Ashley Bracero september Essay

America a land of hope and prosperity, one might even go as far as saying ,†The land of Dreams†. People from all over the world migrate to our great country for the luxurious rights we offer to all our people. Some of those rights including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, and The right to privacy. But what if we told everyone one who entered the united states that there was a catch ? That at any moment if the goverment felt threatened enough, they could twist those rights to there benefit ? Do you think people would still view America as a getaway or more like a false advertisement ? Now we will try and dicuss one topic that has been raising a huge controversy in America today, security vs privacy. Ever since it has been revealed that the goverment has been hacking into american citizens private information for ,†Security Meaures,† America has been going into a spiral of doubt. Both parties are making compelling arguments regarding their reasoning and perspective on the matter of security vs privacy. The huge question being raised,†Is security actually more Important than privacy ? The goverment may tell you yes; that the precautions they are taking are only minor set backs necesary for the continuation of a strong society. In my opinion this is just yet another fib told to keep the goverment in control of what has been spiraling in the other direction since 9/11. Fear of Terrorism has fueled many changes in The United States , some proving better than others. For example, The TSA has been given massive amounts of power to protect America and has been rediculed for being unconstitutional, too expensive, and ineffective, yet it remains. Little by little it seems that the goverments fear of terrorism is beginning to drive them to any measures. Threatening the privacy of their own citizens to protect national security. The worst part is some of these under cover plans are so top secret it often takes leaks to get the truth on how much of our privacy is actually being threatened. Realistically you can not have a hunderd percent of privacy along with a hunderd percent of security, so, as an American citizen i chose privacy. I believe security should come as a choice, not to say it does not withold a huge place in society, because realistically without security the world would rapidally fall into choas. Privacy is a natural right more of an obligation that should always be presented to us no matter what the circumstance. America’s power has always laid in our rights and freedoms. It is America’s individualism and personal freedom that our enemies often hate the most. So, I believe if we change our great society to make us less free we are rolling around in their hands as pawns . I do not believe that we should neglect our liberties for one victory, for the chance that it might deminish the reputation that makes our society great. Forcing important networks like facebook, yahoo, and many more to relinquish private information is a huge disrespect to all citizens. Every citizen has the right to privacy, even the idea of privacy originated from the fourth amendment. Ironically, though the goverment seems to dismiss that fact for reasonings they seem only intitled to debate on. For a country that has comforted citizens on the idea that we are a democracy, the goverment begins to show the public holes in their stories and true intentions. Slowly the public is being to sway a different direction since it was revealed the goverment was hacking into americans private information. In 2010 a Pew research survey was held and showed that 32 percent of people believed that the goverments anti-terrorism policies have gone to far in restricting the average persons civil liberities. That means 66 percent of people found it vaild and implaced for a reasonable cause. In 2011 the same survey was conducted by the same organization and found that 53 percent now found that it has gone too far, thats more than half the people surveyed in 2010 . So, with that piece of information we see that people arent just doubting the goverment, they are begining to re-evaulate their own way of thinking. I believe if the goverment continues to deny us our full privleged right to privacy, we will crumble as a nation and they will being to lose not only our trust but our respect. No matter how much our society improves and develops there will always be a threat. So, if they begin to strip away our rights now , how long will it take before we lose more ? Don’t just take my word for it , here are some people who co-exist with my idea that privacy holds more substance and reasoning than security. Jessica from Debate.org says, † Now the reason for why i feel privacy is more important, is as simple as, If i owned a home of 5 acres and bought that land. A home because i wanted to feel secluded. This allows for me to walk around my home naked if i would like without a curtain down, or go swimming in my pool naked. If i knew i was being watched 24/7 like many famous people it would make me go insane, and i would not be able to deal with it.† Also, fliex jimenez, 17 says,† Security is always going to be there no matter how much we have of it, but, once you take away someones privacy you cant get it back. Its kind of like respect when you cross that line you just cant re-write that wrong.† In conclusion, privacy is a valuable thing to many citizens. lately the right we use to have is being to stripped away from us layer by layer. Many people are debating wether security holds more value than privacy but when it comes to statistcs it seems that is not the case. Like Benjamin Franklin said,† They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserves neither liberty or safety.† So as a country we continue to try and fight this idea of selling moral rights for temporary safety promised by the goverment. So, like Benjamin Franklin said we must remember to hold on to important things such as our privacy and not sell it for something that has unpredicatable outcomes and strive for a greater stronger country were all people are respected.

Miracle of the Crib at Greccio

Name: Marco Yu Ming Chan Date: 6 September, 2012 Professor Kate Dimitrova The Work of Art. The Miracle of the Crib at Greccio (Legend of St. Francis- 13. Institution of the Crib at Greccio), Portrait by Giotto Di Bondone, 1297-1300, church of St. Francis, Assisi, Italy. Book Resources Cynthia Ho, Beth A. Mulvaney, and John K. Downey. Finding Saint Francis in literature and art. New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. The three authors created and edited this book a big collection of essays, which they are about St.Francis, and some art works and texts about him, with the knowledge, tools and technics now-a-days, to study his life in a different view. William R. Cook. The art of the Franciscan Order in Italy. Leiden ; Boston : Brill 2005. Though the book is not directly about â€Å"The Miracle of the Crib at Greecio†, It’s about all the works related to St Francis. There are also some article that talks about this piece of work, and the different background of it. It’ s combined by essays from The United States and The Great Britain, studying franciscan art in late medieval and early Renaissance Italy.Essays Rosenthal Erwin, â€Å"The Crib of Greccio and Franciscan Realism† The Art Bulletin (Mar 1954): 57-60. This article begins with a research in 1926, explaining the differences of the view of the relationships between St. Francis, Nature and Art before and after the first quarter of the twentieth century. It talks about the old idea of how St. Francis respected and instructed nature (animals) and thinks it’s all connected with God, and how some art works like â€Å"The Cribs of Greecio† are so different and a new interpretation of his influence on arts.Ursula Schlegel, â€Å"The Christchild as Devotional Image in Medieval Italian Sculpture: A Contribution to Ambrogio Lorenzetti Studies† The Art Bulletin (March 1970): 1-10. This article introduces and compare some pieces of art works that are related to St. Francis it self and the Christ. Some of them made St Francis to be the â€Å"second Christ† and some of them are showing the picture that he’s holding the Christ (the miracle in Greecio).It talks a lot about what the relationship between those art works and the piece â€Å"Christchild†, but still, there are some informations and background about â€Å"The Miracle of the crib at Greecio†. Web Sites N/A. â€Å"Saint Francis cycle in the Upper Church of San Francesco at Assisi† wikimedia commons, March 2012.

