Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Market Failures & Professional Dilemmas Essay

Based on the Edwards article which market failures or imperfections are present in the â€Å"Lobster Thermidor† case? And can you identify any in your professional life? Based on the Halbert & Ingulli reading (â€Å"Making An Ethical Decision†) apply the methods of ethical reasoning to these situations. Two market failures can be observed in the â€Å"Lobster Thermidor† case, a tragedy of public goods and informational deficiencies. First of all, the divers have to dive deeper, to the limit of diving safety, since overfishing has made the lobsters rare and to catch the lobster less than 30 meter down is getting harder and harder. This is the very typical case of public goods, where the public resources such as the lobsters under the sea are usually over-consumed by the individuals who try to maximize one’s interest. Deforestation, which has destroyed the entire farming industry and forced Miskitos out to entirely rely on diving, was another tragedy caused by the overconsumption of the public goods, forest. Secondly, both the divers and the end-consumers make wrong, irrational decisions cause of the lack of information. Divers, who do not recognize the true market price of lobsters as well as the true price of potential risks, bargain away their goods with little danger pay allowances. Also, the consumers, who have no idea about the severe fishing environment in Honduras, are reluctant to pay more than current prices, formed lower than it should be at the cost of human lives. The company where I worked prior to school has always tried its best to remove any little elements of competition in its area. If there were a small but promising start-up with innovative idea and technology, that company used every means –most were legal or grey while a few were nearly illegal- to get rid of the potential threats. For instance, it quickly imitates the new technology of the start-up, take out the similar patent, scout the core human resources, block off the critical suppliers and seed funds, cut the price of competitive goods to the minimum level, and do hostile M&A. This case also showed the issues related to public goods and informational deficiencies. The company attempted to minimize the production/dissemination of new technologies, which can be considered as public goods, and the newborn ventures could not protect themselves cause of the limited access to the information. From the utilitarianism perspective, these are reasonable and desirable attempts because the larger number of stakeholders can be satisfied. My company had more than 20,000 employees while the average start-ups have no more than 100 employees. Considering the families of employees, shareholders, subcontractors, and the related industries, maximizing profit of my company could bring higher utilities than the success of small ventures. Even in long-term, my company’s decision would not be wrong since the possibility of success of start-ups are extremely low compared to the global conglomerates. My company, which has the global network, huge infrastructure, and accumulated knowhow can exploit the new technology better and thereby encourage the social progress. In contrast, from the deontological view, it was absolutely wrong. My company not only hindered the fair competition but also committed illegal acts. Whether the result proved positive or negative is not important for the deontologists. Finally, it was not proper when applying the concept of virtue ethics since the motives of the actions of the company was not correct and contributes nearly nothing to the harmonious relationship with the community it belonged.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Counseling Strategies Paper

Research indicates that the majority of individuals drinks less frequently and consume less alcohol when they do drink following alcoholism counseling, although short-term outcomes (e. g. 3 months) are more favorable than those from studies with at least a year follow-up. Positive outcomes yield benefits for alcoholics and their families, as well as leading to savings to society in terms of decreased costs for medical, social and criminal justice services.Reviews of counseling outcome for alcohol problems have developed from early efforts to summarize findings, to reports which derived outcome statistics, to more recent publications examining efficacy in controlled studies with data on cost effectiveness. Clearly, the literature suggests that a variety of approaches can be effective, some more than others because of the nature of the counseling and treatment and the intensity of the approach.The community reinforcement approach (CRA) attempts to increase clients’ access to pos itive activities and makes involvement in these activities contingent on abstinence. This approach combines many of the components of other behavioral approaches, including monitored disulfiram, behavior contracting, behavioral marital therapy, social skills training, motivational counseling and mood management. Some of the largest counseling effects in the literature have been associated with the community reinforcement approach (Miller et al. , 1995).Compared to more traditional treatment approaches, the CRA has been shown to be more successful in helping inpatient or outpatient alcoholics remain sober and employed. Although community reinforcement is a more intense treatment approach, it is consistent with the basic philosophy of several other effective approaches. The ability to establish rewarding relationships, to focus on changing the social environment so that positive reinforcement is available, and to reduce reinforcement for drinking are emphasized with the community rein forcement and other approaches.The key appears to be helping the client to find and become involved in activities that are more rewarding than drinking. To the degree that stress causes unpleasant physical sensations and associated dysphoric moods, it is a high-risk situation for excessive alcohol use. An important coping skill for clients to learn is how to use the physical and emotional signs of stress as cues to â€Å"stop, look and listen† and to try something to cope besides heavy drinking. Relaxation training is a fundamental coping skill in the repertoire of a person trying to avoid excessive drinking.It can help clients to reduce their anxiety and tension when facing stressful situations and minimize their typical levels of motor and psychological tension. Relaxation training can also assist a person to remain calm and to think clearly in circumstances that require effective problem solving and fast action. Many individuals believe in the tension-reducing properties o f alcohol, whether or not they are true, and, without an alternative means to relax, excessive drinking may be a person's only means of coping with painful sensations and unpleasant emotions.Relaxation training fosters general stress-reduction and can be taught to clients using various techniques that either reduce muscle tension, develop deep breathing skills or focus on the use of pleasant imagery (Monti et al. , 1989). In addition to relaxation training, both meditation and exercise have been shown to have similar stress reducing properties. Contingency management procedures assist clients to re-structure their environment to decrease the rewards associated with alcohol use and increase the costs of excessive drinking.The principles of contingency management are based on operant or instrumental learning approaches to human behavior. Contingency management techniques include providing incentives for compliance with alcohol treatment and positive reinforcement from spouses or frien ds for sobriety. This approach is combined with punishment, in the form of withdrawal of attention and approval contingent on the resumption of excessive drinking, and provisions for social support, recreational activities and vocational counseling.In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the importance of providing treatment for alcoholism that is tailored to patients' level of insight and motivation to work on their substance misuse. Rather than emphasizing direct confrontation of patients who deny problems related to their substance misuse, social pressure to acknowledge the evils of alcohol abuse and immediate endorsement of abstinence as a treatment priority, motivational approaches initially focus on relationship formation and harm reduction.While motivational strategies have gained some ascendance in the treatment of primary substance misuse, their importance has been even more rapidly accepted in work with individuals with comorbid disorders, whose psychiatric disorders are often inextricably tied to their use of alcohol and drugs. A useful overarching heuristic in work with all comorbid disorders is provided by the concept of stage wise counseling.The stages of counseling are based on the observation that people with an alcohol misuse problem who change their behavior over the course of treatment typically progress through a series of stages, and that each stage is characterized by different attitudes, behaviors and goals. By understanding a patient's current stage of counseling, counselor can optimize treatment so that it matches his/her current level of motivation, and avoid driving the person away from treatment by attempting interventions that are mismatched to his/her motivation.Four stages of counseling have been identified: engagement, persuasion, active treatment and relapse prevention (Mueser et al. , 2003). Efforts to change another person's behavior are doomed to failure if a therapeutic alliance has not first been establishe d. Therefore, at the engagement stage the primary goal of counseling is to establish a working alliance (or therapeutic relationship) between the patient and counselor. A working alliance can be operationally defined as regular contact (e. g. weekly) between the patient and counselor (McHugo et al. , 1995).Until this relationship is established, no efforts are directed at changing the substance misuse. A wide range of strategies exist for engaging the patient in treatment, including assertive outreach, resolving a crisis, attending to basic needs (e. g. medical, housing), and legal constraints (e. g. outpatient commitment). At the persuasion stage, the counselor has a working alliance with the patient, but the focus of the relationship is not on addressing the patient's substance misuse. Therefore, at this stage the patient is still actively misusing substances, or has only recently begun to cut down on substance use.The goal of this stage is to convince the patient that his/her sub stance misuse is an important problem, and to marshal motivation to begin working on that problem. Motivational interviewing (Miller & Rollnick, 2002) is one useful strategy for helping patients understand the negative impact of their substance use on their own personal goals. Persuasion groups (Mueser et al. , 2003), in which patients are provided with an opportunity to share their experiences with substance use with a minimum of direct confrontation or social censure, can help patients develop motivation to address their substance misuse.Commitment to work on substance misuse can be operationally defined as an actual reduction in substance misuse (McHugo et al. , 1995), or another change in behavior that is associated with a reduction in risk (e. g. ceasing intravenous administration of a drug). In many cases, the duration of these attempts may at first be inhibited by the self-control skills the patient can marshal: in these instances, re-engagement occurs in close conjunction wi th training in skills to deal with situations in which previous lapses occurred.Miller & Rollnick (2002) emphasize that commitment to change is a function of both motivation and self-efficacy or confidence in being able to change. As previously researchers like Bandura noted, past achievements are much more powerful influences on self-efficacy than verbal persuasion that is unrelated to past performance. The attention of patients is drawn to successful aspects of past control attempts, rather than to their ultimate failure to deal with the substance-related problems up to now.While a sense of self-efficacy tends to have limited generalization across performance domains, commitment to change may sometimes be aided by success in another domain, such as work-related skills that open up options for a viable substance-free life-style. Once the patient has begun to reduce his/her substance use, the motivation to work on substance misuse is harnessed, and the goal of treatment shifts to fu rther reduction of substance use or the maintenance of abstinence. Many of the strategies developed for people with a primary substance use disorder can be used with dually diagnosed patients once they reach the active treatment stage.Examples of interventions at this stage of counseling include cognitive-behavioral counseling to address â€Å"high-risk† situations, self-help groups, and social skills training to address substance use situations. Structured activities, such as work preparation or leisure pursuits that decrease opportunities for using substances and divert attention from substance use, can assist in development of substance control. In relapse prevention, the patient has achieved substance control for a substantial period (e. g. at least 6 months).The goals are to both guard against a relapse of substance misuse and to extend the gains made to other areas of functioning, such as social relationships, work and housing. Awareness of vulnerability to relapse can be achieved through continued participation in self-help groups, or individual or group work with substance misuse as a focus. The focus in the relapse prevention stage on other areas of functioning, such as relationships, leisure activities and work, reflects the belief that the better a patient's life is, the less vulnerable he/she will be to a relapse of substance misuse.References Miller, W. R. , Brown, J. M. , Simpson, T. L. , Handmaker, N. S. , Bien, T. H. , Luckie, L. F. , Montgomery, H. A. , Hester, R. K. & Tonigan, J. S. (1995). What works? A methodological analysis of the alcohol treatment outcome literature. In R. K. Hester & W. R. Miller (Eds), Handbook of Alcoholism Treatment Approaches: Effective Alternatives, 2nd edn (pp. 12–44). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Monti, P. M. , Abrams, D. B. , Kadden, R. M. & Conney, N. L. (1989). Treating Alcohol Dependence. New York: Guilford.Mueser, K. T. , Noordsy, D. L. , Drake, R. E. & Fox, L. (2003). Integrated Treat ment for Dual Disorders: A Guide to Effective Practice. New York: Guilford Publications Miller, W. & Rollnick, S. (2002). Motivational Interviewing: Preparing People to Change Addictive Behavior, 2nd Edition. New York: Guilford. McHugo, G. J. , Drake, R. E. , Burton, H. L. & Ackerson, T. H. (1995). A scale for assessing the stage of substance abuse treatment in persons with severe mental illness. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 183 (12), 762–767.

