Monday, September 30, 2019

To what extent and why would you agree or disagree with the view that the New Right proceeded by assertion approach to welfare provision?

(3) ‘Our judgement would be that, essentially, the New Right proceed by assertion' [George and Wilding]. To what extent and why would you agree or disagree with the view that the New Right proceeded by assertion approach to welfare provision? Professors George and Wilding made the statement in their study of welfare and ideology that the New Right ‘proceed by assertion' – that is to say that they make over generalised and unbalanced rhetoric about the state provision of welfare. The New Right emerged as an ideology in critical response to the post 1945 government attempts to provide a comprehensive system of welfare in Britain. They argue that state provision is not only inefficient and ineffective, but that collective enterprise is actually impossible as they have no belief in a common purpose in society. New Right ideas can be separated into two major strands of thought. The Neo- Liberal philosophy that is concerned with economic factors; and the Neo-Conservative strand which is interested with social, moral and political implications. However, they can be grouped together to define a philosophy which favours more market and less state involvement in peoples lives. They equate that more government means less personal reedom which, for the New Right, undercuts the principles of democracy. It is widely argued that the New Right present an ideology of Welfare that while being rational and efficient in theory; in practice is simply too idealistic and is neither sensitive nor flexible enough to the social needs of contemporary society. This essay intends to show that the ideologies of welfare presented by the New Right lack legitimate evidence to support and justify their proposals; this will be shown in two ways. First, the inadequacies of the New Right philosophical basis will be highlighted o show that at the most primary footing of their perspectives on social policy are unsound. Secondly, I will look at their argument for the supremacy of the free market system over state provision. This will be examined in both the economic and social spheres. The key and most basic reason why the New Right has a tendency to make statements with little substance or legitimacy is that their fundamental philosophical basis appears to be flawed. New Right thinkers emphasise individualism; Friedman asserts that ‘. The individual (is) the ultimate entity in society ‘. Clearly, there is little room for collective conscious in their philosophy. This egotistical individualism stresses that the welfare state, a collectivist policy, cannot work due to ‘human nature' e. g. self-seeking and greedy. The New Right ideology claims that the nature of human kind is unchangeable which thus makes the Welfare State an impossibility. However, many critics of this theory argue that classifying human nature as fixed ignores all culture and history surrounding the development of society. They centre their ideology on agency and completely fail to recognise the role of structure. Thatcher, a leading figure of the New Right ideology, said there is no such thing as society -just ndividuals. However, George and Wilding dismiss this assertion by highlighting that as human beings, we are all linked together in patterns and cycles of dependency. Williams also points out that surely ‘. We are not just individuals or families, but members of one another. ‘ The New Right also asserts that the Welfare State policies view people as social beings who can be motivated by social concerns and social goals. Naturally, the New Right reject this view of humans, again this can be rooted back to the importance of the individual and their assumption that humankind will very rarely act for the collective good. However, this argument ignores the cyclical nature of human relationships, any moral or collective consciousness is disregarded which is highly unrealistic for as humans we are social beings, we are graggrarious . New Right supporters also declare that the Welfare State is essentially inefficient due to its need for rational planning. They reason that due to the complexity of modern society, it is impossible to structure and implement plans that would be beneficial both economically and socially. As Willets points out ‘. It is precisely the increasing complexity of modern life which makes centralised organisation mpossible.. ‘ They dismiss constructive rationalism as unrealistic and call for less government intervention. Friedman views much government activity as undesirable. He believes it should have a limited role restricted to areas such as foreign policy and overseeing economic policies. However, it seems unreasonable to dismiss some degree of planning in modern society, people need valid motives and goals that are justified. The New Right principles on the role of the Welfare State assert that: we must first help those in need. Socialists believe that the State should provide an average standard. We believe that it should provide a minimum standard, above which people should be free to rise as far as their industry, their thrift, their ability or their genius may take them†¦. This highlights the New Right emphasis on individual freedom and choice. They say that the state provision of welfare is an encroachment on basic human freedoms as it restricts choice. However, if one considers services such as water, housing or health care, these are such fundamental needs that there is no real choice whether or not these needs are fulfilled. As a result of this, consumers in markets for these services are in a weak osition. Because of this vunerablilty, state provision of these services ensures a comprehensive service which is regulated. Market systems in such essential areas of provision leave the consumer susceptible to exploitation and it also undermines the principles of a free democracy As a result of the need for planning in the functioning of the Welfare State, many New Right thinkers dismiss it as it ignores the concept of spontaneous order- the market system. Or, at a more tangible level, they favour monetarism over Keynesianism. – The New Right view the market as the most efficient system as it generates ompetition which,in turn, spurs innovation and a consumer led market. It also means that a monopoly cannot be created and consequently, prices are kept reasonable and quality of services are kept high. They argue that the Welfare State violates the spirit of capitalism and basic human nature . For the New Right, the market is the most efficient and rational way to operate economically and socially – The New Right also argue that the State presents a series of destructive economic consequences. Mead contends that the government projects a view to society that work is merely an option, not a nessecity. In other words, that social security creates a ‘nanny state', causing idleness. He views the Welfare state as a victim of it's own success by feeding and sustaining the type of behaviour it is trying to minimise. Another problem with this, according to the New Right, is because the welfare state is centralised it is therefore seen as ‘government money', it is depersonalised and as a result becomes vulnerable to abuse and manipulation . Again, this leads back to the view that man is individualistic and self seeking, rejecting the concept of the ‘common good' or collective social conscious. In the defence of the State, it is obvious that in any socio-political arena there will be negative and positive outcomes of any kind of social policy. However they must be weighed up against each other. It is impractical and unrealistic to assess the welfare state in the abstract, as the New Right tends to. Their philosophies also ignore the complex and diverse nature of modern society, and are simply not sensitive enough to the various needs. Holman explains that in reality, the New Right regard ‘.. personal gain and material selfishness.. as virtues while compassion for the disadvantaged and a readiness to share oods and power are sneered at as weakness.. ‘ Thus far we have seen that the New Right philosophy celebrates private enterprise as it promotes democracy, however there is much substantial evidence to prove otherwise. Friedman, for example, claims in his writings NAME OF BOOK AND QUOTE DIRECTLY.. that it is the free market which made it possible for black people to overcome racial discrimination in the United States. This completely disregards the role of state legislation in this matter, and further presents an unbalanced and misleading view of the social policy process which seems to be a consistent motif hat runs through the New Right philosophies. XPAND ECONOMIC POINT Another major factor in the inadequacy of the market provision of Welfare State services is that it cannot supply needs regardless of ability to pay or according to need. As a result, it is easy to deduce that the market solutions are distinctly less equitable than the state provision of public services. Therefore, it can be argued that, the New Right fail to consider the social consequences of the market system. The problem of the New Right is that their opinions of the supremacy of the free market are formed from their own view point which is invariably secure, affluent and rofessional. They fail to recognise that the freedom the market offers is conditional. Holman argues that it ‘†¦ depends upon the prior advantage of having jobs, opportunities, savings. The market provides freedom for the privileged. ‘ The World Bank, long regarded as supporters for the free market, issued a report in 1997 emphasising that an effective state is ‘†¦ vital to the provision of goods and services and the rules and institutions that allow markets to flourish and people to lead healthier, happier lives. Without it, sustainable development, both economic and social is impossible.. This shows that while the New Right ideology is not wholly disregarded, it is seen as not looking at the whole picture, which gives an unbalanced and bias view of state provision. The New Right can be thought of as ‘leading by assertion' due to the fact that they often make statements without backing it up with legitimate evidence. According to the New Right ideology, the Welfare State has many negative social implications. Firstly, it undermines any sense of responsibility and self-reliance by providing, not so much a ‘safety net', more an altogether too comfortable cushion to those who get state provision. This, in turn, fosters what Keith Joseph coined in the 1970's a ‘dependency culture'. This anti-collectivist theory claimed that poor families in poverty transmitted this culture of difficult relationships, unskilled work or unemployment. However, this is an generalised statement that when examined, becomes totally inadequate. Willams argues that ‘such an explanation .. fails to account for the effect of social circumstances†¦ ‘ Charles Murray, whose work has been widely published in Britain by the Institute of Economic Affairs, assets that the Welfare State infact sustains an ‘underclass' by emoving any element of real risk or danger-factors which, according to the New Right, are essential to the consistent function of an innovative and motivated market. This theory is best represented by a quote from the 1992 Conservative Party Conference where the Social Security minister, Peter Lillley, categorised single mothers as having dominant membership of this supposed underclass and described them as ‘young ladies who get pregnant just to jump the housing list. ‘ This assertion by Peter Lilley is an example of how the New Right thinkers tend to make broad statements, often considering them in the abstract without using much vidence and dispensing normative prescriptions for the social ills. Clearly, however, a broader agenda is required when evaluating social policies. Also this approach fails to consider the supportive and cohesive functions that the Welfare State provides. Holman shows effectively the inadequacy of the New Rights theory of the emergence of an underclass in his study of the effect of the implementation of New Right policies in Easterhouse during the early nineties. He presents quantitative evidence to show that it is not the ‘feather-bedding' approach of the Welfare State that is ccountable for social problems and ‘wrong' values. Rather Holman argues that, . the deprivations are imposed upon people by government policies and economic factors beyond their control. The underclass thesis should be seen less as an explanation of the state of places like Easterhouse and more as a New Right excuse which diverts blame away from the dire results of New Right practices.. The New Right maintain that the free market promotes democracy by offering choice to the consumer. They argue that the Welfare state creates a monopoly, therefore there is no competition, which is bad for the consumer. asically the state is answerable to no-one because people are not directly paying for their health care or schooling (for example). Williamson summarises that the Welfare State from a New Right perspective is ‘significantly inefficient as it is an effective monopoly, bureaucratic in character and dominated by producers, not consumers. ‘ Williams also highlights the problem of the concentration of power in the market or oligopoly , which is fundamentally undemocratic. She asserts that business people rarely practice free competition whenever they are in a position to control the market hemselves. This is further reinforced by Richard Titmuss in his 1959 lecture ‘The Irresponsible Society' where he stressed that major monetary decisions of building societies, insurance and pension companies were being made by a small minority of people. Such decisions affect millions of people, and their views are not taken into account, which is fundamentally undemocratic. It must be noted, however, The New Right philosophy does not altogether reject the role of state in Welfare. Gray accepts the idea of quasi-markets within the welfare state, perhaps in the form of a voucher system. This way competition is still strong because people have the freedom to choose which hospital or school they want. Seldon reinforces this by suggesting that ‘ National economic expansion can best be helped by putting welfare by stages into the market where the consumer will rule instead of the politician'. The effectiveness of the market system is not completely convincing. The New Right tends to present a distorted and partial view of the efficiency of the free market. -more explanation of efficiency of market see george nad wildiing chapter on democratic socialism. conclusion