Much Ado About Nothing Report

To start this report I am going to explain a little about the Elizabethan theatre and the plays that were performed, like this one, and also a little on what it would have been like. For example the lighting, sound and costumes as these played a very large role in these times. Firstly a little about the theatre itself, the Elizabethan was named after Queen Elizabeth I and was built for Shakespeare and many other play writers. The theatre itself was very different back then from theatres today. Nowadays you can go and pay an affordable price and sit in a good seat in a comfortable theatre and have perfect lighting and great sound to illuminate the actors and have complicated background and scenery to give impressions of indoor and outdoor scenes, but back then they were very different. The centre of the theatre  had no roof. And since there was no powerful lighting they  had to depend on sunlight. The centre, open part, contained a stage and a courtyard. Unlike today, many people had to stand in the yard in front of the stage and the stage was raised so everyone could see. Only wealthy people could sit in the high storeys which were covered by a roof. There was no scenery back then so Shakespeare's actors could move freely across the stage. Costumes were often rich and impressive but were not always historically correct. Back then without scenery or costumes the play had to rely on words to show the audience when, where and what was happening. Back then the audience had to use their imagination far more than we do today in theatres or in movies, almost like a Childs show on ABC, especially in one way: there were no actresses! The theatre was not considered a good place for a woman to be; instead the women were played by young men whose voices had not broken. So as you can see everything was much more different than it is today, from the setting of the theatre to the actors and what they wear on their body. Next is the report  about the play and everything, after that is the play that we  as a group re-wrote in modern English language. Pg.1 Much Ado about Nothing Plot: Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon, has just returned from a victorious military campaign and they have come to visit Leonato – Governor of Messina. Meanwhile Claudio, a young Lord accompanying Don Pedro falls in love with Hero, the daughter of Leonato. At the same time, Don John, Don Pedro's evil brother is planning to destroy the proposed marriage between Claudio and Hero. Whilst all of this is happening Beatrice and Benedick have a supposed love for each other, after a while the friends find out and rather than breaking them apart, they want to bring them together. Which leads into the main storyline. Towards the end Claudio sees Hero cheating on him (but it was one of Don John's servants, Borachio – planned) and insults Hero at the wedding for what he saw and killed her verbally. The story ends with the news of the capture of Don John who had run away after his evil planning, and the marriages of Claudio and Hero, Beatrice and Benedick who secretly loved each other. Characters: there are a lot of characters in this play but I have chosen the main 10, so here they are. Leonato: is the Governor of Messina and is the father of hero. He is an old wise man and cares for many people, is brave and was once a soldier. He has a lot of caution for things and other people and their ways. Don Pedro: is the brave, young, strong and smart prince of Aragon he is a great soldier, he is a very mature bachelor and also can sometimes be very cunning and witty, he likes everyone except for his evil brother don john, or as we call him, the bastard. Claudio: he is a young, brave and handsome soldier accompanying Don Pedro he can also be immature and sometimes jealous. He is also the one whom is in love with hero. Hero: is the daughter of Leonato, and what's not to like, She is young, pretty, smart and is also madly in love with Claudio, she is the one to marry him. Benedick: he is also a young, brave and handsome soldier accompanying don Pedro. He is smart, witty and also has a little thing for Beatrice which comes after all the name calling as he thinks as her as the devil himself. He also thinks he can have any girl he wants and all the girls like him except for Beatrice. Beatrice: she's bright, pretty, witty and sometimes annoying; she is a bit fussy with men, she doesn't want one with a beard or without, they are either too young or too old. She does her best to make benedicks life a living hell; she also secretly has a soft heart for him, as you can tell (later on). She is leonatos niece and Heros cousin. Don John: is bitter, antisocial, and jealous of the love and friendship everyone has for each other. He lacks of manners and social graces, he also can not get a woman because of his mannerisms. Don John is the mastermind behind the evil plan of wrecking Claudio and Heros wedding. Pg.2 Dogberry & Verges: he is one of the most memorable comic creations from this play. He is keenly aware of his position and enjoys explaining to every one, in his own English, full of long misused words, what his and their duties are. Even with his very amusing malapropisms, he is valued by high importance, by Leonato especially, for his services. Verges on the other hand, is wiser and is their to accompany Dogberry and give him able support whilst examining prisoners. Conrade & Borachio: they are the followers of don john and are also the master minds behind the wedding. Borachio is the smarter, more cunning one out of the two, and is also the more dominant one. Conrade, however, not as cunning as Borachio, and does not show it, but helps his master in any way he might profit from it. Setting: the setting of the play is set-in Italy and in little towns such as Messina. Scenes and Acts are mainly set in Leonatos house and are set in gardens and courtyards, during the day. At night it is mainly set inside the hose in room and in apartments. In one scene it is set in a hall and in a courtyard where they are all dancing and celebrating. Lighting outside was probably natural and at night it was artificial so it would capture the light and effect of lamps and candles. Theme: the plays title is a very important clue to its theme, and Shakespeare has done a very good job at this, for the word nothing means noting, and the plot is based on noting-on eavesdropping, observing, taking notes on people's behaviour and coming to conclusions about other people, conclusions that are sometimes wrong. The title ‘much ado about nothing' basically means ‘making a big fuss of nothing'. As you will see this in the movie, as it is basically what the whole story is about, making a fuss of nothing. So that brings us to the end of my report. Overall I thought the play was interesting, and fun. The main plot with benedick and Beatrice grabbed my full attention, and the wedding I really wanted to know what would happen. There was so many great characters, my favourite character who knew what he was going to say next. To sum it up in 4 words would be†¦Shakespeare is a genius. Pg.3 Next is the play we as a group wrote up ourself in modern English. Which was very hard to do. Much Ado About Nothing Our own version. ACT THREE, Scene 5 Leonato: Jack Dogberry: Russell Verges: Eddie Leonato: Yes Dogberry. What would you like? Dogberry: I would like a quick word with you that may concern you. Leonato: please make it quick, I'm a little busy. Dogberry: marriage, it is, sir. Verges: yes, really, truly it is. Leonato: What is it guys. Dogberry: thankyou verges, sir, a little bit off the topic: some one of your age, sir, is not as cunning and smart as, well, I thought he would be, but is very honest and wise in his ways. Verges: I agree, thankyou god that there is some man as old as him as smart as me in his ways. Dogberry: comparisons are terrible, Verges. Leonato: guys, you are boring. Dogberry: if it pleases you to say so, we are unfortunately under the control of the duke, but truly on my own behalf, if I were as boring as you, would simply out of my heart give my worship to you. Leonato: all of your boredom on me, huh? Dogberry: yes and a thousand pound more, for I hear good praise to you, if I was not a poor man, but I am glad to hear it. Verges: I am too. Leonato: I would really like to know what is so important you want to tell me. Verges: sir on our watch tonight, before meeting you, had taken a couple of wicked villains in Messina. Dogberry: a good man, sir, verges, two men ride on a horse and one must ride behind him in front, neighbour verges. Leonato: indeed, verges comes short of you dogberry. Dogberry: thankyou sir, it is a gift from god. Leonato: I must be going now. Dogberry: one more thing, sir, we have caught two men and will have them examined by yourself in the morning. Exit Leonato

Organic Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Organic Food - Essay Example The consumption of organic food has increased owing to the fact that people consider it to have a better taste. It is also believed to be environment friendly owing to the lack of chemicals used in its plantation. Studies have analyzed the fact that organic food consist of a greater amount of anti-oxidants in comparison to the conventional foods. It has also been proved that organic foods do not have traces of chemicals on them. Organic foods have a few drawbacks as well. These include the fact that they rot at a fast pace owing to lack of usage of preservative chemicals. They are also expensive in comparison to the conventional foods. The break out of salmonella disease in the United States owing to the consumption of organic peanuts also raised doubts about the credibility of organic foods. Studies have also claimed regarding the lack of strong benefits of organic foods. Despite of this, further studies and researches have proved that organic foods are beneficial. It is believed th at to prevent disease with organic foods, regulatory bodies should be made strict to check the production of these foods. Organic Food Every individual in today’s world has become health conscious and is aware of the fact that healthy eating and lifestyle changes can result in the promotion of good health. This has led to the encouragement of food choices that serve to enhance the health status of an individual. Organic food has been an essential part of this health conscious drive. According to the Department of Agriculture in the United States, organic food is that food which â€Å"is generally free of synthetic substances; contains no antibiotics and hormones; has not been irradiated or fertilized with sewage sludge; was raised without the use of most conventional pesticides; and contains no genetically modified ingredients.† The organic food was officially recognized and permitted in the United States in the year 2002. This food was originally classified to be more nutritious and healthy for the consumers. But researches were conducted to rebut this claim and to signify the fact that there is no added benefit by the consumption of these foods (Bittman 2009; Severson et al 2009). The subject of organic food has been central to many arguments as there are claims by the producers of these foods that they are beneficial for the health of the people but this has been strongly disagreed upon by a few researchers. The organic food industry has been booming in the United States at a very fast pace. It has been seen that the sales of the organic foods has increased from 11 billion dollars in 2001 to 20 billion dollars in the year 2009. In the year 2006 alone 16.7 billion dollars were achieved from the selling of organic drinks and edibles. Furthermore, a survey conducted by Harris in the year 2007 highlighted the fact that approximately 30 percent of Americans purchase and consume organic food at some point. The survey further elaborated the fact that it was a strong belief of most of the Americans that organic food is better than the conventional food. The American first lady, Michelle Obama also created an initiative for the promotion of organic foods. She started a small plantation of organic foods in the White House to support the increased usage of organic foods for the promotion of healthy eating habits amongst the Americans (Bittman 2009; Severson et al 2009). Organic food has become a top choice owing to many factors. Many people prefer to consume organic food owing to the consideration that organic food is of a greater nutritive value in comparison to the non-organic food. The restricted use of pesticides for organic foods is also considered to be an added point. This is owing to the fact that pesticides are used for the

Strategies UNIT-5P Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategies UNIT-5P - Essay Example In order to support the worldwide demand for its products, the company established seven production plants in different countries worldwide. Dell’s produces its diverse products on its manufacturing facilities located in: Austin, Texas; Winston-Salem, California; Lebanon, Tennessee; Eldorado do Sul, Brazil; Limerick, Ireland; Penang, Malaysia; and Xiamen China (Dell Annual Report 2005) As stated above, the production activities of Dell are conducted in seven locations worldwide. From this, it can be seen that the manufacturing operation of the company is highly decentralized. The company does not utilize a single production plant to manufacture all its products. Instead, it opts to establish manufacturing facilities in order to reap specific business opportunities present in a region. The geographical locations of the manufacturing plants are very much strategic as they embody the primary business model and strategy of Dell which is cost leadership. For example, Brazil is chosen as a site for production because of â€Å"its sophisticated labor force, its economic incentives to attract technology manufacturing companies in the region, and its strategic location as an export hub to other South American countries† (Mahoney, 1999). The decentralization of production enables Dell to customize its products according to customers’ specifications. This is also strongly in line with the company’s efforts of motivating employees through empowerment. These factors hinder Dell in confining its manufacturing activities in a single location. Dell strongly boasts its strategy of customizing its product and services according to the specification of the customers. The company recognizes that each customer should be provided only with the products and services which suit their specific needs. Thus, the company has installed a direct business model in order to specifically address each customer’s wants. The company’s website states that â€Å"Culture plays a

Address an economic issue of current interest to WSJ readers Assignment

Address an economic issue of current interest to WSJ readers - Assignment Example This is a considerable drop, when compared the previous year’s estimate of 12%. This has also caused new home building to slow down which directly affects economic growth. Besides, the effect of this drop to the economy, those planning to buy new homes may have a smile as the pressure on home prices is expected to ease up with a notable drop of 1.2% compared to the same period in 2013. After reading the article, I would like to share few ideas that crossed my mind concerning what the editor states about economic growth and the real reasons behind this drop. For a start, I believe there are various reasons that are responsible for this drop and severe weather and rising mortgage is only a fraction of these reasons. As it is a trend, new homes only account for 10% of all home sales; therefore, a drop in sales for home sales does not necessarily mean that homebuyers have slowed down. This means that, despite the severe weather conditions and rising mortgage, new home sales could have gone down after losing potential buyers to older house sales. An article in 2013 by Cho highlighted that Shadow Inventory held by the GSEs and US-HUD largely outnumbered REO. This shows there is a large supply of homes that could come to market and sustain the current demand, leaving little room for new homes. In support of this opinion, another article by Gundlach specifies that the hou sing market is soft and has been significantly slowed down by the aging pool of loans in the foreclosure process. The forecast done by National Association for Business Economics on this year’s housing investment is a valid reason that, despite the severe weather conditions, new home ownership will still experience slow growth perhaps, the rise in mortgage being a more viable reason. Other significant factor in the drop, in new home ownership, is the increasing cost of

Politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 9

Politics - Essay Example Census (Davidson, Walter, and Frances 42-46). Nevertheless, districting in the elections for the House of Representatives stands out as one of the sources of partisan polarization (Carson et al 1). There are significant problems associated with districting in single member states (Garrett 1-6). Single-member district electoral system fosters poor representation and undermines the democratic voting process. In reviewing and advancing the argument about polarization and districting, we can show that districting plays a significant role in enhancing polarization. In Rethinking Districting, Thomas Brunell argues that voters who did not vote for the winning candidate are less happy compared to the voters who voted for the winning candidate in the House of Representatives (Brunell 77). The single-member district electoral system creates a disconnection as the minority voters do not identify with the winning representatives. Like-minded partisans enhance cohesion in the House (McCarty et al 4-6). Otherwise, establishing a competitive district in the House has an adverse effect of distorting the ideologically congruent voters into separate districts, which will increase the absolute number of voters who will be unhappy with the outcome and dissatisfied with their representative (Brunell 77). Where most of the voters are unhappy with the outcome and dissatisfied with their representative, then the political leaders will have a huge challenge in exercising their power. This has an overall effect of demeaning representation and undermining developme nt since the voters will not support the decisions of the House of Representatives. The districting process is also problematic because the single-member district electoral system may determine the leaders and the party, which will govern our local district even before the voters exercise their voting rights. The single-member district electoral system favors certain candidates and parties since it confines

Integrated academic report-the innovation and change of Apple.Inc Essay

Integrated academic report-the innovation and change of Apple.Inc - Essay Example Apple has faced lots of ups and downs their corporate history; however, they were able to overcome all the challenges with the help of carefully planned business strategies. During the latter part of 1990 and at the beginning of 2000, Apple has introduced many innovative products like iPhone, iMac, iPad, iPod, iTunes etc in the market. All these products helped Apple to regain its lost place in the market. Apple delivers more than what they promise which is the major reason for the popularity of Apple brand all over the world. Even though Apple succeeded in grabbing the spot from Microsoft as the most valued technology company in the world, they need to continue their innovation and change management process in order to sustain their top place in the market. Apple’s current business strategies are rotating around their charismatic leader Steve Jobs and once Steve decides to quit, Apple may face lot of leadership troubles. This report briefly analyses the innovation and change management process implemented in Apple which helped Apple to attain the top spot in the market. Introduction â€Å"Apple was founded in Cupertino, California on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne† (Apple Inc. History, 2008). The 35 years of Apple’s history is mixed with ups and downs. The company faced major challenges in the 1990’s when their major competitor Microsoft introduced their Window based operating system in the market. However, Apple was able to bounce back in the beginning of the twenty first century with the help of innovation and change management principles implemented in the organization. Apple Inc caught the attention of the public recently when they surpass Microsoft in market capitalization. Apple Company is currently operating internationally and has more than 200 retail stores in different countries. Apple’s need for innovation General imperatives in computer industry sector Computer industry is mainly dominated by some big players like Microsoft, Apple, IBM, Motorola, Linux etc. The operating system industry is monopolized by the Microsoft whereas the personal computer manufacturing is controlled by the IBM. The tie up between IBM and Microsoft helped both the companies immensely in controlling a substantial

An outline marketing plan for the next year for Atlantic Quench 306 Essay - 1

An outline marketing plan for the next year for Atlantic Quench 306 - Essay Example The marketing plan for the concerned firm focuses on developing a new product for entering the mass consumer market and providing the consumers a cheaper alternative against highly priced pure juices. With an aim to sell 250000 units of 250 ml tetra packs of the new product, Atlantic Quench will begin by streamlining the functional aspects of the company to reduce their cost. The product introduction is developed with differentiation focus and the control of the marketing activities will focus on cost leadership. Based on this, the price skimming has been selected as the pricing strategy. The budget developed also reflects the estimated earnings and expenses for the new product segment of Atlantic Quench in the next year. With appropriate market presence and brand development activities for creating consumer awareness, Atlantic Quench can enter the global market of juice and nectar segment. Atlantic Quench operates in the fruit industry mainly in its home market i.e. US and is a co-operative business process. Established in the year 1934, the co-operative has become one of the most famous brands in agricultural product market with their extensive and highly demanded product base (Case study). Jointly owned by 630 cranberry and 46 grape fruit farmers, the production channel of the company is also steady and growing. As the co-operative saw the demand of their products growing in the market, they entered the retail sector with bottled fruit juices. However, the primary concern of the business is related to control its growth in an organized manner and also ensure a good relationship with the farmers. In order to overcome the financial crunch, Atlantic Quench CEO Chuck Berry decided to develop the brand of the company by converting into a full-fledged business houses. Atlantic Quench is also developing alliances with big multinationals such as soft drinks giant Coca-Cola

Immigration Reform Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Immigration Reform - Essay Example This paper is aimed at providing a critical thoughtful process of the immigration reform that has been conducted in the United States of America, mainly after the incident of the 9/11 attack on the country. Comparative and Analysis: The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) has implemented reformatory policies aimed at providing anti-immigrant movements in the country. The most important mission of these policies is to achieve the aim of zero level of immigration in the country. These reformatory policies have blamed immigrants as the main cause of economic as well as environmental problems of the country. Immigrants are also blamed in regard to these policies as putting greater amount of pressure on the population of the country. The first policy in the context of immigration reform was implemented in 1979 by the chairman of the FAIR, John Tanton, who was also known as the "father of the anti-immigration movement" in the country. During this time policies related to immi gration reform have been developed for the purpose of providing greater amount of economic and environmental supports to the country and also to reduce the growing level of population of the country (FEDERATION FOR AMERICAN IMMIGRATION REFORM, 1). Classical liberalism Classical liberalism has been playing an important role in the process of social, cultural as well as economic development in the country since a long time. The country has been highly liberal regarding migration of people from other countries into their country. Large number of people who came into this country from countries across the globe is living temporarily or permanently in this country. They have become an integral part of this country. Political, economic, social, cultural, educational – all these aspects did not (do not and will not) match with these immigrants. However, these people are increasingly becoming citizens of the United States of America. But the debate regarding increase in the amount of migrated people in the country occurred after the 9/11 attack of 2001 on the World Trade Center. After this attack, politicians and American people started to raise their voice against immigrations and the need for immigration reform has been realized during this time by politicians of the country (Fitz and Kelley, 4). Factions (Pluralism) Political leaders and people of the country have started to raise their voice against the immigration and different policies have started to be proposed during this time. These policies have been put forward by several groups of people who have argued that the level of safety of resources and lives of general people of the country to a great extent if these policies are implemented. In these reformatory policies mainly specifies groups or factions were targeted. These groups have been constructed including, mainly, immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and people of other middle-east countries. Mainly people who belong to the Muslim religion have been included in this group. â€Å"The House of Representatives preempted anticipated Senate action in late 2005 by passing an extreme enforcement measure (H.R. 4437) sponsored by Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI). That bill, which would have felonized the undocumented population and many who interact with them, triggered an enormous backlash

Margaret Atwood Essay Example for Free

Margaret Atwood Essay I came across the quote Context is all; or is it ripeness? One or the other[1] when reading Margaret Atwoods novel The Handmaids Tale for English. I didnt give it much attention, because since I was 12, I had come to the conclusion that there was no such thing as a fact and every thought depended on other factors for it to be true. However in this essay Im going to see if my original assumption was true or if there is a way to reach a truth through different branches of knowledge. Im going to take the definition of truth from the dictionary, solely to have a base for which to compare the rest of the essay to; A verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle[2].Which means that that there are facts that are backed by evidence, such as; it is 14:24 (at the time of writing). However in this case we can apply Atwoods context is all, and change it to context is location, as this scenario isnt necessarily true, seeing that in Sydney the time is 22:25, therefore the truth can be considered relative. Relativism is a doctrine where there is no absolute truth; that truth is always relative to some particular frame of reference, such as a language or a culture[3]. Which brings up a paradox as if someone were to say context is irrelevant meaning the truth would remain a truth in every situation, it would contradict themselves, as that statement would be relative depending on the context. Francis Bacons Empiricism or otherwise known perception, is the process of arriving at the truth through sense experience.[4] People use their five senses to arrive at a truth, however depending on the context, the exact same senses can make that truth false. An example that happens to me frequently is; when I look at a shirt, to me it looks black, but then when I put it under a stronger light and look at it carefully it often turns out to be dark blue. It doesnt mean the senses are faulty or cant be trusted, but the observation; truth, arrived from the use of perception, isnt congruent when the context is changed. Another very bizarre example that happened to me last year when I bought my new phone; is before purchasing it, I didnt know of anybody that had one, but as soon as I had it in my pocket I started realising that a lot of people around me had it as well. Language is the use of characters, symbols, images and sounds as a means of communicating a message.[5] We assume that language is a truth, as we have a general consensus of the different characters, symbols, images and sounds in language. However once again the truth is challenged with the context is all axiom, where in certain cases the truth behind language doesnt stand. My father told me the following example; when Vice-President Richard Nixon, at the end of the 1950s was visiting Colombia, he used the commonly known OK hand sign, denoted with a circle formed by the thumb and the first finger, with the remaining three fingers outstretched, to which the Colombian people, thought they were being called assholes. Rene Descartes Rationalism is the use of reason, be it inductive or deductive to logically arrive at the truth.[6] Descartes used reason to arrive at his famous; Cogito Ergo Sum, I think therefore I am.[7] He was asking the question How do I know I exist ? and he deduced by no more than reason that it all boiled down to; I doubt that I exist, therefore I think, ergo I am.  When I first heard this deduction, it seemed to me that it was flawless. However I remember looking around the room I was in at the time; I realised that objects such as the chairs, tables and even trees to an extent, couldnt deduce their existence like Descartes did, therefore according to his deduction they wouldnt exist. Once again I came to the conclusion that context will undermine truth.

