Saturday, August 31, 2019

American Mafia

According to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia, The American Mafia especially Five Families has its origins in Italian Cosa Nostra. The American Cosa Nostra underwent many changes at the hands of Black Hand gangs around 1900s, Five Points Gang during 1910s and 1920s in New York City and Al Capone’s Syndicate in 1920s in Chicago. Two factions of organized crime emerged by the end of 1920s leading to Castellamarese war for gaining control over organized crime in New York City. Murder of Joseph Masseria, leader of one of the factions ended the war uniting the two factions.First leader of the American Mafia Salvatore Maranzano established a code of conduct, â€Å"family† divisions and structure. He also established certain procedures to resolve disputes but was murdered within six months. Charles â€Å"Lucky† Luciano took over the reins and set up a â€Å"Commission† consisting of bosses from six or seven families for managing their activities. According to Bind er, Jim Colosimo or â€Å"Big Jim† was considered the most powerful gangster and led a multi-ethnic group, with Italian, Jewish, Irish, Greek and other members. In May 1920 he was probably shot dead by â€Å"Frankie Yale under contract John Torrio.† John Torrio took over and united major local gangs dividing the liquor business in Chicago city to a stable state and profitability. The other major gangs during this period in Chicago were North Siders led by Dion O’Banion, the Guilfoyle gang, the Gennas in Little Italy, the West Side O’Donnells, the Druggan-Lake gang, the Saltis-McErlane gang and the Sheldon gang. Torrio under the guidance of Capone took over brothels in Cicero and managed the largest area covering the South Side and major suburbs occupying the south and west of the city.Problems started when a gang tried to increase its profits by not following the agreement strictly and entered neighboring gang’s territory. Friction between Gennas a nd the O’Banion gang led to the murder of O’Banion in November 1924 starting off prohibition gang wars. The Sheldon gang, the Gennas, the Druggan and Lake, the Guilfoyle and later the Circus Gang were all allies of Torrio-Capone. Chicago Heights joined Capone in 1926 and controlled Joliet and major areas east of Indiana and south of Chicago. Torrio was succeeded by Al Capone in 1925.Gennas under Hymie Weiss surrendered after their leadership was attacked by North Siders and the Gennas rackets such as Unione Siciliana were taken over by Al Capone appointing Tony Lombardo as Unione president. The West Side O’Donnells joined ranks with Capone in 1926 after a short lived gang war. Similarly Sheldon gang too joined Capone after Danny Stanton left the town. Gang wars continued for several years and North Siders lost Hymie Weiss in October 1926, nothing remarkable was noticed until the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929.Now let us consider organized black gang s during this period run by Italian, Jewish and Irish gangsters operating from Harlem, New York and a few loosely run black gangs concentrated primarily on policy and lottery gambling, prostitution and drugs. Bell stated that over 200,000 blacks returned after World War I to Harlem expecting better pay, better housing and equality. But they realized very soon that whites had not changed and found some of the worst low paying menial jobs such as that of janitors, bootblacks, cooks, houseboys and baggage handlers.They were paid very less compared to a white person doing the same work. The housing situation too was worst; Harlem an overcrowded and segregated community accommodated more than 250,000 citizens in 50 blocks long and 8 blocks wide area with more than 5,000 people staying in one block. The people were compelled to sleep in shifts. Blacks suffered the most with Racism, race riots and labor riots being the order of the day. Things moved from bad to worse with the passage of 18 th Amendment to the constitution banning sale of alcoholic beverages by the Congress on January 20, 1920.Establishments primarily depending on the sale of these products (alcoholic beverages) were compelled to down the shutters across the nation. These developments marked the beginning of the infamous Roaring Twenties – one of the country’s darkest periods when the mob, the crooked politicians and the gangsters ruled. Taking advantage of the fact that consumption of alcohol was a part of American culture and people could not stop drinking due to prohibition, the mob and the crooked entrepreneurs illegally transported the alcoholic beverages from the Canadian border and at times even manufactured beer and liquor.â€Å"The overt exclusion of blacks from the nation's economic, social and political processes only served to foment alternative means toward becoming a part of established idealized factions. † Blacks were suppressed to the maximum possible extent by den ying good jobs, influential political positions, advanced education, nice homes, equal social treatment and benefits. Thus most of the black Americans took to illegal means to compensate for the economic denials.Black crime was independent initially with traditional thievery, gambling, prostitution and robbery, but later two key factors Bolito (the numbers game) and drugs led to evolvement of organized crime. Bets could be placed from any where such as parlors, bars, restaurants, pool halls, barber shops, drugstores and even from their homes, more than 800 runners or bet collectors hurried places to collect and place bets on behalf of customers in 30 policy banks. The policy bankers became the richest and started extending loans and finance to Harlem residents, which the blacks could not expect from whites operated financial institutions.The big time number operators included James Warner, Stephanie St. Clair, Casper Holstein, Wilfred Brandon, Jose Miro, Joseph Ison, Masjoe Ison and Simeon Francis. By 1928 the numbers game became most profitable and the arrests on this count also increased. Profits were reported to the elected representatives through police officials and these corrupt elected politicians had strong links with mob’s syndicate led by white gangsters. â€Å"Corruption ran throughout New York's law enforcement, legal and political systems, including bondsmen, high-ranking police officials, judges, lawyers and politicians.† To protect themselves the night clubs, businesses, bars, pimps, whores, gamblers, bankers and number runners started paying huge kickbacks. Democratic Party boss in Manhattan, James J. Hines had links with mobster and beer baron â€Å"Dutch† Schultz. Schultz and fellow Murder Inc. gangsters â€Å"Lucky† Luciano, Frank Costello, Owney Madden, Bugsy Siegel, Joe Adonis and Meyer Lansky started taking over Harlem’s numbers racket. Short gang wars that erupted due to taking over and syndication led to an estimated 40 murders and 6 kidnappings. By late 1928 a total of 20 policy banks remained out of 40 and most of the bankers retired mysteriously.Dutch Schultz was in total control and called â€Å"King of Harlem Bankers† From the discussion above it is clear that organized crime had flourished in American society basically due to prohibition which was in vogue from 1920 to 1933 and every affluent individual was either directly or indirectly involved in illegal activities such as illicit liquor trafficking, prostitution, maintenance of brothel houses and having ties with mafia bosses. It is now clear that removal of prohibition led to a reduction in one of the evils i. e. , illegal liquor trafficking, but other illegal activities do continue carried out even to this day.References Cosa Nostra. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2006). Retrieved on September 21, 2006 from: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cosa_Nostra John Binder. The Chicago Outfit (2003). Arcadia Publishing. Page nos. 27 to 42. Walter A. Bell. Brief History. Court TV. Crime Library. Criminal Minds and Methods. Black gangs of Harlem (2005). Retrieved on September 21, 2006 from: http://www. crimelibrary. com/gangsters_outlaws/gang/harlem_gangs/index. html Walter A. Bell. The Roaring Twenties. Court TV. Crime Library. Criminal Minds and Methods. Black gangs of Harlem (2005).Retrieved on September 21, 2006 from: http://www. crimelibrary. com/gangsters_outlaws/gang/harlem_gangs/2. html Walter A. Bell. The Numbers Game. Court TV. Crime Library. Criminal Minds and Methods. Black gangs of Harlem (2005). Retrieved on September 21, 2006 from: http://www. crimelibrary. com/gangsters_outlaws/gang/harlem_gangs/3. html Walter A. Bell. The Takeovers and Syndication. Court TV. Crime Library. Criminal Minds and Methods. Black gangs of Harlem (2005). Retrieved on September 21, 2006 from: http://www. crimelibrary. com/gangsters_outlaws/gang/harlem_gangs/6. html