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Essay

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is considered a hero by millions of India’s oppressed OBCs (Other Backward Castes or ‘lowered castes’) and Dalits. He was India’s 20th century crusader against the caste system. He was a statesman, national leader, and the chief architect of the Indian Constitution. Dr. Ambedkar’s thoughts and writings still have significant influence on the masses of Indians working to free themselves from Brahmanism (the caste system, as validated by the religion called Hinduism). Following are just a few quotes from literally thousands of pages of Ambedkar speeches and writings. Speaking about the coming Indian independence from Great Britain, Ambedkar stated, â€Å"†¦we are going to enter into a life of contradictions. In politics we will have equality, and in social and economic life we will have inequality. In politics we will be recognizing the principle of one-man one vote and one vote one value. In our social and economic life, we shall by reason of our social and economic structure continue to deny the principle of one-man one value. How long shall we continue to live this life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to deny equality in our social and economic life? If we continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting our political democracy in peril.† (p.295) â€Å"†¦whether conversion can solve the problem of untouchability. The answer to that question is emphatically in the affirmative.† (p.87) â€Å"Hinduism is a religion which is not founded on morality. Whatever morality Hinduism has, it is not an integral part of it.† (p.257) â€Å"I do not want to be misunderstood when I say that Brahmanism is an enemy which must be dealt with. By Brahmanism, I do not mean the power, privileges and interests of the Brahmins as a community. That is not the sense in which I am using the word. By Brahmanism, I mean the negation of the spirit of liberty, equality, and fraternity. In that sense, it is rampant in all classes and is not confined to the Brahmins alone, though they have been the originators of it.† (p.88) â€Å"Hinduism is not interested in the common man. Hinduism is not interested in society as a whole. The center of interest lies in a class, and its philosophy is concerned in sustaining and supporting the rights of that class. That is why in the philosophy of Hinduism, the interests of the common man as well as of society are denied, suppressed, and sacrificed to the interest of this class of Supermen (Brahmin).† (p. 258) â€Å"†¦there can be no doubt that caste is one and an essential and integral part of Hinduism†¦A Hindu is as much born into caste as he is born in Hinduism. Indeed a person cannot be born in Hinduism unless he is born in caste. Caste and Hinduism are inseparable.† (p.259) â€Å"The record of the Brahmins as law givers for the Shudras (OBC’s), for the Untouchables (Dalits) and for women is the blackest as compared with the record of the intellectual classes in other parts of the world. For no intellectual class has prostituted its intelligence to invent a philosophy to keep its uneducated countrymen in a perpetual state of ignorance and poverty as the Brahmins have done in India.† (p.259) Despite recent news telling us that India is surging forward in mordernization and in economic and social gains, the current growth trends are touching, at most, fifteen percent of the Indian population. The vast majority of India remains unaffected by the current growth trends. These masses will continue to remain unaffected until the Kingdom of God comes and brings opportunity to the Indian majority (OBCs and Dalits).

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Business - Society & Planet for Sustainability and Stakeholder

Sustainability has been an important objective of the businesses in the past decade and the core principle of the organisations is to achieve the sustainability in the long run of the business. In this reflective essay, the concepts of sustainable business including the issues, approaches and challenges have been discussed. Sustainable business can be defined as the organisation that creates a minimum negative impact on the local or global environment and the sustainable businesses are progressive in human rights and environmental aspects.   John Elkington during the time of the 1990s created a new framework to monitor the performance of the organisation regarding sustainability in America. This measure went beyond the traditional framework of the organisation and it just did not measure the profit, shareholders' values and return on investment; it also included the social and environmental dimensions. As stated by Elkington (2013), the triple bottom line is the idea that fetches to broaden the aim on the financial bottom line by the organisations to include the environmental and social responsibilities. Therefore, the triple bottom line of the organisation measures the economic value, social responsibility and environmental impact of the organisations. I did not have an idea about triple bottom line; I only knew the organisation's bottom line was only the i e statement or the net i e. Today's organisations do not run only for financial profit but the betterment of people's lives and to help the environment. The responsi bilities of the organisations e pass not only to profit; but also people and planet to make them sustainable (Caroll & Buchholtz, 2014). I was reading the framework published in the International Reporting Council, where the article focused on the capital needs of the organisations. Financial capital is about understanding the implication of the regulatory changes that provide the traditional strengths of finance (Williard, 2012). Manufactured capital is about the decision-making of the financial analysis as the manufactured capital can lead to the success of the organisation. I believe that manufactured assets are the physical distribution of the services, networks and distribution networks. These goods and services should be delivered to the customers on time to utilise the manufactured capital. Intellectual capitals are the intangible assets like patents, trademarks and brand equity of the organisation (De Visscher, 2016). Human capital is the human resources that do the intellectual work of the organisation along with the technologies. I personally think that the organisations spend on training, on-boarding and re duce the employee turnover so that the human capital can be used to increase the efficiency of the intellectual capital. In addition, social and relational capitals are the social networking media like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter that help the organisation to make relations with the customers and the external stakeholders. Finally, natural capital of the organisation is the raw materials that are used by the organisation like oil and gas, mining and other assets of the organisations. According to me, the organisations need to use these six capitals in order to improve the munity and to go towards sustainability. According to Dunphy, Griffiths & Benn (2006), there are six phases in the sustainability. The first phase is about rejection and it involves with the attitude on the part of the managers that the resources of the organisation like munity, employees and environment all should be used for the immediate economic gain of the organisations. The second phase is about non-responsiveness and it es from the lack of awareness of the organisation rather than to the active opposition of the corporate ethics (Benn, Edwards & Williams, 2014). In this phase, the organisations can ignore the sustainability and continue the business as usual form. In addition, pliance mainly focuses on the reducing the risks for failing to achieve the minimum standards of the producer or the employer. The organisations might change it to the growing legal requirements. In this stage, I think, the organisation's strategies might relate to the human sustainability that aims to legal pliance. The organisation can expect the employees' loyalty in terms of pliance. Moreover, efficiency reflects an increasing awareness of the managers and the organisations regarding the corporate social responsibilities gained through the proactively maintaining the sustainability practices. In this stage, the organisation can try to reduce the costs of the operational efficiency. The next phase is the strategic proactivity and it develops when the sustainable practices can seize the opportunities. An example of the strategic proactive can be the positioning of an organisation as the leader. In this regard, I can take the name of BP (British Petroleum) as they named it as a global leader in sustainability while they are doing the business in non-renewable resource-based products. Therefore, BP has adopted the strategic approach of sustainable practices of the business. Lastly, sustaining corporation concept reflects the internationalisation of the sustainability and the organisations can promote the developing the so ciety that would support the planet as well as the people. As stated by (Beattie & Smith, 2013), the organisations can contribute the democratic and equitable social practices.      Fuji Xerox is a joint venture pany and it moved from selling to leasing the office equipment. This organisation takes the used goods; they process their ponent and rebuild the machines. Therefore, most of the parts are recycled and zero waste. This feature of the business provides us with the example of doing the business that rebuilds the products with enhanced quality and reliability. In addition, I can provide another example of the eco-friendly supply chain of Ford Motor pany that has been using the fewer vehicles that pollute the atmosphere and it has been trying to make vehicles those would take less non-renewable fuels. Therefore, the panies are trying to be more focused on the environment to provide less carbon footprint. Movement of the organisations towards sustainability mainly depends on the organisational culture to gain the sustainability. My future aim is to a leader of a multinational organisation, I would try to bring the major transformation of organisation assumption and practices related to the sustainability. I believe science and technologies both are vital for the successful planning of the business and the organisation can implement the technologies that will depend mostly on people. Beattie, V., & Smith, S. J. (2013). Value creation and business models: refocusing the intellectual capital debate.  The British Accounting Review,  45(4), 243-254. Benn, S., Edwards, M., & Williams, T. (2014).  Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Abingdon: Routledge. Carroll, A. & Buchholtz, A., (2014).  Business and Society: Ethics, sustainability, and stakeholder management . London: Nelson Education. De Visscher, F. M. (2016).  Financing Transitions: Managing capital and liquidity in the family business. Berlin: Springer. Dunphy, D., Benn, S. & Griffiths, A. (2006). Enabling change for corporate sustainability: An integrated perspective.  Australasian Journal of Environmental Management ,  13(3), 156-165. Elkington, J. (2013). Enter the triple bottom line. In  The triple bottom line  (pp. 23-38). Abingdon: Routledge. Willard, B. (2012).  The new sustainability advantage: seven business case benefits of a triple bottom line. London: New Society Publishers.

