Monday, September 30, 2019

History of Psychology-John Locke and John Mill Essay

Psychology as a recognized science is a fairly new revelation, falling into favoritism only within the past century. Philosophy bears the roots of psychology, and philosophers have been pondering the inner workings of the mind and body for many centuries before psychology came in to favor. One of the key philosophers crucial in the development of psychology in to a formal discipline was Descartes. Their writings influenced more modern Western philosophers such as John Locke and John Mill. From this point, psychology grew into the science it is now recognized as. The Philosophers The 17th century is the cornerstone of philosophy evolving into psychology. Rene Descartes (1596-1650) is often considered to be the inspiration for and credited to be the father of our modern philosophy, and psychology. He is most famously quoted for â€Å"I think, therefore I am† (Descartes, 2006). A human’s ability to reason is the only to find truth. Descartes would also not accept anything to be truth unless there was no discernable reason for doubt. â€Å"The only way to get to the certainty of truth is to arrive at oneself, relying on the clear use of one’s own reasoning powers† (Goodwin, 2008, p.33). Disenchanted with the philosophy he was taught, Descartes found nothing in his learning that could not be left to question. He was said to only believe as truth what could not be doubted and Descartes pursued to find the knowledge he could find within himself (Goodwin, 2008). Descartes was a rationalist and dualist, making him firm believer in the mind and body being two completely separate entities. His beliefs on this are debatable in philosophy and psychology and have been so in the centuries following his life. Philosophers and psychologists to this day are still trying to find the connection between the mind and the body. Western Influences John Locke John Locke was a 17th century British philosopher who is credited with being the founder of Empiricism, the idea that our experiences are our only true source of knowledge. Locke’s view on the formation of ideas was sensation and reflection is the only foundation on which we form ideas. He believed we acquired all of our knowledge form our experiences in the world and in life. Locke compared the human mind to a sheet of white paper. Over the course of life, all of our experiences are recorded upon this paper, our sensations. These sensations can later be recalled, in reflection, to add to new sensations and to acquire new compounded knowledge. John Mill John Mill is considered to be the most important contributor during the British Empirical movement. His contribution stated all knowledge is attained through experience and inborn ideas do not exist. Mill also believed a man should be able to do anything desired as long as the actions do not harm or hurt fellow man in the process. This also affected his views on the necessity of government. â€Å"The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant. † (Mill, 2008). Mill found the government to only be necessary for the protection of the people in defense of a war, safety against violence, and to prevent cheating or fraud. Modern Psychology The evolution of philosophy into the science of psychology rapidly took shape in the 19th century. The world was also rapidly changing; the Industrial Revolution created new technologies to help in the advancement of many facets of science. Moving into the next century, advances in the knowledge in anatomy and of the brain further assisted the progress of psychology being a science. Robert Watson was crucial in the study of the history of psychology. Founding a new division of the American Psychological Association, he encourages a study of the history of psychology. As a result, nearly all psychology programs today require a course in psychology’s history. (Goodwin, 2008) Conclusion. Psychology as the science we recognize today is barely more than a century in the making. When following the links to the past and the minds that have gotten us to where we are in psychology today, much it to be learned. From modern medicine and science all the way back to ancient philosophers, psychology is a longstanding and diverse study. References Descartes, Rene (2006). A discourse on method/ by Rene Descartes [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon. com Goodwin, C. J. (2008). A history of modern psychology [3rd ed. ]. Mill, John S. (2008). On liberty/ by John Stuart Mill [Kindle DX version]. Retrieved from Amazon. com.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Battle of Monmouth

June of 1778, General Washington is planning to attack General Sir Henry Clinton and his troops as they march from Philadelphia to New York. Washington sent 5,000 men with Major General Charles Lee to attack the British rear guard. Lee is forced to retreat, but Washington is ready for the British with the main army. In the end the both sides had claimed victory. Near Monmouth County Courthouse, the battle was fought on June 28, 1778. The weather was so hot on the day of the battle that many soldiers suffered from heat stroke.Many of Washington’s officers favored his plans to attack General Clinton, but Major General Lee was against it. Lee felt that after their alliance with the French, that they shouldn’t attack the British unless they have overwhelming superiority. Washington decided to send 4,000 men to attack Clintons rear guard, Lee turned down command of the force. After Washington raised the amount of men to 5,000, Lee demanded to be given command. Lee was given strict orders to hold a meeting to determine the plan of attack with his officers.During the meeting, Lee told the officers to be alert for orders during the battle instead of planning it out. When they encountered the British, Lee quickly lost control. After this the British moved to flank Lee’s men, when Lee saw this he ordered a retreat. Washington had been bringing the main army up when he saw Lee’s forces retreating. Washington located Lee and dismissed him after not receiving a satisfactory answer as to what had happened. Washington rallied Lee’s men and held off the British just long enough to set positions in the west. After fighting till sometime in the late afternoon, the British retreated.Washington hoped to pursue but his men were exhausted from fighting all day in the heat. The Battle of Monmouth was the last major battle fought in the north during the war. After the battle the British had held up in New York and focused on the southern colonies. Le e requested a court martial to prove his innocence from any wrong doings after the battle. Washington then filed formal charges against Lee, where he was found guilty and suspended. During the Battle a woman who was bringing water to American artillery men is said to of taken over firing for her husband when he had fallen.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Budgetary Slack As A Management Control Mechanism Accounting Essay

Budgetary Slack As A Management Control Mechanism Accounting Essay Introduction Budgeting control system is one of the popular mechanisms in the management control systems that have undergone significant shifts of emphasis in both literature and practices. Budget slack meaning a deliberate underestimation of revenues and overestimation of costs than of actual budget is one of the aspects of budgetary control in the research of contemporary accounting management literature. The conventional wisdom on budgetary slack underlies a negative image of slack creation by the managers to appropriate organizational resources available after optimal utilization of the so called achievable budget targets. Alternative voice is that budgetary slack is often rewarding for the managers and also for the organization, serving as motivation for efficient utilization of resources and meeting the targets of the organization. However, the relationship between budgetary slack and management control mechanism underlies budgetary slack as the outcome of either tight budgeti ng or lack of budgetary supervision. In addition to that, budgetary slack are also used as management control mechanism. Against this backdrop, the objective of the paper is to review the existing image and practices of budgetary slack as a mechanism of management control and the role of budgetary slack that impact on the behavior of managers. For that end the paper in the beginning details out the conceptual scheme of budgetary slack and the factors and strategies to create budgetary slack. It reviews the linkages between management control mechanism and budgetary slack in the next section. Then, the paper importantly deals with the role of budgetary slack on the behavioral pattern of the managers. Finally the paper ended with discussing some ways to enhance he positive functioning of budgetary slack to control unethical practices and increase accountability and transparency of the management. The Concept of Budgetary Slack Budgetary slack in its simplest form, as in the lexicon of advance accounting, is defined as the difference between an actual budget figure and an easily obtainable budget figure. When a manager controls budget resources more than optimal to accomplish his or her objectives, then the manager creates a condition of budget slack (Kren, 2003). For instance, budget slacking may take the form of underestimated performance capabilities, understated revenues or overstated expenses over a projected period of time. The official terminology of CIMA considers that slack in the budgeting process occurs if there is an intentional underestimation of revenues or overestimation of expenses by the managers (Jia, 2007). Payes (1989) emphasizes on the issue of performance in defining budget slack. According to his perspective, the difference between a division’s expected performance capability and a participatively-set performance standard or target creates budgetary slack. Budget slack is the difference between the resources allocated or available to a division and those resources needed to achieve a budget-set or output target. Becker and Green (1962) and Schiif and Lewin (1970) advocated that for slack to occur participative budgeting is a necessary condition. Budget slack should be distinguished from two related concepts in the accounting management literature: ‘organizational slack’, and ‘budget achievability’. Organizational slack which serves as a positive function by absorbing fluctuations in an uncertain environment refers to the safeguard measures taken by the authorities to reduce the harmful effects of uncertain conditions on which the firms function (Cyert and March, 1963). Quite similarly, ‘budget achievability’ reduces the risk of dysfunctional subordinate behavior by increasing predictability of earnings, and reducing time spent on control of profit center operations (Merchant and Manzoni, 1989). The differences between budget slack and these two concepts is that budget slac k is concealed from superiors and exceeds allowable levels. Other views on the definition of budget slack are mostly concerned with managers’ effort to choose a more easily attainable budget standard against which subordinates’ performances will be evaluated (Jawarski and Young, 1989), or with managers’ desire to create protection from uncertainties by absorbing fluctuations (Cyert and March, 1963).

