Characteristics Storyline 0.576 Popularity of the director 0.591 Popularity of the actor 0.641 Promotion done 0.625 Construct Perceived success of the movie 0.516 Construct Awareness generated about women empowerment Action 0.740 Impact 0.801 To gauge the impact of movies on the social awareness generated we have used the four-step mediation analysis method developed by Baron and Kenny (1986). There are four variable in the construct Movie Characteristics and we have carried out a separate mediation analysis for each of the four variables. In the first step storyline of the movie is taken as the independent variable/ predictor in the regression equation and social awareness generated as the outcome/ criterion variable. The second step uses storyline as the predictor and perceived success of the movie as the criterion variable. In the third step perceived success of the movie is taken as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. In the fourth step both storyline and the perceived success are taken as the predictors and the social awareness is taken as the criterion variable. This is done in order to compare the effects of the mediator which in our model is the perceived success if the movie. T he mediation analysis has been done separately for both the movies. Chak De India Step Relation R2 Adjusted R2 Standardized Type of Mediation 1 x1 to y 0.486 0.483 0.697 Partial Mediation 2 x1 to z 0.209 0.204 0.457 3 z to y 0.235 0.23 0.485 4 x1,z to y 0.521 0.514 0.601 (x1) 0.210 (z) 1 x2 to y 0.45 0.447 0.671 Partial Mediation 2 x2 to z 0.225 0.22 0.475 3 z to y 0.235 0.23 0.485 4 x2,z to y 0.486 0.479 0.569 (x2) 0.241 (z) 1 x3 to y 0.242 0.237 0.492 Partial Mediation 2 x3 to z 0.116 0.11 0.34 3 z to y 0.235 0.23 0.485 4 x3,z to y 0.356 0.347 0.37 (x3) 0.359 (z) 1 x4 to y 0.423 0.419 0.65 Partial Mediation 2 x4 to z 0.257 0.252 0.507 3 z to y 0.235 0.23 0.485 4 x4,z to y 0.455 0.448 0.545 (x4) 0.208 (z) Table 1: Regression results of the four step mediation analysis for Chak De India Notes: x1 refers to storyline; x2 refers to popularity of director; x3 refers to promotion done; x4 refers to popularity of star cast; y refers to social awareness generated; z refers to perceived success; p0.05 Storyline Step 1 shows the results of regression using storyline as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the storyline is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.486 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using storyline as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the storyline is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.209 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H1. Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.235 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H4. Step 4 shows the results of regression using storyline and perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both storyline and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.521 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for storyline ( = 0.601) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.697) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between storyline and the social awareness generated. Popularity of Director (POD) Step 1 shows the results of regression using POD as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POD is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.45 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using POD as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POD is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.225 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H2. Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.235 and p0.05). Step 4 shows the results of regression using both POD and perceived success as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both POD and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.486 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for POD ( = 0.569) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.671) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between POD and the social awareness generated. Promotion Done Step 1 shows the results of regression using promotion as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the promotion is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.242 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using promotion as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the promotion is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.116 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H3. Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.235 and p0.05). Step 4 shows the results of regression using both promotion and perceived success as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both promotion and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.356 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for promotion ( = 0.37) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.492) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between promotion and the social awareness generated. Popularity of Star Cast (POS) Step 1 shows the results of regression using POS as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POS is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.423 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using POS as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POS is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.257 and p0.05). Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.235 and p0.05). Step 4 shows the results of regression using both POS and perceived success as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both POS and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.455 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for POS ( = 0.545) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.65) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between POS and the social awareness generated. We also calculated the effect of the movie characteristics on the social awareness generated by taking all the four variables together as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. This was done to gauge which variable had the strongest influence on the social awareness generated. Variable Standardized Beta Storyline 0.35 Director 0.19 Promotion 0.07 Actor 0.25 Table 2: Regression results for movie characteristics variables on social awareness for Chak De India The results in the above table indicate that storyline of the movie is the most instrumental factor in creating social awareness about the concerned issue. The results also indicate that the promotion alone does not influence the generation of social awareness, and a mediating effect is required through the perceived success. In other words, only if the movie is perceived to be successful, the promotion will influence the social awareness generated. DOR Step Relation R2 Adjusted R2 Standardized Beta Type of Mediation 1 x1 to y 0.434 0.43 0.659 Partial Mediation 2 x1 to z 0.296 0.291 0.544 3 z to y 0.348 0.344 0.59 4 x1,z to y 0.51 0.504 0.48 (x1) 0.329 (z) 1 x2 to y 0.248 0.243 0.498 Partial Mediation 2 x2 to z 0.118 0.112 0.344 3 z to y 0.348 0.344 0.59 4 x2,z to y 0.51 0.504 0.334 (x2) 0.475 (z) 1 x3 to y 0.321 0.316 0.566 Partial Mediation 2 x3 to z 0.203 0.198 0.451 3 z to y 0.348 0.344 0.59 4 x3,z to y 0.461 0.454 0.377 (x3) 0.420 (z) 1 x4 to y 0.331 0.326 0.575 Partial Mediation 2 x4 to z 0.195 0.19 0.442 3 z to y 0.348 0.344 0.59 4 x4,z to y 0.471 0.464 0.391 (x4) 0.417 (z) Table 3: Regression results of the four step mediation analysis for DOR Notes: x1 refers to storyline; x2 refers to popularity of director; x3 refers to promotion done; x4 refers to popularity of star cast; y refers to social awareness generated; z refers to perceived success; p0.05 Storyline Step 1 shows the results of regression using storyline as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the storyline is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.434 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using storyline as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the storyline is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.296 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H1. Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.348 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H4. Step 4 shows the results of regression using storyline and perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both storyline and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.51 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for storyline ( = 0.48) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.691) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between storyline and the social awareness generated. Popularity of Director (POD) Step 1 shows the results of regression using POD as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POD is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.248 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using POD as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POD is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.118 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H2. Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.348 and p0.05). Step 4 shows the results of regression using both POD and perceived success as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both POD and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.51 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for POD ( = 0.334) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.498) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between POD and the social awareness generated. Promotion Done Step 1 shows the results of regression using promotion as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the promotion is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.321 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using promotion as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the promotion is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.203 and p0.05) thus validating our research hypothesis H3. Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.348 and p0.05). Step 4 shows the results of regression using both promotion and perceived success as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both promotion and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.461 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for promotion ( = 0.377) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.566) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between promotion and the social awareness generated. Popularity of Star Cast (POS) Step 1 shows the results of regression using POS as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POS is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.331 and p0.05). Step 2 shows the results of regression using POS as the predictor and perceived success as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the POS is significantly and positively related to perceived success (R2 = 0.195 and p0.05). Step 3 shows the results of regression using perceived success as the predictor and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the perceived success is significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.348 and p0.05). Step 4 shows the results of regression using both POS and perceived success as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. The step revealed that the both POS and perceived success are significantly and positively related to social awareness generated (R2 = 0.471 and p0.05). Moreover the standardized beta value obtained in this step for POS ( = 0.391) is lower than the value obtained in step 1 ( = 0.575) which indicates that the perceived success partially mediates the relationship between POS and the social awareness generated. We also calculated the effect of the movie characteristics on the social awareness generated by taking all the four variables together as the predictors and social awareness generated as the criterion variable. This was done to gauge which variable had the strongest influence on the social awareness generated. Variable Standardized Beta Storyline 0.39 Director 0.19 Promotion 0.18 Actor 0.21 Table 4: Regression results for movie characteristics variables on social awareness for DOR The results in the above table indicate that storyline of the movie is the most instrumental factor in creating social awareness about the concerned issue. Discussion and Implications The results and scope