Emotion and Stress – Does Guilt and Sympathy Affect Helping Behavior?

Helping behavior is perceived as socially acceptable and highly appreciated. Therefore, people tend to praise others when they have helped the needy. We used to think that only those people with positive personality, such as sensitive and kind, perform helping behaviors. Nevertheless, whether one acts good or not also greatly depends on his or her emotional states. Through this psychology project, I found that people are more likely to perform a helping behavior when they feel guilty or sympathetic. Emotion is an indispensable part of humanity. It is a way for people to understand what they feel towards events and people around.Unlike lower-order animals, emotion helps people to act like a human. Serial killers are emotionless. People with emotionless may probably feel nothing when they are hurting or harming others which are highly unacceptable in society. Since people tend to engage more when they are happy but withdraw from daily activities when they are upset, we can see that our behaviors are always determined by our emotions. Yet, people tend to perform more helping behaviors when they feel guilty or sympathetic. How do these negative emotions push people to help their neighbors?Guilt is an emotion that occurs when people believe that they have violated a moral standard while sympathy is the feeling of being sorry for somebody showing that people understand and care about somebody’s problem. They are both negative rather than positive emotions. People do not feel good when they are guilty or sympathetic towards somebody. Is that true people involve more in altruistic behaviors when they are guilty or sympathetic? There is an experiment conducted by Jean Decety (2009) who is a neuroscientist studying the relationship between guilt, sympathy and helping.He is a professor of Psychology at the University of Chigago and is specialized in affective neuroscience. In the study, student subjects are required to observe their coworkers receiving shock. Some of them are made to think they are responsible for the coworker’s suffering (guilt condition), while others merely observe the suffering (observer condition. There is also a group working with coworkers receiving no shock. Later the three groups are given opportunities to help a third party who is not in the original experiment.The result shows that subjects in the guilt and observer condition are more likely than the control group to give their helping hand to the third party. The finding suggests that the feeling of guilt and sympathy and the willingness in engaging in an altruistic act is highly correlated. Subjects are more willing to help others when they feel sorry for a third person even they do not responsible for their unfortunate. At the same time, altruism may aroused merely by witnessing one’s suffering. There are three reasons for people who feel guilty and sympathetic to engage in helping behaviors.Altruism is a form of disguised self-interest and helps i n mood management while restoring one’s self-image. People help others for their own benefits. It is always unpleasant to watch another organism suffer. When one empathizes because of their misfortune, strong negative emotion is arisen. People are actually seeking to alleviate the unpleasant feelings that their distress arouse in them. It is a kind of internal self-reward. This can reduce the negative feeling by saying they have at least done their part in helping the unfortunate. Therefore, altruism is the attempt to reduce the empathetic feeling that arises in people.Besides, people help others when they are guilty and sympathetic for mood management. Both guilt and sympathy are negative emotions which are unpleasant. Therefore, they can be reduced by performing a helpful act or any other positive means. In a study (Decety, 2009), subjects who had inflicted or witnessed an unfortunate situation received an unexpected monetary reward. The result shows that subjects who recei ved rewards are less likely than those who do not receive any and remain in bad mood in engaging helping behaviors. This indicates that helping is just one of the positive means which can uplift one’s emotion.People are motivated to engage in altruistic act in order to alleviate the negative emotion associated with guilt and sympathy. Apart from that, when people feel guilty, they have probably done something wrong and regret for their actions. For instance, students have cheated in an examination. Their self-images are broken due to the negative behaviors performed. They understand that their behaviors are unacceptable and they do not want to be perceived as bad. In order to restore the self-image in others’ eye, people will perform more pro-social behaviors.This is to prove that they are still the good guy. It seems to be upsetting that if humanity performs a helping behavior just for reforming their own self-image rather than from a genuine feeling of guilt in helpi ng others. Fortunately, it is not the case. Research suggests that unwitnessed transgression causes the same amount of donation as witnessed transgression. Therefore, it is acceptable to conclude that people perform altruistic act are at least partly caused by the feeling of guilt but not a need to repair their own self-image in others’ eye. Undoubtedly, there is a use for these findings.Since many charitable organizations know very well the psychology of human, many of the fund-raising activities we can see in daily lives make use of people’s empathy. It is common to see volunteers showing photos of the needy in the less-developed countries persuading pedestrians to donate money to them. Guilty may arises as people may recall they have wasted a lot of resources and sympathy may arises as living conditions in those less-developed countries are really poor. With the arousal of these negative emotions, people may therefore engage in altruism.It is true that one’s personality largely determines the likeliness in performing helping behaviors. Yet, our willingness in performing these behaviors also depends on the emotional states at that moment. The experiment done by professor, Jean Decety, proves that the feeling of guilt and sympathy can definitely facilitate altruistic behaviors. As a result, organizations may make use of this psychology as we know that even the meanest person may have the experience in helping others provided that they are at the right emotional state.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Heroin Abuse Health Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Heroin Abuse Health Policy - Essay Example Abuse of heroin is becoming very prevalent among young women because of its high availability at lower prices. The individuals who consume the drug are mostly from the poor family background. Consumption of the drug often results in very bad consequences among maternal child parents during the withdrawal period. Among the withdrawal effects include malaise, sweating, insomnia, diarrhea, nausea, and cramps among others. With the implementation of this policy, it is expected that individuals will benefit from it a great deal. The people will be educated on drug abuse. They will gain the knowledge and life skills that will help them overcome drug and substance abuse related problems. The society will also benefit from this health policy in terms of the improved socioeconomic lifestyle of the people. Businesses are likely to blossom since the monies used to buy drugs will now be channeled into legitimate business activities (Cross, and Karen, 2001). The rate of crime is also probable to reduce drastically.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Dealing with the task of payment of sport in high school Essay

Dealing with the task of payment of sport in high school - Essay Example The reduction of charges, on the current programs, will promote participation of more students in sporting activities. The lower the costs, the more enticing the programs will seem to the students. Relationships and interaction among students, at both school and the community level, will improve because of nondiscriminatory participation in common games (Woods 126). As such, use of communal and school sporting facilities will increase. This will translate to fit and energetic youths and a reduction of the lifestyle diseases. This presents an advantage of reduction of charges (Woods 29). Adversely, a reduction of charges on sports will lead to poor services. Proper and effective maintenance of the sporting facilities may suffer due to the little charged. This will lead to the facilities occurring in run-down conditions. Further, the poor payment to sporting staff and instructors may promote the exodus of this experienced staff to seek well-paying jobs. Districts may raise taxes to bridge the budget deficits arising from reduced charges in a sport. This presents a burden to the taxpayer (Woods 127).In the elimination of some sporting programs, the reflection of the main advantage occurs in the reduction of staff and expensive facilities (Woods 129). The need for large outdoor space, as is the case with sports like football, represents a headache due to limited space. Such games requiring large spaces may give way to games requiring smaller spaces. This further promotes specialization in a sport by the participants.

Saturday, July 27, 2019

BMW Brand Equity Analysis Report(BEAR) Research Paper

BMW Brand Equity Analysis Report(BEAR) - Research Paper Example The introduction provides a brief profile of the company. The report will also provide the current status of the brand as well as its investments in the business sector. Challenges that are being faced by the firm will be provided including recommendations necessary for implementation in order to realize success in the company. The recommendations should be taken into consideration if significant success and consistent quality are to be enhanced. Introduction BMW is short for Bavarian Motor Works which began in the early years of the twentieth century. It first began as an aircraft engine manufacturing in Germany. The success of its 6-cylinder BMW IIIa engine saw it become a publicly traded company (Easton, 2008, p. 1). The license to manufacture automobiles was obtained in the year 1928. Throughout the years, it has been able to gain reputation for innovation, as well as, quality in the automobile, aircraft engines and motorcycle fields. Its reputation has continued to grow owing to its award winning performance and impressive designs. BMW was listed by Forbes.com as the most reputable company in the world in the year 2012. The rankings were obviously based on such issues as people’s willingness to invest in the company, to buy, to work for and to recommend. Their perception of the products and the company were useful in the rankings. The BMW group sponsor is Bundesliga’s club and was also an official sponsor of the London 2012 Olympics. In 2010, it made a six-year sponsorship deal with USOC which is short for United States Olympic Committee. It has also sponsored many European golf events both in Italy and Germany. Status of the brand The brand has the right products that they have put in place, and they have continued to keep them competitive and attractive over the lifecycle. They have a lifecycle that follow a specific nomenclature. The nomenclature is applicable for both the automobiles and the motorcycle (Giuliani, 2012, p. 8). The brand ha s its presence in the global world and has the knowledge to delight customers around the globe. The company is looking into expanding globally to ensure that their innovation is present and known globally. This will also lead to an improvement in their reputation as well as in the loyalty of their customers. Their impressive and unique designs have ensured that the brand sticks to the minds of people. The brand is strong especially in innovation and efficiency of fuel. They have an aim of directing the future of the market using its initiatives. Their innovative initiatives have seen the brand grow stronger and have a competitive advantage over its competitors (Giuliani, 2012, p. 8). They have continued to provide luxury and unique brands that offer a different experience. This means that they have managed to further the joy and fascination of the brand. Their earnings and revenues have grown and have also broken all existing records. This is all in the back of dynamic flourishing o f financial services business and car sales volume growth. The earnings were strong and increased in a tremendous way. This is the reason why the brand is strong as opposed to the other car models. Investments in the business sector The brand is striving for a good balance of growth especially in Europe, Asia and America. This is essential especially if they want to achieve economic success in a volatile environment (Annual Report, 2011, p. 15). The group had discovered that there is future growth in such countries as Russia, Brazil,

