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Bossy Women: Portrayals of Female Power in Hollywood Films

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University of the Incarnate Word

Abstract

Hollywood films notoriously repackage stock characters which personify conventional, oversimplified, and often demeaning stereotypes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how powerful women are depicted in the films, The Devil Wears Prada and The Proposal, and consider how these portrayals contribute to gender biases and the “Bitchy Boss” trope. This paper addresses the commonalities in the cinematic representative images of powerful women in the media by examining similarities in: physical appearance, attitude behavior, and the ability to sustain romantic relationships. Furthermore, this paper will discuss how cliché depictions negatively influence and affect audience’s perceptions.

Keywords: gender, stereotypes, biases, power, media, film

Introduction

Mass media act as one of the most persuasive influencers in shaping our beliefs, expectations and perceptions. In fact, media’s images of gender affect our perceptions even if we’re not consciously aware that it is occurring. In Western media, gender is regularly depicted in a very narrow and stereotypical way, which perpetuates an unrealistic and distorted view of reality for both men and women. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how powerful women are represented in the films, The Devil Wears Prada (2006) and The Proposal (2009). Both films feature a female boss who possesses power, success, and wealth, yet act as the antagonist. This paper will first discuss the portrayals of women in Hollywood and then conduct a textual analysis of the aforementioned films to examine how women in power are portrayed in ways that contribute to gender biases and stereotypes towards women.

Literature Review

Underrepresentation of Women

One of the most common ways that media distorts reality and cultural life, is by underrepresenting women (Spiker, 2012). In mass media, female characters are repeatedly given stereotypical characteristics and story lines which adhere to cliché and established ideals of femininity. Such stereotypical portrayals limit our perceptions of human possibilities and have the power to distort how we see ourselves and what we consider to be “normal” and “desirable” in regards to gender.

The media have created two images of women: good woman and bad woman. “These polar opposites are often juxtaposed against each other to dramatize differences in the consequences that befall good women and bad women” (Wood, 2004). “Good” women are typically young, thin, submissive, and exceptionally beautiful. Furthermore, “good” women are depicted as motherly, overly dependent, passive and considerably vain and domesticated. In fact, Wood states that female characters “devote their primary energies to improving their appearances and taking care of homes and people (Wood, 2014). Moreover, the media regularly places emphasis on female sexuality and upward mobility through men, which reduces and undermines female advances and accomplishments (Ouellette, 1999). In short, this submissive and sexualized type of woman is considered to be “ideal” in society, yet the image is unrealistic and sexist.

Additionally, such representation fails to show the diversity amongst women and thus contributes to misrepresentation of the real world. In comparison to men, women receive less visibility in terms of personality and livelihood. In fact, it is much more common to see dependent rather than self-sufficient women in the media. Dutt states that while some genres portray women as independent, powerful and agentive individuals, many still succumb to patriarchal constructions (2014). Furthermore, when female characters stray from traditional roles, they are typically presented as flawed if not evil. Wood states that the lack of (diversity amongst) women in the media results from the scarcity of women in charge (2014).

Existing literature reveals that the media uses successful and wealthy women as objects of cultural derision (Lee et al., 2012). In fact, reality shows like The Real Housewives of New York City primes its audience to judge the extravagance of women by showing these ladies as arrogant neglectful of their private duties as mothers and tending to the home. Moreover, money is shown to negatively affect women’s ability to be self-aware, have relationships, and be competent mothers. This performance is termed as the “rich bitch,” “a bourgeois feminine character done up as a cartoonish trope,” whom sacrifices motherhood, empathy, and altruism (Lee et al., 2012). In short, this character trope pursues selfish material gains single-mindedly. “Always gendered (female), always classifies (leisure), and almost always rationalized,” (Lee et al., 2012). In relation to my study, this character relates in many ways to Hollywood’s female “bitchy boss” trope. The character type is typically an older women who is dominant, upper-classed and generally racialized as a white women.

Following the literature review, this study considers how powerful women are “othered” in Hollywood films and deemed “bad women” by showcasing them as the antagonist. Furthermore, a lack of diversity is prevalent in regards to the portrayal of women in the media which leads to a very limited idea of women’s possibilities in regards to profession, character and appearance.