of this study can have great implications in terms of providing new ways and means of reaching out to people in order to make them more aware and conscious about the social issues plaguing the society. The first step towards bringing about any meaningful change in society is to create awareness about the fact that a problem exists. Since movies have a mass appeal they can be shaped on the basis of this study to ensure that they are used as an effective medium for mobilizing people to work towards a greater good. One of the most important implications of this study derives from the fact that the storyline of the movie has the greatest impact in generating awareness about a particular issue. Thus it can be assured to a large extent that a movie made for initiating social change will have the desired impact if it has a strong script, which is capable of conveying the message to the target audience in a lucid manner. Another important result derived from this study is the partial mediation effect of the perceived success of the movie on the impact generated by it. This implies that a movie maker can only partially control the factors such as the star cast, director et al. that influence the impact generated by the movie as the rest will depend on whether the viewers perceive the movie as a success or not. Scope for Future Research The amount of research work done in judging the impact of movies on people particularly in the dimension of generating social awareness had been increasing slowly; however, there is still a lot of scope for further research work to be done. One of the major areas for future researchers to work upon would be the development of a scale that can be used to capture the various dimensions of the constructs included in the model used for the purpose of this study. The scale developed in such a case would not only be required to be tested for face validity but also for content validity in order to ensure that it is able to capture all the facets involved. Future research also provides scope to extend this study to various other social causes pertinent to the society. This will also provide a chance to determine whether the factors that influence the impact generated by a movie differ with the kind of issue being addressed. Also, in the future research work one could take into account the ef fect of foreign films in generating social awareness within a domestic framework. With increasing globalization, and improvement in technology more and more people are being exposed to foreign films. This provides a chance to study if and how an international movie can influence perceptions and belief systems of a different culture and society. Limitations and Conclusions This particular study was conducted to try and capture the social awareness as generated among the people regarding the issue of empowerment of women post watching a moving dealing with the same. Since the survey deals with the respondents painting a social picture of themselves the study by its very nature becomes open to the effect of social desirability bias. Social desirability basically reflects a tendency present in the subjects to try and deny socially undesirable traits and to try and claim the socially desirable ones which are likely to place them in a favorable light. This kind of behavior is particularly shaped by what people believe is the acceptable norm in society. Norms are important determinants of what would constitute behavior that is socially acceptable, as they determine what makes a good impression in a given situation ( cf Atteslander Kneubuhler , 1975). When an element of social desirability creeps into the minds of the respondents their responses tend to beco me distorted as rather than giving their true opinion about the cause under consideration ( in this case that of empowerment of women), they try and project an image of what they feel would be the tight kind of opinion to have or the right kind of behavior to indulge in, so as to gain social acceptability. Their focus then shifts to projecting conformity with social standards and opinions rather than giving a picture of their true selves. This particular factor inhibits any study which tries to gauge peoples response in any area of social responsibility. This has also been one of the major impeding factors in this study when collecting data from the respondents as it is hard to be absolutely sure that the responses as submitted by them reflect their true perception about the subject matter of the study. We tried to limit the extent of this factor by giving an option to the respondents where in they could choose not to disclose their identity while filling in the responses. However, the desire to appear socially desirable is so strong in people that they may not completely trust the fact that their responses could not be traced to them and would thus focus more on appearing socially acceptable. Another major limitation that we came across while conducting this study was the lack of any pre-established scale. The variables which were included as part of the various constructs did not have exact measurement scales available for them. As a result in order to capture the primary data we developed and administered a questionnaire on our own using the Likert scale for measurement purposes. The developed questionnaire could be tested only for face validity and the content validity of the scale is yet to be tested. The content validity checks the extent to which a measure is able to capture all the facets of a given social construct. For a scale to be completely valid and reliable one should take into account the content validity also. However, it was beyond the scope of this paper to test the developed scale for content validity, and hence we have had to make do only with face validity. The scope of the given study is limited to only two movies, where as to obtain a more holistic perspective one could take into account more movies made on the issue of empowerment of women, across different time lines and genres. Another constraining factor is the number of respondents who have been approached for the study. By increasing the number of respondents probably across different age groups and locations we could get a more complete perspective on the kind of impact that has been generated on the viewers.