Friday, August 30, 2019

Microsoft

Question 1 Developing customer intimacy is essential for developing a sustainable competitive advantage. Whether the products of an organization will have any market potential depends on whether the customers like them or not. Therefore the management of an organization will have to develop an intimate understanding of the customers’ tastes and preferences if that organization is to stay of ahead of the competition. The process of developing customer intimacy is to conduct periodic market research on what the customer expectations are. One of the first companies to market itself through developing customer intimacy was Dell Computers. Michael Dell wanted to build computers not through idea generation from its internal engineering personnel but through data collection on what the customers’ tastes and preferences were. The founder of the company himself spent a significant amount of time with the customers to determine what they wanted to see most in a computer. The hardware manufacturing company also developed a website by means of which the customers could share their opinions with the company. As a result, the company hit the fortune 500 list in a very short time. Being in constant touch with customer requirements enabled Dell to develop customer intimacy that also enabled them to develop their products and services very quickly. Question 2 The external environment of an organization is the industry in which it operates. The industry is affected by a number of forces such as political, economic, sociological and technological. Therefore a business organization in particular has to conduct a PEST analysis periodically. A company such as Microsoft has to take into account the forces of the external environment very carefully. On first appearances, the political environment would not seem to affect Microsoft’s operations significantly. However Microsoft is frequently thrust into anti-trust suits the outcome of which would depend considerably on the prevailing political environment. The company would be hard hit if the country it is operating in went through an economic downturn. Whenever there is an economic downturn, companies tend to invest less and one of the first operations that experience cost-cutting is information technology. Therefore, demand for Microsoft’s products and services would go down when the economic environment is unfavorable. Corporate social responsibility is a very critical issue in today’s business environment. Therefore Microsoft has to fund community projects from time to time in order to endear itself to the society. That is part of the sociological environment. Also relevant in this respect is how the society views the complexities of adopting new technologies. Microsoft would also be affected very significantly by technological shifts. For example, when the use of the internet caught on, Microsoft had to reengineer itself completely to stay in business because previously it had decided not to enter the Internet. Question 3 Price is the risk that is at the forefront of the customers’ minds when making a purchase. When making a purchase, consumers must make sure that the price they are paying is equivalent to the value they are receiving in return. If this risk remains high for the customer, then the company will have a negative image in the minds of the customers. Therefore the management of that company must work to reduce that risk. One method is to offer customers price guarantees. This means that the customers will be paying the lowest possible price available anywhere. Some companies even offer to lower the price even further by a certain percentage if after purchase, the customer comes across another company offering a lower price still. Price guarantees are an admirable way to attract customers in the current age of the Internet because a lot of customers prefer to make their purchases online if the products they are looking for are available there. This enables to them go price shopping. Rather than walking miles to compare prices, customers shopping online can simply surf and compare sitting in the comforts of home. If they come across a certain company offering price matching or price beating, then customers will be hooked immediately because they can stop price shopping right there. Another perceived consumer risk is how they will be viewed by the society when they buy a certain product. The way to mitigate this risk is to promote certain products as status symbols and the demographics of the people who purchase those products. That will have a positive effect on the customer psyche. Question 4 The phenomenon of price sensitivity is a function of demand and supply. When prices are lower, people buy more and vice versa. However there are times when demand peaks and during these times there is lower price sensitivity. Business organizations can take advantage of these times to raise the prices of their products and services in order to maximize their revenue. For example many people like to go skiing during school vacations. As a result, skiing resorts raise their prices when school is in half term because that is the time when demand for skiing is very high. All the parents like to take their kids skiing during that time and they are willing to pay a higher price at the time. So peaks and troughs in demand are the top influencers of price sensitivity. In other words, the management of the business organization has a powerful tool in the form of price sensitivity by taking demand seasonality into consideration. However price sensitivity also depends type of goods. If the goods in question are necessity goods, then price sensitivity will significantly affect buying behavior. If the goods are status symbols however, then raising prices will not affect demand. Question 5 A business organization must promote its products and services in order to attract demand. The management has four methods with which to conduct the promoting. It might want to go for advertising. Usually the media used for this form of communication is radio, television or the internet. It is a non- personal form of communication. The advantage with this form of communication is that it has a wide reach. If the advertising is broadcast by means of the television for example, then millions of people will be exposed to the message. It also has a high emotional value. The second form of communication is personal selling. As the name implies, this has a personal touch because usually the company sends out its sales representatives door to door promoting its products and services. The advantage with this form of communication is that consumers can ask questions and find out whatever they need to find out about the products immediately. Another form of communication is sales promotion whereby consumers get something else into the bargain when they purchase a product. The advantage with this form of communication is that it motivates the consumers to consider buying something that they had not bought before. Last but not the least in the list of communication techniques is public relations. This promotional technique is most useful when the management is trying to build a good corporate image. BIBILIOGRAPHY Kotler, Philip., and Gary Armstrong. Principles of Marketing. Prentice Hall. 2005. Cateora, Philip, and John Graham. International Marketing. Prentice Hall. 2005. Kerin, Roger A., et al. Marketing. McGraw Hill/Irwin. 2005. Nagle, Thomas T., and John Hogan. The Strategy & Tactics of Pricing: A Guide to Growing More Profitably . South western college pub. 2007. 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Thursday, August 29, 2019

Abortion Essays (2519 words) - Abortion, Free Essays, Term Papers

Abortion LaTeisha Davis SOC 203: Social Problems Melissa Reed April 12, 2012 Abortion Abortion is the expulsion of the fetus or embryo from the uterus before it is due for delivery. It arguably tops the list among the controversial issues of our time. It is rightfully so because what is at stake is the health of both the unborn baby and the mother. This issue has been made even more controversial by the involvement of politicians who have tirelessly campaigned to win some groups for their positions. In the American political system, Democrats and the people known as liberals are known to be strong supporters of the right of the woman to choose what she wants as far as abortion is concerned. Conservatives and Republicans on their part believe that it is not about the right to choose but the right to life for the unborn. In this respect, they oppose abortion indiscriminately. In between these two groups are people who believe that abortion should not be done for the sake of simple reasons such as the woman not being ready to give birth. Instead they support abortion in cases where the mother and the baby?s lives are at stake. In this paper, the ideas put forward by all the sides will be considered so as to support the thesis that abortion should not be declared illegal in all circumstances neither should it be available for everyone other than cases where the lives of the mother and her unborn child are in danger. Such a condition should be determined by a qualified medical doctor who will be required to demonstrate that indeed the pregnant woman?s life and that of her unborn baby are at risk, and therefore an abortion is necessary. In the vindication of the main argument, the prolife stance will be examined first followed by the prochoice. The rational position that is central to the claim made in this paper will then follow. Beginning with the anti-abortion stance, people who are strongly opposed to abortion argue that abortion is a violation of the individual?s right to life. Kapp and von Herzen (2009) point out that in some cases, abortion is carried out when fetus is in the third trimester, meaning that chances of such a child surviving after birth are very high. In fact, there are several children who live to be healthy adults even after being born prematurely, when they were on their sixth or seventh month in the womb. When a woman has an abortion during this time, it is not a formless mass of cells that is expelled from the body, but a human being. Intimately connected to this argument of the entitlement to life is the notion of the sacredness of life. Under this idea of sacredness, there is societal consensus regarding the respectful manner in which human life should be treated by everyone. It is clear that when a child is expelled from the mother?s womb at the sixth month, it is a life that is ki lled. The anti-abortion or the pro-life group members in society have made strong arguments regarding the inconsiderate destruction of life that takes place in such late abortions for whatever reason. The blame naturally goes to the whole idea of allowing abortions in the first place. They therefore take the position that if all abortions are declared illegal, the women who get the chance to have abortions in their sixth or seventh month of pregnancy will not have this chance and thus the lives of these unborn babies will be saved. With all the good intentions of the pro-life people, a very important idea is left out, which is, in the process of trying to keep the pregnancy, there are circumstances where keeping the pregnancy will mean the death of pregnant woman as well as the child she is carrying. There are numerous medical conditions that are dangerous to both the two parties, that is, the unborn child and the mother, and in this case, the prolife group needs to think seriously about saving one of them or losing both. Since the chances of the unborn child surviving outside the womb in the absence of the mother is practically impossible, the rational option is to abort the

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Chapter 8 Discussion 2 Week 5 Receivables Assignment

Chapter 8 Discussion 2 Week 5 Receivables - Assignment Example This would mean that a firm may either have to abandon its plan for a liberal credit policy or it may end up having cash flow crisis if it continues with the plan. Competitors’ actions and reactions of customers to a change in the credit policy are important. It is possible that customers may shift their business in favor of a competitor who offers the best credit terms. Credit controllers in firms should take a competitors and customers analysis to determine possible effects to a change in credit policy. The management should ensure that it adopts a policy that poses minimal risk of lost customer goodwill as well as providing a sustainable competitive advantage (Bartels, 1967). Probability of bad debts and the managements risk appetite are also a major influence of a credit policy. If the management of a company determines that there is a high risk of their credit sales becoming bad, they would probably set up a tight credit policy. Companies whose management is risk averse do not favor loose credit policies. Impact of the credit policy on turnover, profitability and liquidity should also be considered. The management should seek to maintain a balance between increasing sales and profits and maintaining liquidity at appropriate levels (Talekar, 2005). This trade-off dictates the credit policy of a firm. The company may opt to reduce the credit limits of clients who are perceived to pose a high risk. The management should carry out customer due diligence and analyses so as to assess the credit worthiness of their clients. This should be done periodically, and the management should ensure that credit limits are lowered for high risk clients. This should be done carefully so that the customer’s loyalty is not eroded. The amount of $ credit sales should be capped to a certain limit depending on the credit worthiness assessment. The management may seek to use third parties

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Land Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 7

Land Law - Essay Example Land law looks after people’s conflicting and competing interest to the land. There are circumstances that people share title to the land. Sometimes people have rights over land that is owned by another. A freeholder may have the legal right to the land however he does not have the legal right to posses or use or even access the land (FindLaw ____). Land law in England can sometimes be complex and so are the scenario presented with this paper. According to Land Registry Practice Guide 8, a deed is very important when it comes to dealing with land. There are only few exemptions to this, but in general a legal interest over a land cannot be established or conveyed without a deed (s.52 (1), LPA 1925). A deed has to have the following elements in order to be accepted legally as Deed: It must be very clear on its face that it is a deed that the person or parties that are making it are indeed making it to be a deed. This can be done by calling, entitling, or describing the document as it is and to be executed as a deed. A signature must be properly affixed to a document executed as deed (s.1 (4), LP (MP) A 1989). The name of the person to whom the deed is being executed must appear on the document, and the signature must properly be affixed to it. The same should be true with the person or parties executing the deed with names appearing on the document indicating all the signatories of the said document. Attestation – a deed should show proper attestation or witnessing. A deed must be signed in front of a witness who attests the signature (s.1 (3), LP (MP) A 1989). The address of the witness must be provided in order for the witness to be located in case the need arises. There are two kinds of a leasehold title: the absolute and the good leasehold. To be able to hold a leasehold title, the person must first own the lease and second, it must be rewarded or