Friday, September 27, 2019

The Debate on Executive Compensation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Debate on Executive Compensation - Essay Example Instead of the inverse proportionality of their pay to the performance of the firm, it should be such that the relationship is directly proportional to each other. Usually, the executive pay is a combination of the salary, extra bonuses, reimbursements, and shares on the company stocks. The compensation is given a stringent configuration to comply with the necessary legal requirement, which includes tax law, regulations of the government, the desires of the company as stipulated by the executives and the organization itself, and of course the reward and performance. Most important is the fact that the executive pay is always a subject of approval from the board of directors and meanings that the salary is predetermined before the actual performance of the executives is noticed (Bertrand and Mullainathan 2001, p.62). Different schools of thoughts have thus arisen over the executive pay by hypothesising on the motivating factor for the increasingly rising pay for the CEOs and two schoo ls of thoughts have been brought forth. ... The other thought process perception is rather opposed to the compensation level and asserts that it is a socially unaccepted phenomenon that is largely fuelled by the social and political order that allows the executives to self-determine their own pay and have absolute control over it (Chen, Liu and Li 2010, p.54). Thus, the payment of the executives is not a covert that is whimsically decided by the CEOs themselves but is also approved by the board of directors who also determine and give consent to the figures. Despite this, the economists are not persuaded by this and therefore maintain that the executives’ pay must be aligned to the performance of the company, without which it is irrational and unjustified (Bruce, Buck and Main 2005, p.41). In reference to the objective brought by the economist over the hefty pays that go to the executives even during the period of economic crunch, this paper critically examines the agency theory and explains why it is impossible to expl ain the compensation of the executives with the provision of the theory. Besides that, the paper also gives comparative approach of evaluation from other theoretical sources that consider the relationship between the principal and the agents apart from the agency theory. The Agency Theory This theory shows the connection that exists between the principals and the negotiators in a business scenario through managing the business affairs to the best interest of each. The principals in the case companies are the shareholders while agents are the executives; in this relation, the agency theory tackles any problem that may arise between the principal and the agent in the course of running the business. Thus, the agency theory is known to be instrumental

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Determine Career Options Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Determine Career Options - Essay Example From the results, the most favorable career choice for me is that of a medical technologist. This course not only enables me to be practical and independent in my studies, but it also enables me to apply flexibility and team work in my career. Apart from this, it enables me to work with different people thereby improving my knowledge. This paper analyses how my personality, as determined by MBTI and SII results, and my best career option, medical technologist go in tandem and how this will enable me realize success in future. My MBTI and SII results of self assessment reveal that I prefer having a balance of working in an independent manner and working with other people, depending on the prevailing circumstances. The score also suggests that I enjoy spending most of my day researching, and then later switch to interactive exercises like taking part in group discussions. The results further suggest that I have a preference of learning through experience instead of theorizing activitie s. The scores further indicate that I am flexible in the methods of farming in that I prefer to conduct learning in a laboratory setting, work study programs and internships instead of relying on the ancient classroom learning process. The MBTI results also indicate that I have a preference for leading other students in a variety of means. This includes leading student organizations or in other cases taking charge of class discussions or even being a contributing member in such scenarios. My score also suggests that I love exploring new adventures and experiences and being spontaneous in my dealings. It has also highlighted that I do enjoy academic courses and outdoor activities that trigger self reliance and risk taking. From the score, it is also evident that I love solving problems on my own and I love doing my accomplishments in an independent manner. The score also indicates that I may enjoy taking independent studies, online studies and various forms of independent field work. The career that interests me the most and suits my personality lies in the field of medicine as a medical technologist. The field of medical technology is a wide field which requires extensive practical sessions since it is responsible for coming up with disease diagnosis and care. It includes the radiology department where all forms of imaging are done so that doctors are able to come up with diagnoses of various ailments. Imaging includes X-rays, MRI scans, CT scans and ultra-sound. These require sophisticated items which entail a lot of practical sessions so as to come up with the best results. Another characteristic of this career is that it requires extensive experiments since it is a practical subject. Experts in medical technology are expected to continually practice because it is very easy to make an error during the treatment process ((Terence 67). Medical technology also entails various software and hardware procedures that are conducted in a hospital setting so that reco rds about patients are up to date. It also ensures that databases of health facilities are kept potent so that circulation of items and information about employee personnel is always available. This also requires many experiments since system analysts in medical centers are expected to continually test their databases so that they can up with the most

Leadership Style and Approach Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership Style and Approach - Essay Example Her type of leadership style is democratic. According to scholars and scientists, democratic leaders have certain attributes that include the senior workers in decision-making processes. Democracy facilitates creativity and brainstorming which provides ideas to the whole management process. This type of leadership enhances productivity and satisfaction of both the junior members of management and customers at large. Increase in productivity increase the rate of profit maximization in an organization. Evelyn in her case included her employees in decision-making processes. She also emphasized on workers using their recommended time with customers on the phones lines to satisfy all questions that a customer would have on their products. This type of leadership style can be explained in detail by leadership theories. There are the situational theories that explain that a leader should choose the type of leadership style that suits his/her situation. In most cases, the democratic style of leadership has been proved to obtain the best results. Team members also feel free to express their feelings in case of any new situations. For example in Evelyn’s case, she could spend time with her team members while performing their chores. In case of any problems such as fatigue or rude customers, she would support the members by team members by telling them that she was at the same situation some time but later made it in life. The functional theory explains that a leader should have contingency plans, which are used by the leaders in certain situations (Igbal 2011). Erik Rasmussen Erik Rasmussen on the other hand, has a different type of leadership style. His style consists of two styles namely people-oriented leadership and autocratic type of leadership (Daenzer 2009). He is young, bright and energetic and a no nonsense person when it comes to his areas of supervision. The people-oriented style deals with leaders who are focused in their positions at work and providin g the irrespective results. However, they may do this to the extent of some team members where decisions made by the leader are final. Erik in this case is a graduate and is expected to deliver the expected results. He does not consider the other team members in making decisions. From the case, it is clear that at some point, he deals with cost cutting strategies without considering ideas from the workers. Alternatively, this leadership style without being monitored may be taken too far by leaders who are so much focused on results rather than the welfare of workers and customers. With the autocratic style of leadership, the leaders possess most power and their decisions could be final. In Erik’s case, he seems to have all the powers and his orders are final. He does not care what the previous leaders had put in place to help boost production and profits. However, this style has some advantages such as fast and effective decision-making processes where leaders can make final decisions. On the other hand, team members do not want this type of leadership since their ideas are not included in the decision-making process (Peggy 2006). Evaluation / Judgment Evelyn Gustafson used the

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Analysis Of Harry Potter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Analysis Of Harry Potter - Essay Example Interpretation in this context would imply an explanation or way of explaining, for instance, something that is open to a number of interpretations. Therefore, the discussion follows the following structure,ReceptionThe reception section of the Harry Potter and Fandom primarily entail the literary criticism based on British editions of the Seven Harry Potter books.Demand Thegreatdemandfor Harry Potter book motivated the New York Times to create a separate best-seller list for children’s literature min 2000, just before the release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. By June 2000, Rowling’s novel had been on the list for 79 weeks with the first three books each being on the hardcover best-seller list. By April 2007, Barnes and the Noble declared that Deathly Hallows had broken its pre-order record with over 500,000 copies pre-ordered through its site. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with 8.5 million, which was then shattered by Half-Blooded Prince with 10. 8 million copies. Awards Honors and Recognition Harry Potters work has received various awards, honors, and recognition. The Harry Potter series have been the recipients of a host of awards since the initial publication of Philosopher’s Stone encompassing four Whitaker Platinum Book Awards, Andal-were granted in 2011. Harry Potter honors include a commendation of for the Carnegie Medal (1997) and a short listing of the Guardian Children’s Award (1998). Factors for Criticisms

