Disgrace Essay

In Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee we are introduced to David Lurie, the protagonist and narrator of this novel. David Lurie is a 52 year old divorced man, who lives in Cape Town, South Africa, as a respected romantic poetry professor at a university. His life is full of sexual, non-committed relationships. After being accused of inappropriate behavior with a student, Lurie loses his job at the university and must move in with his daughter, Lucy, in the country. Throughout the novel we see many references to animals, especially in relation to Lurie.Because he is the narrator of the novel, these animal references lead the reader to believe Lurie is describing himself through these animals. Lurie uses descriptions of animals as a way to describe how he feels about himself. We see Lurie go from a sexually charged predator, to a strange beast who has been hunter, to a dog-man, and then finally to a helpless dog who is ready to be put out of his misery. David Lurie is a predator at the beginnin g of the novel. He is a man searching for sex, and for the most part he is successful at it.His first sexual interest he introduces us to is Soraya, a prostitute who he has been going to see for a long time. Lurie describes them having sex by comparing them to snakes engaged in intercourse, â€Å"lengthy, absorbed, but rather abstract, rather dry, even at its hottest† (Coetzee 5 ). Being the narrator, this shows the reader how David views himself, as well as Soraya, as cold, scary, almost evil, creatures, like snakes. Snakes give off a very negative emotion because they are dangerous animals, and this comparison leads us to believe David too must be a dangerous animal.Soraya eventually tries to cut ties with David, but David being the predator he is cannot let his prey go. He is able to find Soraya’s home phone number and when he calls her she is livid he would cross that line. â€Å"But then, what should a predator expect when he intrudes into the vixen's nest, into the home of her cubs? † (Coetzee 10). Soraya is a mother, and feels like David calling her home is going to be a threat to her family, especially her children. The next instance where we see David describing himself as a predator is during his first sexual encounter with his student, Melanie.David is very persistent in sleeping with Melanie, and once he has finally chased her down he describes the experience as â€Å"like a rabbit when the jaws of the fox close on its neck† (Coetzee 25). He is well aware by making this statement that Melanie does not want to be in this situation with him, but he does not care, he has been chasing this prey for too to just let it go. This is not the last time David engages Melanie regardless of her strong reluctance however, and Melanie eventually has enough and reports Lurie to the University where he teaches.David Lurie goes from being the predator, to now being the one who is being chased. He is being chased by the University committe e who is investigating David’s indiscretions with Melanie. The committee is described by Lurie as â€Å"hunters who have cornered a strange beast and do not know how to finish it off. † (Coetzee 56). The tables have turned and Lurie is now this strange beast that has been hunted down. David refuses to apologize however, and instead loses his job.Lurie could have simply said sorry for his actions and he would have had a chance to keep his position at the University, but in his mind he did not do anything wrong. He compares himself an old neighbor’s dog, saying that every time a â€Å"bitch† would be in the yard the dog would become so excitable that he could not be controlled. The dog was not allowed to go through with his natural desires, which caused the dog to act strange and just run around the garden â€Å"with its ears flat and its tail between its legs, whining, trying to hide. (Coetzee 69 ). David sees himself in this dog, he is being punished and being told he is not allowed to do something that feels so natural to him. He says that the dog would have preferred to be shot over being denied its natural urges. David chose to be shot (lose his job) when he refuses to express that he did anything wrong by sleeping with Melanie. After losing his job David must go live with his daughter, Lucy, out in the country.While living with Lucy, David goes through a lot, and through helping take care of her dogs we see a softer side of him through his descriptions of these dogs. â€Å"The dogs are brought to the clinic because they are unwanted,† (Coetzee 146) Lurie says. He cares about the dogs because he too feels unwanted. â€Å"Well, now he has become a dog-man. † (Coetzee 146) David is one with these dogs, abandoned and miserable, unable to live the lives they want to be living. The dogs and David are trapped out in the country on a farm just waiting for the end.David finally does give up and we see this through his deci sion to put down the dog that he had become very close to, Driepoot, the young dog David â€Å"has come to feel a particular fondness for† (Coetzee 214-215). David had bonded with Driepoot, even signing his Opera to the dog at one point. He felt sorry for Driepoot, he felt very much like the dog. In the end of the novel, by choosing Driepoot to be put down â€Å"a (his, the dog’s) time must come, it cannot be evaded† and carries the dog, â€Å"the one who likes music† (Coetzee 219), to Bev where he will be killed.In the last sentence of the novel David states that he is â€Å"giving him up† (Coetzee 220), which is essentially David stating the he is the one giving up. Like Driepoot, David Lurie is being put out of his misery. David Lurie’s life goes through dramatic changes throughout the novel Disgrace. A once respected professor, he becomes â€Å"a mad old man who sits among the dogs singing to himself. † (Coetzee 218). Lurie uses d escriptions of animals as a way to describe how he feels about himself.He goes from a predator whose main focus in life is satisfying his sexual desires, to a man who feels like a ‘strange beast’ that has been hunted by the University. David then turns to his daughter’s farm where he begins working with dogs and we see a softer David Lurie, a man who feels like the abandoned dogs who are waiting for their end to come. By the end of Disgrace we see that David is ready to accept his own end, he wants to be put out of his misery just like he does for the dog he has bonded so much with. Works Cited Coetzee, J. M. Disgrace. New York: Penguin, 1999. Print.