Monday, August 26, 2019

The Porters Five Forces Competition Model Essay

The Porters Five Forces Competition Model - Essay Example Since the government is protecting the industry because of the high tax rate imposed on fine fragrances, it would be harder for the consumers to have a bargaining power over the price of related products. The local consumers are left with no choice but to avail these items at a high price or simply use non-branded perfumes or colognes. Therefore, the bargaining power of the buyers on fine fragrances is low. Â  The bargaining power of suppliers is also low because there are a lot of suppliers available in the area competing to supply the raw materials for the big producers of Fine Fragrances like Channel, YSL, Givenchy, etc. Since there are a large number of suppliers in the area plus the option of finding a supplier in other countries, the competition among the suppliers of raw ingredients is very high. (See Chart I – Fine Fragrance Industry on page 4) Â  Buyers have a medium bargaining power over the retailers of fine fragrance products because the local consumers have the choice of paying high prices from a legal distributor and/or to buy the same product from grey market traders at a lower price. Â  There is a high threat of substitute because of the grey market traders. These people are selling the overproduction of fine fragrances at relatively low prices than those being sold from an authorized dealer. Â  The suppliers have a medium bargaining power. This is because they have the option to sell their products directly to the authorized dealers and/or the overproduction of fine fragrances are sold in grey markets at a lower price. (See Chart II – Retailing Fine Fragrance Industry on page 6) Â  Jennifer Lopez was very successful in launching a perfume that was designed to capture the market for young women between 15 to 24 years old back in September 2002. (Wagner, 2006; Lloyd-Jones, 2005)

Organization and planning assumptions for the Community Disaster Essay

Organization and planning assumptions for the Community Disaster Relief Plan.M1S - Essay Example Some trade goes on, as does logging in the expansive forest, lying in its outskirts. The people in Chloe-land live mainly off the logging and the timber factories, with lumberjacks being the town’s most treasured people. Many residents have no formal employment and work in the timber industry, and it is a very religious town. There are two major disasters that these people are most vulnerable to, wild fires in the forests and massive landslides for those who live on the hill-slopes (David & Cleland, 2006). The plan is to allow one to modify effects of the disaster. Therefore, it is imperative to use social units in an effort aimed at disaster reduction. How successful these efforts are will rely on the level of understanding of the social structure of Chloe-land (David & Cleland, 2006). Social assumptions are important, especially three underlying ones. Presuppositions that steady emergency planning contemporarily, the issues that relate to institutionalizing of measures against forest fires in Chloe-land and the evacuation and temporary settlement of the inhabitants of Chloe-land as a way of reducing future risk ((Dewar, 2002). The community organization structure would include the local police department, the local pastor and priest as well as the head of the lumberjack umbrella body. The captain of the local baseball team, a well-respected young man, would be a help with the younger generation. This would support the CDRP well enough until the authorities come in to join

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example The further disposition of that property will operate as a secret trust requiring that the person to whom the bequest is granted to comply with the wishes of the donor provided he agrees to hold the property for the benefit of another or by virtue of his silence he acquiesces.1 There is evidence that Tom acquiesced in Vito’s request because when Vito made the bequest of 100,000 pounds and pointed out that the proceeds were to be disbursed between Lucy and Santino. Tom did not respond. Therefore his silence will be construed as consent to Vito’s wishes. The case of Gold and Gilbert v Hill provides some guidance for the validity of secret trust of 100,000 to Tom to be held upon trust for Santino and Lucy. Gilbert designated Gold as his beneficiary for an insurance policy in the sum of 350,000 by virtue of a non-testamentary disposition. When executing the necessary insurance policy form, Gilbert provided information that defined Gold as the executor of his estate. At a later time Gilbert executed a Will, in which he named his solicitor the executor of his estate with his wife designated as the only beneficiary.2 Thereafter Gilbert became involved in an intimate relationship with Carol following which he informed Gold of the particulars contained in his bequest of 350,000 via the insurance policy. He pointedly advised Gold that ‘if anything happens to me you will have to sort things out. You know what to do - look after Carol and the kids. Dont let that bitch get anything.’3 Following Gilbert’s death Gold and Carol took the matter to court seeking declarative relief on the grounds that Gold held the insurance policy proceeds in the terms of a secret trust for the benefit of Carol. The court held that based on the evidence which consisted of the information contained in Gilbert’s insurance application form together with his communication to Gold, on a balance of probabilities, operated to

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Philosophical assignment 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Philosophical assignment 4 - Essay Example â€Å"Things†, on the other hand, implies the object of experience. However, in the historical context, it is profoundly imperative to comprehend what type of function the meaning of Protagoras’s statement plays as well as the influence that it has on the contemporary society. In addition, the statement advocates subjectivistic individualism, which concerns the sense perception, as well as the general truth (Ophuijsen, Raalte, and Stork 198). Plato argues that values such as morality cannot be objective but subjective similar to the matter of taste. Protagoras’ thesis offered a profound philosophical basis for the sophistic understanding of wisdom. This Protagoras epistemology disapproves the statement that if information is knowledgeable, then it should be true universally and not to a particular individual irrespective of the societal background. Additionally, Protagoras and his followers did not agree that ethical duties and morality must be universal. Thus, if it is true that knowledge is relative to a particular person, then the wisdom must be

Friday, August 23, 2019

IB Biology Substrate Specificity of Digestive Enzymes Planning Essay

IB Biology Substrate Specificity of Digestive Enzymes Planning Investigation - Essay Example There are two proposed mechanisms by which enzymes specificity can be put forward, 1) Lock and key model; where substrate act as key for enzyme as lock or in other words enzyme possess specific grooves where only specific substrate can be fixed 2) Induced fix model; where enzyme creates site for substrate when it comes in contact with it. In the given experiment we will investigate the substrate specificity of enzyme amylase towards its substrate Starch. We will also investigate the effect of various physical parameters like temperature, pH, enzyme concentration etc. 3. Hypothesis: Amylase has absolute specificity toward starch and will not act on any other polysaccharides. Similarly rate of conversion of starch to glucose is highly influenced by various factors like temperature, enzyme concentration and pH. The tubes were arranged and 5ml of Starch, Cellulose and glycogen solution was added to them and incubated at 37C in water bath for 2-3min to allow the temperature of solution reach to 37C (water bath was switch on before experiment was started and was at set temperature). Tubes were observed for red to brick red color indicating liberation of glucose. Appropriate blanks were kept to validate overall experimental procedure that includes Starch solution without amylase, tubes without starch or substrate etc. Development of red color indicates activity of Amylase and thus generation of glucose. 7. Control variables: Temperature: Test tubes were arranged as mentioned earlier and 5ml of starch solution was added to them. Three different temperatures were used in this experiment. The water baths were set at 20C, 37C and 45C. When the substrate attained the temperature, 1ml of saliva was added to each tube and further incubated for 15min. After incubation few drops of benedict's reagents were added to each and further incubated for 5 min. Color development was observed as above and noted.

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Case Brief Essay Example for Free

Case Brief Essay Mr. David R. Bullock filed an appeal from his convictions for attempted statutory rape, and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. David R. Bullock put himself in numerous conversations via email and chat rooms with a Newton County Deputy Sheriff who was conducting a sting operation against pedophiles. The Deputy took on a persona of a thirteen year old female by the name of â€Å"Ashley Anne†. Many of the conversations that took place between Mr. Bullock and â€Å"Ashley† were of a sexual nature. During conversations between Mr. Bullock and â€Å"Ashley†, he discussed how he would like to engage in certain acts (sexual) with her and her friends (girls of younger age) and how he would like to video those acts. He informed â€Å"Ashley† that the conversations about meeting with her and her friends should not be discussed because it was not legal for them to meet. Eventually a meeting was scheduled for a time and a place to meet and specific instructions were given to â€Å"Ashley† on how the meeting should take place. â€Å"Ashley† was told that upon her arrival to the specified location, she should meet Mr. Bullock in a specific area of that location. History On October 18, 2002, Mr. Bullock and the decoy â€Å"Ashley† were present at the specified location, along with computer and video equipment in his vehicle, which ultimately leads to the arrest of Mr. Bullock. At the time of the arrest, Mr. Bullock did not deny having conversations with â€Å"Ashley† but explained that if she would arrive, he just wanted her to be counseled by the authorities on the dangers of meeting strangers on the internet. Mr. Bullock argues that his case is a case of entrapment and that he took no â€Å"substantial steps† towards committing the crimes he has been charged with. Issue: The sufficiency of the evidence is challenged and Appellant claims an entrapment defense for the reason that he was not predisposed to engage in the charged offenses, we shall set forth in greater detail a series of sordid internet and telephone communications between Appellant and the purported 3 victim than we usually would. Holding First, Appellant does not admit that he committed the crimes for which he was convicted and, second, there is no evidence that Appellant was not predisposed, ready and willing to commit these crimes.   Appellant did not meet his burden of injecting into the case a proper case for entrapment. Rational Appellant tendered four jury instructions alleging the affirmative defense of entrapment.   Appellant cites to the evidence that Ashley induced Appellant to take the â€Å"substantial step† of committing the crimes of statutory rape and sexual exploitation of a minor when he was not otherwise so inclined.   Appellant contends that he was only willing to express his fantasies, which was not a crime he was charged or convicted of, and he was not willing to act upon his fantasies without the inducement by Ashley.   He notes that Ashley initiated the majority of contacts with Appellant; specifically, he claims Ashley initiated seventeen of the nineteen instant messages and four of the eight e-mails between her and Appellant.   Appellant indicated the portions of the conversations where Ashley first proposed that Appellant come to Diamond and persisted in trying to set a firm date; he claims he was reluctant to act on his desires.   Appellants cla im that he would not have committed the charged offenses but for the enticement by Ashley is not supported by the evidence.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Organisational Learning and the Learning Organisation Essay Example for Free