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Book Report for Creative Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book Report for Creative Business - Essay Example It's spawning new businesses, transforming existing ones, saving companies money, and creating wealth. It's changing the way people shop for books, cars, vacations, advice-just about everything. It's forcing companies of all sizes and types to face new competition, explore new business opportunities, and adopt new ways of conducting business. In the span of just a few years, these changes had touched every business and industry. Cameron Foote's The Business Side of Creativity: The Complete Guide to Running a Small Graphic Design or Communications Business (2002) is a landmark book that contributes to the idea of graphic designers of how they could manage their own small business in the Information Age. Starting a new business or successfully managing a small company in today's global economy could be a cumbersome challenge and it definitely requires immense creativity and willingness to exploit new opportunities. Small companies often lack the resources to buffer themselves from competition. Furthermore, once a new product or process is brought to the market, competitors need only a short time to be up and running with something similar. Thus, the biggest challenge for small businesses today is to make a product or provide a service that is hard to imitate. Foote's book is divided into five sections. ... He tackled the things one had to know in starting and running a single-person operation in graphic design. It includes the norms, standards, and appropriate expectations. There are some helpful tips strewn over like: "Just remember that the only place you'll ever find that is 100 percent free of politics is your own, single-person office. You'll have more time for personal work. When you work alone, you can work very productively" (p. 20). He reminded that the fact that one has decided to stake his or her future on freelancing shows he or she is to be a person with high energy and an entrepreneurial spirit. It also marks us as the type of person whose self worth depends on what we can do best. In Section 2 of his book, Foote tackled the pricing and the taxation part of this kind of business. This section of the book gives the readers an overview of how to charge for time, explains the preparation estimates, and keeping more of what one makes in managing a freelance designer job. In pricing, for instance, he suggested before sitting down to determine how much to charge, one must look at the big picture. Many individuals assume that pricing is the most important factor in business success. When a designer decides that "I'll make up with higher volume what I lose through lower rates", it could mean two flaws. First, working harder at lower prices often results in creative burnout. It may be financially successful, but for how long and at what price Second, a reputation for low-price work attracts smaller, less sophisticated, and more demanding clients (p. 99). In Section 3, Foote tackled the marketing and selling strategies in this type of business. He gave some tips where the opportunities are, the portfolio preparation and presentation,

Monday, September 23, 2019

Nursing Case Review of 15 Year Old Girl Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Nursing Case Review of 15 Year Old Girl - Essay Example Based on this information sexual health is a very broad subject that include information relating to ones own body and how its works, knowledge of the physical, emotional and social changes that take place during puberty, pregnancy, youth and ageing. Further, it includes the precautionary measures that are aimed at protecting sexuality of yourself and others, and measures that can be put in place when the safety is broke in instances such as unplanned pregnancy, rape, or sexually transmitted diseases. In essence, it will also entail information relating to responding to children’s sexual exploitations and behaviours to the level of understanding and maintaining safe and happy adult relationships (HealthInsite, 2011). Adolescence and sexual changes Sexual health is a life long part of human beings that accompany them from conception, birth, childhood, adolescence to adolescence. Adolescence is a period of life that is marked with the greatest sexual changes within the body of a person. It is marked by rapid numerous hormonal changes that transform the body of a girl into that of a woman and a boy into man. Thus, it is a transition period between the childhood and adulthood. In this stage, the general calmness and peacefulness of childhood is replaced by a rush of biological sensations, emotions, feelings, social challenges, and interpersonal questions that were never there before (Newton 2010). These transformations make an individual to start relating with other individuals of the same and opposite sex in different new ways that may involve sexual contact and intercourse. Revelation of sexuality brings many joys and physical pleasures but may turnout to be a very risky and destructive human behaviour. Sexual health issues outcomes When an adolescent engage in sexual contact and intercourse many outcomes may arise, thus for our 15 years old girl the following outcomes were possible. First, there is possibility of conception, which leads to unplanned pregn ancy (Weiss, 2009). This was a very likely outcome since studies have shown that age of first sexual intercourse is an important determinant of pregnancy risk with 46% of teenage girls and 22% of teenage boys who engage in their first sexual experience before the age 15 years having been involved in a pregnancy (Ehiri, 2009, p378). This outcome can be even worse especially where two teenagers (like in this case of a 15-year-old girl having unprotected sex intercourse with her 19-year-old boyfriend) who just began their sexual activity experience. Considering that this girl and her teenage boy friend they had not used any contraceptive during the intercourse unplanned pregnancy could have resulted which would have made her not likely to complete school education, more likely to face limited career and economic opportunities, and less likely than older women to obtain timely prenatal and postnatal care (Ehiri, 2009, p378). Research further show that babies from teenage mothers are mor e likely to be preterm, have low birth weight, and also are at greater risk of serious and long-term illness, development delays and death in the first year of life (WHO 2006). This mainly because they may have many issues to contemplate before starting a family or may even lack any means of sustaining one (Cherry 2001). With the rapid hormonal

Saturday, September 21, 2019

The Book “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” Essay Example for Free

The Book â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† Essay The Book â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† has stirred up much controversy over the years after it was published and issued to the public. This work of literature has been argued about for many years. The Book has been attacked for reasons such as racism, bad grammar, obscenity, atheism and low moral tone. But then again others say otherwise such as Lionel Trifling who stated it to be a masterpiece. There are many mixed opinions about this book. These controversies will be explained and explored in deeper detail as we move on. For example, in 1988 a parent of a student attending high school in Tempe Arizona was attempting to sue the school stating that the environment was already racially tense and that the book â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† intensified by it being the required reading list. Many others were requesting for this book to be banned from the required reading list but did not succeed for reasons of that the school district should take steps to reduce racial tension. However, after the board rejecting the ban on the novel for so many times in other areas the book was finally removed from the curriculum in New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois it was removed from the reading lists and school libraries. Arguably the most outspoken opposition to the book is John Wallace a former administrator at the Mark Twain Intermediate School despite this protest the principal refused to ban it but was later overruled by the superintendent who stated it was â€Å"racist trash. † Mark Twain is most shunned for his violent use of the word â€Å"nigger† or the n-word. Large amounts of controversy fall on the fact that schools were segregated when this book was originally printed but now they had been unsegregated the African American students and parents were offended by this text being read to and read by their children. Some students even saying while reading it in class that they felt â€Å"embarrassed† by it. â€Å"I can still recall the anger I felt as my white classmates read aloud the word nigger. In fact, as I write this letter I am getting angry all over again. I wanted to sink into my seat. Some of the whites snickered, others giggled. I can recall nothing of the literary merits of this work that you term the greatest of all American novels. I only recall the sense of relief I felt when I would flip ahead a few pages and see that the word nigger would not be read that hour. † This quote was written in a letter to his school about the Book. As you can see the African American students did not take much pleasure to the disrespect and embarrassment this book came with. The Novel â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn† caused an immense amount of controversy over the years. Some still argue the point of its racist and demoralizing factors to this day. Some Parents and teachers still believe it is degrading and embarrassing to the African American students and believe it should no longer be printed. But many others think it is a great example of American heritage and lifestyle of that time period. Should it be banned completely or should anyone with desire to read it be able to do it at will. That’s up to you?