Friday, September 27, 2019

Marketing Individual Reflective Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Individual Reflective Report - Essay Example This paper is an individual reflection of a marketing report that was prepared by my group members and since it is an individual reflection, I will highlight what I acquired through the learning process and what I found out after research of my own abilities as well as that of marketing dynamics. Individually speaking, I am of the opinion that the challenge within the report was such that I had to seek alternatives as per its launch strategy. However I found out that the launch could have been done in a number of different ways but the best option was chosen for this report and hence we moved ahead with it. If I had another chance I would still choose the manner in which we moved ahead with this report because I believe this played the trick and brought in a number of positives for the report and indeed our understanding. It made us believe what we could learn and for my individual comprehension, I discerned that the manner in which marketing is done worldwide is something that I mus t ponder deep into, and thus give my very best day in and day out. Therefore I would not make any change if I am given another chance to implement my truest sense within the preparation of this marketing report (Copeland 2009). ...Same happened within this scenario as well where I worked my way through the tough times and gained upright knowledge and understanding regarding the Brakes Brothers which is a leading supplier of prepared and fresh food to caterers and restaurants around the United Kingdom. This experience helped me immensely at understanding how I need to shape up my work tasks and what I must do in order to learn and acquire new things which will bring me success at the end of the day (Kitchen 2004). As far as this success is concerned, I am of the view that the report on Brakes Brothers provided me a thorough understanding of how different forces shape up and what needs to be done in order to find out how the company operates within the whole of United Kingdom. This br ings in the much needed value for the end consumers. I would apply this knowledge within my future endeavours as it has helped me sustain the strengths and look after the weaknesses. As far as my work domains are related, I would surely apply the learned skills within my career aspirations and learn a number of new things which come directly under the aegis of marketing. The group work assisted me at comprehending how I need to move ahead with the changing times and thus learn new aspects of Brakes Brothers’ work routines and processes. Brakes Brothers is a very useful case study because it makes me understand how to gain an in-depth knowledge into the territories of growth within a business’ entirety and how the same can be translated across the board for the benefit of all and sundry – the stakeholders and customers in essence (Watkins 2005). I would make use of my knowledge that I have attained by pinpointing how

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Dutch Revolt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Dutch Revolt - Essay Example In Middle Ages there were tree independent dukedoms: Gelderland and Brabant, counties of Holland, Zeeland and Flanders, and episcopacy of Utrecht. In 1370 in order to protect own interests the cities of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht as well as the episcopacy of Utrecht established trading-political Hanseatic League. It carried out in practice the intermediation between West, North and East Europe and had a trading hegemony in Northern Europe. In the XV century there was a beginning of state main political institutions formation. The protoplast of future parliament - The States-General - was framed in 1463. Since 1482 the territory of Nederland was a part of Habsburg's realm, and since 1556 a part of Spanish Habsburg's realm. During the times of Charles V regiment (1500 - 1558), there was completed the process of integration with contemporary Belgium and Luxemburg and later on formed the one and undivided state of Hole Roman Empire. In this period of time the term "Dutch Republic" came into existence. In economically developed regions there were circulated monetary rent and different kinds of short-term lease; there were formed the order of farmers who do for on the entrepreneurial basis. There was forming the bourgeoisie and was germinating proletariat. The "proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian. Originally it was identified as those people who had no wealth other than their sons; the term was initially used in a derogatory sense, until Karl Marx used it as a sociological term to refer to the working class"2.Notwithstanding Spanish authorities were constantly trying to suspend the development of Netherlands. There was inquisition put into action, all people that were in bed odor with it were put to torture. In this time of spiritual oppression and political coercion in Netherlands the new religion doctrine of Calvinism, that is a "system of Christian theology and an approach to Christia n life and thought within the Protestant tradition articulated by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and subsequently by successors, associates, followers and admirers of Calvin, his interpretation of Scripture, and perspective on Christian life and theology"3. Calvinism got its broad spread and opposed itself to theological system of Catholicism.Impassioned and filled inside with religious protest the population of Netherlands excited iconoclast movement destroying icons, statues of Saints and other matters of religion cult. . Relegated Spanish vindicatory army started the severest terror. Finally it flamed up the nationwide war, which got the name of Eighty Years War or Dutch Revolt (1566 -1648).The laboratory movement was headed by William of Orange. It should be mentioned that the struggle against Spanish enslavers pushed forward the increase of national self-consciousness. Exactly this period of time is connected with becoming of Dutch nation and language.

The American Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The American Civil War - Essay Example According to the Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference, page 53, â€Å"Long before the Civil War, the terms â€Å"North† and â€Å"South† had acquired fixed geographic and cultural certainty for Americans. In 1767, two English astronomers, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, completed a survey that marked what had been a disputed boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland. By the early nineteenth century, the line of demarcation had become more significant; most free states were entirely north of the Mason-Dixon line (parts of Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, and Ohio fell below it) and most slave states were entirely to the south of it. Although this remains to a large extent accurate, there were some deviations from it during the war.†2 The two sections of the United States, the North and the South, were very different geographically, economically, culturally and to a large part, politically. Yet they shared many commonalities. Both spoke the same English la nguage. Both had gone through the Revolutionary War. Both groups were predominately Protestant. Both were fiercely independent. However, there were stark differences as well. Again, to quote from The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference, â€Å"the regional differences were striking and had become the subject of frequent comment. The ethnic diversity of New York and Pennsylvania contrasted with the ethnic homogeneity in most of the white south; the religious practices of the Puritan in New England differed greatly from those of the Anglicans in Virginia. Some 1,200 miles separated Maine in the North from Florida in the South, but slavery could make the two sections appear worlds apart. The slave system in the South and the free labor capitalism of the North produced two distinct economic philosophies that shaded Americans’ views of those living on the opposite side of the Mason-Dixon Line†.3 Some say that lack of understanding from either side caused men to will ing take up arms against each other, even against family members. Many argue that cultural and political issues propelled the nation into civil war. Indeed they certainly had their part. Politically the North was predominately Republican while the South was predominately Democrat. But as Page Smith said in his book, Trial by Fire, â€Å"The civil war took place because the Southern states felt that they could no longer tolerate their status as members of the Union.† (pg1)4 Smith goes on to discard any suggestion that economy, sectionalism or politics, had any legitimate influence on launching the bloodiest conflict in our nation’s history. He emphatically claims that the institution of slavery and, more specifically, the determination of the North to limit it and the South to extend it were the exact and specific cause of the war. In determining whether or not the Civil War was repressible this question must be asked. Would there have been a Civil War if slavery had no t existed in the United States? Stephen Oakes, in his The Approaching Fury, speaks of a major issue regarding slaves and slave states which was current

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring Activities --Savannah, GA Essay

Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentoring Activities --Savannah, GA - Essay Example The organization is undoubtedly one of the best charitable organizations in the area. The chapter is highly effective considering most of the activities the organization offers here. Its impact is widely felt through the contribution it has made to the children of this area. Firstly, volunteers are deployed through a highly rigorous process. This is done by thoroughly screening everyone coming in to offer services. This is done through interviews as well as background investigations. This way the organization is able to provide top-notch level of services to the children. In addition, most of the reports from the officials indicate that there is a notable positive effect among youth (Stone, 2009). Looking at the programs offered by the organization, I would more likely classify them as prevention measures than diversion. This is so because, the services provided by the volunteers are focused in making the young people gain good values that are generally acceptable in the society. The y are keen in coaching the youth on how to keep away from harmful behavior such as using illegal drugs and criminal activities. Although there are other programs that aims at helping this generation of kids become more diverse as far as their careers is concerned, the main goal is to bring up children of high morals (Jano, 2008). Another reported outcome of the program is bringing up self-confident young people who can easily mingle with other people. BBBS Chapter Programs / Competition The local chapter offers a variety of programs that have become so successful in achieving positive results. The mentoring programs are set up based on the needs of the children. The mentors in different programs come from all walks of life and the organization matches these experts with the requirements of the young people seeking guidance. One of the most common programs is the academic mentoring. Here, an experienced college professor participates in mentoring a student through a particular projec t. Secondly, there is the career mentoring that aims at guiding youth through career choices and along the path of career chosen. Lastly, there is the personal development mentoring that provides counseling to young people when they are experiencing personal crisis (To’angutu, 2005). This also helps children with less privileged lives. The activities of the programs mostly leave other social service organization with less to offer, due to their wide support in terms of funds and staff, the BBBS has the competitive edge. The organization has reduced expenses since they do not incur staff expenses; they also have so many experts at their disposal who mostly volunteer their services to the program (Stone, 2009). The other organizations should try to specialize with offering social services that are not covered by BBBS. This will decrease the level of competitions that would otherwise arise from offering the same services as BBBS. BBBS versus Juvenile Justice System BBBS goals di ffer from those of the juvenile justice system. The latter is determined in rehabilitation of children accused of committing criminal offences. This is very different from the goals and the role of BBBS, which is guidance and counseling. The juvenile justice system only focuses with helping the children who are on the wrong whilst the BBBS focus on every child. Another difference is that the Juvenile justice system has the interest of the community at large where they aim at