The Organisational Learning and the Learning Organisation Essay Schools are in business to promote learning; amongst both adults and pupils. But do they as organisations learn? Is it in fact possible for an organisation as a whole to learn? Even if there is evidence that individuals within organisations are learning, this does not automatically add up to collective learning: There are many cases in which organisations know less than their members. There are even cases in which the organisations cannot seem to learn what every member knows. (Argyris and Schà ¶n 2000:309) How schools learn to implement complex and multiple change successfully has always been of central concern to those interested in school improvement: making the link between organisational learning and school improvement is not a new idea. Roland Barth claims that school improvements main task is all about learning: School improvement is an effort to determine and provide, from without and within, conditions under which the adults and youngsters who inhabit schools will promote and sustain learning among themselves. (Barth 1999:45) In England especially, schools are under pressure to accommodate and manage change and are constantly dealing with public scrutiny of their effectiveness. Issues they are required to deal with include: a revised National Curriculum, performance management, revised criteria for OFSTED inspections, school self-evaluation, standards for head teachers and subject leaders, as well as the ongoing requirement to improve attainment for all pupils. All the activities that constitute learning are a fundamental contribution not just to improvement and performance, but also to an ethos and spirit of community in a school.( Stoll, 2005, 62-69)   We outline the importance of organisational learning to school improvement, and highlight the role of feedback, suggesting ways in which its role could be developed. The five questions we ask are:   1 What is organisational learning?   2 Why is it important to school improvement?   3 What are the processes that influence organisational learning?   4 What is the contribution of feedback?   5 How could its role in organisational learning be enhanced? What Is Organisational Learning? A definition of a learning organisation as it relates to education is: â€Å"A group of people pursuing common purposes (and individual purposes as well) with a collective commitment to regularly weighing the value of those purposes, modifying them when that makes sense, and continuously developing more effective and efficient ways of accomplishing those purposes.† (Leithwood and Aitken 2003:41) This definition suggests certain basic activities need to happen for organisational learning to be able to occur: the pursuit, review and modification of common aims; and opportunities to identify, articulate and design more effective, efficient ways of accomplishing these purposes. It can be easy for a school to lose sight of its primary purpose of fostering and encouraging learning, particularly in times of increased complexity and requirement to respond to external demands for improvement. As a recent participant on one of our courses put it: the core beliefs and goals about learning in my school †¦ have been forgotten in the mass of pressures we are under at the moment. School improvement research distinguishes more effective and more rapidly improving schools by the ability of practitioners to stay in touch with the schools core values, beliefs and goals and take charge of externally driven change rather than being controlled by it (Senge 1999; Rosenholtz 2000; Stoll and Fink 1999; Gray et al. 2003, 141-53). This is, in Senges words, because they are constantly enhancing their capacity to create their own future and know that it is in their hands. This mind-set is a cornerstone of effective improvement efforts. Organisational learning has been described as a dynamic and complex phenomenon best understood by considering learning processes and effects as influencing each other in a reciprocal way (Cousins 1998:220-1). Through collective inquiry, school staff and their communities engage in processing of internal or external information that challenges them to reflect on and adapt assumptions underpinning their practice. It also helps them to understand how they can influence their own destiny and create the necessary knowledge. In this sense, the basic meaning of a learning organisation is one that is continually expanding its capacity to create its future (Senge 1999:14). The Processes That Influence Organisational Learning Our own work suggests four particular processes that can crucially influence the organisational learning of schools. Where these can be deliberately and strategically developed, this facilitates the appropriate conditions and climate within which school improvement can operate. These four processes are: working actively with the context; processing, creating and using strategic knowledge; developing learning-oriented cultural norms; and systems thinking. (Leithwood, K. and Louis, 1998, 119-23) Working Actively With The Context The articulation of goals that are shared by all stakeholders in a school, including pupils, is not enough in a rapidly changing and demanding context. More than twenty years ago, Argyris and Schà ¶n (2000) argued that the key challenge is not to help an organisation become more effective at performing a stable task in the light of stable purposes, but to help an organisation restructure its purposes and redefine its task in the face of a changing environment (p. 320). To do this, schools need to connect more effectively with the world beyond them: Schools cannot shut their gates and leave the outside world on the doorstep, they can no longer pretend that their walls will keep the outside world at bay.   (Hargreaves and Fullan 1998:7) Being able to read the context is a critical skill in effective school improvement. Schools, as other systems, must have the capacity to sense, monitor and scan significant aspects of their environment (Morgan 1999:87). Intelligent schools know their survival can depend on their sensitive response and adaptation to the environment of which they are a part. This contextual intelligence has been defined as one of nine key intelligences a school needs to have (MacGilchrist et al. 2002). Working to develop and adapt school goals in the light of contextual messages is a crucial purpose for the organisational learning that schools continually need to address. (MacBeath, 1998, 311-22) Currently, insufficient notice is being paid to the limited opportunity and power schools feel they have to attend to this basic process. Indeed, the predominant emphasis on the delivery of the external reform agenda paradoxically distracts many schools from initiating their own learning and this results in a loss of both collective self-esteem and of feeling in charge of change (Learmonth and Reed 2000). Processing, Creating And Using Strategic Knowledge The importance of strategic thinking, planning and action in school improvement together constitute a particular knowledge base required for organisational learning. Louis (1998) argues that what distinguishes organisational learning processes from the notion of acquisition, storage and retrieval inherent in some definitions of individual learning, is an additional step of collective knowledge creation: Schools cannot learn until there is explicit or implicit agreement about what they know about their students, teaching and learning, and about how to change. (p. 1086) She describes three sources from which this knowledge is drawn: teachers individual knowledge about the curriculum and their own pedagogical practice; knowledge created when their practice is systematically examined; and knowledge that comes from others, advisers, colleagues, inspectors. Through a combination of dialogue and deliberation, this information is explored, interpreted and distributed among the school community creating collective knowledge and helping powerful learning systems in a school to develop. (Cousins, 2000, 305-33) The process is complex but can also increase the potential for organisational learning in a range of ways. Five assertions have recently been made about the contribution that a strategic approach can make to school improvement (Reed 2000). These are: 1 A strategic approach is underpinned by an explicit commitment to fundamental values and goals in a school.   2 A strategic approach is not just about putting a particular plan into operation. It is a way of working with different levels, goals and expectations at the same time.   3 A strategic approach involves a complex combination of skills thinking, planning, doing, analysing, judging, reflecting and giving and receiving feedback.   4 A strategic approach is more than a way of achieving coherence. It is a social process that needs to take account of how those involved are feeling and experiencing life in a school as well as supporting them in investing in their own learning.   5 A strategic approach builds knowledge and interest about what is happening as it goes along so that everyone can learn about the process and work together to achieve the agreed goals. Developing Learning-Oriented Cultural Norms Once schools have identified key aspects of their environment, they must be able to relate this information to the operating norms that guide their current behaviour. Norms are the unspoken rules for what is regarded as customary or acceptable behaviour and action within the school. They are also a window into the deeply held beliefs and values of the school: its culture (Stoll 2003). Leithwood, Jantzi and Steinbach (1998) found that school culture appeared to be the dominant influence on collective learning, more so than vision and mission, structure, strategies, and policy and resources. Rait (2003) explains: An organizations culture embodies an informal structure and normative system that influence information flow and other organizational processes. Culture may implicitly or explicitly delineate the boundaries of what is considered proper and improper action. (p. 83) Norms are critical because Life within a given culture flows smoothly only insofar as ones behaviour conforms with unwritten codes. Disrupt these norms and the ordered reality of life inevitably breaks down (Morgan 2002:139). Norms, therefore, shape reactions to internally or externally proposed or imposed improvements and, indeed, to organisational learning. Cultivating learning-oriented norms is, therefore, essential because the acceptance of changes by a school depends on the fit between the norms embedded in the changes and those within the schools own culture (Sarason 1999). Knowledge needs to have a socially constructed, shared basis for organisational learning to occur (Louis 2004). If norms of individualism and self-reliance exist, and collaboration is not valued, the necessary team learning is at risk. Similarly, schools with norms of contentment, avoidance of change, goal diffusion, top-down leadership, conformity, nostalgia, blame, congeniality rather than collegiality, and denial (Stoll and Fink 1998), are less likely to engage in organisational learning. Stoll and Fink (1999) identify ten norms that appeared to underpin the work of improving schools: shared goals; responsibility for success; collegiality; continuous improvement; lifelong learning; risk taking; support; mutual respect; openness; celebration and humour. They highlight the human and cultural dimension of change. Two of these merit further discussion for organisational learning. The first, collegiality, involves mutual sharing and assistance, an orientation towards the school as a whole. It is spontaneous, voluntary, development-oriented, unscheduled, and unpredictable. Little (1999) identifies four types of collegial relations. She views three as weaker forms: scanning and story telling, general help and assistance, and sharing. The fourth form, joint work, is most likely to lead to improvement and, we would argue, organisational learning. It covers team teaching, mentoring, action research, peer coaching, planning and mutual observation and feedback. These activities create greater interdependence, collective commitment, shared responsibility, and, perhaps most important, greater readiness to participate in the difficult business of review and critiques (Fullan and Hargreaves 2000, xii). The second norm, risk taking, is also critical for organisational learning. Time for experimentation, trial and error and handling failure are essential parts of learning. They symbolise a willingness to try something different, to consider new approaches, and to move into uncharted territory. The other norms support, mutual respect, openness, and celebration and humour set the important climate that enables risk taking to occur without danger. School improvement depends on the use of different mental maps of a school and the creative pursuit of understanding how the whole (the system) and the constituent parts (the subsystems) are relating to each other. Organisational learning occurs where the interdependency of parts and whole, systems and subsystems can be enhanced to enable collective activity to be more effective and satisfying for everyone involved. Systems thinking has been described as a discipline for seeing wholes (Senge 1999:68). It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than linear cause-effect chains, for seeing patterns and processes of change rather than a static snapshot. The capacity to see patterns and discern connections between seemingly unconnected events emerges as a key feature of organisational learning from both our experience and the literature: A systems approach at least helps an investigator understand that the problem is to discover the underlying connections and interdependencies (Vaill 1999:108). It is also a crucial tool for improvement efforts, a basis for taking charge of change and feeling more in control. Systems thinking enables a school to analyse more deeply the causal factors that underlie their concerns and difficulties especially where linear deductions of causality fail to get at the root issues. In short, it means it is more important to focus on circles of influence rather than straight lines (Senge 1999). We now take up this point in relation to the role of feedback. One way we have come to understand the contribution of feedback to organisational learning is to take as a starting point Senges (1999) definition of feedback. He uses the discourse of learning and feedback described as loops. Feedback as it used here, is different to positive feedback meaning making encouraging remarks or negative feedback meaning potential bad news. It is a broader concept, meaning any reciprocal flow of influence (p. 75) encompassing the notion that every influence is both cause and effect. Indeed, Senge argues that the practice of systems thinking and organisational learning starts with understanding feedback. We want to present a view of feedback as an organisational process that itself can be learned about and used as well as having the other, more dialogue-based functions that feedback can have in the school community. OConnor and McDermott (2002) describe feedback as thinking in circles; hence the notion of feedback loops: the consequences of our actions coming back to us and so influencing what happens next. This concept of feedback challenges immediately any notion that organisational learning can be achieved by either linear or mechanistic means: it needs processing and use of information. Feedback, then, in this sense is the return of information to influence the next step (OConnor and McDermott 2002:26). Two basic types of feedback loop have been identified. The first is reinforcing feedback. This describes a situation where change continues to change and grow: a response to something happening makes it happen more frequently. An example from school life could be a response to a high number of