Friday, July 26, 2019

Foucault Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Foucault - Essay Example This evolution of his theory can be traced from 1960's to 1980's and reveal a pattern of study of how power influences decision-making. In 1960's he uses terms like 'contestation' and 'transgression' and uses them interchangeably. In 1970's Foucault moved to 'struggle' and 'resistance' which are again synonymous. And finally in 1980's he used the term 'agonism'. All these terms used through a period of time defining his core focus on the play of resistance, and Foucault's conceptualization of power rather than strict references made to limits. (AMOUDI) Foucault's power-resistance relation is a dynamic analysis of the modern day world. The groundwork of the role of power being laid in the previous theories which evolved between 1960's and 1970's, the economics of power has been more rigorously presented in these theories. Michel Foucault goes further to give a definition of power relations in an essay published in 1982: 'The exercise of power is not simply a relationship between partners, individual or collective; it is a way in which certain actions modify others' Although the exercise of power may need violence or consent, these are not inherent to a power relation. Moreover, one of the consequences of this limit to power is that resistance is the sine qua non condition for power. Indeed, a power relation, is not an action which determines another action, but an action which influences an other action by determining a field of possibility for it. In this field of possibility, ways of resisting are by definition present. The second limit set to power relations, therefore, is fight. According to Foucault, the goal of a fight is either to force the opponent to abandon the game (hence a victory which dissolves the power relation) or to set up a new relation of power. In other words, there is circularity between power relations open to fight and a fight aiming at power relations. Therefore there is a constant instability in a power relationship which excludes by definition any form of determinism. By stressing the ontological link between power and resistance, Foucault invites us to understand his reading of the mechanisms of power h e highlights. Power is to be understood then as a form of power, which is perpetually confronted with potential (and some time actual) resistance. (AMOUDI) In his book Order of Things and Foucault Reader, he addresses the power of observation and the impact of it on the observed. He emphasizes that observing people and judging them requires a degree of conformity, which is less obvious and subsequently, according to Foucault more powerful because of its restrained state. This same impact is seen in Panopticism where Foucault shows a transition in prison systems from physical manipulation to implicit manipulation. This new form of control is implemented through a physical construction that creates the illusion of continual surveillance. This surveillance creates the impetus for self-control. It is the power of being observed which places the role of control on the subjects. People control themselves out of a desire not to be looked down upon - to control their own public reputations. Panopticism works in a similar way - by continual observation or the illusion of continual observation, people are expected to continually discipline thems elves so as to avoid being disciplined by an external source (Foucault & Rabinow) The power which is

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Week One Individual Assignment Guillermo Furniture Store Scenario Essay

Week One Individual Assignment Guillermo Furniture Store Scenario - Essay Example This paper discuses budgets, ethical considerations, and other relevant information Guillermo must consider. The current budget for Guillermo Furniture Store has some serious flaws due to an imbalance between income and expenses. In the business world in order for a company to succeed in the long run its income or revenues must exceed its expenses. Guillermo has options available to him, but many of these options require radical change for Guillermo. Two options are to acquire a competitor or to merge with another company. The acquisition of a new firm has to be analyzed based on the budget of the company. The buyer has to have enough capital available to make the purchase. Merging with another competitor can help reduce overhead costs. A potential downside of merging is inefficiencies associated with organizational culture conflicts. The employees from the different business entities have different ways of doing business. Guillermo does not like the time commitments and loss of independence associated with these two options. Budgets are useful accounting tools that can help managers make important decisions. Businesses that do not use budgets can fall victims of misspending and cash shortages. Operating budgets are typically created to forecast the income and expenses of companies for the next year. When managers are dealing with strategic decisions in the long term they use budgets for longer periods of time. Techniques such as time series and regression models can be useful for forecasting purposes. The use of budgets can help managers determine how to implement process improvements to reduce cost. A budget can help a manager determine when the income of a company is insufficient to cover its expenses and make a profit. A budget can also be used by managers to determine when to buy equipment and machinery. If a company makes an above normal profit during a month it can invest more money on equipment. In

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

The social issues of the roaring twenties ( Art and Ideas, Economy, Essay

The social issues of the roaring twenties ( Art and Ideas, Economy, Technology, Science, and the Social Ferment) - Essay Example 58). This discrimination was upheld by the US Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. This decision, which supported racial segregation, was reversed in 1954, and the government made racial segregation and discrimination in any form, illegal. However, discrimination persists and until 1920, women were not permitted to exercise their franchise, when Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution that provided women with the right to vote. Despite these measures, women in the US are still subjected to discrimination (Pozzuto & Arnd-Caddigan, Mar2008, P. 58). From the early 1900s till the Second World War, the US witnessed modernism in art, design and architecture. The first skyscrapers were constructed in the 1870s. These structures generated considerable competition from architects. The first successful design was New York’s Woolworth Building. The Architects Anderson Graham, Probst, and White designed and constructed the Wrigley Building in Chicago. Howells and Hood designed the Chicago Tribune Tower. Chrysler and the Empire State Building displayed the Art Deco design. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed several houses in California and Japan. Art Deco lasted from 1925 to 1950. It was called as modern construction and emerged from the 1925 International Art Exposition in Paris (Whitley, 2008). Opposition to communism reached fanatical levels in the US during the 1920s. Communism was referred to as Red Scares, and communists were referred to as anarchists. In 1920, there were an estimated 150,000 communists in the nation, which was just 0.1 percent of the population. People subscribing to radical views were persecuted, as evident from the case of Sacco and Vanzetti. Americans of that period adopted provincialism, as depicted by the reemergence of the Ku Klux Klan, restrictive immigration laws and Prohibition (Roaring Twenties). The 1919, 18th amendment to the Constitution,

Exploring Another Ethnicity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Exploring Another Ethnicity - Essay Example The distinct ethnic groups have diverse attitudes, rituals, actions, religious traits, and cultural beliefs. As such, ethnicity plays a big role in the American society although the American society rarely defines people according to their ethnic groups (O'Neil Web). My Ethnicity is both Arab and Hispanic. This paper seeks to address another ethnic group that I do not belong. In this case, I will address the Indian American ethnic group as part of the America society. To achieve this, I will describe rituals, actions, religious aspects, cultures, and morals of an Indian American wedding that I attended. Indeed, it was my first time to attend an Indian American wedding and the entire event was culturally strange, informing, and somehow entertaining to me. Notably, most Indian American is Hindus and as such, the wedding ceremony was in a Hindu setting unlike my normal Muslim setting. My Feelings in an Indian American Wedding Ceremony Actually, the whole setting was completely new to me and although I had previously heard of the uniqueness of the Indian weddings, I have never been a witness. As such, I had much anxiety that derived mixed feelings as the reality of the wedding came to me. To some extent, I had expectations that any wedding must derive a lot of fun but was equally aware that the difference in cultures would deny me such fun, as it would be challenging to follow the proceedings of the ceremony. The different rituals and cultural dimensions that the wedding to me. More so, the Hindu religion aspects and even the language in application created loneliness and a feeling of isolation during the wedding. Indeed, everybody was in a joyous mood and I equally tried to adapt to the celebratory mood but I could rarely understand the various procedures adopted in the ceremony. However, with the help of my Indian friend, I would manage to glimpse and understand some happenings in the Indian American wedding. My Feelings in an Indian and an African American Event This situation was somehow similar to an African American wedding ceremony that I attended in a Christian setting. Indeed, the feeling of isolation of the real time happenings was still eminent in that Christian setting. Indeed, the Christian and the Hindu religion are quite new to me as I profess the Muslim religion. Moreover, the Indian and the black American traditions, rituals, and traditions are different from the Hispanic and Arabic. As such, my earlier situation was significantly similar to the reference situation where I attended the wedding ceremony in an Indian cultural setting. In both instances, I would struggle to understand the language in application, the rituals, and the cultures as seen in their dressing and code of conduct. Influence of Group Membership, Race, and Personality in Interpretation My group membership, race, and personal attributes are however fundamental in interpreting the situation. Actually, the members in our group include people from different et hnic groups and hence I have lived to embrace cultural diversity. As such, I can interpret that any wedding creates a source of joy and is of cultural importance to any ethnic group. Therefore, I interpret that the wedding ceremony in the Indian America setting is important to their culture. On the other hand, my race accommodates cultural diversity and respects other cultures and their traditions. Hence, my race helps me to deduce the importance of such a wedding

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Emerging Business Opportunities at IBM Case Study

Emerging Business Opportunities at IBM - Case Study Example They did this through identifying hindrances that prevented the company from growing from where they could workout possible solutions, which would assist the company to get back to its feet. There was need for radical changes, and for introduction of a strategy that would allow the company to systematically adopt the new measures that would ensure the growth of the company. Through a series of deliberate measures to check on the problematic issues within the company and efforts to change the dumb situation, IBM managed to get positive results for their efforts, since their sales gained momentum and they felt that they were in the right track. The greatest or umbrella concern here was the growth of the emerging businesses hence it became necessary to come up with strategies that could handle the issue of the emerging businesses, and ensure that their growth would be experienced and sustained to the reach the profit making level. The essay below is an analysis that shows the trend adopted by IBM to regain footage in the computer industry. The greatest issue that concerns the growth of large business units like IBM through creation of new businesses is the rigidity of structural creations of leadership within the companies. This is achieved through development of practices that only act negatively to their growth often leading to the stagnation in growth of the companies. Another reason that can account for lack of creation of new businesses is preoccupation with existing markets and the products offered thus concentrate much on the performance of existing system and overlook the possibility of creating new businesses to expand the existing system. This problem also blindens the company to possible new opportunities in the market (Pugh 2001p36). Development of systems that encourage attainment of short term results through insisting on the near-term performance of the specified short term goals is a barrier to the success of the big companies like IBM. Meeting of the specified goals discourages the leadership from taking challenges of better things to engage in as their performance within stated confinements are recognized and rewarded. Presence of rigid bureaucracies that often delay or steps into the way of development of new business marks the other problem hindering development of new businesses. This happens when an attractive opportunity is cited but has to be approved by a number of leaders before it can be implemented. Some of the leaders, might for some reasons, be opposed to this new development then fail to approve of them, thus forcing the company to discard the issue. Lack of a deliberate strategy for encouraging development of new businesses is another barrier. Development of new strategies might entail the need to encourage spotting opportunities, experimentalism, funding the opportunities among others. A case scenario of IBM can illustrate this. IBM would diligently fund existing businesses, and then fail to sponsor ideas for new businesses, fail to give them attention and cut them off from budgets when funding was hurdled. Biased information gathering for evaluation and decision making is another barrier. The biased system of information gathering means information gathered is necessarily biased as well