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Applied business ethics seminar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Applied business ethics seminar - Essay Example It is from moral business behaviours that ethical leaders are created. She has made a very valid point, therefore, stating that the two elements should go hand in hand. From her point of view, her tax-evasion schemes are legal and irreproachable. She has clearly stated that she plays by the rules without breaking them. It does not, therefore, prevent her from being a moral person. Her schemes for tax evasion are all legal and within the bounds of the law and saves the company a lot of money. However, these are witty schemes of evading paying taxes and should not be applauded. On the weights of codes, such conduct presents a grey area. Mei-Hua, in a position of a senior manager, is not particularly setting the right example. She is an ethical leader, but business morals are somewhat compromised by her schemes that raise questions towards the same. Deshi is very distasteful about the whole concept of ethics and codes. He also describes them as a document you signs to â€Å"stop you from making money.† They are also documents that you sign to stop you from making money and in addition, they appear to him as guidelines that almost no one in the real business world is clear to follow. Deshi completely disregards the importance of codes of corporate governance. His views may have the benefits of maximizing profit by use of even shrewd means. However, without a code, business would be near to impossible. Deshi has a point in identifying the disparity between what is in the pages of Codes and Ethics and real practice. The codes and ethics seem to be formality documents while actual practice depicts otherwise. He is keen to note that most western companies say one thing but means something else. He implies that even when these documents are signed, most of the businesses do not regard them as their goal is to create profitable, successful businesses. Deshi has had experience in the real world of business. He discovered that no one really

Monday, September 23, 2019

Innovative Leadership and Culture Matrix Research Paper

Innovative Leadership and Culture Matrix - Research Paper Example According to Jones, Michael Dell of Dell Computer, â€Å"adopted a very different approach to managing his company. Dell developed a participative management approach, involved employees in decision-making, and fostered a spirit of comradeship and cooperation among team members to encourage top performance. His management style engendered intense loyalty from his employees, who liked his hands-on approach, and his close attention to managing his company† (p.10). The author noted that â€Å"Michael Dell was careful to watch the teams’ progress closely. When a project seemed not to be working out or was costing too much, he would quickly end it and transfer engineers to other projects† (p.10). The author further noted, â€Å"Dell’s knowledge management system, which gives them real-time access to its changing input demands, allows them to forecast demand for their products months in advance, and enables them to redesign their products so they will fit bette r with Dell’s future needs. The cost savings that have resulted from this system have been tremendous and have made Dell and its suppliers the low-cost leaders in the PC industry†. Dell’s leadership model emphasizes organizational development, promotes individuals from within, creates organizational alignment, develops core capabilities and managerial effectiveness.Dell Corporation had experienced a decline in growth in late 2000. The company began to focus on redesigning its culture in a way that would emphasize new values

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Tips About Writing About Yourself Essay Example for Free

Tips About Writing About Yourself Essay First you should gather all of your ideas.Writing is a process that involves at least four distinct steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing. It is known as a recursive process. While you are revising, you might have to return to the prewriting step to develop and expand your ideas. Prewriting is anything you do before you write a draft of your document. It includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and gathering information Although prewriting is the first activity you engage in, generating ideas is an activity that occurs throughout the writing process. Drafting Drafting occurs when you put your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. Here you concentrate upon explaining and supporting your ideas fully. Here you also begin to connect your ideas. Regardless of how much thinking and planning you do, the process of putting your ideas in words changes them; often the very words you select evoke additional ideas or implications. Dont pay attention to such things as spelling at this stage. This draft tends to be writer-centered: it is you telling yourself what you know and think about the topic. Revising Revision is the key to effective documents. Here you think more deeply about your readers needs and expectations. The document becomes reader-centered. How much support will each idea need to convince your readers? Which terms should be defined for these particular readers? Is your organization effective? Do readers need to know X before they can understand Y? At this stage you also refine your prose, making each sentence as concise and accurate as possible. Make connections between ideas explicit and clear. Editing Check for such things as grammar, mechanics, and spelling. The last thing you should do before printing your document is to spell check it. Dont edit your writing until the other steps in the writing process are complete.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Developing an Inclusive Education in South Africa

