Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Research a community organization on an individual basis Essay

Research a community organization on an individual basis - Essay Example Beneficiaries of the organization’s programs are categorized into federations that exhibit religious, ethnic, economic, and racial diversity (http://www.picocalifornia.org/). In essence, PICO California strives to improve the social, economic, and political welfare of working families living in the State of California. The primary goal of the community organization is to enhance statewide relations and interactions among California residents. To do this, PICO California networks working families by identifying and creating awareness about common social issues that affect residents in the state. Upon identifying statewide issues that affect residents, the organization goes a step further to voice the concerns of the people. The idea is to ensure that the voices and concerns of working families and residents in general reach the state’s leadership. In other words, PICO California acts as an intermediary between the people and policy makers in the state of California. In many communities around the United States, policy arenas remain inaccessible to the public. With PICO California, however, the underlying social responsibility is to enhance public participation in policymaking processes. In this respect, a number of factors influence PICO California’s operations. These factors include health, employment, education, security, and local community empowerment. By evaluating and assessing these factors, the organization strives to promote family and social growth and development. It is evident that each of these factors is strategic in the formulation and implementation of state policy. Social initiative is the primary driver of PICO California’s community operations. PICO federations network on congregational basis, resulting in strong culturally diverse social interactions and relations. The organization’s social initiative encompasses increasing access to quality healthcare, minimizing violence in California, improving state

Monday, October 28, 2019

Notes on Religious Views on Life After Death Essay Example for Free

Notes on Religious Views on Life After Death Essay Question is What are we made of and what survives after death of the body. If anything survives how much of the original identity of that person survives and in what form? People try to answer this by: Believing in a superior being who has communicated a promise Gathering data about LAD near death experiences, past life memories that suggest reincarnation, the para-normal Accepting no life after death we are matter and return to matter and become part of the wider world again Exploring ideas about the nature of body and soul Some Christians believe death is the event that makes sense of our previous lives and the meaning of death itself is changed in the promise of eternal life. John Hick, it should not evoke the sickening fear with which we face what we know to be evil It is a fuller stage in the outworking of the Creators loving purpose for his children. SOURCES Revealed Knowledge The Bible, Quran, Torah etc which tell us of the events others have experienced and what they claim and to those who accept them as revealed knowledge this gives certainty. Christians believe that Jesus was and is God Incarnate, so if he promises eternal life to his followers, he must be trusted. Similarly Muslims trust the Prophet Mohammed as Allahs chosen messenger and as he has spoken of paradise, then there must be such a place. Inferential Knowledge Reasoning that the ideas expressed explain so much that they must be true even if theres no proof = a belief. Hindus do not have any promise in scripture, but they trust their God loves them and so will e god to them upon death. In neither case is there absolute proof the believer trusts that it is true. Religious views Christian Old Testament good and bad alike to go to Sheol as ghostlike individuals Job 14.7-12 Theres hope is a tree is cut down as buds can grow from the trunk but man lies down and does not rise again. However he also believes that if he has a personal relationship with God which is beyond the trials of this life he will be with God at the end. New Testament the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ is at the heart of the belief in LAD,. Jesuss promise to the good thief crucified with him This day you will be with me in paradise only appears in the Gospel of Luke indicates that he believes in the possibility of paradise for the righteous and the repentant. However the translation of paradise could also refer to a pleasant place. Jesus referred to heaven as the place where God lived Our Father which art in heaven Book of Revelations contains visions of Saints whose bloody robes have been washed clean in the blood of the lamb (Christ) in a heavenly city, the new Jerusalem. It is clear there is a heaven after death, which is separate from the last judgment, also known as the second coming, which will happen at the end of time. The term eschatalogical gap refers to the gap between whats in the bible and the precise details of the afterlife Purgatory Roman Catholics only people have to atone for sin before they can enter heaven no scriptural evidence for this idea Limbo not in current use, but Catholics used to believe the unbaptised or good people whod never heard of Jesus would go here. Protestants believed such people would go straight to hell as God would have called those to be saved. One reference in Peters letters The spirits who are in prison Reincarnation some Christians have accepted this in the past but not currently in use. Catholics in particular value appearances by Mary (Lourdes, Fatima etc) and other saints after their death as confirming an after life. Quakers religious body without creeds and so base beliefs on experience, life experience varies and therefore so do views on LAD. Three main views bit these are not fixed, all beliefs are personal. 1. The good we have done (and possibly the evil) lives on after we have gone in the lives of those affected this might be as memories or as the impact of deeds 2. Survival of the Human Spirit as a continuation of this life in a spiritual body (St Pauls term). Some also believe in reincarnation 3. Acceptance of heaven and hell as destinations after death but belief in a Loving God and redemption through Christ means hell cannot be eternal Personal conclusions about LAD are based on individual experiences of the Love of God in this life in spite of the experience of suffering. Therevada Buddists Nirvana achieved in this life, without substrate and so continuing to live in bodily form is described as a set of qualities in The Questions of King Milinda. He asks Nagasena whether he can compare it to anything in this world to help him understand. Nagasena says it cant be compared to anything, but its qualities can. E.g As a lotus is unsustained by water, so Nirvana is unsustained by all the defilements Islam God has a plan for the whole universe and all human beings At the day of judgement to whole universe will be destroyed and the dead raised to stand before him That day will be the beginning of an unending life on which every individual will be judged and rewarded by God according to their deeds. The Quran argues that life after death is vital of make sense of morality. If there is no afterlife then a belief in God is irrelevant. Hindus believe in certain heavenly states, notably Goloka, Krishnas heaven for devotees, but there is little justification in scripture. Hindus believe as a God loves his people he must be good to them when they die. The Resurrection of the Body Key Christian belief is that the individual survives as an individual. Also that the individual is judged as a individual Jesuss resurrection and ascension is the model we will follow as he was sent to show us the way, the truth and the light.. The Apostles and Nicene Creed both affirm belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come Tey also refer to the communion of saints which refers to the Church as one body uniting those in heaven and those on earth. The point of the Creed is to reinforce belief in the face of challenges Christians believe that man can be saved as a whole, body and soul man can glorify God through his body as he is made in the image of God, the body can become a sacrifice to God and also a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, (Corinthians 6.19-20,Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?). Also Christ at the Last Supper gave his Body and Blood as a means of salvation, so the human body is important On the same day as jesuss resurrection Matthews gospel reports dead prophets rising from their graves indicating a bodily resurrection. Paul speaks of us dying and rising with Christ in Baptism as a spiritual experience (Romans 6.5-11) but he is clear that the body will be resurrected after death however in 1 Corinthians 15-50 he also says flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Irenaeus and Tertullian both interpret this to mean that flesh is resurrected for judgment and that the Spirit must be present in the flesh to enter heaven. The Creed also affirms belief in the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthains 15.35-50 Paul is asked How are the dead raised? He uses the analogy of a seed and a bulb to show that something completely different can arise from a source. At h time there was a commonly held belief that the flesh would be resurrected the corpse Paul tried to make it clear that the body refers to the whole personality and person, both inner and outer. Through Adam we are part of the physical sphere and through Christ we are part of the spiritual sphere Christ was man and God together we are physical body and spiritual body together. Paul does not describe the spiritual body.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

News Media, Money and Infotainment Essay -- Television Media TV Essays

News Media, Money and Infotainment In the past few years the media has grown into more than just the facts. The goal of the media is not just to inform us but to entertain. This new media style is known as "Infotainment". The media's goals are ratings based. They use shows like Jerry Springer, Entertainment Tonight, and Hard Copy to bring in these ratings. The media of today has grown into a profit-based industry that tries to entertain us with the news and with tabloid television shows. In the late 1980s and early 1990s the three big television stations, of ABC, CBS, and NBC, changed to provide more infotainment. Networks lost ratings to the heavy competition of cable and home video. The diminishing audience caused the big three to just break even or make a tiny profit. This led to the news having topics such as issues in the entertainment world and art related stories produce a rating increase. The industry was no longer news based. Their goal over those few years had changed from reporting the news into shows that report what bring in a profit. What brought in the biggest audience was what was shown on the networks. When the rating for these shows were being taken there was an increase in the reporting of sex and violence to increase the viewers. This in tern increased the ratings (Cook 4-5). The new form of news was shaped based on how to bring in the biggest audience and make the most money whatever the cost. This new form of infotainment led to the development of Tabloid television shows. These shows, also known as "Trash TV", have more entertainment than news. Thought there is a difference between good and bad trash. With shows like Sally Jesse Raphael, Geraldo Rivera, and Jerry Springer that in many cases exploi... ...ed media world is set up to be infotaining. These shows attracting viewers with tabloid shows and putting more entertaining information in the news. The networks are trying to make the biggest profit possible and with shows that exploit people they seem to be doing it. It doesn't mater who it hurts or what the consequences are. It's no longer just reporting the news, but reporting what will bring in the biggest profit. WORKS CITED Cook, Philip S., Douglass Gomery, and Lawrence W. Lichty, ed. The Future of News. Washington: The Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 1992. Olster, Marjorie. "Raunchy radio host Stern to get late-night TV show." Infobeat. Online. Electronic Text Center. Internet. 31 Mar. 1998. Available http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2553562895-d94 Talked To Death. Videocassette. Home Box Office. Parco Productions, Inc., 1996. VHS. 60min

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Analysis of Closing Speech in Dr. Faustus :: Christopher Marlowe