Essay about The Role of Women in the Epic of Gilgamesh

What if women ruled the world? The question does not seem so strange today as it may have back in 2500 B.C.E., an age when people tell stories of the Great King of Uruk--Gilgamesh. Although the story of â€Å"Gilgamesh† revolves around themes of masculinity and brotherhood--with its male prerogative, its composers develop several strong female characters which suggest women have great influence in a male-dominated, Mesopotamian society. The first female character that influences a man is the prostitute. She is left at the spring by the hunter so that she can sleep with Enkidu and make the other animals abandon him. According to the tale, Enkidu acts like an animal. Nonetheless he is drawn to the prostitute. She is wise and knows the nature†¦show more content†¦She pleads with Shamash the sun and moon god on her son’s behalf. She also adopts Enkidu and calls on the gods to protect him, but she places a charm on his neck and calls for Enkidu to protect his friend—Gilgamesh. This invocation eventually damns Enkindu and saves her son as they go on the quest to fight Humbaba and later the bull of heaven. Ninsun’s influence with the gods shields her son from death but sacrifices Enkindu. Enkindu realizes his fate as he lies on his death bed; â€Å"The gods have said that one of us must die†¦. .Enlil said I must die, for you are two-thirds god and should not die. . . I know they ha ve chosen me† (Mason 46). Ninsun does everything to protect her son, even if it means influencing the gods and sacrificing Enkidu. Another female that influences her man is Utnapishtim’s wife. She is a lessor character who lives with the wise man of Shurupak. She intercedes with her husband when Gilgamesh comes to him for the answer to eternal life. Utnapishtim tells him the story of the flood but Gilgamesh, overcome with tiredness from his journey, falls asleep. Utnapishtim is angered that Gilgamesh cannot stay awake. At this point his wife intercedes for Gilgamesh asking her husband to wake him so he can go back to his home. Instead, Utnapishtim tells her to bake a loaf of bread for each day Gilgamesh sleeps. Eventually Utnapishtim’s wife encourages him to have mercy on Gilgamesh; â€Å"His wife whispered to him; saying: He has come so far. HaveShow MoreRelatedThe Role Of Women In The Epic Of Gilgamesh1189 Words   |  5 Pages The Epic of Gilgamesh follows a tale of two brothers tasked with defeating an all-powerful beast, yet they aren’t the most important characters in this story . Without their wisdom and guidance, Gilgamesh and Enkidu’s journey would have ended a lot sooner, and Gilgamesh would have still rampaged in Uruk, never bringing peace to those who were below him. 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The women of Gilgamesh are goddesses, priestesses and a variety of other roles, each with their own set of skills, guide Gilgamesh throughout the epic. Despite the perception of some scholars that the women of GilgameshRead MoreThe Epic Of Gilgamesh : The Struggle For Women1183 Words   |  5 PagesThe struggle for women to play a significant role in history can be traced from the ancient Mesopotamians to the 1900’s. There has been a continuous battle for women to gain equal rights legally and to be treated equally in all aspects of life. The Epic of Gilgamesh contains some of the oldest recorded accounts of the roles of women and their importance in a functional society. Women have been viewed as anything from goddesses to unwanted servants throughout history, regardless of a variety of changesRead MoreGender Inequality In Gilgamesh Essay1339 Words   |  6 Pageshas always been a gender inequality separating the roles and power of men from women. 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Task 4 Project Appraisal Example

Essays on Task 4: Project Appraisal Essay Project Appraisal Project appraisal entails assessing, the case for proceeding with a project in a structured way. From the time to time organizations need to determine the current and the future needs of their business. This may be in the form of acquiring new plant, machine, technology or replacement of the old equipment. All these require good planning, analysis and selection of the appropriate project in order to ensure that scarce resources are effectively and efficiently utilized. In this financial case, there are two projects that are to be evaluated so as to achieve better spending decisions for capital. The organization has two options to choose from. One, it weighs between buying a lorry for its marketing department or upgrading the computer systems in its marketing department so as to increase sales for the organization and enhance its competition in the market. The initial capital spending for the purchase of the lorry is  £10 000 and for the upgrading of the computer system would cost an initial capital of  £5 000.The economic life of the lorry is estimated to be five years without any residual value and the upgrading of the computer system in the marketing department is to be done after every five years and, therefore, in this case its economic life was taken as five years with no residual value. The values for the estimated revenues are as indicated below; A lorry up grading computer systems Year Revenue expected ( £) Revenue expected ( £) 0 (10 000) (5 000) 1 2 500 4 000 2 2 000 3 000 3 2 000 2 000 4 1 000 1 500 5 1 000 1 000 The purpose of project appraisal is to establish whether a project is worthwhile in the light of its costs in forms of resources commitments and the projects expected benefits. As Hendrickson and McNeil (2000) put it, â€Å"Selection is made on the basis of a systematic analysis of expected revenues and cost overtime for each project alternatives.