Descartes - First Meditation Essay Example for Free

Descartes First Meditation Essay In the First Meditation, Descartes presents his philosophical project, and he claims that, in order to complete this project, he needs to put into questions the truth of all his beliefs. Descartes shows that we can doubt of the truth of all our beliefs by two main arguments, the Dream Argument and the Evil Genius argument. In the Dream Argument, Descartes discusses the senses and how it can deceive. Descartes then mentions that when he is dreaming he can also sense real objects, or at least feels he can, causing him not be able to distinguish between being asleep and being awake. This is shown in the quote from the First Meditation, â€Å"I see so plainly that there are no definitive signs by which to distinguish being awake from being asleep. As a result, I am becoming quite dizzy, and this dizziness nearly convinces me that I am asleep† (19, Mediation One). Descartes also discusses the possibility of the universal dream, mentioning that his whole life could in fact be a dream with no actual world that you are awake. Descartes mentions that dream images are images that we already experience in our waking life, they are images that we already know of. The images don’t necessarily have to be something we have seen before because it can be parts of real things we already know that create another image we have not yet seen or experienced. The dream argument that Descartes represents interprets the message that the senses are not always reliable, and we can easily be fooled by them, therefore, we should not rely on our senses to base all of our beliefs on. Now moving on to Descartes second argument, the Evil Genius argument, it implies that everything we think we know is in fact not true and we cannot rely on our senses. In The First Meditation, Descartes presents that God is good, therefore he would not fool the beings he creates into believing false things. If someone were to believe in this suggestion then he would know that he can’t be fooled by anything. This is shown in Descartes quote â€Å"But perhaps God has not willed that I be deceived in this way, for he is said to be supremely good. Nonetheless, if it were repugnant to his goodness to have created me such that I be deceived all the time, it would also seem foreign to that same goodness to permit me to be deceived even occasionally† (21 Meditation One). On the other hand, Descartes mentions that there are some people who believe there is no God, if this is the point of view to be taken then there would be a very big likelihood in us being deceived. The reason for this theory is due to the argument Descartes presents that if there is no good our senses would not be perfect since it would not have been created by a perfect being, such as God. This is shown in Descartes quote, â€Å"But because being deceived and being mistaken appear to be a certain imperfection, the less powerful they take the author of my origin to be, the more probable it will be that I am so imperfect that I am always deceived† (21 Mediation One). In the end of the First Meditation, Descartes sees it as impossible to stop from thinking about these theories, he then tries to believe that his opinions are not true. Descartes does this for the reason to be able to keep thinking as normal without disruptions. Descartes mentions this in his quote, â€Å"Hence, it seems to me I would do well to deceive myself by turning my will in completely the opposite directions and pretend for a time that these opinions are wholly false and imaginary† (22 Meditation One). Descartes then concludes that an evil genius has set out to deceive him so everything he thinks he knows is not true, â€Å"I will not suppose a supremely good God, the source of truth, but rather an evil genius, supremely powerful and clever, who has directed his entire effort at deceiving me† (22 Mediation One). With Descartes doubting all his beliefs he makes sure that he is not led to believe in what is not real by the so called â€Å"evil genius† he mentions in the First Meditation. In regards to the question, does Descartes appear to be a sceptic? I would have to say no, the reason I say this is although Descartes does appear to be a sceptic in all his arguments, he demonstrates theories to all his doubts. When Descartes represents a reason for his doubt this cannot be viewed a scepticism anymore as scepticism as defined is the philosophical position according to which knowledge is impossible. Descartes represents knowledge on each topic he doubts, as to why it should be doubted and for what reasons. Descartes does not constantly doubt everything for no reason, a sceptic doubts everything around them for no reason whatsoever. To prove this argument I suggested we can look at the First Meditation when Descartes denies the thought that he might be insane, which is shown in his quote, â€Å"Unless perhaps I were to liken myself to the insane, but such people are mad, and I would appear no less mad, were I to take their behavior as an example for myself† (19 Meditation One). In this quote it proves that all the doubts Descartes is making in the First Meditation are logical, and provide reason. Descartes is not just doubting for the sake of doubting, but for logic that causes this doubt he is experiencing. This concludes that Descartes is not a sceptic, and his arguments in fact to continue to grow, while maintaining logical reason behind them.

Manuscript Submission and Peer- review System

Manuscript Submission and Peer- review System World’s First Manuscript Submission and Peer- review System  Integrated with Social Networking Dr. Antony Raj*, Balaji Jagadeesan, Muthumariappan M and  Bhuvaneswari Ranganathan Abstract: Any major change in the way people communicate is bound to have major implications for education. Today, in the fast paced life, promoting self written research article/publications is very important to improve the citation of the article and credit to the author’s original concept. Social media has become this significant part of our modern civilization. Manuscript Management system (MMS) – developed by J-Technologies India Limited, made it simple for the authors to share their research papers to their social network and professional network in a jiffy. Introduction During the early days, scholars and researchers wrote their articles and published them in journals. Traditionally, library patrons and researchers came to the library to read or to make copies of these articles. To some extent publishers and vendors competed to receive orders from libraries. The first journal was started during 1665 in France. It was called Journal des sà §avans. The new era of on-line electronic publishing, however, has changed the way of accessing information for scholars and researchers. With the emergence of the electronic publishing, scholars and researchers are able to publish articles on-line without going through a publisher or a vendor and users can access information without going to the library. (Blake 2000) Scientists seek out publication outlets that maximize the chances of their work being cited for many reasons. So, they adapted well to utilize social media from the start to share their resources, discuss the issues they face and also to be known in the scientific community. Citations provide stable links to cited documents and make a public statement of intellectual recognition for the cited authors. Citations are an indicator of the dissemination of an article in the scientific community and provide a quantitative system for the public recognition of work by qualified peers. Having work cited is therefore an incentive for scientists, and in many disciplines it forms the basis of a scientist’s evaluation. (Clark, D. 2012). Social networking as a key to improve citation Social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus etc.,) have become increasingly integrated into the way many people today act, think, and relate to each other. Social networking has a multitude of implications for the field of education and these impact students, educators, administrators, and parents alike. There are numerous challenges and opportunities offered by these sites and making out the maximum from the social networking cloud in terms of getting ones research known. Sonali Guha. (2014) Ease of Sharing with Social network integration The usage of social network is vast and everyone wants to be updated about various things from basic daily occurrences to complicated rocket science. When one shares ones scientific work the rate  at which the work is read increases. This does not stop here, but also; if the research is interesting or novel, people tend to share and also spread the information and this will bring in more people to read and refer the particular research work. Recent updates about current, ongoing research are available in various journals. Some being open access and other require subscription. These journals are known to only limited number of people and not to all. Although, researchers read numerous articles they usually do not take time to share new work through social network due to lack of time even it’s as simple as a copy paste of a url. So this new innovation of integration of social networking in scientific journals aids in easy sharing of information and also acts as a tool. Angell. B and Gabie E. (2012) Integration of Social Networking Portals. Integration of scientific journal with Social networking sites through the Application Programming Interface (API) was first developed by J-Technologies India Limited in the year 2012 and was implemented in their own journal â€Å"Online Journal of BioSciences and Informatics†. Advantages of integration of social networks into journal portals As previously mentioned, social networking acts as a great tool for marketing. The better a scientist’s work is known, better is the appreciation of the work. When a research article is marketed well, the probability of the citation also increases which in turn leads to better impact factor (a rating given by Thomson Reuters). Higher the value, the better the rating of the researcher. This will help the researcher in many ways including getting placed in a better lab, getting research grants etc. Claire Saxby, (2004) Summary Online Journal of BioSciences and Informatics (JBI) have implemented the system of social networking to share the articles. Although, researchers read numerous articles they usually do not take time to share new work through social network due to lack of time even it’s as simple as a copy paste of a url. So this new innovation of integration of social networking in scientific journals aids in easy sharing of information and also acts as a tool. Citations are an indicator of the dissemination of an article in the scientific community and provide a quantitative system for the public recognition of work by qualified peers. Having work cited is therefore an incentive for scientists, and in many disciplines it forms the basis of a scientist’s evaluation. Social networking can help scientists in across many countries get the opportunity to meet and participate in the international research. References Clark, D. (2012). Social Media: Why It Matters to Everyone in Education.The International HETL Review. Volume 2, Article 8, http://www.hetl.org/opinion-articles/social-media-why-it-matters-to-everyone-in-education/ Sonali Guha. (2014) How Social Media Has Changed the World? 5 Impacts of Social Media on Our Lives.  http://webseo22.hubpages.com/hub/How-Social-Media-Has-Changed-the-World-Impact-of-Social-Media-on-Our-Lives Blake (2000) E-Journals: advantages, disadvantages and criteria for selection.  http://lisnews.org/node/1513 Angell. B and Gabie E. (2012) Editors Insights on the Costs and Benefits of Online Journals .  http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JOTS/Winter-Spring-1998/angell.html Adam Geib, (2013) Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access.  http://www.edanzediting.com/blog/advantages_and_disadvantages_open_access#.Uww-X86hZHM Anonymous, (2013) Advantages and Disadvantages of Open Access Journals. http://monlywhite.blogspot.in/2013/02/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-open.html Anonymous, (2010). Benefits of Open Access for research dissemination  http://www.openoasis.org/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=146Itemid=308   Claire Saxby, (2004) http://www.oxfordjournals.org/news/oa_report.pdf

Mirror :: essays research papers

The Mirror Steam rose from the water and filled the bathroom with ghostly, swirling eddies, and phantasms of white, transparent ribbons of vapor. Tracy basked in the water, relishing the prickly fingers of hot water as it soothed the muscles of her body. Her red hair lay in wet, matted strings over her shoulders and breasts. Her eyelids were closed, hiding her deep, emerald green eyes. Tears squeeze from her eyes as the memory of the phone call echoed through her mind. It had been a woman’s voice on the other end of the line, and she had asked for Justin, Tracy’s husband. Tracy was high strung with emotions and the sound of that woman’s voice sparked the thought that her husband was cheating on her. The hardest part of it all for her to believe was that when Justin got home that night, Tracy confronted him with her fears. Justin didn’t hesitate in telling her that, yes, he was having an affair. She was so distraught over the news that she had kicked him out of the ho use after a lengthy screaming match. Now, Tracy sat in the tub, water to her chin, and her right hand on the ledge of the tub, fumbling lightly with a single edge razor blade. She opened her eyes and delicately ran her finger over the shinning blade. She’d teach Justin. One swipe of the blade and he’d be regretting ever sleeping around on her. She lifted the blade and brought it over to the opposite wrist. As her hand lifted off the edge of the tub, she notices something odd in the mirror. The mirror was completely steamed over with a white, hazy mist, and on the surface of the mirror, written in the condensation, was a short statement that made Tracy’s breath catch in her throat. DON’T DO IT, TRACY! Tracy jerked out of the water, splashing a bunch onto the floor. The statement was written in a loose, looping, and broken script, almost as if it had been written by a child. Before her eyes, the mirror steamed over again and the words disappeared. The razor drops into the water, forgotten. â€Å"Who did that?† she asked the room, knowing that nobody could have done it, she was alone in the house. â€Å"Who’s there?† She carefully gets out of the tub and wraps herself in a large, blue towel.