Analysis of Dr. Faustus' Closing Speech Doctor Faustus’ closing speech is unquestionably the most emotional scene in Dr. Faustus. His mind moves from idea to idea in desperation. It highlights the many times that Faustus could have repented, but did not. Yet he shows remorse, calling upon the Christian view that all who repent will be saved, however, this does not hold true for Faustus, indicating that Marlowe is not writing this scene from a Christian point of view. Faustus’ mind is fraught with despair in his final, closing speech. It jumps frantically from thought to thought: one moment he is begging time to stop, or slow down, the next second, he is pleading to Christ for mercy and salvation. He asks to be hidden, the next instant he is asking for his punishment in hell to last ‘A hundred thousand [years], and at last be saved’ (1.13.95). These various attempts to escape his imminent doom ultimately lead to him to realise that the situation is entirely his fault, just before midnight, he finally realises to ‘curse [him] self’ (1.13.106). This extremely passionate remorse leads to a recurring theme in the play, namely, the reasons behind him not repenting at earlier stages. Faustus’ arrogance, perhaps, is the chief reason behind the rejection of penitence. He deceives himself into believing either hell is not so bad, or that it does not exist at all. Perhaps he is afraid of Mephastophilis tearing his body apart. Even close to the end, in the penultimate scene, Faustus is seen, eager to ‘confirm/ [His] former vow’ (1.12.62-63). This suggests that Faustus’ delusion continues until his time is up, perhaps he has served the devil for so long he has lost any thought of breaking free of his pact. In the speech, Faustus turns to Christ, asking that the Christian doctrine that repentance can be accepted at any time in one’s life be granted to save him. Significantly, he is not rescued. This shows that this play is not written from an entirely Christian perspective, as Faustus would have been saved. However, it could be argued that something within Faustus ‘pulls [him] down’ (1.13.71) from leaping ‘up to [his] God’ (1.13.71), and therefore keeping the Christian principle intact. The pathetic actions that Faustus performs when he gets ultimate power seem to indicate that Faustus has wasted his soul.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

King Leopolds Ghost Essay

Between 1880 and 1920, the population of the Congo was slashed in half: some ten million people were victims of murder, starvation, exhaustion, exposure, disease, and a plummeting birth rate. Why do you think this massive carnage has remained virtually unknown in the United States and Europe? During all this death there was only a few who would go down into the Congo because of all its dangers. So with hardly anyone already going down there and those who did brave the dangers would usually come back insane from a disease of some sort, there was just not enough evidence to prove how bad it was really getting even with those who made it out fine. There was also no communication possible only by mail and considering the dangers no persons would risk their life to take a letter to and from the jungle. So how can you, with not enough brave people to go down there, get the information out to the world. But even those who got it out and tried to spread the word would be persecuted for saying such things because nobody wanted to help them because that would put their life in danger. No one in their right mind would even venture down to that part of Africa. So with no phones, pagers, computers, or mail to get the word out and sickness and animals killing most that went down there. Even those who go looking for these camps cannot usually find them because there in rural eras of the jungle which, for some, are impossible to attain. There was just no possible way to get word out to the rest of the world to get help. Now even with all the technology to find and go to them we still don’t hear much of them. We have all the vaccines to fight off all the disease and help the dying people in Africa. So even though we have all that still not much people want to help because they are caught up in the world they are living in and nothing else matters until they get what they need and want. The human race is selfish and only looks out for themselves. Question 6 The European conquest and plunder of the Congo and the rest of Africa was brutal, but so was the European settlement of North America and, long before that, the conquest of most of European by the Romans. Hasn’t history always proceeded in this way? Well yea, history has a way of repeating itself. Nothing only happens one time in history. There is always going to be those crazy Hitler type people out there and those who go power drunk and take over their country and then try to take over the world. And yes, whenever you go exploring a new place it’s going to be difficult. Have you ever heard someone say’ â€Å"I went exploring a new continent and it was easy. † There is so much that goes into exploration. You need tools, maps, guides, protection from animals and natives. Pretty much anything new you do is not going to be easy for you to do. Anything you do needs time, practice, and plans, but most important in needs to be organized. If nothing was organized the world would be in chaos. So yes history has and will be forever keep repeating itself to keep balance and stability to the world. It will always have its ups and always have its downs. It doesn’t matter who or what you do to try and prevent it. God has established the status quo and there is nothing anyone can do about it. Question 13 Hochschild quotes Roger Casements as insisting to Edmond Morel’s â€Å"I do not agree with you that England and America are the two great humanitarian powers †¦ [they are] materialistic first and humanitarian only a century after. † What evidence supports or refuses Casement’s judgment? Would Casement be justified in making the same statement today? Now back in that time we were more of a humanitarian country because first of all we didn’t have all the same technology we did today. Second we were pretty much a new country and we were trying to make a good name for us. Then third we went to war for other which was no cause of our own and all we did was help out less fortunate countrys than us. See now during this time it is a little different. We have all sorts of distractions. We have technology, we have more murder, and we are being more protective of our people. We use to go to war for no cause just to help out but now when we are attacked we don’t want to go to war. So you can say we are and have been a little of both the whole time. Back then we went to war to help people now we are sending missionaries to camps around the world to help people. But in the end let’s hope that we become more

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Napoleons Noble Failure essays

Napoleon's Noble Failure essays The Noble Failure of Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon's reign ended in defeat and exile, and the largest empire since the height of the Roman Empire quickly disintegrated without its creator. In essence, Napoleon's career can be seen as its overall conclusive state: a failure. By no means, however, can one consider his rule to be one of meekness or lackluster. The self-made emperor worked relentlessly to change France in ways that he believed would better the country and the every day lives of its people. Many reforms he made, regardless of their flaws, were of noble and just cause. These reforms became his most lasting impression on Europe and the world today. Adjustments to the economy, education systems, and work force were all part of his Civil Code, which to this day remains the root for many of the constitutions of the world today (Burnham, 1). Napoleon, though not with any degree of perfection, did devote his life whole-heartedly to what he thought was right for France in his day and age. Many see this kind of d evotion and enthusiasm as noble, therefore leading to the description of his career as a noble failure. Napoleon first made a name for himself as an ambitious and talented general in the Italian army. In 1799, the French legislature chose him as one of three de-facto rulers and dubbed him a consul of France. He soon became First Consul with the re-writing of the constitution. This re-drawing of the constitution also gave him the right to choose the men that served as the Counsel of State, which was responsible for the law making of the country. By inviting men to service who were already loyal to him through military experience, Napoleon became a powerful leader of a personalized government. Within a year of his commencement of power, Napoleon had ended the decade of the French Revolution and revealed his vision for the country. The destruction of the French Republic into a military based aristo...

Monday, October 21, 2019

A Written Analysis on Why I Write by George Orwell Essays

A Written Analysis on Why I Write by George Orwell Essays A Written Analysis on Why I Write by George Orwell Paper A Written Analysis on Why I Write by George Orwell Paper Essay Topic: George orwell George Orwell’s 1946 essay ‘Why I Write’ is enshrined with a set of innate values adhered to and advocated by Orwell himself. In recounting his personal journey in becoming a writer, Orwell enlists the underlying ideals justifying his initial motives for writing. Subsequently, it is the representation of deeply held ideals such as the innate personal connection to writing, the impact of context on a writer, the value of writing and the reasons for writing that captivate audiences and underpin the meaning of Orwell’s essay. The eudemonistic virtues exhorted by Orwell as expressed through the essay form therefore serve to represent the values and ideals shaped by his context, that are eminent within his writings. The unfailing sense of personal connection Orwell bears to writing pervades throughout the essay, and subsequently captivates the audience. Orwell’s use of personal childhood anecdotes, of where he felt â€Å"isolated and undervalued† evokes a personal connection of sympathy from the reader, and thus signifies the development of Orwell as a writer. From the opening anecdotes, where Orwell alludes to the Greek playwright ‘Aristophanes’ and the English poet ‘William Blake’ it is event that ‘writing’ remained an innate component of George Orwell’s identity and that attempts to suppress or neglect this passion would be â€Å"outraging† his true nature. Orwell argues that the essence of his writing stems from personal experience and the innate connection of he bore to literature from an early age. However, whilst Orwell does argue that writing itself must involve a self-driven personal engagement, he concedes that the development of language is influenced and shaped by other writers. Therefore, the use of personal anecdotes underpins the innate, personal connection that Orwell shared with writing and thus captivates the audience. The exploration of context in shaping an author’s thoughts and writings are central concerns dealt with by Orwell within the essay. Orwell’s primary motivation, albeit obscured and categorically denied in the opening of the essay, is the political cause. Orwell concludes the essay in stating that â€Å"where I lacked a political purpose that I wrote lifeless books entences without meaning, decorative adjectives and humbug generally. † However, Orwell laments the political motivation of his works to the revolutionising political sphere of his own context. The purpose of the poem in the essay however, is more so to illustrate the lingering uncertainties of war and conflict that plagued Orwell’s time. The poem reflects on the certainties of the past, whereby imagery through â€Å"A happy vicar I might have been, two hundred years ago† illustrates the changing paradigms of religion, and its subsequent impetus for conflict. The poem is indicative of the â€Å"evil time† and increasing political tensions of Orwell’s context, and places his works into perspective. Therefore in exploring his personal development as a writer, Orwell further illustrates the impact of context in shaping a writer’s works creating a sense of personal engagement with the reader. Orwell’s presentation on the value of writing through the essay establishes an emotional connection that captivates the reader. The use of imagery, through the comparison of ‘good prose’ to a ‘windowpane’ underpins the augmented message enlisted in Orwell’s Why I Write. The image of the windowpane serves as a symbol for writing as a connection between the reader, the writer and the text. Constituents of a good prose allow for the writer to connect and see clearly through the issues of the text whilst similarly, the reader is able to maintain an understanding of the writer’s motivation and reasoning for the nature of his/her works. Therefore, Orwell concludes his essay with the argument that writing needs to be able to find a sense of commonality between the reader and the writer, with his ‘great motives for writing’ providing a conceptual framework in which such a connection can be fostered. Through the essay, ‘Why I Write’ Orwell constructs a balanced tone that is both anecdotal and reflective in order to crystallise and reduce any complications in meaning. The use of a particularly precise, authentic voice stems from the actual purpose of this essay which essentially was to provide a justification to the strong and confronting political-willed nature of his works. His outspoken fervour of democratic socialism, a belief manifested from his personal disillusionment to the institutions of governance of his time causes him to maintain a concise and direct prose, in order to present an unequivocal justification for the nature of his works. The authentic directness of his prose is encapsulated in sentiments such as â€Å"I did try very hard to tell the whole truth without violating my literary instincts†. The manner of his tone illustrates Orwell’s attempts to portray his character as one of integrity towards the literary cause. Thus, Orwell attempts to maintain integrity and honesty whilst fostering an emotional connection with the reader in order to propagate his ideals of the motivation of writing. Orwell’s justification for the reasons for writing ensures that he is levelled with the reader, enabling his ideals to captivate the audience. Orwell’s classification of the ‘great motives for writing’ serves as an appreciative framework from which the reader is then able to interpret literature. Orwell felt as though whilst an author maintains a connection to his/her works, such a connection may not be endeared by the reader. Therefore, Orwell classifies the ‘motives for writing’ in order to re-establish the connection between the author, the text and the reader by providing a conceptual framework serving as the basing point for an informed interpretation of the writer’s background, and reasons for writing. A secondary purpose of this classification predominantly focuses on the ideals of writing as a universal connector of people. In conclusion, the structure of the essay in recounting a chronological and biographical development of George Orwell as a writer allows for Orwell to express his views in an unequivocal manner. Orwell seeks to foster a connection between the audience, and his concerns through the range of techniques he applies through the essay form. Subsequently, Orwell’s representation of his innate underlying values and ideals are what captivates the audience and establishes the emotional connection between the reader, the writer and the text.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Why Awe Matters More Than Quantity