Method: 

Through the use of textual analysis, I examined two films that were made in the early 2000’s, both of which feature a female (boss) character who acts as the antagonist. In my analysis, I examined and compared how the two films adhere to narrow and stereotypical character tropes which promote gender biases and negative stigmas towards powerful women. In doing so, I focused on three themes: appearance, attitude and behavior, and lastly, one’s ability to maintain romantic relationships.

Analysis: 

Women are not commonly portrayed as bosses in the media. However, on the occasions that they do, they usually take on the Bitchy Boss trope, which popular culture has adopted into its collection of stock characters for women. For the most part, successful women are labeled as “workaholics” and are portrayed as cold, insensitive, and willing to sacrifice their health and/or time away from family in order to excel in their career. Furthermore, money and success is regularly shown to destroy rather than enable women in their abilities (Lee et al., 2012.

To illustrate the following, I looked at the films: The Devil Wears Prada and The Proposal, both of which feature a female boss who is characterized as a cold and unpleasant superior in the work place. In doing so, I found that there are three common themes that are embodied by the “bossy” female character.

In the film, The Devil Wears Prada, Andrea Sachs, a recent graduate, is hired as the second assistant to Miranda Priestly, a powerful and demanding editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine. Due to the pressures of Miranda and the world of fashion, Andrea eventually changes her attitude, behavior and style to essentially that of Miranda Priestly’s taste in order to fit in and excel at her new job. In doing so, her private life and relationship with her long-time boyfriend, Nate, begin to dwindle. Throughout the film, Miranda is portrayed as merciless, unsympathetic, exhausting to those around her and eccentric in her request. For example, when Miranda first meets Andrea, she is shown as dismissive and critical of Andrea’s style (prior to her “makeover”). Furthermore, in one scene Miranda demands that Andrea finds her a flight home for that very night, all the while there is a hurricane taking place, making the task impossible and completely out of Andrea’s hands. When Andrea fails to find a flight, Miranda ruthlessly insults Andrea’s appearance and work ethic and says that she has never been so disappointed by an assistant.

In the film, “The Proposal” a similar storyline follows. The film’s plot surrounds Margaret, a callous and overbearing executive editor who learns that she is facing deportation from the U.S. because her visa has expired. Determined to retain her position she pressures her assistant, Andrew Paxton, into marrying her, even at the expense of permanent deportation and the incarceration of Andrew. Prior to their sudden engagement, Margaret forces Andrew to cancel his plans to attend his grandmothers 90th birthday. Furthermore, Andrew his co-workers refer to Margaret as the “witch” of the office and it is made evident that they fear and loathe her presence. For instance, each time Margaret enters the office everyone instantly becomes tense and all smiles drop from the room. In one dramatic scene, she is called a “poisonous bitch” and a “monster,” in front of the entire office and is then told that she has no life outside of work and will die with “nothing and no one.”

Appearance

The similarities between Miranda and Margaret, in regards to appearance, set the tone for what powerful women look like. These individual characters are gendered (female), classed (upper-class), and racialized (white) in the same exact manner. Furthermore, both women are presented as mature women (25+), whose body type can be labeled as petite. In regards to apparel, the women are characterized as posh and fashionable. The issue is that this narrows representation and essentially establishes an idea or image of what powerful and successful women should look like. Thus, it is exclusive to a specific type of person and limits what society considers acceptable and attainable based solely on looks.

Attitude and Behavior

Secondly, powerful women are often pigeonholed as callous, “bitchy” and overbearing bosses, rather than determined, authoritative, or simply stern. Moreover, audiences are often positioned to judge these characters negatively because of their harsh personality and qualities that show lack of respect, altruism and empathy. For example, when Margaret overtly dismisses Andrews plans to attend his grandmothers 90th birthday, or when she offers the family pup to the preying eagle in exchange for her phone. Miranda is also shown to regularly treat others in a condescending manner, for example, each time she is finished speaking to Andrea, she contemptuously says “That’s all.” followed by a shooing motion. This behavior shows how poorly Miranda treats those who she considers beneath her. Margaret and Miranda’s characters act as the villain of the two films, with all other characters showing obvious signs of dislike and fear towards the women. This sort of framing of the female boss creates a negative impression of how women who take on authoritative positions in the work world act.