exclusions. (Goldstein, 2000, 313-15) The school puts in place a procedure for sanctions and rewards, and this results in further exclusions. The feedback from this situation, then, suggests that the procedure for sanctions and rewards itself needs tightening up which, again, unexpectedly causes more exclusions to occur. The second is balancing feedback, which reduces change and restores balance. A balancing feedback loop is where the response to something happening makes it happen less (Johnstone 2004:12-13). An example would be a primary school that on analysing its KS1 results finds that the poor quality of spelling is contributing to low attainment. A plan implemented across the Key Stage for addressing spelling more systematically with pupils and their parents enhances their capability, reduces their errors and significantly raises attainment. Schools as systems are experiencing feedback loops in this way all the time, and to the extent that they are aware of and working with reinforcing and balancing loops, and are learning how to manage them, they will be in the process of genuinely becoming a learning organisation. (Anderson, 2003, 235-58) Currently, a focus on the analysis of attainment data and making causal links to practice in the classroom can provide good examples of use of feedback. Significant connections are being made from one part of the school (the data) to another (the learning and teaching programme), and in the process organisational learning can occur. Morgan (2002) and others have reminded us of a key element in organisational learning processes which may influence the direction a reinforcing cycle takes towards growth or decline. Organisations may display adaptive learning which solves problems at an operational level: they scan the environment, compare against the operating targets, and initiate appropriate action. In so doing, they show the ability to detect and correct deviations from the norm. Many organisations are quite proficient at this including bureaucratic, fragmented organisations where employees are not encouraged to think for themselves and interest in what the organisation is doing is marginal. However, single loop learning may keep an organisation focused on the wrong goals and prevent success in a changing environment. Effective organisations require double loop learning in which the crucial extra ingredient is to question whether the operating targets are relevant and whether the norms are appropriate. (Chaston,   2001, 139-51) This is generative learning which solves fundamental problems in a creative way and facilitates survival in periods of change. Morgan suggests that when people are unable or not prepared to challenge underlying assumptions, The existence of single-loop learning systems, especially when used as controls over employees, may prevent double-loop learning from occurring (2002:90). The capacity in a school to reflect on its own learning while it is using the information provided by feedback is crucial. Ertmer and Newby (1999, 1-24) outline the characteristics of an expert learner, which include the capacity to regulate ones own learning, to self-monitor. It is possible to see that this capacity in a school, to use and reflect on feedback processes, is a key capability in a learning organisation. The following example illustrates the value of questioning while using feedback. A school joined one of our school improvement projects with the view that a group of Key Stage 2 pupils were, in the staffs description, restless and lacking concentration in their lessons because they had poor listening skills. It was to be the focus for their project. These were not pupils with any obvious learning difficulties. The teachers stated clearly that they wanted to improve the listening skills of these pupils. We cautioned them not to jump to conclusions before they had carried out a careful systemic audit and analysis of the context in which this problem was manifesting itself. (Fiol, 2002, 803-13) They reluctantly agreed. What emerged from the audit was a very different kind of causal picture. The process of gathering information showed that this group were actually very good listeners in settings that sufficiently caught their attention and enabled them to access the curriculum in ways that made sense to them. Through examining the wider system that the pupils were part of, it seemed that this group of pupils were signalling through their lack of engagement that schemes of work and teaching processes were inadequately differentiated for them. (Huber, 2000, 88-115)   Improving this practice was the focus of a very successful project in the school. The teachers learnt to look at their whole situation in a more sophisticated way instead of jumping too quickly to conclusions based in their minds on a linear and more simplistic model of the relationship between learning, teaching and achievement. The situation these teachers found themselves in is a very good example of reinforcing feedback. The more the pupils had a learning diet that did not meet their needs, the more they did not listen. When the school gave them a more carefully designed programme of activities the listening skills of the pupils were shown to be perfectly satisfactory. The balancing feedback process had produced the results that they wanted and staff had learnt a great deal about those pupils, their needs and most importantly about the impact of their teaching.( Kim, 2003, 37-50) It has been claimed that school improvement is an inquiry not a formula and that the successful structure for school improvement will have the nature of a clinical science, where communities of educators treat their best ideas as stepping stones to better ones (Joyce et al. 2003:2). The Making Belfast Work, Raising School Standards (MBW RSS) initiative can be seen as exemplifying such a process. Individual schools involved in the initiative engaged in self-evaluation and review as an integral part of the initiative. (Learmonth, 1998, 78-85) The fourteen schools also worked together during the three years on the project sharing experiences and approaches, creating a wider learning community outside the individual school. The LEAs engagement in the process was threefold; manager, participant and an evaluator of the change process. (Mumford, 2000, 24-31) The external evaluation, however, provided the LEA with an objective framework within which to consider organisational learning at a range of levels. Managing educational change and the resultant organisational learning is [a] multivariate business that requires us to think of and address more than one factor at a time. While theory and practice of successful educational change do make sense, and do point to clear guidelines for action, it is always the case that particular actions in particular situations require integrating the more general knowledge of change with detailed knowledge of the politics, personalities and history peculiar to the setting in question. (Fullan 2000: xii) In evaluating the MBW RSS initiative it is important to acknowledge the context of civil unrest which for over a generation has been an everyday fact of life for people living in the city. Recent political initiatives to move forward the peace process have been welcomed by all who are concerned about the quality of life in Belfast although uncertainty about the future remains evident. The term feedback, in education, is perhaps most commonly used in classroom and school contexts. (Sadler, 2003, 877-909)   It can, however, be used across the education system to promote organisational and institutional learning. We focus on the role of the external evaluation as a method of providing feedback to   †¢ increase understanding of the various impacts of an educational improvement initiative; improve awareness of the processes of implementation at school and LEA level; and provide the basis for analysis of planning, implementation of future initiatives, enhancing the capacity of the LEA to evaluate its own organisational learning with regard to future initiatives involving clusters or individual schools. The extent to which an organisation can learn from feedback from an outside evaluation depends on a number of factors. The very act of commissioning shows a willingness to be scrutinised and a desire to learn from an experience. In the MBW RSS there was a climate within both the LEA and schools which suggested that they could effect change and raise standards. Participants were willing to ask difficult questions and challenge practice. A high degree of co-operation among participants and an honest willingness to talk about strengths and weaknesses were important prerequisites for organisational learning. (Prange, 2003, 23-43) However, many school improvement initiatives have fallen short of their stated objectives because managers have tried to change too much, too quickly. If learning is to take place there must be a tacit understanding that this will not happen for all participants at the same time. Finally there was an acceptance by participants that if this initiative was not going to be just another one of many, which would have little impact beyond set funding, plans and systems had to be put in place which would sustain learning. (Nicolini, 2003, 727-47) LEAs are charged with the duty of managing and monitoring school improvement in their schools. There are many ways in which an LEA might approach this function. Areas for improvement could be identified in Educational Development Plan (EDPs) and targeted through programmes for continual professional development (CDP). Perhaps the most common mechanism used to stimulate school improvement by an LEA is the formulation and management of school improvement initiatives. (Gray,   2002, 27-34) The recent implementation of national initiatives in England (e.g. the National Literacy and Strategy and Numeracy Hour in primary schools) has not stopped LEAs from continuing to develop locally targeted projects aimed at raising school standards. Most recently, inspection has been one route by which the performance of school improvement initiatives has been monitored (the programme began in January 1998). The Office of Standards in Education (OFSTED) underlines the important contribution an LEA can make in delivering school improvement by calling its framework for LEA inspection LEA support for school improvement, picking out school improvement as an LEAs key function (OFSTED 2003:6). However, the Chief Inspector of schools in his annual report (1998/2003) claimed that some LEAs gave ineffective support to schools and could spawn a plethora of ineffective and often unwelcome initiatives which, more often than not, waste money and confuse and irritate schools (p. 20). The extent to which OFSTED can give detailed feedback on initiatives, sufficient to ensure organisational learning, is limited because inspections use a national framework and thus do not focus on the aims of different LEA initiatives. An alternative to inspection would be to use outside consultants to evaluate a specific programme. If an LEA is to make use of an evaluation to improve its services, the evaluators feedback can identify areas in which the LEA can learn and should indicate how that learning can be transferred to other initiatives. In evaluating the Making Belfast Work Raising Schools Standards initiative, the ISEIC team were specifically asked to investigate the impact of the overall project and to identify the factors which facilitated improvements and any barriers to success. The BELB, which has a history of innovative projects, wished to consider the implications of the evaluation with a mind to examining other school improvement projects and its part within these. The idea for the initiative stemmed from thinking in the Department of Education: Northern Ireland (DENI) which approached Making Belfast Work as funders. The initiative intended to help schools address significant disadvantage and under-achievement among their pupils. The project was intended to target a small number of secondary schools and their main contributory primary schools. Additional funding of  £3m, over a three-year period was to be allocated. We cannot report on all aspects of the evaluation covered in the main evaluation report (Sammons et al. 1998; Taggart and Sammons 2003) but will focus on ways in which the evaluations final report was able to feed back key learning points to the LEA, relevant to its management of future school improvement initiatives and the extent to which the initiative had an impact in term of its stated aims. The feedback was couched in terms that were intended to enable BELBs personnel to engage with their own learning and thus better understand their crucial role in initiating and managing initiatives. By doing this, the evaluators sought to help the Board improve its capacity to learn and thus enrich the service it offered to schools in the crucial area of raising school standards. Outsiders offering schools critical friendship as a basis for dialogue can be invaluable to developing organisational learning capacity. Schools need an external perspective to observe what is not immediately apparent to those working on the inside. These individuals and groups can watch and listen, ask thought-provoking questions about formal and informal data that help those in schools sort out their thinking, make sound decisions and determine appropriate strategies. This relationship, however, is more likely to work when it is based on trust and support, where critical friends bring an open mind and a commitment to mutual exchange, rather than their own vested interests. Consequently, when the feedback critical friends convey contains difficult messages, these are more likely to be heard and taken on board. A longer-term outcome of effective critical friendship appears to be the ability to help a school become its own critical friend. References    Anderson, V. Skinner, D. (2003). 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A. and Newby T. J. (1999) The expert learner: strategic, self regulated and reflective, Instructional Science 24: 1, 1-24. Fiol, C.M. Lyles, M.A. (2002). Organisational learning. Academy of Management Review, 10(4), 803-813.   Fullan, M. and Hargreaves, A. (2000) Whats Worth Fighting for in Your School?, Buckingham: Open University Press.   p.xii   Goldstein H. (2000) Editorial: statistical information and the measurement of education outcomes, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society A 155:3, 313-315. Gray, C. Gonsalves, E. (2002). Organisational learning and entrepreneurial strategy. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, 3(1), 27-34. Gray, J., Hopkins, D., Reynolds, D., Wilcox, B., Farrell, S. and Jesson, D. (2003) Improving Schools: performance and potential, Buckingham: Open University Press.   141-53   Hargreaves, A. and Fullan, M. (1998) Whats Worth Fighting for in Education?, Buckingham: Open University Press.   p.7 Huber, G.P. (2000). Organisational learning: The contributing processes and the literatures. Organisation Science, 2(1), 88-115.   Johnstone, C. (2004) The Lens of Deep Ecology, London: IDEE. Kim, D.H. (2003). The link between individual and organisational learning. Sloan Management Review, Fall, 37-50.   Learmonth, J. and Lowers, K. (1998) A trouble shooter calls: the role of the independent consultant, in L. Stoll and K. Myers (eds) No Quick Fixes: perspectives on schools in difficulty, London: Falmer Press.   78-85   Learmonth, J. and Reed, J. (2000) Revitalising Teachers Accountability: learning about learning as a renewed focus for school improvement, paper presented at the Thirteenth International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Hong Kong, January.   Leithwood, K. and Aitken, R. (2003) Making Schools Smarter, Thousand Oaks CA: Corwin.   Leithwood, K. and Louis, K.S. 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Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Economic Scarcity and Finite Resources