Alpen Bank: Launching the Credit Card in Romania

Alpen Bank: Launching the Credit Card in Romania Written Analysis of Case Presented to: Miss Tania Hassan Presented by: * Case Overview: Alpen bank has to make a crucial decision whether or not they should launch the credit card business in Romania. The bank had to come up with a market strategy that can generate at least â‚ ¬5 million in profit within 2 years. Prior to introduction of the credit card in the market the Bank has to analyze whether an opportunity exists for the launch of the credit card. It has to further decide how to position the card in the market, what should be the target audience for the service.The bank has currently established a premium image by targeting the affluent class. Core Problem: Whether to launch credit card if it adds â‚ ¬ 5million profit to consumer bank segment within 2 years. The Alpen Bank seems hesitant to launch the credit card due to the existence of following problems: * Low per-capita income levels. * The population seemed inexperienc e with the usage of credit card. Consumer spending was cash based and merchant acceptance of card payments was low. Analysis: Opportunity: Considering the economic and market conditions as explained in the case, Alpen Bank should launch a credit card.It seems that Alpen Bank has an opportunity as economic environment in Romania had changed from 2006 after it joined European Union. The economy there was developing; a growing trends of luxury purchasing emerged, there was also an increasing likeliness of using card instead of cash and lastly other competitors had already taken similar strategies in the market. The credit and debit card market of Romania is also seen to grow at a good pace of 35% in 2006 and about 9. 5million cards were being used in the market. Apart from certain positives there are certain problems in credit card market too.People use cards generally for withdrawing cash rather than for buying products or services so there is less revenue driven from transactions. Ev en merchants are still ignorant in accepting credit cards and prefer payments through cash Thus it shows that Alpen has an opportunity to cash on the credit card but it would require efforts especially in marketing the card. Positioning: Alpen Bank has established a premium image and reputation of serving the affluent clientele. The bank should focus on its current strength rather than penetrating into a new customer base.The affluent class represents the top 10% of population which has about 24% of wealth. They are priced less sensitive and thus positioning the card on high end would be beneficial for the bank. They are career oriented; active professionals who would like to use their cards frequently for making purchases Moreover, for countries like Romania, it is seen that credit cards are somewhat  stickier as compared to the developed countries. This shows that if Alpen positions its card as a high end product, it will gain a share of market which would stick to its card. The middle class is also a potential market for the credit card.The middle class also has a huge potential especially in terms of the size of  market however they are more price-focused and would only welcome this new credit card if  the interest rates are low. They also have a  monthly income which supports them to have a credit card. Based on the attitudes of customers in other emerging economies it can be said that customers in middle-income class have a lower actual utilization rate when compared  with affluent class. If Alpen Bank currently emphasize on Affluent class it would be safer for it rather than it focuses on middle class. As today’s middle class may become affluent class of tomorrow.The decision whether to target affluent class or middle class depends on the revenue they generate solely or combined. The final objective of the analysis is to identify the profit generated if Alpen Bank serves Affluent class solely or it serves both. For this purpose we have analyzed the financial data provided to us in the case. Target Segment| Annual Income| %age of Potential Card Holders| Potential Card Holders| Annual Revenue| Total Revenue| Middle Class| 3,000-4500| 18. 2%| 3385200| 60. 63| 205244676| Affluent| 4500-6000| 15%| 2790000| 123. 38| 344230200| Most Affluent| 6000+| 12. 9%| 2399400| 209. 5| 503274150| Total| | | 8574600| | 1052749026| Total Population Qualify for credit Card = 18. 6million Revenue Per Card Holder (all three classes) = 122. 78 Revenue Per Card Holder ( Affluent+ Most Affluent)=163. 31 In the above scenario we have first calculated the value of each segment. Given in the case is that the population of Cardholders is 18. 6 million. Through exhibit 5 we determine the percentage of potential cardholder for each segment give in the above table column 3. Through that we determine the Potential card holder. After that we multiply the population of each segment with that of annual revenue.After summing up the total revenue we div ide once it with the population of combine three segments to derive Revenue Per card holder, and once with the population of Affluent + Most affluent to derive at the value of Revenue per card holder of affluent and most affluent. Customer Acquisition for All Customers | Unit Cost| Prospect Reached| ResponseRate| Qualification Rate| Conversion Rate| No. of Customer| Total Cost| Cost per Customer| Direct Mail| 0. 50| 2500000| 3%| 60%| 85%| 38250| 1250000| 32. 68| Take One| 0. 10| 2000000| 2. 5%| 30%| 85%| 12750| 200000| 15. 69| FSIs| 0. 05| 3500000| 1. %| 30%| 85%| 13388| 175000| 13. 07| Direct Sales| 3000/rep| 60000| 25%| 60%| 85%| 7650| 3000| 3. 92| Branch Cross-Sell| 1| 50000| 50%| 90%| 85%| 19125| 50000| 2. 61| | | | | | | 91163| 1710000| 18. 75| No. of Customer= 2500000 * 0. 03 *0. 60* 0. 85 In case of Affluent Class the Number of Customer will be reduced by 50% for Direct Mail, Take One and FSIs so the cost per customer for Affluent class will be 18. 31 Profit Calculation All C ustomers| 50,000| | 100,000| Revenue( 122. 78)| 6,139,000| Revenue( 122. 78)| 12,278,000| Acquisition Cost(18. 75)| (937,500)| Acquisition Cost(18. 5)| (1,875,000)| Direct Cost (20)| (1,000,000)| Direct Cost (17. 5)| (875,000)| Revenue| 4,201,500| Revenue| 9528000| Less| | Less| | Fixed Cost| 5,000,000| Fixed Cost| 5,750,000| Advertising Expense| 2,000,000| Advertising Expense| 2,000,000| Total Profit/( Loss)| (2,798,500)| Total Profit/( Loss)| 1,778,000| Through the above calculation of profit we can identify that Breakeven is occurring in between 50,000 and 100,000 customers. So now we calculate the breakeven. X in the following formulae is assumed to be additional customers. 122. 78 ( X+ 50,000) – ( 5,750,000+2,000,000) – ( 50,000*17. 5 + 36. 5*X) =0 X= 28,758 Break Even = 50,000+ 28,758= 78,758 At 150,000 customers we are generating revenue of greater than 5million so to identify the no. customer at which we get 5million profit we develop the following formulae 122 . 78( X+100,000)- ( 650,000+2,000,000) – ( 100,000*15 + 33. 75*Y) = 5,000,000 No. Of Customer =130,574 We apply the same process to the affluent class. Break Even: 163. 31( X+ 50,000) – ( 5,750,000 + 2,000,000) – ( 50000* 17. 5 + 35. 81* X) = 0 X= 3,604 Break Even = 53,604 Revenue Analysis: 163. 31 ( X+50,000) – ( 6,500,000 + 2,000,000) – ( 15*100,000 + 35. 81* X)= 5,000,000 X=42,820No. of Customer = 92,820 Recommendations: After doing the further breakeven and revenue analysis we recommend ALPEN bank to launch credit Card. The Bank is able to generate the profit as required. The bank should Position Credit Card as a high-end premium product in the initial stages. Firstly it is easy for bank to cater the need of the existing customers. By positioning the product in the affluent class the Bank is able to reach breakeven point in less number of customers. After getting a strong foothold in the market the Bank should focus of targeting the middle clas s as they are affluent class of tomorrow.

Critical Analysis on Fools Crow by James Welch Essay

Critical Analysis on Fools Crow by James Welch - Essay Example It is, moreover, the poetry f "singers" like Ray Anthony Young Bear, Simon J. Ortiz, Joy Harjo, Wendy Rose, the late William Oandasan, Geary Hobson, Linda Hogan, and, again, Welch--especially in Riding the Earthboy Forty ( 1971; rev. ed., 1975)--that brings into greater focus the reason for this noticeable recurrence f seemingly antiheroic, alienated, and benumbed protagonists, singers, and speakers at odds with their pasts and the times and places in which they find themselves. It is the simultaneous impetus f atavism and modernism--the need, as Young Bear phrases it, "to be there, standing beside our grandfathers, being ourselves" and by meeting that need, to bring meaning to the twentieth-century predicament. (McCoy 110-112) An exorcism first: this is not "just another Custer book," nor is it unbalanced in any way by James Welch's aboriginal heritage. It is, in fact, a valuably enhanced examination f "the most depicted event in our [American] history" (p. 22). It incorporates the results f recent, innovative research methodology, using topographical and time-motion studies. It benefits, too, from an opportune archeological investigation by a young Canadian archeologist, Richard Fox f the University f Calgary, who conducted a timely dig following a 1983 grassfire which revealingly denuded the Little Bighorn battlefield. Welch had access to his family's oral-tradition accounts (his great-grandmother, Red Paint Woman, survived the Baker Massacre f 1870, about which more later); and by Welch's stylistic gifts (he is an acclaimed poet, novelist, and screenwriter). The book, solidly documented, also bears some well-controlled, reader-friendly hallmarks f "the nonfiction novel." It evolved quite naturally from a year and a half f research which was distilled into a twenty-two page scenario for a PBS documentary film (Last Stand at Little Bighorn, directed by Paul Stekler and aired in late 1992). Welch recapitulates, succinctly and clearly, the context and circumstances f the Little Bighorn disaster, focusing consistently and persuasively on the broad complex f cultural, economic, and philosophical factors which, conjoined, made that event inevitable. He does not indulge himself in Custer-bashing, so irresistibly tempting to so many recent non-Native investigators. Nor does he romanticize the often unsophisticated -- and, at times, hapless -- late nineteenth century Blackfeet; he is, on occasion, bluntly condemnatory, even though he clearly understands the almost irresistible pressures which undermined effectual Native solidarity then and now. (G ish 309-11) He is unblinking in his assessment f the basic motives f both sides: the whites wanted the vast northwestern hunting grounds f the Natives; the Natives, eager for the material trade goods which would make their hard lives easier, were willing to cede some f their land. There was, unfortunately, never any chance that a just exchange was possible. Welch points out, sardonically but without much rancor, that western Plains aboriginals lost their holistic lifestyle when the buffalo were transmuted by planned, systematic slaughter into fur coats, industrial belting, and bonemeal for the eastern industries f the whites; they were also degraded by

Critical Response Paper I Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical Response I - Research Paper Example This soft and tender film has lots of melodrama puts emphasis on characters’ affiliation dynamics and do not have any major male characters (Almodovar Film). The producer may have been female chauvinist or he was rather interested in exposing female behaviors. Perhaps Pedro Almodovar wanted to show the dark side of the religion such as drugs, sex and violence that has dominated his country and the world at large. The movie offers best lessons to the immoral society and can therefore be regarded as educative and provocative in a way. The film is stylistically produced through the use of long sinuous tracking shots which makes it more interesting to follow. There is also domination of red color such as Yolanda’s red nails which symbolizes danger or the unreligious theme of the film (Almodovar Film). This film can also be described as widely funny and gusts with lots of unavoidable scandal and can also be thought as silly. There is great humor when the nuns sympathetically forgive people who have committed sin simply because the nuns are more sinners than others. This is one of the unique behaviors in the film that cannot be expected in the normal situation (Kinder 343). The film characterization hypocritically shows what they denounce making the film to sound absurd and justification of the spiritual crisis. Almodovar does not give required emphasis to some of the Dark Habits’ issues such as rampant drug abuse and other sneaky sins. The producer must have been guided by urge of finding moral purpose in the current immoral world which has gone astray with hypocrisy. Pedro is indeed a great artist particularly considering his inventive camera angles and the surreal anti-religious acts in the movie (Almodovar Film). Dark Habits reveals much about the catholic religion which is dominated by male and gives great reverence to Virgin Mary. Exposure