Romantic Relationships

Lastly, these two films show that powerful women are unable to sustain healthy and successful relationships. This notion ultimately comes as a result of their commitment to their careers, which takes away from their ability to fully commit to their significant other and/or love life in general. For example, Miranda is always shown as possessing success and control at all times and in every aspect of her life, on the contrary, she lacks such success and control in her marriage. In the one and only scene that Mr. Priestly is shown, he and Miranda are having an argument about her being late to dinner because of work. Mr. Priestly is shown as dismissive and fed up with his wife, yet she pleads and tries to reason with him. Towards the end of the film, Miranda confesses that she and her husband are getting a divorce. She states that she can only imagine what the headline will read: “Dragon lady… Career Obsessed Snow Queen Drives Away Another Mr. Priestly.”

In the film, “The Proposal,” Margaret is also shown to be out of touch with her love life. As mentioned earlier, in one scene she is told that she has no life outside of her work and that she will die miserable and alone because of it. Additionally, in scenes where she must be intimate with Andrew in order to keep up the façade of their engagement, she is presented as awkward and unable to show affection. Lastly, Margaret voices her inability to be in a relationship by telling Andrew that she’s always been alone because she is comfortable that way and it makes things easier. The following examples reveal how both Miranda and Margaret are painted as incompetent lovers who neglect personal relationships for the sake of their careers.

Conclusions

In conclusion, while these films were made in the early 2000’s, it is evident that these thematic narratives influence the way that women with power are viewed. Although women are receiving more diverse roles in the media, nonetheless, these former depictions paint a narrow and negative impression of female bosses which encourages the idea that women who are vocal are “bitchy” and/or “bossy.” Additionally, the lack of diversity amongst powerful women in the media sets the tone for how authoritative women must act and look. Thus, it is important that the media introduces successful and diverse female characters who do not play into the bitchy boss trope, for it can discourage girls and women from wanting to pursue success in their professional careers.

Works Cited

Dutt, R. (2014). Behind the Curtain: Women’s Representations in Contemporary Hollywood. Media@LSE, 1-40.

Lee, M. J., & Moscowitz, L. (2012). The “Rich Bitch”: Class and Gender on the Real Housewives of New York City. In Gender, Race, and Class in the Media (pp. 143-156). Taylor & Francis Ltd.

Ouellette, L. (1999). Inventing the Cosmo Girl: Class Identity and Girl-Style American Dream. In Gender, Race, and Class in the Media (pp. 258-270). SAGE Publications.

Spiker, J. A. (2012). Gender and Power in the Devil Wears Prada. International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology, 16-26.

Wood, J. T. (2014). Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender. Gendered Lives: Communication, Gender, and Culture, 31-41.

A Summary on Global Economic Presentation

The word Brexit is a short form of the word British exit. Brexit talks about the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The united believes that leaving the European Union will have some economic advantages to the country; hence this is their main reason for exiting from the union. A public vote was held in favor of the withdrawal in June of 2016, with various theories and explanations being put forth. On the day of the referendum, the poll produced data that showed that 52% of the voters voted to leave the European Union while 48% voted to remain. It was thereafter recorded that the United Kingdom officially left the European Union on the 31st January of 2020 and was placed into a transition period for eleven months under rules and regulations to which they must adhere to.

According to history, the European Union was established in the 50s and early 60s, where it had 27 member states in Europe, which originally was 6. In addition to that, the European Union had a total number of 447 million people from a collection of treaties and financial agreements. The United Kingdom has been a part of the European Union since 1973. Since the United Kingdom wanted to become a sovereign country, it has never used the euro as its currency. Moreover, the United Kingdom is not the only country that does not use the euro. Statistics show that since the first establishment of the euro, which took place on the 1st January of 1999, only 19 out of the 27 countries use the currency. The euro was introduced to establish a standard monetary policy and monetary union. The main goal of this action was to make it easier to move across borders and to create a stable economy. The Britex leaves behind a legacy since the United Kingdom is the first country to withdraw from the European Union since it was established.