Economic Scarcity and Finite Resources Introduction As the technology boom continues to strive throughout the 20th and 21st century, industries are forced to produce products for the increase in demand. By doing so, manufacturers are blindly meeting these demands while negatively affecting our environment, specifically pollution. In order to produce the materials and components required for modern day technology, industries must manipulate factories that produced billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide and other green-house gases that contribute to pollution and overall global warming. Especially, with the recent increase of environmentalists and other concerned consumers, economic activities such as manufacturing must be conducted without leaving a substantial impact on our surrounding environment. The reason being, economists are beginning to discover the correlation between the success of a business and how they treat their environment. If a business promotes and begins to take part in environmentally friendly practices, the business will attract a larger margin of consumers. Therefore, as a businessman and global citizen it is important for us to buy environmentally friendly products from manufacturers that produce limited pollution. Relation to Scarcity Economic scarcity can be summarized as the situation where businesses don’t have enough resources to produce and fulfil the demand for certain products. In relation to pollution, natural resources such as water and agriculture are becoming scarce and affecting businesses. Johnson, Kevin. What Is Scarcity in Economics?. eHow. Demand Media, 12 July 2009. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5175741_scarcity-economics_.html>. Water Resource With factories continuing to produce materials, the pollution created greatly affects the quality of fresh water resources through acid rain and dumping. Environmental Indicators. Government of Canada, Environment Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/default.asp?lang=enn=D189C09D-1>. For instance, the world’s fresh water supply available to the human population is only 3%. With pollution affecting bodies of fresh water such as the great lakes of Ontario, this small percentage shall continue to decrease while the amount of people suffering from inadequate water increases. As of today, 1.1 billion people are suffering from water shortages and this is predicted to rise. For example, in 2025 approximately two thirds of the global population and numerous ecosystems could possibly suffer from water shortages. World Wildlife. WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity>. Agricultural Resource Alongside the shortage of fresh water, plants and other agricultural sources are being affected by the increase pollution. The reason being, the green-house gases emitted from factories and other human activities are increasing the ozone levels of our planet. A surplus of ozone results in the destruction of crops, plants and trees which results in economic losses in the agriculture and forestry industry. It is estimated that the increase of ozone costs Canadian farmers millions of dollars in lost production annually. EPA. The Effects: Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-economy>. Opportunity Cost In society both consumers and manufacturers are faced with the economic problem of having infinite wants but with inadequate resources. Therefore, we are forced to make important yet difficult choices about how to distribute these limited resources. This economic problem is called opportunity cost, where making a certain choice prevents you obtaining an alternative goal or item. In regards to pollution, manufactures have to choose one of the following situations: Pollute the environment in order to produce goods and satisfy the demand for a cheaper cost, however they must pay the carbon tax. Avoid polluting the environment by spending more money in order to produce goods and satisfy the demand while avoiding the carbon tax. The carbon tax, is enforced by the federal government to charge manufacturers for each tonne of green-house gases (including carbon) they emit. The goal is to ultimately reduce green-house gas emissions by pressuring businesses to go eco-friendly. What is a Carbon Tax?. Province of British Columbia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/tbs/tp/climate/A1.htm>. Consumers also face a similar ideal where they either: Purchase the environmentally friendly product at a higher cost. Purchase the non-environmentally friendly product at a lower cost but carry the burden of supporting a company that produces excess pollution. The ideal situation would be that companies would produce their products while reducing the pollution they create and consumers would purchase these environmentally friendly products. However, this would result in manufacturers spending more money to insure they are considered green, in order to compensate for the additional spending they could lay-off a portion of their employees. Also, more money would be coming out of the consumer’s product to buy the eco-friendly product. In the end the perfect scenario is impossible to reach; which is the basis of the idea of opportunity cost. Stakeholders Stakeholders are defined as a party or individual who show interest or withhold a connection with a certain issue or organization. Stakeholder Definition | Investopedia. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stakeholder.asp>. In terms of pollution, the cause of increase in green-house gases is no other than the result of human activity industrialized in the 20th and 21st century, therefore I believe that both consumer and manufacturer are the stakeholders for pollution. The reason being, businesses introduced new advanced technologies every day, resulting in a large demand for these products; for example the automobile. Manufactures then meet these demands and produced automobiles for the population while producing pollution. The automobiles were the daily driven by a large percentage of consumers and this continued to emit green-house gases into our atmosphere and created pollution. Economic System Similar to the United States, Canada has adapted a market-oriented economic system that combines private enterprise with government regulation. Economy Watch Follow The Money. Canada Economic Structure. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/canada/structure-of-economy.html>. In other words, a market economy is where businesses meet the product demands and price of the consumers with little government intervention. Market Economy Definition | Investopedia. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketeconomy.asp>. By doing so, Canada’s economy is considered free yet economists argue the effectiveness of a market economy on issues such as pollution. As of today, Canada is ranked 28 on the world air quality index and 6 on the world freedom index. Air Quality Ranking. Yale Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://epi.yale.edu/epi/issue-ranking/air-quality>. 2014 Index of Economic Freedom. Index o f Economic Freedom: Promoting Economic Opportunity and Prosperity by Country. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.heritage.org/index/>. Meaning, our country is relatively environmentally friendly with a strong and free market economy. Therefore, according to the statistics I believe that Canada should resume being a market economy because we’re are historically successful and are continuing to improve our nation. On the other hand, if Canada was a command economy, where the government regulates the amount and price of products produced and sold in an economy. Command Economy Definition | Investopedia. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/command-economy.asp>. Under the correct leading government party, Canada could potentially be ranked higher on the air quality index but most definitely lower on the world freedom index. If we were to eliminate the amount of pollution we currently produce, that would mean more economic spendin g on behalf of the government, manufacturer and consumer. Resulting in our economy and possibly Canadian dollar value to decrease. Therefore, I believe that a command economy would not be suitable for our nation because it would be unsuccessful and it goes against our beliefs and tradition of being a free and strong nation. Economist Point of View In the recent centuries, there have been many economists who argued which type of economy is better. Each economist had their own ideas and theories on how an economy should be regulated, the most famous economists include David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus. Economists. Education Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-economists-adam-smith-david-ricardo-thomas-malthus.html#lesson>. David Ricardo David Ricardo was a British economist who lived from the late 17th century into the early 18th century. Through his lifetime he had various professions relating to the world of economics including a stock broker. From his experience and knowledge he gained from economists before him such as Adam Smith, Ricardo developed his own theories of the perfect economy. His theories were based on his principles of supporting free trade and limited government regulation such as his theory of comparative advantage. If David Ricardo lived to see the Canadian economy in its current condition, it would be an accurate representation of his utopian economy. In regards to the issue with pollution and its effects on the economy, I believe that Ricardo would leave the issue to the manufacturers and consumers. He would trust that as global citizens, we would learn how to prioritize our needs and wants while reducing the amount of pollution being generated by industries. Like Canada’s market econom y, Ricardo would not want the government having a significant impact on the manufacturers, regulating their every action and decision. Therefore, I believe that David Ricardo would resolve the pollution issue by allowing the Canadian consumer and manufacturer to work things with limited government assistance and help from other foreign countries. Economists. Education Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-economists-adam-smith-david-ricardo-thomas-malthus.html#lesson>. Thomas Malthus Thomas Malthus was another British economist who lived in the 17th and 18th century. He is reminded of his inspiration on Darwin’s theory of evolution and his own theory of limited resources. He believed that one day, the human population would exceed the amount of resources available. In order to avoid this situation, he believed in regulating the amount of offspring. In a sense Thomas Malthus’ theory is correct, in the modern day world with over 7 billion people, we find ourselves running out of limited resources such as oil and forestry. However, Malthus never interpreted the idea of society adjusting to the changing population and resources with the help of technology. For example to compensate for excess pollution, Canada is relying on new energy sources such as hydro and wind. In regards to reduce pollution in Canada, I believe Malthus would regulate the offspring in order to preserve our agriculture and water resources. However, it would not be as effective as Da vid Ricardo’s resolution or what Canada has implemented already. Economists. Education Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-economists-adam-smith-david-ricardo-thomas-malthus.html#lesson>. Both economists have theories that relate to the current economic situation of Canada and the situation involved with excess pollution. Although if I was to resolve the pollution issue in Canada, I would follow David Ricardo’s theories, which are already the basis of the current Canadian economy. Resolution After researching the theories of previous economist, the causes and effects of pollution on the Canadian economy, I believe we should: Increase the carbon tax to further pressure manufacturers into becoming environmentally friendly and producing excess pollution. Reward consumers that choose to buy eco-friendly products by rewarding them with rebates or decreasing the tax on eco-friendly items. Introduce new programs and organizations to clean our fresh water resources including the great lakes. Continue to fund power generating industries such as hydro, solar and air. Works Cited 2014 Index of Economic Freedom. Index of Economic Freedom: Promoting Economic Opportunity and Prosperity by Country. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.heritage.org/index/>. Air Quality Ranking. Yale Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://epi.yale.edu/epi/issue-ranking/air-quality>. Command Economy Definition | Investopedia. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/command-economy.asp>. EPA. The Effects: Economy. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-economy>. Economists. Education Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://education-portal.com/academy/lesson/the-economists-adam-smith-david-ricardo-thomas-malthus.html#lesson>. Economy Watch Follow The Money. Canada Economic Structure. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.economywatch.com/world_economy/canada/structure-of-economy.html>. Environmental Indicators. Government of Canada, Environment Canada. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.ec.gc.ca/indicateurs-indicators/default.asp?lang=enn=D189C09D-1>. Johnson, Kevin. What Is Scarcity in Economics?. eHow. Demand Media, 12 July 2009. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5175741_scarcity-economics_.html>. Market Economy Definition | Investopedia. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/marketeconomy.asp>. Stakeholder Definition | Investopedia. Investopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stakeholder.asp>. What is a Carbon Tax?. Province of British Columbia. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/tbs/tp/climate/A1.htm>. World Wildlife. WorldWildlife.org. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2014. http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity>.