Developing an Inclusive Education in South Africa Introduction. What is inclusion? The foundation for a comprehensive understanding of inclusion have been laid by considering insights derived from United Nations initiatives, international experiences, research and debate in the field of inclusion. Different authors emphasise different aspects when defining inclusion and that makes it clear that inclusion is viewed differently (Dyson Millward 1999:152). Other authors stress access, belonging and participation in the general classroom for all learners with an underlying culture that values diversity. The following are at the sea inclusion is: Increasing participation by the reducing exclusions from curricula, culture and communities. Ainscow (1995:9) Premised out the understanding that learners can contribute one anothers learning. Ainscow (1995:149) Determined by school culture and ethos. Hall (2002:3). Learners who experience barriers to learning attending the neighbourhood schools and being taught in general education classroom. CSIE (2000:12) Initiated an entrenched by legislation and policy. Burden (2000:36) On the other hand, the authors stress support and define inclusion in terms of the ways in which support is facilitated at various levels, and say inclusion is: Dependent on training in requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes. Hall Engelbrecht (1999:231) Dependent on teachers who can would be five-year plans and activities. Ainscow (1995:151) Characterised by collegial stuffed in relationships. Ainscow (1995:151) About diverse learners requiring diverse in even individualised learning strategies. Ferguson Ferguson (1998:307) The examples given above indicate that the two emphases need to be maintained when seeking in comprehensive understanding of inclusion. First is that of school restructuring and improvement towards effectiveness and the second is that of a ensuring access through individually relevant support. Both are supported by the belief and attitudes that would characterise inclusive culture and art and trying to buy policy and legislation. Inclusive education in South Africa Education that was based on race in South Africa was dismantled and substituted by unitary that needed to contribute to building the rainbow nation, as such the separate education system for those learners who were deemed to have special needs was revisited with a view of creating an inclusive approach to education. The legislative framework in which inclusion functions in South Africa is mentioned with specific reference given to education. White Paper Six: Special Needs Education (DoE 2001). It is acknowledged that the field of education encompasses many aspects, including higher education and training, edit childhood education and adult basic education and training the focus in this study is on schooling in areas known as general and further education. In South Africa these are called GET (General Education and Training) Band and the FET (Further Education and Training) Band. An appreciation of the historical, social, political and economic context in which education functions is important to an understanding of the education in a country. Booth and Ainscow affirm this. They conducted a comparative international study on inclusion, they asked questions on what is needed to know about local and national context in order to understand the process of inclusion in any particular country. The apartheid era and post-apartheid Before 1994 in South Africa, education and schools in particular had been the locus of important struggle against apartheid. In 1976 there were uprisings especially in Johannesburg now Gauteng against the use of Afrikaans (modified form of Dutch spoken in South Africa) is a medium of instruction and then followed the 1980 boycotts. Different race groups had different education departments, and white education was administered by provincial education departments. Past racial imbalances meant that education was not equally funded across all racial groups. The inequitable division of resources also meant that some schools were highly resourced than others (model C schools as they were known then) served a very small percentage of learners and separate special schools served mainly white children waiting to have special needs. Since 1994 education is centralised, that is, it is controlled by a single national education department. Special education system was inherited from the apartheid era, which was not that equally developed for all races. The result was that special schools and classes have been well established and resourced to serve white to some extend Coloureds and Indians learners living with disabilities. Many white learners were taught in specially designed classrooms. The majority of black learners were served by education departments that did not provide quality special education services. Schools that were established for black learners who experienced areas to learning were not established by the state, but by churches. The small house below next the red bricks house which was the home was built by my grandfather and the Department of Education requested to use it in 1967 for sub A learners: Consequently, these learners were included in the general system by default, but did not benefit from the support that is necessary in an inclusive system. In the 1990s it was only then that the remedial teaching was offered to blacks to a limited extent in black schools (Nkabinde 1993:110 to 111). As a result barrier to learning went unrecognised and were not addressed and learners experienced repeated failure and eventually dropped out of school (Donald Lazarus 2002:297). There were and still are learners who, because of barriers to learning they experience, do not attend school (Pendlebury Enslin 2004:45) Inclusion supported by legislative and policy framework. The Constitution of South Africa affirms the fundamental principles that are foundational to inclusive education. These principles are of human dignity, equality and advancement of human rights (Republic of South Africa (RSA), 1996 a, Section 1, a), freedom from discrimination (RSA 1996 a, Section 9 (4) and a fundamental right to basic education RSA 1996 a, section 29 (1). The right to education is given legislative expression in the South African Schools Act (SASA). South African Schools Act (SASA) was enacted in 1996, and sets uniform norms and standards for the education of learners at schools. (Preamble SASA, RSA 1996 b). It makes allowance for an inclusive education system in South Africa through the following provisions: Public schools must admit learners and serve the educational requirements† without discrimination (Section 5 (1) ). Not admission test may be used to determine the admission of the learner to a public school (Section 5 (2) ). Where learners have â€Å"special education needs†, the rise in the wishes of the parents must be taken into account when determining the placement. Where it is â€Å"reasonably practicable learners with special education needs should be served in the mainstream and relevant support should be provided for these learners (Section 12 (4) ). Physical, and many these at public schools should be made accessible to disabled learners (Section 12 (5) ) The year that SASA was promulgated, The National Committee for Education Support Services and National Commission of Special Needs Education and Training (NCESS/NCENET) were appointed by the Minister of Education (Prof Bengu then) and the Department of Education to investigate and make recommendations about special needs and support in education in South Africa. The NCESS/NCSNET report recommended that separate special and ordinary education systems be integrated (DoE 1997:155). Some of the ways that the committee saw these being realised, like building modification curriculum development would be included in the education. White Paper Six: Special Needs Education, thereafter referred to as White Paper, published in 2001. The White Paper emanated from the need to respond to the fact that learners with different learning needs were not satisfactorily included in the South African education system. It was found that a small number of schools only served learners rule had been medically diagnosed as disabled and those who experienced difficulties due to other factors like abject poverty found themselves without the necessary support. The White Paper estimates that at the time of publication only 20% of learners with disabilities were included in the special schools and there was also, disparity among the provinces. The white paper was published after a consultative process and outlines and national strategy to include and accommodate those barriers to learning. The following where the principles of the White Paper: All children and young people can learn and need support Difference, including different learning needs, is valued as part of human experience. Education can be enabled to meet the needs of all learners. The home and community form an important source of learning. Attitudes, behaviour and teaching methodologies will have to change to meet the needs of learners. Participation of learners in the educational process should be maximised. The individual strengths of learners should be encouraged. An inclusive education system acknowledges the different levels of support required by different learners and should be organised to provide this. The following strategies were to be followed: improve special schools and convert them into resource centres; Convert about 500 primary schools to be full-service schools that are capable of responding to the full range of learning needs; Introduce management and teachers in the mainstream schools to the inclusion model, with a focus on any intervention in the Foundation Phase (grades R-3); The establishment of district-based support teams (DSTs) to provide support services; The implementation of an interaction programme to support inclusion; A funding strategy to be developed. The White Paper addresses extrinsic and intrinsic barriers to learning, with a particular focus on ways in which the education system may be itself a barrier to learning. There are also factors which become apparent and have an influence on the learning of learners. These factors may include in adequate shelter and nutrition. Hall (2002:34). Intrinsic barrier include various impairments like intellectual ability. The White Paper details the framework for establishing an inclusive education and training system through capacity building and the expulsion of provision and access in all education sectors. In considering financial challenges that are involved the White Paper outlines funding strategy that includes national and provincial spending and mobilisation of donor funding. Building an inclusive education and training is a 20 year developmental goal and short, medium and long-term strategies are described that will address barriers to learning and accommodate diverse learning needs in South Africa. The White Paper outlines South Africa with developments in inclusive education internationally and draws on the foundation laid by the United Nations initiatives and in particular, the Salamanca Statement. The Salamanca Statement and the White Paper The White Paper has included many of the key recommendations of the Salamanca Statement of 1994 and in this way. South Africa can be seen to be pursuing policies, congruent with international trends. The following are Salamanca Statement for governments to give attention to: early identification and intervention when barriers to learning are experienced, the importance of the participation of parents and the need for teacher education to meet the needs of inclusive classrooms UNESCO (1994: I X). All these are included in the strategic plan outlined in the White Paper. Consistent with the Salamanca Statements advice that developing countries should build inclusive schools, rather than try to expand a separate special as a cost-effective way of expanding access, the White Paper describes the conversion of some existing schools into full-service schools that can with the support of DSTs and neighbouring special schools, several learners with diverse learning needs. It is envisaged that these full service schools will be able to accommodate children living with mild and moderate disabilities were currently out of school. The Salamanca Statement sees a special schools having a role to play, not only in educating a small number of learners who cannot be satisfactorily served in ordinary schools but also as a resource centre that can provide inclusive schools with a valuable human and material resources. The White Paper embraced this and foresees that, after an audit of special schools, they will be upgraded to improve the quality of the education they provide for learners with high support needs and will be converted into resource centres. The White Paper reflects the thinking of researchers and theorists in the field of special needs education. The White Paper echoes positions taken from the writing of Ainscow (1995) Booth and Ainscow (1998) and Ballard (1999). The term barriers to learning in the White Paper it also appears in The Index for Inclusion, published by the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE) in 2000. The CSIE uses the term barriers to learning and participation. Inclusion is more than ensuring that learners with various barriers to learning are taught in regular classrooms. It is also about these learners being accepted and having a sense of belonging within the school and the community. Mordal Stromstad (1998:16) ask in this regard, †¦ Is this child surely included as if full member of the community, or have we only made a superficial adaptations which leave the child just as isolated as in a special class or special school? There is prove that the White Paper does not take participation as part of an inclusive system (DoE 2001 a: 16) and yet has chosen to stress the learning needs and barriers to learning. The White Paper could be criticised by those who advocate for a full inclusion approach to inclusion. They abstain from any notion of separate special schools, and their position is that all children irrespective of the severity of their disabilities could be educated in regular classrooms together with their non- disabled peers. The contend of that as long as special schools exist, there will be the assumption that there are some children who cannot be taught in regular classrooms and exclusion will be justified. Van Rooyen La Grange (2003 154) for his critique of the White Paper as the irony of the conditional acceptance of inclusion, noting the conditions that learners have to meet in order to be included in either ordinarily, full-service or special schools. The White Paper only claims an outline (DoE 2001:5). For an inclusive education system and many questions that the White Paper arises are perhaps details that are outside its scope. Practical concerns and many for example it has been noted that some provinces (and we have nine provinces in South Africa) have very few special schools (DoE 2001:30) and yet special schools are conceived as an integral part to the support that full-service school will need. I think in South Africa time will tell whether timeframes envisaged by the White Paper are realistic and whether enough funds can be generated from sources described to implement an inclusive education system. Other publication for schools that are not directly concerned with inclusion and in close of principles integrated into the content. For example, Teachers Guide for the Development of Learning Programs (DoE 2003) describes inclusivity as an underlying principle of the curriculum and explain how barriers to learning should be identified and addressed in the design of learning programs in the various learning areas. These documents are evidence that inclusion is conceived as part of ordinary education in South Africa and teachers are expected to plan teaching and learning in such a way that fosters access and participation. However, even these years of South Africa, move towards inclusion has been noted and teachers. Conclusion In as far as inclusion is concerned of the South African experience must inform the understanding of inclusion that is practical and applicable locally. Inclusion has been shown to rest on values, attitudes and beliefs about society, schools and learners. It is given direction by policies and legislation. In practice inclusion is restructuring schools and providing support to learners through different strategies that facilitate access and participation. A significant challenge faced by South Africa in the implementation of inclusion seems to be the training of teachers in the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes required for successful inclusion.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Jurassic Park :: essays research papers

Mr. Spielburg,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While your movies Jurassic Park and The Lost World are entertaining, they are not accurate portrayals of the ecosystem in the Jurassic period. Through close examination of the animal and plant life in your movies, my high school environmental geology class has come to the decision that your movies are typical misleading Hollywood fabrications of historical data.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Our most outstanding concern is that out of the eleven varied species of dinosaurs in both of your movies, only four were actually from the Jurassic period. One would think that if an amusement park that was centered around a specific time frame such as the Jurassic period would have animals and plants from that period; however, in your movies you have placed plants and animals from the Cretaceous period in a park named Jurassic. This would not be a big deal if the two periods were not separated by millions of years, but how could two ecosystems separated by millions of years be expected to coexist. We see this not as creative fiction, but as an inane idea that drastically diminishes the character of your multimillion dollar movies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We feel that in the two movies both you and your team of special effect artists went a little overboard. It seems to us that you cared more about getting a little thrill out of the audience and raking in viewers money rather than caring for their intellectual welfare. Where on earth was the idea thought up that if something did not move then it could not get attacked by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. There is no way to tell how an animal that has been extinct for millions of years processed the images that it saw, and how do you explain the paradox that you create with the Tyrannosaurus between the first and second movies. In the first movie a T-Rex is nose to nose with humans and does not acknowledge their presence, but in the second movie it is stated that the T- Rex has a sensory cavity that can track prey from miles away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You seem to have also overlooked the weights of the dinosaurs in order to make the movie more dramatic. We agree with you that if a seven ton T-Rex was walking beside a puddle of water then it would make ripples in the water and the ground would shake a little especially if the T-Rex was running at its top speed of 35 miles per hour, but what about the Brachiosaurs? A full grown Brachiosaur weighed between 85 and 112 tons, yet in the movies they hardly made an impact when they moved.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Edgar Allen Poes The Cask Of Amontillado Essay -- essays research pap

Irony in â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† In the short story, â€Å"The Cask of Amontillado† by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses two types of irony, dramatic and verbal. Dramatic irony is when the reader perceives something that a character in the story does not. Poe uses this type of irony in the character Fortunato. Verbal irony is when the character says one thing and means something else. This type of irony can be recognized in the statements that the characters, Fortunato and Montresor, say to one another. The name of the character, Fortunato holds dramatic irony within itself. The name Fortunato resembles the word fortunate. In this story, the character Fortunato is anything but fortunate. At the beginning, Fortunato believes that he is fortunate to have a friend, Montresor, who believes to have found a pipe of Amontillado. However, in the end Fortunato learns that he has been tricked and is buried alive. Another ironic feature about the character Fortunato, is the way he is described to be dressed, like a court jester. The time period in which The Cask of Amontillado takes place, court jesters are considered fools. Throughout the story, Fortunato is fooled to believe Montesor’s claim of the Amontillado. When Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall the statement that he says, makes Fortunato look like a fool. â€Å"’ Pass your hand over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre. Indeed, it is VERY damp. Once more, let me IMPLORE you to return. No? Then I must positivel y leave you. But ...