Friday, September 20, 2019

Use of Alumni Tracer Study to Maintain Curriculum Relevancy

Use of Alumni Tracer Study to Maintain Curriculum Relevancy Distance education can play a crucial role in the professional development of a developing country like Indonesia by meeting human resource requirements. It caters to the requirement not only those who are unemployed but also of those who are on the job. Their knowledge can be updated through continuing education programmes. In-service teacher education is an investment in human capital, which brings benefits in the form of enhanced educator productivity, and higher levels of output. One of the most important functions of the education sector is to provide knowledge and skill to various sectors of the education area. It is widely argued that the structure and pattern of education, especially at the elementary and secondary stage, has to be purposefully re-oriented towards new national standard to join together with the projected future pattern of graduation requirements. Currently, most of the countries of the world, especially Indonesia, has given due importance to in-service teache r education to provide diversification of educational opportunities so as to enhance individual professionalism, reduce the gap between urban and rural area of skilled teacher and provide an alternative for those pursuing higher education. Distance and online learning in the Open University of Indonesia (UT) has been greatly developed as a methodology for providing education for those who formerly may have found further education inaccessible for various reasons. In the purpose of accreditation process, UT put a finest on compliance and included some reporting requirements in tracer study that necessarily lead programs toward excellence or increase in-service teacher students impact on their schools and distance learning. In writers opinion, Universitas Terbuka can responsively maintain curriculum relevancy and usefulness for professional development. Ornstein and Hunkins (2009, p.15) argue that curriculum development includes how a curriculum is planned, implemented and evaluated, as well as what people, processes and procedures are involved... Curriculum models help designers to systematically and transparently map out the rationale for the use of particular teaching, learning and assessment approaches. They suggest that although curriculum development models are technically useful, they often overlook the human factor such as the personal attitudes, emotions, values involved in curriculum making. Therefore they are not a method and should not be a substitute for using professional and personal judgement on what is a good approach to develop student learning. UT organized alumni tracer study in 2009 and got more than 10.000 responses but in this paper the writer only use 200 responses to be analyzed randomly. Tracer study encourages UT to solve complex problems confronting professional development. It is also common for higher educational institutions to have their graduates make an evaluation of their learning experience and the quality of learning which they received. This evaluation process often takes the form of graduate or alumni surveys, which are sometimes referred to as tracer studies. It is focused not only on measuring teacher and program performance, but also other alumni and other aspects. UT should know the fortunes of their graduates in order to make a complete assessment of how the educational process has impacted their graduates. With the tracer study result, UT is able to make development and modifications on their programs that could enhance their students chances of achieving success. In this paper the use of the trace r study will be discussed as an effective method of evaluating the success of distance and online programmes to provide and maintain curriculum relevancy for professional development in UT. THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF INDONESIA UT which was established in 1984 is a national university constituted under the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Indonesia Number 41 Year 1984 and has the same legal and academic status as any other national university in Indonesia. UT is quite unique as it is the only university in Indonesia that is dedicated to distance learning. The academic programmes of the UT are specifically designed to enable persons who have graduated from senior high school to pursue a higher education. The programmes of the university enable students to join in at the level of the qualifications they possess and are structured from certificate and proceed to diploma, bachelor degrees and graduate degrees. At present with a total student enrolment of around 639,049 (http://www.ut.ac.id/ut-dalam-angka.html, 2010), UT has the largest student bodies in the country. The students are enrolled in more than 30 programmes of study out of which 96 per cent of the students are employed and around 82 per cent are teachers. The completion of programmes by students become more difficult for students who enrol at Open Universities as they are compelled to study while working and attending to their normal family responsibilities. It is pertinent therefore, to examine the alumni satisfaction after they graduated from UT. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN UT The Characteristic of UTs students UTs students are similar with the other ODL students. Its characteristics are classified as non-traditional students (Easton, 2003): have internal motivation to seek higher education and self-discipline to undertake study. One of the motivations is they can study while working for people who for some reasons cannot attend face to face education, for example people living in rural areas, in isolated islands, who cannot move to the cities where there are universities. UT differs from other open university on two accounts. It requires formal entrance qualifications and it has both full-time as well as part-time students (Hiola Moss, 1990).   The lack of time and funds promote students to apply in UT. Potential UTs students are not a captive market. UT can at least rely on a student intake derived from the geographical location in which they are approximated. Proximity and subsidized fees through scholarship often make nearby institutions the first option for students. For those who cannot physically attend, UT provides education from certain places on the world by ODL. The prospective distance education student can therefore join in UT for the type of programme they wish to pursue which are congruent with their professional and personal goals. UT has many competitors around the world, because the demand for ODL has grown extensively. Many private and public universities have increased their student intake by offering online programmes. With the large number of institutions participating in ODL it has become a highly competitive market for providers. Distance education has taken on the characteristics of a service industry, with students becoming the loyal customers for the education product. The need for customer satisfaction therefore increases the necessity to have students evaluate the product (Millington, 2008). Student responses on these matters can gauge the level of satisfaction with the course itself and institutional planners can implement improvements where dissatisfaction has been expressed. However, this form of evaluation does not measure the outputs and outcomes of education. Furthermore, UW-Stout conducts surveys on all its alumni one and five years after their graduation. Bosshart, Wents, and Heller (2009) state these surveys provide critical information for assessing and determining the effectiveness of programs. These results may then be utilized for program improvement. Schomburg (2003, p.25) identifies the outputs as attributes such as knowledge and skills, and outcomes as transition to employment, work experience and service to society. He suggests the use of the tracer study by institutions as a method for knowing the destiny of their graduates and the relationship between their study and their professional reward. (p.29). Tracer Study and Curriculum Development Although the usual end of the course evaluation can ask for the student to assess whether they have gained the knowledge and skills necessary for fulfilling their personal objectives, there is really little proof of this until the student has completed the entire course of study and has entered the workforce. By surveying a cohort of graduates from: a specific institution; profession; discipline; graduation date; level of education; or a combination of these for comparative analysis, Schomburg (2003) presents examples of issues which can be addressed in tracer studies. Biographical data on Where are our graduates now may supply information on income, job title, nature of employment, and years of employment. He also believes that surveys should also include information about the kind of work task the relationship between study and work, and professional values and job satisfaction. The use of tracer studies to provide and maintain curriculum relevancy for professional development have been conducted by Harald Schomburg and his colleagues at the Centre for Higher Education and Work, University of Kassel, Germany, have done considerable research on conducting tracer surveys, constructing effective tracer study questionnaires and their statistical analysis. They have conducted survey projects such as the CHEERS (Career after Higher Education-a European Research Study) which investigated the links between higher education and graduate employment in Europe. They have done similar research in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Zembere and Chinyama (1996) tried to find out what factors are important for professional success of graduates taking into account personal factors and identify key aspects of the continuing professional education of graduates in University of Malawi. Another tracer study is conducted in Nigeria (Ugwuonah Omeje, 1998) with the results as follows: Link and match in both the industries and higher education profiles. Broad based and trans-disciplinary curriculum planning and development Collaboration between higher education institution and industries. Tracer study conducted for open and distance learning (ODL) is not many. One of them is done by the Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE) at the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). In addition, tracer study also completed by the Nigerian Institute (NTI) which launched its Nigeria Certificate in Education by ODL in 1990 in response to urgent need to train more teachers. The findings of the study were that the performance of ODL graduates was as effective in the classroom as that of their peers who had studied in the traditional way. Based on the tracer study result, the Institute itself had improved its management and monitoring systems (Umar, 2006). ALUMNI TRACER STUDY FOR MAINTAINING CURRICULUM RELEVANCY AND USEFULNESS Provision Of a Working Definition Of The Tracer Study Concept For the purposes of this discussion tracer study will be taken to mean: A period when institutions of learning set up regular intervals of time to venture into the field and follow their past graduates to find out what they are doing with the training they received and find out from them how best they think the institutions who trained them will be able to help them upgrade their acquired knowledge and skills through the reform and innovation of curricula and course programmes including school-based or work-based professional development to live up to the expectations of the constantly changing technological and scientific working environment and employer demands (Boaduo, Mensah Babitseng, 2009). In educational research, according to Schomburg (2003), tracer study is a survey of graduates from institutions of higher education since its target groups is the alumni. The ILO Thesaurus 2005 defines a tracer study as an impact assessment tool where during evaluation the impact on target groups is traced back to specific elements of a project or programme so that effective and ineffective project components may be identified. Schomburg (2003, p.36) notes that graduate surveys are popular for analysis of the relationship between higher education and work. They provide quantitative-structural data on employment and career, the character of work and related competencies, and information on the professional orientation and experiences of their graduates. The alumni tracer study in UT has objectives to build strong bonds between the institution and its graduates, because the alumni are the excellent source of advice for improvements of institution and to measure the extent of professional and academic careers pursued by the graduates after gaining knowledge and skills through academic institutions. Many questions were designed so that appropriate answers could be ticked off. Some open-ended questions were developed to get suggestions, comments, explanations and clarifications. Immediate supervisors or employers were requested to provide views on UTs graduates in their employment, in terms of theoretical knowledge, practical experience/skill, job performance, strengths, weaknesses and suggestions for improvement. Assuming that peers can be the most important appraisers of their fellow UTs graduates, as they are very close to them in many respects, peer groups were asked to state the strengths of UTs graduates. A scaling technique was applied to measure the relevancy and usefulness of tracer in professional and academic development of UTs graduates. Some questions were featured in a tabular format to assess job profile that UTs graduates considered before and after their studies at UT. This was done to get information on the number of positions held, year of starting and ending j ob, title and level of the positions, influential positions, name of the employers organization, type of employers, major responsibility, and awards, rewards or promotions. The position levels in categorically divided into three stages such as survey organization, data collection, data analysis and report writing. Curriculum Relevancy and Usefulness for Professional Development in UT The alumni tracer study consists of many aspects. Some of them are impact study that seeks to determine graduates satisfaction with the institution especially with curriculum relevancy and usefulness. Another one is professional development study to determine the extent to which the curriculum has developed them qualified in their career. As the writer said that the majority of learners are already working, they need to develop their competencies and skills to stay relevant and useful. The attributes that would be developed in the distance education in the future are knowledge and skills, perspectives, contextual problem solving, networking and competency-based outcomes (Boettcher, 2006). UT should have planning to accommodate these new emphases and provide curriculum relevancy for its alumni to incorporate their education and professional competencies. Academic curriculum as a tool used to develop the skills, roles as a vehicle, which attributes can be transferred during the learning process (Fallows Steven, 2000). In the academic curriculum dimension for 2009, both of items are majority rated satisfactory (Table 2.). It is shown that alumni are generally satisfied with the curriculum developed by UT. In writers assumptions, one of the contributors of the curriculum relevancy is the rich composition of participants in academic curriculum development, which consists of lecturers, students, curriculum specialist, professionals and experts in certain fields from government parties or private industries. Another contributor is the use of information and communication technology in learning process. According to Listyarini, Ratnaningsih and Yuliana (2010), alumni and stakeholders perceived that alumni had improved in their knowledge and skills of ICT and learning media. Strategy to Provide and Maintain Curriculum Relevancy Earlier in this paper it was suggested that the findings of tracers studies could be used to reform ODL programmes. As seen in the African studies graduate dissatisfaction with resources, technology and the need to enhance teacher competence in audio-visual technology points to where institutional investment and reform could be targeted. The Malawi study revealed the importance of interpersonal skills and proficiency in English. This information could be used by curriculum planners for the incorporation of these skills into training and course content. The Nigerian study indicated a need for greater linkages with the industrial sector to make programmes more relevant to the manufacturing industry, especially for engineering. Most importantly, the fact that tracer studies can show that the quality of ODL graduates is comparable (as with the NTI) with those of traditional education suggests that they should be an integral tool for evaluating ODL. Tracer studies of ODL graduates can provide the information needed to reform educational programmes to bring about the fit between the requirements of the employment world and study. Surveys do have their disadvantages: it is sometimes difficult to locate alumni and have them complete questionnaires. Schomburg (2003) warns that the graduate might not always be able to identify the relationship between the knowledge acquired during study and their professional lives and that research findings are valuable inasmuch as planners can turn the findings into concrete reforms. However, this paper suggests that the tracer study can be an information provider as well as an evaluation tool. The success of graduates can be used, as a maintaining strategy to develop curriculum. UT can use the information gathered to adapt their courses to the demands of professional development and modify programmes to expand professional advancement through ODL. Zhou, Varnhagen, Sears, Kasprzak, Shervey (2007) examine the role of technology in continuing professional development and learning. They investigate whether online delivery of professional development is a successful alternative to other forms of professional development. This study provides a rich account into the challenges and tensions as to how leaders in higher education create and facilitate a shared, communal vision in the context of online curriculum delivery. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS This paper has provided documentary analysis about the need to use tracer study paradigm for the enhancement of the quality of courses offered in UT in Indonesia to be able to meet the demands of the changing educational demands of the new century. A working definition upon which the whole discussion was based has been provided. It is important to indicate that tracer study is a means of gathering important information about past graduates of higher institutions to be able to identify what they are doing with the training they obtained and what could be done to add to their expertise through these institutions to be able to reform their course programmes to keep up with the needs of the rapidly changing technological and scientific age. The result confirmed that UT is making a significant contribution to its distance learner by providing opportunities to improve their knowledge and skills, not only to perform better in their careers but also in providing the opportunity to pursue their studies to a higher level. This reflects the success of UT in providing the culture of lifelong learning among its learners. The most important thing is that the majority of alumni indicated that they would recommend their colleagues to study at UT for professional development purposes. It must be indicated that tracer study survey is a very tedious and complicated exercise. Extensive efforts should go into tracking and contacting individual graduates and alumni. There is need to step up the process of providing regular opportunities for alumni to register and create a forum electronically and through the web. Furthermore continuous efforts should be made to collect data progressively before and after graduation which will contribute to the improvement of the analysis of future tracer studies. Additional data can be collected for the type of institutions, nature of work, and ranks of the past graduates. The following recommendations are provided as a means to help improve tracer study in the future: (1) database developing for all higher education institution in Indonesia, (2) Establishing network between UT and its graduates, and (3) developing a committee of alumni tracer study for the whole higher education institution in Indonesia.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Great Controversy according to Young Goodman Brown :: Free Essay Writer