Monday, July 22, 2019

The Camera Never Lies Essay Example for Free

The Camera Never Lies Essay It is usually thought that photographs are a little slice of the real world. Traditionally, they have played the rule of adding realism to written text. The text becomes a commentary of the frozen shot of real life encapsulated in the photograph. However it could be argued that this is not the case. There are several aspects of the photographic image, which make it less than real. These aspects all have different ways of showing that cameras arent always correctly right. Even simple pictures can represent a number of qualities. It is possible to understand a number of different meanings from one picture, this is called decoding. For instance visual images can be false by editing and cropping detail out of the photographs/pictures. This process changes the frame and can sometimes exclude main or minor parts of the picture. These missing images occasionally can back up the authors article and help the audience understand the meaning. Cropping occurs in the media to suit the audience and to express the opinions of the writer. We can also argue photographs can distort the truth by the selection of the picture. The illustration always is chosen for a particular event or story, but the final image is selected from a wide range of material. This allows the author flexibility, in choosing the correct image for his motive in his text. Sometimes the pictures arent always appropriate, but have certain ways of backing up the article. As the photographs only show one aspect of the situation, the image could always be unrepresentative and tell many different stories from the single picture. These images often make statements about the link between what is being displayed in the photograph and the type of person viewing the article. The picture can be misleading a bare no relation to the text. This is a good example of poor selection of photographic material. All photographs are not reality, but iconic signs. Iconic sings are a way of demonstrating a particular subject. When we observe a photograph in print, it is only a symbol not the real image as we see in real life. All pictures have captions describing the image; the captions anchor the meaning of a photograph which offers a clear preferred reading. The text of the article also performs and shows this function. A photograph alone without a caption can be interpreted in various ways. As well as having iconic meaning, photos make meaning and signify because of the associations we have with the image. Denotation is the simple literal meaning of all the images viewed in the picture, basically defining the illustration. On the other hand connation is the associations we have with the sketch. These associations are viewed in many different ways and automatically display and imply numerous opinions on certain situations. The top photograph (Fig.1) shows Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness leaders of Shin Fane situated outside a conference surrounded by the media. The denotation in this image shows the leaders surrounded by paparzates, divided by some form of barrier. Barbed wire fencing is in the rear of the photograph; this gives the impression of security and restriction. A lot of people are surrounding the leaders, giving the feeling of interest or trouble. The connation of the sketch is basically of immense interest in these powerful Shin Fane leaders. With the photograph being taken so far away from the incident its hard for individuals to be identified and described. This particular photo was probably selected for this quality, to show the mass interest. The barrier shows disgrace for Shin Fane, with the leaders being barred from the conference. This specific image is chosen as an example to show the media had interest in Shin Fane. Having no open text it is difficult for the reader to know exactly what is occurring, it would be impossible to guess what the photograph is trying to display. In the photograph (Fig.2) it shows the viewer a close up of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, behind bars. This gives a dramatic feeling of exclusion and shame. The denotation in this image is easy to identify and describe with the shot being so close and clear. We can view two very well known faces, restricted from going into somewhere with solid bars. The Shin Fane leaders are dressed formally, which gives the impression of the conference being important and themselves being powerful. In the background faded faces can be seen, this can be interpreted in various ways. For example Shin Fane Supporters/Shin Fane Protestors or Paparzates. The connation is one of power and conflict; this particular picture of the leaders gives publicity for their cause. This image has a closer propaganda feeling, and the bars give a feeling of jail and prison, which makes the photo even more dramatic. Its easy to understand what the picture is displaying, even without a caption. The difference between Fig.1 and Fig.2 is that the leaders can be identified easily and not so much is occurring in the image, which makes it easily understandable. In photograph Fig.3 The Mobs Brief Rule, the first impression is that it shows an argument between a protestor being held by police and a West End Shopper. The caption below this endorses this impression. The donation in this image is that there is a riot-taking place, with people being restrained by the Police and non-protestors being caught up in the chaos. In the background we can clearly see the West-End buildings and a telephone box. The connation in this photo is that the male protestor is being restrained presumably for wrongdoing and the by-passer has entered in conversation with him. Without the caption this photograph is simple to follow and gives you a slight understanding of the disorder. Having read the accompanying letter to the editor from the eye-witness (West End Shopper), it is obvious the camera can be misinterpreted and this is an example how the media can use images to achieve a particular purpose. The letter explains exactly what did happen, which was that the shopper was walking down the street in the early evening hearing a group of cheerful poll-tax protestors. With police aligned along the pavements, the lady suddenly saw four of the riot squad police grab a young girl in her late teens for no reason and brutally forced her onto the crowd control railings. The man you view in the image is her boyfriend recklessly trying to reach for her, but being held back by a policeman. The lady is urging the man to calm down or he will be arrested, she is not having an argument with him as your first impressions thought. I looked at the same events reported in two different Sunday papers, to see if they had represented the photographs differently. The subject of these images is the same, but the photographs attached to the article differ. Reports on the Israel Conflict The Sunday Times and The Sunday Express wrote articles on the Israel conflict, each took a different approach on the issue. Both photographs in the papers produce the same sort of meaning just in different ways. The Sunday Times took a conservative attitude to the conflict in as much as the article dealt only with the Israel Conflict. The photograph (Fig.4) alongside the article shows President Bush casually dressed in typical Texan fashion. It was very informal and displayed the idea of him and Tony Blair being chums. In the image Bush and Blair are seen to be united together, which reflects the text in the article. The denotation of the picture shows the two powerful, respected leaders together. Blair supports Bush and pays compliments for the Presidents U-turn on Israel. The connation in this photo implies American society and the United Kingdom have combined together to sort out problems over in the Middle East. The caption on this photo doesnt exactly reflect much of the article, but gives the reader some idea about them uniting and the toughness they will have over in the Middle East. Unlike some images, without any open text this photo could mean a variety of things. The Sunday Express included a similar article, which was more dramatic and combined the two issues of the Israel Conflict along with the possibility of war within Iraq. The photograph (Fig.5) alongside was more formal showing the president handshaking Tony Blair. The image is personally more appropriate than the Sunday Times photo, with the denotation showing the two countries flag in the background and them both being in recognized clothing. This particular photo has been chosen because it is simple with few figures and it portrays a strong meaningful picture for this serious article. The connation implies the same issue as in the other Sunday paper, showing them becoming united. With the handshake and them looking pleased in this image you speculate something respectable has happened. Unlike the other image you have a vague idea of the situation without the open text caption. The next photograph (Fig.6) Im going analyse appeared in the Mirror, alongside articles paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mothers funeral. The denotation shows Lady Thatcher and her husband Dennis taking their seats in Westminster Abbey. This image is a good example of misrepresentation as with out the caption the read would have no idea what was happening. The connation in the left picture could imply just grief or Dennis having an accident. Their expressions do not indicate any physical injury. In contrast the photo on the right, gives more idea that Lady Thatcher is the one in pain. With the caption we can tell she is in agony due to Dennis treading on her toes. This article seemed rather out of place, alongside the funeral tributes. After analysing these five different images, I have learnt due to editing and selection photos can misrepresent the truth. The Media producers are constantly competiting with each other to make money. New and exciting ways of representing information/pictures can have impact and ensure success. A good photograph of something can help audiences make sense of a complicated issue. The media uses photographs that will hopefully not date and always support the authors text. Without cropping, selection and photographs being anchored, the images would put across a more truthful statement. As can be seen from my examples, the camera can distort the truth or even lie.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