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Comparing Letters from an American Farmer and Thoreaus Various Essays

Comparing Crà ¨vecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer and Thoreau's Various Essays  Ã‚   St. Jean De Crà ¨vecoeur's Letters from an American Farmer and Henry David Thoreau's various essays and journal entries present opposing views of what it means to be an American. To somewhat simplify, both writers agree that there are two kinds of Americans: those who are farmers and those who are not. Crà ¨vecoeur views farmers as the true Americans, and those who are not farmers, such as frontier men, as lawless, idle, inebriated wretches (266). Sixty years later, Thoreau believes the opposite: farmers are doomed and bound to their land, and free men who own nothing posses the only true liberty (9). Both Crà ¨vecoeur and Thoreau judge men and their professions on industry, use of nature, freedom, and lawfulness. As America grew during these six decades, industrialization and higher education created more compact communities unable to economically provide the land needs of farmers. In Crà ¨vecoeur's America, "some few towns excepted, we are all tillers of the earth"(263). In 1850, Thoreau's Concord was among the many towns allowing people to leave their farms for a more urban setting to house their law practices, shoe stores, or surveying businesses. The separation of farmers from the rest of society leads to intellectualizations of the profession by thinkers like Thoreau. Removed from the simple, hard labor of farming, it is easy for urbanized society to forget the farmer's purpose and importance in Western civilization. Crà ¨vecoeur states that "industry, which to me who am but a farmer, is the criterion of everything"(264). Indeed, a lack of industry in any vocation eventually leads to failure. Thoreau, however, sees little value in indu... ...d as Thoreau was from self-supporting agriculture, modern America is light years away. Thoreau's ideal lifestyle is now an impossibility. Many Americans would settle for an unadorned life on a small farm, and a clean, dry home. Possibly the day will come when [the land] will be partitioned off into so-called pleasure-grounds, in which a few will take a narrow and exclusive pleasure only-when fences shall be multiplied, and man-traps and other engines invented to confine men to the public road, and walking over the surface of God's earth shall be construed to mean trespassing on some gentleman's grounds. ... Let us improve our opportunities, then, before the evil days come. (Thoreau 667) Works Cited: Crà ¨vecoeur, J. Hector St. John de. Letters from an American Farmer and Sketches of Eighteenth-Century America. Ed. Albert E. Stone. New York: Penguin, 1981.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Effective Project Communication Management Essay

Different communication methods are used within the business environment in order to ensure that the business runs as smoothly and effectively as possible. By doing so, this means that no misinterpretations or misunderstandings are made and therefore all information is both passed and received correctly. Different examples of communication used within a business environment can vary from phone calls, emails and face to face meetings. Depending on the situation and case you’re dealing with depends on what form of communication you would use as you want to use the one that is the most effective for what you’re doing. For example, if you want something in which you gain the most information from and get a feel for what you’re dealing with then a face to face meeting will probably be the most effective. Whereas if you just want to send something quick and easy then an email is probably more appropriate to use. When considering requirements for different audiences you have to take into consideration different things that might mean you have to vary how you go about things. For example, age, gender, and any disabilities may all be factors that you have to cater around. If you have a group of people who you’re wanting to do some sort of activity with and someone within the group is in a wheelchair then you have to make sure that they are also able to take part too and that you make any adjustments if needed to do so. Just like if you have someone who is partially/ fully death then getting a translator in so that they can understand too is necessary to make sure all information is collected efficiently by everyone there. Grammar. Grammar is what makes a sentence make sense. It’s the way that sentences are constructed. Without correct grammar, sentences can easily be misunderstood. By using correct grammar in a business environment means that you’re communicating more effectively and therefore acts as a time management skill as it lessens any confusion. Sentence structure. It is key to use sentence structures in the business environment. This ensures your messages are broken down clearly and aren’t all one big message with no punctuation or break down etc. By doing so helps emphasize any points being made and also means that communications are correctly interpreted. Punctuation. Punctuation breaks down texts into sentences, phrases, clauses and so on. It’s important that it’s used in a business environment because it helps stop any confusion arising or misunderstanding of the message that is supposed to be given. This is because lack of or incorrect punctuation can give a sentence a completely different meaning. For example, â€Å"Let’s eat Faye† as opposed to â€Å"let’s eat, Faye†. That’s why, in order to communicate effectively, it is important to ensure you use correct punctuation where needed. Spelling. When it comes to spelling and business communications, again, it is key to make sure everything is spelled correctly. Just like the rest, incorrect spelling leads to a misunderstanding of what is trying to be said as one misspelled word can change the entire meaning of a message. Conventions. Conventions make writing more understandable as it’s broken down into paragraphs with correct grammar, spelling etc. This makes communications in a business easier as it means that the message can be fluently read rather than having to be broken down in order to be able to understand it properly. Correct grammar is important when being used in business documents, such as emails, as it forms a professional relationship between both colleagues and customers. A massive part of communicating involves face to face meetings and therefore means the way that you put yourself across with, not only your tone of voice, but also body language is extremely important. This meaning that when dealing with sensitive cases, the tone of voice you use and body language you express should be taken into consideration greatly. You should make sure that you’re empathetic and that you consider the words in which you emphasize when trying to draw the listener’s attention. It is important to make sure you make a conscious effort to control your body language and tone of voice when speaking because body language portrays subconscious messages when communicating and can sometimes mislay the wrong impression. Examples of good body language would be making sure you make sufficient amount of eye contact, correct gestures if necessary and making sure facial expressions are appropriate. As for the tone of voice, a lot of the time people don’t remem ber what we say as such but more how we say it and that’s why using the correct tone of voice is important within the business environment to stop any misinterpretations.

Monday, September 16, 2019

People With Disabilities

The nature, causality, assessment, prevention, accommodation, and my personal reflection of the hearing loss will be discussed in my paper. I. Nature of the Exceptionally: According to Gallaudet University, approximately 1 of every 1,000 infants is born deaf while 6 of every 1,000 are born with some degree of hearing loss. Permanent hearing loss at birth annually affects 24,000 infants in the USA. In other words, 6 infants per 1,000 will have a hearing loss in a least one ear that will affect communication, cognition, and educational development. Twenty to thirty percent of hearing loss in children occurs during infancy and early childhood. Some will suffer hearing loss in one ear or possibly both. There are different types of hearing loss. A conductive hearing loss occurs in the middle ear. This is where three small bones involved in hearing are located. A hearing loss that occurs in this part of the ear is usually temporary. A chronic or recurrent ear infections may cause a hearing loss in the middle ear. There are cases where there is a malformation in this area that can be improved or corrected through surgery. There are occasions when a problem in the middle ear can not be corrected. A sensori-neural hearing loss occurs in the middle ear and indicates that there is nerve damage. This type of loss is not reversible. In summary, there are different natures of hearing loss some that can be corrected or others that are irreversible. II. Etiology/Causality: Parents sometimes ask Why did this happen to my child In some cases, the cause of a childs hearing loss may be easy to trace. There may be a family history of deafness, a congenital condition, an illness, an accident, a prescribed edication, etc. that may obviously be cause of the hearing loss. In many cases, there may be no obvious reason for the hearing loss. Parents must come to understand that they may likely never know the cause of this hearing loss. In my case, Meningitis was the cause of my hearing loss. When I was one year old, I was not responding to my parents calls. They took me to the hospital to get tested and found that I had Meningitis. III. Assessment Many birthing facilities in our country have currently adopted the Universal Testing of all infants for hearing loss. The two most frequently used measures for testing infants are the ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) and Otoacoustic Emissions (OAEs). Both measures can be made on an infant while he or she is sleeping and requires no response from the child. The ABR monitors brain activity. It looks specifically, however, the activity that happens in response to sound. OAEs are a quick, non-invasive probe measure that determines cochlear, or inner ear, function. The importance of early childhood development is critical for a child with a hearing loss. Early diagnosis and intervention of hearing loss can mean the difference etween toddlers entering school with severe language and concept delays versus children with age appropriate language and concept development. Early hearing screening paves the way for children to be able to begin life on an equal footing with their hearing peers. Recent research at Gallaudet University indicates that children whose hearing losses are identified in the first 6 months of life, and who receive intervention services, developed language within the normal range. IV. Prevention/Remediation/Accommodation: The law mandates that public schools are responsible for providing an appropriate education ithin the childs neighborhood school. School districts are required to educate students the least restrictive environment with the related services necessary to allow for their success. Some counties/states will have what is called cluster programs. This is when classes for the deaf or hard of hearing are located in specific schools. Students can be in an environment with a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing and deaf and hard of hearing peers but also be in a regular school setting. Another options for family is a school for the deaf. Most schools for the deaf now offer different communication options rom which a family can choose. Schools must take language and communication needs, opportunities for direct communications with peers and professional personnel in the childs language and communication mode, academic level, and full range of needs, including opportunities for direct instruction in the childs language and communication mode into consideration. This does not mean that the peer will also have a hearing loss but should be able to communicate in the deaf or hard of hearing childs mode of communication. Many parents choose to have their children in a setting where other deaf and hard of earing students are also in attendance thereby allowing for friendships with other deaf and hard of hearing students to develop naturally. Teacher may need to adjust their classroom to meet the students needs. The teacher must focus on reducing background noises as much as possible. To reduce background noises the classroom can have carpeting, area rugs, or drapes. If the classroom do not have drapes, tennis balls can be attached to the bottom of chair legs to stop chairs from scraping on the floor. Noise absorbing material such as a corkboard can be added to the classroom as well. The teacher should consider background noise when choosing the childs seating placement. The school should adjust their teaching strategies to accommodate their students needs. When teaching in the classroom, the teacher needs to remember that a hearing aide do not correct hearing in the same way that eyeglasses correct vision. When speaking to the class, the teacher needs to be in a distance where the child will be able to understand speech and speak at a normal tone. They need to remember that the deaf or hard or hearing child may have fluctuating hearing oss as a result of colds or ear infections changing what we can hear from day to day. There are communication options that teachers can use in the classroom. American Sign Language (ASL) is a manual language that is distinct from spoken English. Extensively used within and among deaf community. English is, however, taught as a second language. Closed Captioning is way of communication used on the television set. Words appear on the bottom of the screen to communicate to a deaf or hard of hearing student. Another form of communication is an interpreter. Interpreters are used for deaf and hard of hearing students to communicate in ASL what the teacher is discussing. Total Communication is the philosophy of using every to communicate with deaf and hard of hearing students. The child is exposed to a formal sign-language system, finger spelling, natural gestures, speech reading, body language, oral speech, and use of amplification. The idea is to communicate and teach vocabulary and language in any manner that works in the classroom. V. Personal Reflections: When I wrote this paper, I have never given my culture background any thought. Deaf culture is part of my ife. I have basically been raised in more of a hearing culture setting then a deaf culture setting. I went to school with my hearing peers but yet had many deaf friends. I went through the nature, causality, assessment, and the accommodation discussed in this paper. I have experienced this first hand and am lucky to have this support. Deaf and hard of hearing has their advantages. We have a right to sit up front at a concert or event. We can also shut people out by just switching off our hearing aides. Being part of the Deaf community is a great experience and I would not change that for the world.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Discipline Essay