Global Industries experience with the then Pension Fund Manager Essay

Global Industries experience with the then Pension Fund Manager - Essay Example According to his analysis the funds represent a small fraction of the U.S.-managed fund industry, but despite this their net assets grew by 262% from 1998 to 2005, compared to a 10.8% increase in U.S. high-yield bond funds. There was significant public attention but academic research did not give much attention to the emerging market bond funds. So did the Pension Fund Manager who also did not pay proper attention to this fund. I would have gone deeper in my research as Pension Fund Manager and would take correct and patient decision before shifting from the fund. I would also for a diversified fund investment rather than concentrating on single fund and suffering. Similarly, if we study carefully the Lazard’s Emerging Market Equity Market Returns annually from 1993 to 2008 we can note of certain emerging markets doing very well. In 1997 Turkey, Hungry and Mexico returned more that 50% from the equity market. In 1998 Korea and Greece returned more than 50%; in 1999 Russia and Turkey returned more than 200% % and Indonesia, India and Korea returned more than 75% from this market. 2000 was a poor market but from 2001 the equity market again started looking up. By 2002 the return was very lucrative: Pakistan returning 150% and Check Republic and Indonesia returning about 40% and above. Minimum five important emerging markets continued yielding sound returns till 2007 The main problem concerns about reading the market trends correctly and selecting the target market with the help of proven experts in the market. Perhaps the Pension Manager could not foresee the correct trends in the market and his decision about investment yielded losses. In 2003 the loss incurred was due to wrong reshuffling of his portfolio to US Treasury Bills for two years and Treasury notes yielding only 1% to 3% return.  

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

English - Essay Example The official name of this sport is association football. Americans developed a distinct type of football in the 19th century which has subsequently come to be known as American football. This game has basically grown out of two sports, soccer, or association football, and rugby football. Both these games remain as separate sports with each having its own specific set of rules. The international body governing soccer is FIFA, or Federation Internationale de Football Association. The immensely popular World Cup, held at four-year intervals is organized by FIFA, and it also governs all levels of soccer, including professional games on the international level, Olympic competitions and youth leagues. The FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the sport’s premier event, pitting national teams from 32 countries against one another. American football’s National Football League or NFL is the most popular and major professional league in the world. However, over the years, several other leagues have been formed in North America and Europe. The comparable soccer league known as MLS or Major League Soccer has many teams which have fans worldwide and some of the most famous teams are A.C. Milan of Italy, Ajax Amsterdam of The Netherlands, Manchester United of England, Real Madrid of Spain, Boca Juniors of Argentina, SÃ £o Paulo of Brazil, and Colo Colo of Chile, among others. Both forms of the game, soccer or association football, and American football have some things in common, namely both are played between two teams, in which players try to score a goal by hitting the ball into the opponents’ goal, by using any part of their body except the hands. Players thus have to use remarkable skills of using feet and heads as they kick, dribble, or pass the ball toward the goal or to another player. Although this much remains common to both games, there are some important contrasts and

Contemporary management and value chain analysis at China Telecom Essay

Contemporary management and value chain analysis at China Telecom - Essay Example This is a significant accomplish for an organisation that must operate in a dynamic, competitive, and price sensitive environment whilst also managing multiple international cultures in its many divisions that operate globally in Asia, North America, and Australia. China Telecom is able to maintain a cost leadership position among competition by maximizing its supply chain and replenishment planning software, thus providing not only efficiency in service delivery but total price value in a region of the world that is willing to defect to other brands based on price sensitivity (Boone and Kurtz 2007). China is a collectivist culture, meaning that individuals in society value group membership and the establishment of group-minded goals with little emphasis on individuality common to Western consumers (Hofstede 2012). Because of this, word of mouth advertising and appealing to group-minded consciousness in the target market requires the organisation to be aware of pricing models compare d to competitors as well as pricing that will ensure long-term brand loyalty. Even though China Telecom is a fixed line service provider as the primary service and product, the business recognises trends in social culture and therefore has adopted a model of innovation and modernisation. Growth in Internet usage in the country of China exceeds the growth rates of the rest of the world and China Telecom continues to evolve its wireless Internet options therefore diversifying business practices and divisional competencies. Table 1 illustrates the growth in Chinese consumer Internet usage over a 10 year period. However, in order to effectively manage these innovations, the business must focus on cross-cultural management, engage in transformational management, continue to decentralise business divisions and leadership, as well as conduct routine quality assurance/auditing practices as part of strategic management and risk management models. Table 1 Source: www internetworldstats.com (2 010). China Telecom continues to be a leader in supply chain management allowing the firm to maximize its total brand value and price value components in its business and profitability models. The organization utilises manufacturing and distribution from ZTE, Comba Telecom, SimTech, UT Starcom, and Grentech (Meng 2009). China currently maintains an unfavourable exchange rate with the rest of the Westernised world, therefore it procures its products domestically to ensure yuan exchange and thus maximizing profit. This also avoids tariff costs for importing mobile devices and service provision information technology equipment. In order to maximize efficiencies in supply, China Telecom must be strategic-focused and work with collaborative supply chain systems to ensure partnerships and efficient distribution networks for purchasing needs. Outside of the financial and managerial aspects of total value chain considerations, China Telecom maintains many strengths in relation to corporate social responsibility and understanding how to develop cultural awareness to create a unified and loyal corporate culture. In May of 2012, China Telecom was awarded the Best Managed Company in Asia by FinanceAsia, a respected financial and management consulting company (China Telecom 2012). China Telecom received this award for its

Modern chinese history Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Modern chinese history - Research Paper Example Attempts by barbarians like the Manchu who earlier made contact with China did not have any influence on their way of life and instead got assimilated into the Han Chinese culture. The silk industry for example, has been part of China’s heritage for the last 5000 years and the mystery of its leadership had been unknown for centuries. The recently opened forbidden city that had for hundreds of years been the emperors residences and not accessible by any members of the public for the past 500 years is an example of how tightly guarded the Chinese civilization was and has been. The seclusion from the outside world has been possible over the centuries has facilitated the development of Chinese culture but posed a challenge to this populous nation in the mid 19th century as nations that had made huge technological advancement confronted China. As a result of this confrontation, China faced huge challenges a midst foreign onslaught and this led to a revolution that started in early 20th century that culminated to the establishment of a communist government in 1949.These series of events shaped the political aspect of china and has made it gain much influence in the modern world. The early governance of China was mainly encompassed on the aspect of Dynasties that ruled the state for many centuries since the early 1600-1046BC. The evidence of the existence of the first dynasty was proved by archaeological evidence which established that the Shang Dynasty of 1600-1046BC, was the first Chinese Dynasty, the information shows that this early Chinese society mainly majored in use of bronzes objects, massive ritual vessels and chariots. The information gives a clear indication that the Shang society was sophisticated and well organised with established societal structures. The Zhou, who had been their western neighbours since 1046 to 256BC, later conquered this early dynasty. The Qin dynasty was established and it had much influence on the then society of china, the r eign was acknowledged as the name China is derived from Qin. The dynasty was founded by Shihuangdi who ruled as the emperor and was regarded as a cruel tyrant even though he helped shape modern China by bringing up changes in the administration of his reign. The major achievements of his majesty Shihuandgi included the following: a. He established boundaries, which became the traditional territory of China. b. He developed networks of highways and unified a number of existing fortifications in the Great Wall of China. c. He also managed to establish a proper and basic administrative system that all succeeding dynasties followed over the next 2,000 years. The Han became the next Chinese dynasty after the death of Shihuandgi, this dynasty established much influence in the then China and it even led Chinese being regarded as Han to denote a Chinese. This reign was military capable and fought under the leadership of Han Wudi against its northern nomad neighbour, the Xiongnu as they took control of the eastern portion of the Silk Road, a trading route which was allowed them to sell goods as far away as Rome. Han was able to develop and establish China’s civil service system. This dynasty of Han fell apart during the first half of the 20th century after which the old system of China gradually disintegrated and turbulent preparations were made to lay down a new society. This old traditional governance was undermined by many foreign political philosophies; these critics gave rise to a need for nationalism, which became a very strong