† After estimation of the revenue expected from the projects then the following step is to do the analysis of the projects so as to choose the feasible one(s) that would increase the organizations value and its net worth. Several techniques can be used to appraise various projects such as payback method, internal rate of return, net present value and many others. For this financial case, as indicated by Harold Bierman and Seymour Smidt (2012). â€Å"We continue to advocate the net present value method. In practice, most projects are analyzed using an estimate of the expected cash flow. The most common procedure for coping with risk i s to use a risk-adjusted discount rate.† The net present value scheme is used to appraise the two projects and then used to select the best project for the organization. Purchase of a lorry Year present values factors (PVF) revenue expected ( £) Present values ( £) 0 1 (10 000) (10 000) 1 0.9091 2 500 2272.75 2 0.8264 2 000 1652.80 3 0.7513 2 000 1502.60 4 0.6830 1 000 683.00 5 0.6209 1 000 620.90 Net present value (NPV) (3267.90) Up grading computer system Year PVF revenue expected ( £) Present values ( £) 0 1 (5 000) (5000) 1 0.9091 4000 3636.40 2 0.8264 3000 2479.20 3 0.7513 2000 1502.60 4 0.6830 1500 10 24.50 5 0.6209 1000 620.90 Net present value 4263.60 The appraisal of the two projects illustrates that the purchase of the lorry for the marketing department to carry out marketing activities for the organization is not viable as it would only contribute negatively to the organization. The net present value a negative value which means in five years after the purchase of lorry the returns that it shall bring to the organization would be less than the cost incurred to purchase it hence it would reduce the net worth of the organization in the long run. Therefore, the lorry should not be purchased as it has a negative return, -3267.50. On the other hand, upgrading of the computer system in the marketing department has proven to be feasible. This is due to the good cash flow that it can generate for the organization. In today’s world, most customers prefer to purchase various products from the organization through online. This will contribute to the greater cash flow to the organization due to wider market reach if the system is up graded. The projects’ net present value is positive, +4263.60, which means that, its contribution to the organization will improve the organizations net worth. Therefore, the upgrading of the computer system in the marketing department should be implemented. In conclusion, capital expenditure is money or resources that a company uses to acquire or upgrade a business asset so that it increases its net worth in the long run. Various organizations need to make different economic decision of which if not done well may hamper the operation of the organization or any of its departments. These various alternatives need to be evaluated and appraised so that the best is selected. This increases the capacity or efficiency of the organization due to proper allocation and utilization of the resources References Hendrickson, C, McNeil, S, 2000, Project selection from alternatives, Boca Raton: CRC press LLC. Harold Bierman, Jr, Seymour Smidt, 2012, Business economics, Routledge.

Business Capstone Project Management

Question: Discuss about the human resource management. Answer: 1.0 Introduction Human Resources are the main assets of every organization, as each task is ultimately done through them. Therefore, every organization should maintain their human resources properly with great care and proper guidance. Human resource management (HRM) is the process to manage the employees within organization through structured and proper manner. It is the total process of recruiting, selecting, giving induction, appraising performance, providing training, managing compensation, motivating and managing safety and welfare of the employees (Zeb, Rehman and Saeed 2014). Properly managed human resource management can maximize the utilization of limited skillful workforce. The macro perspective of HRM is to build a collaborative relationship among the employees and management. The basic focus of human resource management is to acquire, develop and retaining the talented employees so that they can be aligned with the business purpose of the organization effectively (Tata et al. 2013). The main evidence and need of human resource management can be seen in retail industry. The employees of retail organizations have to interact with the customers in continuous ways that increase their work pressure. It needs greater motivation for the employees in retaining them for longer term. Employee motivation is related to fulfillment of employees needs that encourage them to pursue their job efficiently (Shields and Kaine 2015). As the work pressure of the employees in retail organization is very high, they need to be compensated properly according to their contribution in organization in organizational success. 1.1 Background of the Study This research is emphasizing on importance of proper compensation management on motivation of employees. Extrinsic motivations are the external factors that encourage the employees to fulfill a particular task in the workplace. Every organization needs to retail their employees in a long-term basis for increasing the productivity and reputation of the employees (Li et al. 2016). It needs high level of motivation of the employees through fulfilling all their demands properly. In this situation, organizations are trying to develop proper motivational strategy through providing competitive pay, bonus for extra work and incentives and profit sharing of the organization (Dinwoodie, Quinn and McGuire 2014). On the other hand, organizations are also concerned with providing intrinsic motivation the employees for increasing motivation level towards their job role. The organizations are concerned with providing recognition to the employees through proper performance appraisal, empowerment and promotional opportunities (AbuKhalifeh and Som 2013). It is significant for the organizations to filter out the motivational tools of the employee, so that they can get the best of their employees through meeting all the needs. 