Machiavelli has a theory that â€Å"ends justify the means† which means a person may do whatever they need to do as long as their outcome has some meaning. In sports some believe that taking steroids is the right thing to do. Then there is also the group that believes that taking steroids is morally wrong. From an ethical/moral standpoint, players who use steroids are cheating and living a lie, garnering success and prospering from illegal substances. Users who buy into Machiavelli’s theory go against society’s standards of rewarding hard work and discipline. When you take steroids you do not use hard work and discipline to reach your physical status. Taking steroids is a harm that reaches far beyond one’s body, but into one’s soul. It is morally wrong to cheat for a living. Those who oppose the illegality and immorality of performance-enhancing drugs maintain that professional athletes should have the right to use steroids because steroids are no different from any other technology or substance that enables athletes to compete at high levels. Although advances in technology in sports have been made that only allows the sports to become more competitive. One’s body is not a piece of equipment that can be used, abused, and replaced. Using enhancers such as, anabolic steroids, allows beings to become almost super human an act of immorality. In Steve Yuhas’ essay, â€Å"The Steroid Scandal in Baseball has been Overblown,† he explains a profound understanding that steroids cannot increase the abilities of an athlete. Overall steroids do not help the abilities taught to professional athletes or athletes in general. Yuhas states that â€Å"Yes, they can become stronger and their biceps may grow to the size of a normal person’s thigh, but that doesn’t make them able to hit a small ball with a thin bat and it certainly doesn’t make a football player throw more accurately or kick the ball through the uprights with more precision† (Yuhas 2). Abilities are taught and learned. Steroids do not help the ability of the athlete. He is a believer of Machiavelli’s theory; he believes that an athlete does not have to work hard to achieve a mentally and physically stronger body when they can just pop a pill to do the work for them. Yuhas’ argues, â€Å"There seems to be a [†¦] scale of morality involved in steroids that is absent from any other substance. Popping a pill to render a child more productive in school or to make a fat person thin is great; sucking the fat out of a woman’s behind or injecting a forehead with botox is simply cosmetic upkeep, but put something in your body that makes you more competitive in your livelihood and it is somehow morally corrupt† (Yuhas 2). Although Yuhas makes a substantial argument there is a thin line between what is morally wrong and what is right. Athletes use steroids to become stronger to earn more money and fame for themselves. Society looks upon steroid use as an immoral judgment. Steroid use for athletes is a selfish and greedy act. People may use botox to prevent â€Å"Father Time†, but that is not a reason for professional athletes, who are role models to so many, to use steroids. A human beings competitive livelihood is apparent to all. When someone wants to become the best they are willing to work hard for it and not cheat. When you use steroids you do not become the greatest athlete, but you do become the worst. Despite the recent problems with steroid use in professional sports, especially baseball, steroid restrictions have not been enforced hard enough on the athletes. Steroids used by one-person gives them an advantage over those who do not use performance enhancers. Due to steroid use, sports records held by elite athletes are being broken by false feats that are only achieved by using an enhancer, and enforcing steroid use in professional sports gives young athletes a better understanding of how dangerous enhancers actually are. Aside from personal harm to the user, steroid use is detrimental to fellow players as well as fans. Many things can be included as an immoral act but in today’s society steroid use is a main point on what is morally wrong. Baseball is an American pastime and ruining the game is a bad example to all Americans. Americans have a livelihood for competition, from clinching the World Series to who can belch the loudest. Our conscience urges competition to an extreme that makes the littlest of things very big. While performance-enhancing drugs enhance an athlete’s skill sets, they devalue and alter competition. When you go to a baseball game you only want to see a few things, which include that huge homerun by your favorite player and the win to your favorite team. Some would argue that using steroids will allow more homeruns to players and would make baseball games more entertaining. Well those few people may be right but then the game would not be competitive. If you go to a game and each team hits five to eight homeruns apiece the urge to see homeruns and watch the game would be ruined. Records are always broken, each decade a more outstanding athlete emerges and they begin at a record pace and break great athletic records. Records are something to glorify, Babe Ruth had the record homeruns in a season, then a few years later that was broken by another player, Roger Marris. As the game began to become more competitive in both aspects of pitching and hitting records were difficult to break. Hitters began to hit the long ball harder and further, the change in the athletes muscle mass was exponential but players and the MLB did not care. Baseball had many fans, as Mark McGwire had been his record-breaking homerun pace. His record was set by a lie as he attested to using steroids during that record breaking year and his lie caused much hurt to fans as it had embarrassed the franchise. Later Barry Bonds broke the record and broke the all time homeruns in a career passing Hank Aaron. Not long after that he was accused of using steroids and then again a franchise was embarrassed. The pressure on baseball players is indirect; it comes twice a month, on paydays. The big money goes to guys who hit thirty homers, not the ones who hit thirty doubles. It pays to be strong; it is almost like an animalistic behavior. Only the strongest survive. Are athletes the role models needed for American youth? Many young athletes have their favorite player in whichever sport they partake in. Seeing their idol admitting to using steroids could possibly corrupt their mind in believing that steroid use is the right thing to do to become a stronger and better athlete. Beyond any possible benefits of steroid use lies the dangerous issue of health. In many cases, athletes (especially young athletes) are so focused on success in a professional sport that they are ignoring the glaring consequences of steroid use. In actuality, the price of steroid use and abuse is high; much higher a price than any lucrative contract or marketing deal. â€Å"The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that heart attacks, strokes, and live cancer are the more serious life-threatening effects of steroid abuse. Side effects for male users include acne, hair-loss, development of breasts, shrinking testicles, and impotence. † (qtd. In Fletcher D4). Yet another way in which steroids harm the user is through increased susceptibility to injuries. One theory is that players are overwhelming their bodies with rapid muscle growth. Players who use steroids to gain a competitive advantage over peers and opponents pressure others, including youth, to use performance-enhancing substances. If they too want to win and remain competitive, they must use steroids as well. In baseball, as with all professional sports, income, fame, and marketability depend on success and impressive feats of athleticism. The pressure and increased incentive to â€Å"bulk up† is evident. â€Å"The average size of a major-league player was a pretty standard 6-foot-1, 185 pounds for at least 30 years, until the early 1990s. Today, the average player is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, and most teams have players who weigh in at 240 pounds or more. † (West 22). Bigger players hit more home runs and sign lucrative contracts and endorsement deals. Because of this, more players want to be bigger. As more and more players are tainted by steroids it begins to affect more and more of the youth that watches sports. Steroids have directly affected the biggest fans in baseball, America’s youth. Besides cheapening statistics and athletic accomplishments, the use of performance-enhancing drugs has tarnished the general image of baseball. Instead of a game that encourages healthy competition, it is one that resembles a pharmacological trade show, where the effects of steroids are put on display. Baseball is known as â€Å"America’s pastime†. It holds a special place in American society. The values of society are reflected in the values of its most popular and revered cultural pastimes. When the message is sent that it is acceptable to have a drug problem in sport, it is akin to saying that this staple of American culture is reflective of a drug problem in society. Some would argue that baseball is a reflection of a culture mired in drugs and a society that is lacking quality role models for its youth. One of the biggest blows to baseball’s image came in August 2005 when slugger Rafael Palmeiro, who has collected over 3,000 hits and has hit nearly 600 home runs during his career, tested positive for steroids. † (Fletcher D1). The former first baseman for the Baltimore Orioles was booed relentlessly and was told by the team after the season he would no longer be part of the team. Palmeiro is since retired; his hall-of-fame numbers are still in question. As we have seen, the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport, specifically baseball, is an immoral practice. As seen steroid use does in fact directly affects fans and the teammates that the player plays with. Drug testing baseball players cannot be foolproof. In fact, all the testing does is keep players from using optimal dosages and encourage them to find ways to mask the drugs. The only infallible test for steroid use is a player’s moral compass. As soon as players identify not using steroids as a moral obligation, for both personal reasons and beyond, the game of baseball and its once-great warriors will return to the apex of the sporting world.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Office Software Essay