Since the exit from the European Union, the United Kingdom’s economic growth has slowed down, and the British pound has dropped in price. This is because the United Kingdom no longer has the free tariff trade with the European Union companies. The exit has also led to social damage and loss of freedom of movement for the United Kingdom citizens. Statistics show that the European pound will fluctuate since their trade will no longer be bound to the European Union’s rules and regulations. Following the United Kingdom’s regulations and tariffs, British based businesses will have a rise in prices outside of the European Union. Apart from these negative effects of the Brexit, there are some positive impacts, including the improvement of border security, new job opportunities, and the establishment of sovereignty in Britain.

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Borderline Personality Disorders

Have you ever wondered why some characters in a film possess different moods, like being happy at some times and being extremely sad the next moment? Well, it is because some of them suffer from mental conditions. Mental disorder is a common theme that is almost present in all horror movies. There are a variety of mental disorders that are prominent in films, but Borderline Personality Disorder is one of the major mental health conditions in horror movies. According to Gulli and Davidson, Borderline personality disorder (BPD) “is a mental disorder that is characterized by disturbed and unstable interpersonal relationships and self-image, along with impulsive behavior, unstable mood, and suicidal behavior” (Par. 1). Stephen King’s “Misery” is one of the horror movies that involves a writer suffering in the hands of a woman, Annie Wilks (King). Wilks is a middle-aged woman who is a nurse by profession. She follows Paul Sheldon, the writer who also happens to be her favorite author, rescuing him from a snowstorm and nursing him to regain his health. However, she holds Paul Sheldon captive so that he writes a story for her. After reading the story, she realizes that Sheldon had murdered Misery, her favorite character and due to this, she forces him to write again and bring Misery out of her death. Annie Wilks is a good example of a character in the film “Misery” who possesses the Borderline Personality Disorder as she is fascinated in finding her favorite artist but later forces him to bring Misery from death, a process that is conducted under painful and violent deadline.

One characteristic of Borderline Personality Disorder is extreme mood swings. According to Gulli and Davidson, Borderline personality disorder (BPD) “is a mental disorder that is characterized by “unstable moods” (Par. 1) and this is evident from the reviews. According to Canby, “Annie puts the loon back into lunatic. Though overweight, she possesses a sweet-natured prettiness that makes her violent mood swings all the more scary. One minute she’s telling Paul how much she loves his mind and his creativity. At the next, she is taking a sledgehammer to his already mangled feet” (P.3, Par. 2). Annie is sometimes happy about Paul’s mind and work, but the moment she discovers that her favorite character in the play “Misery” is dead, she forgets about the fantastic nature of Paul’s mind and runs into a psychotic fit. Then, she calls Paul, “Just another lying old dirty birdie!” (Par. 4) The sudden changes in her moods are a clear depiction that she is suffering from a borderline personality disorder. We also get to know that previously, when she rescued Paul from the Snowstorm, she was happy, taking him as her patient and nursing her; however, all these changes all of a sudden, and she decides to make Paul her captive. According to Canby, “He might easily have died, but he’s rescued by a brusque, resourceful woman named Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates), who digs him out, takes him home, nurses him back to health, and then is outraged to learn he has killed off Misery” (Par. 3). She suddenly changes from a heroine to a villain, and this is illustrated by her actions of holding a sledgehammer to his feet, which had already suffered lots of injuries. Through this depiction, Annie is shown to have two different personalities, one full of anger and another filled with happiness and goodhearted. With these sudden changes in her personality, Annie is a good example of a character suffering from a borderline personality disorder.