What Is Meteorology And Its Uses Environmental Sciences Essay

What Is Meteorology And Its Uses Environmental Sciences Essay Every day, thousands and thousands of people tune into weather forecast on television, radio, even news papers for news about the weather and if any changes are going to take place in the upcoming days, like floods or droughts or temperature change. Meteorology is the study of all the changes in the atmosphere, whether they were changes in temperature, air pressure, moisture, or wind direction in the troposphere. The air around the earth is called the atmosphere, it is divided into layers. Weather happens in the troposphere, the bottom layer, directly above the ground. Mount Everest, the highest point on the Earth, reaches about half way up the troposphere. Meteorology is useful for weather processes and forecasting. What is meteorology? Meteorology is the science of the atmosphere. It comes from the Greek word meteoron, which means something that happens high in the sky. Weather was important to the ancient Greeks because it affected the farmers who raised their crops and their seamen who sailed the oceans. The ancient Greeks observed and tried to understand how the clouds, wind, and rain were connected to one another. Weather Weather is an endless cycle of events. The four things that cause weather are the Sun, the atmosphere, water vapor and the wind. They all work together, spreading the Suns heat all over the world and making clouds. And the changes that occur over a longer period of time are known as climate. Weather has always been a significant concern to humans, and our inability to control it has led us to try to measure it, compare it, and predict it for the past hundreds of years. Weather contributes greatly with the study of meteorology, the five major weather elements are: -Temperature -Wind -Humidity -Pressure -Rainfall The Sun The sun is the main source of energy for the earth. The light and heat given out by the sun make it possible for plants and animals to live on earth. Without the sun, oceans would freeze and life could not be supported on earth. The sun is the key to the earths weather. It moves the air all over the world causing winds which carry weather changes. Air temperature is measured by a thermometer. http://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112188/sun_and_earth.gifusg=AFQjCNH7-leVbgPcZpt29YvgoD3Yoo8NqQ http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112188/sun_and_earth.gif Air Pressure Although air is light, there is so much of it that air can exert huge pressure on earth. Air pressure or atmospheric pressure is caused by the weight of all the air pressing down in all directions at the ground. Air pressure changes when the temperature changes, it varies from place to place and from time to time as the Suns heat varies. Areas of high pressure are formed where air is sinking down, so its pushing harder towards the earth. But when air rises it leaves behind an area of lower pressure, because upward moving air is not pushing down so hard on the surface this creates low pressure. Air pressure is measured in millibars ,mb, on a barometer. Barometers help us forecast weather because changes in air pressure are linked to changes in the weather. Air Moisture There are various forms of moisture. Moisture is present in the air either in the form of gas, liquid, or solid. Atmospheric moisture plays a significant role in weather when it changes from one state to the other. Warm air can hold more water than cold air can. A hygrometer can be used to measure humidity, which is the amount of water in the air. A hygrometer consists of a wet bulb and a dry bulb thermometer. One end of the wet bulb thermometer is covered with muslin, which is wet. When the air is dry, more water will evaporate and the wet bulb thermometer will show a low reading. Air Masses Air masses are huge masses of air which are warm, cold, moist, or dry depending on the land or sea they pass by. Air masses move all over the Earths surface, they help spread the Suns heat around the world. Air masses are classified according to the area or the source they came from. There are two types of air masses. Air masses that form over oceans and seas called maritime. We have Tropical maritime, which develops over warm seas, and Polar maritime, forms over the seas near the poles. Air masses that form overland are called continental; there is Tropical continental, air mass that develops over hot or dry land, and Polar continental, air mass that develops over land near the poles. Boundaries between air masses are called fronts. The weather can be very unsettled near the fronts; some cold fronts cause lines of violent storms. There are three types of fronts, warm, cold, and occluded. Wind Wind is moving air. It blows because some air masses become warmer than others, basically wind moves because of the difference in air pressure around the world. In warm air, the tiny particles of air spread out. A mass of warm air is lighter than a mass of cold air, because warm air is so light it rises. As warm air rises, cold air flows in to take place. Climate and weather are determined by the wind. Wind is also affected by the Coriolis Effect. The earth spins on its axis, in the northern hemisphere winds are swung to the right. And in the southern hemisphere winds are swung to the left, this is called the Coriolis Effect. A windsock is used to measure the wind speed and direction. A weather vane can also be used to determine the winds direction. Severe/Extreme weather conditions Violent storms can be very dangerous, but as we discover more about the weather it becomes easier to forecast violent storms to avoid disasters. Some severe weather conditions are thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and avalanches. Some extreme weather conditions such as floods and droughts may also affect the weather in some areas. Thunderstorms occasionally happen when the air is humid and warm. Clouds form in the sky and blustery winds start to blow, thunderstorms usually include lightning followed by thunder. Lightning and thunder happen at the same time, but you see thunder first because light travels faster than sound. Tornadoes are long funnels of violently spiraling winds. They form on land when there is warm, moist air near the ground and cold, dry air above it. The Coriolis Effect helps the tornado spin faster, as well as jet streams when they pass over the top of the storm. Weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. The most straightforward way to predict the weather is to simply look out the window. However, for a more accurate weather forecast you need observational tools like radars, satellites and specially designed computers that will give you a clearer picture to the weather conditions. Some weather symbols that are used in television forecast and maps: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://s3.amazonaws.com/momentville/20889/photos/917979/917979_medium.jpgusg=AFQjCNHD4U47mTTE3a_bIXFBUrhjDKaQ http://s3.amazonaws.com/momentville/20889/photos/917979/917979_medium.jpg Weather gods Good harvests depends on good weather, early farmers who lived about 7,000 years ago thought gods ruled the weather. People today still pray for fine weather and good harvest. The Rainbow God, the Kabi people of Australia worship a god called Dhakhan who is half snake and half fish. He appears as a rainbow in the sky when he moves from one hole to the next. The Dragon Breath, the Chinese believed that dragons formed clouds with their breath and brought rain. The rain fell when the dragons walked over the clouds and storms raged when they fought. Dancing in the Rain, the Hopi Indians of North America perform special rain dances, and pray to the gods through these dances to send them rain. History The father or founder of meteorology is considered to be Aristotle. His book Meteorologica written around 340 B.C was the first study of the atmosphere. Some of Aristotles ideas were accurate, like ideas about rain and hailstorms, others were not. Like many thinkers of his time, he believed that reason and logic could lead to the truth and he didnt think it was necessary to observe the details of the natural world to understand it; thats why he got some of his ideas proven wrong in later years. As years went by, many centuries later natural philosophers realized that logic and speculation arguments alone couldnt produce real understandings of the natural world. For them to understand things in the world around them, it was necessary for them to measure, record, and analyze. But at that time, the only things that could be measured were wind direction and rainfall. And it continued like that for years to come. Later around A.D 1600 the thermometer was invented, following that the barometer, which measures atmospheric pressure, came a few years later. Devices and gadgets for measuring wind speed, humidity, and other important qualities of the atmosphere continued to develop over the next two- hundred years. Scientists used all of these newly-created instruments to record the long term trends of the weather which are known as climate. However, they still didnt understand the day to day or daily behavior of weather phenomenon like tornadoes, hurricanes, and thunderstorms. Years continued to pass, by the mid- 1800s, meteorologists began to realize clouds, wind, and rain at a particular place are produced by large weather systems that grow and change as they move. However this information was not very useful as long as weather information couldnt travel fast enough. The telegraph was later invented, allowing weather reports to be sent out instantly. Then they started to realize some of the weather patterns across the face of the earth. In the early 1900s, a group of Norwegian meteorologists began to study weather systems by applying basic laws of physics to the behavior of the atmosphere. There discovery or approach based on movements of huge warm and cold air masses and where they meet is the foundation of modern weather forecasting. In the 1940s, World War II brought great advances in the study of meteorology. Military land, sea, and air campaigns were highly dependent on weather over vast regions making its way from the North Pole to the South Pacifi c. Meteorology departments in universities grew rapidly as the military services sent cadets to be trained as weather officers. The military also supported scientific research on the weather and climate. During this period, technological developments such as the radar proved to be useful and valuable meteorological observing systems for both the military and studies dealing with meteorology. Meteorologists continued to develop many more new tools and techniques, since World War II, for observing and studying the atmosphere. They developed numerical model sets of equations that represent atmospheric processes and run them on supercomputers to analyze and predict the behavior of the atmosphere on every scale from the formation of raindrops to the circulation of the atmosphere over earth. Meteorologists today use satellites to observe hurricanes; they probe the violent cores of thunderstorms with radar and high performance aircrafts and many moreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Instruments and equipment used in meteorology (alphabetically ordered) -Anemometer, a device used for measuring wind speed -Barograph, an aneroid barometer that records the barometric pressure over time and produces either a foil or paper chart called a barogram. http://www.weatherinstruments.us/barograph-636.jpghttp://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://www.weatherinstruments.us/barograph-636.jpgusg=AFQjCNG0OGeiHhvp9o1n1AGw0Yh1cSeAvg -Barometer, an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure using either water, mercury, or air -Ceiling balloon, used to measure the height of the base of clouds during daylight. -Ceiling projector, a device that is used to measure the height of the base of clouds. -Ceilometer, a device that uses a laser or other light source to measure the height of the base of clouds. -Dark adaptor goggles, clear red tinted plastic goggles used either for adapting the eyes to dark for night observation or to help identify clouds during bright sunshine or glare from snow. -Disdrometer, an instrument used to measure the drop size, distribution, and velocity of falling hydrometeors. -Field mill, an instrument used to measure the strength of electric fields I the atmosphere near thunderstorm clouds. -Hygrometer, an instrument used to measure humidity. -Ice Accretion Indicator, an L shaped piece of aluminum used to indicate the formation of ice, frost, or the presence of freezing rain. -LIDAR, (Light Detection And Ranging) used in atmospheric physics that measures the properties of scattered light to find information about a distant target. -Lightning detector, a device that detects lightning produced by thunderstorms. -Nephelometer, an instrument used to measure suspended particulates in a liquid or gas, they are used to provide information on atmospheric visibility. -Pyranometer, used to measure broadband solar irradiance. -Radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation -Radiosonde, an instrument used to measure various atmospheric parameters and transmits them into fixed receivers. -Rain gauge, an instrument that gathers and measures the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time. -Snow gauge, an instrument that gathers and measures the amount of solid precipitation over a set period of time. -SODAR, (Sonic Detection And Ranging)an instrument that measures the scattering of sound waves by atmospheric turbulence. -Solarimeter, a pyranometer used to measure combined direct and diffuse solar radiation. -Sounding rocket, an instrument designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments -Stevenson screen, it shields instruments from precipitation and direct heat radiation while still allowing air to circulate freely. Sunshine recorders, devices used to indicate the amount of sunshine at a given location.http://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://www.dreamstime.com/thermograph-hand-print-thumb7926563.jpgusg=AFQjCNGEaKUm4OVQx7d9cDtva90zoyGqOw -Thermograph, measures and records both temperature and humidityhttp://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://www.johnsherman.com/rh/thermograph.jpgusg=AFQjCNFZFUlyus7Uo5HE81MdF53cRidY1g http://www.johnsherman.com/rh/thermograph.jpg http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_359/1233070515hwQfRX.jpg -Thermometer, a device that measures temperature -Weather balloon, a high altitude balloon that carries instruments and uses a radiosonde to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity Weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type and forecast its future position and intensity. Weather vane, a movable device attached to an elevated object that shows the direction of the wind Windsock, a textile tube used to determine wind direction and wind speed -Wind profiler, an equipment that uses SODAR or radar to detect wind direction and speed at different elevations. Conclusion More than 2,000 years ago, Greek philosophers looked at the sky and tried to understand what was happening there. Today, the ancient science of meteorology has grown and matured. It is at the cutting edge of research, seeking answers to basic questions about the world around us. Meteorologists today use satellites to observe hurricanes; they probe the violent cores of thunderstorms with radar and high performance aircrafts. They are working to further more develop applications that are crucially important to our lives and the lives of our children and the many more generations of grandchildren yet to come.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Importance Of Developing Entrepreneurial Skills Commerce Essay