In a typical organization for example Exxon Mobile security, uses an office automation software named as â€Å"e-integrate† which successfully manages the various integrations of data sharing among each other. The group collaboration software used is named as â€Å"e-communicate† which allows all the employees of the organization in accordance to their departmental rules and regulations. Advantages of Office Automation software: The advantages of an office automation and group collaboration software can be attributed to effectively manage the resources like office employees and jobs. The database containing all the records of the employees and the resources at use would make sure to fetch the right amount of detail for working with it when needed. The record also facilitates the requirement of efficient data storage and to maintain a standard practice for handling records. Another advantage would be to record every task done and to record large useful data of various transactions, issues and various exceptional situations which may be required as audit trail. The large data and its association would also assist the higher management for preparing MIS reports. Automation also enables one to figure out the achievement of the set of objectives that the business is about to decide. The various business processes can be effectively managed and must be synchronized well for implementing the processes in action. The effective gain of the business processes can be measured only through the automation of business tasks. It efficiently keeps a record of every business objective and the process to execute in every way. The prime importance is the way the organization distributes data and knowledge among various resources mainly the human resources. The way one views data depending on the right and privileges one possess, makes sure that all the various views are well regularized pertaining to correct use and safety of the data. The business objectives are recorded and the very data integration and sharing is done at a large scales Demerits of Office automation system: The primary disadvantages of office automation software’s is that it is too expensive to maintain and periodic updates are not possible at all times, the maintenance cost is high as concrete technical batch is required for getting the job done. Another aspect is to take care of the evolution of the software which changes in the dynamic business environment. IITB.ac.in (2008) mentions that another demerit is the high dependence on such software makes it quite difficult to trust any human being on information and would derive all trust on the software which further may cripple the office operations on a case of disaster. Advantages of Group collaboration software: The group collaboration software makes it easy to communicate among peers and external business units. The advantage would be to fetch communication and effectively obtain data for functioning in the tough business scenario. The group collaboration software also makes sure that all the various communication channels are maintained well for information distribution in a timely and correct manner so that one is able to fetch the right perspective for doing their job. The group collaboration software helps one to video conference with clients, suppliers, manufacturers and save a lot of time and money. They can forward samples, brochures and resource materials and lots more. Large file sharing is made possible using such collaboration software which would enable one to fetch the detailed information about a particular decision (Hyperoffice.com, 2008). Large decision parameters would make sure that all the various domains of employees are catered to their information needs. Disadvantages of Group collaboration software: The biggest disadvantage of the group collaboration software is that the communication would always be dependent on such software use only and employees would neglect any form of human in person communication. Although the company associated would cut costs but would fetch the mechanical way of taking care of communication aspects. Over dependence on the software would make sure that all the various communication mediums would not be trusted no more. A huge amount of dissatisfaction would prevail and would incorporate only transferring of data and messages through the electronic medium. The disaster recovery schemes are often not taken care resulting in huge risk of data loss and thereby information loss in the process. The disadvantage is the high degree of information sensitivity is high so several communications are often recorded and leads to disaster when the software collapses. The office automation and group collaboration software’s are used in Exxon Mobile security with an intention to fetch better methods to organize information for its effective storage and efficient retrieval techniques. The basic purpose for fetching the right direction towards handling information would be served for making a right journey. On the other hand, the economy part of the automation software is quite weakening as the organization requires large scale investment, not only in one time installation but in periodic investments which require a lot of strategy in this direction.

Friday, September 13, 2019

Early Childhood Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Early Childhood Learning - Essay Example The third part will summarize some of the commentaries on the controversy and finally the conclusion will discuss which if any view is correct, and the importance of the controversy at hand. In an experiment conducted by Booth and Waxman (2002), a group of three years old children were subject to the same objects which were separated into two groups, either as animate objects or artifacts. When some of the objects with eyes on them, which are strong perceptual cues to animacy, and the objects were presented as artifacts, the children characterized them as artifacts. This shows that even in the face of strong perceptual gestures, conceptual information still aids the process of word learning in childhood, a view that contradicts the Attentional Learning Account view. Something which sparked a number of responses and different interpretations to this experiment but which face certain difficulties that further support the view that conceptual information does have a role in early word learning. First it was noted that both conc... s, in what sense then is perceptual information immune to conceptual information This simply means that if two factors affect the same variable, the only way one of the factors can be immune to the other is if one of them does not have an effect at all on the variable, something that the experiment mentioned above excludes. Second it was claimed by the Attentional Learning Account that perceptual information contributes directly to word learning unaided by any conceptual information; the experiment shows however that perceptual learning can be aided by conceptual information in a way that can change the outcome of the experiment. A special case of these two different views will be taken into account; namely the disagreement about the shape bias. The controversy over the role of conceptual learning in early word learning for children has initiated the shape bias controversy; briefly stated it is an implication of the two views outlined above. On the one hand the proponents of the Attentional Learning Account claim that shape bias does not emerge until infants are able to distinguish at least 50 nouns which is in line with the claim they support that conceptual knowledge is only available much later. On the other hand Booth and Waxman have shown with an experiment they conducted with 18 to 22 months old children with vocabulary that does not exceed 18 nouns that these children have extended their uses of words on the basis of shape. This experiment thus interpreted challenges the whole of the Attentional Learning Account proponents. In a paper in the Developmental Science journal, Booth and Waxman have shown experiments in support of the Attentional Learning Account view and have tried to show that they can be interpreted in a way that does not do any harm to their view

Thursday, September 12, 2019

What do you consider to be the importance of witches in Macbeth Essay

What do you consider to be the importance of witches in Macbeth - Essay Example Their very presence offers a comparison between good and evil, natural & the supernatural, contrasting morality with Macbeth's ambition. It empowers Shakespeare to not only single out Macbeth's weak trait, but also stresses on these human flaws, which at certain times becomes a thin layer of difference between humanity and supernatural powers. Time element plays a dubious role because the "weird sisters" do not tell Macbeth what time he would become king; they predict such a happening in future but without specifying the time of his becoming the king. Therefore, their foretelling negates time. The impact of this negation of time element might indicate that the witches’ foretelling is a puzzle to be solved, and that the impact it has on Macbeth, leads him rather from listening to taking action. It derives then that the notion of the witches and their extra-ordinary abilities, are conspiring Macbeth's mind; he is instigated to fulfil his desires. It offers an evaluation of his p sychological state and feeling of humanity, knocking at Macbeth's human instinct. The presence of witches creates an element of uncertainty in the character of Macbeth. His state of mind remains unstable to the extent of further deterioration throughout the play. Audience reacts by studying Macbeth’s state of mind.... That’s the reason behind Shakespeare making extensive use of the â€Å"weird sisters†, bringing about a transformation in the character of Macbeth, as he murders King Duncan and his so-called best friend, Banquo. The clear purpose of Shakespeare's inclusion of the witches and their wicked ways was to create element of horror for his 17th century spectators (Aimee par. 5). Comparing present-day spectators of Shakespeare’s Macbeth with Shakespeare’s audience, one does not feel that emotional reactions to the appearance of ghostly figures would be the same. Modern spectators have gone through different and varied experiences and do not relate themselves with fearful expressions; rather they may take such appearances funny way. Portrayal of witches in Shakespeare’s times was inhuman. â€Å"You should be women; and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so† indicates that the witches are neither masculine nor feminine. Shakespeare has given a totally distinct image of the witches. Perhaps, he wanted to give a message that human beings blamed for being witches were falsely implicated, as witches looked abnormal and inhuman in appearances (Aimee par. 6). Shakespeare has given a different colouring to his presentation of witches, alluding them to human desires, suggesting them to be the inside presence of evil in Macbeth and human beings. It is the personal decision of each human being to bend before the evil inside or not. It also indicates that witches are just representations of one’s own mind’s evil, as it is weaved in Macbeth’s mind; actually, these are the spiritual framings of his inner desires (Aimee par. 7). Witches succeed in instigating Macbeth to the extent that