Racism: The Artificial Category of Race Essay examples -- Sociology Ra

Racism: The Artificial Category of Race THESIS: Scientists and other intellectuals recognize the modern concept of "race" as an artificial category that developed over the past five centuries due to encounters with non-European people. Even though people still attempt to organize humans into categories according to their race, these categories have been shown to have no scientific basis. The term "race" is a modern concept. It's definition has adopted radically new meaning over the past few centuries. Currently, the term is used to characterize differences among human groups. According to the Oxford English Dictionary the term "race" in 1512 is "a group or class of persons, animals, or things, having some common feature or features." Today, Oxford's definition is quite different: "a local geographic or global human population distinguished by genetically transmitted characteristics and/or any of the major biological definitions of man distinguished by physically evident features, for example, Caucasian, Negroid, and Mongoloid." This definition is a result of regular interaction with non-European people. The Europeans began to explore other lands, thus creating the idea that some people are different than them and should not be under the same category as them. The constant interaction with groups of people who’s lifestyles were very different led Europeans to believe that they were a different "kind" of people. Scientists worked on and created many different ways to classify the different people they found. This unrefined method of categorization was the origin of a new culture-oriented taxonomic system for human beings. The system is based on the "Great Chain of Being," which is a way of classifying things according to... ...ces of Man. New York: The Macmillian Company and Their Distribution, 1925. Holli, Melvin G. "Race, Ethnicity and Urbanization: Selected Essays." Journal of American Ethnic History 16 (1996): 110-125. Myers, Norma. Reconstructing the Black Past: Blacks in Britain 1780-1830. Portland: Frank Cass Press, 1996. Philip, David. Race and Ethnicity. Lansdowne: Citadel Press, 1980. "Race." Oxford English Dictionary. First ed. 1928. "Race." Webster's New World Dictionary. Third ed. 1988. Smedley, Audrey. Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview. Boulder: Westview Press, 1999. Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1989. Tobias, Phillip. "The Meaning of Race." Race and Social Difference. Baxtor, Paul, Basil Sansom ed. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1972. 19-43.

The Decoherence Of Measurement :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites Arguably the most onerous philosophical question attached to Quantum Mechanics (QM) is that of Measurement. The accepted (a.k.a. Copenhagen) Interpretation of QM says that our very act of conscious, intelligent, observable measurement – determines the outcome of the measurement in the quantum (microcosmic) realm. The wave function (which describes the co-existing, superpositioned, states of the system) collapses following a measurement. It seems that just by knowing the results of a measurement – we determine its outcome, determine the state of the system and, by implication, the state of the Universe as a whole. This notion is so counter-intuitive that it fostered a raging debate which has been on going for more than 7 decades now. But, could we have turned the question (and, inevitably, the answer) on its head? Is it the measurement that brings about the collapse – or, maybe, we are capable of measuring only collapsed results? Maybe our very ability to measure, to design measurement methods and instrumentation, to conceptualize measurement and so on – are thus limited as to yield only the collapse solutions of the wave function? Superpositions are notoriously unstable. Even in the quantum realm they should last but an infinitely split moment of time. Our measurement apparatus is not as refined as to capture a superposition long enough to justify the title of â€Å"measurement† or â€Å"observation†. By contrast, collapses are sufficiently stable to last, to be observed and measured. This is why we measure collapses. But in which sense (excluding longevity which, anyhow, is a dubious matter in the quantum world) are collapse events measurable, what makes them so? Collapse events are not the most highly probable – some of them are associated with low probabilities and still they occur and are measured. Ex definitio, the more probable states will tend to be measured more (the wave function will collapse more often into high probability states). But this does not exclude the less probable states of the quantum system from materializing upon measurement. The other possibility is that the collapse events are carefully â€Å"selected† for some purpose, within a certain pattern and in a certain sequence. What could that purpose be? Probably, the extension and enhancement of order in the Universe. That this is so can be easily substantiated: it is so. Order increases all the time. This is doubly true if we adopt the anthropocentric view of the Copenhagen Interpretation (conscious, intelligent observers determine the outcomes of measurements in the quantum realm).

Notes – Human resource management

Notes – Human resource management Chapter 7 Notes Human Resource Management DEFINE selection and DISCUSS Its strategic Importance. Reliability and validity and EXPLAIN their importance in selection techniques. DESCRIBE at least four types of testing used in selection and the conflicting legal concerns related to alcohol and drug testing DESCRIBE the major types of selection interviews by degree of structure, type of content, and manner of administration. EXPLAIN the importance of reference checking, strategies to make such checking effective, and ANALYZE the legal issues involved.Selection The process of choosing Individuals to fill Job openings The strategic Importance of selection Quality of human resources determines organizational performance. Inappropriate selection decisions are costly. Significant legal implications Avoiding Legal problems use selection criteria based on the Job assess applicant's ability to meet expectations scrutinize applicant-provided information ob tain authorization for reference checking save all records and Information reject applicants who make false statements The selection process Designing the selection processFaceable) qualified privilege negligent misrepresentation Step 5: Supervisory Interview and realistic Job preview The supervisor: is best qualified to assess Job knowledge/ skills can answer Job-specific questions must feel comfortable with new hire can assess fit with current team members Realistic Job Preview (RIP) provides applicants with realistic information, both positive and negative, about the job Step 6: Hiring decision and Candidate notification compile information from all techniques used evaluate information about each candidate immediate supervisor usually makes final hiring decision think about the offer notify all finalists who were not selected