The Importance Of Developing Entrepreneurial Skills Commerce Essay The importance of the development of entrepreneurial skills by every graduate cannot be over-emphasized because gone are the days when jobs were available everywhere both in the private and public sector of the economy and employers go about looking for potential employees to employ. Indeed, in the past, it is the employers that go round universities in this country to hunt for potential employees. Then there were fewer universities and low university enrolment. But today, things have changed and very drastically too such that many graduates are now sellers of recharge cards and some work as bus conductors. What an economic tragedy and waste! The question of choice of job or employer is gradually being eroded each year. Many graduates are desperate to get any job to keep body and soul going. Indeed there is a paradigm shift in the labour market now. Even the professional disciplines are now fast getting into that problem of unemployment. Employment prospects for the youths are changing with a lot of increasing competition; the openings are equally limited. Also, employment in the public sector is also decreasing and job prospects are diminishing by the day. Added to this ugly situation are the increasing trend of job outsourcing, casualization of labour in the oil and gas industry and the increasing phenomenon of rightsizing of labour among big firms and corporations in the country. As a side effect, the figure of tertiary graduates who have not been able to secure the first employment since graduation for upward of five years is on the increase and even those with professional qualifications like MBA, ICAN, COREN, Medicine and Pharmacy are not spared from the ugly phenomenon. Others are paid peanuts if they are lucky to secure paid job. Some now fall back on their lower qualifications like WASC and OND to secure menial jobs. The recent economic meltdown also has made matters worse. Some companies are as a result operating below expected capacity. The current troubles in the financial sector, particularly the money and the capital markets and their subsequent effects on the economy, particularly on the real sector as well as the remedial efforts of the CBN are very visibly glaring, instructive and challenging. Nevertheless, entrepreneurship and indeed the need for developing the requisite entrepreneurial skills have been suggested to help redress the aforementioned problems by making people not only to be job creators but wealth creators (Midea, 2004 ; Izedonmi, 2009). According to Small Business Service (2005), the possession of entrepreneurial skills to create new knowledge based social enterprises is vital to addressing social and environmental issues effectively. Our nation cannot afford to toy with it. Our tertiary institutions must respond fast and positively towards entrepreneurship education. However, general business skills and general knowledge are considered insufficient to turn graduates into entrepreneurs (Kisby, 2004). Hence, the need to develop specific entrepreneurship skills cannot be overemphasized .This is because entrepreneurship has been vital to creating employment and therefore a special form of employability (Moreland, 2004). Both the government and the academia hav e been attracted to it. In particular, universities are re-designing their curricula and the ways they operate to create opportunities for the training of their students in practical entrepreneurial skills. Due to the way entrepreneurial programmes have assumed a global proliferation and dimension, it was suggested by Volkmann (2004) that it has become the major academic discipline for business education in the 21st century. I totally agree with him. Economic Growth And Entrepreneurship Recent Survey Report in 2008 by the Kauffman Foundation in connection with the relationship between economic growth and entrepreneurship found that all nations with high level of employment activities had above average rate of economic growth. What this translates into is that entrepreneurial deficient economy will have low growth while entrepreneurially good economy tends to enjoy good growth. Hence, Government has come to recognize the importance of entrepreneurship in economic development that entrepreneurial ventures have in-built capacity to promote employment and economic growth. Literature Review One of the first courses specifically addressing entrepreneurship was established at the Harvard Business School in 1947.In the U.K, the first courses in entrepreneurship were launched in the 1980s together with the UKs first initiative for enterprise in higher education (Elton, 1991, Kirby, 1989 2005, Volkmann, 2004). Along this line, Fry (1992) remarks that entrepreneurship has been one of the fastest growing disciplines in the U.S.A in the 1990s.By the turn of the 21st century, as many as 1600 universities in the North-America were offering courses in entrepreneurship compared to merely two dozens in the 1970s (Inegbenebor, 2005). The growth of entrepreneurship education and the subsequent inclusion into the curricula of universities in the United Kingdom has been attributed to the sheer need to serve the innovation need of businesses and to produce graduates with transferable skills for businesses. ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA According to Ekanem (2005), the history and development of entrepreneurship in Nigeria started in the 1960s as supported also by some of the earlier studies such as Schatz and Edokpayi (1962), Harris (1969), Olakanpo (1968) and Akeredolu-Ale (1972). Therefore, the concept of entrepreneurship development in Nigeria is not new. Since the 1970s, several government agencies and institutions in the country have been engaged in different aspects of fostering entrepreneurship in Nigeria, though with short-lived and varied successes. For instance, the Centre for Management Development (CMD), National Directorate of Employment (NDE), former Nigeria Industrial Development Bank (NIDB), Nigerian Bank for Commerce and Industry (NBCI), Nigeria Youth Service Corps (NYSC), among others had programmes for entrepreneurship development in Nigeria. Other entrepreneurial development agencies include government sponsored Entrepreneurial Development Programme (EDP). NGOs, Nigerian Employers Consultative As sociation (NECA).The vigor with which it was pursued then is a different issue for our assessment. If the proofs are available even the blind and deaf can feel it. Only fools dont proof. What Does Entrepreneurship Really Entail? Basically, what entrepreneurship entails includes: The building of skills in negotiation Building leadership skill New product development Creative and innovative thinking and Exposure to technological innovation, (Kuratko, 2003). It shows students and graduates how to believe and behave entrepreneurially. It encourages them to get involved in networking, create and manage businesses of their own and facilitate progress and success in entrepreneurial career. Entrepreneurship could satisfy status and social needs and leads to self-satisfaction and actualization. It can also meet the financial needs for the entrepreneurs and their families. In fact, entrepreneurship is a satisfying process even though it can be risky and may even lead to loss of wealth at times (Fry, 1992). Society-wise, entrepreneurship has made substantial impacts throughout history because of numerous inventions, massive job creations made through small and medium scale enterprises (SMES) in both developed and developing countries. DEFINITIONS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP Various definitions have been given for entrepreneurship. For instance Inegbenebor and Igbinomwanhia (2008) say that: Entrepreneurship is the process of performing the roles of an entrepreneur. It has been defined as the process of planning, operating and assuming the risk of a business venture. It may also be defined as the process of creating a clique value of pulling together a unique package of resources to exploit an opportunity. Entrepreneurship encompasses various activities which are carried out to ensure the survival and growth of the business Inegbenebor (2006) defines it as: it is about bearing the skills needed to assume the risk of establishing a business. It is about developing the winning strategies and executing them with all vigour, persistence and passion needed to win any game Ekanem (2005): Entrepreneurship is the process of or capacity for organizing, operating and assuming risk for a business venture. It is dynamic risk-taking, creative and growth oriented behavior which involves the use of various resources to create wealth Ekwe (1992): observes that, Entrepreneurship involves the: ability to perceive profitable business opportunities. 2. willingness to act on what is perceived and 3. necessary organizing skills associated with a projects Fry (1992) says that Entrepreneurship involves action rather than static events. It involves taking action necessary to analyze opportunities to launch and/or grow business, to finance the venture and possibly even to invest the venture. Izedonmi (2009) placed entrepreneurship in a continuum form with economic entrepreneurship at the end of the continuum and social entrepreneurship at the other end. In between these you will find some varying characteristics of combinations. The process is also dynamic. In summary, the central issues in entrepreneurship involve uncertainty and risk-taking, innovation, perception and change. For instance, Drucker (1985) posits that innovation is the specification instrument of entrepreneurship. He argued further that the entrepreneurs must always change to respond to it, and exploit it as an opportunity. CHARACTERISTICS OF A DWINDLING ECONOMY The characteristics include: High unemployment rate High inflation rate Low average real income Low saving ratio or high consumption ratio Low levels of technology Low levels of productivity Low per capita income and downward trend of living High poverty rate of a large proportion of the population Low economic growth rate Poorly developed financial and stock markets High level corruption and instability and insecurity of lives and property Although the above factors and many others can be observed in a dwindling economy, they also provide good basis for entrepreneurial development. In fact, of these factors listed above, some can act as either pull or push entrepreneurial factors. Very often they provide good windows of opportunities for entrepreneurial-minded individuals. ROLES OF ENTRENEURSHIP IN REVIVING A DWINDLING SOCIETY Some of the roles include: Generating employment Increases productivity through innovation Facilitates the transfer/ adoption of technology Ensures increase resource utilization Stimulates growth in the supply market Renovates large scale enterprises and public enterprises Encourages and sustains economic dynamism that enables an economy to adjust successfully in a rapidly changing global economy. Linkage effects of various sections of the economy is facilitated Generate income and wealth occur faster Encourages training and development Ensures rapid development Develops indigenous entrepreneurship Provides a training ground for indigenous managers and semi-skilled workers Reduces rural-urban migration Constitutes a vital engine for economic growth development of a nation- increase GDP Skyrocketing of the emergence of SMES and Promotion of self-reliance and economic sustainability ELEMENTS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP Entrepreneurship may involve the following elements IDEA GENERATION AND SCREENING This is actually the starting point of many new entrepreneurial ventures. Sources of ideas are many and varied. The sources notwithstanding, the would-be entrepreneur must cultivate the habit of documenting those ideas. It should be packaged in form of feasibility report, no matter what. STARTING A BUSINESS This could involve: a. Buying an existing business b. Starting from the scratch or start-up business c. Through Franchise d. By Inheritance CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION Innovation is the development and introduction of a new product, a new process, or a new service to a market. Creativity is the link between pure imagination and the introduction of an innovative product, process or service. Both are necessary ingredients for entrepreneurship. However, creativity is behind innovation. Creativity alone, does not define entrepreneurship. Creativity without innovation does not produce results. And innovation without effective management does not produce marketable products, processes or services. Although creativity and innovation are necessary ingredients, they are not sufficient of themselves to establish successful entrepreneurship (Fry, 1992, Izedonmi, 2009). There must be effective and efficient administrative structure on the ground and a healthy dose of management as well. 3. SEEKING FINANCING Financing could either be debt or equity financing, traditional or venture, internal or external capital. The would-be venture must consider financing the venture. Availability, cost and timeliness must be balanced. Starting small attracts small capital input. However, not all entrepreneurial ventures require start-up capital or equal amount either Creative financing is a basic tenet of entrepreneurship. A growth-oriented venture uses multiple sources of financing. You must be prepared to make your personal sacrifice in this respect. Too often, the banks will request to see your personal inputs in terms of financial commitment. Finance institutions only lend to ventures that have proven records, and history, and those ventures that are also promising economically. 