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Ideology of USA Foreign policy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Ideology of USA Foreign policy - Term Paper Example He is critically involved in studying, researching, and publishing extensively on U.S foreign policy, mostly focusing on the US foreign ideologies in the Asian continent, particularly regarding major conflicts such as the Cold and Vietnamese war, which critically reflects the nature of US foreign policies in his book. In The making of U.S Foreign Policy, Dumbrell seeks to disapprove such notions regarding a fragmented and chaotic U.S foreign policy, and stresses that U.S foreign policy is logically constructed despite the many contestations from various institutions. Dumbrell presents American foreign ideologies as key policies that led to success or failure of different presidents in American history. In other words, each president has different ideologies; their tenure is mainly measured by how such foreign ideologies were successful, or limited in declaring American interests to the global world. All the same, the American foreign ideology of anti-communism and spreading democratic ideals to other regions resonates across all the presidents, but was more remarkable between the 50s and the 60s due to communism threat particularly across Asian continent. An important aspect that comes out from the American ideology is the competition between presidential ideologies, Congress policies and the pub lic interests. According to Dumbrell, since the American constitution does not address the issue of foreign policy in detail, this issue is left to the discretion of the president and the congress, which results in a power struggle between the two institutions, as different presidents formulate differing ideologies, some without approval of Congress and the public. . Therefore, Dumbrell’s book reflects on the power struggle between presidential ideologies, the policy of the executive, the intelligence body, Congress, and the general public opinion. Throughout the book, Dumbrell

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Should high schools in America be single or mixed gender, (should high Essay

Should high schools in America be single or mixed gender, (should high schools be all boy all girl or should they be mixed) - Essay Example The same is discussed at length in the paper, to arrive at a logical conclusion, regarding the viability and credibility of single-sex education as the most preferred and beneficial environment for learning. Today there has been a renewed interest in assessing the type of educational environment for students – i.e. single gender or coeducational setting and its likely influences positive or otherwise, on the learning abilities of the students enrolled therein. Various claims have been made by supporters and critics alike, regarding the likely impact of the educational environment or type of schooling on fostering the leadership skills, risks associated with sexual harassment, availability of better opportunities as well as eliminating or fuelling gender stereotypes. While some researchers have stressed on the advantages and significance of single-sex education as the single most tool of enhancing the educational experience of the students and securing their long term prospects, yet others have vehemently opposed the same, categorizing such a system as essentially reintroducing gender barriers and providing differing treatment to students on the basis of their gender. Although, with respect to any given educational setting, learning outcomes are a consequence of an interplay of various factors – such as, social, emotional, psychological, physical and intellectual and can hardly be construed as resulting from a single variable. The educational policy of the schools, composition of subjects taught, family background of the students etc work collaboratively towards enhancing the student’s overall performance. The change in socio-cultural environments have brought about significant transformations with regard to the opportunities available for both male as well as female students and hence played a major role in revolutionizing their educational experiences (Bracey, 2007). During the early 20th century, the country witnessed a shift from the highly

Monday, September 9, 2019

International and Comparative Human Resource Management Essay - 2

International and Comparative Human Resource Management - Essay Example Through the cluster analysis, Sparrow together with other fellow researchers was able to cluster the countries of the world into five distinctive cultural zones. The identified clusters were cultural Island 1, 2, and 3, Anglo-Saxon cluster, and Latin cluster. Cultural Island 1 cluster comprised of France, cultural Island 2 comprised of Korea, and cultural Island 3 comprised of Japan. The other two remaining clusters of Anglo-Saxon and Latin comprised of UK, Australia, Canada, USA, Germany and Italy for Anglo-Saxon cluster and Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico for Latin cluster. This academic paper will categorically look at distinguishing cultural characteristics of Korea and UK. The two selected countries fall under cultural Island 2 cluster and Anglo-Saxon cluster respectively. Culture of the United Kingdom The cultural classification of United Kingdom comprises of patterns of symbolism and human activity, some of the cultures which were practiced in the UK are; Language As in the case of other nations and states, the language of the UK is English. This language is spoken by close to 90% of the total residents. Some countries which form the framework of UK like Wales at times use their national Welsh language more so in schools (Calder, 2007 pp.21). Use of languages like Gaelic has also been popularized in countries like Scotland; however, English has remained the official language in the entire UK. Arts UK is known for arts in terms of literature where some of the renowned poets like William Shakespeare hail from this great country. The culture of literature was inherited from countries like England and Scotland. The earlier existing written literatures were drafted in languages like Celtic and Anglo-Saxon. Theatre Dating back to 1707, UK was able to inherit theatre culture from Scotland and England and they were able to create a theatre district called West End (Calder, 2007 pp.31). This district was found in West End of London and it was the home of known thea tre halls like Theatre Royal and Convent Garden. Music Use of patriotic songs like Rule, Britannia and the national anthem of God Save the Queen are some of the songs that are dominant in the UK. UK has many music composers and use of several genres like jigs, hornpipes, and dance songs were some of the customary components of the folk songs. Film was also one of the UK cultures where it had some of the most skilful films actors and producers like James Bond. Religion Protestant is the religion found in the UK; moreover, Anglican Christian is dominant in this country followed by other religions like Islam, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Sikhism (Calder, 2007 pp.47). Culture of Korea Korea was divided into two countries North and South Korea; however, some of the distinguishing cultures of Korea are Traditional arts Traditional arts comprise of the traditional dance, painting, crafts, and ceramics, all these categories played an important role in the traditional arts. Dance Korea h ad two distinguish dancing styles which are folk and court dance. Some of the dances are jeongjaemu and ilmu dance which were performed in banquets and rituals respectively. Jeongjaemu dance was auxiliary distributed into instinctive dances such as jeongjae and dangak and the two styles were inherited from Asia and China. The common dance of Ilmu was also divided into munmu also called civil dance and mumu also known as military dance (John, 2002 pp.170). During the dancing festivals, traditional clothing called genja was worn, Genja clothing had several

Subjective Well-Being Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Subjective Well-Being - Research Paper Example Corey Keyes notes: â€Å"Well-being has been a paramount concern of thinkers since ancient times as witnessed in much of Greek philosophical writings. It became a topic of scientific inquiry during the 1950s when interest in fostering a better life was facilitated by the Zeitgeist following World War II.† Earlier studies mainly focused on the relationship between subjective well-being and mental health and merely examined the concept of happiness. Marc Hooghe and Bram Vanhouette reveal: â€Å"While local communities apparently have an impact on happiness levels, this is not necessarily the case for subjective well-being. Subjective well-being indicators are strongly influenced by national-level determinants (culture, income level) but it remains to be investigated what kind of community levels can have an impact on subjective well-being.† Even though happiness is an important factor in subjective well-being, it was later discovered that other aspects needed to be includ ed in order to have a more accurate evaluation of the concept. Subjective well-being is not only about the positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction, but it involves other multidimensional factors that contribute to an effective evaluation. The inclusion of these factors makes later research more extensive and reliable because it incorporates new aspects never before considered. These new studies analyzed the social, political, cultural, environmental, economic aspects and other elements that may interfere with individuals’ well-being. A better analysis and understanding of the external factors that turn around individuals’ lives allow a better evaluation of their subjective well-being that takes into consideration all components. The issue of subjective well-being has been around for a long time; however, the scientific research started after World War II. People have always evaluated their

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Econ Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Econ Assignment - Essay Example ficits, and heavy reliance on energy sources, creating peaks and troughs for oil and energy prices in wake of the Iraq war and the overall political uncertainty across the world. 2. Disinterest from huge financial investors in investing in an economy that relies heavily on external flow of funds. External investors poured in huge amounts of money in the US economy that were overwhelmingly received, causing increase in the value of homes and other commodities. In wake of an uprising from other factors such as political unrest in wake of Iraq war, economic uncertainty due to oil and energy prices, fall of dollar prices, and plummeted stock indices has caused serious concerns among investors, contributing to their reluctance to invest in any economy. Most investors are forced towards the way either to liquidate or holding out their investments, waiting for the conditions to improvise. 3. Tightened monetary policies of developed nations; it is inclusive of this fact that investors are finding themselves unhinged to invest anywhere. Although nations are now reviewing and easing off their monetary policies to provide high interest rates, however this has a very dawdling effect on motivating the investors to do so. 7. Governance and regulation of economic policies, forming the pinnacle in subdued economic growth of the world. Since the ‘Great Depression’, this crisis has not only exposed the ill-administration of economic policies of developed nations but has also spawned a series of new debates questioning the effects of these on under-developed and developed economies. These and a number of other reasons in turn have created new problems for dependent economies, in the form of less exports, disinvestment, increased commodity and raw material costs resulting in high production costs incurred, summing up to unemployment, involuntary layoffs, business shutdowns and lawsuits filed under bankruptcy. To deal with this crisis in an urgent and appropriate manner,