In our own Christian struggles, people tend to believe that it is simple as good evil. People don't realize however that in this fight, the Devil can infiltrate a seemingly normal, Christian Human Being, but it's true. Better yet, in our own walk with God the Devil lurks near to test what might look like a strong relationship with Christ. As shown in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," even a grounded, sincere Christian can have his or her faith tested. Hawthorne's story refers to Brown's travel companion as 'the serpent,'; and though the story is allegory based the story itself raises an age old battle that is being fought to this day, the great controversy. The Great Controversy as it is formally known as, is the fight between good and evil…Michael and Lucifer. On the issue at hand Ellen White says 'The great controversy between Christ and Satan, that has been carried forward for nearly six thousand years, is soon to close; and the wicked one redoubles his efforts to defeat the work of Christ in man's behalf and to fasten souls in his snares. To hold the people in darkness and impenitence till the Saviour's mediation is ended, and there is no longer a sacrifice for sin, is the object which he seeks to accomplish.'; Within this fight, man, sinful in nature is in the middle of it. According to the Story Young Goodman Brown, Brown left faith or his faith to walk with the serpent, or the devil. He was so deep-rooted in his faith but disregarded it to walk with the devil. All throughout the walk the devil tried to test his faith by showing him harsh realities and telling Young Goodman Brown about his past and the negatives about his family's heritage. That is just one of the traps of the devil, more so the one of the greatest tests of faith can be the existence of evil spirits. Ellen White says in her book The Great Controversy, 'There is a growing tendency to disbelief in the existence of evil spirits, while the holy angels that "minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" (Hebrews 1:14) are regarded by many as spirits of the dead. But the Scriptures not only teach the existence of angels, both good and evil, but present unquestionable proof that these are not disembodied spirits of dead men.';(White 111) In the story the devil used his evil minions to deceive Young Goodman Brown and to make it appear that the people that appear to be good and upstanding Christians aren't.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Presentation of Thesis Statement :: essays papers

Presentation of Thesis Statement For many years the SAT had been considered one of the most important tests that a student can take for the admission process. The SAT is thought to be one of the greatest measurements of academic success is high school and is considered one of the greatest predictors of academic success in college. In the recent years there have been people who have questioned the validity of the SAT, saying that it is an inaccurate measure of academic success and a poor predictor of academic success and does nothing except hinder the application and admission process for prospective students. The purpose of this paper is to present the two sides of the two sides of the argument (support of the test as an accurate measure and the support of the test as an inaccurate measure). Study Report In a report written in 1992, Neil J. Jenkins writes that some colleges in Canada are no longer using the SAT as a predictor of success by post-secondary institutions, and are not really considered in the admissions process either. Study Findings The institutions in Canada feel that the test has many limitations, which among these are: the SAT, in an attempt to free up confounding variables, the test is modified not to accommodate people who can not speak English. Some of the other modifications that the SAT endures are that they have no accommodations for the visually impaired and students with mobility issues. The majority of the students both disabled and not, scored in the similar percentile in the mathematics section of the exam. It was the verbal section that had the majority of the deviations. The finding in this report was also substantiated by Randy Bennett, who also performed studies that concluded with the same findings (Jenkins 1992). Randy Bennett, when speaking about the non-traditional students (non-traditional students is defined by students who suffer from disabilities (both learning and physical, students who have physical disabilities include hearing impairments, visual impairments, and mobility impairm ents), may not be close to the age of traditional students, students who’s first language is not English.), says that: â€Å"Vocabulary items re also reported to be difficult for these students†¦Learning disabled pupils are sad to have particular difficulty with antonyms and with the logical relationships required by verbal analogies.† (Bennett, quote is embedded in the Jenkins report so no year given, page is provided from the Bennett report, page 44)

Gender in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay -- Chinua Achebe Thi

This paper will look at the contradictions in the work of Chinua Achebe in relation to his placement of woman and femininity. Kristen Holst Petersen states that ‘the African discussion is between feminist emancipation versus the fight against neo-colonialism, particularly in its cultural aspect...which comes first, the fight for female equality or the fight against Western cultural imperialism’. This paper will attempt to highlight these contradictions in relation to Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Above all the tribe values physical prowess, it places a great deal of importance on individual achievement, these attributes are in fact intended to ensure the security and permanence of the group. For like most early societies this is a society that is dominated by a passion for survival. Umofia therefore cultivates the notion of the heroic ideal based on physical prowess. The centrality of the yam in the novel highlights the tribe’s respect for physical strength. As a result of the intense muscular effort required for its cultivation the yam crop comes to represent an annual triumph wrested from nature, a signifier of the dialogue between the human world and the natural environment. However a reader soon realizes the contradictions between the constraints of the social ideal, that privileges the interests of the group, and the truths of individual human yearnings. Unoka, Okonwko’s father, embodies the counter-values that stand in opposition to the rigid social ideal of the tribe. His unorthodox style of living is, it may be argued, a conscious subversion of the manly ideal. His oppositional values are those of art, in tandem with a playful irony and an amorality that resounds with his relaxed disposition to the world. ... ...cultural experience. Of course Things Fall Apart warrants a feminist reading, but to read it only in this manner would be reductive, and in my opinion, would miss the point of what Achebe was trying to do. In writing back to novels such as Heart of Darkness and Mister Johnson Achebe has presented us with a particularized African society to critique. To level the accusation as Petersen does that ‘the obvious inequality of the sexes seems to be the subject of mild amusement for Achebe’, is in my opinion unwarranted and unfair. Select Bibliography Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Ibadan: Heinnemann, 1962 Kabbani, Rana. Imperial Fictions: Europe's Myths of Origin. London: Pandora, 1986. Petersen, Kristen. "First Things First: Problems of a Feminist Approach to African Literature". In Griffith, Ashcroft, Tiffin Ed The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. Gender in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart Essay -- Chinua Achebe Thi This paper will look at the contradictions in the work of Chinua Achebe in relation to his placement of woman and femininity. Kristen Holst Petersen states that ‘the African discussion is between feminist emancipation versus the fight against neo-colonialism, particularly in its cultural aspect...which comes first, the fight for female equality or the fight against Western cultural imperialism’. This paper will attempt to highlight these contradictions in relation to Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Above all the tribe values physical prowess, it places a great deal of importance on individual achievement, these attributes are in fact intended to ensure the security and permanence of the group. For like most early societies this is a society that is dominated by a passion for survival. Umofia therefore cultivates the notion of the heroic ideal based on physical prowess. The centrality of the yam in the novel highlights the tribe’s respect for physical strength. As a result of the intense muscular effort required for its cultivation the yam crop comes to represent an annual triumph wrested from nature, a signifier of the dialogue between the human world and the natural environment. However a reader soon realizes the contradictions between the constraints of the social ideal, that privileges the interests of the group, and the truths of individual human yearnings. Unoka, Okonwko’s father, embodies the counter-values that stand in opposition to the rigid social ideal of the tribe. His unorthodox style of living is, it may be argued, a conscious subversion of the manly ideal. His oppositional values are those of art, in tandem with a playful irony and an amorality that resounds with his relaxed disposition to the world. ... ...cultural experience. Of course Things Fall Apart warrants a feminist reading, but to read it only in this manner would be reductive, and in my opinion, would miss the point of what Achebe was trying to do. In writing back to novels such as Heart of Darkness and Mister Johnson Achebe has presented us with a particularized African society to critique. To level the accusation as Petersen does that ‘the obvious inequality of the sexes seems to be the subject of mild amusement for Achebe’, is in my opinion unwarranted and unfair. Select Bibliography Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Ibadan: Heinnemann, 1962 Kabbani, Rana. Imperial Fictions: Europe's Myths of Origin. London: Pandora, 1986. Petersen, Kristen. "First Things First: Problems of a Feminist Approach to African Literature". In Griffith, Ashcroft, Tiffin Ed The Post-Colonial Studies Reader.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Martin Luther King Jr Essay

Many find it interesting to glimpse inside the lives of famous thinkers in an effort to understand where such thought and intelligence is rooted. Famous thinkers have little in common with what makes them reach their level of achievement (Goodman & Fritchie, 2011). In that tone, here is a peek into the routines and rituals of Martin Luther King Jr. and Cornel West that writers, philosophers, and statesmen have depended on to keep their work on track and their thoughts flowing. Whether you need inspiration to make it through the next college semester of your bachelor’s degree, finishing up your master’s degree program, or are working on a future best-selling novel, explore the contributions to society these men have created, how their personal, social, and political environments helped with their creativity, how they solve their ideas and problems, how their ideas were implemented, as well as what they could have done differently along with comparing their creative process. Martin Luther King made many contributions to society at the most difficult time. He helped African American’s gain civil rights and equality in America. He completed these contributions through actions like the bus boycott that he led in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott fought against city buses that refused to allow African Americans to sit in the front seats of the buses. This boycott led to a citywide boycott of the bus system until the rules were changed. He also led the march from Selma to Montgomery along with other protestors as they voiced their right to vote. Dr. King not only led marches but he also gave what is now famous speeches like â€Å"Give Us a Ballot† â€Å"I Have a Dream† â€Å"I’ve Been to the Mountaintop† that also helped with his movement. Through the speeches Dr. King had the ability to reach many in delivering his thoughts and creativity toward his movement. Dr. King also published many books like Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, Strength to Love, Why We Can’t Wait, and Where Do We Go From Here? These books also helped with Dr. King’s movement to reach people all over the United States to see his vision. Dr. Cornel West has a passion to communicate to a vast variety of publics in order to keep alive the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; telling the truth and bearing witness to love and justice. Dr. West stated, â€Å"You can’t lead the people if you don’t love the people. You can’t save the people if you don’t serve the people.† Cornel West contributions to society has been monumental, he is a motivational speaker in politics, education, talk radio and even major motion pictures.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Make Prejudice and Discrimination a Subject in School Essay

Because of the immigration in the world and the great assimilation that are in progress prejudices and discrimination are more important than never before. People need to learn from young ages that it doesn’t matter where you come from or what color your skin is, the only thing that matters is your personality and how you respond to other people. Yesterday, in Stockholm, I was talking to my cousin and she told me that I never should live in Tensta because, according to her, it’s a very dangerous place because it only lives criminals there. Personally I’m sure that the majority of the people in Tensta are normal, nice people that never have done anything criminal – it’s only her prejudices that say something different. I see every day how common prejudices are, my friends have prejudices, my family has prejudices and I, that see myself as a very prejudices free person, find sometimes that even I have some prejudices. Discrimination is unfortunately also common in our society. A while ago I read a study that professors at the Linnà © university in Kalmar had written and it showed that the majority of the companies in Sweden discriminated people with Arabic names. If there were two persons with exactly the same qualities and experience in the study, and one of them was named Martin Johansson and the other Abd al Hakim only the first would be called to an interview while the second would be sorted away immediately. But I think that it is easy to forget and that we have to remember that discrimination can work in every way – white against black, black against white, men against women, women against men, and so on. Therefore I believe that we have to work for a society that is equal on every scale. I think that a way to solve the problem with prejudices and discrimination is to make it a main subject in school. In that way every kid in Sweden would get information about and be able to discus prejudices and discrimination every week from the age of 6 to 16. I believe that information and knowledge are the key to everything, and in this case the key to an equal society without prejudices and discrimination.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

‘Looking for Alibrandi’ essay Essay

Essay question: Family has a strong influence on our lives. It affects the way we view ourselves and those around us. How has family influenced Josephine and what impact does it have?Family is one of our main influences in our lives, although we are not always aware of it. It shapes the people we are and the choices we make in our lives. In the text ‘Looking for Alibrandi’ by Melina Marchetta, Josephine Alibrandi is seeking to be free from the world and its misunderstood societal regulations throughout her twelfth year of high school – the year of change and new ways of thinking. Throughout her journey, her family influences her way of thinking. She grows and learns through family and structure, accepting her Italian heritage and family members. Family shows who she is, and by accepting that, Josie is able to live freely to the life she dreamed of, although not in the way she originally expected. Throughout the book, family influences Josephine to reach her goal o f emancipation, creating a connected family and a liberated perspective on life. Throughout the book, Josie’s way of thinking changes immensely, from negativity towards her family and culture, to a new understanding and perspective towards life. This is the effect from family, personal experiences, and sharing truths and feelings. Which teaches Josie how she feels about her culture, family and find the part of herself which is embedded in her family. Showing that her family influences and changes the way she feels about life and gives her a new perspective towards it. As the book progresses, Josephine learns to appreciate family – the sacrifices they make her, her Italian heritage and the community of family. Josie became respectful and thankful towards her family as apposed to resentful, because they loved her and her individuality. This has influenced Josie to learn her own truths, make her own rules and way of life, but most importantly, to figure out where her place in life is, ‘I know where my place in life is. It’s not where the S eras or the Carlys of the world have slotted me†¦ I’m an Australian with Italian blood flowing rapidly through my veins. I’ll say that with pride, because it’s pride that I feel.’ (page 259). Once Josie realises that her family had confided with her and had sacrificed all these things for her and the Alibrandi/Andretti name, she took action, to change her life for herself and her family, to be a better person. ‘A lot has  changed at home†¦ Maybe because I’ve changed.’ (page 259), this shows that from what her family has taught her, Josephine has changed for the better. Maybe not in the way she expected to, but in the way she can learn to accept herself and her family, which has changed her family life to a more loving, excepting community. Every family has structure, just like Josephine’s family. Josephine’s family has a very significant structure, which is generally influenced by their Italian culture and society, making them blind to Josephine’s way of life, â€Å"They stifle me with their rules and regulations they have bought with them from Europe, but they haven’t changed with the times†¦ There’s always someone I have to respect.† (p40). This indicates that Josie’s family is stuck in the old Italian ways, so ignorant and stubborn. Expecting respect even though they have done nothing but age, â€Å"I am an old woman now and I deserve respect.† (p36). This is why Josie dislikes the culture and traditions, because she feels that those traditions are what hold her down and not let her live the free life she dreams of. But through experiences and feel she can not do anything that she wants with her life, her family will always look down upon her, only remembering the bad things and they will always talk, no matter what which is what Josie learns to accept â€Å"†¦I think that if I lived like a saint and walked with two feet in one shoe; If I wore the clothes of St Francis of Assisi and suffered like a martyr; if I lived by the rules and never committed a sin, people would still talk. Because human nature. They’ll always, like me, find someone to talk about.† (p261). Culture and its traditions is another thing Josie’s family is buried in, which brings Josie down with it as well, Josie: â€Å"Culture is nailed into you so deep you can’t escape it.† (p175). All this is what holds Josie down from being free and doing what she wants. Family in Josephine’s life is what influences Josie to who she is and what decisions and actions she makes. Even though her family is who she thinks has trapped her life and social standing under the floor, Josie can not help the fact that family and culture and traditions and wealth is what makes Josie the person she is. And it is not until she realises this is when her emancipation can happen. â€Å"I just sat there thinking back on the year and I  realised that I was emancipated long ago†¦ I remember feeling socially out of it at St. Martha’s, yet when the†¦ walk-a-thon happened, I realised I wasn’t. I thought my birth circumstances were a cross I’d bear for the rest of my life, but†¦ it had never been my cross. I had only made it mine.† (p258) Josie feels emancipated because she had taken the time to reflect back and look at the bigger picture. She realised that she didn’t care what people though of her anymore because what difference is it really going to make in her life. Josie will always be Josie, and no matter how much others disagree it can’t change her, â€Å"You can’t hate what you are a part of. What you are.† (p152). Her family will always be the ones who she will look up to, â€Å"And I cried because I was loved by two of the strongest women I would ever meet in my lifetime.† (p226) These strong characteristics are what have influenced Josie the most to stand up for herself and be strong for herself. â€Å"You know a wonderful thing happened to me when I reflected back on my year. ‘One day’ came. Because I finally understood.† (p261), throughout her journey Josie learns through her family a new way of thinking, she grows and learns through family influences and family structure, accepting her Italian heritage and family members. Family shows who she is, and by accepting that, Josie is able to live freely to the life she dreamed of, although not in the way she originally expected. Throughout the book, family influences Josephine to reach her goal of emancipation, creating a connected family and a liberated perspective on life.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

The Medusa and the Snail Mistakes

It is undeniable that mistakes are a bsic fundamental of life. Whether or not that is a good or bad thing, is much harder to determine. In a passage from The Medusa and the Snail, biologist Lewis Thomas discusses mistakes and how they affect our life. In the second paragraph, Thomas claims that we, as humans, learn by â€Å"trial and error†. Although at first though this is seemingly true, but when it comes down to it, just how accurate is this saying? Some people make a mistake, learn from it, and move on. They will remember the consequences, and strive to never be in the same predicament again.Others, however, continuously make the same mistake. For example, generally, a person who does drugs once will repeatedly do it again and again. If this were not true, addicts would not exist. Instead of identifying this behavior as a problem, they simply look over it as if it is not a bad thing at all. Thomas says, â€Å"What is needed, for progress to be made, is the move based on t he error. † Most discoveries are made by accident. Productive mistakes are everywhere: science, medicine, history, and so on.For example, a pharmaceutical company developed Viagra as a heart medication, and it was to their surprise that the drug effectively benefited those suffering from erectile dysfunction. Accidents like this happen everyday, and sometimes, they can have a positive outcome. While some parts of Thomas' claims are true, others are difficult to agree with. Although some people do use their past mistakes to learn and grow as a person, not all are this wise. It is hard to make such a hasty generalization such as all people learn by â€Å"trial and error†, and expect it to be accurate.

Friday, September 13, 2019

International transport Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International transport - Essay Example So, International transport compliments the human activity of producing products perfectly, and this paper will look at their role in sending garments from manufacturing plants in India to the destinations in Netherlands. Garments, important necessity of people all over the world, are being manufactured from time immemorial as form of cover, protection, style, comfort etc. From casuals to formals, many garments have been manufactured in different parts of the world and one of the best known places for garments manufacturing especially knitted T-shirts is Tiruppur in India. T-shirts manufactured in Tiruppur are marketed throughout the world. â€Å"It is called the Knits Capital of India as it caters to famous brands and retailers from all over the world. Nearly every buyer of knitting in the world comes to Tiruppur†¦ Walmart, Switcher, Diesel, ARMY, Tommy Hilfiger, M&S, FILA, H&M, Pink Lemonade, HTHP, Whale, Reebok† (Wikipedia). After the garments or T-shirts comes out of the manufacturing plants in packed boxes, Tiruppur based logistics companies will take over it, for the shipment process. Logistics companies, contracted by the manufacturers, will have a fleet of vehicles or containers using which only, the packed T-shirts will be transported to the nearest port. Even though India is dotted with many ports on both its coasts, Port Cochin on the western coast is the preferable port for the Tiruppur garment manufacturers. As Cochin is in another Indian state of Kerala, the vehicles from Tiruppur (which is in Tamil Nadu) have to face some practical problems, which can prolong the normal duration of 6 hours. That is, the distance of 109 miles can be covered in 6 hours by the vehicles like the Lorries and vans, but it can get prolonged due to government check posts, other natural and artificial eventualities. As trans-state crossing needs some government

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 11

Psychology - Essay Example Considering the argument brought forth by then article on then relationship between the hippocampus and the acquisition of independent memories, which do not rely on the hippocampus systems. It further questions the interference of the hippocampus with the retrieval of perfectly normal hippocampus dependent memory, which has been established in non-hippocampus systems. The authors go further to make working assumptions relating to disruption of memory that is not stored in hippocampus systems during the resumption of functionality by the hippocampus. This is backed with evidence from experiments on the temporary inhibition of the hippocampus, and the resulting inconclusive results on the outcome. The main aim of the article because of the experiments conducted is revealed that the loss of memory is affiliated failure in the establishment of a lasting fear memory. In order to prove its findings in relation to loss of memory and the hippocampus; the results of experiments conducted on animals are included and the inferences revealed. As a result, it is found that inactivation or loss of functionality of the hippocampus does not result in loss of memory, retrograde amnesia, the same way that the hippocampus can interfere with retrieval of memory. In order to arrive at their conclusions, the authors of the article conducted an experiment, and based it on what is already known to cause amnesia or failure in the retrieval of memory. As such, the sponsoring institution, University of Lethbridge, approved their experiment. The approval means that the experiment was done according to set guidelines in order to acquire accurate results for their hypothesis. With this in mind, the sample of animals used in the experiment involved the use of rats that were housed in a standard laboratory and facing all similar treatment and conditions. However, in the

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Building Sector and Energy Consumption Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Building Sector and Energy Consumption - Essay Example From this essay it is clear tha the ‘average’ building implements materials with relatively low embodied energy and a limited amount of HVAC equipment. The energy ‘efficient’ building achieves an 80% reduction in heating energy demand and 40% reduction in cooling energy demand. The LCA shows how, even with a very significant reduction in operating energy consumption, the energy ‘efficient’ building may consume more energy than the ‘average’ one in relatively short life times if no care is taken about its embodied energy.This paper stresses that the effect of transportation energy requirement becomes also evident in this case, being the highest energy contribution for the ‘average’ building, and the second one, after the embodied energy, for the energy ‘efficient’ building. From a building energy point of view, these distributed urbanization schemes offer more chances for energy efficiency measures and appli cation of renewable energy technologies than centralized urbanization schemes. It is just through transportation energy requirements that sustainable building considerations interact with the higher structure sustainable urbanization approach.  Building energy assessment, extended to its design, construction, and useful life, allows for a proper quantification of the building's energy implications, and hence provides the basis for appropriate planning in the sector.  Energy regulation has a perceptive character, and its objective should be to establish and limit the upper bound for the buildings energy consumption.... ows how, even with a long analysis period (100 years), the energy 'efficient' building may consume more energy than the 'average' one if care is not taken about its EE. Evolution of accumulated energy consumption for two 150 m2 dwellings, an average one and another with pretensions of energy efficiency on basis of its reduced operating energy demand. (Laustsen, 2003) The results presented in Fig. 1 assumed a rather low increase in operational energy efficiency, but even with higher energy efficiency improvements we may find similar results with lower life cycle periods. The 'average' building implements materials with relatively low embodied energy and a limited amount of HVAC equipment. The energy 'efficient' building achieves an 80% reduction in heating energy demand and 40% reduction in cooling energy demand. The LCA shows how, even with a very significant reduction in operating energy consumption, the energy 'efficient' building may consume more energy than the 'average' one in relatively short life times if no care is taken about its embodied energy. Life cycle analysis for two 150 m2 dwellings, an average one and another with pretensions of energy efficiency on basis of its reduced operating energy demand, for a life time of 30 years. (Addis, 2002) The effect of transportation energy requirement becomes also evident in this case, being the highest energy contribution for the 'average' building, and the second one, after the embodied energy, for the energy 'efficient' building. From a building energy point of view, these distributed urbanization schemes offer more chances for energy efficiency measures and application of renewable energy technologies than centralized urbanization schemes. It is just through transportation energy requirements that sustainable

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Letter to an Extra-Terrestrial Alien Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Letter to an Extra-Terrestrial Alien - Essay Example So, he asked help from the king and queen of Spain who eventually agreed to support him. During his search, he accidentally found land which he thought was Asia but was really the Caribbean islands as they are called now. Columbus eventually made three more trips to the â€Å"New World† and established a settlement on one of the islands. He was made Governor but his abusive rule caused the loss of his reputation, title and wealth. Hernando Cortes or Cortes also came from Spain but his expedition brought him to Mexico. Here, Cortes built a settlement and made friends with the inhabitants, people called the Aztecs. The natives thought that Cortes was part of a prophecy and so they accepted him warmly. Later on, the two groups disagreed with each other. While Cortes was away to fight another Spanish group who was trying to capture him, the Aztec revolted in the capital, Tenochtitlan and eventually the Spanish left the city. In 1521, Cortes and his men returned to Tenochtitlan, conquered the Aztecs and established a new settlement which is now known as Mexico. As you may have noticed when Columbus and Cortez came to the â€Å"New World† there were already people living on the islands. It is believed that groups of people called the Paleo-Indians were already inhabitants of the â€Å"New World† before the Europeans came. The Paleo-Indians were hunters. There are two theories of how they came to America. One is that they supposedly followed mammoths, their source of food, using a land bridge when the sea level was very low. Another theory is that they came using very primitive boats. Either way, this theory is the most commonly used explanation now for the discovery of America. So, people from Europe started to come and live here in America with the natives. Among these was a group supported by the Virginia Company of London. The group arrived at Cape Henry and explored the area of Chesapeake Bay. Part of the people who