Assessing the Dependency of Teamwork Dynamics to Cultural Differences Essay

A debate whether a heterogeneous or a homogeneous team is easier to handle and manage has been going on for years. Companies, firms and even organizations are starting to make teams as the basic unit of their operations. Due to this trend, organizational researchers started to study the correlation between the composition of the team and the teams’ output (Earley & Mosakowski, 2000, p. 26). Organizational composition in terms of the homogeneity and heterogeneity of the team composition is commonly studied through the comparative advantages that each type of composition can give to a working team (Schippers, Hartog, Koopman, & Wienk, 2003, p. 779). This research paper will try to address the issue at hand in the same manner as most organizational researchers do; this research paper will compare homogeneous and heterogeneous team compositions through the advantages they can give to their teams. The hiring structure of most organizations, companies and firm includes a set of qualification that seeks to sift through the applicants not in terms of credentials but also in terms of their backgrounds (Prat, 2000, p. 3). These sets of qualifications are commonly structured in their own ways to create a homogenous or a heterogeneous team, depending on the position of the hiring party in terms of its team composition preference. Before moving on to the advantages of the two-team compositions, it should be noted that the basic differences between the two-team compositions are its team members’ culture. Culture embodies the system of shared meanings (Gibson C. B. , 2004). It can even be said, that culture attributes the different reactions of the team members in different managerial approaches and team objectives (Gibson C. B. , 2004). Furthermore, the probability of success and efficiency in team is dependent to the culture of its team members. Identifying the difference between leading a homogeneous team or a heterogeneous team can be easily discussed through the extent by which team members share a certain culture. In modern day organizational researches, culture sharing is not the only difference. Factors such as efficiency, efficacy of the leading model, output capabilities and even conflict resolution mechanisms are considered in organization researches that address homogeneous and heterogeneous team compositions. Describing the actual leadership process in these two team compositions would lead to the discussions on team cohesiveness. Team cohesiveness is the degree by which members of a group (both hetero and homo) are attracted to the team (Wendt, Euwemab, & Emmerik, 2009, p. 359). It can be said, that team cohesiveness embodies the reasons for joining a team and expected incentives for joining the team (Wendt, Euwemab, & Emmerik, 2009, p. 359). Team cohesiveness is present in both homogeneous and heterogeneous team compositions. However, the burden of insuring that the team would function is not directly related to the team composition; it is also determined by the leadership style in the team. Leading leadership styles such as directive and supportive styles have two very different effects to the team depending on the team composition. The exclusivity of the shared culture in homogeneous teams can work better with directive leadership such as seen in autocratic countries (Wendt, Euwemab, & Emmerik, 2009, p. 360). On the other hand, supportive leadership can work better with heterogeneous team composition since the differences in the shared culture of the team can be compensated for by the support that the leadership style offers (Wendt, Euwemab, & Emmerik, 2009, p. 360). Interchanging the two leadership styles in heterogeneous and homogeneous team compositions can result to high probability of team inefficiency and failure. Following this logic, it can be said that the leadership style would determine the difference between these two team compositions; a certain â€Å"fit† must be properly addressed. After discussing the needed â€Å"fit† in the leadership style and the team composition, advantages in terms of properly leading a homogeneous team or a heterogeneous team can now be established. Having a heterogeneous team implies that a team leader would have members with different recognitions of shared culture. Due to this, the team leader can expect different opinions and a wide range of ideas to be articulated by the team members (Gibson & Vermeulen, 2003, p. 207). This setup is seen in companies that operate on a high technology level. Technology based companies tend to function in a transnational level; this allows the companies to have an experience in having a heterogeneous team to deal with their operations. The diverse pool that the company can easily access to creates a working environment, which is perfect for the creation of cohorts. According to other related researches, team members tend to speak out their idea or opinion if they have at least one team member that supports their idea (Gibson & Vermeulen, 2003, p. 207). This finding is the coined as the cohort formation in workplaces. Following this logic, leading a heterogeneous team has an advantage of being able to pool a good number of ideas and opinions due to the different shared cultures among the team members. Practically speaking, a heterogeneous team can come up with more possible solutions needed to address a problem as compared to a team with members that share a uniform culture. Heterogeneous team through its cohorts also has the advantage of creating a workplace, which is more conducive for a more receptive learning behavior (Gibson & Vermeulen, 2003, p. 209). The cohort formation that arises from a heterogeneous team creates subgroups that are more receptive to learning through experimentation; reflective communication and codification (Gibson & Vermeulen, 2003, p. 209). The psychological support provided by team members that share culture allows other team members to learn more (Gibson & Vermeulen, 2003, p. 210). These advantages of heterogeneous teams make many organizations, companies and firms to invest in the creation of a heterogeneous team. This trend is best seen in transnational companies’ attempts to outsource team members from different places around the globe to insure that their team has cohorts to cultivate better brainstorming activities (Earley & Gibson, 2002, pp. 230-232). Unfortunately, the advantages of having a heterogeneous team stop at the cohorts. Heterogeneous team, which is too heterogeneous in the sense that it does not allow the formation of cohorts tends to be counterproductive since its team members without some to share his or her culture with, becomes too protective of their ideas (Gibson & Vermeulen, 2003, pp. 212-213). In this situation, organizational researches recommend the full dismantling of the team or the inclusion of other team members that may allow that formation of cohorts within the heterogeneous team. Advantages in a homogeneous team are the extreme solutions to the disadvantages of a heterogeneous team. The probability that too much heterogeneity can impede team growth and efficiency can be cancelled out by adapting a homogenized team since the shared culture of the whole team will eradicate the cultural diversity that may have started the problems of a too heterogenic team (Mello & Ruckes, 2010, p. 1022). This is the primary advantage of homogeneous team- cohesion. Team cohesion is at its prime state if the subject team is a homogeneous team (WordPress. com, 2009). The strong sense of group cohesion in a homogeneous team allows the whole team to easily accomplish tasks and yield maximum productivity rates (WordPress. com, 2009, p. n. pag. ). The shared culture of a homogeneous team creates a sense of unity among the team members; that translates to achievements that are most probably unattainable for a common heterogeneous group. This is the primary and appears to be the only advantage in a homogeneous group. Unfortunately, it also has its share of disadvantages. The major disadvantage of a homogenous team is that the team is prone to make probable dumb decisions due to the strong sense of groupthink mentality present in this team composition (WordPress. com, 2009). This attributes of homogeneous team composition allows homogeneous teams to be the perfect team composition for productivity and goal oriented organizations, companies and firms. Conclusion: Heterogeneous and homogeneous team compositions have been existing ever since basic groups have been formed. The reason for their existence is the fact that each of this team composition provides a perfect fit for different organizational arrangements (Gamage, 2006, p. 57). The interplay between organizational cultures, team composition and the type of leadership determines the needed fit implied in this research paper. Conclusively, this research paper takes the position that homogeneous team composition is an advantage for organizations, companies and firms that are goal and production oriented, while heterogeneous team composition is an advantage for organizations, companies and firms that seek to provide solutions. The cohesive team culture cultured and enforced in homogeneous team composition allows a consolidated movement of the whole team towards the attainment of their team’s objectives. On the other hand, the differences of the team members of a heterogeneous team allow the utilization of the multi perspective orientations in the advantage of the whole team. The different ideas and cultural inclinations of a heterogeneous team allow the development of holistic solutions. These points when summed up results to a general idea that the team compositions’ effectiveness are dominantly dependent on the factors such as type of leadership and environment such as context of application. Bibliography Adams, S. K. (2007, July 30). Disciplinarily Hetero- and Homogeneous Design Team Convergence:Communication Patterns and Perceptions of Teamwork. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from www. scholar. lib. vt. edu: http://scholar. lib. vt. edu/theses/available/etd-08272007-114555/unrestricted/MastersThesis. pdf Adler, N. (1991). International dimensions of organi-zational behavior (2nd ed. ). Boston: PWS-Kent. Burke, S. , Wilson, K. , & Salas, E. (2010). Varying Team Composition to Examine the Effect of CulturalDiversity on Team Process and Cultural Adaptability. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from www. ftp. rta. nato. int: ftp. rta. nato. int/public//PubFullText/†¦ ///MP-HFM-142-18. doc Casmir, R. (1992). Third-culture building: A paradigm shift for international and intercultural communication. Communication Yearbook , 407-428. Cox, T. (1992). Cultural diversity in organizations. San Francisco: Berrett Koehler. Earley, P. C. , & Mosakowski, E. (2000). Creating Hybrid Team Cultures: An Empirical Test of Transnational Team Functioning. The Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 43, No. 1 , 26-49. Earley, P. , & Gibson, C. B. (2002). Multinational Work Teams: A New Perspective. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. . Elron, E. (1997). Top management teams within multina-tional corporations: Effects of cultural heterogeneity. Leadership Quarterly , 393-412. Gamage, D. (2006). Professional Development for Leaders and Managers . Dordrecht: Springer Publications. Gibson, C. B. (2004). Building Multicultural Teams:Learning to Manage Homogeneity and Heterogeneity. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from http://web. gsm. uci. edu: http://web. gsm. uci. edu/~cgibson/Publication%20files/Articles/Crossing%20cultures%20chapter. pdf Gibson, C. , & Vermeulen, F. (2003). A Healthy Divide: Subgroups as a Stimulus for Team Learning Behavior. Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 48, No. 2 , 202-239. Leadershipreview. org. (2002). Research Synopsis: Creating Hybrid Team Cultures. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from www. leadershipreview. org: http://www. leadershipreview. org/2002winter/nelson_winter_2002. asp Mayo, M. (2005, September 2). Networks and Effectiveness in Work Teams: The Impact of Diversity. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from www. latienda. ie. edu: http://latienda. ie. edu/working_papers_economia/WP05-10. pdf Maznevski, M. (1994). Understanding our differences: Performance in decision-making groups with diverse members. Human Relations , 531-552. McGrath, J. (1984). Groups: Interaction and performance. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall. Mello, A. S. , & Ruckes, M. E. (2010). Team Composition. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from http://finance. fbv. uni-karlsruhe. d: http://finance. fbv. uni-karlsruhe. de/download/Ruckes_TeamCompositionJB. pdf Prat, A. (2000, August 16). Shoul a Team Be Homogeneous? Retrieved August 6, 2010, from www. econ. lse. ac. uk: http://econ. lse. ac. uk/staff/prat/papers/sharedeer2. pdf Schippers, M. C. , Hartog, D. N. , Koopman, P. L. , & Wienk, J. A. (2003). Diversity and Team Outcomes: The Moderating Effects of Outcome Interdependence and Group Longevity and the Mediating Effect of Reflexivity. Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 24, No. 6 , 779-802. Wendt, H. , Euwemab, M. C. , & Emmerik, I. H. (2009). Leadership and team cohesiveness across cultures. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from http://hettyvanemmerik. com: http://hettyvanemmerik. com/ScientificPublications/+Enl2009=Article_LQ_Wendt_Euwema_Van_Emmerik_Leadership_and_team_cohesiveness. pdf WordPress. com. (2009, March 10). Homogeneous or Heterogeneous Teams and Creativity. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from www. wordpress. com: http://asifjmir. wordpress. com/2009/03/10/homogeneous-or-heterogeneous-teams-and-creativity/