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Emergence of Yellow Power Essays -- Civil Rights

The common perspective of the civil rights movement is often seen from one angle: and that is the African American civil rights movement towards racial equality. And though this movement had significant historical context in American history, the pursuits of other minorities such as the Asian American civil rights movement are often undermined and overlooked. Yet, the Asian American movement surpassed the efforts of the African American movement despite the social and cultural obstacles faced with integrating into a new society. Through intrinsic cultural unity and the influences of the African American civil rights movement, the Asian American civil rights movement achieved more success than the African American civil rights movement by identifying with a common goal and creating organizations to combat racial discrimination and government hypocrisy. Described by journalist Amy Uyematsu as â€Å"victims--with less visible scars--of the white institutionalized racism†, Asian Americans faced similar, if not more brutal xenophobia and racism than African Americans especially given the circumstances and historical context. The post-WWII era unified blacks and whites against a common enemy and created an assimilated group that triggered the path towards racial equality--or in other words: the makings of a more equal and integrated society for blacks and whites. However, with post WWII Japanese resentment, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War, impressions of Asian Americans in the United States declined as those for African Americans rose. Moreover, the voice of Asian Americans often went unheard as they assimilated into a â€Å"White democracy†. As a result, the emergence of the â€Å"Yellow Power† movement began as a direct influence from... ...g/pages/naacp-history>. Nittle, Nadra Kareem. "Asian-American Civil Rights Movement – History of the Asian-American Civil Rights Movement." Race Relations. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . "Phil Hayasaka." UW Departments Web Server. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . "Sei Fuji v. California." Scribd. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . Uyematsu, Amy. "The Emergence of Yellow Power In America." Web. . "What Was the 1965 Hart-Cellar Immigration Act? - Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org." Immigration ProCon.org - What Are the Solutions to Illegal Immigration in America? Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . The Emergence of Yellow Power Essays -- Civil Rights The common perspective of the civil rights movement is often seen from one angle: and that is the African American civil rights movement towards racial equality. And though this movement had significant historical context in American history, the pursuits of other minorities such as the Asian American civil rights movement are often undermined and overlooked. Yet, the Asian American movement surpassed the efforts of the African American movement despite the social and cultural obstacles faced with integrating into a new society. Through intrinsic cultural unity and the influences of the African American civil rights movement, the Asian American civil rights movement achieved more success than the African American civil rights movement by identifying with a common goal and creating organizations to combat racial discrimination and government hypocrisy. Described by journalist Amy Uyematsu as â€Å"victims--with less visible scars--of the white institutionalized racism†, Asian Americans faced similar, if not more brutal xenophobia and racism than African Americans especially given the circumstances and historical context. The post-WWII era unified blacks and whites against a common enemy and created an assimilated group that triggered the path towards racial equality--or in other words: the makings of a more equal and integrated society for blacks and whites. However, with post WWII Japanese resentment, the Vietnam War, and the Korean War, impressions of Asian Americans in the United States declined as those for African Americans rose. Moreover, the voice of Asian Americans often went unheard as they assimilated into a â€Å"White democracy†. As a result, the emergence of the â€Å"Yellow Power† movement began as a direct influence from... ...g/pages/naacp-history>. Nittle, Nadra Kareem. "Asian-American Civil Rights Movement – History of the Asian-American Civil Rights Movement." Race Relations. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . "Phil Hayasaka." UW Departments Web Server. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . "Sei Fuji v. California." Scribd. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. . Uyematsu, Amy. "The Emergence of Yellow Power In America." Web. . "What Was the 1965 Hart-Cellar Immigration Act? - Illegal Immigration - ProCon.org." Immigration ProCon.org - What Are the Solutions to Illegal Immigration in America? Web. 29 Mar. 2011. .