Why Awe Matters More Than Quantity DailyGood.org is a favorite site of mine. It takes life, slows it down, and teaches me how to give it more substance and deep down quality. It makes me ponder my existence. We all need that periodically. Maybe we need it more often than that. This post stopped me longer than most, Why We Need To Cultivate Awe In The Workplace.  dailygood.org/story/1342/why-we-need-to-cultivate-awe-in-the-workplace-homaira-kabir/ Humans crave to be part of something larger than self . . . and once we think about it, we actually call it awe. We teach it to our children, or in many cases, we remember it Awe is akin to soul. I believe that when we sense something bigger than ourselves, when awe stops us in our tracks, we are tapping into our soul. We allow that door to open a tad, letting out emotion  we are often afraid to embrace. As adults we tend to guard ourselves, fearful of letting down the wall. As stated in this piece, when we sense awe, We see our fragility and vulnerability, which gives us a profound sense of humility. We dont like feeling fragile or vulnerable, and all too often, we let that fear inhibit us in how we write, how we publish, and how we market ourselves. Yet, we are in awe of those authors who dare to write a daring tale, expose their inner thoughts, and throw themselves before the publics eye. And the author who writes the memorable story is revered more than the author who wrote 15 stories and made money, though we cannot recall the characters. We should strive to be in awe of our work, and awe-struck

Saturday, October 19, 2019

How significant was urban life to medieval society Essay

How significant was urban life to medieval society - Essay Example Furthermore, growth in trade and more attention was paid to literacy along with migration from rural areas that reshaped the outlook of cities and towns. The dynamic culture which emerged after urban development in Middle Ages laid down a foundation of development in economy, society, religion, arts and politics. Urban areas in medieval society comprised of small colonies having a very small population as compared to cities and towns of present day. It is also important to note that these medieval cities were also not as civilized as modern cities are today. Territorial expansion, increase in population, development of trade and migration in urban areas are some of the major traits of urbanization in middle ages. Due to increased employment and business opportunities, merchant class emerged as an important social and demographic segment which reshaped overall social hierarchy in mediaeval society. Since earlier social segregation comprised of aristocracy, peasants and clergy, the soc ial hierarchical system had no place for merchants which further lead to migration of merchants to other towns and cities. Earlier residential areas and cities comprised of undersized housing units with very small cover areas with narrow confined streets. It was after the development in trade when requirement of bigger streets for transportation and warehousing increased causing construction of bigger housing units and acquisition of more land leading to expansion in territories. Since urban population was not mainly involved in direct labour, they had more opportunities to pay attention to education which lead to increased in literacy in medieval Europe. This was also precisely the time when new genres and writing styles emerged1. In the late tenth century, many cities and towns were founded followed by settlements of merchants near these areas. The lords of these cities and towns also offered protection to these merchants. Since inhabitants of towns were largely dependent on the l ords for mobility required for trade and continuous food supply from other territories, the groups of merchants and artisans filled this gap of transportation. According to Spielvogel, â€Å"since the townspeople were profiting from the growth of trade and sale of their products, they were willing to pay for the right to make their own laws and govern themselves2†. Therefore, towns began to gain their rights in exchange of certain amount of revenues paid to the King and lords. In addition to that, burghers also obtained charters of liberties from these lords which granted them â€Å"rights to bequeath and sell property, freedom from ,military obligation to the lord, written urban law and right to become a free person after residing a year and a day in a town3†. After gaining rights of governing themselves, another important part of development of medieval society was formation of Guilds. Guilds were formal business associations of merchants, artisans, bankers etc. Thes e institutions were established earlier for religious and social purposes; â€Å"Merchant or craft guilds came slightly later. They arose when guilds dominated by merchants, like the Trinity Guild of Coventry, began to regulate conditions of manufacture and trade4.† Out of all the guilds, merchant and craft guilds are of immense importance as they formed the nucleus of new civil society. These organizations not only provided protection for

Friday, October 18, 2019

Drug testing for public assistance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Drug testing for public assistance - Essay Example On the other hand, the people who oppose the said notion are addressing the fact that the random drug testing is ‘scientifically and medically’ illogical. Aside from the fact that it was expressed to be ‘fiscally irresponsible’ (American Civil Liberties Union 1). On a personal note, both side present reasonable conjecture regarding the issue although as a citizen, I am in favor of the implementation of drug testing. There are different points that can be presented regarding the said point of view. Thus, the discussion is aimed to present the reasons for agreeing with the advocates of the issue and the reasons for disagreeing with the critics. One point is related to the fact that every citizen of the nation has his or her own responsibilities toward the community. Due to that fact that these people are in need of public assistance, on the basis of different reasons such as the lack of income sources, following the rules set up by the authorities can be considered as their duty. This view is even strengthened by the fact that the funds for public assistance are coming from the taxes of the citizen with stable source of income (Sachteleben 1). Another point that can be presented in favor of the drug testing is the fact that even the employees and workers who are screened for their jobs are being required to have drug test. This means that the said procedure is not meant to separate the group of people who needs public assistance from other groups in the community. For that matter, critics of the notion cannot use the reason that there is maltreatment or unjust regard towards the said group (Sachteleben 1).

Increasing the duration of copyright in literary works in the United Essay

Increasing the duration of copyright in literary works in the United Kingdom in 1995 from life of the author plus 50 years to li - Essay Example One of the most critical issues regarding intellectual properties is the extension of copyright protection period that had remained at 50 years past the creator’s death for a few several centuries.3 By this definition, the rights are universally protected; however, the term of protection is not indefinite except for a few special works. Nevertheless, the contention of this paper has little to do with the definition and more to do with the amount of time for which the protection is supplied, in the UK; copyrights are protected but the Copyright and Design act of 1988 based on the 2003 amendments by the copyright and related regulations. Over the years, the UK has faces several challenges in related to copyright owing to the number of sometimes contradictory directives by other European countries as well as international proposal. This is in spite of the Berne convention of 1886, which set a minimum standard of protection among the countries participating in the same, later in 1 905 the convention, set the minimum period of 50 years after the death of the creator. However, despite the relatively steep number of years, given many countries have often increased instead of making effort to reduce them and this trend eventually lead up to the latest EC duration.4 Nevertheless, there is serious doubt about whether this increase serves the interest of the public or is as advantageous to the owner of the work as the EC may want to allege5;6. According to the EC duration preamble, the reasons for the increase are categorized as legal, social political and economic issues; however, an objective examination of these reasons however is enough to prove otherwise. Despite the overtly logical basis on which they are grounded, none of them stand in the face of critical scrutiny. The core interest of this paper is to discuss in particular the 1993 change in which the copyright protection was extended and provides evidence through a critical examination of the reason given for the fact that the mover was ill guided, in a word, a mistake. Background The background of copyright can be traced back to the 18th century and although the rules by then were nowhere near the current ones in terms of latitude and legal requirements7, the have successfully set precedent for posterity which have led to the current laws. The first copyright statute was the statute of Ann and this is the first document that recognised the author and provided a limited term of copyright of 28 years, this was first enacted in the Donaldson and Becket case in 1774. In this case, copyright was established and the original laws were supposed to protect the investment by printers and publishers as opposed to those of the authors. In-fact it was only in the 19th century that their creative genius was recognised and the creation of works become author centred as opposed to publisher and printer centred.8 One of the landmarks in the history of the copyright law in the UK was

Thursday, October 17, 2019

E&P overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E&P overview - Essay Example The Liquefied Natural Gas is slated to deliver in two phases, Train 1 and Train 2 to be completed in 2007 and 2009. The former will supply LNG to America and the latter to Asia for next 25 years. Apart from making Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil major producers of LNG, The project will also strengthen the position of Qatar State in the LNG market. By the decade’s end Qatar’s LNG exports will exceed 77 Mta. The offshore development of construction and installation of two wellhead platforms and two offshore pipelines for the required gas feedstock is being carried out by J. Ray McDermott Middle East. A Joint Venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, Barzan Project will yield will yield about 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of domestic gas to be supplied for infrastructural and industrial projects of the State of Qatar. The project for Appraisal, Development and Production Sharing Agreement (ADPSA) signed between Qatar and ONGC Videsh Ltd, with latter as the operator of Najwat Najwat Oil Structure. ADPSA ranges for a period of 20 years with initial two years dedicated to Appraisal and rest for development. Appraisal phase includes reprocessing of 200 sq km of seismic data, and drilling of two appraisal wells, which started in 2007. According to a latest news report ONGC Videsh Ltd has found oil in the Najwat Najem block. According to Kurdish Regional Government that the oil reserves if northern Iraq are exploited, it can lead to increase in oil production of Iraq from 2 million barrels per day to 8 million barrels a day. A Joint Venture between company with an investment of US $2 Billion gas exports to Oman and includes setting up of 500 Km of gas pipeline. The pipeline will transfer one billion cubic feet of gas per day to Oman. Oilex is recommending to Joint Venture participants and the Omani regulatory authorities that 7 inch casing be run and a production testing program carried out over the primary and secondary objectives