Implications for Education Using Frueds Theory Essay

Sigmund Freud was born in 1856 in Moravia, a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire known until recently as Czechoslovakia. His home was Vienna where he studied and practiced medicine until 1938 when Austria was annexed by the Nazis. With the Nazi annexation of Austria he went into exile in England and died in London in 1939. Freud made a great contribution to psychology and learning theory with his discovery of the emotional nature of unconscious motivations. His personality theory – though not entirely correct in all its aspects – brought to our awareness the unconscious level of the human ‘mind’. As a result we are aware of some previously unknown aspects of human development. We now know that the mental conflicts of the neurotic are not fundamental conflicts of human nature. Instead they are based on the motivating forces and social conflicts of the social environment within which the individual personality develops and functions. The concept of ‘normality’ makes sense only within the context of nature of the social environment in which the individual is functioning. Freud’s scientific discovery of the unconscious has contributed to the understanding of the role of the unconscious in the motivation aspect of learning †¦the basis of the valuing process intrinsic to the human organism†¦ (‘intrinsic motivation’) and the importance of the emotional nature of motivation as a determinant for effective learning. This is of great significance to learning theory and consequently to educational theory. The emotional nature of motivation for learning is a key aspect of educational theory of the so-called paradigm of education for development of the person as a whole i.e. ‘holistic education’. In 1923 Freud described his constructs of the id, ego and the superego. The id is the most primitive part of our personality. It operates according to the pleasure principle and it simply seeks immediate gratification. Freud believed that every human had a life and death instinct. The life instinct is called eros while the death instinct is called thanatos. Both are integral parts of the id. And the energy for this mechanism is libido, a flowing, dynamic force. The ego is different from the id as it is extremely objective. It operates according to the â€Å"reality principle† and deals with the demands of the environment. It regulates the flow of libido and keeps the id in check, thus acting as a â€Å"control center† of the personality. It is the superego which represents the values and standards of an individual’s personality. It acts as an internal judge, it punishes the ego with feelings of guilt or it rewards, which lead to feelings of pride and heightened s elf-esteem. The superego is a characteristic of the personality which strives for perfection. According to Freud, the disparity and development of the id, ego and the superego, determines an individual’s behavior in a given situation, which in turn results in the development of the personality. Freud placed great importance on the early years of a child as he believed that what we are as adults is determined by childhood experiences. Freud called these early years of development the psychosexual years of development. These early years proceed through a number of stages. Each child undergoes the different stages. These stages are the oral stage (first year of life), the anal stage ( second year), phallic stage (third through fifth year), a period of latency (from 6 to 12), and the genital stage (after puberty). Freud believed that as every child passes through these stages there might be a likely possibility that a child may spend more time in a particular stage then they aught to. This co ndition can lead to a fixation or an incomplete development of the personality. A critical event during the first five years of life is the experience of Oedipus and Electra conflicts. Freud believed that both sexes encounter and must deal with these turmoils, which result from boys developing sexual attraction toward their mothers, and girls developing sexual attraction towards their fathers. A boy may have feelings of jealousy towards his father as he is an obstacle between him and his mother. And, they fear retaliation by their fathers if they are caught (fear of castration). Since the boy loves his father, these feelings are repressed and he begins to identify with the father, adopting his values. Similarly girls develop hostility towards their mothers, unconsciously blaming their mothers for not being equal with boys. They assume that something is missing and feels inadequate (penis envy). Another major aspect of psychoanalysis is the development of defense mechanisms. According to the theory defense mechanisms are used by the ego to protect the person from anxiety. Repression is when information is pushed down into the unconscious. This information is either unpleasant or undesirable and may cause anxiety. Very often this information is pushed so deep down into the unconscious that is hard to retrieve. Reaction formation is when due to anxiety feelings are replaced by the extreme opposite. For instance a person feeling hate will be replaced by love. Undoing is when the ego completely changes actions which lead to feelings of anxiety. In this mechanism the truth may be drastically distorted. Projection is when an individual tends to assign one’s own shortcomings on to someone else. Rationalization is when an irrational act is made to appear rational. Denial occurs in cases where the ego is threatened and a person refuses to acknowledge the reality or seriousness of the situation. Identification involves empathizing with the qualities or characteristics of another favorable person. Fixation and Regression are related mechanisms which occur during psychosexual development. Psychoanalysis is also a therapy. It is based on the observation that individuals are often unaware of many of the factors that determine their emotions and behavior. Psychoanalytic treatment demonstrates how these unconscious factors affect current relationships and patterns of behavior, traces them back to their historical origins, shows how they have changed, and helps individuals to deal better with the realities of adult life. Though primarily of historical interest, an understanding of Freudian theory may give classroom teachers insight into the importance of unconscious feelings and drives that motivate some student behavior Implications for teaching When applying psychoanalysis to children or young students, a teacher must take a broad view by exploring the considerable range of psychoanalytic literature available.When applying psychoanalytic theories to children in the classroom, activities are typically categorized into either behaviorism or cognitivism. Behaviorism focuses on tangible behaviors, such as a child who will share her toys versus a child of the same age who refuses to share. Behaviorism also looks at conditioning and social learning to understand where a child picks up his personality traits and habits. Cognitivism looks at mental processes and events rather than tangible behaviors. Cognitive structure, or the structure and function of the brain, is of particular concern here. In cognitive science, psychologists are concerned with whether behaviors can be justified chemically or structurally in biological differences between people. When behaviorism and cognitivism are understood, teachers, parents and psychologists can attempt to answer behavioral disorders from a social conditioning and chemical perspective. A behavioral problem may be rooted in either or both areas of psychoanalysis. An example of a classic activity used for psychoanalysis in the classroom is role playing. During a role play, the teacher exercises control over the basic setup of the scenario. Students then act within those boundaries to produce original decisions and actions. In each scenario, a student knows there are things she should or should not do. For example, if the scenario involves seeing another child break a rule, the actor in the role play must decide what to do. Should he tell the teacher, attempt to punish or correct the child himself or let the child get away with it? Classroom activities around psychoanalytic theory can be public or anonymous. An example of an anonymous psychoanalytic activity is the question and answer game. Students write anonymous questions about social situations on a piece of paper and submit them to the teacher. The teacher will pass the questions back out to students, making sure each student gets a question he did not write. Students take the questions home and answer them overnight, and resubmit them anonymously. The teacher then reads them aloud for class discussion. 1. Learning is a process of active construction. Learning is the interaction between what students know, the new information they encounter, and the activities they engage in as they learn. Students construct their own understanding through experience, interactions with content and others, and reflection. Teaching Implication Provide opportunities for students to connect with your content in a variety of meaningful ways by using cooperative learning, interactive lectures, engaging assignments, hands-on lab/field experiences, and other active learning strategies. 2. Students’ prior knowledge is an important determinant of what they will learn. Students do not come to your class as a blank slate. They use what they already know about a topic to interpret new information. When students cannot relate new material to what they already know, they tend to memorize—learning for the test—rather than developing any real understanding of the content. Teaching Implication Learn about your students’ experiences, preconceptions, or misconceptions by using pre-tests, background knowledge probes, and written or oral activities designed to reveal students’ thinking about the topic. 3. Organizing information into a conceptual framework helps students remember and use knowledge. Students must learn factual information, understand these facts and ideas in the context of a conceptual framework, and organize knowledge in ways that facilitate retrieval and application in order to develop competence in a new topic. Teaching Implication Support students by using concept maps, flowcharts, outlines, comparison tables, etc., to make the structure of the knowledge clear. 4. Learning is a social phenomenon.   Students learn with greater understanding when they share ideas through conversation, debate, and negotiation. Explaining a concept to one’s peers puts knowledge to a public test where it can be examined, reshaped, and clarified. Teaching Implication Use Cooperative learning strategies, long-term group projects, class discussions, and group activities to support the social side of learning. 5. Learning is context-specific. It is often difficult for students to use what they learn in class in new contexts (i.e., other classes, the workplace, or their personal lives). Teaching Implication Use problem-based learning, simulations or cases, and service learning to create learning environments similar to the real world. 6. Students’ metacognitive skills (thinking about thinking) are important to their learning. Many students utilize few learning strategies and have a limited awareness of their thinking processes. Teaching Implication Help students become more metacognitively aware by modeling your thinking as you solve a problem, develop an argument, or analyze written work in front of the class. Teach metacognitive strategies, such as setting goals, making predictions, and checking for consistency. Focus attention on metacognition by having students write in a learning journal or develop explanations of their problem-solving processes. Conclusion Psychoanalytic (or psychosexual) theory deals primarily with personality and postulates that human â€Å"behavior is motivated by inner, unconscious forces, memories, and conflicts† (Feldman, 1998, p. 26) that often stem from early life experiences. According to this theory, there are three basic structures of the personality: the id (which consists of the irrational libidinal drives that motivate the person to seek pleasure and sexual gratification), the ego (the rational part of the mind), and the superego (essentially the conscience which counterbalances the impulses of the id). Development occurs through a sequence of five psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, and genital) which focus on a body part (or erogenous zone) that becomes the center of pleasure or gratification (Rice, 1997). Defense mechanisms such as denial, repression, rationalization, and displacement, which serve the important purpose of temporarily distorting reality to relieve anxiety or reduce conflict, are also important components of Psychoanalytic theory. Though primarily of historical interest, an understanding of Freudian theory may give classroom teachers insight into the importance of unconscious feelings and drives that motivate some student behavior.