The film devices and techniques in the scene where Annie takes the sledgehammer to threaten Paul helps in emphasizing the extreme and sudden change in moods. The low camera angle is one of the film devices used in the scene. According to Gocsik et al., a low angle shot is “shot from below the viewer’s eye level upward” (196). A low camera angle creates the effect as if the viewers are eye witnessing the incidence as they are looking up the hammer as Annie lifts it up to sledge Paul. The low camera angle is taken when she prepared to smash Paul with the heavy sledgehammer and since Paul is weak in bed, it portrays a merciless Annie who has control over a bedridden man. Despite being in control, she is also unable to control her rage, and this is what had led her to amputate Paul’s thumb and later in the evening sing happy birthday to him. Through these actions, it is clear that Annie has no control over her emotions and acts according to what her emotions are commanding her to do. By the cameraman shooting at a low angle, it helps in amplifying Annie’s action making her bigger and scarier than when taken in the normal camera angle. The magnification also intends to imply the magnitude of the rage that she has over Paul for making her favorite character die. Another film devise used in the film scene is the close-up camera shot. As defined by Gocsik et al., a close-up shot refers to “a zoomed-in shot that focuses on a particular object” (203). In the scene, the amplified shot focuses on Annie’s face along with the sledgehammer’s head, which makes them appear huge than normal. With the zoomed shot, we are able to see the emotions as expressed by Annie’s face as the facial expressions say it all, she is in rage with Paul, and she wants him to rectify the slight mistake of letting her favorite character die, she wanted her back. Also, through the zoomed shot, the audience is able to see when Annie gets angry and the reaction Paul has towards Annie’s aggression. Annie’s eyes get wider, with her voice becoming louder, and it can be seen with no doubt that she is angry (Misery). Since Paul has no control and he is unable to defend himself, he is left with no option rather than to cooperate. The zoomed camera shot also shows the facial expression by Paul which is full of fear. The two major techniques used in the film scenes have played a crucial role in portraying Annie’s character that is as a result of her borderline personality disorder.

In conclusion, Annie from Stephen King’s “Misery” has a borderline personality disorder and this can be attributed to the many factors in the film from her facial expressions, reactions, actions as well as problem-solving skills. Annie has a personality disorder in which she is possessed with famous people, and this is why she follows Paul without his knowledge. However, her secret follow-up was useful in that she helped save Paul from the snowstorm that had overturned his car. She took him with her and nursed him to his recovery. However, she suddenly changes her moods, from being a caring person to a monster who injures Paul as she amputated his thumb. She does not only turn into a villain by cutting Paul’s thumb but also uses a sledgehammer to threats. On some occasions, she is so peaceful, and one event is after cutting Paul’s thumb, she forgot and came back in the evening to sing happy birthday. Through this, it is clear that Annie doesn’t understand who she is as she is controlled by her emotions. The film devices and techniques used to illustrate these sudden mood changes include low camera angles and the close-up shot that enables the audience to see the action clearly as if they are the victims. It is through these devices that we learn of the sudden changes in facial expression that Annie had which were indications of rage. Annie’s extreme shifts in moods are a perfect example of an individual suffering from a borderline personality disorder, and this is in line with the major theme of mental disorders in horror films.

Works Cited

Canby V. Review/Film; A Writer Who Really Suffers. The New York Times. Retrieved from: https://nyti.ms/29uXTSJEbert, Roger. Film Review of Misery by Rob Reiner. RogerEbert.com, 30 November 1990.

Gocsik, Karen M., et al. Writing about Movies. 4 th ed., New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2016. King, Stephen. Carrie. New York: Anchor Books, 1974. Print.

Guilli, Laith Farid, and Tish Davidson. Borderline Personality Disorder. The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine, edited by Laurie J. Fundukian, 4th ed., vol. 1, Gale, 2011, pp. 719-723. Gale Virtual Reference Library. http://link.galegroup.com.hindscc.idm.oclc.org/apps/doc/CX1919600284/GVRL?u=mag_c_magn0107&sidGVRL&xid=8b26f06e.

King, Stephen. Misery. New York: Pocket Books, 1987. Print.

Misery. Dir. Rob Reiner. Perf. James Caan, Kathy Bates, and Richard Farnsworth. Castle Rock Entertainment, 1990. Film.

Bostock VS. Clayton County

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Bostock VS. Clayton County

This is a case in which the issue at hand is employment and discrimination. Even though in Boston according to Title VII there was no clear means through which a person could be discriminated it turns out that the ruling of the case was very explicit in terms of how employees should be treated and it said that employees should never at any given moment be discriminated based on their sexual orientation. This was because some people discriminated against some others in their working environments based on their sexual orientation and the people who suffered a lot where the LGBTQ community since a lot of people were not comfortable with working with them. Bostock sued Clayton County for discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The major laws involved in the court were majorly the laws of the state and Title VII laws. The laws were not clear and the case was taken to the supreme court for a better interpretation and final verdict about whether it is okay in some instances to discriminate against a person based on their sexual orientation. The supreme court decided that it was unlawful to discriminate against a person based on their sexual orientation and that it was illegal. I agree with the court’s ruling because indeed it is wrong to have a person be discriminated against because they do not follow what most people do or to be discriminated against because they are different than other people. Therefore, the court enabled people to have a uniform place of work whereby there are no people who are better than others.