The Life of a Slave :: essays research papers

My name is Shaniqua and I am a sixteen-year-old girl from Mali, Africa. Everyone was nice back in my village. I lived at home with my mother, father, and my younger brother, Jamal. Life back home was great. I would help my mother around the house and take care of my little brother Jamal. Jamal and I would help mama clean and cook. I would also help my mother make clothes to sell at the market. On certain days I would go to the market to sell the clothes my mother and I made. My mother and I would take turns going to the market. Sometimes in the summer I would go to the river with my best friend. I’m the type of person that would help someone if they were in trouble. I always treated people fair. I was very happy at home. The village that I lived in was always busy; people always had something to do. There was never a dull moment in my village. We all got along in the village. It was a nice summer day so my friend and I decided to take a walk to the river and cool off. As we approached the river some strange looking men popped out from behind the bushes and grabbed us. I had never seen someone like that before; they were pale and white. They had yellow hair and blue eyes. The men shackled us to one another and forced us to walk to where there were many other Africans in a cage. I was crying and screaming but they didn’t care. I tried to get away and they hit me with a whip so hard across my back that it bled. I had no chouse but to follow them to the coast. As I was walking I saw people from my village being whipped and beaten. They were getting whipped so bad chunks of their skin were falling on the floor. There was blood gushing from their open flesh. People are screaming for help but there’s no one to help them. Some man that was shackled tried to escape, he failed. The white men killed him. As we got to the coast there were huge wooden boats waiting for us. They shoved us into the boat, then they through us into some place below decks. We are so close together we can hardly move. I see people getting thrown off the ship left and right.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Essay --

A true friend is someone you can confide in without fear of being judged or betrayed... It is always good to have a friend in whom you can confide. A true friend is a good listener – one with whom you can share your thoughts and feelings without worrying whether they will judge you or tell other people about you. You should be able to trust a friend, particularly when you are in need of someone to share your problems with..... In â€Å"The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas† by John Boyne, Bruno, the main character is in need of a good friend. He is unhappy, having being forced to move away from his home in Berlin and ‘his three best friends for life’ because his father has a new job. Bruno, his mother and sister accompany the new commandant to the new house at â€Å"Out-With,† as Bruno calls it. This new house is small, dark, and strange. Bruno spends long days gazing out the window of his new bedroom, where he notices people dressed in striped pyjamas and rows of barracks surrounded by a barbed wire fence. With nobody except his sister ‘The Hopeless Case’ to talk to, bored and lonely, and not really understanding the circumstance of his new existence, Bruno sets out to explore the area, despite being forbidden to do so by his parents. He discovers Shmuel, a very thin Jewish boy who lives on the other side of the fence and an unlikely friendship between the two boys is form ed. Over the next few months the two children swap life stories through the wire fence. Shmuel explains how he and his family have been transported here from a ghetto in Poland. Unable to comprehend the gravity of Shmuel’s situation, Bruno is simply content to have found a playmate. In particular he finds it amazing that they are the same age and born on exactly th... ...d hegathers himself and makes a clear decision to face his fear in order to help his friend.... Even when the two boys have been herded into the gas chambers about to face their death, Bruno stands by his friend, holding Shmuel’s hand, forgetting even the names of his friends in Berlin and saying that Shmuel is one true friend for life. To conclude, Bruno and Shmuel’s friendship is both strange and genuine. Bruno confides in Shmuel, at first, because he is lonely and innocent. However as the novel develops their friendship grows into something authentic which crosses the boundaries of race, religion and culture. Over the course of the novel there are times when the friendship is tested, threatened and almost betrayed but Bruno and Shmuel remain true to their friendship even in the darkest and devastating of endings...At the end they died together...

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Moral Values and Social Boundaries Essay

Thesis statement: Certain limits should be applied to the constitutional right of ‘Freedom of speech’ as it encourages ethnic speech (ethnically and racially discriminating talk) A restriction on free speech is very essential on college campuses. Political correctness is found to be a mere attempt to be sure that everybody on campus feels welcome and is able to learn as per. Certain limits should be applied to the constitutional right of ‘Freedom of speech’ as it encourages ethnic speech (ethnically and racially discriminating talk) in educational institutions. Racially offensive speech in US institutions has led to several problems. Ethnic speech is widely evident in educational institutions. Racial jokes and ethnic speech are also prevalent in work places. Ethnic speech creates inferiority complex in lower classes. It is also against the policies of affirmative action (Arthur, 2004). The reason for the unacceptability of racially offensive talk is that the intentions behind them are always bad. They do exploit racial stereotypes and the talk often becomes offensive. Limits on freedom of speech are justified as there is a big relation between freedom of speech and racial speech. Look more:  ethnic group examples essay It is high time that we eliminate racially offensive talk from our society. For that the most important step is a restriction on the freedom of speech. The absence of limit on freedom of speech encourages racially offensive talk in college campuses in US (Arthur, 2004). Racially offensive humor is increasingly unacceptable and is based on the concept that certain ethnic groups are superior to others. Ethnically superior groups are of the belied that they do have very right to make fun at other inferior groups. The powerful faction has always assumed that they are superior to others in its race and culture. These ethnic groups will try to put down other inferior groups in order to strengthen their own group (Arthur, 2004). The superior group will thus feel no guilt in hurting the feelings of the inferior group. Ethnic and racial speech is generated out of this superior feeling and undermines the unity and cooperation prevailing in the society (Arthur, 2004). Had there been a limit on the freedom of speech, these kinds of racially offensive speech would have disappeared from the educational institutions in US. Even though freedom of speech is quite important as far as American society, a restriction on it is the real need of the hour. Uncontrolled speech may result in further segregation and racial classification. Offensive speech, of any form, should be discouraged so that it would not further create problems in the already segregated society. The panacea for all this is nothing but a limit on the freedom of speech (Arthur, 2004). Ethnic jokes are much prevalent in college campuses. Ethnic jokes exploit racial stereotypes. They are often racist and frequently offensive (Davies, 1982). Ethnic jokes are very popular and prevail in almost all societies. They do also play a great role in arising ethnic differences, exploitation and segregation. Ethnic jokes are targeted towards typical ethnic groups, possessing typical characteristics (Hughes, 1966). The usage of these kinds of jokes upgrades or degrades the value of a group in general and ignores the importance and uniqueness of the individual (Lorenz, 1963). Ethnic humor hurts the feelings of people as it leads to various segregations and discriminations (Davies, 1982). Racially offensive humor is increasingly unacceptable and is based on the concept that certain ethnic groups are superior to others. Ethnically superior groups are of the belied that they do have very right to make fun at other inferior groups (Dance, 1977). Ethnic humor is a powerful, destructive and senseless practice that is followed by one generation and transferred to the next generation. The powerful faction has always assumed that they are superior to others in its race and culture. These ethnic groups will try to put down other inferior groups in order to strengthen their own group (Davies, 1982). The superior group will thus feel no guilt in hurting the feelings of the inferior group. Ethnic humor is generated out of this superior feeling and undermines the unity and cooperation prevailing in the society. There are various biological and socio-cultural distinctions which people consider as a base to make ethnic jokes. They sometimes consider color of the skin (lightness or darkness) or other differentiating markers as base for making humor. They do consider various other ethnic differences and cultural variations (Hughes, 1966). No ethnic group has the right to make ethnic jokes against ant other ethnic group. Ethnic humor is always humiliating and insulting. It would only result in further segregation and racial classification. Ethnic groups, of any form, should be discouraged so that it would not further create problems in the already segregated society. Freedom of Speech is the boosting factor of ethnic speech in educational institutions. Institutional racism (systemic racism or structural racism) also prevail in our society. The white institutions are found to be reluctant to serve people of color (non-white minority). Institutions are historically set up to serve only white communities. These institutions function on the basis of race. They operate on the policy of segregation. Institutional racism is the concept that one race is superior to other. Organizations and institutions (both government and private) do racial discrimination, marginalizing the inferior faction. Even though the institutions exclusively for inferior race were technically illegal in America till 1863, our areas still have such institutions. These institutions offer their service only for superior faction and ill-treat students belonging to our community. Institutional racism is followed in all organizations, public bodies, educational institutions (universities) and corporations. Institutional racism influences almost all policies, processes and policies (in both governmental and public institutions). Institutions were historically set up to serve only white communities. These institutions function on the basis of race. They operate on the policy of segregation. Institutional racism is the concept that one race is superior to other. Organizations and institutions (both government and private) do racial discrimination, marginalizing the inferior faction. Institutions exclusively for inferior race were technically illegal in America till 1863. These institutions offer their service only for superior faction and ill-treat people of color. Legislations against racism have made institutional racism disappear to a good extent in United States. Ethnic speech in educational institutions is one of the worst sides of institutional racism. Freedom of speech is encouraging racial talk and ethnic humor. It is high time that we put a restriction on freedom of speech so that at least educational institutions are free from segregation. Colleges and universities have a moral obligation to ensure a peaceful, respectful learning environment for all students. It is therefore necessary to come down hard on speech code offenders. All employees and students should be able to enjoy and work in an educational environment free from discrimination and harassment. Harassment of any person or group of persons on the basis of race, color, nationality, origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, or veteran’s status is a form of discrimination that must be prohibited in all educational institutions. Employees, students, student organizations, or person privileged to work or study in the university community who violates this policy must be subject to disciplinary action. This will finally eliminate racial speech and discrimination from educational institutions. Harassment codes do not violate students’ First Amendment rights. A restriction on free speech is very essential on college campuses. Political correctness is found to be a mere attempt to be sure that everybody on campus feels welcome and is able to learn. References John Arthur, Morality and Moral Controversies: Readings in Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy, Prentice Hall, 2004. â€Å"A Question of Fairness† Ladies Home Jorunal, March 1996, p 17-20. Lubman, Sarah â€Å"Campus Admissions† Wall Street Journal, May 16, p81. Dance, Darryl. â€Å"Wit and Humor in the Slave Narratives. † Journal of Afro-American Issues. Spring, 1977: 125-134. Davies, C. â€Å"Ethnic Jokes, Moral Values and Social Boundaries. † British Journal of Sociology 33 (1982): 383-403. Hughes, Langston, ed. The Book of Negro Humor. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1966. Lincoln, Kenneth. Ind’in Humor. New York: Oxford, 1993. Lorenz, Konrad. On Aggression. Trans. Marjorie Kerr Willison. New York: Harcourt, 1963. Lowe, John. â€Å"Theories of Ethnic Humor: How to Enter, Laughing. † American Quarterly 38 (1986): 439-460. Rich, Frank. The New York Times 13 March 1994: IV, 17.