INGOs FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

INGOs FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATION - Essay Example There are four basic areas where Food and agriculture organization practices its knowledge. The expertise of staff such as fisheries, foresters, agronomists, nutritionists, and statisticians, social scientists, and livestock specialists is used to collect, examine and distribute the help for development. Second area of FAO practices is to share the expertise of policy. It gives its member countries an arena to deduce policies for agriculture, bolstering planning and also coming up with efficient legislation and making the global strategies to accomplish rural development and also hunger elimination in the world. The third aspect of FAO practices is to provide a platform for nations to meet. On a certain day, various policy makers and experts all around the world summon together at the headquarters to come up with agreements on agriculture and food issues. Food and Agriculture Organization provides a platform where both affluent and poor countries abide by widespread comprehension. The power of knowledge is implemented at FAO as there are thousands of field projects carried out all over the globe. It assembles and comes up with money which is given by developed nations, banks and other sources to ensure that projects accomplish their objectives. FAO also provides the nominal know-how and in many instances, an incomplete source of knowledge is provided. In times of turmoil, FAO works in collaboration with World Food Program and also with other charitable agencies to safeguard the livelihoods of rural areas and assist people in rebuilding their lives.2 Food and Agricultural Organization gives a huge range of the expert bodies and intergovernmental organizations which are both regional and global an area which deals with several agriculture, forestry, food, and fisheries industries. FAO plans and comes up with specialist meetings on huge development issues

Affirmative action in higher education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Affirmative action in higher education - Essay Example These points are substantial. At the other extreme, those that oppose affirmative action advocate the repeal of the concept in its entirety. What the political process needs, in my view, is a little more compromise. It is unfortunate that a white student is denied her dream after working so hard for so many years. It is equally unfortunate that a racial minority is denied the opportunity to study. Both deserve the opportunity to study in a college or university.The conservative commentators present some valid arguments. Discrimination, for instance, is wrong. Reverse discrimination punishes innocent students for the misdeeds of their predecessors. This is a difficult argument to overcome. Nonetheless, this argument seems too rigid. We don't live in a world of absolute truths. Thus, it seems to me that minor attempts to remedy decades of racial injustice are reasonable.The liberal commentators emphasize the fact that minority students are still subject to disadvantages. There are soci al, cultural, and economic factors which affect their performance on standard entrance examinations.

The Psychology and Philosophy of Education of Ayn Rand in The Comprachicos Essay Example for Free