Reference

Mallory, C., Vasquez, L. A., & Meredith, C. (2020). Legal protections for LGBT people after Bostock v. Clayton County.

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A Summary of “A History of the World in Six Glasses,” by Tom Standage

A History of the World in six glasses is a historical novel by Tom Standage. The primary purpose of the book is to show the pervasive influence of various drinks on history’s course. The story takes readers on a journey through time, thus indicates the past of human beings through the lens of drinks. The thesis of the novel is that certain specialty beverages have significantly affected people in all aspects of life. In other words, these beverages have changed social views, religious ceremonies, economic facets, people’s diets, religious ceremonies and even political facets. Tom Standage the subject that he has written about and did not offer any information or any analysis that disapproves of the thesis of his novel. Standage has written three other historical books which support his information and also the research that he has provided in his book thus, his background gives the novel authority.

“A History of the World in Six Glasses,” has been divided into six main sections; and each section is for a drink. The first section is beer. This represents the first civilization of man, which was adopted after farming and domestication of cereal grains was adopted. This advancement in lifestyle led to the emergence of scribes, artisans and administrators. The beer had so many advantages to man; it nourished the first civilization of humanity, and the rations and wages of man were paid in beer and bread CITATION Sta02 l 1033 (Standage). The second section is wine. This was the second beverage that played a significant role in flourishing in both the Roman and the Greek cultures. This drink also initiated seaborne trade which spread their literature, politics and philosophy. The novel clearly shows how the above advancements came into being and how they grew in the Greek community. The Romans who also adopted the Greek culture also used wine strongly.

After the period of the middle ages, The Arab scholars led to the awakening of Europe. This was the period of Exploration or the Colonial Period, and the knowledge of distillation led to the discovery of new drinks. The novel clearly explains how some forms of condensed alcohol such as rum and brandy were popular mainly in American colonies. The forth beverage that is presented in the novel is coffee. This beverage became the drink of the intellect and was known to sharpen the mind. The fifth beverage was tea; this drink even became as England’s national drink. Tea imports from countries such as India and China led to the trade. The novel clearly explains the power of companies such as the British East India Company which greatly generated more revenue than the British government and was able to rule over more people. The final drink is Coca-Cola which was initially formulated as a medical drink. Later, the drink became the symbol of America’s consumer capitalism.

In conclusion, “A History of the World in Six Glasses,” makes it clear that man’s history is a history of human consumption. Whether people are pondering revolution in Paris or Boston, throwing tea leaves, all the above drinks have had impacts on who people are today. Tom Standage was quite successful in proving his thesis throughout his novel. As the thesis was clearly stated in the introduction it has been clearly supported in every chapter in the epilogue.

Works cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY l 1033 Standage, Tom. “A History of the World in six glasses.” (2002). 14 September 2018.

A Summary on Stimulus Checks

By definition, a stimulus check is a check or some amount of money sent by the U.S government to its taxpayers to stimulate the economy by providing consumers with some money to spend on their daily basis. The reasoning under this project is to provide relief economic hardships. The stimulus checks are sent via email or through direct deposits to the individuals who qualify for the checks in an onetime occurrence. Stimulus payments also vary depending on the capacity and the responsibilities one has and also depending on the amount of salary an individual earns. The current issues like the COVID-19 pandemic have raised alarm on the U.S government and the other nations worldwide are going to distribute the funds and maintain an economically stable country.