Rehabilitation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rehabilitation - Essay Example This paper also explores the roles that the general environment plays in the success of rehabilitation treatments, including the roles that family, friends and the general society play in rehabilitation. (NIH; Mayo Clinic Staff; McLellan et al.; WebMD; National Library of Medicine; World Health Organization). II. Discussion There is an element to different forms of dependencies and illnesses, such as drug dependence and alcohol dependence, that is chronic and not easily treatable, and this implies that in many cases the focus and commitment of patients undergoing rehabilitation play a role in treatment outcomes. That the dependencies and illnesses are chronic and long-term also implies that those who are being treated must match the interest and the dedication of those offering help. This might be where general society, friends and family may fall short, because of the costs and the emotional and psychological consistency that is required for patients to become better over time. This may also be why treatments sometimes fail, as evidenced by the relapses observed in the medical and academic literature. Some patients become better for a time in relapse cases, but they sooner or later go back to old habits, whether those be dependencies or psychological and emotional dysfunctions. The relapses may be partly due to the lack of dedication on the part of the patients. This is recognized to such an extent that relapses are included as a necessary component of rehabilitation programs, and relapses are considered in all-inclusive treatment protocols that take into consideration the willingness of the patients to be treated. Recognizing that relapses are common and that patient attitudes factor into the success or failure of treatments also is an admission that dependencies, emotional and physical traumas, and other conditions that require rehabilitation are complex, and that many factors need to be considered in devising rehabilitation treatments and protocols that wor k. The reality of relapses point to human factors and patient attitudes and inclinations as outlying factors that affect treatment outcomes (NIH; Mayo Clinic Staff; McLellan et al.; WebMD). To be sure, there are aspects of various illnesses, such as drug dependence and the emotional and psychological traumas experienced by soldiers returning from war, that are physiological, and that in a way those who are seeking rehabilitation are those who admit that they don’t have total control of their will. They easily succumb to the temptations of their addictions, for instance, or that they have no willpower to get out of the psychological and emotional traumas that haunt them in the case of soldiers returning from war. This is recognized, and the literature suggests that science and medicine have progressed over the years to provide medications and other related interventions that treat those physical dependencies and allow patients to get over the physical aspects of their conditio ns. On the other hand, even with some effective drugs and treatments, the literature also suggests that treatment success rates remain inconsistent and varying, again taking us back to discussions on just how much effect the individual will power of the patients have in the success

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

E&P overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

E&P overview - Essay Example The Liquefied Natural Gas is slated to deliver in two phases, Train 1 and Train 2 to be completed in 2007 and 2009. The former will supply LNG to America and the latter to Asia for next 25 years. Apart from making Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil major producers of LNG, The project will also strengthen the position of Qatar State in the LNG market. By the decade’s end Qatar’s LNG exports will exceed 77 Mta. The offshore development of construction and installation of two wellhead platforms and two offshore pipelines for the required gas feedstock is being carried out by J. Ray McDermott Middle East. A Joint Venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, Barzan Project will yield will yield about 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of domestic gas to be supplied for infrastructural and industrial projects of the State of Qatar. The project for Appraisal, Development and Production Sharing Agreement (ADPSA) signed between Qatar and ONGC Videsh Ltd, with latter as the operator of Najwat Najwat Oil Structure. ADPSA ranges for a period of 20 years with initial two years dedicated to Appraisal and rest for development. Appraisal phase includes reprocessing of 200 sq km of seismic data, and drilling of two appraisal wells, which started in 2007. According to a latest news report ONGC Videsh Ltd has found oil in the Najwat Najem block. According to Kurdish Regional Government that the oil reserves if northern Iraq are exploited, it can lead to increase in oil production of Iraq from 2 million barrels per day to 8 million barrels a day. A Joint Venture between company with an investment of US $2 Billion gas exports to Oman and includes setting up of 500 Km of gas pipeline. The pipeline will transfer one billion cubic feet of gas per day to Oman. Oilex is recommending to Joint Venture participants and the Omani regulatory authorities that 7 inch casing be run and a production testing program carried out over the primary and secondary objectives

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Urbanization in ancient Greece Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Urbanization in ancient Greece - Essay Example One key characteristic of these settlements was lack of governmental authority beyond the boundaries of the village (Chant et al, 2000). In addition, these villages did not have any workshops or public buildings. Such egalitarian societies persevered on even after the introduction of agriculture. The egalitarian societies were stratified and turned into functionally specialized units by the formation of states and urbanization (Chant et al, 1999). This process took place independently in numerous regions of the world, probably starting from the Southwest Asian region, which was very fertile. The formative era referred to the period between the years 7000 to 5000 BC, which was characterised by urbanization and state development, which complemented each other. Upon the stratification of the egalitarian society, there emerged craftspeople, farmers, soldiers, administrators, merchants and priests, with the cities becoming the civilization focus (Chant, 1999). In the development of Greece cities, the natural environment as well as the existing technologies played a key role. These cities were built in around the eighth century by the Greeks. Distinguishing how the shape of the buildings in the cities was influenced by the natural environment or the available technologies is not easy. This is because there exists a very dynamic relationship between the natural environment and technology, with each shaping or being shaped by the other. Military technologies and needs were very important determinants in the layout and growth of Greek cities. Some of the initial cities in Greece grew as a result of pressure since the people needed to defend themselves form their enemies. As a result they were generally located on rocky positions, which were regarded as defensible. They were also positioned some distance from the harbour, with heavy fortification (Chant et al, 2000). Wall-building proved to be the most expensive and laborious task and involved very impressive engineering accomplishments in the architecture of Greece. Stone was in abundance and was used the building material, with its properties determining the style of construction. For instance, lintels and posts were frequently used in the construction of public monuments. Stone, which was the building material of choice, needed lifting technologies that utilized people as opposed to hoists (Chant et al, 1999). Cranes were not in use until much later, in 515 BC and beyond. They came into use as a result of labour shortage and not because of their capability of lifting larger blocks of stone. The unplanned growth of the earliest settlements was substituted by a bit more formal buildings, mainly after Persian attacks in the fifth century. With the advancement of technology in the military, it became necessary to adopt a defensive layout for the city streets. In the process of the reconstruction of these cities, there was development of numerous town planning theories, most of which were put into practice, with the grid plan becoming very common. Aristotle advocated for a city design of a defensive nature, which uses both the irregular and regular features. This, he argued, was aimed at reconciling the strain of moving both the equipment and troops easily, and to confuse any attackers (Chant, 2000). Natural Environment The location of earlier settlements was mainly determined by the natural

Dramatic Tension in this final act Essay Example for Free

Dramatic Tension in this final act Essay Perplexed still, we get the impression that John Proctor wants his life but cannot stand having a guilty conscience. Elizabeth perhaps adds to his puzzlement, I want you living John. Thats sure. This is the first real emotion we have seen between them in the play. Elizabeths words finally persuades John to save himself, and as he confess Rebecca Nurse is brought in. Her presence makes John ashamed and guilty, especially when asked Did you ever see Rebecca Nurse with the devil? He is under immense pressure and when at last he is asked for his signed testimony we realise another factor as to why he took the ultimate sacrifice. Because it is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I live and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul, leave me my name! The presence of Rebecca Nurse, a saint in his eyes, the importance of his name are all important factors as to why John Proctor gives up his life, but he also realises he will die a good man. It is the one good thing he can do for Elizabeth after all the pain he has caused her. There is a dignity in what he is doing for himself, Elizabeth and his own community. He is an important figure in his society and by standing up to the corruption and being brave enough he is truly doing the right thing but not just for himself. The last act shows John proctors emotions and his own physical bodily actions in agony, but when he tears up his false testimony his can stand up straight for the first time. His death will also bring redemption from his own guilt. He has made a statement as to how un-just and corrupt their justice system was, and by leaving behind a world of prosecution and pragmatism he has become a man of principle. In act four, John Proctor decides to give up his own life rather than confess to being with the devil falsely. We encounter Proctor as a different character, a martyr, almost Christ like. Procter wavers, and at one stage he wants his life, I will have my life, but at the last minute he tears up his confession to save his integrity. Arthur Miller builds up the tension in the last act by using the interaction of characters, language and stage directions. Arthur Miller reveals a characters innermost thoughts and feelings. In comparison to Act two, when Elizabeth and John Proctors conversation had been confrontational and short plagued by the crime John had committed, in the last act when they meet for the final time, they act truly in love and this is portrayed by the stage directions given to the actors. John is described to be weak of body, but seems to be stronger here than at any other time in the play.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Strategic Essentialism In Reducing Gender Inequalities Sociology Essay

Strategic Essentialism In Reducing Gender Inequalities Sociology Essay A position of strategic essentialism is important in ensuring that gender inequalities are reduced. Discuss with reference to the evolution of feminist theory and action in the Global South. A central issue in feminist debates over essentialism is whether there are any shared characteristics common to all women that unify them as a social group other than their biological and physiological predispositions. Many feminist theorists of the 1980s and 1990s (Scott, 1988; Fraser, 1989; Spelman, 1990) rejected essentialism on the grounds that human phenomena cannot be reduced to essentialist monolithic categories, and that universal claims about women presuppose an essential womanness (Spelman, 1990) that all women share, despite the racial, class, religious, ethnic and cultural differences among them, emphasizing instead questions of difference and identity. Essentialism was presumed to be a negative aspect of feminism: One use of a theory of discourse for feminist politics, then, is in understanding social identities in their full socio-cultural complexity, thus in demystifying static, single variable, essentialist views of gender identity. (Fraser, 1991, p. 99). To maintain that femininity predisposes women to certain (nurturing) jobs or (collaborative) styles of work is to naturalize complex economic and social processes and, once again, to obscure the differences that have characterized womens occupational histories. An insistence on differences undercuts the tendency to absolutist and essentialist categories. (Scott, 1988, p. 47). At the same time, an anti-anti-essentialist argument was raised (Stone, 2004), arguing that anti-essentialist claims denied women the motivation to work together as a collectivity. Within this current, strategic essentialism has been an influential strand. While it recognizes that essentialism is descriptively false as it denies the real diversity of womens lives and social situations, it defends essentialist claims in the sense that they are politically useful (multilateral organizations such as the United Nations tend to treat women as if they comprise a unitary group) and socially influential. This argument is especially relevant regarding (womens) social movements, which many believe require a deep notion of shared position and identity. Oppressed groups can deploy essentialism strategically as it enables them to organize common forms of identity and sustain a sense of solidarity. Throughout this essay I will use case studies from the Global South to argue that the emphasis on co mmonalities is especially useful when tackling gender inequalities, but that the possible solutions must adapt to local conditions (taking into account a countrys history and culture), and that the ideological neoliberalism has played an important role in fragmenting the representation of women as a homogenous unit of analysis. Mohanty (1998) argues that western feminist scholarship has produced an image of third world women as a homogeneous and powerless group, often represented as victims of particular socio-economic systems (women as victims of war crimes, women as refugeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦), on the basis of a shared oppression. The focus should instead be on the common differences (the common experience of social exclusion, for instance) as the basis for solidarity and collective mobilization, which are achieved through an active engagement with diversity. Issues like poverty and (gender) inequality require collective bargaining despite the involvement of actors polarized along caste, class, gender, linguistic and ethnic lines (Emmerij et al, 2009), as is the case in the case study that follows. The Sangtin (literally meaning friendship in Awadhi, a language spoken in parts of Uttar Pradesh) writers, a group of seven female village-level NGO activists from the hierarchical state of Uttar Pradesh, in India , put forward a collective critique against institutional patriarchies, thus enacting a politics of solidarity among themselves, despite the differences within womens collectives the activists come from diverse caste and religious backgrounds. Their critiques are directed at Nari Samato Yohana (NSY), a donor-funded NGO and a World Bank Initiative that works to empower poor rural women. The writers highlight the paradoxes of NGO politics as these organizations can be both empowering in theory (through the encouragement of grassroots activism) and elitist in practice (in the form of donor-driven priorities and evaluations). They analyze processes of hierarchical character of donor-driven womens empowerment organizations that often disregard rural womens knowledge and expertise. Womens NGOs in Uttar Pradesh are being increasingly pressured by funding agencies, which attach no value to grassroots work until that work is measured by the standards of the funders. Furthermore, these NGOs that are aiming to empower poor women in rural communities are staffed and dominated by Hindu and upper-caste grassroots workers, while rural-based, less formally educated workers find themselves at the margins of institutional spaces, with little say on the running of the organization (Nagar Sangtin Writers, 2006). More generally, the activists challenge the popular perception that NGOs are potential agents for diffusing development and enabling empowerment, because hierarchical processes within NGOs can impede their stated goals of empowerment, class differences reinforced through the hierarchical structures of NGOs (male- and upper-caste-dominated). Thus, the Sangtin writers are not mere victims of the hierarchical processes as Mohanty would argue they are represented by some western feminist texts as they resist and challenge. The role of global initiatives and institutions in addressing gender inequalities is significant. Although the UN Decade for Women and the four global womens conferences held in Mexico, Copenhagen, Nairobi and Beijing between 1975 and 1995 did not find as much common ground between women worldwide as anticipated, the conferences elevated gender equality to the center of the global development agenda and internationalized the issue of womens equality (unless development is engendered, it is endangered). The consensus was that women should lead development rather than the earlier view, in which women were seen as being affected positively or negatively by economic development policies, and were integrated into the development process as victims. Both views, however, assume that all third world women have similar problems and needs. Despite this shift in the development discourse that has moved women from the periphery to the center and acclaimed them as the holders of solutions to glob al problems, the poverty of the worlds women has increased and intensified. Global economic and political processes (i.e. globalization) have exacerbated economic, racial and gender inequalities. Jain (2005) points to a restlessness within the womens movements that has led to a partial failure of the movement to reach the next stage of development. Differences of location, race, class, sexuality, and religion have at times been emphasized at the expense of the commonalities that can build strength to move forward. It is important to emphasize, however, that the existence of gender inequalities have radically different, historically specific explanations as the next case studies will show. Thus, superficially similar situations cannot be treated as identical. Furthermore, as Lourdes Arizpe argues, the construction of gender in every society is a cultural phenomenon. The way in which these differences are constructed will depend on the culture of every society, and it is through the use of cultural analysis that gender inequalities can be understood (Arizpe, cited in Jain, 2005). The case studies (based on Chant McIlwaine, 1998) involves analyzing the challenges women face in two very different countries Malaysia and Zimbabwe and to specifically see how gender inequalities need to be tackled and addressed in each case. On one hand, Malaysia has experienced high levels of economic growth in the last few decades, mainly due to export-oriented industrialization. It is an ethnically heterogeneous and pluralistic society. Social indicators reflect relatively high levels of human development, but when these are differentiated by gender it appears that men have made greater gains than women in most areas. The adult literacy rate among women is 75.4% compared with 87.8% among men. In terms of political participation, in 1994 women represented only 10% of seats at local and parliamentary levels and 7% of ministerial posts. Employment opportunities have increased and diversified in the context of rapid industrialization, but the ethnic Malay have been granted preferential access to opportunities. On the other hand, Zimbabwe is an ethnically homogenous country, in a transition from a white-dominated British colony to a democratic black republic. Although the government has focused on post-colonial restructuri ng and nation-building, gender issues have not been entirely sidelined. Women were of significant importance in the liberation war for Zimbabwe, by proving food, shelter, clothing and paramedical and intelligence services. Their active participation led to the new independence government to take active steps towards gender equality by setting up, in 1981, a Ministry for Community Development and Womens Affairs (MCDWA). Zimbabwe is still a predominantly rural country, with only 30% of its population residing in urban areas in 1992, and remains a patriarchal society. In the case of Malaysia, womens issues are then seen through the lens of political representation, and addressing gender inequalities should be put in the context of ethnic inequalities. A specific solution would be to introduce quota systems to increase the number of women in political office and to enable women to fully participate in and influence decision-making. In the case of Zimbabwe, land access for women is a maj or problem given the patriarchal nature of society where most of the land parcels are owned by men. As such, land redistribution should be incorporated into the debate on how to reduce gender inequalities. A countrys history, culture and ethnic diversity, among others, should be taken into account when addressing gender inequalities, because while women might share a common experience of oppression -whether in Malaysia or Zimbabwe the specific policy measures needed will vary significantly. Women in the Third World have had to bear the brunt of globalization this is not an essentialist claim, but a generalization based on statistical evidence. Poor women are hardest hit by the degradation environmental conditions, wars, famines, privatization of services and the dismantling of welfare states (Mohanty, 2003). The structural adjustment programs many poor countries have had to adapt in order to receive loans from the international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have disproportionately squeezed women out of public sector employment, for example. Amy Linds (2002, 2003) research on Ecuador, however, challenges monolithic and globalized representations of women as victims of the globalization process, which have been made more difficult by a shift to neoliberalism and local women organizations most of which of a working-class and rural in nature becoming the new targets of development policy. Since the early 1980s successiv e Ecuadorian governments have received loans and implemented IMF/World Bank inspired structural adjustment programs (SAPs), which have had gendered impacts in the economy. These neoliberal policies affect women differently, the impact of which depends largely upon womens class, race, ethnicity and geographical location. As stated above, women in general have tended to lose out in this process, but this is particularly true for poor, rural indigenous women. Some women (especially women working within the state) have gained as a result of privatization policies and decentralization. Neoliberalism has had two opposing effects. On the one hand, it has provided the framework under which diverse political movements and actors have converged to challenge and reflect dissatisfaction with the neoliberal economic model and the lack of democratic progress under Abdalà ¡ Bucaram Ortizs presidency. A visible womens movement emerged as women activist in political parties, NGOs, rural and community based organizations, in political parties and in human rights organizations became increasingly frustrated with their marginalized roles under the new politico-economic system. They all invoked a form of strategic essentialism in an attempt to challenge the state and remake the nation in order to give women a greater voice in state policy affairs, and participated in the national strike leading up to President Ortizs removal from office. At the same time that women (as a unitary group) were rising to challenge President Ortizs policies, neoliberalism has exacerbated the differenc es between the women movements and fractured them. In the neoliberal context, economic and social disparities between women working with the state (state feminists) and poor, rural indigenous women who are the targets of state policies have become more apparent. This may contribute to a further fragmentation of a unified feminist movement, Lind (2003) argues, which is now characterized more by separate struggles than by any unified notion of a social movement, in the process of becoming a remnant of the past. Since neoliberalism positions women as clients for the states resources they are positioned in competition with each other for such resources. In short, while there is overlap between all the feminist strands, there is growing disagreement between feminist policy makers and activists regarding where women fit in the development arena, and whether there speak with a single, or multiple, fragmented voices. In conclusion, essentialist and anti-essentialist positions are located at the extreme ends of a spectrum. Addressing inequalities from these extremes does not represent a viable position. In order to move away from the essentialist/anti-essentialist dichotomies it is important to understand women not as completely different from each other, and at the same avoiding to assimilate them into a single dominant identity. Therefore, we need to look to the middle ground between essentialism and gender skepticism to find ways of talking about women that neither do violence to our diversity, nor represent us as inconsolably different (Heyes, 2000). Furthermore, women should neither be portrayed as victims to be rescued or heroines that hold the key to lift their countries and communities out of poverty. These extreme stances do not help in understanding the solutions that are needed to address women discrimination and inequalities. It seems that the best way forwards is for the struggle for gender equality to be channeled at various levels and through a variety of initiatives from the involvement of local womens groups, to NGOs at local, regional and international levels, governments and multilateral institutions and by not homogenizing their experiences. There will always be a framework of collective solidarity through which women can address the issue of gender inequality. Word count: 2302