4. ASSUMING RISK Every entrepreneur must assume one risk or the other. However, entrepreneurship is not necessarily risk-taking but risk-assuming. Corporate management deals in risk minimization, entrepreneurship deals in risk management. Corporate management too often generally tends to be risk-averse. They want to reduce risk to a minimum during production so as to be profitable. Entrepreneurship manages risk since it cannot be reduced significantly in entrepreneurial situations whether new or existing ventures. However, entrepreneurs are calculated risk-takers. Risk management involves the acknowledgement that risk exists and the actions that are taken to shift as much risk as possible to others and then control the remainder. Some risk Management ventures include Renting rather than owning equipment and facilities Using multiple sources of financing. Building an entrepreneurial team with distinctive skills. Undertaking multiple ventures simultaneously with varied degrees of risk. Committing a portion of the total resources to any one project. Assigning a team member the responsibility of monitoring short-term performance with the anticipation of cutting losses of early performance indicates unfavorable results. THE PULL AND PUSH ENTREPRENEURSHIP FACTORS There are various factors (negative or positive) which tend to provide the needed motivation in getting into entrepreneurship or becoming an entrepreneur. While the negative factors are called push factors; the positive factors are pull factors. Both factors provide the fundamental attraction either by necessity or by desire and opportunity into the entrepreneurial world. The push factors are: Unemployment / loss of job. Dissatisfaction with pay and job situation. Discrimination and victimization by boss in work place. Middle-age crises. Divorce / widowhood. Relocation. The positive pull factors are: Desire for independence. Desire for increase in wealth. Increased social status and prestige. Spouse support and motivation. Provision of market opportunity. Franchise. Provision of licenses by parent company. Favorable government policies etc. THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP DECISION The entrepreneurial motivation to launch a venture has been grouped into three variables (Fry, 1992) as: Antecedent variables. Triggering variables. Enabling variables. The antecedent factors They cause the individual to begin to consider the possibilities of entrepreneurship either consciously or unconsciously. This could take into consideration the variables listed below Creativity. Background. Personality. Past experience. Education. Current job. Triggering factors: These are the events or situations that specifically trigger the entrepreneurial act. They are salient life events may be quite personal , professional or for instance, financial changes in an entrepreneurs life that are perceived as very important to entrepreneurial decision may set off the alarm to take step .They involve: Loss of Job Invention or Idea Offer from partner Entrepreneurial motivation or willingness to start a venture (M) = Antecedent Variables (A) X Triggering Variables (T). The enabling factors These factors make the actual launching of the venture possible. They include opportunity and resources which are very critical to the successful launch of the venture. The likelihood of a venture launch is made up of these three factors combined. Our youths look outside instead of looking inward. Those who look inward first tend to travel faster on the outside. Several entrepreneurial opportunities exist in the environment. They need to look well to discover some opportunities. Our youths must be ready to start small, learn the ropes and grow up. Hard work, patience and deep commitment are necessary. ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Entrepreneurship tends to be opportunity-driven rather than resource-driven. This is because that once opportunities are identified and properly evaluated resources are deployed to capture them. Opportunity creates or generates its kind of resources. There are thousands of opportunities available to would-be entrepreneurs who present high potential for wealth, growth, self-employment, independence, social status, and prestige. The would-be entrepreneur must conduct a thorough scanning and survey of the environment strategically. But if you do not have any readily available opportunity, you can creatively and innovatively come up with one. However, some of the sources of these opportunities could include: 1).Self-discovery 2).Improvement in the quality of existing product/ service. 3). Use of an existing product/service in an untapped market 4). Invention 5). Consultancy 6). Trade magazines, Journal and Business Newspapers 7). Societal needs 8). Survey of natural resources 9). Government Agencies 10) Research Institutes, Universities, e.t.c 11) Spin-off 12) Work experience 13) Hobby and Vocation ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS REQUIRED TO TRANSFORM CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES GENERAL BUSINESS SKILLS Entrepreneurial skills of successful entrepreneurs include: Sales and Marketing skills Financial Know-how skills Self-motivation skill Time management skill Administrative skill Sales and marketing skills To get the right customers and subsequently make target revenues and profits Include communication skills Financial know-how skills To know how to handle money well. After all, not everybody can effectively manage money. Source and manage funds and cash flows Self-motivation skills Internal locus of control Self-starter with a clear desired goal in mind Confidence in yourself and in your ideas Diligent and hardworking Extra drive and commitment to set goals Time management skills Time is money Time is life Entrepreneurship opportunity has time-limit Time management is very important for business success Self-management is very critical for effective time management TYPES OF BUSINESSES AND TIME MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES Have a time table, schedule of activities to be done Employ delegation freely without fear Determine priorities into urgent and important activities as: -Urgent activities demand immediate attention -Urgent but not important activities Not urgent but important activities Not urgent; not important Give priority to (i) and (iii) because by performing them, time is reduced for activities (ii) and (iii) Manage meetings and relationship with others Administrative skills Organizing, coordinating, directing, planning and general management, etc. B). TECHNICAL, ANALYTICAL AND HUMAN RELATION SKILLS Entrepreneurs are expected ordinarily to be sound by training normally technically skilled. They must also develop and possess conceptual, analytical and human relation skills to be successful. Others are business planning, idea creation, negotiation, risk analysis and management skills etc. C). ICT SKILLS They must also have computer and information Technology (CIT) skills because of the era we are and the environment they will have to operate. ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITY AND SKILLS S/N ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPPORTUNITY SKILLS AND ATTITUDES 1. Business/consultancy in area of professional specialization or working as a contractor General Business skills such as marketing, time management e.t.c Confidence enthusiasm, hardworking 2. Sonet Entrepreneurship Idea development, leadership, negotiation, planning, organizing, self belief, confidence General business skill 3. Intrapreneurship Idea development recognizing opportunities for improvements Alliance building, confidence, leadership 4. Non-traditional specialist business General Business Idea development, creativity, confidence Willingness to work hard 5. General Business Ventures Ideas development, creativity, confidence, willingness to work hard General Business skill Source: Andrea: Developing Entrepreneurship skills in the context of higher education. DEVELOPMENT OF ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS These could be through: Attending Entrepreneurial training classes, development programme, seminars, workshops, etc. Universities Job rotation Special (intensive) training Article ship or apprenticeship Organizational learning R D Institution Consultants National and international agencies and bodies NGOs Professional bodies ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS FACTORS Successful entrepreneuring depends on four (4) major factors namely: Knowledge Hard work Skills Attitude(character/ integrity) Lifematics Question Created by (Izedonmi, 2010) Now let us work out this lifematics question together. There are basically four (4) attributes or factors that can enhance our success in life viz: Skills, Knowledge, Hard work and character (Attitude). They are all essential to ingredients of entrepreneurial success. How much does each contribute? Which of these is superior and why? For easy understanding, let us replace character with attitude. Solution Our current roman alphabets are made up of A B C D E F G H I J K L M 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 The alphabets together with their numerical values are stated above. Let us take each attribute one after the other and link up the corresponding numerical value. Start with skill, then knowledge follow this with hard work and finally character but remember to substitute attitude for character. Let us replace numeric value to each alphabet and see their results as indicated below: (i) S K I L L S 19 + 11 + 9 + 12 + 12 + 19 = 82% (ii) K N O W L E D G E 11 + 14 + 15 + 23 + 12 + 5 + 4 + 7 + 5 = 96 % (iii) H A R D W O R K 8 + 1 + 18 + 4 + 23 + 15 + 18 + 11 = 98 % (iv) A T T I T U D E 1 + 20 + 20 + 9 + 20 + 21 + 4 + 5 = 100 % Solution Skills secure only 82 %, Knowledge 96 %, hard work 98 % and Attitude 100 % in that order. Only Attitude which I equate to character for this purpose secures 100 % success in the race of high profile entrepreneurship. Conclusion I must admit that professional certification is good but character is a lot better. Character is the true collateral security of our values, learning and entrepreneurial success. It keeps the society and system going. It prevents a nation from decaying and checkmates unnecessary crisis and even civil war. Therefore in all our entrepreneurial pursuit, character development should be given a prominent place. When character breaks down everything breaks down. True certification in life is only evidenced by character and not papers called certificates or entrepreneurial success alone or quantity of wealth.