The Psychology and Philosophy of Education of Ayn Rand in The Comprachicos Essay Ayn Rand writes mainly about the status quo and what and who is to be blamed for such circumstances. She talks of a miseducation so ingenious that when one reads about it one simply gets baffled as he is forced to look into his own experiences from the home, to the school, to the Church and in the province or in the city. One can expect to see various parallelisms with how he is brought up and what he is usually told by his superiors. The reason for these apparent similarities, I think is that aside from the ‘system’ that almost each person is forced into; there is something common in every one of us. This is what makes us man, Rand says, our capability to be rational. Rand believes that man is rational and that this characteristic is, by itself unyielding. It is a capacity that can be impaired and can be prevented to work at its best, as what the comprachicos do but it survives even in those who are the ‘exact concretization’ of the Nursery School ideal, the hippies. Rationality is that which enables any man to; even with the worst education given to him feel that something is wrong because things appear blurred to him, that things must have clarity for it to appear blurred in the first place. It gives him an inkling perhaps or an intuition that something is not right around him and yet he still feels that ‘he has to make something somehow’. This is because of his rationality which naturally is the opposite of the fake, the submission, the uncertainty and the chaos. Man is rational because he has a mind. For Rand, this mind is empty at birth as what John Locke holds to be Tabula Rasa. It does not have innate contents; it is on the other hand waiting to be written upon by the experiences to come. Rand says that it has the potential for awareness, with a conscious and a subconscious mind that he must learn to operate to be able to construct inferences about the perceptions he will make. Thus, one can easily see how important it is for every child to be given enough opportunity to develop this potential especially in the years of his life that it is most needed. Rand stresses that it is in the first two years of a person’s life that what he is capable of learning is most significant both in the quantity and the degree of his curiosity about everything around him and the intensity of how he takes every detail seriously. When he reaches his third year, Rand says, his cognitive development is completed. He has acquired the things he need, what he has to do at this point is to use them. How he uses his cognitive tools will determine how well his conceptual ability will be when he grows older. Hence, as early as the nursery level, educators should already start training the child’s mind. Rand holds that teachers should focus on the progress of his mind’s automization of conceptual knowledge. By this, he can then retain the knowledge gained in his consciousness and move on to new information so that gradually, he will learn to integrate the old and new inputs and thus establish relationships between them. This will guide the child in understanding the basic concept of time-continuity and in internalizing a projection of the future instead of acting on whatever he feels like doing in the moment. If the simple idea of having something like tomorrow, or even later, and that what is done at the moment affects the time thereafter is introduced to the child, he will inevitably practice his rational faculty because he needs to look at all his choices and reason when he is choosing among the different alternatives. He needs to think and debate by himself what best could be done in the situation because the consequences of it would always have a lot of implications. Rand postulates that if a child is given the chance to exercise his reason, being caught in an event where he has to make decisions will not be much of a hurdle for him. The important thing is not really for him to make what is in the older people’s opinion the right decision; but to let him, in all his capacity as a rational person and in all his limitations as a child have at least some disposition and not let him be governed by whims or emotions be it of himself, of another person or of the whole pack. To have a disposition requires that one should have a firm ground to stand his beliefs on. This is why Rand tells us that it is wrong to place the children in an environment that would not help him be secured about an objective world, one that would only make him settle for the company of persons the same age as he is and of course do not know any better. What he needs, says Rand is cognitive guidance especially to acquaint him to the reality instead of making him adjust to a group of people he does not know and lose himself in the process. In getting to know the reality, Rand talks of the Montessori Method which utilizes materials that are didactic thus very useful for child learning because it provides a solution that the child needs to discover by actively thinking of how to do it. Instructive materials, Rand moreover says introduces the child to a sense of order since it is directed to a right answer or a right way. During this stage, Rand says that a child can only identify objects around him and its characteristics as it appears to him. The child cannot comprehend its other properties like height, volume, color and so on. This is why at this time, it is best to provide for the child special exercises of attending, observing, comparing and classifying. I have noted that while keeping the learning pace in gear with the child’s current stage, the four exercises mentioned also further develops his reasoning skills [especially comparing and classifying]. It is significant to note in my opinion how the previous knowledge learned leads to the knowledge learned later and how the knowledge learned later reinforces the knowledge learned earlier. When the child is introduced to the reality and becomes more and more aware of his own self, Rand implies that the time for language, particularly speech comes. Interestingly, Rand says that language comes to fix by means of the exact words which the child’s mind acquired and this profoundly lets him find himself alike in the world. This is a start for him to have a sense of belongingness, an idea which is necessary as Rand says to be an active and intelligent explorer of the world. All learning involves a process of automizing, Rand has stated. In forming, integrating and using concepts, Rand establishes that it involves the person’s will; it is volitional. How else better to bring out the will of the child in learning and thinking critically than to let him use practice his cognitive abilities especially in the age when he is most up and ready for it? Rand stresses that educators should not let this time pass because what could have been a joyful activity of enhancing his mind when the child is young will turn to be an extremely strenuous task when he gets older. Rand also gives favor of understanding as a method of learning over memorizing. Understanding means to grasp the content and the essentials of a thing, an event or a concept, to establish relationships between these essentials and what was previously known in the past and most importantly, integrate it with other subjects. By understanding is how the child will learn reading, for instance. Rand mentions what she calls the ‘look-say’ method which is not merely focused on shape of the letters (which the child can reverse; i. e. b-d, m-w, etc. [1]) but more on their phonetic equivalent which encourages the child to think in abstractions; directing his attention to the sound of the letter and not the mere appearance of it. Memorization, Rand further holds, is appropriate only for the level of observation, when the child’s capacity to understand is not developed yet. Another method Rand despises is the Discussion Method. As implied, she prefers to have a teacher in the classroom to guide the students in learning about the subject and to not let them carry the learning process by their premature knowledge. Besides the obvious fact that to learn is why they come to school in the first place, Rand prescribes that the teacher really teach what he expertly knows because to leave the deliberation to the students is to give them an illusion that they can know without being taught; that they can claim expertise without really learning. It is not possible to learn from this method because as Rand tells us, the students are clueless about that which is supposed to be lectured. To employ this method, according to Rand is to give the false idea that any person’s opinion can be the right answer or that the right answer can be produced by a person who does not yet know anything about what is being talked about. This cannot be for the truth is independent of anyone’s mere whims and this, in turn is the reason why education is highly significant and relevant and must remain so by imparting on the students the knowledge and the skills necessary for his growth as a rational being. I think that the reason why Rand says that this method is inappropriate for the students is because the mind prior to learning about the subject is, to say still immature. By this immaturity, they are driven to be hostile people, indulging them to the guilty habits of criticism instead of creativity for they mistakenly think that to demolish a bad argument is to construct a good one. We can see very clearly here how Rand takes it to be an awfully big mistake to leave students of any age unguided and left to themselves when they in fact need to learn and thus to be taught by a superior more knowledgeable than him. To conclude, Rand takes the psychology and philosophy of Maria Montessori and John Locke in her basic idea of education. Her metaphysics on the one hand rests on the basic idea that there is an objective reality that the child will naturally belong to; in which he will find proper distinction between existence and consciousness. Her epistemology on the other hand lies on the thought that every person is born without knowledge but has the potential to exercise his rational capacity if given the due opportunities for development. Moreover, it is best to develop a person’s cognitive skills when he is young not only because it is when he is most ready and willing to do so but also because for Rand, a purposeful and disciplined intelligence is the highest achievement possible to man. Implied then by her basic ideas derived from Montessori and Locke, Rand takes a common stance with the position of Perennialism. [2] Abigail Thea O. Canuto EDFD 201 (HZQ2)/ Thursdays, 5:30-8:30 P. M. 2003-31176 / MA TEG (K-2) Prof. Muega / A Paper on ‘The Comprachicos’ II. Evaluating Ayn Rand’s Philosophy and Psychology of Education from the Standpoint of Pragmatism, Essentialism and Perennialism, Existentialism, Social Reconstructionism and Marxism As evaluated earlier, the philosophy and psychology of Ayn Rand with regards to education rests on the basic idea that man is rational; born with a Tabula Rasa mind that is to be filled with knowledge brought by experiences he will have in the world. She also holds that cognitive training is best started as soon as possible, which is in the nursery level because it is when the child is most ready and willing to learn about the reality and that to delay, or even worse to provide what I may call a wrong education will greatly impede his reason which is his basic means of survival; his reason. Again, the wrong education that I interpret to be in Rand’s article is basically the Progressivist method and any classroom setup that leaves the child to the whims and immature ideas of the collective. Pragmatism, especially that of John Dewey is just one of the various positions contended by Rand. Perhaps the most apparent distinctions that can be made between these two views is the way they regard reality and everything in it human experience, ideas, truth and so on. On the one hand, Rand believes that reality is objective and unchanging and that the experience man derives from this reality is primarily for his own ends alone. She does not think that what man learns from his environment should be directed towards the good of the society or any other person because to do so would be to surrender one’s own will and rationality. Rand says that to be rational is to refuse to act based on the collective’s demand and that this refusal makes him properly selfish. On the other hand, Pragmatism stresses that the reality is changing; what exists is an open universe of constant flux. This position believes that we cannot say that there are metaphysical absolutes because this assertion is unverifiable by human experience. Instead of resting his ideas on an objective, unchanging reality, the Pragmatists prefer to give emphasis on being, work and action as opposed to ideas, spirit and thought, which are targeted to the betterment of the society; to solve its problems. It thus follows that Pragmatism proposes an epistemology that is conditioned by societal institutions. By this, this view is in favor of experimental learning wherein theories which are derived from experience are tested and applied and that which contributes and affects the society in the best way is perpetuated. By extension, truth and morality then are not things that are absolute but are, respectively a tentative assertion based on the application of hypotheses to solving problems and values that arose from outcomes of human responses to varying situations. In evaluating Rand’s philosophy and psychology from the standpoint of the different positions through the use of my own interpretation, I deem it highly significant to first categorize where I think the latter’s ideas are coming from. Pragmatism, in my opinion does not choose the society over the individual. I do not think that its intention is to diminish the value of the individual man in order to promote progress of the society. What I think it does rather is to try to bring together, as harmoniously as possible human beings in every community to work together for the good of the group not only for the group itself but also because the group inevitably affects the individual. The point of the matter for Pragmatists, in my opinion is that every person is a member of a group and what happens in that group affects the individual. What best be done is to act and react based on what can be verified by human experience and to do so as freely as possible, unlimited by absolutes that act as constraints to the inquiry of every man. Therefore, Pragmatism would disagree with Rand in saying that the child should not be left to a group of other children and not to let him pursue activities based on his interests. This method is, on the contrary what best helps children in teaching them to be open to numerous possibilities that are discoverable by their minds through inquiry. Moreover, to let children mingle with other people especially those of their own age introduces them to the nature of a democratic society; one that fosters virtues of sharing, of waiting and of cooperating which I think would come in very useful in establishing healthy relationships in adult life. Rather than what Rand says about this method as justifying the omnipotency of the pack, the Pragmatists would say that to be with other men is the natural state of every individual and to expose them to this nature would better prepare them for a productive and empathic existence with each other, mutually beneficial for each and every man. Additionally, Rand’s method of cognitive training would, for Pragmatism limit that child’s capacity for free inquiry. Rather than the traditional way of teaching with the instructor merely imparting knowledge and skills, the Pragmatists are more inclined in an activity method which involves play, construction, nature-study and self-expression. These activities are I think formulated by the Pragmatists not for the reason of impeding the cognitive development of the child. Contradictory, the activity method enhances not only the thinking ability but the capacity of this ability to speculate critically by firsthand experience, by concept-building, by getting acquainted