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Importance of Nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Essays Papers

The Importance of Nature in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn In his novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses nature not only as ally, but as a deterrent in Huck Finn's search for independence and Jim's search for freedom. The most prominent force of nature in the novel was the Mississippi River. The river was not only their escape route, but perhaps it became their biggest enemy because it was always unpredictable. Nature is the strongest factor in the novel because in a completely different geographical setting the story would have had not only a different outcome, but Huck and Jim might never have found friendship and freedom. Twain changes his tone when describing the Mississippi River from wry and sarcastic to flowing and daydreaming. This change in tone illustrates his own appreciation for the beauty and significance that nature holds for him. Twain uses personification to show the beauty of nature in contrast to the immaturity and obnoxious mentality of society. Huck would sometimes wake up to "see a steamboat coughing along upstream" that "now and then would belch a whole world of sparks up out of her chimbleys" which acts like a child without manners. (Twain, 81) In almost every chapter Twain uses colorful descriptions of nature to help the reader to imagine the setting of the scene. Twain would not have used so many examples and vivid descriptions of nature if he didn't want nature to be a huge part of the novel. In the novel, Huck's main goal is to get away from a terrible, abusive drunk of a father. Without the access of the Mississippi, Huck might not have ever escaped his father, and his father could have easily killed Huck. For Jim, who's goal was not only freedom, but to see his family again, the river was a free way to reach the free states. With Huck's fortune he could have bought a train ticket or paid another way to get to Cairo, but it was important for him to make his journey with Jim. In that time a black runaway slave could not have ridden on a train or even walked on land in the light of day without being caught in a matter of minutes.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Critical Evaluation ? Lamb to the Slaughter Essay -- essays research p

A tale of the unexpected is Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. The story has a twist in the tale ending in which a loving wife gruesomely murders her husband. Mr Patrick Maloney, a senior in the police force seemed a happy married man to his pregnant wife, Mrs. Mary Maloney. Mr Maloney comes home one night, shocking his wife with the news he is leaving her. Mrs. Maloney is in great shock, to a state that she kills her husband, with a frozen leg of lamb. In the end she gets away with it, unwittingly the police then destroy the evidence by eating the cooked lamb. Mrs. Maloney is your normal housewife, she sits at home in suspense waiting for her prized husband to return home from work. Her relationship with her husband Patrick is almost as a sunbather feels the sun. This is shown in the opening part of the story when Patrick returns home from work. Mary has his usual drink set out for him and when he comes in she is just content to sit in silence, his presence gives her a glow. Throughout the opening part of the story Mary will do anything that Patrick says, showing that she has a great love for him and would never want to disappoint him. At six months pregnant she is the one that should be resting but instead she is jumping around just to try and please her husband. At the start of the novel, Mary seems very innocent, but her whole personality changes when she kills Patrick. At the start she seems happy, loving, caring, friendly and very dependent on Patrick. After Patric...

Educators and their Perception on Children Essay

Studies reveal that there has been an increasing degree of childhood challenging behavior. On a survey made by Joseph et al (2003) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004) revealed that 73% of educators perceived that children with challenging behaviors has been increasing. More importantly, educators have also been affected by such an increase of challenging behaviors as 70% of them claimed that children with such make them feel stressed, while 60% said that it has a negative effect on their job satisfaction. Since challenging behavior has been increasing at present, such also has a negative effect on teacher turnovers. In relation with it, it has also been viewed that such a character of children has a significant relationship to the educator’s burn out and amount of complaints that they receive from the parents. In consequence, the school’s upper administration, tend to squeeze their budgets for a more costly approach and on the other hand, educators are being questioned of their efficiency. During the 1960’s educators believed that the source of difficulties in their class primarily emerges from children with problem behaviors. As such, they tend to see them as â€Å"bad apples† that could be removed in order to maintain a more favorable environment (Long et al, 1965) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004). In fact studies of Joseph et al on 2003 revealed that 40% of educators reveal that they have removed students from their class for the past 12 months. Another problem that the educators experience is that they take the approach to children with challenging behavior as evident on their expression of â€Å"frustration, anger, inadequacy, fear, guilt and stress† (Strain and Joseph, 2004). In addition with this, respondents also reveal that they felt â€Å"overwhelmed, undervalued and disrespected† (Strain and Joseph, 2004). These feelings are clear indications that there are problems that the teacher needs to address. The educator needs to cope with these kinds of feelings in order to provide more self-control and rational thinking to be able to effectively address their students’ challenging behavior. Odom et al (1990) as cited from Strain and Joseph (2004) also found out that a teacher’s openness to adopt a new approach towards teaching children could also affect the rate in which children could go through with the problems that he or she is experiencing. It has also been perceived that the amount of work that the teachers have to handle could also impact how the way the handle children with challenging behavior. For teachers who have a lot of priorities and paperwork, to ask them to â€Å"do one more thing† further adds to their frustration. Teachers also argue that they don’t have enough training in order to deal with this type of children. These situations in addition to their relatively low wages are also determining factors of their negative attitude towards children with challenging behavior.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Investment and Debt Capacity