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a lot of threats to the U.S government since the viral infection ranges from mild to severe illness and it is also highly contagious. Safety measures have been put in place in controlling the spread of this deadly disease. These control measures include proper hygiene, social distancing, and covering of nose mouth. A lot of business which had been operating normally have been closed down leaving only the essential businesses to operate. Despite the essential businesses being allowed to operate, there have also been strict regulations on the hours of operation and strict regular cleaning and sanitization. The essential businesses which are high on demand during this pandemic include medical stores, groceries, and banks. The non-essential businesses were therefore closed down and required to work from home to avoid the overcrowding in the towns and cities to avoid further spread of the disease. Some non- essential businesses like the grooming and tourism industries have been critically affected since they heavily depend on physical interaction and therefore the aspect of working from home does not apply to them.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted the U.S economy and this has led to quantitative easing. Quantitative easing is therefore an unconventional monetary policy whereby the central bank purchases long-term securities to capital supply and encourage money lending and investments. The aspect of quantitative easing is similar to that of stimulus checks since they both focus on increasing cash flow to boost the economy. The advantage of stimulus checks is that it helps in maintaining cash flow in the economy and therefore boosting not only small and pressed businesses but also large scale businesses. The negative impacts of stimulus checks include; lack of enough funding, debt collectors seizing checks, and errors in sending the payments among many other negative impacts. It is therefore important to put more efforts into placing policies and strict prevention measures to control further spread of coronavirus so as the economy moves forward.

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Major branches of Judaism Today

Judaism religion is based on Abrahamic faith, with its origin being the Middle East. The religion was founded by Moses, though the believers trace their belief to Abraham time. The religion currently has over 13 million believers, most of them being in Israel, Germany and United States. The religion is founder on firm belief in one God, with whom Abraham entered a covenant on their behalf, and worshiped in synagogues.

Judaism has several branches today. The Orthodox Judaists believe that Moses was given both written and oral laws at Mount Sinai. The Torah is believed to contain 613 commandments. The believers observe the Jewish laws, but some integrate them with modernity. Some faithful’s however are too strict in their faith, dress uniquely and live in seclusion. The conservative Judaists argue that the Torah was directly transmitted to man via God (The Jewish Outreach Institute, 1). The Torah thus has human elements. While these laws should be adaptive, the true values of Judaism should not change. The Reform Judaism is based on the belief that the writing of the Torah was done by different people before being combined. As such, the Jewish Laws are not binding. The group however observes some Jewish values and ethics. The Reconstructionist Judaism is based on the argument that Judaism is a religion of civilization that is ever evolving. As such, there should be no personalization of the deity. The Torah is thus observed not because it is God given but because of its rich cultural teachings. Lastly, there is the Humanistic Judaism. This branch was founded by Rabbi Sherwin Wine in Michigan in 1960s. It is based on contemporary human life ((The Jewish Outreach Institute, 1). Religion is viewed as a way of life that is devoid of some supernatural authority. Religion should help man to achieve dignity, self-esteem and humanistic values.

Work Cited

The Jewish Outreach Institute. Different denominations (types) of Judaism. Web. <http://www.joi.org/qa/denom.shtml >

Major Components Of The Current State Of An Enterprise Information System Architecture

Course Project—EISA:

The EISA diagram is very important in analyzing the business process in the company some of the main contribution it has made to the company include the ability of the organization to analyze the production trends in the company and develop a proactive measures of dealing with the problems. It is also important in determining the optimal process and procedures that the organization can follow to leverage its competitive advantages and realize its productivity. The organization also relies on the EISA diagram to map the pathway to sustainability, profitability and optimality.

However, the current EISA has a number of limitation on the general productivity and efficiency and profitability because of the inherent weaknesses and limitation it has on the marketing processes.

Reporting structure:

The company is reporting structure is marked by numerous levels that hinder immediate execution of financial plans. The financial planning and execution structure of the company is laborious and bureaucratic, making the release of funds and execution m of the planned marketing activities in the company very slow. This interferes with the timelines and the bottom lines of its activities.

Marketing gap

The pillar of the organization in question is operational excellence, however this has been so hard to meet considering the fact the process model in use is not optimized for excellence. Some of the factors that contribute to this limitation include the decision making model used within the company and the performance evaluation system. The company in the service sectors is experiencing problems with the decision structure. The company is mostly composed of poor decision structure in which the upper echelon personnel (C-level) who are not in touch with the line managers and middle level members only make the decision. In all organization, the middle level Managers are the only people with facts on the marketing system within the organization and are always in constant contact with the customer. All the queries and customer complaints pas through them and they are the people who operationalise4 the plans developed within the company. Therefore main decision team should be integrated with the midlevel managers and customer focused team to ensure that the decision made within the company take into consideration the input of the low cadre managers. Additional the company needs to leverage its business synergy to fit the strategic fit that will enable it to achieve the objective of operational excellence.