Limitations of 10th & 11th 5 Year Plan

The Eleventh Five Year Plan, which was approved by the National Development Council on 1 9 De cembe r 2 0 0 7 re a f f i rms thi s commi tment . It pro v i de s a comp r e h e n s i ve s t r a t e g y f o r i n c l u s i v e development, building on the growing strength of the economy, while also addressing weaknesses that have surfaced. Tenth Five-Year Plan (2002–2007) ? Providing gainful and high-quality employment at least to the addition to the labour force; ? All children in India in school by 2003; all children to complete 5 years of schooling by 2007. Reduction in gender gaps in literacy and wage rates by at least 50% by 2007; ? Reduction in the decadal rate of population growth between 2001 and 2011 to 16. 2%;* ? Increase in Literacy Rates to 75 per cent within the Tenth Plan period (2002 – 2007) Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007–2012) The eleventh plan has the following objectives: Education ? Reduce dropout rates of children from elementary school from 52. 2% in 2003-04 to 20% by 2011-12 ? Develop minimum standards of educational attainment in elementary school, and by regular testing monitor effectiveness of education to ensure quality ? Increase  literacy rate  for persons of age 7 years or above to 85% ? Lower gender gap in literacy to 10 percentage point ? Increase the percentage of each cohort going to higher education from the present 10% to 15% by the end of the plan Thrust Areas in the 10th Five Year Plan GENERAL : To achieve a profound transformation of higher education in order that it becomes an effective promoter of sustainable human development and at the same time, improves its relevance with closer links with the world of work and achieve quality in its teaching, research, business and community extension functions including life long learning. SPECIFIC: To contribute to the transformation through improvement of the conceptions, methodology and practices related to: The relevance of higher education. Quality, evaluation and accreditation. Research and development. Outreach activities in business and community and life long learning. The knowledge and use of the new information and communication technology. Management and financing. Export of higher education, and reorientation of international cooperation. Strengthening of open and distance education system. Strengthening of research institutions. Mobilization of resources. Proposals/Recommendations for 11th Five Year Plan A Working Group on Higher Education was set up by the Planning Commission under the Chairmanship of Secretary (HE), vide order no. M-12015/2/2005-Edn. Subsequently, it was decided to constitute seven Sub-Working Groups on the following sectors of higher education:- 1. Central Universities 2. Deemed to be Universities 3. State Universities 4. Col leges 5. Distance Education 6. Quality of Higher Education 7. Research. Tenth Five Year Plan (2000-2005) The year wise allocation and expenditure for the 10th Five Year Plan period was as follows : The Tenth Five Year Plan was fixed at Rs. 30,162 Lakhs. The flow to TSP, SCCP and PWD projects were follows: 1. TSP – 145 Lakhs 2. SCCP – 225 Lakhs 3. P. W. D. – 200 Lakhs During 10th Five Year Plan period the following development works was undertaken by the Govt. : 1. Normalisation of Plan Posts. 2. Establishment of  The K. K. Handique State Open University 3. Introduction of 5 years L. L. B. Courses in B. R. M. Govt. Law College. 4. Establishment of F. M. Radio Station. 5. Introduction of Private University Bill. . Sanction of Rs. 10 Lakhs to each Provincialised colleges and Rs. 4 Lakhs to all provincialised Sanskrit Tols under the scheme â€Å"Buniyad†. 7. Financial assistance to all affiliated Non-Govt. colleges (133 numbers) and 16 Sanskrit tols under â€Å"State Priority Schemes†. Eleventh Five Year Plan (2005-2010) The draft XIth Five Year Plan has been proposed for Rs. 34,175 lakhs. The flow to S. C. C. P proposed for XIth Five Year Plan is Rs. 300 Lakhs. During the current financial year an amount of Rs. 70 Lakhs has been agreed for S. C. C. P for implementation of the above mentioned schemes. For the next financial year 2008-09, an amount of Rs. 1,831 Lakhs has been proposed and the flow to S. C. C. P. is proposed for Rs. 100 Lakhs. III. Major Initiatives in the Eleventh Five Year Plan Let us examine the provisions made in the Plan for the various sectors in Education. This section will also highlight the changes, if any, in the scheme structure and measures taken for better implementation. C. Secondary Education The Central Government has been managing four types of schools that have been allocated the following: Kendriya Vidyalayas (Rs. 1,326 crore), Navodaya Vidyalayas (Rs. 4,067 crore), Central Tibetan Schools (Rs. 6 crore) and National Institute of Open Schooling (Rs. 88 crore). The Union Government scheme ‘Strengthening of Boarding and Hostel Facilities for Girl Students of Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools (Access & Equity)' is to be restructured and merged with the new umbrella scheme of ‘Universalization of Access and Improvement of Quality of Se condary Education'. Further, the erstwhile schemes of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) in schools, girl child incentive, Integrated Education for Disabled Children, Vocational Education, etc. will be subsumed under a new umbrella Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) named SUCCESS. The Eleventh Plan apportions Rs. 9,282 crore to SUCCESS. It is worthwhile here to note that under this scheme it is proposed to set up 6,000 block-level Model Schools at the secondary level which would be largely managed and run by the corporate entities, trusts and reputed private providers. This, when seen in the light of growing share of private schools (from 15% in 1993-94 to 30% in 2004-05) and encouraging establishment of good quality schools in deficient areas in Public Private Partnership ( PPP) mode is reflective of the policy direction of the Planning Commission and the Central Government. Focusing on the girl child, A Girl Child Incentive Scheme with a provision of Rs. 1,326 crore is to be launched on a pilot basis in selected Economically Backward Blocks (EBBs). On the basis of quick evaluation, its expansion will be considered in the Eleventh Plan period. It is proposed that the merger of all girl child incentive schemes will be ensured. Herein, a critical aspect related to school education is teacher education and training. The Plan provides Rs. 3,536 crore to Teacher Education. In this regard, severe gaps have been observed in the management of District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs). Not only have most of the DIETs been headless, there is also a shortage of quality faculty in DIETs, thereby leaving much to be desired in the quality of teacher training. While the Plan document finds this detrimental to promoting quality in teaching, the solution suggested is heavily dependent on outsourcing the DIET faculty or DIETs adopting the PPP mode. D. Vocational Education The Eleventh Plan apportions Rs. 1,768 crore towards Vocational Education. As part of the strategy adopted by the Plan, there is greater emphasis on the services sector. This apart, over 95% of the unskilled and semi-skilled population will be provided continuous informal training. It is also suggested that a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) system be developed. E. Higher Education Apart from the existing 7 schemes in Higher Education, the Eleventh Plan has provided 9 new schemes along with outlining a Special Plan for Higher Education wherein uncovered regions are provided with Science, Medical and Engineering Universities. The Plan highlights the need for autonomy and accountability in the higher educational institutions and calls for quality improvement. While the Plan observes that there are inherent imbalances due to the private sector focusing on specific disciplines and regions of the country; it is worth noting that the Plan hopes that more than half of the incremental enrolment in higher education is made by private providers, thereby encouraging the role of private unaided higher educational institutions in the country. F. Technical Education In the field of technical education, the Eleventh Plan envisages establishing new institutes of management, technology, industrial research and training, planning and architecture. This apart, upgrading select existing technical institutes is on the anvil. The State technical institutes are also proposed to be strengthened. Another key area that has been highlighted is the lack of adequate polytechnics in the country. With 125 districts not having a single polytechnic, it is suggested that every district be covered, through Central funding as well as with PPP and private funding. Some critical issues with regard to these polytechnics include: static curricula, poor industry interface, lack of flexibility to respond to needs, obsolescence of equipment, lack of trainers and inadequate funding. Limitations in the Eleventh Five Year Plan with Regard to Provisions for Education â€Å"The Eleventh Plan would be a Quality Plan in respect of the education sector. † – Eleventh Five Year Plan While some advances have been made towards ensuring the basic issues of access, retention and quality is met, some problems persist. The Plan seems to adopt a piecemeal approach as there are multiple schemes having multiple goals and a constant friction persists between the Centre and the States with regard to funding norms allowing scant progress in terms of outcomes. The Eleventh Plan is increasingly stressing on privatisation in elementary and secondary, higher and technical education sectors in education. PPP is being seen as the preferred route to financing and implementing schemes. Another distressing trend observed in the Plan document is the encouragement given to private players ranging from setting up educational institutions and suggestions to outsource DIET faculty, establishing private polytechnics, etc. Further, acknowledgment of the need to levy (user charges) fees even in public (government-run) schools is worth noting. This, when seen in the light of the Plan proposing to be a Quality Plan, also proves to be contradictory as illustrated by specific instances. In the elementary sector, the Plan continues to seek the participation of teachers in implementing the MDM scheme thereby denying quality teaching to pupils. Under adult education, low motivation and lack of training of voluntary teachers is hardly seen as encouraging quality concerns. Increasing role of public private participation in secondary schools and continuing to have four types of public-funded schools, instead of having a common system of school, also do not promote uniform quality education. With regard to addressing gender concerns, initiatives focusing on Muslim women need to be enhanced. There is also a fear that having multiple schemes with divergent goals (vocational training ranging from small scale entrepreneurial development to computer literacy, etc. ) might dilute the primary objectives of ensuring education and training of uniform quality for all.

Assessing Factors Of National Security

Assessing Factors Of National Security Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . Assessing Factors Of National Security National security is the necessity to maintain the endurance of the state through the use of political power, the exercise of diplomacy, economic and military. The idea developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II. Originally focusing on military might encompasses a broad range of facets all of which impose on the military or economic security of the nation and the values espoused by the national society. Therefore, in order to possess national security, a nation needs to possess environmental security, economic security and energy security etc. Security threats involve not only conventional foes such as other nation-states but also non-state actors such as violent non-state actors, narcotic cartels, multinational corporations and non-governmental organisations; some authorities include natural disasters and events causing severe environmental damage in this category. Measures taken to ensure national security include: us ing diplomacy to rally allies and isolate threats marshalling economic power to facilitate or compel cooperation maintaining effective armed forces implementing civil defense and emergency preparedness measures (including anti-terrorism legislation) ensuring the resilience and redundancy of critical infrastructure using intelligence services to detect and defeat or avoid threats and espionage, and to protect classified information using counterintelligence services or secret police to protect the nation from internal threats Slide 4 – Who defines national security? State/Government/group of elites determines the main objectives of security based on the nation’s sovereignty, integrity of the state and economic prosperity. As the source of political authority, the government defines security, and this definition generally encompasses the broader spectrum of values held dear by the majority. â€Å"Since the future racial peace in this country depends on how well the gove rnment handles the sensitive issues, it is suggested that the NSC shall be the body to look into the matter†. Slide 5 – Scope Slide 6 – Factors Of National Security Slide 7 – Economy Historically, conquest of nations have made conquerors rich through plunder, access to new resources and enlarged trade through controlling of the conquered nations’ economy. In today’s complex system of international trade, ‘ by multi-national agreements, mutual inter-dependence and availability of natural resources etc., the freedom to follow choice of policies to develop a nation’s economy in the manner desired, forms the essence of economic security. Economic security today forms, arguably, as important a part of national security as military security. Slide 8 – Military This is traditionally, the earliest recognised form of national security. Military security implies the capability of a nation to defend itself, and/or deter military aggr ession. Alternatively, military security implies the capability of a nation to enforce its policy choices by use of military force. The term â€Å"military security† is considered synonymous with â€Å"security† in much of its usage. One of the definitions of security given in the Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, may be considered a definition of â€Å"military securityâ€Å": A condition that results from the establishment and maintenance of protective measures that ensure a state of inviolability from hostile acts or influences. Slide 9 – Politic The political aspect of security has been offered by Barry Buzan, Ole Wà ¦ver, Jaap de Wilde as an important component of national security. Political security is about the stability of the social order. Closely allied to military security and societal security, other components proposed in a framework for national security in their book â€Å"Security: a new framework for analysis†, it specifica lly addresses threats to sovereignty. System referent objects are defined, such as nation-states, nations, transnational groups of political importance including tribes, minorities, some religious organisations, systems of states such as the European Union and the United Nations, besides others. Diplomacy, negotiation and other interactions form the means of interacion between the objects.