Stock Repurchase Repurchase of stock can be viewed in each of the following way: investment, financing, shareholder distribution and control issue. Repurchase of stock can be a way to use firm’s excess debt capacity. By doing so, firm can lower the cost of equity financing. If debt financing is more flexible and cheap, replace equity financing with debt financing is a good way to lower the weighted cost of capital. In this sense, such action is a financing issue because it controls the cost of financing. On the other hand, repurchase of stock can adjust shareholder distribution.If shareholders consist of most individual investors, they may require more dividends or other forms of profit sharing. Firm can repurchase stocks from such investors so that they can adjust their dividend policy. If management holds few shares of the company, they may lose their control over operating and strategy decisions. By repurchasing stocks, management could regain majority control over the comp any on strategic decisions. Finally, repurchase of stock is also an investment issue because it enables the firm to increase its return on equity by eliminating dilution effect.Higher return on equity will attract more favorable investors as well as better vendors. It has the same outcome of investing in businesses, so it can be viewed as an investment. Debt Capacity for Stock Repurchase From Exhibit 5, we get the total debt of Marriott at the end of 1979. We define total debt as sum of short-term loan, current portion of long-term debt, senior debt and capital leases. The average market price of Marriott in 1979 was $14. 9, and interest rate for Baa corporate debt was 12%. We assume that Marriott would repurchase stocks at price of $15 using 12% debt financing.Marriott used Adjusted EBIT over net interest as a measure for debt capacity, so we use such measure as well. The table above shows the main assumptions we make in the analysis. Before the stock repurchase, EBIT adjusted/Net interest rate was 6. 64, above the 5 times threshold Marriott set for itself. Because the net interest before repurchase was $27. 8 million, we conclude that adjusted EBIT was $184. 59 million. In 1979, additional debt from repurchase was $159 million, making the total debt $538. 83 million. Net interest after repurchase is the original net interest plus the 12% interest from new debt.Based on such analysis, the new adjusted EBIT/Net interest ratio is 3. 94, which is lower than 5. So we conclude Marriott may not have enough debt capacity to finance the stock repurchase. We further perform a scenario analysis. Suppose Marriott had just enough debt capacity, which means new adjusted EBIT/Net interest ratio equals 5. We find that repurchase price should be $7. 17 so that Marriott could utilize its debt capacity fully. We conclude that a repurchase price under $7. 17 is in fact transferring value to remaining group because they can share more future profits resulting from the concentrat ed equity.Yet a repurchase of $15 is way above $7. 17, which means selling shareholders have more value because they are compensated with higher return. Owned vs Managed Marriot has two options about the operation of hotel chains. First, it can own the hotel and enjoy the profit margin. Second, it can sell the hotel but retain management contracts so it controls the operation of such units. Following is the detailed decomposition of costs associated with two options. According to Exhibit 9, in 1978 the typical cost for a hotel room consists of improvement cost, furniture, fixtures and equipment cost, land cost, pre-opening cost and operating cost.For an owned hotel, Marriot had to pay the total cost for running the property, but if it is managed, Marriot only had operating cost because the buyer was responsible for the maintenance. In an attempt to emphasize more on return on invested capital rather than margins, Marriot sold some of their existing hotels and retained management con tract to free up capital. Managed hotels had operating margin of 8%-10%, while owned had 15%. We assume 10% margin for managed hotels and 15% for owned hotels.To decide when to sell the property, we analyze the remaining present value of future cash flow of a hotel at different point of time in its life cycle. We further assume that when the hotel is sold, the selling price is set so that present value of future cash flow equals the 10% margin. We assume $50 revenue per room night of a typical 150-room hotel, and one year has 360 days. Sales level for each year in the life cycle connects to the occupancy rate. From the graph of Exhibit 9, we get different occupancy rate for the whole life cycle. It reaches the peak 100% at year 8, and after year 10, it declines almost linearly to 10% in year 30.We can see that if Marriot sells the hotel before opening, the selling price would be $1. 63 million at time 0. After the peak, let’s say, year 9, the selling price would be $ 1. 55 mi llion at time 9. We can also see that in fact the max value of PV is at year 4, which has $2. 85 million in PV at 15% margin. Marriot would free up more capital if it sells the hotel before opening, but instead it would lose more operating profit. If Marriot is in short of capital, it could sell the hotel up-front so that the freed up capital can be invested in other profitable projects.Selling after the peak is a good choice if Marriot wants to enjoy the increasing operating profit before the peak. Shareholder value can be added if the return on freed-up capital exceeds the profit loss from selling the property. Recommendation Based on our analysis, we would recommend the company to investing in their core business to fully use their debt capacity. Since Marriott’s debt capacity is only able to repurchase 10. 6 million shares at a price significantly lower its current trading price (according to Exhibit 12). It is unlikely the repurchase strategy would take place as expected .The negative impact of false interpretation that the Marriott has reached its growth limit may not be offset even if the repurchase take place. To decide whether to invest in core business or diversify by acquisition we take a look of the hotel’s current state. The company now is operating in four main sectors, hotel group, contract food service, restaurant group theme parks and cruise ships& other. Based on exhibit 3, all of MC’s sectors are doing well in the past few periods; Hotel group is still the main profit sector account for 51% of the total operating profit and 16. % of the gross margin. Theme park and restaurant sectors have contributed a lot to total revenue but at the same time involve more risk. The asset associated with that new business couldn’t be mortgaged easily. Marriott’s theme park alone was estimated to cost 80 million but double of the estimation eventually, the investment made MC to lower its debt credit level. If we use the extra debt capacity on acquisition of new business, there could be a higher risk of availability and cost of long-term debt financing, which may cause MC to lower its debt credit even lower and increase its defalt risk.As a company mostly processioned in hotel management, invest in new businesses that required new management style also increases MC’s operating risk. Marriott’s hotel business has positioned itself to operate for customers whose travel plans were less subject to change than those of vacationers. Its historical operation has showed steady healthy growth even in recessions. Most of the sector’s assets are real estates and tends to appreciate over time rather than depreciate, it is easy to issue debt secured by hotel assets. Prevailing trends also indicate sighs of need of rapid room expansion.As MC’s major competitors Hilton and Holiday Inn are shifting their core business to a more diversified market, keep focus on core hotel business enable MC t o maintain its own competitive advantage in operation. Overall we would suggest MC to use its excess debt capacity to invest in existing hotel with some clientele base but lower entry cost where the Marriott‘s acquisition can significantly improve the operation. To invest in such assets, there is low research and construction cost but easy to manage with sustainable growth. We believe that the best investment for corporation would be investing in the existing business.The hotel business was the most promising area for Marriott’s Corporation. When MC’s competitors expand their business into gambling and casino ventures, MC was more likely to expand in the traditional market. To invest in the hotel business, a large amount of external financing is needed. A large amount of Marriott hotels were managed rather than owned by the MC. Despite the MC could limited capital investment by holding the equity up to 50% so that they could increase the opportunity to be awarded the management contract, they might still need to cost a lot in investing more hotels. MC could also choose to expand their existing hotels.Those hotels have higher occupancy rate and higher local demand. Doing this expansion will need full capital investment in property. With high growth rate of hotel rooms, this investment seems valuable. However, this way of investment still needs large amount of external financing to support the expanding. Even though MC’s new hotels are profitable in the end, the cost of developing hotels is still required a big financing. In addition, due to the increasing inflation rate, the cost of equity and the cost of debt increased. Therefore, as inflation rate becomes higher, the unused debt capacity becomes less in the future.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Luxury Food Service Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Luxury Food Service Industry - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that marketing concentrates on the most fundamental necessities of companies to identify customers, their needs, and preferences, and to analyse their attitudes to promotion and other factors that influence their purchasing decisions; it also focuses on what influence them to buy products and services from the firm rather than a competitor. The selected three different venues from the high-end foodservice industry based in London are Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Radisson Edwardian Hotel, and the Langham London. This assignment tends to analyze the marketing strategy for these three choices. Jumeirah Carlton Tower: The luxury, five-star Jumeirah Carlton Tower Hotel is located in the heart of Knightsbridge. The demographical advantage which makes the Jumeirah one of the most preferred hotels is its location within the walking distance of Harrods and Harvey Nichols department stores and the exclusive designer boutique of Sloane Street. Moreover, th e highlighting points that make Jumeirah Carlton Tower one among the most chosen is that it has been voted Europe’s leading Business Hotel 2011 at the World Travel Awards; top three best hotels for service in the UK in the Conde Nast Traveller Gold List 2011 and 4th place for Best UK Business Hotel in the 2010 Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Travel Awards. Radisson Edwardian Hotel Radisson Edwardian Hotel is located in the very heart of London’s theatreland, a five-star hotel of a Leicester Square landmark. The hotel is with the accent on contemporary elegance that has the potential to drag the customers into it. The luxury fabrics and muted shades of the individually designed rooms are much liked for its calming and comfortable experience. Moreover, the hotel’s warmth and hospitability belie the red-carpet glamour of its location. In the same way, the Hampshire Bar and Restaurant buzzes suit well for al fresco dining on the square. Today, the hotel has bec ome a part of the Green Tourism business scheme and has received the Silver Award, which proves that it is working well with the high standards set by Green Tourism. The Langham London is a renowned luxury hotel situated in London with more than 140 years of history. Guests can discover its 380 luxurious guestrooms and suites, 15 function rooms and the dazzling Palm Court, a place known for the tradition of afternoon tea. The hotel remains high having enchanted royalty, dignitaries, and celebrities since 1865 when the first grand hotel was opened in Europe by the firm. The Langham Hotel London continues to impress the potential travelers with its legendary ‘service with poise’. The well-celebrated history and renowned reputation of the obviously fine company make it different from other everyday London hotels. Moreover, it offers impeccably luxurious surroundings on Regent Street, one of the city’s premier locations. The service marketing mix, also known as an ex tended marketing mix is an essential element of a service framework design, which comprises of 7 P’s as compared to the 4 Ps of a product marketing mix. In another word, the service marketing mix presumes the service as a product itself but adding 3 more P’s which are required for optimum service delivery. The product in service marketing mix is intangible in nature, which cannot be measured like the physical products such as soap or toothpaste. Tourism industry or the luxury food industry can be an excellent example.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Contemporary Issues for Business and Society Assignment - 1

Contemporary Issues for Business and Society - Assignment Example In the current era organisations are making charities, voluntary actions, they are also using energy in a sustainable manner (International, 2006). Global organisations are promoting healthy work atmosphere, compensation and reimbursement policy as per the social and environmental factors. Globalised operational structures are demanding flexible strategic development. Global organisations are making social audit to produce the report to meet the demands of the stakeholders. In the current study, ‘Responsible Management audit’ of Nike is done in terms of meeting the above mentioned challenges. Various UN Global Compact Principles are contrasted on behalf of the Nike and annual ‘Communication on Progress’ report is stated to evaluate the topic (About.nike.com, 2015). UN Global Compact can be defined as a set of strategic guidelines scheme that are aligned to the operations and strategies of global firms. Guidelines are developed as per various factors like the human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. These factors are helping organisations to develop sound CSR strategies and maintain the benefits of their stakeholders. These guidelines are developed as per affects of the globalisation (AhÃŒ £mad and Crowther, 2013). Firms are able to maintain increased benefits for their market segment, and business associates. UN Global Compact scheme will increase the use of emerging technologies and feasible investment option in the global market. Henceforth, firms can increase their contribution on the national and international economies and societies. Global organisations like Nike, is facing intense challenge from the diversified social, political and economic factors of the market. Such challenges are restricting profitability and growth in international market (Berliner and Prakash, 2012). In the international footwear and sportswear industry Nike is holding the leading position. The American based multinational manufactures and designs athletic

Monday, October 7, 2019

Language Learning, Bilingualism and Assimilation Research Paper

Language Learning, Bilingualism and Assimilation - Research Paper Example One of the major factors that has seen the growth of multilingualism, is the ease of access to information as made possible by the establishment and growing use of the Internet. Indeed people are today getting more exposed to a variety of languages which has in essenc also triggered the need to learn new languages. Some quarters have argued that the learning of second languages has is associated with assimilation. This paper will argue that the learning of a second language is not necessarily part of assimilation. In spite of the potential differences in meaning of the terms bilingual and multilingual and their derivatives, this paper will use the two interchangeably. Every human society or culture communicates to a large extent through spoken word. What this means that language has played and continues to play a major role in communication. One may wonder how much backward the world would be without language. Arguably, the world would have developed faster if all humans used the sam e language to communicate. Although this is not the case, it is evident that humans are trying to overcome communication barriers by learning new languages and cultures. Bilingualism has beome a ommon phenomenon with many countries introducing foreign languages in school curricular. The spoken or written word is today more appreciated that ever before especilly considering the effects of successful and unsuccessful negotiations. Indeed, the power of language and word is beyond desription. Multilingualism The definition of the term multilingual is subject to much debate. While some scholars argue that a multilingual person is one who can passively or actively ommunicate in a language different from their first language. Others however argue that a multilingual person must acquire a first language during childhood through formal education (Kaplan 12). There are cases where a person learns two languages simulteneously which essentially makes one a simulteneous bilingual. Yet again, oth er sholars argue that a multilingual speaker is one who can accurately communicate in a second language almost as much as they an speak in their native language or mother tongue. People learn different languages in different ways according to Wolff (11). While some may acquire a new language during childhood by interacting with people who speak the second language, others learn by attending formal education (The Linguistic Society of America 2). A child may learn to speak two languages if both their parents speak different languages or if their signifiant others consistently communicate with them in the second language. In the United States of America, for example, most bilingual people are either immigrants or hildren of immigrants as noted by Richard and Victor (67). It is common to find an American child speaking English while in school and their mother tongue when at home. This also applies to other countries. While people can also learn a new language in old age, it is a fact t hat it becomes more difficult to acquire the new language as much as a native speaker as age progresses. The learning of a new language depends to some extent on the similarity between the two languages. Languages that are cloely related or that have similar syntax are easier to learn compared to their counterparts. Yet again, second language learning depends to a great extent on the urrent knowledge and previous experience of the learner in relation to the new language. Advantages and Disadvantages of Multilingualism Although many people