with the environment and by doing all these through expressing the self. Pragmatism would thus see Rand’s general thought regarding education as imposing on the individual; limiting the child’s capacity of learning by himself through play which he enjoys in his young age and helps a lot in critical thinking by inquiry and living in harmony with others. Finally, Rand says that the Pragmatists see the mere absorption of facts and values does not provide any social gain; in this I do not think that the latter would disagree. Conversely, the Pragmatists would not say that the activity method would make a child submit to the pack for what they promote is not submission but cooperation. The positions that are most similar to Rand’s thought on education, on the other hand are Essentialism and Perennialism. I find these views as very similar to each other but to properly distinguish and outline their individual points is nevertheless significant to see how exactly Rand’s ideas are alike with them and determine where they would diverge from each other. Essentialism, from its name itself talks about basic education. It calls for a return to the essential subjects that have been proven to be useful in the past and are likely to be beneficial in the future. Essentialism says that such a return is needed because the modernization of education, by the relaxation of academic standards for widespread social promotion and by the dominant educational theories that are enfeebling are causing academic standards to fall. Its orientation is thus very scholastic, holding that societal problems should not hinder academics. Essentialism deems it of high importance to transmit generative skills and intellectual disciplines that identify and perpetuate basic cultural elements. Hence, the teacher should exhibit high competence of the subject and of the task of bequeathing such knowledge to the students for the needed mastery in preparation for work and citizenship. All these, according to the Essentialists cannot be accomplished in a Progressivist classroom where the Whim rules, destabilizing the primary function of the school. Rand’s theory of education perpetuates the idea of basic education by Essentialism. Because of the stance that Rand takes with regards to man as being rational and in need of cognitive training, she proposes a classroom setup where a teacher handles the class in his full capacity to pass on knowledge that the children came to the school to learn about. Conversely, Rand’s idea of a purposeful and disciplined use of intelligence is also in common ground with what Essentialism promotes; as it would be attained in an environment of systematic and sequential learning. Interestingly, where one might tend to see Rand’s theory as alike with Essentialism is in her proclamation that the poor quality of man’s use of reason and the increasing frequencies and number of people engaging in violent behavior and drug use should be attributed to the educational system that has plagued human life for many years. However, I find it very remarkable that the precise aspect of the system that Rand is blaming for the status quo is different from what the Essentialists are talking about. As discussed earlier, Essentialism is fighting against the Progressivist schools that cater to children’s whims because they destroy the academic function of the school, which is to impart basic skills and knowledge that are useful in the past and will likely be useful in the future. The justification of the preservation that the Essentialists are vying for is that they believe that such basic education is what is needed for a person to grow a responsible adult who will gear his capacity towards economic productivity and growth. This is where I find a separation between Rand and the Essentialists. Rand criticizes Progressivism because it hinders the child from developing his capability to become a fully-functioning rational being by making him conform to the pack. She does not say anything about the society’s growth being impeded for in my opinion, it is not what she is most concerned about. The Essentialists, I think would find the curriculum and the method of teaching of Rand as those that would best encourage their thesis of preserving basic knowledge but they do not share her sentiments with regards to the rationality of man. Furthermore, the Essentialists share Rand’s views in expressing that the declining education is to be held responsible for violence and drug abuse that are getting more rampant nowadays. I have observed, however that while Essentialism blamed the Progressivists’ permissivism to students thus leading them astray, Rand tells us that such malady in the lifestyle of people today is an evidence of their impaired rationality’s search for a higher reality or higher experience. The ideas of Rand and the Essentialist are indeed related but quite unlike each other. They do not oppose each other but they nevertheless do not meet at the same point of the arguments. Perennialism, on the other hand promotes an education of man that upholds his potentialities; an education that is based on the universal characteristics of human nature. It goes further than Essentialism in promoting basic education; it does so in the name of rationality, that which, as Rand says defines us as human. Further, rationality is man’s highest attribute thus the cultivation of intellect is education’s highest goal. Rand, as well as the Perennialists blame the social orientation of today’s education to the growing malaise in the situation of man. They both proclaim that when students are left to educational trends that lean towards mere whims and emotions of the students and mediocre educators, they are brought to internalize false notions of success and progress (i. e. emphasis on the society, premature vocational training, specific economic training) that contradicts their individuality; their nature to be objective. This is the inevitable result of the elimination of the proper cultivation of intellectual abilities by means of acquainting them to an objective and universal reality, one that is in line with their existence and human nature, also objective and universal. The Perennialists would thus correspond Rand in the idea that a proper study of metaphysics would restore rationality. It is I believe the key point of their positions: that the reality in which we live in is universal and our human nature is unchanging as well. To say then that rationality, which defines human nature, is constant implies that education should be fixed as well. Perennialism, like Rand also emphasizes that the students come to school because they wish to know that is why it is imperative for the teachers to be mature; competent and knowledgeable about the subject. They both talk about a classroom setup which is open not to the mercy of the whims and emotions of the students but to the development of their cognitive abilities in a structured manner thus avoiding the tendency to be anarchic or despotic. The curriculum and the subject matter that they speak of are those that are systematic and sequential, thus both want to foster the basic skills in the younger years of the child to help him prepare for the disciplines he would need to study later. Moreover, the consciousness of the child should begin with his immediate environment and the idea that it is universal and objective before immersing him into a group in order for him to identify himself first as belonging in the reality thus achieving self-identity. By extension, Perennialism together with Rand would find that when the child is older, he will not be driven to the physical sciences to escape questions of morality and other issues in the humanities. The Perennialists would I think agree with Rand that a symptom that a person’s rationality is in good condition is when he is asking and forming his own concepts of these kinds of problems. I have found thus that the general views of Rand and Perennialism are alike except on some orientation (not root or ground) in their positions. Just to note, I have noticed that while Perennialism is usually associated with religion and the relationship of the individual to the universe and with God, Rand was a renowned atheist. This interestingly does not cause them to conflict with each other since they remain resolute on the universality of metaphysics and epistemology which is not affected with a belief or a disbelief in a higher being. Another position (or rather an inclination) that takes a totally different view of reality and human nature from Rand’s is I find, very fascinating to discuss. I say so because I have realized that even though they are very distinct from each other, at some point they still manage to meet. Existentialism is well-known for its statement ‘existence precedes essence’. Human nature, for them is subjective and independent from any antecedent reality thus negating Rand’s idea of metaphysics as objective and universal. For the existentialists, the freedom to choose is man’s highest attribute and not reason for if such is the case, then they cannot choose reason as a value. To be rational, thus is something for an individual to choose. This thesis is extended to the human purpose, which is also subjective for every person. One man can make and define his own purpose and his own alone; he is responsible for his every action that is derived from his freedom as a human being independent of the opinions of other people and on any reality that some may assume to exist before him. The existentialists thus would not agree with Rand in saying that man should be introduced to an objective and unchanging reality because it limits him in constructing his own definition of his existence. They further, unlike Rand do not see any problem with seeing the individual as not only possessing abilities for rationality but also for irrationality, feelings, and affective characteristics. They claim to see a person in more varied terms because they do not believe that one can simply define him as just rational or just emotional and so on. Human beings are to complex for this kind of definition, they say. The values, moral dispositions and the validity of knowledge for the Existentialists are thus to be determined by the individual. This is not to say, as Rand does that truth for instance becomes dependent on a collective group that the individual loses himself in conformity. Rather, what the Existentialists mean is that man’s determination of values, morality and knowledge validity stems from the recognition that human experience is subjective basically because of every person’s capability and freedom to choose. Therefore, while Rand speculates that it is reason, impaired or properly developed that determines how a person lives his life, for the Existentialists it is the freedom to choose which never wavers regardless of the situation he is in. For both points of view however, though what they interpret to be the highest attribute of man (reason vs. freedom to choose) is rigid and unchanging, it can still be limited and impeded by a crucial factor. That which harms human existence is one and the same thing for Rand and the existentialists: a societal orientation or the growth of a mass society. Both the Existentialists and Rand claim that the quality of human life is threatened because of the group that makes a student conform to it, thus preventing him to decide for his own and think in terms of his own liking. The general tendency of the Progressivist school, both for Rand and Existentialism is to be coercive on the student, alienating him if he expresses creativity and divergence from the norms. However, because of the rigidity of human nature, both contend that the essence of being human survives even in the bleakest of moments. Rand, on the one hand does not coin the term ‘choose’ in saying that man’s rationality will find ways of alternative expression in later life (i. e. drug addiction, violent behavior). She instead expresses it in a way that means that a man does not really choose for his rationality to be expressed in whatever way; the way it expresses itself is dependent on the cognitive training he receives in the course of his academic life. On the other hand, the Existentialists hold that his freedom to choose is the thing that lives on and even if he is oppressed and alienated, he can still choose to either conform, to submit or to revolt. With regard to the classroom setup and method of instruction, the Existentialists would find what Rand is proposing as prescriptive because they might interpret it as placing too much emphasis on the role of the teacher in imparting knowledge than letting the student discover for his own even when young. The Existentialists, hence would find the main goal of education to be that of cultivating in the children the freedom to choose and awareness of this freedom. They would agree with Rand insofar as, perhaps, autonomy and emphasis on the self is concerned but they definitely denounce her idea of rationality as man’s basic essence for such an idea limits and prescribes the individual to, in my interpretation, act rationally. Another position that detects problems in the status quo is what is called Social Reconstructionism. It talks of a cultural crisis, brought about by the growing population, conflicts between different cultures especially by discrimination, environmental pollution, violence and terrorism that threaten human existence. All these predicaments infiltrating human life, they say can be traced to the severing of human values from social and economic realities. What the Reconstructionists propose, from the name of the position itself is a reconstruction of personal and social experience to reform society. The obvious implication of this thesis, of course is that culture and society is not universal, it continually grows with the direction of its growth depending on the time, place, people and the general circumstance of it. Conversely, human can refashion culture to fit and promote human development and growth. Social Reconstructionism would thus first and foremost denounce what Rand calls an ‘objective and universal reality’ because it believes that change is a necessary feature of human life. The absence of change for them, I think is like a dead society; it is deprived of its potential for progress and betterment, all things in it obsolete and useless. The Reconstructionists would not support Rand in her theory that students should be encouraged to be selfish because he is rational and that to use one’s reason is by nature a selfish affair; rather, they would declare that there is no room for selfishness in any society at any time for how can progress be realized if men used their rationality for mere thinking and not much doing? The solution, according to the Reconstructionists is not to eliminate or deny the process of change but to learn to cope with it. As they put it, change itself did not provoke crisis; crisis occurred when man was unprepared to cope with it. They would hence find Rand’s virtue of selfishness as dangerous because it discourages social cooperation, perhaps because it hurriedly concludes that to belong in a group is to conform to it, losing one’s individuality. I do not think that the Reconstructionists have any problem with Rand’s assertion that man is rational and that it is what makes him human. On the other hand, what they would propose is that such rationality should be geared towards social progress for cognitive training for the sake of rationality only will not render any gain for society. Schools then should educate students with a deliberate purpose to inculcate in him a commitment to work for deliberate social reform and a planning attitude for cultural revision. For them, there is nothing wrong with orienting students even when young, a sense of cooperation and the acknowledgement that reality is changing not only because it is the case but also because it is happening rapidly and to ignore or deny it would cause a lag between the moral consciousness and social organization and technological inventiveness. They do not propose mere conformity to the group but they also do not renounce that the society and culture is imposing on the individual.

Darwins Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection Essay Example for Free

Darwins Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection Essay The mechanisms for individuals in a population to survive heterogeneous habitats have been a strong debate within the scientific community. The native European Littorina obtusata are a great model organism to study Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection. This is because of their vast phenotypic characteristics, particularly their evolving shell thickness throughout history due to predatory pressures of the new arrival of Carcinus maenas. Here we test whether L obtusata three most critical tenants of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection; variation within a population, heritability, and selection. By observing the shell thickness of East Coast of N. America L. obtusata where predatory C. maenas are common versus the West Coast of N. America where C. maenas are not found, it will further provide evidence whether these shell thickness differences are due to natural selection predatory or phenotypic plasticity occurring. This was tested by placing banded crabs in both East and West populations of L. btusata and observing how their shell thickness decreased, further proving that L. obtusata cannot sense or smell the presence of C. maenas. These findings provide further evidence for Seeley’s research that the accelerating morphological changes of L. obtusata shell thickness was in response to strong selection by C. maenas and not because speciation occurring. Some believe that Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is operating the morphological breaks found in fossil records within a population. Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species listed four basic postulates to natural selection; there must be variations among individuals in a population, variations must be heritable, survival and reproduction must be variable and non-random (Darwin, 1859). As a result, every generation there will be slight changes in the population. One scientist in particular, Robin Seeley, tried understanding Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection by studying the thickness of shells of flat periwinkles, Littorina obtusata, of Appledore Island and the new arrival of predatory green crabs, Carcinus maenas. Seeley noted acceleration in natural selection that normally is not observed within the L. obtusata population in response to strong selection by C. maenas. This is because shell thickness affects the survivability and reproduction of L. obtusata when C. maenas claws break them to meal (Trussel, 1996). The observation confirmed that when C. maenas were introduced in the East Coast of N. America, L. obtusata range of shell thickness increased compared to the West Coast of N. America L. obtusata populations where predatory C. maenas were not found (Seeley, 1986). These vast morphological differences in their shell thicknesses was thought to occur because of the C. maenas selection for the thinner-shelled L. obtusata. Seeley’s research further showed that speciation was not occurring within the intertidal snails as many previous scientists claimed.

Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs

Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs Table of Contents Introduction Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs Impact of Automation on Worker Skills 1. Skill Depth: 2. Skill Breadth: Decrease in worker wages Strategies to bargain compensation packages Conclusion Works Cited During the early 1990’s the processes of automation and computerization were changing the work place of corporations in the newly developing countries. Discuss how these processes had affected employees with low skills to bargain for their compensation packages in developing countries. Introduction Automation and computerization were the by-products of globalization in the 1990s. Due to increasing mechanization and industrialization of work activities, a technological boom started which had huge impacts on the role of low skilled workers within an organization. The task structure changed and so did the wages and incentives paid to the employees. As a result, the low skill workers tried to regain their power by developing strategies to bargain for compensation packages with the managers. The following paper is based upon this issue. It attempts to highlight the impacts of change along with worker’s role to deal with these processes of change. Impact of Automation and Computerization on Jobs Automation refers to the use of automatic machinery instead of manual labor to carry out factory work activities whereas computerization is related to the increasing use of technological change in the organizations. As technology grows, the methods to do manufacturing jobs are changed and as a result, the whole occupational structure is changed. Computerization involves numerical control (NC) technologies that change the staffing patterns and company structure (Cappalli, 1996). When tasks are transferred to automatic machines, job opportunities decrease as less people are involved in final creation of a product. But on the other hand, in some cases, more people are required to run those machines. But in the latter case, the workers get reduced wages. So, Computer integrated manufacturing systems (CIM) have developed easier application systems for the organizations but at the same time, it has increased the concerns of the worker labor class due to decrease in opportunities and wages (Krueger, 1993). Impact of Automation on Worker Skills Apart from change in structure of tasks, the nature of skills required to perform the job are also changed. Two types of worker skills are important to consider while exploring the impact of computerization and automation on low skilled workers (Juhn, Murphy, Pierce, 1993). Skill Depth: It includes two major areas: judgment and time proficiency. Low skilled jobs that require little time proficiency to master the work (e.g. filing or food servicing) as well as judgment have much lower wages as compared to those skills that are more complex and require more time to learn. Automation has reduced the proficiency time required for certain jobs therefore; it has also reduced worker wages. Skill depth is reduced because of transformation of complex manual labor to simple mental tasks. On the other hand, computerization might allow workers to have greater freedom in the distribution of tasks. NC technology is used to distinguish programming from machine operations. So, this CNC technology can facilitate in reducing proficiency time by combining programming and machine operation. CAD system were also developed which allowed low skilled workers to create faster and better output through easy learning and less effort. Skill Breadth: This concept was of importance for employees involved in manufacturing, maintenance and repair tasks. It involves the changing of job content as a result of technology. Although it reduces the effort of manual input but with regards to the compensation programs, this technique did not attract the low skilled laborers. Decrease in worker wages The above facts show how the dynamic world brought with itself a changing organizational pattern. The fast and easy work done by machines and computers used to leave workers in the lurch. Organization’s focus shifted towards profit generation by increasing productivity through the use of smarter machines. This had severe consequences on the overall economic structure of developing countries. The economic progress was hampered and unemployment was increased. The workers, who formed a major chunk of the population felt depressed because their sources of earning were severally impacted and they had to negotiate with the managers for their wages and compensation (Katz Murphy, 1992). Following analysis indicates how the workers in 1990s strived in the changing world of automation. Strategies to bargain compensation packages In the developing countries, automation and computerization created unemployment. Such impacts of technological change dispersed greatly across various geographical regions in manufacturing and service industries. Therefore, the dilemma of marginalized workers increased the topic of setting wages in the 1990s. When the workers felt that they are not in a power to negotiate wages with the managers, particularly in the middle class developing countries, they created unions whose sole purpose was to bargain worker wages according to international standards in order to provide increased benefits and fair incentive to the people for the amount of effort they put in (Hirshorn, 1984). This process was severely impacted when countries created minimum wage laws for low skilled workers. It further deteriorated the process because increasing inflation and minimum wage laws reduced the power of manual workers to such an extent that they remained nothing but merely a cog in the machine. In the developed countries, the power of individual bargaining is available to the workers but in developing countries this right is strictly curtailed, therefore; labor institutions are formed for this purpose. Research indicates that unnecessary wage legislation has increased the problems of low skilled workers in developing countries therefore; a proper system must be developed to protect the rights of workers, both economically and socially, in the technical global world (Zuboff, 1988). Conclusion The above analysis explains how the process of automation, computerization and technological change changed the job structure and the skills required. These changes increased unemployment in the developing countries and increased wage concerns of the workers. In order to receive equitable wages, unions were created to bargain prices with the managers. These unions have been successful in driving power for low skilled workers in some cases but the fact remains that automation and technology has changed the overall work landscape which is irreversible. Therefore, proper mechanisms must be developed to regulate wage laws in the world of computerization and automation. Works Cited Cappalli, P. (1996). Technology and Skill Requirements: Implications for establishment wage structures. New England Economic Review, 139-153. Hirshorn, L. (1984). Beyond Mechanization: Work and Technology in a pst industrial age. Cambridge Press. Juhn, C., Murphy, K. M., Pierce, B. (1993). Wage Inequality and the Rise in Returns to Skill. Journal of Political Economy, 410-422. Katz, L. F., Murphy, K. (1992). Changes in Relative Wages 1963-1987: Supply and Demand Factors. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 36-78. Krueger, A. (1993). How Computers have changed the wage structue: Evidence from microdata 1984-1989. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 33-60. Zuboff, S. (1988). In the age of smart machine: The future of work and power.

No Child Left Behind is Beneficial Essay -- Education, Politics

Political Influences that Helped to Determine the NCLB Act The publication in 1983 of A Nation at Risk Report, flung education into the political ring as the Reagan Administration reasoned the state of education to be a national security risk (Reutzel, 2009). This report caused the public and politicians to start to examine education and the state of reading readiness of the kids of the United States (Reutzel, 2009). By 1994, President Bill Clinton started the course of rallying the National Governor’s Convention with legislation entitled Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This act was the start of countrywide testing in reading and math to demonstrate responsibility for public education. At the same time, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) was put out by a congressionally funded testing service, showing that reading scores amid the nation’s fourth graders was going down (Reutzel, 2009). And consequently began the downfall of literacy education without political influence The next ten years would see prosperity of data funded both publicly and privately, showing the collapse of a nation and the social difficulties that would result if education was left to educators and the educational system. Federal funding would be given to schools of poverty or underachieving schools. Research standards comparable to those utilized by other professional fields like engineering and medicine would be used to decide on the reformation of literacy education (Reutzel, 2009). Literacy reform now became the rallying call of the U.S. Congress. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1964 was revised in the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2002. This legislation relied heavily on the scientific reading research th... ...ely disadvantaged and racial minorities. There is experimental evidence that shows that these philosophies are indeed effective (Ravitch and Chubb, 2009). There appears to be good and bad things in regards to No Child Left Behind. There is a quantity of evidence that the basic concept is working but there are many that question the implementation of the policy in achieving maximum effectiveness. The Obama administration has put out a plan that will hopefully close some of the gaps that currently exist in the implementation of this policy. What the program is trying to achieve is a good thing, there just needs to be some tweaking done in order to ensure successes in the end. Children are not necessarily learning what they need to but measuring their learning accomplishments solely by testing are not the most effective measure of accomplishment that there is. No Child Left Behind is Beneficial Essay -- Education, Politics Political Influences that Helped to Determine the NCLB Act The publication in 1983 of A Nation at Risk Report, flung education into the political ring as the Reagan Administration reasoned the state of education to be a national security risk (Reutzel, 2009). This report caused the public and politicians to start to examine education and the state of reading readiness of the kids of the United States (Reutzel, 2009). By 1994, President Bill Clinton started the course of rallying the National Governor’s Convention with legislation entitled Goals 2000: Educate America Act. This act was the start of countrywide testing in reading and math to demonstrate responsibility for public education. At the same time, the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) was put out by a congressionally funded testing service, showing that reading scores amid the nation’s fourth graders was going down (Reutzel, 2009). And consequently began the downfall of literacy education without political influence The next ten years would see prosperity of data funded both publicly and privately, showing the collapse of a nation and the social difficulties that would result if education was left to educators and the educational system. Federal funding would be given to schools of poverty or underachieving schools. Research standards comparable to those utilized by other professional fields like engineering and medicine would be used to decide on the reformation of literacy education (Reutzel, 2009). Literacy reform now became the rallying call of the U.S. Congress. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1964 was revised in the No Child Left Behind legislation of 2002. This legislation relied heavily on the scientific reading research th... ...ely disadvantaged and racial minorities. There is experimental evidence that shows that these philosophies are indeed effective (Ravitch and Chubb, 2009). There appears to be good and bad things in regards to No Child Left Behind. There is a quantity of evidence that the basic concept is working but there are many that question the implementation of the policy in achieving maximum effectiveness. The Obama administration has put out a plan that will hopefully close some of the gaps that currently exist in the implementation of this policy. What the program is trying to achieve is a good thing, there just needs to be some tweaking done in order to ensure successes in the end. Children are not necessarily learning what they need to but measuring their learning accomplishments solely by testing are not the most effective measure of accomplishment that there is.

Gullivers Travels :: essays research papers

Gulliver’s Travels   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel, Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift addresses many things wrong with the society around him. His portrayal of English society shows how much he saw evil in it. He mainly addressed five issues throughout his book: war, government and politics,economy, society, and mankind as a whole.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Lilliputians uncover the idiocracy of war in our society. The Little-Ender and Big-Ender war all started on the debate of which way to break an egg. It didn’t matter that the entire reason of the war was ridiculous--no one knew that reason. They just fought because they knew that they fought long ago, and guessed that it should have been for a good reason.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gulliver himself even showed the absurdity of war when he explained the reasons England would fight to Mistress or the Queen of Brobdingnag. His justifications to fight were simply because the enemy was weaker and they wanted more land. This shows Swift’s sympathy for Ireland at that time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift believed that politics and government were games. The “election'; of “leaping and creeping'; of the Lilliputians was the basis of choosing their government officials. The government was ran with people that could go under or jump over a stick. The entire notion of classes and ranks seemed to be stupid to Swift.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The island of Brobdingnag portrayed Swift’s idea of a perfect society. Everyone was equal, and everyone got an equal share. There were no taxes and everyone got a say in how to deal with problems that arose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Gulliver explained English society to the queen of Brobdingnag, she no longer regarded the little man with wonder. She proclaimed that the crimes of his society were lying and swindling, and the English were horrible vermin. When Gulliver decided to show the queen a wonder of his society, he seemed to further alienate himself because he showed her the destructiveness of his world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift probably knew that having knowledge was power. But the impractical seeking of knowledge was of no use to him. At the Academy, professors would stay inside for years at a time, letting nature outside go to waste. They would ponder different ways to perform simple tasks and looked for answers to questions that hadn’t any. They did not take a thing of nature as God intended it, rather they took it apart and analyzed it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Swift saw humankind as evil, as portrayed in the life of the Houyhnhms and Yahoos.

My Metamorphosis to a Reasonably Confident Adult :: Personal Narrative Writing

My Metamorphosis to a Reasonably Confident Adult In grade school, I can remember being insulted and humiliated because I displayed traits some of my peers thought were feminine. I was informed that I walked, spoke, and generally behaved like a girl. I recall feelings of anger and resentment mixed with shame and self-consciousness. I wondered why I was being singled out. Now I realized that every boy who showed some trace of femininity was singled out, not just me. At the time, of course, I thought I was the only one. I tried to hypothesize about why I was being insulted. Maybe this pink shirt is too girlish, I thought. Maybe my hair is too long. Maybe there is just something wrong with me. As I entered junior high, I began to consciously eliminate any behaviors, mannerisms, etc. that could possibly be perceived as feminine. After all, fitting in with my sexist, homophobic peers was my main objective. I wore "masculine" clothing (dark colors, button-downs, workboots), got a short haircut, and lowered my voice about three octaves when I spoke. Gym class was my worst dread. As Cooper Thompson says, "Competitive activites . . . too easily become a lesson in the need for toughness, invulnerability, and dominance." This was one-hundred percent true in my junior high school. The most violent kids ruled the gym class, and they received the most recognition from the teacher. If one of them made a violent tackle in a football game, for instance, he would be applauded by the teacher, who called such kids "men." Of course, I felt like less than a man, because I couldn't play sports for my life. This horrible truth was exposed every time gym class met, and I was mortified. Frustrated with my ineptitude, I spent hours practicing by myself: shooting baskets, hitting baseballs, anything to gain some physical coordination. In retrospect, I laugh about how much effort I put into impressing my peers in gym class! Eventually, P.E. didn't humiliate me as much, but fear of ridicule prevented me from ever trying out for a team. In high school, I made a few good friends-people who like me for the way I was and didn't care if I was inept at certain things. However, feelings of insecurity still lingered. I was terrified that girls wouldn't like me if I didn't act like a real man (whatever that is).

Lies My Teachers Told Me Essay

As I watched the video and read parts of the books, I began to wonder why they would lie. Throughout school, they teach us to be honest and truthful in everything we say and do. So therefore why would they lie to us? According to James W. Loewen, â€Å"Taking ideas seriously does not fit with the rhetorical style of textbooks, which presents events so as to make them seem foreordained along a line of constant progress†. He goes on to say that including ideas would make history contingent. It would present uncertainty. That would not be consider a textbook learning style. Textbooks unfold history as melodrama, instead of with drama or suspense. An example would be John Brown. The treatment of Brown, like the treatment of Slavery and Reconstructino, has changed in American history books. John Brown was considered insane from 1890 until 1970, then slowly began to change back over into sane. Some textbooks emphasize the claim that no slaves actually joined John Brown. At times, I think it would just be easier to go back in time like in the movie Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Not only would we get the truth, but we would have seen bits and pieces of it. I think more and more students would enjoy history more if we actually got the truth rather than lies. I think that if we had the suspense and drama, we would learn more. To me in high school, history was a mixture of english and math. All of the boring parts of those two classes combined into one. The teacher was not much better either. I think if the teacher made it more exciting.

Name Professor Subject Date Behavioral Genetics and Human Personality

People do give birth certain ways that make us ridiculous from one another. People do spay in their manner or the way of life we think, feel and act. The complexity of human air and understanding its temperament has been the main interests of those analyze behavioural genetics. We all know that if we get our physical attributes with our parents we in addition inherit their behavior which we call genotypes.We are also aware of the role of the society, culture or the milieu in shaping ones behavior. Which of the both then exerts the greatest mold in our life? In put in to identify which really molds human behavior a family studies, adoption studies and twin studies where conducted. In these three settings the siblings are compared with their shared and non-shared experiences. The environs provides the child with care, education and other experiences.People protest in many ways in terms of intelligence, mental states, social ability, self-concept or self-esteem, attit udes, beliefs and preferences. Genetics versus environment eject also be called nature versus nurture in shaping behavior. The debate between the two tries to challenge the fact that genotypes or the nature of a soulfulnesss behavior can be altered by the environment or the inherited traits go away remain the same and control the person no matter how strong the submit of the environment.Suicidal tendencies and anti-social behavior for example are study if it is inherited or purely environmental. In my own opinion the behavior could forecast upon the individuals personal modification or resistance to the environment that can create a difference in our behavior. Work Cited Haimowitz, Avi. Heredity versus Environment Twin, betrothal and Family Studies. November 2005. Rochester Institute of Technology Great Ideas in Personality 4 June 2009