Bigfoot Essay -- essays research papers

Bigfoot For over a 150 years man has been troubled by one great mystery, a mystery that has baffled all who have witnessed it and all who have tried to solve it. This mystery is commonly known as Bigfoot, a tall hairy man/ape who lurks in the woods in almost every country on this planet. Some say it is just an ape, some believe it is a man in costume, and others are true believers of this hairy phenomenon. For more than a decade and a half this creature of myth has caused enormous contradictions in the field of science, bringing about one question. Does Bigfoot exist? Throughout the 150 year history of Bigfoot many concerns have raised, the most in number have been from Native Americans. The Karok Indians tell of an â€Å"upslope person† who lurks far up in the mountains (Gaffron, 22-24). Some medicine men have told stories of â€Å"snow-walkers† that haunt the Forrest depths (Short). The creatures North American habitat covers over 125,000 square miles of forest, contained in the states of Oregon, Washington, and California, constituting a large number of Native American tribes to encounter and frighten (Gaffron, 22). This phenomenon is not just a Native American one told by medicine men, and tribe leaders, Bigfoot plays an enormous role in the ancient folklore of such civilizations as, the Russians, Greeks, and Anglo-Saxons (Brunvand). These civilizations have been around for hundreds of years, and have been telling stories of Bigfoot long before any one; they hold the true key to Bigfoot’s history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the environment changes so does the Bigfoot. The Yeti, known as the legendary man of the Himalayas, is the Bigfoot of Nepal, China, and Siberia. Numerous descriptions state the Yeti resembles a primitive humanlike being (Gaffron, 52). Four major types of Bigfoot have been recorded, each one having its own distinct differences. The Teh-Ima is 4 feet tall, being the smallest of the four and is located in lower mountain regions. The Meh-The, slightly resembling a gorilla, has a big pointed head and large square teeth, it is slightly larger than the Teh-Ima. The Duz-Teh being the third largest resembles a bear and is approximately six to eight feet tall. The largest of the group is the Bigfoot of North America weighing as much as 1,000 pounds, and over eight feet tall (Gaffron, 44-46). These Bigfeet have there own characteristics and traits, each one ad... ...the footage; if they were to attempt it, it would require a whole new system of artificial muscles and an actor who could walk like a Bigfoot (Gaffron, 72-76). In the thirty-five years since this footage was taken nothing has been able to prove the existence of Bigfoot more than it has.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For thousands of years myths of an upright man/ape have been told in dozens of cultures and for 150 years its sight has baffled science and caused irreversible controversies in its theories. Weather Bigfoot is just another branch of primates or an early form of humanity which failed to evolve; it is the duty of science to seek truth no matter how controversial the findings may be. Works Cited â€Å"Abominable Snowman.† Microsoft Encarta 2009 Encyclopedia. CD-ROM. Jan Harold Brunvand: Microsoft, 2009. â€Å"California Sightings List.† Bigfoot Encounters. 19 January, 2006. Fahrenbach, W.H. â€Å"Bigfoot Biology.† Bigfoot Encounters. 19 May, 2008. Gaffron, Norma. Bigfoot: Opposing Viewpoints San Diego: Green Haven Press inc. 2007 The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. 25 October, 2009. Thomas, Roger F. â€Å"The Patterson – Gimlin Film.† BIGFOOT: Fact or fantasy? 25 June, 2008.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Barn Burning Essay -- essays research papers

Barn Burning "You’re getting to be a man. You got to learn. You got to learn to stick to your own blood or you ain’t going to have any blood to stick to you." This quote from William Faulkner’s "Barn Burning" does reveal a central issue in the story, as Jane Hiles suggests in her interpretation. The story is about blood ties, but more specifically, how these ties affect Sarty (the central character of the story). The story examines the internal conflict and dilemma that Sarty faces. When the story begins, Sarty and his family are in a courtroom. Sarty, known in a proper setting as Colonel Sartoris, which in itself gives an insight into the families mentality. Sarty’s father, Abner Snopes is being accused of a barn burning. Right away, as Sarty is called to testify, you get an idea of what is going through the boy’s head, and the mentality that has be ingrained in him. He thinks to himself, Enemy! Enemy!, referring to the people t hat his father and his family for that matter are up against. Sarty would later discover that things are not always the way that his father leads everyone to believe they are. Sarty, somewhere deep down wants to just do what is right, but being roughly 10 years old, I don’t think he quite has that figured out yet. His sense of right and wrong has been biased under the tyranny of his father. We also get a good idea of the personality of the father, Abner, by the way Sarty describes his physical appearance. Abner is...

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Personal Assessment Interview Essay

1. What are your three most important reasons for wanting to be a teacher? I want to be a teacher because I value education. I apprehend the importance of education in leading a meaningful and successful life, and I plan to become a valuable vehicle in realizing the purpose and acceptance of learning. I would regard it as an honor to play a part in the learning process and find that the teaching instruction provides desirable holistic changes that unlocks potentials and makes room for personal growth and development in the learners. I want to be a teacher because I realize the importance of education in building a strong and stable foundation of society. Teachers are granted the capacity to mold the future of society by training learners to become responsible and productive citizens. A vision of a peaceful environment, where people work together harmoniously to build a prosperous, righteous and humane society, is nurtured through the teaching-learning process. I want to be a teacher because I also want to learn in the process. In the teaching-learning process, the teacher and the learners swap roles successively. It is not only the teacher who teaches, but also the learner. Learners have different cultural backgrounds, perspectives, worldviews, and opinions that a teacher should learn from in order to enhance understanding and widen the boundaries of the mind. 2. What characteristics do you possess that you believe will make you an effective teacher? I am passionate about learning and education. I believe that there is always something valuable to learn from everything and I know that love for learning completes who I am as a teacher. In everything I do, I always look for opportunities to learn and improve. This innate quality measures up to the attributes of an effective teacher because the growing passion for learning impels the teacher to influence learners to the same. Moreover, teachers who are highly motivated to learn are also highly motivated to teach. I deem education boundless. It is not limited within the confines of the classroom, nor is it limited to books, teacher-learner interaction alone, and other traditional means of teaching. I am open to changes in trends and developments. Open-mindedness allows me to become an efficient teacher because I am able to tolerate and acknowledge change in order to unlock new avenues for the teaching-learning process. I am adaptable to unfamiliar situations, because I am open to new frontiers, as long as I deem it has potential to improve the teaching-learning process. Adaptability and open-mindedness yields an efficient teacher, able to cope with global changes allowing real-time learning that assists learners to survive in the ever changing world. 3. Name three staff development topics you believe would be most beneficial to offer in schools. Staff development is highly significant in order to improve services that will be provided by educational institutions. It should be implemented in order to assure that the quality of educational services efficiently meets the requirements of learners and the obligations of the school as an academic institution fostering learning and development. I believe that the three most important topics that should be included in staff development are legal and ethical issues, team building, and professional growth. Legal and ethical issues guide the staff to act accordingly, putting the best interest of the learners, and stakeholders (families, the community, the state, etc.) first. Educational institutions must be able to abide by constitutional laws pertaining to education, and act accordingly to invite respect and integrity to the field of education. Team building is necessary in order to ensure that all members of the staff of the educational institution work together to meet the mission, vision, goals, and objectives of the school. Promoting professional growth is most important to teachers because it encourages improvements and developments in pedagogical processes as well as personality development. This may be attained by graduate program services related to teaching, made available to the teaching staff in order to assist them enhance their craft, apprenticeship, seminar, training programs, etc. Valuing professional growth means that educational institutions take necessary steps in ord er to enhance the quality of educational programs and services that they provide to learners. 4. Prior to planning a lesson, what do you need to consider? Planning a lesson is crucial in the teaching-learning process because it dictates the learning outcomes, especially changes in the learners’ behaviors as influenced by a particular lesson. There are various factors to consider when planning a lesson, all of which determine whether a lesson will effect to desirable learning outcomes or not. Prior to planning a lesson, there is a need to consider the existing skills and abilities of the learners. The depth of the lesson, teaching strategies and approaches, instructional materials and activities should be designed to suit the skills and abilities of the learners. This ensures that learners will be able to grasp the concepts that will be taught in each lesson. Instructional objectives should be set prior to planning a lesson because it reminds the teacher that the content of the lesson should be in line with the objectives. Instructional objectives form the framework of a lesson. Another thing to consider in planning a lesson is the variety of resources available that will go along with the learning objectives. Presenting a lesson through aids and materials is highly dependent on the availability of resources. Therefore, before planning activities for learning, available resources should be checked. Once these factors are met, the teacher is prepared to plan a lesson. 5. What ideas do you have to address diversity (e.g. culture, special needs, ESL, etc.) in your classroom? As a teacher, I should be able to promote equality within the classroom and recognize the rights of the learners as human beings. Although individual differences is considered in instructional planning, due to the learners’ varying skills and abilities, diversity in relation to other aspects including culture, disabilities or handicap, proficiency in the English language should be undervalued. Teachers should be able to determine when to acknowledge individual differences, and when to promote camaraderie and egalitarianism in the classroom. To address individual differences and diversity, the teacher should be able to design the program of instruction in such a way that it is discernible and achievable to all learners considering their talents, skills, abilities, and interests. Educational programs and activities in part should focus on diversity by including the need for learners to be aware of other cultures, non-native English speaking individuals, and special needs of other learners experiencing difficulties. An example of an educational program may be a cultural show where students share their culture through artistic forms (dancing, singing, dramatization, role-playing, etc.), or an activity wherein a non-native English speaker teaches the rest of the class some significant words in his native tongue. It is important to remember that the key is to promote learners’ awareness of differences. 6. What do you anticipate to be the greatest challenge in your teaching? Perhaps the greatest challenge in teaching is meeting its ultimate objective, and that is to affect desirable learning outcomes and behavioral changes to the learners. Accomplishing this objective requires a diverse set of knowledge, talent, and skills. Teaching is a long process, from diagnostic assessment, to lesson planning, classroom management, going about the teaching process itself, evaluation, etc. The greatest challenge is how to keep it together, despite the pressures and demands of the teaching-learning process, in order to complete the process and in the end prove that the ultimate objective of teaching was achieved. 7. What would you like to see as outcomes of your student teaching experience and your experience in the Teacher Education Program? I am expecting that my experiences in student teaching will affirm my aspiration to become a teacher. All knowledge obtained from classroom courses will equip me with necessary information in order to go about the student teaching experience knowledgeably and appositely (i.e. classroom management techniques, teaching strategies and approaches, laws protecting the rights of the learners, etc.). The student teaching experience becomes a playing field where all the information learned is applied and weathered and the skills and abilities as an aspiring teacher is tested. Through these experiences, I am able to determine my strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, and determine ways in order to improve and become a professional educator worthy of respect and learning inspiration. The Teacher Education Program provides the essential knowledge and skills that must be learned, required of every teacher. 8. Describe an ideal classroom situation. An ideal classroom situation is one where classroom management is consistently implemented (i.e. children are disciplined, routine activities are followed, lessons are completed on time, etc.). Learners are highly motivated to learn, allowing a harmonious and interactive classroom environment, guided by the teacher. The objectives of learning are attained at the end of each lesson, and the learners are able to apply what they have learned in real life situations. The teacher is able to play all the necessary roles of the teacher as a manager of classroom activities and discipline, a facilitator of learning, a guide and a role model, a good listener, and a nurturer of well-motivated learners. Learners are able to adjust to changes in the classroom environment, and although it is called an ideal classroom situation, they are allowed to make mistakes. Through these mistakes and the identification of their weaknesses, they are able to take it constructively and push themselves to improve and become independent learners.