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Whether the rise of China is a threat to Asian stability Essay

Whether the rise of China is a threat to Asian stability - Essay Example command of indicators that not only include measurable wealth (GDP) and military spending, but a host of factors that basically defines a state’s reflective position beyond its borders. That the Asia-Pacific is undergoing tectonic shifts in terms of the elements of hard power in now a forgone conclusion; China overtook Japan in 2010 to become Asia’s largest economy, only second to the United States globally in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), and in the process, taking advantage of the latters’ woes in the wake of a deadly financial crisis to extend its influence in the neighboring nations’ growth momentum. The increasing influence of China in this region, not to mention its strategic positioning as a major international actor, coupled with its gradual move towards greater power status, a puzzle widely theorized as the â€Å"China Threat† with uncertain predictions, none of which has ever materialized, forms the basis of response herein. All nations pursue their interests of security and prosperity within a context of political diplomacy that ropes in economic, and, if need be, military forces as directed by a history that underpins national ethos and the existing relationships with states in question (Lemke, Douglas, and Suzanne Warner 237). In the mix between the national ethos and political history are the personalities of leaders in power and their respective abilities to further the two elements to certain commensurate heights. As the adage goes, nations only have permanent interests. Accordingly, friendly nations may turn hostile to a neighbor with weird interests, bringing together former enemies to secure a common interest; a grim picture captured in literary analysis in the context of an increasingly influential China in the Asian power politics during the past quarter century (Kaplan 3). Indeed as expected, the collapse of the Soviet Empire, marking the end of the cold war, heralded an era of fractured glo bal power structure, hitherto

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Discuss the Role that New Media Tecnologies Play in the Promotion, Essay

Discuss the Role that New Media Tecnologies Play in the Promotion, Exhibition and Display of Contemporary Fashion - Essay Example Then a discussion of the way in which the new forms of media are being used will be made in order to see how advantages of the new technologies are being exploited for the benefit of consumer marketing. This essay will explore the nature of communications as it is experienced between the consumer and the retailer through the event of the window display. The concept of ‘new media’ must be observed as a social term that defines time more than it defines a tangible concept. The new media emerged as communications began to grow in such a way as to change the nature of communication. New media involves digital media, cellular communications, internet interactions, and all of the technologies that are emerging from these forms (Lister 2003, p. 9). However, the concept is more than just the technologies. It is the evolutionary break between the world before the internet and the world that has emerged since its proliferation. The way in which humans now communicate has had an el ementary shift. Communication is accomplished through writing, verbalizing or through interpretation of imagery. Communication is codified with signals that indicate context for the content. The impersonal nature of internet communication has been compensated for by the development of social languages that are in many ways kinder and friendlier than in previous forms of more formal communication. Therefore, the nature of how emotion is indicated in written language has become symbolized through pictorials, shortened references such as lol, meaning laugh out loud, and the use of capital letters or small letters. Furthermore, because of the heavy use of advertising, the way in which movement of digital imagery and impact of colour usage has been defined has changed elements of the way in which... This paper approves that the artistry of the window display is secondary to its initial purpose. A window display is intended to create a piece of marketing for the store in front of which it sits. However, creating a good display window does take artistic skills. The skills are unique in that they involve defining a three dimensional space that is confined to specified measurements. This essay makes a conclusion that the communication of the window in a shop is created through the context in which the images in the window are arranged for the viewing consumer. The connection between the shop and the exterior world is defined by the communication of the window, this conduit providing a discourse about the brand and the wares inside the store. As technologies have changed and evolved into the new media, so has the type of communication that the window has created. The window no longer simply tells a story about what is inside the shop, but it must convince the consumer of the need for the products and provide a symbolic connection to the modern world. While technologies have provided both a conversation about modern culture and methods of expressing modern culture, they have also created a challenge for the window designer. In creating a discourse on fashion, the most effective windows create a commentary on the modern world while promoting lifestyles in that worl d that reflect the aesthetics of the designers of the fashions represented.

Friday, October 4, 2019

Chapter two - Mississippi schools Essay Example for Free

Chapter two Mississippi schools Essay The following literature focuses on how schools in the Mississippi School district and nationwide are implementing school improvement plans and closing the achievement gap. In School Improvement and Closing the Achievement Gap Report 2003-2004 the accountability of Mississippi Schools past and present is discussed (2004) and Craig Jerald, author of Dispelling the Myth discusses how nationwide high poverty, high minority schools have high achieving students (2001). Both reports will be discussed here. The researcher wanted to know how many high-poverty and high minority schools nationwide have high student performance. The study used the Education Trust Database to identify certain criteria. Over 4500 schools were analyzed. Each meeting the criteria set and performing well above the expectation (2001). Both papers discuss the achievement gap, more importantly they reported the areas of greatest improvement. The Achievement Gap Report (2004) focused on the Mississippi school districts. It gave an accountability report on those school districts that have been struggling, as well as providing a strategic outline to close the gap. Specific schools were used as models of for improving test scores. Dispelling the Myth (Jerald, 2001) focused on school districts nation wide. Although no reasons for poor school performance were given, the author did state that none of the schools were magnet schools. This report showed that most schools with high poverty, high minority students live in urban areas (2001). However, the more recently published Achievement Gap Report (2004) reported that some of the poorest schools are in rural areas. Dispelling the Myth (2001) looked at specific criteria for the study, whereas, the Achievement Gap Report (2004) did not. Both studies failed to look at specific schools and detail specific strategies used in improving the achievement gap. The Mississippi Achievement Gap Report (2004) plan made suggestions on how schools can improve, but a greater detail is needed to truly understand what each school did to improve scores. Model schools or a model program can be established based on greater research. Socioeconomic Influence Literature regarding reading programs was of most interest for this study. Several scientific journals addressed factors of low socioeconomic status and under achievement. The achievement gap found amongst low-income students was addressed in Education: The State We’re In (Donahue Griggs, 2003). Substantial information was given on the obstacles facing high-poverty youth today. Reading proficiency among elementary school students of low-income families are at a disadvantage (2003). When studying low-income fourth graders, the author found that in 2003, across the nation, only fifteen percent are proficient in reading. The authors also demonstrated that the majority of low-income students read about three grades behind non-poor students (2003). Proficiency differences among races were briefly discussed; Similar disparities exist between white students and students of color; 39% of white 4th graders can read at the proficient level compared to only 12 % of African-American students and 14% of Latinos. Overall, about three in ten fourth graders can read proficiently, and this in itself is cause for concern. (2003) Parental Involvement, Instructional Expenditures, Family Socioeconomic Attributes, and Student Achievement (Okpala, et al, 2001). Parental involvement is a commonly discussed approach to establishing higher student achievement. A study done in North Carolina was based on three factors; (a) Instructional supplies expenditures will affect academic achievement positively; (b) the SES of students in a given school, measured by the percentage of students that participate in free/reduced-price lunch programs, will affect student achievement negatively; and (c) parental involvement that is measured by parental volunteer hours per 100 students will influence student achievement positively. These factors were beneficial in understanding the SES influence on successful reading programs. These factors and the results of this particular study will be investigated further throughout this study. Implementing Change A very brief but informative piece, Evidence from Project Star About Class Size and Student Achievement (Folgers Breda, 1989) addressed three specific questions to ask oneself when considering changing programs. The three questions were; 1) How effective will the change be? 2) How much will it cost and 3) what are the problems of implementation? (1989) All three of these questions were found to be valuable when assessing existing programs, as well as when considering the necessary factors when looking to improve upon them. The Gallup Poll (1989 Survey) was reported to have an overwhelming approval from parents when asked about reducing class size. The problem with this strategy is that â€Å"reducing class size substantially is very costly† (1989). A widely researched program investigated during this study was the Accelerated Reader Program. One report (Melton, et. al. , 2004) demonstrated the uses and results of the AR program. By definition the Accelerated Readers program is â€Å"†¦a learning information system designed to heighten student interest in literature and to help teacher manage literature-based reading (McKnight, 1992). This study was particularly significant because it was conducted in two Jackson, Mississippi elementary schools. There has been extensive coverage of the AR program. A 2004 study compared the reading achievement growth of fifth graders following a year of participation in the AR program with other fifth graders who did not participate. The results demonstrated that students in the AR program actually scored significantly lower than non-participants. Although many studies show little to no benefits from the AR program, the program has provided a few guidelines; such guidelines include, 1) Engage students in large amount of reading practice with authentic material 2) students should read at their own individual reading level, and 3) student incentives such as ribbons or extra recess improves the odds of a students success. By using computer technology, teachers can use the AR program to assess students reading level and invite and motivate students to read material they find interesting (Vollands, et al. , 1999). Students are given a choice of books suited to their particular reading level. Random multiple choice tests are given to test students’ comprehension of the material. In a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (Dept. of Education) evaluation, AR programs and other computerized reading programs were reviewed (Chenowith, 2001). The lack of research on evaluated programs ability to produce long-term gains in reading achievement caused the National Institute to determine the AR programs did not meet standards (2001). Common complaints of the AR program include, 1) when the program ended, participating students went back to reading less than before participating 2) the AR program limited the choice of books available to a student because certain books that were not accompanied by an AR test were not valid (Chenowith, 2001) and 3) AR encourages children to read for the wrong reasons, for example to win a prize (Carter, 1996). However, as Chenowith (2001) noted, many parents responded to the latter, that it did not matter why students read, as long as they were in fact reading. Topping and Paul (1999) found that with the proper educator training on the AR program, the odds of successful student achievement with the program will improve. Students already in at risk in reading before the AR program will gain positive results when AR is implemented (Vollands, Topping and Evans, 1999). â€Å"Many elementary schools have adopted programs which encourage authentic reading time and aid in the development of reading skills for life (Melton, et al. , 2004). However, little research has been conducted on individual, less costly programs (2004). When studying the effects of the AR program on African American students and white students in Mississippi, black students scored lower (2004).