1.2 Problem statement Employee motivation is highly required in retail organization due to high work pressure upon the employees. Employees are to deal with the customers in a constant basis that creates lot of patience level on the part of employees (de Waal and Jansen 2013). Often, it can be found that retail organizations are not providing proper reward and recognition to their employees and they are de-motivated towards their job role. Tesco is the third largest retail multinational grocery established in United Kingdom (Tesco.com 2016). However, it can be found that the organization is not able to properly manage compensation of the employees. It can be found that retail organizations often focus on earning profit for the organization and thereby, increasing the working hours for the employees (Kaur 2014). Apart from that, the organizations do not provide extra reward and recognition to their employees that are diminishing their motivation level. Managers of many retail organizations are only concern ed with monetary reward and they are not providing recognition to their employees (Buengeler, Homan and Voelpel 2016). Apart from that, it can also be found that the employees are not getting proper support from the leaders of the organization. All these factors are decreasing the motivation level of the employees that is resulted increasing attrition rate. 1.3 Research Aims The research is aimed at examining the reward and recognition system applied by Tesco. The aim of the research is to identify the issues related to reward and recognition system in increasing the motivation of Tesco as a part of human resource management. 1.4 Research Objectives To identify the importance of reward and recognition system in increasing employee motivation To identify reward and recognition strategies applied in Tesco for increasing the motivation level of employees To examine the issues faced by Tesco in motivating their employees To offer suitable recommendation to Tesco for improving their reward and recognition system 1.5 Research Question What is the importance of reward and recognition system in increasing the motivational level of employees? What are the reward and recognition strategies applied in Tesco towards motivating their employees? What are issues faced by Tesco in motivating their employees? What reward and recognition strategies should Tesco adopt for motivating their employees? 1.6 Research Hypothesis H0: Reward and recognition have no impact on employee motivation H1: Reward and recognition have impact on employee motivation 1.7 Structure of the research proposal The structure of the research proposal follows an effectively structured framework to obtain accurate outcome of the researcher. The outline of the research study has been described in the following: Introduction: In this section, the researcher will provide background information of the research study. Apart from that, the researcher will also demonstrate problem statement for the study for discussing the issues on which the research will be conducted. On the other hand, this chapter will also be consisted of research objectives and research questions that will be helpful to collect relevant information of the research topic. Literature Review: In this section, the researcher will describe various concepts from the existing literature of related research topic. Various models and theories regarding the research topic will also be described in this research study. The literature review section will also demonstrate various evidences from different organizational perspectives about the research topic. Methodology: This chapter will be consisting of research methodology that will be comprised of research approach, research design, data collection process and sampling techniques. Implementation of proper research methodology assists the researcher in collecting relevant information regarding the research topic. Discussion of Results: This chapter of the research proposal will be focused on discussion if hypothesis set by the researcher. This section will provide implications based on the literature review and background assumption. The section will also provide recommendation on improving the implementation of research topic on organizations. Conclusion and Future Work: This section of research study will provide brief summary regarding the research topic discussed in the whole study. This section will also provide suggestion on improving further research on same topic. Reference List Abdullah, M.M.B. and Tar, J.J., 2012. The influence of soft and hard quality management practices on performance.Asia Pacific Management Review,17(2). AbuKhalifeh, A.A.N. and Som, A.P.M., 2013. The antecedents affecting employee engagement and organizational performance.Asian Social Science,9(7), p.41. Bell, N., 2013. Experimental evidence on the relationship between public service motivation and job performance.Public Administration Review,73(1), pp.143-153. Brown, D. and Reilly, P., 2013. Reward and Engagement The New Realities. Compensation Benefits Review,45(3), pp.145-157.