Operational excellence.

The main advantage that the middle offers is operational excellence as the company process o determining and assembling the right input (resources) and converting them to the output that that the customers want, makes it’s the most optimal process in the industry. The production process is very efficient with minimal resource wastes and time lags despite the slow decision process. Once the company has made decision, the execution process is often very fast.

Reduction of cost of IT, and the general complexity

The current enterprise information system architecture is vary useful in reducing the general, complexity within the organization, it details the reporting structure and the way the cost of information technology in the organization can be reduced thereby contributing to the final cost reduction strategy by the company. It also provides newer ways for re-purpose in addition to re-use as it helps the organization to link its process to the new technologies and skill. While this is true, has one weakness as it relies so much on IT. However, this is overridden by the fact that the architecture is closely connected to the business need and strategies. The main challenge may lie on the extension of the integration to all the aspects of the organization and its process across all the complex and multi-partner enterprise

Methodology

This research uses qualitative methods of study that involved in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended questions and follow-up probes. The sample in this research will incorporate members of the Savana State Softbal Program. Three sponsors of the program and four fans of Savana State Softbal. Data collection will be in two phases where the first three weeks of the research will major on the football members and the second phase will major on collecting data from the sponsors and fans.

Data collection methods include direct observation. the members of Savana team will be observed on how they relate with each other and the team’s officials. Direct interviews with the three team players and one official. The rest of the sample group are to fill a questionnaire regarding the nature and existence of ethical code at Savana State Softbal. Since the sample group is small the same people were asked to fill the ethical climate index of 2006

After data collection Analysis and sampling of the questionnaires will be done. Sampling is the key factor during this research. A heterogeneous sample will be obtained. After the heterogeneous sample is obtained is when then final analysis will be carried out. Data treatment onto to this sample of interest will also be employed so as to obtain final results which are reliable.

Some of the systems of analysis to be used include; Content analysis, it involves use of hypotheses and themes that might emerge and look for them in our paternity leave data obtained. Grounded analysis, involves allowing the data to ‘speak to itself’ with themes emerging from the data obtained. Calculation of the Ethical climate index will be done to determines the ethical level. Finally, the data obtained will be analyzed using the SPSS Software. Since the data to be obtained is longitudinal then residual analysis is the best way to analyze it.

Findings on numbers and percentages will be presented on pie charts and graphs. Graphs give a clear impression on number size which is small and which is big. The pie charts and graphs are easier to interpret and will be clearly understood by our key people we aim to address. Instruments that will be used include voice recorders which will help record data during research. Also computers will be used to treat the data convert it into useful information and also have it in a clear form to be understood by everyone.

Methodology

Lixa Pena

PSY3213

Yuli Dominguez

09/18/2022

Introduction:

The purpose of this experiment is to measure the correlation of romantic relationships on Academic Performance of High School students.

Research question: Is there a significant correlation between romantic relationships and the academic performance of high school students?

Hypothesis:

H0: There is no significant correlation between being in a romantic relationship and the academic performance of high school students.

H1: There is a significant correlation between being in a romantic relationship and the academic performance of high school students.

Research Design: The best research design for this experiment is a correlational study. The participants can complete surveys, and then measuring the results if there is a significant correlation between being in a romantic relationship and the academic performance of high school students.

Setting: Classroom at a High school

Participants: 25 high school seniors along the ages of 17 and 18. Reason for this experiment.

Instruments: Questionnaires and then compare with their test results. Collect data through students filling out questionnaires. How old are you, are you in a relationship, how long?

Procedure Data Analysis: Attending a High School classroom and having a group of students complete questionnaires, and then compare their test results with their questionnaires.

Limitations of the study:

Confounding variables

Threats to validity

Any additional limitations

Recruitment – Where and how are you going to get your sample?

Data collection – Step by step, how are you going to collect your data?

Ethical Considerations: Informed consent, right to privacy.

Conclusions: